The city of Hong Kong was quite small, and surrounded by the sea on three sides. The tropical wind blew in from the South China Sea and dispersed the winter chill that came from the north. There were dark clouds in the night sky, and there were thousands of boats, both large and small, moored by the Victoria Harbor of this charming oriental city.
When Qi Mu arrived at this pocket-sized city, he found his overcoat too c.u.mbersome. By the time he exited the airport’s restroom, he had switched to a thin white shirt.
The hotel he booked was on Lantau Island, a short distance from Hong Kong’s city center. He took a taxi from the airport and arrived at the hotel where he set down his luggage and tidied up. After refreshing himself, he spent his first night in the city quietly.
Qi Mu once visited Hong Kong on a global tour with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The city left a deep impression on him, but his frantic schedule left him no opportunity to see the sites.
Which was why Qi Mu woke early the next morning. After he had cleaned up, he decided to explore.
The handsome youth wore a thin shirt, and a jacket was tied casually around his waist. This style was suited to someone in their twenties, so when he stepped out of his room, the guest entering the room next to his pulled down his sungla.s.ses and stared at him silently.
Qi Mu put his card in his pocket and turned to come face-to-face with the man that had been staring at him for who knows how long.
Qi Mu: “. . .”
Min Chen: “. . .”
Qi Mu immediately turned to look at his room’s door, making sure it was not his apartment in B City. Then he finally accepted reality——for some reason, Min Chen was his next door neighbor yet again!
A black and white baseball cap hid half his face, effectively masking his awkwardness, and Qi Mu considered things for a while then finally asked, “Mr. Min. . . you’re also in Hong Kong? Leisure trip?”
“Ah, I’m partic.i.p.ating in the music festival.”
Qi Mu: “. . .”
What a straightforward answer!
Seemingly aware of Qi Mu’s embarra.s.sment, Min Chen burrowed the hint of amus.e.m.e.nt in his deep gaze and said as if nothing had happened, “I didn’t expect to book the same hotel as you. What a coincidence.”
Min Chen really wasn’t lying. He hadn’t told Daniel to do anything specific. He only wanted to not be in the center of the bustling city and had no other concerns. So, without Min Chen knowing about it, Daniel had booked a room at this hotel on Lantau. And. . . his room was next to Qi Mu’s.
Min Chen was surprised when he saw Qi Mu, but Qi Mu. . . didn’t think so.
The person you ate lunch with yesterday suddenly appeared in the room next to yours, thousands of kilometers away, the next morning. Anyone would think they were. . . what was the word? Stalker?
It flashed in Qi Mu’s mind, but he shook his head, throwing away the inexplicable idea. How could Min Chen be a stalker? Well, he had to be overthinking it. He had to be.
“I didn’t expect you’d also be staying here. The festival will officially begin next week, Mr. Min. . . are you planning to go sightseeing?” After thinking about it some, Qi Mu politely smiled, “I’m about to go and explore as well. Shall we go together?”
While he spoke, Qi Mu glanced down at the small suitcase in Min Chen’s grasp.
Min Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise, then he gently nodded, “Okay, let’s go together.”
Qi Mu: “. . .”
Shouldn’t your answer be “I have to sort out my luggage first, we’ll go together later?!”
Regardless of how it turned out that way, from that first day of exploring together, Qi Mu ended up going out with his neighbor every day. Sometimes they would meet accidentally, and other times, they would plan the next day before returning to their rooms the night before.
In other words, Qi Mu had utterly accepted that fact that he was to be “inseparable” with this man for his trip to Hong Kong.
Although he was a little nervous, he found his understanding of the man to be a bit biased after getting along with Min Chen.
Qi Mu had been to see the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra several times before. In a magnificent concert hall, this man would use his incomparable charisma to suppress the entire audience, holding each note under his command.
Like Zheng Wei Qiao once said, this man was the only one in the whole world who could end a concert on 《Fate"s Symphony》.
But, it was precisely this same man, who should be elegant and n.o.ble above all, that would follow him through the crowded Causeway Bay, who would take off his shoes and dip his feet in the shallow water of Repulse Bay and bask in the sea breeze against his face.
If he had still thought Min Chen was indifferent when doing those things, then what happened while the two were playing at Disneyland completely shattered Qi Mu’s original view of him.
Disney was a childhood dream that no one could destroy. Qi Mu had once thought about going to this paradise mentioned on TV, but his adoptive parents were ordinary people, and it was too expensive to go there to play.
So when he came to Hong Kong, the place he wanted to visit the most was Disneyland.
In Qi Mu’s mind, Min Chen might be opposed to going to such a place. But, to his amazement, when he suggested it for their last free day, the handsome man had looked at him with surprise then nodded, “Let’s go tomorrow.”
“. . .”
In a place like this, aside from the girls who couldn’t let go of their fairy tales, most were parents with children. So when two tall men walked side by side down the diamond patterned walkway, several people stared at them in amazement.
Qi Mu’s skin was fair, so he wore his baseball cap to cover his face, revealing only his mouth. While Min Chen didn’t seem afraid of the sun, the man wore sungla.s.ses and an aura that screamed: “no one is allowed near me.” It surely made people think they were strange.
Although Min Chen didn’t show discomfort the entire way, Qi Mu couldn’t help but ask while they were having lunch, “Min Chen. . . are you sure you want to continue walking around this afternoon?” The past few days, Qi Mu thought the most significant progress between them was that they could now call each other by name.
Min Chen set down the cup in his hands and frowned slightly, “You don’t want to continue exploring?”
Qi Mu shook his head, “I still want to walk around some, but I think. . . you don’t seem to like walking around much?”
Who would expect that Min Chen would raise his Phoenix eyes to his and calmly refute, “No, I like it very much.”
“. . .”
Therefore, that afternoon, this man who had said “I like it very much” was still walking indifferently and looked at everything with a casual glance, lacking any hint of joy or excitement. Qi Mu didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.
Later that evening, they had just entered the area by Peter Pan and, only a few steps in, they heard a voice over the speakers, “Tomorrow is the annual Sea Music Festival of Hong Kong. All of today’s guests can play a song on stage and a gift from Peter Pan!”
Qi Mu glanced int he direction of the stage. Before his gaze could cross the entire distance, he heard the sound of a stuttering piano and unconsciously whispered, “Tchaikovsky’s Etude No. 7?”
A magnetic voice rang in his ear, “Yes, it’s that one.” Min Chen’s voice was calm, but when they finally saw the person playing, both were stunned. After a slight pause, Min Chen said helplessly, “No wonder it’s shaking. From the looks of it, he’s less than five years old.”
On stage, a boy with blond hair and blue eyes worked hard at playing the piano. His fingers were small, but for him to play the song from start to finish, it was already excellent.
At the end of the performance, someone in a Peter Pan costume brought over a box of cookies for the child. Seeing that there was a gift, the other children were eager to give it a try, and after a while, a few different children had cookies.
The children were all under the age of ten and the adults who noticed this laughed and applauded them all. The firth who went up was a boy who looked to be in his teens. The black-haired little Chinese boy sat shyly in front of the piano and began to play. By the second note, Qi Mu’s eyes widened, and he looked at the man beside him in surprise.
Min Chen’s dark eyes seemed to reflect the sunshine of the evening sunset. He watched the boy playing so seriously on stage with a meaningful gaze. He spoke plainly, “《D Minor Sonata》.” Min Chen then retracted his gaze and turned to Qi Mu, his lips curling. “You actually recognized it on the second note. Are you familiar with it?”
Qi Mu laughed helplessly and nodded, “I’ve heard all of your songs. You first performed this in London when you were seventeen.”
Min Chen lowered his eyes then he pretended to accidentally land his gaze on Qi Mu. He hummed quietly but said nothing more.
On stage, the boy was still working hard and played earnestly. He was only about fourteen or fifteen years old. Although Min Chen had written 《D Minor Sonata》 when he was only seventeen, the difficulty of the piece wasn’t low. Just as the song was about to end, the child missed a handful of notes.
Qi Mu watched as the boy accepted the cookies with red eyes. He sighed. “The song is quite difficult. He probably practiced for quite some time. I don’t know much about the piano, but I think. . . he must have made a pretty big mistake. He seems to be crying over it.”
Qi Mu appreciated people there were dedicated the most. They may be a little less talented, but they truly adored their instruments so they would always work hard to play it well.
Qi Mu glanced at the boy’s common clothing and his old shoes. He sighed again, “Unfortunately, I doubt he can afford a decent teacher. . .”
His words were low, barely a murmur, but the man beside him had absolute pitch and heard him clearly. Min Chen looked at Qi Mu’s helpless face, and he whispered, “Do you think he’s pretty good?”
Qi Mu nodded. “Yes, and he looks to be working hard. Even if he’s less talented, he’s much better than a lot of people. Unfortunately, even with his skill. . . I’m afraid his family couldn’t afford a good teacher or to send him to a good school.” Qi Mu’s voice gradually faded as if he had come to remember something.
Seeing that Qi Mu seemed to have deep feelings about the topic, Min Chen smiled and reached out to take Qi Mu’s hat.
Qi Mu looked up in surprise and started, “You. . .” His voice died when he saw the other man had put on his cap. Coupled with the sungla.s.ses, it covered up most of his face.
Qi Mu’s eyes widened in surprise, unsure of what the other man was planning to do.
Min Chen lifted his index finger to his lips and shushed him quietly. Then, before Qi Mu’s astonished eyes, he stepped forward——
And actually onto the stage!
Translator(s): Kuro
Editor(s): Bet