Although he received ProfessorAkkad"s invitation, Qi Mu did not leave for Paris immediately.
First, because the National Conservatoryof Music was still organizing formalities. After all, Professor Akkad suddenly wantedto accept an outside student. Even if it was a symbolic exam, it still took time to prepare. And the otherreason, was because B City Symphony Orchestra"s first performance had not begunyet and it was impossible for him to leave as concertmaster.
After Qi Mu announced that he wouldleave after the concert, none of the orchestra members were sad. Instead, they werethrilled to hold a celebratory dinner for him to congratulate him on being ableto study in Paris, and for gaining an excellent teacher in Reed Akkad.
Afterward,Tan Lao confirmed the specifics for the orchestra"s performance.
This was the first time Qi Muwould be leading their concert as concertmaster. He was no longer a guestviolinist, nor an ordinary member of the violin group. He was now the lead violinist that would leadnot only the violin group but the entire orchestra.
Over the last two weeks ofrehearsal, he didn"t know if it was because of his impending departure, but the orchestra members practiced even more seriouslythan usual. They wanted to give their mascot one last grand performance beforehe left.
Everyone was excited andharmonious, but the day before the concert, someone couldn"t help but wipetheir tears as they choked out, "Xiao Qi, you have to practice well in Paris."
Generally, the female members weretoo emotional. Several women had given Qi Mu homemadecookies and biscuits as farewell gifts. Several of the older men and women, theuncles and aunties amongst the orchestra members, had taken to Qi Mu as if he wastheir own child.
Qi Mu was the youngest in theorchestra, and while he had always beenmature, they had not forgotten that he was just a child.
After the final practice, everyonegathered together again. When the party ended, the others laughed and patted his shoulders to cheer him on. It wasn"t until only Du Sheng"s car was left that Qi Muwiped away the tears in his eyes as if itwere sand blown into his face.
Over the last half a year,everyone had become accustomed to this polite, humble young man. Not only wasthis beautiful child talented, but he was obedient and hardworking.
They were sad because they would rarely get to see him inthe future, but they were also worried. . .
That this child would go to a distant foreign country, where he did not havea single relative, and he wouldn"t even know if he was being bullied!
"Who dares bully our Xiao Qi!Let them try it!"
"Yes, I have several old friendsin Paris. If they want to bully Xiao Qi, let them try us first!"
. . .
Qi Mu did not hear those words,but when he looked at the rearview mirror, he found that some of the membersthat had been laughing were now shedding tears. His eyebrows pinched a little,and he heaved a long sigh, but there was nothing to say.
Du Sheng smiled and said, "XiaoQi, those guys really think of you as a mascot. When you come back to Huaxiaduring the summer, you have to come tosee us."
Qi Mu looked at Du Sheng andlaughed, "Du-ge, you can rest a.s.sured. I will definitely come to see you."
Du Sheng didn"t want to bring upa separate topic, so he quipped, "What isParis"s specialty? I bet there"s nothing good. Xiao Qi, are you going to cookyourself? Don"t hurt yourself, eat more pig hoof stew, and fix up your face. Leavingour sandy city, ah, you might not be able to adapt right away."
Qi Mu was dumbfounded, ready toboth laugh and cry, "Yes, I"ll try my best to cook more. . . cough, pig hoofs."
They smiled and exchanged a fewmore words. Qi Mu"s apartment building was quite close to the orchestra, andthere was no traffic. Soon the car arrived at the entrance, and QI Mu took hiscase from the backseat. He walked in the direction of the hall for a few steps,then heard a sound behind him.
His footsteps stilled, and he turned to see Du Sheng waving him over.He said, "Du-ge, you can just go back. It"s not early, don"t let your familyworry. . ."
Du Sheng just stared at him calmly.
After a while, Du Sheng looked athim with a solemn gaze. Finally, he said, "Xiao Qi. . . you have to take care of yourself in Paris. Listen to what Tan Laoand I said. Don"t hurt yourself. Our entire orchestra will back you."
This was honestly too warm. QiMu felt his fingers clench tightly. There was a lot he wanted to say, but evenwith all the words on his tongue, he didn"t know where to begin. In the end, hecould only show a bright smile as a thank you to this big brother that was takingcare of him.
Being able to be part of such anorchestra was a privilege and a wonderfulmemory that he would remember for the rest of his life.
Perhaps only in a group ofpeople who truly loved music could there be such open-mindedness. Everyonethere got along, and no one wanted to try climbing up using despicable means.
In the cla.s.sical music world, howmany people were like Luo Yu Sen, who only wanted to go further but hadn"tthought of improving themselves first?
The answer was, after all, very few.
That evening, Qi Mu startedpacking up his apartment.
When he first rented this apartment,he only paid half a year"s rent. He hadn"t thought much of it at the time and signedaccording to the landlord"s proposal, but he did not expect that he would only live there for half a year.
Because he would fly to Paristhe day after tomorrow, and tomorrow was dedicated to the concert, Qi Mu had tocover the furniture in white sheets to prevent dust from collecting. There weren"tmany things that he needed to take with him, and a large box would suffice.
The most important thing was hisviolin, and it needed to be protected well.
Once all the furniture wascovered, Qi Mu glanced around at this familiar yet unfamiliar house and felt alittle sad.
He had lived here for half ayear. He practiced in the music room every day, cooked in the kitchen everyday. He didn"t have many feelings towardsthis place, but now that he was about to leave, he felt like clinging to it.
Qi Mu stepped out onto thebalcony. The winter night was cold, but he looked at the dark building nextdoor. After a long time, Qi Mu shifted moods and opened his phone. He scrolleddown his contacts for his neighbor"s number.
Meanwhile, halfway across theworld in Berlin, it was afternoon. In the rehearsal hall of the BerlinPhilharmonic Orchestra, everyone was coordinating with the members of theirrespective instrument groups guided by the concertmaster.
For larger orchestras, there wasoften more of a command hierarchy, divided under the princ.i.p.al conductor, guestconductors, and so on.
Of course, even if there were more than one conductor, these masters wouldnot be able to partic.i.p.ate in every rehearsal. Therefore, whenever the timecame, the concertmaster, a.s.sistant concertmaster, or deputy chief would replacethe conductor in leading the orchestra.
Admittedly, aside from just timeconstraints, there were also some like Min Chen. . . who would not personally lead the rehearsals outside necessity.
According to Daniel, that wasbecause the guy was too lazy.
Officially, however, Min Chenbelieved every member of the orchestra had a different style. Although theywould eventually come together, he thought.i.t was best for them to develop freely in the early stages.
Of course, whatever the reason was,for Bertram to not personally lead the rehearsal all the time——That was good news——forevery member of Bai Ai.
Could you imagine this man withperfect hearing stopping the whole orchestra in an instant and walking over tostand in front of you, saying with a blank expression: "This is such a simplesound. Have you left your IQ at home?"
Or, even if you couldn"t figureout the mistake, this great conductor would toss his baton at the score andlook straight at you to calmly ask, "Won"t you run home to drink your mother"s littlelamb soup?"
When Min Chen picked up the baton,Mr. Bertram had the elegant demeanor of a gentleman, but when he picked up thesymbol of highest authority in the orchestra, G.o.d. He. Was. A. Demon!!!
——Cried out the hearts of allthe members.
Of course, although Min Chenwouldn"t lead the rehearsal every time, he would often sit under the stage andwatch the members.
It made even the most seasonedof musicians fear that they would accidentallylet this demon general hear a mistake.
But today, they only rehea.r.s.edtwice when the sharp-eyed members saw——
Mr. Bertram took out his phone!!!
Oh my G.o.d!
Who was this angel to call thedevil out?!!!
When Min Chen pushed out of the rehearsal room, he connected to the call from the other side of the world, "Qi Mu?"
Qi Mu"s young, pleasant voicerang out over the line, "Min Chen, long time no see. It should still beafternoon there?"
Min Chen walked down the hallwayand gently nodded, "Well, it"s three o"clock." He paused and thought ofsomething, then asked, "It"s already ten there, you"re calling so late. . .what"s the matter?"
Translator(s): Bet
Editor(s): BetBet:
I am in literal tears. My Angel is now Angel to everyone. Even Min Chen’s orchestra is already thinking of him as one. Good lord. I’m laughing so hard. This is fantastic.