TheVienna Philharmonic Orchestra"s concert put a successful end to Vienna"sconcert season.
Since the beginning ofJune, most of the major orchestras entered a holiday period, ending the firsthalf of their tour. Beautiful music still lingered all across Vienna, though.
This capital of music wasnever short of moving music. Walking on the streets, musical notes alwaysfilled the air. Step into a roadside theatre, and a concert is always onstandby.
Even though it wasn"t theseason for grand symphonies, some orchestra musicians took the opportunity toperform chamber music shows with their own small ensembles.
It was rumored that theconcertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lyon Zayev, and the ViennaSymphony Orchestra concertmaster, Jacques, would join hands. They were toperform in a small concert hall in the Musikverein the following week.
Such a combination was sodazzling even Qi Mu"s heart skipped a beat.
Unfortunately, he couldn"t.w.a.tch the performance. The day after Wei Ai"s concert, he was already packed upand ready to return to Paris at Akkad"s request.
Akkad"s business wasimportant and needed more time to settle. He called Qi Mu and told him he"dfound a good subst.i.tute teacher for his lovely student.
The second a.s.sessment ofthe semester was two weeks away, so Qi Mu planned to end his trip and return toParis.
Even while at the hotel,Qi Mu practiced his violin for four hours a day. It was inconvenient being awayfrom home, so he needed to go back to practice.
After June, the weatherbecame hot and dry. Europe during the summer was a big, hot stove. Almost everycity reached unbearable temperatures, and Vienna"s sky was cloudless. There wasnothing to shield them from the sun.
Qi Mu checked his luggageand pa.s.sed the security checkpoint when he received a call from Berlin. As soonas the call connected, he said, "Min Chen, long time no see. You called at theright time, an hour later, and I"d already be on the flight."
On the other end, Min Chendidn"t expect such a coincidence.
For Bai Ai"s ordinarymembers, this was their holiday. The tour season was over, so they could take anextended vacation. As thechief conductor and music director, the agent, and the concertmaster, theconcept of a vacation hardly existed for Min Chen, Daniel, and Christole.
After their last concert,they began preparing for the tour in the next quarter and those beyond that.The bigger the orchestra, the sooner they planned.
Min Chen was busypreparing for the coming seasons and Qi Mu was busy packing for his flight backto Paris; neither had the time to contact the other. Apart from their shorttexts before Wei Ai"s concert, this was they first chance they got to talk.
"Are you heading back toParis? Or. . . somewhere else?" Even through the speaker, the man"s voice wa.s.still as mellow as a cello, "Christole is going to hold a personal concertsoon. If you"re interested, I can reserve a seat for you."
His voice was calm as ifit were a casual remark. If he listened carefully, he could hear a trace of. .. restless antic.i.p.ation hidden in his tone.
A reminder was broadcastedacross the airport, distracting Qi Mu. After a pause, he answered, "I"m goingback to Paris, not anywhere else. It"s time for me to go back and prepare formy a.s.sessment. Thank you for your kindness, Min Chen. But unfortunately, Ican"t be there."
". . .Well, okay." At aloss, Min Chen paused. Then, he asked, "Is Reed back from Italy?"
Picking an empty seat, QiMu put his bad on the chair next to it. He laughed, "No, Professor is still inTurin, handling his family matter. He told me to return to Paris first. ButMaster Akkad said he"s found a good teacher for me, but I don"t know who itwill be. . ."
"Most orchestras are onvacation right now, but many solo violinists will hold concerts now too.They"ll probably be the concertmaster of some orchestra."
Min Chen a.n.a.lyzed hiswords very carefully. Seeing such rare patience, Christole, couldn"t help butsneak a few looks. He smiled and bowed his head as if understanding something.
The young black-haired manwas totally unaware of Min Chen"s unusual att.i.tude towards him. After all, MinChen being a good person always willing to help others in need was a fact forhim.
Qi Mu nodded and said,"Well, that might be the case. . . I don"t know who it will be."
The two chatted for awhile. And after a few moments of struggling, Min Chen coughed softly, "Right.. . That. . . Have you listened to that recording?"
A little stunned andembarra.s.sed, Qi Mu cleared his throat. He said he would listen a long time ago,but, contrary to his words, he never did.
He was too busy for it.But, the most important reason was the hotel made it impossible for him to finda good record player. Without an excellent needle and sound system, the musicon the record wouldn"t sound as good as it should.
This was vital for Qi Mu,who was very serious when it came to music.
Sighing, he repliedguiltily, "I"m sorry, I was a little busy these days, so I haven"t had the timeto listen to it. I remember there"s a good record player in Teacher"s lounge sowhen I go back to Paris, I should be able to hear it."
Although Qi Mu didn"tunderstand. . . why the man was so entangled with the record, but, since he hadpromised to do it, he would.
Min Chen"s tone got evenmore depressed. He only replied with a gentle "Um." Even Qi Mu, with his crudenerve, noticed. It seemed. . . the other man was in a bad mood?
After a few moreexchanges, Qi Mu hung up and boarded the plane.
At the top floor of theBai Ai headquarters" conference room, a man who had always been cold andindifferent looked like he had just returned from Antarctica. He dropped iceall over the place.
When Daniel opened thedoor, he reflexively rubbed his bare arms. In a low voice, he muttered,"Strange, the air conditioner isn"t on. . . What kind of weather is this, whyis it so cold?"
Having endured the coldair silently for quite a while, Christole looked at Daniel, unsure whether tolaugh or cry. He pointed to the man at his side. "Stop talking, Auston is in abad mood."
How could Daniel"s IQunderstand such a high-level secret language? He frowned, then grinned and tooka chair on the other side. "What"s the matter, Christole? Do you have a sorethroat? Then you have to take medicine!"
The kind-heartedChristole: ". . ."
Min Chen glanced at theguy with a low IQ and said, "Daniel, you should take medicine."
Daniel: ". . .??? I"m notsick, why should I take medicine?!"
Amused, Min Chen"s lipscurled up. He shook his head. "No, you"re sick. It"s very serious."
Daniel: ". . . ?"
"You left your brain athome."
Daniel: ". . ."
After a moment, heshouted, "Auston Bertram!!! I want to break off with you!! You actually daresay I have no brain!!! I want to resign! I"m telling you, I"m not waiting anylonger! I must resign today!!!"
It was a typical, dailyoccurrence in Bai Ai as usual.
The mild-temperedChristole helplessly hid his face in his hands. He sighed, silently thinking. .. When will G.o.d send an angel torescue these poor children living in deep waters and scorching fire?
When, in fact, the angelChristole was praying for had already arrived!
It"s just. . . Thecoordinates were off. He actually arrived in Paris, thousands of miles away!
Qi Mu dropped his luggageat his apartment.
The scent of iris andlilies were everywhere in the romantic city. Numerous tourists from all overthe world gathered there, walking on the streets and lanes, constantly takingpictures.
The weather was sunny andbewitching. From a broader perspective, the sky was clear, as if it were beingwashed. It eased Qi Mu"s mood a lot. Without rest, Qi Mu rushed to theuniversity at 3 o"clock.
According to Akkad, theteacher who came to guide him was already in Paris and should be waiting forhim in their violin room. Although he didn"t know who it was, Qi Mu very muchlooked forward to meeting them.
With his teacher"s harshcriteria, a person who can make Reed Akkad praise them as a "good teacher" mustbe an excellent violin master. He just didn"t know. . .
Who would come to Paristhis time of year?
Qi Mu gently turned themetal door handle of the violin room with antic.i.p.ation.
The door opened with acreak, the brilliant sunshine through the huge gla.s.s window of the violin roomblinding Qi Mu. Pushing the door open a little, he couldn"t see the roomclearly, but heard a pleasant melody resounding——
"Oh? Is it my littleangel? Angel, we haven"t seen each other for a long time. I really miss yourbeautiful violin."
Qi Mu: ". . ."
Now. . . was it too lateto close the door?
Translator
(s): Kuro
Editor
(s): Empress, Ayn, Bet