The early winter of B City was much colder than that of Paris. Siberian wind shrouded the city, coating it in a layer of bitter cold. Once people stepped free from the pleasant warmth of their home or the sun, they could do nothing but shiver.
Qi Mu stayed in B City for another day, then left for S City. His holiday was only for a month in total, then he would return to Vienna before Christmas. Now he had less than two weeks left before the end of his holiday, so he needed to hurry.
Just after arriving at the S City airport, Qi Mu saw Zhu Wen Jun and his wife. They"d been waiting for a long time at the airport. Smiling, he gave them a big hug, then said, "Uncle Zhu, Aunt Cheng, why are you still here in person?"
Zhu Wen Jun, in his forties that year, groomed himself well. Wearing a light grey overcoat, he looked much younger than his actual age. Hearing Qi Mu"s words, his eyes flashed a dark color, but were hidden by his gla.s.ses.
Zhu Wen Jun reached out his hand and pushed up the gla.s.ses on the bridge of his nose, saying "Little Seven, I haven"t seen you for a long time. Of course we had to pick you up when you came to see us in S City." While talking, Zhu Wen Jun took Qi Mu"s suitcase with great enthusiasm, surprising him.
Cheng Tingwen, wearing makeup, snorted from her nose, then glanced dismissively at her good-for-nothing husband. She said, "Little Seven, don"t worry about him. He wouldn’t be like this if he had something to ask you, would he?"
Together, the three walked to the parking lot. Qi Mu frowned a little. Smiling with embarra.s.sment, he said, "What do you want me to do? Aunt Cheng, you don’t have to tease me, how could Uncle Zhu ask something of me?"
Cheng Tingwen looked at her husband as if she was disgusted, then said, "Just listen to him about this, Little Seven."
Hearing this, Qi Mu"s handsome white face flashed a puzzled look. He turned to Zhu Wen Jun, who stood on the other side of the car. Looking at the elegant chief conductor of the S City Symphony Orchestra, he noticed his eyes were… Deep.
…So he did have something to ask!
When they reached the car, Zhu Wen Jun finally put his thoughts together and explained the situation one piece at a time.
At first, Qi Mu thought there was something wrong with the orchestra"s latest concert and needed his help to perform onstage. But, to his surprise, Zhu Wen Jun said, "Little Seven, there will be a new Huaqing Cup national violin compet.i.tion soon, did you know?"
Hearing this, Qi was shocked. Fastening his seatbelt, he looked up at Zhu Wen Jun in the driver"s seat, just to see him looking back. In the bright rearview mirror, their eyes met.
After thinking for a long time, Qi Mu helplessly said, "Uncle Zhu, if I remember correctly, Huaqing Cup… only those under 20 can compete? I am 22 this year, I may not be able to partic.i.p.ate."
Zhu Wen Jun: "…"
Cheng Tingwen laughed out loud, "Little Seven, you misunderstood me. How could you think your uncle would misremember your age? He didn"t want to invite you to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion, but…" uttering a sound, she glanced at Zhu Wen Jun, whose face was a brilliant red in the driver"s seat, then continued, "He wants to invite you to judge the compet.i.tion."
As soon as her voice fell, Qi Mu was stunned. Then he got the reason from Zhu Wen Jun.
It turned out that Huaqing Cup was usually hosted by the Huaxia Cla.s.sical Music a.s.sociation, or B City and S City Cla.s.sical Music a.s.sociation in turns. This year, it was the S City Cla.s.sical Music a.s.sociation"s turn. Zhu Wen Jun, as the vice chairman of the a.s.sociation, had undertaken the organization work for the compet.i.tion.
Zhu Wen Jun, as the chief conductor of the S City Symphony Orchestra, had no doubt in his ability. Therefore, the compet.i.tion ended smoothly from the initial audition stage to the preliminary stage. Three days later, it would be the second stage, and then the final would be held.
Zhu Wen Jun handled the matter properly without any mistakes. He even considered the weather conditions. Who knew that just when he finished making final preparations for the judges and contestants three days before the compet.i.tion, something big would happen to one of the judges. Because it was a youth violin compet.i.tion, in addition to three relatively authoritative and heavyweight music masters, two of the five judges were talented young masters.
Qi Mu also knew that w.a.n.g Zheng, who worked with the orchestra during the centennial celebration, would be there. Although w.a.n.g Zheng was an outstanding pianist, he also had made some accomplishments in violin since childhood and had won some awards.
After thinking for a long time, Zhu Wen Jun finally picked another young violinist in Hong Kong. Although the violinist was a little older and hadn"t won any well-known awards, he was quite popular among the young people, so he could barely be nominated as one of the judges.
But, to Zhu Wen Jun"s surprise, after calculating the weather and transportation, he never considered that——
One of the judges would fall ill!
The violinist in Hong Kong City suddenly had multiple stomach aches two days earlier. When he went to the hospital, they said his long-term drinking and smoking caused a cyst in his stomach, which needed to be removed as soon as possible. The excision… he"d be recovering for ten days, which wasn"t good.
Zhu Wen Jun was completely worried.
The candidate was already hard to find, but now he had an accident. Why wouldn"t he be worried?
When Zhu Wen Jun received Qi Mu"s call, he learned he was going to visit him in S City.
It was a small thing to visit, but it was a big deal for Little Seven to come there!
Although most of Qi Mu"s fans gathered in B City and didn"t usually come to S City, Zhu Wen Jun had heard countless words like, "Ahhhh, Little Seven!", "Little Seven"s fingers are so beautiful!", and a little girl saying, "Oh, the screen is so dirty, let me lick it clean!"
Zhu Wen Jun and Cheng Tingwen had borne a musical family, with an older son who devoted himself to cla.s.sical music. However, their younger daughter was totally uninterested in music. Even when she was an adult and had the right to make her own decisions, she sometimes didn"t even bother listening to the S City Symphony Orchestra"s concerts.
However, such a little girl, who was not interested in cla.s.sical music at all, happily bought one of Qi Mu"s alb.u.ms. She even learned how to climb over the wall and go to foreign websites to search for Qi Mu"s video!
Even my daughter is like this. What is Little Seven like, amongst the young people?
Although it wasn"t very kind, compared with Little Seven, Zhu Wen Jun really thought that the original violin judge was just a sc.u.m of combat effectiveness!
When Qi Mu listened to Zhu Wen Jun, he put down his chopsticks and looked at the man, wearing an expression of "Little Seven, you would never refuse me, would you?" After thinking about it, he said, "Uncle Zhu, although I"m honored that you could invite me… My qualifications are still too shallow, I"m afraid I can"t…"
"No! Little Seven, you"re perfectly qualified. Last night, Mr. Tan was very proud to tell me you became the chief of the Palisade Theatre Orchestra in Vienna, and that you cooperated with the Symphony Orchestra in Dresden, and you were invited by the New York Philharmonic before, and your qualifications are not shallow at all!"
After a pause, Zhu Wen Jun recalled, "I remember Tan always saying, "Of course, my family, Little Seven, is the most powerful, and your stupid son can"t match him at all!""
Cheng Tingwen"s face turned dark. She gave her husband an elbow.
Qi Mu: "…"
It turned out that… In Lao Tan"s heart, he had such a great image?
But, even so, Qi Mu hesitated. "Uncle Zhu. I"ve never been the judge of a compet.i.tion, so this will be the first time…"
"No, Little Seven, I believe you have the ability to appreciate music. You just need to comment on the players" music and give scores from your cognition."
After a pause, Zhu Wen Jun pushed the gla.s.ses up on his nose and smiled. "Little Seven, there are so many good young people among those who have reached the semi-finals. Like you, they are the pillars of the future of the Chinese cla.s.sical music industry. In fact, I"m also a bit selfish. That is, I hope you can see these children and give them some advice, so they can grow and be better artists."
Qi Mu was shocked and looked up at him. He saw the elegant, middle-aged man looking at him, his eyes deep and inclusive, as if looking at a beloved generation of growing hope.
Any reservations he had, he could no longer admit.Looking down at his warm, simple meal, he finally sighed and said, "Uncle Zhu, even if I wanted to refuse you… I have eaten Aunt Cheng"s dishes, so I can"t refuse. You"ve fed me, so I must repay you. Well, Aunt Cheng, your stir-fried tomatoes and scrambled eggs are delicious.
Cheng Tingwen was very happy to put more food into Qi Mu’s bowl with her own chopsticks, just to show how much she cared. "Little Seven, Eat more if you like the food. Child, why did you lose so much weight in Europe? Didn"t you eat well there? Let me tell you, the pizza and sandwiches or whatever they have, will never be tastier than our ribs with honey sauce, shredded pork with garlic sauce, and hope pepper chicken, eat more!"
Qi Mu nodded very obediently.
On the side of the dining table, Zhu Wen Jun looked at the cute scene and slowly laughed. Seeing the smiling child before him with such deep eyes, warmth spread from his heart to his body along his blood vessels.
After thinking about it, Zhu Wen Jun smiled and said, "Little Seven, I just thought of something. Now that I think about it… Maybe it"s a prophecy."
Qi Mu"s hand, holding green vegetables, suddenly stiffened. Looking up in confusion, he asked, "Uncle Zhu, I don"t know what you said…?"
"Do you remember what Master Ferell said half a year ago?"
In his heart, Qi Mu felt a trace of his mistake. "…"
"As he said, you are indeed like an angel!"
Qi Mu: "…………………"
Can. I. Please. Take. Back. On. Agreeing. To. Judge!!!