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The violin compet.i.tion was organized by Huaxia’s officials and Germany Munich Conservatory of Music, so naturally, it held quite a lot of weight, not only in Huaxia but also globally. As soon as the compet.i.tion was over, the media reported on it and for a while, the Huaxia music circle was shaken.
Everyone knew that Armstrong was the first person on the moon but few knew that the second person to land on the moon was Aldrin. At the end of the compet.i.tion, Sheng Yan Hui, who won the compet.i.tion, was in the limelight and soon followed Professor Karl to study at the Munich Conservatory of Music.
Of course, even though there was less media coverage on Qi Mu, Professor Karl had mentioned him quite a few times, giving him a bit of fame. But this was not enough so Zheng Wei Qiao contacted several media outlets that he had a good relationship with to write an article on Qi Mu.
The cannonball fell, and Qi Mu’s name resounded in Huaxia.
S City.
“Qi Mu, this kid. . . has he changed so much?” A grey-haired old man pushed his reading gla.s.ses up his nose and said strangely.
H City.
“Do they have the same surname? No, the one who wrote this article is Zheng Wei Qiao. Wasn’t he Ru Yue’s student? It’s really him?!” a middle aged man looked at the magazine 《Music Hall》 in his hands with surprise and couldn’t return to his senses for a while.
N City.
“It’s already good to get second place. After fooling around for so many years, this kid is finally getting a little better now. Should I go and take a look if it’s long term. . .” an elegant lady thought and put down the 《Sound of Music》 magazine in her hand.
. . .
Such a scene was happening everywhere in Huaxia. Paying attention to the current affairs was something anyone in the music industry would do. And the magazines Zheng Wei Qiao selected were indeed Huxia’s heavyweights. His ten years of working in the industry was not in vain, and he could now openly ask people for a favor.
At first, when Qi Mu found out about this, he was uncomfortable. But Zheng Wei Qiao said, “Xiao Qi, don’t feel uncomfortable with me. Isn’t it right that I help you? I don’t have family and when the accident happened, teacher helped me a lot. So I should pay that kindness back. This is also because of your own effort. To tell you the truth, I almost gave up on you before. I no longer had the patience and confidence to change you after so many years. Now, you have to work hard and live up to my expectations.”
Qi Mu was surprised when he heard this, “Gave up. . . on me?”
Zheng Wei Qiao nodded, he recalled, “You know, on the day you said you wanted the violin back, I went to your house intending to confront you. Xiao Qi, this is embarra.s.sing, but the job I prepared for you that day would have been the last one I ever gave. After so many years. . . I couldn’t bear it anymore.”
The original had fooled around for many years. It was rare for him to hold a job for even a month, normally he would only stand it for a week. Zheng Wei Qiao, who learned of his att.i.tude that didn’t know grat.i.tude, was disheartened. If he knew that the original had fallen to the point of using marijuana, he would probably have blown up.
Qi Mu naturally knew Zheng Wei Qiao’s personality, so he comforted the man and let him relax a little. The two quickly arrived at the B City Symphony Orchestra. The sunshine in the early morning was warm and bright. Although it was autumn, today was a rare day where it wasn’t cold.
“Hey, Xiao Qi, you’re early today.”
“Xiao Qi, I heard you took second place in the Munich compet.i.tion yesterday right? Congratulations!”
“Xiao Qi, you’re here. Let’s practice the harmony for the third part, it’s going to be rehea.r.s.ed soon so I’m nervous.”
. . .
Qi Mu greeted the members of the orchestra who had already arrived one by one, then took out his violin to practice the harmony. Zheng Wei Qiao saw that he was already focused on practice and left after saying a few words to his friends.
Today was the last practice rehearsal, and tomorrow is the final runthrough. It was a big event for everyone. The B City Symphony Orchestra had performed many times in Huaxia and they also performed in Europe and the United States, but that did not mean they could take this matter lightly.
No one would applaud an orchestra forever. It only took one mistake for everyone to look at the orchestra differently.
When Tan Zheng Hui entered the rehearsal room, he saw——
Everyone was concentrated on tuning their instruments and practicing. The most eye-catching of all was the second violin group. Several people were gathered around and practicing together. Especially the handsome youth in the middle, he stood out even from a glance.
It’s not that the others were ordinary, it’s just. . .
The boy should be in the entertainment industry yet here he was in the cla.s.sical music industry, playing violin!
Tan Lao gently coughed, and the members quickly went to their seats. He winked to Du Sheng, who was in the first chair. The latter immediately understood and stood up, announcing the things that they should pay attention to in today’s rehearsal.
And then, there was the matter that this was the last practice.
From the first Dvorak’s 《Sixth》 to the last Brahm’s 《Symphony No. 4》, everyone concentrated and played carefully. All in all, Tan Lao only said a few words at the end, which was a sharp contrast to the wrath he displayed on their first rehearsal.
Their more than a month of practice was effective.
By the evening of the last rehearsal, Tan Lao set down his baton and sighed. The old man, who have been the conductor of the B City Symphony Orchestra for more than a decade and had always been respected, instantly seemed to be a lot younger. He looked around and said, “This is our last national tour this year. Are you guys ready?”
Du Sheng replied instead of the orchestra: “Tan Lao, please rest a.s.sured. Everyone can’t wait to get on stage.”
Tan Zheng Hui gently nodded and said, “This year’s tour is almost the same as usual. The first stop is S City, then H City, N City, C City, W City then finally back here in B City. Six shows in a month is pretty tight, but you know the large orchestras in Europe are much busier than us.”
Du Sheng on his side responded, “Ah, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra will end their last tour tomorrow. They have performed four shows in half a month.” After a pause, he added, “And it was a global tour.”
Tan Zheng Hui said, “Yes. The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is even worse. They have five shows in two weeks and all the shows were highly praised. We may be a little worse than these orchestras that have stood for hundreds of years, but I don’t think that your strength is any worse than theirs.”
As he said this, Tan Zheng Hui suddenly focused on Qi Mu. His sharp gaze turned gentle instantly and he said with a soft tone, “The other day I went to the violin compet.i.tion jointly held with Munich Conservatory. Qi Mu, you did great.”
Suddenly being the focus of attention, Qi Mu immediately stood up. His beautiful and handsome face revealed a nice smile as he said, “Thank you for the praise, Mr. Tan. I will continue to work hard.”
Who would have expected Tan Lao to wear a stern expression and say rigidly. “But orchestra is not a solo performance. Qi Mu, we don’t have any opponents, we don’t have any opportunities to humiliate people. If you’re going to do it, you have to be the best, do you understand?!”
Qi Mu was a bit stunned at these words, but he understood instantly.
Unexpectedly. . . even Tan Lao had noticed something was wrong.
Qi Mu smiled bitterly and nodded, he then hurriedly raised his hands as a gesture of surrender, “Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely do my best.”
Seeing this, Tan Lao nodded satisfactorily then began to speak about the others.
After sitting down, Qi Mu felt like both laughing and crying. Anyone who heard his 《E Minor》 that day would know he deliberately played that way because he wanted to let Sheng Yan Hui go to Munich Conservatory of Music, so he lost. Because only he knew that in his current state, going to Munich was equivalent of giving up everything in Huaxia. It was a case of nine disadvantages and only one advantage.
Robert Karl would be a good teacher but he didn’t need a mentor right now. Instead, he needed a stage to give himself more opportunities. Going to Munich Conservatory of Music meant he would focus on learning for the next few years. Only he knew that he already learned those things, and he didn’t need to learn them again.
So he deliberately slacked off during the last song, not only for Sheng Yan Hui but also for himself.
It was the best of both worlds, so why not?
However. . .
Qi Mu looked toward Tan Lao who was standing at the podium, his eyes narrowed slightly.
When Tan Lao told him to partic.i.p.ate in this compet.i.tion, did that mean he wanted to send Qi Mu to Munich?
At that thought, Qi Mu shook his head and put the matter aside.
. . .
The next day, the orchestra’s rehearsal was a complete success, and with this, the orchestra tour also began. When Qi Mu followed the orchestra off the plane and finally step on the ground of S City, he had no idea just how many people were waiting for the orchestra’s concert on the second night.
In S City, there was a group of old but strong seniors.
Xiao Qi, ah, was he really ready?
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Translated by Kuroshinji, edited by Betwixted.