Chapter 192
The sun gradually drifted west, until half of it sat on the horizon. Its brilliant light coated Berlin in a pale golden haze, shimmering waves on the Spree River reflected its light. Pedestrians hurried alongside the water on crowded streets.
Bai Ai’s headquarters stood not far from the river.
The orchestra’s emblem statue stood at the top of the modernist building. Three superimposed pentagons, messy and jumbled, decorated the building. They were uneven, but there was an undeniable beauty in the chaos. It was very recognizable.
Although they were on a week-long vacation, the members of Bai Ai had all gone to the headquarters to be interviewed one by one.
Germany was a country that placed great emphasis on cla.s.sical music. Perhaps in the whole of Europe, except Austria, there was no country comparable to this country’s history in cla.s.sical music.
Numerous masters were born here, and this place held the world’s top cla.s.sical music orchestra——Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Some thought Germany didn’t have many famous cla.s.sical music masters. However, Beethoven was German, as were Bach, Mendelssohn, and Schumann…
Now, the man being hailed as the king of modern cla.s.sical music also called this country home.
As a country with a strong cla.s.sical music atmosphere, Germany attached great importance to its musical literacy. The country had set up special cla.s.sical music channels, and the people’s love for cla.s.sical music was no less than that of the Austrians. At the end of Bai Ai’s European tour each year, the government arranged for interviews with Bai Ai’s members.
Today was that day.
Today, the best German reporters came to interview everyone in Bai Ai. They would make this interview into a doc.u.mentary and show it on the National Cla.s.sical Music Channel. Such a doc.u.mentary was filmed each year, and this year’s interview was just the beginning.
When Christole finished his, only Min Chen remained in the orchestra to complete his interview. Christole crept away from the building’s huge coffee shop. He walked out the door and hadn’t taken more than a few stops when he saw a person who shouldn’t have been there.
Christole’s eyes widened in surprise, and he reached out his hand to stop the young man. In a low voice, he asked, “Little Angel? Why are you here? There was a concert in Vienna the day before yesterday. I heard Daniel say… you wouldn’t have time to come to Berlin for another two days?”
Suddenly being stopped, Qi Mu took a few panicked breaths then looked at Christole with a blank expression. He replied, “I… Well, I have urgent business with Min Chen, so I changed my ticket.” After a pause, he asked, “I ran into Daniel at the door. He said Min Chen was here for an interview?”
Christole didn’t ask much. He just smiled gently, his chestnut hair looking very soft under the lights, “Well, Austin is completing his interview. If you want to wait for him, you can wait in the coffee shop. The shop is very big and you won’t disturb them during the interview. Would you like me to go with you?”
Qi Mu smiled and shook his head. “It’s getting late, you’d better head back. I’ll wait by myself.”
After a few more words, Christrole reluctantly headed for the door and left.
Not many people remained in the building. It was already time to get off work and all the members had accepted their interviews and headed home to resume their vacation. Only the corner of the coffeeshop was lit, and cameramen, lighting engineers, and professional reporters were gathered there, eager to speak with Bai Ai’s cold and elegant commander.
The coffee shop was large, more than 300 square meters. In terms of employee welfare, Bai Ai had never been stingy. Even the place for an afternoon tea break was extremely comfortable. All kinds of books for people to read were littered everywhere, along with self-service audio equipment for members to listen to tracks of any kind.
When Qi Mu stepped through the doors, he wasn’t noticed. His steps were very light in the huge s.p.a.ce. If no one paid attention to the door, they wouldn’t notice him at all.
As soon as he entered, Qi Mu spotted the man seated in the corner. Min Chen sat on an off-white chair, leaning back in a comfortable position. He looked very solemn but didn’t seem too serious.
His handsome, indifferent face appeared more profound under the light. The reporter sitting opposite him asked questions and Min Chen answered politely. The two exchanged questions and responses harmoniously. Sometimes the reporter was amused by Min Chen and couldn’t help laughing.
At a distance of ten tables away, Qi Mu pulled out a chair and sat down. He watched the man not far off but didn’t say anything, choosing instead to hide in the darkness of the coffee shop. His eyes were dark, his expression soft.
Qi Mu always knew this man seemed very cold and inaccessible, but he was a gentleman. Either he didn’t care and treated people as irrelevant, or he took people thoroughly into his heart and kept them as his own.
Min Chen’s list of “people he kept” may not have been long, but as long as someone was on that list, he’d take it seriously and care greatly for them. Qi Mu knew that Daniel’s name must be on it, as was Christole’s, Dorenza’s, and perhaps Reed and Farrell, and now…
He must be on it, too.
This man didn’t often show his tenderness, but he was always doing things that moved him.
……
The interview didn’t officially end until the sun was completely below the horizon. It was a very pleasant interview. The reporters and staff of the National Cla.s.sical Music Channel happily shook Min Chen’s hand, thanked him for his cooperation, and even invited him to have a delicious dinner.
Min Chen rose but, before he could answer, his gaze fell on the young man not far away.
In an instant, his sharp, profound eyes widened in an expression of indescribable shock. He quickly concealed the emotion and politely said, “I’m very sorry. I have a friend visiting tonight, I won’t be able to have dinner with you. I’ll let Daniel take charge of our next reception, rest a.s.sured.”
After expressing their regret, the staff and reporters accepted Min Chen’s arrangement. As they walked out of the coffee shop, they said, “Mr. Bertram really is a proper gentleman, without the arrogance some musicians have.” “Yes, this is the real king of cla.s.sical music.”
Once everyone had left the coffee shop, Qi Mu didn’t speak but looked up at the man walking towards him. The man’s elegant, beautiful eyes curled into crescents as he smiled. When Min Chen finally reached him, he asked, “Your interview took a while, didn’t it?”
Min Chen pulled out the chair opposite Qi Mu and sat down. “Well, I’ve been interviewing since about two in the afternoon.” After a pause, he added, “There were a lot of people to interview, I divided the time with the others for separate interviews, and then took some photos and videos in the middle.”
Qi Mu thought of how quickly the reporters left and nodded understandably. “Well, that’s almost five hours. That’s a large chunk of time.”
“When did you arrive?”
Qi Mu tilted his head and thought for a while. “It’s probably been almost an hour?”
Min Chen’s eyebrows creased. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Things in the coffee shop could only be used with one of Bai Ai’s employee identification cards, so Qi Mu had been sitting there for an hour with nothing to do.
“I didn’t want to disturb your interview. That wouldn’t be good.” After thinking about it, Qi Mu smiled and said, “But, now that you bring it up, I am a little hungry. I’ve been waiting for you for an hour. For that hour’s sake… Order me something from the buffet with that Auston Bertram employee ID?”
Min Chen took out his card and chose two meals from the buffet and put them in the microwave to warm. They would be ready to eat soon.
In the empty coffee shop, the two men faced each other and opened their boxed meals together. The place was deserted and lonely, but somehow Qi Mu felt like laughing with a warm heart.
Bai Ai had great employee benefits. The coffee shop even stocked Chinese food. Min Chen broke apart his set of chopsticks and handed them to Qi Mu. At the same time, Qi Mu had split his own apart. Min Chen was a little stunned and was about to take the chopsticks back when Qi Mu grabbed them and said, “You can use these.”
With that, he pressed his chopsticks into Min Chen’s hand.
The man’s dark pupils trembled slightly. Min Chen gave a soft, “um,” and the two began to eat.
Neither spoke during the meal, maintaining their proper etiquette. When Qi Mu finished, he was surprised to find the man across from him had only eaten a few bites! It seemed… he’d been staring at him with his chopsticks?! “Aren’t you hungry?”
“Full.”
After thinking for a while, Qi Mu asked, “Did you eat a lot this afternoon?”
He saw the man’s lips curl slightly. “One look at you, and I’m already full. Hmm… Beautiful and delicious.”
Qi Mu: “…”
Such foul things to say while he was eating!!!