A piercing wind whistledoutside the floor-to-ceiling window of the lobby. Many guests had driven away.Only a few musicians who met old friends still chatted in the lobby, planningto go out for a late evening meal.
Despite his advanced age, Farrelwas still hale and hearty. Not only did he have no problems keeping up with thetalkative Daniel, but he also saidsomething relevant on every topic and make the gathered crowd burst outlaughing.
After half an hour, the musicians finally tired of talking andbegan to leave one after another. Eventually, only Daniel and Farrel were left discussing what songs to choose for thenext tour season.
Christi, who stood beside them, didn"t know whether to laugh orcry. He pointed out, "But Mr. Farrel, Daniel. . . You are not in the same orchestra,so. . . You don"t have to agree on your theme, do you?"
These words surprised Farrel. He nodded with a smile. "Indeed.Daniel, I don"t have to care about what you decide."
Daniel also smiled. "That"s true. In fact, we in Bai Ai havetalked about this already. This year, we will perform Schumann"s works." At theend of the year, there was a heated discussion about what theme to use for thenext season"s tour. The members proposed various programs and the concertmasterand the conductor would make the final decision.
Min Chen, who followed along without speaking, looked at Danieland asked nonchalantly, "I agreed to that?"
Daniel was stunned, then he remembered: "Oh, at that time you wereon vacation in Huaxia!" He abruptly stopped because something occurred to him—they forgot to ask this bigboss!
Frightened, Daniel cleared his throat and said, "Min! Don"t tellme that you think this topic is not right?! This is the 160th anniversary ofMaster Schumann"s death! Don"t make fun of me!"
Unexpectedly, Min Chen"s thin lips curled upward slightly, histone flat, "I didn"t say it was inappropriate."
Daniel: ". . ."
Christi: ". . ."
Farrel: "Ha ha ha ha, you"re still so mean, Auston."
Min Chen shrugged noncommittallyand the four men walked toward the exit. Farreldid not come by car, so he let Min Chen offer him a ride. Daniel and Christiwent to pick up the car. Min Chen watched the bright lights of the traffic onthe distant street when, out of the blue, he heard the man beside him speak.
"Auston. . . you and Qi are acquaintances?"
Surprised, Min Chen turned to Farrel and saw the latter gazing athimself with a smile. Min Chen was a little taller than Farrel, so he had to look down at him. He pondered fora moment, then replied, "Well, I know him. Why do you ask?"
Farrel nodded. "He"s a good violinist, very skilled. Seeing himreminds me of how I used to look when I played the violin. Partly due to hisage, I guess. He"s really young!"
Min Chen"s expression did not change as he listened to Farrel"spraise of Qi Mu, but his deep eyes flashed. After a moment, he asked, "Do youthink he"s outstanding?"
Farrel smiled again and asked in reply, "You don"t? I listened tohis performance with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra seven or eight years ago. IfI didn"t have an impression of this talented young man, I wouldn"t have paidattention then. Over the past eight years, his music style has changed so muchthat I almost couldn"t recognize him."
Naturally, as one of the world"s top conductors, a composer, and a violinist, Farrel"s hearing wasincomparable. Even years after listening to someone"s performance, he couldrecall how they sounded.
And yet, when he heard Qi Mu"s 《D Major》 and 《The b.u.t.terfly Lovers》, Farrelwas amazed to find that the former childprodigy"s technical skill and his ability to express emotions had grown significantly.It was not like that of a 20-year-old youth at all.
"Such excellent seedlingsare rare in today"s music world. It"s good to beyoung. I"m old already." Farrel"s sigh was full of emotion.
Min Chen narrowed his eyes in the dimly lit night, thinking aboutsomething. After hearing Farrel"s words, he said, "Well, it"s true. . . Hismusic style has changed a lot. The way he deals with the arrangement has alsochanged a lot. His 《D Major》 was better than I imagined."
One month before the performance, Qi Mu called Min Chen to ask himwhat he thought about when he wrote 《DMajor》. Being able to talk directly to the composer wasa fortunate thing, Qi Mu would be a foolto waste such an opportunity.
Half a month ago, Min Chen had listened to a recording Qi Mu senthim. Although the sound quality was not perfect, Min Chen could still tell——atthat time, Qi Mu"s 《D Major》 was not at this level.
Thinking about this, Min Chen chuckled. He said, "He"s very hard-working."
This was the first time Farrel heard Min Chen praise somebody likethat. For a long moment, he stared at Min Chen in surprise, then laughed."Auston, it"s rare for you to speak highly of someone; it seems Qi is trulyexceptional. Looking at his age, he"s about to enter college. It would be badif there wasn"t a teacher to guide him."
Min Chen looked at Farrel in surprise. "You mean. . ."
There was a meaningful smile on Farrel"s face. He looked at thebustling, splendid nightscape of S City. "I think Paris is good."
Not long after, Daniel and Christi drove over from the parking lot,and they sent Farrel back to his hotel.Daniel held the steering wheel and joked with Christ in the pa.s.senger"s seat, while Min Chen sat alone in theback seat, pondering something with a frown.
He recalled Farrel"s earlier words and the furrow in his brow deepened.In the end, he sighed quietly, murmuring, "Paris, then. . . Did he. . ."
By then, Qi Mu had already returned to his hotel and was packinghis luggage. After the Centennial Celebration, it was time for B City Symphony Orchestra"sspring performance. He had to go back to B City to prepare himself and join therehearsals as soon as possible.
Qi Mu set an overcoat in his suitcase. He hadn"t moved away whenhe heard his cell phone vibrate. He stood up and stepped over the luggage, reaching for his phone on the table.When he saw the name of the sender, Qi Mu froze for a moment before opening thetext message.
Min Chen: 『The performance tonight was.e.xcellent. Congratulations.』
Qi Mu let out a quiet laugh. He tapped the touch screen a fewtimes: 『Thank you. Conductor Zhu said you might not havetime to come. I didn"t expect to see you tonight.』
It wasn"t long before Qi Mu received a reply: 『I arrived at Hongkou Airport this afternoon, and I have a ticket for tomorrow"s flight to Berlin.』
Before Qi Mu answered, there was another message: 『Some things happened in the orchestra recently.』
Seeing the evasive sentence on the screen, Qi Mu couldn"t helplaughing. He put the clothes he held aside and responded to the other partywith due respect: 『I wish you a pleasantjourney, I"m also flying back to B City tomorrow. By the way, I should let youknow that today I encouraged one of your admirers in your name. I hope youdon"t mind.』
The streets of the Bund were bustling, the stream of vehicles notstopping even so late in the night. Min Chen looked at the dark Huangpu Riveroutside the window. The phone in his hand vibrated suddenly, and he peered down at it.
His gaze paused for a moment on the smiling face at the end of themessage, then he resumed texting: 『That"sfine, it doesn"t matter. I also wish you a pleasant journey.』
This time there was no response. Qi Mu had already put down hismobile and continued to pack. Min Chen turned his head and again stared at theHuangpu River engulfed in the darkness.
Several cargo ships sailed slowly along the black surface. Thelights of the city were so bright that the water seemed like a cold, darkabyss.
The man"s slender fingers beat rhythmically on the casing of hisphone. Although he seemed calm and composed, in fact, Min Chen"s heart was turbulent,and his mind filled with too many thoughts.
Daniel had investigated the relationship between Qi Mu and Lu Zi Wen——theonly time they were in contact was that one joint performance in Vienna eightyears ago. At the time, Lu Zi Wen was your average newcomer in the first violingroup, and Qi Mu had already been lauded as a gifted child prodigy.
But, if so. . . if they had no relation with each other, how hadQi Mu changed so much?
And, why. . .
. . .did he resemble Lu Zi Wen so strongly?
Min Chen"s pupils constricted, andhis lips parted slightly.
It was not possible for two different people"s music to be identical, not to this extent. . .
Absolutely impossible.
Min Chen felt as if he stoodbefore an impenetrable door. It wasn"tlocked, but there were also no gaps—sealed so tightly even air could not pa.s.sthrough it. He ran into a dead end before he had even begun. But it was rightin front of him, and he couldn"t ignore it.
This was the first time in his thirty years of life that he had encounteredsuch a queer thing as an almost identical 《Bell》.
Even though there were slight differences, no one would dare denyit if Min Chen publicly announced that Qi Mu"s 《Bell》 was the same as Lu Zi Wen"s《Bell》.After all, this was Min Chen, the man who could hear when a single string"smistake.
"So why. . . How could this be?"
Translator(s):
Editor(s): BetBet:
This chapter is guest translated by the lovely Eques over at ! The other blue b.u.t.terfly translator! We’re like digital twins, I swear. Thank you for me if you get the chance, guys! She really saved my b.u.t.t here.