King of Classical Music

Berlin, late at night.

When Min Chen and Daniel had just walked out of the Bai Ai building, Min Chen received a call. Once the lovey-dovey call ended, the blond, blue-eyed orchestra agent who waited in the harsh wind had pale cheeks, messy hair, and a pitiful expression on his face.

Min Chen raised his eyebrow in surprise, “You didn’t leave?”

Daniel, who had waited for over half an hour, said, “Today, my car’s in the shop, ah! Okay, we’re taking your car!!!”

Min Chen nodded calmly. The chill-free guy walked towards the parking lot alongside the blond who was about to freeze into a popsicle. While they walked, Daniel asked, “Was that Little Angel?”

Min Chen gave a soft, “En.”

Daniel pursed his lips, thinking, “If I remember right, today is the Palisade Theatre’s Christmas Eve concert? I don’t know how Little Angel performed… but it must be great. Ugh, there was no way to listen to Little Angel’s symphony thanks to this overtime. Oh, God, why am I so miserable!”

Daniel mourned to the sky. The handsome man beside him looked in the direction of Vienna but said nothing.

Daniel felt pity… then just regret.

Even on Christmas Eve, when everyone in Bai Ai got the day off, they still had to work.

The night stretched on, deep and endless. The charming, dark sky blanketed Berlin. Though the wind blew and the winter was cold, the heart was warm. Daniel shouted, “Hahahaha, go home to see your baby,” and a black European car roared down the street, driving to distant places.

Qi Mu, who was far away in Vienna, had already returned to his apartment after the day’s concert. He’d discussed with Wallace and decided not to immediately announce that he was leaving, but when he arrived the next day, many members secretly peered at him. Once they noticed him looking, they quickly turned away.

Seeing his delicate brow furrow, Nelly didn’t wait for Qi Mu to say a thing before she walked over. “Little Seven… are you really going to leave the orchestra?”

Qi Mu froze. “Nelly, where’d you hear that from?”

Nelly deflated. “Mr. Dorenza came backstage yesterday, and you and Mr. Wallace chatted with him for so long… Wei Ai announced the recruitment for a deputy concertmaster today. Little Seven… are you going to leave?”

Nelly raised the magazine in her hand as she talked, the first thing on the cover——

《Wei Ai’s Deputy Concertmaster Recruitment Begins!》

At that point, Qi Mu finally understood why everyone was looking at him with such sad eyes. There was nothing left to hide. Originally, he and Wallace planned to announce it the following week, but since it had reached this point, Qi Mu explained everything.

At first, the orchestra had just guessed with roughly 70-80% certainty, but Qi Mu’s affirmation cemented their views.

Despite their red eyes and tear-stained cheeks, the emotional members smiled as they hugged Qi Mu, blessing him to become Wei Ai’s deputy concertmaster.

“Little Seven, I believe in your strength, you will succeed!”

“Little Seven, I especially like Anthony from Wei Ai, you must get in, ah!”

“Little Seven, you’re awesome. Wei Ai, ah! That’s the dream of my heart. You must help explore the way first, so I can come next! Hahahaha, joking…”

……

The farewells lasted for some time, up until Wallace entered to see such a scene.

After Qi Mu’s explanation, he smiled. “Little Seven, now that everyone knows, let’s take the day off. It’s Christmas, after all. It’s tiring to have everyone rehearse the new opera today. So let’s say farewell to Little Seven!”

As soon as his words fell, the orchestra cheered.

On such a day, all the members familiar with local places recommended various interesting places to visit.

Qi Mu, who’d spent nearly ten years in Vienna his last life, never thought about such things. It turned out that there were many fascinating venues in the city. For example, the glaring statue of Beethoven was many children’s favorite place to play hide-and-seek. And, the Schumann gardens was a popular gathering place for couples.

Once the day of playing was over, and everyone had shared a large meal, they smiled and said their goodbyes. This time, the women couldn’t help it, they held their cute Little Seven mascots tightly and sent their blessings along with their reluctances, one by one.

Qi Mu could only smile gently. “I’m not leaving Vienna. I will come back often to see everyone, and I still have to listen to everyone’s rehearsal of 《Tosca》! Well… Virginia, you won’t go out of tune just because I’m not here, right?”

The error-prone Virginia suddenly blushed and mumbled, “Little Seven, you’re too mean, not cute at all! How could I be out of tune? Impossible, impossible!”

Seeing Virginia resemble a cooked lobster, everyone laughed. With such lively laughter, the day’s “Farewell to Little Seven” event successfully closed its curtains.

Watching the members as they walked away, Qi Mu slowly lowered his head and looked into the distance.

“How are your preparations for the interview going?” Wallace took it upon himself to “escort Little Seven home.” The two walked toward the parking lot together. “Mr. Dorenza has a wide range of preferences, I really don’t know which track he will choose, but I believe you can succeed.”

“Thank you, Mr. Wallace. I will definitely work hard.” Qi Mu smiled. “Mr. Wallace, I’m very happy today. I’m fortunate to have been with you all this time, and it’s been such a good time, I will never forget it all my life. Palisade Theatre is a lovely place!”

Wallace teased, “In that case, Little Seven, how about staying?”

Qi Mu: “……”

“Pffft, just kidding. If you dare give up this opportunity, Virginia, Nelly, and I will chase you out with brooms!”

Suddenly, the image of the orchestra’s dozens of members holding brooms and chasing him out the entrance of the theater came to mind, and Qi Mu couldn’t help laughing and begging for mercy.

This was a cute orchestra, and the people there were simple and kind. They were unforgettable for Qi Mu.

Many years later, after the Palisade Theatre had replaced the conductor and several other members, Qi Mu would come with Min Chen to listen to 《The Marriage of Figaro》.

Although the people had changed, the music was as delicate and gentle as always, and Qi Mu would say to Min Chen, “Palisade’s progress has become even more obvious. Here, I was touched by the opera, and I think, soon, the name Palisade will be world-renowned for sure.”

Over the next five days of preparation, Qi Mu practiced several pieces seriously.

Wallace said Dorenza had a wide range of preferences, and there didn’t seem to be any particular style or type of music he liked. Therefore, he could not give Qi Mu any advice on what to practice. However, Qi Mu knew that despite his gentle temperament, Dorenza’s favorite was Beethoven.

Although he’d only spent a few months with the maestro in his last life, it was those like Luo Yu Sen who couldn’t figure out that Evra liked Bach even after six years. Some people were careful, while some were careless.

Qi Mu had discovered that although Dorenza played different records during his breaks, of all his collections, only Beethoven’s was complete.

When there was a break, and the violin division randomly played the song 《Fur Elise》, Qi Mu had asked Dorenza’s evaluation of the song. He had shaken his head and laughed, “Beethoven is still better suited for strong, violent tunes. Even for this 《Fur Elise》, he cannot disguise his stubborn character. Lu, I personally don’t like this song.”

You say, who would think that the good-tempered Dorenza would like the ill-tempered Le Saint Beethoven?

But, when Qi Mu practiced Beethoven’s few violin concertos on the first day, he had yet to practice for long when he received four phone calls.

His proud teacher awkwardly said, “Hmph, Little Seven, are you practicing? … Teacher hasn’t heard you practice Beethoven. Have you tried any recent exercises? … What, what intentions? There aren’t any. I just want you to practice more! …What, Dorenza likes Beethoven? Nonsense! Opening the backdoor for students… cough, no, no, no, does my student need to go through the back door!!!”

Lance said mildly, “Little Seven, although Dorenza hopes to directly recruit you as deputy concertmaster, you have to take this seriously. If you don’t perform well enough, he will give up on you entirely. By the way, have you researched any of Beethoven’s music? Remember to practice more, I remember Dorenza liked him very much.”

Farrell laughed, “Oh, Angel! I didn’t expect you to be stolen away by Dorenza. I’m so sad! Although I regret you can’t come to us, Angel, that Dorenza is also good. You have to follow him well, don’t forget to practice Beethoven. That guy likes Beethoven! Haha!”

After hanging up those three calls, after a moment, his phone rang again. Picking up almost in tears, he said, “Okay, I know I have to practice the violin well. I will aim for the best in the interview, Beethoven is my top priority, don’t worry. And… Bai Ai’s morning training is over already?”

Min Chen, whose words were snatched away before he’d even said anything: “……”

After a long time, he said quietly, “En, morning rehearsal is over. There’s another hour before afternoon rehearsal.”

Qi Mu set his violin back in its case and walked toward the window.

One wall of the music room was designed to be a window seat. When the thick screens were pulled apart, bright sunlight would enter the house.

In winter, there was very little harsh sunlight. Qi Mu narrowed his eyes involuntarily, but the corners of his lips lifted as he teased, “Then you have to work hard. I heard Daniel say you worked overtime last night until past nine. If you don’t sleep at midnight, Santa won’t put gifts in your stocking.”

Min Chen: “……”

With a burst of laughter, Qi Mu said, “Alright, I’m kidding you. Wei Ai’s recruitment interview is on the 31st. I probably can’t go see Bai Ai’s concert… Min Chen, I haven’t heard Bai Ai’s New Year concert in two consecutive years now.”

There was a long silence over the phone, then the man’s voice sounded, “I’ll send you the recording.”

Qi Mu smiled, eyes curling, and nodded.

In the quiet music room, the youth’s quiet laughter and soft whispers filled the air with infinite tenderness and longing.

……

Five days later, Wei Ai’s deputy concertmaster recruitment officially began!