Chapter 45
The prestigious S City Symphony Orchestra wasthe first to be established in Asia. They were undoubtedly the best classicalmusic performers in Huaxia for the past century, since they were founded.
The orchestra had performed in various,prestigious halls around the world like Carnegie Hall in New York,Concertgebouw in the Netherlands, one in Vienna, Austria. They were even thefirst Huaxia performers to play on stage at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall.
Once he received the invitation, Qi Muimmediately packed up and took a plan to S City the very same day. The lasttime he had been in S City, it was on tour with the B City Symphony Orchestra.This time, when Qi Mu stepped onto the prosperousland, his heart quivered.
He had been to many places in his past life.Huaxia was naturally one of them. Every time he came here, he always felt asthough he was inexplicably returning to his roots. Like he belonged to thisland, that he was meant to grow and live here.
Many people thought that the US Green Card was challenging to get. But in recent years, it wasthat foreigners dreamed of.
Huaxia was a large country with a historyspanning over five thousand years. They had broad and tolerant minds, but theyalso had a mindset of "hiding their shortcomings." Want to become a Huaxianational? Yeah, dream on. Huaxia would never recognize dual citizenship!
Qi Mu learned a lot about Huaxia's culture fromhis adoptive parents and his Chinese was also excellent. They often said:"Different race, different heart."
Qi Mu could only fully comprehend those wordswhen he applied for Huaxia nationality numerous times in his past life.
He spent half his life preparing the materialsto apply for it, and yet, in the last month of review, he died and was reborndirectly as a Huaxian.
Zhu Wen Jun mentioned before that this was the one hundredth anniversary, and all themusicians they invited would be Chinese. The orchestra was naturally the S CitySymphony, and the musicians were almost all geniuses under the age of thirty.
Qi Mu could understand this feeling. It was truethat the development of classical music started late in Huaxia when compared with the west, but their rise was not sloweither. Many Huaxians were in prominent positions in several differentworld-class orchestras around the world.
Qi Mu felt deeply that the older generation ofmusicians, and even artists, had the desire to spread classical musicthroughout Huaxia. This idea was confirmed within the first five hours of hisarrival in S City.
"I think that 《First Symphony in E Minor》 QiMu performed with New Ai was excellent. Why don't we select a similar piecethat's written by one of our own, instead of Paganini?" Cheng Ting Wen woreglasses and her curly hair skillfully tied up. Her expression was both professionaland serious. "The style we want to showcase is different from Paganini's!"
As one of the music directors, Cheng Ting Wen was also a famous cellist. Shemight look like a beautiful woman on the outside, but she had a keen instinct when it came to classical music.
Another music director slapped the table. "Didyou even see the violin competition last year? He's good with Paganini's andhis ability to perform it is perfect. In this aspect, we should showcase ourskill level to those foreigners. Do you have a better choice than Paganini's?"
Cheng Ting Wen refuted, "If you want to showskill and difficulty, is Prokofiev's 《PianoConcerto No. 2》 that Wang Zheng isplaying not enough?!"
"The majority of people attending that day areprofessional musicians, Cheng Ting Wen,not amateurs that play outside! This is our hundredyear anniversary. The music style is good, and Paganini's is the onlyone that is sophisticated enough for this. What are you not satisfied with?!"
. . .
Seeing these music directors argue to the pointthat they were rolling up their sleeves, Qi Mu was humored and distraught. Hethought Huaxia musicians would be more reserved and not show their emotions so easily. He didn't expect that when it came tomusic, musicians all over the world were like this. . . short tempered and without manners.
In S City's conference room, Qi Mu and the othermembers of the orchestra persuaded them for a long time. Eventually, Zhu WenJun made a decision and didn't give them an opportunity to think about it.
"The last two songs Qi Mu will perform are goingto be Min Chen's 《Violin Sonata in D minor》 and 《Liang Zhu》. It is settled." The handsome middle-aged man looked at his wifeand said kindly, "Ting Wen, see, both are in tune with the theme, right? Andthey're both the works of a Huaxian."
Cheng Ting Wen hummed and agreed.
Zhu Wen Jun looked at the man on the other sideof the room and said helplessly, "Lao Qi, ah, 《D minor》is not that difficult,but are you okay with 《Constance March》?"
The middle-aged man called Lao Qi noddedreluctantly.
Zhu Wen Jun let out a relieved sigh. He lookedat Qi Mu who was sitting opposite him. "Xiao Qi, ah, sorry for makingyou see this joke. Your Auntie Cheng, Uncle Qi and I grew up together, so this is normal. Don't be surprised."
Watching the two musicians arguing until theirnecks were flushed with anger already made it hard for Qi Mu to restrain hislaughter. He dutifully fixed his expression and nodded earnestly, "Okay, UncleZhu."
Zhu Wen Jun naturally knew that Qi Mu wassuppressing his laughter and he felt helpless. But he still had to say, "As youheard, you will perform after Wang Zheng, and you will be the last. You workedwith 《Liang Zhu》 whenyou were a child, so I don't worry about it, but how's your 《D major》?"
《D major》 wasthat one Zheng Wei Qiao mentioned before. . . thenightmarish one. The first movement was called 《Constance March and had a variety of complex tremolo, jumps of the bow, and notes spanning from G to Estring repeatedly. It was all challenging to a musician's skill and endurance.
Qi Mu hadn't touched this piece for a long time,so he honestly replied, "I haven't played it for a long time, Uncle Zhu. Butthere is still just over a month to prepare. Give me three days, I'll master itagain."
Zhu Wen Jun asked, "Three days? Is that all youneed?"
Qi Mu smiled up at him then solemnly nodded,"Yes."
Getting an affirmative answer from Qi Mu, ZhuWen Jun smiled gently and said a few words of encouragement. He then discussedthe song selection with Cheng Ting Wen. Qi Mu, led by his assistant, returnedto the hotel arranged for him by the S City Symphony Orchestra.
When the original left S City a few years ago,he went with a bad attitude. He sold his house, so when Qi Mu returned, he hadno choice but to live in a hotel.
His room had a view of the Huangpu River and today's weather was unusuallygood. Qi Mu could see the oil tanker sailing along the river with just aglance. Qi Mu put away his luggage and took out his violin case. He then wentto the S City Symphony headquarters not too far away.
The headquarters was a small three-storybuilding over a hundred years old. It was one of the oldest buildings in thecity. Qi Mu entered and went to the music room marked with his name. He thankedthe girl that guided him to it then closed the door and was alone.
Placing the case on the table, Qi Mu took outthe bow and rubbed it down with rosin. Before he could start tuning, hesuddenly heard a familiar ringtone. It was the 《E Minor》 that the B CitySymphony Orchestra had performed. Qi Mu was surprised when he saw the name onhis screen and quickly answered, "Hello, Min Chen?"
A magnetic voice echoed over the phone line,"Yes, it's me. Are you not home?"
Qi Mu was stunned and asked without thinking,"Are you at my door?"
Qi Mu smiled helplessly at the affirmative hereceived then put down his bow and said, "I flew to S City today. Did you knowabout the S City Symphony Orchestra's Centennial Celebration? It will be heldnext month. It was decided they were going to showcase some young musicians, soI received an invitation. . ." Speaking of, Qi Mu suddenly remembered, "By theway, you should have also received an invitation, right? I forgot about that."
Holding the phone with one hand, Qi Mu set hisscore on the tripod then looked down at the familiar name on the score. He saidwith a smile, "It's a pity you can't participate. It's a rare centennialcelebration after all. Do you know what score I'm looking at right now?"
He listened to the answer from the other sidethen laughed, "I'm looking at your 《Dmajor》. I'll be playing it next month. This piece isquite difficult, so I wanted to. . ."
The youth's pleasant voice filled the quietroom. After speaking for a few minutes, hesuddenly remembered, "Why did you call me? I thought you returned to Berlin andwouldn't be back for a while."
There was a long silence over the line, and justas Qi Mu thought the man wouldn't answer, he suddenly heard Min Chen sigh,"It's nothing. Just. . . I just found out you weren't home. I'll be going backto Berlin tomorrow. There's something I have to do."
Qi Mu nodded with confusion and just happened tosee a small moth flapping its wings in front of the score. He automaticallywaved his hand to drive it away and turned to close the window at the corner ofthe room. Behind the music room was a small garden of flowers. It was commonfor bugs to wander in if the window wasn't shut.
When Qi Mu closed the window, a sudden thoughtflashed through his mind, and he asked onreflex, "Did you call me. . . because you found another bug again?"
Min Chen: ". . ."
Qi Mu realized this joke wasn't funny and said,"I'm just kidding, don't mind me."
Min Chen: ". . ."
After exchanging a few more words, Qi Mu hung upthe phone. He first read the whole scorethen whispered helplessly, "It's really not easy." He began to practice thepiece.
What he didn't know is that in a well-furnishedhigh-end apartment in B City, a man was staring silently at a bug the size ofhis fingernail on his porch.
This staredown lasted for five minutes. Finally,he closed the door and turned to walkaway without hesitation.
Where was he going?
Ahotel, of course!
Don't you see that big bug on the floor?!!!
Translator(s): Kuro
Editor(s): Bet
Kuro:
The ending was full of me LMFAOing while translating. Ah, Min Chen just replaced Qi Ze as No.1 ML in my heart. Min Chen is love, Min Chen is