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Chapter 105




Qi Mu pushed open the mahogany door, and a beautiful melody spilled out from inside.
Naturally, rehearsal halls weren’t designed like concert halls. Many were styled like classrooms and built with sound insulation. Often, there were only seats for the orchestra and none for an audience.
However, Bai Ai’s was obviously an exception.
At a glance, Qi Mu gauged about 300 seats and in front, a 50 cm platform stage. The red curtain was drawn to both sides, and nearly a hundred people were gathered under the lights.
Qi Mu listened for a few lines then turned to Min Chen, “They’re rehearsing Tchaikovsky’s 《Symphony No. 6 in B minor》?”
Min Chen gently closed the door behind them. The entrance was so quiet, no one on stage noticed their arrival. Only Daniel, who sat in the audience, saw and turned to stare in surprise.
“Yes, Tchaikovsky’s temporarily set as our autumn tour’s theme. They’re rehearsing the first piece.” Min Chen walked toward the stage, whispering to Qi Mu, “We’ve performed Symphony No. 6 before, so they’re familiar with it.”
Qi Mu nodded but didn’t speak.
The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was keen on Bauhaus’ minimalistic style. This hall wasn’t as brilliant as many of the concert halls in Vienna and was decorated mainly in black and white. It channeled the black and white keys of the piano to express the fluidity of music in various smooth, curved lines.
Even the seats were minimalistic. Qi Mu saw Danial, but to his surprise, Min Chen took him two rows away from the smiling, waving agent.
Daniel: “…”
Qi Mu: “…”
Aware of the confusion, Min Chen pulled down a chair and sat, whispering, “This seat has the best audiovisuals. They’re only rehearsing now, and Christole is leading them, but it’s best to sit and listen here.”
Qi Mu: “…Really?”
Min Chen nodded calmly: “Really.”
Qi Mu frowned: “Then why did Daniel sit there?” …Shouldn’t he be sitting over here?
Min Chen casually glanced at Daniel and answered, “He has bad judgment and chose the wrong seat.”
Qi Mu: “…”
Daniel: “…”
Oi, I heard that!
On stage, Christole led the orchestra in their rehearsal of the second movement. As concertmaster, he was responsible for leading Bai Ai in their conductor’s absence. Obviously, he had become excellent at this.
As Qi Mu listened, he couldn’t stop himself from closing his eyes and immersing himself in the melancholy.
The second movement of Tchaikovsky’s 《Symphony No. 6》 was a gentle adagio and had a soothing rhythm. It wasn’t anywhere as pleasant, or as comfortable, as 《Serenade》. In fact, it was rather sad and depressing.
Qi Mu’s eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the moving melody. He noticed it was a little below Bai Ai’s usual level of performance, but still at an orchestral peak.
This clearly marked Bai Ai’s excellence. Just a few days of rehearsal under their concertmaster, who wasn’t even a professional conductor, and they could play with first-class quality.
Of course, near the end of the movement, Qi Mu heard the timpani miss a beat and someone in the cello group made a mistake. These errors were within the range of tolerance, though, and were temporarily ignored.
As the last note lingered in the air, Qi Mu applauded, offering his respect and encouragement to the musicians.
Christole took the bow from his strings and looked down from the stage at the sudden applause. When he saw the black-haired young man, the name “Little Angel” flashed through his mind, but before he could act, the other Bai Ai members were jumping around like they were in a frying pan.
“Oh my God! Little Angel?!”
“Oh God, when did he get here? Why didn’t I notice?!”
“It was only yesterday when I said to McCann Angel hadn’t called the conductor for a long time. Why did he suddenly come here?!”
……
Christole shook his head helplessly, thinking: Of course, you won’t think of how your Little Angel suddenly got here… Have you considered who brought him?
Sure enough, a moment later——
“Oh my God, the one next to Little Angel, that’s… The conductor’s back!”
“Oh, God, you gotta be kidding me. Didn’t Daniel say he took two days off?”
“Yeah, he said the conductor would come back tomorrow…”
……
The rehearsal hall was designed to give the audience the best experience. The curved layout was specially constructed to improve sound distribution. This, coupled with his excellent hearing Qi Mu could hear the excited chatter and the complaints.
He even wondered: Some speak German, some English, and is that French… How do these people communicate?
Of course, he didn’t know that when the Bai Ai members say their demonic conductor, they couldn’t care less what language they spoke. They could first scold themselves in their native tongue. Speaking another language just wasn’t enough. They had to bring in dialects and accents too, the more remote, the better.
There was once a new member who was scolded until he’d had enough. He’d complained in Albanian: “I don’t want to come to Bai Ai in my next life.” Min Chen had put down his baton and said to him, in Albanian, with an utterly blank expression: “Then you can leave now.”
As a conductor, Min Chen was undoubtedly talented. The mistakes he pointed out and the areas that needed improving were correct and also useful. Bai Ai admired him for that. But as a peer, or as the younger generation…
Their conductor was cruel and had a poisonous tongue, ah!!!
——Was their thoughts.
Qi Mu saw their every exaggerated expression under the bright spotlight. Unsure how to feel, he turned to the man beside him and said, “They seem… very afraid of you?”
Min Chen just raised an eyebrow. “You misheard.”
Qi Mu, of course, believed his ears over this man who didn’t even have the right to speak. “They’re really scared of you.”
Min Chen: “…”
Seemingly wanting to prove he was indeed a “kind” person, Min Chen left the audience and strode to the stage.
Bai Ai’s members watched him approach in panicked stillness. When Min Chen stepped on stage and picked up his baton, some crumbled.
The raid wasn’t enough… You want to conduct too?!
We don’t want you, we want the gentle Christole!!!
Off stage, Qi Mu raised his eyebrows. He looked at the man’s tall figure with a smile. Of course, he knew what Min Chen wanted to do. It looked like…
The man wanted to display his “good temper” by directing the rehearsal himself, right?
Qi Mu just smiled and sat back to enjoy the show.
Min Chen turned the score and looked at Christole. “Only the second movement?”
Christole smiled and nodded. “Yes, I wanted to rehearse the second movement this afternoon, so I only prepared this last night.”
The large a3 on the music stand had each of the instruments’ notes in detail. This obviously wasn’t Min Chen’s score as it was marked with notes, especially the violin section.
Min Chen skimmed it then closed it.
Christole was talented, but he wasn’t a conductor. The score didn’t do much for Min Chen.
Min Chen raised his baton and ordered a fat man from the third left of the cell group, “Keith, tighten your G string. It’s still in tune, but you’ll do more work in the last five minutes.”
The fat cellist called “Keith” complied without a word. Min Chen looked at the orchestra as a whole then said plainly, “The second movement is basically alright. We’ll move straight to the third movement now.”
Bai Ai’s members: “…”
“I hope that by tomorrow, I can see you successfully play this simple movement.”
Bai Ai’s members: “……”
Are you shitting me?
As if he didn’t see the members’ murderous gazes, the handsome conductor raised his baton, and with it, a violin filled the hall.