Chapter 122

The autumn heat of Paris’ night couldn’t match the heat of the romance in the air.

The VIP room of the Charles de Gaulle airport occupied a space of 20m2. The floor was covered in thick woolen carpet, and the room was equipped with a computer, television, and other electronics. In addition to the basic furniture like a sofa and coffee table, there was a separate bathroom for the guests’ perusal.

When Qi Mu knocked on the door, Min Chen was flipping through a magazine——

The magazine was just published that morning. The airport management ordered a beautiful flight attendant to deliver it to Min Chen because his silhouette graced the cover. It was from his recital in Berlin.

Min Chen just flipped through the magazine without paying much attention to it. He was more concerned about an article on the last few pages—— 《An Overview of the world’s top ten music institutions》.

The Paris’ National Conservatory of Music was mentioned in the article. Although it was a short paragraph of only 200 words, Min Chen found a familiar name. It wasn’t long before he saw the actual person.

Reaching out, he brushed his hand along the fingers of the young man who had been occupying his thoughts for more than a month.

Min Chen gently felt along Qi Mu’s right index finger, from his round fingernails to his prominent knuckles. Every musician took good care of their hands, and Qi Mu was no exception. Every fingernail was perfectly manicured; he bore no blemish except for the calluses on his fingers.

“So… You’re leaving, even though you’ve only just arrived?”

“Yes, shortly,” Min Chen nodded. Pausing, he looked at the clock on the wall and added, “There’s still 20 minutes before the takeoff, but I have to go through the security check.”

As he spoke, Min Chen’s warm exhale grazed Qi Mu’s beautiful fingers, tickling them. Qi Mu reflexively pulled his hand from the man’s hold. “Don’t you have to go through the security check?”

Min Chen nodded. “Yes, in about ten minutes… Someone will inform me.”

In general, passengers needed to have their ticket and pass the security check 30 minutes before the takeoff, or their ticket would be void.

However, as Qi Mu thought, Min Chen would never treat himself poorly. So only when the plane was about to take off, would he leave the VIP room and enter the plane first through a separate security channel.

Qi Mu thought for a moment and asked, “Is there another flight tonight?”

A sense of loss flashed in his dark eyes, and Min Chen shook his head slightly. “There’s no other flight today.”

Hearing this, Qi Mu also lowered his head in disappointment. His hair fell from his forehead, obscuring his dejected gaze.

Qi Mu knew that Min Chen had to lead his orchestra in their rehearsal, so he couldn’t stop him from returning to Berlin. But, it was already late in the evening, and they had very little time together… It made him very sad.

It wasn’t easy for them to see each other. When they finally could, it was only for 20 minutes. Such a short meeting was akin to drinking poison to quench your thirst. It was pointless.

“The third assessment… Is starting next month. It’s a little more than two weeks away,” Qi Mu whispered, “If I continue to get high scores, then I can graduate early. After that… I want to go to Vienna.”

As he listened to the young man’s honest confession, Min Chen hid the emotions in his eyes and said, “Well, Vienna is better than… Berlin. If you really want to go there, I have a spare room in the house you went to last time after the celebration. It’s hard to find a good house to play in, in Vienna. But mine is. It’s also closer to the city’s center and convenient to commute. You could live with me.”

Qi Mu asked, “The one where you played your piano to me?”

Min Chen nodded. “That’s the one. The sound insulation in the piano room is good. I’ll ask Daniel to send the keys to you later.”

Qi Mu didn’t decline the offer and just hummed in reply. Somehow, the memory of the man currently by his side playing numerous high-level piano pieces emerged in his mind. That was the same night Min Chen gave him the record with such a heartfelt message.

With a smile, Qi Mu asked, “By the way, how was your recital yesterday? Mr. Farrell told me you’ve improved in the past two years. He was quite surprised.” As he spoke, Qi Mu opened and closed his fingers in front of Min Chen. “Didn’t you say you’d record it and give it to me?”

Taking one of his grabby hands, Min Chen murmured, “I’ll tell Daniel to send it along with the keys if you behave.”

Qi Mu wouldn’t back down against Min Chen’s placating tone. Raising an eyebrow, he pretended to be angry, “I’m not a child. You can’t give me the record, so you should at least be able to tell me what pieces you played last night, right?”

To be fully prepared for their concert, the Paris’ National Conservatory of Music’s orchestra rehearsed until past 10 the former night. Qi Mu was so tired. He couldn’t even move his fingers. He fell asleep the moment he hit his mattress, far too exhausted to pay attention to Min Chen’s recital.

The sight of the youth being difficult and acting like a tsundere was rare. It made Min Chen’s lips curl upwards. His eyes brightened as his fingers slowly moved along Qi Mu’s until they intertwined.

“How about I hum it for you?”

Qi Mu blinked. “… Hum?” After a slight pause, he nodded. “Okay, let’s try that.”

Qi Mu almost immediately regretted his words.

In all his life, Qi Mu had never met a person who was so… tone-deaf.

This man obviously had the perfect pitch; he could even hear the difference in the timbre in every string. Yet when he hummed, even from the first half of the first note——

How could a person that tone-deaf exist?!

His voice was so magical that a moving melody had turned into a plain humming without any intonation. Qi Mu couldn’t even recognize a short segment, let alone guess what piece it was.

Finally, Min Chen stopped to ask, “Do you like this Chopin’s 《Mazurkas》?”

Qi Mu: “… That was 《Mazurkas》… ?”

“…”

“You used to… Have you ever sung to anyone?”

After a long silence, Min Chen shook his head. “You’re the first.”

Qi Mu couldn’t bear to hurt the man’s feelings. Hesitating, he finally managed, “Listening to you humming just now… Ah… That 《Mazurkas》, did you feel anything wrong with it?”

After thinking about it, Min Chen frowned, “The tempo was a bit too fast?”

Qi Mu: “…”

Your ears are broken!!!

A trace of a smile flashed in Min Chen’s dark eyes as he watched the youth’s floundering expression. Hugging him gently, Min Chen said, “I know I’m out of tune. It’s a problem with my vocal cord, and there’s no way to fix it. Don’t feel bad for me. It doesn’t matter if I can’t sing…” Well.

The last word was stuck forever in his throat as Qi Mu’s expression went blank. His heart skipped a beat, and an unclear premonition took over his mind.

Sure enough, Qi Mu sneered and asked, “You know… You know you’re tone-deaf, and you’re still polluting my ears?!!!”

Min Chen: “…”

Hang on a second, aren’t you supposed to console me…

“If I can no longer listen to 《Mazurkas》 anymore after this, it’s all your fault!”

“…”

The script was going in the wrong direction…

“You must take responsibility.”

“…???”

After a moment of thought, Qi Mu said, “As a punishment, you will be playing 《Mazurkas》 for me every day.”

Min Chen choked at this. A long minute passed, and he asked, “Play 《Mazurkas》 every day?”

The corner of the younger man’s lips slowly raised. His fair, lovely face was like the sun that appeared after a heavy rain, bright and dazzling. “Yes, you have to play it every day in the future. 365 days a year, and you’re not allowed to skip it even once.”

The words were simple, but they directly expressed Qi Mu’s dedication to their future.

Warmth seeped through Min Chen’s heart, but he couldn’t be happy for long. Qi Mu sported a slight frown as he thought aloud, “But it will be tiring to listen to the same piece every day. Well, you can play other 《Mazurkas》 later. Once you finish playing all of the 《Mazurkas》 existing in the world, then you can… Start to write one yourself?”

Min Chen: “…”

Min Chen didn’t expect to gain such a ‘long-term enemy,’ with his mood fluctuating according to Qi Mu’s, whether he was happy or angry.

Even while facing such an unreasonable punishment, Min Chen wasn’t angry at all. Instead, he began to look forward to his future life of joy and sorrow according to his lover’s mood changes. As long as he was by the young man’s side, time moved so quickly. Even listening to him talk about his college life was interesting.

When a flight attendant knocked on the mahogany door to inform Min Chen that his plane was about to take off, they both fell silent. Before Min Chen could open his mouth, Qi Mu beat him to it.

“Please wait a moment,” Qi Mu said in French, his lips curling at Min Chen’s astonished gaze. While he was still bewildered, Qi Mu leaned forward and kissed him again.

It was the first time Qi Mu made a move, and Min Chen was so startled, he couldn’t respond.

Qi Mu’s ears were dyed red. After a slight cough, he whispered, “Be careful on your way back to Berlin and… Remember to text me.” The red contrasted against the rest of Qi Mu’s skin, made him look even fairer.

Seeing him so seductive, Min Chen refused to be like Liu Xia Hui. Hugging Qi Mu tightly, Min Chen kissed him again.

When the young man leaned on his chest, gasping for breaths, Min Chen once again hid the emotions in his eyes. Leaning forward, he whispered in Qi Mu’s ear, “Just another two months and two weeks.”

Qi Mu blinked, immersed in silence. Finally, he repeated, “En… Two months and two weeks.”

Qi Mu stood in front of a large glass window at the airport, watching as a silver plane soared past, disappearing into the endless night sky. He slowly closed his eyes, his hand touching his lips.

… He could still feel Min Chen’s lips against his.

“Another two months and… two weeks.”

After whispering the words to himself, Qi Mu turned around resolutely and left the Charles de Gaulle Airport. He arrived with tension and expectations and left with newfound determination.

For the next two weeks, Qi Mu would prepare for the final assessment and graduation.

For the next two months, Min Chen would lead the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra into their final tour of the year.

They were apart but were still working together.

Suddenly, 1000km… didn’t feel so far.