Chapter 146

As the concertmaster, Qi Mu led the members of the orchestra alongside Wallace to bow to the audience before going backstage. As soon as he entered the backstage, he was stunned by the crowd of people around a person. As he got closer, he heard——

“Bert… Mr. Bertram, I love your 《Night Tsunami》. Can I get your autograph?”

“Mr. Bertram, the concert you conducted last year in Berlin is a particular favorite of mine. Can I have your signature?”

“Mr. Bertram, actually… I’m a big fan of Christole! Can you please give him my regards and admiration? I am Karlov, from the Palisade Theatre Orchestra.”

……

Sometimes you could hear someone’s praises before you even saw their face.

Qi Mu stood outside of the crowd with his violin in hand, unsure whether to join them or leave. Just as he hesitated, one of the woodwind group’s member noticed him and shouted, “Hey, Little Seven is here, Little Seven is here!”

Under everyone’s surprise, the crowd split in the middle for Qi Mu to pass, just like how the sea parted for Moses.

The crowd parted to reveal a cold and indifferent-looking man, sitting in front of a makeshift table. He turned to Qi Mu. On that table lay a jumble of notebooks, autograph books, and crumpled papers from who-knew-where.

Before Qi Mu showed up, Min Chen had already signed a large portion of them. Once Qi Mu arrived, he flexed his wrist, then flourished “Min Chen” one last time.

Min Chen didn’t stay for the encore, so when he went backstage, the musicians and the actors were still onstage. When the encore was over and the musicians went backstage, Min Chen was standing in front of a wall, looking at the orchestra’s records.

To use an inappropriate metaphor, when the first member of the orchestra found this “intruder”, their eyes lit up with a bright green flash, complete with an alarm blaring in their head. They stood frozen to the spot.

The first person stopped, then followed by the second, third, and fourth…

Then, someone exclaimed, “Mr. Auston Bertram?!”

The rest was history, resulting in the scene Qi Mu now laid eyes on: Min Chen as meat in front of dogs.

Before Qi Mu could say anything, at one of the most awkward moments, one of the violinists said, “Little Seven, you didn’t tell us you knew Mr. Auston! My favourite is Christole! Humph, I won’t talk to you all day tomorrow!”

The next moment, someone else joined in, “Right? I also like Mr. Bertram, super like! Little Seven, you’re not so loveable anymore! I won’t talk to you tomorrow!”

“Me too, I’ll ignore you tomorrow too, Little Seven!”

“Me three, count me in. Little Seven, how could you even hide this from us, you bad guy!”

……

After such a remark, naturally others followed. Qi Mu suddenly found himself with no one to talk to tomorrow. Raising his hands in defeat, he said, “Yes, yes, yes, it’s my fault… I’ll leave you guys alone tomorrow, then?”

In unison, the crowd called, “No way!!!”

Qi Mu: “…”

This partial treatment is too obvious!

After the members all dispersed, Min Chen greeted Wallace and chatted for a bit before leaving with Qi Mu. The Palisade Theatre was a local theatre, with most of their promances made on-site, so Min Chen was unfamiliar with both the theatre and the orchestra.

The howling of the wind tore through the streets of Vienna on the cold winter night. Underneath the foot, the ground was covered in a dusting of snow, making the world look cold with only a glance.

When Qi Mu and Min Chen left backstage together, the wind made the youth shrink his neck back into the warmth of his wool scarf, despite the parking lot being only 500 meters away.

Qi Mu was very fond of the scarf, as Min Chen sent it specially for him when Bai Ai went to Stockholm. According to Min Chen, his mother often visited the shop to have scarves and gloves made, and their skill was always astounding.

“Cold?” Min Chen whispered his question, seeing his lover’s uncomfortable expression.

Qi Mu raised his head to look at the other man and saw that he was only wearing a thin coat, his hands resting leisurely at his sides. His face calm, he didn’t seem to feel the cold at all.

Seeing the man’s harsh expression, Qi Mu suddenly had an epiphany. Of course ice won’t be afraid of the cold!

Regardless of his funny thought, Qi Mu smiled and said, “Well, it’s not that cold, just my hands…”

Mentioning his hands, Qi Mu suddenly stopped, then quickly took out a pair of gloves from his pocket and slipped one of them on. “I forgot these gloves you knitted for me. Although they looked like wrist guards, they were very warm. By the way, aren’t you cold?”

Seeing that the young man was about to put on the other glove, Min Chen quickly grabbed it and wore it on his right hand. Under the youth’s puzzled gaze, he reached out his left hand and held Qi Mu’s cold right hand. With his lips slightly curled up in a smile, he said, “I’m afraid of cold so… it’s my glove now.”

Qi Mu: “…”

You could ask before putting the glove on!

Although he felt it was funny, Qi Mu didn’t loosen his grip on Min Chen’s hand.

It was late at night, so the lights were dim on their way to the parking lot, and few people lingered on the streets. Qi Mu bravely took the man’s hand. Feeling the warmth emanating from his hand, even Qi Mu’s heart was warmed.

“Speaking of gloves, when I came to the orchestra today, many of the members teased me about it.”

Min Chen raised his eyebrows. “Teased?”

“Well, they said… ’Little Seven, your gloves look so nice, very lovely.’ ” After a pause, Qi Mu smiled and continued, “So I said, ‘Of course, my lover knitted them for me, how could they not be lovely?’ “

Min Chen’s fingers slid against Qi Mu’s palm as he tightened his grip.

Just as they reached the parking lot, Qi Mu stopped walking. Giving the man a smug smile, he asked, “Do you know what they said?”

Min Chen frowned as he thought. After a moment, he said, “Very lovely?”

Qi Mu shook his head, but then nodded, saying, “It’s that, but their exact words were——’Little Seven, your girlfriend is so cute!’ ”

Seeing the corner of the other man’s lips twitch, Qi Mu’s gaze turned gentle as he recalled the sight of him backstage.

Qi Mu knew his lover was afraid of causing trouble for him, so he sat quietly and signed dozens of signatures. He didn’t like noisy places, but he still responded politely to each question and even remembered the names of those who sent their regards to Christole and others.

Thinking of it all, Qi Mu felt warmth flowing from his heart to his blood vessels and eventually, his entire body. Even the cold wind couldn’t dispel the heat. Qi Mu couldn’t refrain from smiling.

The next moment, he stood up on his tiptoes and dropped a kiss on the man’s thin lips.

After a brief moment of intimacy in the dark, a bright smile colored youth’s face. With a gentle tone, he said, “I think… ‘My girlfriend’ really is very cute and I love him, very, very much.”

Surprise flashed in Min Chen’s eyes as he looked down at his lover. Curling his arms around his waist, he kissed him tenderly.

In the secluded parking lot, the two handsome men embraced each other as they kissed. Their kiss was gentle and tender, like handling a very precious, fragile treasure.

The Vienna night carried the rare chill of Europe over them. But, as long as they have each other, the cold would never bother them.*

The squeaking of the headboard hitting the wall filled the bedroom of a high-end apartment alongside the low moans from the younger man and the heavy breathing of the other man.

When the sun rose from the horizon with brilliant light, they welcomed the dawn with a smile and Qi Mu took a walk with a certain “big dog”. They walked past the Schönbrunn Palace, the St. Stephen’s Cathedral and around the Danube River, watching the ripples on the blue lake.

After the morning exercise, Qi Mu set out for the Palisade Theatre while Min Chen went to Bai Ai’s rented rehearsal hall.

Before leaving, Qi Mu suddenly had a thought. “The theatre will start our month-long holiday tomorrow. It’s just in time, and I’m free, so can I go see your rehearsal tomorrow?”

Min Chen straightened his sleeves and replied, “Yes.”

Without thinking too much on this, the youth kissed the man and headed out first——He needed to catch the subway, after all.

What Qi Mu didn’t know was those words of his, “I’ll go see your rehearsal tomorrow”, was a death sentence for the members of Bai Ai.

“Third bass of the second violin group, do it again. Do you need me to ask Christole to show it to you?”

“Richard, do you think you’re playing clarinet? Do you need me to teach you how to play?”

“Matthis, did you drown your brain in the Danube river? Fast, fast, fast. Do you even know how to write the word ‘fast’?”

……

The members of Bai Ai : “QAQ!”

We’re obviously already very good, ah. Conductor, you’re just nit-picking, right now!!!

There is only one concertmaster in the whole orchestra, ah. There’s no way we can play as well as Christole!!!!