Chapter 33

The 3-4 days of exploration ended with the trip to the Disneyland yesterday. Qi Mu’s first thought the next morning was——

Finally, Hong Kong’s Sea Music Festival begins.

This festival was unique to Hong Kong. Similar to the Edinburgh Festival in the UK, it was open to the public.

However, open to the public didn’t mean they had concerts under the wide open sky at all times. There were several professional halls for large orchestral performances.

But, as long a place could be found, whether it be a cafe, a candy store, the square, or a restaurant, one could perform as much as they liked. Therefore, there were often non-professional musicians that brought their own instruments and played their own compositions to gain public approval.

Qi Mu also. . . brought his own instrument.

Unlike the Chinese who were shy and quite restrained, he had grown up in Europe, and he had an open personality. It was normal for him to bring his instrument and perform in public. But today, he hesitated.

Not because he was shy, but because. . .

The thought of playing in front of that guy was really. . .

When they got back to the hotel last night, Qi Mu was still pondering whether such a talented and hardworking individual existed in the industry. He was preoccupied and his attention elsewhere, so when Min Chen said he would go to the festival the next day, he had just nodded automatically and didn’t say a word to dissuade him.

Participating in the music festival meant. . . when he performed in public, that man would stand at the side and watch.

Him setting his violin case on the street and enthusiastically playing while Min Chen. . . stood by and listened.

——This kind of imagery made him feel strange.

Gritting his teeth, Qi Mu decided against bringing his violin along. But before long, the doorbell rang. Qi Mu took some things and went to open the door. He saw his neighbor standing near the door and looked at him in surprise.

Min Chen raised one eyebrow, “You didn’t bring your violin?”

Qi Mu: “. . . It’s inconvenient, so I won’t bring it.” With that said, Qi Mu closed the door. He thought a bit and politely asked, “Are you not going to perform?” Before he had even finished asking, Qi Mu regretted it.

Sure enough, Min Chen’s steps faltered and, after a while, he calmly said, “I can’t carry it.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

Can’t carry it? Even 10 people can’t move a 9 ft grand piano let alone just one.

Today, Min Chen wore a stiff black velvet suit and a cap with a wide brim to cover the upper half of his face. That of his eyes which could be seen were also covered with big sunglasses. His entire body was covered up, giving the impression that he was about to whip out a mask and don it.

Qi Mu couldn’t help looking over at his clothes several times, and Min Chen noticed. He explained, “There will be many insiders at the festival. Daniel didn’t want me to go because he’s afraid it’ll cause unnecessary trouble.”

Qi Mu nodded in understanding and didn’t ask.

When the two arrived at the venue, the lively atmosphere had Qi Mu relaxing and let him finally feel the long-lost ambiance of classical music.

Although this wasn’t the location of the official event, the layout of a venue was of great concern. The site selected was a retro European tourist town. As long as you took even a step into the place, the classical aesthetic was unmistakable.

Perhaps because the festival had only just begun, there weren’t many musicians performing on the street. Qi Mu looked around and saw a trumpeter playing a rather passionate song, and a guitarist further down, tuning his guitar.

Along the main road of this red-brick town, there were pictures of various celebrities illuminated by spotlights. This idea had been carefully implemented by the event’s organizer. They had the life story of each master written in numerous languages at each of these points. And there was a small station at the side where their music could be listened to at one’s leisure.

Qi Mu had just taken a few steps when he saw a familiar figure. He smiled and said, “I didn’t expect to see Mr. Dorenza’s column here.”

About 500 meters down the main street, between Verdi and Wagner, there was a celebrity column of the current conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Eberk Dorenza.

Qi Mu was full of admiration for this master. Although he hadn’t spent much time with him in his previous life, they still rehearsed together for some time. Mr. Dorenza’s ability as a conductor was truly outstanding, and the guidance he provided was useful.

Especially since this master was the one to give him the opportunity to perform 《The Blue Danube》 in the Golden Hall. Qi Mu was notably grateful to him.

“Eberk’s music style leans toward the orthodox and belongs to the romantic style of pure classical music. His audition tracks should be Mozart’s 《Symphony No. 40》 and Haydn’s 《Surprise》.” Min Chen’s voice was casual and matter-of-fact.

Qi Mu was somewhat surprised. He knew those two were Dorenza’s specialties, but he had more than just those two songs. Was Min Chen saying those two were the most outstanding ones Dorenza could conduct?

He went to the empty listening station and picked up the headphones. After listening for a while, he turned back to look at Min Chen with surprise. He nodded and said with a smile, “It really was those two. I didn’t think. . . did you really guess it?”

Min Chen tucked his hands into his pockets, appearing very casual. As the two walked side by side, Min Chen said, “His booth is between Verdi and Wagner so they wouldn’t pick a soft song. Moreover, Eberk himself preferred those two.”

“I forgot, you and Mr.Dorenza know each other.”

“But his favorite is 《The Blue Danube》. It was the most important one to him. He would focus on rehearsing this song before every New Year’s concert.”

Min Chen said it very nonchalantly, but Qi Mu suddenly remembered and his steps faltered. The youth’s light eyes widened, and his pupils trembled. Only now did he understand what 《The Blue Danube》 meant to Mr. Dorenza.

To let him handle such an important song, it was clear that Mr. Dorenza valued him a lot.

Qi Mu only felt even more gratitude. Over the next few hours, more and more musicians started to perform on the street. Most had simple portable instruments like the saxophone, clarinet, flute, or the violin. Some borrowed the pianos in the nearby cafes to perform.

Most of these performers were amateurs, but there were also excellent ones. Like a flutist who played《Melody in F Major》, and passerbys couldn’t help but stop to admire.

“It’s the same level as the Vienna Symphony, I think they* could be a professional!”

*Gender wasn’t specified.

Min Chen looked at him in surprise at this evaluation, and he asked, “Why the Vienna Symphony Orchestra?”

Qi Mu startled and almost screamed. He only just realized he had carelessly compared the flutist against the orchestra he was most familiar with. Something obscure flashed in his eyes, and he looked up, laughing, “I worked with them when I was a child, so I’m a little familiar with them.”

Min Chen glanced at him with a meaningful gaze but nodded and didn’t ask anything else.

Qi Mu let out a relieved sigh: I almost outed myself. Thank God the original really had worked with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

“He’s a little old, so Evra won’t let him join.” Min Chen looked at the flutist and added, “Evra has strange tastes. He wants fresh blood in the orchestra so even if they’re up to par for the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, it’s impossible to get accepted.”

Evra was the conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and Qi Mu’s impression of him was that of a stern old man who denied that he was wearing a wig even though it was obvious he was bald.

Min Chen’s words let QI Mu finally figure it out: There was no one older than 40 years old in that orchestra!

How had he never found out that Mr. Evra had such. . . weird taste?

“He likes fresh blood? I’ve worked with him before. . . when we cooperated, I didn’t notice.”

Min Chen looked down, and the hint of a smile flashed in his eyes. “When you’re old, you hope you can be young again. Seeing young people probably makes him happy.” After a slight pause, he looked straight at Qi Mu and said, “If you ever get the chance to meet Evra in the future, don’t tell him I said that.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

Why did he feel like this man, who said this kind of thing, seemed to be unexpectedly childish?

On their walk, Qi Mu held back his smile and didn’t laugh. His eyes opened wide in surprise when he suddenly saw a familiar figure on a celebrity column. He turned to look at the handsome man beside him and said with a soft laugh:

“Did you know. . . that they would put your column in such a place?