Chapter 60

After a round of applause, melodious music carried through the concert hall.

In the box Qi Mu was in, the acoustics rang clear in his ears.

Whether it was the tambourine, the timber drum, the triangle, the trumpet, or the oboe, the British tube, or even Christole‘s violin, he could hear them all distinctly.

Before, Qi Mu had guessed this box to have the best location, but when he heard the vibrant echo of the multi-layered symphony, he affirmed his previous conjecture.

No. . .

Perhaps he had confirmed it when that man entered the box.

Wherever Min Chen went, it would naturally be the best.

Schumann’s 《Vienna Carnival》 played on stage, and its magnificent performance was so powerful it intoxicated the audience and drew them into the carnival experience.

While the music played, no one spoke. Although Qi Mu was surprised to see Min Chen, he did not talk to the man beside him.

There were six seats in the box. Three in the first row and three in the second. Akkad had chosen the leftmost position when he entered, and Qi Mu sat beside his teacher. He hadn’t thought there would be someone else in the box with them.

When Min Chen sat beside him, the concert had already begun, and Qi Mu could only smile at him for there was no time for words.

During the thunderous applause after the first song, Qi Mu whispered as he clapped, “I didn’t expect Bai Ai’s first show of the season. . . to be in Paris.”

The young man’s voice was deliberately low, almost masked under the roar of the audience’s applause. The box’s lighting was dim, Akkad reminisced about the exhilarating rendition of 《Vienna Carnival》, so he didn’t notice the other two beside him.

Min Chen’s gaze flitted to the side, and he answered just as quietly, “Daniel said the orchestra shouldn’t do the same thing all the time. He decided we’d do something different this year. The second show will still be in London.”

Qi Mu nodded and asked, “Didn’t you. . . could it be on the phone the other day, when you asked if I needed a ticket, it was for this?!”

A smile flashed in Min Chen’s dark eyes, and he hummed an affirmative “En.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

So, even though he refused the invitation before, he still ended up at the scene with the other man?

Min Chen didn’t seem to notice Qi Mu’s tangled expression and clapped his hands. The family emblem engraved on his left hand’s ring caught in a ray of light, but he frowned as he pondered. After a while, Min Chen narrowed his eyes and asked, “Little Seven?”

“Yes?” Qi Mu subconsciously answered.

Min Chen: “. . .”

It wasn’t until after his reflexive reply that Qi Mu noticed it wasn’t his teacher calling him.

Qi Mu covered his mouth with his hand and coughed twice. He whispered, “Teacher Akkad calls me that. He doesn’t know Chinese and my name is a bit of a mouthful. Did he tell you my name? I don’t care if you use it, you can call me Qi Mu.”

Min Chen: “. . .”

After a long time, a low-pitched noise came from Min Chen’s throat in reply.

The applause had subsided and the second song began. Qi Mu turned his attention back to the state and did not see the indifferent man beside him lick his lips and swallow unpleasantly.

Fortunately. . . he doesn’t know what I did.

——Min Chen secretly thought.

Under the dim lighting, no one realized the man who had always been cheeky now had red ears. He coughed. No strange behavior here.

A two-hour concert was impossible to play through from start to finish without rest, so there was a fifteen-minute break in the middle. Qi Mu wanted to exchange greetings, but Akkad unexpectedly argued with Min Chen about the orchestra’s personnel configuration.

Akkad had never been a conductor, he was once the concertmaster for the Dresden Symphony Orchestra before he moved to the National Conservatory of Music.

He worked as a concertmaster of three world-class symphonies for decades of his musical career. Even if he had never commanded an orchestra, he could comment professionally on the positioning.

Akkad believed the second violin group was a bit large for this concert. Once he learned Min Chen decided the staffing, the two argued with each other.

In the end, Akkad was convinced by Min Chen’s three reasons, but by then, the break was over and Schumann’s 《Abegg Variations》 had begun.

Therefore, Qi Mu had to sit back and continue listening.

Robert Schumann was a famous German pianist and composer of the 19th century. His works were almost exclusively piano pieces. The entire world thought only the piano could display these musical pieces perfectly.

There was a time where no adaptation of Schumann’s songs into orchestral form could be found without a piano ensemble. To find a concert of five of his songs without even the hint of a piano like Bai Ai did tonight, this was a first.

After the concert had officially ended, Akkad stood and applauded enthusiastically without being stingy about his praise. “Min, I thought you would perform as a pianist this time, but I didn’t think. . . you wouldn’t be on stage at all!”

Min Chen nodded and replied bluntly, “I might go up during later performances, but for the first show, Daniel said. . . to be innovative and creative.”

That provoked Akkad’s eyebrow into rising. “The adaptation of these songs don’t tell me that Daniel Duke kid did it. He wants to let all his hair fall out, it’s impossible.” After a pause, he added, “Well, if he hasn’t lost it all already, his blond head should be bald by now.”

“Pffft. . .”

Min Chen looked over when Qi Mu laughed, and his own lips curled into a smile. “It’s my and Charles’ adaptation. Christole helped some too. In fact, what did Daniel do. . .” He deliberately drew it out, and when Qi Mu turned to look at him curiously, he was appeased.

Min Chen met his gaze and said, “He brewed coffee, hm. . . it didn’t taste all that good.”

Qi Mu almost choked on his laughter.

Akkad didn’t seem to own a humorous cell in his body. He nodded then, as if recalling something, asked, “Wait a minute. If you’re neither conductor nor pianist. . . why is your name on the poster at the entrance? Yours was the biggest?!”

At this sudden accusation, Min Chen blinked a little and frowned in contemplation. “Because. . . I am the music director?”

Akkad snorted. “You don’t introduce the orchestra, what kind of director are you?” His tone was disgusted, and his lazy glare at Min Chen was more than enough to express his disdain for “this man that had his named printed on the poster and pinned up.”

Min Chen did not care about Akkad’s contempt and nodded, his response bland, “Oh, then it’s probably because. . . I am handsome.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

Akkad: “. . .”

“Auston! I didn’t know you were such a narcissist!”

The corners of Min Chen’s lips curled, and he raised his head, “You only just found out?”

Akkad: “. . .”

Wanting to get angry at this poisonous man, Master Akkad needed to practice some more. . . come back after another 500 years.