Chapter 82

Lance’s diagnosis of “resentment” froze Qi Mu in place. For a long while, he didn’t know what to say.

Akkad, on the other hand, frowned, “Lance, what are you talking about? How could Little Seven’s music be resentful? I didn’t notice it. I heard momentum.”

“Well,” Lance shook his head, “Reed, you’re not a delicate person, to begin with. I wish I misheard. But since you’ve come to me with your precious student, you must feel that your and my violin is somewhat complementary. You asked me to give some pointers. So…”

“I’m saying, even though my playing is not on par with your student. . . Over the years, my understanding is not worse than yours.”

Since his old friend so serious, Akkad realized Lance really wanted to guide Qi Mu. So he said, “Yes, Lance, you’re right. I think that on music perception, you’re better than me. But I don’t feel the ‘resentment’ you mention. . .”

“Professor, I think. . . I understand what Master Lance meant.” Akkad’s next words were interrupted by the pleasant voice of the youth. He turned and saw Qi Mu looking at him with a smile. “Professor, Master Lance can hear things that even I didn’t notice. I believe. . . he’s right.”

Lance nodded and smiled, “That’s good. This kind of resentment isn’t a bad thing. To tell you the truth, Beethoven couldn’t have forced himself to write so many classics while being deaf if he didn’t have such sorrow and hatred toward life. Of course, everyone has different styles of music. Little Seven, I hope you can be a genius like Mozart. . . not Beethoven.”

Mozart’s life was full of ups and downs, from the fame in his youth to the predicament of his later years. He pawned his watch to survive, and eventually, even his grave was gone. However, his music seldom showed the ugliness of humanity. Instead, it was always exciting and cheerful.

Classical music was diverse. Whether you were gentle, delicate, vigorous, or even cynical, you could always find your place in this world.

Nevertheless, music was like people. One can tell what kind of a person someone was by hearing their music. Although Mr. Lance seemed to be directing Qi Mu’s violin, he wanted Qi Mu to cast aside the grudge in his heart.

Lance believed Qi Mu may have suffered some unfairness before and was depressed. He wanted Qi Mu to open his eyes, to see everything was better now, and to forget those unpleasant things.

However, Lance didn’t know the inexplicable aggression in his music was caused by. . .

A deadly hatred that could never be forgotten.

Although he knew he couldn’t forget this hatred, Qi Mu still took Lance’s words to heart. He didn’t want his music to be entangled in the shadow of that scum forever. But to completely forget and abandon it, he could only say. . .

『This matter needed to be resolved first.』

Qi Mu thought this to himself but didn’t leak any of it in his expression. He bowed respectfully to the gentle maestro and said, “Thank you for your advice, Master Lance. I understand.”

Lance smiled at his earnest expression. Although he didn’t know what kind of torment this child had in his heart, he hoped this lovely young man would live happily.

Akkad was not as delicate as his good friend. He didn’t hear any kind of buried aggression when his student played. He thought there was nothing wrong with Qi Mu’s sorrowful style.

In this world, only Lance Trier, one of the world’s top three violin masters could find the faint aggression in Qi Mu’s violin. Even the other two, Reed Akkad and Farrell Louis couldn’t hear it.

Qi Mu and his mentor had lunch at Lance’s home. Not long after, Qi Mu’s mentor rushed him to the maestro’s practice room. The famous violinist said it was so Qi Mu’s skills wouldn’t get rusty when, in fact. . . Akkad wanted to discuss some “secret” matters with Lance.

After the sun set and night fell, Qi Mu was finally released “with the grace of His Majesty” and could put down his violin.

Qi Mu searched for the aggression Lance mentioned the entire afternoon. He played 《Violin Concerto in E minor》 and 《Devil’s Trills》 for four or five hours but still couldn’t find it.

Qi Mu could only sigh. “Master Lance’s musical perception. . . is second to none!”

Since he couldn’t find the aggression, Qi Mu secretly decided to solve this matter as soon as possible. He didn’t want to let that scum affect him after leaving Lance’s house.

Although he had decided, he had yet to form a solid plan when Akkad’s voice called out, “Little Seven, teacher. . . might be leaving Vienna soon.”

Qi Mu asked, “Professor?”

In the beautiful and quiet streets of Vienna, a handsome youth walked with a delicate dark green violin case in his hand. Under the dim moonlight, his eyes were wide with surprise. He was dumbfounded. . . unable to understand what he just heard.

Akkad sighed, “There’s a problem in my hometown, so I have to go back. Little Seven, is it okay for you to stay here and continue studying on your own?”

Qi Mu slowly recovered. He nodded and spoke gently, “Alright, Professor. I’ll study hard, don’t worry about me.”

Akkad nodded and after a while, he said, “Little Seven, you don’t have to worry. I have many friends here. If there’s anything you need and I still haven’t returned, you can ask them for help.”

Warmth spread in Qi Mu’s heart. He nodded, smiling. “Okay, Professor. I know.”

“Now that I think about it, aren’t those guys out performing?” Akkad thought for a moment then went on, “Oh, by the way, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra seems to have a performance in a few days. That Evra fellow should be back, this is his stronghold after all! Little Seven, if there’s something you need, you can go directly to Evra, the principal conductor of Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Although that fellow has quite the temper, he should be willing to take good care of my student.”

At the familiar name, Qi Mu’s footsteps faltered. He was stunned for a moment, but before Akkad noticed, he chased the old man again and smiled. “Yes, Professor. You can rest assured, I will take care of myself.”

Not noticing anything unusual, Akkad nodded. “Evra gave me two front-row tickets the other day. Unfortunately, I can’t accompany you. If you have any acquaintances here, Little Seven, you can give them the other ticket.”

Qi Mu smiled and accepted Akkad’s concert tickets. His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then he smiled. Helplessly, he said, “Professor, how could I know anyone here? Oh, right. It seems that Bai Ai is here currently. I heard that they are rehearsing for their concert next week. Then can I. . .”

“Little Seven!”

Qi Mu burst out laughing. “Yes, yes, yes. I won’t give the ticket to Min Chen, Professor.”

Akkad nodded with satisfaction. He continued to assert his warnings. Qi Mu nodded almost constantly, never daring to say “No.”

On the red-brick street, only a few people still walked in the dark. Lance lived close to the hotel they were staying in. After only a few minutes of walking, Qi Mu returned to the hotel and placed his violin case on the table.

After confirming he was the only one in the room, Qi Mu’s smile faded away. He stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, fist tightly clenched. He looked silently toward the southwest. . . where the headquarters of Vienna Symphony Orchestra was located.

He never expected that just as he decided to solve the matter from his previous life, Akkad would give him the ticket. Everything seemed to be arranged from the dark as if some big hand called “fate” silently manipulated his life, making him face——

The very thing he didn’t want to let go!

At that moment, a plane from Geneva landed at the Vienna International Airport. It skidded down the runway and stayed for a few minutes before releasing the exhausted passengers.

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra’s schedule was tight this season. Unlike the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, they didn’t tend to spend a lot of time practicing before their performances. They just got back to Vienna, and the day after the next, they would hold another concert.

It can only be said that since conductors have their own style, so do the orchestras.

At the airport, the members of the orchestra walked in groups of three to five. Only the last Chinese man at the back was alone, disjointed and disharmonious.

Luo Yu Sen’s handsome face had thinned over the past few months. He looked a little harsh. He stared at people with fixed eyes without seeming to realize it. This made the other members of the orchestra, who were already hostile to him, even more unwilling to approach him.

A few days before their concert in Vienna, Evra announced that in three months, at the earliest, or six months, at the latest, he would select a new deputy concertmaster. Luo Yu Sen had longed for this position for a long time, so this opportunity. . .

He would never let go of it!

Luo Yu Sen didn’t know, though, that while he was gunning for the deputy concertmaster’s seat. . . Just half a city away, a young man sneered, waiting for their reunion.

“The day after tomorrow. . .”

“Luo Yu Sen, it’s been a while since I last saw you.”

The young man’s soft voice echoed in the quiet room and soon disappeared without a trace.

The quiet night of Vienna hid the secrets of many people.