Chapter 92

If there is one thing you never forget to do, and even if you don’t think about it, you can do it easily, once you’re interrupted in the middle, you’ll get entangled with it and become obsessed with completing your unfinished business.

This was Qi Mu’s current situation. He woke up early the next morning and went to the college a little after 7 o’clock. He wanted to listen to the record before practice, but to his surprise, when he put down the needle on the record, the needle shook a little then——

It refused to move!

No movement at all!!!

Qi Mu tossed about for half an hour trying to repair the record player that suddenly went on a strike but to no avail.

Qi Mu seldom used this kind of thing in his past life. First of all, time had evolved, so although there were certain sacrifices in music quality, CDs were simpler and more convenient than records. Secondly, black records weren’t exactly cheap. He couldn’t afford such “luxury” items in his past life.

Qi Mu wasn’t familiar with record players because he rarely used then. When Farrell arrived, the gentle maestro was surprised to see him with his sleeves rolled up and hard at work. He asked curiously, “Angel, what are you doing?”

Once Farrell understood what was going on, he, who was keen on classic record players, checked it himself and regretfully informed Qi Mu, “I’m sorry, Angel. This little lovely one’s arm is broken. I’m afraid we’ll have to send it to a special place to fix it.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

Farrell, a Parisian by birth, smiled and said, “I remember several good old shops here. One is nearby. Angel, we’ll take this record player there, and I think you will be able to listen to this beautiful record soon.”

Qi Mu nodded helplessly, but when they sent the record player to the said shop, they were told, “This one’s pathe’s arm is a little damaged, and this record player is a limited edition from a few years back. We need to buy the parts from a British factory. It will take a few days to have it repaired.”

Qi Mu had no choice but to leave the record player at the shop and head back to the college.

In the neat violin room, Qi Mu played Kreisler’s 《Schön Rosmarin》 seriously and attentively. His fingers were fast, and his hand pulled the bow up and down repeatedly. The rhythm was upbeat and beautiful.

After Farrell said a few more words, Qi Mu started practicing. What he didn’t know was just two meters away from him, the old man began complaining about Akkad in the group chat 【Little Angel’s Practice Room】.

Farrell: 【Reed, why didn’t you service your record player? Angel tossed around with it for a long time this morning.】

After a few minutes, instead of Professor Akkad replying, the man who just entered the group chat by his own all-powerful means last night spoke——

【The record player broke? What happened?】

Farrell: 【Oh, Auston. It’s like this, Angel came early this morning especially to listen to a black record. But the record player was broken, so we had to send it for repair.】

Min Chen: 【. . .】

After a while:

Min Chen: 【Reed, things that are broken need to be repaired. This. Is. A. kind. Of. Virtue. 】

Master Farrell looked at the texts and his eyebrows furrowed. He didn’t understand. It’s Reed’s record player that was broken. . . Why was Auston so concerned?

But he didn’t spend much time thinking about it. Qi Mu began to play, and this time, Farrell set down his phone and guided Qi Mu.

The record player? Just leave it to the shop.

A week passed quickly in this manner. At Farrell’s insistence, Qi Mu finally chose 《The Lark》 as his performance track for this time’s assessment.

This time around, there was no judge like Min Chen, who was a powerhouse. The Paris’ National Conservatory of Music invited a famous French cellist as the main judge.

When one’s music reached its peak, the layman could not see the interlaced turmoil in it. And between cello and violin, it was even harder to see the intricacy as they were both stringed instruments, and they were more subtle.

When Qi Mu finished performing 《The Lark》, the cellist smiled kindly, backed by the warm applause of the audience, and praised, “At the last assessment, I was performing in Switzerland. But in my school days, I heard that the violin and piano department are equally talented. So there is a tendency for one to overwhelm the other every time.”

After a slight pause, the master continued, “To tell the truth, I didn’t believe it when I first heard it. I believe that everyone who graduated from this conservatory, of course, including me, knows that the violin and piano department have always been equal, so neither of them has ever had the upper hand with an absolute advantage. When I heard that a student in the violin department received the high mark of 9.5 from Auston, I’ve always wanted to meet them.”

The applause gradually subsided, and the audience looked forward to the main judge to giving his evaluation. Especially amongst the others who gave Qi Mu full marks, and the main judge from the previous assessment who gave this handsome young man a score of 9.5 points.

The master looked at Qi Mu, his eyes gentle, “Today, I have finally seen you, and I understand. . . why you earned such a high score from Auston Bertram. Of course, I think his score is too low. You deserve——”

“10 points.”

As soon as the score was announced, the hall was astir.

Standing at the center of the stage, Qi Mu listened to such high praise with a humbly lowered head and said politely, “Thank you for your compliment, Master Gerrard. I will continue to work hard.”

The silver-haired Gerrard smiled and said, “Son, I think I can see your future. In my lifetime, the world of classical music will belong to you, youngsters.”

In the end, Qi Mu took first place with a high score of 96 points, which was a whole 8 points higher than second place. The violin department once again crushed their old rival, the piano department, so hard everyone in the piano department could do nothing but stare at them with rage.

Aided by his height, Dylan swung his arm over Qi Mu’s shoulder and excitedly exclaimed, “Seven, with you on our side, we’ll definitely crush those guys in the piano department in the future! This is so great!”

Qi Mu couldn’t help but chuckle, and his lips curled upwards, but he didn’t say anything apart from “Um.” He always remembered Akkad saying he could graduate early if he got first place for three consecutive assessments.

Well. . . such a thing, he won’t let Dylan know now lest he spoiled his happiness.

The next day after the assessment, Qi Mu arrived half an hour earlier and was ready to start his practice. But just as he took out his violin, Farrell opened the door.

Qi Mu was surprised to see Farrell coming so early today. He watched as the mild-tempered old man furrowed his eyebrows, “Angel, there are two things. . . I have to tell you today. Which do you want to hear first?”

Qi Mu wiped his bow with rosin, and his slender fingers appeared even fairer when contrasted with the light yellow rosin.

Qi Mu put down his bow and rosin and, frowning slightly, he asked the maestro with a warm voice, “Mr. Farrell, usually. . . wouldn’t you start with asking me to choose between good news and bad news?”

Farrell was stunned then waved his hand and said, “Well, Angel, that’s probably your Chinese culture speaking. I’ll get straight to the point. First, it’s been decided that Dresden’s next season tour will start a month ahead of the initial schedule. So I need to go back to Dresden by tonight, or tomorrow at the latest.”

Qi Mu was shocked by this. After a while, he nodded and said, “Master Farrell. . . then, the next news is?”

Farrell smiled, turned to look at the lovely young man sideways with an admiring look, “Angel, I’m going back to the Dresden Symphony Orchestra. I think my orchestra is very good, so. . . Do you want to go and visit with me before Old Reed comes back?”

Qi Mu’s eyes widened, and his expression could not disguise his shock.

Dresden Symphony Orchestra. . . is not just good, okay?!

This symphony orchestra had been established for over 400 years and was one of the oldest orchestras in the world. It had experienced nearly five centuries of storms and hardships, even suffered a nearly devastating destruction in the Second World War. But even so, it still stood firm and maintained excellence to this day.

In 1823, Beethoven, who was hailed as the Holy Saint, wrote in his collection of dialogues, “In general, the Dresden Symphony Orchestra is the best orchestra in Europe.”

Of course, 200 years later, this orchestra experienced many storms and didn’t have an absolute advantage in classical music. But no one would dare deny the fact that it was one of the most advanced symphony orchestras in the world.

And now, the chief conductor of said orchestra. . . invited Qi Mu for a visit!

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

Qi Mu barely managed to hold back his excitement, fingers flexing slightly, and he nodded earnestly, “Mr. Farrell, can I. . . can I really go?”

Master Farrell smiled and said, “Of course! Go and pack up, Angel. We’re leaving tonight!”

Qi Mu immediately locked his violin case and planned to go home straight away to pack up his luggage. But as soon as he left the violin room, a thought suddenly occurred to him: That record he placed carefully inside the safe. . . he still hadn’t had the chance to listen to it yet?!

“Master Farrell, it suddenly occurred to me that I haven’t listened to that record yet. I wonder if you have a good record player and if you do, can I bring it along to Dresden and listen to it?”

Farrell was surprised for a bit but nodded, “Oh, you didn’t know about this yet, Angel. Yesterday during your assessment, the shop sent the record player over since they’ve finished repairing it.”

Qi Mu paused then asked, “. . . It’s repaired?”

Master Farrell smiled and nodded, “Yes, I saw it last time. That black record’s surface is beautiful, it must be a good one. Now that the record player has been fixed, let’s go and listen to it together, Angel.”

Qi Mu set down his violin case and went to Akkad’s lounge.

Standing in front of the door, Qi Mu pushed it open. The door opened with a creak, and he was bathed in the gentle sunshine, making him squint his eyes. After over half a month. . . he would finally get to listen to that record.