Chapter 4 (2/2)

Under the bright spotlight, the youth’s handsome face and his straight posture seemed to compete with the sun. Especially when he closed his eyes. It was as if there was an invisible light shining from behind him, making it impossible to look directly at him.

He secretly thought to himself: If this was the black sheep that Tan Lao always talked about. . . then his whole family was a waste!

At the side of the stage, the middle-aged man’s face was already red with indignation and anger.

There was no need for comments from the judges, the difference between him and Qi Mu was evident to everyone. He only played the second movement in 《D Major》, but it already felt like he was playing the whole piece. The liveliness of the prelude, the humor near the final part, this made the people who listened to it want to hear the entire thing.

At this thought, the middle-aged man could no longer stand being there. He flicked his sleeve and left, the view of his back giving the impression of him running away.

Qi Mu naturally noticed the man’s departure. He smiled a bit but didn’t say anything.

Mr. Tan Zheng Hui, the orchestra’s chief conductor, sat in the center of the judges’ panel and looked at Qi Mu for a long time with a complicated expression. Finally, he let out a deep sigh and slowly loosened his clenched fist.

Tan Lao said, “That was an excellent performance, you can go down and wait for the results.”

Hearing this, the people present were shocked. Qi Mu was also slightly surprised, but he quickly smiled, bowed politely then exited the stage.

Du Sheng looked at Qi Mu’s retreating back, frowning in doubt. He then whispered, “Tan Lao, why did you let him leave without saying anything? Isn’t this. . . not in line with regulation?”

Unexpectedly, Tan Zheng Hui raised his eyebrows and asked, “Regulation made by whom?”

Du Sheng paused for a moment and replied, “By you.”

“Oh well, now the rules are changed, I guess.”

“……”

Alright, alright. You’re the conductor, you can do whatever you want!

Zheng Wei Qiao had been waiting outside of the theater for a while. When he saw Qi Mu, he immediately went over to him and offered words of comfort, “You haven’t touched the violin for a few years, and you’ve only begun to practice for the past few days so this failure is understandable. Don’t worry about it. The B City Wind and String Instruments are recruiting next month, you can try again then.”

Qi Mu widened his eyes at this and looked at Zheng Wei Qiao funnily.

Zheng Wei Qiao took his silence as a confirmation and hurriedly continued, “If you don’t want to, we can also go to S City. A lot of your parents’ friends are there, their students and colleagues. If you try again and work hard, I’m sure you can join their first violin group.”

The sunshine gave a golden tinge to Qi Mu’s hair. He smiled and asked confidently, “Zheng-ge, are you worried. . . that I won’t be selected?”

Zheng Wei Qiao was a bit surprised and asked subconsciously, “Aren’t you?” After a moment, he remembered he couldn’t outright talk about this, so he said discreetly, “My friend told me that Mr. Tan didn’t comment on your performance and just let you leave after that. . . But don’t take it to heart, Mr. Tan watched your mother grow up so he must have his own reasons for doing that. Even if you didn’t get selected this time, there are plenty of other orchestras that are recruiting.”

As he listened to Zheng Wei Qiao’s words, Qi Mu’s smile grew brighter and brighter. He looked up to the sky and the sun’s golden rays. He asked abruptly, “Zheng-ge, B City Symphony Orchestra. . . what kind of orchestra is it?”

Zheng Wei Qiao absent-mindedly replied, “They’re the top orchestra in Huaxia, second to none.”

“Then. . . what are you worried about?”

Zheng Wei Qiao frowned, unable to understand his words, and Qi Mu continued, “If they don’t pick me, then. . . B City Symphony Orchestra is only at this level, that’s all there is to it.”

There was a smile in the youth’s calm voice, but Zheng Wei Qiao was stunned at his words. He stared blankly at Qi Mu who was walking away carrying his violin case. Noticing that the man was falling behind, Qi Mu just smiled and waited for him to catch up.

Despite his empty mind, Zheng Wei Qiao thought that he might have seen an illusion.

He never saw such a confident Qi Mu, one with the fortitude of a king. As if he did not belong in Huaxia, the undeveloped land for classical music, but in Europe where the giants were.

There was a thought, surging suddenly in his mind——

The man who should be standing in the Golden Hall with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, showing the world the infinite charm of music! But in this world, there was no such existence. . .

No!

There was one!

In the beginning, he only accompanied the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, but he became a sensation and was nicknamed the king of the piano.

Thinking of this, Zheng Wei Qiao’s blood boiled. He never experienced this kind of excitement in his 30 years of living. He was eager to stand by this youth’s side, to see how far he could go.

The streets of B City were crowded in the evening. The vast expanse of the sky was full with the reddish glow of the sunset. As if the clouds were burning, it swept the city making the passer-bys unable to help but stop and admire it.

The Eastern Sun was beginning to burn brightly.

And the West was completely ignorant of this.