Chapter 31 (2/2)

So when he came to Hong Kong, the place he wanted to visit the most was Disneyland.

In Qi Mu’s mind, Min Chen might be opposed to going to such a place. But, to his amazement, when he suggested it for their last free day, the handsome man had looked at him with surprise then nodded, “Let’s go tomorrow.”

“. . .”

In a place like this, aside from the girls who couldn’t let go of their fairy tales, most were parents with children. So when two tall men walked side by side down the diamond patterned walkway, several people stared at them in amazement.

Qi Mu’s skin was fair, so he wore his baseball cap to cover his face, revealing only his mouth. While Min Chen didn’t seem afraid of the sun, the man wore sunglasses in a manner that screamed: “no one is allowed near me.” It surely made people think they were strange.

Although Min Chen didn’t show discomfort the entire way, Qi Mu couldn’t help but ask while they were having lunch, “Min Chen. . . are you sure you want to continue walking around this afternoon?” The past few days, Qi Mu thought the most significant progress between them was that they could now call each other by their name.

Min Chen set down the cup in his hands and frowned slightly, “You don’t want to continue exploring?”

Qi Mu shook his head, “I still want to walk around some, but I think. . . you don’t seem to like walking around much?”

Who would expect that Min Chen would raise his Phoenix eyes to his and calmly refute, “No, I like it very much.”

“. . .”

Therefore, that afternoon, this man who had said “I like it very much” was still walking indifferently and looked at everything with a casual glance, lacking any hint of joy or excitement. Qi Mu didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

Later that evening, they had just entered the area by Peter Pan and, only a few steps in, they heard a voice over the speakers, “Tomorrow is the annual Sea Music Festival of Hong Kong. All of today’s guests can play a song on stage and get a gift from Peter Pan!”

Qi Mu glanced in the direction of the stage. Before his gaze could cross the entire distance, he heard the sound of a stuttering piano and unconsciously whispered, “Tchaikovsky’s Etude No. 7?”

A magnetic voice rang in his ear, “Yes, it’s that one.” Min Chen’s voice was calm, but when they finally saw the person playing, both were stunned. After a slight pause, Min Chen said helplessly, “No wonder it’s shaking. From the looks of it, he’s less than five years old.”

On stage, a boy with blond hair and blue eyes worked hard at playing the piano. His fingers were small, but for him to play the song from start to finish, it was already excellent.

At the end of the performance, someone in a Peter Pan costume brought over a box of cookies for the child. Seeing that there was a gift, the other children were eager to give it a try, and after a while, a few different children had cookies.

The children were all under the age of ten and the adults who noticed this laughed and applauded them all. The fifth who went up was a boy who looked to be in his teens. The black-haired little Chinese boy sat shyly in front of the piano and began to play. By the second note, Qi Mu’s eyes widened, and he looked at the man beside him in surprise.

Min Chen’s dark eyes seemed to reflect the sunshine of the evening sunset. He watched the boy playing so seriously on stage with a meaningful gaze. He spoke plainly, “《D Minor Sonata》.” Min Chen then retracted his gaze and turned to Qi Mu, his lips curling. “You actually recognized it on the second note. Are you familiar with it?”

Qi Mu laughed helplessly and nodded, “I’ve heard all of your songs. You first performed this in London when you were seventeen.”

Min Chen lowered his eyes then he pretended to accidentally land his gaze on Qi Mu. He hummed quietly but said nothing more.

On stage, the boy was still working hard and played earnestly. He was only about fourteen or fifteen years old. Although Min Chen had written 《D Minor Sonata》 when he was only seventeen, the difficulty of the piece wasn’t low. Just as the song was about to end, the child missed a handful of notes.

Qi Mu watched as the boy accepted the cookies with red eyes. He sighed. “The song is quite difficult. He probably practiced for quite some time. I don’t know much about the piano, but I think. . . he must have made a pretty big mistake. He seems to be crying over it.”

Qi Mu appreciated people that were dedicated the most. They may be a little less talented, but they truly adored their instruments so they would always work hard to play it well.

Qi Mu glanced at the boy’s common clothing and his old shoes. He sighed again, “Unfortunately, I doubt he can afford a decent teacher. . .”

His words were low, barely a murmur, but the man beside him had absolute pitch and heard him clearly. Min Chen looked at Qi Mu’s helpless face, and he whispered, “Do you think he’s pretty good?”

Qi Mu nodded. “Yes, and he looks to be working hard. Even if he’s less talented, he’s much better than a lot of people. Unfortunately, even with his skill. . . I’m afraid his family couldn’t afford a good teacher or to send him to a good school.” Qi Mu’s voice gradually faded as if he had come to remember something.

Seeing that Qi Mu seemed to have deep feelings about the topic, Min Chen smiled and reached out to take Qi Mu’s hat.

Qi Mu looked up in surprise and started, “You. . .” His voice died when he saw the other man had put on his cap. Coupled with the sunglasses, it covered up most of his face.

Qi Mu’s eyes widened in surprise, unsure of what the other man was planning to do.

Min Chen lifted his index finger to his lips and shushed him quietly. Then, before Qi Mu’s astonished eyes, he stepped forward——

And actually onto the stage!