Chapter 33 (1/2)

The 3-4 days of exploration ended with the trip to the Disneyland yesterday. Qi Mu’s first thought the next morning was——

Finally, Hong Kong’s Sea Music Festival begins.

This festival was unique to Hong Kong. Similar to the Edinburgh Festival in the UK, it was open to the public.

However, open to the public didn’t mean they had concerts under the wide open sky at all times. There were several professional halls for large orchestral performances.

But, as long a place could be found, whether it be a cafe, a candy store, the square, or a restaurant, one could perform as much as they liked. Therefore, there were often non-professional musicians that brought their own instruments and played their own compositions to gain public approval.

Qi Mu also. . . brought his own instrument.

Unlike the Chinese who were shy and quite restrained, he had grown up in Europe, and he had an open personality. It was normal for him to bring his instrument and perform in public. But today, he hesitated.

Not because he was shy, but because. . .

The thought of playing in front of that guy was really. . .

When they got back to the hotel last night, Qi Mu was still pondering whether such a talented and hardworking individual existed in the industry. He was preoccupied and his attention elsewhere, so when Min Chen said he would go to the festival the next day, he had just nodded automatically and didn’t say a word to dissuade him.

Participating in the music festival meant. . . when he performed in public, that man would stand at the side and watch.

Him setting his violin case on the street and enthusiastically playing while Min Chen. . . stood by and listened.

——This kind of imagery made him feel strange.

Gritting his teeth, Qi Mu decided against bringing his violin along. But before long, the doorbell rang. Qi Mu took some things and went to open the door. He saw his neighbor standing near the door and looked at him in surprise.

Min Chen raised one eyebrow, “You didn’t bring your violin?”

Qi Mu: “. . . It’s inconvenient, so I won’t bring it.” With that said, Qi Mu closed the door. He thought a bit and politely asked, “Are you not going to perform?” Before he had even finished asking, Qi Mu regretted it.

Sure enough, Min Chen’s steps faltered and, after a while, he calmly said, “I can’t carry it.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

Can’t carry it? Even 10 people can’t move a 9 ft grand piano let alone just one.

Today, Min Chen wore a stiff black velvet suit and a cap with a wide brim to cover the upper half of his face. That of his eyes which could be seen were also covered with big sunglasses. His entire body was covered up, giving the impression that he was about to whip out a mask and don it.

Qi Mu couldn’t help looking over at his clothes several times, and Min Chen noticed. He explained, “There will be many insiders at the festival. Daniel didn’t want me to go because he’s afraid it’ll cause unnecessary trouble.”

Qi Mu nodded in understanding and didn’t ask.

When the two arrived at the venue, the lively atmosphere had Qi Mu relaxing and let him finally feel the long-lost ambiance of classical music.

Although this wasn’t the location of the official event, the layout of a venue was of great concern. The site selected was a retro European tourist town. As long as you took even a step into the place, the classical aesthetic was unmistakable.

Perhaps because the festival had only just begun, there weren’t many musicians performing on the street. Qi Mu looked around and saw a trumpeter playing a rather passionate song, and a guitarist further down, tuning his guitar.

Along the main road of this red-brick town, there were pictures of various celebrities illuminated by spotlights. This idea had been carefully implemented by the event’s organizer. They had the life story of each master written in numerous languages at each of these points. And there was a small station at the side where their music could be listened to at one’s leisure.

Qi Mu had just taken a few steps when he saw a familiar figure. He smiled and said, “I didn’t expect to see Mr. Dorenza’s column here.”

About 500 meters down the main street, between Verdi and Wagner, there was a celebrity column of the current conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Eberk Dorenza.