Chapter 87 (2/2)
Rosaire, a British pianist who served as the main judge, said, “Your 《Norma》 has surpassed mine and I think. . . if you don’t get full marks, then no one will!”
Qi Mu never thought he would succeed with such a radical attack. He simply wanted to pay him back for teasing him with “five times the speed.”
But. . . Again, to Qi Mu’s surprise, he found there were people in the world. . .
That were too childish!
When the very difficult 《Réminiscences de Don Juan》 resounded in the piano room, Qi Mu didn’t realize Min Chen was inspired by his words.
Qi Mu had yet to recover, not getting the chance to speak, before the childish man asked, “Do you like 《Danse Macabre》?”
《Danse Macabre》 was one of Liszt’s representative works. Its difficulty was on par with 《Réminiscences de Don Juan》 and was also touted as one of the most challenging piano pieces in the world. In the words of some pianists, each of the five variations in the piece was worse than the others. Liszt must have wanted to embarrass the later generations to death, ah!
Qi Mu was still in a daze when Min Chen asked him this question. He just muttered “Uh,” and the beautiful notes of 《Danse Macabre》 filled the room.
Qi Mu: “. . .”
After the piece, Min Chen again asked, “How about 《La Campanella》?”
Qi Mu: “. . .You. . .”
《La Campanella》 rang out.
“Do you like 《Petrushka》?”
“. . . I really do. . .”
《Petrushka》 also rang out.
“《Islamey》?”
“. . .”
. . .
Intricate pieces resounded one after another, making Qi Mu taste the bitter fruit. He experienced what it meant when people said: “You cannot die twice.”
Just as Min Chen was about to start another piece, Qi Mu grabbed his hands. He looked up at the stubborn, childish man with a sincere gaze, and said, “Like. . . I like it very much! I like every piece you play very much!”
Qi Mu’s words stunned him. When Min Chen realized what the younger man said, he felt his temperature rise. The man called “The thick-skinned devil” by Daniel. . . sported a blush on his ears.
Min Chen coughed softly and said, “. . . Now, since you said you liked it, I’ll play another one?”
Qi Mu: “. . .”
Even though he liked it, he couldn’t stay and listen to more than a dozen songs without taking a breather!
. . .
When Qi Mu left late that night, he couldn’t help but sneak several glances at the other man’s hands. Finally, he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “You played so many pieces. . . Ah, difficult pieces. Aren’t your hands sore?”
“. . . Not sore. I practice long hours every day.”
Qi Mu practiced violin for at least six hours a day, so he could understand. He nodded. “I think it’s better if you cut back on the hours a bit. It will burden your fingers.”
Min Chen, who practiced daily for an hour at a time, said, “. . . Well, okay.”
Qi Mu smiled and nodded after receiving an answer. He said, “Then I’ll leave first. You don’t have to send me out.”
Min Chen took out a large, brown paper bag out of nowhere and stuffed it into his hands.
Qi Mu wondered what was in the bag when Min Chen’s low and magnetic voice rang out, “This is a recording I made last year. There were several of Liszt’s works, such as 《Réminiscences de Don Juan》, 《Danse Macabre》 and 《La Campanella》. You can listen to them whenever you like.”
Qi Mu finally figured out what was in the bag. It was a vinyl of Min Chen’s performances recorded privately. It included Liszt’s complete works. It was absolutely priceless if he put it on the market.
Qi Mu hesitated. “This is too valuable, I. . .”
“I can record another anytime.”
Min Chen blocked all of Qi Mu’s arguments with a single sentence. Qi Mu could only smile and nod. “Rest assured, I will treasure it and take good care of it.”
After exchanging a few more words, Qi Mu left for his hotel. Just a few seconds after he left, the childish man frowned and whispered to himself:
“When will he. . . find out what’s inside?”
“Tomorrow?”
The man’s low voice was swallowed by the darkness of Vienna’s night. No one knew what he said nor understood what he meant.
The hidden thing remained a mystery.