Chapter 100 (1/2)

The moon shone brightly that summer night in Dresden. Like reflecting through water, it cast shadows over the small street behind the Semperoper Opera House. Dim, hazy lights shone from a few street lamps. Except for a handful of cars, no one passed by.

The moment he saw the other man, Qi Mu wanted to turn around and walk away.

He entertained this childish idea. He knew the man had probably waited for a long time, so Qi Mu sighed heavily and accepted his fate.

Qi Mu waved his hand and smiled, “Long time no see. What a coincidence, right?” His voice was calm, as if nothing happened.

Min Chen’s eyebrows climbed high at seeing the youth so calm. The touch of a smile appeared in his gaze. He shook his head. “Yes, quite the coincidence. I just waited for three minutes.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

Three minutes? That meant. . . If he had left four minutes earlier, he wouldn’t have met this guy?

Guessing the younger man’s thoughts, Min Chen’s smile deepened. He added another blow, “I also wanted to visit Mr. Farrell and Mrs. Audrey this evening. Let’s go together?”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

Cold moonlight shone unobstructed through the sky, and the cool night breeze dispelled the summer heat.

Qi Mu had thoroughly accepted the reality of his situation. He no longer acted dumb, nor did he avoid Min Chen. He held his violin case in front and leaned against the brick wall next to the other man.

Neither spoke. Everything Min Chen had to say was already said.

Min Chen had never been good at expressing himself. That simple “I like you” already exhausted the restrained, introverted man.

Qi Mu tilted his head upward, looking at the moon.

The bright moonlight overpowered the stars. It was a rare sight, because the city’s neon lights usually dimmed the moonlight.

Neither spoke, but the atmosphere was beautifully tranquil. The breeze passed by, ruffling leaves on both sides of the road.

Just when Min Chen thought the young man who had avoided him for a month wasn’t going to speak, his pleasant voice rang out——

“Your record. . . I heard it.” His tone was helpless. “I listened to the very last piece. It was the most perfect recording of Min Chen or Auston Bertram I’ve ever heard.”

Pondering for a while, Min Chen finally nodded. “En.”

The white moonlight shone on the young man’s face. His smile softened, and he said, “Actually. . . I’m not a person who tends to run away. I just. . . don’t know what to say.”

Min Chen looked at the younger man then asked, “What is it?”

Instead of directly answering him, Qi Mu began to recall. “When I first heard the name ‘Min Chen,’ it was over a decade ago, close to twenty years, probably. I was surprised, thinking a Chinese won Xiao Sai with full marks?”

Qi Mu shook his head helplessly. “Since then, I began to pay attention to him. The first piece I listened to was Bach’s 《St Matthew Passion》, then his Chopin, Beethoven, Schumann, Schubert and finally. . . Liszt.”

After a pause, Qi Mu looked up at Min Chen. With a teasing nod, he asked, “Oh yes. I discovered long ago. . . You seldom play Mendelssohn. Why?”

In such a quiet and deserted street, they spoke softly, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

Min Chen stared at the young man, feeling as if the light of the moon was drawn into his pale eyes. He smiled and asked in return, “I graduated from Leipzig Conservatory, you know that, right?”

Qi Mu nodded. “Yes.”

“Do you know who founded the conservatory?”

Qi Mu immediately answered, “Mendelssohn.” Smiling, he added, “To be precise, this was Germany’s first conservatory of music.”

Black trench coat blending into the night’s shadows, Min Chen nodded. “When I first came to Leipzig, I was invited to perform at the school festival. The festival was the school’s anniversary, and all the performances were related to the conservatory’s celebrities or pieces by the founder; Mr. Mendelssohn was the most popular. But there’s a tradition. . .”

He paused for a moment then continued, “Mendelssohn’s style is classical romantic. Once you’ve decided to play something by him, you need to find someone else to perform with you. At the time, the concertmaster of the Spanish National Orchestra was head of the violin department. That person was, um. . .” Musing on his choice of words, Min Chen finally found suitable ones: “That person liked my music very much. . . and was a girl.”

Unable to keep from laughing out loud, Qi Mu finally understood what happened.

Min Chen didn’t seem to have heard the youth’s laughter and continued with a blank expression, “I didn’t want to play with her, and many of the notable pianists and violinists at the time were like her. . .They were bad news. But I couldn’t exactly tell the truth either, so I could only say: I haven’t practiced Mendelssohn much and I didn’t think I could play it to its utmost potential.”

The picture immediately played out in his mind, and Qi Mu smiled helplessly, “You could play Liszt’s well at the time, giving such a reason. . . did they believe it?”

“Yes.” Min Chen solemnly said, “Because I’m the one who said it.”

Qi Mu: “. . .”

“Having skills doesn’t equate being able to play well. I said I couldn’t perform Mendelssohn’s romance, and it was the truth. I am an honest and sincere man.”

Such a funny sentence made Qi Mu laugh, and he turned to the person beside him, but when he did so, he froze.

The man’s profound face was serious, and his deep dark eyes stared right at him as he said in a solemn tone, “I couldn’t play a romantic piece with her because. . .”

“Qi Mu, I didn’t like her.”

The topic suddenly came full circle, and Qi Mu’s eyes widened a little. After a while, he sighed. “Min Chen. . . we are both very busy. I can’t develop my career in Berlin, and you cannot give up Berlin. Europe is small, but in some cases, it can be quite vast too. As people separated all day and night, do you think. . . it’s possible for us?”

“Do you like me?”

The words stunned Qi Mu, and before he could respond, a shadow fell over him.

The taller man completely blocked the moonlight. Hands on either side of Qi Mu, he looked down at him. This posture was quite aggressive and, more importantly, it made Qi Mu feel like he had no escape.

It was at this moment Qi Mu found out——

He was half a head shorter than his opponent.

This was the first time Qi Mu viewed the man from such a close distance. From the moment he first heard the name “Min Chen,” to the moment they met officially last year, this was the first time they were close enough they could feel each other’s breath.

Cheeks flushed, Qi Mu coughed a little and carefully looked away, “Now isn’t the time to think about this. . . Min Chen, I can’t go to Berlin, and you can’t leave it for another decade. We won’t have time for each other, we. . .”

“Do you like me?”

Min Chen repeated the question, halting Qi Mu in his words. After some thought, Qi Mu understood the man’s meaning and could only laugh weakly in his mind. He lifted his head to look into Min Chen’s attentive eyes and said:

“I like you.”

Of course, the answer was ‘yes’.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t blush at his confession. Nor would he avoid the man for half a month. Qi Mu wasn’t a hesitant person. If he didn’t like it, he would say so frankly. It’s precisely because he likes him. . .

That he didn’t dare to answer.

Speaking those three short little words immediately made Qi Mi feel lighter, but he didn’t notice the man, who was usually calm, had held himself stiffly up until then and let out a relieved sigh. Min Chen looked down at the delicate face of the younger man and saw the helplessness and hesitation in his expression.

Min Chen said confidently, “As long as you like me. . . there will be no problems.”