Chapter 122 (1/2)

The autumn heat of Paris’ night couldn’t match the heat of the romance in the air.

The VIP room of the Charles de Gaulle airport occupied a space of 20m2. The floor was covered in thick woolen carpet, and the room was equipped with a computer, television, and other electronics. In addition to the basic furniture like a sofa and coffee table, there was a separate bathroom for the guests’ perusal.

When Qi Mu knocked on the door, Min Chen was flipping through a magazine——

The magazine was just published that morning. The airport management ordered a beautiful flight attendant to deliver it to Min Chen because his silhouette graced the cover. It was from his recital in Berlin.

Min Chen just flipped through the magazine without paying much attention to it. He was more concerned about an article on the last few pages—— 《An Overview of the world’s top ten music institutions》.

The Paris’ National Conservatory of Music was mentioned in the article. Although it was a short paragraph of only 200 words, Min Chen found a familiar name. It wasn’t long before he saw the actual person.

Reaching out, he brushed his hand along the fingers of the young man who had been occupying his thoughts for more than a month.

Min Chen gently felt along Qi Mu’s right index finger, from his round fingernails to his prominent knuckles. Every musician took good care of their hands, and Qi Mu was no exception. Every fingernail was perfectly manicured; he bore no blemish except for the calluses on his fingers.

“So… You’re leaving, even though you’ve only just arrived?”

“Yes, shortly,” Min Chen nodded. Pausing, he looked at the clock on the wall and added, “There’s still 20 minutes before the takeoff, but I have to go through the security check.”

As he spoke, Min Chen’s warm exhale grazed Qi Mu’s beautiful fingers, tickling them. Qi Mu reflexively pulled his hand from the man’s hold. “Don’t you have to go through the security check?”

Min Chen nodded. “Yes, in about ten minutes… Someone will inform me.”

In general, passengers needed to have their ticket and pass the security check 30 minutes before the takeoff, or their ticket would be void.

However, as Qi Mu thought, Min Chen would never treat himself poorly. So only when the plane was about to take off, would he leave the VIP room and enter the plane first through a separate security channel.

Qi Mu thought for a moment and asked, “Is there another flight tonight?”

A sense of loss flashed in his dark eyes, and Min Chen shook his head slightly. “There’s no other flight today.”

Hearing this, Qi Mu also lowered his head in disappointment. His hair fell from his forehead, obscuring his dejected gaze.

Qi Mu knew that Min Chen had to lead his orchestra in their rehearsal, so he couldn’t stop him from returning to Berlin. But, it was already late in the evening, and they had very little time together… It made him very sad.

It wasn’t easy for them to see each other. When they finally could, it was only for 20 minutes. Such a short meeting was akin to drinking poison to quench your thirst. It was pointless.

“The third assessment… Is starting next month. It’s a little more than two weeks away,” Qi Mu whispered, “If I continue to get high scores, then I can graduate early. After that… I want to go to Vienna.”

As he listened to the young man’s honest confession, Min Chen hid the emotions in his eyes and said, “Well, Vienna is better than… Berlin. If you really want to go there, I have a spare room in the house you went to last time after the celebration. It’s hard to find a good house to play in, in Vienna. But mine is. It’s also closer to the city’s center and convenient to commute. You could live with me.”

Qi Mu asked, “The one where you played your piano to me?”

Min Chen nodded. “That’s the one. The sound insulation in the piano room is good. I’ll ask Daniel to send the keys to you later.”

Qi Mu didn’t decline the offer and just hummed in reply. Somehow, the memory of the man currently by his side playing numerous high-level piano pieces emerged in his mind. That was the same night Min Chen gave him the record with such a heartfelt message.

With a smile, Qi Mu asked, “By the way, how was your recital yesterday? Mr. Farrell told me you’ve improved in the past two years. He was quite surprised.” As he spoke, Qi Mu opened and closed his fingers in front of Min Chen. “Didn’t you say you’d record it and give it to me?”

Taking one of his grabby hands, Min Chen murmured, “I’ll tell Daniel to send it along with the keys if you behave.”

Qi Mu wouldn’t back down against Min Chen’s placating tone. Raising an eyebrow, he pretended to be angry, “I’m not a child. You can’t give me the record, so you should at least be able to tell me what pieces you played last night, right?”

To be fully prepared for their concert, the Paris’ National Conservatory of Music’s orchestra rehearsed until past 10 the former night. Qi Mu was so tired. He couldn’t even move his fingers. He fell asleep the moment he hit his mattress, far too exhausted to pay attention to Min Chen’s recital.

The sight of the youth being difficult and acting like a tsundere was rare. It made Min Chen’s lips curl upwards. His eyes brightened as his fingers slowly moved along Qi Mu’s until they intertwined.

“How about I hum it for you?”

Qi Mu blinked. “… Hum?” After a slight pause, he nodded. “Okay, let’s try that.”

Qi Mu almost immediately regretted his words.

In all his life, Qi Mu had never met a person who was so… tone-deaf.

This man obviously had the perfect pitch; he could even hear the difference in the timbre in every string. Yet when he hummed, even from the first half of the first note——

How could a person that tone-deaf exist?!

His voice was so magical that a moving melody had turned into a plain humming without any intonation. Qi Mu couldn’t even recognize a short segment, let alone guess what piece it was.

Finally, Min Chen stopped to ask, “Do you like this Chopin’s 《Mazurkas》?”

Qi Mu: “… That was 《Mazurkas》… ?”

“…”