Chapter 128 (2/2)

When Qi Mu arrived at the venue the next day and was told that he was free to choose his own repertoire, he smiled and said, “Thank you, Annie.”

The female staff in charge of registration froze. On reflex, she asked, “You… How did you know my name is Annie?!”

Qi Mu calmly pointed at the metal name tag on her chest and answered, “It’s on your nametag. It’s a lovely name.”

Annie was still immersed in her shock even after Qi Mu left. When her colleagues came to ask her to handle some task on their side, she looked as if she had just woken up from a dream. “God, how can there be such a gentleman? When he said my name, I felt like he was familiar with me… Like he’d always called me that!”

“What are you talking about, Annie?”

“Oh, Richard, you won’t believe it… I just saw a wonderful newcomer…”

The two spoke as they walked, until they left the preparation room and Qi Mu couldn’t hear them anymore. Qi Mu wasn’t bothered, he just shook his head and continued to prepare his violin.

After ten years in this orchestra, Qi Mu had also memorized the names of other staff members, not just the names of the orchestra members. His memory trained at the Geneva Conservatory of Music made it quite easy for him to navigate his way around. He was also voted as “the most gentle and considerate musician” by the maintenance staff several times——

Perhaps, among the members of the orchestra that numbered close to 100, only Lu Zi Wen remembered all their names.

After ten years of being in the orchestra, Qi Mu was familiar with the layout of the headquarters. However, when the members of the orchestra started to enter the preparation room, Qi Mu was still shocked. Soon, he found a familiar figure among them.

A handsome black-haired man among the sea of blond people was of course noticeable. Luo Yu Sen also found Qi Mu with just a glance. Surprise written in his gaze, he quickly made his way over, “Eh? Did you come here for the audition, Qi Mu?”

He deliberately spoke in Chinese to show his familiarity with Qi Mu.

During his time back in Paris, Luo Yu Sen often sent him text messages, hoping to meet Akkad with Qi Mu’s help. However, he didn’t know why the young man rarely replied to his messages. Even when he occasionally replied, it was with only a few words, appearing quite cold.

This shift from being active to passive worried Luo Yu Sen.

He wanted to get acquainted with Akkad through this simple and stupid young man. With the maestro’s recommendation, he would surely be able to get the deputy concertmaster’s seat. He was already a member of the Vienna Symphony, so he was confident that he had a 50% chance of getting it. But then, Qi Mu didn’t pay him any attention…

How can Luo Yu Sen not be anxious?

Of course, he didn’t know that once Qi Mu got the information he needed, he was too lazy to pay any attention to this scum. He had already achieved his purpose after getting close to him, so the only thing left was to solve the problem. He didn’t need the guy to hang around in his vision all day, disgusting him in the process.

Qi Mu answered his question perfunctorily and soon after, the audition began.

Among the applicants in the room, some knew Qi Mu. Some of them had been at the Philharmonie de Paris and witnessed Qi Mu’s and the college orchestra’s performance. In a short time, Luo Yu Sen was pushed aside, leaving him no room to continue to pester Qi Mu.

The exchange didn’t last long, however. When the applicants were called to audition one after another, the atmosphere inside the preparation room turned tense.

The order of the performance was mixed, it didn’t differentiate between the members of the orchestra and the outsiders. So when a violinist from South Korea finished his performance, it was Luo Yu Sen’s turn. He walked out of the room, violin in hand.

At the time, Qi Mu was reading the score of a piece he had already memorized. Seeing that he didn’t even look up from his reading, Luo Yu Sen walked out of the room in disappointment. The very next moment, however, Qi Mu raised his head and stared at Luo Yu Sen’s back for a long time.

“Hey, Richter, can you look after my stuff for a moment? I want to go to the bathroom.”

“Sure, no problem, Seven.”

After sorting out the score and putting his violin case in place, Qi Mu walked out of the room alone. Everyone was intently preparing for their audition, so no one noticed Qi Mu leaving.

Just outside the door, he turned left.

Qi Mu completely ignored the prompt “Turn right to the bathroom” and walked forwards with familiarity. When he stopped, he was already at the door of a rehearsal room. A low, melodious violin slowly poured out from the room.

You see, Evra had always used the room as the audition room whenever they were recruiting.

As for the piece Luo Yu Sen chose from his repertoire, it was Bach’s Violin Sonata.