King of Classical Music

After Qi Mu finished cleaning the last of thetrash, he tied a knot in the plastic bag and raised his hand to wipe the sweatfrom his forehead. Satisfied, he observed the clean living room.

Min Chen's house was on the top floor of ahigh-class apartment building. Qi Mu wondered if he was born withobsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), because the moment he entered theapartment, he found. . .

The decorations in this place were identicalto the ones in Min Chen's apartment back in B City!

There were some minor differences, of course.After all, the two houses couldn’t have the same layout or height. Apart fromthat, even the angle of the sofa was the same as the one in B City. OCD. . .was really beyond the realm of comprehension.

Qi Mu smiled helplessly, and when he lookedup, he saw Min Chen coming from the kitchen with two glasses of water. He worean apron to prevent his clothes from getting dirty, but his expression was ascalm and indifferent as ever.

This made Qi Mu laugh out loud, leaving MinChen puzzled.

After cleaning all the garbage, Qi Mu sat onthe soft sheepskin sofa and asked, ". . . I've found you're. . . a little obsessive-compulsive,right, Min Chen?"

This was the result of their long acquaintanceand good relationship. Qi Mu couldn’t ask such a thing half a year ago. Butnow, he spoke naturally and felt nothing wrong with it.

Seeing Qi Mu laugh with his eyes curled intocrescents, Min Chen smiled, "You found out?"

Qi Mu immediately bowed in a "confession"gesture. "I don't dare say a word."

They talked for a while, and Qi Mu rememberedsomething. Putting his glass on the table, he turned to look at the man at hisside. His expression serious, he said, "Actually. . . Min Chen, I saw thereview written by Master Leonid the other day. I didn't expect him to evaluateme that high, it made me feel a little. . . flattered."

At the name "Leonid," Min Chen squinted and asked,"He wrote a review about you?"

Qi Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry.Shaking his head, he said, "Tell me the truth. Don't pretend you didn't knowabout it." The review was published in 《Philharmonic》. Qi Mu didn't know about it until Akkadmentioned it. After a pause, Qi Mu went on, "My professor felt it was strange.. . He said——"

"Howcould that old Leonid remember you enough to find you and write a review aboutyou? Little Seven, hang on a bit. I'll go ask, that guy is too lazy to write. .."

Without Qi Mu saying it, he hinted blatantly.

I already know about the bet.

Under the bright light, the cold man raisedhis eyebrows. He calmly asked, "So. . . What happened?"

". . ."

Defeated by his calm expression, Qi Muhelplessly raised his hands in surrender."I didn't expect you to make a betwith Mr. Leonid, but. . . Min Chen, thank you for taking care of me. Even myprofessor said he wanted to thank you."

"How are you going to thank me?"

Min Chen directly ignored his teacher'sthanks, asking only for his. Feeling as if a lump in his throat rendered himspeechless, he thought carefully for a while. Finally, he tentatively spoke,"…How about I cook for you? My craftsmanship has improved lately. Now thatwe're in Vienna, I'm afraid it's a bit difficult to eat authentic Chinesecuisine."

Min Chen didn't say a single word. Qi Muremembered, "Oh right, I forgot. You're going back to Berlin tomorrow. . ."Regret lingered in his voice.

Min Chen smiled slightly, then said, "Therewill be other opportunities in the future."

Qi Mu was stunned. "What did you just say?"

Min Chen shook his head. "Nothing."

Qi Mu: "???"

The man's dark eyes stared at the youth's facefor quite a while. He chuckled at Qi Mu's puzzled expression. "Do you likeChopin's music?"

The topic changed so quickly, it took Qi Mu amoment to nod. "I love Chopin's 《Mazurkas》 and 《Nocturnes》 a lot. I have a collection of them."

Min Chen raised an eyebrow. "Whose?"

"Of course it's yours. . ." As soon as hespoke, Qi Mu abruptly stopped. He smiled helplessly. In a weak tone, he wenton, "Well, there were many pianists in the world who recorded a complete set ofChopin's works but. . . I like yours the best. Especially Nocturne No. 2 《in E flat minor》. It's quite suitablefor bedtime."

In fact, before he met Min Chen, he neverexpected the man was. . . such a person.

In his imagination, Min Chen was a calm andelegant musician. Being able to play such beautiful music, he had to have agentle but firm heart. It was inconceivable. . . for him to fear a but the sizeof a nail.

Well, he was afraid of bugs.

If he let Min Chen's fans know, he couldn'timagine what they'd think.

Min Chen set his glass on the table, notnoticing the young man's dilemma. The moonlight shone through the window andinto the room. Particularly bright and clear, its light bounced against theedge of the cup, reflecting a silver streak.

The man's handsome face showed an almostimperceptible smile, he asked, "Do. . . Do you want to listen to the liveversion?"

Before entering the room, Qi Mu never knew. .. another large space existed beside the living room.

In the 100 m² room, there was nothing aside from the black grand piano in thecenter. The floor-to-ceiling window allowed moonlight to fill the room, castingpale luminescence across the light brown floor.

Steinway's 9ft grand pianos were a favoritefor concert halls. Only this one could have such clear sound. It was the onlyone that could fully display a pianist's skill.

But now, this treasure was shelved in anapartment, like the sword of a sleeping king. It waited patiently for the kingto pull it out of its scabbard.

Qi Mu felt like he stumbled upon a refinedconception.

The materials in the room were top-notch. It createdthe clearest tune and the best insulation resonance. Such a room decorated withonly one piano was unique, leaving Qi Mu breathless.

When Min Chen opened the piano's cover, Qi Mustood at its side. Before he realized it, he was sitting on the pianostool!

The chair was big enough for 4 people, so with2, it didn't feel crowded. Qi Mu was surprised when he heard a low voice in hisear. "There isn't a chair in this room, so. . . just sit here. Standing can beexhausting. You can listen better while you sit."

Qi Mu nodded. After a moment, he asked, "Areyou going to play Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 《in E flat minor》?"

Min Chen didn't answer. A sound like flowingwater answered Qi Mu's question. Qi Mu had never sat on a piano stool whilelistening to a pianist perform, let alone the man called the "King of Piano."

Chopin's Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 《in E flat minor》 was a gentle piece.It wasn't difficult, and there weren't any flamboyant techniques. However, whilethe melody was simple, it wasn't as easy as it seemed.

As Qi Mu said before, among musicians whoperformed Chopin's works, he liked Min Chen's the most, especially thisparticular 《Nocturne》. In his previous life, as long as he had the time, he wouldplay it on loop and listen while relaxing.

Now, the pianist played in front of him.

Min Chen's hands were slender, his knucklesprominent, and his nails were round. They were trimmed without the slightestdefect, much like their owner with OCD.

With those hands pressing the white and blackkeys, the grand piano turned into a child. It sang the most beautiful melody,led by this man. It was too perfect to be real.

How did the live version compare to the CD?

Qi Mu experienced it to the fullest then.

If the 《Chopin's Complete Works》 he purchased was thebest performance at an amateur level, then. . . The 《Nocturne》 he listened to nowwas the best on a professional level.

Those precious hands danced rapidly across thekeyboard, each note filled with endless subtlety. It was so moving anyone who heardthe performance would be intoxicated with it.

Qi Mu finally realized. . .

This was Min Chen.

And, though he had made a lot of progress, QiMu was nowhere close to this man.

Only he could turn this 《Nocturne》 into such perfection.Only he could make such a simple melody have a stable, profound connotation.

As the last soft note echoed in the quiet piano room, Qi Mucouldn't help but smile. He clapped as he said, "Bravo!"

——First trick in abducting Xiao Qi: Play piano! ——Limited user: Min Chen

Translator

(s): Kuro

Editor

(s): Empress, Ayn, Bet