“I’m sending you an invitation!”

Qi Mu and Min Chen were both shocked by their words. They both fell silent.

In the quiet, narrow room, Qi Mu could only hear the sound of the pendulum from the clock in the living room. Water was the only sound to break the silence, dripping from a faucet in the kitchen.

Qi Mu only smile helplessly and explained, “Well, I wanted to invite you to our college orchestra performance. The Philharmonie de Paris invited us to perform there, and the date has been set. It’s Wednesday evening.”

Lifting his head, Qi Mu gazed at the hazy moon as it rose. “Berlin is very close to Paris. Even if you drive here, it should only take about ten hours. So if you have the time, come and listen to us.”

Finally, the man whispered, “… Next Wednesday?”

Qi Mu nodded. “Yes, the concert hall is vacant the third day of next week, and the college is also on a break that afternoon, so we can go early and rehearse.” Just as he said it, a thought flashed to the forefront of his mind. Qi Mu got a bad premonition. “You mean, the invitation you wanted to send me is on Wednesday too?!”

A heavy sigh came through the line. “Not Wednesday, but… Tuesday night.”

He didn’t expect the answer but understood Min Chen’s hesitation. It was only one night between their performances. If he went back to Paris from Berlin that night, he wouldn’t be able to practice in the rehearsal Wednesday afternoon. He wouldn’t allow himself to miss it.

Slowly drawing the curtain closed, the tulle made the moonlight even hazier. “I didn’t expect Bai Ai’s tour to start so early this year. Is the opening concert in Berlin?”

“It’s not the tour, that will probably start next month. The first stop is London.”

Qi Mu was shocked, Thinking for a moment, he asked, “What are you inviting me to? Is there any orchestra performing in Berlin? Is it Wei Ai?” Speaking of, Qi Mu grew even more surprised. Helplessly, he said, “Well, Wei Ai is on holiday now, isn’t it? None of the big orchestras are going to start public activities right now.”

“It’s not an orchestral concert.”

Stunned, Qi Mu asked, “If it’s not an orchestra, then what is it?”

“It’s my piano recital.”

Qi Mu’s light eyes wide, he gripped the phone tightly in hi shand. It took a long time for him to digest the news before he could comprehend it. Involuntarily, he gulped, unsure whether to feel excited or dejected.

“You’re holding a piano recital?! Really?! Why didn’t I know… Next Tuesday?!”

As a pianist, Min Chen hadn’t held a solo piano recital for a long time. Any Bertram fan knew it by heart. If asked, they would all shout, “It’s been 15 months and three days!”

Occasionally, Min Chen would perform piano concertos with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as a pianist. A recital featuring his name, alone, hadn’t been seen in more than a year.

He would hold a recital the next Tuesday, but even Qi Mu didn’t know.

Min Chen’s baritone only made the dark night richer. He whispered, “We only decided it recently… We set the date and only offered invitations to certain people. It isn’t a public recital.”

Qi Mu sighed powerlessly.

They exchanged a few more words and tacitly, but neither of them mentioned the word “invitation” again for the rest of their conversation.

Qi Mu wanted to attend to Min Chen’s piano recital. He had already admitted that he liked Min Chen’s music very much. And, it was so much more difficult to attend his recital than to attend Bai Ai’s concert!

This man rarely held a piano recital, and when it did, it was never public. He only sent private invitations in private. In both lifetimes, Qi Mu had never gotten to attend one of his piano recitals. He had only ever gotten to listen to his CD, never in person.

Feeling sorry for himself, Qi Mu pulled up the curtain. Heading towards the kitchen, he turned off the tap. Before long, his phone buzzed again.

Min Chen: 【I will send you the recording after the recital is over.】

Shocked, Qi Mu replied: 【Okay, I will send you a CD of our concert as well.】

The phone then stayed silent for a long time. When Qi Mu came out of the kitchen, he noticed that its screen was flashing. Opening the text, he couldn’t keep from smiling, as if he could see Min Chen’s sad expression.

Min Chen: 【I have a big piano room with a 9ft Steinway piano in my Paris’ apartment. When I have the time, I will play for you.】

Qi Mu replied: 【Well, I’ll play Tchaikovsky’s 《D major》 and 《G minor》】

They sent messages back and forth the same way until they finally said good night.

Their conversation was plain, but Qi Mu still patiently replied. When he got too sleepy to even keep his eyes open, he helplessly sent a good night text.

What he didn’t know was that the indifferent man on the other end didn’t go to sleep after replying “Good Night.” Tightly gripping his mobile phone, the man pursed his lips, his face’s contour growing deeper. Quickly, he tapped his finger across the screen.

The moment the call was connected, the other side was already complaining. “Okay, Min, you better have a great reason to call me, and it better be important. You look at your phone and see what time it is now!”

“My piano recital… Change the time.”

Daniel was about to roar but froze. “Are you joking? Change the time? This thing is troublesome enough! Fine, I think the orchestra has some extra time on Wednesday. I can change it to Wednesday evening.”

“…”

“Oh God, please, you told me to change it at the last minute, okay?! I’m doing my best, okay!”

With a heavy sigh, Min Chen said, “He isn’t free.”

Daniel: “…”

“What the hell! Angel isn’t free? We decided the timing last week! Don’t tell me you only just told him, after we sent out all the invitations?! Why did you invite everyone else first?!”

Min Chen, rarely scolded: “…”

“Don’t tell me, you wanted to surprise Little Angel!”

Min Chen, intentions exposed: “…”

“This isn’t a surprise, it’s just a shock!”

Min Chen, rarely suffering such a loss: “…”

“Well, Angel must be very disappointed and sad. You deal with this yourself, it’s your own affair. You’re the one who doesn’t have a baby to hug at night since you’re in a long-distance relationship. I, on the other hand, want to kiss my sweetheart. I’m warning you, Min, don’t disturb people’s dreams…”

“Daniel.”

The low and magnetic voice cut him off, shocking him. “What is it?”

On the other end of the call, the man’s voice was emotionless. “Come to the orchestra early tomorrow.”

“Ah? Why?!”

“… Because you will have lots and lots of work to do.”

Daniel: “…”

This was revenge!!!

So, Daniel, let’s not over stimulate the man who was alone in his empty room and suffering a long-distance relationship, hm? You see, retribution will always be swift.

Unable to attend Min Chen’s recital, Qi Mu felt lost. After a short disappointment, though, he was even more determined to catch up with the man.

Qi Mu knew there was still a huge gap between them. Even though there were magazines and newspaper reports on him, when journalists evaluated Min Chen, they always said he was “the sound of nature.”

At the very least… he wanted to stand on equal ground!

That’s how it was supposed to be; wanting to surpass him, defeat him, and be like him, the one who stood on top.

With such determination, Qi Mu got even more serious with the orchestra. He spent almost all his energy on the orchestra training and after-class violin practice. Perhaps because it was too much, Akkad couldn’t help but sigh. “Little Seven, young people need to be more relaxed. Don’t exhaust yourself.”

To this, Qi Mu only replied, “Professor, you worry too much. I feel even better now.”

Strong physique was the root of everything. Qi Mu ran every morning and exercised every evening. Under the intense pressure of studying, Qi Mu was still healthy.  He showed no signs of cracking under pressure.

Such an intense lifestyle always made time fly. Soon…

It was the Wednesday of the orchestra’s performance.