Chapter 1: Ombra mai fu

SOPA was located in the heart of downtown S-City, surrounded by chic and trendy shops that fitted in with the expressive youth of the time. Mei Yun noted a few shops that would close to make way for newer ones and reminded herself to visit them before their impending closure.

For once in her life, she took a long hard look at the city she grew up in. There was a lot of things she didn't appreciate in her previous life, like the 'Lovely Duck' place that she loved in her teenaged years before it closed down and rebranded into a mediocre chicken place that didn't suit her tastes.

That was the place that she and Wang Jun went to have lunch that afternoon.

To be honest, Wang Jun wasn't even that hungry but seeing her cheeks stuffed with duck like a cute squirrel stuffing its cheeks compelled him to eat even just a little.

"Mmmmm! It's just as good as I remember!" Mei Yun gushed happily as she wolfed down yet another plate of crispy duck.

'She must really like duck...'

"I gather you don't eat at this place often?" Wang Jun asked as he slowly finished his plate of duck.

"Mm! I was too busy practicing and studying to come here to eat." It wasn't completely true since she came here almost every day after school to have lunch but for the sake of clarity, she left it at that.

Wang Jun mused with a small smile on his face.

'Today is a school day but instead of going back to study or practice, she decided to come to Lovely Duck.'

"You're still a student am I right?"

"Yup! I'm in my final year in St. Mary's." She finished her third plate of duck and wiped her mouth with some tissues that were on the table.

Wang Jun almost frowned.

'St Mary's huh. The same school as Tao Xinyin…'

"Will you go into the Junior College division and continue with the music programme?" He asked.

"Oh, Wang Jun? You know about St Mary's?" Mei Yun drank her iced tea.

"Yes, I know someone who is an alumna." He replied vaguely, not wanting to go to that territory.

"Ohhh I see. Well, to answer your question: No, I do not intend to go into the Junior College Division and continue the music programme. In fact, I'm going to leave the programme." Mei Yun stated her plans frankly.

Wang Jun's eyed widened.

"Oh! Don't get me wrong. It's not because of what happened earlier." Mei Yun reassured him, "I have my own reasons for leaving." Her eyes flicked to the side as if she was reminiscing on a bad memory.

"St Mary's music programme is actually very toxic." Her mouth pursed into a tight smile, "It's where all my performance anxiety issues came from."

"Toxic?" Wang Jun was perplexed.

He had never heard this word being used to describe St Mary's music programme. Tao Xinyin loved it, she was their most prodigious student after all. He also went to all their performances. However, if what Mei Yun is saying is true then it would explain why Tao Xinyin's personality was as such and why their relationship disintegrated.

"Favouritism." Mei Yun explained, "The Director is notorious for this practice. She would handpick the students that will get into the programme but treat the ones that she liked better, showering them with scholarship opportunities and the chance to perform with the big shots. It's gotten worse these days when her star pupil came back to work as a teaching assistant."

'Star pupil? Could it be Tao Xinyin?'

Wang Jun heard that Tao Xinyin had become a teaching assistant at her alma mater but was afraid to confirm it.

"Your eyebrows are furrowing. You're thinking about the teaching assistant at St Mary's, right?"

"Huh?" Wang Jun was speechless. This was the second time she read his mind.

"Tao Xinyin, right?"

"How did you—"

"Woah, hear me out." Mei Yun didn't want to upset him too much, "She spoke about you sometimes." That wasn't the complete truth since Tao Xinyin only mentioned his name once and even if Mei Yun got the correct person, there were many Wang Juns in S-City.

Wang Jun was amazed by this girl. From inviting him to lunch to talking about his ex-girlfriend. Most women twice her age would shift uncomfortably in her seat and be dying to leave.

"I wonder what she told you?" He was unable to hide.

"She didn't mention anything specific. Only that we shouldn't date desperate men." Mei Yun replied.

Wang Jun let out a hollow chuckle, "She still thinks of me that way huh…"

From the onset, it looked like he was giving himself a self-depreciating comment to make himself feel better but Mei Yun knew that under that façade, he was very hurt by Tao Xinyin's words.

"You wanted to marry her."

"Yes, she told you that too?" Wang Jun sighed.

"No, I was reading between the lines."

Wang Jun smiled, "You're quite perceptive. You actually made me feel better just by talking to you. Thank you for that."

Mei Yun gave him a gentle smile in return, "Your welcome. I'm glad to be of help."

'As my mentor once said, "People like to express themselves without interruptions from others whenever they are angry or sad." I'm glad that advice came in handy, he looks happier now.'

Wang Jun changed the subject, "So what are you going to do about next year when you don't plan to continue in St Mary's?"

"I'm aiming to get into the S-City University's Department of Music through the special admissions process."

Before the fated performance at SOPA, Mei Yun was also preparing for an audition to get into S-City University. She had already passed the first stage by applying and sending in a letter of recommendation from St Mary's and was due to perform in three months' time. However, after that catastrophe of a performance, she withdrew her application and never got to audition. This time, she wondered if things would be different if she tried.

"As expected of a student from St Mary's. Many students try to audition to get a place." Wang Jun nodded.

"Yeah, but do you know how much pain I had to go through to get the recommendation letter from the Director? She might as well have written, 'Humour her but don't bother to go past the first stage of admissions.'" Mei Yun scoffed.

"But you passed the first stage."

"Yeah! I'm so thankful for that! Now, I just need to go for the audition and interview." Mei Yun beamed.

"But your stage fright—"

"Oh yeah! I should work on my performance anxiety. Since I will be no longer in that toxic music programme, I will have time to unlearn the painful lessons. The audition is in three months after all."

Wang Jun looked at the slightly troubled Mei Yun. He found her expression somewhat endearing.

"Have you decided on your repertoire yet?"

"Hm? Repertoire? Yes, I have!" Mei Yun took out her notebook and opened it.

She pointed at some notes she wrote, "One solo violin piece: Paganini Caprice No. 5; One violin sonata or concerto: César Franck, Violin Sonata in A Major."

Wang Jun skipped though Mei Yun's programme notes on the two pieces, only staring at the names, "Paganini is a given but why Franck?"

Mei Yun pursed her lips, "This may sound flimsy but I like the sound of the sonata. Unlike some late Romantic works, this one has a very fundamental harmonic sound that is uncomplicated. It's tells like a story without being programmatic in nature."

Wang Jun knew that Franck employed the use of cyclic form to give his pieces unity. His Symphony in D minor best showed this technique and was beloved by many of the younger French composers of the time. It was very reminiscent of the late Romantic style but it meant that technically his pieces were not as hard as some of the more influential composers of the age.

"No, I also think that is the case with Franck. I just didn't know he wrote a Violin Sonata." He replied.

"It's the only one he wrote. Apparently, it was a wedding present for Ysaÿe." Mei Yun explained.

'Ysaÿe huh. I would have thought she would pick something by him. His pieces are technically challenging. Maybe she was looking at Ysaÿe's works before finding this Franck Sonata.'

"I've already learnt the Sonata but I haven't been able to get an accompanist." Mei Yun broke Wang Jun from his thoughts, "The piano part is noted for being one of the most difficult to execute. Franck apparently had big hands…"

Wang Jun's piano repertoire included pieces by Liszt and Rachmaninoff, both who were known to have big hands.

"I'll be your accompanist." Wang Jun said without hesitation.

"You will?!" She didn't think that the legendary Wang Jun would accompany her in her audition, "Thank you so much! I can tell that you have big hands so the piano part won't be as challenging for you. By the way, if you need a violinist to perform in a quartet, piano trio or piano quartet please contact me, I need the exposure to get over my performance anxiety. Oh! But you don't have my number." She took out her phone and passed it to Wang Jun.

Wang Jun couldn't get a word in as Mei Yun expressed her endless gratitude towards him. He took her phone silently in exchange for his phone where Mei Yun put her number in.

He glanced at the restaurant clock, "Well, it was really nice to meet you but I do have to go. Thanks for lunch even though you didn't have to pay for it."

"No, please, take it as my thanks for getting me out of my crying stupor. If not for you, I would have fainted from hunger and thirst." Mei Yun insisted.

Wang Jun got up and placed his hands in his pocket, "We do have a need for a violinist for our Piano Trio, I'll send you the details for the concert and the score. As for practice days, we haven't decided yet but I'll let you know."

"Ok!" Mei Yun agreed, "As for the accompaniment, I'll send you the practice days and the score. And Wang Jun, it was nice to meet you too."

Wang Jun nodded before leaving the Lovely Duck.

Mei Yun, now all alone looked at her phone. She couldn't believe her luck in this life! To be contact buddies with the soon-to-be-famous Wang Jun. It was as if all her stars aligned and everything is turning up roses.

She got up and left the Lovely Duck, thanking the owners as she left. She wistfully hoped they would remain open until she became an adult but such is life. She vowed to only visit this place to eat if she was in the area.

'I feel like having bubble tea. Let's have a tea stop before going home, shall we?'

**

Wang Jun walked past SOPA and headed for the Prominade, a little area in downtown S-City where small start ups make their home. It was full of young starry-eyed entrepreneurs trying to be the next Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. However, Wang Jun wasn't going to those places, his destination was in front of a Victorian-looking building, the St Michael's Concert Hall.

He stood at the back doors and checked his phone. He still had 15 minutes until his friend Liu Fan arrived. In the meantime, he scrolled through his messages and stopped at a message from Mei Yun.

'Thank you for accompanying me to lunch *^____^* See you at practice!'

He couldn't help but laugh, not only did she use a kaomoji in her text, she also put a cat kaomoji behind her name in Contacts.

'This girl is really something else.'

"Wang Jun!" A male voice called out.

Wang Jun looked up and a young man around his age ran towards him, it was Liu Fan.

"Sorry, did I keep you waiting long?" Liu Fan and Wang Jun greeted each other with a bro hug.

"No, I just got here myself."

Liu Fan used his access card to unlock the back door and the pair walked inside. After a maze of turns and avoiding stage props, Liu Fan and Wang Jun arrived at the stage where a grand piano stands alone on the empty platform.

Wang Jun walked to the piano and played a few notes.

"Good. It's tuned."

"Yeah, I'm glad the tuners came on time to fix it otherwise rehearsals will be a nightmare. Speaking of which, have you found a violinist to replace…you know who?" Liu Fan asked.

"You don't have to avoid her name. And yes, I found someone to replace Xinyin." Wang Jun replied.

"Ho~ Just a few days ago, you demanded that no one say her name in front of you and now you're cool with it? Man, you move on fast."

Wang Jun couldn't believe it either. Tao Xinyin was his first great love and their breakup was like a stake to the heart. It wasn't easy to accept it at first but after meeting Mei Yun, his heart felt somewhat lighter.

He didn't reply to Liu Fan's comment, "I will give her all the necessary scores and the rehearsal dates. Speaking of which, have the rehearsal dates and timings been confirmed yet?"

"Yeah, they have. It's all within your schedule too." Liu Fan passed him a sheet of paper with the dates and timings, "The first rehearsal is exactly a week from now."

Wang Jun nodded. Luckily, he scheduled the meeting with the Lynx Records representative on Monday. He snapped a photo of the schedule and sent it as an MMS to Mei Yun:

'Here is the rehearsal schedule for the Piano Trio. I'll send the scores of the pieces by tonight. Can I have you email?'

An instant reply came.

'Thanks o(*￣▽￣*)o my email: myun456@xxx.com. Can I have your email too? I'll send the piano score for Franck by tonight as well.'

Wang Jun: 'wangj09@xxx.com.'

Mei Yun: ヾ(•ω•`)o

Liu Fan looked over Wang Jun's shoulder, "Is that the replacement?"

Wang Jun jumped, "You scared me. Yes, that's the replacement."

"Mei Yun huh. Interesting name but easily misunderstood." Liu Fan commented, "Haha, she likes to use kaomojis a lot."

"Hm."

'It suits someone of her age.'

"Well, if all is good for now, then we can leave?" Liu Fan looked at Wang Jun who was still staring at his phone.

"Yeah…Liu Fan?" Wang Jun suddenly called out.

"Hm?" Liu Fan turned around.

"Thanks for everything you've done so far for this performance. I know it wasn't easy to organise with limited support from the university plus my breakup with Xinyin left me in a less than cooperative state. I'm doing ok now so I'll be available to pitch in more."

Liu Fan let out a sigh while smiling, "Well, at least you've finally overcome a challenge in all your years in music. Be glad it is during the midterm and not the finals."

Wang Jun smiled in response.

"Besides, Xinyin wasn't meant for the performing life. She was more of a homebody so being an international performer wouldn't have pleased her. I know you tried to press her into thinking about marriage but she wasn't ready to settle down. Not many people have their career set in stone by the time they turn 22."

"Was it selfish of me to bring up marriage?" Wang Jun mused.

"Hm, I wouldn't say it was selfish. You just mentioned it to get her to think about her future with you and when she realised you were not going to fit into her future plans, she broke up with you." Liu Fan replied thoughtfully.

Wang Jun looked reflective for a second before shaking his head to rid himself of the thought, "Well, we are over now. It's time for me to move on and prepare for my life on the international stage."

"There you go." Liu Fan encouraged, "You're already well-known in our local circles. It's only a matter of time before you are well-known globally too."

Wang Jun turned to his best friend since Secondary School, "Thank you, Liu Fan."

Liu Fan shrugged, "Hey, I'm your friend who also happens to play cello. I contribute to your fame as a decent accompanist. I have a duty in ensuring you are performing your best."

Wang Jun chuckled at Liu Fan's roundabout way of saying 'Your Welcome' before following him out the back door of St Michael's Concert Hall.