3.4

Qiao Chen's popularity skyrocketed overnight on the interplanetary network. Many people from the upper-class wanted to contact him through the Musician's Trade Union. They all hoped to invite him to their dinner parties so he could play "Early Spring" again. People were also abuzz as they guessed Qiao Chen's identity and origins. However, no one seemed to know who he was. It felt like he just appeared out of nowhere.

After Augea and Qiao Chen returned to the mansion, Augea asked Qiao Chen to play for him again. Qiao Chen joked, "I'm worth too much now. If you want me to give you a private concert, how much are you gonna pay me?"

"As long as the request escapes from your lips, I will give you whatever you desire." Augea sat on the sofa, looked at Qiao Chen, and replied.

Qiao Chen also looked at him for a while. Then he took out his violin and began to play.

He chose the piece, 'Passionate Love'. It was a song filled with desire and passion. It described the entanglement between two people who loved each other. Sometimes the song was passionate like fire and sometimes it was gentle and tender. Qiao Chen couldn't help but fondly recall the lingering melancholy of the person in front of him. The man he was with for the past two lives now.

Augea listened carefully and became deeply captivated.

"How was that?" Qiao Chen asked Augea after he finished playing the song.

Augea didn't speak. He only extended his hand towards Qiao Chen. Qiao Chen placed his hand on Augea's and watched as Augea bowed his head down to kiss Qiao Chen's fingers.

This was an ancient ritual in which the nobles would kiss the musician's fingers in order to show praise and respect for their performance. However, this was done with a very gentle brush of the lips. While Augea on the other hand, seemed to be alternating between kissing and 'tasting' Qiao Chen's fingers.

…

After retrieving his hand, Qiao Chen returned to his room and took a bath. Just as he was ready to go to bed, Augea came in with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses.

"This is a thank you for your performance." Augea said and poured a glass of wine for Qiao Chen.

Qiao Chen took the glass and first smelled it. The wine had a light fruity and floral fragrance. He tasted it carefully and found that it had a very mellow taste. After he swallowed it down, there was still the scent of wine lingering in his mouth.

Augea sat by the bed and watched as Qiao Chen's eyes glass over and cheeks blush after drinking a single glass.

"Taste good?" Augea approached him and asked.

"Honey Storm Wine?" Qiao Chen asked in return.

"Yes. Doesn't it pair well with your performance of 'Passionate Love'?" Augea said with a smile.

The Honey Storm Flower was a type of flower that only grew on planet Moonbeast. It was a very rare plant and usually took at least ten years for the Honey Storm to be fermented into a bottle of wine. The Honey Storm Wine also had a great affect on 'stimulating one's passion'.

Qiao Chen felt the strength leave his body. He couldn't even hold the wine glass properly. Augea helped him take the glass away before it spilled and put it aside. Then he held Qiao Chen's rose-stained face and tasted the wine on Qiao Chen's lips.

"Ahn~" Qiao Chen's bathrobe was opened and Augea's lips slowly settled down on his chest.

Qiao Chen's lips were slightly parted. He was breathing shallow and rapid breaths, and his body was lightly trembling because of Augea's sensual touches.

"Are you willing to continue?" Augea asked as he moved up and kissed the corners of Qiao Chen's lips.

"Even if I say, ahn~ no w-will- you stop? Ah- Ahn~"Qiao Chen looked at him with misty eyes. He squeezed his legs against the hand had trailed down below. The naughty hand still moved and stimulated Qiao Chen.

"Not likely." Augea unhesitatingly answered. Then he completely unraveled Qiao Chen's robe and exposed Qiao Chen's body to the air and, more importantly, his eyes.

Qiao Chen closed his eyes and let Augea play with his body.

The entire night was just like Qiao Chen's performance: full of passion and desire. It was also as sweet as the Honey Storm Wine.

…

After he won the prize in Jingfeng City, Qiao Chen, who had suddenly appeared, had also suddenly disappeared.

The head minister of armed forces, Earl Hofley, was holding a dinner party. Augea received an invitation and asked Qiao Chen if he wanted to accompany him.

Qiao Chen knew that Ferney was going to play at the dinner party, so he agreed to attend as Augea's plus one. Augea was the only prince in the empire. The fact that he had an excellent appearance and was the emperor's beloved little brother meant that he was always in the spotlight no matter where he went.

——

When Augea and Qiao Chen entered the banquet hall, all eyes were on them.

"It turns out that you were the one who hid the musician who suddenly burst onto the capital and gained huge popularity seemingly out of nowhere. No wonder the entire planet couldn't locate him." A man in a suave purple suit exclaimed as he walked up to them.

Qiao Chen raised his eyes to look at the man. He was Augea's cousin, Conrad. He was a rather ambitious and violent person. Qiao Chen's system already notified him that Conrad was the one who arranged for those people from before to hunt Augea down. Conrad didn't know how to deal with Augea, especially since he stood in his way of his future plans. Killing Augea off was the easiest way to solve his problems.

"I thought that things out on planet Faria were busy enough for you, cousin. I never would have expected that you would have both the time and the leisure to attend a party. I just don't know what our emperor brother would think if he knew, hm?" Augea spoke as moved sideways and blocked Conrad's view of Qiao Chen.

Conrad's face changed slightly and there was no hiding the viciousness and malice in his eyes when he looked at Augea. In any case, all of the nobles of the capital knew that he was not amicable with Augea. Augea no longer paid him any attention. He wrapped his arm around Qiao Chen, rested his hand on Qiao Chen's waist, and went to greet the host of the party.

The musical performance was the the most popular part of the party. When Ferney exited the lounge and sat in front of the piano in preparation to play, everyone stopped their movements. They all quieted down and stayed in their positions, ready to enjoy Ferney's performance.

Ferney began his performance with a lyrical piece. When he finished, everyone applauded and praised him. Then Ferney played a classical song called "Beautiful Arrival". The composition had a vivid and beautiful style. The audience felt as though they could feel the sense of happiness coming from the song as they envisioned the beautiful scenes.

"Ferney is truly worthy of his praises. He plays so well. You should be the best musician of today's younger generation." Madam Fiona, the hostess of the dinner party, commended. She was very pleased and expressed her admiration for Ferney's performance.

"Thank you so much for the compliment Madam Fiona. I am still lacking in many areas, so I still need to work harder on my craft." Ferney replied and put on a very modest appearance.

"You're even modest too. It's even harder to find that quality among today's young people." Madam Fiona praised with a smile.

"Mommy, isn't the one who beat Fernery in the Crystal Blossom Contest also attending the party? Why don't you let him play a song too?"Madam Fiona's youngest daughter, Ruth, asked.

Ruth and Fernery were classmates as well as close friends. She went to watch the contest with her mother that day. And even though she was completely immersed in Qiao Chen's performance at that time, she was still a little unhappy about Qiao Chen beating Ferney when she snapped out of her stupor. Even worse, she saw Qiao Chen appear beside Prince Augea, the man whom she had fallen in love with for many years now. She was even more incensed. So when she proposed for Qiao Chen to perform, it wasn't out of the kindness of her heart.

"This…."Madam Fiona looked at Qiao Chen and Augea's direction embarrassedly. Out of respect for the musician, you wouldn't request a musician to play without any talks or agreements done beforehand. Even though this wasn't an explicit rule, people still followed it as common courtesy.

"He's just a level one musician anyways. It's his honor to play at our dinner party." Ruth incited. Then she threw Qiao Chen a scornful glance.

"Ruth, don't be so rude." Head minister of armed forces, Mr. Hofley opened his mouth to reprimand his daughter. Even though Qiao Chen was a level one musician, it was obvious to see that he didn't have an ordinary relationship with Augea. This was not a person anyone wanted to provoke.

"If the earl and the madam don't mind, how about letting me play a song too?" Qiao Chen offered and walked over to them.

"Of course. Please feel free to." Madam Fiona replied immediately.

"You're not going to play 'Early Spring' again are you? Maybe the rumors are true and you only know how to play this one song." Ruth deliberately said after Qiao Chen sat down at the piano. She aimed to cut Qiao Chen off before he could play that song again. He would definitely be able to show off if he played 'Early Spring' again.

Augea stood aside and didn't come to Qiao Chen's rescue. He knew that what followed would be Qiao Chen stealing the spotlight with his solo performance. Augea didn't mind. Qiao Chen was destined for greatness. He would use his performance ability as a powerful counterattack.

Qiao Chen hadn't accepted any invitations to play after he became famous in the capital, so some nobles went to check his information and found out that he was only a level one musician. This surprised everyone, but earlier at the dinner party, Ferney seemed to 'inadvertently' comment that he could only play that one song. His reasoning being the level was low because you couldn't pass the upgrade exam with merely one song.

So the rumor that Qiao Chen could only play one song spread and most people believed it. Therefore, when Qiao Chen put his hands on the piano, they all assumed that he would only play 'Early Spring'.

But after the sounds of music rang out, it turned out to be another piece of music that fluttered in the air. It was more joyful, more touching, and more beautiful than Ferney's 'Beautiful Arrival'. It turned out to be so moving that if you closed your eyes, you would have thought that you were standing on an endless expanse of grass under the bright blue sky. You could feel the gentleness of the song as it tenderly brushed across your cheeks. It was an incomparable comfort as you took in its beauty.

Ferney's face turned sour when he saw the banquet guests' expressions. He was sure that Qiao Chen had appeared here to intentionally go against him. Otherwise, why didn't he accept other invitations to play, but appeared at the banquet that was extremely important to him. Ferney looked at Qiao Chen's fingers skillfully gliding across the keys. He regretted that he hadn't just gone ahead and broken all his fingers so that he could never play again.

Ruth, as a musician herself, though not of a high level, could understand from a professional point of view that Qiao Chen's playing technique and level were definitely above Ferney's.

At first, she tried to control herself so she wouldn't be lost in Qiao Chen's music. However, she didn't have the same vicious poisonous and darkness emotions in her heart like Ferney. It didn't take long for her spiritual strength to be attracted to the beautiful song.

At the end of the song, the banquet guests clapped for Qiao Chen with happy smiles on their faces.

"It was so beautiful. This is the first time I've ever known a song that was better than 'Beautiful Arrival'." Madam Fiona exclaimed. 'Beautiful Arrival' was one of her absolute favorite songs. She had heard the song that Qiao Chen played before, but she didn't think that it was better then 'Beautiful Arrival'. Now she felt like one shouldn't think that the song itself was good or bad. The song depended on the level of the performer.

At the end of the song, instead of standing up, Qiao Chen took a small break and relaxed his fingers. Then he continued to play another song.

Qiao Chen's second piece was the same 'Beautiful Arrival' that Ferney had just played, but the style was completely different. Ferney played it as a beautiful and light style of music. This was also in line with the majority of people's impressions of the song.

Qiao Chen on the other hand, had a strong and powerful style. It made them feel a tension that affected their heart. Their hearts raced, but after the tense moment passed, there was a flurry of emotions. They felt inspired. They felt sorrow. Then they once again felt a heavy and serious feeling. It was like they had experienced the harsh life that lived on the planet. Then were given reprieve by the illuminating sunshine after they experienced the harshness of darkness. The flurry of emotions made it so they could truly feel how much better light and beauty were cherished and appreciated after experiencing the darkness.

At the end of the song, Qiao Chen did not express a mellow happiness like other musicians. Instead, he ended the song with notes of sadness and regret. After Qiao Chen finished playing the last notes, most of the guests were completely stunned. The never knew that the original 'Beautiful Arrival' could be played like this. They subconsciously wanted to refute and criticize Qiao Chen's version. With the song they were so familiar with, they thought that it should never be played like this.  However, their spiritual power was so deeply stimulated by Qiao Chen's music, and it was telling them that this piece of music should have been played in this way.

"How can this song be played like that?" Madam Fiona said, stuck in a daze. She looked at Qiao Chen in shock as she covered her mouth with her hand.

Qiao Chen stood up from the piano, but before he could speak, Ferney jumped in. He used a criticizing tone and denounced Qiao Chen, "You've violated the creative intentions of the original author. You've rearranged the style of a classical piece without authorization. So even if you played it well, you have violated a huge taboo among musicians."

Some of the guests inwardly agreed with Ferney's words. How could people rearrange classical musical pieces without permission? Each and every song had their creator's intended emotions and feelings. If the song was rearranged or revised without permission, it was no longer the original song.

"Then please, can you tell me who the author of 'Beautiful Arrival' is?" Qiao Chen looked at Ferney and asked.

Ferney's first instinct was to answer Chardon, but when the name was on the tip of his tongue, he stopped. He quickly realized that the original author of the song was not Chardon. Although the best performance of 'Beautiful Arrival' was played by the musician Chardon, Chardon himself said that he did not create the song. So the author who created the song… Who were they? He had never known it before.

"It was Buddy Nadal." Madam Fiona saw Ferney staring blankly and answered for him. The only reason she knew the song's author was Buddy Nadal was because she loved the song so much that she learned it. However, she didn't know much about Buddy Nadal because none of the other pieces he wrote were famous nor did she like the styles of them.

"That's right. Even Madam Fiona knows the original author was Buddy Nadal. But you, a level eight musician, doesn't?" Qiao Chen said.

"So what if it was Buddy Nadal? Does this change the fact that you are altering the author's style without permission?" Ferney still questioned Qiao Chen aggressively.

"It wasn't me who changed the song from the original author's style, but Chardon. I suggest you go back to school and relearn the history and background of classical music." Qiao Chen told him in an informative tone. "Buddy Nadal was one of the few male musicians, and he was a soldier. A real soldier who fought and bled on the battlefield. 'Beautiful Arrival' is arguably his only famous song. He was inspired to write it after the famous victory of The Breakthrough on Planet Hattan. However, due to the injuries he suffered in battle, he didn't return and play the song very often."

"In the decades following his death, no musician could play this song. After Chardon became famous, he began to play it. But Chardon was a romantic musician. He wasn't a soldier and never had the chance to go to the battlefield. He never experienced any fighting either, so he couldn't play the song as the author intended. However, the song was too well written. He didn't want to give it up, so he played the song in accordance to his own style, beautifully romantic. With Chardon's growing fame, people gradually forgot the original author's original intent and style for the song. Eventually, they began to think that Chardon's take on the song was the way it was originally supposed to be played."

"The real 'Beautiful Arrival' is the expression of a soldier in the midst of a fierce battle. They are tense while waiting for back up to arrive. There is a sense of urgency. Then there is the courage and the determination of breaking through the encirclement. Finally, there is the triumph. The beautiful arrival of rebirth after the victory explodes, and as the dust settles… regret. The knowledge that their comrades-in-arms died sets in. The fallen could not witness victory with their own two eyes. Therefore, rather than a song that expresses romantic and beautiful feelings, this was a song of regret."

"Well said." An elderly man dressed in military uniform walked down the stairs from the second floor. He was followed by several men in the same uniform.

The guests were still digesting everything Qiao Chen said. With the sound of another voice, they all turned and faced the military group.