The Chief Conductor’s Strange Lover

Do You Recognise Me?

The day he graduated from the Eastman School of Music was a clear summer day.

Leaving New York City and stepping into his long-lost homeland, familiar scenes unfolded in front of him like a yellowed film reel.

Arriving at the International Art Exchange Centre in A City, Ying Ruoyun went to the music rehearsal hall.
The place was not much different from what he remembered, except that it had been renovated several times and had a more modern atmosphere than in the past.

The A City Symphony Orchestra, which he joined, is one of the most famous orchestras in China, and enjoys a high reputation in the international music scene.

The rehearsal hall was filled with the melodious sound of music.
Looking in through the clear glass, the performers were focused and absorbed.
Ying Ruoyun's hand tightened on his bag, he could not wait to join the musical feast.

“What? So excited?” Li Yao, the staff member who greeted him, teased, “Later on, during the intermission, you'll meet our chief conductor and he'll arrange your placement.”

“If I may ask, who is the chief conductor?”

Li Yao looked inside, “Unfortunately, he's not here at the moment.
You can wait here, or you can take a look around, I'll go to his office.”

Passing through the long, dark corridor, Ying Ruoyun went straight up to the second floor, where there was a blue floor-to-ceiling glass window facing the fountain and rose wall in the courtyard.

Leaving his violin case in front of the glass window, Ying Ruoyun left for a short while, just to get a glass of water in the lounge.
When he returned, he saw someone picking up his case and looking at it carefully.

For any performer who loves music, his instrument is more intimate than his girlfriend, how could he let anyone touch it? A wave of heat rushed to his head and Ying Ruoyun couldn't help but reprimand him: “You're really too rude! Without permission, how can you…”

The moment the man turned around and his face entered his eyes, Ying Ruoyun froze in place.

Dust-laden memories were like spring buds breaking out of the ground, and a familiar image came pouring in.

An alumnus from Ying Ruoyun's university days, a senior he had once admired, a lover he had briefly dated.

They met unexpectedly without warning.

Shu Jingzhi put his case back in its place.

He hadn't changed at all from before, Ying Ruoyun thought, he was still elegant and handsome, just standing there made people uncontrollably admire and adore him.

But this time, there was no way he could be charmed by him again.

Quickly calming down, Ying Ruoyun picked up his violin case from beside him, adjusted his mind and took the initiative to greet him, “Hello, I am Ying…”

Before he finished his words, Shu Jingzhi turned away without mercy, as if he did not want to have any entanglement with him at all.

He was really, really, so rude!

Ying Ruoyun's hand was trembling slightly as he held the violin case, was this still the Shu Jingzhi he once knew?

———

Back in the rehearsal hall on the ground floor, Li Yao waved at him from the doorway, “Come with me, I'll take you to see the chief conductor.”

Already at intermission, Ying Ruoyun followed Li Yao through the crowd and behind the curtain of the rehearsal hall stage.
Once again, he met Shu Jingzhi.

Li Yao introduced him, “This is Conductor Shu, the most senior leader of our orchestra and the soul of the entire orchestra! Conductor Shu is also the most prestigious and talented performer in the music industry of City A…”

“That's enough.” Shu Jingzhi interrupted him, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Li Yao coughed awkwardly, “Conductor Shu, this is Ying Ruoyun, he studied at the School of Music at the A City University of the Arts and is an alumnus of yours.
He just graduated from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester…”

“You're good with the violin?” Shu Jingzhi asked.

This was simply asking him knowingly, Ying Ruoyun thought, it's only been two years since we've seen each other, yet he's forgotten me so completely?

“Yes.” Ying Ruoyun was still in a state of confusion, he had thought that the two of them would just be ordinary colleagues in the future, who would have thought that Shu Jingzhi would actually be the conductor of the orchestra?

“Second violin, your position.”

“Okay.”

The string section is the foundation of the entire symphony orchestra and is typically represented by the violin, which is divided into the first and second violins.

The principal player of the first violin, also known as the concertmaster, is not only the principal of the bowed string instruments, but also of the whole orchestra, with a position just below that of the conductor.

At the Eastman School of Music, Ying Ruoyun had always been the principal, but when he came here, he had to start all over again.
He understood this, so he had no objection to Shu Jingzhi's arrangement.

“Starting now, join the rehearsal.”

Ying Ruoyun sat in the second violin seat, and the colleag