Chapter Fifty-Nine: Determined

  "Mr. Victor!" Lotte and Hiroto shouted out in unison upon hearing that Viktor had refused Lucien.

  Although Lucien's piano melody still has many imperfections and playing problems, those who were emotionally resonated by the music have no doubt about its shock and greatness. If Mr. Viktor perfects and adapts it into a symphony, it will undoubtedly be the most exciting symphony in the past hundred years, the most beautiful and dazzling gem on the crown of symphonies. But, why did Mr. Viktor refuse? Refuse to become a famous and great musician?!

  This made them subconsciously shout out, wanting to stop Viktor and persuade him. Even Phyllis on the side showed an inexplicable expression. If it were her, facing such temptation, facing such music, she would definitely be unable to refuse.

  After Viktor made the decision, he seemed to have gained a sense of sublimation and relief, his spirit refreshed. He pressed down with his right hand, making a quiet gesture, and looked at Lucien again.

  "Mr. Viktor..." Lucien knew that he couldn't persuade the resolute Viktor unless he used magic, and even then, Viktor might waver, despair, or collapse, but he would never betray his own beliefs. So he just called out a name in a low voice and stopped, comforting himself by thinking: "Fortunately, Mr. Viktor has regained his spirit and composure under the influence of music, and even if it's with two new pieces accompanying the old symphony, the concert will still be a success, it's just not as perfect as before."

  Seeing Lucien's expression, Viktor smiled and pressed his right hand to his chest, bowing slightly towards Lucien: "Thank you, Lucien, for letting me hear such wonderful, powerful, and heart-shaking music. This is the most touching melody I've ever heard, it's a gift from God, and it has given me a whole new understanding of music."

  "Lucien, I have the great honor to present this magnificent work at my concert as a conductor. I am eager to share with everyone the excitement that this masterpiece tells us about facing difficulties and setbacks with unyielding determination."

  "Ah?" Lucien didn't expect such a change and was stunned for a moment.

  Lucien was taken aback, and Viktor continued humorously, "Don't you want to, Lucien?"

  Lucien reacted quickly and replied: "No problem, Mr. Viktor, you go ahead and use it, I'm just...just wondering, isn't this your concert?"

  "Occasionally you can also be a conductor, and you are still my student." Viktor resumed his usual gentle smile.

  "Idiot..." Felice's boots rubbed softly against the carpet, a sound so faint it was almost inaudible, filled with deep envy and relaxation, for this was Viktor treating Lucien as his true son, and being able to arrange this piece into a symphony performance would surely make Mr. Viktor's concert a huge success, and they themselves would also gain many "benefits".

  Playing a newcomer's work at one's own concert and introducing him to everyone, getting his work recognized, and making his name rise rapidly is something that only true disciples can make every musician do.

  But towards Mr. Viktor's decision, Phyllis didn't have the anger she had imagined, for that melody was too shocking to herself, and she couldn't criticize Lucien's musical talent at all; facing the music he played, there was only powerless surrender and faint jealousy.

  Such emotional changes also occurred in Lott and Herodotus' hearts.

  Lucien only understood Mr. Victor's meaning after hearing the faint "idiot", and things ended in such a way, which was beyond his expectation, so he could only nod and say: "I'm honored, Mr. Victor."

  "Lucien, is this really your composition? If there's a problem, it will make Mr. Viktor lose all his reputation." Suddenly, a voice came, and after being silent for a long time, Herodotus asked with intense emotions, his fists clenched tightly in both hands, his expression twisted, as if he didn't know whether to expect Lucien to answer "yes" or "no".

  At this time, others also gradually woke up from the shockwave of music, only to remember that Lucien was just a rookie who had been studying music for less than two months. Although three weeks ago, he claimed to have inspiration and tried to compose music, but he actually composed such a magnificent and thrilling piece?!

  Was he really a music genius with great talent? Was he really a gemstone that was buried in the mud and had his brilliance covered up?

  Incredible, unbelievable gazes converged on Lucien's face, awaiting his response. Only Rhein and Viktor smiled with faint curiosity, appreciation, and astonishment as they looked past him. They absolutely wouldn't believe that someone had actually composed such a piece of music yet remained unknown, especially since they were people who had been immersed in the world of music for many years without having heard of it. The only thing that astonished them was that Lucien's musical talent far exceeded their imagination.

  Lucien smiled wryly in his heart, mocking himself that although he had a bottom line, his moral standards were indeed far lower than Mr. Viktor's.

  But such emotions were quickly suppressed by Lucien's calm and rational demeanor, things had reached this point, there was no other explanation, so he forced out a smile: "Yes, it has always been my inspiration, only before I didn't receive formal music education, such inspiration couldn't be transformed into the melody I wanted."

  "These inspirations come from my life, from the oppressed, painful, desperate and futureless life of the poor. Every time I see others wearing beautiful clothes, eating delicious food, enjoying a life that I may never be able to get close to, I want to break free from the life that seems to have been arranged for me by fate, and fight for my own future."

  "In the process of my hard work to learn letters and music, I encountered many difficulties and obstacles, even being beaten by gangsters, but I didn't give up, continued to struggle on, finally walked to your door, Mr. Victor, and such inspiration gradually turned into passionate and never-say-die melody, it motivates me, as long as I'm still alive, never give up."

  Lucien mixed lies with truth and simply recounted the events of his garbage collection and Aaron's gang conflict to increase persuasiveness: "The difficulties and irony you encountered that day, Mr. Victor, made me think of myself, inspiration finally burst out, and the melody appeared segment by segment. For these three weeks, I've been constantly trying to improve the melody. Lott, Phyllis, and Hierodotus have all heard it. Ah, I also have this score recorded during this time."

  Because it was raining and he was afraid of getting the score wet, Lucien put it in his own hut without bringing it.

  Rhein and Viktor looked at Lott and the others with a smile, how could they not have discovered the value of Lucien's music all along? It was truly inconceivable.

  "Lotte, Phyllis, Hierodotus, did you hear that?" Victor didn't doubt Lucien's words, he just found it extremely amusing and curious.

  Lucien's mention, Lot, Phyllis and Hieronymus carefully recalled that many segments of the melody they had just heard were very familiar to them, and they gradually became aware of how they came into being.

  Phyllis thought of what happened last night, looked at Lucien with a complex gaze, and said to herself: "Perhaps it was prejudice that made us deaf. In fact, I had already heard the grandeur and brilliance of the final movement yesterday, but I didn't pay attention to it. In the past three weeks, I have indeed heard many melodies belonging to this piece, but at that time, most of Lucien's melodies were not yet written, and his playing skills were clumsy, covering them up."

  In the end, she still couldn't help but make a sarcastic comment about Lucien, but this sarcasm seemed to be just a girl's stubbornness.

  "Alright, as Phyllis said, my bias made me deaf, I admit that I've heard some of the melodies of Lucien's music." Lot thought for a moment before readily admitting, "I have to say, Lucien, your musical talent is truly astonishing. The birth of such a piece usually takes several months, or even years."

  If Lucien's musical talent wasn't so exaggerated, Lott might still have had some thoughts, anger, jealousy and dissatisfaction, but the gap was too big, all of which lost momentum, and his own classmate becoming a great musician seemed to be a good thing for his own music path, just like Mr. Viktor's concert was a huge success.

  Being able to get along well in a complicated noble family, Lott is not just a foolish man who only knows how to flirt.

  Herodotus finally nodded after a long silence, although admitting that Lucien was a musical genius made him unhappy, but this was an undeniable fact, and the melody seemed to still be inspiring himself.

  Lucien heard Lot's praise and subconsciously explained: "Being able to write so quickly is because such inspiration has accumulated for many years..."

  "Lucien, no need to explain, a genius doesn't need a reason." Viktor smiled and interrupted Lucien's words, "I don't dare lie that I've heard all the melodies, but such great and inspiring music must have had some fame. The fact that I haven't heard of such a melody before proves your creation."

  Rhine nodded: "I have traveled to many countries and I have never heard such a passionate and never-give-up melody. Lucien, your life has given you precious wealth, perhaps poverty and hardship can make people strive forward, and in the lower classes, there will always be born unimaginable geniuses. Hehe, thank you, Lucien, for being able to hear this song, my trip to Alto has no regrets at all, you are undoubtedly a true genius, an outstanding genius."

  In front of genius, he strangely didn't add the decorative word "music".

  Lucien blushed and looked very innocent, but in his heart he couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

  "Perhaps only you, as a novice who has not yet been bound by the strict structure and musical expression of formal music, or a musical genius, can let your emotions and inspiration soar freely in the world of music."

  "My fourth symphony has actually been written for nine years, since Winnie's passing, I wanted to write a symphony for her instead of a nocturne, but my musical education and past experiences kept telling me that symphonies can only be about serious religious themes or purely musical beauty, so the creation was very difficult. Although in recent years, Arto has started to appear with symphonies expressing emotions and other themes, their creations are still immature and gave me little inspiration, so even though I accumulated many melodies and ideas, I couldn't finish this symphony in the end."

  "Until today, when I heard this piece of music from you, which presents the theme completely while maintaining a rigorous structure, I finally understood how to create, so thank you, Lucien."

  "Alright, Lucien, write down your melody and I'll help you fill in the harmonies and perfect the details. Then we'll submit it to the association. We can't afford to be careless with this kind of music. When Maestro Osorio returns, I'll ask him to change the program. In the meantime, I'll work on arranging it into a symphony and rehearse extensively before the concert."