Thirteen Bass

Chapter 30 [30] Water City

Later, Bai Lang went to a store near St. Mark's Square to pick out two masks he liked, and put them on his face in style.He was happy to wear it himself, and asked Qi Sinian to wear the same style and not take it off.

People in Venice have a tradition of wearing masks and cloaks when going out, and this tradition has become a symbol of Venetian mood.As the music festival approaches, the crowd is filled with tourists wearing exaggerated masks and gorgeous retro attire.The outfits of Bai Lang and Qi Sinian are very suitable for the occasion.

Qi Sinian touched the mask on his face helplessly: "Didn't you just say not to buy it?"

Bai Lang said bluntly: "I've changed my mind. You look so handsome in a mask, I really can't wait to see it. Besides, Herbert said that the Afterparty of the Venice Music Festival is about masks."

Qi Sinian looked at Bai Lang with a strange expression: "Who? Herbert... the operation of the Venice Music Festival? Why didn't he tell me about this?"

"You're injured, I asked him to tell me everything unimportant." Bai Lang paused and asked, "Is that okay?"

Qi Sinian was wearing a mask, which covered the upper half of his face, and his exposed lips and chin were exquisite and graceful, like a nobleman in the Middle Ages.He nodded and said, "Of course. You can tell me or you can tell me."

Herbert has been in contact with Qi Sinian since the morning, but Qi Sinian declined his offer to greet him.

He and Bai Lang were like the two most ordinary tourists, following the crowd, wandering along the golden route.

St. Mark's Square was crowded with people, with seagulls flying above their heads and fat pigeons running around on the ground.Climb to the red brick bell tower at the right time, just to embrace the vast and spectacular sunset of the Grand Canal, the afterglow sprinkles the entire Venice on the water, melting every isolated island into a magnificent star, embellished in the sea water of different depths, shining brightly Light.

"That's the Phoenix Opera House?" Bai Lang was on the top floor of the bell tower, leaning out with his hands on the wall, his entire face was turned orange by the setting sun.

The place he was pointing at was an inconspicuous white building not far from the coast.The opera house has been destroyed by fire three times in more than 200 years, and has been reborn from the ashes.It is one of the most dreamed holy places in the hearts of classical musicians, and it is also the place where Bai Lang and Qi Si Nian will perform on stage in a few days.

Qi Sinian nodded, looked at his expression and smiled, "Are you a little nervous?"

"Nervous, after all, it's the Phoenix Opera House!" The dimples on Bai Lang's cheeks were faintly visible, his eyes sparkled brightly, "But when I think of having you by my side, I won't be nervous."

Qi Sinian looked at Bai Lang without much expression, but his eyes became very gentle.

Bai Lang stretched his finger forward and said, "Actually, I want to play on the water more, like now, going down the river towards the setting sun, presenting a "Venice Boat Song" to the people along the coast."

"Noah's violin?" Qi Sinian agreed with a smile, "It's really desirable. It's just what to do, the operation won't let us play on it."

In addition to the water buses that come and go in the Grand Canal of Venice, there is also a more famous "boat" - Noah's violin.It is a "violin" pontoon carefully crafted by the artist, which is completely enlarged in proportion to the appearance of a violin, with the head of the violin as the bow and the body of the violin as the stage.After the Venice Music Festival begins, there will be small music groups playing on it, floating along the canals across the waters of Venice.

It's a pity that this romantic scene is destined to be missed by Bai Lang. Because of the current and the shape of the pontoon, the hull cannot keep steady, which will have a great impact on the performers on it.Nowadays, the performances on "Noah's Violin" are mainly performances, and professional performers like Bai Lang will not be invited.

"I'm just talking." Bai Lang curled his lips, "My teacher once said that my bones are full of unrealistic fantasies."

Qi Sinian smiled, his handsome face exuded a soft light in the setting sun: "Isn't it fascinating and romantic?"

Bai Lang looked directly into Qi Sinian's eyes, which lit up.He tried not to make his smile look too exaggerated, laughed twice, and said, "That's right, you are right, the words are very accurate. Chief, your Chinese is ready to be a teacher. This is all thanks to me."

"It's your credit." Qi Sinian leaned against the railing and smiled, and after a while, asked him, "Do you want some ice cream?"

Bai Lang said, "Gelato?"

Qi Sinian nodded: "There is a gelato shop in St. Mark's Square, the taste is very good. Shall we go and eat?"

After thinking for a while, Bai Lang said, "Okay. I want to eat the pistachio flavor."

Later, Bai Lang ate the pistachio-flavored gelato, and excitedly took Qi Sinian to a Michelin three-star restaurant that had been planted for a long time. He insisted on eating Venice's special squid ink noodles.

The black squid ink stained his mouth, teeth and lips black. He took several selfies with the front camera of his mobile phone. their collective disgust.

Bai Lang touched Qi Sinian's knee with his knee, stuck out his tongue and asked, "Chief, do I look good?"

Qi Sinian stared at him carefully, felt a little embarrassed at Bai Lang, and then smiled and said, "Don't you have a mirror? Do you think you look good?"

Of course, Bai Lang knew how curious it was to have a mouth full of ink, but when he looked up, he saw that everyone in a high-end restaurant had dark teeth, and a few young people at the next table were putting their faces together and taking pictures with their teeth bared.

Out of courage, he pouted his lips and approached Qi Sinian and said, "You mustn't think that I'm not good-looking, even if I'm not good-looking, you still have to stay with me."

Qi Sinian leaned back and said, "Why are we together?"

Bai Lang held his breath and moved closer, so close that he could see himself reflected in Qi Sinian's pupils.He followed Qi Sinian's gaze and looked at each other for a while, until Qi Sinian could not avoid it, then he showed a malicious smile, held the plate of squid ink noodles under his nose, and said, "Really?" It’s very delicious, can I share some with you?”

Qi Sinian lowered his head slightly to look at him, gently stroked Bai Lang's cheeks with his callused fingers, wiped off the black ink for him, and said perfunctorily: "I didn't say you are not good-looking."

Bai Lang said unconvinced: "Then you didn't say it looks good, did you?"

Qi Sinian then pinched his face again, and said in a sincere tone: "Bai Lang, you are so pretty."

Unlike most tourists who choose to live on the main island, the hotel arranged for them by the operator is on Lido Island, which is some distance away from the main island.This is the largest long island in Venice, across the southeast, with a large area of ​​beautiful beaches and resort hotels, and is an internationally renowned health resort.From the main island, it takes 40 minutes to take a water bus.

Venice at night is still lively, the main island is brightly lit, and people are reveling all night for the upcoming music festival.The two sat on the quiet water bus, and they could still hear loud laughter from St. Mark's Square.

Bai Lang leaned against Qi Sinian's side, watching the lights outside the window slowly recede, his body swayed gently with the waves, feeling as if he was wrapped in a warm swaddle, and gradually felt sleepy.

The consciousness didn't recede completely, he knew that he rested his head on Qi Sinian's shoulder, and felt that Qi Sinian put his coat on his shoulder, and then gently stroked his hair.

The author says:

Note:

[1] Venetian Barque: Mendelssohn's tune.It is selected from the second act of the opera "Tale of Hoffmann", and uses music to describe the prosperity and beauty of Venice.It is also one of the repertoires that can often be heard in Venice today.

[2] Noah's Violin: It's actually called "Noah's Violin". It is real. I haven't seen it, because it was designed in 2021. It was originally intended to pay tribute to the dead of the new crown pneumonia.This article does not have this meaning, but the author simply thinks this form is very romantic and very Italian, so I used it.

[3]gelato: Italian ice cream, although it is translated into ice cream, it is different from icecream.In Europe, icecream refers to Haagen-Dazs ice cream with more cream ingredients in a box, and Italian refers to fresh ice cream. This kind of gelato has a shorter shelf life, less cream ingredients, and a slightly smoother taste.