Thirteen Bass

Chapter 27 [27] Interlude

The famous water city of Venice is located in the northern part of Italy, less than 300 kilometers away from Hallstatt, and can be reached in a few hours by car.

As usual, Qi Sinian was driving.The car passed through the continuous mountains all the way to the south, until there were large neat fields of wheat, rotating waterwheels and farmhouses surrounded by fences.They are not far from Italy.

Staring at the ever-changing scenery outside the window, Bai Lang gradually became sleepy, so he closed his eyes and leaned against the car window and fell asleep.Originally, he thought that when he opened his eyes again, he should have arrived at his destination.Unexpectedly, it didn't take long before there was a loud noise in my ear.

Bai Lang woke up suddenly, raised his head and couldn't remember where he was for a moment, turned his head to look at Qi Sinian habitually, only to find that he had already stepped on the brakes, then unbuckled his seat belt and opened the door.

"chief……"

Qi Sinian said to him: "You sleep in the car, I'll go down and have a look."

Sitting in the co-pilot, Bai Lang saw the wide road and the long-lost shopping street. The people on the sidewalk stopped, while the cars ahead formed a long queue, and the traffic jam was extremely severe.

Not long after, Qi Sinian came back.He told Bai Lang that there was a wave of refugees ahead, so he might have to wait here for a while.

"The refugee wave?" Bai Lang recalled that he had read similar news before, and asked, "Is it those smugglers?"

Qi Sinian nodded: "They are all homeless people because of the war. They entered Europe by sea, and Italy was the first stop."

While speaking, the car in front began to pass slowly, Qi Sinian's gaze also turned to the front, and slowly passed the intersection with the traffic.

Sure enough, Bai Lang saw many men and women carrying large and small bags, some of them were sitting on the ground, some looked distressed, some were agitated, holding protest signs and saying something to the surrounding policemen.What impressed Bai Lang the most was that there were many children in the crowd, following behind the adults in a daze.

As a person who grew up in a peaceful country, Bai Lang had never seen refugees.Surrounded by the sea on three sides, Italy is Europe's gateway to the Mediterranean.Most of the people who lost their homes came from Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and sub-Saharan African countries, including some displaced people in the Middle East.

The picture that he only saw on the news suddenly appeared in front of his eyes, and Bai Lang felt very uncomfortable.

He had heard about the refugees who sailed across the perilous Mediterranean on smuggled boats, landed on the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Sicily, and headed north, begging for shelter.Yet even though most of them have gone through hellish hardships, their eyes are hopelessly empty, but their appearance is still clean and tidy.Bai Lang saw several children gathered together, all holding books in their hands, and a young girl was teaching them to read words.

"They look...different from what I imagined." Bai Lang murmured.

Qi Sinian was silent for a while, then suddenly said: "I participated in a non-profit classical orchestra and taught those children who were taken in to play the violin. These people are refugees here with nowhere to go. When they were in their hometown, they used to Teachers, journalists, doctors, college students... all have their own good lives. Their children also grew up in happiness and love, and several of them have a musical foundation and can play the piano."

Bai Lang raised his head slightly to look at him, his Adam's apple rolled, and he swallowed his choked sobs.

Qi Sinian patted the back of his hand with his backhand, still looking forward, and said in a deep voice: "If you are interested, you can also join a similar charity band next time. You know, this kind of organization always hopes to have professional performances family to join."

Bai Lang immediately replied: "Okay, we've made a deal. You must take me with you next time, and I can teach them how to play the cello."

This little episode took place in a small town called PasiandiPrato.The city is located at the junction of Italy, Austria and Slovenia, only an hour's drive from Venice.Because of its proximity to the Adriatic Gulf, a group of refugees gathered from south to north.

Bai Lang thought that as he got closer to the tourist city of Venice, there would be no more traffic jams. What he didn't expect was that half an hour later, he was stuck on the coastal road again, completely dumbfounded.

Seeing that the setting sun was about to go down, Qi Sinian looked at the endless traffic and showed a helpless expression: "It's getting late, shall we go back to Pasian?"

Originally, Bai Lang leaned out half of his body from the car window, but when he heard this, he sat back in his seat and said, "Are you staying there tonight?"

Qi Sinian nodded: "Look at the situation, if you continue to delay, it will be dark. Pasian is not old, so let's feel wronged, okay?"

Bai Lang was stunned for a moment, feeling a little excited for no reason, and said, "How could I be wronged? Didn't you accompany me?"

Qi Sinian paused for a moment, then smiled: "Yes, I will be with you."

The operation of the Venice Music Festival has already confirmed the itinerary with them, and even the route is planned in advance.Unexpectedly, because of this episode, he and Qi Sinian had to stay a night not far from Venice.This gave Bai Lang a feeling that was beyond the plan, as if a misplaced chord suddenly appeared in a routine movement, which immediately made the whole bar have a different meaning.

The anxiety caused by the traffic jam faded instantly, leaving a sense of excitement that was eager to try.

Qi Sinian looked at his expression and showed a faint smile.When he was driving, he would wear a pair of rose gold glasses with thin rims, probably because they were uncomfortable after being on the bridge of his nose for a long time, so he took them off and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Then drive around the corner and return to the city along the way you came.

This novel excitement reached its peak when I got off the car and saw the sunset, but it stopped abruptly when the hotel front desk showed a slightly apologetic expression.

"Sorry, sir, we only have the last room left."

Bai Lang was a little taken aback at first, then immediately looked at Qi Sinian, his heart beating uneasily.

Many people returned here like them, and soon the hotel in this small seaside town was full. This is already the third hotel along the way that has no vacancies.

Qi Sinian's expression was very calm, he asked Bai Lang naturally: "Can you?"

Bai Lang's face turned hot in disbelief, and he kept scolding himself for making a fuss, and said, "Of course."

Then the two walked out of the hotel door, turned a corner, crossed the road and walked onto the promenade.

From here you can see the sandy beach below.The beach here is not resort-level, with rough stones on it. Because it is the inland sea, the sea water is not blue, but it does not affect the enthusiasm of the local children to play.

Bai Lang's face was completely crimson under the rays of the setting sun. He admired for a while the glow that ignited a large area of ​​the sky, and turned his head to see Qi Sinian talking to a few passing children in a gentle voice.

After listening quietly for a while, Bai Lang suddenly realized that Qi Sinian spoke fluent Italian.Bai Lang sighed, feeling a little headache.For classical musicians, everything in Europe is good, but it is really difficult to deal with various small languages.

Italian classical music has always been in the same category as opera, and opera is mainly in Italian, followed by French and German, and a small part of Russian.Bai Lang has studied music for many years, and it is easy to read music scores and tadpole notes. For him, figuring out the pronunciation and language habits of different languages ​​is much more difficult than figuring out the notes.

Sure enough, it would be too much of a disadvantage to exchange the song "Rose Knight" for a sentence in German.Bai Lang was thinking wildly in his mind, just bullying my unfamiliarity with the place.

At this moment, a child's exclamation suddenly came from the front, breaking the originally harmonious and beautiful picture.

Bai Lang followed the sound and saw a man rushing out from nowhere, shouting excitedly at the crowd, and seemed to be holding a knife in his hand.

Everyone was unprepared, and a few seconds later, screams belonging to children, loud cursing, and hurried footsteps could be heard endlessly.

"chief!"

Bai Lang saw the man walking towards the child beside Qi Sinian. Qi Sinian looked calm and protected the child behind him.The other party was like a wild beast that had lost its mind, suddenly raised its fist, and punched Qi Sinian.The corner of Qi Sinian's clothes was being pulled by the two children, so he instinctively blocked it with his hands.That punch hit Qi Sinian's hand, causing his right hand to slam heavily on the rough railing behind him, and even his body turned to one side.

Bai Lang seemed to hear a heavy sound.

His heart sank suddenly.

After that, Bai Lang rushed in front of Qi Sinian like crazy, and pushed him back with all his strength before the other party made the next move.

Bai Lang saw that the man had a knife in his hand, but he didn't care about anything, he just stood in front of Qi Sinian, angrily pushing the man in front of him.

The situation became chaotic, and soon, the man was restrained by the people around him. However, the anger in Bai Lang's heart was still burning. He couldn't control his emotions, and he tried his best to push away the hand that blocked him, and he couldn't care less about the eyes around him. He stumbled forward and rushed forward, almost falling over himself.

"How could you hurt his hand! How could you!" Bai Lang glared fiercely at the struggling strange man, and yelled in English mixed with Chinese, regardless of whether others could understand him, "You will destroy the man. Kill him! You'll ruin him!"

"Bai Lang! Bai Lang!" Among all the voices, Qi Sinian's steady voice seemed to enter Bai Lang's ears like a clear stream, and his head seemed to be clearer.

"Bai Lang, it's okay, it's okay." Qi Sinian hugged Bai Lang's waist from behind, and pressed his head into his arms, "Be good."

Bai Lang calmed down, then immediately broke free from his embrace, went to see the injury on Qi Sinian's hand, and cried out in pain, "Chief, is your hand alright?"

The back of Qi Sinian's hand was red and swollen, and there were scratches on the side of the palm, faintly bleeding.

Bai Lang burst into tears, feeling so distressed that he couldn't breathe, he said decisively: "Let's go right away, go to the hospital. Let's go back to Vienna, or go to Berlin, we..."

Qi Sinian held his hand backhand: "I'm really fine, it doesn't matter, don't be afraid."

His voice was very gentle, and it seemed that he had a magical power that could easily soothe people's emotions.It was only then that Bai Lang realized that he had been trembling slightly. He didn't dare to look at the injury on Qi Sinian's hand, so he could only raise his head to find his gaze, and asked again: "Look at me and say, your hand, Is there really nothing wrong?"

Qi Sinian stretched out one hand and stroked Bai Lang's back all the time, as if he was comforting a furry cat."I'm sure I'm fine. Just a scrape," he said.

Bai Lang didn't speak any more, just grabbed Qi Sinian's other uninjured hand, and slowly sat down on the chair by the side of the road.

He covered his face with his hands, and after a long time, he asked softly, "Chief, did I just... look like a lunatic?"

Qi Sinian pulled Bai Lang's wrist away with his injured hand, wiped the tears on Bai Lang's face with his thumb, smiled and said, "No, you are very brave, Bai Lang."