"Old Phil, Old Phil, don't run!"
In the hotel bathroom, Ye Qingxuan pushed the crazy Old Phil into the bathtub, trying to clean the layers of mud off of it.
Old Phil turned around and bit Ye Qingxuan, but he remained determined as ever. He poured half a bottle of the hotel bath soap onto Old Phil, and added a few tablespoons of detergent until the dog was about to be drowned by bubbles.
No one knew how long this old dog had not taken a bath as Ye Qingxuan also brushed out several small hair pins, not knowing who had put them there.
When the dirty water and Old Phil's fur had almost completely clogged the drain, Ye Qingxuan finally stopped and nodded, finally satisfied, "That's how it's done."
In front of the mirror, Old Phil sluggishly looked at itself. It whined a little, too sad to continue looking.
This golden-haired dog with luscious fur suddenly stood up, raised its paw and skillfully slapped Ye Qingxuan. Then it sat in a corner and refused to move.
Under the afternoon sunshine, the tips of its fur glowed with golden highlights. They was so elegant and beautiful, making it a totally unrecognizable dog compared to that dirty one before. But why did it love being dirty!? No one knew what the dog was thinking as it was sad despite being so beautiful now.
Old Phil squatted in the corner, sadly bowing its head. It would be perfect if Old Phil could hold a glass a wine, and recite some poetry to express its sadness.
"Do not be sad, Old Phil." Ye Qingxuan squatted and tried to comfort it. "You see, if you are dirty, I have no way to take you to come with me to the entrance exam."
Old Phil was still unresponsive.
"I discovered that before the entrance exam this year, the Royal Academy of Music will have a reception banquet. So tonight you can follow me quietly into the kitchen, and you can eat as much as you want!"
Ye Qingxuan predicted Old Phil's selfish desires, "Old Phil, it's the Royal Academy of Music's banquet! Wales sausage will certainly be unlimited!
As soon as Old Phil heard the word 'sausage,' its tail started wagging, and its eyes shone.
"And maybe there will be seafood, meat and endless stargazing..."
Stargazing?
Immediately Old Phil stared at him very seriously. Ye Qingxuan realized what he had just said, and tried to make it better, "Ok, ok, we don't eat that. Just the sausage should be enough! The bread is not the stale kind, but is soft like cotton candy... "
Old Phil nodded, then opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue as if saying, "That would be satisfactory."
"There is seafood, scallops, and lobster, this big..." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his arms wide.
"Ruff, Ruff!" Old Phil was so excited, and flew into Ye Qingxuan's arms. It patted his shoulder, full of gratitude, as if it had begun to see that its little follower had grown up and could now take care of him.
"Haha, don't open your mouth!"
Ye Qingxuan was happily rolling with Old Phil on the ground.
In the end they both were tired, lying on the dirty floor. The sun shone through the window onto the teen's white hair. It glistened like flowing mercury.
Ye Qingxuan spaced out while looking outside the window. The messy streets, the blue sky with white clouds. In silence, he suddenly gave a silly smile.
"Old Phil, I will become a musician soon."
－
The setting sun shone through the clouds like flowing water, brilliant and beautiful.
A ray of sunshine fell from the sky and shone on the top of the palace. White towers stood high, the golden, glistening gryphon flag fluttering in the wind.
The light from the top of the palace reflected upon its surroundings evenly, illuminating the three-ring city. Everything was rendered with a layer of an enchanting golden hue.
Dancing white fog shrouded the city below, huge waves appeared to cover the whole town From there, the shadow of the white church could only be seen vaguely, becoming blurrier as the distance increased, yet the sound of the tide could be heard from afar.
This was the era that the nobles were bathed in the light, while the ordinary civilians looked up to witness the glory.
Outside the iron gate, Ye Qingxuan was holding Old Phil and looked up in awe.
Behind the tall walls, layers of old trees covered the entire school area, faintly revealing a peek of the auditorium and the corner of the bell tower. The ancient college exuded a peaceful atmosphere, with people quietly coming and going. Two-hundred-years ago, when the school was built, the architect had placed solemn monuments in every place.
The doors slowly opened. Years of history blew through the door, fascinating people.
"Old Phil, let's go."
－
Ye Qingxuan finally recovered from spacing out, waved at Old Phil, walked into the school, full of excitement.
"Are you here to attend the banquet?" asked an old gatekeeper. He wore a short cloak and held a short staff. He looked down at the excited child, and the excited old dog, then nodded his head and ushered him in.
Watching the boy happily run away, he laughed. He propped up his chin on the short staff and went back to sleep.
In front of the auditorium, there was already a group of people gathered.
At the front door, two polite waiters dressed in black opened the door for the guests with respectful and flattering smiles.
"Earl Wellington, long time no see. Is this your daughter?" Just at the main entrance, the host wore a tuxedo, trying hard to look dignified. But to many people, he really looked like a penguin. He bent over to salute the aristocratic man and his daughter, "The dean has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come in."
"Mr. Czerny, I haven't seen you for a long time. Is your global travel coming to an end? We are looking forward to seeing your new work." He pointed to the arrogant boy beside the man, then nodded and started praising him, "Your son has reached the age of admission. Wow, he looks so handsome and smart. Please come in."
He took the invitation and moved on to the next person. He prepared to say something but the arrogant elite teen brushed past him. The servant handed him the invitation and hurried off.
Sidney's face twitched, not revealing any ugly look. He just smiled.
Most of the candidates invited to the banquet had aristocratic backgrounds, many of whom were also the children of musicians. Out of the spite and worry towards the school's growing number of peasants, the aristocratic musicians who held this dinner wanted to pick out the noble blood among all the candidates.
The current principal, who was not of noble heritage himself, had extended the dinner banquet to all the candidates, agitating the aristocratic committee.
The original elite banquet was turning into a flea market! Looking at the crowd filled with many peasants, Sidney turned bitter, "How many more of these people will come?"
"Sir, the representative from the Ackerman family had arrived," the servant said softly. "He is the son of Mr. Leon."
"You should have told me earlier!" Sidney saw the carriage in the distance. His eyes suddenly shone.
The Ackerman family was one of the most important guests at the banquet. Leon, as a famous musician in the kingdom, was an important figure that the aristocratic factions wanted to be close with.
During this critical occasion, he must not be neglected.
But as Sidney stepped forward, a big dog arrogantly strode past him, proudly raising his head up, even sneering at him. That kind of ridiculous pretentiousness really aggravated him.
He started screaming, "Wait! Who's dog is this? Someone get it out! I have said so many times, don't let wild dogs into the school!"
"Oh, sorry, that's my dog."
Next to him, there was a teen by the waiter. He raised his hand awkwardly. Sidney looked down at him and saw his clothes, realizing that he was another one of these peasant musicians!
Eventually, the prestige of the Royal Academy of Music would be defiled by these dirty commoners, turning the school to garbage!
"Professor, there is a problem," the attendant whispered, "This gentleman came to attend the dinner, but he is not on the list."
Sidney frowned and slowly reached his hand out toward Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan hesitated, but shook his hand anyway.
"Hello."
Sidney 's eyes became more contemptuous. He brushed away Ye Qingxuan's hand, asking him slowly, "Invitation letter? All candidates have invitations."
"...Oh, what about letters of recommendation?" Ye Qingxuan started shrinking.
"What recommendation letter? I don't know what you are talking about." Sidney looked at the musician Leon walking toward him. Suddenly he became anxious and increasingly impatient, "Go away. Do not waste my time."
Ye Qingxuan was stunned and confused, "Sir, could you check again? There certainly should be one."
"No." Sidney did not even look at the list and pushed him away. "Go away."
"Wait, wait!" Ye Qingxuan was stunned, and unconsciously pulled Sidney toward him. "There must be something wrong. My recommendation letter should have been sent to you already. I am from the East. My name is Ye Qingxuan. I was recommended by Mr. Wolf Flute."
"I said no." Sidney took Ye's hands off of him. "There was no letter of recommendation sent to the college in the past few days! And I have not heard of Mr. Wolf Flute."
"But..."
"Stop talking, you brat. This isn't the place for the nonsense, unless you want a visit to the law enforcements."
He gave Ye Qingxuan a dirty look, and patted the corner of his clothes that Ye Qingxuan had pulled, as if there was some dirt on it. Sidney quickly changed his sour look into a smile, trotting toward the well-dressed man. "Mr. Leon, Mr. Leon, do you remember me? I am..."
Ye Qingxuan stared at his back for a long time, then whispered, "Impossible…"
He looked at the door open again and again, with the dressed-up boys and girls walking into the glow of chandeliers.
Old Phil came back from the bushes, dropped two coins next to Ye Qingxuan's foot, then looked up at him. But Old Phil could see the smile on the young face slowly fade little by little, turning into an expression of loss and fear.
"Impossible." He said softly, "Is there something wrong?"
Old Phil tilted its head to look at him.
"They must have made a mistake." Ye Qingxuan squatted beside Old Phil, biting his lips, "Let's wait and see. Maybe the letter will come in a little while."
But when the dinner was about to start, the letter had not arrived yet.