I play wind instruments in Kansai

Gong Lingwang did not refute.

When a person is in a state of absolute advantage and glory for a long time, the outcome can be almost predicted before the competition even begins because of their overwhelming strength.

But in the Haruki Brass Club, it's a different story. Uncertainty is always present, and one can always feel fear and anticipation.

"Kato told me last night that you play the oboe reed quite well," Kirishima Ruka suddenly said.

"She seems to know everyone."

"She messaged me on her own, which was honestly a bit embarrassing. Besides that, what else can you do?"

"I don't know, I haven't tried the others. Maybe I am the genius that everyone talks about."

"Are you kidding me?"

"real."

Kirishima Ruka smiled, her gaze drifting out the car window.

As soon as the city power line passes Guishan Station, you can see vast expanses of farmland, lush and green.

The sky was a clear, bright blue today, as if the saturation of the entire world had been raised to a whole new level.

"It's actually quite troublesome to be in the same voice as Daidouji-senpai."

Kirishima Ruka's face showed a troubled expression as she spoke.

"I never thought my trumpet skills were worse than anyone else's, but the day will definitely come when I compete with Daidouji-senpai for the lead position in the vocal section."

Miyamine Nozomi blurted out her words without thinking:

"Can't you condescend to do that?"

Kirishima Ruka chuckled softly, her voice tinged with a hint of stubbornness as she spoke:

"This is not something a musician should say. Rather than handing over your fate to someone else, you should fight for it yourself."

Her words reminded Gongling Wang of the willow wood lantern.

It's really strange. Liu Mu Jie Deng was thinking that he would completely overwhelm Kirishima Liu Ka, but Kirishima Liu Ka didn't mention Liu Mu at all. Instead, she kept talking about Daidoji.

Indeed, everyone has different goals.

"When that time comes, will you support me, Miyamane?" Kirishima Ruka asked.

Gongling saw the familiar T-junction outside the train window and knew they were about to arrive at their stop.

"What kind of support do you want me to provide? The kind of support where I'd still support you even if you're not as good as Daidouji-senpai?"

"Who do you think I am? In Chiki, I'm second to none in trumpet playing." Kirishima Ruka said casually.

"I always side with the one who has the better skills."

"Heh." Kirishima Ruka chuckled, giving him a meaningful glance, and said, "Then it seems you'll be on my side for life."

Her words were too decisive, and Miyamine Nozomi suspected that she was overconfident.

The mains power slowly came to a stop, and the two people walked out of the carriage one after the other.

The moment the car door opened, a gust of wind rushed in. Kirishima Ruka's long hair reached her waist, and the ends brushed against the cuffs of his shirt, the touch was very light, leaving a fleeting itch.

Most of the people getting off at Girei Station are students from Osamu University; the entire street leading to the school is lined with them.

"Miyamine! Ah, Kirishima-kun."

Someone gently patted his shoulder. He turned around and saw it was Kato Ai. The sunlight gilded her features with a thin layer of gold, and even the fine downy hair behind her ears was shining.

Good morning, Kato-kun.

Kirishima Ruka held her schoolbag in both hands in front of her with a gentle smile, which was almost her signature polite gesture.

Good morning, good morning.

Kato Ai raised her hand, her nails a healthy pink, and her tone sounded somewhat unnatural, as if she hadn't noticed that she was next to Miyamune at first.

Kirishima Ruka nodded, glanced at the two of them, and said, "It seems you two have something to say. I'll be going now."

Neither of them stopped them, and at that moment they reached a certain level of understanding.

"Kirishima is quite aloof," Kato Ai said.

"Why do you think that?" Miyamine Nozomi thought she was quite gentle.

"Because she rarely replies when I message her."

That's because she has absolutely no interest in the messages you send.

"And besides..." Kato Ai raised an eyebrow and glared at him, saying softly, "You...you said those things to me, don't you think you should be more careful about your behavior?"

Her words immediately caused Gong Lingwang's brain to shut down.

Pay attention to the behavior? What behavior? Eye tracking?

Did she really think he was interested in her?

Gong Lingwang did not answer because he knew it would affect her stock value, and if he denied it now, it might drop immediately.

Although it's very dishonest, let's keep this misunderstanding until he thinks he's completely squeezed Kato Ai's value dry and sold her off.

"How's your oboe practice going?"

"Of course I've been practicing since I got home. I should be able to practice my oboe before the Wakayama festival, right?"

The Wakayama Prefecture Wind Instrument Festival is on August 2nd, which is about three months away.

For a complete novice with no experience, it is virtually impossible to play the oboe to the point of being able to perform in a competition within three months.

Moreover, judging from yesterday's situation, Kato Ai is not a genius at all; in her own words, she is just a middle-class young lady.

Gong Lingwang felt it was best not to discourage her now. Given the current situation, it was impossible for the officers of the wind instrument club to let her play on stage. The prerequisite for playing a special instrument on stage was that she had to play it well.

"Yes, I believe you can do it. You're a genius."

"Don't say things like that. I know I'm not a genius."

To Miyamine's surprise, Kato Ai was much more awake. She waved her hand and said...

"But who says only geniuses can do the impossible? Maybe I'm the exception?"

Everyone thinks they are the exception, but without exception, they are just an ordinary person, Gong Lingwang thought.

Upon arriving at Chiki Academy, the track and field was once again occupied by the track and field club girls. Along the way, many people greeted Kato Ai, including members of the brass band.

"You're very popular," Miyamine Nozomi said.

"Of course, getting ahead in school depends on connections and background."

Kato Ai proudly puffed out her chest and said,

"Having many friends makes things easier; you don't have to do it yourself. In short, you won't lose out."

"How many close friends do you have?" Miyamune asked.

"There are a lot! All the people who greeted me just now were," Kato Ai said boastfully, giving a thumbs up. "How about that? Impressive, right? Want me to teach you how to make friends?"

"One or two friends are enough."

Gongling Wang walked to the shoe-changing area in front of the school building and could hear the sounds of many people opening and closing the shoe lockers.

"I want to ask, if your grades aren't good, will your friends in the brass band speak up for you?"

"Hmm..."

It seemed the question had hit the nail on the head, leaving Kato Ai speechless for a moment before finally managing to utter a single sentence.

"Anhe-senpai should speak up for me. We've known each other since we played games together. She's also the leader of the percussion section and gets along well with everyone."

"If you can't participate in the Wakayama Prefecture brass band competition, will she also clash with other upperclassmen and speak up for you?"

"...I didn't say it had to be this way."

Kato Ai's expression showed slight unease. She had chosen to join, but if she couldn't play, she would be the one who lost face.

"Little Ai~~"

When a girl greeted her, she immediately responded, said goodbye to Gong Lingwang, and went upstairs with her.

"Hey hey hey, why are you with Gong Ling? What exactly is your relationship?"

"No, we're just ordinary friends."

"We're friends~~~"

Listening to their suppressed laughter, Gong Lingwang put on her shoes, bought a carton of strawberry milk, and then returned to her classroom.

Walking in through the front door, you can see Liu Mujie sitting in a seat writing something. He is wearing a loquat-colored sailor uniform that covers his upper body, and his skirt is pulled up a few inches to reveal a small section of his fleshy legs above his knees.

She raised her eyebrows and met Gong Lingwang's gaze, her lips twitching unconsciously, before continuing to write with her head down.

He put his schoolbag on the table, walked behind the willow-wood lamp, placed the strawberry milk on her desk, and said:

"What should I write?"

Willowwood Lamp didn't seem surprised by his arrival, merely glancing at the milk carton and saying:

"English homework."

"Oh, I see. You came to school this morning to finish your homework, you naughty kid," Miyamune Nozomi said.

"I've just been practicing too much lately, and I don't want to waste my sleep catching up on it at night."

Willow Wood Lamp's gaze was fixed on the exercise book, and he said, feigning nonchalance,

"Are you and Kato-kun close?"

"Are you jealous?" Miyamune Nozomi said.

Willowwood lamp looked up and glanced at him, letting out a soft snort, then sighed helplessly and continued working on the problem, saying:

"You should associate with smarter people and spend your time on more valuable things."

"Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"

".......Well."

Liu Mujie was stunned for a moment, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she gripped the mechanical pencil tightly in her hand.

"How did you end up with Kirishima?"

Where can I find it?

"My friend said he saw you and her taking the mains power together."

"With so much eyeliner on you, I'll have to be careful from now on."

"That's what Hina said."

"I didn't see her at all."

The little girl had no idea where she was; she was hiding so well.

"You didn't take my words to heart at all," said Yuki Yukito expressionlessly.

Gong Lingwang did not answer, but returned to his seat and took out a blue exercise book from his bag:

"Would you like this?"

Willow Knot Lamp glanced at it, then looked down and said, "I'm very good at math, I don't need this at all."

Gong Lingwang nodded. As she lowered her head, her collar slid forward slightly, revealing more of her fair nape.

At that moment, the sound of many girls chattering came from the corridor.

But Miyamine Nozomi had gotten used to it; they often said things like "So cute~" or "No way?" and deliberately drew out the high-pitched ending of their voices.

There was a person standing at the door, and she was like a magnet, drawing all eyes and attention to her.

While other girls might wear sailor uniforms with a youthful innocence, Tani Kanon manages to make the uniform look something out of place for her age.

An extremely strong feminine aura.

"Junior Liu Mu"

As Gu Huayin walked slowly towards them, the front of her sailor uniform was stretched into a full arc, and the neckerchief swayed slightly, yet it was captivating.

Liu Mujie immediately stood up, showing that she still cared a lot about her senior.

"Junior Gongling is here too. You two have a really good relationship."

Her voice wasn't loud, like a freshly baked mina bun with a layer of coarse sugar on the surface—not the crisp sweetness of a young girl, but a heavier, more alluring sweetness.

"Is there something you need?" Liu Mujie asked.

"There is something I need to do."

Gu Huayin pinched her chin with her fingers, glanced at Gong Lingwang, and said...

"Can we go outside and talk? It's still early before my morning shift."

Miyamine Nozomi wanted to return to her seat, since it wasn't her business, but she was stopped by Tani Hanane:

"Would you like to come along, junior Miyamine?"

"Huh? Me?"

"Yes." Gu Huayin smiled, pursing her lips. "Come out."

Liu Mujie and Gong Lingwang exchanged a glance and followed her out of the classroom.

Mizuno Souji, who had just run over from next door to show off his three gold cards in ten gacha pulls to Miyamine Nozomi, immediately stopped when he saw this.

He wasn't very familiar with the people in this class, and after scanning around, he only noticed Kato Ai, the social butterfly.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, I called them out as soon as I arrived," Kato Ai said.

"Could it be that she got caught dating within the department?"

"How could that be?" Kato Ai pouted and said, "They're not boyfriend and girlfriend."

Mizuno Souji asked curiously, "How did you know?"

"...Anyway, I just know it."

Kato Ai felt a little smug, because the person Miyamune Nozomi liked was her, not Yanagi Kiyoto.

◇

At the end of the corridor, Gu Huayin turned around. As she turned, the hem of her skirt spun slightly before falling back to its original position, resting against the outside of her thigh.

Gong Lingwang didn't know why she had called him out. Could it be...?

He's being made the leader of the piccolo group right now? That's a bit too fast, isn't it?

"Maybe things will really change this year. The quality of the first-year babies is even better than I imagined." Tani Hana smiled at the two of them.

The faint milky scent emanating from her was dispersed and then gathered again by the breeze in the corridor.

"I will do my best to do what I can, and so will Gongling," said Liu Mujie Deng.

Miyamine raised his eyebrows but remained silent; he didn't actually intend to give everything for the Haruki Concert Club.

A faint smile still lingered on Gu Huayin's lips, but she suddenly fell silent, her gaze fixed on the two of them as if she were weighing something.

After a long silence, she finally spoke:

"The trumpet section is very strong right now. Whether it's Seiko, Liu Mu, or Kirishima, they're all very impressive in my eyes. But I heard that you and Kirishima don't get along very well, Liu Mu?"

Willowwood Lamp's eyes twitched slightly. He clasped his hands behind his back and said calmly:

"This is a private matter between her and me, and it won't affect the operation of the club."

"That won't do. Such a thing..."

Tani Hanane raised her hand to smooth the brown strands of hair that fell across her chest, her smile undiminished.

"No matter what, you should put aside the conflict. The atmosphere will affect efficiency. Now that Kirishima-senpai has finally come to school and is staying with us, we should take good care of her. Besides... her trumpet is the best."

When she said "the best," a strange look appeared in her gentle eyes.

It was as if Tani Hana knew what choice Yanagi Yuuto would make after she said those words.

To Miyamine Nozomi, Minister Tanihana's words were neither a request nor a discussion, but rather a gentle notification—

"Your relationship with Kirishima will affect her efficiency, and her trumpet is the best, so I have to make a choice."