I play wind instruments in Kansai

"Senior Anhe said I'm good-looking, and she was originally going to let me get the main card."

"originally?"

"Then I gave it to Kato-san. I think she's quite pretty, so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Willow Wood Lamp looked a little unhappy and nudged Gongling Wang's side with his elbow.

Even after just a few days, Kirishima Ruka could tell that the intensity of their feelings for each other had not diminished with time and distance.

Instead, they are like recombined chemicals that can produce wonderful chemical reactions with just a touch.

Kirishima Ruka's fingers gently gripped the body of the trumpet. She could somewhat sense Yanagi's feelings for Miyamine, but she only hoped that Miyamine could be her playing partner, nothing more, and had no intention of competing with her.

It seems that the one who has been watching Miyamine Nozomi the whole time has become the bad guy.

"Gongling! Go to your place!"

Seeing that Miyamine Nozomi was still chatting with Yukito, Daidouji Seiko picked up a megaphone and started shouting.

Some members around let out a deliberately drawn-out "yo," which sent ripples spreading outwards, and several people nearby joined in the commotion.

Willowwood Lamp pretended to be fierce, turning its head to glare fiercely at the troublemakers.

"Okay, sorry."

Gong Ling glanced at Daidoji Seiko, whose alluring curves undulated unabashedly, like a ripe peach, brewing the sweet juice of an entire summer.

But her expression wasn't as fiery as her figure; her aloof demeanor conveyed an indifference that made her completely unaware of her own heat.

"Anwa-senpai, are dating allowed in the brass band club?" Kato Ai asked quietly, holding up the sign.

An Hechun shrugged and said:

"I don't know, but even if the members want to talk, we can't stop them; it's human nature."

"Let's start practicing!"

Daidouji Seiko's voice made everyone take their positions, and they naturally took their places.

The light refracted from the musical instrument darted wildly through my pupils.

There are nearly seventy members in the wind band on the playground, although this number is nothing compared to other schools that excel in wind band performances.

But at Chiki Academy, only the brass band has that many members.

"The flag team is standing at the front, the one holding the card—"

Kato Ai raised her hand and said, "Kato Ai."

Daidouji Seiko glanced at her but didn't say anything more:

"Because it's the first one, you have to be extra careful with your walking."

The person holding the trump card has no reference point and cannot look back, so they cannot walk too fast or too slow.

There were numerous instances of protesters pulling at each other during the marches.

Daidoji Seiko stood alone on the zinc-steel steps, holding a megaphone and began counting the chants.

"One, two, three, four—"

Under her command, the members maintained an upright posture and marched in the same steps, making sure not to fall behind or let the formation go astray.

Once you actually walk it once, it becomes clear: walking itself isn't difficult; the challenge lies in maintaining the same pace as everyone else.

Sometimes, I would deliberately pay attention to other people's pace, only to find that the other person was also paying attention to my pace, which caused complete chaos for both of us.

First, they practiced walking until they met Daidoji Seiko's standard, and only then did they pick up their instruments to play.

The difference between playing in a procession and playing while seated is significant and cannot be compared. Even the slightest imperfection can cause the sound to go out of tune, and members holding thick wind instruments may experience trembling arms due to fatigue.

But none of this mattered to Gong Lingwang; he was just a jack-of-all-trades.

The Osamu Brass Band wasn't particularly strong to begin with, but "The Swordsman's Entrance" was passable for the members, at least they were quite happy.

If he plays so poorly even when seated, let alone when he plays in a procession.

We practiced for more than two hours, ending around 5:30.

"Ugh, it's so hot... my arms are killing me from holding it up like that..."

Kato Ai muttered something under her breath, raised her hand to pull her skirt away from her sticky skin, and tried to let the wind blow into her skirt to take away some of the stuffiness.

The wind carried the subtle fragrance of the flowers, and the sunlight shone through the fabric of the uniform, slanting into Gong Lingwang's sleeves.

He stared at it.

"Everyone! Time to drink some water!"

"Tani Hana shouted, followed by Shida Nana, Tatsuno Sawamura, Hasebe Souta and other third-year students, carrying various drinks.

She acted like a kind and friendly kindergarten teacher, smiling as she distributed water to the members.

Everyone got a share, including Miyamine Nozomi, who was given Pocari Swamposite by Ryūno Sawamura.

No, Gong Lingwang realized that he had actually come specifically to deliver the gift to Anhe, and that he was just passing by when he was with the other first-year students, which seemed more like a cover-up.

Anhechun unscrewed the bottle cap, revealing the skin on the inside of her thighs, which glistened with a thin, oily sheen from standing for a long time with her legs pressed together.

Seemingly noticing Miyamune's gaze, Anwa Jun paused for a moment, then smiled and shook the CC lemon drink in her hand.

Everyone else has regular Pocari Sweat.

"Would you like some?"

Hearing her words, Gongling Wang shook his head, raised the Pocari Sweat in his hand, and said:

"This is more hydrating."

An Hechun smiled, looked away from the girl who was squatting on the ground, disregarding her image, and said:

"Look, aren't we all terrible?"

"Why do you say that?" Miyamine asked.

Anhechun tightened the bottle cap, held it behind his back, and gripped his wrist with his other hand.

"Even if Junior Gongling didn't say it, I can understand that you actually look down on us."

"I didn't say that."

"Because you're a junior, that's all you can say. The environment here is terrible, which makes it impossible to be motivated to compete. There's no one or anything in the club that you're willing to contribute to, so what's the point of staying here?"

Gong Lingwang hesitated for a moment, then glanced around.

Kirishima Ruka was whispering something to Shiraishi Hitomi, her uniform clinging to her body in the wind, her legs longer and whiter than the other girls'.

Kohinata Hina went to find Yanagi Yuuka at some point. Neither of them looked very happy. What were they talking about?

The two or three-year senior students seemed extremely happy, with several long shadows cast by the sunlight following at their feet, and the shadows of their skirts swaying on the ground.

"Because of youth," Miyamune Nozomi explained.

An Hechun tiptoed, causing her bangs to flutter slightly.

"Youth here is the least valuable and the least memorable thing."

Her tone was full of resignation, and although she maintained a faint smile on her face, this feeling of accepting her fate was heartbreaking.

"Anwa-senpai is exaggerating," Miyamine Nozomi said. "Anyway, you don't like percussion, do you?"

An Hechun paused for a moment, staring blankly at him, then smiled and said:

"That's true, but the thought that I won't be able to look back on this summer coming soon makes me feel a little regretful. Ah, what's meant to be will be, and what's not meant to be, you can't force."

Miyamine Nozomi didn't know how to discuss this topic with her, so she could only change the subject:

"Does Tatsuno-senpai like you?"

"He's a good person." An Hechun didn't seem to care and didn't give a direct answer. "Junior Gongling, you can make more friends with him."

It seems she receives this kind of benefit so often that she has become accustomed to it.

"Alright, pack everything up and put it in the storage room," An Hechun said.

"Anhe, classmate."

Daidoji Seiko walked straight over.

An and Chun blinked quickly. Although they were both third-year students, they had very few opportunities to communicate and could not even be considered friends, just classmates.

"What's wrong?"

"I have something to say to Miyamune. You can leave the miscellaneous tasks to the other members." Daidoji Seiko said calmly.

An Hechun sighed deeply:

"Miyarei, I'm entrusting you to Daidouji now. You must listen to her, understand? Don't talk back to her."

"Am I like a cow that's been sold at will in the market, in the eyes of my female classmates?"

"You're worth way more than an ox." An Hechun winked at him and quickly patted his back twice.

This is definitely not an implication that he should come to her room at 2 a.m., is it?

Seeing An and Jun leave, Daidouji Seiko crossed her arms, supporting her ample chest, and tried her best to speak in a gentle tone:

"How was it like playing the flute?"

"Hmm, very good."

Gongling Wang said bluntly,

"You've heard my flute before. When Hasebe-gumi-sama wouldn't let me play it, you should have stood up for me."

In truth, he didn't care about that. He was just vaguely angry with Daidouji Seiko for handling the Hayami Tenma Sei's matter so poorly.

Daidouji Seiko raised her hand and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her cherry-red lips parting slightly:

"Since it's unnecessary, I plan to hold a departmental vote after the performance to appoint Toda as the leader of the flute section."

"Hmm?" Gong Ling stared blankly, then frowned and said, "I'm sorry, I don't quite understand."

Daidouji Seiko lowered her arms, and one could feel her chest tremble slightly.

"The brass band is making no progress because there are too many people like Hasebe. Rather than letting him continue to be a nuisance in the club, we should give the position to someone more suitable. Okamoto is no good either."

"But that means we only have two flutes left."

Gong Lingwang looked serious. Once he got serious, he lost interest in the girl's body.

Daidouji Seiko rested her hand on her slender waist, looking directly at him and said:

"So I need to discuss this with you. In the future, it will only be you and Toda-senpai on the flute, and the responsibility will be very heavy. Do you have the responsibility to do it?"

"......"

Gong Lingwang suddenly realized that his shoulders had become much heavier. He didn't need to feel such pressure when he was in a top school because the senior students were already very strong, and he was happy to be the foil.

But now, Daidouji Seiko seems to regard him as a major driving force for "revitalizing the club," while also putting immense pressure on him.

"I know this is a bit difficult for you, so I will do my best to help you if it's something I can do."

In an attempt to win him over, Daidouji Seiko said things like, "I can grant you one wish."

Gongling Wang raised an eyebrow, his gaze relentlessly licking her body as he said:

"Really? It can do anything?"

"..."

Since junior high school, Daidouji Seiko had noticed that the way people looked at her had changed, even some of the male supervisors looked at her with a different gaze.

As she grew older and her figure became more voluptuous, she realized what that was—in short, not a good idea.

Even if Miyamine Nozomi didn't mean it that way, Daidouji Seiko would still misinterpret his words in her mind as him using his body to help him with that kind of thing.

She frowned slightly, but you could sense her throat moving slightly, as if she had swallowed, and said with obvious dissatisfaction:

"That kind of thing is unacceptable, and you're not allowed to mention such disgusting things to me again."

Gong Lingwang was completely stunned and said in astonishment:

"Uh... I haven't said anything yet..."

Daidouji Seiko took a step back, her short skirt swaying slightly, revealing a thin blush on the inner thighs from practice—the color of blood rushing beneath her skin.

"You can ask for things like credits, equipment upgrades, or club fee waivers, and I'll try my best to help you."

"I don't need any of that. I'm a good student, and my family is quite well-off," said Gong Lingwang.

Daidoji Seiko raised an eyebrow:

"So what do you want?"

Gongling Wang was silent for a moment, then touched his chin and said:

"Could you go and apologize to Supervisor Hayami?"

His words truly surprised Daidouji Seiko, because the request he made was not directed at himself, but at another person.

"don't want."

Out of pride, Daidouji Seiko gave a soft snort and, forcing himself to save face in front of his junior, said...

"She said those hurtful things in front of everyone. Although Anhe helped her out of the situation, it will definitely leave a lingering resentment."

Gongling Wang's expression was more serious than usual:

"But the problem is that you said those hurtful things first. Hayami is a human being with dignity, and she's a recent graduate who just started working. You didn't treat her like a mentor at all, so it's understandable that she's angry."

"Hmm!"

"Besides, I don't care about that. I just can't stand what you did to Supervisor Hayami."

Daidouji Seiko bit her lower lip and glared at him:

"Did Supervisor Hayami tell you to say these things? To tell me to go and apologize to her?"

"no."

Gongling Wang said,

"Before that day, Supervisor Hayami came to me specifically, hoping I could help her—"

He recounted everything that Hayami Tenma had asked of him, and Daidouji Seiko's expression gradually became blank. The girl in front of him suddenly showed a bit of childishness, and seemed to be getting further and further away from the adult world.

"While Supervisor Hayami has certainly shown some motivation, it's undeniable that she lacks the ability to lead the brass band. I wonder if Daidouji-senpai would have been better off letting her leave in a different way?"

Daidouji Seiko's delicate eyelashes trembled, and she couldn't help but frown, but as a senior, she didn't want to show too much in front of her junior.

She tilted her head slightly, then let out a soft sigh and said:

"Okay, I promise you, after this, you can't ask me to do anything that goes beyond my authority."

Gongling Wangzhen had no intention of doing anything to her; he was already quite comfortable just admiring her.

"...This isn't exactly crossing the line, is it?"

"Isn't it going too far for a junior to instruct a senior to apologize?"

"......"