I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

Even if it's just this once, it'll be fine.

...............................................................

The happy time ended so quickly; Kiyoyori had never enjoyed the pleasure of playing the flute as much as he had this time.

When I stood up and bowed to the audience, my heart pounded wildly in my chest, making a dull thud. It was a restlessness, an uncontrollable restlessness. I was breathing heavily, but I couldn't calm my heart down.

There was an emotion that overflowed wildly, like dopamine being released from a valve.

Kiyotomi turned her gaze back to the direction of Yuki, and saw her clapping softly along with the others.

The applause in the auditorium was so loud, like a surging tide, yet she could only hear the applause of that one person.

She saw Yukinoshita waving at her, her delicate little hand placed in front of her chest gently waving in her direction.

It was as if something had caught Kiyoshi's breath.

A smile involuntarily crept onto Kiyoyori's lips, and he secretly gestured with the hand that wasn't holding the oboe towards Yukinoshita.

"Hmm..." Asuka walked to the microphone and calmly expressed her gratitude for the end of the performance, while also taking the opportunity to promote the brass band, "Our Soubu High School brass band won the gold medal in this Kanto Brass Band Competition and has earned the opportunity to advance to the national competition."

"We are very grateful for the support of our teachers, parents and everyone here today, which has enabled us to achieve such results."

Asuka bent down towards the audience, her long black hair falling slowly with her movement.

"The All-Japan Wind Instrument Competition will be held in Kyoto at the end of October."

Asuka paused abruptly, though not exactly an "unnatural pause," but Kiyoshi, who knew Asuka well enough, noticed something was amiss.

Asuka...?

But this brief interlude quickly disappeared as Asuka slowly began to speak.

"We will continue to practice hard and strive to bring you good news at that time."

Thank you everyone!

Another round of applause erupted from the audience.

……………………………………………………………

After leaving the stage, Kiyoyori was unable to speak with Yukinoshita because she was too busy and didn't want to bother her. Instead, she took her oboe and went to find Touko, who was talking to Taki.

The thrill I felt just now felt like a dream.

Perhaps it's because of the resonance of the music.

After assembling the oboe, Kiyotaka walked over to Touko's side.

Before he could even speak to his mother, Kiyoyori saw Kasumigaoka and his group waving at him from a distance.

Touko clearly also saw the young people calling out to Kiyoyori's past.

"Go, Kiyoyori."

"A perfect performance!"

P.S.: The original song is also quite interesting. Campus romance, ah, what does that have to do with me?

Lately, I've been listening to sweet songs and writing sweet things, drinking endless amounts of liquid food, but my heart is filled with bitterness! I'm quite restless and can't concentrate on anything. Sigh...

Chapter 37, Section 260: There are no strange or unusual fetishes!

"What a perfect performance!"

Moved for some reason, Aki grabbed Kiyoyori's hand and shook it excitedly.

"Tomoya-senpai...?"

Kiyoshi blinked in confusion, then turned his gaze to Eriri, who was baring her teeth and trying to pull Aki away from Kiyoshi.

Eriri sighed, "Tomoya is currently looking for club members who can produce music."

“…Ah,” Kiyotaka nodded knowingly, “Let me make this clear first, I don’t have time to help right now.”

"It's okay!" Aki grabbed Kiyora's hand again. "I checked, the national brass competition is at the end of October, and the Winter Comic is in December, which means we still have time!"

Under Aki's tearful gaze, Kiyoshi awkwardly turned his head away.

"Cough cough."

Kasumigaoka cleared his throat suggestively.

Kiyoshi immediately pulled his hand away and then rubbed his clothes behind his back. "But I don't listen to much anime music, so it might sound out of place."

“That is indeed a problem.” Kato Megumi, who was standing at the very edge, nodded. “But Eriri told me that Tachibana-san has written her own songs before.”

Kiyoyori glanced at Eriri, who was looking away guiltily, and said, "Indeed, I still have some songs I wrote before. If you don't mind, I'll send them to Tomoya-senpai when I get back."

"Thank you so much!"

"Cough cough!"

“…It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Shiwa-senpai,” Kiyoyori wiped the cold sweat from his palms. “It’s so great that you could come and visit our cultural festival today.”

"You're too kind, Shimizu-kun," Kasumigaoka said with a smile. "How could I possibly let go of a chance to meet you?"

Kasumigaoka brought his face close to Kiyori's, the close proximity causing Kiyori's heart to skip a beat.

"Kasumigaoka Utaha! Stay away from Kiyoyori!"

"Oh dear, what are you doing here, Sawamura-kun?"

These two will probably never have a moment of peace.

Kiyoyori breathed a sigh of relief while Kasumigaoka's attention was diverted by Eriri.

"No wonder he's a dark horse with the potential to win the national gold medal."

The flat tone didn't sound like praise at all; instead, it had a strange sense of sarcasm, but that certainly wasn't what the speaker meant.

"Thank you for your affirmation, Kato-senpai."

Kiyoyori was a little fed up with this elusive senior. It wasn't that the other person was eccentric or had a bad personality; on the contrary, Kato Megumi was a very easy person to get along with, and Kiyoyori, who had worked with her a few times, liked that about her. However…

This kind of "passive skill"—appearing unexpectedly and striking up a conversation out of nowhere—is really too much for Kiyoshi to handle.

"You performed very consistently in the last Kanto Tournament. I was really on tenterhooks when they announced the gold medalist."

Kiyoyori and Kato Megumi became acquainted through the gaming club. It's unclear how it started, but Kato Megumi became quite interested in playing the wind instruments and even went to watch the competition at the Kanto Tournament.

"Indeed, the weight classes of the opponents in the Kanto Tournament and the regional tournaments are not on the same level."

Looking back on the Kanto Tournament, Kiyoyori also found it unbelievable.

"But I've always felt that it would definitely work if it were Tachibana-san."

Even Qinglai would feel embarrassed by such a straightforward compliment.

"I am truly flattered by Kato-senpai's trust."

Kiyoyori and Kato Megumi were chatting and laughing, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of the other two people who were arguing.

"What are those two over there talking about, so enthusiastically?!"

Kasumigaoka looked at Kiyoyori and Kato Megumi with displeasure.

"I just talked to Kato-senpai about playing the wind instruments."

"Yeah……?"

After Kasumigaoka narrowed his eyes dangerously, Kiyoyori immediately changed the subject, "Would you like to visit the cultural festival at Soubu High School? There are many snacks outside the auditorium. I recommend one of the yakiniku (grilled meat) stalls. It's on the road from the teaching building to the auditorium. The food is delicious, and the costumes are exquisite."

"Where's Qinglai? Isn't he coming with us?"

"Hmm..." Qinglai quickly calculated the time, "Our class's performance is later in the morning, so it shouldn't be a problem to accompany you guys around before then, right?"

She led the group out of the auditorium and sent a message to Lina.

"The performance, was it the previous stage play?"

Kasumigaoka raised an eyebrow with interest. She had come today mainly to see Kiyoyori, and secondly, to see in person the stage play for which Kiyoyori had consulted her about the script.

"Yes, that's the stage play."

"I'm really looking forward to it, Shimizu-kun."

Kasumigaoka approached Kiyori with light steps, only to be separated by Eriri who squeezed in between. "I told you, stay away from my sister!"

Eriri's little fangs gleamed with a dangerous light, but in Kasumigaoka's eyes, she looked like a little kitten pretending to be powerful.

"Is there something wrong with what Sawamura-kun is focusing on?" Kasumigaoka grabbed Kiyoyori's wrist domineeringly. "Aki-kun is almost won over by someone else, but Sawamura-kun is still concerned about things he shouldn't be concerned about."

"you--!"

Following Kasumigaoka's gaze, Eriri immediately spotted Aki and Kato Megumi, who were standing very close together due to the crowd.

"Lun Ye!"

Eriri caught up with the other two with huffy steps.

“Then,” Kasumigaoka hugged Kiyori’s arm tightly and brought her lips close to Kiyori’s ear, “Shimizu-kun, shall we take this opportunity to run away?”

"Eh...Eh?!"

Kiyora, already stiff from their overly intimate actions, found it even harder to move in the crowded throng, and could only follow Kasumigaoka's steps, gradually moving away from Eriri and the other two.

"Um... Senpai Utaha, isn't it about time you let me go...?"

Feeling the gazes coming from all directions, Qinglai awkwardly pulled her arm away. She glanced nervously at the passing tourists but didn't see the familiar person with the armband.

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Kasumigaoka held Kiyoyori's hand as they walked through the school building. While looking at the brochure in her hand, she also made sure Kiyoyori didn't sneak away.

"Shimizu-kun, I'm really interested in this cat cafe."

Kasumigaoka pointed to the pictures in the brochure, only to see Kiyoyori staring blankly in one direction.

"What are you looking at, Shimizu-kun?"

Following Kiyoyori's gaze, Kasumigaoka saw several large characters—