I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

A few seats away from Nakaseko, a third-year student raised her hand, but Nakaseko remained unmoved, as if the identity of the trumpet solo was none of her business.

Mr. Matsumoto was clearly taken aback for a moment, then gave an awkward smile, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Amamiya-san."

So, under Matsumoto-sensei's direction, the oboe started first, steady and gentle, followed by the clarinet, and then each department began to join in. They were tuning, but Yukinoshita couldn't understand the point of their tuning at all; they were just playing their own instruments.

Ms. Matsumoto's embarrassment became more and more obvious, but she still did not reprimand her. She simply gestured for her to stop adjusting the sound. For a moment, Yukinoshita felt as if she could not hear anything anymore.

Then the conductor forcefully tapped the baton in the air, and the brass instruments began to sound sparsely, weakly and feebly, sounding like a limp shrimp struggling on the verge of dying of thirst. The trombone group was completely out of tune, and the French horn group's sound was so bad that you couldn't even tell how many people were in their group. The flute group was a whole bunch of people who couldn't even produce the same effect as Kasaki alone. Each group could be said to have shown their worst abilities to the fullest extent. If you weren't familiar enough with the melody, Yukino wouldn't even be able to tell that they were playing "Marine Corps".

What is this? A comedy show?

If it weren't for her sense of propriety keeping Yukinoshita standing still, she would have already turned around and left.

What dashing marines? They're more like drunken old men, aren't they?

Only a few familiar faces from Yukinoshita were seriously playing along; the other third-year students were either daydreaming or just making things up.

As the song ended, the lingering power of the sonic weapon still echoed in Yukinoshita's ears. Through the rumbling noise, she heard Matsumoto-sensei weakly ask, "One more time?"

Why is it a question? Are you a teacher?

Yukinoshita frowned in displeasure.

At this moment, the heavy horn was placed on the ground without any pity, making a dull "thud".

"That's enough, Ms. Rikako? You're pregnant, so you should go and rest. We'll practice on our own."

Chapter 25 My Heart Is in Turmoil for You

Upon hearing this, Ms. Matsumoto's body trembled slightly. She opened her mouth as if to refute, but in the end, she held the conductor's baton in her palms. "Hmm, that's true..."

Ogasawara, who was near the snow, sighed helplessly.

"What piece were you playing just now?"

A clear, cold female voice suddenly rang out in the classroom, not belonging to any member of the brass band. Yukinoshita's sudden speech drew most people's attention, and the trumpet player who had spoken earlier scoffed, clearly mocking Yukinoshita's ignorance.

"You're not a member of the brass band, are you? What are you doing here? That was 'Marine Corps,' don't you even know that?"

"The Marine Corps?" Yukino asked, feigning surprise. "I thought the piece you were playing was called 'The Drunkard's Moaning Without Illness'."

Upon realizing she'd been tricked, the trumpet player immediately wanted to retaliate, but Yukinoshita didn't give her the chance:

"The performance just now was no, it was just a bunch of rabble. You don't even deserve the word 'ensemble'."

Who do you think you are?!

The tuba player leaned her instrument against the wall and stood up as if to confront Yukinoshita, but another person next to her grabbed her sleeve. Suddenly, a burst of laughter erupted from the bass section; it was Asuna, who was sitting diagonally in front of the tuba player.

"Hahahahaha!"

The others didn't find anything funny, but it was Asuka who laughed, the absolutely neutral Tanaka Asuka.

“‘Feigning illness’ is indeed a very apt description. I didn’t expect this student to have such a good ear for music, hahaha!” Asuka took off her glasses and gently wiped the saline solution from the corner of her eye with her finger. “Today’s ensemble was really enjoyable. I’ve never laughed so happily before.”

"Asuka...?"

It's clear that Nakazeko also couldn't understand the opponent's actions. This is nothing like Asuka. Normally, she would have remained silent or evaded the issue by playing coy.

"Music should be played happily, as expected," Asuka turned her head and smiled at the club president. "Everyone had a great time playing just now, right, club president?"

"Ah, ah, um." The club president, stunned by Asuka's aura, stammered, "Well, Rikako-sensei, you should go and rest. We'll definitely be fine."

"but--"

"That's right, teacher, you should go home quickly, it's not good for the baby in your belly to get tired."

The atmosphere in the brass band relaxed again, although this was a "tense situation" in a different sense for Yukinoshita. After everyone's persuasion, Matsumoto-sensei decided to disband the band and let everyone go back to their respective groups to practice.

The club members dispersed loosely, and some students could even be heard talking amongst themselves under the snow.

"What's wrong with Rikako-sensei today? Why is she suddenly meddling in our practice?"

"Could it be because of what happened in first grade?"

"How could that be? We were the same way back then."

"Tch, I think she just thinks this year has students from top universities getting in. Why didn't she approach us like that back then? She's biased, because we're not—"

"Hey, can't you just shut up a bit?"

The third-year students whispered among themselves until the second-year students left, and then it was the second-year students' turn.

"What did that mean just now?"

Yukinoshita looked at Asuka and asked.

"It doesn't mean anything," Asuka said, shrugging innocently. "I just found what you said interesting."

Ignoring Yukinoshita, Asuka wrapped her arm around Nakazeko's fair neck and placed it on her shoulder, causing Nakazeko to involuntarily flinch.

"The Medieval Ancient Senior?"

"Oh? Kaori isn't used to me touching her yet?" Asuka reached her other hand towards Nakayoko's chest. "Hehehe, let me see—!"

Nakazeko gave Asuka a reproachful look and slapped away her mischievous hand, saying, "What are you doing in front of your juniors!"

Then, Asahi gave Yuki an embarrassed look.

"Oh~, so that means you can do whatever you want without being in front of your juniors?"

The two walked out of the classroom together, their voices fading into the distance.

"Yukinoshita-kun," Matsumoto-sensei called out weakly after everyone had left, "I'm sorry to have let you hear such brass music, actually..."

“Matsumoto-sensei,” Yukinoshita bowed to the teacher who was standing dejectedly on the podium, “I must take my leave now. Please rest well.”

Without lingering, Yukinoshita left the music classroom.

She understood now. Kasaki Nozomi was right about at least one thing: as long as this teacher remained the advisor for the brass band, forget about competing for the gold medal on the national stage; even the regional competitions would be a problem. Matsumoto-sensei was running away—running away from training the brass band, running away from facing these students, and running away from her own true feelings.

Consultants cannot be the key to solving the problem; they must find other solutions.

Perhaps this is an unsolvable problem?

A thought suddenly popped into Yukinoshita's mind, but she quickly dismissed it. There are no unsolvable problems, only problems that she hasn't found yet. As long as she keeps searching, she'll definitely find one.

When Yukinoshita reached the open-air corridor, she was stopped by an unexpected person. Although she did not expect the other person to come to her, it did not seem unreasonable, especially considering that she had just said such aggressive words under those circumstances.

"Hi~ Yukinoshita-kun." Asuka waved to Yukinoshita.

"Tanaka-senpai," Yukinoshita asked bluntly, "Aren't you supposed to be absolutely neutral? Why did you say something like that just now?"

"If I don't speak up, Yukinoshita will become the target of everyone's criticism. No matter which side speaks up, it will only make the situation worse, so only I, who am absolutely neutral, can speak up, right?"

"Then why use that tone? It doesn't sound like you're maintaining neutrality at all."

"Yes, why?" Asuka's eyes showed a moment of confusion, but then she gave Yukinoshita a cool smile. "Because I find it incredibly boring. Regardless of who wants to stay and who wants to quit, or who sent that email for what reason, it only made things worse, and those third-year students taking advantage of their age to do some things—"

She suddenly swallowed back what she was about to say, "I advise Yukinoshita to give up on this request as soon as possible. Why don't you just let it end naturally?"

"Is it related to Senior Medieval Ko?"

Asuka suddenly fell silent, her icy gaze piercing through her glasses like a blade into the snow.

"Did something happen to Senior Medieval Ancient?"

"This has nothing to do with you, right?"

The two faced off for a while, sparks flying between their eyes. "I won't give up. I will stop this farce."

After saying that, Yukino walked past Asuka, leaving behind her flowing black hair and resolute back.

“Heh,” Asuka chuckled, “He’s truly hopeless.”

Chapter 26 Suddenly Became the Heroine of a Yuri (Girl's Romance) Book

Upon returning to her normal life, Kiyoyori's first thought was to finish recording the oboe instructional video, but considering it was a weekday and she had classes, she decided to postpone it. Only then did she see the message Yukinoshita had left for her; it wasn't very detailed, as if she was deliberately avoiding something.

[We have two guests over the weekend: your older sister, Eriri Sawamura, and Asuka?]

Yukinoshita put a question mark after Asuka's name, and Kiyoyori wasn't quite sure what the problem was with Asuka.

My sister asked me to help her with a painting. I must say, her hobbies are quite unique, just like yours.

This sentence seemed to have been written with great weight. Kiyotaka turned the page and, sure enough, there were her faint handwriting on the previous page. Thinking of Eriri's hobbies and the painting she had drawn before she fell asleep...

That's it, my lifelong reputation is ruined in an instant.

It's all Eriri's fault.

Help me with the drawing?

Kiyoyori frowned upon seeing the words. Eriri had indeed mentioned asking for his help before. Could it be...?

Could she be a model?! Eriri's model...

Kiyoshiro couldn't imagine that Yukinoshita, who could make all sorts of embarrassing and shameful poses with her body, was actually shy and wanted to die on the spot, even though she seemed indifferent and could handle all kinds of situations.

He looks kind of cute...

[Tanaka Asuka? Unknown relationship, intimate, signs of violence against her. She appears indifferent, but is actually deeply concerned. Judging from her words and actions, you are well aware of this matter. Aren't you going to explain?]

Upon seeing this line, Qinglai paused, her hand holding the notebook trembling slightly, the pages creased, and her nail beds turning faintly white.

Kiyoshi was indeed fully aware of this, whether it was the mental state of Asuka's mother or why her aunt would sometimes take such extreme actions towards Asuka.

But Asuka doesn't know that Kiyoshi already knows, because it was all an investigation that Kiyoshi conducted behind Asuka's back. As long as Asuka doesn't say anything, Kiyoshi will continue to pretend that she doesn't know.

But the last time something like this happened was many years ago, because back then Asuka was determined to join the school's brass band and become a euphonium player. Although it wasn't the first time she had been beaten, it was the first time Kiyoyori had seen Asuka in such a disheveled state.

Thinking of this, Kiyoshi could only sigh helplessly. She had no right to interfere in Asuka's private affairs, let alone the relationship between Asuka and her mother, since Asuka had been dependent on each other since she was a child.

Kiyoyori pondered for a moment, then simply left the following in his notebook:

I know, but I'm not qualified to explain.

Such pale words.

Yukinoshita left her only four short sentences, but the last sentence made Kiyoyori's heart pound. She frantically opened her phone to try and find the LINE messages. When she unlocked the phone for the third time with her fingerprint and the phone displayed "Try again", Kiyoyori even wanted to throw the phone away in a fit of anger.

This definitely isn't my phone!

In the end, she unlocked her phone with the password, opened the chat app, found the latest messages section, and scrolled down slightly to see a message from "a woman with a terrible personality." The message contained a video of her playing the piano using Yukinoshita's body. Although the message showed as read, Yukinoshita did not reply. Strangely, Haruno did not chase after her for a reply. Normally, if Kiyori did not reply to the message, the other party would call and force her to answer.