I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

“Uh, well, firstly,” Huang Qian didn’t even know what he was saying, “what does ‘former father’ mean?”

Asuka gave a helpless look, as if to say, "Oh, is that what you want to ask?" "Oh, that's easy to understand. It's because my parents are divorced. That's why I am Tanaka Asuka."

She emphasized her surname.

“I was only two years old at the time, so I hardly remember what my father looked like.”

"Have you never seen him since then...?"

This seems like a very heavy topic, Huang Qian thought to himself as he looked at Asuka.

"Because my mother doesn't want me to have anything to do with him anymore. You saw it in the office, right? She's a really strange person."

"eccentric……"

Huang Qian felt that "neurotic" seemed more appropriate, but that was the elder's mother, and she had no right to interfere in other people's family affairs.

“She’s controlling and prone to hysteria, maybe that’s why she got divorced,” Asuka seemed to be trying to lighten the mood, but Huang Qian couldn’t laugh at all, because it really wasn’t funny. “But I don’t hate that person, after all, she raised me to adulthood, and I definitely have to repay that kindness.”

Huang Qian quietly shifted her gaze; she hadn't failed to notice Asuka's way of addressing her.

That person.

"Even though you say you don't dislike her, you probably really dislike your mother, right?"

If it were Reina, people would definitely say she has a terrible personality, but the person in front of her is Asuka, so she wasn't angry, and she didn't have any other reaction.

"I can't say whether I like or dislike her; after all, a mother is still a mother."

“No matter how much I struggle, I can’t change the fact that she gave birth to me,” Asuka picked up a cookie. “It’s a shackle, a shackle that I can never get rid of in my entire life.”

She hated these shackles. She could fly freely, but her wings were bound by these invisible shackles. Aso was a shackle she could never get rid of in her life. What was even more hateful was that she had become a shackle for others as well.

“In her mind, there is a very clear blueprint for what is called happiness, but the act of playing it does not exist in that blueprint.”

"It never existed in the first place."

Unlike Aso, she is like a puppet, moving in the direction Aso wants her to go, without her own consciousness. Her insistence on playing the flute is probably Asuka's greatest resistance so far, but it is ultimately no match for Aso.

They both knew that playing the wind instrument wouldn't be part of Asuka's future.

Playing the flute is a brief moment of freedom for Asuka, but it also becomes a different kind of shackle.

She trapped herself, and she trapped Qinglai even more.

The cookies, which were supposed to be sickeningly sweet, turned into a bitter and astringent taste in Asuka's mouth. This was a taste that only she could experience, and something she didn't want Kiyori to taste.

Yet they were forced to share this bitterness.

It was so bitter it brought tears to my eyes.

P.S.: Something upsetting happened, sigh.

Chapter 81 Warm Voices (Section 319)

"So, how did you begin learning the euphonium, senior?"

“It was when I was in second grade that my family suddenly sent a big box and a worn-out notebook. When we opened the box, there was a euphonium inside,” Asuka said with a nostalgic look. “Of course, the person didn’t agree at first. It wasn’t until fourth grade that she allowed it. Later, I found out that a music store had opened not far from my home, and the store manager used to be a euphonium player.”

Makoto. It wasn't until she grew a little older that Asuka learned that her mentor was actually a once internationally renowned musical prodigy.

"After trying it out, I was surprised to find that I was actually pretty good at it."

Asuka played with her fingers, watching the sunset outside the room.

“At first, she could tolerate it. She thought it was just a child’s whim. But because I kept refusing to give up, she gradually couldn’t bear it anymore.” Asuka remembered the cabinet that she used to fill with music books, but now it was different. She couldn’t protect this little world. “So we finally reached an agreement that I would give up as soon as my grades got worse.”

Huang didn't know what to say for a moment. She clenched her fingers tightly. "So..."

"Hmm," Asuka responded softly, "So, in order not to give up on what I love, I have to work incredibly hard. That's why when I look at the people around me, I always think..."

"I'm not kidding. As long as I can brag, nothing else matters to me."

Regardless of who plays the solo or who wants to rejoin the club.

None of this has anything to do with me.

"That's why they got their comeuppance."

Despite her calm tone, Huang Qian felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe and impossible to escape. A pain, as if something was twisting her, spread from her heart, making her unable to speak.

“Look here,” Asuka said, opening her computer and scrolling to the bottom of the page. “The National Tournament homepage, here.”

A familiar name appeared precisely where Asuka's finger touched.

— Masakazu Shindo.

“This has stirred my desire,” Asuka chuckled softly, as if she had just remembered something. “I want to enter the national competition so that he can hear my performance.”

It wasn't that Asuka hadn't discussed this issue with Kiyoyori, but at that time, she always felt that there would never be such an opportunity; it was just a thought, which she used as motivation to continue playing.

But unexpectedly, this opportunity actually came.

Her long-cherished wish was about to come true, and perhaps that's why she said those things.

Now that we've come this far, we must spare no effort to continue moving forward, so that the sound of Zongwu High School's performance can resonate throughout the entire nation!

To be honest, I don't approve of Nozomi's return, because it won't benefit the club.

"It was all because of my own selfish desires, and this is the result," Asuka's smile at this moment was heartbreaking. "I can only say that there are gods watching over us."

"Ah, I'm sorry, I wasted too much time," Asuka closed her laptop, turned and walked towards the coffee table. "Let's continue studying."

"I," looking at the figure that seemed to be walking away, for a moment, it overlapped with the figure in Huang Qian's memory, "I like Asuka-senpai's Euphonium!"

I love my sister's trombone!

Words that were once impossible to say slipped out of my mouth.

"That morning during the training camp, you were playing that piece alone in that open space, senpai. After listening to that piece, I wondered, 'What kind of person could play music like that?' I loved that sound."

“That piece of music,” which carries so many of Asuka’s memories, those of the euphonium and those of Kiyoyori, “was composed by Mr. Shindo, and it was written in the notebook that was sent along with the euphonium.”

"It belongs to my elder father..."

"Perhaps, I hope you can help me reject that piece of music and condemn it to the point of being worthless."

This also negates everything related to it.

"Why? But I really like that piece of music. It's warm and powerful, and I want to keep listening to it! Or rather, I want to listen to it right now!"

"Huangqianjiang, you're really enthusiastic today, completely different from usual."

"That's because today's seniors are very different from those of the past."

Asuka paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps."

"Let's go to the river, I suddenly feel like blowing."

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

"Have you been playing here all along?"

As the two walked along the riverbank, watching the children running and laughing beside them, Huang Qian caught a fleeting glimpse of nostalgia in Asuka's eyes.

“I used to practice here often, but after I met Kiyotaka, I always practice at her house.”

"Huh?"

"Huangqian-chan should know that Kiyoyori and I are childhood friends, right?"

Asuka turned around, holding the euphonium.

"Although I know that," Huang Qian pouted as if he had thought of something, "she has so many childhood sweethearts..."

Asuka, who was about to sit down on the ground, suddenly glanced at Oumae and chuckled, "Oumae-chan, are you... jealous?"

"Well……"

"Asuka-senpai, why are you telling me all this?"

Compared to Kiyorai, she was just an ordinary junior.

Asuka sighed and hugged her euphonium tightly. "If I tell Kiyori about these things, I won't be able to hold back..."

"Couldn't help it?"

"Yeah, I couldn't help it."

He couldn't help but act coquettishly towards her, couldn't help but want to stay by her side, couldn't help but want to keep her by his side.

"Moreover, Huangqian sauce really does resemble a euphonium."

The shimmering ripples on the river's surface were like Huang Qian's heart at that moment, caressed by the evening breeze named "Asuka".

“I’ve never thought of myself as a euphonium, nor do I think the people around me are like euphoniums,” Kiyotaka said. She was so bright and she wasn’t the kind of person who would silently support everyone without asking questions. She should be standing in the spotlight, in the center of the stage. “So when I saw Kizami-chan, I was really shocked. I never thought there would be someone who looked so much like a euphonium.”

"Is this a compliment...?"

"You're praising me, that's probably why I wanted to talk to you."

"What about Kiyotaka? She clearly learned the euphonium too."

“Kiyori…” Asuka smiled with relief, “You can’t make someone become what they were never meant to be.”

"She's a born oboe."

That smile was one that Huang had never seen before; it was completely different from Asuka-senpai's usual smiles.

Warm, yet melancholic.

P.S.: Happy Lantern Festival everyone!

Chapter 82, Part 320: Goodbye, Asuka

A crisp knock came from outside the door. "Kiyose, the teacher has already asked for leave."