I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

P.S.: After much deliberation, I'm considering whether to post the subsequent side stories after the main story concludes in Volume 4, but I'd still like to maintain continuity. (Actually, I'm just lazy and don't want to write both the side stories and the main story simultaneously.)

Yu Jie and Xiao Meng are such a great couple... but I always cry every time I see them!!!

Chapter 298 Extra - New Year's Day 10

That was the euphonium that Asuka had kept hidden at home since she left Chiba. It had accompanied Asuka throughout her high school years, and it hadn't even been able to go to Tokyo with its owner.

Leaving Chiba is the new future Asuka has envisioned for herself.

In this future, there is no euphonium.

It was left in the past, in the past filled with sweet and bitter memories.

Asuka couldn't bear to look away.

Her heart was pounding so hard in her chest. She told herself she shouldn't waver anymore, but her heart still stubbornly wanted to pull her closer. Perhaps it was the ambiguous sunset that made Asuka involuntarily blur the lines between herself and the euphonium.

She didn't know why she was unwilling to touch the instrument she once loved so much. It wasn't that she hated it, but she didn't know how to continue liking it.

The silver musical instrument, bathed in the soft glow of the setting sun, carries too much within it. Rather than not wanting to touch the instrument, it's more that she doesn't want to touch the past hidden within it—those memories she desperately wants to forget, yet is also extremely reluctant to let go of.

Just like the person standing in front of her now, she is someone whose life, as named Tanaka Asuka, can never be erased.

Perhaps it is because such a thing is too beautiful that we can't help but want to stay away from it.

"Asuka."

"Kiyoshi..." Asuka faced the setting sun, offering Kiyoshi only a profile view that obscured his expression, "Please..."

Don't say it out loud.

I'm afraid I won't be able to resist agreeing.

Asuka took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure.

"I want to play a duet with you."

I said it anyway.

Asuka sighed inwardly, her already wavering resolve faltering even further.

"No~you~" Asuka deliberately used a nonchalant tone, and was very glad that the wind was blowing her hair today. "Is Kiyori trying to make fun of my playing, which I haven't practiced in a long time? If I were to play with Kiyori at my current level, it would definitely sound terrible."

That's not how it works...

That's not the real reason.

"I like Asuka's Euphonium."

"I already said it."

Asuka turned her back, completely blocking Kiyori's burning gaze.

"Asuka's euphonium is the best euphonium performance I have ever heard."

Her body trembled involuntarily. Even though she knew that the words were just a terrible compliment, Asuka couldn't suppress the satisfaction welling up from her heart, as well as the desire to be praised again.

"When exactly did Kiyori learn to use sweet talk? Yukinoshita-chan gets jealous."

“I like Yukino, but Asuka is different,” Kiyoyori’s voice seemed more composed than I remembered. Compared to the girl I remembered, she was less shy and more honest. “Asuka is special to me.”

Stop talking. She's nothing like what Kiyoyori said.

“It’s not perfect, and I want to thank Asuka for making me realize that,” her gentle voice flowed like a stream. “But without Asuka, I wouldn’t have fallen in love with music, and without Asuka, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”

God, why...

"Therefore, I like Asuka, and I also like Asuka's Euphonium."

There's something I've never been able to say to Asuka.

Kiyoshi watched Asuka's retreating figure, her hair being blown about by the wind. She was in front of her, yet she seemed no longer in front of her. She was special to her, even though they had long since gone down completely opposite paths.

Even though they can no longer see each other's backs.

"I am back."

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

"Kiyori is truly..."

The sun had already sunk below the horizon, and the warm sunlight stretched their overlapping shadows. They sat huddled together on the increasingly cold riverbank, their figures unceremoniously. The weeds pricked their bare ankles, tickling them like cat claws teasing their hearts.

Asuka pressed the silver button with slightly clumsy fingers, her fingers trembling slightly, and even her lips quivering involuntarily.

Perhaps it's too cold.

"She can surprisingly be affectionate..."

"She's as willful as ever."

"Doesn't Asuka like it?"

Perhaps Kiyori's tone was too matter-of-fact, because Asuka was suddenly speechless.

I don't know when I learned to be direct; I used to be such a roundabout person...

Asuka was momentarily lost in thought as she watched Kiyotaka skillfully assemble the oboe.

It felt like going back to the time when the two of them practiced together.

The music seemed to be playing faintly in her ears. There was no sheet music, yet her fingers could press the keys accurately. The familiar touch and the familiar melody were tunes from the past.

It is a compass pointing to the future.

No need for rehearsals before playing together; with just a glance, they can understand what the other is thinking. Different tones come from the two instruments, yet they play the same tune.

Asuka was surprised to find that her heart was unusually calm, as if the tension and unease from before had suddenly disappeared. There was no sudden fear of something she didn't want to happen, nor was there any joy at the reunion. There was only tranquility, as if she were in a vast grassland, where only she was there when the wind blew.

The performance wasn't as bad as he had imagined, and Kiyoyori's eyes no longer held those suffocating expectations.

She was enjoying the moment, even though the person she was playing with wasn't a professional musician.

Her playing technique has improved a lot. It seems that Kiyotaka has been diligently honing her skills all these years.

Asuka's thoughts drifted, but she remained focused on her duet with Kiyori.

Until the song ended.

There was still some unfinished business.

But both of them knew that now was the perfect time.

Only a sliver of sunlight remained; in just a few minutes, the area would be plunged into darkness. Without the sun's rays, the riverside in winter would grow ever colder.

Both of their phones received numerous missed calls, a long string of which belonged to Kumiko.

Kiyoshi didn't see Yukino's name, and Asuka's phone only had one message from Kaori in the earliest record.

"Waiting for you to come back."

Looking at the brief message, Asuka smiled gently.

“Then let’s go back,” Kiyoyori said, picking up his leather box. “Dinner over there should be starting soon.”

Asuka glanced at the heavy euphonium case beside her, then at Kiyoyori, who showed no intention of carrying it.

"Doesn't Kiyoyori believe that whoever takes something should be responsible for taking it back?"

"That's clearly Asuka's stuff."

"By the way, where exactly did you find it?"

Who knows?

"Hey~ tell me~"

"Hmm~"

As Qinglai watched the figure beside him carrying a heavy leather box, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

……

[Auntie doesn't ask for your forgiveness, but I'm entrusting Asuka and it to you, Kiyoyori.]

P.S.: This side story is connected to the main text of Volume 4, so I hesitated to release it first. Of course, some long-awaited timeline plots are also interspersed within it. I'll try to finish it within two chapters.

Chapter 299 Extra - New Year's Day 11

The gathering with her juniors brought back a long-lost sense of youth for Asuka. As the oldest person present and the first to enter the workforce, she felt a sense of melancholy at the loss of youth as she watched the energetic high school students, even though she herself had only just begun to enter the workforce.

Because she often had to socialize with her seniors at the law firm, Asuka developed a habit of drinking a little. It is said that the dinner table is like a battlefield, and the ever-increasing alcohol tolerance is a weapon of socialites. Although this is a bit too realistic, it is also unavoidable. At this moment, without the scene of urging others to drink, Asuka was a little unaccustomed.

Apart from the original members of the Soubu High School brass band who rose to prominence back then, most of the other brass band juniors did not recognize Asuka and the others. Compared to Kumiko and Kiyoyori, who were surrounded by a crowd, Asuka was quite relaxed.

She gently swirled the small sake cup, the crystal-clear sake flowing through the silver lacquered bottom. Perhaps the hotel's heating was too strong, for Asuka's cheeks were flushed, and her gaze drifted casually to Kaori, who was busy chatting with her juniors not far away.

No matter how you look at it.

Kaori is so cute...

The sake exudes a faint aroma of rice, much like the scent of Kaori, whose body is imbued with the smell of cooking.

A person suddenly sat down next to her, but Asuka didn't pay attention and just continued to stare at her lovers who were laughing and talking. The person next to her didn't say anything either, just sat quietly, and the sound of pouring wine could be heard from time to time. It seemed that he was also enjoying his wine alone.

"Asuka-senpai."

The voice was somewhat unfamiliar, yet also somewhat familiar; Asuka was simply surprised that the person who had spoken to her was talking to her.

"I never expected Mizore to drink alcohol."

Unlike Asuka, Mizore, despite having drunk quite a bit, remained as pale as ever. However, her slightly bewildered gaze evoked memories of her junior in Asuka's mind.

"It tastes great."

Mizore held the wine cup with both hands, sipping the wine slowly. Although she didn't show much facial expression, the way she squinted her eyes in enjoyment convinced Asuka of her story.