I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

"Great! Then I'll treat you to taiyaki!"

"Ugh... We're almost done eating, and you're still eating snacks..."

"It's a new limited edition for cherry blossom season!"

"Then I won't stand on ceremony!"

"Yosh! On to the taiyaki shop!"

Asuka hooked her arm around Kiyori's neck with one hand and made the gesture of Clara Lessing from "Liberty Leading the French People" with the other.

"Hey, how about you let go of my neck first...?"

"Hmph, no."

……

Neither of them noticed a black private car slowly following them all the way.

"Okay, turn around."

The person in the back seat gave the order.

"Okay, Miss."

Also sitting in the back seat was a girl wearing the uniform of Soubu High School. She leaned back in her chair, looking slightly restrained, with her head facing the window, sitting silently as if she were invisible.

"I thought we were going to the hospital."

A few days ago, the car she was riding in accidentally hit a boy from the same school. The boy is currently in the hospital. Although he is not seriously injured except for a fracture, the driver cannot be entirely blamed for the incident. However, the girl felt bad that her vehicle caused the injury to someone else.

“You don’t need to worry about that matter, Yukino,” said Yukinoshita Haruno, who had just been addressed as “young lady.” She leaned lazily against the car window, typing something on her phone. “Just leave it all to me. Don’t make a fuss at school. That boy should be back in school soon.”

The girl, Yukino, immediately frowned in displeasure.

"This is what Mom meant."

The girl suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, and could only resist with silence.

But it obviously didn't work.

“However,” Yang put away her phone, turned around and glanced through the rear window at the two figures walking away arm in arm, “aren’t you going to thank me, Yukino? I thought you really wanted to see her.”

"Who?"

Yukino didn't react for a moment. She followed Haruno's gaze and looked back, just in time to see the slightly shorter girl break free from the taller girl's grasp, patting her hair in a disgruntled manner. The taller girl then ruffled the other girl's hair, successfully provoking a cold look from her.

I felt inexplicably uncomfortable.

"They seem to have a really good relationship," Haruno said with a mischievous glance at Yukino. "Maybe she's his girlfriend."

Yukinoshita turned her head and said coldly, "It's none of my business."

She knew the two girls. The taller one was Tanaka Asuka, a third-year student, and the slightly shorter one was Tachibana Kiyoshi, a new student. Both of them were student representatives for their grade, while the second-year representative was Yukino Yukinoshita.

Strangely, Tanaka Asuka looked somewhat different from how she remembered.

girlfriend……?

She always felt that there was something more between Tanaka-senpai and Nakazeko-senpai.

As for that freshman, Tachibana Kiyori. For some reason, when Yukinoshita saw him for the first time, she felt as if her heart was being squeezed tightly by a hand. But after the pain subsided, she felt an emptiness, as if a piece of her heart had been ripped out.

who are you?

Yukinoshita unconsciously frowned.

Yang Nai suppressed her mischievous grin, a hint of melancholy appearing in her eyes. She turned her face to the car window, and her self-deprecating smile was faintly reflected in the clear glass.

P.S.: I'm feeling really down, I'm having terrible writer's block. Thank you all for your support.

Chapter 63 From the handsome male teacher

"Please move all the tables out!"

Ogasawara stood on the podium and called out to the club members below, "Our advisor, Mr. Taki, will be here soon. Before that, we need to move all the desks we don't need out! We can put them in the nearest storage room!"

The ensemble room wasn't particularly large, especially after a piano was placed there, making it feel crowded when all the members stood together.

Although there are many girls in the brass band, they are just as capable when it comes to physical labor. In order to leave a good impression on the new advisor, everyone is putting in their best effort, especially Reina, who, who doesn't usually do housework, is so excited that she has to find something to do.

Even though she appears calm on the surface.

Kiyoyori, however, seemed to want to escape. She wasn't ready to face him directly, and she didn't know if Takigatsu would also look bewildered when he saw her at Soubu High School.

Probably not, after all, he's a cunning adult.

"Ooh!"

"Excuse me, could you please move aside?"

"Okay, okay!"

As always, Huang Qian was unable to have a normal conversation with Reina. Kiyoshi had seen this scene too many times, and she couldn't help but sigh for Huang Qian's bumpy road ahead.

Is Reina some kind of monster? Did I scare her that day? Surely not…

Qinglai carried the table toward Huang Qian, who was half-squatting and despising himself, but before he could speak, the sliding door of the faculty office next door was suddenly opened, and a male teacher wearing a shirt and casual pants came out. He had thick, black curly hair that was slightly messy and hung down to his ears. He wore black-rimmed glasses on his nose, and his gentle and humble eyes were revealed behind the lenses.

"Is everyone ready?"

Qing Lai was all too familiar with that gentle, spring-like voice. She reflexively turned her head to look at the male teacher, and their eyes met.

Kiyoshi's breath hitched. She saw a fleeting look of surprise in the other person's eyes, and she was certain that she must have looked even more flustered in their eyes.

In just a moment, the two of them tacitly chose to pretend that nothing had happened.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Taki, the advisor of the brass band," Taki said, bowing slightly to the three stunned people in front of him with his hands on his thighs. He then gave them a gentle smile, like that of a friendly older brother. "Please take care of me."

Kato Hazuki and Huang Qian bowed almost ninety degrees in a fluster, "Nice to meet you!"

Kiyoshi hurriedly composed himself, put down his desk, regained his composure, and bowed to Takigatsu, saying, "Nice to meet you."

As they watched Takigaki head to the music room, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"He looks really handsome," Kato Hazuki whispered to Ogi.

"Is there?"

Kiyoshi watched as the other person's upright figure disappeared behind the sliding door.

Once training begins, you won't think that way anymore.

Kiyoyori sighed. It was only when the teacher was unavailable and Takigaki substituted that she truly understood what it meant to have the face of an angel but the heart of a devil.

Taki is undoubtedly a devil among angels, no, to Kiyoyori, he is Lucifer among devils.

The classroom, now empty of desks, became spacious. Club members stood sparsely in the classroom, while Kiyoyori hid among the crowd, watching Takigaki standing by the piano.

"Are there 23 new members? That way, the vacant instruments will be filled."

He interlaced his fingers and relaxed them in front of his lower abdomen. "Well then, before the club activities begin, let me say a few words."

Taki walked to the blackboard, picked up the chalk, and said, "I will take respecting students' autonomy as my principle."

Kiyoshi frowned as soon as he heard what he said.

“Therefore, I will be directing this year, squeak—” The chalk made a harsh sound on the blackboard, seemingly foreshadowing what was to come. Taki said “sorry” softly, and then continued, “First of all, I hope everyone will set their goals for this year.”

His neat handwriting clearly left the words "Enter the National Competition" on the blackboard. "That was everyone's goal last year, right?"

As expected...

Based on his previous statement of "respect for autonomy," Kiyoyori had already guessed what Takigawa wanted to do: to give the students the decision-making power, as he had said, but—

Taki, who came to the Soubu High School brass band with ulterior motives just like Kiyori, was unlikely to give an unexpected answer.

This person, indeed...

A hush fell over the crowd. Ogasawara stepped forward awkwardly. "Um, teacher..."

Takigatsu turned his gaze over, signaling Ogasawara to continue.

"That was more of a slogan than a goal..."

Ogasawara lowered his head in embarrassment.

Takigatsu's expression remained unchanged, still maintaining a faint smile. "I see. Then let's ignore this."

He put a big X over the words "National Competition".

This elicited a reaction from the crowd.

Knowing full well that this was a subtle provocation from Takigatsu, and that it was all a trap set by Takigatsu step by step, Kiyoyori still felt a sense of resentment.

That's probably his most brilliant move.

"Please set your goals, and I will respect your ideas."

By deliberately giving the students the power of decision, he was actually forcing them to make a decision under these circumstances. In other words, in order to maintain a semblance of peace, he was confident that the students would make the "right choice."

However, this is a decision made by the group, not by a single individual, so the least likely thing to provoke anger is "majority rule".

But if anonymous voting is used, the so-called "correct choice" becomes different, as long as he stands up and says—

Kiyoshi inadvertently noticed Asuka looking over, and the two quickly exchanged glances.

"If you want to participate in the national competition, then the training will become more rigorous. Conversely, if you just want to create happy memories, you don't need high-intensity training. I think either is fine, so please decide for yourselves."

This is the final blow.

He never truly respected any of the members of the brass band, never feeling that he was being looked down upon.

This idea spread among the members.

Asuka, receiving a pleading look from Ogasawara, smiled and said, "I understand. I'll take notes. Let's go with the majority."

"The minority submits to the majority?"

Ogasawara was surprised, and Takigaki didn't intend to avoid the question, so Asuka also used the most direct method of raising her hand to vote.

The moment this decision was made, everyone's answer was already determined.