I am only one world away from Yukinoshita.

The sudden sound from behind startled Kiyoshi, who was lost in thought.

"Kumiko, huh?"

Standing behind her was Kumiko Oumae, her hands empty, a thin layer of sweat on her forehead, and strands of brown hair stuck to it, indicating that she had already moved her instrument downstairs.

"Senior Haruka said it's almost time to gather, so I came up to call Reina."

Perhaps because Kiyoshi's gaze was not as gentle as usual, she hurriedly offered an explanation, but then suddenly realized that the person in front of her was Reina's childhood friend, and also the person Reina had been resentfully complaining about recently.

What should I do? I called Reina so affectionately in front of her, it felt like I was showing off!

Although he was very nervous, Huang Qian was still secretly pleased.

"As you can see, I'm flooding the chat with water."

Kiyoshi shook the thermos that was full.

"Lina is washing the mouthpiece over there, you can go over there now."

"Th-thank you," Huang Qian said reflexively, preparing to leave, but then slowly moved back as if he had remembered something. "Um, I heard it from Reina earlier..."

The other party's slow, deliberate tone annoyed Qinglai.

"What did you say?"

"Uh, about Taki-sensei, and about Kiyorai..."

"Is that so?" Qinglai felt his throat was very dry, and subconsciously opened the small cup, which was no bigger than his palm, and poured water into his mouth.

"That's a cup for bubble wrap..."

Huang Qian gently reminded him, but Qing Lai seemed not to hear.

She wisely kept quiet.

"Rena said that she doesn't just like Taki-sensei, she loves him."

After finishing the water in his cup, Qinglai still felt thirsty. "Hmm?"

Huang Qian looked at Qing Lai, whose face was gloomy, and didn't know whether she should continue speaking. She swallowed nervously.

"However, she still cares about Qinglai quite a bit. Although she seemed angry, she said she hoped you could be honest with her instead of keeping everything bottled up inside. If you like someone, you like them; if you don't like someone, you don't like them. You don't need to cater to her..."

As Huang Qian spoke, she secretly glanced at Qing Lai's expression, her voice growing softer and softer.

"if."

"Yes!"

Huang Qian froze, startled by Qing Lai's sudden voice.

"What if what she wants to know would only hurt her? Would you choose to tell her?"

"This, this..." Huang Qian avoided Qing Lai's sharp gaze, "If it were me, I would still prefer to be told by someone else. Being kept in the dark would definitely make me unhappy, but..."

"I'm not asking you as someone who was kept in the dark, but as someone who knows the truth. If you were me, knowing that the truth would devastate Reina, what would you choose?"

"I..." Huang Qian, pressed for answers, twirled his fingers together, "I don't know..."

On one hand, she felt that deception was terrible, but on the other hand, she didn't want to hurt Reina, if the truth Kiyoyori held was really enough to hurt Reina so much...

I really wish I hadn't talked to Kiyoyori.

Huang Qian sighed silently, "Even so, I still hope that Kiyoyori can explain to Reina, or perhaps we can keep the truth from Reina, at least not now."

"She cares about you a lot too."

A pang of sadness welled up in his heart, but Huang Qian quickly suppressed it, as if nothing had happened.

These days, apart from the day Reina left the classroom and talked about Taki-sensei, most of the time they talked about Kiyoyori. She even learned that what she thought was her and Reina's "secret base" was just a place where Reina habitually met with others.

You're asking who someone else is?

For example, Qinglai, Qinglai, or Qinglai.

"Thank you," Kiyoyori said, holding the empty cup in his hand. "I'll consider it."

"Hmm, shall I go find Reina then?"

Huang Qian pointed towards the sink, but didn't see Lina.

"Huh?"

Kiyoshi followed her finger to the end of the corridor, but still couldn't find Reina.

"They're probably going to the trumpet section to pick something up. Want to come along?"

Qinglai's heart skipped a beat.

"Kumiko, did you see Yoshikawa-senpai downstairs just now?"

"Huh? Yuko-senpai? No, I only saw Nakajiko-senpai. Yuko-senpai might still be here—"

Huang Qian stopped abruptly, and the two seemed to suddenly understand what the other was thinking.

Could it be—

The trumpet section isn't far; it's right next to the practice room, just across the open-air corridor.

Just as the two arrived at the trumpet club classroom, they saw Reina and Yoshikawa confronting each other in the classroom.

"Does this mean I should deliberately lose to my senior...?"

P.S.: Actually, Qinglai can be surprisingly childlike too. Today is my third day of driving lessons, and I've noticed that not only are my legs sore, but my hands are too! My right thumb aches so much from the palm-to-palm movement. Yesterday, the instructor praised us for learning reverse parking quickly, but today it seems we'll be doing parallel parking. I want to get my driver's license as soon as possible, but I also want to sleep in. So tiring!

Chapter 77 Purple Argentina

“If it gets exposed, just say I threatened you,” Yoshikawa bowed deeply, as if humbled to the dust, “It’s okay to say you were bullied by me, so—”

“Even if we don’t do that,” Reina took a step back, looking at her senior with a hint of pity, “it’s enough if Kaori-senpai sings better than me in the selection.”

Rena never looks down on anyone. She gives her all to any opponent she competes with. In her opinion, the way to win a solo is simple: play better than all the other competitors.

"Of course I know that..."

Yoshikawa straightened up and looked down at the pair of red indoor shoes that marked him as a first-year student.

"Last year, Kaori-senpai was the best in the club, but because of her grade level, she didn't get the chance to play a solo. Instead, it was taken away by a third-grader who didn't practice at all. Later, she clearly had the opportunity to play a solo... but, but!"

"This is Kaori-senpai's last year! But you all still have next year, and the year after!"

Please don't do this.

"so--"

"Senior Yoshikawa."

Qinglai left Huang Qian, who was still "peeping" at the door, and entered the classroom through the back door.

"Did you consider the feelings of our medieval predecessors when you did this?"

"Tachibana...?"

Reina also stopped walking and stood still, staring at Kiyoyori.

"How could you...?" Yoshikawa looked at the unexpected person in surprise.

"I'm sorry, but I overheard your conversation with Nakagawa-senpai yesterday, so I suspected you might do something you shouldn't have," Kiyoyori continued, trying to ignore Reina's creepy gaze. "So I've been keeping an eye on Reina since this morning."

At this point, Kiyorai suddenly felt that the razor-sharp gaze from the other side had become even sharper.

"Even so, I still hope that Kaori-senpai can..."

"Senior Yoshikawa, did you notice?"

"Huh?"

“You said ‘I hope’,” Kiyoyori said, looking at the other’s suddenly somber face. “But is this really what our medieval predecessor hoped for?”

"What are you talking about? Kaori-senpai definitely wants to be able to perform a solo in the competition! Otherwise, there would be no need for her to participate in the selection again."

Yoshikawa seemed to be convincing himself.

"Of course, no one doesn't want to be able to perform a solo, but does Nakazeko-senpai really only want the qualification to perform a solo? Has Yoshikawa-senpai really considered Nakazeko-senpai's expectations? What she wants is far more than just the qualification to perform a solo; rather, the qualification to perform a solo is just a byproduct."

"Stop talking..."

“Music doesn’t lie. Have you really listened carefully to the dedication in the music of the senior, Medieval Ko? What she wanted was recognition, not a solo performance qualification that was just a title! She’s not stupid, and she’s not unaware of Reina’s playing. To obtain a solo performance qualification through such means would be to trample on her dignity.”

"Stop talking!"

Yoshikawa covered her face with her hands, and Kiyoyori gradually revealed what she was trying to ignore. She just wanted to do something for that senior who had given so much.

This time, however, she didn't want to be an incompetent person who could comfortably enjoy everything while hiding behind her seniors.

“Yoshikawa-senpai, concern makes you confused,” Kiyoyori lowered his voice, his deeper tone than the other girls' soothing it felt like down on her heart, “Suppose, suppose Reina agrees to let you off the hook—”

Kiyoshi glanced quickly at Reina and noticed her still sharp gaze.

"Senior Medieval Ko has finally obtained the qualification for a solo performance, but we failed in the Tokyo Metropolitan Competition, failing to enter the representative competition or even win the gold medal. So, who will be the one to bear the most criticism at that time?"

"If only I hadn't switched to a trumpet solo back then."

"If Kosaka plays the solo again, will he be able to qualify for the national competition?"

"In the end, it's just that Kaori-senpai's skills are inferior."

“Thoughts like this will spread in everyone’s mind,” Kiyoyori didn’t want to be so blunt, but if Reina really felt sorry for him, then her and Taki’s goal would instantly vanish. So he decided to take drastic measures. “Humans are such despicable creatures. Rather than looking for problems within themselves, they prefer to push their dissatisfaction and resentment onto others. And the gentle Nakazeko-senpai will silently bear all the pain, even if it’s not her fault.”

"She will suffer even more pain than she is now. Is that really what Yoshikawa-senpai wanted to see?"

A deathly silence filled the classroom. Yoshikawa squatted on the floor, hugging her knees and sobbing silently, while Reina also turned her gaze outside the classroom.

“We’re going to the national tournament,” Kiyoyori said, taking out a handkerchief and crouching down. “Let’s work hard together, Yoshikawa-senpai.”

She stroked the familiar pattern on the handkerchief and stuffed it into the other person's hand. "You asked me before why I came to Soubu High School. This is one of my reasons. Please remember to wash it and return it to me after you're done using it. It's very important to me."

Although he was speaking to Yoshikawa, Kiyoyori looked up at Reina.

The handkerchief was embroidered with a small white dragon and two Chinese characters—Chihiro.

A hint of confusion flashed in Reina's eyes. This wasn't the first time she had seen Kiyoshi's handkerchief, yet it seemed as if she had seen it somewhere else before.