I play wind instruments in Kansai.

"clear."

"Ryūno, you've gotten even bigger! It's a shame you're not playing the French horn with that physique."

An Hechun pinched her chin and said,

"For the sake of the club, listen to me, give up the clarinet. A tiger doesn't need to sniff a rose."

"No, I prefer the clarinet."

At this point, Tatsuno Murasawa had lost his previous carefree attitude and became very reserved, displaying a boyish innocence.

"It doesn't matter."

An Hechun smiled and took small steps forward.

A huge crowd thronged to the entrance of the first music room, then took off their indoor shoes together, and Gong Lingwang behind them seemed to be rewarding them with a complete set of socks.

Only when the girls had almost all undressed did Miyamine Nozomi step forward.

"Can you smell anything?" Mizuno Souji asked quietly as he took off his shoes.

Gong Lingwang looked at the rows of clean white indoor shoes in front of him, sniffed, and didn't smell anything strange.

"No."

"Isn't that a pity?"

"what?"

"Hey, you outside! Stop dawdling! Come in right now!" Shida Nana called from inside.

Mizuno Souji hurriedly took off his shoes, and the two of them stepped onto the soundproofing of the first music classroom, closing the door behind them as they did so.

Nearly seventy people were gathered in the same room, which was even more stuffy than coming from the corridor, but fortunately it was not yet summer.

Tani Hanane's gaze swept around the music classroom. Today was the first departmental meeting since the start of the semester, and also her first departmental meeting as the department head.

"Oh, everyone's here." The door was opened again.

The supervisor, Hayami, slammed the door shut.

The flesh-colored thin silk obediently followed the contours of the toe bone without a single extra gap, and under the light, it shimmered with a very faint, pearly luster.

Because she was young and gave off a gentle impression, and because she wasn't a professional in playing wind instruments, the students in the club didn't pay much attention to her.

"Supervisor Hayami, we've saved you a seat." Gu Huayin stood in front of the blackboard and pointed to the steel pipe chair placed in the corner.

"Thank you."

Without saying a word, Supervisor Hayami immediately went over, bowed sincerely, and then sat down.

"Supervisor Hayami, would you like to say a few words first?" Tani Hanane clasped her hands together, her smile was exceptionally charming, and her voice sounded affectionate.

"No, you guys do it," Supervisor Hayami said respectfully.

"How old is Supervisor Hayami?" Miyamine couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

“You’re 24 this year, and you teach classical Chinese studies and music here,” Mizuno Soji whispered in his ear. “Your figure, legs, and feet, and your love for wearing stockings, are pretty amazing, aren’t they?”

"Can she teach music?" Miyamine Nozomi only focused on the first half of the question.

“We don’t need any particularly professional people, anyone can come, as long as we have a consultant.”

It wasn't just them who were talking about Hayami; everyone else in the club was discussing it too, since it would seem strange for an advisor who wasn't a specialist in that field.

Of course, if the club is all men, they might be able to turn their desires into motivation and secretly demand rewards.

The problem is that the department is almost entirely composed of women.

"Quiet down, let's get ready for the meeting."

Daidouji Seiko tapped his fingers heavily on the table and said...

"I am the vice president, Daidouji Seiko. This year, the club has a total of 69 members, with 21 new students."

"Not bad, fresh blood." Gu Huayin clapped from the side. "Although there aren't many people, at least there are some."

Seeing her clap, the other members below also clapped, and Gong Lingwang followed suit and clapped as well.

"Let me first explain the upcoming arrangements. Last month, the minister and I attended the annual general meeting of the Wakayama City Wind Ensemble Federation. According to the schedule, May is the Wakayama Children's Friendly Festival procession, and we have also received an invitation."

As soon as she spoke, the members began whispering among themselves, creating a tangible noise in the space.

Gong Lingwang glanced at Gu Huayin, who had been standing to the side the whole time.

As the department head, she didn't seem to want to take charge, instead handing over the reins to Daidouji-senpai.

"Quiet."

Daidoji Seiko simply spread his palms out and slapped the table, saying...

“This community event won’t last long, but we need to prepare at least two pieces of music.”

At that moment, a slender hand was raised. Gong Lingwang looked over and saw that it was Liu Mujie Deng's hand.

"Junior Liu Mu, do you have any opinions?" Daidouji Seiko asked.

“I don’t think we need to participate in this tour,” Liu Mujie Deng said bluntly.

Her suggestion made Daidouji Seiko tilt her head slightly, but in Miyamine Nozomi's eyes, it wasn't an assessment, but rather a sign of worry.

13. Angry Trumpet and Melodious Flute

In the first music classroom, almost everyone's eyes were on Willow Knott, the newly promoted trumpet player.

"They said not to go."

"Hehe, don't go."

Some of the older students started whispering among themselves, but no one agreed with Willow Knot Lantern's words.

"Knot lantern...Shh..."

Beside Yuuki Yuuki, a petite girl tugged at her sleeve; Kohinata Hina seemed to not want her to steal the spotlight at this moment.

However, Liu Mujie continued with a stern face:

“In the past, the Kansai region was dominated by three superpowers and many strong teams, but the situation is different now. Osaka Tosho has been in a slump in recent years, and Meisei Engineering School didn’t even make it into the Kansai Championships last year. Only Shuta Affiliated Jukko High School has maintained its regional competitiveness. Now it’s a situation of one superpower and many strong teams, and we have a chance.”

Unlike Hokkaido, the Kansai region is a true competition zone, home to many strong schools, and there are three spots for Utsunomiya to go to the national tournament.

In previous years, these three spots were occupied by the "Kansai Big Three," but they have only recently started to open up the spots, which has made many schools eager to compete.

"What opportunity?"

One of the members spoke up and asked,

"Junior Liu Mu, if you don't explain it more clearly, we won't understand."

Willow Wood Lamp licked his dry lips, clenched his fist, and looked directly at Tani Hanane, saying:

"The chance to win gold at the Kansai Tournament."

As soon as these words were spoken, a hushed murmur filled the room, with only a few indistinct syllables reaching the ears.

Kanon Tani glanced around the classroom, observing the reactions on the members' faces, then looked at Yuuto Yanagi and said:

"I thought you were going to win the national gold medal; that would sound cooler."

"unnecessary."

Willow Knot Lantern's face flushed slightly, and the veins on her arms, hanging at her sides, were clearly visible.

"I know everyone's capabilities, so there's no need to deceive ourselves. Winning the Kansai Gold Award is a success, even if it's a worthless gold medal. Of course, if it's a national award, then it will far exceed our goal."

"Hey? What do you mean by that?"

"Isn't that going too far?"

"We're aiming for the national gold medal! Are you kidding us?!"

Her words clearly provoked dissatisfaction among many people, and made Gong Lingwang, who had been keeping quiet, feel uneasy.

The slogan of the Haruki Brass Band has always been "National Gold," and this phrase has never changed.

It is also a fact that the goal could not be achieved.

The problem is that it was already extremely awkward for Willow Wood Lamp to say this in public.

To put it simply, you might dislike someone, but you would never tell everyone in front of them what's disgusting about them.

Of course, saying that means there will be virtually no more meetings with him in the future.

But this place is different; this is the wind instrument section, and no one wants to leave.

The mention of such a willow-wood lantern could easily be met with skepticism from the club members.

"Why bring this up now? You're not doing this for the club at all; you're just trying to show off how clever you are and put everyone down."

Gongling Wang took a deep breath. Liu Mu Jie Deng's behavior violated the "group consensus" and was extremely likely to be betrayed and isolated.

In layman's terms, it's what people often call "reading the air."

The offended group will feel socially threatened, and anger is the most direct reaction.

But Miyamine Nozomi didn't have time to say these things to Ryuki Yuuto.

Hasebe Souta crossed his arms, frowned, and said in a loud voice:

"You don't need to worry about this. As a first-year student, you just need to listen to Daidouji and the others."

Someone loudly voiced their support, and it was someone who had been there for three years; the others immediately chimed in.

"What are you pretending for, a first-grader?"

"It's just a dog from Daidoji Temple, barking here."

"They really think they're something special."

The atmosphere within the department gradually turned icy, and sarcastic remarks became increasingly undisguised.

Liu Mujie's face flushed even more, and just as he was about to retort again, Gong Lingwang opened his mouth and shouted in a voice that drowned out the wave of sarcasm:

"I agree."

His voice was so loud that everyone in the classroom fell silent.

Seeing everyone, including Kanon Tani, turning their gazes towards him, Souji Mizuno anxiously nudged his side with his elbow, gritting his teeth and whispering:

"Eh eh eh—!"

Liu Mujie thought it was someone else, but when he saw that it was Gong Lingwang speaking, his anger flared up immediately.

If it weren't for the crowd here, she would have grabbed him by the collar and elbowed him this morning.

Hasebe Sōta paused for a moment, then raised the corner of his lips, assuming that Miyamine Nozomi was trying to curry favor with him.

“Look, Junior Gongling is indeed worthy of coming from Shenxu in Hokkaido. His knowledge is definitely higher than yours, Liu Mu.”

Liu Mujie stared intently at Gong Lingwang, his lips pressed tightly together, saying nothing. Only his chest rose and fell, each breath causing subtle folds in the uniform fabric.

"No, you misunderstood. What I meant was that I support Liu Mu's opinion," Gong Lingwang quickly explained.

"Uh......"

Anger shattered in Willow Knot Lamp's brown pupils, replaced by astonishment.

Unlike the sharp inhalation before, the breath was now long and gentle, and the previously tense shoulders slumped down half an inch without anyone noticing.

Hasebe Souta frowned deeply: "What?"

The light in Gu Huayin's eyes immediately brightened, and she smiled at him, her voice affected and artificial:

"Oh? What do you mean?"

"I just think what Liu Mu said makes sense. National gold is not advisable, and Kansai gold...:"

Gong Lingwang took a shallow breath, hesitated for a moment, and then continued.

"We can give it a shot."

"I agree." A clear voice reached my ears.

Standing, Kirishima Ryuka raised her hand, revealing her beautifully shaped, smooth, and flawless legs beneath her skirt.

“Hmm… But the question is, why not participate in the Children’s Festival?” Tani Hanane asked.