I play wind instruments in Kansai.

Gong Lingwang stood up, patted his bottom, and said...

"Goodbye."

Watching his departing figure, Liu Mujie's cheeks were slightly sweaty, and her fingers quietly smoothed out the pleated skirt that he had been playing with.

◇

"Lend me 20,000."

"what?!"

As soon as Kato Ai got home and took off her shoes and socks, she heard Miyamine Nozomi brazenly asking for money.

"It's just a loan. I'll teach you oboe techniques, and I'll return it to you once you've learned them."

His statement seemed rather strange; this format seemed more like a deposit.

Why are you suddenly telling me this?

Kato Ai stepped barefoot onto the floor, feeling a sticky sensation with each step, revealing the complete, warm outline of the girl's soles on the floor.

A semi-transparent foot shape was drawn on the floor, with the edges gradually spreading outwards.

This guy never came to see her before, but now he's doing it.

"Because I think you have talent."

Gongling Wang said,

"Just give it a try. If it doesn't work, I'll give it back to you. Give it a try, you won't lose anything."

Kato Ai tilted her head dejectedly.

It's strange, even though he's the one who wants to study, his tone sounds a bit anxious.

"Is it really 20,000?" Kato Ai asked tentatively.

"Can you give me more?" Gong Lingwang asked instinctively.

Kato Ai immediately smiled happily:

"Haha! I knew you were short of money! What did you buy that made you so broke?"

"...Do you want it or not?"

"Hey, you should have said you were short of money earlier. It's not like I'm not going to give you any."

Kato Ai was delighted, finally able to outdo him in this aspect.

97. A once-in-a-lifetime request (6K)

"I'm not short of money, I'm just doing this for your own good."

"Okay, okay, you're doing this for my own good."

Kato Ai sat on the sofa with a chuckle, her feet propped up on the table, and said...

"But besides me, you also need to teach someone else. If you promise me, I'll give it to you."

"Who?"

"Hinata-chan."

“It’s not that I don’t want to teach her, it’s that she rejected me before, and you were there at the time.” Gong Lingwang’s tone sounded somewhat frustrated.

Kato Aimi held up her beautifully manicured hand, admired it for a moment, and said:

"The attitude before hitting the wall and the attitude after hitting the wall are definitely two different things."

".......forty thousand."

"Wow, that's so mean!" Kato Ai frowned slightly.

"It's just a deposit, it's not like we're not going to return it to you."

"Come on, I'm not going to take advantage of you. It's a flat price of 30,000. I'll transfer the money to you right away."

"No, I will definitely return it to you. It's still a puppy."

He was quite persistent.

Kato Ai lowered her head, her small hands pulling her skirt down repeatedly, then pinching the soft flesh on the lower part of her thigh, and said:

"Okay, when?"

"It depends on my time."

"......Well."

Good grief, he came to borrow money, but we still have to consider his availability.

What if there's no progress?

"It's impossible that there has been no progress."

"But there's only one spot for the oboe in the A category. Are you sure there won't be a problem?"

"I only guarantee your progress, not that you'll get into the A-level editor position."

"Hehehe......."

"That's it, transfer the money to me right away."

As soon as Miyamune finished speaking, he hung up the phone. Kato Ai's facial muscles twitched, but she quickly relaxed.

Sumire Amamiya has been practicing her oboe since she was very young, so it would be abnormal to expect her to catch up with her in just a few months.

Moreover, she is Daidouji-senpai's younger sister, so she should be given preferential treatment by any measure.

Originally, the A-level positions were announced today, and Kato Ai wanted to practice her oboe at home, so she brought the instrument back with her.

But when she thought about how Gong Lingwang said he would teach her, she decided that she might as well wait until he taught her before practicing. Practicing by watching videos alone was really ineffective.

Forget it, I won't practice today. Anyway, missing one day won't make me any progress or regression.

Having found a legitimate reason, Kato Ai picked up the glasses case on the table, took out the black glasses frames lying inside, and put them on.

I opened my phone and transferred 30,000 yen to Miyamine Nozomi.

Although her family was middle class and her father loved her dearly, 30,000 yen was still quite expensive for her; it would take at least three months' worth of her remaining allowance.

Ai Kato's fingers danced across the screen as she read and typed:

"Please continue to guide me in the future... Hmm, adding a smiley face would be better."

Click the blue beacon to send.

"call."

The moment she finished sending it, Kato Ai reclined on the sofa, let out a sigh of relief, and said...

"That's great... things will finally start to look up from now on."

"But... does this mean we're starting over?"

At that moment, the phone screen lit up, and Kato Ai blinked, raising her hand to smooth her bangs that were falling down due to gravity.

It was a message from Miyamine Nozomi.

"Thank you for the information, but why didn't you practice today? Why were you slacking off? You're just like that, you're never ambitious, you always work hard for two days and then relax for three."

"what?!"

Kato Aiichi immediately sat up, her eyes unconsciously scanning back and forth in the living room.

How did he know?

I've never invited him to my house before. Could it be that Liu Mu secretly installed surveillance cameras when he came last time?

But the idea was too naive, and she herself rejected it.

"No! I was practicing very seriously!"

"It doesn't matter if you lie to me, you're just lying to yourself."

Looking at the information in front of her, Kato Ai frowned and made a "hmm" sound in her throat.

She didn't reply to him, but instead opened a social media site, took out her oboe, assembled it, and took a selfie.

Editing your WeChat Moments —

"Although I didn't get selected as Editor B today, I'll keep trying!"

◇

Meanwhile, Miyamune Nozomi, who was on her way home by tram, suddenly saw a social media post by Kato Ai.

He wasn't remotely monitoring her; it was simply because Kato Ai's stock price, after their agreement, not only didn't rise but actually fell.

Interpreting the anomaly was another case of procrastination; Miyamune Nozomi had already figured out Kato Ai's thoughts.

However, regardless of the circumstances, the money given by Kato Ai was not deducted from the system.

It's strange that the money given for the willow knot lantern was deducted.

Gongling Wang rested his chin on his hand, thinking seriously. Could it be that in her heart, he was already a boy who didn't need to reciprocate in any way?

This was something that should have disturbed his mind, or even increased his affection for her, but Gong Lingwang felt no emotion at all.

"Well......"

Gong Lingwang stared blankly out the car window, attracting the attention of several middle school girls dressed in sailor uniforms on the tram.

What should we do if the points don't return to positive?

He didn't dislike Shiraishi Hitomi, but he felt he shouldn't give up on Yanagi Yuuto so easily, especially since she had helped him with his first recharge, making it even harder for him to let her go.

Well, since things have come to this, let's focus on preparing for tomorrow.

Gong Lingwang took out his phone, determined to get all his points back to positive within a day, as long as no merging occurred.

◇

Nine o'clock in the evening.

Kirishima Ruka changed into a white nightgown, lay on the bed, and held her phone high.

Thinking about it carefully, she realized that it had been a long time since she had gone out to play with Xiaotong.

Although I want her to change her habit of relying too much on others, it doesn't mean I want to cut ties with her.

These days, she could sense that Shiraishi Hitomi and Miyamine Nozomi were getting closer and closer. Even Shiraishi's parents would come to ask her what the relationship was between Miyamine Nozomi and their daughter.

Kirishima Ruka got out of bed, went to the window, drew back the curtains, and opened the window.

Wakayama is a small city, and it's not exactly in the city center, so it's quite quiet at night.

Standing here, you can see Gong Lingwang's house. The lights are still on on the second floor, so he probably isn't asleep either.

Back then, it was right here that she watched him go to and from school, and it became her only pastime.

If Kirishima Ruka could accurately guess when he would leave and when he would return, she would be happy for an entire day.

However, Kirishima Ruka does not believe that she likes Miyamine Nozomi.

He is indeed very outstanding and handsome, but relationships are not solely based on these qualities.

Besides, he and Liu Mujie were childhood sweethearts, how could he compete with his friend for her affections?

But the thought of Shiraishi Hitomi getting too close to him made him feel a little depressed, so much so that he often couldn't sleep well.

What frustrated Kirishima Ruka was that thinking about these things only added to her mental exhaustion, and there was no solution at all.

"I might still be immature..." Kirishima Ruka sighed subconsciously and closed the window again.

He picked up his phone and called Hitomi Shiraishi. Since practice doesn't start until next Monday, he should be free tomorrow.

A short while later, the call was answered.

"Xiaotong? Is she resting?"

Even though there was no one in front of her, Kirishima Ruka still smiled, at least in her tone, she wanted to maintain her usual innocent and gentle manner.

"Ah."

The sound of interference didn't seem to be squeezed out of Shiraishi Hitomi's throat.