I play wind instruments in Kansai.

"It seems the information blockade is too severe," said Mizuno Soji.

"No way, it's all over the news. I think Miyamine is the kind of person who doesn't watch the news. Matsukawa is the best brass school in Wakayama City."

Tatsuno Murasawa said, placing his hands on their shoulders.

“High-intensity wind instrument practice is actually quite normal, but this high intensity led to bullying at Songbai Academy, which eventually resulted in depression and suicide. Now the Songbai Wind Instrument Club is defunct and all activities have been suspended.”

"so......."

"You really didn't know? Logically speaking, your class should have been the first to know."

"why?"

"Why... don't you know that the girl sitting next to you is from Songbai Academy?"

After they said that, the image of the girl at the next table immediately came to mind.

She has a slender figure, glossy thin lips, and porcelain-white skin without blush or many expression lines.

She speaks softly when answering questions in class.

I remember she seemed to love wearing white socks, and her indoor shoes were always spotless, brown loafers.

She is a still life perfectly framed, meant only to be viewed.

14. I was just kidding.

After school in the afternoon, Gong Lingwang picked up his schoolbag and prepared to go to the music store to pick up the rented musical instrument.

After putting on my shoes at the shoe-changing area at the main entrance, I put my indoor shoes in the shoe cabinet. I don't really like metal cabinets, especially when it's damp, as the smell can be quite strong.

“Miya Ridge, classmate.”

Her loafers looked brighter than everyone else's, with the toes pointing towards Hall 3, which was the direction of the college baseball field.

"Kirishima-kun." Miyamine Nozomi picked up her schoolbag and walked over.

"Shall we go home together?"

As the breeze passed by, the curve of her wisps of hair brushing past her ears was reminiscent of the receding tide at dusk over the Ji Zhichuan River.

There was an extra small sticker on her backpack compared to yesterday.

"Kato-kun gave it to me, and I think it's quite cute." Kirishima Ruka noticed his gaze, and the sunlight made her socks appear even whiter.

Gong Lingwang nodded. It would be good to go back together; he could ask her some questions on the way.

"Hey!"

A girl walked quickly over from the west staircase, leaving her friend behind, without even changing her indoor shoes.

Perhaps wanting to be heard, her voice was a bit loud, attracting the attention of many students who were about to leave. Noticing the excessive stares, the girl couldn't help but let down the stray hairs behind her ears to cover her rapidly reddening earlobes.

Gong Ling saw that it was a willow wood lantern. She only said one sentence and then stopped talking, just staring straight at him.

"What's going on? A chaotic scene?"

"Damn it, isn't this my script? Being chased home by two pretty girls after school."

"Being good-looking really does give you the freedom to do whatever you want."

The students around him whispered among themselves, and the more they whispered, the more stern Liu Mujie's glare became.

She didn't have the shyness that a young girl should have at all.

"Sorry, I almost forgot I made plans with Yanagi-kun," Miyamine Nozomi said to Kirishima Ruka with a hint of apology.

Kirishima Ruka wasn't angry. She merely glanced at Yanagi Yuuta, then a faint smile appeared on her lips as she said:

"It's okay, let's all go back together next time. Goodbye."

"See you tomorrow."

As Kirishima Ruka stepped outdoors, sunlight climbed onto her skirt, creating a distinct boundary of light and shadow between her skin and the hem.

"Humph--"

Liu Mujie gave a soft hum, changed his shoes, walked to Gong Lingwang's side, glanced at him, and said...

"Walk."

She finished speaking and continued walking forward.

Gongling looked ahead and followed.

She didn't say anything on the way, probably still holding back a lot of anger, and didn't want to provoke anyone.

Someone was pedaling their bicycle fast on the asphalt road, their white shirt billowing like sails on the slope.

"Are you going to take me to some dark corner and have your friends humiliate me one by one?" Gong Lingwang asked.

"Huh?" Willow Knot Lamp deftly turned its head. "What do you mean?"

"You came to see me, not to mess with me?" Gong Lingwang only made an appointment with her to go for a morning run tomorrow, but never to go home together.

What was said back then was—

"If I met you, I would go home with you."

"......"

Willow Knot Lantern glanced to the other side, her gaze wandering along the cracks in the brickwork of the flowerbeds along the street. Her slender white fingers fiddled with the shoulder strap of her schoolbag a few times, and she said in a low voice,

"Thank you."

Gong Lingwang paused for a moment, thinking he had misheard, and stared at her with slightly widened eyes, saying:

"What did you say?"

Just as I stepped out of the street, the tram passed right in front of me.

Suddenly, Yuuto quickly mumbled "Thank you" in her proud Kansai dialect.

He spoke so fast it was like chanting a spell, the last syllables swallowed up by the sound of wheels hitting the rails.

But he still heard it.

"What are you thanking me for?" Gong Lingwang asked 'curiously'.

"...Speak up for me in the classroom." Liu Mujie's throat moved slightly, and her ears turned a faint red.

Just like the Kishu plums my mother bought last night, I just don't know what they taste like.

"Is this how you thank me? I'm a first-year student, risking being targeted by upperclassmen to speak up for you," said Gong Lingwang.

"You didn't support me to the end! I'm being kind by not hitting you!"

Willowwood lamp's cheeks grew even redder as she gripped the shoulder strap tightly and said:

"How about I treat you to something? Ice cream? Or milk tea?"

"Eating such cheap food? Do you think I'm a poor wretch?"

"Uh......"

Liu Mujie raised an eyebrow sharply, knowing that his family was much wealthier than his own, and could only offer a forced smile.

"So what do you want, Young Master Gongling?"

Gongling Wang said without hesitation:

"As a boy, of course I hope you can repay me with your body."

It was just a joke, and he was prepared to take the punch that Willowwood Kite was about to throw, and then laugh and say, "I was just kidding."

But the actual situation seemed to be somewhat different from his expectations.

Liu Mu Jie Deng suddenly stopped talking, unconsciously grinding a cherry blossom petal on the ground with the tip of her shoe. Her fingertips brushed against her earlobe, burning as if she had been exposed to the Kishu July sun for an entire afternoon.

"You..." She suddenly swallowed hard, holding her breath as she said, "Are you confessing your feelings to me?"

what?

Gong Lingwang was stunned. He had considered all sorts of possibilities, but he never expected her to say such a thing.

Although it was just a joke, she seemed to have misunderstood it very deeply. Although she had a bit of a temper, she was surprisingly innocent.

Gongling Wang suddenly felt like a terrible person, and his tone of voice became somewhat unsteady:

"No, I was just kidding."

She paused for a moment, then puffed out her chest and raised her voice, saying, "I knew it! I was just teasing you!"

“You really amused me,” Gongling Wang chimed in.

"Ah."

After Liu Mujie finished speaking, they continued walking forward and arrived at the station.

"I won't be able to go home with you later," said Gongling Wang.

"Where are you going?" She suddenly glared at me.

"I'm not going to find Kirishima."

"Who knows if you're lying?"

Gongling Wang found a seat, looked at the long track line on his left, and said:

Have we skipped the dating and marriage stages and entered into a life of mutual suspicion?

"Hum-"

Willowwood Lamp's eyelashes fluttered rapidly as she sat down to his right, placing her schoolbag on her own right side.

Did Hasebe bully you?

What does bullying mean to you?

"In the wind section, you're given all sorts of tasks to do, but you're not given good arrangements."

Willow Knot Lamp said,

"They're used to doing this kind of thing. Kohinata has been tortured terribly by them. They're such cowards."

"Who is Kohinata?"

Looking at his profile, Yuuki looked as if deliberately reminding him, and said, "Hina Kohikari, my very best friend."

“Best friends are great, best friends are the most understanding of you,” Gong Lingwang said casually.

"Of course, I have many best friends, including my senior classmates from the past three years."

Willow Knot Lantern's tone was much more relaxed.

"So where do you want to go?"

Gong Lingwang said, "Go get the instrument. I just bought a new flute online. It's super cool, and it's pure silver."

"Your flute is no longer usable?"

"It works, but I want something better."

"Then I'll go with you."

"Aren't you going to level up an alt? Instead, you're wasting your time coming to get something with me?"

I'm not in the mood today.

Willowwood Knot Lantern's legs were stretched out straight, the hem of her uniform skirt falling exactly two centimeters above her knees, and the black calf stockings had a very high-quality feel.

"It would be better to have someone who knows the stuff go."

“Liu Mu, I play the flute, I’m the real expert.”

"I'm talking about a bargaining expert."

"How can you bargain over the price of musical instruments?"

“Look, an amateur,” Willow Knot Lamp said smugly. “I bought my trumpet by bargaining.”

"Musical instruments all have a soul, and they certainly do not want their value to be diminished by their owner."

"Tch~~~"

Willowwood Lamp raised its hand and patted his head, saying,