I play wind instruments in Kansai.

The next day, Gong Lingwang yawned while on the city power line.

He didn't go for a morning run with Liu Mujie today because he went to bed late and needed to get up early for a run, which he didn't want to do.

The reason he stayed up late was because he was looking for the ensemble competition that Yuuki and Kirishima Ruka were going to participate in a long time ago.

It was a brass sextet at the Wakayama City B Division Ensemble Competition six years ago, and the piece they played was "Skating Waltz".

According to the usual competition rules, the selected pieces must be performed by the same group of musicians. The initial requirement was for six people, but five people performing did not meet the definition of the event.

Strangely, even though Kirishima Ruka wasn't present, Yanagi Yuuki, Shiraishi Hitomi, and three other people still took the stage.

With one trumpet missing, the sound would be unbalanced, so they chose an existing brass quintet, "Neapolitan Dance," as a backup, with Willow Knot Lantern playing the solo.

However, they all played it poorly at the time, often going off-key and playing the horn, but Hitomi Shiraishi played the horn quite well.

The only strange thing was that he saw Tani Hana-senpai in the corner of the post-match interview, and the person standing next to her was clearly Kirishima Ruka.

The two of them seemed to have known each other for a long time, and they were talking about something.

why?

Why do you act like you're meeting someone for the first time in the club?

"Gilye Station, Gilye Station—"

Gongling Wang took a deep breath to rouse himself, picked up his schoolbag and instrument case, and mingled with the crowd as he walked out of the station toward Zhimu College.

In early May, the leaves are lush and green, each one resembling a large butterfly. Sunlight shines through the leaves, making the veins appear exceptionally translucent.

Upon arriving at school, he saw the track and field club girls running on the playground. He glanced at them a few more times before heading towards the club building.

"That girl is Kaguya Shiraishi's daughter, right?"

"Are you talking about Xiaotong? She's so incredibly cute."

"Like a doll!"

Several girls in uniforms passed by, muttering something, their skirts billowing back and forth as their soft legs hit the ground, outlining the graceful contours of their hips and thighs.

Gong Lingwang didn't pay any attention and continued walking forward.

“I can’t find anyone else. All that’s left here are you and Willow.”

The familiar voice reached his ears, and Gong Lingwang turned his gaze towards it.

A tall, slender girl stood in front of them, her thin skin tinged with blood, and the curve from her chin to her neck was exceptionally beautiful.

Especially her legs under the skirt, which were flawlessly long and slender.

It was Kirishima Ruka, and the person beside her was Shiraishi Hitomi; both of them exuded the youthful energy unique to young girls.

“I’ll join,” Shiraishi Hitomi said without hesitation.

"Hmm..."

Kirishima Ruka was stunned, not expecting it to go so smoothly. Her hand, which had been loosening its grip, quietly tightened around the hem of her skirt.

"Hitomi, once you join, there's no turning back."

"Um......"

Shiraishi Hitomi stared intently at her, and nodded slightly.

"Because of you, Ryuga, you have nothing left."

"Well--!"

Kirishima Ruka's brows furrowed noticeably, and she said through gritted teeth,

"They really are high and mighty."

Shiraishi Hitomi's lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to explain something, but she only slumped her shoulders and said weakly:

".......Feel sorry."

Kirishima Ruka spoke calmly, her hands clasped in front of her lower abdomen:

"You don't need to worry too much about me. The me who was too entangled in emotions in the past is dead."

"Hmm..." Shiraishi Hitomi's throat moved slightly, "Yuito, her."

"She's just throwing a tantrum, I won't take it to heart."

Kirishima Ruka blinked and said,

"Hitomi, I need you to play the piccolo or oboe. Studying is nothing to you."

Hitomi Shiraishi's slender arm trembled slightly as she slowly raised her soft eyelashes. The shadows filtering through her bangs cast a melancholy mark at the corner of her eye.

"But... I've never played the piccolo or oboe before."

"Hitomi is a genius. She learns everything very quickly. I really need a piccolo and an oboe."

Kirishima Ruka said calmly with her pretty little face,

"Just like with your tuba back then, I believe you'll be able to get the hang of it very quickly."

"Hmm... okay." Shiraishi Hitomi nodded, a sudden urgency creeping into her voice, "But, the oboe has someone—"

"Kato-kun is just playing around with playing the flute, you don't need to take it too seriously."

"......"

Kirishima Ruka's face was expressionless, and the words that came from her lips were like a spell:

"Hitomi, you just need to keep looking at me."

Hitomi Shiraishi lowered her head and didn't say anything; her cherry-colored lips looked as if they were coated with honey.

"The morning meeting is about to start, I have to go now." Kirishima Ruka glanced at her, "Submit your application to join the group today, I'll talk to Tani Hana about it."

"Mm." Shiraishi Hitomi nodded obediently.

After Kirishima Ruka had walked a distance, Miyamine Nozomi came out and asked, feigning nonchalance:

"Shiraishi-kun."

"Well?"

She turned her head to the side, placed her hands on her lower abdomen, and behaved with grace.

The girl's gaze remained fixed on Kirishima Ruka as she walked away, so much so that she didn't even notice when someone appeared beside her.

She didn't seem alarmed at all about being eavesdropped on, so Gong Lingwang asked bluntly:

"Are you and Kirishima-kun close?"

When Kirishima Ruka chatted with Shiraishi Hitomi, she was noticeably more spoiled and arrogant, completely lacking the politeness one would expect when talking to these people.

There are only two reasons for this: either they don't get along, or they get along too well.

These words made Shiraishi Hitomi abruptly look away, and after a long silence, she whispered:

"I do not know."

After thinking for so long, this is the answer that came out. Gongling Wang frowned slightly and said:

"Did Kirishima-san and Tanihana-senpai already know each other?"

"Greetings."

She ignored him, and turned to leave after saying that.

"???"

Completely unable to communicate, Miyamine Wang didn't keep up either, because at the moment he had more important things to do.

Upon arriving at the club building, one can hear laughter and the vibrations of shoes running quickly in the corridor.

Miyamine Nozomi arrived at the flute practice room first, where Erika Toda was carefully maintaining the instrument by herself.

"Oh, good morning, junior Gongling."

"Good morning." Gongling Wang placed the instrument on the table and turned to leave.

"Aren't you going to practice?" she asked anxiously, standing up as well.

After experiencing it once, the senior student could never forget it.

"Wait a minute."

Gongling Wang walked out of the classroom and headed straight for the oboe and bassoon practice room.

"Ah, this club is really strange. Oh well, anyway, I'm the only oboe player. What kind of expressions will my parents have if they see that I'm the only one? Hehehe—"

"They'll definitely think this club is doomed."

"No way!"

"Haha."

Laughter from three girls echoed from the practice room. Gong Lingwang stood at the door and gently knocked.

Kato Ai, as well as An and Jun, the senior who had tricked her into playing the game, both turned their gazes toward her.

There was another girl who looked very young.

Wearing three-quarters white socks, with short hair in twin ponytails, Miyamine Nozomi knew she was in the brass band and was good friends with Yanagi.

It seems to be called Kohikawa Hinata, and she's from Kumamoto City.

"Good morning, Gong Ling."

Before Kato Ai could finish her greeting, Miyamine Nozomi rushed up and stood in front of them:

"Kato-kun, what are you doing?"

"What are you doing... chatting?" Kato Ai looked at Anwa-senpai with confusion.

An Hechun smiled and said, "Junior Gongling, have you had breakfast?"

"have eaten."

"You have meat buns? Meat~ buns~!"

She spoke slowly and deliberately, exuding the youthful charm of a young girl. Her legs, which peeked out from under her skirt, were fair and slender, encased in black stockings similar to those worn by Willow Wood.

Gongling Wang withdrew his gaze from the meat buns on the table and said calmly:

"Senior Anwa, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to keep taking Kato to play video games during her early stages?"

An Hechun paused for a moment, clasped her hands between her legs, and slightly pursed her chin, saying:

"You should have said so earlier. I could have let you play with me, even though I'm not very good at it."

That's not what I care about!

“What I mean is, Kato Ai is the only oboe, and she will definitely shoulder a great responsibility in the future,” Miyamune Nozomi said as calmly as possible.

An Hechun looked up at him, her mouth slightly open, then her brows furrowed, she slapped the table, stood up, clenched her fists at her sides, and sternly reprimanded:

"Hey junior, it must be fun talking to me like this, all high and mighty!"

"Uh?"

Gong Lingwang hadn't expected such a strong reaction. His previously serious face immediately crumbled, and he quickly offered an explanation.

"No, senior, I didn't mean that."

"What do you mean by that! Do you think I'm some senior who only knows how to seduce female students into going out and having fun? Then you must have a huge misunderstanding about me and the club! Let me make this clear! Although my academic performance isn't great, and I might even have to repeat a year, my instrumental playing is excellent, but even so, I still won't win a national gold medal!"

".......You're right."

Gong Lingwang had no doubt that the system had positioned her as a blue-chip stock, a backbone of the organization.

"so--!"

Anhe Jun, like displaying a product, spread her arms wide and faced Kato Ai, saying,

"Ai-chan is a complete beginner at playing the oboe. I've heard her play, and it's so clumsy it's like a duck quacking. So I took her to play games!"

Gong Lingwang's eyebrows twitched violently:

"Is it because of the duck's quacking that we need to practice even more?"

An Hechun took a deep breath, her chest rising slightly, and then sighed:

"Really? Hehe, then Ai-chan, keep practicing! Junior Miyamune is right, I support you, senior."