I play wind instruments in Kansai.

Her tone changed so naturally; her previous angry demeanor seemed like an act.

"So casual! You're really so casual with me!" Kato Ai said, raising her voice.

An Hechun said with a smile:

"Speaking of which, why is Miyamine keeping such a close eye on Kato? He even called her yesterday?"

Hearing this, the petite girl next to her widened her eyes, pursed her lips into small circles, and exclaimed in surprise:

"Could it be...?"

"Don't overthink it. I'm just close to Miyamune, okay?" Kato Ai wasn't embarrassed at all.

Gongling Wang nodded, looked around the practice room, and said:

"Is there no one left for this voice part?"

“There’s also someone who plays the bassoon,” An Hechun said.

"Oh."

Miyamune Nozomi's gaze fell on Kato Ai.

When their eyes met, she didn't show much shyness; instead, she raised her eyebrows slightly, as if to say, 'What do you want to say?'

"Why don't you stay after the afternoon drills?" Miyamine Nozomi said.

"Me?" Kato Ai said, pointing to herself.

"Ah."

Gong Lingwang absolutely could not allow her to fall again today. If she fell again, his profits would be negative, which was absolutely intolerable.

"But...Wonderful will Liu Mu be angry if he finds out?"

Kato Ai raised her hand and pinched her lower lip. She knew Yanagi Yuto's temperament to some extent; she was a proud and arrogant person, just like a cat.

If she finds out that I was left behind by Gong Lingwang alone, I don't know how she'll treat me.

“No,” Miyamune said. “Don’t run away.”

An Hechun blinked, tilted her head, her long black hair sliding down her cheeks, and said naturally:

"But... Gongling, aren't you a noob too?"

"...What does 'chicken' mean?" asked Hinata Kohinata, who was standing next to her.

An Hechun explained, "In the game, it means 'idiot'."

With his hands on his hips, Miyamine Nozomi's voice was exceptionally firm:

"No, I'm a candidate for genius."

What does "candidate genius" mean?

"He must be saying that he used to be a B-level editor at a top school, so he's a candidate for genius."

"But would a genius be a candidate?"

"Probably not. A genius can't be a candidate. This isn't a video game where Tian Ji uses horse racing as a strategy."

"A good saying."

"........"

24. Are they really going to drop this bomb on me?

Although Anhe, the senior, distrusted him, or rather, she didn't take Gong Lingwang seriously at all, treating him only as a handsome junior.

Fortunately, Kato Ai agreed.

Back in the flute practice room, Erika Toda was looking down, repeatedly pinching the soft flesh of her thigh, seemingly troubled by something.

Gongling Wang walked into the classroom and took out the flute as if he hadn't seen it.

It wasn't until the instrument clicked as it was turned upside down that Erika Toda realized what was happening and leaned back in shock.

She felt so hot all over, and to dispel the heat, she quickly placed her hands on the cold surface of the steel tubular chair.

An awkward silence hung between them. Gong Lingwang asked bluntly:

"Does Toda-senpai think she's too voluptuous?"

No, not at all.

"I saw it," Erika Toda said, her voice noticeably higher than usual, her hair gently brushing against her slightly flushed cheeks.

"I just feel like I can't adapt to it."

"what?"

"It's the costume for the performance, hasn't Junior Gong Ling seen it before?"

"not yet."

"The dress was very short, I don't understand why."

Erika Toda raised her hand and placed it on her thigh, saying...

"We're probably almost there, and if the wind picks up, it could get even worse."

"Isn't it almost to the top of your thigh? You lecher."

"......"

Eri Toda lowered her head shyly. Boys, on the other hand, didn't need to wear skirts; they wore trousers instead.

"Speaking of which, do you know Anhe-senpai?" Gongling Wang asked.

“Jun, of course I know her.” Erika Toda seemed to have remembered something happy and couldn’t help but smile.

"Is Anhe a bad girl?"

"No, she's just a bit slow at studying, but she's very kind to us. Besides, she might have to repeat a grade next year, and she's been very open about it."

"Is he that stupid?"

“But her batting technique is very good, and it would be good for us if she could stay next year,” Erika Toda said. “Anyway, let’s practice first?”

She wasn't saddened at all by the possibility of her senior repeating a year; on the contrary, she was quite excited.

Miyamine Nozomi, having pieced together the flute, asked, "Hasebe-senpai and the others haven't been here?"

"Hmm, not yet."

Erika Toda's face showed a worried expression.

“Junior Gongling, the election of the group leader in our wind band is based on grade level. No matter how good you are, you can't be the group leader. This is an established practice.”

"Hmm." Gong Lingwang pulled over a steel pipe chair and sat down next to her, his fingers turning the pages of the sheet music.

Because he was standing quite close, Erika Toda unconsciously raised her hand to smooth out her naturally curly hair:

Even if you want to get into the A section, it's still based on grade level.

"That was before, things are different now."

"How could they be different?"

Miyamine looked at her and said, "Do you know Kirishima-kun?"

When her gaze met his, Erika Toda looked away the instant their eyes met.

"Yes, of course I know her. She's a very famous junior, super pretty and quiet. I heard her family is also very rich... Um, sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."

“If she wanted to, the rules of the band could be broken in no time,” Miyamine Nozomi said.

Erika Toda tilted her head in confusion, then laughed happily:

"Huh? Junior Gongling, you actually believe that kind of rumor is true?"

"you do not believe?"

"I don't think it's that far-fetched."

Erika Toda smiled wryly, quietly lowering her gaze as she spoke.

"If that were really the case, the world would have been exactly as she wished long ago, wouldn't it?"

She wasn't wrong. If Kirishima really had that much power, she would have been living the life that everyone envied long ago.

But that's not actually the case. Her parents died, and she was a "stay-at-home girl" for several years. What people envy is probably the inheritance left by her parents and her appearance.

Kirishima Ruka still had many things she hadn't told him, Miyamine Nozomi thought.

"So, shall we practice?" Erika Toda asked in an extremely cautious tone.

Sunlight streamed in through the gaps in the milky-white curtains, which were fluttering in the breeze, and gently fell on her stockings.

In her eyes, Miyamine Nozomi is no longer just a junior, but a junior with outstanding skills; she is a junior in terms of playing the wind instruments.

“The senior students aren’t here, so we haven’t played together,” Gong Lingwang said. “Shouldn’t we ask them?”

"If they're in a hurry, they'll come to us on their own."

From Erika Toda's shyly smiling lips, one could glimpse her pearly white teeth.

“I always thought that I was enough for the flute, but now I think the two of us are enough.”

"..."

From a feasibility standpoint, double flutes can be used in a 55-person A formation, but it is definitely not the best option.

Basically, when two flutes play together, the orchestra's playing will completely drown out the passages, and the conductor will have a very difficult time when the flutes need to play the melodies.

There is only one solution: have other instruments play softly, but this will damage the musical expression.

There's also the issue of limited repertoire selection; in short, two flutes have many disadvantages.

Seeing Erika Toda's innocent smile, Nozomi Miyamine also smiled:

"What the senior said is right."

He doesn't deny that his conflict with Hasebe, the group leader, will eventually escalate to the point where it's either him or Hasebe.

At that time, how will the officers of the wind band take sides?

"Junior Miyamine, are there many people pursuing you?" Erika Toda's face flushed.

Gongling Wang shook his head and said:

"No, and I don't have a girlfriend either."

Erika Toda pursed her lips slightly and smiled as she said:

"Really? You're not saying this on purpose, are you?"

Miyamune didn't even look at her. Although Toda-senpai was cute, she wasn't someone he wanted to date.

"Why would I say that to my senior on purpose? I don't want to date you."

His tone didn't sound like he was joking at all; rather, it was so calm that she felt embarrassed.

Erika Toda, initially so naive as to misunderstand, gave an awkward laugh. She pressed her legs together, straightened her back, and forced herself to speak:

"Don't misunderstand, actually I have a lot of admirers too."

"Really? How about starting from where you were howling yesterday?"

He got into the zone quickly, Erika Toda shrugged.

"Row."

◇

The second to last period in the morning was a Chinese classics class taught by Supervisor Hayami.

From the moment she entered, Miyamine Nozomi could tell that she was in very good spirits. Her eyes were more watery than usual, and her steps were lighter than usual.

"Supervisor Hayami, you seem to be in a good mood today?"

As soon as get out of class ended, one of the more talkative students asked a question.

"People who go to work should always maintain a good mood, right?" Supervisor Hayami was surrounded by an indescribable gentle glow as he picked up his textbooks and walked out of the classroom.

Miyamune thought it must be his "sensitive body" from yesterday that was working its magic. Seeing how energetic Director Hayami was, he wanted to experience it for himself.