I play wind instruments in Kansai.

◇

Around 6:30, Gong Lingwang took out his phone and found that there was no message from Liu Mujie Deng.

I thought she would wait for me to go home together, but it seems she's really angry today; she hasn't even sent a message.

Palace Ridge View:

"Shall we go home together?"

Willow knot lamp:

"You bastard! It's too late! I'm already home!"

"......"

Forget it.

Miyamune put her phone in her pocket and said to Kato Ai, "I'm going home now?"

"Aren't you coming with me?" she said, her eyes wide.

"Don't you have money for a ticket?"

"...It's alright now."

She took out her phone, seemingly wanting to call her best friend to go home together, and said somewhat stubbornly,

"It just so happens that Haruna is waiting for me."

See you tomorrow.

"Well."

Gong Lingwang left with his instrument case. By 6 p.m., there were hardly any people left at the school. Only a few supervisors and students could be vaguely seen in the school building corridor.

As I walked out of the school gate, a car slowly drove past me.

"Miyare-kun?"

Someone called his name, and when he turned his head, he saw it was Hayami Tenma Sei.

"Supervisor Hayami," he stopped and asked.

"Why aren't you home yet, it's so late?"

"The same goes for supervisors."

"I'm at work."

"I'm practicing."

Hayami Tenma suddenly smiled gently at him:

"Come on up, I'll take you home."

"Is this just polite talk?" Miyamune asked.

“If you had asked that last time, I would have been very happy.”

"Then it probably won't be this time."

Miyamine stepped forward and opened the car door of Hayami Tenma Sei.

31. Perhaps one day in the future

There was an extra pack of wet wipes on the center armrest of Hayami Tenmasei's car.

Outside the car window, the cloudless sky seemed to have spilled molten gold paint, and the silhouettes of distant buildings grew increasingly dense, like a stage in a shadow play.

A very faint scent of orange blossom perfume mixed with the aroma of leather wafted over. Taking advantage of a red light, Hayami Tenma glanced at him and smiled slightly:

"Thank you for speaking up for me in the classroom."

Gong Lingwang cast his gaze, and the glow of the setting sun fell precisely on her shoulder. The fabric of her bodycon skirt had a slightly matte finish, and the sheer stockings underneath were extremely thin.

He then noticed that there was a thin slit on the side of Hayami Tenma's bodycon skirt, revealing a portion of her thigh, which was so alluring that it made his heart melt.

"No, I just felt that I should tell the truth."

Gongling Wang said that, but he was still lying.

Because Hayami Tenma Sei is the supervisor, and adults always like to maintain their dignity in front of their juniors, he cannot tell the truth.

You can't say, "I only spoke because I felt sorry for you."

"If I had known it would turn out like this, I shouldn't have asked you for help in the first place," Hayami Tenma said with an awkward laugh.

"It's alright, no one can predict what will happen next."

Gongling Wang said bluntly,

"Supervisor Hayami, you don't need to feel embarrassed. On the contrary, I think it's Daidouji-senpai who didn't handle this well enough."

"Hmm..."

Hayami Tenma was silent for a moment, which made Miyamine Nozomi realize that she thought so too.

The green light comes on.

"The light is green."

"Oh oh oh."

Along with Miyamine Nozomi's reminder, there was also the sound of a car horn behind.

Hayami Tenmasei quickly started the vehicle; thankfully it was an automatic, so it started very quickly.

She learned from her previous experience and did not play any songs.

"Gong Ling, do you think what I said back then was inappropriate?"

She hesitated slightly, her eyes lacking the composure she usually displayed on the podium, but instead carrying a rare earnestness, like that of a friend having a heart-to-heart talk.

“No, what Supervisor Hayami did must have been right,” Miyamine Nozomi said.

He answered quickly, which amused Hayami Tenma, who couldn't help but ask:

"Gong Ling, are you talking to me like this because I'm the supervisor?"

Gongling Wang did not answer immediately, but thought about it seriously for a few seconds, and the car was quiet for a few seconds.

"Correct."

"It's okay, just talk to me the same way you usually talk to girls. We're not that far apart in age," Hayami Tenma said with a smile.

"alright."

Gongling Wang was silent for a moment, then said,

“No one spoke up for you at the time, and I couldn’t stand it, so I spoke up, but I didn’t expect you to say those things later.”

"You also think I shouldn't have said it?" Hayami Tenma asked.

and also?

It seems she's talked to some close friends about these things, probably Supervisor Ayaka Osaka.

In that case, she should want to hear a different answer now.

"No, I think there are both advantages and disadvantages."

Gongling Wang let out a shallow sigh.

“There are no shortage of people in the club who can spot the problem, but there are few who dare to speak the truth. If it were Hayami, who is about to leave, who said these words, no one would ostracize him.”

"Right?"

Hayami Tenma finally heard the answer he wanted to hear, and immediately puffed out his chest and launched into a long string of complaints.

"To put it bluntly, their strength was never good to begin with, so what does it mean to suddenly say they want to work hard? I want to work hard too, but why did they kick me out first? Shouldn't we move forward together? They agreed to support each other, but they sacrificed me first."

“Because the advisor is the most crucial person in the brass band, everyone doesn’t have time to wait for you, the supervisor,” Miyamune said.

Hayami Tenma Sei wanted to continue speaking, but after hearing what he said, he was speechless and thought about it seriously.

Then she said:

"Sigh, I thought my mental state would improve after becoming a supervisor, but I didn't expect that I would still act impulsively."

Miyamune blinked, then suddenly remembered something: "Director Hayami, was that really what you thought at the time, or was it something you had no choice but to do?"

"What do you mean?" Hayami Tenma stared ahead, a puzzled look on his face.

"For example... you didn't think that way, but you still did it."

Hayami Tenma paused for a moment, seemingly realizing what Miyamine Nozomi was saying, then shook his head and said:

"It shouldn't be. Even now, I think I should say those things. They have nothing to do with Kirishima-kun."

"Yeah......."

For some reason, Gongling Wang felt much more at ease.

"By the way, what about the thing you asked me to do...? What should I do?" he asked.

"Ah, well." Hayami Tenma Sei pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and said, "Since you've already made the request, I hope you can help me."

"You really want to learn this?" Gong Lingwang didn't quite understand.

"If I don't learn it, I feel like I've already lost."

Hayami Tenma Sei slightly pursed his lips, his long, slender, white fingers gripping the steering wheel heavily as he spoke.

“I’ve always been quite serious about things since I was a child. Once I’ve mastered my cultivation, I’ll make sure my classmate from Daidoji comes to beg me to go back.”

Gongling Wang was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized and said:

"I get it, Supervisor Hayami, are you the kind of woman who won't move forward unless you get hit?"

This sounded a little strange, and Hayami Tenma's cheeks flushed slightly. She gave him a playful glare and said:

"Gong Ling, I am your supervisor, how can you speak to me like that?"

"But you told me before that I should just say it the way I normally would."

“But you can’t forget that,” she said.

Gong Ling looked out the window and said dejectedly:

"So you can't trust what the supervisor says most of the time, and I won't be so sincere with you next time."

Hayami Tenma couldn't help but laugh out loud, and gently tapped his head, saying:

"What are you talking about?"

Vehicles drove along the street, the crowds and traffic forming a slow-moving river, and the orange light bulbs in front of the shops flickered.

Upon seeing a shop selling squid skewers and fried noodles, Miyamine Nozomi wondered whether she should buy some to take back to Willow Wood Lantern.

"Speaking of which, Miyamine, don't you like my classes?" Hayami Tenma asked.

"Hmm?" Miyamune snapped out of his reverie, looked at her profile and said, "No, everything else is pretty average. I just like Supervisor Hayami."

"Really? But why do I feel like you're often not really engaged in my classes?"

Hayami Tenma Sei frowned slightly and said...

"Every time I look at you, I feel like you're not looking at the blackboard."

"......"

The air inside the car seemed to freeze for a moment.

Miyamine Nozomi's mind went completely blank with a "buzz," and all the blood rushed to her cheeks. She carefully turned her head and found that Hayami Tenma was still looking straight ahead.

"He must have been distracted."

He sounded like a child about to be caught doing something wrong, his tone somewhat unnatural.

"That won't do. Although studying traditional Chinese culture doesn't require the same level of mental effort as studying mathematics, you still need to listen carefully to my lessons."

Hayami Tenma Sei, completely oblivious to anything amiss, sighed deeply and said...

“The average score of my vocational education class is several points lower than that of other classes. If we don’t raise it, I’m sure I’ll miss out on my bonus this semester.”

"..."