I play wind instruments in Kansai.

The mains power slowly came to a stop, and the two people walked out of the carriage one after the other.

The moment the car door opened, a gust of wind rushed in. Kirishima Ruka's long hair reached her waist, and the ends brushed against the cuffs of his shirt, the touch was very light, leaving a fleeting itch.

Most of the people getting off at Girei Station are students from Osamu University; the entire street leading to the school is lined with them.

"Miyarei! Ah, Kirishima-kun."

Someone gently patted his shoulder. He turned around and saw it was Kato Ai. The sunlight gilded her features with a thin layer of gold, and even the fine downy hair behind her ears was shining.

Good morning, Kato-kun.

Kirishima Ruka held her schoolbag in both hands in front of her with a gentle smile, which was almost her signature polite gesture.

Good morning, good morning.

Kato Ai raised her hand, her nails a healthy pink, and her tone sounded somewhat unnatural, as if she hadn't noticed that she was next to Miyamune at first.

Kirishima Ruka nodded, glanced at the two of them, and said, "It seems you two have something to say. I'll be going now."

Neither of them stopped them, and at that moment they reached a certain level of understanding.

"Kirishima is quite aloof," Kato Ai said.

"Why do you think so?" Gong Lingwang thought she was quite gentle.

"Because she rarely replies when I message her."

That's because she has absolutely no interest in the messages you send.

“And besides…” Kato Ai raised an eyebrow and glared at him, then said in a low voice, “You… you said those things to me, don’t you think you should be more careful about your behavior?”

Her words immediately caused Gong Lingwang's brain to shut down.

Pay attention to behavior? What behavior? Eye tracking?

Did she really think he was interested in her?

Gong Lingwang did not answer because he knew it would affect her stock value, and if he denied it now, it might drop immediately.

Although it's very dishonest, let's keep this misunderstanding going until he thinks he's completely squeezed out all of Kato Ai's value and sold her off.

"How's your oboe practice going?"

"Of course I've been practicing since I got home. I should be able to practice the oboe well before the Wakayama Festival, right?"

The Wakayama Prefecture Wind Instrument Festival is on August 2nd, which is about three months away.

For a complete novice with no experience, it is virtually impossible to play the oboe to the point of being able to perform in a competition within three months.

Moreover, judging from yesterday's situation, Kato Ai is not a genius at all; in her own words, she is just a middle-class young lady.

Gong Lingwang felt it was best not to discourage her now. Given the current situation, it was impossible for the officers of the wind instrument club to let her play on stage. The prerequisite for playing a special instrument on stage was that she had to play it well.

"Yes, I believe you can do it. You're a genius."

"Don't say things like that. I know I'm not a genius."

To Miyamine's surprise, Kato Ai was much more awake. She waved her hand and said...

"But who says only geniuses can do the impossible? Maybe I'm the exception?"

Everyone thinks they are the exception, but without exception, they are just an ordinary person, Gong Lingwang thought.

Upon arriving at Chiki Academy, the track and field was once again occupied by the track and field club girls. Along the way, many people greeted Kato Ai, including members of the brass band.

“You are very popular,” Miyamine Nozomi said.

"Of course, getting ahead in school depends on connections and background."

Kato Ai proudly puffed out her chest and said,

"Having many friends makes things easier, you don't have to do it yourself, so you won't lose out."

"How many close friends do you have?" Gong Lingwang asked.

“There are a lot! All the people who greeted me just now were,” Kato Ai said boastfully, giving a thumbs up. “How about that? Pretty impressive, right? Want me to teach you how to make friends?”

"One or two friends are enough."

Gongling Wang walked to the shoe-changing area in front of the school building and could hear the sounds of many people opening and closing the shoe lockers.

"I want to ask, if your grades aren't good, will your friends in the brass band speak up for you?"

"Hmm..."

It seemed the question had hit the nail on the head, leaving Kato Ai speechless for a moment before finally managing to utter a single sentence.

“Anhe-senpai should speak up for me. We’ve known each other since we played games together. She’s also the leader of the percussion section and gets along well with everyone.”

"If you can't participate in the Wakayama Prefecture brass band competition, will she also have conflicts with other upperclassmen and speak up for you?"

"...I didn't say it had to be this way."

Kato Ai's expression showed slight unease. She had chosen to join, but if she couldn't play, she would be the one who lost face.

"Little Ai~~"

When a girl greeted her, she immediately responded, said goodbye to Gong Lingwang, and went upstairs with her.

"Hey, why are you with Gong Ling? What's your relationship?"

"No, we're just ordinary friends."

"We're just friends~~~"

Listening to their suppressed laughter, Gong Lingwang put on her shoes, bought a carton of strawberry milk, and then returned to her classroom.

Walking through the front door, you can see Liu Mujie Deng sitting in a seat writing something. Her upper body is wrapped in a loquat-colored sailor uniform, and the skirt is pulled up a few inches to reveal a small section of her fleshy legs above the knees.

She raised her eyebrows and met Gong Lingwang's gaze, her lips twitching unconsciously, before continuing to write with her head down.

He put his schoolbag on the table, walked behind the willow-wood lamp, placed the strawberry milk on her desk, and said:

What should we write?

Willowwood Lamp didn't seem surprised by his arrival, merely glancing at the milk carton and saying:

"English homework."

“Oh, I see. You came to school this morning to finish your homework, you naughty kid,” said Miyamune Nozomi.

"I've just been practicing too much lately, and I don't want to waste my sleep catching up at night."

Willow Wood Lamp's gaze was fixed on the exercise book, and he said, feigning nonchalance,

Are you and Kato-kun close?

"Are you jealous?" Gongling Wang said.

Willowwood lamp looked up and glanced at him, letting out a soft snort, then sighed helplessly and continued working on the problem, saying:

"You should associate with smarter people and spend your time on more valuable things."

"Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"

".......Well."

Liu Mujie was stunned for a moment, her cheeks flushed slightly, and she gripped the mechanical pencil tightly in her hand.

"How did you end up with Kirishima?"

Where can I find it?

“My friend said he saw you and her coming to take the mains electricity together.”

"With so much eyeliner on your face, I'd better be careful in the future."

"That's what Hina said."

"I didn't see her at all."

The little girl had no idea where she was; she was hiding so well.

“You didn’t take my words to heart at all,” Liu Mujie said expressionlessly.

Gong Lingwang did not answer, but returned to his seat and took out a blue exercise book from his bag:

"Would you like this?"

Willow Knot Lantern glanced at it, then looked down and said, "I'm very good at math, I don't need this at all."

Gong Lingwang nodded. As she lowered her head, her collar slid forward slightly, revealing more of her fair nape.

At that moment, the sound of many girls chattering came from the corridor.

But Miyamine Nozomi had gotten used to it; they often said things like "So cute~" or "No way?" and deliberately drew out the high-pitched ending of their voices.

There was a person standing at the door, and she was like a magnet, drawing all eyes and attention to her.

While other girls wore sailor uniforms and exuded a sense of immaturity, Tani Kanon managed to make the uniform look something that shouldn't belong to her age.

An extremely strong feminine aura.

"Junior Sister Liu Mu".

As Gu Huayin walked slowly towards them, the front of her sailor uniform was stretched into a full arc, and the neckerchief swayed slightly, yet it was captivating.

Liu Mujie immediately stood up, showing that she still cared a lot about her senior.

“Junior Gongling is here too. You two have a really good relationship.”

Her voice wasn't loud, like a freshly baked mina bun with a layer of coarse sugar on the surface—not the crisp sweetness of a young girl, but a heavier, more alluring sweetness.

"Is there something you need?" Liu Mujie asked.

"There is something I need to do."

Gu Huayin pinched her chin with her fingers, glanced at Gong Lingwang, and said...

"Can we go outside and talk? It's still early before the morning meeting."

Miyamine Nozomi wanted to return to her seat, since it wasn't her business, but she was stopped by Tani Hanane:

"Shall we bring Junior Gongling too?"

"Huh? Me?"

"Yes." Gu Huayin smiled, pursing her lips. "Come out."

Liu Mujie and Gong Lingwang exchanged a glance and followed her out of the classroom.

Mizuno Souji, who had just run over from next door to show off his three gold cards in ten gacha pulls to Miyamine Nozomi, immediately stopped when he saw this.

He wasn't very familiar with the people in this class, and after scanning around, he only noticed Kato Ai, the social butterfly.

"what happened?"

"I don't know, I called them out as soon as I arrived," Kato Ai said.

"Could it be that he got caught dating within the department?"

“How could that be?” Kato Ai said, pursing her lips. “They’re not boyfriend and girlfriend.”

Mizuno Souji asked curiously, "How did you know?"

"...Anyway, I just know it."

Kato Ai felt a little smug, because the person Miyamune Nozomi liked was her, not Yanagi Kiyoto.

◇

At the end of the corridor, Gu Huayin turned around. As she turned, the hem of her skirt spun slightly before falling back to its original position, resting against the outside of her thigh.

Gong Lingwang didn't know why she had called him out. Could it be...?

He's being made the leader of the piccolo group right now? That's a bit too fast, isn't it?

"Maybe things will really change this year. The quality of the firstborn is even better than I expected." Gu Huayin smiled at the two of them.

The faint milky scent emanating from her was dispersed and then gathered again by the breeze in the corridor.

“I will do my best to do what I can, and so will Gongling,” said Liu Mujie Deng.

Miyamine raised his eyebrows but remained silent; he didn't actually intend to give everything for the Haruki Concert Club.

A faint smile remained on Gu Huayin's lips, but she suddenly fell silent, her gaze fixed on the two of them as if she were weighing something.

After a long silence, she finally spoke: