I play wind instruments in Kansai.

"Weren't you so bold at the beginning? You seemed so high and mighty."

Kohinata, holding her breath, looked up and stared directly at her, saying:

"Well... I just felt that I shouldn't lie. You need to have your own life. Yes, you're wrong."

"Huh?! I was wrong!"

An Hechun stood up excitedly, disregarding the fact that she was wearing a skirt, and exaggeratedly spread her legs, striking a pose as if she wanted to devour her.

Kohikari hunched her shoulders and nervously closed her eyes.

Just then, a sound came from the window.

"But we'll have to face it someday, Anhe-senpai. You need to have your own life, right?"

"Ok?"

Anhe Jun turned his head, and Kohikawa Hinata opened one eye and saw Miyane Nozomi by the window.

"Junior Gongling? When did you arrive?"

"Are you trying to bully me by saying this?"

Gong Lingwang placed his hands on the windowsill, sighed deeply, and said...

"But everyone has their own difficulties, and we should take that into account. We should all build interpersonal relationships without barriers based on understanding and respect. But it's easier said than done, which is why we have so many concerns."

An Hechun stood up straight, resting her wrists on her waist, and said:

"What kind of line is that? It sounds so weird."

"I pulled out my phone to find this on the spur of the moment, and it's quite interesting."

Miyamine Nozomi picked up her phone and waved it, saying,

"There's a second half to the sentence: If we pretend not to see each other and keep our distance, we'll feel more relaxed and at peace with each other. In that case, the world will be divided into beautiful but cold mosaic patterns."

An Hechun squinted slightly, muttering "So annoying, so annoying, so annoying" repeatedly, before finally plopping down in a chair and saying:

"Ugh, people who preach are so annoying. They can't even put themselves in someone else's shoes to understand what's going on, yet they spout off some impressive-sounding things. Do they think everyone's an idiot? Hey, you, come in."

Without much thought, Gong Lingwang walked into the practice room.

An Hechun squinted at him, crossed her arms, and said:

"Turn around, with your back to me."

"doing what?"

Gong Lingwang said that, but he still obediently did as he was told.

"I'm going to give you a good kick in the ass first! That'll teach you a lesson for spouting these high-sounding principles!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she raised her leg and kicked Gong Lingwang's buttocks lightly.

"Huh!" Hinata Kohinata's face fell. She had never seen a handsome guy like Miyamune get kicked before.

Gong Lingwang staggered forward half a step, but because the kick wasn't hard, he didn't feel any pain and wasn't angry.

"That feels good." An Hechun flashed a bright white smile. "Really, I can handle this myself. Don't interfere in the future."

Kohi Xiangyangcai whispered a reminder:

"Um, wasn't it Anhe-senpai who brought this up first?"

"It's all because you refused to say anything!"

An Hechun raised his arm and locked it around her neck, shouting,

"If you want to understand someone, you have to be honest with them first, you bastard!"

The little sunflower made a strange whimpering sound.

"Junior Gongling?"

"Yes."

"Don't tell anyone about this. If I hear anything outside..." An Hechun warned with a wink, scraping his neck with a chop to his neck.

Gongling Wang nodded, then casually picked up the sheet music on the table; it was the tuba section.

"Is Hinata-san's tutti amazing?"

"Hmm..." Kohinata Hinata seemed reserved and said in a low voice, "It's...it's alright."

An Hechun said without any mercy:

"Very bad."

"Tch." Kohinata Hina curled her lip.

“But the burden here isn’t too heavy, so you don’t need to put too much psychological pressure on yourself,” An Hechun comforted her.

"I came here hoping to compete on stage, because the people here are all terrible. If I just work hard, I can perform on stage."

An Hechun was momentarily speechless, her eyebrows twitching.

"What you're saying..."

"Hey, what are you three doing here? The three-year talks?"

Then another voice came, and everyone turned to look. It was Shida Nana with medium-length hair.

An Hechun couldn't help but complain:

"Is the window of the bass practice room a spawn point for new characters?"

Nana Shida said:

"What are you talking about? The ensemble practice is in a little while. The three of you arrived early, so go and move all the music stands from the instrument room to the first music classroom and set them up like before."

"And what about you?" An Hechun asked.

"Sitting in the first music classroom playing on my phone," Shida Nana said, raising her hand. "Goodbye."

After she left, Kohinata took a breath and said, her lips parting slightly:

"So handsome."

"Thank you," said Miyamune Nozomi.

“Hmm, I mean Chief Shida.”

He was so serious that it made Koharu Hinata's chest ache slightly, and then he said something else.

"But Gong Ling, you are indeed very good-looking."

"Sorry, it's a habit." Gong Lingwang didn't feel embarrassed.

"What an offensive habit." An Hechun moved aside with some disgust.

Kohinata Hina asked, "Is Shida-senpai very strong?"

"Of course, she's a famous saxophone mercenary in Wakayama City."

"What do you mean?" Gongling Wang asked.

"If other schools need a bass saxophone for a performance, she's usually the first person they think of."

An and Jun grabbed Koharu Hina's collar with their left hand and Miyamine Nozomi's collar with their right, saying...

"Alright, come with me to work."

The three arrived at the music room, which was filled with dozens of music stands.

In the wind band, only the music stand has no "owner"; whoever gets it first gets to keep it, and it's only for that day's practice.

Miyamine Nozomi can carry six music stands in one go, and Kohiko Hina can carry two. They are not heavy, each weighing about three kilograms.

Those professional heavy-duty music stands are large, solid steel structures, each weighing around ten kilograms.

"Wow~~ A charming junior who can carry six music stands~~~" An Hechun cupped his face in his hands, his slender, fair fingers tapping lightly, feigning envy.

When I arrived at the first music classroom, I saw Nana Shida sitting there playing on her phone.

Back in the instrument management room, they went to get the music stand, while An and Chun sat there playing on their phones.

Xiao Ri Xiang Yang Cai worked back and forth, panting heavily until her face was red, but she didn't say a word.

Only when Miyamine Nozomi passed by her could one hear her muttering in a Kumamoto accent, "I'm just stubborn."

Soon after, other members of the wind instrument club arrived at the club building, and the once quiet corridor became noisy.

Today was their first ensemble practice. The first-year students had never seen the Haruki Brass Band play together before, but judging from their happy expressions, they were all in great spirits.

"Who told you to move these things?"

On his third attempt, Liu Mujie, carrying a trumpet and sheet music tucked under his arm, stopped him, looking rather unhappy.

Gongling Wang was silent for a moment, then said:

"Hasebe-senpai."

As expected, the willow-wood knotted lantern's eyebrows were raised, and her breasts beneath the uniform were stretched into a full, round shape:

"I knew it! That bastard! You actually listened to him? You're even more of a bastard!"

Gongling Wang couldn't help but smile and said:

"Actually, it was Shida-senpai who asked me to go; it had nothing to do with Hasebe-senpai."

"Well?"

Liu Mujie was taken aback for a moment, clearly sensing that she was calming down, but then those eyes glared at her again.

"You're playing me?"

"That doesn't seem right. If Shida-senpai instructs me, then everything will be fine?"

"Shida-senpai is indeed capable, and she's the top student. She's one of the very few people in the club I respect."

Willowwood lamp glanced at the music stand lever in his hand and said,

"Give me two, your hands are all claw-like."

Gong Lingwang didn't pretend and put down both TVs, saying, "Liu Mu, you're so kind."

She rolled her eyes, speechless.

Upon arriving at the first music practice room, the space suddenly felt cramped due to the piles of music stands and chairs, plus the presence of more than sixty people.

35. The first ensemble performance by the Haruki Wind Ensemble

Sunlight slanted through the window, cutting bright squares across the floor, while the air was filled with the scent of rosin and the metallic aroma of brass instruments.

Music stands stood in rows, and chairs were crammed into the first music classroom with more than sixty members of the wind band. It was difficult to even turn around, and many girls' knees were in close contact with the shelves in front of them.

Today's practice piece is the marching piece "The Swordsman's Entrance".

Miyamine Nozomi is a stick dancer, so he doesn't need to practice; his role today is that of an observer.

It wasn't just him; many first-year students couldn't play according to the sheet music, but Daidouji-senpai allowed them to observe and learn from her.

According to the seating arrangement, Erika Toda, who plays the flute, sat in the front row. She looked around and found Nozomi Miyamine and some first-year students standing by the window.

She wanted to say something, but only pursed her lower lip.

“You’re here too?” Kato Ai walked up to him and whispered.

"I remember we were together the last time we were doing the stick dance."

Kato Ai tilted her head, maintaining a smile on her face, her tone carrying a hint of teasing:

"If you can play the flute well but can't perform on stage, then no matter how well you play, you're all the same."

Gongling Wang secretly leaned close to her ear and whispered:

"How about we stay tonight and continue practicing together?"

"Hmm?" Kato Ai's eyes widened slightly, and she swallowed nervously. "What do you mean?"

"It means exactly what it says. Do you have anything particularly important to do tonight? If not, would you like to spend a little more time together?"

Miyamune's expression remained unchanged as she said this, which only made Kato Ai blush and her heart race.

Is this...isn't this a disguised form of...stealing a kiss?