I play wind instruments in Kansai.

No matter how beautiful she is or how talented she is, she has no say in anything; she is only suited to silently follow someone.

Willowwood Lamp snorted lightly: "Are you saying I'm unreasonable and domineering?"

Gongling Wang shook his head and said:

"I didn't mean that at all. It's just that Shiraishi-san is right. She went on stage with you to perform, even though it was embarrassing. Just because she's close to Kirishima, are you going to look down on her as well?"

"..."

Liu Mujie remained silent; she was not an unreasonable person.

She just felt that a good girl like Shiraishi Hitomi shouldn't continue to stay with Kirishima Ruka.

But this girl still followed Kirishima Ruka blindly, as if she had no opinions of her own, which made Yanagi Yuto even angrier.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Miyamune took the initiative to throw the topic to Kohinata Hina, who was standing to the side, and asked, "What do you think, Kohinata-san?"

"Uh, um, me?"

Kohinata Hina was already petite, and when asked this question, she lowered her head even further, looking even more like a child.

"...Shiraishi-kun is innocent. Why should someone who is dedicated to their friends be looked down upon by them?"

“I didn’t look down on her.” Liu Mujie frowned.

"But what Jie Deng said was all about looking down on her, and her tone was too, well, I think so."

Miyamine Nozomi was quite surprised. Although the little Hinata in front of him was small, she still dared to speak the truth about certain things. He had already witnessed this on the playground today.

Just when Gongling Wang thought the two of them would start arguing, she realized that her thoughts about Liu Mujie were too narrow-minded.

He suddenly realized that if he could perceive Kohinata Hina's personality, then Yanagi Kiyotomi, who had spent more time with her, would naturally be able to notice, like, and understand her as well, which is why the two became friends.

As expected, Willow Wood Lamp only showed an annoyed expression, but still did not refute.

The three of them first passed through an elevated corridor and arrived at the school building.

Hayami Tenma Sei had just stepped out of the dean's office, gently closing the door behind him before letting out a sigh. He still had to submit his lesson plan to the dean for review...

Holding his lesson plans in both hands, he was about to return to his office when he saw Gong Lingwang and two others passing by.

Handsome guys who can play musical instruments are really popular. I don't usually see Miyamine Nozomi hanging out with many guys; she's always with girls.

Sigh, in my next life I really want to be a guy who's good at modeling and can say sweet nothings, and I also want to be surrounded by lots of beautiful girls.

Hayami Tenma returned to her office with a sigh. There was hardly anyone in the office, so she slammed her textbook heavily on the table and plopped down in her chair.

Just as she was about to sit down and spin around a few times, she saw her inner demon appear at the door. She immediately straightened her face, straightened her back, and brought her legs together at a 90-degree angle.

"Daidouji-kun, who are you looking for?"

Although I was a little scared afterward, as a supervisor, I should be gentle with the students.

Daidouji Seiko stood at the door, her school uniform collar perfectly ironed, and the black stockings peeking out from under her skirt faintly glistening with oil.

Everything about her was precise, restrained, and just right.

"I'm looking for you," Daidouji Seiko said after a moment of silence. "May I come in?"

"Of course." Hayami Tenma secretly swallowed.

When Daidouji Seiko approached, Hayami Tenma Sei's right hand involuntarily grabbed a handful of black pens from the table and began to play with them.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

The evening sunlight slanted into the office, casting a sharp shadow on the desk.

Daidouji Seiko's arms hung naturally at his sides as he spoke calmly:

"I've come to apologize to you."

"Well?"

Hayami Tenma was stunned for a moment, completely unexpected that she would say such a thing.

Because in Hayami Tenma's eyes, he himself was not doing very well either, throwing a childish tantrum in front of the students, and not having the demeanor a supervisor should have.

Hearing Daidouji Seiko say that, Hayami Tenma Sei felt much better and couldn't help but raise his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Suddenly, a wave of grievance welled up with this action, and I wanted to cry, but I gritted my teeth and held it in.

Just as she was about to say against her will, "I don't care, and I was also at fault"—

“But I don’t think I did anything wrong by letting you leave. What I did wrong was not telling you about it beforehand and not paying attention to your thoughts.”

Daidouji Seiko's voice reached her ears, and the silence between them swelled, pressing down on every inch of air in the room.

Hayami Tenma's eyelashes trembled slightly. Her words were still merciless, and she felt uncomfortable.

But the truth is indeed as she said, leaving was the best choice for me. She has already come to apologize, so what else can I say?

“Yes, Daidouji-kun, you’re not wrong.” Hayami Tenma Sei exhaled a breath of hot air. “It’s me who’s not qualified.”

"I'm glad to hear that you plan to seriously study this subject."

Daidouji Seiko glanced to the side, her fingers twisting the hem of her skirt, as if she felt somewhat uncomfortable being told encouraging words.

"But this isn't something you can learn just by looking at optics; you're just wasting your time staying here."

"Hmm..."

"I'm sorry, I was just telling Supervisor Hayami the truth."

Hayami Tenma Sei lightly bit her lower lip, looking directly at her and saying:

"I understand. So, Daidouji-kun, can you tell me? Are the lives of those who lack talent wasted from the very beginning?"

Daidoji Seiko was clearly stunned. His expression was extremely brief but exceptionally clear, as if someone had unexpectedly drawn a line on a perfect portrait.

Hayami Tenma's words were clearly directed at everyone in the brass band.

Just like when she vented her emotions in the first music classroom, she believed that not many people in the department had talent in music theory, and some were even less talented than her.

If we interpret Daidouji Seiko's words, the Osamu Brass Band should disband immediately to avoid wasting everyone's time.

When Hayami Tenma Seiji spoke to her so deeply that she couldn't even decipher it, Daidouji Seiko briefly lost the ability to think.

"Or is it that Daidouji-kun is wishfully thinking that the club will be completely restored as long as I leave?" Hayami Tenma asked.

Seeing the girl in front of him finally show a conflicted expression, Hayami Tenma was overjoyed.

She knew it was bad, but she just couldn't help feeling happy.

"Excuse me, I'll be going now. I hope I won't bother you any longer."

Daidouji Seiko blinked, frowned, and quickly turned to leave.

Even now, she still hasn't answered her question, but Hayami Tenma Sei's mood has improved considerably.

First, she apologized, and then she asked some questions that even I couldn't answer.

How clever of you, Pegasus! You've turned the tables on yourself! A young girl is no match for a juicy, mature woman!

"Hmph—" Hayami Tenma straightened his chair and tapped his fingers lightly on the table.

However, judging from what Daidouji Seiko said, it was Miyamine Nozomi who told her about what she was going to learn.

Hayami Tenma Sei lay on her side on the table, her arms as a pillow. Her soft breasts were pressed against the tabletop, slightly spilling out to the sides, and the buttons of her shirt seemed to be tightened a little.

That being said, Miyamine Nozomi did indeed help her a lot.

This student is actually quite nice, except his gaze is a bit lecherous.

Well, it's normal for teenage boys to have a lustful gaze, as long as they don't cross the line...

He only wanted to review the situation, but the image of Miyamune Nozomi kept popping into his mind. This startled Hayami Tenma, who realized something was wrong. He straightened up quickly, and the heavy weight under his clothes trembled a few times.

She suddenly realized that she was indeed paying too much attention to Miyamori Nozomi.

In this day and age, their identities pose a huge potential danger; even if they have no romantic feelings for each other, they will still be subject to speculation from others.

Hayami Tenma raised his head, patted his cheeks, and prepared to buy a durian mille-feuille cake on his way home.

◇

After dinner, Miyamine Nozomi prepared to take her musical instruments and head out.

"Where are you going so late?" Gong Ling's mother asked as she looked at her phone on the sofa.

Gongling Wang put on his shoes, tied his shoelaces, and said:

"Let's go play with willow."

"I'm relieved to see that you two have such a good relationship," Gong Ling's mother said with a smile.

"Don't let me have a child at this age."

"I will take safety precautions."

Seeing the father and son having such a pointless chat, the mother simply rolled her eyes and complained:

"You're so irresponsible."

Looking out from Gongling, just as the last ray of ochre-red sunset faded from the west window, the streetlights at the alley entrance came on.

In the distance is the faintly visible "Friend Island," the island used as the subject of "Summer Revisited."

The sound of the constantly churning waves, like a lullaby, seemed to bring time to a standstill on the island.

Gongling walked in the opposite direction from Liu Mu Jie Deng's house, because he wasn't actually looking for Liu Mu, but rather for Shiraishi Hitomi at the music store.

The reason she would give was simple: it was for the instrument's maintenance, a gift from her father.

Passing by the cemetery of Dali Temple, perhaps because of the strong sense of human life, there was nothing scary about it, even at night.

Arriving at the crossroads, the storefronts remained narrow, and the bells still rang when the doors were pushed open.

Gongling Wang didn't need to search for her at all; he saw Shiraishi Hitomi.

She sat behind the counter, tuning a pipa. When she saw Gong Ling look in, she only showed a hint of confusion on her face, and her hands paused for a moment.

That's all she said in greeting.

"I'm here for maintenance." Miyamine Nozomi placed the instrument on the counter.

Shiraishi Hitomi nodded, and the strings of the pipa emitted a very soft tremor from her fingertips.

"You can also play the pipa?"

She seemed to have just taken a shower, wearing a casual nightgown, the sweet scent of shampoo gently brushing against Miyamori Nozomi's nose.

"I only know how to maintain various musical instruments. With more experience in this area, I'll have a basic understanding," she said softly.

"As expected of the shopkeeper's daughter," Gong Lingwang chuckled softly. "So, you're going to make mine too?"

Shiraishi Hitomi didn't open her mouth, but only made a very faint "hmm" sound from her throat before putting the prepared biwa aside.

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It's what I should do."

She turned around and took out a wooden box from under the counter. She opened it, and inside was a complete set of maintenance tools neatly arranged.

Cleaning cloth, cleaning rod, keyboard oil, small screwdriver...

Gongling Wang sat opposite Shiraishi Tong, watching her remove the mouthpiece from her flute and examine the inner wall under the light.

Then, she frowned almost imperceptibly a few times, but said nothing and continued disassembling the tube.

She used a tube wrapped in gauze to pass through each section of the tube and then slowly pulled it out. The gauze was still clean, without the grayish-brown grime that she often encountered.

Shiraishi Hitomi looked up at Miyamine Nozomi, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Maybe it's because I usually take good care of them," Miyamune Nozomi casually offered as an excuse.

Actually, he maintains it himself every day, so it would be strange if the flute wasn't clean.

Shiraishi Hitomi ignored them and used a tiny brush to clean the no-dust-prone corners between the springs and connecting rods.

"Bai Tong, your hands are really steady." Gong Lingwang rested his arms on the table, watching her take care of herself.

She didn't respond. After wiping all the parts, she started applying key oil.

Finally, the assembly was done, with the three sections of the tube screwed together skillfully.

"Here you go," said Hitomi Shiraishi.

"Shiraishi-kun, are you unhappy in the brass band?" Miyamine Nozomi chose the opportune moment to launch a verbal attack.