Green plums cannot become lovers.

"What do you think?"

Finally, it was An and Asuka who took the initiative to ask.

"Very good." Aoyama Nanami gradually calmed down, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the boy in front of her, and said, "This song is really great!"

The lyrics are short yet profound, and the melody is simple yet beautiful. Just thinking about being able to play such a song makes her happy.

"Then let's not delay, let's start practicing right away."

An and Asuka sat down at the piano at some point.

"Asuka, don't you play the guitar?"

"This piece is better suited for the piano."

An and Asuka explained with a smile that he is now at level two in piano, although he is still not as good as his peers who have been playing since childhood, but at least he can play this piece without any problems.

As he spoke, he pressed the piano keys.

The soft, melancholic music, tinged with a touch of sadness, drifted through the small music classroom. Aoyama Nanami stared, momentarily lost in thought, at the boy sitting before her at the piano.

For some reason, she felt a sudden urge to cry, as if he were about to leave.

When the music stopped, Aoyama Nanami pursed her lips and clapped.

"Does it sound good?" The boy smiled and looked up at her.

"It sounds great!"

It sounds so good.

"Then let's practice quickly."

"Ok!"

As An and Asuka had predicted, only a week into the main competition, all the other contestants from the school, except for him and Aoyama Nana, were eliminated.

What remains is the knockout stage, with twenty teams from five schools advancing. Their performance is scheduled for three days from now.

"This is not a good sign."

Matsue Sakura looked rather unwell; she had given up all hope of getting a good ranking.

It's really frustrating. The intensity of the past two years was normal. This year, she finally got two great generals and thought she could break the curse, but a bunch of powerful guys suddenly appeared.

"Teacher, now is not the time to give up."

Even if you say that, there's nothing we can do now.

The first seven days were already this intense, not to mention the elimination rounds starting today—it's like gods fighting.

"So you want us to give up?" An and Asuka asked in return.

"..." Songyue Ying looked at him in silence for a moment, and finally sighed, "You should still work hard."

Having come this far, there's no choice but to try my best to get a good ranking; if anyone's to blame, it's just bad luck.

"Don't worry, teacher, we will definitely win the championship."

An and Asuka were full of confidence. The system had analyzed their chances of advancing and they still had a 70% chance, not even including the chances of them using their trump card.

If they use their trump card directly, they will definitely win the championship.

All I can say is that world-class classics are still too authoritative.

Volume 1: Chapter 28 The Final Battle

"Asuka, you're amazing!"

On the way back, the two girls chattered excitedly, praising the game. Although they hadn't watched the match in person, they had heard the announcement over the school's loudspeaker while still in class.

The broadcast said the boy had made it into the quarterfinals.

I heard there are over a hundred teams in this competition, so making it to the top eight is already quite an achievement.

"well enough."

An and Asuka looked calm, but they were somewhat tired. Based on their performance in the past, they should have been able to compete for the top three, but now they had only barely made it into the top eight.

He's been working incredibly hard lately to win this title, and he hasn't dared to relax at all.

"What do you mean 'it's alright'? The school praised you and Qingshan, saying you brought honor to the school."

"Yes, Asuka is really amazing."

"I wish I could sing too, so I could go on stage with Asuka."

"I... I also want to help Asuka."

Seeing the admiring and envious looks in the eyes of the two girls, An and Asuka couldn't help but smile, and the weariness in their hearts was relieved a lot.

"Okay, how about I teach you to sing and play the piano when you're a little older?"

"really?"

"Well, really."

However, it depends on whether they will remember this by then, and whether they will still have the same enthusiasm as today.

"Asuka, when is your next match?"

"Yes, it's the day after tomorrow."

The last eight matches can be completed in half a day, and there will be no matches tomorrow in order to ensure that everyone is in the best mental state for the games.

"The day after tomorrow..."

Upon hearing that it was the day after tomorrow, both girls were a little disappointed. They hadn't watched a single one of the boy's matches since the beginning, either because they had to go to school or because there were no matches for him during the two days of holidays.

And looking at them like this, how could Lin (a person) not know what they were thinking?

So he said, "Would you like to come watch my match the day after tomorrow?"

"miss you!"

The question had barely been asked when the two girls answered in unison.

"Then let's take a look."

"But, class..."

"Ask the teacher for leave," An and Asuka said. "I'll ask for it for you."

It's time to use the power of the "Face Fruit." In this situation, if family members are present, the contestant's performance will undoubtedly be even better—that's only human nature.

Time flew by and the day of the final match arrived quickly.

His request for leave for the two girls was indeed approved. But he didn't expect that on this day, the school would give their class and Qi Hai's class a morning off, allowing the students to come to the venue to support them.

"This is just putting pressure on us," Anwa Asuka said helplessly.

"What are you saying, you brat?" Sakura Matsue gently patted Anwa Asuka's head. "I finally managed to get this agreed to by the school."

She went to great lengths to persuade the principal and other leaders to give the two children's classes a half-day off so that everyone could support them.

Since their own strength has reached its limit, they can only rely on the power of friendship, at least that's how it's portrayed in the manga.

The protagonist, who had been at his wit's end, suddenly unleashed his potential after seeing his friends and shouting about friendship.

"I also brought Kirara-zaka and Kuze-kun with me."

Upon hearing this, An and Asuka glanced at the two girls in the class line. They had also noticed him and raised their hands to greet him.

Looking at them, An and Asuka couldn't help but smile and said, "Thank you so much, teacher."

"Look at you, so hypocritical." Songyue Ying said, her teeth itching.

"No."

"Stinky boy."

Matsue Sakura rolled her eyes at An and Asuka, then regained her composure and said seriously, "Alright, let me ask you, are you confident this time?"

"According to our previous plan, we definitely have no chance of success."

“That’s true…” Songyue Ying sighed upon hearing this. Indeed, they had reached their limit this time, and they could not go any further.

Further ahead lies the realm of true masters, far beyond the reach of these half-baked individuals who have only recently entered the field.

"Anyway, keep up the good work, you've already done a great job getting this far."

She herself never imagined that this boy and Aoyama could make it all the way to the quarterfinals, let alone the others.

"Ah."

An and Asuka nodded, then looked at Aoyama Nanami not far away.

The girl sat in her seat, looking somewhat reserved for some reason. He thought for a moment, then temporarily abandoned his classmates and went over to her.

"Nanami."

There happened to be a seat next to the girl, so An and Asuka sat down right next to her.

"Birds..."

Aoyama Nanami was startled at first, but immediately relaxed after seeing that it was the boy who had been with her all along.

"What's wrong? You seem a little out of sorts."

"Yes, is there?"

“Yes.” An and Asuka reached out and tapped the girl’s cheek. “Even when you’re not smiling, you don’t usually look so bitter and resentful.”

"Ugh, I feel so bitter and resentful. Do I look that bad?"

"It looks terrible, like this."

As An and Asuka spoke, An made an ugly face, which successfully made the girl next to him burst out laughing.

"Seriously, I'm not that ugly! Asuka is so annoying."

“There are even uglier ones, would you like to see them?” An and Asuka asked with a smile.

"Never!"

"Then tell me why you're unhappy, or I'll tell your classmates that Aoyama Nanami gave me the silent treatment multiple times during the competition."

"There must be a lot of girls in your class who like me, right? They might come after you later."

"Ugh, Asuka is bullying me." Aoyama Nanami didn't believe he would do such a thing, but this joke made her feel much better.

"So, why are you unhappy? Is it because you're nervous?"

"No, no." Aoyama Nanami hesitated for a moment and then shook her head. She did get nervous when she first went on stage to perform in front of hundreds of audience members.

But with the boy's constant encouragement and after performing on stage many times, she gradually got used to it and was no longer too nervous about going on stage.

"It's because of my parents..."

"Uncle and Aunt?"

Could this girl's family also have problems...? An and Asuka immediately became alert.

"Yes, Mom and Dad came over today."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"But they didn't come to encourage me."

Aoyama Nanami sounded very disappointed, her fingers twisting together incessantly.

"They've always disagreed with me participating in this kind of competition, telling me to focus on my studies..."

"So, they came to see you make a fool of yourself?"

"..."

Book 1: Chapter 29 Be Brave, Girl.

"So, they came to see you make a fool of yourself?"

"..."

An and Asuka's words made the girl lower her head even further. Although he didn't say it directly, he understood what she meant.

For a moment, he truly didn't know what to say. Why did all the girls around him come from families with serious problems?

An and Asuka felt a little helpless, but still looked at the girl's profile carefully and said, "Although I don't know your specific family situation, Nanami."