Green plums cannot become lovers.

"But I think if your parents are here to laugh at you, then you should be even more prepared."

As An and Asuka spoke, An reached out and grasped the girl's clasped hands, enveloping them in his own palm. Aoyama Nanami was taken aback and couldn't help but look at the boy beside her.

The other person had a smile on their face as always, and their eyes were full of bright light, like stars in the night.

Looking at the boy before her, Aoyama Nanami felt a little dazed. It seemed that every time she felt like she was about to give up, this boy would encourage her to keep going.

That was true when we first met in the music room, that was true when we encountered difficulties during practice, and that is true now.

Why is he always so positive, brave, and fearless?

She couldn't understand it, yet she longed for it.

"Feiniao, your parents must love you very much."

Aoyama Nanami whispered that she felt the boy in front of her must have a very happy family. No matter what he did, he would receive support, and even if he failed, he would receive encouragement.

But her parents never supported her interests and hobbies. Whenever she showed the slightest interest in something, they would criticize her.

"But I'm different."

Time and time again, she was left completely battered and bruised.

“Same.” Seeing that the girl not only didn’t cheer up but also compared her family to his, An and Asuka immediately said, “I understand how sad Nanami is.”

"But now is not the time to think about that. What you need to do now is win this championship and show your parents just how amazing their disappointing daughter really is."

"You need to make them look at you with new respect, instead of being bound by their harsh words and remaining stagnant."

"Nanami, you must be brave enough to change yourself and firmly walk your own path, even if no one supports you."

Otherwise, she would remain stagnant like she is today. This is not the ending he wanted to see; this girl deserves a brighter future.

"Of course, no matter what you do, I will always support you."

An and Asuka added that these words ultimately shattered the girl's heart, causing her eyes to well up with tears.

What she had always lacked was someone who would unconditionally support her no matter what she did. And that person was now right in front of her.

"Was it really that touching?"

Seeing the girl's red-rimmed eyes, An and Asuka couldn't help but smile. He released the girl's hand, then reached out and pressed his index fingers to the corners of her mouth, lifting them slightly.

"Alright, now's the time to smile. Don't you usually like to smile?"

"That's because..."

Aoyama Nanami did not struggle, letting the boy press the corner of her mouth.

She wasn't as cheerful as the boy claimed; in fact, when she met him, she always had a long face and couldn't feel any joy.

She could only watch everyone's smiles and listen to their laughter from the sidelines.

But it wasn't until she met him that she truly felt happy. Every day with him was filled with joy, and she even looked forward to going to school more.

"Why?"

"No, it's nothing."

"really?"

"Um......"

"OK then."

An and Asuka seemed to have guessed what the girl was thinking, but they didn't say it directly. Sometimes, you can't just blurt out a girl's little thoughts.

Moreover, he hopes that Nanami can make more friends and experience more happiness.

In order to prevent his partner, whom he had finally managed to calm down, from being overwhelmed by Kuai's emotions again, An and Asuka chose to stay by her side.

He had originally wanted to spend more time with Marina and Shizuka, but now he could only apologize to them after the performance.

When he saw Nanami's parents, he was glad he had made the decision.

The girl's father was a meticulous-looking man with a serious expression and a deep, authoritative voice. Her mother was equally expressionless and spoke in a stern tone, like a homeroom teacher.

"Nanami, this is the last time we'll allow you to act up. After your performance, focus on your studies. Don't get involved in things that have nothing to do with your studies anymore, and don't get too close to bad kids."

Having just watched from a distance as this boy laid hands on his daughter, he had already mentally labeled him a 'bad kid'.

"Bad kids..." An and Asuka raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. Aoyama Nanami also understood the meaning behind her father's words. She bit her lip and then bravely raised her head to look at them.

"Dad, Mom, Fei Niao isn't a bad child."

"What did you say?" The man frowned upon hearing this and questioned, "Are you trying to refute us?"

The elder's imposing presence was unmistakable at this moment, making it hard for the girl to breathe, yet she still stubbornly looked up at her father, refusing to admit defeat.

"Yes, yes, Asuka is not a bad child."

At this moment, the woman beside him said sternly, "Nanami, I don't remember ever teaching you to talk back to your father."

"But Asuka wasn't a bad kid to begin with!"

"Nanami, look at you! You've fallen so low in just half a month! Have you forgotten how I taught you before?"

"..."

The man's sudden change in tone instilled a sense of fear in Aoyama Nanami. Seeing this, An and Asuka decided not to remain silent any longer.

He wanted to encourage the girl to fight back, but this was already her limit.

An and Asuka stood up and blocked Aoyama Nanami's stern gaze.

He greeted them politely, saying, "Hello, uncles and aunts, my name is Anhe Asuka, and I am a friend of Nanami."

"I don't care who you are, but you'd better stay away from our Qi Hai family," the man said in a deep voice.

"Why? Is it because I'm the '600 Million Wonder' you mentioned, Uncle? A bad kid?"

You know what you're doing.

"What if I say I'm not?"

"Hmph, villains all claim to be good people."

"Tsk." No matter what, it's too much to call yourself a villain.

Just as An and Asuka were thinking about how to retaliate, the teachers in charge noticed something was wrong and quickly ran over.

"Mr. Aoyama, what's wrong with you all?"

The man said in a restrained tone, "Mr. Tamura, you really should discipline your students."

Just then, An and Asuka also asked, "Tamura-sensei, do I look bad?"

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Tamura completely ignored the man and chose to answer An and Asuka's questions.

"Then why did Mr. Aoyama call me a villain?" As he spoke, An and Asuka made a sad expression, "and told Nanami not to get too close to me."

"Huh?" Upon hearing this, Mr. Tamura immediately looked at the man and said, "Mr. Aoyama, are you really saying that?"

The man was somewhat taken aback by his words: "Mr. Tamura, that's not what I meant..."

"Mr. Aoyama, no matter how you look at it, what you said is too much."

Mr. Tamura began to educate men, and soon other teachers joined in after hearing about it.

Seeing this, An and Asuka secretly pulled Aoyama Nanami away from the battlefield.

As a junior, he had no opportunity for an equal dialogue with that person. Since that's the case, let the teachers talk to him.

Volume 1: Chapter 30 Secret Technique - Flashback!

"I'm sorry, Asuka, your parents said those things to you."

"What's there to apologize for? I don't care about this kind of thing."

Despite Aoyama Nanami's apology, An and Asuka were completely unconcerned; those words had no effect on them whatsoever.

"But......"

Aoyama Nanami was still very upset that her father had once again belittled her friend without any regard for the facts.

"Alright, stop thinking about it. Come on, I'll take you to scout out the enemy's situation." Seeing that the girl was still sullen, An and Asuka simply took her hand and wandered around the backstage area.

After so many years of competition, he has also made some friends from other schools.

"Uesugi-kun, what's the program your class is going to perform later? I'm just asking, nothing more."

"Sasaki-kun, I see the match is still a long way off. Let me take you out for a walk to clear your head. Don't worry, I guarantee you won't be back on time."

"Takasaka-kun, your performance was great, but it's a pity you ran into me and Nanami. By the way, you probably don't know who Nanami is, right? She's my partner!"

An and Asuka would always try to mingle with each participating group, and their conversations always made others giggle. Of course, he would also always pull the girl next to him to the front to introduce her to everyone.

The students were very friendly and quickly accepted Aoyama Nanami, chatting and laughing. The backstage area was filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

Seeing that it was almost time, An and Asuka said goodbye to everyone and led the girl toward their lead singer.

Give them a reply, and the staff will notify them to prepare to go on stage.

An and Asuka put away their smiles, looked at Aoyama Nanami with encouraging eyes, and then the two smiled at each other and walked onto the stage together.

He usually acts as the MC when performing on stage, but this time he handed the microphone over to Nanami Aoyama, who took full control of the event.

Aoyama Nanami mustered her courage and slowly took a step forward under the gaze of hundreds of eyes. She first glanced at her classroom, where the teachers seemed to be talking to her parents.

She could only see that her parents' expressions were not very good, and she might be subjected to emotional abuse for a while after returning home.

But none of that matters anymore. What matters is that she is now standing on this stage that she has worked so hard to reach, and all she can do is try her best to perform.

Just like the boy said, she was going to win the championship and show them just how amazing this hopeless girl really was.

Thinking of this, Aoyama Nanami took a deep breath and slowly said, "Hey everyone, we are the Blue Bird Duo from Kamishiro Elementary School."

"Mr. Aoyama, Asuka is a very good child."

"Yes, you can't just speak harshly to a child without considering the facts because of your own likes or dislikes."

"Did you know? Since she got together with Asuka, Aoyama has changed a lot. She improved her ranking by several places in the last exam."

"Mr. Aoyama, I want to say that grades aren't everything. Besides, Asuka is the top student in the grade. Doesn't that grade even meet your standards?"

The couple were surrounded by several teachers who were arguing with them, leaving them speechless. The teachers' arguments were quite reasonable and well-founded, and he could tell from their tone how much they liked the boy.

"Mr. Aoyama, please think carefully about whether you were in the wrong today."

After Mr. Tamura finished speaking, the other teachers did not say anything more.

"Mr. Tamura, I..."

Just as the man thought he had found an opportunity to say something, a voice he knew all too well came from the stadium's loudspeakers.

He glanced at the stage instinctively and saw that his daughter was already standing there.

"I feel very lucky to be standing on this stage, and I'm very grateful to the people who brought me here..."

As she spoke, she looked to the side, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Turning back, she saw that he had somehow already sat down at the piano.

He didn't speak, but looked at me with a slight smile in his eyes, pressing down two accented notes on the piano.

To outsiders, the notes sounded meaningless, but she knew they meant "Go for it!"

Unbeknownst to them, they had already developed a deep understanding of each other.

Aoyama Nanami also smiled, then turned to face everyone again and said, "We've experienced a lot of setbacks along the way, because everyone is like a big boss in a game... Ah, I'm not saying everyone is a bad guy, I just think everyone is so amazing."

This terrible description made the audience below the stage laugh, and no one cared about this small mistake.

"And after each competition, we were very scared, afraid that this journey would come to an end, whether it was me or Mr. Matsutsuki... Ah, Mr. Matsutsuki is our mentor."

Upon hearing this, Matsue Sakura, who was sitting in the audience, couldn't help but facepalm.

"But in the end we still made it here, even though we only sang three songs from beginning to end, which can't compare to everyone's versatility."

"But we will not give up. Asuka said that we must win the championship."

"The song we're going to perform next is called 'Hotaru no Hikari' (The Light of Fireflies)."

As Aoyama Nanami spoke, she bowed deeply to the audience, which made Matsutsuki Sakura and the other teachers widen their eyes.

The Light of Fireflies... Wait, that's not the name of the song they used when they signed up.