svetikya Page 136
Page 136
Nagase Tsukiyo unconsciously stopped washing herself, and as soon as she realized the subtlety of the situation, she immediately said:
"No, that's not what I meant. Yu Shou is doing a great job as the band's principal player."
"It's okay, as long as it's good for the brass band and Mr. Kitahara, I'll do it."
Rain Guardian kept wiping the mouthpiece with a handkerchief, rubbing it even after it was dry, as if trying to relieve his inner anxiety.
What does it mean to be good to Kitahara-sensei?
Before Nagase Tsukiyo could speak, Kanzaki Eri, who was beside her, spoke up first.
Amidst the cacophony of shouts from the sports club members, constantly reaching Yu Shou's ears, the girl calmly said:
"I'd give up the positions of section leader and orchestra principal if it could help Kitahara-sensei."
"No need, I think maintaining the status quo is already quite good."
Nagase Tsukiyo said with a smile, as the wind blew in from the window, causing her brown skirt to flutter in the air.
"I don't care about being the chief or anything like that."
"Really?" Yu Shou's sharp gaze shot over, as if scrutinizing her heart.
Nagase Tsukiyo was speechless for a moment, her lips moving meaninglessly like a carp searching for food.
"Of course it's true," she replied after a long pause.
Rain Guard wrapped the trumpet's mouthpiece and put it in her skirt pocket, saying casually:
"Because you kept staring at Kitahara-sensei, I thought you wanted to do well so he would praise you."
The soft, gentle question caused Nagase Tsukiyo's pupils to shrink to the size of sweet kernels, and her glossy lips uttered words tinged with warmth and moisture:
"Hmm... I didn't think that way. After all, it's normal to look at your instructor when you're playing."
Kanzaki Eri looked at Nagase Tsukiyo, who seemed a little flustered; her earlobes were bright red.
Yu Shou's gaze lingered on her increasingly flushed face as he spoke:
"If you want the top position, just come and tell me."
She turned and left after she finished speaking.
Chang Shuyue turned off the tap tightly, breathing heavily as she said:
"Unbelievable! What's wrong with her? What do you mean she'd do anything nice for Kitahara-sensei?"
Kanzaki Eri turned her gaze away and watched as the clear water flowed continuously into the circular drain.
"Never mind, Eri, let's go to the fireworks festival together tomorrow?" Nagase Tsukiyo put the mouthpiece of the horn into her pocket.
"No," Kanzaki Eri said expressionlessly.
A look of surprise flashed across Nagase Tsukiyo's face:
"Huh? Why?"
Eri Kanzaki was silent for a moment, then raised her hand to smooth her sideburns, slightly tucked her chin in, and said:
"I want to be with Kitahara-sensei."
The unexpected answer left Nagase Tsukiyo somewhat bewildered:
"Aren't you going to be with me and Qingniao?"
Eri Kanzaki's eyes were very calm, and her cute face looked completely innocent.
"I do not want."
Chapter 128, Section 127: The Hong Kong Festival, Everyone Has Their Own Feelings (4K)
The next day was another day of intensive practice. Two banners were already hanging on the wall of the club building: "Celebrating the Hakodate Regional Tournament Victory of the Brass Band" and "Wishing the Brass Band Further Progress in the National Tournament".
It's summer vacation now, so apart from people involved in club activities, there's not much else to see.
Kitahara Hakuba received the official performance recording this morning and immediately played it in the First Music Classroom.
Everyone listened intently to the ensemble playing from the speakers.
Kitahara Hakuba's hand hovered over the "pause" button. After understanding the problem, he pressed it again and began his explanation.
"The coordination here is not good. The ratio of brass to woodwind is 1:1. I know you may be worried that the sound is too loud and overwhelming, but you are too timid. Don't do that."
"Although rhythm is very important, blindly blowing will only backfire; the transition between the brass and clarinet should be natural."
"Here, Kuno-kun, you still need to pay attention to your trumpet. Can you hear it? The crescendo in the second half of the note is fine if the volume is loud, but your high notes are having that old problem again. They're not clean and a bit unpleasant."
Pause, start, explain, and repeat.
Kitahara Hakuba deliberately selected solo excerpts from two competition pieces, and almost everyone had some problems, but they seemed insignificant on the small stage of the Hakodate Regional Tournament.
It's no lie to say that it's all thanks to the contrast with its competitors.
However, the national tournament is different. Only the strongest schools can represent Hokkaido at the national level. The judges will not overlook any flaws. As for the members, if they were to judge for themselves how well they were praised at the time, they would only say "Great!"
But now that Kitahara Hakuba has pointed out each of them and explained them one by one, you can indeed hear many flaws, and everyone's expression is not very pleasant.
Even the usually confident Kuno Tachibana shrugged his shoulders after being told that.
"Take a 15-minute break, then continue. Also, remember to stay hydrated."
"Yes!"
As Kitahara Hakuba finished speaking, the club members in the classroom relaxed, and many of them couldn't wait to run outside to get some fresh air.
Because apart from some new members who are still learning music theory, all eighty-plus people were crammed into the first music classroom for a "debriefing".
The A-section already had a fairly crowded 50-odd people, and with more than 80 people, it was like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
For the Rain Guardian, this was a disaster-level environment.
Because her legs are very long, her knees often touch the music stand in front of her, so she can only place her legs together and to the side.
But this makes the posture incorrect when playing the trumpet.
"You can move the music stand a little closer to me, it's fine," Nagase Tsukiyo said gently.
Yu Shou remained silent for a moment, his gaze falling on the small, golden trumpet in her arms.
Nagase Tsukiyo's soft voice was like that of a patient and encouraging teacher:
"If you can't unleash your full potential because of poor posture, it wouldn't be a good thing for either you or Kitahara-sensei, would it?" This hit the nail on the head.
It's fine if Amamiya feels a little uncomfortable, but if her playing affects Kitahara-sensei, she really can't accept it.
"Thank you."
"It's alright." Nagase Tsukiyo adjusted her music stand to a slant to make sure it wouldn't affect the one next to hers, and then moved Amemori's music stand over.
Rain Guard asked, "Are you alright?"
“My eyesight is very good.” Nagase Tsukiyo raised her finger and pointed to her eyes.
"Nase-senpai is unexpectedly good?" Kuno Tachibana said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
Nagase Tsukiyo couldn't help but show a puzzled expression:
"What does it mean?"
"No, I just feel that you are very caring. Were you like this before you left the club?" Kuno Tachibana asked with a smile.
Nagase Tsukiyo's gaze quickly swept over the junior girl: short black hair, a cute face, and thighs beneath her pleated skirt.
Slender calves, black calf stockings...
Her slightly rosy knees were about a fist's distance from the music stand in front of her.
No matter how you look at it, she's a very cute girl, but there's always something strange about the way she talks.
"I feel like I haven't changed much," Nagase Tsukiyo said. "Are you the same type as Saito-senpai?"
Kuno Tachibana, trying to cover up the truth, said in a half-joking tone, "I just heard that Nagase-senpai and Saito-senpai are very close, and to be honest, I was a little shocked."
The girl's face was reflected in Nagase Tsukiyo's dark eyes. She knew that Saito Harutori and Kuno Tachibana were not getting along within the club.
Perhaps they were afraid she would stand up for someone else.
“I wasn’t thinking about anything else, I was just focused on getting into the national championships.” Nagase Tsukiyo tried her best to express goodwill.
Kuno Tachibana hesitated for a moment, then could only nod in agreement: "Great."
"Why are you three still here? Aren't you going to rest?"
Looking up, they saw Kitahara Hakuba sitting on the piano bench, watching them.
"Sorry, I'll be leaving now." Yu Shou thought he had disturbed his rest, so he quickly stood up.
Kitahara Hakuba hadn't expected the Rain Guardian to react so strongly, and quickly raised his hand, saying:
"It's alright, you can stay if you want."
These words reassured her, and she sat back down in her original seat.
"What are Kitahara-sensei's plans for tonight?" Kuno Tachika asked.
Kitahara Hakuba pondered for a moment. Today was the port festival, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would be going out with Shinomiya Haruka; they had already made plans.
“Let’s go check out the port festival,” he said.
"Why don't we go together? It'll be more fun with more people!"
Kuno Tachibana's bold invitation made the two senior colleagues beside him widen their eyes.
Kitahara Hakuba was actually willing, but he didn't know if Haruka would be willing.
Seeing him lost in thought, Kuno Tachibana acted like a little devil luring people into a gray area:
"There are so many beautiful girls wearing pretty kimonos, Kitahara-sensei, aren't you planning to come?"
“I’m not really interested in these things,” Kitahara Hakuba said bluntly, shaking his head.
That's fake. No matter how old he is, he's always interested in pretty girls. That's the most persistent goal for guys.
The problem is, as someone who already has a girlfriend, he's really hesitant.
"Me, Miya, Yu, and Mai will all be going. We beautiful girls are really worried about not having any boys around." Kuno Tachibana sighed, feigning sorrow.
Yu Shou raised his eyebrows and glared at her: