I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 23

Her shirt was open at the chest, revealing the black lace trim and her snow-white breasts. A tingling sensation shot from her lower body to her back, causing Kitahara Hakuma to quickly turn his head away.

"Hmm... there's dedicated software for this, it's quite convenient. Why don't you bring a chair over and sit down?"

Shinomiya Haruka nodded, carried over a steel pipe chair and sat down next to Kitahara Hakuba, her legs in black stockings pressed together, and asked, "How many people play the woodwind instrument?"

"One."

"Oh my—" she said in surprise, "So confident?"

"Ah."

Kitahara Hakuba knew that when she said "so confident," she wasn't referring to him, but to Watanabe Hama.

“Let’s listen to the original song first.” Shinomiya Haruka took it upon herself to extend her finger and move it across the laptop’s touchpad.

"Will you change it with me?"

"Otherwise what? If I just sit here doing nothing, it'll only make you have all sorts of wild thoughts, won't it?"

"Yes."

"Don't say things like that with such a serious face," when Shinomiya Haruka gets serious, she doesn't allow any jokes at all.

She played the wind instrument version of the piece by Winds Score. It was rhythmic and simple, yet infectious, with the main melody repeated many times, making the song easier to remember.

It lasted about four minutes, and I finished listening to it very quickly.

“The trumpet and saxophone sounds are particularly outstanding,” Shinomiya said, resting his chin on his hand. “It’s a really robust piece.”

"Hmm, the trumpet shouldn't be a problem. The important thing is how to modify the bass brass part." Kitahara Hakuba unfolded the original score on the screen.

Nagase Tsukiyo has already left the club, and he wants Kuno Tachibana, who has been in the club for a year, to be the 1st in the trumpet team.

Although he hadn't discussed it with Minister Yukawa and others yet, as the advisor teacher of the brass band, he had every right to make his own decisions.

"It's too tiring to revise the score by myself, let's do it together."

As she spoke, Shinomiya Haruka leaned closer, her lightly made-up profile gently pressing against Kitahara Hakuba's shoulder.

He glanced to the side out of the corner of his eye, but she seemed completely oblivious, her gaze fixed on the computer screen.

Kitahara Hakuba swallowed hard, his right arm suddenly feeling very heavy.

◇

"Did you see that? The woman walking with Kitahara-sensei?"

"They're dressed up so beautifully! What's their relationship? Are they boyfriend and girlfriend?"

During the second break, many female students gathered together to gossip about the mysterious woman next to Kitahara Hakuba.

If it were an ordinary male teacher, they wouldn't care, but Kitahara Hakuba was famously handsome at school and taught music, an extremely refined subject, which made many girls secretly regard him as a god-like figure.

Every time she heard the gossip around her, tinged with suspicion, a burning sensation would rise in Yuka Isomoto's mind, making her feel lightheaded.

She took out the pineapple bun she bought last night from the drawer, unsealed it, and took a bite to replenish her sugar intake.

"Yuka, what's wrong? I heard from Kitahara-sensei that something happened to you yesterday, and I was so worried about you."

Just then, a hurried sound reached her ears.

Yuka Isomoto looked up and her eyes met the newcomer's. She saw Harutori Saito standing beside her desk, her pretty face filled with concern.

She was as beautiful as ever, with a slender waist, full breasts, and even the outline of her hips covered by her skirt was beautiful.

“Sunny Bird…” She swallowed the pineapple bun in her mouth, and you could vaguely see her neck slowly moving.

"What's wrong? Did you really go to see Kitahara-sensei yesterday?" Saito Harutori asked.

Perhaps due to nervousness, Yuka Isomoto's mouth was dry, and the simple word "yes" stuck in her throat, unable to be uttered.

Suddenly, she felt a warm touch on her head.

"But I'm glad to see you're alright. I know you came to practice very early today, right? That's impressive."

The girl's gentle words finally eased the tension in Yuka Isomoto's heart, and she gripped the pineapple bun tightly with her fingers.

"Qingniao, Yueye said she can't come back... and told me not to bother her."

"No, I know Yueye best. As long as you practice hard, she will definitely come back."

Saito Haruki's smiling words tugged at Isomoto Yuka's eardrums.

"After all, we're good friends."

Chapter 27. Sister, you smell so good!

During lunch break today, when Kirishima Mai finished eating and came to the music classroom, she found that most of the students had already arrived.

But Mr. Kitahara was not in the classroom yet.

She sat down in her seat, like a rag doll about to have cotton stuffed into its body, sitting obediently.

Kirishima Mai subconsciously glanced at Kanzaki Eri in the first row. Her knees, beneath her skirt, were almost hitting the black music stand in front of her, and her oboe was polished until it shone brightly.

Even if this year passes, she still won't be her match, Kirishima Mai thought to herself.

"What's your name?"

Someone spoke in her ear, and when she looked to the side, Kuno Tachibana was giving her a confident smile, his thin lips revealing his white teeth.

"Kirishima Mai".

"The top student in that grade? I'm Kuno Tachibana. You can call me Kuno or Tachibana, I don't care."

Kirishima Mai nodded. The seating arrangement was truly peculiar; it just so happened that this person was sitting right next to her.

"You seem to talk very little, why? Are you insecure?" Kuno Tachibana leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at her and said, "You're so pretty, you must have a lot of suitors, right?"

"......"

Kirishima Mai didn't know how to answer. Ultimately, ever since she was old enough to understand things, she had never wanted to socialize.

She hadn't actually stumbled in social situations; she just read a lot of books and watched a lot of movies and simply found socializing incredibly troublesome.

"Although cool and aloof girls are interesting, energetic girls like me are more popular. Yesterday, Kitahara-sensei happily accepted my candy."

Kuno Tachibana's lips curled into a haughty smile as he toyed with a strand of hair on his shoulder and said...

“My mother told me that there is a super powerful engine inside the human body. Once it is started, it can drive the person forward with strong momentum. I was lucky and pressed the button early on.”

Kirishima Mai frowned in confusion. She was not good at dealing with people like Kuno Tachibana, who was too overly familiar.

As for the engine she mentioned, Kirishima Mai had no idea where the button was located on her body.

“Whoa, here it comes,” Kuno Tachibana said.

Kirishima Mai turned her head and looked around, only to see Yukawa Sakurako and Saito Haruka coming in through the door.

However, the two did not say much to the others, but simply sat back down in their seats.

Mai Kirishima quickly found out why—

"Quiet down, everyone. I have a few things to announce so as not to waste too much of your practice time."

The clear sound coming from the doorway interrupted the noise inside the classroom.

Kitahara Hakuba appeared in the music classroom, but unlike his usual clean-cut appearance, there was a stain on his cuff, as if he had gotten it while eating lunch.

Even after thorough washing, stains still remain on the pristine white shirt.

"Hello, Kitahara-sensei—" Sakurako Kawa led the greeting, and the club members followed suit.

"Hello everyone."

Kitahara Hakuba smiled slightly and gestured for everyone to sit down.

"There's something I want to talk to you all about today. I feel the current training schedule is tight. According to the school's requirements, club activities need to be suspended the week before the midterm exams, and the wind band is no exception. So I've hired a professional teacher to help with the bass section and marching section to speed things up—"

He looked toward the door as he spoke.

"Miss Shinomiya, please say hello to everyone."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the members turned their gazes to the woman standing at the door.

She was tall and slender, with long legs in black stockings beneath her skirt. She was the one who had a "rumored affair" with Kitahara Hakuma at school.

"Hi everyone, wow, there are so many beautiful girls here, I feel like it will be easy for us to chat."

As if treating a kindergarten child, Shinomiya Haruka raised her hands and waved them, then walked briskly to Kitahara Hakuba's side.

The two looked like a couple standing together, causing some female students who secretly admired Kitahara Hakuma to have their eyes light up.

"May I ask what the relationship is between Shinomiya-senpai and Kitahara-sensei?" Kuno Tachibana suddenly asked with a laugh. "Are they a couple?"

"Eh? What exactly is my relationship with Kitahara-sensei?" Shinomiya Haruka raised her left eyebrow and gave Kitahara Hakuba a mischievous smile.

Kitahara Hakuba cleared his throat, ignoring her and saying directly:

"Everyone, I can vouch for Ms. Shinomiya's abilities, Vice-Captain Saito."

“Yes,” Saito Harutori replied.

"We hope you will cooperate fully."

"It should."

Saito Haruka flashed a charming smile; her face always gave off a gentle and approachable impression.

"Oh my, what adorable girls! Kitahara, please don't lay a hand on them!" Shinomiya Haruka said with a smile.

Her words were meant as a joke, but they made some of the girls below blush.

"Please, I'm begging you, don't say such pointless things in front of the students," Kitahara Hakuba said in a low voice.

Shinomiya Haruka smiled happily and continued:

"That's all for the jokes. I'll be instructing you before the music festival, including marching band instruction. I'm quite the joker, but I'm very serious when it comes to work. I prefer Spartan-style education for learning because that's the fastest way to progress."

Regarding attendance, I will be at school twice a weekday and for the whole day on weekends. Those in the bass section should be prepared to be checked on at any time, and I will directly abandon anyone who shows no improvement.

As soon as Shinomiya Haruka arrived, he issued a warning, making the club members feel that he was even more stern than Kitahara Hakuba.

At least Kitahara Hakuba never said that one should give up without making any progress.

"Alright, now each voice part can start practicing according to the practice schedule I distributed yesterday. Move around, Yukawa, Saito, and Kuno-kun, the three of you stay here."

Soon, only five people remained in the classroom.