I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 366

He smiled slightly and left the coffee shop.

Sitting in her seat, Kumiko Oumae's gaze passed through the shop window as she watched him wait at the traffic light at the crossroads.

He only had to stand there to attract the attention of many women; high school girls kept turning their heads to look back, seemingly talking non-stop.

"Is it him?"

"It looks like him!"

"He's even more handsome in person than in photos!"

The above is just my imagination.

"What a handsome guy," Kumiko Oumae murmured to herself, gazing at his delicate and handsome profile.

She gradually understood how the girls in Kitauji's brass band were fans of him. She was afraid that the girls in Shin-Asahi's brass band were even more devoted, perhaps even more so than Taki-sensei.

Return to the hotel.

Chapter 276, Section 275: The National Tournament! The Final Practice! (6K) >>

Kitahara Hakuba saw the girls still eating breakfast in the cafeteria.

The members of Team B don't need to get up this early; for them, it's more like a vacation, to experience the atmosphere of the competition.

He didn't plan to go in and chat with them; he went straight to the concert hall.

Last night, when the instruments were being moved, Sakurako Yukawa arranged for the club members to bring in all the percussion instruments, and even the chairs were arranged to resemble those used in an ensemble performance.

Once they arrive, all we need to do is set up the sheet music, and we can start practicing.

Inside the concert hall, the walls are inlaid with dark wood paneling, the surface of which is carved with delicate patterns, complementing the soft sound-absorbing fabric blankets.

The renovation is quite impressive.

A young girl was already seated inside the concert hall.

Through his daily interactions with the wind instrument girls, Kitahara Hakuba has learned to recognize someone simply by looking at their body, without needing to see their face.

His eyes were like a measuring tape for a young girl's body.

Her legs, exuding a pure and captivating charm, were delicate and white, with smooth and beautiful lines from thighs to calves, as tender as spring lotus roots.

Beautiful legs are common, but legs like Nagase Tsukiyo's, which are flawless, are a source of motivation for people going to work in Kitahara Hakuba and a treasure in Hokkaido.

The weather in Utsunomiya was hotter than in Hakodate, and Nagase Tsukiyo was wearing a plaid skirt that looked very smooth.

The white socks covering her ankles were also different from usual; they had white socks with lace trim, like those worn by Lolita fashion enthusiasts.

These socks would look great with little leather shoes, because he remembered that Eri had also worn white lace socks like these, which were really small and cute.

While Kitahara Hakuba was muttering to himself, Nagase Tsukiyo finally noticed him, stood up, and bowed:

Good morning, Kitahara-sensei.

"Up so early?" Kitahara Hakuba smiled at her and walked to the front of the stage.

Nagase Tsukiyo brushed the strands of hair behind her ears, her fair skin tinged with a faint blush:

"I didn't sleep very well last night."

"What happened?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

Nagase Tsukiyo's heart trembled slightly; she loved the feeling that Kitahara-sensei could read her emotions.

It was as if their hearts were already tightly connected by some invisible bond, and she only needed to gently nudge it for Mr. Kitahara to receive her message.

Since that's the case, it's okay to say anything to him, right?

“Yesterday, Haruno, Eri, and I made up.” Nagase Tsukiyo stood there, her charming legs straight and ramrod straight.

Kitahara Hakuba's lips parted slightly, then he revealed a radiant smile and said:

"Really? That's good. It's really not easy."

Nagase Tsukiyo grasped his wrist with one hand, her expression gentle, and said:

"Well, actually resolving the conflict is quite simple, but taking action requires immense courage."

Kitahara Hakuba nodded:

"From now on at Dongyin University, the three of you will still need to take good care of each other."

“Yes.” Nagase Tsukiyo nodded. Even if he hadn’t said it, he was already planning to do it.

Kitahara Hakuba sat in a chair, looked at her, and said:

"Actually, there's something I've always been curious about."

"What?" Nagase Tsukiyo asked.

"After graduating from junior high school, you could have gone to a better school for the brass band, such as Donghai High School, so why did you choose to stay at Shinshu?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

Nagase Tsukiyo's eyes narrowed slightly as she recalled fleeting glimpses of the past, her nimble, slender fingers moving back and forth.

"I think you, Kitahara-sensei, can understand this feeling—the feeling that as long as you can be with your friends..."

No matter how bad the school's brass band is, as long as everyone's strength is united, we can move forward without hesitation.

Kitahara Hakuba raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded in agreement.

Nagase Tsukiyo was surprised by the gentleness of her own voice, and Kitahara-sensei in front of her seemed equally surprised.

But she had no way to smooth things over or take back what she had said, so she could only lower her eyes and pretend nothing had happened.

The girl's eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she sat shyly in her seat, her fingertips pressing the trumpet keys incessantly.

She felt ashamed and embarrassed by herself.

However, she couldn't resolve this inner conflict. Her infatuation with Kitahara-sensei made her question all the good qualities she had accumulated so far.

Nagase Tsukiyo cautiously raised her eyes, only to find that his gaze drifted away the instant they met.

Is he shy too?

Nagase Tsukiyo felt somewhat narcissistic and ashamed of thinking this way, but she did feel good about it.

Compared to Haruno and Eri, she is no worse.

"I am also very happy to meet you and everyone in the Shenxu Brass Band. Everyone is indispensable to me."

Kitahara Hakuba finally spoke, using the same evasive excuse as always.

Nagase Tsukiyo felt like a long time had passed, but when she came to her senses, she realized that only five seconds had gone by.

Within those five seconds, a complex and ambiguous entanglement between him and her stirred in her mind.

That's so embarrassing.

and also

“You said before that it didn’t matter if the brass band was missing anyone.” Nagase Tsukiyo caught the loophole in his words, her tone sounding like a complaint.

Because she had been told that before, she had held a grudge in her heart for a long time.

Kitahara Hakuba finally broke into a genuine smile:

"That was my judgment from the perspective of a mentor and based on the overall strength of the brass section. As for me, having spent so much time with you all, it would be a lie to say that I could easily abandon you."

Nagase Tsukiyo pouted slightly, wanting to act cute towards him for some reason, but reason prevailed in an instant, stopping her from this childish act.

"Teacher Kitahara is truly a good teacher." She smiled, her soft, supple cherry lips pursed.

At that moment, the voices of many students could be heard from outside the door.

"Kana, hurry up!"

The first person to rush in was Takahashi Kami, a second-year student. She usually wears a ponytail, but today she let it down.

Following her in was Kana Eto, who was still eating. She was dressed casually, with a large Adidas logo on her chest.

Upon seeing other people in the concert hall, Takahashi Kami sighed and said:

"So I wasn't number one after all."

Kana Eto swallowed the croquette she had been chewing for a long time:

"First place isn't important, is it?"

"It is said that the first person to arrive will be praised by Kitahara-sensei."

Kami Takahashi walked forward with a smile, sat down in her seat, and said...

"Did Nagase-senpai receive praise from Kitahara-sensei?"

"Praise?" Nagase Tsukiyo paused for a moment, then smiled serenely, "It doesn't seem like there is."

Kitahara Hakuba had no idea where this rumor had come from.

"I think that when Kitahara-sensei said that the first person to practice would be praised, everyone's enthusiasm would be even higher!"

"Kami Takahashi suggested."

But the nature of things has changed, Kitahara Hakuba thought.

“We’ve already reached the national tournament, isn’t this completely unnecessary?” Kana Eto said.

"This is this year's national conference, and there's next year's, and for the younger students, there's the year after that."

"Okay, it seems so."

"

"Teacher Kitahara? What do you mean?"

"Let's focus on practicing."

Kitahara Hakuba casually flipped open the score, and Nagase Tsukiyo, sitting in his seat, observed his expression, a vague sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Soon after, the members entered the concert hall one after another with their instruments.

Unlike the girls in uniforms yesterday, they were all wearing casual clothes today, in all sorts of colors, looking very relaxed.

Kuno Tachibana sat down, placed the sheet music on the music stand, glanced down, and raised an eyebrow curiously:

"Nase-senpai, did you get new socks?"

"Hmm?" Nagase Tsukiyo subconsciously closed her legs, staring at the white socks with lace trim. "Yes, isn't it pretty?"