Chapter 133 Kyoto! Kyoto! (1)
Thursday, September 28th.
Kyoto, Kitauji High School, music classroom.
"Here, the trombone and trumpet are a bit in conflict. We need to pay attention to the overall balance and lower the volume a little bit, otherwise it will be too noisy."
"yes."
"Trombone and trumpet come on their own."
"yes."
While the trombone and trumpet were playing, Kumiko, who was playing the euphonium, was slightly distracted.
The concert in the station building was getting closer and closer, and there was a small calendar with two circles on the date drawn on the music score.
The central hall of the Kyoto Station building, sandwiched between the east and west sides, is a very spacious high-ceiling space composed of a building facade with four thousand pieces of glass and a huge eaves.
The large staircase on the west side is the main stage for the concert in the station building.
In addition to them, the organizers also invited Kiyora Girls' High School in Fukuoka Prefecture, Kyushu.
Although it is an all-girls high school, the sound of their performances is very loud. It is a frequent winner in national competitions and is well-known as a strong school for wind instrumental music.
Kumiko's Kitauji High School had once been a great success, but that was a long time ago. It was not until they got a new advisor this year that they set their sights on the national competition again.
Thanks to their hard work and miraculous performance in the Kansai competition, they actually became representatives of Kansai.
In late October, they will travel to Nagoya, along with two other strong historical schools in Kansai, to participate in the national competition.
Every time she thought about this fact, Kumiko's mouth became dry and her heart started beating fast.
Kumiko admitted that luck played a role in getting to this point, but her desire and efforts for the "National Gold" were no less than anyone else's.
Her legs were itchy, so Kumiko placed the euphonium on her knees, pinched the edge of her socks with her fingertips, and pulled them up.
There were several marks where the elastic band originally was.
She gently stroked the red marks and thought to herself: I wonder if a beauty like Lina will be left with marks by socks.
I'll check it out later, and then take the opportunity to pinch her beautiful thighs.
"Then start practicing the next piece."
"Yes!" Kumiko was startled, and after coming to her senses, she quickly opened the music score.
After the ensemble ended and advisor Noboru Taki left, Ogasawara, the head of the wind orchestra, walked up to the podium.
"Let me tell you something. Regarding the station building concert on Sunday, the organizer has added another spot. It's Kamikawa High School in Tokyo. They are also the Kanto representative who entered the national competition . Everyone, please listen carefully to their performance."
Kumiko didn't know much about these things, she only knew about well-known and strong schools like Qingliang Girls' High School.
While eating, she asked Kawashima Midori, who was in charge of the double bass, "Xiao Midori, do you know the school called Kamikawa?"
Luhui looks very cute and looks like a squirrel when he puffs up his cheeks.
She is a fan of wind instruments and has been looking forward to Qingliang Girls' High School, which will also participate in the concert at the station building.
"Of course!" Lu Hui clenched his fists excitedly, "I will not let go of any performance from the schools that enter the national competition!"
"Really?" Ye Yue on the side showed an expression of disbelief.
Kumiko also felt that Midori was too obsessed with wind music, but she admired Midori's courage even more. If it were her, she would not have the courage to listen to performances from other strong schools.
Kumiko subconsciously glanced at Reina who was eating a sandwich nearby, wondering if she would listen.
Reina looked at Kumiko in confusion and handed the sandwich to her: "It's ham, Kumiko, do you want some?"
Although that was not her intention at all, Kumiko took a bite where Reina had taken a bite and mumbled "delicious".
Reina smiled prettily, tucked her hair behind her ears, and continued eating her sandwich.
After Midori and Yeyue finished talking about their "feelings after listening", they finally remembered Kumiko's initial question.
She said: "Kamigawa High School is also a school entering the national competition for the first time, just like us. However, unlike Kitauji, which entered the national competition again after many years, this is the real first time for Kamikawa."
There are some grammatical errors in this sentence, but not everyone can understand what she means.
"Is it because of the change of advisor?" Lina guessed.
Kitauji's original female consultant went on maternity leave, so a new consultant was brought in this year, which is why we have the strength we have today.
Even Reina, who has a very strong trumpet, applied for Kitauji, which is ordinary in all aspects, because she knew in advance that a new consultant was coming.
"That's right!" Lu Hui said excitedly, "Moreover, Shenchuan's new advisor is a first-year student of Shenchuan!"
"Is this true? Are you kidding?!" Ye Yue opened her mouth in surprise.
She is also a first-year student, but she was not even selected for Department A. However, even if she is a third-year student in Department A, she cannot serve as an advisor.
Lina couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure?"
Kumiko could understand how she felt.
Reina wants to become a special person by playing the trumpet. She might be envious when she hears that someone has served as an advisor in the first grade and led the wind orchestra to the national competition for the first time.
"Little Green would never lie!"
Kumiko couldn't help but smile as she saw Luhui's cheeks puff up, "No one doubts Xiaolu, they're just surprised. Tell us the details quickly!"
As expected, Midoriki's attention was diverted and he continued to talk about Kamikawa High School.
With her help, the other three people gradually got to know more about the school.
"In other words, Kamikawa High School is not only full of top students who can be admitted to the Imperial University, but is also the seed team recognized by the judges of this national competition?" Ye Yue seemed to be surprised.
But not only her, even Kumiko and Reina were shocked.
Kumiko looked at Reina with some worry. She had thought that if she could play the trumpet well she would become a special person, but there were people in this world who could play the trumpet well and get into schools that they could not even dream of.
Reina's grades were also excellent, unlike Kumiko who had a headache with math, but she couldn't guarantee that Reina would be able to get into the Imperial University while also studying trumpet.
But as soon as she looked into Reina's eyes, Kumiko knew her worries were unnecessary.
Under her long eyelashes, Reina's eyes exude a gem-like color, and her sparkling eyes are full of fighting spirit.
This is the reaction that one should have if they want to be special, right? Kumiko felt disgusted with herself for being timid.
Reina looked at Kumiko in confusion. Kumiko shook her head gently and pulled up Reina's socks with her hands.
There were also marks on the white legs under the elastic band of the socks.
But even so, Reina is still cute!
When she withdrew her hand, Kumiko blushed and quietly brushed her palm across Reina's soft thighs that were exposed under her school skirt.
Reina didn't notice at all and just smiled and said "thank you".
"Not only that!" Lu Hui even forgot to eat, took a sip of milk, and continued, "Kamikawa's oboe is very, very, very strong!"
Her tone was so exaggerated that everyone had no idea how strong she was.
"Is she better than Senior Mizuo?" Kumiko asked curiously.
Kaizuka Mizuki, her name is strange, but she is the only oboe player in Kitauji and one of the strongest members.
By the way, she's also a very beautiful person, and Kumiko likes her very much.
Speaking of ability, during the summer training, Mizuki was criticized by the instructor invited by counselor Taki. It was not because she played the flute badly, but because she played it too well. So well that the instructor thought that as long as she worked harder, she could surpass the level of a high school student.
Kumiko admires senior sister Mizuo very much and dreams that one day she will be recognized by the teacher like her.
"Senior Sister Ming is very good, Xiaolu admires her very much, but compared to Shenchuan, she is not even close!"
"Is it that powerful?" Ye Yue asked in disbelief.
Unlike Midoriki who can appreciate a strong school with a normal heart, she believes from the bottom of her heart that Kitauji is the best, even though it is definitely not the case.
Lu Hui held his face in his hands. "After listening to Shenchuan's oboe solo, Xiao Lu even thought: This is too cunning. It's too unfair to others for a high school student to have such a level of performance!"
"In this case, Kitauji's chances of winning the gold medal in the national competition will be even smaller, right?" Kumiko subconsciously became uneasy.
Among the participating teams in the national competition, about 30% of the schools can win the gold medal. If there is one more strong school, Kitauji's chance will be reduced.
"If we can't win the gold medal, it only means that we are too weak. It has nothing to do with how strong others are," said Lina.
"That's right." Kumiko looked at Reina who was completely unaffected, and her heart gradually calmed down. She couldn't wait to start practicing.
"I'm really looking forward to it! I can hear performances from two strong schools at once. Xiaolu is really looking forward to this weekend! Come quickly!"
Seeing Lu Hui's expression and movements as if she was looking forward to a spring outing, Kumiko smiled and said, "Lu Hui is so cute."
"Huh? Kumiko is looking down on Xiaolu! I can still grow taller!" Luhui has always been very sensitive about his height of just over 1.4 meters.
"No, I'm talking about your face."
"Then you say I'm like a child!"
"I can't deny that at all."
"Kumiko!"
Under Midori's dissatisfied eyes, Kumiko happily took a bite of the red bean bread, which was far inferior to Reina's sandwich.
"I should buy a sandwich tomorrow. No, the sandwich is not the point. Reina is the point." Kumiko thought to herself.
While I was dealing with math and exercises, the day of the station building concert arrived in the blink of an eye.
Consultant Noboru Taki hired a truck to help transport the instruments, but due to funding issues, the truck's compartment had insufficient capacity and could only carry the heaviest instruments, leaving the euphonium unavailable.
Kumiko had to carry her instrument to the venue by hand and take the train.
Not only her, but everyone in the wind band had to take the tram.
The whole group of them were wearing performance costumes, which made them very conspicuous. Curious glances kept coming their way in the carriage, and Kumiko shrank back a little.
"Are you nervous?" Lina, who was standing nearby, said with a smile.
"Yeah." In fact, Kumiko was more shy than nervous.
"I'm also looking forward to competing with the wind ensemble of the national competition in advance." Rina stroked the surface of the rings quietly with her fingers, already impatient.
"Me too! I really want to play the music for everyone as soon as possible so that they can praise and admire Xiaolu!" Luhui couldn't reach the rings and could only grab Ye Yue's sleeve.
Ye Yue used to be a member of the track and field club. When she went swimming during the holidays, Kumiko saw the solid muscle lines beneath her thin body, and that her petite figure had no effect on her at all.
Kumiko looked at Reina and Midoriki with admiration. They were confident enough in their performance that they were not afraid of the performance at all.
And she herself was still worried about which section of the music score she had not practiced well.
The four of them chatted for a while, and the train soon arrived at Kyoto Station. They mixed in the crowd rushing to the platform and got off the car.
The truck carrying the musical instruments had arrived earlier, and they rushed over to help carry the instruments.
"This instrument is too heavy!" Ye Yue took the tuba off the truck and complained while panting.
Kumiko nodded in agreement.
Not only the tuba, but also the euphonium is fine if you don't hold it for too long, you won't feel it's heavy, but if you hold it for a long time, it will hurt like hell.
"Keep working hard today too, George!" Luhui said happily on the side.
George is the name Luhui gave to his musical instrument.
"By the way, there are so many audiences that the stairs are packed with people!" After comforting the instruments, Luhui looked around the entire station and said excitedly.
Reina doesn't like to talk, and Yeyue is dealing with a very heavy instrument, so Kumiko has to take over the topic.
Just as she was about to continue what Lu Hui was saying, a familiar voice came from a distance.
"Kumiko!"
The girl who ran over was wearing the uniform of Rikka High School. She was Azusa, Kumiko's junior high school classmate.
When Azusa was in junior high school, she was a member of the wind orchestra club together with Kumiko. Later, she was admitted to Ritsuka High School, a strong school for wind instruments. However, Ritsuka High School only won the silver medal in the Kansai competition this year.
"Azusa, long time no see. By the way, is Rikka going to play today too?"
"Yes! Tachika, Kiyora Girls' High School, Kitauji. Mm, what a luxurious lineup!"
"That's not all." Kumiko said in a mischievous tone, "Today we also have a guest from Tokyo. I heard he's very strong and is a seeded player recognized by the judges."
Except for Ritsuka High School, the other three schools that participated in the station building concert all advanced to the national competition.
Kumiko, who had been nervous for several days because of being scared by Kiyora Girls' High School and Kamikawa, wanted to see what kind of expression Azusa would have.
"Really? I'm so looking forward to it!" Zi laughed happily.
"Okay." Kumiko sighed helplessly.
Lina was standing aside, laughing at the joke.
Kumiko took her hand and squeezed it hard, trying to hurt her.
As a result, Lina smiled again as if she had seen through her conspiracy: "I told you, I don't hate pain."
"Reina is really erotic."
Reina, in turn, squeezed Kumiko's hand tightly.
"It hurts!" Kumiko screamed exaggeratedly.
"You two are so close." Azusa remembered that Kumiko and Reina didn't have much contact with each other in junior high school.
"Yeah." Kumiko felt Reina's soft touch and nodded happily, "Reina and I..."
"Ah! Shenchuan is here!" Luhui interrupted her.
Everyone looked in the direction that Luhui pointed and saw the imposing trucks and luxurious buses slowing down and stopping.
Both cars had abstract paintings of crows that looked cold and powerful printed on them, and the words "Tokyo Metropolitan Kamikawa High School" written in Chinese characters.
"It's actually a school bus. Tokyo High School is really rich." Kumiko exclaimed.
"Kumiko!" Lu Hui said dissatisfiedly, "That's not the point!"
Reina looked at Kumiko and also showed a helpless expression.
"Oh, sorry." Kumiko realized that she had said what was in her heart.
After the car stopped, the bus door slowly opened.
Kumiko sighed again, it was indeed a luxury car, even the sound of the door opening was different. The bus they rented for the competition was nothing like this.
After the car door was fully opened, a beautiful girl wearing a Kamikawa school uniform and with her back straight walked down.
The girl crossed her arms, her long hair fluttering as she walked. Noticing the noisy environment around her, she frowned slightly on her pretty face.
Everyone at the station held their breath, it was so beautiful.
Kumiko looked at Reina. Fortunately, although her face was a little worse, her breasts were the winner!
Reina turned her head to look at Kumiko who was looking at her and gave her a puzzled look.
Kumiko pretended not to see it and asked Luhui, whose eyes were wide open: "Xiaolu, do you know what instrument she plays?"
"Xiaolu was listening to MP3, so I don't know what he looks like." Luhui said with regret.
"I see." Kumiko nodded.
"Ah——" Ye Yue suddenly wailed, "Why would there be such a person!"
"What's wrong?" Zi from other schools was not familiar with Ye Yue and was shocked by her reaction.
Ye Yue said dejectedly: "Look, others are pretty, have high playing skills, and have good academic performance. This kind of person is too disgusting."
"...Xiaolu really has nothing to say to you, Yeyue."
"Eh? Am I the only one who thinks so?"
The others said nothing and just looked at her in silence.
"I am indeed too dark." Ye Yue fell into self-condemnation.
It’s not that Kumiko can’t understand her thoughts, but she just suffered a loss, so she wouldn’t say what’s on her mind so quickly.
She silently looked at the beautiful girl who had caused a sensation just now. She was talking to an equally beautiful young female teacher.
After the two of them, people from Kamikawa High School got off the bus one after another.
Fortunately, not all of them are as beautiful as that girl and the female teacher, but for some reason, maybe because of Luhui’s popular science, Kumiko always feels that each of them looks very smart.
Is this the pressure of deviation value? It always feels more suffocating than wind music!
"Let's clean up quickly too," said Lina.
"Yeah, okay."
"Little Green really wants to know what Kamikawa's advisor and oboe look like!"
“Won’t you know when you play it?” Lina said.
"But Xiaolu wants to know it sooner!"
Reina couldn't understand Midoriki's thoughts at all. To her, Midoriki was more of a 'friend of Kumiko' than her friend.
When several people were preparing to take action, the station became noisy again, and this time there were many girls screaming.
They subconsciously looked towards the luxury bus of Kamikawa High School, and sure enough, the source of the sensation was there.
A handsome boy wearing headphones got off the bus while playing games on his mobile phone.
It seemed like a dream or reality, and Kumiko even wondered if she was too nervous to sleep well last night. Otherwise, how could a boy who made her heart beat so fast appear?
The new consultant Taki Noboru is also a delicate and handsome guy, but Kumiko has no feelings for him at all. She prefers Reina and the beautiful seniors, but the boy in front of her is just too handsome!
"So handsome!" Ye Yue couldn't help but exclaim.
"Yeah!" Luhui nodded vigorously.
On one side, although Zi didn't show it very obviously, his eyes were always looking over there.
Kumiko subconsciously looked at Reina, and when she saw that she had no special reaction, she felt relieved, but then she became curious again.
She whispered, "Don't you think he's handsome, Lina?"
Lina tucked her hair behind her ears and said calmly, "Compared to appearance, I think strong men are more attractive."
After saying that, she looked at Kumiko and teased, "Is Kumiko moved?"
"No." Kumiko denied, "So you like Mr. Takisho because of his ability, Reina. I thought it was because he was handsome."
"Am I that superficial?" Lina said with a wry smile.
Kumiko smiled triumphantly and looked at the beautiful boy again.
The other party seemed to be being lectured by the beautiful girl just now. He reluctantly took off the earphones from his ears, rolled up his sleeves and went to move the musical instrument.
Even though Ye Yue is very strong, he feels that the heavy euphonium seems to have no weight in his hands, even though he is a very thin boy.
Kumiko once again lamented the physical disparity between men and women.
"I don't know what instrument he plays." Kumiko said what was in her mind subconsciously.
"It looks like you'll be very cool playing percussion instruments!" Ye Yue said in an affirmative tone.
"Little Green hopes it's the oboe!"
"I say, how outstanding do you want others to be?" Ye Yue said in astonishment, "He's handsome, has good grades, and plays the oboe so well that even Xiaolu admires him. He's too perfect!"
"You clearly used the word 'disgusting' when you were referring to girls just now," Kumiko pointed out.
"Eh? That's impossible? How could I say something like that! Kumiko, you must have heard it wrong, hahaha!"
The other four people looked at Ye Yue pretending to be stupid and laughed at the same time.
…
[Temporary event: Game time: September 27, 21:08, three days later, players will go to Kyoto Prefecture. ]
[Activity content: Get the autograph of idol Reina. No threats, deception, tearing names off homework books, etc. are allowed. As a pure fan. 】
[Activity time: before returning from Kyoto Prefecture]
[Activity Reward: Free skill purchase permission once in October]
