"……stop."
Qingye Rin clenched her hands in the air, and the grand ensemble sound in the music classroom suddenly became silent.
She flipped through the music sheet expressionlessly.
"Balcon, the secondary melody starting at bar 41 will be played solo by Mingri."
"Also, clarinet, I've already told you to be lighter here, can you do that next time?"
"Kitahara, did you really practice yesterday? Please practice until you can do it."
“…”
"Take a ten-minute break, and practice each part separately."
Qingye Rin announced the disbandment, picked up the documents on the table, turned around and prepared to return to the activity classroom of the Human Observation Department.
"Kiyono-san." Hayami Kaoru called out to her.
"What's the matter, Hayami-san?" Qingye Rin stopped and stood there waiting for the other person to come over.
"Watanabe-san didn't come to the club today. Do you know what happened?"
"He asked for leave for the monthly test in July."
"Kiyono-san, do you agree?" Hayami Kaoru asked in surprise, then said to himself, "Yes, Watanabe-san is a novice and doesn't need to play."
Monthly tests are minor tests, and the school does not have a rule to stop club activities one week in advance.
But even if there is a rule that requires them to stop, clubs like the wind orchestra that are about to participate in competitions during the summer vacation will secretly practice on their own, and it is impossible for them to take the initiative to ask for leave.
Toru Watanabe was an exception. He was a novice in playing the oboe, which is notoriously difficult to play in orchestral instruments. It was impossible for him to play a complete score before the Tokyo Metropolitan Competition.
"Is there anything else?" Qingno Rin reminded Hayami Kaoru who was distracted.
At this time, discussions were already being heard in the music classroom without any reservation.
"You're so arrogant. You really think you're a consultant."
"The counselor didn't criticize us like that."
"I played very well, but there was no praise."
"I don't want to be praised by first years! That's disgusting!"
The whispers that came one after another were all directed at the calm-looking Kiyono Rin.
Hayami Kaoru looked very apologetic, as she was the one who stopped Kiyono Rin and let her hear the criticism from the other members.
"I'm sorry, Kiyono-san..."
Qing Ye Lin shook her head nonchalantly: "It's okay, I'm leaving first. Please practice well. See you soon, classmate."
As she closed the sliding door, she glanced at Ikki Aoi who was being comforted by the bass section, while Asuka Mai was continuing her practice with an expressionless face.
Time passed in agony until the last day of June.
Lunch break, Class 4 classroom.
"Watanabe, how did you do on the test this time?"
“It felt like there was no place left to score points.”
"...What an arrogant statement!"
The trio sat in the corner of the classroom, pushing their tables together to eat lunch.
"Tomorrow we have a three-day holiday. Where are you going to go?" Saito Keisuke said.
"No, no!" Kunii Osamu kept pulling up the collar of his school uniform to let the wind in while eating his meal in big gulps, "The baseball team is going to have training."
"Is that so? That can't be helped. How about you, Watanabe?" Saito Keisuke looked at Watanabe Toru who had just finished his lunch. "I heard that Kiyono Rin is busy with special training for the wind band. You should be okay, right?"
Kunii Osamu stopped pulling at his collar and said, "Recently, it seems that senior girls dislike Qing Ye Lin. Do you know what's going on?"
"Who knows?" Watanabe Toru said lazily.
After folding the plastic bag of bread, he reached out and picked up the large and discounted plastic bottle of barley tea on the table, unscrewed the cap, and gulped it down his throat.
The distinct Adam's apple on the white neck and the liquid in the plastic bottle, both were shining in the sunlight outside the window.
"You two had a fight?"
"I have no intention of quarreling with anyone except Miki." Toru Watanabe put down the bottle, took out his mobile phone, and played games to pass the time.
"Ah——" Both of them looked terrified.
"You're so cruel to say such sweet words to two of us singles!"
After two classes in the afternoon, the school organized a general cleaning due to the three-day holiday.
Due to Kiyono Rin's mandatory request, the members of the wind band entrusted the cleaning tasks to other classmates and seized every minute to practice.
The spring cleaning is not over yet, but we have already performed together twice.
"……stop."
Qingye Rin's eyes swept across everyone's face.
“If we keep doing this,” she said, “we won’t even win the gold medal in the Tokyo Metropolitan Competition, let alone the Kanto Competition and the national competition…”
"You wanna fight?"
The aggressive voice caused the temperature in the music classroom to drop three degrees instantly, and everyone subconsciously held their breath.
The third-year students in the flute and piccolo section kicked the music stand aside.
"Ishitani-san, did I say anything wrong?" Kiyono Rin remained calm and his tone was exactly the same as usual.
"You are too arrogant, first year."
"In the competition, no one cares whether you are a freshman or a junior. The judges only look at whether your foundation is solid, whether your performance is emotional, and the melody..."
"Shut up!"
The scene froze. The timid girl covered her mouth and nose with her hands and looked at them in fear.
Asu Mai was looking out the window at the first-year floor boredly, searching for someone, her fingers moving up and down on the pistons according to the music score.
On the side, Asako Hanada, holding a double bass, looked back and forth at the faces of Kiyono Rin and Ishitani Haru.
She was worried and wanted to go over to stop the fight, but she felt shy because there were so many people around, so she stopped herself.
At the trombone part, Tamamo Yoshimi withdrew her gaze and stared at the music score with more and more notes.
The first graders were showing off and scolding the third graders. How stupid... She turned to the music score to the part where she felt the performance was not smooth during the ensemble just now.
Qing Ye Lin was not afraid at all: "He is not strong enough, and he is unwilling to accept other people's advice. He can only vent his anger helplessly, relying on his age..."
The classroom door was opened with a click, interrupting her words.
"I'm so tired, huh..." A handsome young man with an oboe under his arm walked in, rubbing his shoulders.
"What's going on?" he asked with a faint smile.
The arrival of Toru Watanabe loosened the almost frozen atmosphere in the classroom.
Many girls looked at his face obsessively , whispering things like 'Oh no, he's too handsome'.
Hanada Asako breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that everything would be fine as long as Watanabe-kun was there.
Tamamo's long, beautiful eyelashes trembled as she looked up at the smiling boy in front of her.
Asu Mai's fingers moved a little more quickly on the piston of the euphonium.
"It has nothing to do with you." Hase Haru's tone slowed down a little.
She wanted to be angry at Watanabe Toru, who had a good relationship with Kiyono Rin, but out of female - or human - instinct, she subconsciously maintained basic reserve when seeing someone with outstanding appearance.
"Don't say that, senior. I'm also a member of the wind orchestra." Watanabe Toru's smile became even brighter, and Hase Haru's anger suddenly disappeared.
He continued, "If I had known that Group A's level would mean we wouldn't have to participate in the general cleaning, I wouldn't have to work so hard."
A suffocating silence dominated the entire space.
Most people, including Hase Haru, looked at Watanabe Toru in astonishment.
Watanabe Toru's expression remained unchanged, with a smile full of magic.
He rubbed his shoulders, took out the oboe from under his armpit, and said to Qingye Rin on the podium: "Counselor Qingye, I want to have a second interview. I have the level of Group A."
Kiyono Rin looked at Watanabe Toru with her pretty face, but before she could open her mouth, Hase Haru's sharp voice came over.
"To this extent? You are just a pretty boy..."
"Girlface?"
"Your instrument was bought for you by Jiujo, right? A country girl..."
"Well, I admit that I am very good-looking."
"you……"
"What?" Watanabe Toru interrupted her again, smiling and spreading his hands, "Senior Hase wants to fight with me? Sure, since you are a senior and were born two years earlier than me, as your junior, I will let you use both hands."
His tone was gentle, his smile was charming, and the simple gesture of spreading his hands vaguely revealed the charm of a beautiful boy, but the atmosphere at the scene suddenly became fearful.
"I'm going to teach you a lesson today!" In front of so many people, Watanabe Toru's arrogant and contemptuous attitude made Hase Haru lose his mind.
With eyes burning with shame and anger, she hurried over and slapped Watanabe Toru in the face with her hand.
"Hase-senpai!"
"Watanabe!"
"etc!"
“Hmm—”
Accompanied by Hase Haru's painful groan, the sound of tables and chairs being bumped, and after a commotion, the scene was completely dead.
"It's a waste of time." Watanabe Toru retracted his foot that had easily tripped the other person, and said to the astonished Kiyono Rin: "Advisor, let's start the interview. Please listen to my performance."
Without waiting for Kiyono Rin's consent, and not knowing how the situation would end, Watanabe Toru played the oboe regardless.
It was clearly a familiar melody that had been practiced and heard countless times, but the tone was so beautiful that the audience, who had been noisy just now, had to hold their breath.
The melody sounded like a gospel singer's voice, and the oboe's tone was so gentle and delicate that everyone's heart tightened.
The lingering sound extends infinitely, and is very clear and transparent, like the sigh of God.
Hase Haru, lying on the ground, couldn't help but swallow his saliva freely, his heart trembling and goose bumps standing up.
In an instant, the summer air in the classroom was filled with melodious and sweet sounds.
When the concert hall became so quiet that even the sound of a pin drop could be heard, everyone finally realized that the performance had ended without them noticing.
No one moved, no one spoke.
"Qualified?" asked Toru Watanabe.
"…Passed." Qingye Rin replied in a low voice, as if she had not yet recovered from the performance just now.
Watanabe Toru turned his gaze to Hase Haru, and then looked at everyone.
"You played so badly, and your performance was full of flaws. Are you going to make things difficult for the consultant?"
Watanabe Toru put his hand into his bangs, patted his forehead, and sighed exaggeratedly.
"Forget it. Anyway, no matter how hard you try, it's useless. It's a good thing to recognize the gap between people as soon as possible."
"Watanabe-san?!" Hayami Fumio stood up.
"Isn't it?" Watanabe Toru spread his arms, "I've only been practicing for half a month, everyone."
His language was frivolous and arrogant.
"You can reach the level of the national competition. What about you? No matter how much you practice, the best you can get is a bronze medal in the Tokyo Metropolitan Competition. Oh, sorry, it's possible that the judges will see that Kamikawa High School is more famous and give you a silver medal that's not too embarrassing."
"Does the truth hurt you ? But you know best whether what I said is true or not..."
"Watanabe, shut up." It was Kiyono Rin who interrupted Watanabe Toru.
Everyone looked at her in surprise, including Toru Watanabe.
Could it be that Qingye Rin had seen through his thoughts and was planning to stop him from continuing?
This won't work.
Qing Ye Lin said coldly: "I am their consultant. I can say whatever I want to them, but I will never allow others to lecture them."
"Kiyono-san..." Their voices were filled with apology and emotion.
"Also," Qing Ye Lin's eyes, which always gave people a cold feeling, were burning with fire at this moment, "I believe that as long as the members present work hard, they can enter the national competition and even win the gold prize."
There was a gasp in the music room.
This was the first time that Qingye Rin praised them.
Watanabe Toru was clearly speaking for her...
Deep in everyone's heart, there was an inexplicable warmth.
Asako Hanada didn't know whether she was happy or shy, but her throat felt itchy and she had to say something.
"Qiono-san, competition," she clenched her small fists and took a deep breath, "I will do my best!"
"Me too……"
"I also!"
Watanabe Toru glanced at everyone with a look that said, "Everyone, get rid of some self-awareness," and said to Kiyono Rin perfunctorily, "You are the eldest daughter of the Kiyono family, so whatever you say is what's right."
“This guy!”
"What a bad character!"
Familiar whispers were heard, but the target was now Toru Watanabe.
"Mr. Watanabe, the interview is over. Please sit in the woodwind section. Also, I don't want to see any conflicts between members anymore," Kiyono Rin warned.
"Yes, yes, yes."
"Okay, conflicts or dislikes are irrelevant. Don't waste time and continue playing together."
Qingye Rin glanced at Hase Haru who was helped up by everyone.
"One, two, one, two, three, four"
"……stop."
"Hey." Before Qing Ye Lin spoke, Watanabe Toru leaned on the back of the steel chair and turned around. "Um, the saxophone, the one in the middle, yes, the one with the thick legs, you, were you out of tune just now?"
"you!"
"Toru Watanabe!" Kiyono Rin shouted helplessly.
"What?" Watanabe Toru turned around, "No way, Miss, pointing out each other's mistakes is considered a conflict between members?"
Qing Ye Lin took a deep breath to suppress his anger and said weakly: "It doesn't count, but..."
"Kiyono-san," Kitahara-san, who had thick legs, stood up quickly, "I can blow it well!"
Watanabe Toru leaned back weakly on the pole chair. "The goal is just to stay in tune. Forget it, you are just like that. It's really too much to ask you to use my own level."
Kitahara's eyes were blurred with tears, and he shouted at him, "I can play it well!"
"Okay." Watanabe Toru sat up straight, "I believe you."
Kitahara was stunned.
Could it be that Watanabe-san was just trying to encourage himself?
Second ensemble.
"Hey, Kitahara-san with the thick legs, are you any good at this? And the one at the outermost of the percussion section, your arms are so thick, but you don't have any power when you hit them, are they all fat?"
The third ensemble.
"Ah - I can't stand it anymore, thick-legged girl, you, and you. To be honest, without you guys, the rest of you might be able to rely on your own abilities, plus my performance, to get the silver prize, no, the gold prize - after all, I'm here."
"Watanabe Toru." Kiyono Rin glared at him.
"I'm sorry, young lady. I was so angry that I accidentally attacked you."
Fourth ensemble.
"leg……"
"Toru Watanabe, that's enough!" A senior student who saw Kitahara crying and stood up to protest for her rights scolded loudly.
"Hmm? Was I wrong? Her legs aren't thick? Or is she not out of tune?"
"How can you say that about a girl!"
"You can say the same thing about me. Tell me that my performance was not good, or that I am ugly. As long as it is true, I will never refute it. This, um, single-eyed senior, please."
“You, you…”
"Look, there's nothing to say. Let me tell you my motto: the only way to shut me up is to be better than me in all aspects."
Is this a motto? It almost sounds like a provocation.
Kitahara stopped the senior who was about to argue: "I will try my best!"
The senior student sat down unwillingly, and the others also shrank their bodies.
Although I wanted to beat up Watanabe Toru, I was afraid that he would say this student with buck teeth, that student with yellow teeth, that student with short legs, that student with no nose bridge...
It's so scary.
…
"I must get the gold reward to show this guy!"
With this thought in mind, the wind band ended their day's training.
In the activity room of the Human Observation Department, Toru Watanabe disassembled the oboe, put it into the instrument case, and prepared to leave.
"Aren't you going to send me off today?"
"Huh?" Toru Watanabe looked at Kiyono Rin in surprise.
Qingye Lin looked out the window at the night and said, "It's almost twelve o'clock."
"I don't mind."
After locking the door, the two walked on the street lit only by street lights.
The night wind was blowing gently, and occasionally a car with its high beams on would come from the opposite direction, so bright that it was hard to open your eyes.
"Thank you today." Qingye Rin's words came along with the sound of wheels rolling on the road.
"Have you seen through my plan?!"
"You don't think it's that secretive, do you? Do you think I would misunderstand you?"
"Uh." Watanabe Toru was embarrassed for a second, "Then you..."
"Instead of stopping you, I deliberately went against you?" Qingye Rin tucked her long hair that was messed up by the wind behind her ears and continued speaking with a smile.
"……Um."
"Watanabe-san would rather be hated than not help me. How could I betray you?" A beautiful smile appeared on Kiyono Rin's lips.
"Is this how you use the word 'betrayal'?"
Qing Ye Lin looked at the red light of the traffic light and stopped: "Watanabe-san, aren't you afraid of being disliked by others?"
"This is a good thing for me." Watanabe Toru said nonchalantly, "Being hated can make Meiji feel at ease. However, I feel a little guilty about making personal attacks on girls. It's okay for them to hate me, but I hope they won't have any psychological trauma."
"Thick legs, single eyelids... it's difficult."
"Anyway, I'm saying this for your sake. If they really have psychological trauma, it's your fault. Just bear the guilt."
Qingye Lin sighed: "Sometimes I really can't tell whether you are gentle or not."
"Of course it's gentle. The reason I say this is because I'm afraid you'll fall in love with me because of what I do."
"Don't worry, my love is not that cheap. However," Qing Ye Lin turned her head and looked at Watanabe Toru with a smile, "You have won my friendship. From today on, you are my first friend."
The passing cars illuminated her little face clearly, with a light blush on it.
"Can I refuse?"
"cannot."
The red light turned green, and Qingye Rin walked onto the zebra crossing with a smile on her face.
"By the way, how did you manage to improve your oboe to such a high level in such a short time?"
"Who do you think I am?"
"Toru Watanabe."
"No." Watanabe Toru opened his arms to face the night wind, "I am God."
"Hey, is there any chance that your chuunibyou can be cured?"
"Ah, Kiyono Rin-san must be worried about me, right?"
The poor imitation made Qingye Rin put her hands on his waist without hesitation.
"Hiss—it hurts, Kiyono-san."
"A lie. I didn't even try hard."
“My heart aches.”
Qingye Rin moved two steps away with a look of disgust on his face.
"One more thing. I hope you won't target Kitahara-san next time you perform."
"Why? Isn't she out of tune?"
“When she played it the second time, she was out of tune.”
"Eh?" Watanabe Toru stopped and said, "You lied to me?"
"What do you think?"
Watanabe Toru felt his face getting hot: "Then I am really embarrassed tonight, right?"
Qingye Rin laughed: "Your performance scared them at the time. They subconsciously thought that you could hear subtle differences that their ears could not hear. In addition, since I, the most authoritative person, did not expose you, they would not doubt it."
"Don't tell anyone about this." Watanabe Toru warned.
"That Kitahara-san is so pitiful."
"If I tell anyone, I'll be the one who suffers!"
"Don't worry, you are my subordinate and my...friend after all."
"Are you shy?"
"People who talk too much usually end up in a miserable situation."