I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 85

Kanzaki Megumi wanted to clench her fists, but was afraid of crushing the petals in her palms, so she could only hold them loosely.

"I apologize to everyone..."

"

Just as she was about to make compensation, Kitahara Hakuba walked over and asked:

"what happened?"

Upon seeing that the person who came was actually Mr. Kitahara, the woman with glasses slowed her breathing and raised her hands to straighten her hair and adjust her scarf.

"Hello, Kitahara-sensei. Nothing much to say."

Her voice suddenly became more assertive, completely unlike her previous intimidating tone.

Kanzaki Eri raised her beautiful eyes, and every sensitive part of the girl's body involuntarily rushed towards him.

Kitahara Hakuba looked at the few potted plants on the ground. The flowers that had bloomed a few days ago had all been knocked off by the heavy rain of the past two days.

"Are you from the horticulture department?" he asked.

"Mmm! Kitahara-sensei, you know me?" the bespectacled woman asked excitedly.

"Sorry, I don't know him."

Kitahara Hakuba smiled and said,

"I'm just curious, Kanzaki-kun is a member of my brass band club, not the gardening club, so why did you help me move the potted plants inside? You love flowers, why don't you take care of them yourselves?"

His words stunned the bespectacled woman, but she said unwillingly:

"That's not how it is, Kitahara-sensei. Kanzaki told me before that he wanted to help me take care of these flowers and plants."

"Is that so, Kanzaki-san?" Kitahara Hakuba turned to Kanzaki Eri.

His tone immediately softened considerably, which made the bespectacled woman a little jealous.

Chapter 94, Section 93: With Me, Forever? (4K+ views) Requesting monthly votes!

Her brown loafers were pressed tightly against the ground. Eri Kanzaki lowered her eyes quietly, her gaze wandering in the air, as if deciding whether to speak.

"Kanzaki-san, I support you in telling the truth."

"I can clearly sense the tension in her," Kitahara Hakuba said gently.

"You have a keen eye for observation. You should have deeply felt this during the selection process a few days ago. It's much easier to say it directly than to do it silently."

Upon hearing his words, Kanzaki Eri let out a soft moan; she gasped and groaned more often than she spoke.

"That's not it...: I said on Thursday that I couldn't manage it because I was going to play the oboe."

Her eyes flickered for a moment, then she continued, "But I also bear some responsibility for this..."

"No, you are not responsible. After all, you were informed beforehand. This is a matter for their horticulture department."

Kitahara Hakuba calmly addressed the bespectacled woman in front of him, "I'm sorry, although I don't know you, I feel that as a member of the gardening club, you have a responsibility to check before the heavy rain, especially since Kanzaki-san had already informed you in advance. I hope that before you consider a problem, you will first judge whether you are right or wrong."

The girl with glasses pursed her lips and remained silent. She had long since put right and wrong out of her mind, only thinking that Mr. Kitahara was biased towards his brass band members, and that saying anything more would be useless.

"Kanzaki, you can just continue playing in the brass band. These things are none of your business." She sullenly grabbed the sides of the potted plant with both hands, lifted it up, and walked into the club building.

Watching her retreating figure, Kanzaki Eri couldn't help but raise her head, as if letting out a groan before her emotions were once again stifled.

Kitahara Hakuba noticed her inner turmoil. She was just overthinking things. While others were only thinking about how to clear their names, she always wanted to take some of the blame upon herself, which made her feel better.

“I know you’re not bad people, it’s just that you think differently and can’t connect with each other at all,” Kitahara Hakuba said.

The girl beside him let out another soft moan, shrugged her shoulders dejectedly, and scattered the petals in her hand into the flowerbed.

Kitahara Hakuba was silent for a moment, looking at her small ears that were faintly visible through her hair, and asked in a low voice:

"Kanzaki-san, if you don't mind, would you like to play the third movement of the soli with me right now?"

? ”

>

The corridor was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, except for the occasional clicking sound from the metronome in the music classroom.

Kitahara Hakuba, holding a flute he had "borrowed" from the music room, sat opposite Kanzaki Eri.

The girl sat upright in the steel tube chair, staring intently at the music score, looking no different than usual.

She took a deep breath and began to play the oboe.

A familiar melody rang in her ears, and the gentle and delicate oboe played once again in the school building. Compared to a few days ago, she played this piece with even greater skill.

But there was still no emotion involved.

Kitahara Hakuba peered at Kanzaki Eri's appearance, then put his lips to the flute and played a sound wave that spread outward like the fluttering of butterfly wings.

The beautiful tone of the recorder blended with the delicate sound of the oboe, and the eighth notes, rising and falling like a roller coaster, bounced densely and continuously in the classroom.

When she heard the first note of the flute, Eri Kanzaki's consciousness was instinctively drawn to it.

Although the piece was dominated by the oboe, it paled in comparison to his flute. Its penetrating sound made Kanzaki Eri play even more attentively.

If she can't keep up, the music will completely fall apart, and she doesn't want that to happen.

The fingers danced incessantly until the rest was drawn out in a long note, at which point the wrist was finally lowered, exhausted.

Kitahara Hakuba slowly lowered his flute and noticed a fine strand of hair stuck to Kanzaki Eri's forehead.

She seemed very tired, breathing softly, her face flushed.

"You played very well. Don't forget how you felt today." Kitahara Hakuba smiled, preparing to get up and put the wooden flute back. "We'll continue tomorrow."

Eri Kanzaki's playing today was flawless in terms of speed and melody, but it was too easily overshadowed by her recorder.

At the same time, Kitahara Hakuba noticed that her finger techniques were constantly trying to catch up with his, which was why she looked so tired.

She didn't want to ruin the soli.

"Teacher Kitahara—"

Eri Kanzaki hesitated for a moment, then looked up at the man holding the wooden flute in front of her and asked, "Is this... really okay?"

Kitahara Hakuba looked puzzled and said:

"If you don't explain clearly, I won't know what you're thinking. What's this all about? And what does 'okay' even mean?"

Eri Kanzaki took a shallow breath. The sunlight shining directly on her face made her skin feel hot, and the burning sensation spread little by little.

“Teacher Kitahara… has been holding back to accommodate me,” Kanzaki Eri said, mustering her courage.

"Yes," Kitahara Hakuba readily admitted.

Hearing the other party's admission, Kanzaki Eri felt a strange sense of loss, and her voice was barely audible.

"Why does Mr. Kitahara care about me? The brass band doesn't really matter whether I'm there or not..."

Kitahara Hakuba smiled faintly and squatted down in front of her; the girl's knees were slightly pink.

"If this is your true feeling, then you're really pathetic."

"Hmm..."

She pursed her lips tightly, and because she was already very cute, she became even cuter when she was melancholy, like a doll.

Kitahara Hakuba couldn't resist and reached out to pinch her cheek, saying:

Do you like playing wind instruments?

The pretty face that had been pinched bounced back at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Eri Kanzaki blinked, feeling the slight swelling on her left cheek, and after a moment of silence said:

"I would love to play this piece with Kitahara-sensei."

"That's fine then. Like today, before the morning meeting, as long as you're still in the band, I'll stay with you."

Kitahara Hakuba stood up with a smile, let out a long sigh, and continued, "But I still hope you can actively participate in the brass band competition. Although there is no right answer in music, if everyone in the brass band has a different understanding of the answer, they will not be able to play the same piece well, even if it is arranged in B."

The girl hesitated for a moment, her small, cherry-like mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

"So..:

Eri Kanzaki's fingers gripped the oboe's body. She raised her eyebrows, her clear, bright eyes looking directly at Hakuba Kitahara, and said softly,

"Teacher Kitahara, would you be willing to sing Soli with me for the rest of your life?"

The girl's delicate skin, bathed in sunlight streaming through the window, was enveloped in a white halo around her.

"Huh?" Kitahara Hakuba stared at her, somewhat dumbfounded. "A lifetime?"

Kanzaki Eri pressed her fingertips heavily against the tube, her face full of expectation, and said:

"no?"

"A lifetime is too heavy..." Kitahara Hakuba thought.

Seeing his confused expression, Kanzaki Eri could only lower her head and say:

"Sorry, isn't that going too far...?"

1

Her appearance was so alluring and pitiful that Kitahara Hakuba subconsciously shook his head and said:

"No, if you're willing, then let's do it for a lifetime."

She should be fine after she graduates, right? How could she possibly brag about Soli forever? Do all pretty girls like to play this game?

Seeing the undeniable conviction in Kitahara Hakuba's words, Kanzaki Eri's unease gradually melted away. For some reason, she felt a sudden throbbing in her chest and quickly lowered her head, trying to hide the smile that was creeping onto her lips.

[Mission Completed: Help Eri Kanzaki find the meaning of "happiness"]

[Rewards will be distributed for those within 100 cubic meters of the "Gathering Time" negative effect.]

At that moment, a notification popped up indicating that the mission was complete.

She's happy? Just because of that one sentence? And I spent so much time bragging to her?

No, isn't this too hasty? To the point that Kitahara Hakuba suspected there might be a trap.

"The morning meeting should be starting soon, you should go back too," Kitahara Hakuba said.

"Hmm." Kanzaki Eri disassembled the oboe one by one and put it into the instrument case, her small fingers sliding over the silver clasp.