chsdbacks Page 48
Page 48
"Do you know why I came here to experience life? Because life is meaningless. When you reach my age, you'll realize that money is just an external thing, and experiencing life is the real joy."
That's because you've experienced everything you could possibly experience, which is why you can say such things.
The correct saying is, "Money is a pleasure in life, but experiencing life is something external," Kitahara Hakuba thought to himself.
Indeed, when he gets old, he might apply for a high school security guard job and watch female high school students in uniforms and short skirts at the school gate every day to keep a youthful mindset.
"My stomach hurts, I have to go now."
He made up a random excuse to leave, and Kitahara Hakuba went to his office first to make sure there were no "resignation forms" or anything like that on the desk before he went to the first music classroom.
Upon arriving at the entrance, there were two pairs of white indoor shoes.
Kitahara Hakuba went inside and found that it was Goto Yu and Nagasawa Miyabi.
Why aren't you in the voice part practice room?
His question didn't have much deeper meaning; he was simply asking why we weren't going to the vocal section classroom.
But Mimasaka Nagasawa seemed to have overinterpreted it and quickly explained:
"Sorry, teacher. We came here because the seniors in the practice room were all practicing, and we didn't want to disturb them. We'll be leaving now."
“No, I didn’t tell you to leave,” Kitahara Hakuba said. “Just stay here, it won’t make a difference.”
“We’ll still be out of tune, and the way the upperclassmen sometimes look at us is just… just terrifying…” Goto Yu said, holding the clarinet in both hands.
Kitahara Hakuba gave a wry smile. He understood the "senior sisters'" thoughts to some extent, especially since their hard-earned musical skills were being led astray by other people's musical styles, which was truly a frustrating thing.
"I happen to have some free time. Since you're all here, I'll test you."
The two clarinetists are only at LV3 level, and it will take a lot of effort to jump from B choreography to A choreography.
Especially with the other members starting to work hard, the two of them need to invest even more time.
It's fortunate that Tatsukasa Kuno isn't here, so it will be much quieter here, allowing him to focus on giving guidance.
Chapter 54. My students are my true wealth.
During lunch break, the spring breeze carries the subtle fragrance of flowers, and sunlight streams through the window, slanting into Kitahara Hakuma's sleeve.
He was the only one in the first music classroom. After the lunch break bell rang, he could hear the sounds of various instruments colliding with each other, a sound that could not be an exaggeration to call "noise" rising and falling in the practice room.
A few minutes later, Nagasawa Miyabi and Goto Yu arrived at the music classroom again, but this time they were carrying not only musical instruments but also fruit tea.
"Teacher Kitahara, this is for you." Miyako Nagasawa stepped forward and handed him the fruit tea.
Kitahara Hakuba asked in surprise, "There's a share for me too?"
“Everyone in the club has one.” Goto Yu sat in a chair, his instrument case crossed over his lap, holding a cup of fruit tea in both hands.
"Everyone?" Kitahara Hakuba gave a wry smile. "Isn't that too extravagant? Let me treat you. How much?"
The Shenxu Wind Ensemble has more than eighty members, and the price of milk tea outside is getting more and more expensive, which is no small amount.
It also allows you to earn more favors, which is great.
“No need, it was Minister Saito who invited us,” said Miyako Nagasawa.
"Saito?"
“Hmm.” Goto Yu nodded obediently. “Captain Saito seems very happy today. If she could be this happy every day, she might get to drink fruit tea every day.”
Miya Nagasawa crossed her legs, the hem of her skirt drawing a line down her fair, tender thighs.
"She said everyone should train hard and not let Kitahara-sensei down. It was a bit strange, but it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with it."
Kitahara Hakuba placed the fruit tea on the table. He could roughly guess why; it was probably to celebrate Nagase Tsukiyo's participation in the music festival, and he was so happy that he treated everyone.
However, he shared the same thought as Nagasawa Miyako: this was not harmful to the club; in fact, eating, drinking, and having fun made it easier to gather people's hearts.
"What about Kuno?"
Just as Kitahara Hakuba was wondering if Kuno Tachibana also had one, the music room door opened again.
"Wow, you guys are really here! Kitahara-sensei is here too! Perfect timing—!"
With a slender figure, Kuno Tachibana took a cup of fruit tea, quickly took off her shoes, and stepped directly in with her small feet covered in white socks.
"I have something incredibly important to tell you!"
She approached the three of them, panting, and pointed to the fruit tea, saying...
"You absolutely won't believe it, that woman Saito actually offered me fruit tea!"
"It's not just you, everyone has some." Nagasawa Miyabi's mouth was filled with a straw, and Kitahara Hakuba could clearly see the liquid coating tiny pieces of fruit, rushing upwards along the straw.
Kuno Tachibana frowned and said:
"That's you! That woman Saito has been trying to kill me, yet you sent me fruit tea? That's forbidden! There must be a deeper meaning!"
Kitahara Hakuba smiled slightly:
"You mean, Saito-kun has ulterior motives towards you, and he went so far as to treat all the club members to fruit tea in order to do something bad to you?"
"Yes! Teacher, you must be a genius! Your IQ must be 160!" Kuno Tachibana said excitedly.
"You think it's just your fruit tea that's poisonous?" Kitahara Hakuba said.
"Probably, most likely."
Miya Nagasawa pouted and said irritably, "This is ridiculous. I've told you not to be so neurotic sometimes."
"Then what evidence do you have to prove that you don't have it?" Kuno Tachibana said.
"Can I have a sip?"
"No, how can I give you my fruit tea?"
"If you yourself feel there's something wrong with it, are you still going to drink it?"
"..."
Just as Kuno Tachibana fell silent, Nagasawa Miyako took the fruit tea from her hand, inserted a straw into it, and took a sip.
"Ah! My fruit tea!" Kuno Tachibana's vocal cords made an unnatural "gurgling" sound.
Miyako Nagasawa said, "Mmm, it's delicious. It's my favorite mango flavor."
“I, I also like mangoes,” Goto Yu said, “but I got grapes instead.”
"Then let's drink together."
Miyako Nagasawa's gaze softened as she looked at Goto, offering her the straw with the tenderness of someone looking at a baby.
"is this okay?"
"Don't be so polite with me."
The straw was the biggest winner, as it was able to touch the soft lips of both girls at the same time.
Kitahara Hakuba raised an eyebrow. He didn't know what was going on between the girls, but when they took a sip from one straw and then another, they could see the glistening strands of straw as they opened their mouths.
The crunching sound of biting into fruit flesh filled the air.
No matter how you look at it, it's a bit...
color.
No, this carries a risk of infection, please don't do this! Getting Helicobacter pylori is awful! You'll have to take a very painful quadruple vaccine!
Kuno Tachibana stood there motionless, stunned.
Is she really overthinking things? Is she imagining Saito Haruka as a wicked woman who will stop at nothing?
Kitahara Hakuba noticed her throat move slightly, and then handed his fruit tea to Kuno Tachika.
"You can drink this, I haven't touched it yet."
Kuno Tachibana's eyes lit up, but he still said shyly:
"No, no, this won't do... It's clearly meant for Kitahara-sensei. If others find out, they'll say that Kitahara-sensei is biased and only loves me."
"Don't even try that."
Kitahara Hakuba tapped the table with his finger to signal her to stop, and Kuno Tachibana immediately smiled.
"Thank you, Kitahara-sensei~~~ Love you~~~ *kiss*"
"Then, teacher, please drink this cup of mine." After hesitating for a long time, Goto Yu handed over the grape fruit tea that she had only taken two sips of.
"You idiot Yu! You've already drunk it, how can you give it to the teacher again!" Nagasawa Miya blushed and hurriedly stopped her, "I'll go out and buy some."
"No, no, I don't really like fruit tea," Kitahara Hakuba said.
Miyako Nagasawa looked at Tatsuka Kuno, who was happily sipping her fruit tea, and tilted her head to ask:
How come you dare to drink now?
"Why wouldn't I dare? It was Kitahara-sensei who invited me, not Saito."
"So, you're playing this game?"
"Hehe—" Kuno Tachibana looked at Kitahara Hakuba with a shy expression and said, "Kitahara-sensei, I'll treat you to a drink next time."
Miyako Nagasawa said, "You haven't paid off your debts from last time."
Kuno Tachibana just drank and chuckled foolishly; he was quite adept at playing dumb.
"Teacher Kitahara, are you confident about this music competition?" she asked Kitahara Hakuba.
He was both amused and exasperated. He should have been the one asking the brass band that question; why was Kuno Tachibana taking the initiative?
"It's half and half. After all, there are also strong schools that can go to the national competition. With everyone at the moment, it's really not easy to get a share of the pie."
Kitahara Hakuba had made up his mind; he was determined to win either Best Conductor or Best Arrangement, as these were the awards that the instructors and advisors felt most respected for.
"I hope it will be fair, and that they won't give us low scores just because our school isn't well-known." Kuno Tachika pinched the straw between his fingers, squeezing and releasing it as if playing with it.
Kitahara Hakuba shook his head and said:
"It is almost impossible to make a fair evaluation of music. Often it depends on the preferences of the judges. For example, some judges love woodwinds, so some wind sections will deliberately increase the number of woodwinds. Some judges love trumpets, so wind sections will make minor adjustments to their personnel accordingly. This is extremely common in competitions."
Misaki Nagasawa nodded and said:
"That's what 'golden rewardism' is all about, right?"
"Golden Bountyism? What does that mean?" Goto asked.