Chapter 229
"Good!"
Instead of taking the tram, the two took a taxi directly to the building where Sumimi's agency was located—and Miyako Shizuka paid for it.
With her financial means, taking a taxi is nothing to her.
"Konnai-wa~ Mana, I'm here to play again!" Ogura Asahi greeted Sumiida Mana energetically as she pushed open the door to the lounge.
"Oh my gosh~ It's Asahi~ Welcome!" Upon seeing him, Sumiida Mana, who was putting on makeup, responded enthusiastically.
"Asahi (Ah-chan)?" Ogura Asahi tilted her head in confusion.
"Hmm! Because you and Little Shizuka (Wei-chan) are classmates, I was thinking that calling you that might make us feel closer or something --"
"I see! Thank you, I really like it!"
"Haha, as long as you like it, so~~" Sumiida Mana waved Hands index fingers, staring vividly at the bag of gifts he was holding.
"Of course, this is a gift for you, hey~" He smiled and handed over the remaining bag of snacks.
"Great! I got Asahi's snacks!" Sumiida Mana hugged and rubbed against the bag, her face full of innocent smiles.
Ah~ this is it~ Ogura Asahi squinted happily at the scene.
Every member of a band should be like Ms. Donut; that's the essence of Girl Band!
Ah, but how old is Sumiida Mana again? At her age, can she still be called a young girl...? Never mind, she probably isn't older than Kawaragi Momoka and Rupa, right?
"Mana, don't eat too much before work." Miyako Shizuka put down her bag and looked at her helplessly, but she also felt relieved that Mana was like this.
Balancing a heavy workload and studies would have been even more difficult for her without her support and comfort.
"Okay! Here, Little Shizuka you half!" She divided the snack in half and kindly gave her a portion.
"I've already gotten a few from Little Asahi, you can take a few more."
"Really?! Yay!" She took one out of her own portion and handed it to Ogura Asahi: "Asahi, do you want some?"
"Then I won't be polite." He took it casually, opened it, and started a conversation. "Ms. Mana, how's work with Shizuka going lately?"
"Mmm..." Sumiida Mana bit into her mousse cake, looking happy. "It's alright, I've got a lot of gigs coming up, things are generally going well, it's just a bit tiring!"
"That must have been really tough."
"Hmm! But eating Xiao Chao's snacks will make it less tiring!"
"Haha, if you praise me like that, I'll get cocky."
"Because your desserts have that kind of power..."
After chatting with the Ms. Donut for a while, he excused himself so as not to disturb their work and headed to the originally scheduled location.
The car stopped not far from the school gate. He didn't get out of the car yet, but he had already changed into a different school uniform.
Thinking about it carefully, if what he's after is just club time, there's absolutely no need to sneak into Tsukinomori at noon; going in against the flow of people after school in the evening would have been just as effective.
When he was invited by Miyako Shizuka today, he suddenly realized the answer to this problem, "Hmm, I'll go after school from now on, that way I can avoid the risk of being discovered."
But yesterday wasn't a bad day either, since it was his first time going in, so he treated it as a leisurely sightseeing trip.
He put the contents of Hanasakigawa's backpack into another bag, then opened the car door and got out, carrying a bag of similar size.
"I'm off!"
Have a safe trip!
Before the bell rang, he walked confidently through the main gate into the school without encountering any obstruction.
The school gate next to it clearly reads: Haneoka Girls' Academy.
Unlike the Tsukinomori, there isn't even a gate here to block your way, so there's no need to worry about time at all—it's so convenient!
After observing the overall layout of the buildings from the outside, he pondered for a moment and understood the general structure.
Upon entering the teaching building, I changed into my own indoor shoes at the shoe locker and then found an empty shoe locker to put them in.
He then headed towards the club activity area that he had just identified from his memory.
Speaking of which, do these three families in the neighborhood have some kind of uniformity in their backpack designs?
Haneoka's schoolbag is gray, Hanasakigawa's is navy blue, and Tsukinomori's is brown. They're similar in size, but Tsukinomori's is probably the biggest. It doesn't look like a typical school's lightweight leather bag at all—is this really an all-girls school?
Well, the larger bag is indeed very convenient for carrying things.
After spending some time, he found his destination for the day—the activity room of Haneoka's Wind Instrument Club.
The other person wouldn't stay here for too long after school, which is why he came in early.
Although I also want to go to the Astronomy Club to see the Minato penguin, I think she might be scared if I go there rashly. I'll wait until she's holding a stone by the roadside next time before I talk to her.
Walking into this room, located at the end of the corridor, which looks a bit like a music room—or so it seems, except it's been taken over by the club after school—I felt a sense of familiarity.
Chapter 283 First Meeting with Toyokawa Shoko
Inside, several rows of Small Table and chairs were neatly arranged. On the front wall was a clean blackboard, and in the back corner were stacks of music stands. To the right of the blackboard were several large drums.
The most eye-catching thing here is undoubtedly the gleaming black grand Piano located on the left side of the podium.
"If there were an upright Piano here, would she still come and play?" He suddenly wondered.
He wasn't sure if Toyokawa Shoko would come today. It would be best if she did, but if she didn't, he would go and see if he could "bump into" Takamatsu Akari.
He placed his schoolbag on a table, sat down, turned on his phone, sent a message to Yukino Shita Yukino asking if she could cover his class today, and then quietly waited for the bell to ring.
Ding dong ding dong~
In Grade 11, Group B, a girl with light blue hair packed up her books and stationery, ignoring the noisy conversations around her, as if she were in a world apart. Single-minded and expressionless, she slung her bag over her shoulder and left, focusing solely on the road ahead.
With some time to spare before her part-time job and Wind Instrument Club activities, she made her way to the club building and headed towards the music classroom.
She paid no attention to the small groups of people around her; only the occasional loud noise would briefly draw her attention.
As she approached the music room and placed her hand on the downward-pointing doorknob, a slight ripple stirred within her.
She let out a soft breath and pushed open the door to enter.
The familiar empty classroom was still deserted, and the quietness allowed her usually indifferent heartstrings to relax slightly, and her mind to calm down for a moment.
Only a backpack quietly placed on a seat in the back row puzzled her slightly.
Did a member of the Wind Instrument Club arrive early and leave their bag here?
Without thinking too much, she went to the Piano, put her schoolbag aside, sat on the piano bench, and opened the piano lid.
Her Hands hovered lightly over the black and white keyboard, her amber eyes flickering slightly.
Ever since she learned about this place in music class and checked the club activity schedule, she has been coming here to play the piano for a while after school these past few days, unless she has something urgent to do.
Only during this time can she seem to find her former self again, recalling the happy times she spent playing the piano—instead of being a machine busy with studying and working every day.
The notes, imbued with a gentle tranquility and melancholy, flowed slowly, narrating her feelings and memories...
Hiding in the next classroom beforehand, Ogura Asahi, upon hearing the musical notes, quietly pushed open the door and slipped in, leaning against the wall to listen attentively to her solo performance.
Her technique is decent, quite good for a pop performance, no wonder she has a classical background. Although she can't compare to Touma Kazusa at all—but you can't really tell much from this kind of improvisation anyway.
The knobs and strings are a bit loose, and some keys are slightly out of tune, but otherwise there's nothing wrong.
The light sadness and melancholy conveyed in the music, is it because he is melancholy about going to work as a customer service Xiaoxiang again? Or is it because he regrets following that decadent father?
Or perhaps it's a lament about the twists and turns of fate... No, it's not that bad.
In any case, she is currently in a transitional phase between the innocent Miss White Shoko and Oblivionis (forgetfulness), and is just a girl with a heavy heart and a complicated family situation.
Sada, how should I handle this? Ogura Asahi fell into thought.
Emotionally speaking, he didn't want a band like Mujica to form, since he currently had a good relationship with Miyako Shizuka and Hachiman Kairin, and if that happened, he wouldn't be able to remain aloof.
But you can't just offer her some advice and then let them rebuild the Crychic clan, can you? What about that Pink Milk Dragon —maybe she'd be better off that way?
With Kanau gone, it's not good for Chihaya Aine to fight alone. Could this actually be a good option?
However, the fact that Muto has never felt happy playing in a band is also a problem.
Hmm... this is tricky.
Since he was going to get involved, he still hoped to achieve a Dango result, otherwise he would feel guilty.
Ten minutes later, the music gradually stopped.
Slap slap!!
His sudden applause startled Toyokawa Shoko, causing her to tremble and look in his direction in alarm.
What came into her view was a beautiful woman with snow-white skin and hair, delicate features, wearing the same school uniform as her, and as beautiful as Elf.
Beautiful~
She was slightly stunned. Did her school have such an outstanding girl?
"You played very well. Did you win an award before?" A soft and melodious voice echoed in the quiet classroom, mingling with the distant noises coming from outside the window.
"No, um, is it time for the Wind Ensemble Club activity? I'm sorry, I'll be leaving right away!" She stood up somewhat awkwardly, bowed, picked up her bag, and prepared to leave.
"Ah, wait!" Ogura Asahi stopped her, his eyelids twitching, and he stiffly pointed to the seat next to him. "I'm not in the Wind Ensemble Club. Can we talk for a little while?"
Toyokawa Shoko frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, then refused, saying, "I'm sorry, I have other things to do later..."
"I won't let you wait for nothing! Um!" His mind raced, and he suddenly noticed a package on the side. His eyes lit up. "That's right! How about I give you some dessert as a reward!"
"Dessert?"
Ogura Asahi quickly walked to the shoulder bag placed behind him and began rummaging through it.
Fortunately, I had anticipated this situation, so I brought the few remaining ones with me, which was a great help!
Ah, after seeing his movements clearly, Toyokawa Shoko suddenly realized that the bag was hers.
"Look, this is it, it tastes great! What do you think!" He grabbed all of them and placed them in front of her.
Looking at the beautifully packaged desserts inside, with their neat and cute shapes, which looked expensive and high-end, Toyokawa Shoko was deeply tempted.
She hasn't been able to bring herself to buy desserts in so long...
Taking in her reaction, Ogura Asahi chuckled to herself. It's not about having many tricks, but about finding the ones that work.
What does it mean to have one trick up your sleeve and be set for life? This is it.
"Ahem," Toyokawa Shoko cleared her throat twice, recovering from her earlier flustered state, her voice calm and elegant, "It's not about these things... but why do you want to talk to me?"
"I'm just a little curious about you and want to know more about you, um..."
"Class 1-B, Grade 1, Toyokawa Shoko desu wa." She placed her right hand on her chest as she introduced herself.
"Whoosh~ Toyokawa Shoko, my Ogura Asahi, and I'm Ghost who travels around—you can think of me that way." He looked her over with amusement.
From the beginning, she spoke in an elegant and polite tone that was completely out of place with everyone else. The suffixes at the end of her sentences were probably unique in the school, and even he had never heard them used by anyone else. It was kind of—quite cute.
He wasn't just referring to desu wa, but also to some other little quirks.
"Ghost?" Toyokawa Shoko stared at her in surprise, taking a small step back.
It's not that I think he's really Ghost, but rather that I feel he seems to have some cognitive issues.
He moved on to the question that was more relevant to him, "Does Toyokawa-san play the piano here every day?"
"It's not necessarily every day. I'm not a member of the Wind Instrument Club, I just come here when I feel like playing." Toyokawa Shoko put down her schoolbag, crossed her Hands, and sat up straight in a seat.
Having decided to stay, she no longer hesitated.
There's still some time before I start working, so it's okay to delay a little longer.
"Oh, I see. You played very well just now. Would you like to hear me play?" He walked to the Piano, opened the Keyboard cover that she had closed earlier, and sat down gracefully, holding up his skirt.
It wasn't that I intended to show off in front of her, but rather that I wanted to increase our common topics and lay the foundation for future interactions and conversations.
"Ogura-kun... or rather, Ogura- senpai? Are you also a Piano?"