Chapter 392

Regardless of whether it's a holiday or not, you have to wear the school uniform when you come to school.

"Ha... You can't expect someone who hardly ever goes to school to do homework they don't even know what the content is."

"You're really something, saying that with such certainty? How dare you say you'd help us? Don't mislead us!"

"You underestimate me?! Today I'll show you what a true academic genius is!"

Kumiko Oumae waved her hand dismissively. "If we're talking about academic geniuses, then it has to be someone like Asuka- senpai... Her grades are incredibly, incredibly good!"

"Really? And what about your grades?"

"Uh... Kousaka student is in the college entrance exam preparation class!"

Don't drag me into this.

"Are you alright, Oumae-chan? Midterms are coming up soon, you know?"

"Hmm~ It should be fine, right..."

"..."

Ignoring his Oboe practice and without even greeting his seniors, Tsuruzuka Mizore followed the others into a random classroom.

After the others sat down and got into the zone, he took the main character's seat, leaned against the wall by the open window, and took out his phone to process the morning's information tasks.

There are... 7 unread messages this morning?

There are far fewer people than usual. Since it's a holiday, everyone's slacking off; some haven't even gotten out of bed yet?

A dozen minutes later, after quickly ending the chat, he started to idly idly play a rhythm game.

Perhaps because it was just the beginning and no problems had been encountered, no one spoke for half an hour.

The classroom was very quiet, save for the rustling of Sasa's pencil lead sliding and the sound of turning pages.

It must be said that study sessions with a few people are quite effective; participants are much more focused than when studying at home, especially when experienced colleagues are present.

There are pictures here, you can view them after updating the version.

At one point, the first voice rang out in the classroom.

Her voice was soft and gentle, so it wouldn't disturb others.

"You're also interested in rhythm games?"

Himemiya Chihaya looked up and saw Tsuruzuka Mizore, who had paused her practice and was staring down at her phone screen.

"You play too, Mizore?"

The students who were writing stopped writing at the same time, as if they had agreed beforehand, and glanced in surprise at the corner of the classroom.

It wasn't that they were surprised by his calling people by their first names—after all, he had started doing it yesterday—they just wanted to see Tsuruzuka Mizore's reaction.

In their minds, Tsuruzuka Mizore had always been a very aloof and quiet girl. Their initiative in talking to him could be attributed to practicing instruments with him before, but what would their reaction be if he called them by their names directly?

As expected, Tsuruzuka Mizore frowned, but considering that he had already called Nozomi by her first name, he didn't say anything.

"Um."

"Then play a game for me and see."

Before she could refuse, he shoved the phone into her hand, then put the other earphone in her hand and put it on her.

"... aeryisiQijiuzaoRsantang ["

Tsuruzuka Mizore opened her mouth, then realized she shouldn't have spoken to him.

"Wow~ That's impressive! So skilled. How many rounds have you played? How long have you been playing?"

Watching her flawless, nimble fingers flash across the colorful blurry images on the screen, Himemiya Chihaya praised her.

"..."

Tsuruzuka Mizore remained silent, engrossed in playing on her phone.

"It's a pity they used up all the snacks yesterday, otherwise I would have given you one as a reward."

He glanced sideways at the group of people in the study group, and when he saw that they were all looking in his direction, he paused.

"... Sorry, was I too noisy?"

"No, that's alright..."

The group looked away, feeling inexplicably awkward, unsure of what to say.

"Halftime!"

Tanaka Asuka clapped her hands, breaking the silence, "So you and Mizore both play rhythm games! And you're both so good at them. Does playing rhythm games improve your instrument skills?"

He hesitated before answering, "I don't know, why don't you try it next time?"

Reason told him that there shouldn't be any necessary connection between the two, but considering that Udagawa Ako and Tsuruzuka Mizore were all rhythm game experts, it wasn't impossible...

"I'll try it next time!"

After saying that, she immediately brought up another matter, "By the way! The guitar in the hallway outside is yours from yesterday, right? You seemed to have said that you prefer playing rock music, right?"

"I looked it up last night and found that rock bands these days are really amazing, with lots of great songs... Why don't you perform one for us now?"

"Ah! I agree!"

Nakasako Kaori immediately echoed.

"I want to hear it too!"

I second that!

"If possible."

Even Tsuruzuka Mizore, who was playing a rhythm game, looked up and left a long string of "Miss" letters on the screen.

Do you take me for Piano in a restaurant?

Himemiya Chihaya complained, but didn't refuse, and got up to go outside.

A short while later, he returned carrying his guitar and stereo.

Connect the guitar and speaker with the power cord, turn the volume up to a moderate level, carry the chair to the middle of the back of the classroom, hold the guitar, and sit down with his legs crossed.

Scan the six people once, then start with zero frames:

"Where You Going?"

"Nights that are not bright yet are boring to watch"

"..."

"つになったをして(Leave a shadow that turned into two)"

"Tell Me What Is Inside You Inside You Now"

"..."

The guitar doesn't play a large part in this song, but thankfully the vocals are the most important part.

First, a young, ethereal voice rises, a quiet and soothing prelude drawing the listener into the script. Then, abruptly, a slightly hoarse, sharp, and deeply emotional female voice gradually unleashes the pent-up emotions...

The interplay of two distinct styles creates a sense of temporal and spatial displacement, a cross-temporal dialogue from youth to maturity.

Where an instrument is needed to express itself, the solitary guitar delivers a cacophony of sounds, a true solo.

As the group watched the strings flutter and felt the vibrations in their ears, they were moved by his excellent performance of altering the tone and mimicking a female voice with his eyes closed. They were also deeply impressed and overwhelmed by the experience.

Those nimble, flowing fingers, producing countless notes in a single second, a powerful Solo only seen on television... In just a moment, they understood just how vast the gap between them truly was.

The gap between professional and amateur was once again laid bare before them.

However, this time they were relatively calm—after all, they were used to it.

Three or four minutes later, the music gradually stopped.

Snap snap...

What's the name of this song?

After leading the applause, it was Tanaka Asuka was the first to speak up and ask a question.

"<Inside You>."

"Really? I'll search... I can't find it."

She stared at him suspiciously, her brows furrowed.

"Yes, you're right, it was all my own doing."

Himemiya Chihaya nodded with a smile.

"..."

Tanaka Asuka sighed and rubbed her forehead, feeling utterly helpless. She had no way to deal with this talented but mischievous guy.

There aren't many times when she feels frustrated and speechless, but these past two days seem to be a constant occurrence.

"Wow, that's amazing! It's definitely more suitable for relaxing listening than the pieces they performed..."

Kumiko Oumae flickered as she murmured her evaluation.

Even though they're in the Wind Ensemble Club and have far more opportunities to be exposed to classical and symphonic music than others, they're still young people, and how could young people not listen to pop music?

"But you're clearly a boy, so why are you creating songs with female vocals?"

Tanaka Asuka asked casually, without any particular purpose.

"After all, it would be a waste not to use such a neutral voice. If you want to hear a male voice, I can perform it for you."

"While I can understand, isn't this logic a bit off? If you look like that, would you really cross-dress?"

"Hehe."

"..."

Apart from Tsuruzuka Mizore, the others praised and complimented each other, fulfilling their obligations as audience members who did not buy tickets to the performance.

"By the way, Himemiya student,"

Nakasako Kaori spoke to him, her eyes revealing a calmness that betrayed no emotion, "When are you leaving Uji and returning to Tokyo?"

"I'm leaving tomorrow; today is the last day."

He put down his guitar and answered.

"Tomorrow? Oh, that makes sense, after all, classes officially start the day after tomorrow."

"That's not the reason..."

After whispering something under his breath, he gave a dry laugh, his eyes darting around, and finally said, "Yes, that's it."

He couldn't very well say that he had to leave because he had something important to do tomorrow, could he?

"Then, is it tomorrow afternoon?"

"No, I think I'll be leaving this morning, so I probably won't have time to say goodbye to everyone."

"Great! This guy who only knows how to hurt people is finally leaving!"

Tanaka Asuka stood up and raised her Hands in cheers.

"Don't be too happy yet, I'll be back."

"Hey--It's okay if you don't come back?"

"Now that you say that, I'm even more determined to come back. Don't worry, I won't keep you waiting too long!"

He gave her a cruel smile.

"..."

Despite it being a joke, Tanaka Asuka still had a premonition that she had gotten herself into trouble.

Chapter 400: End and Farewell.

"By the way! Since we've known each other for two days, let's exchange contact information!"

He walked over to Tsuruzuka Mizore, took the phone back from her, and said, "Give it to me for a moment."

"See, just do this and that, and you can add your account information to the other person's phone. It's that simple, isn't it?"

"..."?()>San? Liu