Theoretical Experience Be Like, Practical Experience Be Like / What I'll Say Next Valentine's Day

"However, our Drama Club only needs to focus on our own little corner this time; there's no need for us to get involved in the affairs of other clubs."

Having spent the past month or so dealing with a tangled web of interpersonal relationships, Kitagawa Ryo, now finally free, naturally had no time to make any plans. In the past two days, Ken Sudō and Shibata Sō had come to see him on behalf of the Basketball Club and Soccer Club respectively, but just like with the Tea Ceremony Club, he simply explained the situation and then did nothing more.

Ryuen Kakeru from Class 1-D 1, also came to see him yesterday. He saw the business opportunity hidden in this Special Exam and tried to profit from it by playing a neutral mediator role. He wanted to persuade Ryo Kitagawa, who could influence the third-year students, to join him in mediating the dispute, but Kitagawa Ryo politely declined.

On the one hand, he genuinely felt it was unnecessary to go through all that trouble and effort just for a few Private Points and favors.

On the other hand, it is also related to Asahina Nazuna.

Although Asahina Nazuna successfully replaced Miyabi Nagumo as the new leader of the third-year students with his support, their styles of doing things were obviously different, which caused the third-year students to have different attitudes towards the two.

Nagumo's high-pressure policies did indeed accumulate considerable discontent behind the scenes, eventually leading to his downfall. However, the advantage was that when he was at the height of his power, most of the third-year students dared not openly defy him, demonstrating their loyalty.

While Asahina Nazuna's conciliatory approach helped her quickly fill the vacuum left by Miyabi Nagumo's resignation and facilitated her rise to power, it also made it difficult for her to manage the other third-year students, apart from Class 3-A.

Of course, Asahina Nazuna herself is quite popular among the third-year students, but in this way, what is being consumed is actually the prestige of the grade Leader turning into personal favors. Kitagawa Ryo would naturally not be so careless as to make a decision for his senior first.

"Yeah, Tsubaki and Nanase are working really hard. If they keep this up, they might be able to get three Aid Cards."

Ichinose Honami in, saying that since the teaching work was basically handled by Karuizawa Kei alone, the club activities had turned into the current leisurely scene of the three of them eating snacks, playing on their phones, and chatting.

"That's not necessarily true. After all, we have the advantage of starting first, and we're the smallest group of all the clubs, with only two members. If the other clubs catch up, we might not even be able to make it into the top three starting next week."

Kitagawa Ryo wasn't very confident about this. Although he wasn't clear about the school's specific review rules, common sense told him that if everyone performed well, larger clubs would definitely score higher than smaller clubs, since it was more difficult for them to coordinate.

"Actually, getting one or two tickets would be great. I feel that getting more wouldn't be of much help to our Drama Club."

As Sakura Airi arranged the snacks she had brought onto the plate on the table, she shared her thoughts:

"After all, the only truly usable members of our Drama Club are Ryo and Megumi. If we actually get the third Aid Card, I feel like either Honami or I would be a bit of a liability."

As she spoke, she turned to look at the two First Year students on the other side of the room who had been training with Karuizawa Kei for several days but showed no signs of slacking off. She took a bite of her homemade cookie and asked Kitagawa Ryo:

"Does Liang think they have a talent for this?"

"If we're talking about developing professionally like Hui, it's definitely not enough. But if we're talking about amateur club level at the high school level, it's more than sufficient. Just like Hui said, they both absolutely pass the most basic level of performance, physical expression."

Sakura Airi also underwent professional physical training during her idol training period, nodded in agreement.

"Yes, in terms of appearance alone, they are all at the level of debuting as celebrities. No wonder there are always posts about our Drama Club on the campus forum."

Kitagawa Ryo was well aware of what was going on with Sakura Airi's ambiguous expression. After all, the Drama Club had been discussed since its inception, and even he himself had complained about the setting of all the members being beautiful girls except for himself. Now, although Amasawa Ichika had left, the two new First Year students were no less impressive, so naturally, others would bring up the old issues again and gossip.

"Huh? Any new posts? Let me check."

Ichinose Honami seemed quite interested in the matter. Upon hearing this, she took out her phone from her pocket and enthusiastically entered the school forum. Just as she was about to search using keywords, she caught a glimpse of an announcement that Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School had posted and manually pinned a minute earlier.

"Hmm? It seems the opponents for this Special Exam have been announced."

Looking at the long announcement that read, "A warm welcome to Azabu Middle School, Kaisei Middle School, Musashi Middle School, and others from Tokyo for their club exchange...", Ichinose Honami was somewhat surprised.

"The school has really gone all out this time, sending out some of the more well-known middle schools in Tokyo, including my and Ryo's alma mater."

"Let me see... Wow, it really is. But with ANHS's reputation, the schools they invite must also have some level of fame. Although the pressure will ultimately fall on the First Year."

In a list that was neither too long nor too short, Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami simultaneously noticed a familiar name. The reason was simple: it was the school their younger sisters, Kitagawa Hotaru and Ichinose Maki, attended.

"There were even junior high schools invited?"

"After all, we first- First Year students were just middle school students two months ago. Considering that, it's normal for the school to arrange club exchanges with these schools. Maybe there's even a recruitment and publicity stunt involved."

"Hmm... I wonder if Maki will be able to come."

Ichinose Honami muttered to herself that although she had just seen her sister outside of school two days ago, that sneaky meeting was nothing compared to being able to meet and chat openly in an exchange setting like a Cultural Festival. Even if she couldn't take Yuki out to play all day like Kitagawa Ryo did last year, being able to have a proper chat was enough for her.

After muttering this sentence, Ichinose Honami glanced at Kitagawa Ryo with a strange look. She thought the other would say something like, "I wonder if Hotaru can come," but Kitagawa Ryo didn't react in any particular way, which made Ichinose Honami feel a little strange.

She knew better than anyone the extent of this person's sister complex; it was definitely purer than even her own, a sister who would steal for her younger sister.

"Hotaru isn't in any clubs, so she definitely can't come."

Seeing that Ichinose Honami was looking at him strangely, Kitagawa Ryo casually offered an explanation.

"I see, I was unaware of that."

Ichinose Honami nodded, then sighed with some distress:

"Maki is in the Athletics Club, but I don't know if she'll be selected to participate in this exchange event."

"I hope so. I haven't seen Maki in a long time either."

Although he said that, Kitagawa Ryo unconsciously turned his gaze back to the school name on the list.

His premonition was very strong.

My dear younger sister will definitely take this opportunity to come over.

... Let's just say it's a way for her to meet her future sister (sister-in-law) in advance.

Just as Kitagawa Ryo had predicted, after other clubs recovered and the instructors and some second- and third-year seniors began to intervene, the Drama Club's ranking quickly began to slip in the next two auditions. Although it remained in the upper ranks, it never managed to break into the top three again.

As if it were a deliberate reward and affirmation, the top three in the final evaluation were awarded to the bottom three in the first evaluation, giving the Basketball Club, Soccer Club, and Athletics Club a valuable foreign aid spot. This greatly boosted the morale of these major clubs, who were all eager to show their skills on the day of this Special Exam and represent Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School to defeat their opponents.

Meanwhile, the play to be performed by the Drama Club had already been confirmed: one of Shakespeare's three great celebratory comedies, "Much Ado About Nothing." The female lead, Beatrice, would be played by Tsubaki Sakurako, who had performed better during training; the male lead, Benedick, would be played by Kitagawa Ryo; Nanase Tsubasa would be responsible for supporting roles and narration.

Like other celebratory comedies such as Twelfth Night and As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing is also a comedy in the traditional sense. In addition to the happy ending where the lovers are reunited, what adds a lot of color to the story is the extensive interaction between the male and female protagonists.

If we look at this work with a modern perspective, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to label these two as 'tsundere'. They both adhere to the principle of not dating or getting married, and when they first appear, they always talk about satirizing love. But later, they both become old generals with flags planted all over the stage, and they get so caught up in the drama that it's not real. Their lines are just so funny that you can't help but laugh.

For example, this particular scene they're about to perform.

The carefree male protagonist jokingly proposes to the female protagonist:

"So, will you marry me, miss?"

"No, Your Highness, unless I can have another husband for everyday use, because you are far too precious, I can only save you for Sundays to make a show of things. Oh, please forgive me, Your Highness, I'm used to joking, I never say anything serious."

"Not at all. I would be annoyed if you were quiet. Your witty banter is just your nature. I think you must have been born at a happy time."

"No, Your Highness, my mother cried so bitterly that day."

Basically, the whole story has this feeling. Even when the two confess their feelings to each other at the end, they keep saying things like, "I, I don't really like you, I just pity you." In every sense, it's full of comedic elements.

You know what, compared to the atmosphere and tone of Romeo and Juliet, even Honami Ichinose, who is usually very sensitive about who the female lead is for Kitagawa Ryo Ichinose Honami, didn't feel anything when watching the rehearsal. Karuizawa Kei was similar; after all, she's a legendary actress with incredible stamina, and you can hardly find any love scenes she hasn't acted in with Kitagawa Ryo. Moreover, this time they only selected a few scenes from the early and middle parts, and there was no final kiss scene that sealed their love.

Outside of club activities, Tsubaki Sakurako would also take the initiative to share some of the performances and lines from the play with her older sister.

"This is also one of Liang-senpai's favorite lines in this drama."

Completely oblivious to the fact that her younger sister's address to Kitagawa Ryo had changed from Kitagawa-senpai to Ryo-senpai, and unaware that these words had also been relayed to Sakayanagi Arisu Amasawa Ichika, Kitagawa Ryo simply rested her chin on her hand and subconsciously glanced at the line that had been specially underlined:

"Tears are a natural expression of tenderness inherent in human nature. A face washed with tears is the most sincere of all."

"It's so much better to cry because you're happy than to be happy because you see others cry."

P. S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

PS2: The dumplings are almost finished. After pushing forward the main storyline of ANHS a bit more, this book will be coming to an end.

Chapter 45: Theoretical experience beliked, practical experience beliked

On May 31st, following last year's Cultural Festival, a large number of visitors once again flocked to the gates of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School. Each group, organized by their respective school and club, entered the ANHS gates one after another, led by their teachers.

These were student representatives from other junior high schools in Tokyo, who came to participate in this club exchange conference. Their ages ranged from the third year of junior high school to the First Year of senior high school. As soon as they entered ANHS Ikusho Junior High School, they immediately began to look around curiously, wanting to see what this high school, which enjoys a great reputation in Tokyo and even the whole country, was like. After all, many of them had the opportunity to apply to Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School in the future, and this trip was a way for them to conduct a preliminary on-site investigation.

Judging by appearances alone, Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School is indeed in a class of its own, even if you call it nouveau riche style. The imposing gate and the ridiculously large campus with all kinds of facilities undoubtedly dazzled the students from other schools, who had already begun to whisper among themselves.

"Quiet! We're here for the club exchange event. Every action we take reflects the spirit of our school and clubs. Instead of wasting time gossiping, let's save that energy for the competition later."

With the teachers' reprimands, the slightly agitated formation quickly returned to normal. However, many students still unconsciously revealed a hint of pride or even disdain when they heard the teachers mention clubs and competitions.

After all, compared to the impressive reputation of Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School, their club's strength seemed rather superficial. The students who were invited had already heard their club's seniors boast about their glorious achievements of "eating, sleeping, and beating ANHS" before they came. Combined with the fact that ANHS High School's clubs hadn't won any convincing awards in the past two years, their confidence was naturally quite high.

At this moment, the teachers from Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School who were in charge of receiving guests came up to greet them and engaged in polite, adult-like greetings. The students quickly took the opportunity to continue their whispered conversations that they hadn't had time to finish earlier.

"If we're really going to talk about it, the department with the best results and the most awards at ANHS in the past two years should be the Drama Club."

"Yes, it seems like they've never lost a match; they're guaranteed to win an award whenever they participate."

"After all, the team is led by two senior professionals. It's too unfair for an amateur to be led by someone from a professional background. What kind of light novel setting is this, where someone who has wandered for half their life returns still a high school student..."

"That's how child stars debut, but anyway, it's not our school that's going up against the Drama Club this time, so let's just watch the show."

"I remember the drama club that had this exchange with ANHS Drama Club was the Drama Club from Azabu Middle School, right? Actually, these kinds of clubs are quite niche, and even fewer of them actually succeed. Our school doesn't have any, does it?"

"You know, I think Azabu Middle School is also Kitagawa-senpai's alma mater. Even just because of that connection, I feel like it's just a formality between the two sides. It certainly won't be like our sports clubs, where we have to fight to the death to see who wins."

Amidst the chatter and anticipation of the exchange meeting from students from other schools, Ichinose Maki had little interest in chatting with her clubmates, as all her attention was drawn to another girl she had never expected to be there.

"... So how exactly did Hotaru sneak in? I remember you didn't seem to be in any clubs, right?"

Faced with her best friend's question, Hotaru, dressed in her school uniform, showed her the camera hanging around her neck and said in a lighthearted tone:

"As long as you don't give up, there's always a way. I'm not here as a club member to participate in the exchange competition, but to be in charge of photography and documentation. I can not only run around freely, but also openly take pictures everywhere. How about it, are you envious?"

The fact that these middle schools accepted the invitation to the exchange meeting from Tokyo Advanced Nurturing High School was primarily for publicity purposes. Therefore, each school assigned two to three photographers, and Hotaru successfully followed them in through this channel.

"But this is ANHS... It does look quite luxurious, in every aspect."

"Does Hotaru also want to apply here?"

"I didn't mean that. I was just reminiscing. After all, my brother and your sister study here. Maybe the path we're walking on now holds memories of one of their dates."

Upon hearing Hotaru mention Kitagawa Ryo and Ichinose Honami, Ichinose Maki nodded in agreement.

That makes sense.

"Oh, right, speaking of which, when Honami- neechan met you and Maki at the beginning of this month, did you talk about how far things have progressed between her and my brother?"

"How could I possibly bring up this topic on my own initiative... Hotaru is too gossipy."

Upon Ichinose Maki rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Wow, that's your own sister and me... a brother who's more than a brother to me, how can you call that gossip? This is clearly showing concern, isn't it? Doesn't Maki know anything about this? I felt like their relationship was pretty stagnant before they entered school, more like friends but not quite lovers?"

"Even if you say that, I can't bring myself to ask my sister so bluntly. But their relationship is definitely better than when school started. Well, my sister has changed quite a bit. As everyone knows, when the girl is willing to take the initiative, the boy has nothing to do with it."

That makes sense.

After exchanging a few casual words with Ichinose Maki, Hotaru nodded thoughtfully. Just then, the adults finished their polite conversation, and the students quieted down again, being led to their respective club Matoba.

Of course, Hotaru, being the photographer, wasn't in this group, so she quickly broke away from the group. After receiving her identification card from the teacher in charge, she left the group, waving to Ichinose Maki:

"I'll be going now, but I'll definitely come to the playground to Maki you on, Maki."

"I'd rather believe my sister would come all the way to see me... You're definitely going to your brother's Drama Club."

"You can't say that. What if my brother goes to the playground with Honami to watch Maki's match? Wouldn't I definitely go with him too?"

"I can't really say anything, never mind. Just remember to give my regards to my brother too, it's been a while since I've seen him."

Don't worry, I'll definitely send you my greetings.

After saying goodbye to her best friend, Hotaru walked briskly past the Gymnasium. The gymnasium was hosting friendly matches between sports clubs such as Basketball Club and Tennis Club, while the Drama Club's matches were arranged in the auditorium due to their special format.

Meanwhile, at ANHS, since it was the weekend, almost all the second and third-year students came out to watch this rare spectacle. However, it wouldn't be entirely accurate to say they were just joining in the fun. After all, more than half a month had passed, and most of the seniors were still able to sincerely offer their blessings to these First Year students who would be representing their clubs in the competition.

Ultimately, clubs, just like classes, are places where a sense of collective honor can easily arise, especially in Matoba where everyone works together to face external challenges.

However, there weren't many people in the auditorium. After all, the competition venues for the sports-related clubs with the largest number of members were either in the Gymnasium or on the sports field. For the audience members who hadn't joined any clubs, in terms of entertainment value and atmosphere, basketball, football, and track and field games were definitely more exciting. Drama was something they would rather avoid.

That's why Hotaru found Kitagawa Ryo very easily as soon as she entered, or rather, Kitagawa Ryo also noticed her at the same time.

With the help of a certain kind cat, Hotaru, despite having been absent from Kitagawa Ryo's social circle for more than two years, recognized all the girls standing next to him at a glance.

Unconsciously, Hotaru recalled a scene she had recently received through a dream—a Matoba, if described even slightly, would probably make Ichinose Maki blush and her heart race—and she subconsciously tilted her head.

Excluding the snow that isn't actually here, she suddenly seems to have become the most experienced one around!

... Although it remains only at the theoretical level.

P. S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Written request for leave

Nannan said she'd touch it all day.

Chapter 46: What to Say Next Valentine's Day