On the Tomei Expressway from Capital City to Tokyo, the Goda High School bus was cruising at a steady pace.
If the trip to Capital City had been for tourism, everyone might have been exhausted and sleeping on the return journey, but unfortunately, they came for "training".
On the way there, it was all about memorizing the score, but on the way back, it turned into singing.
According to Kiyono Lin, singing scores could help develop sight-reading abilities and practice hitting the correct pitches.
Just as they got on the bus, Dubian Che could hear Yuzao Haomei’s singing from across the aisle.
Unlike him, who was scorned for his terrible singing, Yuzao Haomei hummed the assigned piece, her voice as gentle as a bird, as if she was playing the melody of a horn.
Next to Yuzao Haomei was Ichiki Aoi, and in front of Dubian Che, Mayi Asuka and Hanaoka Chaozi, the three of them also started humming the main theme of the tenor horn.
Then there were clarinet parts, bass clarinet parts, trumpet parts, flutes, piccolos, baritone saxes, tenor saxes, sopranino saxes...
Dubian Che propped his arm against the bus window, gazing at Capital City as it gradually receded into the distance.
[New product: Qi Blood Medicine]
[Qi Blood Medicine: Nourishes innate and nurtures acquired constitution, moistens the source of life]
[Tip: Sold by the bottle, 30 pills each. A healthy person who consumes and exercises regularly can replenish blood, nourish blood, nourish yin, supplement liver and kidney, and unblock blood vessels.]
Dubian Che checked his phone, "innate" refers to the "kidneys", "spleen" is known as the source of the acquired, and the source of life is referring to vital energy and blood.
But what’s the actual use of this? Does it make the body healthier?
It wasn’t expensive anyway, so Dubian Che decided to buy a bottle to try. If it worked well, he’d take it back and give it to his parents when he returned home for the New Year.
Next up was the skill for October.
[Skills: Entry-level—Aquaculture (100), Master—Calligraphy (1000), Master—Bubble Tea Making (10,000), Grandmaster—Singing (100,000)]
Well, that’s that... Singing!!!
A skill Dubian Che really wanted, but would never spend points on!
’Sahui sis, I’m truly a fan!’
Dubian Che turned off the panel in frustration. Outside the bus window, there were vast expanses of farmland; they had long left Kyoto Prefecture.
His resentment probably couldn’t reach Sahui at Yunbei High School.
Looking back, the original quiet hums on the bus had somehow turned into a full chorus, with required songs and elective songs, repeated over and over until they arrived in Tokyo. The singing showed no sign of stopping.
’Time to sleep.’ Dubian Che closed the curtain and curled up in his seat.
There were still three hours to go until Tokyo.
"Speaking of October, what comes to mind for you two?"
"The French Revolution."
"Are you an idiot?" Kunii Shuichi glared at Saito Keisuke, then turned to Dubian Che who was making new reeds from cane, "What about you, Dubian? Don’t disappoint me!"
"The founding of New China."
"It’s the sports festival and the student council elections! What are you guys thinking?"
Saito Keisuke shrugged indifferently: "Who knew you’d bring that up out of the blue? I thought you were testing us on history."
"I, Mr. Kunimi, will be the star at the Cultural Festival, and this time at the sports festival, watch me lead Class 4 to victory!"
"The sports festival, ah—" Saito Keisuke moaned as he leaned back against the window, "Just don’t make me run! No, better yet, let it rain, yeah, let it rain!"
"Can’t you show some spirit! Look at Dubian, he used to have even worse stamina than you, but now, even our baseball coach has been praising him lately! You should know that old guy, who always has ’fool’ on the tip of his tongue!"
"Really?" Saito Keisuke looked at Dubian Che with surprise.
That was because Dubian Che had been taking medicine recently, which dramatically improved his physical strength—and not just his physical strength—a fact that only Jiutiao Meijie needed to know.
"Whew—" He lightly blew the cane shavings aside and aligned the reed with the window.
Through the hollow body of the reed, one could see the azure sky of autumn, vast and spacious, with wisps of white clouds drifting by.
A crow flew past and landed neatly on the wire netting of the Goda High School playground.
"The water from the baseball team’s manager is quite refreshing." Dubian Che locked eyes with the crow.
"You dare flirt with our manager!"
Before the two could start swinging at Dubian Che, and then get taken down in return, Xiaoquan Aonai walked in.
"The class meeting is about to start, everyone please return to your seats."
"Yes—" The crowd responded in a drawn-out tone.
"First of all, the results of last month’s monthly test, this time our class average..."
Dubian Che listened with one ear while he continued to polish the reed; as a professional ’reed master’, what he sought was focus and meticulousness.
"Also, the new student council election is set for the 15th of this month," Xiaoquan Aonai glanced at the hardworking Dubian Che, "The venue is the gym, and specific notices will be posted on the bulletin board."
"And the sports festival, in addition to the class ranking competition, all clubs must participate in the club versus club entertainment matches."
"For club matters, everyone should discuss with club members; for the class ranking competition, which involves the honor of the class, students with skills or interest can sign up with the class president."
"The registration deadline is the 20th, and if we are short on people, the teachers will have to make mandatory assignments."
"So, if you don’t like long-distance running, sign up for other events quickly."
After the class meeting, Kunii Shuichi and Saito Keisuke questioned Dubian Che about the baseball team manager again.
"What manager?" Dubian Che asked, puzzled.
"I really don’t know."
"You just said it! The female manager’s water is really good!" Saito Keisuke said in agony.