Although I wasn’t dissatisfied with my ranking, now that I talk about it, I feel really shy.
Because surely, among the four of us, I must be the worst one.
"The master leads the way; practice depends on the individual."
"I don’t remember when I ever apprenticed under you, and you didn’t lead me through any doors," Chisako retorted.
"I really can’t handle you, this rebellious disciple. Next time we meet, I’ll organize some math notes for you."
"Next time we meet? What if there’s no music concert at the station building? Wouldn’t that mean it would be this day next year?"
"Yes," Dubian Che stopped his tea cup shaking motion and couldn’t help laughing, "and you have to make it to the national competition."
Chisako blankly stared at his irresistibly charming smile, came back to her senses, and hurriedly bowed her head to eat her noodles.
"We will definitely make it to the national competition!" Sahui, who was just eating noodles, narrowly escaped a mishap.
"Mm-hmm," Dubian Che nodded, casting a proud glance at Kiyono Lin from the corner of his eye.
Kiyono Lin tucked her long hair behind her ears, sipped her soup in small mouthfuls, and didn’t glance at him even once.
Based on past experience, this was a sign of disdain.
If it was just the two of them, she would surely have made sarcastic remarks without mercy, and might even have made him go buy drinks.
Once they had finished eating, Dubian Che paid the bill.
Chisako looked at the dark wallet he pulled out, unable to understand why boys thought such a monotonous item was cool.
Then, she was shocked.
Inside the wallet, besides the cards, was a thick stack of ten-thousand yen notes, roughly estimated to be more than ten.
Carrying 100,000 yen on oneself...Maybe I should also go study alone in Tokyo—Chisako, who only had 3000 yen as pocket money per month, was dazzled by the money and thought about the possibility of this plan.
After a satisfying meal, it didn’t feel cold at all on the way back.
The four of them walked leisurely past various buildings with "日" characters, passed the park, and suddenly realized they were heading in the same direction.
"It turns out you guys go to the other school around here," Dubian Che said.
"I was wondering, you guys are so rich but you still live here?" Chisako thought back to the school bus adorned with a crow.
"Can’t help it, our family head is a person who values efficiency over enjoyment."
"Dubian Che, you dare to speak ill of me right to my face; you’re the first."
"Really? That’s great, another first for Kiyono..."
While Kiyono Lin was painfully massaging her temples, the four of them had reached the entrance of the hotel.
"Ah! Dubian!" One of the boys from the Wind Instrument Club was buying drinks at the vending machine.
He was holding a bunch, apparently having lost at cards—what a sore loser.
"We even went to the bathroom to look for you!" the boy said, then suddenly noticing the three beautiful girls by Dubian Che, especially after seeing Sahui.
His eyes widened and he yelled, "You’re hogging Sahui all to yourself again!"
Sahui looked puzzled, not understanding what he was talking about.
"What do you mean hogging Sahui? It’s this Miss Chisako who’s hogging her; I’m hogging Kiyono...and also Miss Chisako and Sahui; it’s three against one, you understand...umm, cough, cough, cough!"
Sahui, quite familiar, unceremoniously delivered a rib punch to Dubian Che.
"Try flirting with Chisako again!" she said sternly, her pretty face serious.
"I, cough, so this is where I went wrong."
Chisako couldn’t help but smile shyly; she grabbed Sahui’s arm, "Forget it, Sahui, since he treated us to udon noodles."
"Udon noodles?!" The boy screamed again.
In the quiet night, his voice was incredibly harsh; Kiyono Lin and Sahui gave him cold and impatient looks.
"I’m heading back first!" the boy immediately ran off holding his drinks.
In the midst of it, his drinks slipped and he clumsily picked them up, fortunately avoiding a scenario where bending down caused all the other drinks to tumble.
"I’m heading back too," Dubian Che said, covering his side as if his kidney had been removed.
"Wait a second!" Chisako called out somewhat shyly, "Let’s exchange contact information, maybe we can eat udon noodles together for the next three years."
"One time is enough; you still plan to eat off me for three years?"
"Stingy men are not popular," Sahui disdainfully said. "Next time, I’ll treat."
"That’s fine then," Dubian Che immediately relaxed his hand, acting as if nothing had happened, and took out his phone.
"Um..." Chisako looked at Kiyono Lin.
She always felt this person exuded an air of a young lady, her every move placed her above herself, making it hard to speak.
"I’ll pass," Kiyono Lin said lightly.
Although he could have persuaded her, Dubian Che didn’t say anything; after all, the two of them were going to leave the Wind Instrument Club after tomorrow and probably wouldn’t come back to Nagoya.
But on second thought, Kiyono Lin didn’t have many friends, and since she took the initiative to invite Chisako and Sahui for noodles, maybe she had a bit of fondness for these two.
Chisako and Sahui had quite different personalities, but overall, both were nice, and their talent in wind music wasn’t bad; in the future, when they come to Tokyo, they might become good friends with Kiyono Lin.
Most importantly, being able to go out alone during group activities, one isn’t just an emotional plot trigger, but also the protagonist, becoming friends might even boost his luck.
Not really, just joking.
"Don’t be so cold; maybe someday we’ll all be in the Wind Instrument Club at Kyoto University together," Dubian Che casually came up with an excuse.
Kiyono Lin thought briefly, sighed, "Alright."
The four exchanged LINE accounts, and after wishing each other ’good luck in the competition,’ they each returned to their own school’s floors.
Once Dubian Che was back in the dorm, he was immediately repressed by all the boys...