Even the Sahui she treasured like a precious jewel in her eyes didn’t catch his attention, but she could.
"You, I," Dubian Che pointed at her, then at himself, "are the same kind of person."
"How did you figure that out?" Chisako hoped he would say more.
In her past life, she had always been called a good, gentle child, but such recognition to this extent was unprecedented, filling her with a fulfilling sense of pride.
"It’s like it’s written on your forehead, it’s clear at a glance."
Chisako glanced at Dubian Che’s forehead, the man was without a flaw, handsome but without any inscription.
"How should I explain it to you..." Dubian Che pondered with a slight frown, "For example, if I’m the ’Tokyo Handsome Guy,’ then you, Huang Qiansanqianzi, are the ’Perfect Female Lead from Yunbei.’
"No," Chisako was stunned, "That’s a far wider scope, isn’t it? At least say ’Capital City’s Perfect Female Lead’!"
Dubian Che responded to Chisako’s complaint with a nonchalant laugh, "So, are you still nervous?"
"...you were comforting me? Was everything you said earlier fake?" Chisako complained.
She focused and noticed her body, which was originally tense, had indeed relaxed without her realizing it.
"How could that be? Ask anyone in the Shinjuku District, my greatest virtue is honesty," Dubian Che declared confidently.
"Alright, ’Tokyo Handsome Guy’ is definitely true, I’m not lying to you."
Just as Chisako was about to speak, a burst of warm applause suddenly came from beyond the curtain—the performance by the previous high school had ended, and it was Goda’s turn.
Chisako, who had just relaxed, became anxious again.
She looked worriedly at Dubian Che, but what she saw was a face completely undisturbed.
In all the competitions she had participated in so far, Chisako had never seen such confidence on anyone’s face.
Dubian Che extended his fist toward her.
Chisako stared at the fist for a while before suddenly remembering and gently bumped her much smaller fist against his.
"Enjoy my performance, Chisako, the upcoming performance is something you’ve never seen before, and will never see again."
Holding his oboe and music score, Dubian Che walked away to join the rest of Tokyo Metropolitan Goda High School’s Wind Instrument Club on their stage.
Left alone, Chisako once again closed her eyes.
In the unfathomably deep darkness, particles of light floated beneath her thin eyelids.
’No problem, I’m now capable of anything.’
"Chisako." Sahui approached, "Let’s get closer; I want to see that guy’s strength."
Chisako opened her eyes and softly replied, "Yeah."
The two moved up to the front of the curtain.
The area was already crowded. There were people like Chiba Reiko, who enjoyed watching performances, as well as those who were infatuated with handsome guys or perverts watching pretty girls.
Looking at the stage bathed in bright lights, Chisako’s heart started thumping vigorously once more—but this time it wasn’t nerves, it was anticipation for the future, an urgency to perform on stage.
The current version of herself could even play the most difficult bridging notes perfectly!
"Next, number nine, representing Kantou, the Tokyo Metropolitan Goda High School Wind Instrument Club will perform for everyone."
The various sections of Goda High School took their designated seats, the music scores filled with notes laid out on their black music stands.
"The mandated piece is the fourth, and the free piece is "Prosperous Four Seasons" composed by Kawashima Akira, conducted by Kiyono Lin."
As the announcements ended, the audience was plunged into darkness, leaving only the spotlight on the stage shining on Goda High School’s black uniforms.
At the conductor’s podium, the conductor of the same age as them looked over everyone’s faces.
She raised her slender fingers with the baton, and the rest of Goda, like soldiers seeing the commanding flag, uniformly raised their instruments.
Chisako involuntarily grabbed the hem of her skirt.
Then, the baton was swung downwards.
In an instant, neat and identical notes burst forth from the bell of each instrument, free of any impurities.
The trumpets were powerful, percussions rushed forward, the string plucks resounded clearly, bass drums roared loudly, the snare drum thundered continuously, and their sounds persisted...
Notes continuously collided, with a complicated and heart-stirring main melody.
Suddenly, the beautiful melody of the flute swept over like a night breeze, gradually taming the intense performance, followed by the romantically entwined tones of the tenor horn.
Note upon note overlapped seamlessly.
Even though the tenor horn’s role was more supportive, adding depth to the flute like a simmering fire, its tone was too beautiful, too transparent, too warm.
That was the most beautiful tenor horn sound Chisako had ever heard.
Being a tenor horn player herself, she couldn’t help but look over. Goda had two tenor horn players, but at that moment, only one expressionless girl was performing.
She wasn’t looking at the music, nor at the conductor. Following her gaze, it was the oboist from Goda.
It was Dubian, she thought, when suddenly there was silence on stage.
Chisako quickly looked at the conductor. Kiyono Lin had just lowered her hands, nodding slightly to the oboe.
"She’s left the solo timing to the performer themselves!" Beside her, Sahui couldn’t help but whisper in surprise.
Sahui was Yunbei’s trumpet soloist, but even with her talent that allowed her to solo as a freshman, her start still had to follow the conductor’s arrangement.
The solo had to synchronize with everyone, rather than the ensemble synchronizing with her.