"Please have a seat," Kiyono Lin said as she stood up to pour them some tea.
The three of them sat down and looked at Hanaoka Asako, who with her feet not touching the floor, held her teacup with both hands like a child. Dubian Che was reminded that there was some task he still had to remember.
But that didn’t matter anymore.
"Isn’t today a practice day?" he asked Ichiki Aoi.
"Kiyono gave the Wind Instrument Club a day off today," Ichiki Aoi said with a relaxed tone.
The Kiyono-style training over this period had been unbearably tough for the Wind Instrument Club members.
In fact, Kiyono Lin rarely went to the Wind Instrument Club. She would visit every few days, make each person play before everyone else, and then pointedly identify their issues.
Her musical ear was quite remarkable. Unless the issues had been addressed—not necessarily resolved—she wouldn’t move on to the next instruction, making people practice repeatedly.
If there was no progress after one or two tries, and no new guidance received, everyone knew whether that person had been slacking off or not.
"Do you need something from the Human Observation Department?" Kiyono Lin put down the kettle and returned to her seat.
She straightened out the hem of her pleated skirt with her hand.
Although everyone wore the same style of skirt, hers alone reminded Dubian Che of the courtyard in full bloom in May.
"It’s about Valentine’s Day," Yuzao Haomei said eagerly.
"Valentine’s Day?" Kiyono Lin appeared slightly puzzled.
"Didn’t they say you were planning to give Mr. Dubian chocolates?" Ichiki Aoi also looked confused.
"..." Kiyono Lin’s hand brushed her forehead as she hung her head and let out a long sigh.
"Who did you hear it from?" Dubian Che stared at Ichiki Aoi.
Hanaoka Asako, whose legs dangled leisurely, was startled by his attitude and quickly brought her legs together.
Ichiki Aoi, caught off guard, uttered an "Eh?" and looked at Dubian Che and Kiyono Lin:
"Everyone’s been talking about it."
"Why are you being so fierce!" Yuzao Haomei objected to Dubian Che’s interrogative tone.
"Sorry," Dubian Che realized his mistake.
"It’s alright~" Ichiki Aoi didn’t mind.
She considered herself to have a ’discussed women’ relationship with Dubian Che, which was very close.
"So, who is this everyone?" Kiyono Lin asked.
She was polite, yet her tone was colder than Dubian Che’s, and no one dared to contradict her.
"Classmates, club members, everyone’s talking about it," Ichiki Aoi answered.
"Is that the reason we walked together to the Wind Instrument Club on the third?" Dubian Che looked at Kiyono Lin.
Kiyono Lin propped her chin with her hand, thought for a moment, and then said, "I’m afraid it’s more than just those."
After finishing, she lifted her head, "Anyway, what others say doesn’t matter. Ichiki, what do you need here?"
Ichiki Aoi hesitated slightly and then replied:
"Isn’t next Monday the 14th, Valentine’s Day? We thought that since you were planning to give chocolates too, we could go to the mall tonight to buy ingredients, then make the handmade chocolates together on Saturday and Sunday."
"I have to not only give Mr. Dubian chocolates but handmade ones too," Kiyono Lin’s smile was a little sinister.
"I’ll make sure to return the favor properly," Dubian Che chimed in.
"So..." Ichiki Aoi peered at Kiyono Lin’s expression, "Kiyono, are you going?"
"Even if we don’t buy chocolates, we could go see a movie!" Yuzao Haomei leaned slightly forward, "At the cinema in Shinjuku."
"It’s rare to have a day off, let’s go out and have fun~" Ichiki Aoi said, "I was also planning to invite Asuka."
"Kiyono," Hanaoka Asako looked at her imploringly.
"Thank you for inviting me, but no thanks," Kiyono Lin shook her head.
"Ah—" Ichiki Aoi let out a disheartened wail.
Then, she casually asked Dubian Che, "Mr. Dubian, are you going?"