In Tokyo: They are heavily dependent on me

Chapter 79. The Young Lady is Playing Music

"A piano competition?"

An uproar erupted around them.

The girl who grabbed the young lady's collar seemed to have a lot of authority in the brass band. The surrounding students were all watching the two of them with expressions of amusement, and the whispers occasionally reached Kaoru's ears.

This is going to be interesting!

"Okay, let's have a piano competition then."

The tall woman who had been holding onto the collar of the swimsuit released her right hand, a flippant expression on her face.

"If I lose, I'll quit the brass band. But if you lose, you'll have to kneel down and beg for my forgiveness in front of everyone."

"Sure."

As if facing a predetermined fact, the young lady's reaction was extremely indifferent.

The two arrived at the activity room of the brass band, and Kaoru followed them in as an onlooker.

The activity room for the brass band is very large, even larger than that of the kendo club.

In the corner sat a dark brown cello and a snare drum, and some students were playing instruments that Xun had never seen before. The tall girl waved for everyone to be quiet, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze; the students who had just been playing stopped abruptly.

The large activity room was unusually quiet at this moment.

"I'm going to have a piano competition with this... student named Mizukami. Please be quiet."

The tall woman glanced at the nameplate hanging on her chest above the water.

The girl who was playing the piano stood up to make room for her. The tall girl sat confidently on the wooden chair with a backrest in front of the piano and began to play.

The cheerful sounds quickly filled the activity room.

"What? It's Mozart's 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations'. It's not difficult at all... Even a beginner like me can play it."

Kaoru noticed it and muttered something very quietly.

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Variations" is a very simple etude with a very simple melody and almost no difficulty.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of the piano can easily play this level of etude.

The calm reaction on the young lady's face beside him... Kaoru had already foreseen the ending.

"Don't run away, it's your turn now."

After finishing her performance, the tall woman stood up, revealing a smile that seemed to indicate victory.

Mizukami had no intention of replying to her words. He sat silently in front of the piano, his slender fingers gently touching the black and white keys.

In the next second—

The sound appeared.

The grand piano was placed on the left side of the activity room. The young lady sat in the shade where the sun did not shine, her feet on the pedals. Every now and then a breeze would blow by, and her straight black hair would follow the same curve as the curtains. The surroundings became quiet for a moment.

The performance ended just as the wind stopped.

"That was fantastic playing!"

Applause could be heard from inside the activity room.

Kaoru clapped her hands vigorously, as if celebrating a victory, and walked up to the tall girl.

Then, he leaned forward, his nose almost touching the other person's cheek.

"Oh, what did you just say? What happens if we lose?"

"I...no! I didn't lose..."

The tall woman tried to put up a final stand, but when she saw everyone's attention shift away from her, she felt utterly lost and ran away without a second thought.

"They just ran away like that... How boring. By the way, what's the name of this piece of music?"

Xun scratched her face, somewhat curious about what piece the young lady had just played.

It's a beautiful song, carrying the joy of reunion and the sorrow of parting.

"It has no name; it's an impromptu creation."

The young lady spoke with the ease of putting on shoes, her sharp gaze piercing through the crowd of onlookers, landing precisely on the girl who had just snitched.

"I'm...sorry!"

Perhaps sensing that the visitor had ill intentions, the girl immediately turned and ran away.

Just then, a short-haired girl wearing a second-year uniform squeezed in and shouted loudly in their direction.

"Excuse me... did Ms. Shoko tell Hoshino to join the brass band?"

"Yes, it's me." Just as Kaoru was about to answer, the other person ran straight towards the young lady's location and grabbed her hands excitedly.

"Hoshino-kun, you play the piano so well, as the club president, I should..."

"You've got it wrong, I'm not Hoshino-kun."

He withdrew his hands from the water and casually glanced at Kaoru not far away.

"That's the Hoshino you're looking for."

"Huh? Did I make a mistake?"

The short-haired girl jogged over to Xun again.

She bent down and bowed apologetically to him.

"Sorry I'm late."

"It's alright, no need to apologize."

"Excuse me, Hoshino-san, is your piano playing level... the same as your seniors over there?"

The short-haired girl pulled her upper body back and stared at him with an expectant expression.

"Well... I'm a beginner. Mizukami started learning piano when she was five years old. I'm definitely no match for her."

"Well... could you please ask Hoshino-san to have the seniors from over there join the brass band?"

The other person lowered their voice and occasionally stole glances at the expressionless young lady on the other side.

Kaoru knew that the young lady would never join a school club, so she gave a perfunctory answer so as not to shatter her beautiful fantasy.

"Hmm... I'll try my best."

"Thank you, Hoshino-kun!"

Next came a simple personal information registration process.

Kaoru quickly registered some important information. After completing the entry process, the young lady left him with less than ten minutes.

Time has been wasted!

"Since Hoshino-kun has already mastered the basic notes, let's practice the fingering first."

Seeing that he had only just finished his club membership application, the young lady was very patient and began to teach him the essentials of piano mastery.

Xun opened the "Transparent Window," found the "Universal Learning Card," and selected to use it.

With the help of props and the young lady's hands-on guidance, he felt that his comprehension of the piano improved rapidly.

I believe that he will soon be able to play very difficult etudes.

After practicing for ten minutes, Kaoru found her rhythm.

Compared to his initial awkwardness, he is now significantly more skilled.

"Hoshino-kun, this is truly surprising. I didn't expect you to learn so quickly."

Even the young lady, who could remain calm in the face of all sorts of things, was amazed by his learning speed.

"Of course, I've said it before, I'm very smart, smarter than anyone you've ever met, so it's only natural that I can quickly grasp new things."

Xun stopped playing the piano, her tone very high-pitched.

After saying goodbye to the young lady, Kaoru left the brass band club and headed towards the kendo club.

As soon as he knocked on the door of the kendo club activity room, a figure rushed into his arms.

Kaoru instinctively pulled the other girl into her arms, placing her hand on the girl's back.

"Kaoru-kun, why are you only arriving now?"

Faced with his late arrival, Liu Shizhi Liuli looked dissatisfied, her heroic face slightly raised, and she pounded his chest with both hands as if venting her anger.

"Minister, did you miss me?"

"Hmm... I miss Kaoru-kun so much."

Me too.

Unable to contain himself any longer, Kaoru pressed his lips to her cherry lips, then closed the door to the activity room.

The moment the door slammed shut.

Kobayashi, who had been following Kaoru, emerged from the corner of the stairs.

......