I play wind instruments in Kansai

Scattered instrument sounds filled the air as Miyamine Nozomi and Toda Erika looked at the tuner on their phone screens and steadily played alto A.

Miyamine Nozomi focused intently and carefully as she extended her lips, precisely guiding them to the edge of the silver flute head.

To determine if the pitch is correct, you usually only need to observe one point.

Two sound waves with similar but different frequencies will interfere with each other, producing a regular, buzzing sound.

This is called "beat". The larger and faster the beat, the greater the difference between the instruments.

However, Miyamine Nozomi and Toda Erika did not experience this. Instead, they could feel the resonance of the sound increasing, and the middle notes of the flute became fuller and more rounded, as if they could perceive the entity in space.

The chest cavity vibrates slightly, and the tones of the two flutes blend perfectly—this is the sign that they have matched.

If we continue with the middle notes G and B, there will be no unexpected issues.

Before Miyamine Nozomi could speak, Erika Toda, standing beside her, smiled sweetly:

"Hehe, we two seem to get along quite well. When we're doing sound mixing with the senior students, something always feels a bit off."

"That must be the senior students' problem, I can't be wrong."

Gongling Wang spoke in a calm and clear tone,

"The pitch is right, let's begin."

"it is good."

Erika Toda raised her slender fingers, turned the pages of the sheet music to "The Swordsman's Entrance," and prepared to begin playing.

Gong Lingwang glanced at her, and seeing that his senior didn't seem to want to speak, he could only say:

"We use rhythm, and we break down several complex rhythmic sections to practice, especially this one."

He raised his finger and continued:

"There's a syncopation and transition in this section, as well as a soft entry in measure 142, which we need to pay attention to."

Erika Toda glanced at him in surprise, blinking repeatedly. This junior was speaking so convincingly that she was even starting to doubt herself. Her lips lightly touched the cold silver:

"Oh, oh, oh."

The third flute is not responsible for the melody; Miyamine Nozomi raises the flute and sends breath into it.

The first note trembled slightly; it was the start of measure 127, just after the drum prelude before the swordsman's entrance had ended. The third flute was about to play two quarter notes in the interval between the snare drums.

Not long, not tall, but it must be accurate.

The two of them blew out notes at the same time, their fingering almost synchronized: the index finger of the left hand pressed down on the C key, and the ring finger of the right hand stopped half an inch above the D key.

Two quarter notes were played from the two flutes. Miyamine Nozomi felt something was amiss and deliberately lowered her flute, saying:

"It seems too early."

Erika Toda initially thought this junior was quite capable, but she couldn't really tell who was ahead:

"Huh? Really?"

"have."

Gongling Wang rewound the recording on her phone, rewinding the previous recording to listen to it again.

If you listen to the part from earlier again now, you can clearly hear that some parts are inaccurate.

Gong Lingwang listened again and again. He wasn't particularly sensitive to this type of music, but he was better than most people. After listening several times, he finally concluded:

"Toda-senpai, you've grown taller."

"How is that possible?"

As a second-year student, Erika Toda may look young, but as a wind instrument player, she still wanted to maintain some dignity in front of her juniors, so she retorted without thinking.

"Why don't we try blowing it again?" Miyamune Nozomi turned around and looked around repeatedly.

"What are you looking for?" Erika Toda asked.

"pencil."

"Lol."

She pulled out a black pen from somewhere, startling Gong Lingwang into suspecting she had a hidden pocket.

By the way, the skirt has hidden pockets, but why are they there? What if someone gets stabbed?

Taking the pen and opening the cap, Miyamine drew a small downward arrow next to the note in her part of the piece for Erika Toda, indicating a reduction in intensity.

"Ugh—"

Erika Toda raised an eyebrow. She didn't really like her junior taking it upon himself to draw on her sheet music, but he probably meant well, so she couldn't very well say anything to him.

"Junior Gongling."

The words that came out of her mouth this time carried a hint of coquettish questioning.

"Was it like this when you were in Hokkaido?"

"No, I'm often the one being treated like that by my seniors."

Gongling Wang said,

"They are stricter, after all, the difficulty of the goals is different."

"So that means you've received training at the national gold medal level?"

That's right.

"No wonder~~" Erika Toda said, pursing her lips, "Again."

Miyamine Nozomi didn't care. If Toda-senpai wanted to listen, she could listen; if not, so be it. He hadn't had any expectations of these people anyway.

Furthermore, the system didn't show any stock price increase for Toda-senpai, so it seems the system doesn't have a high opinion of her either.

The two played the same passage again, and with proper guidance from Miyamine Nozomi, this time the quarter notes were neatly inserted, neither too long nor too short, and settled perfectly on the staff.

Erika Toda's breath wasn't very strong; she took a breath half a beat earlier than him, but she managed to stop the note the instant it ended, striving not to let any airflow linger.

"Yes, it's much better than before," said Miyamune Nozomi, her chest expanding slightly.

Erika Toda stared blankly at the downward arrow he had written on the sheet music; she could tell he had played very well this time.

It's true, he wasn't just showing off; he's really impressive...

"130, another eight-bar rest."

Gongling Wang continued dismissively, picking up his pen to write a soft note in measure 156. Finally, the third flute passage had a slightly longer phrase, a four-measure crescendo ascending.

"And then here... and here..."

Erika Toda stared at him in disbelief. She never expected that this boy, who was a year younger than her, would be so meticulous in this regard.

This guy has more of a group leader presence than Hasebe and Okamoto, the only downside is—

This person is a junior from my school.

"How about Toda-senpai goes first? I'll cut in on the third beat," Miyamine Nozomi said.

"Uh, okay."

She initially felt she couldn't lose face in front of her junior, but he really had the skills, which made Erika Toda unable to resist listening to him.

In her mind, the hierarchy in the brass band was not based on academic year, but on playing technique, but the Haruki Brass Band did not seem to like the latter.

Her tone started first, with a wide and soft airflow. Gong Lingwang cut in on the third beat, with a noticeably brighter tone and a faster airflow, making the tone sound harder.

The two timbres intertwine and ascend, climbing from mp to mf, and then to f.

Section 160, Section 2, Group G.

This note is too high, and it's very easy to whistle with a flute. Miyamine Nozomi slightly narrowed her lips to concentrate the airflow and support it.

But Erika Toda lost her grip, and the flute in her hand went out of control in an instant.

The flute's tone, like a metallic wail, suddenly pierced Gong Lingwang's eardrums, causing him to involuntarily shrink back.

Erika Toda blushed and shrank back, not because she was hurt by the sound, but because she was embarrassed about blowing a shrill whistle.

"Toda-senpai".

A dry smile played on her chubby cheeks: "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Your performance was terrible."

"I'm sorry!" Erika Toda quickly bowed her head and said.

This junior really doesn't know how to comfort a girl! He should have said something like a warm, caring guy would have done it—

"Toda-senpai, you've done a great job! I'm so proud to have you as a senior. Let's keep up the good work!"

That's more like it! Who would immediately say she played badly?

"This sound wasn't produced by blowing."

"What do you mean?" Erika Toda asked.

That's a really strange statement. After all, what sound isn't produced by blowing?

"Senior, why is there a scream?"

"Unstable?"

"It's harsh because the high-frequency overtones are too concentrated, the sound is too forward, and too close to the lips. In contrast, a part of the normal G sound is circling around the back of the head cavity, around the palate."

Gongling Wang said in a calm tone,

"When you play this note, if you play it correctly, you can feel that the sound is not coming out of the flute, but rather from between your eyebrows, spreading out along the back of your head. It's as if the sound has been in your mouth the whole time without ever leaving your mouth."

"...Then, what should we do?"

"This isn't something you can learn just by talking about it; it takes a long time to master."

To solve the problem of flute whistling, frankly speaking, it would take a whole day to teach; it can't be solved in just a few words.

"But if you don't tell me, I'm even less likely to."

Erika Toda seemed a little anxious, her small feet, encased in indoor shoes, excitedly stomping up and down.

Gongling Wang was very puzzled:

"That's strange, who exactly is in charge of the club?"

"Daidouji-senpai".

"She plays the trumpet, doesn't she?"

"After all, many musical instruments have similarities..."

"Nonsense. Apart from the flute, I don't know how to play the trumpet, let alone a brass or a woodwind."

Erika Toda pouted her chin in a wronged manner, gently tugging at his shirt sleeve with her right hand. The flute lying across her thigh shimmered in the light, creating tiny specks of light.

"Then teach me, junior, you're the best, hey~~~"

Her "na~~" was drawn out for a long time, with a soft, upward curve at the end, like a fishhook dipped in honey.

Seeing that Gong Lingwang was not moving, she picked up the flute again and poked his arm with the end of the flute.

The cold metal touched her skin through her clothes, but she laughed awkwardly, her ears burning, and the curve of her lips revealing a dimple.

"I want to drink water," Miyamine Nozomi said.

Anyway, I'm just idling around.

"Okay, I'll go buy it for you."

Erika Toda excitedly got up, grabbed her flute, and ran outside, only to bump into Kanon Tani, who was passing by the practice room.

I could feel her chest bob.

"Oh, why are you in such a hurry?"

"I'm a little thirsty, I'll go now." Erika Toda scratched her cheek and hurriedly ran downstairs.

Tani Hana smiled at her retreating figure, then looked towards Miyamine Nozomi inside the classroom.

Her brown eyes had a soft luster, and the corners of her eyes were always half-closed, as if she wanted to say something but never spoke.

After hesitating for a moment at the classroom door, Gu Huayin walked in and said in a very enveloping tone:

"Junior Gongling."

She wasn't particularly tall compared to Daidouji-senpai, but she possessed a full figure and measurements that didn't match her age, highlighting a mature charm that surpassed that of a young girl.

"Minister." Miyamine Nozomi stood up.

"It's alright, don't be so serious, sit down."

Gu Huayin smiled and said that the sailor uniform bow on her chest seemed ready to take flight.

She sat in Toda-senpai's seat, her legs together under her skirt, slightly tilted towards Miyamine's side, her thighs looking extremely fair and tender.

I really want to be trapped.

"Is there something you need?"

Unlike when she was with Toda-senpai, when she was with Tani-senpai, Miyamine Nozomi's heart would beat slightly faster uncontrollably, and she had a very nice milky scent.

He really wanted to say—

"Don't get so close to me!"

But Senior Sister Gu Hua smelled so good and was so beautiful that he couldn't bear to say it out loud.

"What do you think of the flute part?" Tani Hana asked, her fingertips stroking her hair.

"Not bad, Toda-senpai is very studious." Miyamine Nozomi swallowed.

He felt disgusted, but he also felt that he could control himself and not commit a crime. He was a boy with extremely strong self-control.

"Speaking of which, the department has recently been considering choosing a theme song."

Gu Huayin lowered her hands and repeatedly rubbed her thumbs as she spoke.

"But the flute section is troublesome; no one has reached a consensus."

"The minority must obey the majority." Gong Lingwang was not in the leadership, so this was all he could say.

"But there are too few people in the flute section."

Gu Huayin's full, juicy body faced Gong Lingwang's direction, her warm aura seeming to envelop him.

"Including you, there are only four people. If another accident happens, there will only be two flutes left. To be honest, it's quite dangerous."

Miyamine Nozomi forced herself to calm down.

Willow Knot Lantern had told Senior Sister Valley Flower that she could play the flute, and that she played it quite well.

But Liu Mu also said that Senior Sister Gu Hua wouldn't contact him.

But now that she's come looking for me again, it means something happened that changed her mind.

There's only one thing: Hasebe-senpai must have said something to embarrass her. The only thing she can blackmail is the number of flutes.

"Ah, I see." Miyamune nodded. "That's really bad."

Tani Hanane's hands pressed the hem of her skirt down smoothly, and looking back, the fabric outlined the girl's hips in an extremely graceful way.

"Doesn't Junior Gongling have any thoughts?"

"I trust my senior classmates."

"That's true."

Gu Huayin's voice was soft and flat, her lips curving into a perfectly balanced smile—a flawless, impeccable one.

"But I would be even happier if you could give me an accurate reply."

"I've bought the drinks!"

Erika Toda stood panting at the door, holding a box of strawberry milk, the school's star drink.

She seemed to have not expected that Senior Gu Hua would be in the classroom, let alone that she would be so close to Gong Lingwang. Subconsciously, she was told to leave, but she did not want to leave, so she could only stand there frozen.

They came back too quickly; it's almost a shame they left when they reached Gonglingwang.

Gu Huayin stood up, looked down at Gong Lingwang, and said:

"Junior Gongling is quite capable, managing to get a senior to buy you a drink."

"......"

She walked to the door, smiled at Erika Toda, and then left.

"Junior Gongling, here's some water."

"Thank you." Miyamine Nozomi took the strawberry milk carton.

Erika Toda sat in the chair, where the warmth of Tani Hana-senpai still lingered. She asked softly:

"Um... the accurate reply, you mean that, right?"

"Which one?"

"It's...that one."

"Which one is that?"

"Well......."

Erika Toda blushed as she spoke, but was too embarrassed to ask too directly, since it was a private matter.

She straightened her body:

"Let's keep practicing."

"OK."

◇

When the office door was opened, Tenma Hayami was startled.

She turned her head cautiously and found the head of the teaching department, Yoshitoku Morita, standing behind her with his back to the light. His suit jacket was draped over his arm, and the cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up to his forearms, revealing a heavy Seiko watch.

The first time I saw him, I thought he was a middle-aged man who ignored family happiness and focused on his career.

That's how it's portrayed on TV: behind every successful man, there's a tragic family story.

"Supervisor Hayami".

Morita Yoshitoku's voice was not loud, but it was authoritative.

"Yes, yes!" Hayami Tenma forced a smile. "What is it, Chief Morita?"

"Isn't that surprising that your class's average score in modern Chinese is 9 points lower than the previous year?"

"terribly sorry."

Hayami Tenma bowed at a standard angle.

A white shirt is tucked into a dark gray high-waisted pencil skirt, accentuating a slender waistline, while the skirt hugs the curves of the hips and thighs.

Below that were a pair of legs encased in stockings, straight and long, with black mid-heeled leather shoes worn side by side, and two slender bone marks showing at the ankles beneath the stockings.

Her outfit would make any man angry.

But Director Morita didn't care about any of that. In his eyes, Hayami was just a child, and all he needed to focus on was her performance.

"If you don't understand, ask someone for help. You're still young, and there's so much to learn, you know?"

"Yes."

"From now on, lesson plans will be submitted to me for review after get off work every day. If they are not satisfactory, I will redo them."

Hayami Tenma's fingernails dug into her palms, but as a working woman, she could only bow even deeper:

"yes......"

My chest feels stuffy; I wonder if it's because the buttons on my shirt are too tight.

"Also, I heard from the brass section that you didn't attend the meeting. You're the advisor, why didn't you go?"

"......"

Hayami Tenma Sei was speechless.

As for playing wind instruments, she had only served as the assistant conductor in the department when she was in school, but she rarely conducted and usually assisted the principal conductor.

But to make her resume look better, she included this part in it as well.

Upon seeing this, the director immediately appointed her as the instructor of the wind instrument department without saying a word.

In the end, it was themselves who got hurt; not only did they fail to do their main job well, but they also got criticized for this.

Answer me!

"...I just had something come up temporarily, I'll definitely go next time."

Director Morita shook his head, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something, but then he thought better of it and turned to say:

"Take care of yourself."

"......"

Seeing him leave, Hayami Tenma Sei breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down. His good friend, Oosaka Ayaka, who had joined the company at the same time and was teaching math there, leaned over and said:

"Why did you get scolded again?"

Hayami Tenma Sei bit his lower lip in grievance.

He teaches core subjects, is a homeroom teacher, and also manages the orchestra. He's incredibly busy and still gets scolded by his superiors.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Her chest, hidden beneath her white shirt, heaved slightly as she gritted her teeth and muttered under her breath:

"Go to hell, you old bastard!"

"Supervisor Hayami".

Suddenly, I heard Director Morita's voice behind me.

"Yes!" Hayami Tenma quickly put on a smile. "Is there anything else you need, Chief?"

"Today's lesson plan is also required."

".......yes."