I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Whose famous pieces would he play... No, if it were him, he'd either find some obscure and difficult pieces to show off, or he'd write a super nice piece to brag about, right?"

This was a natural guess, even though she didn't know much about Yuu Tenkuji.

For some reason, a deep sense of longing enveloped Asuna Yuuki's chest, causing her heart to clench slightly and a sharp pain to rise within her.

—That's strange.

I had only known him for three days in Kyoto, so naturally I had never seen him play the zither or heard the music flowing from his fingers.

But inexplicably, a faint, familiar melody began to play from the depths of my mind, as if his name was vaguely written on it. Before I could even hear it clearly, I hummed along. Then, like a broken music box, the melody gradually distorted until it disappeared completely.

"What is this... Why is this happening..."

Filled with indescribable sorrow and trembling emotions, Asuna Yuuki bit her lip and quickened her pace, following Yukinoshita and her daughter into the gymnasium.

……

After leaving the classroom and shaking off the curious audience, Yuu Tenkuji hadn't decided whether to go up or down next when a phone call from Yukino Yukinoshita made the decision for him.

"Would you mind performing on stage?" Her voice remained clear and aloof, yet it concealed a hidden gentleness.

"for……"

Without much thought, Tenkuji Yu reflexively started to tease her, wanting to create an atmosphere first.

He paused slightly, glancing furtively at Mrs. Yuihama who was watching them curiously. Instead of turning away guiltily, he swallowed back the cheesy pickup line, "I'd be a clown for you," and said earnestly:

"Why? Can you tell me the reason?"

"The music clubs are presenting their achievements at the stadium. One group suddenly couldn't go on stage, and the other groups couldn't change their schedules, so we had to find a way to make up for that time."

Yukino Yukinoshita sighed softly, seemingly not wanting people to think she was too tired to be energetic, and explained briefly and forcefully.

Anyway, she believed that no matter what she said, he would understand what she meant, so there was no need to say more.

"Understood, I'll be right there."

As expected, Yuu Tenkuji's expression immediately turned serious. She glanced at Yui and the others, and asked somewhat apologetically, "By the way, Sora, Yui, and Mrs. Yui will also be going. There should still be seats available in the gymnasium, right?"

"...So they really came?"

After a moment of hesitation, and a slightly complicated murmur, Yukino's voice returned to normal, and she said calmly, "Of course there are still seats available. They can choose whichever they want. It's up to them. And Tenkuji-kun, you can come in through the staff entrance to help me. I'll explain the details of the plan to you later..."

"Okay, wait for me, I'll be there soon."

After the call ended, Yuu Tenkuji put his phone back in his pocket, turned to face the three women, and shrugged somewhat helplessly.

"As you can see... I'm sorry, we may need to go to the stadium first."

Chapter 153 What's Coming Will Come

They were led to the stadium. As soon as the door opened, a powerful wave of sound hit them, and enthusiastic cheers followed, as if they had stepped into a martial arts stadium where a concert was being held. It was like two different worlds inside and outside the door.

"Hmm, is your school's light music club really that strong...?"

Shoved back a couple of steps by the sound, Kasugano Sora covered her ears uncomfortably and hid under Tenkuji Yu's arm: "Could it be one of those high school bands that aim to build a martial arts dojo, where everyone seems ordinary but is actually incredibly strong..."

"That's right, we also need to add the setting that all the characters are cute girls."

Adding casually, Yuu Tenkuji turned her gaze away from the stage and couldn't help but hum along to the lyrics of "Slippery Egg~". Her fingers, hanging by her side, swayed slightly, as if she wanted to wave her arms with the enthusiastic fans in the audience and cheer for the beautiful girls of the Light Music Club.

Then, with a straight face, he coughed twice, ignored the subtle expressions and amused looks from others, and walked forward, forcing himself to appear nonchalant.

The group walked around from the back of the audience seats to the backstage area and then went up to the main control room on the second floor.

Several students wearing committee member armbands paced anxiously, occasionally glancing down at the stage below; students with cell phones spoke politely but unhappily into their phones; although the scene seemed relatively stable, the unease and frustration on everyone's faces were equally evident.

Only Yukino Yukinoshita, as the chairperson, remained as steady as a mountain, standing firmly in the center of the control room like a pillar of strength.

Her black hair was tied into a neat and tidy long ponytail. Her expression was calm and composed. The schedule in her hand was like a conductor's baton, and with her voice as cold as the wind, she skillfully commanded those headless flies.

"Don't push them if they're injured. We have half an hour, enough time to develop a crisis response plan... But we should still send someone to strongly condemn those who went too far and request the student council to cut their club's funding."

"Don't rush to issue the emergency announcement. The publicity department should draft it first, and then follow my orders."

"Where is the person who ordered the lunches? You don't need to worry about the work here. Just order lunch for all the staff. We'll probably be here for a while to check on things."

After she had clearly guided them on how to proceed, someone asked her with a puzzled look, "Chairwoman, what should we do about the gap in the program? It's only about ten minutes long, but lunchtime is usually when the stadium is at its busiest. We can't just leave the stage empty or play music to get by... Should we ask the light music club to stay and fill in the time?"

"No need, if things go smoothly..."

Yukino Yukinoshita shook her head, but before she could finish speaking, she met the gaze of Yuu Tenkuji, who appeared in the corridor.

She paused slightly, her expression softening unconsciously, and the corners of her mouth gradually curved into a faint smile that made the committee members in front of her pause in surprise.

"Someone will come to help, so don't worry too much."

No sooner had she finished speaking than Yuu Tenkuji pushed open the door and walked in. After politely smiling and nodding to the others in the room, she met Yukino Yukinoshita's eyes.

A tender feeling flowed between them, as if each other's thoughts had become transparent notes.

Without needing to waste time with pleasantries or greetings, he went straight to the point: "Please briefly explain what happened."

Yukino quickly said, "The hip-hop club members who are supposed to perform in half an hour have been sent to the infirmary because they were fooling around too much in the club. It looks like they won't be able to make it to the performance."

"They've gone too far with their horseplay?" Tenkuuji Yu's expression turned strange, somewhat puzzled. "They all know they're about to go on stage, what are they still doing?"

Yukino rubbed her temples, her head aching, and gently massaged her brow with her thumb. "Apparently, the club members were playing wrestling to relieve tension, but it accidentally escalated into a real fight. Several people have already gone to the infirmary for treatment. The Hip Hop Club is a small club, and with key members in the hospital, there's no one to perform, so of course we had to cancel the show..."

"Using wrestling to relieve tension? They're idiots!"

After uttering a curse from the bottom of her heart, Yuu Tenkuji suddenly realized that there were other committee members in the control room. It seemed a bit inappropriate to curse in front of them, and it wouldn't sound good if word got out.

"Ahem, sorry, never mind what I said earlier."

With an awkward laugh, Yuu Tenkuji decisively changed her way of speaking.

"Are they brainless just because they don't need to study for the cultural festival? They put on this whole show for no reason, and now the backstage staff have to clean up their mess. They're practically asking for trouble! I'm so glad I'm not in charge here, otherwise if I knew their class and names, these idiots would be in Chiba Hospital, not the infirmary!"

After rattling off her rant, Tenkuji Yu spread her hands and sighed, "Of course, that was just a joke. After all, I'm a gentle and friendly person, how could I be so unreasonable?"

"..."

No one answered him. As if recalling some painful past, the committee members tacitly lost their hearing, turning their gaze away to do their own thing or pretending to be busy.

After he scared them like that, probably no one would dare to reveal what was being said at the scene—after all, he knew everyone there.

Yukino Yukinoshita rolled her eyes slightly, crossed her arms, and sighed softly as if she couldn't do anything about him: "Alright, now is not the time to assign blame... I asked you to come and help me in order to resolve the current situation."

Then, glancing at Yuihama and the others who had remained silent behind him, she nodded slightly and said apologetically, "I'm sorry for suddenly calling him here, which has delayed your time for visiting the cultural festival."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Xiaoxue's situation is more important! I should be the one saying you've worked hard!"

Yui Yuigahama quickly waved her hand, then clenched her little fist in front of her chest, her eyes full of anticipation, and said with great interest, "Besides, this is a rare opportunity, so let the school festival go to hell! I just want to hear Yui's piano solo!"

Tenkuji Yu glanced at her speechlessly: "What's so rare about it? I can play for you anytime you want..."

"That's different! This is a grand event, and you understand the kind of emotion only grand events evoke?!"

“Ah, yes, yes, yes…” Tenkuji Yu was too lazy to refute.

With a gentle touch to her chest, Yukino Yukinoshita smiled reassuringly: "It's good that you think it's okay."

As for Kasugano Sora, she had only seen her brother's performance in the autumn exhibition in a video, so she naturally wouldn't refuse the opportunity to skip the cultural festival to hear the live version.

Finally, Yukino Yukinoshita looked at Mrs. Yuihama, appearing much more reserved and cautious.

"Um, Yui's mother, may I call you Mrs. Yuihama?"

"Of course, just don't call me old~"

Mrs. Yui smiled gently, her gaze subtly sweeping over Yui and Tenkuji Yu. She covered the corner of her mouth with her hand and said in a rather friendly tone, "You must be Yui, right? Yui talked a lot about you at home, saying you're her best friend. She was so enthusiastic; I almost thought she might have switched her affections to girls."

Yukino turned her head in surprise: "This... really?"

Not daring to meet her gaze, Yui Yuigahama blushed and, trying to hide her embarrassment, called out, "Mom! You don't have to say anything about this!"

“Eh~” Mrs. Yui blinked and pouted innocently. “But am I right? You talk about Yuki more often at home than Yu, so your mother doesn’t even know who you’re dating.”

"I said it!"

Mrs. Yuihama casually deflected her daughter's angry attack, and out of the corner of her eye, she inadvertently observed Yukino Yukinoshita's expression.

Even after she said that, the beautiful girl with long, straight black hair didn't change her gaze at all. Her eyes even became gentler and warmer as she looked at her daughter, filled with indescribable emotions.

Like an exquisite ice sculpture under the sun, it has not melted at all, yet it is strangely approachable and no longer so unapproachable.

What's going on? Could my feeling be wrong? Or is there actually nothing going on?

Mrs. Yuihama, who was very confident in her intuition, couldn't help but feel puzzled.

"Yui is also my best friend, and I'm so glad that I met her at this school."

Her snow-white skin was also tinged with a slight blush. Yukino Yukinoshita suppressed her embarrassment and said her words seriously before quickly dodging Yui Yuigahama, who turned around and hugged her.

Then, while using one hand to block her head from getting too close, he bowed slightly to Mrs. Yuihama and said, "Please allow me to save the rest of the greetings for after work. I need to prepare for the performance with Tenkuji-kun later, and at most I can arrange front-row seats in the stadium for you. I really don't have time to take care of anything else..."

"That's enough~" Mrs. Yuihama winked playfully, gently poked her cheek with her finger, and tilted her head to laugh. "It's okay if you don't mind us. Let's just wait for the performance in the audience! It's such a rare cultural festival, and you're all so busy. You've really worked hard."

Looking at Yuu Tenkuji beside her, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't feel tired at all. In fact, a surge of motivation welled up from the bottom of her heart, slowly dispelling the fatigue and stiffness accumulated in her body.

There's a saying that goes, "Men and women working together makes the work easier"... Does this apply not only to men but also to women?

As she thought this, she couldn't help but smile.

"It's not hard work, it's just what I should do... what I want to do."

……

While Yukino finished communicating with Mrs. Yuigahama, Yuu Souji also finished his conversation with his sister.

"Sora, stay with your Yui-neechan and don't run around. I'll show you how cool I am later!"

Kasugano Sora stared at him expressionlessly: "If you continue to treat me like a three-year-old, your bed won't be your own tonight."

"Alright, wait for me obediently in the audience." Tenkuji Yu quickly conceded defeat, stretched out his fingers, and said with some emotion, "Speaking of which, this seems to be the first time I've played the piano in front of you, right? Maybe I should buy a Yamaha and put it at home, so I can play for you and Yukino whenever I want, to add some fun to our lives."

"There's not enough room at home, so I'll just buy an electronic keyboard at most."

"Why don't we move? My savings are enough to buy a villa, not to mention a room in a luxury apartment."

Tenkuji Yu suddenly had a whimsical idea and jokingly suggested that since he wouldn't feel any pain spending the system's money anyway, and the internet company was gradually getting on track, the money would only increase in the future, so why not buy more properties and leave them there?

You can live there whenever you want, or invest in it if you don't want to. Aside from the very troublesome procedures, there are no downsides.

"Buy a house and move just to play the piano? Don't talk nonsense. Even if you have so much money you don't know what to do with it, you can't do this..." Before she could finish her rant, Kasugano Sora seemed to suddenly realize something, and her gaze turned cold, filled with obvious disdain.