Green plums cannot become lovers.

She had finished playing the piece once and was talking to the children.

"How was it? Did I play well?"

"It sounds so good!"

"Absolutely amazing!"

"Sakura is amazing!"

The little girl was a little embarrassed by the praise; her cheeks flushed, but her eyes were full of smiles.

"Then I'll play 'Liu Yi Qi Yao' one more time!"

She readjusted her posture, placed her small hands on the strings, and took a deep breath.

Then--

The tinkling sound of the piano rang out again.

It was still clumsy and uneven, with wrong notes and stumbling over transitions. But she played very seriously, trying her best to press each note accurately and plucking each string with force.

An and Asuka sat to the side, watching quietly.

A slight smile appeared on his lips.

It's not because it's funny.

This scene reminded him of himself from a long time ago.

He was like that back then, alone with his guitar, practicing over and over again with the sheet music. No one taught him, no one accompanied him, only a few girls as his audience.

But he just loves it and wants to play it well.

That kind of pure passion is exactly the same as that of the little girl in front of me.

Kasumigaoka Utaha sat next to him, her gaze fixed on his face.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on him. He tilted his head slightly, looking at the group of children, a faint smile playing on his lips.

That smile was different from usual.

It wasn't the kind of polite, gentle, or slightly helpless smile.

It was a laugh she had never seen before.

As if recalling something pleasant, she softened completely.

Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't speak, she just looked at him quietly.

Then--

"Ah, I can't take it anymore."

The little girl's voice pulled her back to reality.

The little girl named "Sakura" put down her guitar and collapsed.

"It's so hard!" she said, clutching her guitar with a pained expression. "I just can't get this vibrato right! Waaah..."

The children surrounding her offered their comfort.

"It's okay, Sakura played very well!"

"That's right, you've improved since yesterday!"

"I think it sounds amazing!"

"Yes, yes, we all love listening to it!"

The little girl's expression softened slightly after hearing her friends' words of comfort, but she was still unwilling to give up.

"But I'm not willing to give up!" she pouted. "I must master this piece! Because I love birds the most!"

"Asuka? Who's that?"

"It's the person who wrote this song! He's super handsome!"

"Wow, Sakura, do you like him?"

"Of course I like it!"

The children started chattering excitedly.

When An and Asuka heard this, they couldn't help but chuckle.

Kasumigaoka Utaha turned her head and looked at him.

"Junior."

"Ok?"

"Aren't you going to help her?"

"I?"

"Yes." Kasumigaoka Utaha's lips curled up slightly. "As the original author, do you want to see your little fans troubled here?"

An and Asuka were taken aback.

"But……"

"There are no 'buts'," Kasumigaoka Utaha interrupted him, then called out directly to the group of children, "Kids!"

The children all turned their heads at the same time.

“Big brother,” Kasumigaoka Utaha pointed to Anwa and Asuka, “can teach you. He’s amazing at playing the guitar.”

The children were stunned.

Then--

"Really?!"

The little girl named Sakura was the first to jump up, grab her guitar, and run to them.

"Big brother, can you play the guitar? Can you teach me? Can you teach me?"

Her eyes were sparkling, her cheeks were rosy, and she seemed to be on fire.

An and Asuka looked at the little girl in front of them, then at the smiling instigator beside her, and sighed helplessly.

"……All right."

"Great!"

Sakura cheered and handed him the guitar.

An and Feiniao took the guitar and tried it out. It was a children's size, one size smaller than a normal guitar, but the workmanship was quite good.

He simply played a few notes to get a feel for it.

The children gathered in a circle, watching him with curiosity.

Wow, big brother plays so smoothly!

"Amazing!"

"Much better than Sakura!"

Sakura, puffing out her cheeks, said, "Of course I'm not as good as my older brother! He looks like an adult!"

An and Asuka smiled.

"Your name is Sakura?"

"Ok!"

"Sakura, was this where you got stuck?"

He placed his fingers on a spot and played a short piece.

"Yes, yes, yes! This is it!" Sakura nodded vigorously. "I just can't play it right!"

“This is indeed a bit difficult.” An and Asuka slowed down, breaking down the transition. “Look, first like this, then like this, your fingers need to be ready in advance…”

He spoke slowly, breaking down each action very clearly.

Sakura stood beside him, her eyes fixed on his hand.

"So that's how it is..."

She tried to imitate it, but her fingers still wouldn't obey her commands.

"It's okay," An and Asuka smiled. "Everyone's like this at first. You'll get used to it after a few more practices."

"Ok!"

Sakura nodded and tried again.

This time, it was a little better than before.

"There has been progress."

"really?"

"real."

Sakura's eyes brightened, and she tried several more times.

The other children didn't understand, but they watched with great interest. Occasionally, someone would ask some strange questions, such as "Why does a guitar have six strings?", "What is this wood made of?", and "Big brother, can you play Ultraman songs?", and An and Asuka would answer them one by one.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the children.

The cicadas were still chirping, but they didn't seem as noisy anymore.

Kasumigaoka Utaha sat on a bench, quietly watching this scene.

The boy was surrounded by a group of children, a gentle smile on his face. He moved very softly and spoke very slowly, as if handling some precious treasure. The little girl named Sakura was learning very diligently; if once wasn't enough, she would try twice, and if twice wasn't enough, she would try three times.

The other children were quiet and didn't make a fuss; they just watched quietly, occasionally letting out a gasp of surprise.

This scene was exactly the same as the picture she had imagined of "An and Asuka guiding the children".

But they are completely different.

Because of the boy's smile.

That wasn't the usual polite, gentle, and slightly aloof smile.

It was a heartfelt, seemingly uncontrollable laugh that evoked fond memories of the past.

As Kasumigaoka Utaha watched, she suddenly felt an impulse.

She took out her phone and quietly pointed it at the screen.

Click.

The sound was very soft and was drowned out by the children's noise.

An and Asuka were unaware.

He was still focused on teaching the little girl, his fingers gently plucking the strings.

Sunlight fell on his profile, outlining a soft contour.

Kasumigaoka Utaha looked at the photos she had just taken on her phone, a slight smile playing on her lips.

This moment.

That smile.

It was the inspiration she had always lacked.

-

After a while, Sakura was finally able to play that trill, albeit with some difficulty.

Although it's still not smooth and still lags, it's a significant improvement over before.

"Great!" She hugged her guitar and jumped up and down. "I got it! I got it!"

"It's all thanks to my older brother's excellent teaching!"

"Big brother is so amazing!"

The children all praised it.

Anhe Feiniao smiled and shook his head.