I am a teacher at a girls' school in Tokyo

Who can guarantee that when you put all your energy into something but the results are not satisfactory, you can still maintain your passion and original intention?

This is quite a difficult thing to do.

If Shiori Shinohara didn't have musical talent, would she still be what she is now?

The answer is unknown.

But no matter what, the answers of other students are known.

While I was thinking, behind me, on the way back, several students were still excitedly discussing the roadshow.

“Roadshow, it’s really good.”

“This is the first time.”

“When it ended, there was applause…”

"..."

Tetsufumi Hirakawa listened, thought for a while, gestured behind him with his eyes, and then spoke to Shinohara Shiori.

"That's where the faith and confidence in playing is."

Chapter 192 Time, towards the end of the semester

Belief and confidence are not expressed through slogans, but are honed through performance after performance and repeated feedback.

This was the answer that Tetsufumi Hirakawa gave to Shiori Shinohara on the return bus trip.

This is the case with the Yushan Wind Ensemble. Their beliefs and confidence were born from national competitions and national gold medals. They were constantly emphasized and solidified by their instructors and finally took shape.

The same will be true for Moriya.

Roadshows are opportunities for training, and compliments from passers-by will become positive feedback for Moritani.

The students of the Moritani Wind Orchestra, after practicing hard in the past, would occasionally hear these compliments, and perhaps their breathing would become more powerful when they play?

Maybe.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa doesn’t know how effective this method will be, nor does he know how many students will spend more energy on wind instruments because of this kind of “feedback”.

But it's an attempt worth spending time on.

It is also good to be able to increase the experience of live playing, after all, practice and actual performance are different.

Finally, as the return bus arrived at Moriya, the students put away their instruments and left school, and the first roadshow came to an end.

It was June 6th, and there was only half a month left until the final exam.

In the last half month, time seemed to have been accelerated and all kinds of things happened in a flash.

On June 6th, a new week began, but in the blink of an eye, it was July 30, and the new week ended with Moriya’s second roadshow.

There is not much to say about this roadshow, it is almost the same as the first one.

As for what happened during this week...

Tetsufumi Hirakawa admitted that a certain young lady was indeed a bit difficult to deal with.

As a teacher, there are naturally a set of rules that should be followed. Isolating students and completely refusing all communication? This is impossible.

And this young lady saw through this and always seemed to have various reasons to come to him.

However, Tetsufumi Hirakawa is not without a solution.

At least, he summarized three rules for this.

First, of course, I would never respond to her emotions. This is the bottom line.

Second, as a teacher, it is impossible to completely avoid contact with students, but there is no need for too much contact, that is to say, keep communication to a minimum. If it is not necessary, keep the appropriate distance. Even if there is something, just handle it in a businesslike manner.

The third is a supplement to the second point - rejecting situations where you might be alone.

As long as this is the case, even if Shinohara Shiori has something to say or do, there is no occasion for her to come.

Although he could not change Shiori Shinohara's thoughts or correct her behavior, he could regulate his own words and actions.

Being self-disciplined and observing propriety is all he can do.

As the "three major rules" were summarized by Tetsufumi Hirakawa, he was much calmer when dealing with Shinohara Shiori afterwards.

Don't worry too much, I'm just an ordinary student, that's all.

In this way, time began to move forward, approaching the end of the world.

And because the end of the term is coming, the new weekend of July 7th, the Moritani performance department did not have a road show.

However, Tetsufumi Hirakawa unexpectedly received a message this weekend, a message from Ogasa Sayiko.

-

On the afternoon of July 7th, around three o'clock, at an afternoon tea restaurant near my home.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa arrived at the agreed location early and waited for Ogasa Sayiko to arrive.

The restaurant has transparent glass walls and the weather outside is great, with the summer afternoon sun being a brilliant golden color – it’s hot just to look at it.

It's already mid-July and summer has begun to show its temperature.

Fortunately, the restaurant has air conditioning.

He waited in a trance, but it didn't take long. At 2:55, at the door of the restaurant, at the boundary between sunlight and shadow, Tetsufumi Hirakawa saw the figure of Ogasa Sayiko.

She was dressed in a slightly cool summer outfit, had a petite figure, and carried a shoulder bag that was slightly larger than her body, which made her look even more petite.

She opened the glass door with some difficulty, walked in, and then looked around at the door.

Then, after seeing Tetsufumi Hirakawa raising his hand, he walked towards him.

"Sorry, Mr. Hirakawa, I'm late."

Pulling out a chair and sitting down, Ogasa Saeko said.

"No, I came early, and I just arrived. Good afternoon, Ms. Ogasa."

"Well, good afternoon, Mr. Hirakawa."

"I don't know what you like to drink, so I haven't ordered yet - just take a look."

"Well, thank you."

"..."

After a set of routine greetings, I called the waiter to take my order, and then it was time to face what I was facing this time.

Tetsufumi Hirakawa sat up a little straighter and looked at the person opposite him who also straightened his upper body - although he tried very hard, he still looked like a child.

And because he was dressed in casual clothes, people who didn't know him might think he was dating a high school student or something...

Okay, Tetsufumi Hirakawa might be a little too sensitive about high school girls lately.

He gave a friendly smile and cleared his mind of the strange thoughts.

"Ms. Xiaoli, I wonder what you want to talk to me about today?"

Ogasa Sayiko seemed a little... reserved, which was understandable, after all, their acquaintance process was quite awkward.

As a girl...as a woman, it's normal to feel a little uncomfortable with this.

However, after taking a few breaths and cooling down with the cool air from the store's air conditioner, Ogasa Sayiko recovered.

She also responded to Tetsufumi Hirakawa with a polite look.

"Teacher Pingchuan should be able to guess that the reason I'm looking for Teacher Pingchuan today is because of what happened last time."

"Well, I guess so. I did guess a little, but I don't know the specific details yet."

"Teacher Hirakawa, please wait a moment."

As he said this, Tetsufumi Hirakawa saw Ogasa Sayiko across from him lower her head, rummage through her slightly large shoulder bag, and pull out a thin book.

——To be more precise, it should be weekly comics.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi saw the cover clearly. It had a colorful face with a picture of a handsome boy and the names of various comics.

"This is?"

With doubt in his mind, Tetsufumi Hirakawa took the weekly magazine with both hands.

Ogasa Sayiko quickly gave an answer.

"Teacher Hirakawa, please look at page 5."

Page 5?

Nodding his head to show his understanding, Tetsufumi Hirakawa took the weekly magazine in his hands and opened it.

On the first page, the name of the first serialized comic in this weekly magazine is clearly marked: "Fuge Monogatari", signed by Matsushita.

really.

If nothing unexpected happens, I'll keep turning the pages, and the fifth page should be...

"Waiting for you to come, my thoughts of you are overflowing; the curtains of the door suddenly lift, it is the autumn wind."

It was the same Japanese poem he had proposed last time, and Mr. Matsushita turned it into a comic and drew it.

Looking at the pictures above, the heroine missed the Japanese poems sung by the hero. After flipping through a few pages, Hirakawa Tetsufumi raised his head.

Ogasa Sayiko, who had been waiting for a long time, spoke again.

"Teacher Hirakawa, you can see that this is the waka poem you decided on last time."

"Yeah, I saw it."

"Mr. Matsushita's Fumonogatari received a lot of positive reviews this time, and many of them mentioned this poem. Most of them thought that this poem was very appropriate to be placed here."

"Is that so? That's good." Hirakawa Tetsufumi nodded, and then said modestly, "But the fact that it has received good reviews is actually more due to Mr. Matsushita's excellent plot structure and superb painting skills. If you say that it is because of me, I don't deserve it."

"Mr. Matsushita is also very grateful for this."

"it's nothing."

After a few more polite words, Ogasa Sayiko finally stated the purpose of her trip.

"So this time I found Mr. Hirakawa because of this matter. Ms. Matsushita wanted me to thank you for your help. For this, her original words were - 'I am willing to take out 10,000 yen from her royalties as a small thank you, I hope you can accept it', like this."

"Eh……"

Seeing that Ogasa Sayiko seemed to be about to take out cash, Hirakawa Tetsufumi quickly refused with some distress.

"I can accept your thanks, but I don't need to ask for royalties. I didn't do anything. I just chose a Japanese poem."

Ten thousand yen is not a lot for Tetsufumi Hirakawa. If calculated based on his average daily salary as a teacher, it is only one-third of his salary.

But compared to what he did… it was just a few taps on the keyboard, less than a minute.

If you think about it this way, this 10,000 yen income is a little too easy to get.

However, Ogasa Sayiko said:

"It's easy to choose a poem, but it's not easy to know which one is more appropriate. Also, time was really tight at the time, and Mr. Hirakawa saved a lot of time, so I have to thank him."

"..."

Well, knowledge is wealth, it is true.

Hirakawa Tetsufumi accepted this statement, but he still shook his head at the 10,000 yen in front of him and said to Ogasa Sayiko:

"Ms. Ogasa, I chose to help you before because I wanted to thank you for your care and to express my apology. I don't want any reward or anything like that."

"Ms. Matsushita sincerely hopes that you can accept it, and she actually--"

"What is it, actually?"

Looking at Ogasa Sayiko who had something to say, Hirakawa Tetsufumi asked.

Ogasa Sayiko spoke out.

"Ms. Matsushita said that this was her first time drawing this kind of subject and she was not very familiar with it. Therefore, she might need to trouble Mr. Hirakawa again in the future. Then, she hoped to ask Mr. Hirakawa to be her consultant in this regard for a fee of 10,000 yen per time."

"That's it..."

Okay, Tetsufumi Hirakawa understands.

It costs 10,000 yen each time and doesn't take much effort. I'm sure with his memory, he can get the answer with just a quick glance each time.