Teacher Daxiang, please teach me how to play Kasuga Shadow!

It was considered giving up. She couldn't understand it, and a fire suddenly rose in her heart.

"Are you planning to give up just like that? You're not going to study anymore?"

"Do I have to learn it?"

Ayano turned around and looked at Shoko again, but the calmness in her eyes formed a sharp contrast with Shoko's excitement.

"You..." Toyokawa Shoko was speechless for a moment, but the next moment she suddenly thought of something, and her eyes became cold. "Are you threatening me in this inexplicable way?"

"Why do you think so?"

Ayano's lips curled up in a playful smile. "Is piano something you absolutely must learn? Do you love it so much that you'd fly into a rage if you saw an amateur lose interest?"

"I……"

Xiangzi's hand that was grabbing her skirt turned to hold her shoulder bag, and this time she used both hands to exert force, and her body also showed a twisted posture.

"You're very talented. I think it's a shame to give up on you like this." Finally, Xiangzi calmed down and said calmly, "Of course, I have no right to say anything if you want to give up..."

"What about the previous question?"

"Previous?"

"Let me ask this another way... Is playing the piano really that enjoyable?" Looking at the kinkyō in front of her that inexplicably interested her, Ayano crossed her arms and asked playfully, "Have you never thought that one day you might completely give it up?"

Chapter 6 Customer Service Xiaoxiang's Professionalism (1/2)

'I...never found playing in a band enjoyable.'

It's hard not to think of that rainy day in the recording studio when Xiao Mu lowered his head and said those words indifferently while looking at the guitar in her hand.

Perhaps from that moment on, it was completely torn apart.

What she can never go back to is not the recording studio, nor the four teammates who were waiting for her to practice together, but the crychic where everyone worked hard for music without any other unnecessary thoughts.

At this moment, Xiangzi realized that those memories were not coming like a tide, but were receding like the tide.

"I can teach you."

Pulling himself back to reality from chasing the past, Xiangzi took two deep breaths, then looked at the "high and mighty" Ayano with a provocative look and said in a cold tone.

"But I have conditions."

"……you say."

Ayano felt that what was going to happen next was going to be a bit troublesome, but rather than letting her parents know that she wanted to learn the piano and then showing too much expectation on her, she would rather accept some of the moderate requests from this girl from the same school.

"First, I won't teach you in the presence of others."

"You mean not in school?"

"It's not just school." Xiangzi's attitude was still very firm. She could be interrupted in front of Mizushima Ayano, who she didn't know very well, but she couldn't break her principles. "This also includes the recording studio outside and some other public places."

"Tsk."

"If you don't promise me, I won't teach you. Don't think I really care whether you give up piano lessons or not."

"Then why did you promise me?"

"That's the second requirement." Xiangzi didn't fall into Ayano's trap, but held up two fingers and continued, "During the piano lesson, we will only discuss things related to the piano and music.

I won't ask about your private affairs, and please don't ask about mine.

This naturally includes why I agreed to teach you this."

It’s nothing, I just lack money.

But she didn't want to admit it, especially not in front of Mizushima Ayano, who always spoke in an aggressive manner.

"I can agree to both of these. I'm not particularly curious about other people's private affairs, and I'm even more reluctant to share with others things that shouldn't be discussed in the first place."

"Heh." Toyokawa Shoko looked at Mizushima Ayano with disdain, seizing the opportunity to retort, "That's a nice way to put it, but I wonder who was asking all sorts of questions to someone they'd only met once, trying to pry into their minds."

"Ok?"

Ayano narrowed her eyes, and the corners of her mouth suddenly curled up in an arc that made Xiangzi feel a little uneasy.

"I never lie. I really don't ask about other people's private affairs, or about their family situations, or about their experiences at school or outside of school."

"That……"

"But aren't the things I just asked you about piano related? Why do you like piano? Will you ever give it up? Aren't these all about music?

Or... these things related to the piano are private matters that you don't want to tell others?"

"you!"

Toyokawa Shoko glared at Mizushima Ayano angrily. If it weren't for her upbringing as a young lady suppressing her inner impulse, her clenched fists would have turned into fists and hit her.

How could there be such a hateful woman!

She was obviously very pretty, but every word she said was more unpleasant than the last, and she couldn't express her impatience.

Because, once she says why she is anxious, it would be like exposing herself!

"If that's the case, then I apologize for what I just said."

What surprised Toyokawa Shoko was that after she expressed some dissatisfaction, the Mizushima Ayano in front of her did not take advantage of the situation, but sincerely apologized to her.

The attitude is sincere, there is no reversal, it is indeed

Apologize to her...?

"...It's okay." Xiangzi curled her lips. She was not the kind of person who would hold on to such a small matter.

"Besides these two, Toyokawa-san, do you have any other requests? Other than compensation?"

"And one last thing."

After thinking for a moment, Toyokawa Shoko finally spoke, "In front of outsiders... No, at any time, you should not call me teacher, and I will not call you student.

You can just call me Xiangzi and I will just call you Ayano, okay?"

"Yeah, of course."

Ayano had a vague guess about something, but to her, it had nothing to do with her, so she was too lazy to think about the reasons behind it.

Moreover, this third request would not cause any loss to her, although she might be questioned by a pink-haired girl.

"Now that you've stated your request, I don't have any other requests on my side." Ayano looked at Xiangzi, who seemed relieved, and walked towards her, saying, "The class will be held at my house, just you and me.

You arrange the weekly classes, as long as you and I have time. The length of each class is also flexible, and it can be terminated at any time if either party has something to do.

As for salary, I still have some savings, but I can't give you the highest market price. I'll give you 5000 yen per lesson, is that okay?"

"...5000?"

“Too little?”

"...No, it's fine. I don't care whether it's a lot of money or a little."

There was no big change on Xiangzi's face, but she was already very satisfied and excited in her heart.

5000 for one class, no, this Mizushima Ayano seems to have some ability?

And some people are so taken advantage of that they don’t care how long a lesson lasts... But considering that they have a casual attitude towards piano itself, it’s normal.

Unconsciously, Xiangzi, the young lady who once knew nothing about the cost of daily necessities, is now excited about a private piano tutoring job that pays 5000 yen per lesson. However, she no longer cares about these things. She is only thinking about whether she should quit her job in customer service.

With such a suitable job, it seems there is no need to deal with clients with unpredictable tempers.

"Let's go."

"Where...to?"

Just as Xiangzi recovered from the shock of the 5000 yen, she saw Ayano walking up to her, looking like she was going somewhere to do something instead of going home.

"To buy a piano, of course."

"...You don't have any at home?"

"Of course not." Ayano looked at Xiangzi as if he was stupid. "If I had one, would I still go to school to borrow the piano?"

No, what on earth does this guy mean?!

It implies that Toyokawa Shoko is now down and out, and her family can't afford to buy a piano, so she has to go to school for free, right?

You have to endure it, you must endure it, Toyokawa Shoko.

The girl tightly grasped her trembling left hand behind her and tried hard to keep the smile on her face.

He's just a stupid guy with a lot of money. There's no need to bother with him.

Xiangzi, Xiangzi, you have to adopt the same mentality as when you were a customer service representative facing difficult and unreasonable customers.

What's a Mizushima Ayano? Can she be more difficult to deal with than those uncles and aunts who start cursing as soon as they answer the phone?

While Xiangzi was cheering himself up in his heart, Ayano, who was standing next to him, had already found an excuse to send a message to her father who had been on a business trip abroad and asked for money to buy a piano.

Her father basically granted her every request, which might be because Ayano rarely asked him for anything.

Xiangzi didn't look or ask. In line with the spirit of the contract, since she herself said not to interfere in each other's private affairs, she naturally wouldn't go to see who Ayano was chatting with.

Although it sounds ridiculous to say this, Xiangzi feels that Ayano beside her is a person who may be annoying sometimes, but she will never tell others about her affairs.

but……

"Sui...Ayano-san."

"Ok?"

"First of all, I'm not asking about your personal affairs. I just want to remind you, have you forgotten your pink-haired friend?"

Chapter 7 Soyo: What about me? (2/2)

"You mean her?"

Speaking of Aine, the corners of Ayano's mouth lifted unconsciously. Without stopping, she walked towards the direction of the phone navigation while saying:

"It's okay, just leave it at home. She won't run around. Besides, I've already told her I'll be back later."

"..."

Xiangzi raised his eyebrows slightly and said speechlessly, "What I mean is, according to our contract, if she often appears at your house in the future, I won't be able to teach you properly."

"That's it."

Ayano thought for a moment and replied calmly, "Don't worry, she has her own things to do. It's impossible for her to come to my house every day."

"That's good."

Perhaps because the two of them were not very familiar with each other, after this conversation, Ayano and Shoko fell into silence.

After passing the ticket gate, the subway heading for Ochanomizu District just pulled into the platform. After a slight hesitation, Xiangzi sighed slightly and followed Ayano in front of him.

Ochanomizu area is not too far from Ikebukuro.

Every subway trip would pass by the largest JR platform in Ikebukuro. In the past, Xiangzi would occasionally go to Ochanomizu to buy some effects pedals for electronic keyboards.

Of course, that rarely goes by lately.

"There seem to be several music shops in Ikebukuro, right? Why did you go to Ochanomizu specifically?"

Could it be that this guy saw something?

Combined with Ayano's previous behavior of suddenly asking the pink-haired girl to leave, Xiangzi felt that this guy's ability to read people's expressions was indeed outstanding.

If it is seen that the requests she made were intended to avoid acquaintances, then such actions would be easily explained.

"Really? I don't know."

"……what?"

"I don't know anything about this, and since you didn't tell me just now, I just searched online." Ayano looked at Shoko, whose face was a little stiff, in surprise, and said with a smile, "It says there are many well-known musical instrument stores in the Ochanomizu area.

If you had told me earlier that there was a piano store right next to my house, I wouldn't have needed it... Never mind, since I'm here, I'll just leave it at that."

"..."

This is so weird, is this person really not pretending to be stupid?

Is she, as she appears to be, a very straightforward and simple energy-saving girl who hates trouble; or is she a dangerous person with extremely high emotional intelligence whose heart can be seen through through observation and analysis?

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Just ask."

"Will you tell your pink-haired friend about us?"