Dating sim loading: My girlfriend is a cunning young lady
Chapter 178 - 110. Kantou Competition (2)_2

Chapter 178: 110. Kantou Competition (2)_2

"You two seem to get along well," Kiyono Lin observed Ayane Ayako laughing and chatting amidst the crowd.

"Jealous?"

"No."

"My grandma, no, my mom once told me: a girl’s ’no’ means ’yes’."

Kiyono Lin dropped her arms and turned to address the Wind Instrument Club members, "Everyone, pack up; let’s head to the rehearsal room."

"Yes!"

"Hold on, hold on, I was just playing around with that ’Masked Rider Kabuto’ reference—you’re telling me you’ve never seen it?"

"No."

"That’s it, we can’t be friends."

"Is that so."

"Of course... not. I would never be friends with someone who doesn’t like ’Card Face to Fight,’ but you’re pretty and honest, so I might just turn a blind eye."

"Not because I have nice legs?"

Dubian Che glanced around and said softly, "There are so many people here; let’s not talk about that."

"So, you really became friends with me just because of my legs? I’m so disappointed."

"I told you I only study legs. Studying doesn’t equal liking, okay?"

"Just tell me straight, do you like legs or not?"

"I feel like the competition is more important right now, don’t you think?" Dubian Che said, visibly concerned.

Kiyono Lin scoffed.

Once they arrived at the rehearsal room, everyone tuned their instruments more carefully than usual before starting their final practice.

They still only practiced the opening part.

The repetition, which they had found tedious in the past, was now something they couldn’t get enough of, much like Yuzao Haomei cramming with her vocabulary book on her way into the final exams.

When practice time was over, all that was left was the time to take the stage.

You could clearly hear every tense heartbeat in the rehearsal room.

"Minister Komatsu, you say a few words to everyone," Kiyono Lin suggested to Komatsu Misaki.

"Me?" Komatsu Misaki pointed to herself.

Ever since Kiyono Lin had become an advisor, Komatsu Misaki’s role as minister had been relegated to supervising practice sessions; she didn’t even handle the club fees.

But she was not concerned about who had the power to speak; as long as the Wind Instrument Club was on the right track, any approach was fine.

"Yes," Kiyono Lin nodded. "Although I am confident in everyone’s ability to advance to the national competition, anything can happen. This might really be our last performance. As the minister and also a third-year student about to retire, it would be good for you to wrap things up."

"If I may, I’d like to save my final words for before the national competition," joked Komatsu Misaki, coaxing laughter from everyone.

Komatsu Misaki took a deep breath, "Until mid-June, not even dreaming of winning gold at the Tokyo University contest, let alone aiming for the distant dream of the Kantou contest, seemed credible to us."

She faced everyone.

"We, Goda, are known for our university entrance rates; everyone is heading off to first-rate universities. With such credentials, we aimed for the national competition and worked hard for it. I don’t know what everyone else thinks, but I refuse to lose to schools with a lower deviation value than ours."

Komatsu Misaki’s eyes shone with a stubbornness so fierce, it was the mark of an honor student.

"If we had not tried, it would be one thing, but having given our all, we cannot lose to anyone!" Surprisingly, it was Yuzao Haomei who spoke up.

"Yes! Exactly!"

"Goda first!"

"Goda! Fight on!"

"Fight on!"

The shouts of the Goda Wind Instrument Club members echoed in the rehearsal room.

How you see yourself is very important.

A student ranked first who ends up tenth will wallow in pain and self-blame; one ranked second-to-last who ends up last may even gloat and brag as if it’s something to be proud of.

Dubian Che firmly believed he must and would become someone remarkable.

Being third in his grade was simply a stepping stone; being first in the nation was where he was meant to be; whether it was sports or something else, it wasn’t worth it unless he was better than everyone else if he put his mind to it.

That was his personal standard.

Dubian Che looked at his dark oboe, his heartbeat intensifying steadily, his entire being surging with excitement.

Initially, the national competition had been trivial to him, but now he was determined to grab that gold prize; otherwise, how would he live up to the word ’remarkable’!

A female staff member pushed the door open, "Students of Goda High School, it’s your turn."

"Good luck," whispered Ayane Kumi, holding her bassoon next to Dubian Che.

"I can hardly wait," Dubian Che replied with a smile.

Ayane Kumi was momentarily stunned, then nodded gently, "I’m looking forward to Mr. Dubian’s solo performance."

Apart from them, everyone else also encouraged each other, shouting "You can do it!" no matter how well or poorly they got along.

They each picked up their music stands and, as a group, Goda High School headed towards the stage.

"Next up, we have entry number twenty-two, representing Tokyo, the wind instrument club from Goda High School will perform for us."

"The compulsory piece is ’March for Endless Dreams,’ and the free selection is ’Prosperous Four Seasons’ composed by Kawashima Akira, conducted by Kiyono Lin."

After the announcement, Dubian Che had already taken his place, opened the sheet music, and placed his fingers on the oboe keys, looking at Kiyono Lin standing in front of him.

The lights suddenly dimmed, making the stage even more dazzling, as though spotlighted.

Sounds of people swallowing could be heard from all directions, enveloping everyone in an atmosphere of tension.

With an emotionless face, Kiyono Lin scanned the faces of each player, her gaze finally resting on Dubian Che.

"Nervous?"

"I told you, being nervous can make you perform beyond your usual abilities."

"Is that so? I look forward to your performance."

"I promise you’ll be satisfied."

Kiyono Lin diverted her gaze and raised her arm, everyone immediately got their instruments ready.

The tip of the conductor’s baton dipped slightly, and the collective breath of the musicians flowed through their instruments, creating a powerful resonance.

As the conductor’s baton swept downward, the theme from "March for Endless Dreams" sounded, and any trace of nervousness vanished without a trace.

The deep sounds from the tenor horns and cellos vibrated the ground;

The brass section advanced bravely, the woodwinds intricate and melodious; in their tug of war, the flutes and clarinets freely wove in and out between them;

Straight after, the tenor horn’s gentle counter-melody smoothly integrated into the underlying music.

The performance was full of energy, rushing to the finish. The speed increased, growing faster and more intense.

Gradually, everything began to quieten down.

But at the moment Kiyono Lin’s baton came to an abrupt halt, the performance reached its climax—the oboe took over.

Kiyono Lin’s gaze returned to Dubian Che.

Dubian Che took the reed he had made himself into his mouth, his slender fingers gliding gently over the keys.

The enchanting yet wistful sound resonated throughout the entire concert hall.

In that moment, everyone present was frozen, their brains struck by a violent shock.

The music hall, bathed in golden light, was silent except for the slightly mournful melody woven by Dubian Che and his oboe.

It was as if a colorful, giant bubble had enveloped the stage.

One of the judges couldn’t help but lean forward, completely unaware of his own action.

All members of Goda High School’s wind instrument club wore faces of pride.

The oboe sounded even more beautiful than before.

This is the standard of Goda High School’s solo performance!

...

When a fully sweat-soaked Kiyono Lin turned to bow, the silence that had long held the audience broke, and they erupted into thunderous applause.

The faces of the wind instrument club members were a mixture of joy and bewilderment; they had not yet recovered from the previous state.

After stepping down from the stage, Kiyono Lin said to everyone, "You can do as you please until the results are announced, but everyone must gather in the grand concert hall when they are."

"Yes!"

Just as they were dismissed, before Dubian Che could see Honma Ayako, he saw Kunii Shuichi and Saito Keisuke, who had arrived at the venue later.

The two hurried over with excitement written all over their faces.

"You did great, Dubian!"

"If you don’t win the gold with that performance, it would definitely be rigged!"

"Of course," replied Dubian Che with a smile, "Kunii even made it to Koshien, so I couldn’t fall short of reaching the national competition, could I?"

"Hey, have you no conscience? I haven’t gotten over our loss yet!" Kunii Shuichi wailed.

The Goda baseball club had made a quick exit from Koshien, bringing back nothing but a handful of dirt from the field—a tradition of the defeated.

"Let’s go, I’ll buy you a soda," Dubian Che patted him on the shoulder.

"That’s more like it!"

"Shouldn’t the cost for the trip here be reimbursed?" Saito Keisuke pushed his luck.

"What’s that got to do with you?"