Dating sim loading: My girlfriend is a cunning young lady
Chapter 272 - 146. National Competition (1)

Chapter 272: 146. National Competition (1)

At 5:30 in the morning, Dubian Che opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his hair.

"Hmm—" A disgruntled noise came from beside him.

Dubian Che looked over to see Jiutiao Meiji curled up under the blanket, with only her head poking out, her disheveled black hair strewn across the sheets and the pillow.

"Awake?" he said as he pulled the blanket back up, leaning his upper body over Jiutiao Meiji.

His body pressed against her porcelain-smooth skin as he caressed her still half-asleep head.

As if seeking warmth, Jiutiao Meiji also snuggled closer to him.

Inside the blanket, the temperature was a bit higher than usual, very comfortable. After enjoying it for a while, Dubian Che sighed, still lifted the blanket, and sat up again.

"What’s up?" Jiutiao Meiji complained while reaching out to hold him, forcefully pulling him back under the blanket, and then contentedly pressed her face to his chest.

The soft touch was transmitted to Dubian Che through the pajamas.

He gently patted Jiutiao Meiji’s snowy shoulder and whispered in her ear, "Meiji, I have to go for morning practice."

"...Hmm." Jiutiao Meiji responded with a completely sleep-laden voice.

Dubian Che had no choice, embraced her by the waist and squinted for a while longer, until the dawn light streamed into the room, and he knew he couldn’t keep on like this.

He rolled over and pressed Jiutiao Meiji beneath him, burrowing his body into the blanket.

Jiutiao Meiji’s long eyelashes trembled slightly as she lifted her eyelids, her eyes drowsy, to see a large bump on the blanket over her chest.

"What are you up to this early in the morning?" she lifted the blanket and complained to the person inside.

"Morning practice." Dubian Che’s muffled voice came, as if he was containing something.

Jiutiao Meiji tried to lift her head but the body that had just woken up was too heavy. After struggling for a moment, she simply gave up.

She covered herself with the blanket again, closed her eyes to continue sleeping, stretching her fingers through Dubian Che’s hair.

...

"So heavy, get up," Jiutiao Meiji forcefully slapped Dubian Che sniffing her neck.

Because it was comfortable, Dubian Che completely put his weight on her. Although it wasn’t the first time, it really was heavy.

"Alright, alright."

Dubian Che got off the bed and walked towards the window.

The weather was very good, the autumn sky’s refreshing blue filled his sight, and he felt completely satisfied and invigorated as he stretched.

As the seasons changed, the blankets grew softer, making getting up in the morning somewhat more painful.

******

"Good morning."

"Good morning, ahh~~"

"Not fully awake yet?"

"Hmm, dead tired. But just two more days to hang in there."

Members of the Wind Instrument Club greeted each other good morning, chatted, and took out their instruments to prepare for practice.

Some members were focused on practicing the assigned piece, different instruments playing the "March for Endless Dreams" in a mixed jumble throughout the music room;

In the center of the room, the trombone and horn sections rehearsed the parts needing improvement for their free piece;

In the corner, the B-section members were seriously practicing fundamentals.

In the tenor horn section, Mayi Asuka pulled the slide of the tenor horn, pouring the condensed droplets from the instrument into a bucket—she had been practicing for quite some time.

While cleaning, her gaze wandered to the bassoon & oboe section; the oboist hadn’t arrived yet.

Dubian Che wasn’t always the second one to come to the music room, but he was always among the early ones; being this late as today was a first for him.

"Senior sister, what’s wrong?" Ichiki Aoi noticed Mayi Asuka’s gaze.

Mayi Asuka gave a slight shake of her head and said nothing.

Dubian Che, treading on the time for the 8:30 ensemble, entered the music room.

Taking the train from Shinbashi to Shibuya Station really takes only a few minutes, and exercising didn’t take much time, so where had all that time gone?

Could it be that the morning practice in bed took longer than he thought?

Dubian Che decided to reflect, he must shorten the time next time... never mind, he should just get up earlier.

"Before the ensemble, let’s tune first. Oboe." Kiyono Lin turned to Dubian Che.

Dubian Che put the reed in his mouth, playing a long and accurate pitch, the other instruments slowly followed suit, and the resonance made ripples in the water bottle.

They practiced until 10:15. Even though it was already October and the day’s high was only 20 degrees, even Kiyono Lin, who served as the conductor, started to sweat on his forehead.

"Good job, let’s take a short break. The second round of practice starts at 10:30."

"Yes!"

Dubian Che stretched out his arms towards the ceiling and yawned big.

"Mr. Dubian, you arrived quite late today, were you tired from the sports festival?" asked Ayane Kumi, seated beside him, her deep red bassoon resting on her skirted lap.

"No, the bed was just too comfy this morning," Dubian Che replied, twisting his neck.

"With this weather, I really feel like sleeping in a bit more," Ayane Kumi’s gaze lingered on his well-defined hands.

After the second round of practice, Dubian Che returned to the Human Observation Department for lunch.

Kiyono Lin sat by the window, one hand holding chopsticks, the other flipping through the score in her hand, while the record player beside her was still playing "March for Endless Dreams."

"You’re taking it a bit too seriously," Dubian Che sat down in his spot and glanced at the record player, "can you really tell where it’s up to?"

Kiyono Lin sighed and put a long-held broccoli piece into her mouth.

"The free piece ’Prosperous Four Seasons’ has your solo, already no problem, but with the assigned piece..." Kiyono Lin paused, "we need another month to reach the level that satisfies me."

"It sounds pretty good to me already though."

"Not even close," Kiyono Lin’s gaze fixed on the heavily noted score, "with their current level, the chance of achieving national gold doesn’t exceed seventy percent. If the judges think: ’It’s Shinbashi’s first time attending the nationals, getting a silver is fine,’ the probability of getting gold will be even lower."