"There are nearly 400 high schools in Tokyo alone. Only twenty are capable of going to the Kanto Competition, and only six are able to go to the whole country."
"To be honest, they are just some underage children who use devilish training to perfect their performances in order to approach professional-level performers."
"For example, at Kataso High School, they come to school at seven o'clock every day and practice until the morning class meeting. They also come to school early on weekends to practice until eight o'clock in the evening. Although it is very difficult, no one has quit. Most of them just cry while practicing."
"What's more important is that almost everything, big or small, is organized by the students themselves, as is the training. Because of this, they won the gold medal at the national conference again after four years."
Seeing that no one responded to Kisaragi Chihaya's soliloquy, Kamiki Toru couldn't help but asked: "...Um, have you finished speaking? Kisaragi-san?"
"Any comments?"
"Are you a hidden stress monster?"
Kisaragi Chihaya looked at Kamiki Toru in confusion and asked: "A pressure monster? Why do I become a stress monster when I tell the truth? Compared with this, have you decided on the music to be played?"
"Of course." Kamiki nodded.
Because Toyuki Youxiang requires third-year students to start first, first-year students have ample preparation time and they stay in the club to prepare.
Toru Kamiki chose "Night of Love, Moon of May". There was nothing special about it. He just knew too many songs and picked one at random from the score in his mind.
"What about you?" Shenmu Tetsu asked.
"Spring in the Northland."
Shenmu Tetsu raised his neck and said: "Speaking of Hokkaido, my dream is to buy a villa there, then circle the fields to plant a lot of vegetables, and sprinkle them with hormone-free, purely natural fertilizers. The vegetables picked out will definitely taste fragrant.
I just don’t know how much impact climate can have on food..."
Kisaragi Chihaya frowned, she didn't say Hokkaido at all.
Ignoring Kamiki Tetsu's nagging, she looked at Xihu Akane and said, "Xihu classmate, which song are you going to play?"
Akane Yuko hugged her euphonium tightly and flipped through the music score intently, because Chisara Kisaragi's previous words made her extremely confused.
"Solo section of "Ode to Spring"." She took a deep breath and gently moved her stiff fingertips, trying to relieve the tension.
While waiting, I could completely hear the performance of other people in the music classroom next door. Sato loved playing bassoon, and the tone was soft, sweet, melodious and full.
Just hearing such a sound made other people nervous.
"Is the tuning okay?" Shenmu Tetsu interrupted and asked.
"Yes."
Shenmu Che continued to ask curiously: "Xihu classmate, how many years have you been playing the euphonium?"
"Uh...five years."
"Wow, five years ago I was playing hide-and-seek with my female classmates at home." Toru Kamiki said in admiration while stretching out his fingers to press the keys.
"Wouldn't this better highlight Shenmu's talent? Even though he doesn't put in much effort, he can achieve results that others cannot achieve after years of hard work." Xihu Akane looked at the sheet music in her hand with a slightly self-deprecating smile.
Book.
Shenmu Che hesitated for a while and said in a half-joking tone: "That's right."
Soon, the soft tone of the clarinet was heard.
"'Clarinet Concerto in A major.'" Chihaya Kisaragi said with ease. "The transition of the bars is handled very well and the tone is accurate. Only Haruwen-kun can play the clarinet to this extent."
Kamiki Tetsu nodded, Haru heard that Suzuka's clarinet skills were indeed very good.
After waiting for a while, Sato Ai walked into the classroom and started calling people.
Kisaragi Chihaya stood up: "It's my turn."
Among the first-year students, her strength was the least worrying like Toru Kamiki's, but when the high-pitched sound of the trumpet came from the music classroom next door, she knew the result.
"Toru Kamiki." Sato Ai shouted.
"coming."
Toru Kamiki walked into the second music classroom with an oboe in his hand. Fuyuki Yuka was sitting on a chair with a metronome on the table.
What surprised him was that Noriko Sakuraba was sitting next to her.
"Teacher Sakuraba? What are you doing here?" Toru Kamiki couldn't help but ask.
Sakuraba Noriko glared at Mu Che with some dissatisfaction and said, "Can't I be here?"
"Haha, sit down first, Shenmu, Noriko is waiting for me to finish and we will go have dinner together." Dongxue Youxiang said with a smile.
Kamiki nodded and sat on the chair.
"Tell me the next grade, name, instrument and repertoire."
"Class A of the first year, Toru Kamiki, oboe, this time I am playing "Night of Love, Night of May."
"Why are you playing this?" Fuyuki Yuka didn't ask, but Sakuraba Noriko asked first, sounding a little unhappy.
Shenmu Che smiled and said, "I don't know, this piece suddenly popped into my head, and I just wanted to play it."
Sakuraba Noriko pouted slightly, looked at him with a wink and said, "You don't have any other meaning?"
"...What's the point of Mr. Sakuraba expecting me to brag about this?" Toru Kamiki said innocently.
Noriko Sakuraba's face turned red, she clenched her hands into fists and leaned forward slightly: "Just, do you have any other meaning?"
"Don't think that having love in my name means that I have evil intentions."
"...No, that's not what I meant..." Noriko Sakuraba listened to his plain voice and took a deep breath in order to cover up her heartbeat that was beating faster and faster.
Dongxue Youxiang just smiled when she saw this: "Is there any problem with the Shenmu tuning?"
"Yes, it was already adjusted before coming in."
"How long have you been practicing oboe?"
"Less than two months."
"Less than two months?" Fuyuki Yuka also heard Minister Sato talk about Kamiki Toru's talent, but two months was still too outrageous to say from his mouth.
Shenmu Che nodded and said: "Yes."
"That's really genius." Dongxue Yuxiang said, "Then let's start playing when you're ready."
"good."
Dongxue Yuxiang said with a smile: "Let's start directly from the main melody in the 28th measure. After all, it takes a long time to write a song."
"OK."
"Next, I will turn on the metronome. Please keep playing from bar twenty-eight until I shout the end."
"Um."
The regular "click" sound of the beat sounded. Kamiki Toru took a deep breath, his lungs swelled slightly, and his slender fingers pressed on the keys.
The music starts with a soft melody, slowly speeds up the tempo, and the sweet notes bounce in the black woodwinds.
The timbre of the oboe vibrated the air in the second music room and corridor. Dongxue Youxiang was not only impressed, but also a little stunned. The notes he played were dazzling and brilliant.
Even the professional oboe players she knew could not produce such a delicate, heart-wrenching and sweet tone.
Fuyuki Yuka even forgot to call out, just to listen to Kamiki Toru's performance more.
By the time the entire score was played, nearly eight minutes had passed.
"Very good, very good." Dongxue Yuxiang's eardrums stretched out with the aftertaste of the performance still remaining, and the hand holding the pen was trembling slightly.
Noriko Sakuraba felt that her thighs were completely stuck to the surface of the chair. She was obviously afraid that he would play for other girls, but now she felt very happy to hear it. The heat spreading from the soles of her feet tightly grasped her heart.
organ.
At this moment, Sakuraba Noriko felt that she was very selfish for taking such a wonderful thing for herself.
As the minister, Ai Sato was a little dizzy and his fingertips were trembling.
"Director Sato, please call the next person for me." It wasn't until Fuyuki Yuka spoke that she came back to her senses.
"Ah, okay!"
He turned around and wanted to run, but suddenly hit the door frame.
"it hurts--!"
I heard a very crisp "thunk" sound.
Kamiki Toru stepped forward to spy on her expression and said, "Is the minister okay?"
"No, it's okay."
"But you cried out in pain."
"It's okay, it's okay. This is nothing compared to the pain I've been having these past few days." The delicate face came slightly closer, Sato Ai lowered his head and trotted out of the classroom with a slightly red cheek.
Kamiki Toru watched her run into the club room again. The third-year students in the corridor who were waiting for the results had very complicated looks. They all looked like they wanted to provoke but were helpless due to lack of strength.
Because there were so many people, it was already 6:20 pm.
The lights in the classroom have been turned on, and a hazy dark gray falls outside the window.
"Why are you still here? Waiting for Yuko-san?" Toru Kamiki looked at Takai Fujii who was sitting and asked.
"Because I knew it would be very late, and I felt that sending her home might trigger an ambiguous incident."
"Then you never thought that she would trigger the defeat event?"
"Come on, it's impossible!" Fujii Kosuke said confidently.
Kamiki Toru patted his shoulder and walked to Kisaragi Chihaya again.
"How does it feel?" he asked.
"Only this point is beyond doubt." Kisaragi Chihaya said, flipping up her long hair.
"That's it." Kamiki smiled quietly. In some aspects, she was the same as him, and she was the same kind of person.
"Are all the people who participated in the selection here?" Fuyuki Yuka walked into the classroom with a smile on her face, followed by Noriko Sakuraba.
But her eyes kept searching among the students, and it wasn't until she found Toru Kamiki that a smile broke out on her face.
Sato Ai replied: "Yes! Everyone is here!"
"It's late, so I won't be polite. Now I will announce the results directly. No matter whether it is in line with your wishes or not, please do as I say."
"yes!"
"There are fifty-five people in total. Anyone whose name is called please answer."
"yes!"
"Before this, I reiterate that I am not biased against anyone because of other factors. I hope everyone can understand each other." Dongxue Youxiang was vaccinated in advance.
"yes!"
"Then, let's start with the trumpet group..."
There are eight people in the trumpet group. As expected, Chihaya Kisaragi successfully passed the test. When the other two first-year students heard their names, they covered their faces in surprise, and many of them pressed their fingertips against their burning eyes.
The expressions of some third-year students who were not shouted out became very distorted.
Next, the selection results for the trombone group, bass group, and percussion group were announced...
Haruwen Suzuka, Yuko Akane, and Sato Ai also passed the selection. Only a few third-year students were selected, which was not beyond Kamiki Toru's expectation.
"Are you kidding!" Senior Sister Feng He suddenly shouted, and Dongxue Youxiang was so frightened that her whole body trembled.
"What's the matter?" Dongxue Youxiang patted her chest with her hand, calmed down and asked with a smile.
Senior Sister Feng He patted the table and said, "There is definitely something shady! Why are there only a few third-year students? Most of the lower-grade students have entered?"
"I told you in advance, I am not biased towards anyone, please sit down." Dongxue Youxiang responded with a smile.
Senior sister Fenghe clenched her fists tightly, glared at Shenmu Tetsu and ran out of the classroom.
Shenmu Che sighed helplessly and complained in a low voice: "No, can you blame me?"
"After all, it took you the longest to go in." Kisaragi Chihaya said with a smile.
Dongxue Youxiang didn't care about the farce just now, and said directly: "But I have one more thing to tell you, which is about the self-selected music for this playing competition."
Sato Ai hurriedly said: "Ah... Teacher Dongyue, I have a song in my heart that is suitable for the members of the club..."
"I'm sorry, please let me decide on this." Dongxue Youxiang's expression became serious.
"Okay, okay." Ai Sato closed his mouth.
Fuyuki Yuxiang stared at the remaining students and said: "I think you all showed your true level in today's selection. In terms of the results, I am very disappointed."
She stood in front of the podium with an indifferent expression, and the atmosphere in the classroom suddenly became heavy.
Sakuraba Noriko sat aside obediently, saying nothing, but glancing back and forth between Fuyuki Yuka and Kamiki Toru from time to time.
"I don't want to discourage you, but with your current level, even if all fifty-five people play, it's still no better than just six or seven people playing."
When these words were spoken, the members of the classroom all looked embarrassed. What Dongxue Yuxiang meant was that if it weren't for the large number of places, there would not have been fifty-five people.
Dongxue Yuxiang crossed her arms and subconsciously frowned and said: "I decided to choose a few members to perform with the wood and brass ensemble. The students who passed the selection only need to practice the designated music for the conference in the following time.
."
Kisaragi Chihaya put her hand on her chin and said, "Indeed, this is the safest way."
"Is this okay?" Kamiki asked.
"Of course, for example, woodwind quintet, brass octet, etc. are allowed." Kisaragi Chihaya said, "It's just that very few schools use this format now, which requires a lot of strength from everyone who plays.
Strict, unlike the situation with more than fifty people, even if one of them makes a flaw, there is still a chance that it will be covered up by other voices."
"Uh, Teacher Dongxue...this..."
Sato Ai's voice was stuck in her throat and all the dizzying heat was concentrated in her head.
What the consultant meant was that the self-selected music only required a few capable people to win the favor of the judges in the multiplex to make up for the possible losses caused by the fifty-five people specifying the music.
The rest of the team members looked very ugly. Although they could play, it was undoubtedly a blow to them.
Fuyuki Youxiang sighed and said: "If you want to go to the whole country, you must go to the Kanto Competition first. But if you can't go to the Kanto Competition, it's useless no matter how much you say."
There was silence in the classroom, and no one raised any objections. Most people acquiesced to this matter in their hearts.
"Next, I will explain the number of places for the self-selected multiplex." Fuyuki Yuka said, "Sato Ai, Haruwen Suzuka, Mito Yuka, Kamiki Tetsu, Yuko Akane, Kisaragi Chihaya, the above six people are responsible for the multiplex.
I will select the track and send it to you tonight."
"I hope that the students who were not selected for the duet will not be discouraged. You are growing up, and a bigger stage is waiting for you. Please cheer up, and don't give up if you are not selected. The candidates will be replaced at any time according to the situation of the members before the competition.
."
"Above, today's performance club meeting is at this location. It's getting late. Please go home as soon as possible and dismiss!"
"Yes! Goodbye, teacher."
"Thank you, teacher."
The members repeated the words of thanks, and the more they said it, the more it seemed to be a formality. Suddenly, a gap arose between the students who were not selected for the selection and the students who were selected. There was also a gap between the students who were not selected for the duet and the students who only practiced the designated music.