Chapter 73

The girls of Seiten Band walked out of the Club Building.

"The sunlight at three fifty in the afternoon is actually this brilliant!"

"I always thought it would already be dark at this time."

They, who named themselves 'Seiten,' had never seen a sunny day during club activity time.

Qingshan Li carried the box containing the drum set down from upstairs, glanced outside, sunlight filtering through the branches, shadows cast upon the Western-style colonnade, as if swaying in water.

"Let's go!" Agatsuma Haruka said.

Everyone left the Club Building and headed to the traffic roundabout at the School Gate.

When school let out, one luxury car after another drove in here to pick up certain students.

There weren't any yet.

As they approached, a black Mercedes-Benz MPV slowly entered the roundabout and stopped at the boarding point.

The driver got out, and as she ran toward the car door, the sliding door automatically slid open.

"Is that the car?" Agatsuma Haruka asked.

"Probably." Bass Sakurako said.

"Someone who got the Principal to personally accompany them on a campus tour when transferring—surely not an ordinary person. At my house, only my dad has a Mercedes-Benz." Drummer Gu Mumi said.

Kaimei High School has many rich people, but having a car for pick-up and drop-off, and being able to dispatch vehicles at any time, are two different things.

People like Mikami Ai are extremely few.

"Just how rich is Mikami Ai's family?" everyone muttered while approaching the black Mercedes-Benz.

Qingshan Li, as the Manager, opened his mouth: "Excuse me."

"Are you Young Master Qingshan?" the driver immediately said.

". I am Qingshan Li."

It was the first time he had been called Young Master.

The driver bowed: "Miss Mikami arranged for me to pick you up."

"Thank you for the trouble."

The MPV can seat seven people; excluding the driver, six people fit perfectly.

"The drum set probably won't fit." Drummer Gu Mumi looked at the trunk.

"Try to fit as much as possible on the car; leave the rest to me, I'll take it there." Qingshan Li said, "I know that place, it's fast by train."

They still wanted to say something.

Qingshan Li spoke first: "If you have a better idea, say it; if not, get in the car immediately."

". Thank you." Drummer Gu Mumi's voice was a little louder.

At least they could confirm it wasn't a daydream.

The six of them were petite, and since Qingshan Li didn't take the car, freeing up a seat, the entire drum set was finally loaded.

"The only extra one is me?! I'm not going!" Qingshan Li said in disbelief.

The girls were all laughing.

"The Manager can't skip the site for miscellaneous tasks." Agatsuma Haruka's tone was like speaking to a kindergartener.

"If you don't go, the only audience might be gone!" F·Rino said anxiously.

"Wait, Rino, I admit what you said is true, but you don't have to say it out loud!" Drummer Gu Mumi shouted.

"Junior Qingshan, don't you want to keep looking at me?" Senior Sakurako held her skirt hem, not knowing if it was disappointment or a hint to look under the skirt.

Qingshan Li said to the driver: "Please, the address is near the Yong Tian Ting subway entrance; there's a square there, the car can park at Chi Ban Gong Gong Ting Che Chang."

"I know where Young Master is talking about; I will safely deliver the young ladies." The driver bowed, then turned and got in the car.

The car window opened, and everyone squeezed together with the instruments looked at him.

"Those who arrive late treat everyone to McDonald's!" Qingshan Li waved.

"Driver Miss, the speed must definitely surpass the train!" Drummer Gu Mumi encouraged.

The driver smiled slightly, nodded to Qingshan Li in greeting, and the black Mercedes-Benz drove out of the roundabout, leaving the campus.

Just now Ono Mika laughed very happily; Qingshan Li thought of this scene, and his whole body was filled with strength.

He did not immediately go to the station, but turned back to the Club Building and left his mobile phone with Ono Mizuki.

"Contact us after club activities end, and let's go eat McDonald's together." He said.

"McDonald's." Ono Mizuki made a thoughtful sound.

She, petite in stature and sweet in appearance, looked very cute and amusing when thinking.

Of course, she wasn't stupid; her grades were very good.

"Don't like eating it?" Qingshan Li asked curiously.

"Of course I like it, but I like your Hamburg Steak more; if we go eat McDonald's, I'll miss one meal."

"Fool!" Qingshan Li laughed, "As long as you're not afraid of getting fat, I can make you late-night snacks, for a lifetime."

"I won't eat late-night snacks!" Ono Mizuki said disdainfully, "You hurry up and go, don't actually treat them; seven people, is ten thousand yen enough?"

"Mm, I'm going, see you in the evening."

Such delicious Hamburg Steak, eating it for a lifetime probably wouldn't get boring; Ono Mizuki thought to herself while walking back to the Choir Club.

"Mizuki, why is your face so red?" said her good friend, also a First Dan.

". Is my face red?"

"Mm."

Oh no, Qingshan Li that guy will definitely misunderstand, thinking I'm shy!

"Your ears are red too!" the friend added.

Qingshan Li got off at Zu Tian Zhan, putting away the book in his hand while planning to return all the books to Adachi Ward Central Library tonight.

Exams were coming in the next few days, and Golden Week would bring a move; too many things piled up would be troublesome.

When he reached the agreed place, there was no one on the small square.

Looking left and right, he found that under the outdoor chairs shaded by parasols, the girls were drinking juice, with instrument cases piled to one side.

Not only instrument cases, but also various equipment, presumably arranged by Mikami Ai to be delivered by other vehicles.

"What do you want me to do?" Qingshan Li walked over, asking in puzzlement.

They said nothing.

Ono Mika said somewhat shyly: "We, we're a bit embarrassed."

Qingshan Li put down his bookbag, hoisted the large black bag containing the drum set, and walked straight toward the center of the square.

The girls silently exchanged glances.

Agatsuma Haruka took a deep breath: "Go!"

"Mm!"

They picked up their instruments and followed Qingshan Li; seventeen or eighteen years old, the season of flowers, as they ran they looked like a group of sakura petals blown up by the wind.

"Before we start, I want to tell you a story." Qingshan Li faced the five girls.

The girls adjusting their equipment looked at him.

"Once there was a man called Niu Lang. To marry Zhi Nv as his wife and keep her from returning to heaven, while she was bathing he secretly hid Zhi Nv's clothes."

The story of Niu Lang and Zhi Nv also exists in Japan, along with the custom of hanging wish strips on bamboo during the Tanabata Festival.

"What I mean is," Qingshan Li explained so they wouldn't fail to understand, "today, even by despicable and underhanded means, I will make it impossible for you to leave, and you will perform here until eight o'clock in the evening."

"Wouldn't it be a bit improper to take off clothes on the street?" Bass Sakurako said.

"Is it just a bit improper?!" Drummer Gu Mumi, who had more common sense, said.

"I'll snatch your bookbags, so you can't review tonight," Qingshan Li said.

The girls: "."

When narrow roads meet, they drew daggers, while the other side produced Yu-Gi-Oh! cards, saying they would settle it with a duel.

"You're still a virgin, right?" Bass Sakurako said while slinging her bass over her slender shoulder, "After the exams, come find your senior, and your senior will help you graduate."

Ono Mika looked at her; Bass Sakurako's expression did not seem like she was joking.

"Since that's the case," Qingshan Li took out Ono Mika's mobile phone that she had left with him, "from now on, I'll record the whole thing. If within two minutes you still haven't started performing, I'll send this ugly, quiet video to everyone on my contact list, so they can see your sorry state."

"How many people are on your contact list?" Agatsuma Haruka asked immediately.

"All the girls in the class, Teacher Akita Shio, Teacher Kuze Oto, the Student Council President, Mikami Ai, and the baseball club's female manager."

Agatsuma Haruka strummed her strings and launched into a solo brimming with emotion, causing passersby to glance sideways.

"Listen up!" she said to her teammates, "In the eyes of our classmates, my image is 'someone who plays music.' Whoever dares to shatter this image, I'll strangle her with guitar strings, and then commit suicide!"

A guitar has six strings in total, and not one person present would escape.

Everyone looked at Qingshan Li; Qingshan Li said nothing, merely aiming his mobile phone at them as if pointing a gun at them.

"There are still ninety seconds," he said.

The five began to perform, and Ono Mika sang PUFFY's "My Way of Survival."

〖If someone feels uneasy, surely reach out a helping hand〗

Ono Mika's voice was a bit nervous.

〖Whether things go smoothly or end in disaster, both are your way of survival〗

〖We who are burning feel not bad; this is the proof of being alive〗

Qingshan Li was the first audience member; when the second and third audience members appeared, he left and went to the outdoor chairs where the girls had been sitting earlier.

By six in the evening, after Ono Mizuki arrived, the two went together to buy McDonald's.

One 180-yen hamburger each;

One 270-yen medium cola each;

One 140-yen soft-serve cone each;

Two 600-yen large fries and McNuggets sets.

Total spent: 5330 yen.

"Half a month's pocket money is gone," Qingshan Li said, feeling the pinch terribly.

"May's pocket money will be issued in a few days," Ono Mizuki said, licking her soft-serve cone; paired with her petite frame, it gave Qingshan Li the impulse to hold her hand.

Afraid she would get lost, or be too absorbed in eating to watch the road.

The girls finished lunch and continued singing.

No one listened to them sing all the time, but someone was always there, and they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Ono Mizuki felt an itch in her heart and couldn't help but join in, singing together with Ono Mika.

Qingshan Li sat by the pool, smiling as he watched them.

Soon, Mikami Ai arrived.

At this time there were many people coming and going, but the moment she appeared within sight, one would immediately notice her, as if captured; her beauty was an elegant, high-end vacuum cleaner, while the gazes of passersby were pitiful dust unable to move.

She had changed into everyday clothes.

A grayish-purple shirt-style top, not actually a shirt, so it had both the dignity of a shirt and a casual feel;

Below was a navy blue half-skirt reaching to the ankles.

Her whole person was gentle and elegant, without losing a sense of fashion.

She stood among the crowd listening to the music, and many people couldn't help but look at her.

Those adult men, knowing full well it was improper to look at a girl like that, still could not control their gazes.

Mikami Ai listened for a while, then walked over to Qingshan Li by the pool and said, "They sang well. I have a few questions I want to ask them later."

"There's still an hour. Can you wait?"

Mikami Ai nodded, turned to look at the Seiten Band again, and had no intention of making idle chat with Qingshan Li.

Listening to the Ono Sisters' singing, Qingshan Li couldn't help but show a satisfied expression.

He remembered Kuze Oto's words and couldn't help but look up at the sky; the night breeze blew gently.

"The moonlight is truly beautiful tonight," he praised.

Mikami Ai glanced at the night sky; it was not a full moon, nor was it near a full moon, and could not be called beautiful.

There was only one possibility.

"It's impossible," she replied coldly.

"."

Qingshan Li decided to explain seriously why he absolutely had to get the money in advance.

Always being misunderstood as liking her troubled him himself as well.

(Chapter End)