“You traitor!”
The moment she saw the person entering, Hasegawa Aoi almost blurted out these words instinctively.
Suzuki Yuu, who was just about to walk in, froze for a few seconds, then quickly understood what she meant, looking a bit helpless and amused.
“You really hold quite a grudge against President Jinguu.”
Right now, he was honestly exhausted. Although receiving guidance from Jinguu Amane had helped him improve a lot, for some reason, her demands kept getting higher and higher.
Fortunately, the cello and piano share a highly common musical foundation; only the performance techniques differ.
So after he got used to the piano’s techniques, his progress was naturally quite fast.
Even so, he really didn’t want to keep going, because his fingers could barely hold on anymore.
In the end, to escape, he even started playing worse on purpose.
Jinguu Amane seemed pretty disappointed about that, but he couldn’t care about it anymore.
For now, he still had to appease Hasegawa Aoi.
Though this upperclassman usually acted bold and carefree, she became extremely sensitive whenever it came to Jinguu Amane.
Probably because of her experiences back in middle school—maybe she even feared that he and Jinguu Amane would end up performing together.
In short, all kinds of misunderstandings could crop up, as evident from that single word, “traitor.”
If he’d been taking guidance from anyone else, she probably wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.
After all, subconsciously, it seemed Hasegawa Aoi already considered Jinguu Amane an enemy.
So now, to deal with the sulking girl in front of him, what he needed was to say something to cheer her up:
“It couldn’t be helped, really. I just wanted to gather some intel on the enemy.”
“Enemy intel?”
“That’s right. After all, we’ll have to face the President at the chamber music competition. It can’t hurt to get a sense of her level beforehand.”
“You… You’re actually thinking of beating Jinguu Amane?”
Aoi’s shock was plain as day. Her eyes went wide, as if she’d just heard something utterly outrageous.
She had never expected the usually mild-mannered Suzuki Yuu to have such ambitions.
Suzuki Yuu let out a breath of relief inwardly. His gamble had paid off.
He deliberately put on a “what’s the big deal” expression and shrugged.
“Why not?” he shot back. “You have to set your goals high, right? If you start being timid even at the imagining stage, you’re already defeated before you begin.”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t believe in miracles…” Aoi muttered, as if just to argue.
“That’s why I just need to practice until I’m about as good as her before the competition starts. Of course, since it’s a chamber music competition, I’ll need a partner too.”
Suzuki Yuu stared right at Hasegawa Aoi, practically writing “I hope you’ll join” all over his face.
Unfortunately, Hasegawa Aoi still seemed hesitant. She thought for a long while, furrowing her brows before finally saying,
“I’ll think about it…”
She still seemed to have concerns, but Suzuki Yuu wasn’t worried. For now, all he needed to do was stick to his training.
Just then, Hasegawa Aoi puffed up her cheeks and said,
“So you’re learning piano, but don’t tell me you actually have a reason for wanting to beat her head-on?”
“Not exactly… But now I do have that idea. After all, the competition isn’t until after summer vacation. There’s still plenty of time.”
“I don’t know where you get that confidence from… Whatever. For a beginner like you, it’s not like losing will do any real harm.”
Clearly, Hasegawa Aoi was against Suzuki Yuu’s half-hearted attitude, but since his interest in music was just a passing fancy, she didn’t bother advising him otherwise.
It’s not like he was going to pursue this as a career anyway, so it didn’t really matter.
“So, senpai, I hope you’ll keep teaching me piano.”
“Hmph, don’t you already have your precious President Jinguu?” Hasegawa Aoi turned away, crossing her arms, her face full of defiance.
Seeing her like that, Suzuki Yuu shook his head with a smile and said,
“Guess I’ll just go ask President Jinguu then. See you.”
“Hey, wait, get back here!”
After a brief commotion, the two finally quieted down, and Suzuki Yuu tried to comfort the pouting Hasegawa Aoi.
“Alright, senpai, I was wrong. From now on, I’ll only learn from you.”
Suzuki Yuu’s apology was truly sincere. Hasegawa Aoi’s puffed cheeks finally deflated. She turned her face to the side and mumbled softly, “…You’re just good at saying nice things to make people mad.”
“So, senpai, you’re not mad anymore?” Suzuki Yuu probed.
“Hmph.” She didn’t answer directly, but it was clear she’d accepted it.
The clubroom fell silent for a few seconds, with only the “ta-ta” of Hasegawa Aoi unconsciously tapping the game controller’s buttons.
Suddenly, she stopped and, as if making up her mind, spun around. Her bright, watery eyes stared earnestly at Suzuki Yuu.
“Junior.”
“Yeah?” Suzuki Yuu straightened up, seeing her suddenly get so serious.
“The agreement you made with Shiina underclassman, and then with that Jinguu girl… Was it really just for money?”
“Uh… President Jinguu kind of forced me, but yeah, money was a factor.”
“You didn’t approach them because you like them, and just used that as an excuse, right?”
No sooner had Hasegawa Aoi finished her question than a look of complete aversion appeared on Suzuki Yuu’s face.
“I’d give anything to shake off those rich girls right now—like I’d fall for them.”
“Scumbag.”
“Hey! How does that make me a scumbag?” Suzuki Yuu immediately protested. “I haven’t done anything to them.”
But hearing his anxious defense, Hasegawa Aoi’s face actually showed a trace of a smile. She turned aside, her beautiful eyes fixed on him, and asked the question she’d always wanted to ask:
“So, Suzuki… What are your standards for choosing someone to make an agreement with?”
“Why are you suddenly asking that…”
“Just really curious. Tell me, okay~ junior?”
Hasegawa Aoi’s unexpectedly soft tone caught Suzuki Yuu off guard. He couldn’t figure out why she was acting so strangely.
But after thinking it over, he decided to just tell the truth.
“It’s probably just people who have some sort of special skill. Mainly to learn from them, honestly. I know quite a lot of things myself.”
“Really?” Upon hearing that, Hasegawa Aoi’s eyes suddenly lit up.
Suzuki Yuu couldn’t make sense of it and asked,
“So why are you asking?”
But Hasegawa Aoi seemed not to have heard him at all, and changed the subject:
“Junior, are you free tomorrow?”
“I am, why?”
“The piano in the clubroom hasn’t been maintained in ages. Can we go practice somewhere else?”
“Sure, but where?”
“My place.” Hasegawa Aoi said, beaming.