Yu Suzuki just stood there for quite a while, quietly observing.
He watched as Aoi Hasegawa picked up the sheet music, looked it over again and again, then set it down.
She took a deep breath, placed the violin on her shoulder once more, and adjusted her posture.
The bow drew across the strings again, and a smooth melody echoed throughout the Clubroom.
This time, it was clearly much better than her earlier performance; it looked like she had fully gotten into the groove.
But for some reason, she suddenly stopped again and slapped herself across the face.
“This isn’t something I can play well!”
She bit her lip, her brows furrowing even tighter.
Yu Suzuki could tell that she still deeply regretted the mistake she had made earlier in the Student Council Room.
She was like a completely different person from the usually laid-back and lazy Club President.
At this moment, Aoi Hasegawa’s eyes were focused, her whole body radiated a sense of seriousness, and even her typically languid posture became upright and proper.
Yu Suzuki couldn’t help but recall what Amane Jinguu had once said—Aoi Hasegawa had been her idol.
Looking at her now, maybe that really was true.
He had no intention of disturbing her, so he simply stood silently to the side and watched.
After Aoi Hasegawa picked up several other pieces of sheet music and played a number of classical songs, she finally set down the violin with a look of satisfaction.
“Looks like I’ve still got skills. I just need to find a way to make this place a bit more elegant, and it’ll count as a proper club activity.”
As she spoke, she sprawled out on the sofa again, a look of utter contentment on her face as she grabbed the controller beside her, as if she was about to revert to her usual state.
But before starting, she sighed:
“Ugh, if only that guy Suzuki hadn’t gone off to the Student Council, I could’ve bossed him around and made him help tidy up the room. Seriously, I still don’t get what it is about Jinguu that’s so…”
She rambled on so shamelessly that Yu Suzuki cleared his throat to cut off her soliloquy.
“Need any help?”
Aoi Hasegawa jumped in surprise, sitting bolt upright. When she saw it was Yu Suzuki, a flash of panic appeared on her face.
“Wh-when did you get here?!”
“Since you started flipping through the sheet music.”
Maybe it was the shock, but Aoi Hasegawa’s face visibly turned red, and her words tumbled out without restraint:
“Pervert, creep, peeping tom!”
“I was just watching you play, not changing clothes…”
“I don’t care! You’re still a pervert!”
Aoi Hasegawa angrily hugged a pillow, curling up in the corner of the sofa like a bristling cat.
Yu Suzuki sighed helplessly.
“You were just so focused on playing that you didn’t notice. Besides, the door wasn’t even shut all the way—I figured you knew someone had come in.”
“You should’ve called out and let me know!” Aoi Hasegawa’s voice held an obvious mix of embarrassment and annoyance. “Just standing there and watching—what’s with that?”
“Interrupting someone when they’re focused is extremely rude,” Yu Suzuki shrugged. “Besides, your performance was really nice to listen to, so I wanted to hear a bit more.”
Maybe it was because she heard him praise her, but Aoi Hasegawa’s anger seemed to subside a little. She just pouted and muttered:
“This is all your fault, going to the Student Council for no reason, now I’m stuck with all this work.”
“Yes, yes, it’s my fault. So, Club President, is there anything I can help with?”
Aoi Hasegawa stared at Yu Suzuki for a few seconds, as if checking whether he was really willing to help, or maybe searching for some awkward reason to refuse.
After quite a while, she finally got down from the sofa, nudged the pile of messy trash at her feet, and said,
“Isn’t it obvious? Hurry up and clean all this up.”
Looking at the scattered chip bags and all sorts of bottles and cans, Yu Suzuki gave a wry smile.
“You really do treat the Clubroom like your own house, huh.”
“Nonsense, I’m the Music Club’s Club President—this is my territory, isn’t it?” Aoi Hasegawa stood on the sofa, hands on her hips, speaking righteously. She then added, “And it’s not like the school forbids eating in the clubroom.”
“That’s true… but it’s getting late. How about we do this tomorrow?”
Looking at the sun about to set outside the window,
“No way! You promised you’d help, and what if the Student Council has something for you tomorrow? Then that Jinguu would steal you away again…”
Aoi Hasegawa stopped mid-sentence, suddenly freezing.
The excitement faded at once. She sat back down on the sofa and said,
“Anyway, you have to help me.”
“Alright, I’ll find time to help you these next few days.”
“Write me a pledge!”
“Is that really necessary…”
“I don’t care, write a pledge!”
After making a fuss for a while, Aoi Hasegawa finally settled comfortably on the sofa, her whole demeanor returning to its usual laziness.
“So, underclassman, what do you think?”
“What?”
“How was my playing this morning?”
As she asked, Yu Suzuki saw that there was a hint of anticipation in her expression.
“It sounded good.”
“That’s all?”
“It was both nice to hear and nice to watch.”
Yu Suzuki’s praise was simple and direct. As for flowery compliments, he usually only used those when fulfilling rental obligations, and even then, half-heartedly.
But clearly, Aoi Hasegawa didn’t appreciate such plain praise. She puffed out her cheeks and said,
“You’d say that about any girl playing, right?”
“Not quite. She’s got to be good-looking and cute too. Don’t worry, Club President, in my heart you’ve far exceeded my expectations. Just being able to see you perform is a pleasure in itself.”
Aoi Hasegawa’s face instantly turned red. She hugged her pillow and froze up.
It took her several seconds before she finally reacted, stammering:
“You—you… what are you suddenly saying!”
“Just telling the truth,” Yu Suzuki replied, as if it were perfectly natural. “Didn’t you just ask what I thought? I was just answering honestly.”
“Su… Suzuki, you must’ve made plenty of girls fall for you with that face and that mouth of yours, right? You’ve never complimented me like this before. You must have ulterior motives now!”
Aoi Hasegawa mumbled, having thought about what she wanted to say for quite a while.
“You never played the violin in the club before, so I never had the chance to compliment you even if I wanted to.”
Yu Suzuki couldn’t help but laugh, but then something about the system came to mind, so he added,
“By the way, I do have something I’d like your help with.”
“Knew it! Up to no good—what is it?”
“Sempai, I want to learn music.”
The pillow in Aoi Hasegawa’s hands landed silently on her lap as she eyed Yu Suzuki suspiciously, as if she’d just heard something out of a fairy tale.
“You? Learn music?”
“What’s wrong? Didn’t I join the Music Club?”
“Go read a book.”
Aoi Hasegawa waved her hand dismissively and, out of nowhere, produced a copy of the Handbook of Basic Music Theory, shoving it at him as if to send him away.
She’d tricked Yu Suzuki like this back when he was still a new member, too.
“Sempai, I really want to learn, so could you please spare a little time away from gaming to teach me?”
“No! Absolutely not! I still have the Head of Teaching Affairs’ tasks to finish. If I teach you, when am I supposed to play games?”
“You spend so much time gaming and you’re still so bad at it. Wouldn’t it be better to use that time for something worthwhile?”
As soon as Yu Suzuki said this, the Clubroom fell instantly silent.
He then saw the girl in front of him give him a resentful look as she handed him a controller.
“One-on-one! If you beat me, I’ll teach you!”
“Isn’t that a bit…”
“Hurry up!”
Yu Suzuki took the controller.
And so, the next day, the Music Club was filled with a cacophony of jarring melodies.