When the performance ended, applause rang out from the audience.
Suzuki Yuu looked over and felt a little relieved.
He hadn’t messed up the show.
“Let’s go.” he whispered to Hase beside him, and she nodded as well.
After standing and bowing to the audience, the two packed up their instruments and headed straight backstage.
Immediately after, the student council members came up to clean the venue.
People gradually began to leave, but Shiina Chisa and Jinguu Amane still remained seated.
At this moment, Shiina Chisa rubbed her brow. Without a doubt, Suzuki’s performance had left a deep impression on her.
It was a pity she wasn’t the one playing with him.
Is it still possible to start learning violin now?
She considered this inwardly, but quickly shook her head. This isn’t something you can master on a whim.
At that moment, her gaze shifted to Jinguu Amane beside her, noticing that she was still staring at the stage, lost in thought.
This was a rare state for the president.
“What’s wrong?”
She asked directly. Jinguu Amane snapped back to herself, withdrew her gaze, but her expression still seemed a little confused.
“I’m curious. Did he show any musical ability when you interacted with him before?”
“No, at least not in the last half year. I haven’t seen him touch any instrument.”
Shiina Chisa answered, but just then, she suddenly realized something.
If Suzuki Yuu had really only studied with Hasegawa Aoi for a month, then his progress was simply outrageous.
Normal people just couldn’t do it—even for a genius, this would be hard to explain.
“If he really never studied before, then his performance just now means there are only two possibilities: one, he’s already been learning for a long time but hid his skills; or two, he’s extraordinarily gifted and learns faster than most people.”
Jinguu Amane analyzed, but Shiina Chisa was confused after hearing this:
“I don’t get it. He has no reason to hide his abilities, does he?”
“What if he’s trying to win over Aoi?”
The faint sounds of rustling echoed in the music hall. Jinguu Amane’s remark prompted Shiina Chisa to crumple the poster in her hand.
It was clear this woman really knew how to get under her skin.
Realizing this made Shiina Chisa annoyed, but she was also worried that what Jinguu said might be true.
After all, she had learned a little music theory herself, and she knew that during the performance, Suzuki Yuu had closely followed the president’s lead throughout.
Jinguu Amane noticed her state and, as if she’d found something amusing, said:
“It’s not impossible, is it? Think about it—they’re together in the clubroom every day. Who knows what they’re up to? And Aoi’s so pure and innocent, with Suzuki’s silver tongue, a few sweet words would be enough to fool her.”
Jinguu’s words were like a drop of ink, falling precisely into Shiina Chisa’s already muddy, unsettled heart, rapidly diffusing.
She furrowed her brow, picturing Suzuki Yuu sweet-talking and tricking others.
“If only he’d just trick me… Now he dares to trick someone else…” she muttered quietly.
Perhaps sensing that she’d gone a bit too far, Jinguu Amane continued:
“Of course, the second possibility is much more likely. If he’d really practiced before, I would have been able to find out.”
Hearing this, Shiina Chisa’s emotions eased quite a bit.
She wasn’t wrong—Suzuki Yuu had always been a fast learner.
She still remembered the contents of their contract; this boy had pretty much accomplished everything.
It was that quality of his that attracted her in the first place and made her want to know him better.
The deeper she got, the harder it was to pull herself out.
Thinking this, she sighed.
Once her rationality returned, she released her grip on the crumpled poster, tossed it into the trash, looked at Jinguu again, and asked:
“What about you? Could you reach his level in such a short time?”
She tried to compare herself, and Jinguu Amane pondered her question:
“Hard to say… Even though his performance did have a few mistakes, overall he’s at the level of an ordinary person who’s practiced for a year.”
“Is that so…”
Jinguu Amane’s evaluation was like a stone cast into the lake of Shiina Chisa’s heart, sending ripples through her thoughts.
Come to think of it, she had always wondered why someone like Suzuki Yuu would insist on being a rental companion for others.
His motives were always a mystery.
Maybe that’s the starting point…
“I’m suddenly curious about Suzuki-kun’s future now.” Jinguu Amane remarked at that moment.
Shiina Chisa turned to look at her, a trace of coldness in her eyes.
But she quickly looked away without saying anything, got up, and left.
The day after the performance ended, Suzuki Yuu became busy.
The first thing he had to face was his group of troublesome friends in the classroom.
Once they heard he’d gone on stage, these guys had skipped their own club activities just to watch.
Because the setting was so formal, they still managed to behave themselves at the time.
Of course, things were different once they left the music hall.
Right now, in the classroom, these guys had already surrounded Suzuki:
“I’m telling you, even if you corner me like this, I really don’t know any hypnosis, and I haven’t hypnotized myself into some kind of musical genius…”
Looking at this bunch, Suzuki was at a loss.
“No, Suzuki, we came to talk to you about something.”
“What is it?”
“The school trip…”
“I told you, forget it, not happening.”
Suzuki Yuu refused instinctively, but what they said next was unexpected:
“No, it’s because one of us has a house over in Izu, and that house is on high ground, kind of isolated—a great observation point.”
Suzuki Yuu was taken aback. He immediately looked at them seriously:
“Explain ‘observation’.”
They began to discuss the matter together, and eventually came to a decision:
“So, we’ll leave it to you to handle the student council’s class list assignments.”
“Don’t worry, I’m super reliable.”
Just like that, their “agreement” was settled in a few words.
Of course, Suzuki Yuu’s goal wasn’t just about observation; he was eyeing that house.
If he could stay there, maybe he could finally escape from Shiina Chisa?
Hmm, this plan might work.
Once the plan was settled, his friends quickly showed their true colors, grinning wickedly at him:
“By the way, Suzuki, your performance with Hasegawa-senpai yesterday was pretty amazing, huh?”
“Oh, yeah, we practiced a lot for it.”
Suzuki Yuu replied, not realizing anything was wrong, even taking a sip of water with ease.
But then they blurted out something that nearly made him choke:
“Be honest, is there some secret relationship between you two?”
“Dude, are you chasing both Jinguu and Hase? You’re making moves on all the pretty second-year senpai?”
“I even heard that Hasegawa-senpai often talks about things like ‘muscles’ in the music clubroom—is that your influence?”
Hearing all these wild rumors, Suzuki Yuu had no idea where to even begin:
“No… it’s not what you think.”
“It’s fine, we all get it. You must have some secret. Since everyone’s so nice to you, you ought to share your techniques with us.”
So that was their real motive…
Otherwise, why would they tell him about the so-called “observation point”? Did they really care about roll call?
Thinking this, Suzuki Yuu sighed and said:
“Alright, actually, there’s a very important reason why none of you have girls around you.”
“What?” His friends looked at him, eyes full of anticipation.
“You’re just not as handsome as me.”
Suzuki Yuu spoke in a tone as smug as could be, looking downright infuriating.
And he immediately paid the price for it.
After finally escaping the classroom, Suzuki Yuu rubbed his hair, which had been messed up, and his neck, which was sore from being pulled, sighing helplessly.
Even his shirt had gotten a little torn in their “enthusiasm.”
“Geez… those guys really go all out.”
Muttering to himself, Suzuki made his way to the music clubroom.
He froze when he saw a crowd of people gathered at the door, seemingly waiting in line.
“This is bad… Don’t tell me they’re all here to join the club?”
Suzuki Yuu quickly squeezed through the crowd, only to see Hasegawa Aoi being bombarded with questions.
“Senpai, senpai, I’m from the wind instrument club. I really admired your performance. Can I join the music club?”
“Senpai, I play piano and can perform Chopin’s nocturnes. Is there a piano in the club?”
“And that handsome cellist! Is he a club member? Will he be here every day?”
Faced with a flurry of questions, Hasegawa Aoi was completely flustered. She looked like a deer surrounded by wolves, hugging her arms and cornered against the wall, panic in her eyes. After a while, she could only manage to stammer: “I… um… uh…”
Clearly, the music club’s popularity had exceeded her expectations after the performance.
Seeing this, Suzuki Yuu felt a headache coming on.
But someone had to solve the problem, so he found someone and asked:
“Are you from the wind instrument club too?”
“Me? No, I’m with the orchestra. I saw Hasegawa-senpai’s performance on the news club’s official account and thought it was great, so I wanted to join.”
“Uh… what about the others? Are they all from music-related clubs too?”
“Yes, most of them. But there are more from the wind instrument club, since it’s the closest match.”
At this, Suzuki Yuu let out a long sigh. He took out his phone, scrolled through his contacts labeled “Student Council Business,” found a number, and dialed:
“Hello, is this Ishida from the wind instrument club? Could you come to the music club for a moment? There might be something you need to handle here.”