Chapter 111: Change is Progress
"Order three more hamburger meat meals."

"Order three more servings? You're not mistaken." The waiter was dumbfounded.

"No."

"But you've already eaten four servings!"

"I can eat that."

"guest."

"I can eat that."

Jiuhuayue emphasized it again, and the waitress didn't say much. She bent down to apologize and then left.

There was no one else around, so Hiiragi Rinka dared to speak in a weak and tiny voice:
"Xiao-Xiao Yue. You. You ate too much."

"What did you say?" Hiiragi Rinka's voice was so soft that Jiuhuayue couldn't hear it at all.

Hiiragi Rinka clasped her hands over her chest and took a deep breath.

Jiuhuayue originally thought that Rinka's voice would be much louder, so she was fully prepared. However, when Rinka Hiiragi repeated it, her volume did not change at all.

".Xiaoyue! You ate too much."

"."

"Xiao Yue, you ate too much!"

After repeating it three times, Jiuhuayue finally understood what Hiiragi Rinka meant.

Hiiragi Rinka was so shy that she put her hands between her pleated skirt and lowered her head with a blushing face.

"I'm really worried about Xiaoyue."

"Worry about me? Worry about what I would do." Jiu Huayue took a tissue and wiped her mouth.

"Because of what happened this afternoon."

"afternoon?"

"."

Xiaoyue doesn’t remember?

The trumpet player was not selected.

Is Xiaoyue running away?
Rinka Hiiragi has already imagined a thousand similar plots from TV dramas.

He suffered amnesia due to a severe blow.

He suffered a sudden cerebral infarction due to a severe blow.

Due to the severe blow, he had to leave his hometown.

Hiiragi Rinka is so scared.
I'm so scared that my good friend will become like this.

"moon--"

".Rinka is talking about the selection in the afternoon, right?"

Okay
Fortunately, Xiaoyue did not lose her memory.

Just the appetite has increased.

Rinka Hiiragi felt much more relieved.

"Xiaoyue, if you are unhappy about anything, you can tell me. I am happy to listen to the troubles of my good friend."

"It's all over. It's nothing."

"Really?" Hiiragi Rinka didn't believe it.

"real."

"Really?"

"It's true."

"."

Rinka Hiiragi looked at the pile of empty plates in front of Jiuhuayue and her mouth that was almost filled with hamburger patties and fried eggs.

The girl found it hard to believe Jiuhuayue's words no matter what.

Yue-chan has been eating here since school was over.

Even the ignorant little girl could see that Xiaoyue was venting her emotions!
Xiaoyue was devastated.

The more Satsuki eats, the more Hiiragi Rinka worries about her.

When three more hamburger meat meals were served, Hiiragi Rinka couldn't help but speak:
"Why don't we go find Chitose? Talk to her. She's a good girl and will understand and help you, Xiaoyue!"

"Understand? Help? Has Rinka forgotten the relationship between her and me, and now wants me to ask my enemy to show me mercy?"

Jiuhuayue sighed.

"I can imagine the look on her face when she saw me begging her."

"Of course I don't mean that."

Rinka Hiiragi said the wrong thing and shrank back in fear, shaking her body like a little rabbit.

"Don't worry, I don't mean to blame Rinka. I know Rinka is thinking about me."

Jiuhuayue wipes her mouth.

"Um"

"Ask anything else."

"Xiaoyue, can I tell you the truth?"

"You're welcome anytime. Aren't we already good friends who can talk to each other? I even dare to tell you, Rinka, that I like Mr. Fujii."

Hiiragi Rinka blushed happily, "That's right."

"Go ahead, what do you want to ask me?"

"Your dream, and what are your future plans, Xiaoyue?"

"Dream." Jiuhuayue thought for a while, "The reason why a dream is a dream is that it is so precious because it cannot be obtained. Maybe life is like this. At some inadvertent moment, dreams and directions are gone."

Jiuhuayue took a deep breath.

"Well, I'll be honest with you, Rinka. I don't want others to have to bear the same emotions I'm feeling right now."

"Um"

"I am very unhappy now. I have lost my most important sense of direction. I have been rejected on a path that has the greatest potential for success. This feeling of having all my efforts wasted is the first time I have felt powerless.

"I lost to Chitose."

"Then Xiaoyue, come here to eat."

"It's just to avoid stress. Only by eating can I feel better. The worse I feel, the more I eat."

"Will your stomach burst?"

"."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's okay." Jiuhuayue replied.

"I'm most worried about Xiaoyue now. Is she going back to Tokyo?"

"Why go back?"

"Xiaoyue, you came to Otaru alone. Because of Mr. Fujii, you had a new goal and a new direction. But now Xiaoyue has lost all of that."

This is almost equivalent to being rejected.

Rejected by Mr. Fujii.

"I do not know either."

"do not know?"

"I definitely felt disappointed. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't. All my efforts were in vain. I felt very sad. I felt sad and blamed myself for not being able to fulfill the promise I made to Mr. Fujii.

“I don’t know what to do next or what to do.”

"."

Hiiragi Rinka understood Jiuhuayue's predicament.

The more she listened, the more anxious she became. She thought that as a good friend, she should give her some advice.

Think about it carefully, Rinka!
What does Xiaoyue want now, what does Xiaoyue care about now!
After closing her eyes for a few minutes, Hiiragi Rinka thought:
"Little Moon!"

"What's wrong."

"Xiaoyue, you must still like Mr. Fujii very much, right?"

"Yes"

"Then why not start with Mr. Fujii?"

“I don’t quite understand.”

"Xiaoyue, why do you practice the trumpet so hard?"

"In order to become Mr. Fujii's 'student', to catch up with his pace, and to one day be able to play beside Mr. Fujii like Mr. Akai did in the past. Most importantly, I want to become a lover with the same hobbies, and then spend every day together supporting and recognizing each other.

"Anyway, I want to be recognized by him."

"That's right! The focus is on Mr. Fujii, Yue-chan. Your efforts are to let Mr. Fujii see your shining points, but there are more than one way to show your shining points."

"."

Jiuhuayue listened thoughtfully.

"In other words, as long as Mr. Fujii can see the shining points in you, Jiuhuayue, that would be enough!"

".But I lost to Chitose."

"Victory! Victory is the beginning of a losing battle!"

".Victory or defeat is standard issue."

"Yes, that's what I mean." Hiiragi Rinka clamped her hands between her legs and blushed, "Xiaoyue, you haven't failed in the most important aspect. Teacher Fujii still values ​​you very much. As long as you can let Teacher Fujii see the shining points in you, Xiaoyue, naturally-"

"Rinka."

What Hiiragi Rinka said made sense, but she overlooked another problem.

This is also the most serious problem so far.

“But what about my dream of going to the national competition with Mr. Fujii? I have been working hard and I don’t want to give up this dream that has motivated me.

"If I give up, how will my mother and father laugh at me?
"They must be mocking my ignorance and then coaxing me back to Tokyo like a child. I don't want that!
“I don’t want to be a teacher’s ‘student’ as a substitute.

"If I go on stage like this, I will only watch Chitose excel on stage. Seeing her get the position I always dream of, I will be jealous of her. At the same time, I will hate my own powerlessness and hate myself for breaking my promise to Mr. Fujii.

"Isn't it a complete joke that you said you wanted to be Fujii-sensei's 'student'?

“I have become a person who does not keep his word, just like my parents!
"I don't want my own life to become so boring."

"."

Jiuhuayue's series of questions left Hiiragi Rinka speechless.

She didn't know how to answer or what to do.

Jiuhuayue, who was bursting with emotions, then realized that she was wrong. She held the Coke cup in front of her with both hands and apologized to Hiiragi Rinka in a low voice:

"I'm sorry, Rinka. I'm sorry for asking you to think about so many things for me and listen to my complaints."

Hiiragi Rinka shook her head, "I'm fine. What's important is your health, Xiaoyue. What are you going to do next, Xiaoyue?" ".Thank you, Rinka."

"Thank you. Me?" Rinka Hiiragi pointed at herself.

"Thank you for waking me up. I will continue to stay in the wind band."

"Why. Xiaoyue, you are not——"

"This is not a reason for me to give up. Although the hope is slim, there is still hope of personnel changes before being selected for the official competition. I just need to work hard to catch up during this period. I am determined not to be a substitute. I am unwilling to do so.

“I’m going to keep going and keep going and keep going.”

We’ll see, Chitose.

The show has just begun.

You won this time, but it doesn't mean you will always win. Jiuhuayue kept calm and thought so in her heart.

"."

Hearing this, Hiiragi Rinka couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

She was overthinking it.

Xiaoyue was much stronger and more resilient than she had imagined.

Xiaoyue would never admit failure easily.

“Also, although we only discussed the goals that we still need to stick to, what you just said, Rinka, at least made me understand that I must first become self-reliant. Only when I become independent can I radiate more shining points.

"I am so out of character now. I can't even be independent."

"I don't quite understand why Xiaoyue said these words." Hiiragi Rinka was confused.

"You will know later, Rinhua." Jiuhuayue did not give any additional explanation.

"Ok."

Be quiet for a while.

"Rinka, can you lend me some money? It's not much, thirty thousand will be fine."

".Eh?!"

"I ate too much today and I have no money to pay the bill. Don't worry, I will pay you back. I will use the money I earned myself."

Has Xiaoyue become so poor?

"Okay, okay."

Rinka Hiiragi turned around silently, picked up her small schoolbag, took out three 10,000 yen bills from it and gave them to Jiuhuayue.

"Thank you. I'll pay you back with interest."

"No, even without interest."

Rinka Hiiragi still didn't understand what Xiaoyue was going to do, but the way she looked now seemed to have cheered up, right?
*
On the evening of the selection day.

The work party for school teachers is over.

The purpose of the Jubei work party is to connect the teachers in the school. Food and drinks are all at public expense and participation is voluntary.

These gatherings organized by colleagues and leaders are said to be voluntary, but there are still some social conventions involved.

Fujii Itsuki had to go.

The place was chosen by the vice-president, and unexpectedly it happened to be Chitose's family's hot spring shop.

After the dinner, school leaders and teachers went home one after another.

Fujii Itsuki saw off the leaders and colleagues, and then started walking back to Chitose's home. On the way, he lighted a cigarette and picked up his phone with one hand.

Complex, tangled, doubtful.
All kinds of emotions are brewing in my heart.

On the chat input box with Jiuhuayue.

[Are you okay?] These three words were repeated over and over again, and I kept deleting and retyping them.
Although Jiuhuayue behaved normally throughout the afternoon, and she did not look hurt at all when Fujii Itsuki specifically counseled her.

But he just couldn't let go.

I always feel like something is wrong.

When he returned to Chitose's house and walked on the corridor on the second floor, Fujii Itsuki still sent out those three words.

I didn't expect to get a reply so quickly.

Jiu Huayue replied briefly, "It's okay," and attached a photo of herself doing homework at home.

'fine.'

Fujii Itsuki's anxious heart relaxed, and he typed again with concern:
"I'm also very sorry about the selection. If you have any questions, you can always tell me. Although Mr. Fujii can't favor you, please believe that I will always be by your side, Jiuhua."

Fujii Itsuki felt that words alone were not enough.

So he added another emoticon pack to encourage Jiuhuayue.

Is this good enough?

"Shu~~Brother! Surprise!!"

When Fujii Itsuki was typing, Yang Kui Chitose suddenly hugged his waist from behind. Fujii Itsuki didn't have time to pay attention to her.

"Brother Tree?"

"Wait a mininute."

Fujii Itsuki was typing to Jiuhuayue at this time, and his tone of replying to Yang Kui Chitose was a little cold.

Chitose Yang Kui noticed this.

".Today I successfully got the solo position in the trumpet group. Isn't Brother Shu happy?"

"what?"

"Brother Tree"

Fujii Itsuki clicked send, then put away his phone and turned back to look at Chitose. He smiled and said, "Of course not."

The words were heard in my ears, but at this moment.
No matter how I look at it, in my eyes and in my mind, it feels like something is not right.

Yang Kui Chitose said with a disappointed tone and lowered her eyes, "Brother Shu doesn't seem to be very happy about my election."

"How could that be! Look, once our teacher's dinner party was over, I would come back to look for you. Who cares more about Chitose than me?"

Fujii Itsuki stretched out his hand and used his "ultimate move against Chitose" to touch her head.

Yang Kui Chitose became happy when her head was touched and started laughing.

Her smiles come naturally.

But obviously, this cannot eliminate the doubts in her heart now.

"Who was Brother Shu messaging just now?"

"Ah? This is important?"

"What do you think, Brother Shu?"

"I'm sending it to Jiuhuayue."

"."

So annoying, so annoying, so annoying!
I have obviously won the game, but why, as a loser, Jiuhuayue still makes myself so uncomfortable?
Brother Tree.
Shouldn't I be happy that I have worked hard to get this position?

Why are you still thinking about Jiuhua?

It seems that the name Jiuhua has been lingering in my ears ever since Brother Shu came back.

Chatter and chatter.
Like a fly, it jumps out from time to time!
Would it be like this without Brother Jiuhuashu?

Would it be like this without Brother Jiuhuashu?

Now Brother Shu must be celebrating for himself with a happy face, because his six years of hard work have finally paid off!
Chitose Yangkui felt like she was going crazy with jealousy again.

She's so annoying
I hate the feeling of having my world of two people invaded and defiled by someone else.

but.

Chitose, you must stay calm.

Try to stay calm.

An overly jealous heart can also hurt Brother Tree.

When the time is right, we should understand Brother Tree's work.

Brother Tree is a teacher!

Jiuhua is a guy who was brought up by Brother Shu.

She lost the duel to herself.

a little
What's wrong with giving Jiuhua a little bit of care?

It’s not a big deal.

The important thing is that in the future, I should take advantage of this time to consolidate my relationship with Brother Shu.

Then, he would completely expel Jiuhuayue from Brother Shu's heart, let her give up all thoughts about Brother Shu, and let her understand that Brother Shu would never like her!

Yes. That's right.

Fighting is fighting.

Only by fighting continuously can we make Jiuhua understand the reality.

There were a lot of thoughts in Yang Kui Chitose's mind, but for Fujii Itsuki, it only took two seconds. He saw Chitose look at him for a short moment, and then her originally unhappy face suddenly smiled.

"Jealous?"

"I ate it!" Yang Kui Qiansui puffed up his cheeks, "I actually want a reward from Brother Shu!"

"Why is Qiansui such a jealous person?"

"Brother Shu said it himself! He doesn't want Qiansui to get married! This means Brother Shu will be jealous of Qiansui!"

The short-haired girl said this, feeling very jealous.

He hugged Fujii Itsuki for no reason.

The girl's soft body hit my chest, and it was impossible to say that I didn't feel distracted at all.

I feel more and more that the little girl has grown into a graceful young lady.

Besides, Chitose practiced so hard for herself.
She was still young, a full ten years younger than herself, and her body was ten years more delicate.

"Is this the reward Chitose wanted?"

"Um"

"Chitose is so satisfying."

"That's enough, Brother Shu. And this is just the beginning."

Holding the girl's slender waist, the moonlight at night is really ambiguous.

Fujii Itsuki truly felt that he had a good sister.

but
By the way, is Jiuhua okay tonight?

Should I go back earlier?
Fujii Itsuki thought that after she lost the election, he should have paid more attention to Chitose rather than caring about her happiness.

Holding Chitose in his arms, Fujii Itsuki inexplicably recalled the image of Jiuhuayue still doing homework in his mind.

(End of this chapter)