Chapter 69 Let’s Meet Chitose
"Fujii, are you being too strict with the students in the wind band?"

That afternoon, in a izakaya, Fujii Itsuki looked at Akai Muko who was sitting next to him.

The lights in the izakaya were orange and yellow, and the area was full of tourists who came here to eat skewers. There were only one or two tables of local customers.

Fujii Itsuki did not directly answer Akai Muzi's question, but asked back:
"What do you think of the current level of the wind band?"

"It's still not good. After all, you have only taught them for one semester since you took over."

"Wrong." Fujii Itsuki sighed, "Everyone's level is very good, because they all have a basic foundation. I led them last semester and conducted individual training for them and practiced their cooperation. I also conducted one-on-one guidance during the holidays, but I don't know if it's because I didn't supervise them during the holidays that everyone became lazy after school started."

“Where does it come from?”

"Do you know what piece of music I chose for the ensemble?"

“Bach’s?”

"It's Borodin's Wilderness Rhapsody. I picked out the middle part and asked them to play it together."

"."

Akai Muzi was silent. She even asked in surprise, "It's not that serious? You can't even play well with such a simple piece? How can you make mistakes? Isn't it enough to practice for one or two days? I only practiced for half a day and I was able to play with the band."

"That's the problem. Even the new freshmen can play better than the sophomores. Once the sophomores start to mess up, the freshmen and juniors start to mess up as well. The rhythm is disrupted, and even those who didn't make any mistakes start to make mistakes. Basically, everyone makes some mistakes."

Akai Muzi probably knew the difficulties Fujii was facing.

In this case, there is no way to provide guidance at all.

Ensemble is not an individual practice. If an individual has problems, the instructor can teach and correct the problem privately.

But now it is clearly a problem with everyone's coordination. The problem with coordination means that they have not been training according to the teacher's requirements during this period. The teacher has pointed out the direction for them, but they have not achieved the goal. Who can be blamed for this?

It's like telling someone clearly that as long as he moves in this direction, he will be able to drink water, but he refuses to move, and in the end he can't drink any water, and he even blames the person who showed him the way for not pulling him along.

It was Fujii who taught them how to walk last semester.
This is the first time that Akai Muzi has been a teacher. Although it is only for one semester, she has more or less felt this way.

The assigned assignments and goals were not completed, and the knowledge that should be remembered was not remembered, which ultimately led to a decline in grades.

In the end, we still have to blame the teacher for his poor quality.

Saying that the teacher doesn’t teach well.

The goals and directions were clearly told to you, but your grades dropped because you were lazy, and now you blame the teacher?

I'm so angry.

Fujii Itsuki let out a sigh of relief. "Actually, it was like this in Tokyo before. At that time, I came up with a plan to improve the grades of the class. But students have different ideas, and diligence varies from person to person. There are always people who want to be lazy and simply won't complete the goals I set. Obviously, as long as we practice well, everyone can live happily and comfortably. If you soften your tone, they will think that the teacher is not threatening and it's okay not to listen. If you put pressure on them, they will think that the teacher is too fierce and really annoying."

Akai Muzi couldn't help but sympathize with Fujii Itsuki and said to him in comfort:
"Probably, this is what a teacher does. This is my first time as a teacher, but I can understand your difficulties to some extent. Everyone has too many ideas, and teachers and students have different perspectives. When you convey the direction of study to them, they will only think that you are checking the results and treat study as a job. Obviously, the school club courses will not charge students a penny."

"Almost," Fujii Itsuki nodded in agreement.

"In fact, when I went to the United States, I was impressed by the good clubs in our school. Although our teachers were a bit strict and the goals we set were a bit high, they gave us real experience. Where else in society can there be such good things as clubs? Music is taught for free, and technology is learned for free. How can ordinary people find a way to learn for free in society? It costs a lot of money, not to mention that you, Fujii, are a genius who has won a gold medal. How many orchestras wanted to recruit you."

"."

After listening to Akai's words, Fujii Itsuki felt a little relieved.

He looked at Akai Muzi and said, "If you were my colleague in Tokyo, the pressure at work wouldn't be so great."

Akai Muzi smiled and said, "Is it that serious? Have you ever thought about committing suicide?"

"."

"Really?!"

"I ran to one side of Tokyo Bay, but it stinks, even more than a dead fish stuffed in a rotten shoe, so I didn't want to jump." Akai Muzi laughed and patted him on the back, "Haha, Fujii you bastard!"

Fujii Itsuki toasted with her and took a sip of beer. It seemed that the pressure caused by the misunderstanding at work was relieved a lot.

"Actually, I'm most worried about Chitose right now. Chitose shouldn't have made that mistake this morning."

"What's up with her?"

"I made a mistake when I was playing measure 182."

Akai Muzi thought for a moment and remembered the content of that section, "Well, it is a bit difficult. It is the most difficult part of the piece of music. Chitose has five years of experience in playing the trumpet. She shouldn't make a mistake."

Fujii Itsuki thought for a moment and said, "I think it's probably because of Chitose's mental problems some time ago."

"Yes, you discussed Chitose's condition with me at that time. What did you think afterwards?"

"I have mentioned this to Chitose many times before. If you have any questions, you can ask me. There is no need to hide anything between us. You can also share unhappy things with me as your brother."

Akai Muzi took over the conversation: "But Chitose-chan is not actively talking to you now."

"Then I should take the initiative to find her and ask her what happened. By the way, I should also apologize to her for what happened this morning."

"It's not your fault."

"As a teacher, I will naturally be strict with her, but as a brother, I feel sorry for her."

Akai Muzi took a sip of beer and looked at Fujii Itsuki's face.

She suddenly felt a little nostalgic, missing the days when they were in high school and only worried about studying.

Now that he has entered society, he has been tempered in society for four years.
Fujii's face is now much more mature than it was in high school, but he also has a lot more pressure.

Oftentimes, there are hardships to talk about, right?

No wonder Fujii asked me out for drinks, maybe he also needed someone to talk to.

Akai Muzi put down the wine glass and looked into the glass.

My own reflection emerged as the beer bubbles dissipated, rippling under the orange light in the room.

I was probably the same, wanting to find someone to confide my feelings to, so I agreed to go out for a drink with Fujii without hesitation.

Akai Muzi saw Fujii Itsuki standing up, "Are you ready to go find Chitose now?"

"It's better to go early than late. Seeing Qiansui feel sad makes me sad too."

"You really care about your sister. Fujii, have you ever thought that she is a little frustrated right now? If you go over to comfort her now, she might confide her feelings to you directly?"

Fujii Itsuki smiled and said, "It's better to answer early than late."

"Do you want to refuse?"

"What do you think she would do if I rejected her outright and distanced myself from her in order to completely cut off her thoughts?"

"Probably going to the Otaru Canal."

"yes."

"Thank you for coming out to drink with me this afternoon. I'll pay for the drinks."

Akai Muzi raised her glass and said with a smile: "We are already in this relationship, why bother asking for thanks or not? It's just a small matter."

(End of this chapter)