Chapter 96 Selection
"Fujii!"

On Saturday, at the Otaru Canal, Akai Muko waved to Fujii Itsuki who was standing at the intersection.

Fujii Itsuki, who was looking around, saw her.

She wore a beige windbreaker, a light blue shirt, and light-colored button-down jeans. She carried a waist bag, looking quite young.

"Fujii, you're a little slow."

"Sorry, I'm late. You look really nice in your outfit today, Akai."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"It's the retro style of the 90s, right? Rika Akagi in Tokyo Love Story? But it's actually a little more avant-garde."

Akai Muzi was stunned, "How do you know?"

"I do not know how."

"When the TV series was broadcast in 1991, weren't we born yet?"

"Oh, you mean this? It was introduced in the third issue of Vivi's spring magazine two years ago."

“The third issue from the year before last.”

"It's the May issue, page 5, the photo I took at Shibuya Crossing. There was also one last fall issue, with the theme 'Autumn Bohemia'. Oh, and the summer four years ago, and the winter six years ago."

As Fujii Itsuki was talking, he noticed that there was something wrong with Akai's eyes.

"how?"

"If I remember correctly, last year's autumn issue and the one in May of the year before last were both Jiuhua's specials."

"." Fujii Itsuki realized that he had let the cat out of the bag.

".How many photos of Jiuhua have you secretly seen?"

Fujii Itsuki: “Not much.”

"How much is not much?"

"Only 78 issues."

Akai Muzi: "That's all?"

*
The reason I bought so many journals was actually because of the last quarrel.

In order to get to know Jiuhua better, Fujii Itsuki bought 78 issues of her photo journals in one go.
This includes all her growth between the ages of nine and sixteen.

Jiuhua started photography at the age of nine.

Fujii Itsuki would think every time he looked at Jiuhua, who was the model in the photo.

Did she shoot these magazines out of her own will?

Fujii Itsuki thinks it is most likely not the case.

There is definitely some influence from her mother's thoughts in it.

This child was really kidnapped since childhood.

Just thinking about what might happen next.

Fujii Itsuki felt a little bit reluctant.

Came to school.

On Saturday, the music classroom was packed with people.

"stand up!"

After Fujii Itsuki stood on the podium, the president Aoyama Shoko gave orders and all the members of the club stood up while holding their instruments.

"Hello teacher."

"Hello teacher."

While Shoko Aoyama took the lead in speaking, the other students followed suit and repeated the story.

"Everyone, thank you for your hard work in practice."

Fujii Itsuki smiled slightly and gestured for everyone to sit down first.

Rinka Hiiragi, who was sitting in the second to last row, held her cello and looked cautiously at the teacher above her.

"Everyone should just be more natural on Saturday. Today I want to announce something to everyone. A new teacher will join our wind band. She will be the new consultant and will be responsible for the guidance of the brass section and woodwind section of our wind band."

Everyone started whispering.

"A new counselor?"

"Who?"

"How come I haven't heard of this?"

"It's enough for the brass section to have Mr. Fujii to guide it, but Mr. Fujii seems to be better at guiding the strings."

Rinka Hiiragi was not too surprised by this because she had heard from Chitose that a new teacher was coming to the club.

Although I don't know how Chitose knew the news, she seemed a little unhappy about the arrival of the new teacher.

And Mr. Fujii seems to be very tired recently.

Every time I went to Mr. Fujii's office, I would see him lying on the chair and sleeping.

"The reasons are, of course, varied. Of course, the most important issue is that this teacher's level of instruction in the brass and woodwind sections is far superior to mine. Let's welcome him with applause!"

As Fujii Itsuki finished speaking, Akai Muko, wearing a windbreaker, walked into the classroom and came to the podium amid applause.

When everyone saw that it was Akai Muzi, they immediately became happy.

"It's Akai-sensei!"

"Akai-sensei!"

Hiiragi Rinka looked at him weakly, becoming even more curious, why was it Akai Sensei?

Teacher Akai is quite popular among her students.

After all, she is serious and responsible.

The most important thing is that Mr. Akai will end the get out of class early and never keep the class late.

Mr. Fujii always drags it out once or twice occasionally.

As long as it is the last class in the morning taught by Mr. Akai, the students in that class will always be the first to eat the best food in the cafeteria.

Chitose knew in advance that Akai-sensei was coming.

Could it be that the reason Chitose is unhappy is because the new advisor is Akai Sensei?

Rinka Hiiragi held the cello and glanced at Chitose in front of her. From the side profile, she seemed to have no expression.

"Sorry, sorry! Everyone, I hope I didn't scare you by showing up so suddenly."

Akai Muzi apologized to everyone with a smile, her expression was quite cheerful, but her hands were restrained in front of her jeans. There was a complete contrast.

Fujii Itsuki cleared his throat and said to the surprised and happy crowd:

"I know everyone is confused. Isn't Mr. Akai an English teacher? Why did he suddenly become a consultant? Before answering this question, you should have heard that Mr. Akai returned from studying in the United States, right?"

Everyone knows this.

Fujii Itsuki: "Don't think that Mr. Akai is not serious at ordinary times--"

"Hey! Fujii! What do you mean by frivolous?"

The two of them teased each other and the students burst into laughter.

Fujii Itsuki continued with a smile and said, "Teacher Akai graduated from Ithaca, one of the most famous music schools in the United States. After graduation, she worked as a clarinetist in the world-class top orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, for a period of time.

"She just came back at the end of last year. Ju Bei, who applied for the job at the same time as me, can be considered a good friend of mine. I can guarantee her professional ability, there is no doubt about it."

At this time, the third-grader who played the trombone raised his hand and asked with a smile:

"How did Fujii-sensei know so much? I usually see Fujii-sensei and Akai-sensei being very close!"

When someone said this, everyone became even more excited.

They asked frankly about some campus gossip that they usually didn't dare to ask Fujii Itsuki.

These are all rumors about him and Akai.

There was no way. He and Akai entered school on the same day, worked in the same office, and had the same desk.

It seems that some students also saw him and Akai going out for drinks in private.

There are many girls in Jubei, and little girls like gossip.

Word of mouth spreads from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Even if students don't dare to ask in person, the news has already spread among everyone in private.

It was also rumored that Mr. Fujii and Mr. Akai were in a hidden relationship, but due to their identities as teachers, the two had never announced it.

Just as Fujii Itsuki was about to open his mouth to explain, Akai Muzi smiled and said generously:

"Actually, your teacher Fujii and I were classmates in high school. We were in the same wind instrument club back then. I was in charge of the clarinet, and he played the saxophone! We used to practice together by the Otaru Canal. Go back and ask your parents, maybe they have seen us."

The girls got excited.

"A lot of people are saying that you guys are going out to eat together tonight! Is that true?"

"This is true."

When the students heard this, there was an uproar.

Just drink once or twice now and then!
Ugh.
This group of students. "Then are Mr. Fujii and Mr. Akai really a couple?!"

"No," Akai Muzi clasped her hands in front of her and smiled, "Your teacher Fujii doesn't like me. If I confess to him, he'll reject me without even turning his head."

"."

Fujii Itsuki knew that Akai was doing this to liven up the atmosphere, but this also completely ignited the gossip spirits of the students.

The ambiguous words became - "Akai-sensei really confessed to Fujii-sensei!"

"Teacher Fujii! Teacher Fujii!"

"Hmm?" Fujii Itsuki looked over.

"Please don't reject Mr. Akai!"

Fujii Itsuki was embarrassed. How could Akai confess his feelings to him again?

"Teacher Fujii! Don't you feel sorry for Teacher Akai? Teacher Akai knows that you are too tired, Teacher Fujii, so he gave you herbal tea!"

Which bastard spread this?
It's probably that Usami! She's the gossipiest teacher in the school and she shares everything with her students.

Now both Fujii Itsuki and Akai Muko were embarrassed.

When the students saw that the two looked like a couple even in their awkwardness, they became even more keen to pair them up.

"marry!"

"marry!"

"marry!!"

More and more girls shouted, and the few boys shouted excitedly, "Teacher Fujii! Teacher Akai! Get married! Get married!!"

Some are happy, while others are sad.

Chitose Yang Kui's face turned completely black right in the middle of the students.

Matsumae Shinchun and Jiuhuayue looked at the two of them, and felt a strange feeling in their hearts.

Fujii Itsuki couldn't help but admire Akai's ability to create a good atmosphere.

With this joke, she instantly narrowed the distance between herself and the club members.

Akai Muzi stood up, stretched out her hand to stop the sound, and then frowned again.

Her neat and tidy style instantly made everyone realize that she was an adult and a teacher.

"Enough joking, since I am now the new advisor of the club, I will definitely guide you seriously. It is already mid-April, and the Nakajima Festival will be in May. I hope that you will practice well during this period so that we can give a dazzling debut show to the group of schools in Sapporo in May!"

"Yes!"

Everyone answered with full energy. Fujii Itsuki could also feel the enthusiasm that Akai brought to everyone. Maybe it was right to invite her in.

The Nakajima Festival is scheduled for May 12th, when people from Sapporo and surrounding cities will come here to participate in the spring parade.

Fujii Itsuki had arranged music practice for everyone long before, and would go to the wind instrument club every day to provide guidance and training.

After Saturday and Sunday, there will be three days of practice on April 17th, 18th and 19th.

April 20th, afternoon, evening.

After everyone practiced, Fujii Itsuki and Akai Muko entered the classroom one after another after finishing their work as teachers.

Akai Muzi spoke first:
"Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. I have something very important to announce to you today. According to our current practice progress, we can also start the trial selection."

A student raised his hand: "Teacher, what is the trial selection?"

Fujii Itsuki explained: "There is no limit on the number of people for this spring parade, but the future Hokkaido and Kyushu competitions will limit admission to 55 people. Do you understand what this means?"

Everyone was silent.

Obviously, some people need to be eliminated.

Akai Muzi: "There are 76 members in the wind section now. Excluding the 12 beginners, there are a total of 64 players eligible to participate. In other words, 11 players must be kept as reserve players and temporarily eliminated from the main competition."

Hiiragi Rinka's heart tightened and she looked towards Jiuhuayue's back.

Sitting in the first row, Matsumae Shinchun, the principal of the second violin group, also looked worriedly at Jiuhuayue behind him.

She knew that the brass group had the largest number of people and the competition was the most intense.

She is worried about Xiaoyue
Xiaoyue has just started learning the trumpet not long ago.

Everyone in the club was mostly quiet.

Akai Muzi continued:
"I know everyone's anxiety, and I understand what everyone is worried about now. If I am eliminated, what is the point of my hard work? What is the point of moving forward?
"This is indeed a very serious problem."

Akai Muzi suddenly took a deep breath, and the scene of her looking at the school when she left the United States flashed in her mind.

That kind of unwilling feeling.

"I can't say anything nice to comfort you here. The reality is so cruel. If you don't have enough ability and your skills are not up to standard, you will naturally be eliminated."

After these words were spoken, a depressing atmosphere filled the room.

Everyone's mood is shrouded by the heavy reality.

At this time, Fujii Itsuki's gaze also turned to Akai Muko.

These words she said should be the truth she said to herself, right?

I went to the United States to pursue my dreams, but ended up returning in disgrace.

It means all efforts are in vain.

Akai Muzi took a deep breath, and faced the students, she continued in a firm and warm tone:

"I understand how everyone feels now. I know that in a highly competitive environment, everyone may feel uneasy and anxious. I was like that too.
“The only thing I can say to comfort you is that you may just collapse now, but the 55 people who are about to compete may even lose in the trials in Hokkaido.

"They will spend more time than you, and waste much more energy and youth.

“At that time, shouldn’t the person who falls first be more thankful?
"But I hope you know that no matter how you perform on stage, your efforts are worth it. Every practice and every progress is an important part of your growth.

“This is the experience you have accumulated, an important life experience.”

Akai Muzi's speech was straightforward but well-reasoned, which gave the 11 future people peace of mind.

"I want to give those 11 people a piece of advice: don't deny your efforts because of possible failure, because what you have learned, even the experience gained from failure, will accompany you throughout your life. This is also your youth."

Akai Muzi said this with a gloomy expression, and then suddenly laughed:

"Besides, there is no chance of resurrection in the future if a contestant becomes sick, disabled, or drops out of school."

Fujii Itsuki couldn't help but cover his face and said, Akai, you'd better not say that!

"And even if you are eliminated, you are not considered to have left the team. You will still follow us as a member of the competition. If you win a prize in the competition, you can take a photo together!"

Akai Muzi was giving students some superficial comfort.

Better than nothing.

He actually said those words to everyone when he first joined the wind band club, and they inspired everyone.

So when we suddenly said that we would eliminate some people, everyone’s reaction was not so intense.

Because you are prepared to fail.

Fujii Itsuki is more worried about Jiuhua and Chitose
They are both trumpet players.

The piece also has its own solo.

He was really afraid that the two people, who already had a bad relationship, would fight over this.

"teacher."

Fujii Itsuki came back to his senses from his thoughts and looked at the expressionless Jujube in the oboe group.

"Juizawa-san, please speak."

"How do you choose?"

Akai Muzi explained for him: "Next, we will give everyone the sheet music, one assigned song and one song of your choice. Everyone goes back to practice, and there will be a selection after a week, and Mr. Fujii will judge, especially the solo part-"

"Teacher Fujii!"

The loud voice made everyone in the club look at her at the same time.

It was Chitose Yang Kui. The girl was holding a trumpet in her hand, looking extremely serious.

Fujii Itsuki also raised his head.

"I will definitely live up to Mr. Fujii's expectations! I will work hard to get the solo part! I will perform to the best and most perfect level!"

Jiuhuayue, who was standing a distance away, tilted her head and looked at Yang Kui Chitose's profile tied with a red hairband.

She is serious.

At this time, Hiiragi Rinka was still wondering why Chitose suddenly said that, but the next second, Jiuhuayue also stood up.

She was calmer and her tone was even colder:
"Me too."

The two said the same thing, but coincidentally, they didn't even look at each other.

The whole classroom was cold.

Fujii Itsuki held his forehead with his hand, suffering from a headache.

Isn't this forcing him to choose between the two?
Jiuhua will most likely lose, so he must find a way to ease the relationship between the two.

Because Rinka Hiiragi could see the tension between the two, she was so scared that she hid her face behind the cello.

Matsumae Shinchun was in the first row, looking at the two people behind her, thinking.
(End of this chapter)