I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 112

Saito Haruka curled up in a ball, her eyes tightly closed. Her skin appeared even paler and more translucent under the sunlight, and her prominent collarbone could be seen through the collar of her uniform.

Yuxiang didn't come today.

""

Kitahara Hakuma glanced at her, and the girl knelt motionless like a puppet with a broken leg.

"Get up first," he said with a sigh. "I want to have a serious talk with you about something."

Saito Harutori rose shakily, clasped her hands in front of her, stood up straight, and bowed her head to face Kitahara Hakuba.

"Where did you go wrong?" Kitahara Hakuba asked, his gaze fixed on her.

"Making a report without verifying the situation caused trouble for Yuuka and Kitahara-sensei. It was my narrow-mindedness to think of Kitahara-sensei as that kind of person."

Saito Haruka huddled up, whispering her story, looking as frail as a small herbivorous animal.

Kitahara Hakuba crossed his fingers and said calmly:

More than anything, I'd like to know what your ulterior motives are.

Saito Haruka seemed taken aback upon hearing this; her lips trembled, but she remained silent.

“Saito-kun, since you chose to come to me, you should have been mentally prepared.”

Kitahara Hakuba said with a fierce expression,

"I've never understood why you think it's good for me to leave the wind band? Is it because I didn't teach well?"

His words made the girl feel as if the room temperature had instantly dropped to freezing point.

What could she possibly say? Because Kitahara Hakuba's appearance shattered the sandbox model of her ideal life?

"I want...I want to be needed..."

"What? Could you explain more clearly?"

Kitahara Hakuma leaned back, crossing his legs, a posture that seemed to tell her to get lost if she didn't explain herself clearly.

Saito Harutori's head was spinning, a choked sound escaped her throat, and her stomach ached as if it were being twisted.

"I want to be needed by everyone, whether it's Sakura, Yuuka, Eri, or Tsukiyo, or even my classmates in the brass band, I want to be needed by them all..."

"

Looking at her face, which was on the verge of tears, Kitahara Hakuba refrained from stepping forward and kneading her cheeks with the force he would use to crush a tomato.

"Just because of that? How boring." Kitahara Hakuba glared at her darkly and raised his voice, "Stand up straight."

"Hmm.

Saito Haruka shuddered and stood even straighter.

Kitahara Hakuba pondered for a moment. If he weren't a teacher, he might have gone to great lengths to retaliate against Saito Harukori.

Unfortunately, he happens to be a teacher.

From a professional perspective, nurturing people is the priority, while imparting knowledge is secondary.

His professional education at university made him realize that if problems arise, he should not only protect himself, but also guide students correctly to prevent more serious psychological trauma.

Saito Harutori is still a minor, and his mind and motives are too immature. As a teacher, he needs to prevent the situation from escalating.

In other words, the goal is to avoid incorporating this matter into the formal procedures and to minimize its impact on the two individuals.

As for the training tasks issued by the system, Kitahara Hakuba naturally dared not do them, as they were not in line with his profession.

He is educating people, not training animals. Hitting students may be the quickest way to achieve results, but for a teacher, it is a major failure.

Kitahara Hakuba's expression gradually relaxed, and he spoke in a calm tone:

"Saito-kun, if someone forcibly changes another person's life because of their own desires, that's a form of violence. When you grow up and look back on it, you'll definitely regret it. In my mind, Kitahara-sensei, the strongest human emotions are usually negative, namely hatred and regret. This is different from love and friendship. Hatred and regret tend to grow stronger over time."

When Saito Haruka heard the statement that "the strongest human emotion is hatred," she couldn't help but shudder.

"I already regret it so much... I'm really sorry."

Now, whenever she thinks of Yuka, her heart aches so badly that she can barely breathe.

"All these things you've done from beginning to end, were they just because you wanted them to hate you, so you could fall into regret?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

“I…” Saito Harutori clenched her numb fingers, trying her best to hold back her tears.

Kitahara Hakuba crossed his arms and said:

"Everyone experiences jealousy and longing for others to some extent, which is normal. However, if you hurt someone and cross their bottom line, it will be difficult to make amends."

It is precisely because things are so difficult to regain once lost that friendship, love, dreams, and family ties shine all the brighter.

After a few seconds of silence, a sense of powerlessness, like the receding tide, surged towards Saito Haruka.

"What should I do now...? I'll do whatever you say." She said, bowing her head in shame.

Kitahara Hakuba leaned forward, his middle finger sliding across the touchpad of his laptop:

“I will not put this matter into the formal procedures, but you will certainly be punished.”

Saito Haruka's chest felt as if it were filled with mud and water, and compared to Kitahara-sensei's magnanimity, she seemed even more narrow-minded.

"Are you listening attentively?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

"Hmm," he said, lifting his head.

At Kitahara Hakuba's instruction, Saito Harutori hesitantly raised her head, her usually gentle face appearing dull and somber.

"I have three requests."

"First, you can no longer stay in the brass band. Although no one knows that you did it, and they will only treat it as a rumor that can be seen everywhere in the school, your presence will affect Isogen's performance, and I will not allow this to happen."

"Secondly, as the vice president of the brass band club, you need to give the members a reasonable explanation for leaving the club. You can make up whatever explanation you want. It could be that you have no interest in brass music, or that you are as busy with your studies as Nagase. But it must be a reason that will allow the members to practice with peace of mind."

"Thirdly, um... as a teacher, I hope you can give yourself time to reflect and make amends, especially for Yuka."

Saito Harutori's breath hitched; to her surprise, he didn't delve into it. Clutching her scarf anxiously, she said:

"And what about you, Kitahara-sensei? Don't I need to do anything for you? Isn't that obvious?"

Kitahara Hakuba frowned slightly, a smile that even he found frustrating appearing on his lips:

"To be honest, after thinking about it carefully, I realize that you can't give me anything. The only thing you can do is show me that you've really changed because of this."

money?

He doesn't need that; after all, his goal has never been to have a lot of zeros in his bank account. His goal is for his students to grow and develop.

flesh?

He doesn't need it. He already has a girlfriend with a stunning figure, Haruka Shinomiya. The two are very compatible and never get tired of each other.

Just keep it ordinary; after all, he's not some kind of demon who has to kill.

Saito Haruka's slender fingers clasped together on her skirt. She raised her eyebrows, tilted her head slightly to reveal a heartbroken expression, and then lowered her head to bite her lower lip tightly.

“I…I really….”

As if out of shame, her face turned bright red, and she squatted down dejectedly, hugging her knees and crying.

The next day was a sunny and pleasant day.

"Tachibana, Ciallo—!!!"

"Mah, Ciallo—!!!"

At the entrance of Shin-Asahi High School, Kuno Tachibana greeted a girl with a yellow hair knot.

Her figure was similar to that of Kuno Tachibana, except that her breasts were a little bigger, like small steamed buns, which could be perfectly covered by one hand.

He is also the euphonium member in the B section of the brass band, and like Kuno Tachibana, he is a first-year student and a classmate, named Kurosawa Maki.

Kuno Tachibana gave her a high five:

"Heh, did you come so early hoping for a romantic chance encounter with me?"

“Nonsense, you’re the one who wants to do this special, loving ‘duty’ with me, hmph.” Kurosawa Maki said smugly.

"Yes, yes, it's full of love, but hey, you have to take yesterday's math quiz again today, right?"

" she asked.

Kurosawa Maki frowned slightly and said:

"The heretics in the subspace network corrupted my brain yesterday, which is why I failed."

Kuno Tachibana said with a warm, ambiguous smile:

"You actually just don't know how, do you?"

Kurosawa Maki immediately lowered her brows, sighed deeply, and said:

"Sigh, I have no idea what the purpose of moving the mysterious P point is in this world."

Kuno Tachibana rested his index finger on his chin and said with a smile:

"It may help your test scores."

"Why is it that Lihua, you're good at playing the trumpet and also do well in your studies?"

"Not bad?" Kuno Tachibana raised his hand to touch her neck, which was peeking out from her collar, with dissatisfaction. "I'm already quite good! As good as the trumpet!"

"Ming-a-yi! Your fingers are so cold!" She quickly shrank her neck.

Kuno Tachibana laughed and made a hand gesture of grabbing breasts, saying, "Maybe innocent girls like me have a heavier yin energy."

"heresy!"

"I still don't understand what you mean by 'heresy'?"

"I don't understand either."

"What do you mean by 'don't understand'?"

The two put on their shoes at the shoe-changing area and walked up the stairs together.

As they passed the staff office, Kuno Tachibana suddenly stopped, a look of delight on her face. "Kitahara-sensei!"

Suddenly, a affected voice made Kitahara Hakuba's skin crawl. He turned around and saw that Kuno Tachibana had walked in.

“Kuno-kun.” Kitahara Hakuba smiled.