I play the wind instrument in Hokkaido.

Page 181

After listening to CDs from other schools for a while, it was past nine o'clock, so I took my laptop and headed out.

Because Kuno Tachibana's home is near the Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden, he arranged to meet Nagasawa Miyako and the others there.

The bus stopped not far from the entrance of the botanical garden. When Kitahara Hakuba got off and walked over, he found that Nagasawa Miyabi and Goto Yu were already waiting for him.

Mia Nagasawa wore denim shorts that accentuated her pert buttocks, and a simple white T-shirt on top. Yu Goto wore a blue and white striped T-shirt with a stand-up collar jacket over it.

The two girls were pretty and cute, especially Nagasawa Mia's long legs exposed under her hot pants, which attracted the attention of passersby.

Kitahara Hakuba walked straight past:

Good morning, Nagasawa-san, Goto-san.

The two bowed slightly to the white horse of Kitahara.

Good morning, Kitahara-sensei.

Kitahara Hakuba glanced at the shopping bag Nagasawa Mia was carrying on her arm; they must have gone to the mall to buy some clothes that morning.

"Shall we go straight to Kuno's house now?" Nagasawa Miya asked.

"Is there something you need? I'm not in a hurry."

"No, I was just worried that you might have something important to do, Kitahara-sensei."

Some boys who were initially envious of Kitahara Hakuma for having pretty girls around him suddenly stopped being envious after hearing the two girls call him "teacher".

So what if they're handsome? As a teacher, are you going to eat them up?

“No, let’s go then,” Kitahara Hakuba said.

The three walked with their backs to the botanical garden, where rows of detached concrete houses were everywhere.

After walking for a few minutes, we arrived at a house with blue and white paint on the outside. The words "Kuya" were clearly engraved on the iron signboard.

"Minister Yukawa?"

Goto Yu's gaze suddenly fell on a girl nearby, whose three-braided hairstyle was very eye-catching.

The girl seemed to be constantly checking something, looking back and forth between her phone and the surrounding houses.

Sakurako Yukawa, dressed in a simple white T-shirt and trousers, looked surprised when she saw the three of them, and then immediately came over.

"Teacher Kitahara, junior Nagasawa, junior Goto, it's great to meet you all."

A hint of joy appeared on her face, like a lost deer that had finally found its way back to the herd.

"Does Minister Yukawa live nearby?" Nagasawa Miya asked.

"No."

Sakurako Yukawa shook her head, a bitter smile on her face, and said, "I only came to find Kuno-senpai. Since you and Kitahara-sensei are here, it means you're here to see her too, right?"

Kitahara Hakuba nodded and said, "Yes, I think I need to explain the situation to Kuno-kun."

"so.

Sakurako took a shallow breath, her slender chest slightly heaving, and asked with some confusion,

"Then why didn't you explain it clearly to Kuno yesterday?"

"Because I think that if Kuno doesn't have a more professional explanation in front of her, not to mention me, even she herself won't be able to convince herself."

Kitahara Hakuba looked at the three girls in front of him and said in a low voice, "At the same time, I'm worried that she might find an excuse in her heart, and in time she'll deceive herself, so I can only wait until the professional results come out and then come to find her immediately."

After hearing his words, Yukawa Sakurako suddenly realized what he meant.

“But as the department head, it’s really great that you care so much about your members,” Kitahara Hakuba said with a smile.

Sakurako blushed and looked down at him demurely, saying:

"All I can do is offer words of comfort; I can't do anything else. Compared to you, Mr. Kitahara, I'm far inferior."

"Did I ring the doorbell?" Nagasawa Miya suddenly said.

“Yes.” Kitahara Hakuba nodded and said, “Let’s go together, Minister Yukawa.”

...good."

Miya Nagasawa pressed the doorbell, and soon after, an unusual sound came from the round microphone.

"Who is it?"

Nagasawa Miyako glanced at Kitahara Hakuba and felt that he should be the one to speak.

"Hello, I'm Kitahara Hakuba, the music teacher and advisor for the brass band at Shin-Asahi High School. Yesterday's audition results might not have been very satisfactory for Kuno-san. I'm a little worried about how she's doing—"

Kitahara Hakuba's attitude was very humble, showing a cautious and composed side.

"Teacher? Please wait a moment!"

Soon after, the sound of slippers stepping on the floor came from behind the door, and then the door was opened.

A woman appeared at the doorway; her hair looked somewhat frizzy, and her gaze lingered on Kitahara Hakuma.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Hello, Kitahara-sensei. I am Kuno's mother. We met in Sapporo last time."

"Hello, I'm sorry to have come to your esteemed residence so suddenly. Have I disturbed you?" Kitahara Hakuba asked with a slight bow.

"Not at all! On the contrary, it's really great that you could come!"

Kuno's mother said with concern,

“Lihua came back yesterday looking rather down and didn’t eat much. I was really worried about her, but thankfully she has you all as her friends.”

As she spoke, she looked at Nagasawa Miyako and the other two.

"May I go in and talk to her?" Kitahara Hakuba asked.

"of course can!"

Kuno's mother said as if she were seeing a savior.

“This child used to be so talkative, but now he’s so quiet. As his mother, I’m really worried.”

"As her teacher, I will try my best to talk to her."

"Thank you for your hard work."

I went up the stairs to the second floor and arrived at the door of Kuno Tachibana.

There was a heart-shaped sign hanging above it with the name "Kuno Tachibana" written on it, along with various emoticons.

Kitahara Hakuba raised his hand, gently knocked on the door, and said bluntly:

"Kuno-kun, it's me, Kitahara Hakuba."

Soon, they heard a "click" as something fell to the ground, followed by the sound of barefoot running.

"Such a big commotion, yet they seem to be in pretty good spirits?" Kitahara Hakuba thought to himself.

"Teacher Kitahara?"

Kuno Tachibana seemed confused for a moment, and her voice betrayed her bewilderment.

"And I."

"And I."

"Kuno-san, may we come in and talk?"

"The three of you...?"

Kuno Tachibana's increasingly subdued voice could be heard from inside the room.

"Could you give me some time alone?"

Mia Nagasawa raised her hand to support herself against the door and said:

"You've been alone for quite a while now, haven't you? You weren't cleaning up your clothes that were lying around because Kitahara-sensei came, were you?"

“Miya, shut up. I already told you to let me be alone for a while.”

Miya Nagasawa frowned slightly. Normally, she would have retorted with such a retort.

Kitahara Hakuba said softly:

"Kuno-kun, do you want to know why you lost the selection against Nagase-kun? I can tell you everything in detail."

For someone like Kuno Tachibana, who prioritizes strength above all else, this statement is the perfect bait.

She desperately wanted to climb higher every day, and wished she could eliminate all her flaws.

Sure enough, there was a sudden silence inside.

Just as Sakurako Yukawa looked troubled, thinking that there was no chance for her today, Tachibana Kuno's voice approached, right behind the door:

"I only want Kitahara-sensei to come in."

Chapter 157, Section 156: Subtle Favoritism (4K)

"Kuno-senpai still has a strong sense of pride."

"She's always been like this. You can praise her, but if you point out something bad about her, she'll get furious if you can't give a proper explanation."

Since Kuno Tachibana only asked Kitahara Hakuba to go in, the three of them had to go back downstairs first.

At that moment, Kuno's mother bumped into them with a tray on which were four servings of tea and sweets.

"Where is Kitahara-sensei?" she asked.

“In Tachibana’s room,” Nagasawa Miya said.

Kuno's mother first invited them to sit down.

Yuu Goto looked into the glass teapot and saw several blooming red and white flowers.

"So beautiful..."

.

"Craft tea is made by wrapping flowers in tea leaves. When hot water is poured in, the tea leaves will slowly unfurl, and the flowers will bloom."

Kuno's mother clasped her hands on her thighs and said with a smile,

"Please take care of Lihua at school. Sometimes she's too stubborn and talks too much. It's my fault for not disciplining her well."

Sakurako Yukawa quickly spoke up: