On Saturday morning, Yuzao Haomei arrived at school earlier than usual.

The hallway was quiet, like an abandoned building, with only her footsteps echoing.

Just as she thought she was the first to arrive, she heard the sound of an instrument in the distance.

The melody was gentle and delicate, with a clear and transparent timbre; it was an oboe.

So beautiful, Yuzao Haomei couldn't help but stop in her tracks.

After listening for a while, she suddenly remembered last year when Dubian Che's oboe sounded like God's sigh.

With such a moving sound, why hadn't she noticed it back then? All she thought about was how poor he was.

The summer when she could listen to such beautiful melodies at any time would perhaps never come again.

The oboe's sound suddenly stopped, and Yuzao Haomei snapped back to reality, quickly composing her feelings of loss.

"That sound... hmm—" she said as she walked, recalling, "Horikita... Horikita Mai!"

This junior, who had a peculiar laugh and spent her days catching Pokémon on her phone, left a deeper impression on her than others.

Entering the music room, she sat down, opened her sheet music, and began practicing.

Whenever a club member walked in, she would silently recite their names in her mind.

'Tazawa Yuriko... Dobashi Shoko... Miyoshi Yuuri... Ogawa... Ogawa—'

She glanced around, then secretly took out her phone to check the list sent by Ayane Kumi.

'Ogawa Natsumi! Ogawa Natsumi!'

'The short-haired Ogawa Natsumi! The clarinetist Ogawa Natsumi! The average-looking Ogawa Natsumi!'

Like memorizing English vocabulary, her lips moved silently and quickly.

"Got a 96 on yesterday's English test."

The sudden male voice startled Yuzao Haomei so much that her phone almost slipped from her hand.

She turned to see Dubian Che standing by.

He was wearing a white shirt and a brand-new black blazer.

Whether it was this school uniform or his naturally styled hair, he looked more fashionable than the male models Yuzao Haomei had seen in magazines.

That face, which rarely showed a smile, would certainly suit being an idol.

Yuzao Haomei found herself momentarily entranced.

Though she didn't want to admit it, she had been judging people by appearance since kindergarten and never saw a problem with it.

Her standards for the aesthetics of the opposite sex were stringent. If Dubian Che hadn't been so good-looking, she wouldn't even bother to badmouth him and would have forgotten him long ago.

"Back to reality."

"What are you doing?! You scared me to death!" Yuzao Haomei cursed, angrily putting away her phone and randomly flipping through her sheet music to ease her embarrassment.

Although this guy was annoying, when he suddenly came this close, what girl could handle it?!

"Is the matter with the minister settled?" Dubian Che didn't care about her attitude.

"It's settled." Yuzao Haomei replied flatly.

"Looking forward to your performance." Dubian Che prepared to leave, but as he turned, he suddenly remembered something and added, "The club is important, but don't neglect your grades."

"Any tips?" Although it was a request, her tone sounded more like she was questioning.

Dubian Che stopped and said, "Listen to the teachers."

In terms of study methods, even though he was number one in the nation, he wouldn't know more than professional teachers.

Before Yuzao Haomei could retort, he added:

"No methods, just a small suggestion—don't compare your grades with those from other schools, comfort yourself that even if you're taking summer classes at Goda, you're still better than most. You should only focus on Goda."

Dubian Che had always done this.

He neither knew nor cared whether other students in the class performed well or poorly, nor did he know how many ranked in the national top hundred; his target had always been Kiyono Lin and Jiutiao Meijie.

After exams, he would analyze their test papers, see where they lost points, and remind himself not to make the same mistakes.

"Who doesn't know that?" Yuzao Haomei, always making excuses for herself, retorted.

"That's all then, do your best."

Dubian Che returned to the front of the classroom where Kiyono Lin was.

"I wouldn't advise you to do that." Kiyono Lin said, looking at her sheet music.

"Do what?"

"Comforting and encouraging girls." Kiyono Lin turned her face slightly to look at Dubian Che.

"Your grades are good, and you're..." she looked Dubian Che up and down, "passable in looks. If you're that gentle, it'll only cause trouble."

"R-san, may I ask you a question," Dubian Che said.

"Mhm."

"Please tell me, what, in your opinion, is considered good-looking?"

"Not lying?"

"Why is that a question?"

"Besides me, have you not met anyone who doesn't lie?" Kiyono Lin gave Dubian Che a 'get a grip' look.

"Makes sense." Dubian Che nodded, "Besides not lying?"

Kiyono Lin put her hand on her chin, striking a thoughtful pose.

"Dubian Che, Dubian Che." Dubian Che reminded quietly.

Kiyono Lin's eyes returned to focus, and she smiled charmingly.

She said, "And Dubian Che, as long as you're Dubian Che, only Dubian Che, in my eyes, that's considered passable."

"Kiyono doesn't lie, right?"

"I don't lie." Kiyono Lin affirmed.

"So, you still mean that I'm really just 'passable'?"

Kiyono Lin's gaze turned cold, she looked at Dubian Che, then moved her gaze back to the sheet music, saying:

"If you want to know how you really look, how about going to the window?"

"But you can't use a daytime window as a mirror." Dubian Che said.

"I'm suggesting you jump out, and once you're dead, have your soul take a good look at yourself." Kiyono Lin said without lifting her head.

"Hey, Kiyono, I always thought you represented beauty."

"Thank you, I've always thought Dubian is the real-life version of a novel's intelligent and humorous male protagonist."

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