The morning practice had ended, and Dubian Che didn't go to the Human Observation Department to be alone with Kiyono Lin; instead, he ran to find Kunii Shuichi.

The baseball club's indoor practice field was made up of a series of iron wire cages, where each member had a cage to themselves to practice pitching and swinging.

"Mr. Dubian!" Before he had found Kunii Shuichi, the baseball team manager walked over.

"Good afternoon, Kobayashi," Dubian Che nodded.

"Good afternoon!" Kobayashi Yuuzuki smiled happily, "Are you here to play baseball?"

Dubian Che glanced at the training field; everyone was practicing earnestly, the coach's roars and the metallic sound of bats hitting balls resonating in a constant back-and-forth.

Thinking that it would be wrong to disturb Kunii Shuichi during practice, he asked, "Is that okay?"

"Of course, Mr. Dubian. You're also part of the baseball team!"

"I had forgotten that."

"Mr. Dubian, don't worry. When the time comes, I'll ask my dad to arrange for you to be a substitute player. You might not get to play, but you can sit on the bench and watch the game up close!"

"Thanks, but no need," Dubian Che said.

"Don't mention it! Oh, let me take you in."

Kobayashi Yuuzuki led Dubian Che into a wire cage for batters.

"Do you know how to use it?" Kobayashi Yuuzuki asked.

"Is it similar to a baseball amusement park?" Dubian Che looked at the automatic pitching machine and bats.

"Yep!"

Kobayashi Yuuzuki stepped out of the wire cage and sat on the bench outside, holding a pen and paper, ready to record Dubian Che's training data—how many balls he hit, how many swings he took, and the like.

Of course, the main purpose was to wait for Dubian Che to get tired and to offer him a towel and water, and then chat during rest time.

Dubian Che picked the heaviest bat and kept swinging at the balls pitched by the machine.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

The faster the machine pitched the balls, the more satisfying it was to hit them flying out.

But the pitching machine was still too slow. Slow enough that during the intervals when Dubian Che sent the balls back, he could still think of Kiyono Lin, Jiutiao Meijie.

He kept swinging relentlessly, ignoring Kobayashi Yuuzuki as she called out a few times to take a break.

"Mr. Dubian, are you okay? Novices who practice for a long time can easily get hurt!"

"I'm fine, thank you." Feeling somewhat brighter after exercising, Dubian Che said, "Can I come again tomorrow?"

"Of course!" Kobayashi Yuuzuki readily agreed, then slowed her tone to add, "Mr. Dubian, you're always a part of baseball, anytime you can come!"

"Thank you."

"No problem! But you're really amazing, Mr. Dubian. If this were a real baseball game, you could have hit the ball out of the field several times!"

"You can tell?" Indeed, there were a few times when Dubian Che got distracted thinking about women and the force wasn't controlled.

"Of course! Mr. Dubian, will you officially join the practice? There are two months until the preliminaries, and with your talent, maybe you could play the third or fourth hitter in just a month!"

"It can't be that simple," Dubian Che said. "I heard from Kunii that many talented people have been practicing since elementary school."

"That's because their talent isn't enough!" Kobayashi Yuuzuki was even more confident than Dubian Che, "Didn't you surpass everyone after practicing the oboe for one month? No problem!"

There were no girls at Goda who didn't know of Dubian Che's achievements.

Although he was often lectured by the two ladies he stayed with every day, he was actually a big star at the Goda school.

After a brief exchange with Kobayashi Yuuzuki, Dubian Che took his leave.

When he returned to the music classroom, Kiyono Lin stood at the conductor's stand, while the members of the Wind Instrument Club sat in their respective places, getting ready for the afternoon's ensemble practice.

Dubian Che was there to instruct, so he also stood in front, observing everyone's ensemble performance.

"Let's begin," Kiyono Lin said once everyone had arrived.

"Yes!" The voices of the women were in unison.

Not just the Wind Instrument Club, but among Goda's first-year students, the number of girls was also overwhelmingly high.

On Dubian Che's birthday, the principal saw him in the courtyard and went out of his way to offer well-wishes.

Whether it was because of his star student recruitment effect or in consideration of the Jiutiao Family wasn't clear.

"Ushinishi,"

"Yes!" Clarinet player Ushinishi Rika was responsible for tuning.

Following her clarinet, all the instruments produced the same sound.

Kiyono Lin didn't hold a baton, conducting empty-handed. As she brought down her hands, the brass instruments immediately released a majestic rhythm.

Dubian Che listened, occasionally glancing at Kiyono Lin.

The cool, detached profile of her face, her expression of full concentration, the slender, pale fingers—beneath the sleeve of the school uniform, he could indistinctly see her snowy white wrist.

"Stop," Kiyono Lin suddenly brought her conducting hands together midway through.

The room, thundering with the sound of instruments just a moment ago, instantly became silent.

Dubian Che could hear the sound of rainwater running down the glass window. In a flash, this sound was overtaken by the nervous shuffle of a Wind Instrument Club member's feet.

"What's the matter?" Kiyono Lin asked coldly.

The swallowing of saliva, the nervous beating of hearts.

"The double bass."

"Here!" Hanaoka Chaozi and another girl hastily responded.

"When plucking, pay attention to the left hand's motion—I believe I've mentioned this before during the morning session."

"...Yes, I'll be careful!" The first-year student was too scared to respond, leaving only Hanaoka Chaozi to speak.

"The trombone."

"Here!" The voice of Yuzao Haomei from the trombone section was the loudest.

"The mistake I pointed out yesterday was corrected in the morning, and now it's back again. Do you think we can schedule the competition for the morning?"

"I'm sorry, I'll do extra practice today to ensure I meet the standard tomorrow!" Yuzao Haomei alone affirmed confidently.

"You think holding an instrument and opening a score is called practice? You couldn't be more mistaken."

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