A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1482 - 1001 Club Activities_2

Chapter 1482: Chapter 1001 Club Activities_2

"Oh, right, I actually have an idea!"

At this moment, another girl seemed to have thought of something, her eyes glittering.

"When the competition comes, why don’t we invite Teacher Duanmu to sit in the audience? Then, as soon as the other schools see Teacher Duanmu, they’ll be so scared that they’ll mess up their performances—making it easier for us to win effortlessly... Eh? What’s wrong with you guys?"

However, before the girl finished speaking, she noticed her companions in front of her had turned pale, their faces ashen, and cold sweat running down their foreheads. Right then, a steel claw abruptly landed on the girl’s head. Simultaneously, Duanmu Huai’s voice emerged from behind her.

"Hmm... your idea is quite interesting, Kato."

"........."

At that moment, the girl named Kato froze completely. Her whole body stiffened as she hesitantly turned her head. Behind her, Duanmu Huai was grinning ominously, glaring at her fiercely.

"I remember you used to be an athlete, right? What happened—playing instruments made you lose the pride of a sportswoman? Now you’re only thinking about crooked schemes?"

"Ah, ahahaha... Teacher Duanmu, no, no! This is just...!"

"Looks like I need to inject you with some backbone again!"

"Aaaahhhh, it hurts! It hurts! My head’s going to crack open! Teacher Duanmu! Spare me! Aaahhhhh!!!"

After grabbing and squeezing the girl’s head until she screamed and wailed, Duanmu Huai finally let go, turning to glance around at the rest of the group.

"And you lot—if you’ve got so much mental energy to imagine nonsense, why not use it to practice your pieces? Thanks to all of you, I’ve now forgotten what the original tune of the music sounded like—all I can remember is how off-key it was!"

"Yes......."

Faced with Duanmu Huai, the club members dared not talk back and could only bow their heads and respond in unison. Duanmu Huai raised an eyebrow.

"Louder—did you have breakfast or not?"

"Yes!"

"Louder still!"

"Yes!!"

"Shout it out!"

"YES!!!"

"Alright, that’s more like it. I know what you’re all thinking, but whether or not you can overcome it is up to you—I won’t be going easy on you. The worse your performance sounds, the worse my mood gets. You can imagine how horrible it feels to be forced to listen to hours of off-key and exasperatingly bad playing without being able to walk away. If you don’t want to experience that again, then pull yourselves together and get serious!"

"YES!!!"

"Good. You’ve worked hard—clean up your things and head back."

Duanmu Huai glanced around after speaking. At this point, only a few first-year students were left in the music classroom, mainly tasked with moving the tables and chairs back after the activities were over...

"Do you need any help?"

"No, no—no need to trouble yourself with this, Teacher!"

"Alright then—be careful, don’t bump into anything or hurt yourselves. You’re musicians; you need to protect your hands. That’s it. I’ll head out first."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand, then turned around intending to leave. But just then, a voice suddenly sounded.

"Um, excuse me...!"

"Hmm?"

Duanmu Huai turned back to see a girl with fluffy brown hair who looked quite cute. She was staring at him nervously. He vaguely remembered her name was...?

"What is it, Huang’zen?"

"I have something I’d like to ask you... is that alright?"

"If it’s about music performance, I can’t help much—I’m clueless about this stuff."

"No, not that..."

The brown-haired girl hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak.

"Actually... I heard from the upperclassmen that last year, quite a few second-year students collectively quit the Wind Band Club..."

"That happened? I don’t know much about it... Did you ask anyone else?"

"The upperclassmen seem unwilling to talk about it..."

"Oh, I see. Hmm... sounds kind of intriguing..."

Hearing the brown-haired girl’s words, Duanmu Huai’s curiosity was piqued. After all, he was currently free and had nothing to do. Listening to gossip might actually be entertaining. So, he glanced around and happened to catch sight of someone passing through the corridor.

"Hey, over there—that one... Nakagawa!"

"Huh? Are you calling me, Teacher Duanmu?"

A girl named Nakagawa Natsuki paused, slightly startled. She was also a member of the Wind Band Club, a tall ponytailed girl with a laid-back personality. Hearing Duanmu Huai call her, Nakagawa Natsuki was puzzled but obediently approached.

"What’s up?"

"I heard a bunch of people in the Wind Band Club quit last year. Do you know what that’s about?"

"Why would you be interested in that, Teacher...?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s question, Nakagawa Natsuki hesitated briefly. But noticing several first-years nearby, she immediately understood.

"Ah, I see—you’re curious about this, aren’t you?"

"Uh, I’m sorry, senior..."

"No worries, no worries."

Nakagawa Natsuki smiled casually and waved her hand at the apologetic first-years.

"Actually, it’s nothing that’s off-limits... Well, do you know last year’s competition results for the Wind Band Club?"

"They got a Bronze Award in the Kyoto tournament, right...?"

The group exchanged glances before Huang’zen Kumiko answered.

"Exactly. Because the Kyoto Prefecture doesn’t hold regional preliminaries, to put it bluntly, this was basically a lousy consolation prize."

Nakagawa Natsuki sighed.

"Honestly, there were people last year who were goal-driven and full of passion, aiming for the Gold Award. Unfortunately, the rest didn’t think the same way."