After rehearsing for the first time—although it might be more appropriate to say everyone took turns reading through once—Kiyono Lin put down her script and looked around at everyone.

She said,

"Does anyone think there's anything in the script that needs to be modified?"

There was a brief silence around the elm wood table for a couple of seconds, then Dubian Che smiled and said, "If Kiyono and Jiutiao Mei have no objections, how could we possibly have any?"

"Idiotic," Kiyono Lin scolded without holding back, "Even the smartest person can make mistakes. Listening to everyone's opinions is what truly smart people do."

"I don't know what smart people would do, but if you insult Dubian again, don't expect me to be nice," Jiutiao Meijie snapped, tossing her script onto the table.

Kiyono Lin, arms folded, spoke loftily, "Am I not allowed to insult him?"

"Um," said Mayi Asuka.

Both noble ladies looked at her to see her delicately featured face calm, her head nodding slightly, and her long hair gently falling onto her chest.

Jiutiao Meijie frowned slightly, then smiled at Kiyono Lin, "Did you hear that, Kiyono?"

"Do you feel the same way, Mr. Xiaoquan?" Kiyono Lin ignored Jiutiao Meijie and asked Xiaoquan Aonai.

"It would be best if everyone got along," Xiaoquan Aonai replied.

"Am I not allowed to insult him?" Kiyono Lin pressed on.

"That's...,"

"Is she allowed to insult him?" Jiutiao Meijie also asked.

"I..."

Xiaoquan Aonai looked troubled; this was her first time being part of such a chaotic scene, and she wasn't fearless like Mayi Asuka.

"Kiyono, I support you!" Ichiki Aoi whispered excitedly.

She pantomimed punching Dubian Che with a "heave-ho," as if to turn him into a pile of mud.

Kiyono Lin, no, Jiutiao Meijie and Mayi Asuka, all three of them watched her with a cold gaze.

"..." Ichiki Aoi stopped her punching motion, placed her hands on her knees, and bowed her head, "I'm sorry."

"That's enough, everyone," Xiaoquan Aonai said gently, "let's focus on practicing instead."

Kiyono Lin sighed, rubbing her forehead as if it ached, "It was my mistake."

"You actually admit when you're wrong?" Dubian Che, who had been almost invisible until now, looked at her in surprise.

"I have no objections to the script, just as Jiutiao doesn't, because our relationship with you is too close to point out your errors. I thought that once all the actors were present, maybe others could identify any issues. However, of the remaining three, two favor you as we do, and one does not have the ability."

"Right." Mayi Asuka nodded in agreement.

"..." Xiaoquan Aonai's face flushed.

Saying things like having a close relationship and favoritism in front of so many people.

"..." Ichiki Aoi's expression darkened.

"Sorry, Ichiki," Kiyono Lin explained, "I didn't mean to give you a hard time for what happened just now; I was just speaking the truth."

Demons, there are demons among us!

"The End of the World and the Cold Fairyland" is real! No lies!

"..... Uh-huh," Ichiki Aoi sighed, acknowledging the difficulty of her job and how hard it is to earn money.

"Ichiki," Dubian Che called out.

Ichiki Aoi looked up at him.

"Let's go out for teppanyaki tonight," Dubian Che suggested after a brief pause, "It'll be an employee meal during the rehearsal period for everyone."

"No problem," Kiyono Lin replied nodding, with an air of a minister granting approval to a proposal that didn't originally stand, "That's enough of this idle chat, let's continue."

Xiaoquan Aonai seemed like she had something to say but was too shy to speak up.

"By the way, let's also invite Mr. Miyazaki and Akiko," Dubian Che muttered as if to himself.

Kiyono Lin glanced at him with a cold look.

"Good morning, young lady," Dubian Che greeted, holding up his script.

◇

When they closed their scripts at the end of practice, the cheers from the sports field, the Wind Instrument Club's practice sounds, and the calligraphy club's playful noises in the corridors all poured into their ears.

"Good work," Kiyono Lin said.

"Good work," everyone replied.

"Let's go eat teppanyaki," Dubian Che said contentedly, "I can treat you with the money I earn from my part-time job, even if it's just basic ingredients."

"Um, I'll go let Miyuki and the others know," Xiaoquan Aonai stood up.

"I'll go with you, and we'll meet up under the oak tree later," Dubian Che also stood up, simultaneously picking up his suit jacket.

"Are you going to wear that?" Xiaoquan Aonai asked curiously, "It's really hot, you know."

"It's necessary when going out to eat," Dubian Che said, slipping his arm into the sleeve.

A simple motion performed with style, like a scene from a movie where the hero has practiced over and over.

"Hurry up, I don't like to wait."

"We are too similar; I don't like to make others wait either. Isn't that a perfect match?"

Jiutiao Meijie scoffed, "Smooth talker."

Dubian Che and Xiaoquan Aonai depart for the Human Observation Department.

It was nearing evening, the hot wind still blowing, and Dubian Che looked quite out of place in his summer coat.

Wearing two layers in summer and just one in winter might seem straightforward, but it all required courage.

Everyone knows not to care too much about societal views, but when it comes down to it, various constraints bind us at all times, and it takes quite a bit of resolution at the key moment.

"Aren't you hot?" Xiaoquan Aonai looked at Dubian Che's profile.

"Not at all."

"Have you caught a cold?" Xiaoquan Aonai reached out instinctively toward Dubian Che's forehead, but then, remembering they were at school, she pulled back.

Dubian Che glanced at her and took her soft hand in his.

"Ah!" Xiaoquan Aonai yelped in surprise and quickly pulled away.

She blushed, checking around the corridor to make sure no one had seen, then glared angrily at Dubian Che.

"Teacher, can I not take my backpack home today? I don't want to do homework," Dubian Che said with his hands in his pockets as they walked.

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