Dubian Che dismounted and walked up to Xiaoquan Aonai.

"Just perfect, saved me the money of having someone send flowers," he said, laughing as he handed the flowers to Xiaoquan Aonai.

Xiaoquan Aonai bit her lower lip, her eyes full of laughter as she looked at him.

"Thank you," she murmured gratefully and happily as she reached out to accept the Mountain Lily.

"See you later."

"Mhm."

Dubian Che was about to mount his horse again when he suddenly remembered something and turned back to Xiaoquan Aonai,

"Teacher, could I have a Mountain Lily? I only gave you one yesterday, and Meiji got angry."

"One shouldn't show favoritism," Xiaoquan Aonai taught, her mouth filled with a smile, "Here. What about Mayi?"

"This was just for you, Teacher," Dubian Che whispered.

The main reason was that Mayi Asuka didn't care about those things.

Flowers, money, houses, none of them touched her heart as much as the warmth of Dubian Che's embrace.

"How can that be? Take it, and one for Kiyono too."

"She gets one too?"

"Of course, we can't play favorites."

"Will do as you say, Teacher," Dubian Che took the three Mountain Lilies.

He climbed onto his horse, which was nibbling the grass, and said to Xiaoquan Aonai, "Then I'm off."

"Mhm, okay," Xiaoquan Aonai nodded happily with the flowers in her hand.

Under the gaze of the three onlookers, Dubian Che spurred his horse, and amidst the clatter of hooves, he drifted away into the larch forest.

"That guy didn't say a word to us," Akiko complained to Miyazaki Mieko, "We are, after all, teachers. Couldn't he at least say hello?"

"The school nurse doesn't have that strong a sense of teacher dignity," Miyazaki Mieko didn't care.

"Aonai, what do you think?" Akiko asked Xiaoquan Aonai.

Although the two were her best friends, Xiaoquan Aonai had no objection and would definitely not criticize Dubian Che.

◇

Dubian Che returned to the villa to find that Kiyono Lin had actually gotten up.

She was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans that day, simple and fresh, her legs as beautiful as a chilled soda in summer.

"Up so early today?" Dubian Che asked.

"The Wind Instrument Club is in worse shape than I thought; at this rate, even if we get the gold medal, it's worthless—we won't make it into the nationals."

"Success or failure is their affair," Dubian Che said as he took a tall glass from the cupboard, usually used by ladies for drinking wine, and placed the three Mountain Lilies in it.

"If I hadn't coached them, however the Wind Instrument Club did would be fine, but having been coached by me and still not getting into the nationals is unacceptable."

Dubian Che wasn't interested in that.

"Here's one for you," he pointed to the Mountain Lily in the tall glass.

Kiyono Lin glanced at it, "It's not the only one, I don't want it."

"That's Mr. Xiaoquan's sentiment."

"Thank him for me, then return it. I don't like taking things from others."

"That's so like you, Ryou," Dubian Che said, genuinely impressed.

The morning hours were once again filled with practice, practice, practice.

The competition on the 25th of August was looming, and there was no more time to waste.

At lunchtime, everyone was so weary they could barely muster an appetite.

"Teacher, let everyone rest after lunch so it won't affect this afternoon's practice," Kiyono Lin advised Xiaoquan Aonai.

"Okay, Kiyono, you also take care not to overdo it."

After eating, all were dispatched by Xiaoquan Aonai to nap in their rooms.

"Group leader, make sure to oversee them strictly; no chatting, no playing with phones, must nap," Ayane Kumi instructed.

"Understood!"

Once they had left, Dubian Che asked Kiyono Lin, "Where should we go?"

"Just wander nearby to pass the time."

The pair left the hotel on their bikes, planning to have a coffee at Ginza Square then cycle back.

Cycling on the forest road, with the cool wind in their faces, the shade from the trees overhead, dappled sunlight, and Kiyono Lin's white shirt provided immense satisfaction to all their senses.

Dubian Che even felt the urge to reach out and touch the sunlight.

The blue sky, the clouds, the scenery passing by, it was like a series of postcards.

The natural scenery of the plateau gave a sense of the timeless vastness of the earth.

When they passed "Karuizawa East Elementary," Dubian Che suggested, "Wanna check out Yun Chang Pond?"

"Okay."

Turning off into the woods, they headed towards Yun Chang Pond.

Yun Chang Pond was a long, narrow pool, clear and blue, also known as Swan Lake.

A walk around the pond could take ten to thirty minutes, depending on how fast you walked.

Dubian Che and Kiyono Lin parked their bikes and a group of kids on bikes came riding up noisily.

"Che! Lin!"

"Ah, it's the big brother who peeked under girls' skirts at the slide!"

"The big brother who peeked under girls' skirts at the slide!"

Children are like whirlwinds, full of laughter, soon whizzing off towards Ginza Square.

Dubian Che: "..."

Surrounding tourists looked at Dubian Che with surprise and curiosity.

"The big brother who peeked under girls' skirts at the slide," Kiyono Lin said, giggling and covering her mouth with her hand.

"I'll have to beat up that little devil Kazuki if we run into her at Ginza Square later."

Yun Chang Pond's water was like a mirror, reflecting the blue sky and clouds as if the sky and clouds were in the lake, not just overhead.

The greenery all around and the shade-dappled path around Yun Chang Pond made it seem like they were walking into a painting.

"If you think about it, we've been to a lot of places and done quite a few things," Dubian Che said leisurely.

"Cram school, wind music competitions, cultural festival, educational trips, sports festival, winter camping, New Year in Iwate Prefecture, family trips," Kiyono Lin listed them off with the same ease.

Takao Mountain, Capital City, Iwate Prefecture—as she closed her eyes, those scenes seemed to float before her eyes.