"Say a little more, and I'll forgive you for your sarcasm just now."

"Your voice is clear and pleasant, you're witty, with great temperament, and your hands are particularly big and beautiful. Not only are your grades good, but you're also incredibly handsome."

"...Say a bit more."

"Sometimes when I think of you, it feels like I'm being electrified. Including me, many people want to marry someone like Mr. Dubian."

"Keep, keep going." Dubian Che could hardly control the corners of his mouth.

"I want to marry you." Kiyono Lin tucked her hair behind her ear, lifted her exquisite face, and looked at Dubian Che as she spoke.

"Uh-huh." Dubian Che turned his head to look at the music classroom, raising his voice, "Woodwind Group, gather at the covered corridor on the fifth floor."

Kiyono Lin looked at Dubian Che pretending to be nonchalant and couldn't help but smile.

After Dubian Che led the Woodwind Group away, she propped her elbows on the podium, holding a pen in her right hand and covering her forehead with her left.

'Is it because I've spent too much time with Dubian? I can't believe I said such a thing.'

Wearing indoor shoes, she tapped her right foot lightly on the floor of the music classroom, feeling shy.

During the lunch break, Dubian Che continued to paint, depicting Kiyono Lin reading by the window.

That painting...

"Not talking about elsewhere, are my hands jagged?" Kiyono Lin commented, arms crossed, after looking at it.

"Kiyono, do you know Picasso's 'Three Musicians'? The hands in it are jagged. It's a tribute to the grandmaster." Dubian Che spoke righteously.

"Picasso's 'Dora and a Cat', with his lover as the main character, sold for 95.216 million dollars. So, how much can your painting sell for, Mr. Dubian?"

"9 billion... dollars!" Dubian Che raised his right hand.

He lowered his right hand and raised his left: "9 billion dollars once, 9 billion dollars twice, 9 billion dollars three times! Sold!"

He lifted the tablet like holding up a painting, introducing to Kiyono Lin: "9 billion dollars, Kiyono."

Kiyono Lin's slender fingers reached out to the tablet, gently swiping to delete the painting.

"...9 billion dollars, Kiyono."

"Is that so."

In the afternoon, they continued assisting the Wind Instrument Club with training until 5:30 PM, after which they left school.

The following week, the sports festival started.

This time, the Human Observation Department did not participate in the club competition, and Dubian Che didn't want to bully classmates relying on his superior athletic ability.

After the sports festival, time moved into late October.

"Our days in school are becoming fewer and fewer." Dubian Che said during lunchtime in the club room, while painting the autumn scenery outside the window.

"High school has its joys, and university and society have their own pleasures too." Kiyono Lin read Keigo Higashino's "After School".

Since August at Karuizawa, she started reading mystery novels because she couldn't find any traditional literature she liked for a while.

"He doesn't care about youth; he cherishes the time spent wearing a school uniform." Today, Jiutiao Meijie was whimsically doing Kiyono Lin's hair.

Kiyono Lin's hair was shiny and smooth, slipping through Jiutiao Meijie's delicate, fair hands like black water.

Dubian Che looked at the two of them and said, "Seeing you like this, I could do nothing and watch until that oak tree withers and dies."

"Oak trees can live for four hundred years." Kiyono Lin reminded someone to recognize the oak tree and not overestimate themselves.

"That's true, you two can't live that long, what a pity." Dubian Che said, "When you both are gone, I'll find a place to bury myself."

"No need to trouble yourself," Jiutiao Meijie said as she tied Kiyono Lin's hair, "before I die, I'll kill you first, so you can be buried with me. There, take a look."

Kiyono Lin glanced at the birch table mirror, seeing a high ponytail.

Even the literary girl Kiyono Lin now had a slight sporty girl vibe.

Dubian Che's gaze swept over her snow-white, slender neck exposed by the ponytail, which looked like it must be fragrant, soft, and delicious.

"How is it?" Jiutiao Meijie asked.

"It's just a ponytail." Kiyono Lin replied indifferently.

"And this?" Jiutiao Meijie fussed over her hair again, delighted as if playing dress-up with a Barbie doll.

"Average." Kiyono Lin said.

"This..." Dubian Che hesitated.

Kiyono Lin looked at him curiously, while Jiutiao Meijie wore a teasing smile.

At that moment, Kiyono Lin's hairstyle draped over her collarbone, known as a very dangerous 'Mrs.' hairstyle.

The so-called danger is just a joke; wearing such a hairstyle makes one look gentle with a homely vibe.

In animations where faces look almost identical, people rely on hairstyles, clothes, and accessories to recognize others.

Seeing Dubian Che's expression, Kiyono Lin knew there must be something off with the hairstyle.

"Let me help you too." She closed the book, placed it beside the mirror, and stood up.

"Sure." Jiutiao Meijie's tone was leisurely and natural, not bothered at all.

Once Jiutiao Meijie sat down, Kiyono Lin stood behind her, her hands reaching into her long hair.

Jiutiao Meijie's hair was very luxurious, slightly resembling a princess cut, a proud creation of Mrs. Jiutiao.

Back in Karuizawa, the reason Dubian Che refused Mrs. Jiutiao's haircut was that he feared she would give him a princess cut—a style commonly referred to for males as a 'bowl cut.'

As Kiyono Lin styled Jiutiao Meijie's hair, a leaf blew in from outside the window.

This may have been the first leaf of Tokyo's autumn.

"An autumn mark." Dubian Che pinched the leaf midway with his index and middle fingers, "Gift for the beautiful princess, my Meiji."

Jiutiao Meijie maintained her upper body posture to facilitate Kiyono Lin styling her hair, reaching out to accept the leaf.