[The King's Avatar] The Misconstrued Situation With An Overdue Explanation

Chapter 9: Music Solo

806 words, 4 minutes

"You're kidding," jeered Chen Guo, crossing her legs as she sat comfortably on the bench. The canteen was louder than her first year here. "You finally saw him?"

"I'm pretty sure he's the same guy I 'rode to school with'," Akane answered sarcastically, using air quotes for her last phrase.

Chen Guo glanced at Tang Rou who was sitting next to her. Neither one were close to finishing their lunch.

"And he has white hair and demonic eyes?" she further asked.

Akane's expression turned into an upset one. "You don't have to say it like that..." she muttered, pretending to look hurt for that guy's sake.

"They're probably just contacts," mentioned Tang Rou. "Though I'm not sure I've ever seen a university student here try and make a statement like that..."

"You know what, it might be easier if you guys just see him some time," declared Akane, giving up. "He's pretty easy to spot."

"Oh, I bet, given your description of him," pointed out Chen Guo, chuckling. "If I see him and he actually does look like that, I'll buy you lunch."

"Bet," agreed Akane, shaking Chen Guo's hand competitively. Tang Rou merely shook her head faintly at the exchange. "He does sound like an interesting guy," she agreed. "Do you know what programs he's enrolled in?"

"No," admitted Akane sadly, gently bringing her thermos to her lips so she can slurp her hot pot. "I'll try talking to him, though..."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" chuckled Chen Guo. "Waving to him during your little morning rides?"

There was no way she was gonna stick to doing just that. "No," replied Akane, letting out a few nervous laughs since she wanted this to turn into something more.

"Ride and talk, then?"

"No, that's dangerous, Guo Guo," warned Akane in her common sense tone, picking up her phone once she saw one of her friends from Nagoya had texted her.

"Whatever you do, don't let him distract you from your studies," cut in Tang Rou, even though she was the one who told Akane it's alright to have an interest. "And work. And rehearsals. Speaking of which, we have rehearsal today."

Akane flicked her gaze up at her in confusion. "We do?"

"Yeah. Jiàoshòu Yue emailed everyone last night saying so. Did you not read it?"

"I..." Akane put her phone down slowly. "I was busy studying, I didn't even think of checking my email."

"You should probably start doing so now because you know how stern she can get," said Tang Rou. "Everyone that signed up for the Music Performance club is going to participate in playing a Chinese piece written by her and the presidents of the club. Please don't tell me you forgot about that, too."

"I didn't," insisted Akane. "But it's just so much to take in... why is she emailing us instead of sticking to the schedule she made?"

"Because she wants us to practice more since this is not an existing piece of music we'll be performing," answered Tang Rou. "It's taken her 3 months to write it in a way that will combine all our musical talents and provide various solos. She wants us to perform like an orchestra."

"While we have tests every week to study for, is she crazy?" demanded Akane. Sure, she loved music, but she was feeling herself grow a little dizzier with this news.

"Check your email now, she wants to meet with groups of students in the club and tell them in detail what their part is gonna look like before we rehearse as a group. Her words."

Akane did as Tang Rou told her and opened up her email. "I'm personally excited for you guys to finally perform," mentioned Chen Guo to break any tension. "We didn't even start rehearsing yet, Guo Guo," said Tang Rou, laughing softly.

"Yeah, but I know you guys are gonna be great!" she said, turning to face Akane. "So, Akane? What did she say?"

Akane looked sullen, her face turning ashy white. "I have a solo..." she deadpanned. Now with work and school she had to carve time out of her day to practice a solo?

Tang Rou smiled sweetly. "Well, the piano is a very popular instrument in China, so I'm sure Jiàoshòu Yue would want to make you shine while playing it. You've already demonstrated your skills to her."

Akane was quiet for a bit. "I guess I'll come with you after school to talk to her about it," she agreed, now trying to eat her hotpot. She was already a little nervous about how she was going to balance her university life and her personal life.

For a smart woman with great academic grades, she should be able to figure this out.

Men were only going to distract her.

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A/N:

Does this count as me presenting a problem to her?

Hope you guys still like this! I'm kind of went with the flow and made stuff up by this point.

I can't wait to wrap this all up, to have everything come together in the end...

—Kaio