In music anime, band girls won't be alone.

Gao Songdeng didn't quite understand the sentence and blinked in confusion.

"Ze-jun, I don't quite understand."

"So what kind of clothes do you want me to wear?"

Shirakawa Ze raised his hand and cupped the girl's face, pressing his thumb against her mouth.

"Lamp Girl, let's end this topic."

"If you keep asking, my thoughts will become impure."

Upon hearing this, Gao Songdeng realized that the other person had misunderstood, and immediately blushed.

Although she doesn't usually pay much attention, it doesn't mean she hasn't paid attention at all; she can probably understand what the other person is referring to.

She lowered her gaze slightly and whispered something.

“Ze-jun, this is so… strange…”

After ending the conversation, Shirakawa Sawa took Takamatsu Akari home and then went to the music store where Toyokawa Shoko was practicing.

He first asked the receptionist and learned that Toyokawa Shoko had entered the recording studio before 1 p.m.

However, he didn't go to the recording studio. Instead, he ordered a cup of tea and sat in the lounge area.

Around 5 PM, Shirakawa Sawa received a message from Toyokawa Shoko.

"Shirakawa-kun, are you free to come over now?"

"You can try recording now."

Shirakawa Ze didn't reply. He got up and told the receptionist that the sound engineer could come over. Then he walked to the recording studio door and rang the doorbell.

The door opened quickly, revealing Toyokawa Shoko's figure.

After saying hello, the boy went inside.

"I've already spoken to the front desk, and the sound engineer will be here shortly."

The girl nodded without saying a word.

She knew that when the other person said that, it meant they completely trusted her. When she said they could record, she immediately called the sound engineer over without needing to listen to it first.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang.

Shirakawa Sawa, who was standing by the door, opened it and saw a middle-aged man standing outside.

Seeing how young the two people inside were, the man was somewhat surprised, but he didn't say anything.

After all, they are customers, so there's no need to voice any thoughts you may have.

After inquiring about the recording requirements, the man didn't waste any time and immediately began checking the various devices.

After the inspection was completed, he stood in front of the mixing console, put on the monitoring headphones, and gestured to the two of them that they could begin.

Upon seeing the gesture, Toyokawa Shoko sat down at the piano, took a deep breath, and then raised her hands to the keys, playing this piece that seemed to permeate her very soul.

After she finished playing, she looked up at the control room and found that the sound engineer didn't react; he just kept his head down, and her expression was not visible.

Her heart sank, and she immediately sensed something was wrong.

If I played well, the other person probably wouldn't have reacted this way.

She looked at Shirakawa Ze again and saw that he was making a "wait" gesture to her.

Helpless, she could only suppress her anxiety and turn her gaze back to the sound engineer...

Volume 1: Chapter 85 You suspect I took kickbacks?

Under Toyokawa Shoko's anxious gaze, the sound engineer took a full five minutes to make a move.

He slowly raised his head, reached out and pressed the pause button on the recording software, and then slowly took off his headphones.

Finally, his gaze gradually moved to the girl sitting in front of the piano. After pausing for a few seconds, he gave her a thumbs up and then clapped continuously until his hands were red and numb.

Seeing the sound engineer's reaction, Toyokawa Shoko knew that her efforts had paid off. She subconsciously looked at Shirakawa Sawa and saw that his face was also full of affirmation. Her eyes then burst with undisguised joy.

For her, this was not just about completing a task or repaying a favor.

Rather, it did not disappoint the original author's expectations.

This point is more important than the previous two.

When she learned that the piece was by Shirakawa Sawa, her thoughts changed.

While the 50,000 yen was important, it was insignificant compared to gaining the other party's approval.

Shirakawa Sawa also stood up at this moment, with a smile on his face.

He understood as soon as he listened that this round was a sure win.

So he remained calm regardless of whether the sound engineer reacted or not.

The sound engineer then opened the control room door, let the two of them in, listened to the recording, and inquired about the post-production direction.

Since the final style of the soundtrack still needs to be determined in conjunction with Yutenji Ruomai's video, Shirakawa Sawa did not make a final decision here. He asked the sound engineer to produce an unedited version and send it to him first.

If post-production work is needed later, contact him again.

The recording engineer said there was no problem and told Shirakawa Sawa his name, asking him to come to the music store and ask for his name if he was doing the post-production work on this piece.

After the sound engineer transferred the recording file to his phone, Shirakawa Sawa and Toyokawa Shoko left the music store.

After taking a breath of fresh air, Toyokawa Shoko turned to look at the boy beside her, her eyes sparkling with a light that overlapped with the reflection of the neon lights.

"Thank you, Shirakawa-kun."

Shirakawa Ze laughed.

Why are you suddenly thanking me for something?

"If anyone should thank you, it's me who should thank you."

"If it weren't for you, it would have been difficult to finish the recording so quickly."

Toyokawa Shoko shook her head, looking at the bustling traffic in front of her, and said nothing.

Shirakawa took out an envelope and handed it to her.

"This is your payment, please accept it."

The girl glanced at the envelope, then looked up at the boy, her eyes holding an unreadable expression.

"Have you already prepared a set of arguments to use to persuade me when I say no?"

Shirakawa was stunned for a moment; he really hadn't expected the other party to react this way.

Toyokawa Shoko took the envelope, but didn't put it away; instead, she continued to look at the boy.

"I can accept your kindness, but only if I know your intentions."

The boy understood that the "goodwill" she was referring to at this moment did not only refer to the 50,000 yen in her hand, but more to the things they had done together before.

He also understood how important dignity was to the girl in front of him at that moment.

Especially since he has contact with several of her former teammates, it's easy for her to overthink things.

Shirakawa Sawa feigned a puzzled expression and softly repeated the word "intention".

Then he continued to look at the girl, his expression slowly turning into disbelief.

"Toyokawa-kun, you don't think I've taken a kickback, do you?"

Toyokawa Shoko was taken aback, then a hint of panic appeared in her eyes.

She didn't expect that the other party would misunderstand her meaning.

Her real intention was to get a convincing answer, otherwise she wouldn't feel at ease taking the money.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she could utter a sound, the other person raised their hand to interrupt her.

Shirakawa's expression changed from disbelief to deep sorrow.

"If you... if that's really what you think, then I can only say you've disappointed me greatly."

"As a friend, is there anything wrong with asking you for help when I can't do it myself?"

"Didn't you say the day before yesterday that I could contact you if anything happened? Are you lying to me?"

Seeing that the other person's misunderstanding was growing and their emotions were becoming increasingly agitated, Toyokawa Shoko realized that her suspicions had hurt them and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry, Shirakawa-san, I was overthinking it..."

"I didn't actually suspect you of taking kickbacks, nor did I not want to help you..."

"I just feel really bad because you've helped me so much..."

Shirakawa didn't reply immediately. He took a few deep breaths before speaking.

"Since we met, the only time I've lent you money was once, right?"

"You paid back the money and played the piano for me, so we're even."

"To be honest, Toyokawa-kun, I'm really heartbroken right now."

"What used to be a one-meal problem now requires two meals!"

Toyokawa Shoko quickly assured him that it was no problem, and all her doubts were dispelled.

Shirakawa turned his head to look at the nearby shops, then pointed to a restaurant next to the intersection ahead.

"I'm going to eat eel rice at that restaurant, it's your treat."

The girl immediately agreed.

She certainly won't raise any objections now; her main approach is to be completely obedient.

It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was very busy. The two waited for a while before they got a window seat.

After sitting down, Shirakawa sent the plot, script, and character designs stored in the cloud, along with the recording from earlier, to Yutenji Wakana's email address, and then sent her a message to let her know.

Putting away his phone, Shirakawa looked up at the girl sitting opposite him, his expression still showing some anger.

"Toyokawa-kun, if something like this happens again, can I still ask you for help?"