Anime Crossover: There are a lot of beautiful girls who like me.

However, right after that, Akari Hayasaka suddenly made a suggestion that was completely unexpected, which made their eyes light up and they were very excited, but they couldn't help but feel a little conflicted.

"Since they're classmates, what do you think? Should we go upstairs and watch them practice?"

"...So I'm the idiot after all?" Both Narumi Sena and Shiina Mahiru couldn't help but have this thought pop into their minds.

Then......

"Should we go?"

This time, Shiina Mahiru made a decision quickly: "Well, although they're classmates, we're not that close. I think it's best not to bother them rashly. Besides, we still need to eat our bento boxes, right? It would be too impolite to bring them over."

"That's true."

Shiina Mahiru's reasoning successfully persuaded Hayasaka Akari.

So, Narumi Sena could only keep her smile on her face and swallow back what she was about to say.

"It's such a rare opportunity to say hello to Kitagawa-kun..." Narumi Sena muttered to herself.

If she were alone, she would definitely feel embarrassed to go and watch Kitagawa Yu and the others practice.

But isn't it Hayasaka Akari who's leading the charge this time?

And just like that, we missed out.

This made her feel a little depressed, and even the bento box in her hand seemed less delicious.

In contrast, upstairs in the piano club activity room, Kitagawa Yu, who was about to face the student council's review, was still enjoying her meal.

Although the bento box in his hand was just a simple fried chicken nugget, tamagoyaki, a few stir-fried bamboo shoots and a few lettuce leaves, and the main dish was just plum rice balls, it was still the first bento box that Anna Hachimi made for him!

If it weren't for the fear of arousing suspicion, Kitagawa Yu would have taken a picture with his phone and kept it safe!

Moreover, despite its simplicity, the bento box tastes quite good.

In particular, to make the fried chicken nuggets even tastier, Hanami Anja brought out the Imperial Hotel's secret white sauce, which was praised by Onami Kazuhiko in the original story and cost 600 yen for two spoonfuls.

This made him even happier.

In addition, it's possible that the student council president, Hibari Hara, and Aiseki Masato will be coming over to conduct the review later.

This time, Shikiya Yumeko didn't make things difficult for Hakamada Sosuke and finally allowed him into the activity room.

As another second-year student, Shikiya Yumeko couldn't possibly have been unaware of Shirakawa Tsukia's name, yet she didn't show any unusual expression when she saw Shirakawa Tsukia.

This made Shirakawa Tsukiai, who knew her reputation was bad, secretly breathe a sigh of relief and finally felt at ease.

Then......

"Kitagawa-kun, please try my bento. This is tempura that I made myself."

Perhaps seeing that Anna Hanami and Karen Himemiya were exchanging bento boxes with Yu Kitagawa, they mistakenly took it as a "normal behavior" for club members to get closer to each other.

Shirakawa Tsukiai then added a piece of tempura and, under the astonished gazes of everyone, placed it in Kitagawa Yu's bento box.

"???"

To be fair, Shirakawa Tsukiai hadn't touched the chopsticks before; they were still clean.

Furthermore, the tempura was placed in Kitagawa Yu's bento box, rather than being fed directly to Kitagawa Yu's mouth, so there was no intimate contact such as indirect kissing.

Therefore, there is nothing inappropriate about what Shirakawa Tsukiai did.

In fact, many classmates who get along well will share their lunch boxes like this when they sit together for lunch.

But...

"Great! I knew only a blind man and an idiot would fall for that Kusuke guy with Kitagawa-kun around!"

When Hana saw Anna quickly glance at Hakamada Sosuke, whose face was stiff, she almost spat out the rice in her mouth from laughing.

Chapter 67 The Power of Song

"Um, thank you... Please try some of my chicken nuggets, Shirakawa-senpai!"

Kitagawa Yu felt a little embarrassed as he came to his senses, but he looked at the expectant light shining in Shirakawa Tsukia's eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, he politely picked up a piece of fried chicken with white sauce and put it in Shirakawa Tsukiai's bento box as a return gift.

This made Shirakawa Tsuki's smile even brighter; clearly, Kitagawa Yu's actions made her very happy.

Fortunately, Hakamada Sosuke realized what was happening and casually added a piece of fried pork cutlet to Shirakawa Tsukie's bento box. He also received tempura from Shirakawa Tsukie as a return gift, which successfully resolved the somewhat strange atmosphere.

Next, in order to squeeze out some time for another rehearsal, both Himegami Karen and Hachimi Anna ate much faster than usual.

However, Hibari Hara and Aiseki Masato arrived before they had finished eating.

"Your review this time was a last-minute cut-off. The president only ate a fried noodle bread to squeeze in time to come over!" Ma Ti Tian Ai Xing, a big fan of Fang Hu Yuan Hibari, stepped forward to explain.

This made Hakamada Sosuke, who had thought he was going to be targeted again, breathe a long sigh of relief.

Yes, Ma Titian Aixing explained it to him specifically.

Who told him to look so much like a delinquent?

"Damn it, please let go of Toragahara-senpai. But please wait a moment, we'll be finished eating soon," Kitagawa Yu said politely, stopping in his tracks.

Hibari Honohara, with her long, dark red hair and a cool, queen-like demeanor, showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever; on the contrary, she admired Kitagawa Yu's performance.

"I should be the one apologizing. You guys can continue eating slowly." Hibari Hara said with a smile, then changed the subject and said, "But I hope your performance next time won't make me feel like I've wasted my time and come all this way for nothing."

After these words were spoken, apart from Kitagawa Yu, who remained calm and confident despite his strength, everyone else, including Himegami Karen, who was usually carefree, felt considerable pressure and became somewhat nervous.

Moreover, with Hibari Hohara watching over them, they simply couldn't 'eat slowly' at all.

In less than two minutes, everyone quickly finished their remaining bento boxes, then took a deep breath and headed to their seats as if going into battle.

"By the way, because there was too little time to prepare the drum set, we will temporarily use a mobile app to play the drum set part in this performance."

"The tape, Yumeko has already told me, this will not affect the review results of your performance this time."

"Then let's begin—"

After Kitagawa Yu finished speaking, he nodded to the three of them, including Yanami Anna.

Then, a soothing prelude, played by a guitar and piano, filled the activity room and traveled out through an open window to the ears of Narumi and her two friends downstairs.

"Huh? This time it's guitar and piano together?"

"Could it be that--"

"They're about to start rehearsing!?"

On the wooden bench under the cherry blossom tree, with its paint peeling off, Narumi Sena and her two companions, who were eating their bento boxes, suddenly stopped and, like Hibari Hibari, Shikiya Yumeko, and Masato Tenai in the activity room, all pricked up their ears.

As for Shirakawa Tsukiai, who had already heard the name once, she subconsciously held her breath, her clasped fingers placed in front of her breasts, her icy blue eyes flashing with light as she looked at Kitagawa Yu with excitement and anticipation.

"Try not to lie, always treat others with kindness, and put yourself in their shoes when they are in pain..."

"On a shimmering morning at the horizon, your hope fell, scattered into fragments by the wind, prompting a soft sigh and a sorrowful song. But one day, those fragments will flow to the edge of the sea, shining brightly, and you will see them again..."

Back Number's lead singer, Shimizu Iori, has a nickname: "Prince of Pain." This means that his lyrics and melodies are so beautiful and moving that not only the listeners but also he himself often cries while writing them.

The lyrics of "Horizon" are like this.

While the Chinese translation might seem unremarkable, the original Japanese version would be incredibly beautiful and moving to Japanese viewers, especially when paired with the gentle melody of the acoustic guitar and the equally gentle voice of Yuuka Kitagawa.

It's no exaggeration to say that it's so good it makes you kneel in awe.

Otherwise, Yu Kitagawa wouldn't have chosen "Horizon," a song that had never reached the Billboard number one chart, as his debut single from among classic works by bands and male singers who dominated the Japanese music scene, such as Kenshi Yonezu, Green Apple, and King Gnu.

For a moment, even Shikiya Yumeko, who had zombie-like attributes and no expression, had an unprecedented light shining in her eyes, so you can imagine how the others would react.

Bass, drums, and even the piano, the king of instruments, were completely ignored at this moment.

Kitagawa Yu's singing and guitar playing had firmly captured the eyes and ears of everyone present. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as the clothes-ripping scene in "Food Wars!", it was like a ray of sunshine or a gentle breeze that quietly entered their hearts. At least for this moment, it had conquered each and every one of them.

As for the three people, Narumi Seina and the others, who were eavesdropping outside the window, they all closed their eyes in unison, immersing themselves in the gentle, healing singing and melody.

Only when the last note transformed into the fragrance of cherry blossoms and dissipated with the wind did they gradually emerge from their previous immersion and emotion, feeling somewhat lost.

Then......

"Oh my God!"

"Is this sung by Kitagawa-kun?"

"I recognize that voice! It sounds like Kitagawa's voice!"

"Oh my god! His singing is amazing!"

Hayasaka Akari was so excited that she jumped up from the bench, almost dropping her bento box, causing her to scramble around in a flurry.

Beside her, the reactions of Narumi Sena and Shiina Mahiru, while not as exaggerated as hers, still revealed their inner turmoil through their flickering eyes and slightly flushed cheeks.

So much so that the 'masks' on their faces could no longer completely conceal them.

"This song... seems just as good as the one Kitagawa-kun (that guy) sang at home a few days ago..."

Both of them thought to themselves silently.

Meanwhile, upstairs in the piano department's activity room.

Once he came to his senses, Hibari Hoshino also turned to look at Yumeko Shikiya and Tenai Masato on his left and right, and was the first to express his opinion.

"I think there's no problem with this. Mengzi and Tianaixing, what do you think?"

“I also think there’s no problem!” Ma Titian Aixing immediately straightened up and said.

Just kidding, the boss has spoken, what could a little follower like her possibly have to say? Besides, Kitagawa Yu sings so well!

Chapter 68 Huge Funding?

I stole another glance and saw Kitagawa Yu holding a guitar, looking even more handsome than before.

Ma Titian's heart raced, and his eyes became somewhat flustered.

It's like how some innocent young boys get nervous, shy, and have their hearts race when they see beautiful girls like Narumi Sena and Shiina Mahiru.

The simple, introverted, and particularly timid Masato Tenai Hoshino probably felt this way when she looked at Kitagawa Yuu.

I wouldn't say I like it, but I do have some longing and admiration for it.

"What about Yumeko?"