Miss Witch, even if we're poor, we can't sell ourselves!

Xingjie leaned against the stone railing at the very edge of the banyan tree platform, a white porcelain wine pot he had brought up from the tavern at the foot of the mountain beside him, its body chilled by the night wind.

She has been sitting here for a long time.

The street below the mountain is bathed in a warm yellow glow in the night, and the floating lanterns on the river drift slowly with the current.

Fireworks continued to explode in the sky, one after another, each bursting into points of light at its most spectacular moment before being replaced by new fireworks.

It's really lively.

The more lively it was, the more she felt that the liveliness had nothing to do with her.

A few strands of her dark blue high ponytail were blown away by the night wind and stuck to a plain white mask.

She was dressed in a plain blue ancient costume, so simple in style that she looked out of place amidst the city's brocade and finery.

He took another swig of wine.

This liquor was sold by the NPC dressed as a shrine maiden down the mountain. It wasn't very strong, but drinking too much of it still made my stomach burn.

Xingjie actually has a good alcohol tolerance. When she used to lead a team, Fengxiang would drink a couple of sips at the celebration banquet and then pass out on the table. Miaomu would be in charge of recording the video and sending it to the group chat. Muzimi was always the one who was sober because she only drank milk.

As for her, she was responsible for seeing everyone off to the car one by one, and was the last to leave. She would buy a can of black coffee at a convenience store in the early morning and go back to the studio to continue writing songs.

Those days were tough, but all the images she can recall are bright and cheerful.

The studio lights stayed on all night, a half-empty can of coffee lay beside the keyboard, and the unfinished demo played on repeat in her headphones. She was oblivious to the shift from midnight to dawn outside the window, because she believed that what she created could be truly felt by people.

And she did indeed do it.

She handled all three of Mayo's original singles herself: writing the lyrics, arranging the music, and creating the harmonies. She even recorded the vocals for the demos herself, over and over again until she was satisfied.

The night "Starry Night Moon" topped the MikuFans music chart, she hid in the bathroom for a very long time.

Then came the first offline performance. The venue was so small that it could only hold two hundred people, but when Fengxiang stood on the stage and sang the first line, the glow sticks in the audience lit up at the same time, like a starry sky that had been ignited.

Hoshimachi stood behind the mixing console, clutching a walkie-talkie, his nails digging into his palms without him feeling any pain.

After that, Mayoshita became popular.

Commercial performance invitations, endorsements, interviews, eligibility for the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle)...

In less than a year, they went from an underground niche group to a top-tier group, and everyone said that Mayo Shita is the most promising idol group in recent years.

Then the company sent a new agent, saying it was some kind of personnel transfer, that her musical style was too personal, not mainstream enough, and didn't fit the tastes of the mainstream market, making it unsuitable for Mayo's future development.

Personalized, not mainstream enough, not suitable.

Hoshimachi swallowed the words the person in charge said along with his wine; they tasted bitter and astringent.

When the company said that Hoshimachi's music was outdated, Kaede was the first to explode. She slammed her fist on the table in the conference room and said she did not agree to replace him.

Miao Mu also rarely put away her nonchalant expression. She confronted the company's manager with a cold face for nearly an hour before being pulled away by Feng Xiang, because they had no say in the matter from beginning to end.

Muko said nothing, but carefully peeled the group photo left by Hoshimachi off the wall of the activity room, folded it, and put it in her bag.

Hoshimachi didn't blame them; her teammates had all done their best. She just felt inexplicably disgusted.

Those songs she spent countless sleepless nights writing, those arrangements she painstakingly crafted note by note in the recording studio, were dismissed by others as nothing more than a dismissive comment that they were not mainstream.

She didn't even have the right to refute it, because there was a clause in the contract she signed at the time that she thought was insignificant but now wants to slap herself for.

All intellectual property rights belong to the company.

The song is hers, but she doesn't allow it to be owned; even singing it herself requires authorization.

The qualification for the first test of "Stars Falling into the Sea" was probably a severance package from the company.

Hoshimachi drank another cup, and the wine jug was now empty.

Fireworks at the foot of the mountain, lanterns on the banyan trees, and torii gates by the roadside.

As she watched all this, a thought suddenly popped into her head.

If this scene were made into a song, the intro should include an electric guitar...

Forget it, they've already kicked us out.

Hoshimachi gave a self-deprecating twitch at the corner of his mouth, tilted his head back, and gulped down the last mouthful of wine.

The wine dripped down his chin, which he roughly wiped away with the back of his hand. He put the empty wine jug on the railing and prepared to go down the mountain.

Just then, a light and clear singing voice came from the mountaintop.

"..."

Please listen carefully~♪

"Can you hear the sound of stars falling?"

A bright spring breeze gently caressed my face.

Hoarse, innocent, like a child discovering color in the world for the first time.

Xingjie closed his eyes, and before him appeared a boundless sea of ​​pure white flowers.

The wind blew from the other side of the sea of ​​flowers, swirling the petals into the air and mixing them with the clouds.

She suddenly turned around and ran towards the top of the mountain. The players who passed by were startled by the speed at which she brushed past them. When she reached the top of the mountain, she didn't even have time to catch her breath. She just stared at the banyan tree stage in front of her.

The girl wearing a white veil had her eyes closed, and her expression was not entirely clear, but Hoshimachi could feel the intense emotion of completely surrendering herself to the music.

The little black-haired witch next to her wore a fox mask. Although she couldn't sing, she earnestly tapped out the rhythm with her hands, humming harmonies with her mouth opening and closing, and her eyes sparkled like stars.

One of the witches in the audience raised her hand first, and then one after another, they all raised their arms and waved in rhythm.

Someone just in time to throw a firework spell into the sky. The golden firework exploded directly above the stage, shattering into countless sparks that overlapped with the highest note of the song.

"Crossing the stars and the sea, I've come to your side—"

"Can I sing a song that moves people's hearts~♪"

"No matter when, I will wait here—"

"Because I hold a wish in my heart~♪"

……

The comments section became lively.

[Heavenly sound!]

[Holy crap, do idol groups really have singing voices like this?!]

[The guy who smurfs in high-elo games is here!]

[This is even more satisfying than getting it deducted, any sisters understand?]

Hoshimachi's eyes welled up with tears as she listened, her vision blurred for a moment, and then she blinked hard to force the tears back.

Isn't this the real singing voice she's been searching for?

Isn't this the greatest song she could ever hear?

On the stage in front of her, the little ghost wore a veil, closed her eyes, and breathed slightly after singing the last line, with a tear still clinging to her eyelashes.

Thank you everyone!!

Holy crap!

[Followed! Followed! Followed!]

【I like you!!】

[Encore!!]

I won't watch the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle) without them.

[The Ghost Flower is the best in the world!]

【…】