After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

"My inner thoughts overflowed."

"His cheeks came back to life and started to sparkle."

Hot tears wet my face.

As Xiaodeng sang, Toyokawa Shoko finally couldn't hide the tears in her eyes, and these complex thoughts turned into tears at the corners of her eyes.

Why is your outstretched hand so warm?

When Xiaodeng sang this lyric, she reached out her hand to the audience, and almost subconsciously, Toyokawa Shoko also reached out her hand to Xiaodeng on stage, as if she wanted to hold her hand from a distance.

"So...please, please never let go again."

The lyrics that Xiaodeng once wrote have now become sharp blades pointed at her.

When I composed the music, I never imagined that one day the lyrics written by Xiaodeng, whom I admire, would turn into a condemnation of her.

"Not belonging to...Crychic's Spring Shadow..."

As Wakaba Mutsu watched Haruhi Kage perform on stage, she unconsciously uttered those words. However, she did not expect that her unintentional words would cause a great blow to Toyokawa Shoko beside her.

Unintentional words became the final blow that broke Xiangzi, the last straw that completely crushed the camel "Xiangzi".

"..."

Tears welled up in her eyes and slid silently down her cheeks, leaving clear traces.

Xiangzi pushed through the crowd, her breathing rapid, waves of inner pain washing over her. All she wanted was to escape this performance hall as quickly as possible... to escape from the lights once again.

Mu watched Xiang escape, then looked up at Su Shi and Deng performing on the stage, and finally stayed where she was.

The unusual situation in the audience naturally caught the attention of Nagasaki Motoyo and Mikami Hatsuka.

However, compared to Nagasaki Motoyo, who was trapped on the stage and unable to move, Mika Mika, who was in front of the audience, recognized the familiar blue hair the moment she saw it. She recognized the person as Toyokawa Shoko, whom she had been longing for for a long time.

Her body acted before her brain could even process it; she squeezed through the layers of people, constantly using her arms to clear a path through the crowd, trying desperately to catch up with Xiangzi's figure.

Even though her baseball cap had been knocked off by the crowd, and some people had recognized her as Sumi's Mitsuka, she didn't have time to do any public relations.

Now she had only one thought: to catch up with Toyokawa Shoko at all costs and not let her disappear from her life without a word again.

Sakura Sakura sighed as she looked at the three-sided Hatsuka who had caused the commotion, pondering how she should handle her public relations work for tomorrow.

"Honestly... neither of them is easy to deal with..."

When the performance begins: Chapter 88 I'm leaving the band

Despite some minor mishaps offstage, Yue and her friends successfully performed Kasuga Kage and received enthusiastic applause from the audience.

Amid cheers, Aine, Riki, Tōrana, and Yue, along with the gloomy-faced Suze, stepped off the stage one by one.

Backstage, the members of Popipa were delighted to see Aine after her performance and exclaimed, "Aine, you guys performed wonderfully! It was so cute and exciting!"

"Everyone in Popipa, please cheer us on! We can't lose to Aine and the others."

"Hey, hey! Our performance was a huge success, wasn't it!"

After the members of Popipa went up on stage, Aine excitedly spoke to the others.

"This is a huge success for us!"

Lixi was clearly excited as well, his usual serious expression gone, and he joined in with Aiyin's words.

Lena glanced at the celebrating crowd, then walked to the place where the snacks were laid out, skillfully picked up two matcha bread snails, and headed towards the exit.

Unlike the excited Aine and Riki, Yue had a forced smile on her face.

Others might not have noticed Suze's strange behavior, but Yue clearly saw Suze's gloomy face during the Kasuga Kage performance.

Especially when Xiangzi and Chuhua fled from the crowd, Yue noticed the even more gloomy expression on Su Shi's face.

"Everyone, I have something I want to say."

Su Shi raised her head, revealing a formulaic "smile" without any hair to cover it, but this smile was clearly a hypocritical smile that hid a knife in her heart.

"Waaaah... Su Shi, what's wrong with you? Can you please stop laughing so creepily?"

Even Aine noticed that something was wrong with Sose's face.

"Su Shi... what's wrong..."

After hearing Su Shi's words, Deng felt a sense of unease, a feeling he had also had on that rainy day when Xiangzi came to announce his departure from Crychic.

"Little Lamp, as we've already discussed, the band formation will only last until after the first performance, right?"

Upon hearing Su Shi's words, Deng Xin's ominous premonition grew even stronger.

"Do not……"

"I want to... quit... this band."

Nagasaki Motoyo slowly announced her withdrawal from the group, which also tore open the newly scabbed wound in Takamatsu Akari's heart, and the seeping blood turned into tears in her eyes.

"don't want!!"

"Little lamp..."

Yue immediately pulled Gao Songdeng into her arms, letting her lean against her shoulder, and gently stroked Xiaodeng's head.

"Su Shi... can't we really discuss this some more?"

Su Shi's "smile" gradually faded, replaced by the cold expression she had that night. She said in an extremely icy tone, "We have nothing to say to each other, don't we? Didn't you say it would continue until the first live show ended?"

"You bastard!"

Lixi rushed forward fiercely, trying to grab Su Shi's collar, but Ai Yin stopped her with lightning speed.

"Lixi! Lixi! Don't get agitated, don't get agitated, you can't hit people!"

Ai Yin was so anxious that she even forgot to call Li hope by the nickname she had given him.

"Su Shi-chan must have her reasons."

"Ling Meng Er Jiu [? Leng Wu San Ba ​​Ni I Chu] There's no particular reason, it's just that this band can no longer satisfy my intention to reform Crychic, so I have to choose other methods."

Su Shi's words caused Aine's expression to freeze.

"Eh...reorganizing Crychic...?"

“That’s right. I originally invited Xiaodeng and Lixi to form a band just to reorganize Crychic. You, Yue, and Lena were unnecessary. After Xiangzi and Hemu returned to the band, you were no longer needed.”

"……Why?"

Now Aine lowered her head, hiding her eyes in the shadows of her hair.

"why?"

Upon hearing Ai Yin's question, Su Shi laughed as if she had heard a funny joke: "Ai Yin, you and Yue are just tools I use to tie Xiao Deng up in the band. Your skills are no match for Xiao Mu and Xiang Zi."

Upon hearing Su Shi's words, Yue couldn't help but clench her fists. If she didn't need to comfort Xiao Deng, she would have grabbed her by the collar and questioned her.

If necessary, bringing them onto the stage for a re-enactment is also an option in the plan.

Upon hearing Su Shi's words, Aine seemed to recall something, her face instantly turning deathly pale, and her hands unconsciously clenched into fists.

She released Lixi's hand and silently walked into the lounge.

Seeing that Aine was clearly in a bad state, Lixi no longer had the idea of ​​going up to question Su Shi.

Compared to Suze, who is determined to quit, Aine, who is clearly not in a good state, is more worthy of attention.

"That's settled then, everyone, goodbye forever."

Su Shi looked at Aine's condition, a moment of worry flashing in her eyes, but she quickly returned to her previous cold expression and walked straight towards the exit.

"Seriously...this is infuriating."

Although Lixi already knew from Yue that Su Shi was going to leave the band after the performance, she had no recollection of the other party bringing it up as soon as she stepped off the stage, and even causing the band to fall apart.

"...Lixi, go check on Aine first, I'll take care of Deng."

Lixi glanced at the lamp sobbing in Yue's arms, then at the closed door of the lounge, and nodded.

Just as Lixi was about to push the door open, Aiyin opened it, carrying her guitar bag, and it seemed she had already packed all her things.

"Aine...are you alright?"

“…Lixi, please move aside.”

Before Lixi could react, Ai Yin pushed aside Lixi's body blocking the door and walked towards the exit as well.

Yue watched Ai Yin's departing figure and lowered her head. She originally thought that even if Su Shi wanted to withdraw, it would be a day or two later, and she would withdraw in a more peaceful way.

She couldn't understand how a perfectly good performance could end like this, and Su Shi's withdrawal shouldn't have had such a big impact.

"The performance was so successful, so why did it end in such a disastrous fall apart..."

"So...so...I already said...I don't want to be in a band anymore."

Hearing the lamp's sobs, Yue was speechless for a moment, after all, she was also involved in the cause of all this.

Having known all along that Nagasaki Motoyo wanted to leave the group, I didn't tell the other teammates because of today's performance.

--------

Su Shi didn't go berserk. In some ways, she's almost given up on the band, since she hasn't even met Xiangzi. That classic line might just come out in Su Shi's revue episode, right? (laughs)

When the performance begins: Chapter 89 Peach: My goal is to co-star with you (to Bang)!

After escaping from the performance hall, Toyokawa Shoko wandered aimlessly through the streets, surrounded by bustling crowds under the dim moonlight.

Even on such a noisy night, Toyokawa Shoko seemed out of place with her surroundings.

The music from the live house faded into the distance behind her, but the sound of Xiaodeng playing the song "Spring Shadow" still lingered in her ears.

"I...Is there really anywhere left for Ni Ling (4) and her wife Qi Qi to go now?"

Although Toyokawa Shoko kept saying that she wanted to completely sever ties with her past, it wasn't until she actually heard Koden's performance of "Springtime Empress," a song that didn't belong to Crychic, that she realized she really couldn't go back to the past.

There's no longer a place for her in Little Lamp's band, perhaps... herself...

Shoko Toyokawa stood on the street, her mind a jumbled mess, unable to find a clear picture. Her thoughts raced, and images of meeting Kodama and her time at Crychic kept flashing before her eyes.

But harsh reality pulled her back, making her realize that she and Xiaodeng could never go back to the way things were, and the beautiful memories shattered like bubbles.