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

The only difference is that now, after finishing her classes and rehearsals at St. See's Academy every day, she also has to take time to go to Ave Mujica for band practice.

Although her schedule became more packed, she still meticulously balanced the tasks on both sides.

"Peach, going to the band again?" Shengxiang's classmate greeted her as she passed by, his tone familiar and concerned.

"Yes, you must come to the next performance!" Momoko Kurosawa stopped and smiled gently in response.

"Of course!" The other person's tone was full of anticipation, and then they added, "But more than your band's performance, I'm looking forward to your stage play performance before the main show! 7 (II) 3 Underworld [Private Investigation qi" Umbrella Silk [Quan]

"Thank you for coming!" Peach nodded with a smile, her face still bearing that calm and confident smile.

After saying goodbye to her classmates, she left Shengxiang College and walked along the familiar streets, easily arriving at the subway station.

While waiting for the subway, Peach looked down at her phone and accidentally stumbled upon an update on the Mygo band's social media account.

The screen displays a video clip of a practice session, accompanied by the brief caption: "There's a new song again!"

She clicked on the video, and as she listened to the familiar yet unfamiliar melody in the clip, a slight smile involuntarily appeared on her lips.

She recalled Mygo's performance in Bang Dream, and his passion and hard work in breaking through his own limits were still vivid in her mind.

"A new song again..." Momo murmured softly, her gaze fixed on the video playing on her phone screen. Her eyes lingered on Hinasaki's figure in the video for a few more seconds, a complex emotion flickering in her eyes.

She opened the chat interface, her fingers gliding lightly across the keyboard, and typed out a line of text:

"The new song is great."

Soon, the other party's reply popped up.

"Thank you for the compliment! This comment was made by Xiaoxi!"

"Thank you for your kind words, Peach! Keep up the good work at Ave Mujica! (This is my comment.)"

Looking at these two messages with completely different styles, Peach couldn't help but chuckle, a slight smile playing on her lips.

At that moment, the subway arrived, accompanied by the sound of wind and machinery. Taozi put away her phone, stood up and walked towards the door, silently preparing for the upcoming performance.

--------------

"Peach! You're so slow!"

As soon as she pushed open the door to the training room, Miss Yutenji Nyanmu began to complain, her tone revealing a hint of mischievous dissatisfaction.

"Sorry, I've been quite busy with school these past few days since the start of the semester," Peach explained calmly, putting down her schoolbag and giving an apologetic smile.

On the other side, Hachiman Kairin, who was exchanging planting tips with Wakaba Mutsumi, turned around upon hearing this and asked with a hint of curiosity, "Is Seisho's studies really that busy?"

Peach nodded, took out a few documents from her bag, organized them, and said softly, "Well... it's already the second semester, and we're preparing for the annual Seisho Festival."

"The Seisho Festival?" Toyokawa Shoko looked up, clearly familiar with the name. "Is that the legendary performance festival?"

“That’s right,” Momoko smiled slightly, then walked to the corner, took out her guitar from the guitar case, and said while tuning it, “If you have time, you can come and watch next year’s Seisho Festival.”

"Really? That's great!" Miao Meng's eyes lit up immediately, and she hurriedly raised her hand to ask, "Can we record this?"

“No, that won’t do,” Momo turned her head, smiling as she refused Meow Dream, her tone gentle yet firm, “The Seisho Festival performance cannot be recorded.”

"Hmm, what a pity..." Miao Meng pouted, but didn't argue much, just muttered to herself, "I really wanted to take a picture and show it to my fans..."

"Alright!" Manager Sakura Sakura stood outside the recording studio, clapping her hands and interrupting the conversation of the Ave Mujica members inside. Her clear and energetic voice instantly drew everyone's attention.

"Everyone, let's get ready to start recording!" Her gaze swept over each member, her tone filled with anticipation and excitement. "This is our first album, so everyone must give it their all!"

"Oh—!" Miss Meow Dream was the first to raise her hands and respond in a loud voice, looking full of enthusiasm.

However, when she excitedly looked around, she found that the other members were all indifferent, and no one even responded to her actions.

"Why isn't everyone excited at all!" Miss Miaomeng paused for a moment, then lowered her hand, muttering a complaint.

Even after all this time, Miss Meow Dream doesn't seem to realize that Ave Mujica isn't exactly a high-energy band, and this kind of collective cheering feels completely out of place for them.

However, it wouldn't be accurate to say that everyone had absolutely no reaction; at least the corners of their mouths under their masks turned up quite a bit.

"We're practicing today too." After the performance, Taozi took out her phone and sent a simple message to the other party.

Soon, the screen lit up, and the other party's reply popped up:

"You've worked hard! We're practicing too!"

The message also included a group photo of all Mygo members.

When Momo opened the photo, she was taken aback—the smiling faces of the other members were clearly visible, but for some reason, Aine's face was blurry, as if it had been mercilessly ignored by the camera's autofocus.

Peach stared at the photo, her lips twitching slightly.

She closed her phone, tapped the screen lightly with her fingers, and her mood seemed to lighten a bit because of the strange photo.

------------------

Radio programs.

This was an area that was almost completely unfamiliar to Ms. Momoko Kurosawa.

That's not entirely true. She's listened to many radio programs as a listener, but this is the first time she's participated as a guest.

"Tell me your reasons?" Momo turned her head, her gaze falling on Sakura Sakura, who seemed relaxed and at ease, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness and questioning.

"The album is about to be released, so we have to find a way to increase sales." Sakura Sakura shrugged, speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.

Peach frowned slightly, her tone tinged with helplessness and complaint: "So you're making me go on the radio? What kind of publicity strategy is this... And why me? Didn't Meow Dream want to come a long time ago?"

"Don't worry, none of you can escape." Sakura Sakura patted Momoko's shoulder with a smile, a sly glint in her eyes. "There's still a month and a half until the album release! Once a week, everyone has to take turns. There's no escaping it!"

Momoko sighed, staring at Sakura Sakura's smiling face, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart: "...Can I not go?"

“Of course not!” Sakura Sakura’s smile widened, but her tone left no room for argument. “This is an obligation written into the contract. As an artist, you must cooperate with the company in necessary promotional activities.”

Peach froze after hearing this, her lips twitching slightly: "Is there really such a clause in the contract?"

“That’s right!” Sakura Sakura answered cheerfully, turning and walking towards the recording studio, completely ignoring Momoko’s helpless expression.

Peach took a deep breath, took out her phone, and quickly swiped her fingers across the screen to type a short message:

"I'm going to be on a radio show."

When the notification sounded that the message had been successfully sent, she stared at the screen for a second, then closed her phone and put it back in her pocket.

Looking up at Sakura Sakura, who looked relaxed, Momoko shook her head helplessly and quickly followed. However, as she walked towards the recording studio, her mind kept racing.

She couldn't help but recall the scene when she signed the contract—at the time, she only had a vague understanding of the terms, and under Sakura Sakura's "patient explanation" and nonchalant persuasion, she quickly signed her name.

She originally thought these were just routine rules, but she never expected that she would now have to participate in radio broadcasts once a week.

"I should have read the terms carefully, word by word..." Peach thought to herself, her face expressionless as she sighed softly.

As she reached the entrance of the recording studio, she subconsciously took out her phone again and glanced at it. Xiaoyue's reply popped up on the screen:

"I'll be watching it on time!"

Peach stared at the message for a moment, the image of Xiaoyue trying not to laugh flashing through her mind, and she felt even more speechless.

"This guy is definitely laughing at me..." she muttered to herself, but the corner of her mouth twitched slightly involuntarily.

Putting away her phone, she took a deep breath and followed Sakura Sakura with a mix of resentment and helplessness, secretly vowing to herself: next time I sign a contract, I must check it carefully and never suffer this kind of loss again!

------------------

"Okay! Thank you so much, Ms. Soli, for joining us on the show. Please support Ave Mujica's new album!" the host said to Momo with a warm smile.

"So, to conclude the program, please remember to tune in again next week at the same time!"

As the last sentence fell, the director shouted, "Okay! That's a wrap! Thank you all for your hard work."

Upon hearing this, Momoko Kurosawa stood up and, together with the host, turned and bowed to the staff present: "Thank you for your hard work!"

Scattered applause broke out in the recording studio. Some people packed up their equipment, while others adjusted the lights. The audience began to slowly disperse.

At this moment, the smile that Peach had maintained for more than two hours finally relaxed.

Even though they're on a radio program where they don't need to show their faces, you can't just have a blank expression when you're recording in front of the director and host, right? You still need to have a professional smile.

She let out a long sigh of relief, raised her hand to rub her slightly stiff facial muscles, and couldn't help but complain to herself: Even though I'm a good actress, is it really necessary to maintain a smile for more than an hour?

Not to mention that several segments had to be re-recorded by the director because they didn't achieve the desired effect, which extended the entire recording time to two and a half hours.

She recalled the times she almost forced a smile to get back into character, and even felt like her lips were about to cramp up.

Peach walked to the sofa and sat down. She picked up the water glass on the table and took a small sip. Only after feeling the water flow over her dry throat did she feel a little more alive.

"A professional smile, it really isn't a job for humans..." Peach leaned back on the sofa, rubbing her stiff cheeks, and muttered to herself. The moment she closed her eyes, exhaustion washed over her like a tide, and she decided to rest for a while before leaving.

However, just as she relaxed, her phone rang. She frowned, took out her phone, and saw a familiar message pop up on the screen:

"You've worked hard~"

The sender is Hinasaki.

Peach paused for a moment, then a relaxed smile unconsciously appeared on her lips, and her previously tired expression eased somewhat. Her fingers flew across the keyboard as she typed a reply: "How did you know I was done?"

A short while later, the other party sent another message:

"Because I saw it!"

Upon seeing the reply, Momoko was taken aback and quickly sat up from the sofa, looking around. Finally, her gaze settled on the entrance—where Hinasaki was standing, smiling and waving at her.

Beside her, Shiina Riki stood with her arms crossed, her expression cold and slightly displeased, clearly not particularly happy with Satsuki's sudden decision to bring her here.

Peach put away her phone, stood up and walked towards the two of them, her tone slightly surprised: "What brings you here?"

"Of course, as a senior, I'm here to see how my junior performs on their first radio show~" Hinasaki said with a smile, her tone relaxed and teasing.

"You're only a first-year student!" Momoko Kurosawa retorted immediately, her tone full of displeasure. "I should be the senior!"

“But I debuted three years before you,” Xiaoyue said proudly, raising her chin with a sly look in her eyes. “By any measure, I’m the senior!”

As she spoke, she deliberately reached out to try and rub Peach's head. However, Peach reacted quickly, nimbly dodging Xiaoyue's "claws" and giving her a glare at the same time.

Just as the two were bickering back and forth, Shiina Tatsuki coughed lightly, his cold gaze sweeping between them. Though his tone was soft, it gave Hinasaki a strange sense of intimidation: "Ahem... You two seem to be having a good chat?"

Hinasaki straightened her back instantly, a hint of guilt in her smile, and turned to Ritsuki with a fawning smile: "Ritsuki, I was just... looking at Momoko!"

Seeing this, Peach snorted softly, glanced at Xiaoyue, and chuckled to herself.

She looked up, shrugged nonchalantly, a flawless smile playing on her lips, and offered no comment on the tacit interaction between the "engaged couple" before her.

A few indescribable emotions welled up in a corner of her heart, but she quickly suppressed them calmly.

"That's fine, it's good..."