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

As the song ended and the phone screen gradually went dark, Ai Yin looked at Deng with sparkling eyes, grabbed Deng's hands and said, "Little Deng, did you sing that? It was so beautiful!"

"This success is the result of everyone's hard work," the lamp said.

"Little Light, Moon-chan, let's form a band!" Aine invited the two of them.

"Huh?" Hinasaki looked at Aine, who was extending an invitation to them, and three question marks appeared above her head.

"Putting aside the light thing, Aine, why did you invite me? I haven't shown anything about the band before, so why did you choose me?" Yue asked Aine with a frown.

"Because Tsuki-chan was an idol, her musical skills must be excellent," Aine gave a simple and direct answer.

Yue rubbed her temples, sensing that the pink-haired lady in front of her was treating the band somewhat lightly.

"Putting aside the relationship between idols and musical talent for now, Ai-yin, could you first tell me what you consider to be musical talent?"

"Isn't musical skill just about being able to sing beautiful songs and play melodious music?" Ai Yin's answer was very much in line with her status as an outsider.

This also led Yue to equate the failure rate of Aine's idea of ​​forming a band with the failure rate of Sose's idea of ​​persuading Shoko to return and rebuild Crychic in her mind.

What Yue didn't expect was that these two things, which she judged to have a 99% failure rate, happened to meet together. As a result, two negatives turned into a positive, and at least one thing was actually deleted. But that's another story.

“Aine, you have to know that although I was an idol before, I spent most of my time training in singing and dancing. Although I did know a little about the keyboard due to the requirements of the project, it was only for solo performances. I basically had no training in the coordination of instruments between band members.”

"So if I were to form a band, the first position I would consider is lead singer, and the second is keyboardist."

Yue paused here and asked Aine, "So, Aine, where would you like to consider forming a band?"

“Of course, I’d be the guitarist and vocalist!” Aine had only vaguely understood the long string of technical terms Yue had mentioned earlier, but when Yue asked her which position she wanted, she instantly snapped out of her daze and answered.

“Guitar vocalist? Then here’s the problem: I’m best at vocals, and I think I’m in the same boat as Akane. You, Aine, also want to be a guitar vocalist. Without considering the compromises of others, our band will have three vocalists.” Yue analyzed for Aine.

"Putting aside the issue of three lead singers for now, Ai Yin, if you want to form a band, have you considered the band configuration?"

"Um, this..." Ai Yin hadn't thought about this much before. She only wanted to find a band to be the lead guitarist and vocalist so that she could be known by everyone. She hadn't thought much about the long-term operation of the band or the instrument configuration.

“If Aine just wants to show off, I think the other bands in the class are a good choice. But if you want to form a band with me and Akari, I hope Aine can tell me what your goal is in forming a band and what your ideal band would be like.” Tsuki gave Aine a way out at the right time.

"I will go back and think carefully about the question you raised, Tsuki-chan." After realizing that her invitation today might have failed, Aine stood up, bowed to the two of them, and then left the Astronomy Club.

"Tsuki-chan, did you just discourage Aine a bit?" Akari watched Aine leave the Astronomy Club, not as cheerful as when she came in, looking somewhat lost and haggard.

"Light, you don't want to form another band only to have it disband halfway through, do you?" Yue asked Light.

"No, I don't want to go through that again." Deng shook his head in refusal.

"So in order to avoid experiencing this again, we need to plan everything out in the early stages when forming a band, so that the band can last."

"Hmm... does that mean I can be in a band for life?" Light's words were heavy with emotion in response to Light's explanation.

What's wrong with high school girls these days? Did they forget to call me during their evolution? How can Akari utter such a heavy phrase as "a lifetime of bands"?

"A lifetime? That's such an old-fashioned word. I can't say for sure if doing this will allow us to form a band that lasts a lifetime, but it will definitely last longer than a band that does nothing."

"Hmm...Does Light want to form a band?" Light suddenly asked, her expression serious.

"Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?" Yue couldn't help but laugh, but it was a smile that she inadvertently revealed when her disguise was seen through and she was trying to hide it.

“Because Yue didn’t directly reject Aine,” the lamp said.

"Oh, I see. The lamp has a pretty keen sense of smell." Yue thought her acting was pretty good, but she didn't expect to be exposed in this aspect.

"Well... I've been on the platform for too long. It's time to board the train and head to the next station."

Yue looked at the Roselia poster on the wall, where five girls were standing on a stage, shining brightly.

------

"It still doesn't work... Why can't forming a band just be about getting together to play music, chat, and then perform at the school festival to show off?"

Aiyin looked at the band formation tutorials she found on her phone, and none of them were actually helpful for her current situation.

The first question Yue asked, about her goal in forming the band, was easy for her to answer. However, the second question, about what kind of band she wanted, left Ai Yin completely clueless.

"How about we take a break first..."

She had just had the thought of escaping to bed for a while when she quickly shook her head in denial.

"No, no, no, Aine, you can't run away anymore. You finally get to be friends with your former idol and the school mascot; you absolutely can't miss this opportunity."

Although Aine thought she couldn't run away, it didn't help her answer Tsuki's question at all.

"By the way, maybe Nana-senpai can offer me some help."

Aine picked up the tablet from the ground, opened her social media app, and sent her problem to Nana Ohba, who was far away in England.

"Please, Nana-senpai, you have to tell me the answer, or my head is going to explode."

Not long after, Ai Yin finally received a reply with the banana-patterned profile picture she had been waiting for.

When the performance begins: Chapter 5 Nagasaki Motoyo: You want to reform the band?

"If Aine-chan can't do anything, then sincerity is the best finishing move."

Aine read out Nana Ohba's reply word for word and typed back to Dui, "Nana-senpai's recommendation is great... but if I really tell Tsuki-chan that I can't do anything, is it really possible for me to form a band with her?"

"If Aine-chan forms a band using lies, then unless you can learn the guitar very quickly, your bandmates will find out sooner or later. You might as well tell them the truth sooner rather than later."

Aine looked at the line of text on her phone, tapped and deleted it several times, and finally replied, "Thank you, Nana-senpai. I'll consider it."

When Nana Ohba, who was far away in England, saw Aine's reply, she smiled and shook her head. She had a feeling that Aine probably wouldn't take her advice.

"But that's what youth is like—constantly getting lost on the journey of life, and then moving forward while still lost."

--------

Lunch break at Tsukimori Girls' Academy.

“I went to Paris with my parents during the holidays and tried the most authentic French food.”

"I went to Hawaii for my vacation, and the ocean was so much fun!"

"Wow, that's great! The scenery in Hawaii must be amazing."

Motoyo Nagasaki smiled and chatted with her classmates about her Golden Week holiday.

"Hey, Su Shi-chan, did you go anywhere during Golden Week?" After the students finished their conversation, they finally brought up Su Shi.

"Well, I practiced the double bass at home during the holidays. The wind band is going to have a performance in two months, right? I haven't practiced for a while, so I wanted to get back into the swing of things during the holidays so that it would be easier for me to participate in rehearsals later."

Su Shi said.

But the real reason she didn't go out to play was that her mother was very busy during the holidays, and she herself didn't have any friends to go out with.

She had originally planned to find Lixi and Deng during Golden Week to discuss Crychic and Xiangzi's situation again, but she learned that they had gone to Hokkaido together.

When she first received the news, she was shocked. She couldn't understand when Lixi and Deng's relationship had become so good that they could go on a trip together.

But the facts are clear: they can't contact Xiangzi, Mu is at home attending a training course, and Lixi and Deng are out for a trip together.

In the end, Nagasaki Motoyo had to spend the lonely Golden Week holiday alone at home.

"Huh? As expected of Su Shi, I'm really looking forward to Su Shi's performance!"

"Su Shi-chan's performance will definitely be amazing, I will definitely go to watch it live."

"Thank you in advance." Su Shi thanked her classmates with a professional smile on her face.

"By the way, is there going to be a quiz soon? What should I do? I haven't been doing well in my studies lately, and there are a lot of questions I can't answer."

"The recent material has been pretty simple, right? Do you need me to give you some extra lessons?"

Seeing that her classmates had changed the subject away from her, Su Shi looked down at the small garden of the horticulture department through the glass and, as she had hoped, saw a familiar figure.

------

After school at Tsukimori Girls' Academy.

Nagasaki Motoyo sat in the pavilion in the Moon Forest Garden, where she had arranged to meet Wakaba Mutsu here.

I have a feeling things are getting worse.

Su Shi rubbed his index finger, pondering in his mind.

"Lixi and Deng are getting closer, but it doesn't affect me much. I just need to bring Deng back, and Lixi will naturally come back."

"but……"

Su Shi remembered the girl with long, straight black hair she had seen at Ring last time; the girl and the lamp seemed to have a good relationship.

How much influence does Yue have on Deng? Will it affect Deng's return to Crychic?

As Nagasaki Motoyo was pondering, a girl with light green hair walked into the pavilion.

"Xiao Mu." Su Shi greeted Ruo Ye Mu happily.

"I'm sorry, but I'd like to meet with you before the club activities start, so we can sit down and talk."

Nagasaki Motoyo invited Mutsu to sit down, acting as if he were the host.

Mu stood still and did not sit down.

Seeing this, Su Shi didn't press the matter further and continued with her own topic, "Has Xiao Xiang contacted Mu?"

Mu thought of his previous meeting with Xiangzi, and how Xiangzi had praised Mu for being incapable of lying, but now he shook his head without hesitation.

"Is that so? I thought Xiao Xiang would at least keep in touch with his childhood sweetheart, Mu." Su Shi's voice was tinged with sadness after learning that there was no news of Xiangzi.

"Where is Xiangzi now? I wonder if she's doing alright..."

Su Shi stood up and walked to the pavilion, looking at the flowers of various colors outside.

When Mu heard Su Shi's words, he remembered the genuine smiles on Xiangzi and Yue's faces that he had seen that day.

Su Shi didn't have mind-reading abilities, so of course he couldn't glean any information from Mu's poker-faced expression.

"If only... I could have listened to Xiaoxiang's thoughts properly on the day he said he was quitting."

Ruo Ye Mu lowered her head slightly, recalling the words she had spoken on that rainy day.

"I have never felt happy playing in a band."

Seeing Mu's actions, Su Shi quickly stepped forward and hugged Mu, saying, "I'm sorry, Mu, it's not Mu's fault."

"I plan to see Lixi again after the club activities are over. Xiaomu, do you want to come along?"

“Today we have ballet class…” said Mutsumi Wakaba.