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

After a noisy chatter, the group called the manager to place their order, and soon plates of fresh ingredients were brought over and placed on the table.

Everyone enthusiastically began preparing the barbecue. Yue picked up the tongs, gently picked up a slice of meat, and placed it on the grill. Listening to the sizzling sound, the aroma filled the air.

As the meat slices roasted over the flames, they began to change gradually, with tiny bubbles rising to the surface and making a soft crackling sound.

Gradually, the color of the meat slices began to change, from pink to a light golden yellow, and an enticing aroma filled the baking pan. A golden crust gradually formed on the surface of the meat slices, emitting an irresistible caramelized fragrance.

When Yue gently touched the surface of the meat slices with her chopsticks, she felt a slight crispness.

As the slices of meat are lifted from the grill, steam rises and an enticing aroma fills the air, making one's mouth water.

The moment the slices of meat were put into my mouth, the aroma quickly filled my entire mouth.

The first bite of the meat slice revealed a crispy exterior and tender, juicy interior, producing a satisfying crunch. As Yue chewed carefully, the juices burst in her mouth, releasing a rich, meaty aroma. The meat slices were tender and flavorful, with a subtle charcoal-grilled fragrance that left a lingering aftertaste.

While Yue was occupying a small area of ​​the baking pan by herself, grilling the food she had ordered, there was constant fighting in other areas of the baking pan.

Seeing that Riki was about to take away the piece of meat she had just grilled, Aine quickly said, "Riki, the piece of meat you're taking is the one I just put there!"

Li hope raised an eyebrow: "Huh? I just put this up there to heat the lamp!"

As the two men were locked in a tense struggle for ownership of the roasted meat, Su Shi silently picked it up and ate it.

"Ah! Su Shi!" "Su Shi!"

Faced with a common external enemy, Aine and Riki, who were originally at odds with each other, immediately turned their guns on Su Shi.

After finishing his meal, Su Shi said with a cunning smile, "Since neither of you knows who grilled this piece of meat and neither of you is willing to share it with the other, then I'll eat it."

"Also, remember to eat more vegetables." Then Su Shi placed a few slices of cucumber on the baking tray.

"..."

Aine and Riki exchanged a glance, and as fellow carnivores, they tacitly reached a decision.

They quickly arranged the meat on the baking tray to take up space, in case Su Shi put more vegetables on it.

When the Stage Opens: Chapter Nineteen - Aine's Fantasy

"Hehe~"

Chihaya Aine lay gently in her bathtub, the warm water washing over her body. The water temperature was just right, bringing comfort and relaxation.

As the water rippled, Chihaya Aine's skin gently rippled, and water droplets shimmered on her skin.

She picked up her phone, which was covered by a waterproof bag, and laughed out loud when she saw the photos she had taken of everyone eating together in the Yinlingyiqisiwujiuba group.

In the photo, Lixi is putting meat on Deng's plate, Su Shi is grilling her own eggplant, Deng looks at the mountain of meat piled up in her bowl by Lixi with a troubled expression, Yue is quietly grilling her own meat, only showing a side profile, and Ai Yin, who is in charge of taking the photo, is showing what she thinks is a very beautiful smile.

Ai Yin thought to herself, "Today's band team building went really well. Everyone's musical skills are quite good. If we keep going like this, we'll be famous someday, right?"

Chihaya Aine closed her eyes, and vivid images floated through her mind. She imagined herself and her band members standing on the stage of the Tokyo Dome, with flashing lights, a packed audience, and enthusiastic applause and cheers filling the entire venue.

The LED screen on the stage played breathtaking images, and dazzling lights shone on them, illuminating their excited and confident smiles. The band members, each holding their own instrument, stood on the stage, ready to begin their musical feast.

Asahi lay quietly in the bathtub, a silly smile gradually appeared on her face. She closed her eyes, and the smile on her face gradually spread, with the corners of her lips slightly upturned, revealing a kind of innocent and carefree joy.

"Hehe~hehe~" Her laughter rang out softly, like a child with an innocent heart, giggling at the ceiling.

Aiyin's mother stood outside the bathroom door, listening to her daughter's silly laughter. A look of worry gradually appeared on her face as she wondered if she should make an appointment for her to see a psychologist.

--------

"Today I went out to sing karaoke with the band members and we also had dinner together."

Yue looked at the group photo that Ai Yin had sent to her X account on her phone and covered her head. She clearly remembered reminding Ai Yin not to post it directly, but to edit it slightly so that others wouldn't recognize her. The band couldn't handle such a lot of attention right now.

Fortunately, Ai Yin's account doesn't have many followers, and she only showed a side profile, so not many people should be able to recognize her.

Looking at the unedited photo of Aine grinning foolishly on her phone, Yue thought to herself, "She's such a worry... But Aine doesn't even Photoshop herself? Does she really think that smile is beautiful?"

Looking at Aine's smile, she suddenly remembered an adjective that a colleague from China had used when chatting with her before, which now seemed quite fitting to describe Aine.

After carefully confirming that she had switched to her own personal alternate account, Yue liked Ai Yin's post and commented: "The meat looks delicious, but is it really okay for the blogger to post it without any Photoshop?"

Not long after, Yue saw Ai Yin's comment below: "The band members' good looks don't need any embellishment."

"This completely misses the point..." Yue thought that Aine's reading comprehension was probably very poor. She was trying to remind her that she had told Aine that she would Photoshop her picture to cover up her true identity.

Having no other choice, Yue could only send a private message to Ai Yin, directly telling her her identity and reminding her to Photoshop her picture.

"I've already edited the photos... Yue, didn't you notice?"

After receiving the message, Yue sat down at the table and looked at her phone carefully.

She frowned slightly, trying to find some clues, but she was still unable to figure out where Aine had photoshopped herself.

After a moment of silence, Yue put down her phone and sighed. She realized that Ai Yin's photo editing skills had reached a master level, making it impossible for people to tell that she had edited the photos.

"I'll edit the picture myself in a bit, then you can upload the picture I gave you."

Yue opened the photo editing software, skillfully transformed herself into someone else, and then returned the image to Ai Yin.

"!!!"

Aine sent three exclamation marks: "Tsuki-chan, your editing is just too... too..."

Tsuki knew what Aine meant: "Just post it like this, it's more important not to be recognized by others."

"All right……"

Not long after, Yue saw that Aine had deleted the group photo she had just sent and replaced it with a new one.

The moon in the modified photo is completely unrecognizable unless you examine it closely against the real person's face.

After confirming that most people would not recognize her from the photo, Yue used a secondary account to forward the message.

--------

Shoko Toyokawa, who hadn't been seen for a while, was doing her customer service work as usual today. She was scolded by a customer who was deliberately causing trouble, and the manager even deducted part of her salary for it.

When Toyokawa Shoko first started working, she might have argued with her manager to get her wages back. She might have felt angry and dissatisfied, feeling that her efforts had not been rewarded as they should have been, and therefore actively expressed her opinions and demands.

However, now that Toyokawa Shoko has been working for half a year, she has no reason to even entertain the impossible thought of asking for her wages back.

Xiangzi's steps were slightly hurried, and her mood seemed to be as rushed as her pace. When she took out her phone and opened social media, she thought she could distract herself from the fact that her wages had been docked, but she inadvertently discovered that Yue and Deng had shared Ai Yin's message.

Xiangzi remained silent for a moment, but ultimately decided to click to view. On her phone screen, a photo of the five band members laughing together appeared before her eyes.

Xiangzi frowned slightly, a complex emotion welling up in her heart. She remembered how happy she and everyone in Crychic used to be.

But in the end, she destroyed all of this with her own hands on that rainy day. She looked at the happy expressions of everyone in the photos, her fingers tapping lightly on the screen, but after thinking for a moment, she deleted the message she had typed and then canceled the like she had just given.

Xiangzi tried to convince himself: "The lamp has nothing to do with me anymore..."

When the performance begins: Chapter Twenty - Ai Yin's Guitar Skills

Yue covered her head, and beside her, Aine kept her head down. It was obvious without asking that she was in a very bad state.

Not far away, Kaoru Nai, whom I had met once before, was playing Kasuga Kage.

"How did things turn out like this...?"

Yue felt incredibly exhausted.

--------

The whole thing started with a message Ai Yin sent in the group chat during class today.

"Would you all like to try practicing today?"

Li hope quickly replied, guessing that she was probably secretly slacking off and playing on her phone during class.

"Of course, since the band has been formed for so many days, none of us have touched any instruments and have only been discussing unimportant things. Now that we have confirmed that Deng is the lead singer, we should start practicing and preparing for a live performance as soon as possible."

In contrast, Su Shi's reply didn't come until noon, which showed that she was a well-behaved child who only quietly took out her phone to check the reply during her lunch break.

"I have no problem."

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Ai-yin settled on the time and place: "Let's all meet at Ring at five o'clock then~"

As for why there's no information about Deng and Yue, it's because they're in the same class as Aine and sit at adjacent desks; you could just turn your head and ask them.

Aine and Yue accompanied Touka to the Astronomy Club's office, which hadn't appeared in several chapters, to complete the club's daily activity record. After that, the three of them left Haneoka together around 4 PM to head to Ring.

The three arrived at the entrance of Haneoka Girls' Academy and once again saw the familiar chestnut-haired girl, Nagasaki Motoyo.

Aine happily went to greet her: "So-se-chan, are you here to wait for us today too?"

Su looked at Aine and smiled, saying, "Hmm... let's all go to the ring together~"

"I haven't seen Xiangzi again... Could it be that she really isn't in Yuqiu?"

After failing to spot Toyokawa Shoko on two or three separate occasions, Su Shi began to doubt her previous assumptions.

Seeing that Nagasaki Motoyo, who had been waiting for her at the gate, had finally left, Shoko, who had been observing the school gate from upstairs through the window, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Su Shi is really persistent..."

She already messaged the manager today saying that there might be some issues at her school and she might have to go later. If Su Shi doesn't leave soon, she might skip work today.

--------

In Ring's rehearsal room, Ai-yin connected her guitar to an effects pedal and proudly played chords for Su-shi and the others who were surrounding her.

"I can do C chords, G chords, and the barre chord of F chords!"

As Aine spoke, she played these chords.

In fact, she hadn't touched a guitar for almost a year since that junior high school cultural festival, and the chords she knows now were all learned during that time.

However, in Aine's eyes, a girl band in a school should be able to handle the performance if they know some chords.

"No way..." Li hope looked at Ai Yin's proud expression and his face turned a little ugly.

"This is really difficult." Aine was dissatisfied with Riki's attitude.

"That's just a chord." Yue could sense that Li Xi had tried her best to restrain herself.

Ai Yin remained adamant: "The guitar begins and ends with chords."

"Although you drummers probably don't understand these things very well."

"Sigh..." Li hope sighed deeply, speechless at Ai Yin's oblivious attitude.