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

Yue nodded, then added, "But I believe that as long as you, Aine, can focus on training, you should be able to quickly regain your previous skills."

"I will try my best..."

Keep trying...

Aine thought of Rakuna, who had suddenly entered the studio, and of her ability to memorize and improve sheet music with just a glance.

He was even complacent about being able to play a few chords, and couldn't even read sheet music.

"If Renai is going to join the band... does this band really still need a place for me? Even if I try my best, can I really catch up with Renai in such a short time?"

Aine didn't know the answer to that question, but she had watched Kasuga Kage's rehearsal videos and knew that the original sheet music for Kasuga Kage only required one guitar.

At the same time, she also knew that even if she regained her junior high school skills, she still couldn't compare to Le Nai in guitar.

Seeing Aine gradually sink into despondency after saying she would try her best, Tsukigami felt somewhat helpless.

"In those 'hot-blooded' dramas, shouldn't they immediately cheer up after saying they'll work hard? Why is Aine still so down? Isn't this a 'hot-blooded music' anime?"

Yue didn't know where she had gone wrong. In all those stage plays, the main characters comforted their classmates in the same way, and those classmates quickly cheered up.

Once again, Yue felt how unpredictable the inner world of a typical high school girl could be. Even though she had read hundreds and thousands of stage scripts, she couldn't find a single reference case that matched Aine's current feelings.

"As expected, a girl's heart is far too complicated compared to a stage play script... I can't understand what Aine is thinking at all..."

Despite being a young girl herself, Yue sighed at her friend's house.

--------

Working overtime, I'll just write one chapter for now. If I can write another one this afternoon, I can add an extra chapter tonight.

When the Stage Opens: Chapter Twenty-Four - Former Agent

"If only a young girl's heart were as easy to understand as a script."

As Yue lay in bed late at night, she complained to Taozi on the other end of her phone.

"Moon, it's not as easy as you think. All scripts are written from God's perspective, which allows you to understand the other person's thoughts and feelings, so of course they are easy to understand."

"Speaking of which, why did Yue suddenly think like this? Is he bewitched by that girl?"

Not long after Yue sent her message, Taozi replied.

"Come on, I'm not a lesbian, I'm not interested in girls, it's just that some things have happened in the band."

Yue made a serious statement in response to Taozi's teasing.

"Has something happened in your band this time?"

Even without meeting Momoko, Yue could sense the other person's gloating mood from her writing.

"It's nothing. It's just that last time, Rakuna wanted to join our band, and Aine was a little insecure because of her technical skills and wanted to run away."

"Sounds a lot like you? Your band really does have birds of a feather flock together."

"What do you mean 'similar to me'? I definitely didn't leave because of inferiority complex." Yue replied with a gritted teeth emoji.

"Yes, yes, I know, you didn't leave because of inferiority complex (in a monotone tone)."

Yue slammed her phone onto the bed. She decided that she wouldn't pay any attention to Taozi for the rest of the day... or even the next two days.

"Ding dong."

When the notification sound rang, Yue thought it was Taozi sending her a message again. Just as she was about to block her, she discovered that the sender was her former agent.

When are you going to pay me for the thing I helped you with last time?

It's like speaking of the devil and he appears; I was just talking to Aine about getting Hatsuka's autograph for her when I had the chance, and now I've run into him.

She thought for a moment and replied, "Which day this week do you have time for? You can decide on the venue."

"Are you sure you don't just decide on anything? Even Ginza is fine, right? I just looked up some information for you, is it really necessary to make such a big fuss? I have a feeling you don't have good intentions."

"Of course, I'll just pick whatever I want, but you'll have to do me a small favor."

The other party sent a picture of someone covering their face and crying.

"I knew you needed my help with something else. What is it?"

"This should be a small matter for you. Just get me a signed autograph from Misumi Hatsuka, just write it for Chihaya Aine."

The agent seemed somewhat incredulous: "That simple? Is it really that simple?"

Yue sent an angry emoji, "What kind of image do you have of me? I invited you to dinner, and you still can't believe it."

"It's nothing, just your imagination."

Although the agent said that, she still seemed to be probing, asking, "Is just an autograph really enough? Don't I need to arrange for Chu Hua to meet that child?"

When Yue saw the message from her manager, several question marks popped up above her head: "Huh? When did you get so much power that you can arrange for your own idols to meet with other people? Aren't you afraid of being accused of 'pillow talk'?"

"Hey, it's not as serious as you say. We're all women, what are we afraid of? Even if those people from Bunshun photographed us together, what could they write? What's so interesting about a manager having dinner with their idol, their former idol, and ordinary people?"

Yue remained cautious: "No need, it's better to be careful in everything. After all, Chu Hua is quite a celebrity now, and you can see advertisements for Sumi's new song everywhere."

Just as Yue replied, her manager sent another message: "Don't be fooled by the large amount of advertising Sumimi is doing now. In the current environment of girl bands, Sumimi's popularity is actually not that high."

"After all, idols are becoming less and less popular now. It seems that young people prefer girl bands. The higher-ups have actually considered forming a band around Chu Hua. By the way, speaking of bands, I remember you play the electronic keyboard, right? Have you ever considered a comeback? The higher-ups have invested quite a lot this time. I heard that they have secured sponsorships from several companies."

As the agent continued speaking, she began to try again to persuade Yue to make a comeback.

Yue decisively declined the invitation: "I'd rather not. Besides, I've already joined a band at school."

"You actually joined a school band? But that makes sense. It seems like most of the famous bands these days were formed in schools. I'll have to think about suggesting to the higher-ups that they use high school students as amateurs this time."

As they talked, the agent steered the conversation back to work.

Yue shook her head helplessly in front of her phone. Her former manager was good in every way, except that she was a little too work-obsessed. The conversation would always veer towards work.

"By the way, Yue, you're at Yuqiu now, right? Could you keep an eye out for any promising young talents at the school?"

Just as Yue was about to refuse, an image of a blue-haired twin-tailed girl popped into her mind.

After all, in Haneoka now, the only ones he's familiar with are Akari and Aine, who are from his own band. The only other person who isn't in the band and is good at playing instruments is Toyokawa Shoko.

"As for Xiangzi... she doesn't even really want to join a regular band, would she want to join a commercial band like this?"

Yue was not Xiangzi after all, and she couldn't make decisions for him.

Yue deleted the message she originally intended to reject and instead replied, "I'll keep an eye out for you."

"Thank you, I'll treat you to a meal next time."

Why can't it be this time?

"Because this time it was Yue who promised to treat us."

"Go to hell." This message was followed by an emoji of a knife.

"I'm scared, my ex-idol is going to kill someone!" After replying with this joke, the manager's profile picture went gray, probably because she was going to report this idea she had just come up with to her boss.

"Amateur bands... are actually quite appealing. If they could add various character settings, they would be even more attractive."

Out of habit, Yue subconsciously analyzed the information her manager had just given her. With the current popularity of girl bands, if someone really wanted to launch a band, they could definitely gain a lot of attention just by throwing money at it.

"But all of this should be irrelevant to me now; I've already retired from the entertainment industry."

Yue banished all these entertainment industry matters from her mind. Her own band was already causing her enough trouble. If another band were to join, she would have to consider wishing upon a giraffe to learn the ability to create clones.

------

Working overtime until late at night to prepare for the inspection QAQ

When the Stage Begins: Chapter Twenty-Five - Let's Go Eat Sushi

"Really? Yue-chan is so good to me, I don't know how to thank her enough."

The next day, after Yue told Aine that she had gotten Chu Hua's autograph, Aine was excited and grateful to her.

Yue said with a smile, "In exchange, Aine, you'd better practice your guitar properly."

Aine patted her chest and said, "Don't worry, even if you don't give me an autograph, I'll still practice my guitar diligently."

Lighting clenched her fists and cheered for Aine: "Aine-chan, do your best!"

--------

The time at school was incredibly difficult to endure. Yue stared at the clock hanging on the wall, watching the second hand tick away, each tick adding up to a minute. Many minutes accumulated until the bell finally rang to signal the end of get out of class.

Yue picked up her lunchbox, ready to go and find out the new school legend of Haneoka—the blue-haired fairy in the music room.

Deng, observing Yue's actions, asked, "Yue, aren't we having dinner together today?"

Yue nodded and explained, "Well, I have some things to take care of today, so I can't go to the Astronomy Department for lunch with you guys."

Aine was a little disappointed: "Eh? I wanted to share the egg rolls that Mom made with you, Tsuki-chan. Mom specifically told me that she would bring them over for you to eat."

"Sorry, Aine-chan, I'll come back to eat your cooking again next time." After saying that, Yue left the classroom with her lunchbox.

However, the search for Xiangzi did not go as smoothly as Yue had imagined. She thought Xiangzi would be in the music room, but it seemed that Miss Xiangzi was very professional and strictly followed the rules for using the music room, and would not eat there.

Yue went back again, peeked around the entrance of Class B for a while, but still couldn't find Miss Xiangzi.

After asking the same passerby classmate from last time, they also received the answer that they didn't know where Xiangzi usually ate lunch.

"This is troublesome."

With lunch break almost over, Yue's lunchbox still hadn't been eaten because of the search for Xiangzi.

"I'd better find somewhere to eat lunch first."

After thinking it over, Yue finally decided to have lunch on the rooftop.

Before that, she went to the faculty office and borrowed the microwave to heat up her lunchbox.

However, when she opened the rooftop door, she found herself with the blue fairy from the music classroom she had been searching for all along.

Toyokawa Shoko was sitting in the corner of the rooftop with her back to her, eating her rice ball mouthful by mouthful with mineral water.

"Xiangzi?"

When Yue called Xiangzi's name, Xiangzi's body visibly trembled, and he slowly turned his head like a robot that had frozen in place.

Upon seeing that the person who came was Hinasaki, Shoko's stiff body gradually relaxed.