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

"This is...our band's new song...a cry from our hearts."

Deng then climbed onto the bed, adjusted her position, lay face down, covered herself with the blanket, buried her head under the pillow, and used the pillow and the blanket to adjust her breathing rhythm. After stabilizing her breath, she slowly began to practice her singing.

Hearing his child's strange groans coming from inside the room, Gao Song's father, who was passing by the door, knocked on the door with some concern. "Xiao Deng, are you alright?"

However, Xiaodeng, who was engrossed in singing, did not respond, which made Gaosong's parents worry about their child's health.

----------

Finally, the one who seemed out of place was our Miss Tsukimori, Nagasaki Motoyo. While everyone else in the band was busy practicing, Nagasaki Motoyo was standing at her doorstep, handing a towel to her mother who had just returned home.

"Welcome back, Mom. You must be tired. Wipe your sweat first. The food will be ready soon. Would you like to take a hot shower first?"

Su Shi's mother took the towel and wiped the sweat off her face. Looking at her daughter who was greeting her with a smile, her tired mood was instantly healed.

"Su Shi, you are such a good daughter to your mother. I am so happy."

The relationship between the two mothers and daughters in front of them was almost completely reversed; Su Shi, the daughter, was now taking care of her mother.

As you step into the Su family's grand house, an enticing aroma wafts through the air, making your mouth water. Various dishes are laid out on the table.

The first thing you see is a bowl of vegetable soup, filled with vibrant green vegetables, various fragrant mushrooms, and fresh tofu.

Next up is a bowl of brightly colored fruit salad. Tomatoes and cucumbers are thinly sliced ​​by Su Shi and paired with lettuce, then drizzled with Nagasaki's special dressing, giving it a refreshing and delicious taste.

The only dish with some oil on the table was a braised eggplant. Just by looking at it, you could tell that the eggplant would melt in your mouth, and a fragrant aroma wafted over, making you very hungry.

When Su Shi's mother saw the dishes her daughter had prepared, although she was still very happy, she couldn't help but ask, "Um... Su Shi? Isn't there any meat?"

Su Shi smiled broadly, cupped her hands in a triangle and looked at her mother: "No, eating more vegetables is good for your health, Mom, who is always out socializing."

"But... I still want to eat some meat..."

"Ok?"

Looking at her daughter's smile, Su Shi's mother silently swallowed back what she was about to say: "It's okay, I think it's good to eat some vegetables occasionally."

When the Stage Opens: Chapter Thirty-One - New Lyrics

The next morning, our Chihaya Aine came to school and complained to the moon.

"Xiaoyue, I practiced guitar all night yesterday, and my fingers hurt so much now."

Tsuki watched as Chihaya Aine gently opened her palm, revealing her fingers wrapped in a band-aid. Under the band-aid, Aine's fingers appeared somewhat swollen, with slightly red skin, and looked rather clumsy, unlike her usual free-moving fingers.

Tsuki gently patted Aine's shoulder: "Aine-chan worked very hard."

Seeing that Yue was already moved by her spirit, Ai Yin pressed on, "So, Yue, considering how hard I've worked, could you give me Chu Hua's autographed CD ahead of schedule?"

"Well... that won't work." Seeing that Aine was pushing her luck, Tsukimi smiled kindly. "I've already told Aine-chan, right? When you've mastered your guitar skills, you'll be able to get Hatsuka's autographed CD."

Seeing that things were not going well, Aine quickly apologized: "Ahahaha... I understand, I will continue to practice hard."

Just then, Takamatsu Akari walked in from the classroom door. Seeing Akari, Ai quickly changed the subject, showing Akari proof of her hard work: "Akari, I practiced guitar diligently yesterday!"

The lamp examined Aine's fingers carefully and asked with concern, "Aine-chan, are your fingers alright? Do you need a band-aid?"

Then, Deng took out the box she used to store bandages from her schoolbag, opened the lid, took out several bandages with penguin patterns, and handed them to Aine.

"Ah, it's a penguin! Such cute band-aids! And a little light! Can I really have these?"

Aine picked up an Emperor Penguin Band-Aid and said to Takamatsu Akari.

When talking about her favorite things, Deng suddenly became very enthusiastic and introduced them to Aine: "This is an Emperor Penguin, the largest penguin of all penguins. If Aine needs them, I also have Adélie Penguin and Macroney Penguin patterned bandages here."

Ai Yin also cooperated enthusiastically with the lamp's explanation, showing great interest: "Then thank you very much, little lamp. I will accept this Emperor Penguin Band-Aid. If I need anything else, I will trouble you, little lamp."

After being thanked by Aine, Takamatsu Akari seemed a little shy, but quickly returned to her original state, her face turning red. She whispered, "Aine-chan, you can come to me anytime if you need anything."

Watching Aine and Akari interact, Tsukigami silently thought to herself, "Should I say Akari has a seductive quality, or should I say Aine does?"

Seeing that everyone was in such a good mood, Ai Yin brought up the matter of whether or not to participate in the performance again: "By the way, are we really going to participate in Afterglow's performance? I feel like we're not ready yet."

Yue somewhat agrees with Aine's point of view: "To be honest, I also think we're a bit rushed."

Seeing that she hadn't been able to use any of her prepared arguments, Yue began to agree with her, and Aine was overjoyed: "Right, right, then can we...?"

Yue made a big X with her hands in front of her: "No way. Although I do think the time is a bit tight, as the saying goes, there is no motivation without pressure. If it weren't for the pressure of this performance, you wouldn't be practicing so hard, Aine."

Aine still felt uneasy: "Although I hate to admit it, it's true. But what if the performance doesn't go well..."

Yue understood what Aine was worried about, so she went up and gently gave Aine a hug: "It's okay, Aine, don't worry. Just do your best and leave the rest to us. The band isn't just for you to perform alone. I'll find a way to reduce your performance workload."

Ai asked curiously, "Huh? What does Xiaoyue want to do?"

"For example, we can reduce some of the pressure on you in terms of arrangement, such as reducing the guitar parts in the score."

Yue gave Aine the most likely course of action, but in reality, Yue had several backup plans that she did not reveal.

For example, they could put Ai Yin on the rhythm guitar and find someone else for the lead guitar. They thought that the wildcat from Ring who suddenly barged into the recording studio—Yao Le Nai—was a good choice, but unfortunately, she hadn't seen her since that day, and she didn't know if what she said about wanting to join the band last time was true or false.

Besides Rana, Yue does know a few other people who can play guitar. Perhaps inspired by the mercenary bassist she met on the subway, Yue decided to find a lead guitarist to temporarily act as a mercenary, and then let Aine play after Aine has been trained to a certain level.

However, this matter actually needs to be discussed more carefully... Although she can accept this format, but...

Yue turned to look at Deng, thinking that Deng, who had previously expressed her desire to form a band for life, might not be able to accept the idea of ​​a band as mercenaries.

Watching Aine chatting with Xiaodeng about penguins, Yue silently rejected her earlier plan: 'Forget it, let's not let anyone else join our band.'

"By the way, I finalized the lyrics last night."

Xiao Deng took out the lyrics she had written the night before from her schoolbag.

"What? Xiaodeng has already finished writing? I want to see! I want to see!"

Aine took Takamatsu Akari's notebook, and Tsuki stood next to Aine and read it with her.

"Uta いましょう明らしましょう ​​(Sing and play together), just by looking at the name of the song, it is a good song! Xiaodeng, you are so great!"

Just by looking at the song title, Aine praised it, and Tsuki nodded in agreement.

After being perfected, this song gave Yue an even stronger emotional impact. Although there is no melody yet, the emotions that Yue wants to express can be felt from the lyrics alone.

"Thank you..." Deng lowered her head, feeling a little embarrassed by Ai Yin's praise.

"But... I can only write lyrics; I can't solve the problem of composing the music."

At this point, Deng's brows furrowed slightly, the corners of her mouth drooped, and her crimson eyes revealed confusion and disappointment.

Yue comforted him, "It's alright. It's already quite good that Deng can write such good lyrics. Since we're going to be a band for life, things can't fall on just one person. When we go to practice this afternoon, let's ask everyone who can compose music."

Ai Yin also comforted Deng, saying, "That's right, Deng doesn't need to put too much pressure on herself. Let's all work together to figure out a solution to the song issue."

--------

It has been slightly modified. Due to the changes in Aine and Riki's scenes, the accompaniment of Bitian has been changed to Uta no Ming.

When the performance begins: Chapter Thirty-Two: Li hope: I'll compose the music

"Riki, Xiaodeng has written a new song!" Ai Yin pushed open the recording studio door and said to Lixi and Su Shi inside.

Just as she was about to scold Riki for being late, she heard that Akari had written a new song, so she swallowed the words she was about to say and excitedly asked, "Really?!"

Su Shi, who was originally struggling with how to persuade Riki to give up the idea of ​​playing Kasuga Kage, was overjoyed when she heard Aine's words: "A new song?"

The light, who walked into the recording studio from behind Ai Yin, nodded: "Mm."

Yue said, "This is a new song that Xiaodeng wrote for us."

"Let me see the light."

Lixi took the notebook from Deng's hand and carefully read through the lyrics of the new song.

This time, Lixi felt more deeply about the song than Spring Shadow. She put down her notebook, and in her eyes, you could clearly see some crystal tears shimmering with a faint light.

"I understand... I'll compose the music."

"Eh???" x4

The four people present were all shocked by Li hope's words.

Su Shi asked Li hope in surprise, "Li hope, can you compose music?"

“Although I’m still learning… but since the lyrics for the song have already been written…” Li hope’s eyes were filled with determination. “I’ll compose the music.”

Seeing that Riki had taken on the important task of composing, Ai Yin stepped forward to try to relieve Riki's pressure: "Hey, Riki, could you make my guitar assignment a little simpler?"

"what?"

Lixi's pink eyes gave her a "what are you talking about?" look, after all, the guitar plays a role in harmony and rhythm in a band.

However, considering Ai Yin's current guitar skills, Li hope felt that she still needed to simplify Ai Yin's part when arranging the music. However, this would inevitably require other songs to take charge of the main melody.

"Tsk... I'll make it a little easier for you."

"Thank you so much, Riki!" Seeing that her biggest worry had been resolved, Aine finally breathed a sigh of relief, and then she remembered her hard practice last night.

"Oh right, not only did Xiaodeng write a new song, I also practiced guitar yesterday."

Ai Yin took the guitar out of her backpack and skillfully connected it to the effects pedal and amplifier.

She gently adjusted the tuning of the strings and the volume of the amplifier. After confirming that everything was ready, Aine took a deep breath, her eyes fixed solely on the strings.

"Go for it... Aine, you can do it..."

Her fingers lightly touched the strings, and a soft tone echoed in the recording studio. At first, it was a gentle melody, like a spring breeze blowing through the room.

"Eh? A spring day's shadow?"

Nagasaki Motoyo looked a little awkward. Kasuga Kage, which didn't belong to Crychic, had already been played by Rakuna before. Now she was hearing Kasuga Kage again from Aine's hands. She was afraid that one day Kasuga Kage would completely cease to belong to Crychic.

As the melody progressed, her fingers moved faster and faster, although the transitions between chords were sometimes still a bit awkward.

However, compared to her previous technique of only being able to play single chords, Aine's progress is nothing short of tremendous.

As soon as Aine's performance ended, Nagasaki Motoyo clapped and praised, "Wow, that was amazing! Aine played very well. Has Aine been practicing with Kasuga Kage all along?"

Nagasaki Motoyo's ability to control her facial expressions is astonishing. Just moments ago, when she heard Aine play Kasuga Kage, her face showed surprise and confusion, but now she was able to adjust so quickly and even come up with words to entice Aine.

As expected of Aine, after being praised by Nagasaki Motoyo, she scratched her head and said with a proud look, "Hehe, after all, we hadn't written our new song yet, so I had to use Kasuga Kage to practice."

"Is that so?" Seeing that Aine answered her question as she had expected, Su Shi's smile became even brighter. "Speaking of which, we haven't decided on the song list for our performance yet. Since we have a new song now, why don't we sing the new song then?"

Remembering what Lixi had said about how the new piece would relieve her stress, Aiyi immediately echoed Sushi's suggestion: "I agree! Let's play the new piece then!"