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

After thinking for a moment, Yue said, "If we only play one song, the performance time will be a bit short, right? Ms. Rinrinko has given us a full ten minutes."

“Indeed.” Su Shi had learned something from her mother: if you want to accomplish something, it’s best not to directly state your goal, but rather to offer suggestions from the opposite perspective.

"However, we don't have enough time or chemistry yet. Wouldn't it be a bit rushed to practice two pieces?"

Su Shi's statement was clearly agreed upon by Aine, who said, "I think Su Shi-chan is right. We probably don't have enough time to complete the practice for both songs."

Su Shi then analyzed: "Moreover, our pre-show MC, self-introduction, and going up and down the stage will also take up some time, so in reality, there shouldn't be much extra time in the ten-minute period."

Clearly, Su Shi's words were very effective, and even the usually steadfast Li Xi was somewhat persuaded by Su Shi: "In that case, I will finish writing the melody for the new song as soon as possible."

Seeing that her plan had achieved the desired effect, Su Shi smiled and said to Li hope, "Then I'll leave it to you, Li Xi-chan."

Seeing that Su Shi had already taken control of the conversation and decided on the songs to be performed, Yue didn't know what else to say about what everyone had decided. However, she vaguely felt that things probably wouldn't develop in the direction Su Shi had imagined.

"However, there's something else I need to worry about now, more than the songs we'll be performing."

Yue glanced at Li hope, who was deep in thought, took out her phone from her pocket, and sent him a text message.

"Lixi, do you have time to talk to me alone after practice?"

Lixi felt the vibration of her phone in her pocket, frowned slightly, took the phone out of her pocket, unlocked it, and glanced at the messages she had received.

She looked up at Yue, her eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation. Sensing Li hope's gaze, Yue nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

"I understand. Yueyi will wait for me at the station. I'll come back to find you after I drop Xiaodeng off."

After replying to Yue's message, Li hope gently put her phone back in her pocket.

When the performance begins: Chapter Thirty-Three: Night Talk in the Park

By the time Lixi brought Xiaodeng home, it was already past seven o'clock. A bright white moon was hanging in the sky, and starlight was scattered across the dark sky.

Yue was sitting at the agreed-upon location waiting for Lixi. Bored, she was looking at the latest news about the 2.5D stage play animation on Wujia Road.

She quite liked the character design in the project, but for some reason, she felt like she saw a familiar giraffe logo.

"This company can't possibly be run by a giraffe to solve the employment problem for stage girls..."

Yue considered a possibility but immediately dismissed it, 'How could that be... It's one thing for the giraffe to hold a selection process, but if she were to start a company, would she have to sign documents with a pen in her mouth?'

She continued scrolling down her phone and saw news about the first stage play performance. She thought that since it was a project her senior was involved in, she should buy tickets to support and learn from it. However, when she opened the purchase page, it showed the words "sold out" in big letters.

"This project hasn't even been made into an anime, so why is it so hard to buy tickets? Are there really that many people who enjoy watching stage plays?"

Just as Yue was pondering whether she should ask Taozi for help getting some insider tickets for the actors, Li hope's voice finally rang in her ears: "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Yue shook her head. "It's alright, it's more important to return the little lamp."

Li hope cut to the chase and asked, "Is there something you want to talk to me about in private?"

Yue looked around and suggested, "Let's talk somewhere else. It feels a bit strange to talk in the station."

Lixi glanced at the time on her phone; it was already 8:30. It was still early, and there was plenty of time before the last bus.

“There’s a park nearby, let’s go there,” Lixi suggested.

--------

The park at night, bathed in the glow of the streetlights, appears peaceful and serene compared to its daytime hustle and bustle.

A gentle spring breeze rustled the leaves of the trees along the roadside as Yue and Lixi walked along the park path, the streetlights casting dappled shadows on the roadside.

Yue sat down on a bench for pedestrians to rest on, and Li hope sat down with her.

The park benches seem to have some special design; they appear to be considerably narrower.

Yue remembered seeing a news report that it was a special design to prevent homeless people from sleeping in parks, but now that the two of them were sitting on it, it felt a bit cramped, and their bodies inevitably bumped into each other.

The two of them tacitly moved away from each other, but due to the awkward design of the chairs, even though they were both pressed against the armrests, the distance between them could still be described as ambiguous.

Yue suddenly laughed, which puzzled Li hope.

"What's wrong? What's so funny?"

"Sorry, sorry." Yue covered her mouth, suppressing her laughter. "I just feel like ever since I met Lixi, we've often been alone together."

"I think so..." Li hope recalled that she had known Yue for a month and had already visited Yue's house twice and even traveled together.

"Speaking of which, Lixi has already come to my house twice, and Xiaodeng's house has also been there, but we haven't been to Lixi's house yet."

Yue glanced at Lixi with a hint of resentment.

"Maybe next time." Li hope's expression darkened when family was mentioned, and she took the initiative to change the subject.

"Let's get down to business. What does Yue want to say to me alone?"

Yue also composed herself and said, "The main issue is the arrangement. If we use Ai-on as the rhythm guitar, what about our lead guitar position? Should we replace it with another instrument?"

Guitar, bass, and drums are collectively known as the three main instruments of a band, the rock trio, and are indispensable most of the time.

Since most bands typically have three main instruments, there must be bands in the rock world that embody the spirit of rock and roll, using synthesizers, effects pedals, or other instruments instead of guitars. This unconventional approach truly demonstrates the spirit of rock and roll.

Even with her rather limited knowledge of bands, she knew a few such bands, such as the British band Royal Blood, which used bass and effects pedals to replace the guitar, and the Finnish band Apocalyptica, which consisted of cello and drums and did not have a guitar.

Lixi shook her head. The suggestion to use other instruments instead of the guitar was still too difficult for her, a novice composer. "Aiyin is improving very quickly. Maybe she will be able to meet our performance standards soon."

"Lixi can actually compliment people?" Yue exclaimed as if she had discovered a new continent.

Yue then teased, "But why doesn't Li hope just tell Aine? Is he being tsundere?"

"Nonsense." Li hope turned her face away.

"In short, I will reduce the pressure on Ai Yin and find a way to let other instruments take the lead in this piece."

"Lixi has only just learned to compose, and she has to challenge herself with such difficult techniques. It must be tough for her. If she encounters any problems, she can come to me."

Hearing Yue's words, Li hope asked in confusion, "Yue, can you compose music too?"

Yue shook her head and then nodded, saying, "I don't know much, but I have many teachers."

"Huh?" Lixi asked in her classic question.

Yue explained, "My composition skills are at a beginner level, but I can find professionals to guide us. Although I'm no longer in the industry, don't underestimate the connections I've built up back then."

Li hope then remembered that Hinasaki Tsuki actually had a background in the entertainment industry: "When I'm with you, Tsuki, I don't feel like a celebrity at all. I even forget that you're a celebrity."

"It might be because of my mother's influence. Before I became an idol, I didn't know that my mother was also a famous idol back then."

After hearing Yue's words, Li hope asked curiously, "Was Yue's mother also an idol?"

Yue nodded: "My mother was a famous high school idol back then, and she was very well-known in the entire entertainment industry."

Li hope then asked, "Then... does Yue feel inferior when facing her mother?"

Yue shook her head: "How should I put it? Although many people say how strong my mother was back then, I have never actually seen her perform in person. Her videotapes from that time are basically impossible to find now."

"So my memories of my mother are that she was a good photographer and that she made pretty good coffee. Other than that, I know absolutely nothing about my mother in the entertainment industry."

Stage (When the performance begins: Chapter Thirty-Four: The Moon's Parents)

Yue gathered her hair, which was a little messy from the evening breeze, and continued talking about Ni Lin/ba Wu Shi Li, Ba (Seven).

"Although many people do compare me to my mother, I don't really feel that way, since she hasn't really interfered in my affairs."

"In some ways... it seems to be a family problem. My grandmother didn't seem to care much about my mother after she gave birth to her. She abandoned my mother when she was three years old, saying she was going to save the world."

Even the cold and beautiful Li Xi found what Yue said utterly absurd and complained, "Why did your grandma use the excuse of saving the world? You could have come up with some other reason."

Yue also chimed in with her complaints: "I asked my mom about this before, but they all told me I'd know when the time was right. But now I'm all grown up and I still don't know why."

Recalling when she was a child, she asked her mother about her grandmother. Her mother, Hinasaki Miha, who was making coffee, showed a surprised expression on her face, and then smiled and asked her, "Why do you want to know about your grandmother?"

Xiaoyue explained, "Because today the other classmates were talking about their families. They mentioned their grandparents and maternal grandparents, who are very good to them, but I don't think I've ever met my maternal grandparents."

Little Yue's other mother, Fang Xili, happened to hear Yue's question and came over to explain, "Yue-chan's grandmother left this world because she saved it."

Little Moon put on a helpless expression and said, "You guys are lying to me again. I'm not a child. Saving the world is something that only happens in cartoons."

Yuri smiled when she heard her daughter's words but didn't say anything. She just took out a somewhat old photo from the album and said to her daughter, "Xiaoyue, this is your grandma."

Yue took the photo, which showed her mother, Hinasaki Miha, lying peacefully in bed, with a girl next to her who looked about the same age as Miha in both appearance and age.

Xiaoyue looked at the people in the photo, then looked up at her own mother, Shenyu. Her maternal grandmother in the photo and her current mother looked about the same age.

"Why is Grandma so young?"

When asked about this, Yuri tried to dodge the question by saying, "Ahaha, well, you'll know when the time is right, Yue."

When will the time be right?

————End of Memories————

Even the aloof beauty, Shiina Tatsuki, was speechless upon hearing Tsuki's mother's excuse: "I don't know how to comment on this matter for a moment."

Yue spread her hands, displaying a helpless expression.

"Alright, let's not talk about my family anymore. What about Lixi? What's the situation at Lixi's house?"

When Yue asked Lixi about her family, her expression immediately became serious and stiff. She leaned forward slightly, her fingers kneading the hem of her skirt above her knees, and her lips were slightly pursed. Every movement revealed her unease.

"I'm sorry... I don't really want to talk about this topic, at least not now."

Yue showed a knowing expression: "I understand~"

Tsuki's straightforward answer made Shiina Tatsuki feel a little uncomfortable. Shouldn't the normal procedure be to keep pressing for answers and then force her to tell the truth?

"I'm not the kind of person who relentlessly pursues things. If Lixi doesn't want to talk about it, I won't ask."

After a moment of silence, Yue Liuling Er San Si Ba Ba Si added.

"However, from a friend's perspective, I still want to advise Lixi that you don't need to put too much pressure on yourself. Lowering your expectations appropriately is actually better."

"I know about 1017 private smear 988... Sorry for ruining such a nice atmosphere tonight..."

Lixi said something completely out of character for her.

In fact, Shiina Tatsuki is very different from other traditional Japanese people. She is not someone who often apologizes, but tonight she apologized to Tsuki twice in such a short period of time.

Thinking about it carefully, it was probably because Yue had expressed her true feelings to her that night and commented that she was very dazzling that Lixi lowered her guard a lot in front of Yue. She even took the initiative to go to Yue's house to ask for her help after that.

"I seem to be more relaxed in front of the moon than in front of anyone else?"

In Lixi's understanding, this feeling of being completely relaxed in front of the other person is a sign of a sense of security, and she usually only does it when she is with her family... In reality, she still feels somewhat guarded when she is with her own family.