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

"If the concert doesn't go ahead, everyone will feel guilty and think it's because they didn't work hard enough. So I don't want to put too much pressure on everyone. It's fine as it is now. If it fails, then everyone will probably think it's because I didn't work hard enough."

A forced smile appeared on Ai Yin's face.

------

At that moment, Su Shi, who was on the subway and whose message to Xiangzi seemed to have vanished without a trace, suddenly sneezed.

"What's wrong? Have you caught a cold? You need to take extra care of yourself lately."

Su Shi wondered if she hadn't been eating healthily lately or if she had been practicing bass lately, which had caused her to not sleep well.

When the stage opens: Chapter 40, the legendary band Popipa (Part 2)

“Ai-yin…”

Tsuki never expected that Aine would have such thoughts. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she couldn't say it.

"It's alright, Yue-chan, our concert will definitely be a success, right?"

Aiyin looked at the complicated expression on Yue's face and comforted her.

"Let's hurry to Meteor Hall now, so as not to keep our seniors waiting."

"Ah."

Yue nodded.

----------

Aine and Yue stood at the entrance of Meteor Hall. From any angle, this century-old pawnshop did not seem like a place with soundproofing that would allow a band to practice.

"Is this really the place? Although it's a detached house with a courtyard, wouldn't practicing here disturb the guests?"

After carefully examining Meteor Hall, Yue said...

"The place the senior told me about is indeed here. There might be some hidden secret here. Anyway, let's go and ask first."

Ai-yin was clearly a woman of action; she stepped forward, opened the door to the Meteor Hall, and called out, "Is anyone here?"

"Oh dear, are we having guests? May I ask what you would like to pawn?"

A kind-looking, white-haired old man inside the door looked at Ai Yin and replied.

"Ah, we're not customers here to pawn things. May I ask if Kasumi Toyama is in here?"

Seeing that the other party was treating her and Yue as guests, Ai Yin quickly explained.

"Oh, you're looking for Kasumi? They're in the basement."

As she spoke, Grandma led the two to Ichigaya Arisa's room in the back and opened the trapdoor leading to the basement.

"Kasumi, a friend is here to see you."

"Ah! I almost forgot, thank you, Grandma."

Kasumi bounced up the basement stairs with great energy.

"Xiao Aiyin, Xiaoyue, I'm so sorry, I forgot to greet you at the front because the new bread that Saya brought was so delicious."

Kasumi Toyama's answer was very much in line with her personal style.

"bread?"

Yue originally thought her seniors were practicing for a concert, but she didn't expect them to be enjoying bread instead.

"Yes, yes, Yamabuki Bakery has some new bread, so Saya brought some over for us to try. Kozuki and Aine, you can come too."

Kasumi extended an invitation to the two of them.

"Okay, I also really like the bread from Yamabuki Bakery."

Aine quickly followed Kasumi downstairs, and Tsuki had no choice but to follow.

Upon entering the basement, a small coffee table was set with various snacks and drinks, next to which were the musical instruments of each member of Popipa.

The overall atmosphere of the room gives people a warm feeling. I have to say that training here would probably feel like being at home, even though this place seems to have originally been Ichigaya-senpai's home.

"Kasumi, you're back."

Tae Hanazono, who was sitting on the sofa and eating a piece of bread, waved to the two of them.

"Oh! Is the new type of bread I was thinking of trying no longer available?"

Kasumi Toyama let out a mournful cry as she looked at the bread in Tae Hanazono's mouth.

"There's nothing I can do, this bread is telling me to eat it."

Tae Hanazono quickly swallowed the bread to destroy the evidence.

"Ah, the employee at the music store before."

As Yue was going downstairs, she felt that the other person looked familiar. Now that she was closer, she remembered where she had seen the other person before and why she felt that the other person looked familiar.

"It's the customer who bought the electronic keyboard before. I didn't expect to meet you again. I'm Tae Hanazono~ Nice to meet you."

Tae Hanazono waved to the moon.

"I am Hinasaki, and I am here with Aine today."

After seeing Tae introduce herself, Tsuki also promptly introduced herself.

"I am Chihaya Aine, nice to meet you all."

Ai-yin then introduced herself as well.

“We’ve met many times before in Ring, so I won’t introduce myself. Little Aiyin, Little Yue, come and try my new bread flavor!”

Saya Yamabuki and Masumi Toyama had already met the members of Mygo at Ring.

"Where are Ichigaya-senpai and Ushigome-senpai?"

Moon discovered that two Popipa members were missing from the basement and inquired about it.

“Satomi is video chatting with her sister at home today. As for Arisa, she seemed to have been here just now, but she went out and hasn’t come back.”

Saya answered Yue's question.

"I need to get drinks and cups for Xiaoyue and Xiaoaiyin."

Arisa Ichigaya's voice came from the steps, and she slowly walked down carrying a tray.

"To be honest, I was really surprised when Ai-yin added me as a friend. I didn't expect Ai-yin to have Karen-chan's contact information. But if you need it, you can just find me in Ring."

After Aine and Tsuki sat down at the table, Masumi Toyama said to Aine.

"Yeah, I didn't expect Xiao Aiyin to suddenly add me as a friend. I was very surprised when Xiao Guang told me about it."

Garden Tae echoed Masumi's words.

“I studied in the UK before, and I happened to meet Hikaru Kagura there. I originally asked him if he knew anyone who could play guitar, but I didn’t expect it to be the seniors of Popipa.”

Aiyin explained the cause and course of events to everyone.

"What a coincidence! My sister is also studying in London."

Ushigome Satomi sighed.

"Yeah, yeah, what a small world... Wait a minute! Rimi, didn't you say you were going to video chat with your sister and would be a little late? When did you arrive?"

Arisa Ichigaya was marveling at the insignificance of the world and the wonder of fate when she suddenly discovered Satomi Ushigome there.

"Huh? Me...me? I arrived while you were telling stories, and I even greeted you, but you didn't react."

Ushigome Satomi said timidly.

"Now I have to believe the rumors that most students at Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy have some kind of special skill."

Tsuki watched as Ushigome Satomi appeared beside them without them noticing. Even though she hadn't paid much attention to Aine's story, she still couldn't detect her.

"Okay! To help... wait, what's the name of your band, Ai Yin?"

After hearing Aine's words, Masumi Toyama originally wanted to give a passionate speech, but she realized that she didn't seem to know the name of the Aine band at all.

"Ahaha... Well, we haven't decided on a name yet... Ahaha..."

Yue never expected that her previous disregard for her name would now become a problem, making it difficult for her to introduce herself to her seniors.

When the Stage Opens: Chapter Forty-Four - The Legendary Band Popipa (Part Two)

"Huh? Aine, you haven't decided on your names yet? What are you going to do about the MC segment?" Masumi Toyama asked in confusion.

"Well... I don't know either... I've mentioned a lot of good names before, like あのね, annonimo, unknown, etc., but everyone just ignores me."

Aine sat next to her senior and, quite naturally, picked up a piece of bread, eating it as she spoke.

"Hmm, I think the name Ai-on is really cool and dazzling, so why don't the other band members like it?"

Toyama Kasumi asked doubtfully.

"Kasumi, are you serious?... Can't you really see that the names Aine chose are all related to herself?"

Seeing that Kasumi hadn't noticed anything amiss with the name Aine had chosen, Ichigaya Arisa covered her face and said irritably.

"Huh? Really? Unknown... anon, anone, ah, they really are all Aine's names!" Only after Arisa reminded her did Kasumi Toyama belatedly realize the problem with the band names Aine had mentioned.

"This kind of problem should be noticed when it is brought up."

Ichigaya Arisaki complained harshly to Masumi Toyama.

"It would be strange if a band used one of its members' names as its band name. When we formed poppinParty, Kasumi also suggested some strange names."

Saya Yamabuki recounted the band's dark history.

"What? Is something interesting happening?"

After hearing the senior's explanation of the band Popipa's past, Ai Yin leaned over and asked curiously.

"The names Kasumi suggested at the beginning were all sparkly, like stars, which are very Kasumi's personality. In the end, it was Arisa who came up with the name Popipa."

Tae Hanazono recounts her dark past, but Kasumi Toyama, one of the parties involved, eats bread as if nothing happened.

"Is the 'energetic' attribute immune to having a dark past?"

As Yue was thinking, she saw everyone eating bread and felt a little hungry, so she reached out and touched a chocolate snail bread.