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

After saying that, Li hope turned to look at the three people, Yu Qiu, who were still panting, and then walked behind the drum without saying anything more.

"Let's start practicing."

"Um... Lixi, which sheet music should we use?"

Yue knows that today's sheet music has been modified in many ways because Renai didn't come yesterday. Now that Renai has come, today's sheet music should be unusable.

"Tsk...we'll have to use yesterday's."

Lixi felt quite helpless about Yao Lena's unpredictable situation.

"Luckily, I used yesterday's sheet music as a reference when I practiced with the seniors yesterday."

As Ai-yin connected the instrument, she silently rejoiced in her heart.

However, training alone is one thing, while training in a group is another.

When Riki gently started practicing the drums, Aine and Ronai's guitar playing went astray. Not to mention, the keyboard part of Yue and the bass part of Susei, which had hardly been practiced, were disastrous performances.

If a normal piece of music combines multiple instruments, then the transitions in their performance were too disjointed.

"Tsk... This kind of performance is completely unacceptable."

The performance was only halfway through when Li hope stopped playing his drumsticks and called a halt to the show.

"Although Ai Yin's technique has improved a lot, it's still not enough. She's slow in several places and can't find the right entry point."

"Hi! I'll keep working hard."

Aiyin replied cheerfully to Lixi.

"Deng, Xiaoyue, did you hear that? Lixi praised me!"

The light nodded: "Yeah, I heard that... Aine-chan has really improved a lot..."

"Tsk..."

Lixi turned her head away from Aiyin, who was thinking about the moon and the lanterns and showing off, and turned her attention to Su Shi.

"Su Shi, are you really practicing seriously?"

“Yes, I have one!” Su Shi replied with a big smile.

"Your playing isn't as good as it used to be."

Having just finished dealing with Su Shi, Li hope looked at Yue.

"Moon, you played too slowly in several places, and you and Aine caused the piece to have three different tempos at the beginning and end. Lingyi 7飼儛韭久扒"

Yue nodded, indicating that she would continue practicing when she got back.

After pointing out everyone's problems, Lixi turned around to start the second practice session, only to find Lena packing her things.

"Ah... Stray cat! What are you doing? Practice isn't over yet."

"I'm satisfied."

Lena put her guitar back in her bag and dragged her equipment out of the recording studio, completely ignoring the others behind her.

"He really just left like that..."

Lixi watched Le Nai leave. There was still plenty of time left in the recording studio, and the band's first ensemble performance was a complete mess, yet this girl just left like that!

"This is infuriating!"

Compared to the anxious Riki, Su Shi seemed more relaxed as Lena left: "You really are like a cat~"

As the performance begins: Chapter Forty-Seven - Messed Up...

That night, Lixi didn't revise the score anymore. Instead, he lay in bed and covered his eyes with his arm.

Despite trying to clear her mind, all sorts of things about the band kept popping into her head when she closed her eyes.

"I didn't do any proper practice at all today... That stray cat always does whatever she wants..."

Lixi's voice was hoarse and tired, revealing frustration and disappointment. She was very disappointed and helpless about the band's practice today.

"The stray cat...should we remove her? If so, many parts of the music will have to be given to Aine...that guy's skills aren't up to par yet..."

Lixi turned over and lay on her side on the bed, her purple eyes filled with anxiety.

"But no one can guarantee that if the stray cat is kept... she'll come to the concert..."

"Should we keep changing the score? At this rate, that guy won't be able to handle it..."

Toyokawa Shoko's image reappeared in Riki's mind. During Crychic, she confidently told everyone, "If there are any problems with the sheet music, you can come to me anytime. It is my responsibility as the author of this song."

Lixi turned over again, burying her face in the soft pillow, her voice tinged with frustration and confusion: "Can I really write songs with lyrics worthy of the lamp, just like Xiangzi? Can I really do it as well as she does?"

Her voice trembled slightly. The difficulties and problems facing the band made her doubt herself, questioning her own abilities and value. She couldn't see a way forward for the band.

----------

"Huh? The stray cat didn't come again?"

The next day during practice time, Lixi opened the door and found that the stray cat had not appeared in the practice room as promised.

"Maybe Renai is just late like always..."

Su Shi wasn't confident in her own words, after all, the other party was Yoro, the most free-spirited member of Ring.

"There's no other way... We'll practice with yesterday's version today..."

Li hope said helplessly.

"Huh...???? Another change to the sheet music? Did all my practice go to waste?"

After hearing Li Xi's words, Ai Yin, who had just connected her instrument, had several question marks appear above her head.

She had almost finished playing yesterday's score under the guidance of Tae and Kasumi-senpai, and wanted to show off her progress today, but Riki told her that the score needed to be changed again.

"I... I have no choice..."

Li hope didn't have a good reason to refute Aine's accusations, since Aine's progress was actually visible to the naked eye, and she must have been training very hard in private.

"Alright, Aine-chan, calm down. Tachi-chan is the hardest working person among us. She works very hard, staying up all night every day to revise the music."

Su Shi stepped in to smooth things over and try to ease the tension between Aine and Li hope.

"It's over..."

However, Yue, who knew about Riki's situation, immediately realized that Su Shi had said the wrong thing. In this situation, saying that Riki was the most hardworking meant that her talent was not as good as Toyokawa Shoko's.

"I'm sorry... we'll leave everything to you, Lixi."

"Lixi... let me do something too..."

Suze and Akari's words added another spoonful of oil to the flames that were called Shiina Ritsuki.

"Are you saying I'm unreliable...?"

Lixi's expression was tense and uneasy, her lips were slightly pursed, and her eyes revealed unease and anxiety, concealing her inner vulnerability.

Her fists were clenched tightly, her knuckles slightly protruding, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Although she was trying her best to control her emotions, she still could not completely hide her inner unease.

"Lixi, that's not what they meant..."

Yue knew she couldn't let Su Shi speak anymore; their unconscious relationship had all turned into real wounds that pierced Li hope's armor. But the words she blurted out in her panic became the final fuse that ignited Li hope's explosion.

"I can't do as well as Xiangzi!"

Lixi's taut emotions finally erupted. Her voice was filled with struggle, her expression became distorted and painful, her brows were furrowed, and beads of sweat seeped from her forehead and slid down her cheeks.

Her eyes glistened with tears, but she tried hard to suppress her emotions and not let her tears fall, yet she could not hide the pain in her heart at all.

"Lixi..."

Having experienced something similar to Li hope, Yue deeply understands Li Xi's feelings. When you have someone in your heart who is better than you, you will distort other people's concern for you into doubt about your abilities.

It wasn't until a full year after Yue left Momoko that she finally understood this matter... But Riki probably faced more than just the pressure from Toyokawa Shoko that she knew about; the pressure from her family, which she was unwilling to talk about, must have been considerable as well.

"We can't let Lixi get discouraged... otherwise she'll really miss the performance..."

It will take Lixi a lot of time to get through this on her own, but right now time is precisely what they lack most.

We need to think of a way...

The moon silently made up its mind.

------------

On their way home, Lixi and Deng remained silent. Deng looked at Lixi several times, only to find that the other person simply kept his head down and remained silent, with a blank expression.

Yue, who usually goes home with her, is not by her side now. Deng has no idea whether she should say something to comfort Lixi, since their words of comfort in the recording studio just now caused Lixi to have an emotional outburst.

This time, even when the train reached its stop, Li hope didn't get off with her or take her home.

"I completely messed it up..."

On the empty tram, Lixi's solitary figure appeared lonely and weary.

"I'm still no match for Xiangzi..."

She sat in her seat, leaning slightly forward, her delicate face lowered, shrouded in endless self-blame and loss.

The tram moved slowly, and the surrounding scenery flashed by. Although it was dusk, Lixi felt as if she were in a lonely darkness, unable to feel the noise and vitality of the outside world. Every breath she took was heavy and helpless.

Shiina Tatsuki's movements appeared mechanical and stiff, like a puppet on strings. When the announcement of the train's arrival at the station sounded, her expression trembled slightly. Then she stood up stiffly, her steps heavy and slow, as if she were being weighed down by an invisible burden as she walked outside.

When Shiina Ritsuki stepped out of the train car, she didn't see the familiar station scenery; instead, she found herself in some unknown building.

The stage opens without a seal [Eight Ba Ming Qi Yi? Performance Time: Chapter Forty-Eight: Prelude to the Stage Opening]

"Huh? When did an indoor train station get built here?"

Lixi stood on the station platform. This was originally an outdoor station, but now it had become an indoor station. The environment was completely different from usual. The incandescent lights overhead cast a bright light, but it made her feel creeped out.

I think I was on a tram, so why is it going into a building that looks like a subway station, just like a subway?

The surrounding walls were painted with strange black and white giraffe icons, and the station sign read "Station," a word with an ambiguous meaning. The staircase leading to the outside was shrouded in a dark room, making it impossible for her to see the steps.

Lixi couldn't help but recall the urban legends about subway stations that she had heard before, such as the Moon Station, the Red Tram, the Four-Eyed Tram, and the Giraffe Tram that Peach-senpai had mentioned before.

Seeing the black and white circular giraffe signs around her, it's clear that she has mistakenly entered the giraffe tram that Momoko Kurosawa had mentioned before.