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

After hearing Mu's reply, Su Shi released her grip on Mu's shoulder and stood there alone, her eyes revealing a hint of confusion and unease.

Mu looked at the dejected Su Shi and finally spoke, "Su Shi, if you'd like, I can help you check it out when you're preparing for the brass band's performance."

"Thank you, Mu."

Su Shi then stretched out her arms and gently embraced Mu, expressing her gratitude to Mu.

————————The dividing line for Morfonica's performance——————————

Su Shi stood backstage, nervously preparing for the band's upcoming performance. She busily checked the instruments and sheet music, making sure everything was ready.

On stage, Morfonica was playing with great enthusiasm, and the music filled the entire venue.

Meanwhile, Mu took this opportunity to intently search for Xiangzi in the audience.

Her eyes darted through the crowd, trying to find that familiar figure.

At Tsukimori Girls' Academy, the newly appointed chairperson began to strictly enforce school rules, especially imposing strict restrictions on cell phone use.

Students were told that cell phone use was prohibited on campus unless in an emergency. This rule forced students to find other ways to communicate and connect, and they could not easily ask questions or communicate via phone or text message.

Although most students adhere to the principle that "it's not a violation if you don't get caught," they secretly use their phones in private.

However, as a good student, Ye Mu always abided by this school rule. Even on the night of the welcome party, when she saw many classmates taking photos with their phones, Mu still did not think of using her phone to call Xiangzi to confirm.

"Xiang?"

Mutsu finally spotted Toyokawa Shoko in the last row, even though Shoko was wearing makeup and a mask.

These changes made Xiangzi's appearance very different from Su Shi's impression, but Mu was still certain without hesitation that the other person was Xiangzi.

Just as Mu was about to squeeze through the crowd to greet Xiangzi, he saw the girl next to Xiangzi, wearing the Yuqiu school uniform, say something, and then Xiangzi excitedly grabbed her hand, his eyes shining.

This scene reminded Mu of the past, when Xiangzi, after watching Morfonica's performance, excitedly proposed forming a band and Crychic, just as she was now.

Back then, Xiangzi's eyes were filled with the same light as they are now. She was enthusiastic towards Mu, full of confidence and hope.

"Xiang... has a friend I don't know about."

Before the Stage Opens: Chapter Fourteen: Dreams and the Stage

That evening, Yue lay on her comfortable bed at home, curled up tightly, trying to clear her mind, but her heart was occupied by the strange vision of Morfonica's performance.

She closed her eyes, recalling the dazzling brilliance of the performance, as if a ray of light pierced straight into the depths of her heart.

The light was so dazzling and so captivating, it once again highlighted her desire to stand on the stage.

The stage girl's deepest desire is like that of the undead in Dark Souls; the undead seek the soul, while the stage girl seeks to shine.

Yue tries to escape reality, to escape the realities that frustrate her.

If a stage girl loses the audition, she will lose her brilliance.

Once the stage girl loses her brilliance, her heart becomes empty, like a hollow doll.

She knew this fact all too well, but she chose to run away from it.

Because she was afraid to face reality, afraid to face the reality that she had not been overshadowed by Momoko Kurosawa, but had instead chosen to escape the stage.

During this long night, the moon's heart was filled with turmoil, a mixture of longing and fear.

That night, she couldn't sleep.

----------

The next morning, Yue arrived at the classroom with obvious dark circles under her eyes, and a hint of fatigue showed when she greeted the lamp.

"Light... Good morning." Yue's voice sounded somewhat weak.

"Moon... Good morning... Are you alright?" Lantern asked with some concern upon seeing Moon's condition.

"Huh? Oh!" Yue's thinking seemed a little sluggish due to lack of sleep, and she waved her hand to indicate that she was fine.

"It's nothing, it's nothing, I just stayed up late watching dramas last night." Yue forced a smile and told a lie.

"Hmm... Yue, you still need to take care of yourself," Deng reminded him with concern.

"Don't worry, I know. Staying up late is bad for your health." Yue slumped listlessly on her desk. She told the light that she had stayed up late, but in fact, it would be more accurate to say that she had stayed up all night.

Staying up late is bad for your health, but she chose to stay up all night.

Despite Miss Yue's efforts to behave like a good child, her first class in the morning was English.

Hearing her English teacher speaking with a Japanese accent, Yue couldn't take it anymore and, feeling dizzy, slumped onto the table and fell asleep.

—————The dividing line of dreams—————

Yue was confused. She discovered that her Yuukoka school uniform had been replaced by Seisho's school uniform, and she had also returned from Yuukoka's classroom to the backstage of Seisho's stage.

"What's wrong, Tsuki-chan?" Momoko Kurosawa waved in front of her, wearing Flora's stage costume.

"N-nothing...it just feels like a dream." Yue rubbed her head, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Moon, you feel like becoming Claire is a little unreal, right?" Xuejian Ying, dressed in the clothes of the Cursed Goddess, leaned in from behind and patted Moon's head.

"Let me make this clear beforehand, Yue, don't get too cocky. Next year, your Claire position will definitely be mine," said Minamoto Yuudachi, dressed in her Arrogant Goddess costume, with a touch of arrogance.

"Alright, Yuudachi, I know you're unhappy. How about coming to my bed tonight and cheering you up?" Harumi Mana, Yuudachi's roommate, dressed in her runaway goddess costume, hugged Yuudachi from behind and teased her.

"Ugh! Mana, get out of my way!" Yuan Xili, her face flushed, chased after Chun Jian Mana in the backstage dressing room.

Yurisaki Aoi, dressed in her costume as the goddess of passion, stopped Harumi Mana and Minamoto Yuudachi from their playful fight. "You two can sort out your problems in your dorms when you get back tonight. Right now, the Starlight performance at the Seisho Festival is more important."

"That's right, that's right, StarLight's performance is more important now."

Ms. Konohana Sakuya, who was playing the role of someone in despair, put down the bread in her mouth and affirmed Aoi's words.

"Everyone, stop chatting and hurry up and do Yue-chan's makeup and change her clothes. We're going on stage soon." Amamiya Yu, dressed as the Goddess of Jealousy, pushed open the door and walked in, accompanied by Saito Azusa, who was acting as the guide.

"Oh right, Yue-chan, hurry up and change your clothes, we need Bai-chan to do your makeup." Kurosawa Momoko took Claire's clothes off a shelf and handed them to Yue.

Seeing that Yue was still in a daze, Taozi directly took her hand and led her towards the changing room.

Yue was passively led into the changing room, and Taozi carefully changed her clothes.

She felt the clothes were unfamiliar to her; they weren't any stage costumes she had worn before.

Then, Chitanda Momoko from Class B, which is the Stage Creation Department, pressed Yue in front of the makeup mirror and began to create the makeup for Yue for the stage with skillful and meticulous techniques.

A moment later, Yue looked up at herself in the mirror, dressed in Claire's clothes.

She felt a sense of unreality and began to wonder if everything she had experienced at Yugaoka was just a dream. This feeling left her confused and bewildered, wondering which was reality: the present Seishoka or the past Yugaoka.

"Alright, let's go, let's go complete our StarLight together."

Suddenly, Momoko Kurosawa's words interrupted Yue Er's thoughts. She looked up and saw Momoko smiling and extending her hand to her.

"Hmm... Let's do it together..." Yue smiled and reached out her hand, wanting to hold Momo's outstretched hand.

However, just as Yue reached out her hand, she caught a glimpse of the giraffe standing at the dressing room door in the mirror.

The giraffe's eyes were unusually deep, as if looking directly into the depths of Yue's heart through a mirror, giving her an inexplicable sense of unease and oppression.

Yue's hand froze in mid-air, a strange unease rising within her. She paused, a nameless fear creeping over her.

The intense fear jolted Yue awake from her drowsy state. Instead of taking Taozi's outstretched hand, she jumped off the stool and ran towards the changing room.

Her heart pounded rapidly and rhythmically against her chest, her breathing quickened, as if the whole world was pressing down on her.

When she pushed open the dressing room door, the stage backstage behind her instantly shattered, and what she saw in front of her was not the small room where various clothes were stored, but an underground theater.

Under the dim lights, the giraffe on the stage stood like an ancient statue, its calm and unwavering gaze fixed on the moon as it rushed onto the stage.

Beside the giraffe stood a tree with lush branches, and a plump apple on its crown was particularly eye-catching. The apple seemed to radiate an enticing glow, making one want to reach out and pick it.

------

All characters in this chapter are guest appearances by members of the group. All you need to know is that these are Yue's classmates at Shengxiang; none of them will be involved in the romantic storyline.

Before the Stage Opening: Chapter Fifteen: The Giraffe and the Wish

"Good morning, Hinasaki-kun," the giraffe greeted gracefully, bowing its head.

Hearing the giraffe's voice, Yue looked around.

The time is not visible in the underground theater, which means that the giraffe's "good morning" must have been based on the time she slept in the Yugaoka class.

"Giraffe...did you do all of this?" Yue frowned and looked up at the giraffe.

"I won't actively interfere with the stage." The giraffe slowly shook its head, chewing on the leaf in its mouth, its tone completely calm.

"Then why did I come here?" Yue asked, feeling deeply confused and uneasy.

The giraffe suddenly lowered its head and gazed silently at the moon, while the moon gazed back into the giraffe's eyes.

"Because the winner of the audition has not yet had his wish fulfilled, and the fruit borne from the brilliance of this stage girl has not yet been picked."

Although the giraffe's voice was calm, Yue could detect a hint of regret in it.

"Your wish hasn't come true yet?"

Yue recalled the wish she heard from Momoko Kurosawa when she was defeated and stood on position zero.

"I want to shine together with everyone! To glow together! To surpass our predecessors in the Seisho Festival together! This is... Momoko's wish?"

"That's right, Hinasaki-san, this is the wish made by Momoko Kurosawa, the winner of the audition."

"If things had progressed as planned, you should have been able to fulfill her wish."

"but……"

The moon interrupted the giraffe's words, for she knew the answer to the question.

"I ran away..."

Momoko's wish echoed in Yue's mind. She realized that this was not just Momoko's personal wish, but an expectation for the stage, a wish made for everyone.

"That's right, Hinasaki-kun, you ran away from the stage, which prevented Kurosawa Momoko's wish from being fulfilled."

"The winner of the audition is supposed to have their wish granted. If the winner wishes to go back to the past, the stage will respond by turning back the world's timeline and returning to the past."

"Hinasaki-kun, you have stepped into a new stage, a stage whose gravity attracts you, and you have achieved a balance with Kurosawa-kun's wish."

The giraffe's voice grew increasingly excited, as if filled with anticipation and excitement.