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

"We just went to the restroom together..."

Tsuki didn't intend to tell everyone about what they had just talked about, or about someone (a ghost) playing Kasuga Kage.

Su Shi did not expose Yue's lie; in this respect, they were on the same side.

Li hope, the only one who knew about the two, guessed that they had probably talked about something, but considering that the performance was tomorrow, it was not appropriate to say anything more.

Lena's gaze swept over the two of them, and a cat-like smile reappeared on her face.

Xiaodeng vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"The performance is tomorrow... Am I too nervous?"

When the Stage Opens: Chapter Eighty - Ice Queen? Shiina Tatsuki

Although most of the band members, except for Xiaodeng and Lena, were somewhat skeptical of Yue and Suze's excuse about going to the toilet.

However, Aine and Riki were both able to read the air, and since they didn't intend to talk about it, they didn't press the matter.

After chatting for a while, it got late at night, and it was almost time to go to bed.

After using the bedding provided by the student council to spread on the floor, everyone crawled into their blankets.

"Is everyone settled in?"

After receiving five responses, Yue turned off the lamp and then crawled into bed.

Although this wasn't her first time participating in such a training camp, back in Seisho, Momoko often dragged everyone into these camps, ostensibly to improve their relationships.

She didn't know how much their relationship improved, and it was hard to say whether the result was due to their usual practice or the training camp. However, the training camp did leave them with many wonderful memories.

Despite having participated in numerous training camps, Yue now lies in bed with her eyes open, staring at the ceiling that feels both familiar and strange.

Although the band appeared peaceful on the surface and everyone was practicing well, Ai Yin's guitar skills were improving rapidly, and Xiao Deng's singing was as touching as ever.

But beneath the surface, undercurrents were surging. Recent events had made it difficult for her to sleep, whether it was Peach's sudden attack to lure Su Shi into becoming a stage girl or Su Shi's single-minded desire to win the audition after the performance and wish to reunite Crychic.

"Speaking of which, Peach blocked me last night... What is she trying to do...?"

Various problems troubled Yue, and she was struggling with what to do. As a result, she unconsciously tossed and turned her body.

When the moon turned around, it saw Shiina Riki's purple eyes staring at it.

Li hope lowered his voice: "Yue... can't you sleep?"

"Hmm, walking around? Er'er? Master Ba... I've been having trouble sleeping lately..." Yue replied in a low voice.

Apart from the two of them, everyone else seemed to have already fallen asleep.

"About the band?" Lixi asked.

“…Hmm.” Yue gave a soft hum.

The two then fell silent, the stillness of the night so profound that they could hear each other's breathing.

After a long while, Li hope spoke softly, "Yue, you just talked to Su Shi, right?"

Yue said frankly, "Well... we talked about some things."

"Is it resolved?" Li hope asked, but her tone suggested she already knew the answer.

"No……"

Thinking of this, Yue sighed helplessly: "Things are heading completely in the direction of chaos."

An unfamiliar sense of pressure and melancholy welled up in Yue's heart, making her sigh once again.

"Why is everything with the band so complicated...?"

Thinking back to the resolute expression on Su Shi's face when she and Su Shi were talking on the rooftop, Yue felt a headache coming on.

"Momoko, Kurosawa Momoko! Next time I see you, I'm definitely going to ask you to do a Revue. I won't be able to get rid of this pent-up frustration until I give you a good beating."

Yue became increasingly angry as she thought about it. Although reason told her that Nagasaki Motoyo's matter would inevitably erupt sooner or later if it wasn't resolved, she still decided to pin the blame on Momoko.

"What did Su Shi say?"

When Li hope asked this question, she deliberately sat up and glanced at Su Shi behind her. Su Shi had her fingers crossed in front of her chest and was sleeping peacefully in a very standard young lady sleeping posture. Judging from her appearance, she should be sleeping very soundly.

Yue looked at Li hope with questioning eyes. After learning that Su Shi was already asleep, she lowered her voice as much as possible and even whispered in his ear, "Li hope, be prepared and don't make too much noise later."

Hearing Yue's words, Li hope knew that the outcome of their conversation had probably not been ideal.

However, after Yue spoke, Li hope's eyes widened, and she subconsciously wanted to say "h..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yue immediately covered the other person's mouth.

After Lixi had finally processed the information she had just received, she signaled to the other person to remove their hand from her mouth.

"Su Shi...did she really say that?"

After hearing what Yue said, Li Xi's voice was even lower than before, and even Yue, who was standing right next to him, had to exert some effort to hear what he was saying.

"Hmm...that's why I can't sleep right now..."

Yue's words were full of distress.

The band had finally gotten on track, so why are so many strange things happening...?

Yue Yi momentarily suspected that this might be another script written by Miss Ailu, but then quickly dismissed the idea.

Because Ailu's writing style is too obvious. The other party's scripts are basically re-creations of many classic masterpieces, and there is absolutely no possibility of any girl band in those masterpieces.

Seeing Yue's worried expression, Li hope reached out from under the covers and took Yue's hand in his.

"If there's anything I can help with... I'll help. The band's affairs are everyone's responsibility; we can't let Yue be the only one worrying about it."

Feeling the warmth emanating from the other person's hand, Yue looked up in surprise and saw Li hope's evasive purple eyes.

Through the moonlight shining through the gap in the curtains, Yue could even see the blush on Shiina Riki's face, which, under the moonlight, even seemed to have a faint cherry blossom color.

"Wow, Li hope is actually this beautiful?"

Bathed in moonlight, Yue carefully observed Lixi's face, noticing her clear facial features, which appeared exceptionally three-dimensional and beautiful in the soft moonlight. Lixi's purple eyes sparkled with a crystalline light, shining like stars in the night sky, and her long hair flowed smoothly like water in the night, gently cascading over her shoulders.

Yue couldn't help but sigh. Although she had witnessed Li Xi's dazzling brilliance on stage before, this was the first time she had observed her appearance up close. Only tonight did she truly appreciate Li Xi's beauty and charm.

"A cold beauty...that's probably what I'm describing Riki when she's quiet."

Although she had performed on stage several times before, this was the first time Yue had experienced in real life what it felt like to be the kind of cold beauty described in those books.

"No...don't look..."

Noticing Yue's gaze fixed on her, Li hope's blush deepened, and her voice became even softer than before.

"Thank you... Lixi."

Yue withdrew her gaze and sincerely thanked Li hope.

"No...you're welcome..."

When Li hope said this, his face was almost buried in the blanket. He hurriedly threw out a sentence and buried his head in the blanket, but his hands were still not loosened.

"Since everything's alright now, let's get some sleep. We have a performance tomorrow."

"She's shy~"

Yue looked at Li hope, who had her back to her, and silently recited in her heart.

When the Stage Opens: Chapter Eighty-One - The Final Rehearsal Before the Performance

The next morning, because it was the weekend, everyone didn't have to rush out of Haneoka to go to school or play chess, so there was no alarm clock noise, and everyone who was staying at the training camp for the first time slept in naturally.

"Well……"

Tsuki groggily opened her eyes and saw Shiina Tatsuki, who had fallen asleep holding her hand the night before.

"!!!"

Her previously groggy mind instantly cleared up, and she carefully propped herself up, looking nervously at the others.

Fortunately, Yue, who has a habit of exercising in the morning, is the first to get up, while Su Shi, who is an early sleeper, is still peacefully asleep at this time.

Yue carefully pulled her hand away from Lixi's, but her movements seemed to disturb Lixi as well.

"Um..."

Li hope groggily opened her eyes and saw Yue, who was already half-sitting up in front of her. She greeted her, "Good morning... Yue."

"Lixi...did you sleep well last night?" Yue asked somewhat guiltily.

"It's alright... What's wrong?"

Lixi didn't quite understand why Yue would ask that question. Her memory was still stuck on the time she comforted Yue yesterday, and she couldn't remember much after that.

"I don't see anything wrong with it, do I...?"

Although she knew that her usual sleeping habits were pretty good, she was still worried about the fact that there was no one next to her then, but now someone was sleeping next to her and holding her hand all night.

She still worries that she might have unconsciously done something during her nightmare last night.

"I'm fine, Yue... what's wrong? Did anything happen last night?"

Lixi immediately thought that Yue and Su Shi had a late-night heart-to-heart talk after she fell asleep last night, or that Lena-chan had been running around in the room at night, or even that Yue might have a habit of sleepwalking.

"...It's nothing, as long as Lixi sleeps well."

Seeing that she hadn't done anything strange yesterday, Yue breathed a slight sigh of relief.

The sound of their conversation made Su Shi, who was standing next to her, open her eyes and slowly sit up.

Good morning, Su Shi.

To prevent Lixi from pressing further, Yue waved to Su Shi, trying to change the subject.

"Good morning……"

Su Shi, who had just woken up, was still confused about what had happened, but she politely responded after Yue greeted her.

Good morning, everyone!

It seemed the commotion was a bit loud, and Aine rubbed her eyes and sat up. After regaining her senses, she greeted everyone with great energy.

Good morning, Aiyin.