Aspiring to be a girl in a band

Faced with such a docile request... even the most despicable scum would say something comforting.

Simply say, "Okay, I won't abandon you."

Even if it's a fake, even if it's a lie, it's enough to make this poor girl happy for a long time.

Unfortunately.

Arakawa Kirika, being a cold-blooded creature, has absolutely no idea how to cherish women.

So, her answer was...

"That depends on my mood."

Book 1: Chapter 4 That Dreamlike Useless Labor

"Thank you for your patronage... Please take care."

Toyokawa Shoko watched the customer leave until the customer disappeared from her sight, then she let out a soft sigh.

Looking at the clothes around me... this ill-fitting, dowdy uniform.

Even with her beauty, the uniform made her appear somewhat less attractive.

However, she was not lamenting her situation.

From the day she submitted her application to withdraw from school, she was prepared for the consequences.

We must say goodbye to the past.

At the same time, you must also kill that weak part of yourself.

but……

That's what they say, but actually doing it is another matter entirely.

Despite her mental preparation, the experience of losing her financial resources almost broke her down.

At least... she had never thought of it before.

Moving was such a difficult thing.

Especially since she also has a... bastard father who is crushed by the weight of failure and addicted to alcoholism.

God knows how much she suffered...

All sorts of trivial matters left her exhausted... but fortunately, those annoying things were over, and she had taken the first step. As long as she continued to work hard step by step, she would definitely be able to regain... the glory of the Toyokawa family.

Indeed, Xiangzi's goal was not simply to make a lot of money, but to restore his former glory and take back everything he had lost.

Thinking of this, Xiangzi was filled with fighting spirit again and threw himself back into work.

She is currently in a convenience store, and her job is self-explanatory.

The convenience store was located in a rather remote location... which was exactly what Xiangzi was looking for.

A remote location means less chance of being discovered by former classmates or friends.

For this, she was even willing to spend extra money on tram fares every day.

"No matter what goals I set... for now, I still need to be down-to-earth and earn my first pot of gold."

Xiangzi told himself.

She has become adept at putting on a professional smile—although it was difficult at first, it is clear that time will allow her to get used to it.

"Welcome, light..."

Before she could finish her sales pitch, Toyokawa Shoko instinctively sensed that something was wrong.

These are a group of uninvited guests in the literal sense.

The exaggerated makeup and hairstyles, along with the tattoos on their arms, all seemed to reveal their identities.

Gangsters? Or biker gangs...?

Toyokawa Shoko's eyes widened slightly; she had only ever seen such a person in movies or in the news.

She never imagined she would encounter them in real life.

The leader at the front took off his sunglasses, glanced around the store, and then shouted.

"This is it, smash it!"

"The three mausoleums are like spirit doves without eight steps."

Before Xiangzi could recover from his shock, he saw the thugs waving baseball bats and making strange, whimpering noises as they rushed toward the shelves.

In an instant, the goods on the shelves were scattered all over the floor, and the shelves themselves were smashed to pieces. The glass bottles fell to the ground and made a piercing shattering sound.

Various beverage liquids were spilled all over the floor, and in just a few breaths, the convenience store was completely ruined.

"Wait...you can't!"

Xiangzi didn't know what had gotten into him, that he dared to speak up and try to stop these thugs.

Did her past happy life make her lose her sense of crisis?

In short... she tried to protect the goods in the store, even though her strength was so insignificant to these adult men.

"Get out of here."

One of the thugs seemed to finally realize her presence and roughly shoved her away.

With just that one movement, Xiangzi almost fell to the ground... It was only then that she seemed to realize just how vast the disparity in strength between herself and her opponent was.

But... Xiangzi's sense of justice made it impossible for her to ignore what was happening in front of her.

She thought of a way to stop the thugs in front of her.

"I...I'm going to call the police!!"

Xiangzi held up his phone, pretending to dial a number.

Unfortunately……

She was still too naive.

Her attempt to call the police not only failed to pose any threat, but also enraged one of the thugs.

"Damn it, this woman's asking for it."

The dark figure, with a fierce expression, approached Xiangzi in an instant.

It was only at this moment that Xiangzi realized how ridiculous his actions had been.

The baseball bat was raised high, seemingly about to fall at any moment.

Xiangzi instinctively raised her hand to protect her head... but then she suddenly realized something more important.

No...

Hands alone won't do...

She instantly realized... her plan: she needed to use her hands to play the piano.

Therefore, only the hands... absolutely cannot be injured.

So she gave up on her plan to cover her head with her hands.

One's proud abilities and knowledge of music theory are utterly useless in the face of such blatant violence.

Fear spread through her, her body stiffened and trembled, and she slowly closed her eyes.

But... the expected pain did not come.

1 second……

2 second……

Until she opened her eyes again, puzzled.

The person who had tried to harm her had already been grabbed aside by the leader-like figure and was being slapped repeatedly.

The man's mouth was stained with blood, as if he had been badly punished.

"The boss instructed that the employee isn't allowed to hurt a single hair. Are you trying to kill me, you bastard? Huh?"

The leader questioned loudly, while the underling didn't dare to utter a sound.

Is this...internal strife?

Xiangzi opened her eyes wide. She didn't understand how things had suddenly developed like this, but... this feeling of surviving a disaster wasn't bad at all.

But she dared not relax at all, so she moved her body and quietly slipped into the changing room.

She slammed the locker room door shut, leaned against the wall, and then slowly slid down to the floor.

She no longer dared to pay attention to what was happening outside...

Having gained a little sense of security, Xiangzi finally had the extra energy to think about what he had just said.

That shop assistant wasn't allowed to get even a single hair hurt...

The meaning of this sentence is quite obvious.

The first implication is that these people were instructed to deliberately cause trouble at the convenience store where she works...

The second implication is that the person who gave them these instructions must have known them, otherwise they wouldn't have said such a thing...

Who could it be...?

A sense of unease suddenly arose in Xiangzi's mind.

She shook her head vigorously, trying to convince herself not to believe the answer.

How much time has passed...?

Finally, there was no sound outside.

Xiangzi then slowly walked out of the dressing room.

The store was a complete mess... that's to be expected.

The rioters had also fled the building.

Only then did Xiangzi pick up his phone again, and with a strange sadness in his heart, he dialed two numbers.

The first thing to do, of course, is to call the police.