People are in Mygo, and I can write their personalities.

"If I erase these memories, how can Xiao Mu fully experience these real band experiences?"

"Of course, the memories should stop here, so Xiao Mu, who is determined to create a Crychic that has never disbanded, will immediately go back to that point in time. That's great... This way, we can always immerse ourselves in the past of the band where everyone worked hard and struggled together."

Nanami Natsuki spoke the terrible truth in a very cheerful tone, as if it were nothing unusual.

"What are you even talking about! What do you mean by 'reenactment'? She's just one person, isn't she? Wait, you're not saying..."

"Yeah, do you know how exciting it was when I went to Xiao Mu's place after I left today and watched her all by herself playing the five characters from Crychic and talking to each other? Wow... that was such an exciting movie-watching experience! Xiao Mu is much more interesting than you."

"Can you do that? Such superb acting skills... oh no, that can't even be called acting skills, it's not even a strong sense of conviction. Why don't you guess what it is?"

One person playing five people?

Toyokawa Shoko imagined the scene in her mind—the taciturn Mutsu went alone to the recording studio where everyone used to go, and then, at one moment, she played herself as Wakaba Shoko, proposing new song ideas; at another moment, she played Wakaba Tatsuki, expressing her opinions on Wakaba Akari; at yet another moment, she transformed into Wakaba Motoyo, mediating between them; and finally, she stood in front of a mirror and sang an entire song to the four unseen people...

Is this a real event that actually happened today? It's absolutely... chilling.

And this is a million times more terrifying than seeing my mom in her doll form for the first time last night!

Shouldn't they be a group of enthusiastic and friendly JK band girls? How come they're starting to look more and more like the lead actors in a large-scale horror movie?

The problem is, if it were just a matter of Mu's perception of time being distorted, it wouldn't have escalated to this point, would it?

"Natsuki Nanami, what else did you do? How could Mutsumi become like this because of a problem with her perception of time? It's making it seem like she has a split personality!!!"

"Hey? Xiao Xiang, you're so smart! How did you know Xiao Mu is mentally ill?"

"What did you say?"

"Although the price of this transaction is actually the request itself, it is the only way I can think of to fulfill Xiao Mu's excessive wish, even if this method has too many flaws."

"But I didn't expect that after Xiao Mu made the deal, her dead personalities would actually come back to life, although it seems that they will only be active during band rehearsals for now."

"Speaking of which, do you want to find some time to see what Xiao Mu looks like now? But I don't care if you get scared. Also, don't say anything like that's not Xiao Mu anymore. You already made that mistake when you faced Chu Hua, oh no, Hatsune Miku last time."

"..."

Toyokawa Shoko has completely crashed.

She could no longer hear what Nanami Natsuki was saying on the other end of the phone, because her phone had slipped from her hand and fallen to the ground, the screen shattering.

And in her mind, only one sentence is on her mind, and it keeps repeating itself:

Mu is a patient with dissociative identity disorder. Mu is a patient with dissociative identity disorder...

Much later, this statement changed, becoming a new, more precise, and even more devastating thought:

"In other words, among the people I know, there's a little brat who's extremely rude to everyone, a woman who kidnapped me and tried to assault me, a volatile maniac who disappeared after stealing my talent, and a person with dissociative identity disorder trapped in an endless cycle of reincarnation..."

"Waaah... Mommy, I want to go home..."

Chapter 101 Xiao Xiang, who follows Wakaba Mutsu (7800 words)

The morning sunlight streamed through the corridor windows, casting dappled shadows on the polished floor. A slight chill still lingered in the air, but Nagasaki Motoyo felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on her heart, a mixture of heaviness and anxiety.

Almost as soon as she stepped into the school gate, her pace quickened involuntarily, heading directly towards where Ruoye Mu was. The doubts and unease that had lingered since yesterday had robbed her of her usual composure.

"Xiao Mu, I think we need to talk."

Su Shi's voice broke the pre-class silence. She stood directly in front of Ruo Ye Mu, her gaze intense, and went straight to the point, asking about the unresolved issues from yesterday's phone call.

"Where did you go yesterday? And did you secretly go to see Nanami Natsuki?"

"..."

Her response was Ruoye Mu's usual silence. But Su Shi keenly caught a fleeting hint of unease on the other's face.

Those eyes, which were usually as calm as a deep pool, seemed to be shrouded in a thin layer of mist at this moment, revealing a hint of bewilderment and elusiveness.

Seeing Mutsu like this, Su Shi felt her frustration about to explode. A strong impulse drove her—how wonderful it would be if she could have Nanami's ability to peer into memories! She wished she could immediately see the scenes from yesterday in Mutsu's mind and reveal the truth of all the mysteries in an instant.

“Okay, then I won’t ask you those questions for now,” Su Shi took a deep breath, suppressing her surging anxiety, and decided to start with a more core question, “Xiao Mu, answer me another question first, do you really want to rebuild Crychic with us?”

“I don’t understand what Su Shi means…” Mu tilted her head slightly, her clear voice filled with confusion, “Why say something as strange as ‘reorganization’?”

"Oh, I see..."

When Xiao Mu asked the word "reorganization" in such a confused tone, Su Shi's heart sank.

The answer is self-evident—the other party never seemed to have explicitly expressed any agreement with the idea of ​​a band reunion from beginning to end.

This thought was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing a part of Su Shi's enthusiasm. She recalled the events of the past few days: Xiao Mu had simply stood silently to the side, cooperating with her and Li Xi's action plan, like a quiet doll, never expressing any opinion of her own regarding the right or wrong of the plan itself.

Mu has always been like this, rarely expressing personal opinions unless... unless things have developed to a suffocating and irreversible point.

Just like that night that tore everything apart, when Xiao Xiang forcefully pushed open the practice room door, disrupting the band's original balance, the extremely oppressive atmosphere finally made this girl, who never expressed her emotions, utter those words filled with strong negative feelings.

Even if the other person says it in a very calm and indifferent tone.

So is it because everyone's current situation makes it impossible for Xiaomu to develop a sense of trust?

Being manipulated by Nanami Natsuki is one thing, Riki's sudden "defection" is another, there's also the dramatic change that happened to Xiaoxiang, and Chihaya Aine who appeared out of nowhere with no connection to the past... Yes, all the facts point to unease. Can this group of people really find that pure trust and bond from the past and reconcile?

"I understand, since that's the case..."

Su Shi's voice carried a deliberately maintained calmness, a restraint she had recently learned in her scheming and maneuvering with Qi Hai.

She knew very well that if she vented her anger or put pressure on Xiao Mu at this moment, it would only push her further away. So she gave up on further persuasion and chose another approach: "I will do what I can first to make you trust us, Xiao Mu."

"Su Shi."

Just as Su Shi turned around, preparing to leave this space that brought her more loss, Mu's voice rang out again, gentle yet carrying a certain weight, causing her to stop in her tracks instantly.

"Hmm?" Su Shi turned around, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "What's wrong, Xiao Mu?"

"Thank you."

"Thank... thank me for what?" Su Shi was stunned, completely unexpected to receive such a thank you.

As Ruoye Mu silently looked at Su Shi in front of her, what came to mind was yesterday in the recording studio, when "Li Xi" kept nitpicking "Deng's" singing performance and the atmosphere was almost frozen, it was Su Shi who stood up and gently resolved the awkwardness.

Perhaps it was because of this experience that she could better understand why Su Shi seemed so anxious and uneasy today. Moreover, just now, Su Shi had clearly promised to work hard to build trust among everyone.

All of this demonstrates that Nagasaki Motoyo has an extremely serious and dedicated attitude towards the new band proposed by Sho.

Moreover... Xiangcai had just suffered the heavy blow of losing his mother, and she herself was at a loss in the face of her close friend's grief, not knowing how to comfort her.

At this moment, Ruo Ye Mu is genuinely grateful to have someone like Su Shi who understands and cares about others' feelings.

"Thank you, Su Shi, for helping Xiang."

“…What are you saying?” This straightforward thank you made Su Shi’s heart tremble slightly. She turned her face away, her tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible bitterness, “Of course I will help her. We’re good friends, aren’t we?”

"good friend......"

“Yes.” Su Shi sighed, looked at Mu again, her eyes softening. “Alright, Mu, with what you said, I understand your thoughts a little better now. I will try my best… During this time, just do what you want to do.”

"Ah."

The conversation that took place before class, in which the two seemed to be on completely different wavelengths, came to an end. Strangely enough, however, after this exchange, Su Shi's pent-up frustration actually dissipated considerably.

Although the mystery remains, a deeper sense of responsibility seems to have been confirmed.

For most of the next day of class, Su Shi's thoughts were almost entirely occupied by the issue of the new band's lineup. Her slender fingers unconsciously traced lines along the edge of her notebook.

The first thing that can be confirmed is that we must find a way to kick Chihaya Aine out of the game later on—this is almost the underlying logic and necessary condition for Crychic to be truly revived in her mind.

Moreover, judging from the unusual behavior of that pink-haired girl yesterday... Su Shi could almost conclude that the other party was just a half-baked amateur.

But the more pressing issue right now is that the band's indispensable drummer position remains vacant. Although Xiao Xiang's suggestion to use pre-recorded drumbeats as a substitute is a temporary solution, a band configuration that relies on recordings... seems absurd and unprofessional, completely contrary to the music they once pursued.

Should we go and talk to Shiina Tatsuki again?

This idea plunged Nagasaki Motoyo into a huge vortex of contradictions.

On one hand, she had to admit that the technically skilled and well-coordinated Lixi of the past was undoubtedly the best candidate for the new band's drummer position, after all, she was a core member of the original Crychic; but on the other hand, she was filled with resistance deep down. The Lixi who had resolutely left, and might even have turned to the "enemy," had become unrecognizable, making her feel unfamiliar and unable to trust him.

Can an incomplete Crychic, missing key members, still be called a "resurrection"? Can it fulfill Xiao Mu's longing for the band of yesteryear? Su Shi has no answer.

Sometimes, reality seems to be this cruel—to truly accomplish something, you often have to give up some things.

In her previous attempts, she always clung to the obsession of "perfect reproduction," and the more she pursued that illusory "perfection," the deeper she sank into the mire, tormented by repeated pain. In the end, she not only fell into the trap carefully laid by Nanami Natsuki and tasted the bitter fruit of failure, but also suffered a merciless and profound psychological blow from her opponent.

"We absolutely have to change...the drummer..."

As the bell rang, signaling the end of the last class in the afternoon, Nagasaki Motoyo packed her bag and set off for CiRCLE.

The tram ran smoothly as she looked down at her phone screen at the chat group for the new band that had just been formed that day. This unnamed band group currently had only four members: Xiao Xiang, Deng, Ai Yin, and herself.

Su Shi also openly expressed her firm thoughts in the chat box.

As she expected, Gao Songdeng remained silent as always, offering no response. However, the message from Xiao Xiang clearly indicated hesitation, suggesting a stronger inclination to win back Li Xi. This undoubtedly dampened Su Shi's spirits, giving her a headache.

She really wanted to say something in the group to completely dispel Xiao Xiang's idea, such as pointing out Li Xi's current unreliability and potential risks, but in front of the "outsider" Chihaya Aine, she still had some concerns and deleted the words she had typed.

"Huh? This Aine..."

Su Shi's gaze fell on the message Ai Yin sent immediately afterward on the screen. She raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of surprise flashing across her face. "'I agree with Su Shi's idea. How about I recommend a suitable candidate to everyone?'...Hiss..."

She couldn't help but take a soft breath, a hint of self-deprecation in her voice, "This guy... isn't entirely useless sometimes."

Although she knew perfectly well deep down that she would do something terribly wrong to Chihaya Aine at some point in the future, and that belated sense of guilt was already throbbing in her throat, at this moment, Sose selectively ignored the consequences that had not yet arrived.

She naturally included Chihaya Aine, who was expressing support at this moment and even actively recommending candidates, in her temporary "camp".

"Hmm... a video blogger named Miaomeng?" Su Shi swiped her finger across the screen, quickly browsing the recommendation information sent by Ai Yin. "I don't seem to remember her."

At that moment, the train car swayed slightly, and Nagasaki Motoyo sat alone in a window seat. Because Xiaoxiang had contacted her beforehand saying that she had some things to take care of and would be late, she had to go to the agreed meeting place alone today.

However, this gave her an undisturbed space to focus on planning how to simultaneously advance the "optimization" of Lixi. While chatting enthusiastically with Aiyin, who had suddenly become "useful," she took a moment to open the YouTube search bar and typed in the name "Miaomeng."

"His looks are alright, aren't they?"

Su Shi scrutinized the blogger's image on the screen with a critical eye. Objectively speaking, the features were fairly regular, but she personally found the exaggerated and slightly flamboyant video style rather uninteresting.

"Wait, is there something wrong with Chihaya Aine's taste?" she thought to herself. However... when she clicked on the following videos tagged with "drumming," her attention was slightly drawn back. "Hmm... it seems like her technique in the later drumming videos is actually quite good."

Nagasaki Motoyo is indeed a complete novice when it comes to the professionalism of musical instrument playing, especially in the field of percussion. Perhaps Xiaoxiang, with his more extensive knowledge, could make a more professional judgment, or... that damned Shiina Tatsuki might also be able to.

But Xiao Xiang was clearly not interested in changing the drummer, and Li hope seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Left with no other option, Su Shi could only pin her hopes on the comments section below the video. She read through each comment, trying to piece together an objective impression from these bystanders' opinions.

"Oh, 'double-handed talent'... 'strong sense of rhythm'... 'promising future'..."

Su Shi noticed the keywords one by one. As for why she could be relatively certain that these were objective evaluations, it's because this blogger named Miaomeng was really "unpopular," with very few people commenting, making it almost impossible for fans to create a false impression through excessive hype.

“Very good,” Su Shi finally smiled with satisfaction and closed the video app. “Now we have a drummer, although we can’t be sure yet if he will join us…”