Girls' Wishing Tree

Sakura leaned the stairs against the torii gate and gently patted Nina's shoulder. "I know you tried your best. Failure isn't terrible; what's terrible is losing the courage to keep going. Your band's success today is largely due to your persistence in your musical style, right? Competition results and the like aren't even a factor, are they?"

Hongxia also came over, and it was a rare sight for Ying to see her eyes drooping.

"Sakura, that's not the case. I've tried my best. The problem now is that we may not have lost to PasPale, but there was a problem with the organizers' vote counting. And they refused to communicate with us, saying that the results of the competition have already been announced."

Rencai, her hands clenched into fists, suddenly shouted, "Yes! The reason we were eliminated wasn't because of our skills, but because of the name change! The organizers didn't replace the promotional and voting materials in time, causing some fans' votes to become invalid! We could have won! It's just that we changed the band name from FogBand to Thornless Thorns, but some fans didn't know about the name change and still voted for FogBand, so those votes were treated as invalid!"

Ying was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected such a reason for her failure. If that was the case, then she hadn't communicated with the organizers before the competition. After all, in the semi-finals of a major competition like BangDream, the organizers probably didn't have a plan for a band to suddenly change their name.

Taoxiang took out a ballot that came with the ticket. The band name of FogBand was not crossed out, but "No Thorns, No Thorns" was printed at the end. The organizer's behavior can only be said to be rather rough, and it cannot be said to be problematic. Generally speaking, it can only be said that before the competition started, neither the organizer, the band No Thorns, No Thorns, nor herself thought that this would be a problem.

She walked over to Taoxiang and patted her shoulder. "Taoxiang, I understand you're upset right now, but it's over. If we start a fight with the organizers now, it will only hurt our popularity, especially with PasPale's fans. They'll think we're refusing to admit defeat, which is not good for our future development."

"But..." Nina, standing nearby, suddenly became agitated. "Why do we always have to deal with these problems? Several performances have been ruined for strange reasons! It was clearly the organizer's fault, yet we have to bear the consequences!"

Sakura said nothing, simply hugging Nina and patting her back gently. She knew what Nina needed right now wasn't comfort, but an understanding listener. Originally, Nijika would have taken on that role within the band, but now, frustrated by her own failure, she simply listened to the members, both harmless and provocative, air their frustrations.

Nina hugged Sakura and cried, her tears and thoughts pouring out in the cool breeze of the shrine courtyard on a summer night.

Sakura let her lean on him, feeling the girl's trembling body. As the night deepened, the gentle orange light of the shrine illuminated Nina's slightly disheveled figure.

"We've been preparing for so long. Momoka and I stayed up all night writing songs, and Hongxia also took leave for rehearsals. I really don't want to give up..." Ninai sobbed, her voice filled with grievance and unwillingness: "We could have won..."

Ying gently stroked her messy hair: "I know everyone is working hard. But sometimes, the development of things is not something we can completely control-"

Having said that, she didn't say anything more, but just quietly hugged Renai, letting her vent all the pent-up emotions. The night breeze blew gently through the treetops of the shrine, bringing bursts of coolness. The cicadas chirped in the darkness, as if they also felt sorry for the fate of the thornless ones.

After a long time, Renai's emotions gradually calmed down. Ying gently wiped the tears from her face and glanced at the people around her: "Don't stand at the door, everyone needs to relax. Come in and sit down. I'll make you some tea."

Rupa took the initiative to help Ying pick up the ladder: "Now we are planning to continue performing at LiveHouse to accumulate some popularity, but now our ranking in the BangDream competition is not good, so we have to postpone the album release——"

Sakura dusted off the hem of her shrine maiden's uniform. "It's the Harvest Festival performance. This year's venue will be much larger than last year, and we expect over five thousand people to attend. You guys get ready, and I'll give you plenty of time."

Renai froze for a moment, causing Zhi to almost bump into her.

Ying continued, "I always believed that Thornless and Thorny was an excellent band. They just lacked a little luck."

Chapter 194 Harvest, Band and BangDream:42, Exclusive Live Broadcast

Ying left a few people, both thornless and with thorns, to rest at the shrine. Liu Liner$sibaba, but she did not forget the agreement with Miyazono Kaoru.

It just so happened that Lenai was not at home today. She fell asleep and lay down on the bed, immediately becoming like a doll - her consciousness had returned to the cherry tree.

Miyazono Kaoru was playing the violin, and there was a hint of resentment in the sound.

Maybe ordinary people can't hear it, but as a musician, Sakura will definitely not get the emotional tone of the song wrong.

In the cherry blossom tree's consciousness, Sakura could see the night dew condensing into icy notes, sliding down. The music sheet beside Kaoru Miyazono was bathed in moonlight, becoming translucent, and the bow resting on the strings resembled a silver cross.

"Ying, you're here." Xun put down his bow when he noticed Sakura's appearance. Although his tone was suppressed, one could sense the expectation and satisfaction beneath the repressed tone.

"Well, I'm here." Sakura waved and greeted Miyazono Kaoru: "Kaoru, this isn't the song you mentioned before, right?"

Miyazono Kaoru shook her head a little embarrassedly: "No, this is just an improvisation. The piece that Kousei and I created imitates the style of classical music, and the theme is a praise of life."

"This topic is quite broad. Many famous musicians have already interpreted it. Of course, I'm not saying it's not possible, but... if you want to stand out... it might be a little difficult."

Sakura suddenly realized that she was looking at Kaoru's work from a commercial perspective when she said this. But before she could explain, Kaoru said, "Sakura, I didn't think about how popular this song would be. I just wanted it to tell everyone the story of Kousei and me."

Sakura nodded, deciding to play the role of a listener.

Miyazono Kaoru nodded gently, her eyes narrowed slightly, as if lost in a memory. The moonlight sprinkled on her slender fingers and danced between the violin strings, adding a touch of agility to her performance.

But in this agility, there is a hint of sadness.

This melancholy wasn't grand, nor was it delicate; it felt more like a lingering regret within the melody. Ying listened patiently to the entire piece, breaking the silence with applause.

"All the songs are filled with the creators' understanding and expectations. What kind of mood was Xun in when he wrote such a song?" Sakura said.

Sakura noticed that Kaoru's fingers unconsciously rested on the strings and she sighed softly.

"This song was written by Kousei and I," she continued. "I wanted to incorporate our story into it, but... I didn't know how to express that feeling."

"I can hear it," Ying whispered. "This song carries an unspeakable regret. If it were someone else's song, I would think it was about loss and reunion, but you said this song is about life... It's a bit heavy."

Miyazono Kaoru raised her head, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes: "Sakura, you..."

She suddenly didn't know what to say. She lowered her head slightly, her fingers gently stroking the body of the zither, as if thinking about Ying's words. The moonlight shone through the gaps in the leaves onto her face, casting mottled shadows on her slightly pale skin.

"Maybe..." she finally said, "Kousei and I should make the music more cheerful?"

Sakura gave an encouraging smile. "That's good. This is your genuine expression. Authentic negative emotions are often more moving than false praises—and I don't think this piece is entirely negative. On the day of the Harvest Festival, do you want to perform a duet with Kousei-kun?"

Xun's breathing suddenly quickened. She turned her head to look at the moonlight leaking through the shadows of the trees. Her eyelashes cast a fence-like shadow on her cheek. "If I were to perform this piece in front of an audience..."

"From your piano music, I hear the wrinkles of time. Those irregular fluctuations are the true rhythm of life. The Harvest Festival is a celebration of the harvest. After the harvest, it is a perfect time to provoke the audience to think, so... this piece of music is perfect for the finale."

Kaoru's pupils dilated slightly - there was no doubt that Sakura understood herself just as well as Kousei did.

It's really... too difficult to deceive these two people.

"Sakura, I'll come with Kousei during the Harvest Festival."

Hearing this, Sakura finally found the opportunity to ask, "Is everything going on between you and Kousei now?"

"...Well, he's a very good person." Xun blushed slightly. "I was a little bit mean to him because I woke up too short, but he still tolerated me. Now that I think about it, the lies I spun...actually had a lot of holes. It was only because of his slowness and gentleness that they didn't become a dark history."

Sakura nodded. "I will pray to the gods for your health. When you get better, please come to the shrine to perform often. I will arrange a celebratory performance for the shrine's Live House before the Harvest Festival."

"Really? Will there be a live broadcast on the Internet? If there is a live broadcast, I will definitely listen to it—"

"No, because it's an offline event, we haven't considered live streaming." Ying winked at Xun: "But I can use online video to hold a live broadcast just for you."

Chapter 195 Harvest, Band and BangDream:43, Under the Cherry Blossom Tree

Sakura Shrine, basement LiveHouse Hall.

This hall, which was dug out from tree roots, has been exquisitely renovated into a livehouse that can accommodate two to three hundred people.

The reason why it is not an accurate number is that Sakura deliberately left a wide passage between the seats. In special circumstances, some folding stools can be brought in to temporarily increase the number of seats.

The fresh air system in the basement emits a slight buzzing sound, mixed with the faint resin smell emitted by the pine stage, giving the place a unique feeling of a new building.

Sayu stood beside the mixing console, her fingertips running across the complex equipment panel: "If the people in the equipment store hadn't taught me, I definitely wouldn't be able to use such complicated equipment--" She suddenly stopped talking and turned her eyes to Lena who was poking the newly laid sound-absorbing cotton with a pick.

Ying bent down to pick up the untidy power cord and touched Le Nai with the other end of the cord: "Stop scratching. Do you still want to scratch out a lottery ticket?"

Lenai grabbed the power cord, his nails unconsciously scratching the outer covering of the wire, leaving a shallow crescent-shaped white mark on the black rubber surface.

This behavior is really like a cat.

As the three of them walked through the wide aisle between the stage and the seats, the soles of Sakura's shoes became stained with wet gold dust. The stage spotlights suddenly lit up, casting several spots of light on the stage.

Sakura turned around and saw that Sayu had accidentally stepped on the lighting controller under the stage. This system can be controlled from both backstage and front stage, adapting to various performance occasions.

Lenai suddenly jumped onto the stage, stood under the spotlight, and pretended to play the guitar: "It must be fun to play the guitar here!"

"You can play as much as you want during the premiere." Sakura gestured for Lena to come down from the stage.

"I need Sakura to hold me in your arms before I can come down!" Lenai stood at the edge of the stage, bent down and stretched out his hands to Sakura.

Do you want to see what you are talking about?

How did you get on the sanMlingsi wine flag III network?

Sakura held out her hands perfunctorily, and Lenai immediately jumped towards her.

The soft cat "hit" her. If she was an ordinary girl, she would probably feel a little uncomfortable, but as a tree demon, being hit was not a big problem.

"Oh." Lenai deliberately hugged Ying for a moment before letting her go: "Yesterday Ying said she wanted to think of a name for the band. I thought of a good one, but after hugging Ying, I forgot it!"

Ying rolled her eyes at her and said, "If it's a weird name like the ones mentioned in the group, like Quantum Rose or PCB Fantasy, then there's no need to ask."

Lenai took a step back, leaned against the stage and hummed a short impromptu melody, the rhythm produced by his fingertips on the box just synchronized with the melody.

"Stop." Sakura looked at Lenai speechlessly, who was too excited today. She reached out and touched her head, then took out a matcha candy and stuffed it into her mouth.

Le Nai was smiling all the time and didn't take the matter to heart at all. Deng had no objection to the band name, but the band names proposed by Li Xi and Hai Ling were not even suitable for them.

Ying was seriously thinking of a band name - as a band, they really needed a band name that fits the band's image and musical style, and can also be memorable.

She didn't want to be like Momoka, who used a tentative name for a long time and even confused fans to the point that they didn't know which was the band's real name, "FogBand" or "Without Thorns".

"Okay, stop messing around." Sakura grabbed Lena's wrist, turned her head and said to Sayu, "Please help me check these devices one last time to see if there are any problems.

Saya nodded, carefully examining the buttons and knobs on the mixing console. Her slender fingers glided gently across the panel, as if examining a delicate work of art. She was willing to devote her all to any work at the shrine—Sakura had given her a second chance at life, and she sincerely wanted to remain at the shrine, serving as a miko.

Her feelings towards Sakura are very complicated - Sakura is her friend, mentor, benefactor... and there is something hidden in her heart that cannot be said. Sakura fills the role of "mother".

Sakura and Lenai discussed the band name for a while, still unable to reach a consensus. Sayu, who had already finished checking the equipment, turned and looked at Sakura. "By the way, about the band name... didn't you say we wanted a name that fits the band's style? I think that's really important. After all, the name makes a great first impression..."

"Sayu, stop talking in circles. If you have a good band name, just say it. It's at least better than the ones Riki and the others posted in the group."

"I just thought of one! How about calling it Under the Sakura Tree? It fits the nature of you all rehearsing in a shrine, and it also sounds literary... If you don't want to use Japanese, you can also call it Under The Cerasus..." Sayu put forward her idea.

Sakura scratched her head and couldn't help but complain, "This name... sounds a bit ordinary, like the cherry blossom postcards hanging in front of convenience stores. And when you mention UTC, everyone thinks of Coordinated Universal Time."

"Then..." Sayu scratched her head awkwardly, "How about calling me Shrine Girl?"

Lenai crossed her arms in protest: "This name is a bit too boring!

Sayu bit her lip and thought seriously for a moment. "I think... it's a bit difficult. How about we look it up online? See if there are any suitable band names we can refer to?"

"No need to check." Ying suddenly interrupted Lena and turned her gaze to the sound-absorbing wall on the side. Her eyes lit up slightly, "I have an idea.

Lenai and Sayu were stunned: "What inspiration?

She was not looking at the sound-absorbing wall, but her soul sensed the roots of her own body behind the wall.

About ten seconds later, Ying turned around with a mysterious smile on her face: "Under the Sakura tree."

"Ah? Isn't this the name Sayu just mentioned?" Lenai said a little disappointedly.

Ying suddenly looked up at the lightly decorated ceiling. "Our LiveHouse is under the cherry tree. The roots of the tree cover this underground building, perhaps forming a kind of enclosure. If we use this as inspiration, and refer to the name under the cherry tree..."

Lenai and Sayu looked at each other and seemed to have caught on to Sakura's train of thought, but they still hadn't come up with any band name that Sakura had thought of.

Ying picked up the half-broken chalk left over from the renovation and wrote two English words: [CherryPulse]

"The word 'Pulse' is a pun, meaning both pulse and rhythm, making it a perfect name for the band. It can also act like tree roots, supporting the word 'Cherry'. For the logo, we can use these two words to form a cherry blossom tree, with 'Cherry' as the crown and 'Pulse' as the roots. It also has a more aesthetically pleasing shape," Sakura explained.

Sayu immediately started clapping, but Lenai frowned slightly. "If Deng and the others have no objection, I'm fine with it."

Chapter 196 Harvest, Band and BangDream: 44, Two Tickets

There are only 240 seats in the underground studio of Sakura Shrine. Even if more seats are added, the number can only be increased to about 320 while ensuring filming positions. With Sakura's current appeal, all the tickets can be sold out by just sending a message.

But she doesn't plan to sell tickets this way - for this LiveHouse debut, she plans to find some more special audiences to fill the auditorium.

Ying distributed 200 tickets to dozens of band members she knew, asking them to invite their bandmates to attend the live concert. She reserved the remaining dozens of seats for acquaintances in the music media and long-form companies.

In this way, the reputation of LiveHouse can be quickly spread. As long as there are people who want to perform here, the future operation will be able to develop in a benign direction.

Hanezawa Cafe.

As the evening sun streamed in through the café's floor-to-ceiling windows, Su Shi paused stirring her coffee. She stared at the still-melting milk foam at the rim of the cup, as if she could glimpse Crychic's reflection in the fine bubbles. Two pale cherry-colored tickets were pushed across the table, glistening in the warm yellow chandelier.

Mu, who was sitting opposite her, looked at the juice in front of her with an expressionless face - her family was very strict with her and had repeatedly told her not to drink coffee-based beverages, so even in a coffee shop, she mostly ordered juice.

The metal spoon in Su Shi's hand hit the wall of the cup, making a crisp sound. Mu's eyelashes trembled twice, and ripples appeared in his emerald pupils.

"These two tickets were given to me by Sakura. A new LiveHouse has been built in the basement of Sakura Shrine, and this is the first performance of the LiveHouse." Su Shi told the truth, but concealed some things - she was afraid that if she didn't hide it, Mu would not give the tickets to Xiangzi.

She has indeed put Crychic aside and is preparing to start another career as a bassist in a new band.

But she still wanted to ask Xiangzi in person what exactly happened to him. If she could talk it out, her thoughts would probably become clearer.

Mu put a hand on the ticket, "Did Ying invite them, or was it you?"

The sound of the modified motorcycle engine outside the door penetrated the background music of the cafe. Su Shi glanced at the ticket held by Mu and did not immediately answer Mu's question.

“…I see. I understand.”

Mu did not ask why the pair of tickets were passed on through her hands, because it would be meaningless.

Ying doesn't deliberately hide her activities, so Mu can tell what Ying is up to by just paying a little attention online. In successful bands like PasPale, Popipa, and SICKHACK, Ying can often be found in the photos and updates posted by the members on social media platforms.

If you pay attention to the new songs of major record companies, you will also know that Ying wrote five songs for well-known singers after leaving Crychic.

Ying's own account also posted the news of forming a new band on the online platform.

Mu wouldn't pay close attention to his former teammates' accounts, but when browsing information related to girl bands, according to the website's intelligent algorithm, it would be difficult not to see Sakura at all.

Mu walked out of the coffee shop, the setting sun stretching her shadow across the convenience store window. In the three seconds she hesitated, her fingertips hovering over Xiangzi's number, the cool sound of the air conditioner drowning out the sigh she was holding back.

She still didn't send the message immediately, but chose to look up information about the Yingxin band.

Sakura hadn't given a full introduction to the band, and Mu was only aware that Deng and Li Xi were in it. She even checked the shrine's official website, only to find that the only band under it was Musashi Yousashi, with a photo of Momoka and Nina on the homepage.