Mygo, you guys seem to be getting a bit heavy-hearted.

"Thump...snap!"

The scene fell silent.

The strings, which hadn't been replaced for a year, were already extremely fragile. They snapped on the spot when pressure was applied, but fortunately, the magical artifact protected its owner, and the broken strings didn't hit Yanming.

"..."

Yanming slowly lowered his head, silently gazing at his old companion in his hand, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes.

“…Yanming?” Xiangzi walked out from behind the sofa and slowly approached Yanming, who was silent.

"Ah... In the end, Zhong Ziqi died, and Boya broke his string... Nothing can be forced." Yanming's expression was dejected, and endless sorrow welled up in his heart.

The once world-renowned ultimate weapon, the Magic King Pro, has fallen to such a state that it can no longer even perform a strumming motion.

It's pitiful and lamentable.

Xiangzi exclaimed in disbelief, "Why did this happen...?"

Just as Xiangzi was lamenting the fickleness of fate, Yanming had already put the Magic King Pro back into his guitar bag, zipped it up, shrugged, and said casually:

"Because I don't have any spare strings at home, and I'm too lazy to go out and buy some, I'll wait until tomorrow."

"What a pity about the stockings—"

【…】

Crazy old man and woman!

You guys can just stay in a band for the rest of your lives!

Hopeless!

……

The two sat back down on the sofa, as if nothing had happened.

Even the system couldn't help but feel a bit dazed, wondering if it had been trapped in the Mangekyou Sharingan's genjutsu... No way!

[Hee... hee hee hee—hee hee hee ha ha ha ha...]

I'm running away from home! (?д?;)

Without his guitar in his hand, Yanming reverted to his usual nonchalant demeanor, his eyes shifting from sharp and assertive to lazy and casual.

...Could it be that the host really has a second personality?

No, no, that's just nonsense. Only someone with severe chuunibyou like Miss Xiangzi would believe that.

I'm so tired...

At this moment, Xiangzi was still pondering how to bring Yanming into his new band, and what would happen after he joined...

"Yanming's codename... I feel like 'Mortis' would fit perfectly. Fearless of death, so cool!" Xiangzi muttered to himself, sounding like some nonsensical riddles.

"Tap." A hand patted her shoulder.

Teacher Da Xiang was startled: "Eh?! I was listening to you talking about your stockings!"

“But I haven’t said anything yet… Never mind, let’s both be normal.” Yanming rubbed his temples and then revealed the plan he had come up with. “Following the same line of thought, that child is autistic and timid. If you ask her to communicate with others in everyday situations, I’m afraid she’ll be led by the nose after just a few words.”

"Hmm." Xiangzi looked thoughtful.

If we substitute a small lamp...

"The situation you described, Yanming, can indeed happen. Is there any good solution?"

“Yes.” Yanming nodded. Although he wasn’t sure yet, it was at least a completely new idea. As for the situation with Deng, he could wait until the weekend to confirm it. “I plan to find some time to hold a live show with her and invite her teammates to watch.”

"?!"

This was an idea that even Xiangzi found unbelievable, but after thinking about it a little, he found that it was indeed feasible.

If it's the song of the lamp...

"Compared to monotonous language, singing is a more powerful form of expression... Yanming, do you think so?"

Yanming snapped his fingers and said, "Sodayo, ordinary listeners may only have a vague understanding of this, but what if their souls, while being listeners, had also played along with that child's?"

Xiangzi quickly followed Yanming's train of thought, stroking his chin and saying, "They will project themselves into the role, unconsciously imagining the scene of standing on the stage with that child and performing. If the lyrics are well written, some might even exclaim, 'This is exactly how I sing!'"

"Yanming, you're truly a genius to come up with such a method." Even someone as intelligent as Miss OB had to admire the boundless imagination of Yanming's idea.

But more important than the idea itself is that Yanming's guitar skills are more than enough to make it a reality. Although Xiangzi has never actually heard Yanming play live, she simply believes that.

Because the two of them share a common destiny.

Just to be on the safe side, Xiangzi still asked, "Is it possible to do a live performance with only the lead singer and guitar?"

“I think I can do it, but… I can make up for the lack of sound quality with my technique and the child’s emotional outburst, but the timbre is still too monotonous. It would be great if there was a keyboard or drum accompaniment.” Thinking of this, Yanming sighed.

Even the best martial arts skills can't be used in a one-on-one fight.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: It turns out to be Miss OB (a string of letters)

"By the way, Xiao Xiang, there must be a lot of people in bands at your school, right? Do you know any really good keyboardists or drummers?"

Upon hearing Yanming's words, Xiangzi's eyes immediately became somewhat evasive.

"Uh...this..."

What should I do? Yanming doesn't seem to know that I'm also in a band, and that I'm the keyboardist... But if I tell him now, will he be dragged into helping me...?

Yanming has helped me so much, there's no way I could refuse him, especially if the other person really is Xiaodeng...

Thinking of this, Xiangzi shivered dramatically.

"I...I can't find a suitable keyboardist to play with stockings either..."

"Oh, that's a pity." Fortunately, Yanming wouldn't doubt that Xiangzi was lying in this kind of place. After all, from his perspective, Xiangzi had never revealed that he had played in a band, and that he happened to be the keyboardist for Crychic.

"Sigh...then we can only think of a more reliable idea. Although I think that since it's a band problem, we should solve it with music and live performances, which would be more rock and roll."

"...But I'm still more worried about that child. I'm afraid that if our performance fails to move her band members, she might not be able to handle the blow and end up standing on the bridge again..."

"A live stage with only guitar and lead singer is too thin and cannot move or resonate with people, which is unavoidable."

Yanming analyzed the situation helplessly and finally decided to abandon this potentially flawed idea.

He couldn't gamble with Deng's life.

If only I had a keyboard.

"That, that one! Yanming!"

"What's wrong, Xiao Xiang?"

Xiangzi twirled his braid with his fingers and said nervously, "I suddenly remembered that I do know a keyboardist who is quite skilled, but I don't know if she meets your requirements."

"Really?" Yanming was overjoyed. "I don't have high requirements. As long as I can keep up with the rhythm, that's fine. The main focus is on the emotional flow. It doesn't matter if my technique is a little bad."

"..."

"Is that person your classmate? Are you close to Xiao Xiang? Is there any way you can arrange to meet up this weekend?" Three barrage of questions nearly left Xiangzi dizzy.

Then, after careful consideration, Xiangzi replied one by one: "He is a student at Tsukinomori School, and we are very close. He has plenty of time on weekends... It's just that he has a little quirk."

"Quirk?"

Xiangzi nodded: "Yes, that keyboardist doesn't want his identity to be recognized, so he usually covers his face with a mask when he plays."

Upon hearing her say that, Yanming immediately conjured up one tragic and bizarre story after another in his mind.

Could it be that after leaving the group, her former teammates came to her door and disfigured her with fire, which is why she doesn't want others to see her face?

Or perhaps her true identity is that of the youngest daughter of a mafia boss, and if she appears in public and is recognized, she might be assassinated by her enemies.

Or is it some kind of mechanical doll disguised as a human, whose face needs to be covered because it cannot make expressions?

...Hmm, both possibilities are very high. I don't know which one it is exactly. It's really hard to guess.

"What should I call you?"

“［oblivionis］。

"...?" Yanming typed out a question mark.

Boku's Latin is not something you should be able to master.

Can't you speak Japanese properly?

"OB...what, what does this mean, Xiao Xiang?" Yanming was sweating profusely.

He started working in society before finishing his studies, and he really doesn't understand the ways of young people.

Xiangzi began to explain in a serious tone: "It is oblivionis, which means 'forget' in Latin."

"This, this is it..."

Should I tell Xiaoxiang? He thinks it sounds a bit melodramatic.

Is it really okay for a keyboard warrior to act like this?

Xiangzi probably noticed that Yanming's expression was off, and said anxiously, "I can guarantee that there will be absolutely no problem with her technique!"

"Hmm... I understand, but let's arrange for everyone to meet up first." Yanming still felt that Xiangzi had probably been deceived by someone, so he decided to test the waters first.

"Phew—" The ob who almost gave himself away... Toyokawa Shoko breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "I will pass on the message, but there is a high probability that the other party will agree."

"I hope so. That's all for today." Yanming felt that there would be no further progress if they continued talking, so he decided to wash up and go to bed.

"Goodnight, I'll head back now..."

“Wait a minute,” Yanming called out to her, pointing to the door. “I accidentally bought too many of those two boxes of milk. Xiaoxiang, take one box back and drink it. Also, take that bag of daily necessities over there. I bought it because it was on sale, but I don’t need it. You can take it with you.”

Just as Xiangzi was about to say something, Yanming raised his hand to interrupt him again, "Don't rush to refuse. I won't let you take it for free. Come to my place a little earlier tomorrow. I have something else I need to ask Xiao Xiang."

A smooth little combo completely shut down polite formalities.

It can only be said that in the adult world, Teacher Da Xiang is still too inexperienced.

"……it is good."

As for the matter Yanming mentioned that he needed to consult Xiangzi...

"Damn system, check if Xiao Xiang has left yet?" Yan Ming sneakily prepared to open the cabinet.

[They did leave, but host, there's no need to do something so sneaky, is there?]

Even if Miss Xiangzi finds out...

"What do you know?"

Upon hearing this, Yanming pulled out a hidden cabinet under the table, took out two newly bought lunch boxes, and stubbornly said:

"I do what I want! It's none of your business!"

【…】

Damn, what a stubborn mouth.

……

the next morning

Xiangzi used the spare key that Yanming had given him to open the door to his house.

She arrived so early today; perhaps even Yanming is still asleep.

"Om - hum -"

However, the truth is that she was overthinking it.

An hour before she arrived, Yanming had already gotten up, brushed his teeth, and washed his face.

Then, he and the system, a total of two intelligent life forms, spent nearly an hour tinkering with a "bento making tutorial" online.

As a result, after so long, neither of them learned a single thing.

"I told you long ago that this blogger named Miaomeng is unreliable, but you still insisted on choosing her! She's a beauty blogger who's trying to teach people how to make bento boxes, can she even teach them? She can't possibly teach them anything!"

[*Sobbing* I didn't know! Why are you yelling at her? *Sobbing* It's not my fault... I only liked her because she's pretty, but who knew she was just a pretty face trying to gain attention... (T ^ T)]

"Xiao Xiang is here? Come and help me out. This kind of bento box... I can't figure it out at all just by watching the tutorial videos online. I suspect that these tutorials are hiding something. What they make is completely different from what I make."