Will the plagiarism girl be a substitute for the preference for women?

“Please…” she said, surprisingly with a hint of pleading.

Chapter 145 Getting Used to It

We'll find out someday.

Sooner or later, once the band starts their activities, news of them will reach the lights.

The masked decoration is meant to add a touch of mystery to the stage performance, rather than to actually hide one's identity.

But Xiangzi still made the same request: that Qianna not tell Deng about forming a band.

"This should be considered... a trade secret, right? I won't tell you," China deliberately avoided getting to the point.

This time, the younger sister was more sensible and didn't use the topic to try and reconcile Xiangzi and Deng, which instead left Xiangzi feeling a bit empty.

Why do I have this feeling?

"Okay, sis~"

China shook Shoko's hand, pulling her back from her daze.

She wore a calm, natural smile, as if she considered Xiangzi's request a trivial matter, without showing much emotion on her face.

"Do you want to continue watching the live performance, or go backstage to see Hailing again?"

"I……"

Xiangzi was about to make a decision, but first he considered Qiannai's thoughts.

Are you planning to stay and watch a few more shows?

"I think……"

Chika glanced around cautiously, then whispered something in Shoko's ear.

"I want to see Hailing's abs."

Xiangzi tilted his head back, his mouth tightly shut, and then he complained helplessly:

"You're getting more and more direct with your words."

China blushed and gave a silly, chuckle.

Lately, I've really been neglecting my image, even though my image has been pretty much ruined by the illness.

But only by appreciating the carefully sculpted physique can we truly respect the results of someone's training.

After mentally exonerating herself, China quickly and subconsciously retorted, "I just admire the beauty of a well-trained body."

She felt her tongue was sticky as she spoke those words, which were meant to conceal something, as if she were chewing on a piece of butter.

"No, it's better not to say anything..." China couldn't help but cover her face and hopped a couple of times on tiptoe.

…………

Backstage.

Ah~

After drinking the most water among the members, the lead singer let out a satisfied sigh.

"Thanks to Hailing, I had the opportunity to sing my friend's favorite song on stage," she said with a sense of good fortune.

"You only praise Hailing, but not me?" the rhythm guitarist said, arms crossed and pouting.

The drummer silently walked past the rhythm guitarist from behind, then made an X over her head with his drumstick.

The rhythm guitarist quickly noticed something was wrong and turned around, saying, "Hey, what were you doing just now!"

"It's nothing," the drummer said, whistling as he twirled his drumsticks and walked away.

The lead singer glanced at the members with a slightly embarrassed look. She wanted to say that the bass solo part of the song was very important and that Hai Ling needed to take on the heavy responsibility, but it seemed that she had made too absolute a statement.

"Well, everyone did a great job today. When it comes to performing on stage, everyone is indispensable."

To prevent the argument from escalating further, the lead singer quickly added a sentence to ease the tension.

"I'm sorry..." she said apologetically, moving closer to the rhythm guitarist and placing her hands on her shoulders.

The rhythm guitarist, however, wasn't too impressed and just sobbed with his head down.

"You only see this as an opportunity if the version of this song includes a bass solo; you won't play other versions, right?"

“No…” the lead singer said softly.

Seeing the lead singer's less-than-firm and decisive answer, the rhythm guitarist's attitude became even more intense.

"You'd love to book Shanghai Ling for every performance! And I'm just there to make up the numbers, right?"

She cried out in tears, her mind filled with memories of how the lead singer would cheerfully talk about how excellent and unique a certain instrumentalist was, while always ignoring her.

"All I have to do is keep strumming the strings, right?"

“I really didn’t mean that.” This time the lead singer raised her voice a little louder, but to the rhythm guitarist, her tone sounded almost monotonous.

"If only you were as annoying as her, I could just argue with her without hesitation."

The rhythm guitarist pointed at the drummer, who was still spinning his drumsticks and let out a sharp hum.

She continued speaking amidst her outburst of emotions.

"But you wear this kind but hypocritical face to hide your indifference, leaving me confused and at a loss every time I want to say something to you."

You call me hypocritical?

At this point, the lead singer's expression became clear.

Her eyes were wide open in anger, and the corners of her mouth were downturned, but no overly emotional words came out of her mouth.

"Yes, you are a hypocrite!"

Even after being reprimanded like this, the home team maintained their "calm anger" and confronted the rhythm guitarist.

"I'm just not very good at observing other people's expressions and words, and I'm not very good at speaking, but you said..."

"You're not ignorant, you're just pretending to be stupid!" the rhythm guitarist interrupted abruptly.

Snap??

Suddenly, the lead singer slapped the rhythm guitarist across the face.

The drummer, who often teased the rhythm guitarist, was so startled by this sudden turn of events that his drumsticks slipped from his hand.

"Your assumptions about me are too subjective and malicious."

The lead singer said coldly.

The rhythm guitarist paused for a few seconds, until a tear slid down her cheek, before continuing to sob without saying a word.

The lead singer strode towards the backstage entrance, glancing at Hailing with a hint of regret along the way.

It seems that the fact that this long-simmering conflict has finally erupted is enough to make this "mercenary" decide against being hired again after witnessing it.

After all, a stable, non-dissolving employer is what mercenaries are willing to cooperate with long-term.

Another band is about to go inactive.

Looking at this familiar scene, Hai Ling guessed to herself that she was used to this outcome.

"that……"

When the drummer went up to hand tissues to the rhythm guitarist, he beckoned to Hailing, hoping that Hailing could handle some tasks outside the scope of the performance.

"leave me alone!"

But as soon as Hailing stood up, the guitarist was unwilling to let the person the lead singer had been longing for get close.

"Please take good care of her," Hailing said to the drummer.

"Me?" The drummer frowned, his gaze shifting between the sea bell and the guitarist.

"Ah."

"So, for the next performance, do I need to book you a week in advance?"

“Yes,” Hailing nodded again, “and a bottle of chocolate milk.”

…………

They're all kind-hearted despite their sharp tongues, but none of them are as serious and straightforward as her.

Hailing thought to herself as she walked down the corridor to the lobby.

At the exit, she saw the two of them.

Chika was making hollow fists with both hands, mimicking a telescope over her eyes, carefully observing her arrival.

Before Hailing could come into public view, Qianna quickly stepped forward to block her way.

"Sis...you're really working on your back! I can..."

She raised an index finger, hesitated for a moment, and then shyly revealed her intention.

"Want me to poke your abs...?"

"No problem, but I am a little ticklish."

As Hailing answered, she glanced at Xiangzi's sharp expression, as if she was wary of something going too far.

It was during this moment of distraction that Hailing's abs were poked.

She couldn't help but chuckle, contracting her waist and abdomen, and taking a step back with her hands half-raised.

"I'm sorry!" China quickly apologized, but she couldn't hide her excitement on her face.

Wow, I'm actually ticklish!

And who would have thought that such a handsome bassist could have such an adorable side...

If I keep poking her waist like this, will I be able to force her against the wall?

The more I think about it, the more alarming it becomes.

China became more and more excited as she thought about it, but she realized that these thoughts had not yet turned into an uncontrollable urge, and mania might not have arrived yet.

Is it that mania just doesn't come when it should...?

Ah, no... my recent thoughts have been too strange.

China thought she should get back to the main topic, but her mind was already scattered and she couldn't make sense of what to say.

Finally, Xiangzi stepped forward, gave a detailed analysis and praised Hailing's skill and stage presence, then introduced her to the band's worldview and invited her to join the band.

"Can I choose the style of the eye mask myself?" Hailing asked, looking at the sketch on Xiangzi's tablet.

"Yes."

After imagining what it would look like to wear it, Hailing asked, "Then, can it be a face mask instead of an eye mask?"

“I will take your wishes into account and then consult with the stage costume designer.”

As he spoke, Xiangzi wrote down Hailing's thoughts on the tablet.

"Alright, we'll leave the rest for later when I've finalized the world-building. I'm going to take care of other things now."

After saying goodbye to Xiangzi, Qianna saw that Hailing was still standing beside her, looking at a shop on the second floor.

"Does Hailing have any performances this afternoon?" This seems to be the first time she has addressed Hailing by her name.

"No."

"Then, let's go get a drink first," China said, pointing in the direction Hailing was looking.

They went up to the second floor.

Four people were gathered around a white-haired girl with heterochromatic eyes, waiting for her to finish her parfait.

Chapter 146 Why...are they together?

????

According to what Aine said on LINE, they should be in the practice room at this time in the afternoon.

However, it's not a big deal to go out for a bite to eat halfway through practice.

However, it was quite a strange scene that only one person in the band was enjoying the snacks while the others sat beside her waiting for her to finish.

Is she the child Aine was talking about, the one with cat-like habits?