People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

Several unread messages on LINE were sent by Chihaya Aine.

Ishikawa Mayu was used to this. He didn't even need to open it to know that the girl must have come across some interesting short video or funny picture online and shared it with him.

He wasn't in a hurry to reply, and Chihaya Aine had long since figured out his habits, knowing that he often had his own things to do at night, but in the end, she could always get his reply.

I'm still a little bothered by Su Shi's unusual reaction.

He turned over and stared at the blurry spots of light on the ceiling.

Takamatsu Akari's near-PTSD-like aversion to forming a band; Shiina Tatsuki's outburst of anger when he heard "inviting Akari to form a band".

Not only does Su Shi know both of them, but she also revealed that she used to be in a band...

A subtle guess flashed through his mind.

He sat up abruptly, exited the LINE interface, and typed in the search bar.

"Spring Shadow"

The search results popped up quickly, with the top result being a video link from about a year ago.

It's a song performed live by a band called Crychic...

"This should be it," Ishikawa Mayu thought to herself as she clicked on the video link.

The video begins to move, and the sound effects from the scene are mixed with the noise of the audience.

Soon, the intro to the music began to flow from the speakers.

As the song began, the emotions it contained were rich, but it seemed somewhat too immature.

However, for them who were only in their final year of junior high school at the time, it was not bad.

Ishikawa Mayu was listening, but when the camera panned across the stage and illuminated the young performers—

His expression suddenly turned strange.

Aside from the expected lead vocalist Takamatsu Akari, bassist Nagasaki Motoyo, and taiko drummer Shiina Tatsuki.

Why is there a blue-haired female factory worker there acting as a keyboardist? And she seems to be quite skilled at it.

"This little place, so full of hardship, is actually teeming with hidden talents..."

Ishikawa Mayu scratched his head in confusion. How did so many people suddenly appear around him, and how did they get involved with that long-disbanded band?

After hesitating for a moment, Ishikawa Mayu exited the search interface and, as if possessed, opened LINE.

In the chat list, a familiar profile picture lies quietly at the bottom.

He hasn't contacted that person since he moved.

The screen light reflected in his eyes, and his fingertip hovered above the profile picture for several seconds, but he ultimately didn't click on it.

He simply sighed softly and returned to the search box.

This time, he typed a few letters:

Crychic.

Soon, the results became clear.

In addition to the related videos, you can also see their band's SNS accounts.

After clicking on it, only a pitifully small number of posts appeared.

The first few posts were filled with youthful enthusiasm. Group photos of the five of them, their daily life in the practice room, their excitement when invited to perform live... every post was brimming with youth.

However, after that live performance, everything seemed to take a sharp turn for the worse.

The mood of the updates became increasingly depressed, and soon, members left one after another.

In the end, all that remained of the account owner's lonely message was:

"I'm all alone now."

There have been no further updates since then.

Ishikawa Mayu frowned, recalling a year ago, before he moved.

On a rainy night, Xiangzi, who had always been very strong, ran home crying without even taking an umbrella.

Looking at it now, the timing seems to match up perfectly?

So it was because Xiangzi's band disbanded...

He sighed, rubbed his temples; the amount of information was overwhelming, and he needed time to process it.

However, at least one conclusion is clear.

He exited the browser and opened the chat box that was always bustling with activity.

Are you asleep?

Messages are replied to almost instantly.

Not yet~ (￣▽￣)~* I haven't received any news from you yet!

Chihaya Aine's unique lively spirit seemed to waft through the screen, slightly dispelling the gloom in Ishikawa Mayu's heart.

I just found out something about Su Shi and Deng.

【What is it? What is it? Tell me quickly! (☆▽☆)】

[Didn't Deng seem to be avoiding the topic of the band before? Actually, her former bandmates were Li hope and Su Shi.]

After the message was sent, there was a pause on the other end for a few seconds.

Is this for real?!

But then, the next message popped up with a tone of sudden realization.

Ah! I remember now! No wonder!

[I think I did see the names "Su Shi" and "Li Xi" in Xiao Deng's notebook filled with song lyrics before! I was wondering who they were, but now I know!]

Now it was Ishikawa Mayu's turn to be stunned.

Is that true?

【Of course! Didn't we watch it together when we were in the Astronomy Club? You forgot? (→_→)】

Ishikawa Mayu held her phone, speechless for a moment.

After she mentioned it, my vague memories gradually became clearer... it seemed that there really was such a thing.

But when Chihaya Aine leaned in to look at the notebook together, she was so close that her hair almost brushed against his cheek, which made him restless and unable to concentrate on the contents of the notebook. As a result, he didn't even notice those key names.

Could it be... you weren't even looking at the notebook at the time? (!?!)

Chihaya Aine's message arrived immediately, accompanied by a mischievous, squinting emoji.

Could it be... that I was thinking about something else at the time? Like—

Ishikawa Mayu felt a burning sensation in her ears and immediately typed to interrupt her train of thought.

Stop talking nonsense. You just didn't see it clearly.

Oh—I didn't see it clearly—(￢?￢)

She clearly didn't believe it, but stopped pressing the issue and instead sent a smug hamster emoji, as if to say, "I've got you caught."

Ishikawa Mayu was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, but she could only forcefully steer the conversation back to the main topic.

In short, I feel there's something odd about Su Shi's quick agreement to join the band; you'd better keep an eye on things.

On the other side of the screen, Chihaya Aine was thrilled that the band finally had a third member, her mind filled with the joy of making another amazing friend.

Upon seeing this message, she assumed that Ishikawa Mayu was embarrassed by her teasing and was deliberately changing the subject.

【Okay, okay! Su Shi is such a nice person, there won't be any problems! (≧▽≦)】

The reply was extremely quick, and the words conveyed a sense of perfunctory indifference, as if the person hadn't taken it seriously.

Ishikawa Mayu shook his head helplessly at the obvious lack of response.

He was certain that Nagasaki Motoyo had ulterior motives.

But he couldn't provide any specific reasons or evidence. To doubt someone who had taken the initiative to show goodwill based solely on a vague intuition and some past discoveries does seem like making a mountain out of a molehill.

"...Never mind, just pretend I didn't say anything."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Put-Away Penguin Band-Aid

December 9th,

The dappled sunlight of early morning streamed through the windowpanes, cutting bright spots of light onto the desks.

Ishikawa Mayu lay listlessly on the table, her face resting on her arm, her gaze somewhat vacant.

A thick English dictionary lay quietly on the corner of the table, a band-aid peeking out from above its dark blue spine...

"If they keep sending these out every day, who can use them all?" Ishikawa Mayu thought helplessly.

However, since it's a treasured gift from Xiaodeng, I'll keep it and use it as a bookmark for now.

The woman in the front seat, Takasatsu Tsunade, had turned back around and continued fiddling with her precious penguin band-aids, her fingertips gently tracing the patterns of each penguin, her expression focused as if she were performing some important ritual.

"Good morning!"

Chihaya Aine, radiating sunshine, skipped and hopped to her seat, carrying her guitar bag, her face beaming with lingering joy.

The band's good mood from yesterday's "strong reinforcement" has continued into today.

Ishikawa Mayu lazily shook her head in response. Takamatsu Akari also softly replied, "Good morning."

Ai Yin turned on her turn signal, put her hands together, and said with a hint of apology on her face, but her smile was still bright: "Little Light, I'm sorry about before! I think I was a little too hasty and insisted on inviting you to join the band."

Upon hearing this, Gao Songdeng lowered his head blankly, like a bewildered little penguin.

"I won't invite you again, don't worry~"

Chihaya Aine sincerely apologized.

Together with Mayu, they had almost made Xiaodeng cry twice already. The topic of the band was something Xiaodeng absolutely couldn't touch.

Just then, a lively greeting came from the classroom door.

"Aine-chan! Good morning!"

It was Mai, Kana, and Eri—the traffic light trio had arrived, and they were smiling and waving at Aine.

Good morning.

Chihaya Aine's attention was instantly drawn to it, and she smiled as she walked over, completely unaware of the dazed little penguin behind her, who was now slightly open-mouthed, revealing a somewhat aggrieved expression.

"What happened after yesterday?" Kana asked curiously.

Ai Yin seemed to have been tickled, and immediately became beaming: "Listen to me, I've found a new member!"

"Wow, that's amazing!" Wu exclaimed in unison.

"Although it's just adding a bassist," Aine waved her hand modestly, but her smugness was undeniable, "the other person is a student of Tsuki no Mori!"

"Moon Forest?!" Kana exclaimed, "Isn't that the legendary high school for young ladies? That's amazing!"

"That person seemed really nice," Aine said enthusiastically. "After hearing my and Mayu's invitation, they immediately agreed!"

"As expected of Aine-chan~" Eri echoed with a smile.

Ishikawa Mayu glanced sideways at the pink-haired girl who was gesticulating wildly and showing off, and sighed inwardly: What an embarrassing sight...

His gaze returned to the front seat, where he noticed Gao Songdeng quietly gathering the bandages spread out on the table one by one and carefully stuffing them back into the small box, his movements slower than usual.

Did Aine do something to upset this child?

Looking at the lamp's lowered profile and unusually quiet movements, Ishikawa Mayu frowned slightly.

These penguin-themed bandages were definitely prepared especially for Ai Yin, but now they've been quietly put away...

Is it because of his former teammate, Su Shi?

No, Aine only said "the bassist of Tsuki no Mori", it's impossible for Akari to guess that it was Nagasaki Motoyo based on that information alone.

He paused,

Could it be... because Aine just said very seriously that she "wouldn't invite her again"?