Miss Heir wasn't very kind to me.

Chapter 161, Section 2: "What Happened Because of a Videotape"

After the big cleaning, the room of the young owner of the Starry Night Cafe was, as usual, crowded with more than a dozen girls.

"Where did you find this thing?"

Masumi looked at Mami fiddling with the videotape and asked.

"I heard that there was going to be a big cleaning, so Mr. Jing Jian asked us to tidy up his room as well. That's when I found this videotape in a box full of odds and ends."

Mami curled her lips into a smug smile.

"This is a videotape from Masumi-kun's high school cultural festival, right? It contains props with rare CGs."

"Yes, it's a recording of my first performance on stage in the gymnasium during the first-year cultural festival."

"Oh, I see." She smiled knowingly, nodded, and turned to face the other girls. "Okay, who wants to see Masumi-kun during his DK days? Please raise your hand."

Kurokawa Mio raised her hand the highest, "I want to see!"

"Masumi, a male high school student, just thinking about it..."

A blush of blissful daze appeared on her face.

"Mio, you're drooling," Rinne gently reminded her.

"Eh~" Kurokawa Mio quickly wiped her lips, composed herself, and glared at Rinne with sharp eyes, "You're talking nonsense, there's no such thing!"

"I just wanted you to tone down your reaction," Rinne said calmly.

The light from obsidian and amethyst collides in the air.

"Rinne is indeed very composed."

"Speaking of which, I always thought Rinne was very proper. Turns out she needs to be fed oranges, and she even held Masumi's fingertip in her mouth and wouldn't let go." Kurokawa Mio sneered at what had just happened.

Upon hearing this, Rinne's snow-white skin blushed slightly, but she still retorted defiantly:
"Mio, who even sticks her tongue out, has no right to laugh at me."

"I just like eating oranges like this," Kurokawa Mio said matter-of-factly.

"And in the end, it wasn't Haiyue who broke the rules first."

Haiyue, who was nonchalantly munching on an orange, choked upon hearing this.

"Are you alright, Haiyue?"

Seeing the jellyfish girl coughing incessantly, Mirai stared at her with a very worried look.

"Alright, alright, quiet down."

Mami cleared her throat. "I'm going to start playing the videotape now."

Several girls sat obediently on his bed waiting for the movie to start. Masumi moved a cushion over herself and looked at the monitor that had invaded her room, asking a question.

"By the way, why put the monitor in my room?"

"Ah~ it's quite a headache to think about."

Mami scratched her head and chuckled, "It's really strange. Even though it's always the same stuff, when I take the packed luggage out of the cardboard box, I can't arrange it the way it was before I packed it."

"You're not planning to leave it here forever, are you?"

"How could that be? I just need to borrow it for a while." Mami's gaze darted around nervously.

Even so…

"Please, Masumi-kun!"

Before Masumi could finish speaking, Mami skillfully assumed the dogeza (a traditional Chinese kowtow) posture of admitting her mistake, pressing her forehead low to the back of her hand and pleading.

"Just leave it here with Masumi-kun for a while, I'll definitely take care of it later, please! Please, please!"

Seeing her pitiful expression, Masumi sighed with a headache, "I can't do anything with you, you'd better move out as soon as possible."

"Well, I see."

Mami nodded vigorously, but how much credibility she had remained to be seen.

"Well……"

At the bedside, Kurokawa Mio looked thoughtful, then suddenly sat up.

"Hey, where is Mio-neechan going?" Mirai asked, tilting her head.

"Grab something, wait for me a moment."

Less than two minutes later, she returned to the room carrying an electronic synthesizer keyboard.

“What is this…” Masumi’s expression was strange.

"My keyboard will also be staying with Masumi for a while from today onwards."

A sweet smile appeared on Kurokawa Mio's lips.

Masumi pressed her temples, looking troubled, and said, "Your room shouldn't be as messy as Mami's, where there's no room to put anything, right?"

Asami, who was sitting on her knees, lifted her gaze from the ground and glared at him with displeasure.

"That's not true at all. The weather is getting colder, and I need to buy new clothes and heating equipment, so naturally, I'm short of space," Kurokawa Mio said confidently.

"The coffee shop has a kotatsu (heated table).

“That’s perfect, that way we won’t feel cold playing the piano in our room during winter,” Kurokawa Mio said flawlessly.

Are you going to turn my room into an activity room? Masumi closed her eyes and sighed quietly: "Let's watch the videotape."

"Thank you, Masumi." "Thank you, Masumi-kun."

The two exchanged a glance, then smiled broadly at Masumi and said, "We'll find a way to repay Masumi (Masumi-kun) later."

"Please repay this favor with cash or physical labor," Rinne said calmly from the side.

"Of course."

As Kurokawa Mio spoke, a smug smile played on her lips.

"I will make it up to Masumi with my physical strength later."

"Yes, I'll be there to keep an eye on things."

Rinne's face remained as indifferent as ever.

During their exchange, Mami moved her knees, using her hands to support herself on the floor as she crawled to the monitor. Seeing Mami's unguarded appearance, Masumi's temples throbbed twice, as if she were throbbing slightly.

"Mami, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh? I'm turning on the monitor." Mami blinked in confusion.

"I'm not asking what you're doing right now, I'm asking about your current attire."

This guy's utter lack of restraint is truly unbearable to watch. His sophisticated, intellectual lady-like appearance when he goes out is a stark contrast to his disheveled and unkempt state in front of me—they're like two completely different people.

"I already took the clothes home."

Asami's tone was as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"I only had a few clothes left in the Starry Sky collection, and they were all wrinkled and rumpled in the box. I had no choice but to wash them all."

What Asami was wearing was not her usual tank top and shorts that were so short they exposed her buttocks, but a clean white, loose-fitting shirt.

The hem of the shirt clung tightly to her rounded buttocks, creating an unbalanced allure that seemed to burst forth from her voluptuous figure.

"The mascot costume that Haiyue was wearing just now."

"No way! I just took a shower, and it's too hot wearing those clothes."

"What about the other people's clothes..."

Upon hearing this, the girls remained silent, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"Ahem, I'm going to play the videotape. No one is allowed to talk, especially you, Masumi-kun, you talk too much nonsense."

Mami blushed and glared at him fiercely.

Had she asked something she shouldn't have? As Masumi pondered this sluggishly, the monitor screen lit up.

"here we go."

"Wow, the picture quality is pretty clear, it doesn't look like a video from seven years ago at all," Mami exclaimed.

Do you have some misconceptions about the level of technology seven years ago?

Masumi made a sarcastic remark, then explained, "This was recorded by a senior member of the Light Music Club who didn't get to perform. She bought a new Canon camera and volunteered to do it."

Unfortunately, no one listened to him; their attention was all focused on the videotape being played.

"—Next up is the West High School Light Music Club."

The host's introduction made the eyes of several girls light up.

"It's here, it's Masumi."

Kurokawa Mio stared intently at the screen, a tangerine still dangling from her lips.

A male high school student in uniform walked up to the microphone with a guitar on his back. He looked a little nervous, probably because he was nervous.

"You look so green compared to now, Masumi-kun," Mami said, nudging him lightly with her elbow.

"Mr. Masumi, so you do feel nervous sometimes."

"Of course, I'm just an ordinary person."

A close-up of a female high school student suddenly appeared on the LCD screen.

Wearing a light blue polka-dot jacket, a knee-length skirt, and black stockings, with her long hair flowing, she smiled confidently amidst the cheers of the students below the stage.

"Is this the senior student Rugu?" Rinne asked softly.

"She's a gentle and beautiful woman," Mami nodded approvingly. "She has a very understanding and caring older sister vibe, and a great figure. No wonder Masumi-kun can't forget her!"

"..."

Kurokawa Mio remained silent, her gaze fixed intently on the high school girl on the screen.

The drumsticks struck, and the sounds of drums, bass, and guitar joined in, accompanied by the recorded live background noise, as the West High School Light Music Department successfully performed their first song.

After the rain late at night

It will turn into snowflakes.

Silentnight, Holynight

Tatsuro Yamashita's "Christmas Night".

"Ugh, what an old song."

What came out of Mami's mouth sounded like an exclamation, but also like a dumbfounded complaint.

"Because the school's cultural festival was postponed to December, I chose this song to fit the occasion," Masumi explained.

"Isn't the Christmas carol 'Back Number' better?"

Masumi shrugged dismissively. "The next one is it."

"Oh, really?"

This is the second song performed by the West High School Light Music Department.

Huh? I've actually fallen in love like this.

It's all because of that song that kept playing on repeat on Christmas Eve.
It's all because of these deliberately dazzling streets.

"Is this song popular?" Rinne asked, puzzled.

"Huh?" Asami's reaction was even more surprised than before. "No way? Hasn't Rinne heard of it? Department stores play this song every Christmas, and it climbs to the top of the Oricon charts."

"I've heard of it, but I don't usually go out on Christmas, so I don't really remember it."

"I've heard the first song before, on my mother-in-law's CD collection."

After the two songs, it was time for the usual MC segment.

"Hello everyone... uh, we are the Light Music Club."

In the video, Masumi's first greeting sounded very nervous compared to his composure while singing. His stage presence was a bit unsteady. Beside him, I looked at him with an encouraging gaze.

This subtle movement made Kurokawa Mio squint in displeasure. Sitting on the cushion, Masumi felt someone lightly kick his back with their toes.

On stage, the four members of the Light Music Club exchanged knowing glances and each performed a solo on their instrument, eliciting cheers from the audience.

"Although it was his first time performing on stage, Masumi-kun did a pretty good job." Asami smiled with her eyes narrowed, seemingly recalling the first time she watched Masumi Live, her tone sounding quite emotional.

"As expected, Masumi-kun is born to form a band. Let him shine on stage."

"That's not the case."

Masumi sighed in a somber tone that she herself didn't realize, her gaze fixed on the monitor screen.

"Next up is the last song, Hitomi no Jujin."

A gentle male voice rang out—

Although countless years have passed, time still flows on.
How much do I really know about your affairs?

As the lyrics progressed, a soft female voice suddenly joined in during the chorus.

It wasn't harmonies, but rather the lead guitarist, I, like a young Chitose, suddenly moved closer and shared a microphone with Masumi—

If you look up at the sky, you can see that the light and color spread out without fading.
If it were like the sun, it would shine continuously, no matter when.
The eye-catching scene of handsome men and beautiful women singing together in front of the same microphone made the cheers and jeers from the audience even more enthusiastic.

Meanwhile, Masumi, who was offstage, had been getting punched and kicked non-stop since the beginning.

"Makoto Makoto!? Why did you make her sing so close to you?"

Masumi caught Kurokawa Mio's foot, which she kicked out in excitement, while Asami's elbow bumped into her from the side. "Eh, so this is what Masumi-kun's life is like in high school, blushing and having his heart race in front of beautiful upperclassmen while rehearsing his instruments."

"There are clearly two microphones on stage, so why put them together to sing?"

"Uh, you don't understand, two people sharing the same microphone is the romance of Britpop."

"Hey, but this song is J-Rock, right?"

Faced with the suspicious gazes of several girls, Masumi's rebuttal seemed weak and feeble, merely a sophistry to cover up the truth.

"Masumi...I'm so happy..."

Haiyue, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?" Masumi was slightly taken aback. Although it was quite sudden, Haigetsu did often make some incomprehensible remarks.

"What's happy?"

"Masumi singing... is so happy..."

Haiyue tilted her head slightly as she spoke.

This statement made the girls temporarily put the judgment aside.

Asami: "Indeed, Masumi-kun in the videotape looked much more cheerful than he does now."

"It's probably just youthful passion."

Future: "This is the first time I've heard Mr. Masumi play the guitar. His voice is so beautiful."

"No matter who plays the guitar, the sound is the same, and it's not a remarkable performance."

Rinne: "That's too self-deprecating."

"Just telling the truth."

Kurokawa: "I really want to sing with Masumi, cheek to cheek."

"They're not quite at the point of being glued together yet."

Haiyue, who had brought up the topic, lay exhausted on the bed, her long flaxen hair spread out.

"Hey, don't lie on Masumi's bed!" Kurokawa Mio protested, "and you even pulled Masumi's blanket over there."

"I ate an orange... watched a song... I'm sleepy... I want to go to sleep..."

"Eat your fill and then sleep? Are you a jellyfish turned monster? Stop living so subservient to your instincts, okay?"

"Mio is the same... The way she looks at Masumi... is like a wild beast..."

At some point, Haiyue naturally changed how she addressed Kurokawa, matching Masumi's way of addressing her. But Kurokawa Mio was completely oblivious to this; her delicate eyebrows furrowed, and her anger was palpable.

"What did you say!"

The golden retriever, its weakness exposed, lunged at the moon jellyfish with its teeth bared and claws out.

"I...hide..."

Although she spoke slowly, the jellyfish girl sprang up from the bed with nimble movements, spread her arms and legs, and pounced on Masumi to the side.

bang-

The soft touch then turned into a shock. Haiyue hugged her like a koala, and Masumi fell backward to the ground due to inertia, hitting the back of her head and hissing as she gasped for breath.

"You bastard, you actually pounced on Masumi right in front of me!"

With breath dripping from the corners of her lips, Kurokawa Mio relentlessly pursued Haiyue.

"Whoa! Little Moon, run! Don't let Miss Mio catch you!" Mami cheered, as if watching a show.

"You guys, behave yourselves."

As usual, the heiress coldly called a halt.

At this moment, Kurokawa Mio had already hooked the waistband of Kaigetsu's pajamas and was pulling her toward him.

To escape the clutches of evil, the jellyfish girl simply shed her skin, pulling her long, slender legs out from her loose pants, and crawled forward on all fours—

"Woo!"

Its forehead struck an object in the corner of the room, knocking its small body to the ground.

"It hurts..."

"Are you okay?"

Masumi looked at the girl whose forehead was flushed and asked.

"fine……"

"I was hit by a guitar..."

"You bumped into the guitar yourself, didn't you?"

Masumi sighed helplessly, unzipped the violin case to check, and asked worriedly, "Is the violin neck damaged?"

"Masumi actually...was worried about the guitar first..."

The jellyfish girl stared at him with a resentful look in her eyes.

"Uh, aren't you alright?"

When the violin case fell over, the soft cushioning pads shielded her from the impact.

"Hmm..." Haiyue sat up, hugging her thighs, curling up into a small ball like a pill bug, her slender fingers drawing circles on the floor.

Does this mean they don't want to talk to me?
Masumi spoke again, her voice tinged with apology: "I'm sorry, I didn't..."

"—Masumi...play the guitar...for me..."

Haiyue raised her head and said.

"Eh?"

"I second that! I also want to hear Masumi-kun play the guitar!" Mami is always involved in these kinds of things.

Needless to say, Kurokawa Mio's eager gaze was evident, and even Rinne nodded slightly.

"What, Masumi-kun, you don't want to?"

Mami squinted at him, "Just now you were playing and singing with my senior Rugu, and you seemed to be having a lot of fun."

"That 'just now' refers to seven years ago."

Ahem. After clearing his throat, he continued, "It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't play my guitar right now."

He opened the violin case to show them that the fingerboard was bare, without any strings.

"When I'm not playing the piano, I remove all the strings to avoid damaging the neck with tension. It takes a lot of effort to re-string them."

"..."

The four girls remained silent until a soft, timid voice suddenly rang out in the room.

"Um... I have an acoustic guitar, is that okay?"

◇

"Here you go, Mr. Masumi."

Mirai handed the chipped wooden guitar to Masumi, who thanked her, gently picked up the guitar, placed it on her lap, and adjusted her leg position.

My left hand fingers rested on the first string, the thinnest of the six guitar strings. I hadn't played for so long that the calluses on my fingertips had all fallen off, and my delicate skin felt a little sore when I pressed them against it.

With his right hand, which had grown slightly longer nails, he lightly plucked the strings, and a high-pitched sound immediately came out.

"The tone is really nice," Masumi exclaimed.

“It was lent to me by Saki-senpai. It’s a Yamaha acoustic guitar, and it’s very expensive,” Mirai explained. “Her family owns a pawn shop.”

"so."

Masumi nodded.

"What song is Masumi-kun planning to sing?" Mami asked curiously.

"Are you planning to sing anime songs? How about some time to sing 'Light and Airy'?"

“I’m a boy, how could I possibly sing that song?” Masumi denied without hesitation.

As if he had thought of something, he quietly lowered his eyelashes and sighed, "Let's not sing then."

"Huh? You only play the guitar?"

"Yes, I was taught some fingerstyle guitar by my senior, Ru Gu."

"Fingerstyle?"

Apart from Mirai and Kurokawa Mio, the other three all looked puzzled.

"It's a way of playing a steel-string acoustic guitar," Kurokawa Mio explained slowly. "The technique is completely unrestricted; with just one guitar, you can create music that sounds like an entire band."

"There is also a saying that the guitar is the instrument closest to the heart because the sound hole is very close to the heart, so fingerstyle is music played for oneself."

"I see." Mami nodded, seemingly puzzled but not quite understanding.

"It's okay, as long as I can hear Masumi-kun playing the guitar, that's enough."

She looked at Masumi, who was silently tuning the strings.

Do you have a capo?

Masumi asked Mirai.

"Okay, here you go."

"Thank you, it's a sliding type, that makes it even more convenient."

With the capo clipped to the second fret of the guitar, Masumi took a deep breath, placed both hands on the fretboard, and positioned her fingertips at the points where the strings were evenly spaced.

Seeing his actions, the girls also held their breath and remained silent.

Transparent and clear, the overtones, like the resonant tolling of a bell, vibrated and pierced the silent air.

Long, slender fingers glide gently across the fretboard, as if playing the piano, the sweet and melancholic tone resonating throughout the room.

This is a way of playing the most beautiful sounds of nature with human hands.

The entire ten measures consist of overtones, and the natural timbre is free of any impurities. Even the air that vibrates slightly in resonance with the music seems to carry a touch of sweetness.

Complete this part gently and attentively, with bright strumming added. In Tokyo alone, Masumi sometimes plays this piece in Miyashita Park under the starry sky, so the brain doesn't need to react, and the fingers move due to muscle memory.

At first, it seemed a bit awkward, but the moment the piano music started, it felt like a reunion with an old friend.

Each note begins precisely, overlapping the previous note flawlessly, flowing smoothly and continuously, like a gentle simmer, warmly baking a transparent melody.

—It's like I can see the starry sky.

This is the first impression upon listening to this piece; the piano music erases all other sounds.

The bright string sounds dissolved in the tranquil air, seemingly still extending infinitely, weaving together bright colors like a sky full of stars.

Artificial harmonics, strumming, and percussive tapping—immersing oneself in the lingering charm of the music, Masumi brings the entire piece to its climax.

The room was filled with silence, except for Masumi's guitar solo. The emotions condensed in the melody were incredibly delicate, yet possessed a firm strength, instantly overwhelming the air in the room.

Masumi let go of her hand and breathed a sigh of relief. Several girls gathered around her.

"Wow, Mr. Masumi!" Mirai, a junior colleague, exclaimed in astonishment, her eyes wide. "You were being far too modest before."

"The performance was so emotional that I almost cried while listening to it."

She is a very sentimental child.

"That's an exaggeration," Masumi sighed.

"It's not an exaggeration at all."

She is a dedicated musician.

Haiyue uttered a weak murmur from her lips: "Masumi...it sounds beautiful..."

"It's because the guitar sounds really good."

Rinne nodded. "It is indeed a very beautiful tone, a completely different feeling from the band's previous performances."

"That's rock, this is fingerstyle."

"What I mean by 'different' is..."

Rinne's lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't. What did she mean? She couldn't seem to describe it properly.

Unable to discern her complex emotions, Masumi looked at Kurokawa Mio, whose honey-gold hair cast shadows on her face and whose lips curved into an ambiguous arc. What was she thinking?

I couldn't bring myself to ask.

"You played so well, Masumi-kun! This is the first time I've heard you play this song."

Mami, her eyes shining, clenched her fists in front of her shoulders and asked:

What's the name of this song?

"Like A Star".

Masumi answered softly.

—Like stars.

(End of this chapter)