Joker's Band Game Story

"No road race."

Listening to Nijika and Ryo bickering, Kita's head was filled with even more question marks.

"Senior Liang... was also comforted by Brother Lian?"

When this was mentioned, Ryo immediately squatted down in the corner and started drawing circles: "Because of that bass performance that looked like a funeral parlor..."

"So, Senior Ryo hasn't gotten over that performance yet..."

No matter how eccentric or distasteful Liang is, as a musician, she can't help but reminisce about that performance where no one cheered.

Just like a chef's dish being so bad that none of the diners find it delicious, it's incredibly disheartening.

"So that day..."

It was about three years ago, at the junior high school cultural festival, when Ryo Yamada played an extremely obscure piece, causing the venue to become as quiet as a funeral parlor.

Although Liang didn't react much on stage, she was already walking with her hands and feet in unison when she stepped off the stage.

"Failed."

A woman squatted by the river, hugging her knees, and couldn't help but sigh.

The thought of the audience's complete lack of reaction and their blank stares during her previous performances made her feel very uncomfortable.

I'm unhappy, very unhappy.

"What failed?"

Just then, someone suddenly appeared next to her, which startled Liang. She turned to look at the person and found that he was a very handsome junior high school boy.

He was looking at me with a puzzled expression, his voice tinged with curiosity: "Aren't you happy?"

"of course."

Although startled, Ryo turned back to sit there in a daze.

The performance was a disaster.

She had only one thought in her mind: she didn't actually want the performance to be a disaster, but that's exactly what happened—a complete flop.

Perhaps this will become something she talks about in the future, but for her at least today, it's certainly not something she'll be happy about.

"Since you're unhappy, how about we play a tune?"

The boy suddenly opened his guitar bag and took out his electric guitar.

His actions made Liang realize for the first time that she couldn't keep up with his thought process, and a faint expression of shock appeared on her face.

"What's wrong? Aren't you unhappy? Then vent through music. Once you've vented, your disappointment will fade a lot. If you don't express your emotions, they'll just stay bottled up inside~"

The boy smiled broadly at Liang; this was their first meeting.

She still can't forget his handsome smile back then; ah, it was truly wonderful.

With her fingers interlaced and arms propped up on the table, Liang, resting her chin on her hands, rarely showed an expression of satisfaction and happiness.

Every time she thinks back to her first meeting with Ren Amamiya, she feels so happy.

"Hey! And then what? After such a fateful encounter, what happens next...?"

"After that, we exchanged contact information and became friends, nothing more."

"Ugh, that's so unromantic!"

"Well, well, what can I say? Amamiya is such a nice guy. Don't fall in love with him, because he's gentle to everyone as long as it doesn't involve music. Many girls think his gentleness is only for them, but actually it's just his personality. Besides, Ryo's personality is so despicable, I really can't imagine her being with Amamiya."

At this moment, Hongxia waved her hand and popped all of Kita's fantasy bubbles, explaining the true situation between the two of them.

Want to date a pushover? Of course, no problem, but only if you can tolerate his tendency to instinctively try to help anyone who's feeling down.

Nijika and Ryo had seen it so many times that they were already used to it. Only someone like Kita, who wasn't very familiar with Ren Amamiya, would feel envious of him.

Actually, it's probably because of insufficient gravity. Ryo is a bit of a quirky person, so sometimes he can't match Ren Amamiya's quirks. Ren is perfectly normal when he's normal, but when he's being quirky, he's more quirky than anyone else. So, it's no wonder that they can't match up.

"But I did invite Brother Lian to form a band before, it's just a pity he's never been interested in it. Ah, I don't know why he became a band mercenary, it's so strange."

Hongxia lay on the table, saying that she really couldn't understand Amamiya Ren's personality.

"Perhaps none of us understand the lotus."

Liang couldn't help but say this, but the next second, her stomach started growling.

"Eh? Senior Ryo, didn't you have dinner?"

"I've already eaten, I ate some grass."

"Damn it?! Why?!"

"I was so envious of your bass after seeing it last time, I couldn't resist and went to the music store to buy a new one... and now my allowance for this month is gone..."

"So, Ryo-senpai, you're just going to eat grass, is that it?!"

"After all, it's not that bad to eat. I've also heard Lian talk about which herbs are edible, like duct tape."

"That's actually wild vegetables, it's not even grass! And you, Xiduo, don't give her money just because you think Liang looks pitiful! She brought this on herself and she has to pay the price!"

"It's so noisy..."

Xingge looked helplessly at the noisy commotion on her sister's side, while Saeko covered her mouth and chuckled secretly: "Isn't it great? They're happily forming a band, isn't that wonderful?"

"That's true, but... if Xiangzi doesn't keep working, it won't be good to entertain the guests later."

"Manager, when did you become so wealthy? If you care about Xiangzi, just be honest."

"Your entire bonus for this month is gone!"

"Manager Guomenase~"

Compared to the noise outside, it was very quiet inside the room.

Ren Amamiya calmly placed a cup of hot water in front of Xiangzi while sitting in her seat. She also took several tissues from the box next to Xiangzi to wipe her face.

"Sorry, I lost my temper."

Xiangzi seemed to have regained control of her emotions. She threw the tissue she had just used to wipe her eyes into the trash can. Her eyes were red and even a little swollen.

"It's alright, after all, I have a general understanding of your situation."

"You... investigated me?"

Amamiya's words forced Shoko to think in that direction, as she had never told Amamiya Ren about her past.

But Ren Amamiya shook his head: "No, it was just a coincidence that I ran into your former teammate last night. It's quite a coincidence, you should know that I'm a mercenary in the band, right? I also participated in Crychic's practice, which was in the two weeks after you left."

"So that's it..."

Xiangzi lowered her head, looking at the hot water in front of her. She didn't drink it, but her heart was filled with complicated emotions: "Crychic..."

"Just think of this song as a performance by the members of Crychic for you."

Ren Amamiya didn't say much, nor did he elaborate on what Sase and the others were doing.

He simply smiled faintly at Xiangzi, who was gripping the glass tightly with both hands and remaining motionless.

"how about you?"

At this moment, Xiangzi suddenly spoke up: "Now that you know everything about Crychic, how do you view me?"

Do you know everything?

Ren Amamiya didn't actually know everything, but he only had a general understanding.

"Do you feel like it's all my fault...?"

"I don't know, how would I know about such a thing?"

Ren Amamiya replied gently as always, "I am ultimately just an outsider, so I can't comment on who is right or wrong. I just think it's a pity that you haven't contacted each other since then. I just wanted to convey their feelings to you."

"I'm sorry, I... have already let go of all of this."

"Have you truly let go, or are you simply afraid to face it?"

Ren Amamiya's words made Shoko's body tremble involuntarily.

Chapter Twenty-Two: Going home, and then finding a female college student (?)

Although Ren Amamiya didn't know about Crychic's past, he was quite familiar with their disbandment.

The root of all this was Xiangzi; her departure from Crychic led to the band's disbandment.

As a band mercenary, he had seen this situation many times. It was really too difficult to form a band for a lifetime. Seven or eight out of ten bands would disband for various reasons.

It's perfectly normal for bands to disband. All good things must come to an end. Like Amamiya's band in his past life, in the end, all the members left for various reasons, and they eventually disbanded. It's just that even though the band has disbanded, they're still good brothers. They can still get together for a meal and a drink and have some fun. Their disbandment can be seen as adults compromising with reality.

Xiangzi's reasons for leaving the band were actually quite normal; he'd encountered far too many strange and unpleasant characters in his two lifetimes. Some were too busy with their partners to play music, others were caught talking badly about their teammates behind their backs, some overslept and skipped practice, some broke up with their partners, some suddenly decided to study abroad, some were forced to inherit their families' businesses, some couldn't stand the lead singer's looks and ran away, and some left because they thought the band's name was too embarrassing.

Honestly, compared to all sorts of strange reasons, it's perfectly normal to have to earn money to support your family and not have time to play in a band because your family has fallen on hard times.

"If I had to say what was wrong... it would just be leaving without giving a reason. But that's just your personality, I guess."

What could Xiangzi have done wrong? The only thing is that he left without saying a word.

But kids make mistakes, that's normal. She didn't realize how much her failure to give a precise answer would affect everyone, nor did she expect that the teammates she brought along were also generally not in a good state—after all, frankly speaking, how many artists are mentally sound? They're all generally problematic, okay?

They all need to express their inner thoughts through music; that's the characteristic of musicians.

"If you can still react after listening to this piece, it means you can't forget it."

Ren Amamiya reached out and touched her face, making her raise her head again: "Since you can't forget them, then give them an answer."

"I……"

Xiangzi's eyes drooped involuntarily; she was indeed unable to speak at that moment.

Her stubborn and unyielding personality makes her unwilling to back down, but she truly cannot forget her past as a crychic.

"Can't you say it?"

"Ah."

Xiangzi's words were not unexpected by Ren Amamiya. Of course, she couldn't say them. If she could, she wouldn't be Xiangzi Toyokawa.

"Since that's the case, let's write it into a song."