I Am an Emperor in a World of Mixed Anime

Instead, the lady next to him realized what was happening and took the initiative to speak, "Yili is a bit introverted, but I can tell she's been very happy and confident lately. Thank you so much for taking such good care of her. Please come to our house sometime."

"You're too kind. I'll definitely do it sometime."

Higashino Akira nodded seriously. Perhaps sensing that this child was also not very talkative, his wife patted her husband, who was still about to ask questions, and smiled gently, nodding without asking any further.

Just then, it was the band's turn to come on stage.

Goto Ichiri's pupils dilated violently as she watched her boyfriend chatting happily with her parents (from Pochi's perspective).

"It's my sister!" Erli, who had been watching the stage, saw her and waved happily to Ichiri.

Following Jiri's prompting, Higashino Akira and Ichiri's parents looked over and nodded at her.

"Is that pink-haired girl your girlfriend?"

Beside him, a girl dressed in casual clothes with black stockings and a pink rabbit hair clip asked him curiously.

Without turning his head, Higashino Akira replied, "Yes."

Mai Sakurajima raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, looking at him with a somewhat subtle expression. "You already have a girlfriend, so why were you teasing that girl just now?"

"I never said I only had one girlfriend." Turning his head to look at the girl who seemed a little unable to accept this, Higashino Akira smiled frankly. "Otherwise, why do you think I asked you out? Just because I felt sorry for you? Did I have a sudden burst of kindness and want to feed this wild bunny girl so you wouldn't starve to death?"

"Then you might be disappointed. I don't like guys like you."

“I don’t need your approval.” Higashino Akira didn’t care about Sakurajima Mai’s rejection. “I’m just waiting to make you understand that I won’t forget you, and then give you a chance to return to normal. In exchange, your future is mine. If you don’t agree, I won’t force you, but I won’t continue to help you either.”

In my heart, who cares?

Feelings can be cultivated. Higashino Akira did not steal her away or force her; it was all voluntary. As long as they agreed to be with him, they could only have contact with him in terms of romantic relationships. Over time, their feelings for each other deepened.

It doesn't matter if the feelings aren't deep; that's not the point.

Mai Sakurajima didn't say anything. She took a bite of the mochi that Akira Higashino had bought for her on the way here, and turned her gaze toward the stage, watching quietly.

Since her last return, she has found that she can no longer even do normal shopping. To this day, she can no longer even go back home. Her information and existence in this world are rapidly disappearing.

If it weren't for his help, perhaps after some time, she would have died quietly in some unknown place, and no one would have remembered that Mai Sakurajima ever existed, nor would anyone have been able to see her.

Beside them, Mrs. Goto and her husband exchanged a glance, looking at each other with some concern. They hadn't expected this seemingly normal young man to suddenly start talking to himself in front of an empty space. In that instant, they understood why their daughter had suddenly started dating someone.

On stage, as the team leader, Hongxia took the initiative to introduce the band as the performance was about to begin: "Hello everyone, this is the Bond (End) Band. Next, we will be performing 'Guitar, Loneliness, and the Blue Planet'."

After the brief introduction, the four girls looked at each other, nodded, and the drummer started playing the rhythm, and the song began.

"The sudden downpour"

I hate myself for not bringing an umbrella.

I can't be bothered to care about the sky's mood.

During the change of seasons

What outerwear should I wear?

Where have spring and autumn gone?

The pressure of the information age is suffocating.

......"

Higashino Akira nodded gently to the rhythm, feeling that the song was not bad. The lead singer's voice was quite different from her image as a youthful and beautiful girl, but her overall strength was quite good.

Tear...

When his sleeve was tugged, Higashino Akira turned around and saw Yurikawa Hana, who had somehow gotten close to him, covering her mouth with one hand and asking him a question in a low voice.

"Brother Dongye, why isn't that blue-haired guitarist's guitar making any sound?"

Mrs. Goto & her elderly father: ?

Mai Sakurajima: ?

Akira Higashino glanced at Miko, who was pretending not to care but actually eavesdropping, and chuckled.

Well, these two are definitely best friends.

..............................

..............................

P.S.: Bonus chapter. It's the extra chapter I promised to add yesterday, but I was unwell and had to cancel. I still owe 10 chapters.

Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Love Asteroid

Looking around, as if it were some major secret, Higashino Akio waved to Yurikawa Hana, then leaned slightly to the side and lowered his head to get closer.

Seeing this, Yuri Kawana also moved closer with a serious expression on her face.

Higashino Akira leaned close to Yurikawa Hana's ear and deliberately lowered his voice, saying, "Because that's bass."

Instantly, the girl's eyes widened, her expression went blank, her face turned from white to red, gradually heating up. She turned her head and looked at the man beside her with disbelief mixed with shyness.

Higashino Akira returned her a bright, sunny smile.

Not far behind, Yotsuya Miko, who had been eavesdropping the whole time, was only glad that she was quiet and not as cheerful as Kohana, otherwise she might be the one who was killed by the club now.

So sometimes, being introverted has its advantages, right?

The Goto couple next to them had a slight upturn at the corners of their mouths, their expressions slightly distorted. It was clear they were struggling to hold back their laughter, but being well-mannered adults, they were too embarrassed to laugh out loud, lest the little girl be so shy that she exploded on the spot.

As the band finished their first song on stage amidst laughter and conversation, the audience response wasn't great. After all, they were a new band with little experience and no established fanbase. Although the songs were decent, their performance lacked energy and failed to energize the crowd.

Even among the already limited number of customers at this time, some were quietly complaining:

"As expected, there's nothing to see here."

"I really shouldn't have come so early."

Well, they didn't even look up; they were just staring at their phones.

Ignoring the opinions of others and the shaking, Higashino Akira clapped vigorously as if no one else was around.

Once she realized what was happening, Miko Yotsuya quickly followed, and gently nudged Xiaohua with her arm, encouraging her to clap along as well.

Beside them, the Goto couple, who had been worried about Ichiri's lackluster performance, followed closely behind. At this point, after the previous performance group left with a group of fans, and the next band with some fame and a fan base had not yet arrived, almost half of the people in the venue, who already had few guests, suddenly started applauding.

Instead, the two girls who had just thought the band's performance on stage was not very good raised their heads in self-doubt.

On stage, Nijika breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly whispered a reminder to her teammate, who was still nervous from the cold reception of the previous performance, "Kita-chan, it's time to introduce the next song."

"Okay...okay."

Upon hearing this, Kita, the red-haired lead singer, quickly put on a polite social smile and said earnestly, "The next song is also our original song, which we just wrote not long ago... Although our performance and the song are still far from good enough..."

As Kita's voice gradually distorted in her ears, Goto Ichiri felt a buzzing in her brain. Below the stage, the anxious gazes of her parents, the silent trust of her boyfriend, and the suspicious looks of the audience all rushed into her mind.

'Our performance and singing are still far from adequate…'

'but…'

'I don't want things to go on like this!'

The pink-haired girl silently lowered her head, took a deep breath, pressed the strings tightly with her left hand, and slid the pick quickly with her right hand. She unleashed her full technical prowess, and after a sudden guitar sound, she broke the deadlock with a solo on a single instrument. The rhythm became faster, higher, and more urgent!

His professional-level guitar skills were revealed for the first time, and in such a tiny underground livehouse!

For the first time, the passersby in the audience put down their phones, looked up, and focused their attention on the stage, staring in astonishment at the guitarist's explosive performance!

"Oh! What?! Higashino-san, what's going on?!"

"Why did it suddenly become so intense!"

"Even though I don't understand it very well, it feels so inspiring!"

Yurikawa exclaimed in surprise, her little fists clenching and unclenching as she held onto Miko's arm. Moved by the sudden wave of music, her body began to sway involuntarily.

"what is this?"

Akira Higashino smiled. "I guess it's rock and roll."

On stage, the other three bandmates were stunned for a moment by Bochi-chan's outburst, and they all turned their surprised gazes to her. They quickly came to their senses, and the drummer Ichiji Nijika and bassist Yamada Ryo exchanged glances and nodded.

The backstage lights and sound system came on, and as the guitar solo reached its climax, the stage lights suddenly went out. Then, accompanied by the drum and bass rhythms, the guitar played another exciting tune, and the stage lights came on again, changing from the originally plain, bright white light to a dynamic light that flickered between yellow, blue, and red. The lead singer started singing again.

"That band's songs are to me..."

"The sharp wailing sounded like laughter."

"That band's songs are to me..."

"The noise was as harsh as a road crossing."

Don't push my back!

"The train is coming."

"Close your eyes, and illuminate the crown of darkness."

"..."

The two girls who were just complaining unconsciously started to tiptoe along with the singer and the rhythm, until the song ended and they looked at each other.

"It's actually pretty good!"

"Yes."

The other audience members applauded enthusiastically. A girl who came with her friend turned to her friend and exclaimed in surprise, "That performance was so cool!"

"That's right!"

Even passersby reacted this way, so the Goto couple, as parents, were even more delighted. Little girl Goto Jiri, riding on her father's shoulders, clapped her hands loudly, exclaiming, "Big sister is so cool!"

Higashino Akira suddenly turned around and looked behind him. The siscon shop manager, who was standing with his junior, had a cold and unapproachable face that had somehow become adorned with a relieved smile.

I don't know who initially disagreed with ending the band's performance, with many restrictions and various setbacks, and finally reluctantly agreed, but they still had to sell the basic tickets first.

The moment Ichiji Hoshika saw the teasing look in Higashino Akira's eyes, the smile on her face vanished instantly. She straightened her face and pretended to be nonchalant and indifferent.

'Ha, how arrogant!'

Higashino Akira turned away, too lazy to look at her anymore, lest he provoke her and make her watch him like a thief every day.

What era are we living in that people still play the arrogant and conceited card?

No wonder I don't have a boyfriend.

Just a loser.