It started with being hated by the girl in the band

"Sodayo."

Yamada Ryo continued to help out.

"You two are really..."

Looking at the two people who sang the same tune, Hong Xia lost the desire to complain for a moment, and covered her head with her hands, looking helpless.

The zebra crossing was not long and we soon reached the end.

"Kita, do you have any ideas?"

Having given up on getting the answer from the funny couple Nakagawa Nobuyuki and Yamada Ryo, Hongxia turned to look at the more reliable classmate Kita behind her.

"Eh... me? If it's me..."

Miss Kita, who looked surprised, obviously did not expect to be asked suddenly. She could only ponder for a while, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she pointed to a dessert shop in the distance.

"Right! Why don't we go to a dessert shop or karaoke? It sounds like a girl band, right? Or the beach..."

"Okay, okay... let's talk about these places later, okay?"

Awkwardly interrupting Kita-san who was radiating her present radiance with a face full of longing, Hongxia looked at Goto Ichiri on the other side.

"Pochi, do you have any ideas?"

"Ah...I...I..."

Goto Ichiri's body trembled violently, and he raised his head in panic: "That weekend, I usually go to the ○ Claw specialty store with my good friends to buy ○ Claws to drink, and I often drink pearl milk tea and buy a lot of pearl crystal pendants and so on-"

"No, there's no such thing as a claw specialty store, right?!"

"No, no?"

"Of course not!"

Accepted.

I really accept my fate.

It seems that everyone has the most core qualities of a band member.

Hong Xia fell silent with an expressionless face.

"It's okay, Hongxia. If there really are no promotional photos, I'll have Nakagawa imitate Mr. Presley and wiggle his hips for the promotional photos."

……

Finally, with only a few dozen photos left after deleting and feeling exhausted, everyone returned to the entrance of Fanxing.

During the period, Nakagawa Nobuyuki's photography skills were recognized by everyone except Ichiri. Kita was even particularly excited and expressed his hope to take more cute photos to save for himself to tweet.

At the invitation of Yamada Ryo and Nijika, she stood among them and took a photo [to commemorate the end of the band's first group photo outing]. Miss Yamada even planned to print it out as a souvenir.

However, since this photo was not taken by Nakagawa Nobuyuki himself while standing next to him, the effect was not as good as expected. But after Kita said that he had taken over the task of PS, it was not a big problem.

"This one is so beautiful, oh, this one too!"

This is Kita-san who doesn't show any signs of fatigue and is still in high spirits.

"What a pity...I had my eyes closed in many of the photos..."

Hong Xia was flipping through her phone, her tone filled with regret.

"Because everyone kept saying [Eggplant Eggplant] but Hongxia only said it the first time."

Yamada Ryo stood aside and complained calmly about Hongxia who was unwilling to join everyone in the fun.

"…Because, because if we say it together… it's too loud…"

Hongxia turned her head away with shame on her face.

Although I know that in Shimokitazawa, it is not uncommon for various bands to take photos, but I am just too shy!

"Then you need to train yourself to say this. Come on, Hongxia, say to me: Eggplant, eggplant~"

Nakagawa Nobuyuki, on the other hand, looked indifferent. He immediately made a "yeah" gesture and said these words casually.

"Yeah, eggplant, eggplant——"

Miss Yamada next to her seemed to be trying to tease Hong Xia intentionally, and she made a "yeah" gesture with Nakagawa Shin. Although her expression remained calm, there was an lingering, teasing smile in her light golden eyes.

"Ah...really! You two!"

Suddenly, Hong Xia, who was angry and embarrassed, chased after him with her fists raised.

Amidst laughter and joy, Nakagawa Nobuyuki's first weekend back to school came to an end.

Because it was still early, after sending Yili home, the setting sun was still hanging in the sky in the distance, reluctant to set, turning Sunday Tokyo into a clear golden pink.

Looking at Hongxia who was posting photos one by one in the group of the band, Yamada Ryo who was commenting on each photo, and Kita who had become a ruthless complimenter who would say "So pretty!" and "So beautiful!" on every photo, Nakagawa Shin couldn't help but smile without reservation.

As expected, this is the charm of the band and friendship.

Just the fact that everyone in the band has finished making me happy already, what if Xiao Deng and her band are added to the mix? What if I form another band myself?

If that were the case, my life would certainly be completely different from what it was before, right?

Nakagawa Nobuyuki had such expectations in his heart.

73

Chapter 73 Chihaya Aine has nowhere to escape.

As the old saying goes, a day's plan begins in the morning, and a year's plan begins in spring.

But the saying that a week's plan begins on Monday sounds a bit too sad. Perhaps that's why people put Sunday before Monday.

If this is really a beautiful day, we wouldn't have to fantasize about meeting all kinds of beautiful girls with exaggerated figures every Sunday.

Therefore, even though the sky was clear and sunny early in the morning, the classroom of Group A of the first year was still dead silent. If some students were not sitting together and chatting about some youth gossip, the atmosphere would probably be not much different from that of a corporate office during lunch break.

Someone went to bed quite early because he ran a long distance yesterday. Also, he was asked by Hong Xia to take promotional photos. Besides, the power supply of Fanxing was still under repair, so Xingge gave Zhonghe Xin a paid leave.

"Nakagawa-san, you look so tired..."

The classmate Xiao Deng in front of him leaned sideways, placed his slightly clenched fist on his chest, and looked with concern at Nakagawa Nobuyuki who was slumped in his seat and yawning.

"I went to bed a little late last night..."

Rubbing his sore eyes, Nakagawa Nobuyuki changed to a more comfortable lying position.

"…If Nakagawa-san falls asleep in class…I will help him."

As he spoke, as if to prove something, Gao Songdeng straightened his back seriously.

"I don't necessarily sleep in class, I guess..."

Nakagawa Nobuyuki looked at the student Xiaodeng who stood up in front of him and showed his cuteness and kindness, feeling both amused and helpless.

As he was speaking, a touch of pink suddenly appeared at the front door of the classroom.

As expected, it was a little pink-haired girl who was in a hurry and stepped on the spot.

“Oh, morning, Aine.”

Nakagawa Nobuyuki leaned on his arm and raised his hand slightly in greeting.

"Good morning, Aine."

Gao Songdeng, who was sitting sideways, also nodded his head as a greeting.

It can be seen that Chihaya Aine was really in a hurry on the way. After she put her guitar bag behind the back of the classroom, as soon as she sat down in her seat, she fell directly onto the table and put her face on the table without reservation.

“Climbing the stairs is tiring…”

Chihaya Aine, who looked as weak as an elementary school student who had just returned home after a day of catching rhinoceros beetles, was now mumbling and complaining.

"If you don't want to climb the stairs so quickly, just get up early..."

Nakagawa Nobuyuki turned around and complained.

However, they didn't have much time to chat. Soon, as the head teacher walked into the classroom, the chattering in the classroom disappeared.

Generally speaking, when you meet such a serious head teacher at the morning meeting, most of the time nothing particularly good happens, but this time it was a little different.

As soon as I came in, the head teacher announced the news of summer vacation and the specific start and end times. Almost instantly, the depressed atmosphere in the classroom disappeared. Amid the cheers of everyone, the head teacher smiled and arranged the summer homework.

Despite this, it does not affect everyone's expectations for the upcoming summer vacation.

Everyone excitedly found their friends in groups of three or four and started discussing plans and preparations for the summer vacation.

Nakagawa Nobuyuki was stunned and couldn't help but frowned and thought about it carefully.

It seems like it’s almost time for students to have summer vacation... I haven’t been to school for so long that I almost forgot about winter and summer vacations.

Even Xiao Deng, whose emotions were usually not so obvious, was now looking back at Nakagawa Nobuyuki with joy.

"Nakagawa-san, during the summer vacation, we will have our first live show... You must come and watch it."

"Eh? Preparing for a live performance during the summer vacation..."

Suddenly, Chihaya Aine, who was originally happy about the news of summer vacation, raised her head and looked at her in surprise with wide eyes.

But think about it... a band or something like that, of course, has to perform live.

It was not until this moment that Chihaya Aine suddenly realized that a "band" not only represents the ordinary happy daily life of youth, but also represents a real performance that does not allow for any deception.

In particular, it seems that everyone’s “band” is not just talk.

I... I think my level is still a little low... Live performances... I really won't be laughed at by the audience because of a bunch of big and small mistakes?

At this moment, the image of myself in the UK, the embarrassing self, emerged in my mind.

"Aine? Is everything okay?"

Looking at the little pink-haired girl in front of him who suddenly bit her lips, with a serious face, not knowing what she was thinking, Nakagawa Xin waved his hand and summoned the little pink-haired girl back to the real universe.

“…Aine, even though I’m not very proficient yet, I’ll definitely be able to do it before the Live!”

Even Kotobuki-san, who still didn’t understand human emotions that well, could see Aine’s annoyance and whispered.

Then, Xiao Deng turned his trusting gaze towards Chihaya Aine and Nakagawa Nobuyuki, and his tone sounded more like confidence than encouragement.

No, don’t look at me with such trusting eyes... shouldn’t Aine be allowed to practice properly at this time?

"I hope so..."

Chihaya Aine bit her lip lightly and replied uncertainly.

When I was practicing together while thinking silently, I was almost always interpreting the "short board effect" myself.

Although I was being stared at by two people with caring and encouraging eyes, a sense of fear arose in my heart that came from nowhere.

If...if I really made so many mistakes, would I have to flee back to Tokyo in a mess like I did in England?

And this time, where can I escape to...?

His fingers rubbed it unconsciously, and the slightly rough textile texture of the penguin band-aid was faithfully transmitted to his mind.

...Although I still felt irritated and heavy-hearted, I managed to calm down a little.

“…Aine.”

Looking at Chihaya Aine with a serious expression in the distance, Xiao Deng, who had been so confident just now, suddenly didn't know what to do. She subconsciously turned her somewhat panicked gaze to Nakagawa Nobuyuki, who usually always had a solution.

"Okay, okay, don't look so sad... It's just a few songs, just practice them a few times and it will be fine."

Xinxin comforted me in this way.

However, I still can't simply feel comfortable.

Only a vague image of myself going wrong during a live performance flashed through my mind, and that scene made me feel like I was suffocating and unable to speak.

Not only the booing crowd, but also the band members who looked at him with disappointment...

In the end, I didn't hear anything that was said in the class meeting today.

All I heard was something about an exam... or something like that.

The fingertips that were originally aching were now somewhat numb.

Starting today, try harder and practice guitar well, okay?

By the time Chihaya Aine, who was feeling a little heavy, came to her senses, the first class had already started.

At this moment, Nakagawa Nobuyuki in front of him was dozing off, while Xiaodeng, who was further in front of him, was sitting upright with his back held high.