It started with being hated by the girl in the band

"I'm looking forward to their live performance... Oh, Mu-san, do you need anything?"

Nakagawa Nobuyuki answered casually, his eyes passed the spinning pen, and he saw the expressionless Wakaba Mutsu standing quietly in front of the counter.

...Is this an illusion? Why do I always smell a sour smell?

Is someone drinking fruit vinegar or something like that...it must be an illusion.

Nakagawa Nobuyuki thought silently, feeling somewhat guilty.

"...Xin, one... No, two glasses of mango juice."

Classmate Xiao Mu didn't seem to care about these things. He just ordered the food quietly. However, his green eyes, like a calm lake, were fixed on Nakagawa Nobuyuki in front of him, making Nakagawa Nobuyuki feel a little uneasy.

Even when Nakagawa Nobuyuki turned around to take a mango from the refrigerator, he could feel something sharp moving around his neck, as if he was being stared at.

But when Nakagawa Nobuyuki turned around, this sharp feeling disappeared, and all he could see was Xiaomu standing in front of the counter holding his bag with an expressionless face.

"It would be greasy to drink three glasses of mango juice in such a short time..."

While peeling the mango and gently throwing the mango into the juicer, Nakagawa Nobuyuki complained about Xiaomu, a classmate who seemed to like mango juice a little too much.

“…Two cups.”

Xiao Mu lowered his eyes slightly, opened his thin lips slightly, and his voice remained calm.

"Two cups? Then there's another cup...?"

Nakagawa Nobuyuki was stunned and looked up at Wakaba Mu.

"And there's another cup for Xin."

Ruoye Mu's expression remained unchanged. He just blinked his green eyes. He had no intention of asking for Nakagawa Nobuyuki's opinion, but just stated this basic fact.

"……I?"

Nakagawa Nobuyuki pointed at himself unexpectedly.

"…Just now, before we could finish our conversation, Xin left."

Ruoye Mu lowered his eyes, looking somewhat hurt and aggrieved, and his crossed fingers in front of him began to stir slightly in anxiety.

"Sorry, sorry... I'm still working part-time, so sorry..."

Nakagawa Nobuyuki finally reacted and quickly apologized.

It's really my own fault this time... I really shouldn't have just left Xiaomu alone when he was talking to me about something important.

No matter what, this was my friend's fault... Especially since Xiao Mu was about to say something very important, but I just walked away like that.

"..."

Looking at Nakagawa Nobuyuki who was hurriedly apologizing, Wakaba Mutsu lowered his head slightly and just pursed his thin lips, his long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on his face.

A hint of grievance finally emerged on that delicate doll-like face.

Although I know that Xin is working...but I still can't help feeling unreasonable.

"Xin, what I didn't finish just now..."

He reached out and scooped up the mango juice that Nakagawa Nobuyuki had just placed on the tray. Before the dazed Nakagawa Nobuyuki could react, Xiaomu, who was obviously a little aggrieved, seemed unwilling to show this depressed mood to him. He walked towards a seat for two people by the window with two cups of mango juice in his little hands.

Unlike the large square table for the other four or six people in RiNG, which was obviously prepared for team building, this kind of seat could only accommodate two people sitting face to face, and at most one person could squeeze in from the side with nowhere to go.

Although I always feel that it’s a bit bad to slack off while working…

However, there weren't many customers at RiNG right now, so after saying hello to Miss Rinrinko backstage, Nakagawa Nobuyuki followed Xiaomu to the seat by the window.

Even though they were sitting opposite each other at a very close social distance, Xiao Mu in front of him just gently held the straw in his mouth, sipped the mango juice without saying a word, then tore open the sugar bag at hand and started adding sugar.

He kept adding until Nakagawa Nobuyuki's eyebrows began to twitch and he couldn't imagine what the mango juice in the cup tasted like. Only then did Xiaomu stop without saying a word.

After taking a sip, Ruo Yemu's slightly frowned brows finally relaxed.

So greasy.

However, only when it is sweet to the point of being sickening can you feel better.

… Obviously, we were talking about something very important just now… Mr. Kexin actually stood up and went to entertain others…

It was obviously a decision that was made with great difficulty.

It was obviously a courage that I mustered with great difficulty.

Ruoye Mu took a deep breath, as if he couldn't understand where this confusing feeling in his chest came from...

So, Ruo Yemu subconsciously looked at Nakagawa Nobuyuki who was sitting opposite him, wanting to get the answer from Nakagawa Nobuyuki's mouth like a path dependence.

"Xin, I feel so uncomfortable..."

"Why did you abandon me?"

An instinctive sound of doubt came out of his throat uncontrollably. His heart was full of questions and he just wanted to know the answers, but the words he said... sounded like a question.

"I'm sorry, Mu-san. It's normal to be angry... I really should have listened to what Mu-san had to say first."

However, what I saw at this moment was Xin's worried and somewhat guilty look.

In an instant, the burning anger in my heart was extinguished as if a bowl of cold water was poured over my head.

...Am I...angry?

…Am I taking out my anger on Xin for all that I have done to everyone else?

“…No, it’s not!”

Wakaba Mutsu in front of him suddenly raised his head, clenched his hands tightly, and his urgent and clear voice immediately reached the ears of Nakagawa Nobuyuki who was sitting opposite him.

"I, I'm not angry... I just..."

Ruoye Mu clenched his fists and hurriedly refuted Zhonghe Xin's words, but when it came to the most crucial sentence, he was suddenly stuck.

Just what?

Ruo Ye Mu gently covered her heart, which was filled with unwillingness, with her small hand, and was stunned in confusion.

As if he saw the confusion and bewilderment in Xiaomu's eyes, Nakagawa Nobuyuki immediately coughed twice and changed the subject in a timely manner.

Since we just happened to be talking about this topic, why don’t we just finish it quickly?

"...Um, Mu-san, let's continue with the topic we were talking about. So...how is the band?"

"..."

If Ye Mu came back to his senses, he would let out a light breath, purse his thin lips, and put aside the complicated thoughts that had just been tangled in his mind.

But... this question is also a bit uncomfortable.

As he thought about this, his arms seemed to lose some strength and he could only place them lightly on his tightly pressed thighs. He was silent for a long while before he spoke.

"Because something like that happened in Xiaoxiang's family..."

"and……"

Having said this, Ruo Yemu lowered his head even lower and spoke slowly in a low voice.

"...My family won't allow me to join this kind of band anymore."

As she spoke, Ruo Yemu's mood seemed to become even lower, and her small hands tightly wrinkled the corners of her skirt.

"Huh? Is this..."

Nakagawa Nobuyuki's movements froze, his brows furrowed instantly, and he immediately felt a little confused.

Although people always talk about the eldest daughter of Tsuki no Mori, even if her parents were a little stricter, she would be able to figure things out... But, isn't this a bit too much?

However, since it was someone else's family affair after all, Nakagawa Nobuyuki still forced himself to suppress what he wanted to say. He didn't have time to worry about whether he should not have brought up this topic just now. After taking a deep breath, Nakagawa Nobuyuki looked at Wakaba Mutsu who was a little distraught in front of him.

"...Since the family has already said this, is Mu-san coming here today...?"

As he spoke, Nakagawa Nobuyuki focused his mind and observed Wakaba Mu's expression carefully, and he had some ideas in mind.

No matter what, if Xiaomu really listened to his family, would he still come to RiNG now?

There shouldn't be any possibility, right?

"...the band. I want to see it."

Ruo Ye Mu twisted his fingers unconsciously, looked towards the practice room in the distance, and a hint of guilt flashed across his face.

"Just want to take a look?"

Seeing Wakaba Mutsu's obvious sadness in his eyes, Nakagawa's confidence was slightly shaken, but he just took a sip of the mango juice in his hand, raised his eyes and asked back.

"...believe, don't...go and plead for mercy."

As if he understood something, Ruo Yemu tightly grasped the corner of his clothes, his eyes wavering a little, but in the end, with the anxiety in his heart, he still shook his head with difficulty.

"... Namu, do you still want to play?"

So, Nakagawa Nobuyuki narrowed his paulownia eyes slightly, and a serious light suddenly flashed in his eyes. He looked at Wakaba Mutsu who was hunching his shoulders.

"...I have already withdrawn..."

However, before Ruo Yemu's dejected voice could escape his throat, he was interrupted by Zhonghe Xin.

"Mr. Mu, I'm asking you, do you still want to play?"

The usually kind and easy-going Nakagawa Nobuyuki seemed a little aggressive at this moment. His extremely focused gaze was like the growing branches of a crystal, sharply approaching from all directions, trapping Wakaba Mutsu, who was trying to escape, in a corner.

A few intermittent nodules came out of his throat, and the confused Ruo Yemu couldn't say anything at the moment.

She couldn't lie.

I can't lie to myself, I can't lie to the letter in front of me, I can't lie to my guitar, and I can't lie to the calluses on my fingertips.

Yes, I want to play.

...If I really wanted to give up, why would I need to practice guitar at home all day?

"..."

But why can’t I say it?

Are you afraid of something?

"…It's okay, Mu-san. There are only two of us here. That means no one else will know what you say."

The letter in front of me suddenly told me this, blocking my last escape route.

...Won't anyone know?

Father and mother...won't know, right?

So... we are considered accomplices in the cover-up, right?

Suddenly, I felt an inexplicable sense of relief in my heart.

Fortunately, I can't lie or make up excuses...

Nakagawa Nobuyuki stared indifferently at Wakaba Mu, whose cyan-gold eyes had faded a little. He tapped the table lightly with his fingers, making a crisp sound, and waited slowly for Xiaomu's reply.

"…Xin, please."

Looking at Nakagawa Nobuyuki who was suddenly emitting a powerful presence in front of him, Ruoye Mu took a deep breath, raised his eyes which had just been drooping, clenched his small fists, and looked at Nakagawa Nobuyuki, as if he was a machine that was suddenly powered on and started working again.

...How will Xin make himself play again?

Nakagawa Nobuyuki suddenly smiled.

"Mr. Mu, what if I told you that Xiangzi and I are planning to form a new band?"

Since Xiangzi seemed to have no objection to forming a commercial band before, why not just bring people in first?

Only those who can eat and take advantage are heroes among men. Starting from nothing is the biggest starting point. Even if the "commercialization" of a "commercial band" is not that simple, wouldn't it be too funny if there is not even a basic "band"?

There is not even a breakthrough from [0] to [1]. Just because you see the gap between [1] and [10], you just give up. Isn't that even more ridiculous?

Besides...Xiaoxiang and Mu were originally members of the same band, so a lot of trouble could be avoided.

"...Xiao Xiang?"

Ruoye Mu was stunned and looked a little surprised, as if he had not expected that this matter had anything to do with Xiangzi, who had already quit the band due to family problems.

"That's right... Although we are still recruiting people, but——"

"I'll join."

Wakaba Mutsu's calm but firm voice floated into Nakagawa Nobuyuki's ears.