After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

Aine readily agreed with Misaki's suggestion: "Hmm... I just want to lie in bed and rest right now."

Ikumi looked at everyone present, feeling as if someone was missing: "Misaki...did we forget someone?"

"Huh? Really?" Misaki was taken aback by Ikumi's question, but then she realized what I meant. "Kanon just said she was going to the restaurant... Did anyone go with her?"

"There's no heart!"

Yumi shook her head: "I was in the sauna with everyone the whole time, and I didn't see Hana-on."

"It looks like we have a lost kitten!"

At this moment, Hanon was looking at the unfamiliar corridor around her, tears welling up in her eyes: "Where am I?"

----------

Fortunately, with the help of the men in black, they found Hanon's location in just ten minutes and brought her back.

After finding Hanon, everyone returned to their reserved room.

Yue pushed open the door to her reserved bedroom and glanced around at the decor. It maintained the cruise ship's signature luxurious style, a blend of modern and classic elements. Several exquisite oil paintings adorned the walls, depicting the beautiful scene where the starry sky meets the sea, adding a touch of tranquility and mystery to the room.

The bed was a huge four-poster bed, with a soft silk canopy that swayed gently in the breeze. The bedding was spotless white, and several exquisitely embroidered cushions were placed on the pillows.

In one corner of the room stood a classic dressing table, laden with various cosmetics and perfumes. A thick carpet covered the floor, soft and comfortable to walk on, as if each step was sinking into soft clouds.

Yue walked to the bedside and lay down on the soft mattress.

She had originally wanted to take this opportunity to talk to Aine and Riki about what Senior Kaoru had just discussed with her.

But thinking about how Aine and Riki looked just now, I couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"Are they really alright?" Yue sighed softly, muttering to herself.

Looking out at the night sky through the ship's window, she thought to herself, "Never mind... I'll find another opportunity to talk to them about this..."

She was afraid that forcibly calling them over now would cause them to die suddenly in front of her, since their appearance just now was indeed quite frightening.

When the performance begins: Chapter 167 The band's strange rehearsal

"Miscellaneous Star"

"Wait a moment……"

"Something feels off..."

In Ring's recording studio, Shiina Tatsuki called off the performance for the third time.

Her brows were furrowed, and her eyes revealed a hint of anxiety and dissatisfaction.

The band members stopped playing their instruments, looked at each other, and showed a hint of helplessness and confusion on their faces.

After watching Hello Happy World's performance yesterday, the band members threw themselves into their work the next day. Thanks to the help of Shin Tsurumaki and Misaki Okusawa, the "evil forces" that Hello Happy World had taken over Hanasakigawa Girls' Academy, Shiina Tatsuki successfully skipped a day of school to complete the piece she was practicing today.

Yue even specifically complained about this: "Is Hanasakikawa really doing this? Didn't I hear about a very strict disciplinary committee member before? Has the tradition completely disappeared?"

Lixi called a halt to the performance for the third time, and the air in the recording studio seemed to freeze. Her eyes were fixed on the sheet music in her hands, her brows furrowed, and the performance she had just given kept replaying in her mind. She knew that the piece she had written during her day of absence from class was far from achieving the effect she envisioned.

"Something feels off..." Li hope muttered to himself, his gaze drifting across the sheet music, trying to find the problem.

Hinasaki was also deep in thought at this moment, feeling that something was missing from the piece. Although everyone's performance was now almost on track, she still had a strange feeling while playing this piece.

If this feeling were to be described in words, it would probably be like not being able to break through the other person's AT stance and not being able to convey emotions to their heart.

Lena also gave her opinion: "Boring music..."

Upon hearing Ryuna's words, Aine quickly said, "Ah, Ryuna-chan, you can't say that."

Lena also gave her concise and direct evaluation: "Boring music..."

Although her voice was soft, it sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet recording studio. Upon hearing Ryuna's words, Aine immediately spoke up, "Ah, Ryuna-chan, you can't say that." Her tone was urgent, as if she was afraid that Ryuna's words would undermine Riki's confidence.

“Tsk…” Lixi didn’t refute Lena’s words. She knew that although Lena’s evaluation was brief, it hit the nail on the head. Even she herself probably felt that if the current version were played, it would be a complete disservice to the lyrics written by Xiaodeng.

"Let's take a break, everyone. I'll think about it some more." Li hope finally decided to pause the rehearsal and let everyone rest for a while. She sat to the side, holding the sheet music and pondering it repeatedly, hoping to find a solution to the problem.

Seeing Lixi's distress, Xiaodeng asked with concern, "Lixi... are you alright?"

Lixi shook her head. "It's nothing..." She took out another sheet of music from her backpack and looked at Yue with a determined gaze.

"Moon, could you switch the keyboard to bass simulation mode? I'd like to try out this version of the song first. For the keyboard parts, let's use the recording for now."

Hinasaki took the sheet music from Riki and noticed that the difference between this and the previous version was the addition of a bass part. She then made minor modifications to the overall piece.

She carefully examined the score and noticed that the bass part was clearly intended for Su Shi.

She glanced at her keyboard and bass sections to confirm her responsibilities.

"It's possible, but we need to record this new piece separately first. Also, even if I simulate the bass, the actual sound will still be different from the original bass."

Lixi nodded. "I know, let's give it a try."

"Okay, I'll adjust it right away." Yue nodded, quickly walked to the keyboard, skillfully recorded the revised sheet music, and then switched the keyboard to bass simulation mode.

Her fingers danced across the keyboard as she tested the bass-simulated sound, confirming everything was correct. She then looked at Lixi to indicate that she was ready.

Li hope took a deep breath. "Let's try this song again. This time it will be a little different, so please pay attention."

"Is the lamp ready?" Lixi asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Yes, I'm ready." Gao Songdeng gripped the microphone tightly, looking firmly at Lixi.

“Let’s begin.” Lixi nodded, and began strumming her guitar, the familiar melody ringing out once more. This time, the addition of a bass imitation gave the piece a distinctly different feel.

Yue's fingers danced across the keyboard, the bass-simulated low notes flowing from her fingertips, as if a real bass was being played in her hands.

Takamatsu's voice rang out in the music, and her singing still possessed her unique, soul-touching power.

Aine and Rana played with complete concentration, their instruments blending perfectly with the music, every note sounding so harmonious.

As Lixi swung her drumsticks, she watched everyone's performance. She felt that this performance had finally found the right direction. Although it was not perfect, at least they were on the right track.

——————The girls are rehearsing——————

After the performance, Li hope breathed a sigh of relief. "This time it was much better. It felt close to the effect we wanted, but there are still some shortcomings."

She put down the drumsticks, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and glanced at her teammates before finally settling on Aine. Sensing Riki's gaze, Aine stiffened slightly, a hint of nervousness appearing on her face.

"Aine, there's a mistake in your guitar part here." Although Lixi's voice was calm, Aine felt an invisible pressure.

Then, turning his attention to Le Nai, he said, "Le Nai, your guitar playing is a little too fast in the chorus. We need a more stable rhythm, not one that's too flashy."

Lena frowned slightly, clearly somewhat dissatisfied with the suggestion, but still nodded.

Then, Lixi looked at Yue and said, "Yue, your simulated bass is fine, but it's clear that your proficiency isn't quite there yet, especially in the transition sections."

Yue looked at the sheet music carefully and nodded. "I'll adjust the tone a bit more to make it fit the overall feel better, but... is this really okay? Using the keyboard as a bass is never a good idea."

Upon hearing Yue's words, Li hope fell into a brief silence. After a long while, she finally spoke, "For now, this is all we can do for the time being."

When the Stage Opens: Chapter 168 Band Revue? Band vs. Bang!

There have been so many people renting the recording studio lately that even Shiina Tatsuki, who works at Ring, hasn't been able to book many time slots.

Everyone practiced for about an hour before having to leave because of the arrival of the band members who were scheduled to join later.

Chihaya Aine looked at the crowd coming and going in the Ring, which was clearly much larger than before: "Speaking of which, have you found the people who invited all the famous bands to perform in the Ring before?"

Li hope shook his head and revealed the inside story: "Rinrinko-senpai went to Marina-senpai to inquire about information before, and only knew that the other party was a student of Hanasakikawa. She probably hadn't been to the Live House before, so she didn't know the other party's identity."

Ai Yin continued, "Then our practice time will have to be greatly reduced during this period. By the way, how about we go to Yue's house to practice for a while?"

Yue shook her head: "My family can't really come over lately either. I've been having people come and check and repair the equipment in the recording studio these past few days, so it probably won't be usable for a while."

————The girl returns home————

When Yue returned home, the house was quiet. She took off her coat, gently hung it on the hanger, then went to the living room, poured herself a glass of water, and sat on the sofa to rest for a while.

Actually, she wasn't lying to Aiyin; her home recording studio was indeed under maintenance. However, the maintenance was scheduled for the weekend, since she was a model student with 100% attendance during the week. She didn't feel comfortable letting the maintenance personnel enter her house unsupervised, so she could only schedule it for the weekend.

The reason she didn't want anyone else to come to her house these past few days was that she wanted to find another time to meet with Momoko to confirm what Seta Kaoru had told her last night.

She originally wanted to go to Seisho to find Ms. Yurisaki Aoi, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized that it was indeed not convenient to talk about this in a crowded place like the school.

Unlike Taozi, the other party couldn't take leave anytime, anywhere, so they had to call Taozi over again and ask her what exactly happened that night.

It was almost eight o'clock when Yue was wondering whether Taozi would come tonight and whether she should go out to buy something. Then the doorbell rang.

Yue got up from the sofa and walked to the door, feeling a surge of tension. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and sure enough, standing outside was a panting Momoko Kurosawa.

"Moon~" Peach's voice carried a familiar sweetness, and the lilting sound immediately followed.

However, Yue immediately reached out and stopped her from continuing, saying, "If you dare to speak in that ridiculously sweet voice again, I'll close the door right now."

"Tsk..." Momo clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, her voice returning to its usual tone, "The method taught by Miss Sakura can only be used once."

A knowing look appeared on Yue's face as she silently thought to herself, "As expected, it's that Sakura Sakura... teaching Momoko some weird stuff."

She shook her head helplessly and made some room for herself. "Come in, Peach."

Peach wiped the sweat from her forehead and went inside. Yue closed the door, turned to look at Peach, and asked, "You ran all the way here?"

"Yes, I was afraid you'd be getting impatient," Peach said as she walked over to the sofa and sat down.

Yue sat down opposite Taozi, carefully observing her. Taozi looked quite well; it seemed that although she had run here, she wasn't too tired. Yue picked up the kettle from the coffee table and poured Taozi a glass of water. "Have some water."

"Thank you." Peach took the water glass, took a sip, but her eyes never left Yue's face. "Xiao Yue, you must have something important to tell me today, right? After all, this is the first time you've contacted me since that day."

Yue nodded lightly, without any further pleasantries, and said directly, "Peach, you've been forming a band lately, haven't you?"

Momoko raised an eyebrow slightly, then nodded frankly. She was always honest with Hinasaki Tsuki and never deliberately hid anything; it was just that Tsuki had never asked these questions before. "Tsuki, you already know? I'd like to know where you found out."

Yue put down her water glass, leaned forward slightly, and said earnestly, "I asked Kui about your recent situation before, and she mentioned your project proposal, so I went back to Seisho to take a look, and also went to my old room to take a look."

Upon hearing Yue's words, Momoko's expression turned somewhat annoyed. She gently rubbed the ends of her hair, her tone tinged with helplessness, "I see. I thought that was an empty room that no one lived in, so it would be quite suitable for practice. I didn't expect you to come back to check it out again, Yue."

Yue's eyes flickered slightly, and she sighed inwardly, "That's not all... There have been too many coincidences happening around me lately. I originally wanted to see if I could find that 'script,' but unfortunately I came up empty-handed."

She continued, "And judging from what you just said about Miss Sakura, it seems you've joined the band that Sakura Sakura recently formed, right?"

Peach smiled slightly, a sly glint in her eyes, and nodded gently, "Hmm!" She didn't offer any explanation, clearly having already anticipated that Yue would guess this.

Yue frowned slightly, her voice tinged with concern, "Peach, why did you form a band? It can't just be because of that proposal you submitted, wanting to combine a girl band with a stage play, right? If that's the case, you should have chosen Hello Happy World."

Peach picked up her teacup, took a small sip of water, and then slowly said, "I do have my own thoughts. Do you want to know, Yue? If you say you want to know, I will tell you."