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

"Miscellaneous Star"

With Lixi's final drumbeat, the song came to a perfect end, and everyone stopped, leaving only their rapid breathing in the room.

"That was absolutely fantastic!" Ai Yin exclaimed excitedly, her face beaming. "This performance was truly amazing!"

"Hmm." Xiaodeng nodded, clearly satisfied with everyone's rehearsal.

"I'm satisfied!" Lena wiped the sweat from her brow and said with a happy expression.

"Yes, everyone has done their best." Yue nodded and said, but her gaze was fixed on Shiina Tatsuki, who was deep in thought behind the drum, looking at the sheet music.

Unlike the excited Ai Yin, Li hope remained silent, head bowed in thought, after playing the entire piece.

"Lixi? Is there any problem with this piece of music?" Yue asked as she stepped forward.

"Ah...it's nothing..." Li hope shook her head, not revealing what she was thinking.

When the Stage Opens: Chapter 174 The Long-Awaited Meow Dream

The recording studio session was still short today, but fortunately the training went smoothly and everyone didn't have anything urgent to do, so they all gathered in the coffee shop on the second floor of Ring.

"Here you go, stray cat. This is the agreed-upon reward." Li hope placed a cup of matcha parfait she had made in front of Yao Le Nai, who had been feeling a bit listless from playing the guitar.

The moment Yoro Nai, who had been listless, placed the matcha parfait in front of her, her entire demeanor changed. Her eyes widened, her weariness vanished, and she seemed to be instantly infused with boundless energy. Her eyes were fixed on the matcha parfait, and an uncontrollable smile appeared on her lips.

"I'm starting!" she shouted excitedly, her voice filled with anticipation and joy.

Lena eagerly picked up a spoon, quickly scooped up a large mouthful of matcha parfait, and put it in her mouth. As the cool dessert melted in her mouth, a satisfied expression appeared on her face, and her eyes sparkled with happiness.

Aine smiled and said, "Rakuna-chan is really a loyal fan of matcha."

She had barely finished speaking when a message popped up on her phone screen: "The UP you follow, Miaomeng, has updated." Her eyes lit up instantly, a slight smile appeared on her lips, and she eagerly unlocked her phone, tapped the video link, and waited for it to load.

"Ah! Meow Dream is live!" Ai Yin's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement, as if she had been injected with new vitality.

"Good morning, everyone, meow meow!"

She tapped her finger on the screen, and gradually the image of her favorite beauty blogger, Miaomeng, appeared on the screen.

Seeing Aine's actions, Yue couldn't help but smile and tease, "You just finished talking about Ryuna, and you immediately got lost in your own little world."

Hearing Yue's complaint, Ai Yin looked up, her eyes filled with a hint of apology and a mischievous smile. "Sorry, Yue, but Miao Meng's videos are my daily sustenance."

Ai Yin's gaze returned to the phone screen, completely immersed in Miao Meng's video world. Her fingertips lightly swiped the screen, a slight smile playing on her lips, occasionally letting out soft exclamations and laughter, clearly captivated by the video content.

Yue looked at Aine helplessly and sighed in her heart, "It seems that everyone has their own preferences. Although I have no idea what this Meow Dreamer does, it's a good thing to see Aine so happy."

Yue's curiosity was piqued by Aine's excitement, and she leaned closer, wanting to see what kind of beauty blogger could fascinate Aine so much. However, when she clearly saw the appearance of the video blogger on Aine's phone—Miaomeng—she paused for a moment.

Yue's gaze shifted from her phone screen to Takamatsu Teng, who was obediently sipping her drink beside her. She scrutinized Teng, a strange feeling welling up inside her.

"?" Takamatsu Akari noticed Yue's gaze, looked up in confusion, her eyes full of questions. A cute little question mark seemed to appear above her head, making her look exceptionally adorable.

Yue turned her gaze back to Aine's phone screen, her doubts deepening. No matter how she looked at it, the Nyanko in the video bore an uncanny resemblance to Takamatsu Akari. It was as if she were seeing Akari's twin sister, or another version of Akari in front of the camera.

“Aine, this Meow Dream looks a bit like the Lamp,” Yue couldn’t help but say, her eyes scanning back and forth between the two.

When Aine heard Yue's words, she was taken aback for a moment, then looked carefully at Meow Dream in the video, and then at Takamatsu Akari, and said with a smile, "Meow Dream just looks a little like Akari, but how could Akari be so mature?"

"What?" Li hope, having overheard their conversation, also came closer, her eyes fixed on Ai Yin's phone screen. After a few seconds, she frowned slightly, a hint of doubt on her face. "Is it really that similar?"

Lixi looked at the Meow Dream on the screen again, then turned to look at Takamatsu Teng, seemingly making a comparison. Her gaze swept over Teng's face, and finally she nodded slightly, "It does look a bit like it, but if you look closely, Teng's temperament is completely different from this Meow Dream."

"I... I don't think I have any sisters." Even Takamatsu Akari felt there was a resemblance after watching the video of Meow Dream in Aine's hand, and said hesitantly.

Lena only glanced up briefly before continuing to bury herself in her battle with Matcha Buffet.

"Alright, alright, I'm going to continue watching Miaomeng's live stream." Seeing that everyone was still undecided about the relationship between Miaomeng and Xiaodeng, Aiyin gestured for everyone to be quiet.

Despite what Aine said, Yue, Lixi, and Xiaodeng had no intention of leaving Aine's side. They clearly wanted to continue watching the live stream of this girl who was practically a substitute for Takamatsu Akane.

----------

After giving a brief opening speech, Miaomeng did not, as usual, start recommending cheap and effective cosmetics to her fans or teaching some practical makeup tips.

She picked up a camera and walked around the room, clearly intending to lead her fans somewhere for a demonstration.

The camera finally stopped in front of the electronic drum set in the corner of the room, followed by Miao Meng's obviously business-like voice: "Today, Miao Meng kissed me and wanted to announce something to everyone. I've recently started practicing drums again, and as a result, I've been spotted by a talent agency."

She paused, composed herself, and gave an apologetic look. "So I'm sorry, Miaomeng might be going to participate in an audition in the future. If she passes, she might debut as a drummer in a band. So, Miaomeng apologizes to everyone here."

Although Yue felt it was somewhat obvious, most viewers watching the live stream couldn't see that Miao Meng's expression was clearly feigned, or rather, even if they did, they probably wouldn't care.

Upon hearing Miaomeng's words, Ai Yin's face lit up with joy. "Miaomeng-sama is going to join a band too? That means we might run into each other at the live house later?"

Yue shook her head and said, "Bands formed by these kinds of management companies usually have fixed venues for practice. It's almost impossible to bump into them during practice time. And we can't really compete with these commercial bands for performances right now, so the probability of you meeting this Miaomeng is still very close to zero."

"Eh... why is it like this..." Aine's expression was noticeably downcast.

Looking at the dejected Aine, Yue shook her head helplessly, then thought of another problem.

Although she's no longer in the entertainment industry, she still has some information channels, and she hasn't heard any news about any commercial bands being formed recently...

Suddenly her eyes widened as a possibility occurred to her: "Could it be... such a coincidence?"

When the Stage Opens: Chapter 175 Meow Dream: I Met the Future with a Broken Hand

After confirming once again that she had turned off the live stream and that there wouldn't be any embarrassing situations like those Vtuber forgetting to turn off the live stream after ending it, which could lead to controversy, Yutenji Nyanmu breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at the live stream data on her computer screen, which had almost doubled, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.

"Oh my, the data for this live stream looks great!" she said softly, her tone revealing a hint of pride and satisfaction. She always felt a surge of joy whenever she saw these numbers rise.

She stretched and loosened her muscles, sighing to herself, "What a pity, this kind of data can only appear when I say goodbye to live streaming. I wish I could have this kind of data all the time."

Her words carried a hint of regret and helplessness. She knew that saying goodbye to live streaming would always attract more viewers, but this kind of popularity couldn't last unless she was like those unscrupulous people who wanted to become famous by being controversial, returning after only a few days of quitting, followed by depression, the "Don't Laugh Challenge," and the "Read Comments" combo.

Speaking of reading comments, Miaomeng opened the comment section, wanting to see what the viewers thought about her farewell live stream.

The screen was filled with all sorts of comments and bullet screen messages, almost all of which were trying to persuade her to stay.

"Don't go, Meow Dream! We'll miss you!"

"We hope you can continue streaming. We want to see more content!"

"Miaomeng's makeup videos are really great, and the cosmetics she recommends are also excellent. Is it really time to say goodbye?"

As Miaomeng browsed the comments, she felt a warmth in her heart. Although she only became a content creator to gain fame, seeing the viewers' pleas for her to stay still made her feel reluctant to leave.

She continued reading the comments section, gently tapping on the keyboard, and replied to some particularly touching messages, thanking them for their continued companionship and support. This was also to maintain her persona as a content creator, so that she would have a backup plan should the band fail in the future.

"Thank you everyone, I've had a really great time with you all." Miaomeng typed these words and clicked send. The comments on the screen increased again, with more viewers leaving messages expressing their reluctance to part with her and their blessings.

Looking at the keyword that had appeared at the bottom of the trending list of a non-existent app on my phone—"#Miaomengqin announces temporary retirement."

She sighed. This was all excellent publicity. "It's just a pity that Ms. Sakura's band is a masked band. Otherwise, with my fans, I should have been able to get more in the contract."

Before she could complain for long, she received an email in her work inbox.

"Hmm? Did they see the buzz surrounding Miaomeng's retirement and want to get her to advertise for them?"

It's not surprising that Miao Meng would have such thoughts. In the video, she only said that she would participate in the selection, but did not say that she had signed with an agency.

Companies that are obsessed with generating buzz will naturally be tempted by the sudden surge in popularity of "ordinary people" like Miaomeng, since such advertising opportunities that generate buzz at a low cost are not available every day.

"Let Meow Dream see which greedy capitalist wants to cooperate with Meow Dream."

As she spoke, she logged into her work email account. However, when she saw the emails marked as unread, the smile on her face, which had been anticipating a small amount of money, instantly froze.

Miao Meng opened her work email with high hopes, expecting to see some advertising collaboration emails. However, when she saw the subject of the unread email, the smile on her face instantly froze.

“New Band Rehearsal Plan…” Miao Meng muttered to herself, her brows furrowing slightly. She quickly opened the email, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.

The email was concise and clear; it contained sheet music and rehearsal plans from the new band she was about to join. The email explicitly required her to familiarize herself with all the pieces before the first rehearsal and included some specific practice suggestions and precautions.

"So it wasn't an advertising collaboration, but... sheet music for a band." Miao Meng sighed, her gaze lingering on the screen for a moment, her heart filled with complex emotions.

Miao Meng slowly read through the email and saw a note at the end: "Since Miao Meng has personally announced that she will participate in the audition, if she doesn't meet our requirements during rehearsals, her salary will be deducted."

"What?! Isn't that just an excuse they gave to the public? How could they actually believe it!" Miao Meng seemed indignant. She clenched her fists and waved them in the air a few times, as if attacking a manager who didn't actually exist there.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. Although she was somewhat reluctant, she knew that complaining wouldn't help her learn the pieces. She opened the sheet music attached to the email; the screen displayed densely packed notes and complex rhythms.

The neighbor living next door to Miaomeng's house was lying in bed reading a light novel on her phone when she suddenly felt the bed beneath her shake, followed by a woman's scream.

"What are all these things?!"

------------

"I'm so sorry, I got a little emotional just now. I'll be more careful with my volume next time. I'm really sorry for the trouble."

After apologizing to the neighbor who came to her door, Miao Meng stared blankly at the sheet music on her computer. If it were just one song, it would be fine, but the attached two or three songs were practically drummer's broken hand songs.

Miao Meng could vaguely see a future where she would be waving drumsticks in despair, breaking her own hands in the process.

"I hope I haven't joined some shady band. Why does the keyboard look so much easier than the drums? The keyboardist can't be Sakura-san's daughter, can he?"

She thought about the only blue-haired girl who had been released earlier, the one who was hugging Chu Hua. According to the information she had, the girl was the keyboardist of their band.

She was able to create such a big "scandal" with the popular star and idol, Mitsumi Hatsuka, and even her agency helped with public relations to turn the hype around, without the person involved ever showing up.

In her view, there are only two possibilities: either this matter was arranged in advance, or the other party was arranged to join the band by the company leaders, so they had to protect her.

In a way, Miss Meow Dream actually guessed a bit of the truth, but it was necessary to combine her two guesses. After all, Toyokawa Bussan's name was on Ave_Mujica's list of sponsors, so it was perfectly reasonable to say that Miss Shoko had a relationship with the company's sponsors.

When the performance begins: Chapter 176 Dengxiang's Second Meeting

During her lunch break, Xiangzi went to the rooftop of Haneoka Girls' Academy and dialed Sakura Sakura's number. A gentle breeze blew by, carrying a hint of coolness, but Xiangzi's heart was filled with anxiety.

"Is it still just Xiao Mu who's missing in the end?" She looked at the clouds on the horizon, her tone tinged with helplessness.

Sakura Sakura sighed on the other end of the phone, her tone equally heavy, "Yes, the other candidates have all signed contracts, only Ms. Wakaba Mutsumi hasn't arrived yet."

"Did she say why she hasn't agreed yet?" Xiangzi gripped his phone tightly, his mind filled with questions.

Sakura Sakura looked at the several contracts on the table, and Wakaba Mutsu's contract stood out. "She didn't explain it clearly, she just kept hesitating."

"Shoko-chan probably knows too, right? Our goal is the second BangDream competition. If Ms. Wakaba Mutsu doesn't agree soon, we'll consider finding someone else." Sakura Sakura's voice carried a hint of helplessness and determination.

Xiangzi remained silent for a moment, thinking to himself, "I will try to communicate with her again, hoping to help her make up her mind."

"Thank you for your help, Shoko-chan," Sakura Sakura said gratefully. "If there's anything else I can help you with, please let me know."