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

Stage Climax: Chapter Two Lost Child Flag [0? Four 7? III Master]

As evening fell, the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the earth in a warm golden hue, and the wisps of clouds in the sky were tinged with a brilliant orange-red by the sunset.

Nagasaki Motoyo stood by the street, looked down at the navigation map on her phone, and then looked up at the modern detached villa in front of her.

"This is...Xiaoyue's house?" Nagasaki Motoyo looked at the house number with Hinasaki's surname on it with some uncertainty.

Although she knew that Xiaoyue was a member of a relatively famous idol group, she did not expect that Xiaoyue would live in a detached villa, the kind with a front and back yard and a swimming pool.

"Are idols all this rich now?" Nagasaki Motoyo's gaze lingered on the front yard of the villa. Several neatly trimmed shrubs were planted on the lush green lawn, and there was a small flower bed in one corner of the yard, filled with colorful flowers.

It's obvious that these things require time and effort to maintain, and Yue doesn't seem like the type of person who has the time to do them. Hiring a gardener for regular maintenance would cost a lot of money.

She recalled that Yue had mentioned that after her parents learned that she had earned a lot of money as an idol, they stopped giving her pocket money. Every year, they only paid a series of exorbitant taxes related to the house, such as fixed asset tax and urban planning tax. She paid for water, electricity, gas, and other utilities herself.

"Su Shishi! You're here so early!" The voice came from not far away. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was, since not many people would call her by that name.

Nagasaki Motoyo sighed helplessly, turned to the pink-haired girl in front of her and said, "I told you... Aine, don't call me by that name."

Chihaya Aine smiled, her hands behind her back, her eyes curving into crescents: "Eh? But I think this name is cute! Right, Little Lantern!" She asked Little Lantern beside her.

Takamatsu was clearly taken aback by the sudden question, paused for a moment, and then a shy smile appeared on her face: "Eh? Hmm... very cute."

Su Shi shook his head helplessly, sighing inwardly, "This guy really is impossible to change."

Seeing that Nagasaki Motoyo didn't argue with her anymore, Aine's smile widened even more: "Hey? Motoyo, what are you doing standing at the door? Why don't you go in?"

"Tsk..." Hearing that name from the other party again, Su Shi clicked her tongue in annoyance, then rang the doorbell in front of her.

Not long after, the door in front of them was opened, and Yue peeked out from behind the door.

"You've arrived." A smile appeared on Yue's face. Her gaze moved back and forth between the three of them before finally settling on Su Shi. "Su Shi, Ai Yin, Xiao Deng, come in quickly."

Su Shi nodded to the moon, stepped over the threshold, and caught a glimpse of Ai Yin following behind him with an excited expression.

Inside the house, Li Xi was pulling on Yao Le Nai, who was trying to run around and didn't want to sit properly on the sofa.

"Stray cat, calm down. What I'm about to say is very important. I'll treat you to matcha after I'm done." Shiina Riki tried his best to suppress the restless Rakuna, but in the end, he had to use his special ability against Rakuna to calm her down.

"Lixi, why are you in such a hurry to have us gather at Yue's house?" Su Shi asked directly, her brows furrowing slightly, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Regarding the Bang Dream competition we mentioned before, Ring has received the specific plan today." As Li hope spoke, she pulled out photos she had taken at Ring that day and handed them to everyone to see.

Yue, Ai Yin, Xiao Deng, and Su Shi all gathered around, staring intently at the phone screen, carefully examining the content displayed in the photos, which showed the detailed rules and schedule of the competition.

While everyone was browsing the Bang Dream competition rules on their phones, Shiina Tatsuki continued his commentary: "This year's competition is even more intense than before. Since the announcement this afternoon, as of this afternoon when Kasumi-senpai and I switched shifts, more than 300 bands have already registered."

"More than 300 bands? That many?" Ai Yin exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide. "Are we going to get lost in the crowd?"

Yue frowned deeply as she pondered the question: "I remember... last year the total number of participating bands was only... a little over 300, less than 400, right?" Her voice was filled with shock and unease.

Li hope nodded and continued, "That's right, these are the numbers for the first day. There's still a week and a half until the auditions start, so the number of bands that have signed up will definitely increase."

Yue roughly estimated the number of participating bands, and a cold sweat broke out on her face: "If we make a minimum estimate... the number of participating bands this year could reach more than six hundred?"

“600 bands…” Xiao Deng’s amber eyes trembled slightly when she heard the number Yue mentioned.

Shiina Tatsuki continued, "Actually, according to information from Ms. Rinrinko, there are currently 1695 bands registered to perform in various Live Houses. Although many of these have disbanded or are temporary bands, this year's competition is actually calculated based on 800 bands participating."

This number made the atmosphere in the room even more tense. Everyone looked at each other, clearly pondering the immense competitive pressure.

Shiina Tatsuki's gaze swept across the faces of the band members before she spoke, "Although I don't know what everyone is thinking, didn't we already make our decision a long time ago?"

Her voice was firm, carrying an inspiring power. Everyone turned to look at her, and Lixi continued, "Whether it's to let more people hear Xiaodeng's singing." As she said this, she placed her hand on her chest, her eyes shining with determination.

"To shine on stage..." Her gaze fell on Hinasaki Tsuki, who nodded.

"To make the band more famous..." Chihaya Aine smiled a little shyly when she saw Shiina Tatsuki looking at her.

"In order to see the person I want to see again..." Nagasaki Motoyo turned her head and looked at the sofa, a complex emotion welling up in her heart.

"To hold a live performance." Kaoru nodded, seemingly agreeing with Riki's words, a faint smile appearing on her face.

"Or perhaps it's to form a band for life..." Xiao Deng nodded, her eyes filled with hope and longing.

"This Bang Dream competition has given us a stage to achieve our goals." Li hope's voice was full of power as her gaze swept across everyone's faces again.

"So... does everyone want to participate?" Shiina Tatsuki's gaze swept over everyone's faces one last time.

"We can hold a live show! We have to participate!" Yao Le Nai was the first to respond to Li Xi's call, her smile becoming even brighter.

"Of course I won't miss the opportunity to become even more famous!" Chihaya Aine said with a grin, her eyes filled with excitement and anticipation.

“Of course I wouldn’t miss such a vast stage,” Hinasaki said with a smile.

“Since Li Xi, you’ve already said so…” Su Shi said, clearly having tacitly agreed.

Finally, everyone's gaze turned to Xiaodeng, the only one who hadn't spoken. Xiaodeng's eyes swept over everyone, and then she slowly said, "I... want to be in a band with everyone for the rest of my life. No matter how many times we fall, how many times we feel lost, even if we become covered in wounds and mud, I still want to... always be in a band with everyone."

"Simply staying in a student band won't make you a lifelong band..." Xiaodeng continued, her voice filled with determination and resolve, "So... you have to participate!"

"Ah! That's it!" After hearing Xiaodeng's words, Aiyin stood up and found the lyrics draft that Xiaodeng had written in her notebook, which she had taken a picture of earlier, in her phone's photo album.

"Lost," Ai said, pointing to her phone screen. "The lost band, the lost children! (maigo)"

Climax Stage: Chapter 3 Study Session (Part 1)

"It's a bit hot..." Hinasaki lay with her entire upper body on the table in the Astronomy Club, her cheek pressed against the cool wooden surface, trying to relieve the heat through heat conduction.

The sunlight outside the window was blinding, and the scorching air felt suffocating. Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, and her damp bangs clung to her forehead, making her look somewhat disheveled.

Hinasaki would occasionally look up, squinting at the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of a breeze, but all she could see were the scorching shadows cast by the sunlight on the playground. She sighed softly, feeling a sense of powerlessness and frustration.

"There was nothing we could do... who knew the fan would break down."

Aine, standing to the side, had already changed into Haneoka's summer school uniform. She wore a white shirt with a yellow cardigan, and her skirt swayed gently with her movements, making her look exceptionally refreshing.

"Moon, don't you need to review?" Ai Yin's gaze was focused on the textbook, and she occasionally underlined important points on the paper with her pen, appearing exceptionally serious. Her voice carried a hint of concern and doubt.

Beside her, Takamatsu was also engrossed in battling dreadful math problems, her lips slightly pursed, clearly annoyed by the complex formulas and solutions.

"Ah... well, I've already studied the first-year high school material once. The entrance exam used the material from the end of the first year, but I still didn't make it into the second year." Yue fanned herself with her hand, trying to relieve some of the irritation caused by the heat.

"Oh right... I'm so used to spending time with Yue that I forgot you and Momo are in the same year." Aine suddenly realized that Yue had this background, and a look of sudden realization appeared on her face.

"Um... Tsuki, could you help me figure out how to do this problem?" Aine handed the exercise book to Hinasaki, her eyes filled with expectation and request.

Yue took the exercise book, glanced at the questions, and thought that she could easily solve them since she had already learned them once. However, when she saw the content of the questions, her heart sank.

This problem didn't seem as simple as she remembered it; the complex formulas and solution steps left her somewhat bewildered.

Fine beads of sweat began to appear on her forehead; her palms were also slightly sweaty.

"Hmm... this question..." Yue tried to hide her unease. She frowned and scanned the exercise book back and forth, trying to recall the relevant knowledge points.

She wrote down a few formulas on a piece of paper, but soon felt confused and her thoughts became increasingly chaotic.

"What's wrong, Yue? Is this question difficult?" Ai asked with some concern when Yue didn't respond for a long time.

Yueqiang forced a smile, looked up at Aiyin and said, "It's nothing, I just forgot some parts, let me think about it again." Her voice carried a hint of reluctance and embarrassment.

"Ah, it's nothing, I'm just a little hot and my mind isn't quite working." Yue tried to remain calm and continued doodling on the paper, attempting to hide her unease.

Time passed second by second, and Yue's face grew increasingly pale, and she sweated more and more. She had to admit that she had forgotten a lot of the knowledge points.

Finally, she put down her pen and sighed helplessly: "Aine, how about we have a study session at my house today?"

———————Girl in Studying———————

"So... is this why you messaged us in the chat group to bring our textbooks?" Nagasaki Motoyo looked at Hinasaki Tsuki, who was engrossed in her studies, with a helpless expression. Fine beads of sweat had appeared on Tsuki's forehead, and her pen was moving rapidly across the paper, making her appear somewhat anxious.

Beside her, Chihaya Aine was leisurely sipping tea, a satisfied smile on her face. Takamatsu Akari sat on the other side of Tsuki, trying to help him absorb the knowledge with encouraging eyes, but clearly to no avail.

"Why are we suddenly having a study session?" Su Shi asked Aine and Akari as she took her seat.

Ai Yin put down her teacup and explained to Su Shi with a smile, "Today, Xiao Deng and I were cramming for the final exam question in the Astronomy Department. Xiao Yue said she didn't need to review, so I took the question to her for help. But I didn't expect that Xiao Yue would make mistakes not only on the final question, but also on the easy questions."

Upon hearing this, Su Shi frowned. She turned to look at Yue, her eyes filled with suspicion and reproach: "So how exactly do you complete your homework?"

Yue smiled awkwardly, lowered her head and remained silent, looking somewhat guilty. She knew that her attitude towards studying had indeed become somewhat lax recently, and she had forgotten many knowledge points.

As for regular homework... well, in this internet age, many things no longer require human intervention.

Su Shi sighed and shook her head helplessly, but her eyes held a hint of concern and understanding. "In that case, let's study together."

She took out her textbooks and notebooks from her schoolbag, just as she was about to start reviewing, when she suddenly realized that she couldn't see Lixi and Lenai.

"Speaking of which, didn't Lixi and Lena come?" Su Shi looked around and noticed that the two of them were missing.

Ai Yin looked up, showing her phone screen, and said, "Rikki just said in the group chat that she just found Rakuna and will be here soon."

Su Shi couldn't help but sigh, feeling a touch of helplessness in her heart: "Rakuna-chan... how do you even manage to go to school all the time..."

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Shiina Tatsuki, whose name was called, suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose, looked at Rakuna under the cardboard box in front of her, and sighed helplessly.

She had just searched all the places in Hanasaki River where Rakuna usually stayed, whether in the trees, in the bushes, or even on the rooftops, but she couldn't find Rakuna anywhere.

Finally, she found a large cardboard box in the grass in the courtyard. The box sat quietly on the grass, and the cleaning staff didn't seem to have any intention of removing it.

With suspicion, Lixi went up to the box and opened it, only to find Lena sleeping at the bottom. She was curled up, with a peaceful expression on her face, seemingly unaware that she was lying in such a strange place.

“Le Nai…” Li hope shook her head helplessly and sighed. She squatted down and gently patted Le Nai’s shoulder, trying to wake her up: “Le Nai, wake up, school is over.”

Lena opened her sleepy eyes, blinked when she saw Rikki, then slowly sat up and stretched. "Rikki found you. Are you going to training already?"

Li hope shook his head. "The exams are coming up soon. We need to pass the exams first so that we can have enough energy to prepare for the competition during the summer vacation. So today is a study session."

Climax Stage: Chapter Four Study Session (Part 2)

It was half an hour later when Shiina Riki brought Rakuna to Tsukishiro's house.

"Sorry, it took me a lot of time to find the stray cat today," Li hope said as she walked in.

"It's alright, we've only just begun here." Su Shi said to Li hope while giving Yue instructions, holding a pen in her hand.

Lixi nodded, put down her schoolbag, and prepared to join everyone in studying. Le Nai, on the other hand, seemed a little unhappy. She pouted, crossed her arms, and looked away.

"Ugh... studying is boring," Lena complained, clearly having no interest in studying at all. Her eyes were fixed on the window, as if she was thinking about something more interesting.

Seeing Rakuna like this, Su Shi couldn't help but frown, her tone carrying a hint of admonition: "Rakuna-chan, if you fail the exam, you'll have to attend make-up classes during the summer vacation, and then you won't be able to perform live every day."

Upon hearing this, Lena's body trembled slightly, clearly moved by her words. She slowly turned her head to look at Aine, her eyes filled with reluctance and struggle.