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

As Ruoye Mu watched Su Shi's departing figure, a hint of grievance flashed in her eyes. "I couldn't say... about wanting Su Shi to come see our performance..."

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In Ave_Mujica's training room, Miaomeng lay on the table grumbling, "I don't feel any relief at all after the exams. Instead, it feels like the end of the world for Miaomeng to kiss me."

“Xiao Xiang… the sheet music he wrote is indeed a bit too difficult for a drummer,” Chu Hua, who was sitting next to Miao Meng, said after hearing her words.

"Right, right! My hand is about to break from all the kisses Miaomeng gave me." Miaomeng said, shaking her hand repeatedly to prove the truth of her words.

At this moment, Xiangzi and Mutsu pushed open the door and walked into the recording studio. Her gaze fell on Yutenji Nyanmu: "It seems that you are in good spirits, Amoris. You can increase the amount of training later."

"Ugh! No! People will die!" Meow Dream cried out, almost sliding off the chair.

"It looks like everyone's having a great time." Momoko Kurosawa and Kairin Hachiman arrived late.

"We can finally start rehearsals now. I've been working on the stage play parts for a long time," Momoko Kurosawa said, looking at the group that had finally gathered together.

"So, before the rehearsal starts, shall we do that?" Momoko Kurosawa asked with great interest.

"Since it's a rehearsal, let's go through it from beginning to end," Xiangzi agreed with Taozi's suggestion.

The crowd formed a circle, and Xiangzi then said, "I won't talk about enjoying the stage. Since everyone has chosen to join this band, we are all 'accomplices' now. We only have one goal—to win first place at the Tokyo Dome."

Xiangzi's gaze lingered on each person in turn: "Then let's begin."

Everyone placed their hands on their chests, then stretched them straight down in an arc, and chanted together, "Ave Mujica".

Their voices were clear and firm, echoing in the training room as if proclaiming their shared vow.

Climax Stage: Chapter Six - Practice Before the Auditions (Part 1)

The two-day final exams have finally come to an end, and the band girls have officially entered the "happy" summer vacation period, with countless practice sessions and performances to come.

“This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with ‘happiness’ at all…” Chihaya Aine put down her guitar and lay down on the sofa in the recording studio. She covered her forehead with one hand, as if trying to block out the non-existent sunlight.

"Aine... if Riki sees this, she'll scold you again." Yue walked over from the keyboard, holding a bottle of water. She looked at Aine, who was lying comfortably on the sofa, with a hint of helplessness on her face.

"Hmm... but Riki isn't here right now..." Aine said lazily, her eyes half-open.

“Even if Lixi isn’t here, we still need to be self-disciplined, after all, we’re preparing to participate in the Bang Dream competition.”

Yue smiled and sat down in the seat that Aine had given up. Looking at Aine's delicate feet, a mischievous idea suddenly popped into her head. She gently took Aine's ankles and placed Aine's small feet on her thighs.

"Huh? What are you doing, Yue?" Aine was startled by Yue's sudden movement and looked at her in surprise, her face showing a puzzled expression.

Yue smiled slyly, offering no reply, but instead began to gently stroke the soles of Aine's feet. Her fingers slid over Aine's dark green mid-length socks, feeling their soft texture and the warmth of Aine's soles.

"Ah! Yue...it tickles!" Aine couldn't help but giggle softly, twisting her body slightly as she tried to avoid Yue's "attack." Her cheeks were slightly flushed, clearly embarrassed by Yue's prank.

"Can't take it already?" Yue smiled even more slyly, her fingers continuing to slide gently on the soles of Ai Yin's feet, sometimes pressing, sometimes scraping, as if playing a silent melody.

"Ugh...don't do this, Yue..." Ai Yin laughed as she tried to break free, but her strength seemed to be somewhat lacking at this moment, and her laughter mixed with a little panting echoed in the recording studio.

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Shiina Tatsuki had just finished her part-time job at Ring for the day and, as usual, arrived at the Tsukiya residence. She took out her key and skillfully opened the door.

That's right, Yue actually provided spare keys for the other five members of the band so that they could use the recording studio equipment when she wasn't home.

Because various well-known bands were performing at Circle, they couldn't book a recording studio. Just when this crisis was over, the second Bang Dream competition was launched immediately, causing many bands from other places to flock to Tokyo, and all the live houses were undoubtedly packed again.

Compared to the first Bang Dream competition, the second Bang Dream actually started to test the bands in terms of hardware equipment.

Bands like Poppin'Party, RAISE A SUILEN, Morfonica, Hello Happy World, and Pastel*Palettes, who have their own rehearsal spaces, don't need to worry about renting recording studios and can practice anytime, anywhere.

This already puts them at a significant disadvantage compared to other bands that have to consider the time limit for using recording studios, or even other bands that can't rent recording studios at all.

As Li hope was thinking this, she had already walked to the door of the basement. Just as she was about to turn the handle and go in, she heard Ai Yin's strange voice coming from inside the door.

"Ugh...don't do this, Xiaoyue..."

Although there was laughter, it was also tinged with a slight panting. Li hope's hand on the doorknob instantly stiffened.

Her face flushed instantly, her heart raced, and inappropriate images flashed through her mind. Lixi's gaze lingered between the doorknob and the door, her heart filled with conflict. Her hand trembled slightly as she hesitated, wondering whether to push the door open further.

"What are they doing?" Lixi wondered to herself, the images in her mind becoming increasingly blurry and chaotic.

She felt a sudden, inexplicable heartache, as if something was stuck in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

There shouldn't be anything between Yue and me... we've just slept together at her house a few times.

Shiina Tatsuki was unaware of just how ambiguous her thoughts were.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, but her thoughts remained chaotic.

Lixi's gaze lingered on the doorknob for a moment, a thousand thoughts flashing through her mind, before she finally pushed the door open gently.

The scene inside the door instantly came into view, and Lixi was stunned.

The unspeakable scenes she had imagined did not appear. Instead, Yue was sitting on the sofa, holding Aine's ankle and gently tickling the soles of her feet with her fingers, while Aine was lying on the sofa, laughing so hard that tears were almost streaming down her face.

Seeing Lixi enter, Aiyin immediately stopped laughing, her face still bearing a lingering smile: "Lixi, come save me! Xiaoyue is bullying me!"

Yue looked up at Lixi and said with a smile, "I was just teasing her. You've come at the perfect time. Do you want to help?"

Li hope paused for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile: "You guys, really, you gave me a fright."

"Huh? What?" Yue looked a little confused when she heard Li hope's words.

"It's nothing... Why aren't you two practicing properly? What are you doing here?" Li hope blushed slightly and quickly tried to cover up the misunderstanding.

Upon hearing Rikki's words, Aine immediately sat up, showing off her fingers with a hint of grievance in her voice: "Rikki, I practiced diligently, look, my fingers are all red."

"Isn't this just the basics for a guitarist?" Li hope said irritably, with a hint of helplessness in his voice.

"Hey~ Xiaoyue, look at Lixi!" Seeing that Lixi wasn't falling for her charm, Aiyin turned to Xiaoyue beside her and started acting cute, her voice tinged with grievance.

Yue smiled slightly, looking at Ai Yin's slightly reddened fingertips, and said gently, "Do you need me to massage them for you?"

After saying that, she gently took Ai Yin's fingers in her hand, her movements delicate and tender, and gently massaged Ai Yin's fingertips with her fingertips.

Aine enjoyed Yue's care, a happy smile on her face. She gently closed her eyes, seemingly immersed in this warmth.

Lixi stood to the side, watching the scene with a complicated expression. The misunderstanding that had just dissipated surged up again, and her chest tightened slightly. Watching the two of them act made her feel somewhat uneasy.

"You've rested enough, right? Time to get ready to continue practicing," Li hope said, trying to interrupt them.

Yue looked up at Lixi, a hint of doubt in her eyes, but she still smiled gently: "Okay, let's continue practicing right away."

Aine noticed Rikki's change in mood, opened her eyes slightly, looked at her, and said with a smile, "Rikki, are you tired too? Do you want Yueya to give you a massage?"

Climax Stage: Chapter Seven - Practice Before the Auditions (Part 2)

"Tsk... I don't need it..." Lixi subconsciously wanted to refuse, but Aine had already pressed her back into her original seat.

Ai Yin wasn't very strong, but Li hope was still forced to sit on the chair. She didn't know why she didn't feel like resisting. Maybe she was actually looking forward to it?

Yue smiled and walked behind Lixi, gently placing her hands on Lixi's shoulders, her fair and slender fingertips beginning to slowly press.

"Relax a little, Lixi." Yue's voice was gentle and soothing, which gradually relaxed Lixi's tense body.

"Hmm...she has absolutely no intention of resisting..."

Having completely given up resisting, she closed her eyes and felt Yue's fingers gently sliding across her shoulder.

Yue's fingertips gently pressed on Lixi's shoulder blades, finding the tense spot, and gently kneaded it. Lixi felt a comfortable warm current spread from her shoulder throughout her body, and she couldn't help but hum a soft "Mmm..."

"What's wrong? Does it hurt? Should I be gentler?" Yue asked after hearing Li hope's words.

"It's nothing, it doesn't hurt, it's just...it feels so good." Li hope gently shook her head, a faint blush appearing on her face, and said in a low voice.

"Shall I continue?" Yue asked worriedly, pausing her movements slightly.

“Hmm…” Li hope replied softly, her face flushed, her voice almost like a whisper.

"I never expected Rikki to have such a cute side~" Aine teased Rikki, noticing the blush on her face, her eyes sparkling with mischievousness.

"Nonsense..." Li hope closed her eyes, not wanting to look at Ai Yin, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.

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"I'm late..." Xiaodeng peeked in through the door and saw Shiina Riki with a blushing expression, Aine grinning mischievously beside her, and Yue standing behind Riki.

"Little lamp, you're finally here!" Ai Yin greeted Gao Songdeng with a smile as soon as she saw him peek in.

Hearing the sound, Lixi turned around and saw the small light at the door. Her blush deepened.

She quickly sat up straight, trying to hide her earlier embarrassment: "Xiaodeng, why are you so late? Did something happen?"

"Hmm... there are some new Band-Aids in the shopping street." Xiao Deng took out a few Band-Aids from her pocket, which had various penguin designs on them.

"Penguin! So cute!" Ai Yin walked over to Xiao Deng, her eyes shining as she looked at the penguin-patterned band-aid in her hand.

Xiao Deng smiled slightly, handed a band-aid to Ai Yin, and softly introduced, "Um... these are emperor penguins. They are the largest of all penguins."

Xiao Deng then took out another band-aid from his pocket. "This is for an Adelie penguin; they're very good at gliding."

Then she took out a band-aid: "This is a yellow-eyed penguin. They have a ring of yellow feathers around their eyes, which makes them look very unique."

Ai Yin took the band-aid and examined it carefully: "Yellow-eyed penguin... I didn't know there were so many kinds of penguins."

“And this…” Xiaodeng took out another band-aid, “This is a Galapagos penguin, they are the only penguins that live near the equator.”

"Penguins live on the equator?" Yue looked incredulous when she heard Xiaodeng's explanation. "I always thought penguins only lived in Antarctica."

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Su Shi "carried" Yue Nai into the room, frowned as she looked at the group of people surrounding Xiao Deng and asked, "What are you doing?"

When Ai Yin saw Su Shi arrive, she immediately went up to her excitedly and shared the penguin facts she had just learned: "Hey, Su Shi, did you know? Penguins live near the equator! Do you know which kind?"

To Aine's surprise, Suze immediately recognized the penguin's name: "It's a Galapagos penguin, right?"

"Huh? Su Shishi, how did you know?" Ai Yin's eyes widened, looking quite surprised.

Su Shi's eyes instantly turned somewhat melancholy, and she said in a low voice, "I learned about it when I went to the aquarium with my mother when I was little..." Her voice gradually lowered, carrying a trace of reminiscence and sadness.

Yue noticed that Su Shi seemed a little off and quickly changed the subject: "Why did Rakuna-chan come with you?"

Upon hearing this, Su Shi's melancholy subsided slightly, and she replied, "I happened to run into Le Nai-chan on the street, so I brought her here with matcha candy."

Her tone became more relaxed, and after speaking, she took out another matcha candy from her pocket and placed it in Lena's hand.

Upon hearing Su Shi's reply, Yue couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "Haha... In any case, we're all here now, so it's almost time to start training."