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

Hikawa Hina puffed out her cheeks, put her hands on her hips, and a hint of dissatisfaction flashed in her blue-green eyes. Her expression was as cute as an angry kitten.

She leaned slightly closer to Saya, her cheeks puffed out, and said, "Ugh... even though you ate quite a lot too!"

Although Hina's words contained a hint of complaint, to Tsuki and Riki, it looked exactly like she was being affectionate with her older sister.

"Next!" The waiter's voice urged, and Yue felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

She looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the waitress was wearing W's standard uniform: a red and white striped top, a dark apron, and a small name tag with the word "Cai" on it.

"No way..." Shiina Ritsuki's eyes widened. She had obviously recognized this senior who also came from Hanasakigawa.

"Cai Cai! Two snack platter sets!" The answer to Yue's question was quickly given by the order from Hikawa Nichi.

Climax Stage: Chapter 19 - Bang Dream's Unmissable Collaboration Live Performance

Yue picked up a French fry from the table in front of her, put it in her mouth, chewed it a few times, and then a surprised expression appeared on her face: "These French fries... are really good!"

The fries are crispy on the outside, making a "crunch" sound when you bite into them, while the inside is soft and sweet mashed potatoes. The delicate texture seems to melt on your tongue, bringing a warm sense of satisfaction.

The slight saltiness perfectly balances the sweetness of the fries, making each bite a delightful experience.

The piping hot fries are fresh out of the fryer, emitting an irresistible aroma that makes you want to keep eating them one after another.

The slightly salty, crispy crust of the fries blends perfectly with the soft, fluffy interior, creating a wonderful contrast in texture. The overall taste and texture are simply perfect.

"Right, right! I told you this place's fries are different from other places, they're super delicious!" Hina, sitting across from Tsuki, said excitedly after hearing Tsuki's evaluation.

"Mmm! It's delicious!" Yue nodded and said.

Compared to Hina and Tsuki, who were discussing fries, Shiina Tatsuki and Hikawa Saya seemed much more mature.

Saya elegantly put a French fry into her mouth, chewed slowly, and then said, "I remember you guys are... Mygo?" She casually picked up another French fry from the table, pretending not to care.

"Saya-senpai, have you seen our performance?" Since there were two glaciers present, Riki could only address them by their names.

“Yes.” Saya nodded. “Yuki watched the recording of your performance in Tsukinomori and thought you had a lot of potential, so she started paying a little attention to you.”

"Thank you for the compliment," Li hope said gratefully.

"If possible, Yukina hopes that everyone from Mygo can come to Circle to hold a performance. She seems to want to hear your songs live." Hikawa Saya continued to drop a bombshell on Shiina Tatsuki.

"Huh?!" x2

Lixi and Yue were both stunned. Yue even slammed the hamburger she was holding onto the table.

“Don’t be so nervous, this isn’t a conflict.” Saya said, looking at their expressions. “The audio quality of your online recordings has a lot of background noise. Although it’s not a major issue, she still wants to hear your performance live.”

"Eh? Yukina-chan actually cares this much about your band, Ozuki?" Hina asked, a French fry dangling from her mouth, her hands supporting her cheeks as she looked at Ozuki with curiosity in her eyes.

"I don't know why Yuki-senpai cares about me so much, but we'll do our best!" Yue gave a very formulaic answer.

The truth is, he didn't know why Roselia's lead singer would be interested in them.

"Hmm." Hina's gaze darted back and forth between her older sister and Satsuki, as if she were thinking about something. Suddenly, her eyes lit up, as if she had come up with an idea.

"I've got it!" Hina exclaimed excitedly, slamming her hand on the table and jumping up, startling the drinks on the table which shook.

Riki, Tsuki, and even Saya were startled by Hina's sudden action and quickly asked, "What's wrong, Hina?"

"Wait a moment!" Hina walked away from her sister and ran to Maruyama Aya, who was taking orders. After saying something, Aya spoke with the manager, and then the two of them walked back together.

"Let's hold a joint live performance!" Hina returned to everyone, her face beaming with excitement, and said to Aya and everyone else.

Maruyama Aya blinked, still not quite understanding what was going on, and looked at Hina: "A joint live performance?"

“Yes! We can team up with Poppin'Party, Roselia, and Mygo, and even invite Afterglow, Morfonica, and everyone from Ras to host a big joint live show at Circle!” Hina explained excitedly. “This way, not only will more people know about you, but we can also attract a larger audience and have a great time together!”

Saya frowned slightly, considering the feasibility.

Although the manager gave them a lot of autonomy for this Bang Dream competition, they still need to go back and discuss things when it comes to organizing a joint live performance.

However, she was still very interested in Hina's idea of ​​a joint live performance, but she didn't express it directly.

Looking at the excited expression on her younger sister's face, she didn't explicitly refuse: "I'll discuss it with everyone in Roselia when I get back. But Hina, are you sure you don't have any problems? Your Pastel*Palettes' performance review process is much stricter than ours in Roselia, isn't it?"

"Eh... not at all." Hina, having been reminded by her older sister, had obviously thought of this issue as well, and her excitement subsided slightly.

Aya noticed Hina's worry and smiled reassuringly, "It's okay, Hina-chan. I'll talk to my manager, and she should agree to our participation."

Hearing Aya's words, Hina's smile returned. She nodded and said excitedly, "Then I'll leave it to Aya!"

"Then let's contact Popipa, Afterglow, HHW, and Morfonica. We'll have to trouble you guys with RAS, Saya-senpai."

As the only one of the three bands present who was still in middle school, mygo took the initiative to take on this task.

Their band has a very wide network of connections, spanning Tsuki no Mori, Haneoka, and Hanasaki River, and they get along well with various other bands.

Moreover, being able to perform with so many well-known bands this time, even if they probably don't get many tickets, will definitely greatly increase their popularity.

"Then I'll leave it to you guys, Kozuki!" Hina said happily.

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

After enjoying the fried food, Yue and Lixi didn't go back immediately, but instead strolled around the mall.

"You've finally made it out of the way, don't rush back," Yue said to Lixi with a smile, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Li hope smiled helplessly and nodded.

Ai-yin was pulling a small lamp to study the new costumes for the PV and performance. Lena couldn't be found for a while. Su-se didn't have anything to do, but the three of them couldn't start practicing.

"We just agreed to do a joint performance, and the next second we're out shopping? Is that really okay?"

Shiina Tatsuki, who always liked to put pressure on herself, was a little unaccustomed to it. In her opinion, they should go back and prepare for the performance in two days and the future joint performance.

But when Yue smiled and invited her to go for a walk together, she looked at Yue's smile and somehow, as if possessed, agreed.

"Actually, it's good to relax like this once in a while." Lixi looked at Yue walking ahead of her and silently comforted herself.

Climax Stage: Chapter Twenty - Yuexi's Date (?)

"what to do……"

Hinasaki appeared calm on the surface, but she was actually drenched in sweat.

Although she did indeed suggest going shopping, it was just an idea that popped into her head to prevent herself from continuing to work after hearing that Lixi was going back to practice.

But now that she and Lixi were actually strolling around the mall together, she felt a little regretful.

Unlike when she and Aine went out together, this time they had a clear goal and could go straight for it.

But now when she goes shopping with Lixi, it's really just aimless strolling, because she realizes that she seems to lack some understanding of Lixi's hobbies.

The two talked mostly about band matters and hardly mentioned their own hobbies or interests.

Moreover, even when the topic of the band came up, the interaction between the two was somewhat strange.

Most of the time when Li hope asked Yue for sheet music, Yue actually relied on her own connections to help Li hope consult some well-known musicians.

But perhaps it is precisely because of this that Lixi feels more comfortable being by Yue's side.

Looking at Lixi's profile, Yue felt a mix of emotions.

She wanted to understand Lixi better, but she always felt that their relationship was blocked by an invisible barrier.

She took a deep breath and decided to break the silence.

"In a typical stage script, the female lead is supposed to do this or that... No, no... In order to save time, many parts of a stage play are compressed. The male and female leads are often like Romeo and Juliet, and they may just fall in love at first sight. It has no reference value at all."

"If there's no stage play... then there's only..."

Rikki suddenly turned around, her hands behind her back, a slight smile on her face: "Hey? Rikki, is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

Yue used her performance skills to inflict significant damage on Shiina Tatsuki.

When Lixi saw Yue's gentle smile, his heart skipped a beat.

Yue's eyes were clear, her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her hands were behind her back, making her look both cute and a little mischievous. Her smile was as warm as sunshine, leaving Lixi momentarily stunned and unsure how to respond.

Looking at Rikki's slightly dazed expression, Yue felt a little nervous, almost thinking that she had acted something wrong: "Rikki?"

"When I watched the new anime with Momoko before, it was always like this..."

She didn't seem to realize that she was identifying with the female protagonist of a romance novel.

Lixi snapped out of her daze, her face flushing slightly, her heart racing. "Hmm... it's up to you."

A wave of disappointment washed over Yue. "There's been absolutely no progress..."

She felt a little disappointed, but still maintained a smile, and asked further, "So what does Lixi usually like to do?"

Li hope paused for a moment, her face flushing slightly, and whispered, "...Bear...Panda?"

"Pandas?" Yue gently rested her fingers on her chin, her eyes narrowing slightly as she revealed a mischievous smile just like in an anime. "Then let's go to the zoo to see the pandas together!"

"Huh??" Li hope was stunned for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "Really... really okay?"

Yue smiled and nodded, her eyes gentle. "Of course! Let's go, we'll set off right away."

Lixi's heart pounded, and she felt a warm current surge through her. Her face flushed slightly, and the corners of her mouth involuntarily turned up. "Then...then let's go quickly!"

——————Operation Girls——————

"Rikki really likes pandas." Yue looked at Riki beside her with a gentle smile. Although they had already been to the zoo once before when they went to Hokkaido, they had each gone to see their own favorite animals separately.

This was the first time she had ever seen Lixi like this. Lixi gripped the railing tightly with both hands, her eyes sparkling as she watched the pandas lazily rolling around on the ground in the park, completely absorbed in her work.

The pandas frolicked and played on the grass. One panda rolled onto another, and the two pandas immediately hugged each other and began a friendly "wrestling match".

Upon seeing this, Lixi couldn't help but exclaim, "So cute!"

Yue stood to the side watching Lixi, almost leaning against the railing. She felt that if it weren't for the railing, Lixi would probably have already climbed over it and gotten up close to the panda.

"Rikki, tone it down a bit..." Yue saw that Riki had half her body leaning over the railing and quickly went over to pull her back.

After being interrupted by Yue, Li hope realized that she hadn't been in a good state just now. She quickly wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth and lowered her head shyly: "I...I'm sorry...I was a little out of line."

Yue glanced at the zoo staff watching them intently from a distance and quickly nudged Lixi, "Alright, it's almost time for us to go."

"Huh? So fast?" Li hope looked at her phone and found that, just as Yue had said, their viewing time had already arrived.

“Okay…” Lixi looked back at the pandas in the park with reluctance, her eyes filled with sadness.

Seeing Lixi's reluctant expression, Yue pointed to the souvenir shop not far away and comforted her, "It looks like they have panda-themed merchandise there. Let's go take a look."