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

Thinking of this, Lixi immediately turned on the shower. Slightly cool water sprayed from the showerhead, and water droplets flowed down her hair as she tried to calm herself down.

On the other side, Yue sat on the sofa, her hands tightly gripping her knees, her heart filled with conflicting emotions.

Her thoughts didn't stop when Lixi entered the bathroom; on the contrary, they became even more chaotic. She kept glancing towards the bathroom, listening to the sound of running water, her heart racing involuntarily.

After a while, Lixi finally came out of the bathroom, her face flushed.

Her hair wasn't completely dry, clinging damply to her cheeks. Yue's heart tightened when she saw it, but she still managed a smile: "All done washing?"

"Hmm..." Li hope responded softly, lowered her head and quickly walked to the sofa to sit down, clearly feeling a little embarrassed.

"Well... I'm going to take a shower too." Yue stood up, trying to sound casual, and then quickly walked towards the bathroom.

——————A young girl taking a bath——————

After taking a shower, Yue gently pushed open the bathroom door, and the damp steam seeped out from the crack as she moved.

Unlike Lixi, she didn't change into pajamas; instead, she simply wrapped herself in a white bath towel.

The bath towel clung to her body, revealing her smooth, white shoulders and collarbone. Water droplets, not yet completely dried, slid down her skin, leaving glistening marks on her fair complexion.

Her long hair was slightly damp, with a few strands clinging to her neck, adding a touch of languid sexiness.

The edge of the bath towel just covered her chest, revealing the beautiful lines of her collarbone, while below it tightly wrapped around her waist and hips, revealing her long, slender legs, straight and delicate, as if sculpted perfectly.

Yue gently raised her hand to brush away the damp hair from her cheek, her movement carrying an unintentional gentleness. Every movement of hers seemed so natural, yet full of allure.

Lixi was sitting on the sofa, looking down at her phone.

When she heard the bathroom door open and looked up, she was instantly stunned by Yue's appearance.

Her gaze darted around aimlessly, her cheeks flushed rapidly, and even her ears began to burn.

Lixi's breathing became rapid. She involuntarily looked away, but couldn't help but steal glances in the direction of the moon.

Yue walked over and sat down next to Lixi, moving slightly closer, feeling the faint warmth emanating from her body and the fresh fragrance after her bath.

Lixi could clearly hear her own rapid heartbeat, the pounding so intense it seemed about to burst through her chest. She desperately tried to hide her nervousness and shyness, but the increasingly burning sensation on her cheeks left her nowhere to hide. Her fingers gripped the edge of the sofa tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white and appearing somewhat stiff.

"Moon...?" Li hope's voice was like a soft murmur, almost swallowed up by the surrounding air.

Her gaze remained lowered, daring not to look at the moon, but the faint fragrance permeated the air, surrounding her and making it impossible for her to ignore.

Yue gently moved her body closer to Lixi, her breathing becoming somewhat rapid.

Her fingers slowly reached out towards Lixi, her fingertips trembling slightly, and the tension and anticipation in her heart made her heart beat faster.

“We’ve finished eating…and now we’ve taken a shower…so finally…” Yue’s voice trembled slightly with unease.

Her fingers lightly touched Lixi's little finger. The instantaneous touch made her heart skip a beat, and a feeling like being electrocuted instantly spread throughout her body. She abruptly withdrew her hand.

When Lixi felt that touch, her whole body involuntarily tensed up, as if an electric current was transmitted from her fingertips to her heart, bringing an indescribable thrill.

Instinctively, she almost instantly grabbed Yue's hand, which was trying to pull away. Her hand was slightly warm, and her heart was pounding so fast it felt like it would jump out of her chest.

"What am I doing..." A trace of regret flashed through Lixi's mind, and sweat seeped out from her palms, making them a little slippery.

But since she had already made this decision, she decided to just go all in.

“Lixi…” Yue’s hand froze in mid-air after Lixi grabbed it, and her whole body trembled slightly. Her heart was pounding like a drum, and her words were full of panic.

Li Xi leaned forward, but Yue kept retreating. Although she had prepared herself mentally, when she actually got to this point, she found that her fear and unease were stronger than she had imagined.

The two lay down on the sofa. Yue lowered her gaze slightly, not daring to meet Li hope's eyes. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, showing her extreme nervousness.

She could feel the warmth of Lixi's palm, and that warmth made her feel somewhat lost. She held Lixi's hand tightly, trying to find some comfort in that touch, but the panic in her heart could not be calmed.

Lixi carefully placed her other hand on Yue's back, feeling her body trembling slightly.

Her heart wasn't completely calm, but she tried to appear composed.

She lowered her head and looked at Yue with gentle eyes: "Yue...it's okay, we can take it slowly."

A faint blush crept onto Yue's cheeks from nervousness and shyness. She nodded slightly, as if this brief gesture had exhausted all her courage.

She finally raised her gaze, opened her eyes, and looked at Lixi. Their eyes met in the air, as if a communication of souls needed no words, and their two hearts resonated at that moment.

Yue's breathing was a little rapid. She opened her mouth slightly, but didn't know what to say.

Lixi sensed her hesitation and nervousness, gazed at Yue's slightly trembling lips, leaned forward, and gently pressed his lips to Yue's lips.

Outside the window, rain began to fall in perfect harmony with the atmosphere, leaving only the sound of raindrops hitting the floor inside the room.

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The following content cannot be viewed here.

There shouldn't be any problem, right...? (embarrassed)

Stage Climax: Episode 21 - Shimokitazawa and the Band

Shimokitazawa is located a short distance from Shibuya and Shinjuku, but compared to their modernity, it is full of a rustic charm.

Small theaters, vintage clothing stores, folk music, and street performers are all labels associated with this area. It consistently ranks among the top streets in Japan that people most want to live in, earning it the reputation as a paradise of subcultures and the most desirable neighborhood for young people in Tokyo.

I visited the Honda Theater in Shimokitazawa a month ago to see a few plays. I must say that although it is a small theater, the atmosphere for watching plays is just as good.

She also remembers that after each performance, the streetlights were dim, and street performers played guitars, creating a unique atmosphere.

Of course, Yue brought Lixi here today not to see a play.

Shimokitazawa is also a sacred place for girl bands. It was here, in the Shimokitazawa Garden, that a girl band started their performances, and then 7 years later, they and their friends went up to the Seibu Dome.

The lead singer of this girls' band is the current president of the Takeya Company—Miss Aimi (Note 1).

"So, Sanling Jiu? San Lengqi and San Wu, our purpose today is a pilgrimage to the holy site?" Shiina Tatsuki asked Tsuki, looking at the Shimokitazawa brochure he had casually picked up from the station's display shelf.

“No, why would you think that, Rikki?” Yue asked, somewhat surprised. “Besides, GARDEN moved out of Shimokitazawa two years ago.”

“Our destination today is here.” Yue showed Lixi her phone screen, which displayed navigation to a live house called Starry.

"Starry?" Li hope looked at the live house in the basement with some confusion. "You came here to see a show?"

“Hmm.” Yue nodded. “Although it’s not in the band performance videos you collected, Lixi, this band is quite popular lately. They got 100 tickets yesterday alone.”

"Isn't this just an ordinary number?" Shiina Tatsuki had no idea what was so special about this band.

“But Starry only has a capacity of 100 people,” Yue said with a smile.

Li hope paused for a moment, then widened her eyes in surprise: "So, their performance yesterday was sold out? Was it a solo performance?"

"No, it's a joint performance," Yue said, shaking her head.

With only 100 votes, Bang Dream's ranking might be over 200, which is insignificant.

But if their band's performance ability is enough to get all the audience members in a live house to vote for them, then that ability is terrifying.

There were bands that could achieve this level in the previous competition, even three – popipa, roselia, and Ras – but all three of them made it to the Bang Dream finals.

If they are truly that strong, does that mean they have the makings of champions?

“That’s right, the place was completely full, and they got all the votes.” Yue nodded. “So I decided to come and take a look.”

Following the navigation instructions, the two walked through several streets and saw an unidentified pink "creature" squatting in front of a flower bed.

The "creature" had yellow and blue hair ornaments on its head, and looked like a snake, curled up, with its body swaying slightly.

"What... is this?" Yue looked at the snake-like creature in front of her with yellow and blue hair ornaments on its head, her eyes revealing a glint of "wisdom".

"It's probably... a Tsuchiya snake?" Riki searched among the creatures he knew and finally found a similar creature in Japanese legends.

"Isn't that a Japanese legend?" Yue's tone was full of shock and doubt.

Just as the two were puzzled, a blonde girl with a single ponytail and a triangular, potato chip-shaped ahoge (a cowlick-like hair sticking up on her head) rushed over. Upon seeing the pink "creature," she quickly called out, "Boqi-chan! Are you alright?"

“Rainbow Summer… Lu Ba Jiu 5j 8 Ling 6 Four Cold Foods QU?N…”

The creature that Yue and Lixi had identified as a wild serpent instantly transformed into a girl with long, straight pink hair wearing a pink tracksuit after hearing the blonde girl's voice.

"Were we... just imagining things?" Lixi rubbed her eyes, looking at the scene before her in disbelief.

"It's probably just my imagination." Yue was a little confused, but she nodded anyway, trying to convince herself.

"Pochi-chan! What's wrong?" Hongxia dragged the barely alive Pochi, her eyes filled with tension and concern, giving off the feeling of someone giving their last words in a movie.

Pochi-chan trembled slightly, a pained expression on her face. She weakly raised her head, her voice barely a whisper: "Nijika, I...I..."

Hongxia gripped Boqi's shoulders tightly, her voice trembling with tears, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I just... got autographs and photos asked by fans..." Boqi-chan explained why she was like this.

"Huh?" Hongxia breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

"I have a feeling we've come to the wrong film set... This feels like some kind of comedy movie." Yue had already recognized the two people in front of her as the lead guitarist and drummer of the End Band, but she still felt like she might have mistaken them for someone else.

After confirming that Pochi had only transformed into its Tsuchigumo form because a fan had approached it and that it was actually unharmed, Nijika asked Yue and Riki, "Um... are you two audience members here to watch the performance?"

“Yes, we came to see the band finish their performance,” Yue nodded and said.

"Ah...it's a fan!" Hongxia's face instantly lit up with a joyful smile, her eyes sparkling.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Nijika Ijichi, the drummer for the End Band. I'm a second-year student at Shimokitazawa High School," Nijika introduced herself.

"Ah...ah! I'm a guitarist..." The guitarist, known as Pochi, seemed very nervous, her eyes darting around, and even her self-introduction was halting.

In the end, it was Nijika who helped Pochi introduce herself: "This is our guitarist, Goto Ichiri, everyone calls her Pochi-chan."

"Poch-chan is really interesting," Yue said with a light laugh.

"I'm Hinasaki Tsuki, the keyboardist for the band mygo." After introducing herself, Tsuki turned her gaze to Shiina Tatsuki, who hadn't spoken since the beginning.

Noticing Yue's gaze, Riki introduced himself: "Shiina Riki, drummer of the band mygo."

"Huh? You guys are in a band too?" Hongxia was a little surprised when she heard the two introduce themselves.

I initially thought they were just ordinary fans, but it turns out they were fans of other bands. It seems we've gained a lot of recognition. If this continues, we'll definitely be able to perform at the Budokan and become stars.

Thinking of this, Boqi couldn't help but chuckle to herself again.

"Is this band really... okay?" Lixi looked at Pochi, who was grinning foolishly and trying to transform back into his Tsuchigumo form, her words full of doubt.

"Probably... I guess." Now Yue wasn't quite sure whether the band was normal or not.

Stage Climax: Chapter Twenty-Two Ending Band