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

"Hehe~" She chuckled softly, a hint of gossip in her voice, "Yue, what exactly is your relationship with Riki-chan?"

Yue was taken aback, not expecting Taozi to ask such a gossipy question.

"We're...just friends." Yue's voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, but she knew in her heart that this answer sounded somewhat perfunctory.

Peach wasn't fooled by her answer. Instead, she moved even closer, a subtle emotion flashing in her eyes—a complex mix of feelings and... resentment.

"Just friends? I've heard you two have been spending a lot of time together lately, even living together." Her voice was teasing, yet tinged with an ambiguous meaning.

Yue instinctively took a step back, avoiding Taozi's overly close figure, feeling even more flustered.

She didn't know how to respond to Peach's probing questions, especially when faced with Peach's gaze that seemed to be probing something, or more like... testing something, her feelings became even more complicated.

Seeing that Yue did not answer, a complex emotion flashed in Taozi's eyes, but she quickly concealed it and returned to her usual demeanor.

She chuckled softly, her tone still teasing, "Alright, since Yue doesn't want to talk about it, I won't ask. But remember, it's always better to figure some things out sooner rather than later~"

"Peach?" Yue looked up and met Peach's gaze. She felt that the other's behavior was a little strange...

"It can't be... what I'm thinking, can it?"

Just as she hesitated, Peach suddenly laughed, as if nothing had happened. She said in a relaxed tone, "Alright, what are you still standing there for? Didn't you say you were here to clean the barbecue grill?"

Yue was slightly taken aback. Looking at Taozi's expression as if nothing had happened, her doubts deepened.

"Oh...right, cleaning the grill." Yue snapped out of her daze, forcibly suppressing her doubts, and forced a smile as she followed Momo's steps.

Peach walked ahead with light steps, seemingly in a good mood, and even hummed a song.

"An elegant, straight back"

Ling Ran raised his gaze.

"Today is also a clear and sunny day."

"It seems to have no end."

When Yue heard the familiar melody, she paused for a moment, but a smile quickly appeared on her lips, and she softly continued the melody.

"Like the sun"

"Dazzling blooming flowers"

"Every encounter has meaning."

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

Indoors, Chu Hua and Hai Ling tacitly pulled Xiao Mu and Miao Meng to the kitchen to prepare ingredients for a barbecue, leaving Li Xi and Xiang Zi alone in the living room.

The atmosphere in the living room was somewhat tense. Lixi looked at Xiangzi, her clear, cold eyes flashing with complex emotions. She bit her lip, as if preparing something to say, but in the end, she only let out a soft sigh.

Xiangzi calmly sipped her black tea, the rising steam from the cup obscuring her face and making her expression even more enigmatic. She didn't speak first, seemingly waiting for Lixi to speak first.

The two didn't interact much even when they were in Crychic. Riki was invited to join the band as a backup option for her older sister, Maki.

Therefore, she didn't have much affection for Crychic from the beginning, and all her subsequent feelings were directed towards Xiaodeng.

Now they face Shoko Toyokawa, who caused Crychic's disbandment.

This was the first time she had met the other person since the disbandment. She had thought she would ask the other person why Crychic was disbanded, just like Su Shi had. But when she actually saw the other person, she didn't have any strong feelings.

Perhaps, as Su Shi said, all she needs is a lamp... and the moon?

“Hey… Xiangzi.” Li hope finally spoke.

Xiangzi frowned slightly, shifting his gaze from the teacup to Lixi, his eyes carrying a hint of coldness and distance: "What is it, Shiina-kun?"

"Want to come perform? With the lights?"

Xiangzi's eyes widened suddenly, clearly not expecting Lixi to make such an invitation. Her hand trembled slightly, and the teacup almost slipped from her grasp.

Climax Stage: Chapter Twenty-Seven - Jealous Peach?

After much effort, Yue and Taozi finally moved the almost brand-new oven out of the warehouse. After a simple cleaning, the dust and cobwebs were wiped away, and the oven looked brand new.

Yue dusted off her hands, looked at the grill with satisfaction, and turned to Taozi, saying, "I'll go call everyone over to grill the meat."

"This is troublesome." Peach (seven~) ⊙ Dam Wu Si Lu Bu Qiqi continued to study whether the box of charcoal that was originally included could be used.

However, when Yue stepped into the living room, the atmosphere stunned her.

Lixi and Xiangzi sat on opposite sides of the sofa, maintaining a subtle distance between them, with a sense of tension and awkwardness permeating the air.

Yue frowned slightly, her eyes darting back and forth between Lixi and Xiangzi, sensing that something was amiss.

She decided to ask Chu Hua, who was preparing ingredients in the kitchen, so she walked over quietly and asked in a low voice, "What just happened?"

Chu Hua was arranging the prepared meat slices on a plate when she heard Yue's question. She looked up and shook her head innocently, "I don't know..." She explained, "Just now, everyone wanted to give Miss Li Xi and Xiao Xiang some space to be alone, so we were all in the kitchen preparing the ingredients."

Yue nodded thoughtfully upon hearing this. She glanced at the plates of ingredients in the kitchen. The plates were neatly arranged with marinated beef slices, the meat tender and juicy, and looked like it had absorbed the aroma of the seasonings. Next to them were slices of pork belly, the thin layer of fat glistening slightly in the light.

The vegetable plate contained chopped green peppers, onions, and shiitake mushrooms. What was intriguing was that the plate in front of Wakaba Mutsu was filled with... cucumbers?

"Why are there so many cucumbers..." The question flashed through Yue's mind, but she quickly shook her head, banishing these inappropriate thoughts. "No, no... this isn't the time to think about food..."

She frowned and sighed softly, clearly feeling uneasy about the subtle atmosphere in the living room.

She silently turned around, her gaze shifting between Lixi and Xiangzi once more, and made a decision in her heart: "It seems I won't get anything out of Chuhua and the others, so I'll just go and ask Lixi and Xiangzi directly."

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

Li hope crossed his arms, leaned back against the sofa, stared at Xiangzi across from him with eyes as sharp as blades, and asked in a cold tone, "Why are you running away?"

Xiangzi put down his empty teacup, met Lixi's gaze calmly, and replied in a composed voice, "I'm not running away."

Lixi frowned slightly, clearly dissatisfied with the answer. She leaned forward a little, her tone becoming more forceful: "Really? Then why didn't you agree to participate in the joint performance? Morfonica, whom you like, is in it, isn't she?"

Xiangzi's eyes flickered slightly, but she quickly regained her composure. She straightened up, sitting even more upright, and her tone remained calm: "Shiina-kun... I've already said it, haven't I? We're a commercial band, and our manager probably won't agree to us participating in this kind of joint performance so easily."

Lixi clearly didn't believe her explanation, her tone tinged with skepticism: "It wouldn't be so bad to discuss it a little, would it? Roselia and Pastel Palettes both agreed."

Xiangzi didn't respond immediately; her gaze shifted to the side, as if she were pondering something. After a moment, she spoke softly, "I will submit the relevant application to Ms. Sakura."

Her voice was almost too calm.

The manager, Sakura Sakura, who wasn't there, suddenly sneezed.

A staff member nearby asked with concern, "Ms. Sakura, do you have a cold? Have you been working too hard lately?"

“No…” Sakura Sakura casually pulled out a tissue, “It must be someone talking about me behind my back. I feel like I’m being blamed again.”

Lixi's gaze remained fixed on Xiangzi, clearly dissatisfied with her answer, but she did not press further.

On the other side of the sofa, Yue quietly hid behind it, trying to keep her breathing as soft as possible, and carefully moved her body, attempting to get closer so she could hear more clearly.

She had only finished her work in the kitchen when she overheard Lixi and Xiangzi's conversation in the living room and couldn't resist coming over to eavesdrop.

She lay on the back of the sofa, listening to their back-and-forth conversation, and couldn't help but think to herself, "It's all too obvious... Xiangzi, his excuses seemed reasonable, but they weren't sincere at all. He was just making excuses..."

Just as the strange atmosphere in the living room was growing increasingly intense, the back door was suddenly pushed open, breaking the deadlock. Momoko Kurosawa walked in briskly, her usual calm smile on her face, seemingly unaware of the oppressive atmosphere in the living room.

"It's so slow... Yue, didn't you go and call them to come and grill the meat?" Peach's voice carried a hint of complaint.

Her appearance was like a breath of fresh air, instantly dispelling the tense atmosphere in the living room.

Lixi and Xiangzi, Yue who was eavesdropping behind the sofa, and the four people who peeked out from the kitchen all turned to look at Taozi at the same time, their expressions somewhat surprised, clearly not expecting her to appear at this time.

Lixi and Xiangzi exchanged a glance, and the tense atmosphere between them eased slightly because of Taozi's interruption.

Li hope turned his head away, no longer looking directly at Xiangzi. Xiangzi lowered his eyes and gently moved his teacup to the side.

Seeing this, Yue quickly seized the opportunity and said to everyone with a smile, "Alright, alright, since Taozi can't wait any longer, let's not say any more and hurry up and go to the backyard to barbecue!"

After saying that, Yue took the initiative to step forward and gently held Lixi's hand.

Li hope was slightly taken aback, but then obediently stood up. Although there was still a hint of coldness on her face, it had gradually softened.

"Xiao Xiang, let's go too~" Taozi said with her usual smile, and then stepped forward and took Xiangzi's hand.

Xiangzi looked down at Taozi's hand and felt the irresistible force. Although he struggled internally, he silently let Taozi pull him toward the backyard.

As she reached the backyard gate, Momoko turned back and called out to the four people busy in the kitchen, "Hatsuko, Umi, Mutsuko, and Meowmeko~ Hurry up and come over, I'm getting hungry."

"It was Meow Dream who kissed her!" Meow Dream, who peeked out from the kitchen, protested against Peach calling her by the wrong name time and time again.

Climax Stage: Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Repeatedly Probing Meow Dream

Fortunately, the subsequent "family" barbecue session was relatively "normal," and Lixi and Xiangzi tacitly avoided exchanging any further words.

However, Yue successfully became familiar with the other members of Ave_Mujica.

Okay, the only one she doesn't recognize is Miss Meow Dream.

So she was actually recognized by Meow Dream.

This was the situation at the time.

——————————————————Please watch the video————————————————————

Yue focused intently on grilling the meat, constantly turning the ingredients on the grill with the tongs in her hands. The aroma of the grilled meat gradually filled the air. Her attention was completely focused on controlling the heat, trying to grill each piece of meat to perfection, until it was golden brown and juicy.

Just then, an uninvited voice suddenly rang in her ears: "Hey, hey~ Yuezi!" The voice carried a strange intimacy and playfulness, and before she could react, she felt a wave of warmth wash over her.

She turned her head and saw a large purple-haired cat clinging to her side, using the same... tasteless nickname as Aine.

"I have a feeling that Miss Meow Dream and Aine would have a lot in common."

Miao Meng's smile grew even brighter, her eyes narrowed into slits, gleaming with a cunning light, as if some little conspiracy was brewing.

She practically squeezed next to Yue, her cheek almost touching Yue's shoulder. The intimacy and lack of distance made Yue a little overwhelmed.

"Yuezi~ What are you baking? It smells so good!" Miaomeng's voice had a hint of coquettishness.

Yue was taken aback by Miaomeng's sudden approach, and her hands paused for a moment. She forced a smile and said, "Uh, I'm grilling beef and vegetables... Would you like to try some?"

Miaomeng nodded without hesitation, her eyes shining, and said excitedly, "Great! Yuezi, you're such a good person!"

Although Yue felt a little strange, she decided to go along with the other party's wishes, picked up a piece of freshly grilled beef, and prepared to hand it to Miaomeng.

However, Miao Meng was clearly not satisfied. She continued with a grin, "Oh, right! Can you feed me the postpartum food?"

Yue was taken aback, completely unprepared for such a request, and a hint of hesitation appeared on her face: "Huh? Is this necessary? I have no problem with it."

Just as Yue hesitated slightly, Miaomeng quietly took out her phone from her pocket with her other hand, quickly switched to selfie mode, and cleverly pointed the camera at herself and Yue. Her movements were light and quick, clearly indicating that she had been prepared and intended to capture this rare moment.