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

Her heart was pounding wildly, as if it were about to leap out of her chest.

Reason told her that these were all illusions, but the terrifying reality had already overwhelmed her reason.

“I…I can’t stay here…” Aine finally realized that she could no longer endure this extreme fear.

She suddenly turned around and rushed towards the door, frantically groping for the doorknob.

Her fingers trembled uncontrollably from extreme tension, and she failed to grip the cold metal handle several times.

Finally, after several failed attempts, she pulled hard, and the door was suddenly pulled open with a heavy click.

Light from outside rushed in instantly, dispelling the eerie darkness and revealing everything in the room once more.

Ai Yin stumbled out of the room, her face as pale as paper.

When the crowd outside saw Ai Yin in such a disheveled state, they immediately surrounded her.

Yue was the first to rush to her side, tightly grasping her cold hand, and anxiously asked, "Aiyin, are you alright? What happened?"

Ai Yin gasped for breath, her face still bearing the marks of fear.

She looked up, her eyes filled with confusion and helplessness, and said in a weak, trembling voice, "The piano... started playing by itself, and... that cold wind... it felt like something was... watching me..."

Her words were broken and intermittent, and tears welled up in her eyes; she was clearly still shaken by what she had just experienced.

"Huh?" Lixi was a little confused. She walked into the room and reached out to feel for the light switch on the wall. With a gentle press of her finger, the incandescent light instantly turned on, and the dazzling light dispelled the darkness in the room.

The piano stood quietly in the corner, its black body reflecting a faint light under the lamp. The keys lay still in their places, as if they had never been touched. The air remained silent, completely devoid of the eerie wind that Ai Yin had described.

Lixi walked slowly to the piano and gently touched the keys. The cold touch made her frown slightly.

She pressed a key with a little force, and a clear, crisp sound echoed in the room, indicating that there was nothing wrong with the piano. Lixi looked around the room again but still found nothing unusual.

Her gaze involuntarily drifted to the ventilation vent, her mind silently pondering what Aine had just mentioned about the "cold wind."

But when she got to the vent, she found that it wasn't turned on at all, and she could barely feel any airflow.

Stage Climax: Chapter 52 The Girl Band and the Ghost

"Ai... have some milk," Takamatsu Akari said softly, carefully holding a cup of warm milk as she walked to Chihaya Aine.

Ai Yin looked up and saw the milk Xiao Deng handed her. She still looked tired, and the shadow of the terrifying experience she had just had lingered in her eyes.

She took the milk, her voice tinged with a hint of weariness, "Thank you, Xiaodeng."

She took a small sip of milk, the warm liquid sliding down her throat, which brought her a slight sense of comfort.

Su Shi looked at Ai Yin's pale face, gently sat down beside her, and reached out to pat her shoulder lightly.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the keyboardists, Yue and Xiangzi, were intently inspecting the piano.

Yue's brows furrowed tightly as her fingers lightly tapped the piano keys, producing crisp notes.

"Xiangzi... have you found anything over there?" Yue raised her head and looked at Toyokawa Xiangzi on the other side.

Xiangzi was also carefully inspecting every detail of the piano. Her fingers gently lifted the lid, her gaze intently scanning the keys and internal mechanisms. She checked the soundboard, the tuning pegs, and even the feet, trying to find anything that might cause the piano to play automatically.

However, after examining it for a while, she finally shook her head helplessly, a hint of confusion in her expression.

"No, there's nothing to say," Xiangzi said calmly, but his tone carried a hint of helplessness.

She straightened up, dusted off her hands, and continued, "From any angle, this piano has no possibility of producing sound naturally. The internal mechanics are perfectly normal, and no recording equipment has been found."

"It is said that people will hallucinate in extremely dark environments. Maybe Aine is hallucinating because it is too dark?" Ms. Sakura, one of the only two adults, offered an explanation.

Upon hearing Ms. Sakura's words, Tsuki frowned slightly. She glanced down at Aine, who was still trembling slightly, then turned her gaze to the piano.

"It shouldn't be... possible..." Yue's voice carried a hint of hesitation and uncertainty.

Her gaze fell on the piano again, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

The image of the automatically playing piano I saw at Haneoka that night involuntarily came to mind.

Although she had been trying to convince herself that it was just a coincidence, those memories were now flooding back, forcing her to re-examine the situation before her.

[There can't really be ghosts in this world, can there?] Yue thought to herself.

Just then, Ms. Murakami, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up, her tone carrying a hint of suggestion and curiosity: "How about... we try taking another picture with Ms. Hinasaki's camera?"

Yue paused for a moment, then nodded gently and said, "Then... let's give it a try."

She turned and left the music room, returning a few minutes later to the board game room where she had been, and retrieved the old camera.

Yue's fingers gently traced the metal body of the camera. She took out a brand new roll of film from her bag, carefully loaded it into the camera, and skillfully pulled the film advance mechanism to secure the film.

She stood in the center of the room, slowly raised her camera, and aimed the viewfinder at the piano in the room and the surrounding environment.

Her gaze was fixed on the scene in the viewfinder, her fingertips trembling slightly.

Suddenly, Yue's breath hitched.

Her gaze was fixed on a corner of the viewfinder—where a figure stood silently.

She was a young girl, dressed in a modern school uniform. She stood there quietly, her jet-black hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders, accentuating her slender and delicate figure.

Her figure seemed to blend into the darkness of the room, making her appear exceptionally lonely and desolate.

The girl lowered her head, her face so pale it was almost transparent, as if she had lost all life.

The moment Yue's gaze met hers, the girl seemed to sense something and slowly raised her head.

Yue felt as if an invisible hand was gripping her heart tightly, making it hard for her to breathe. She could only stare blankly at the girl's every move.

Just then, the girl suddenly tilted her head slightly, her movements slow and strange, as if she were looking at something.

Then, the girl's lips began to open and close slightly, as if she were murmuring to herself, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Yue tried to concentrate, carefully observing the girl's lips, attempting to understand what she was saying. Her lips moved slowly and stiffly, as if struggling to squeeze out each word.

"You...can...see...me?"

Yue's lips trembled slightly as she almost subconsciously read out the other person's words, one by one.

The moment she finished reciting those words, the girl's gaze suddenly met Yue's eyes. A glimmer of light seemed to flash in her empty eyes, carrying endless depth and despair.

Yue's heart sank suddenly, and her whole body felt frozen, unable to move.

In that instant, Yue's fingers seemed to be driven by some force, and she uncontrollably pressed the shutter.

The camera emitted a soft, mechanical sound, and a blinding white light suddenly burst from the projector, like a bolt of lightning, instantly tearing through the darkness of the room and shooting straight at the ghostly girl.

The white light sliced ​​through the room like a sharp blade, illuminating everything around it, and the air seemed to be filled with an inexplicable power.

Yue's gaze remained fixed on the viewfinder. She saw the girl's body tremble slightly as the white light shone on her, as if she had been subjected to a tremendous shock.

Her expression showed extreme pain, and the dark aura on her face gradually dissipated like smoke blown away by the wind.

If you ignore her transparent body, she would just look like a sickly young girl.

As the projector's light faded, everyone's attention was drawn to that corner, where the ghostly girl stood, seemingly one with reality.

A scream broke the silence. "Whoa... There really is a ghost!!!" Aine screamed, throwing herself behind Suze in terror, clutching his sleeves tightly, almost curling up into a ball.

However, Ms. Motoyo Nagasaki looked equally unwell. Although she tried to remain calm, the unease in her eyes betrayed her inner fear.

Lixi quickly stood in front of Lenai and Xiaodeng, her eyes filled with vigilance. Her face was pale, cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her hands trembled slightly involuntarily.

"Hmm... Can't a regular phone take a picture?" After calming down, Miao Meng tried to take a picture of the ghost girl with her phone, but nothing appeared on the screen.

Disappointed, she put away her phone and muttered, "Looks like there's no way I can become famous by using the ghost girl."

Chu Hua silently reached out and gently grasped Xiao Xiang's slightly cold hand.

If Ye Mu stood to the side, a hint of doubt would appear in his eyes.

A slight emotional fluctuation finally appeared on her usually calm face as she gazed at the ghost girl who was about the same age as her.

Sakura Sakura, Momoko, and Hailin, who were standing to the side, did not show any fear on their faces.

Their eyes, however, held a hint of curiosity and inquiry, as if the supernatural phenomenon before them was an interesting event worthy of in-depth study.

Peach couldn't help but take a few steps forward, carefully examining the ghost girl's appearance, her eyes sparkling with interest.

"This is quite an interesting discovery," Peach said softly. Although she had accepted the existence of supernatural creatures like talking giraffes, that was on a stage, where anything was possible.

This was the first time she had ever witnessed such a supernatural phenomenon in real life.

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice steady, and said softly, "Can...you hear us?"

The ghost girl slightly raised her head, her gaze still empty and lifeless, but as Yue spoke, a faint light seemed to flash in her eyes.

Her lips parted slightly, uttering a low, weak voice: "I...can hear you."

"Why...why are you here?" Yue asked softly.

The ghost girl trembled slightly, as if those words had touched a chord deep within her heart.

"I... am waiting here... waiting... for her to come back."

Yue cautiously continued, "Who... are you waiting for?"

The ghost girl's gaze grew even more hazy, and her voice grew weaker: "I... am waiting... for that... partner who promised to play with me... She... said she would come back... but... she hasn't come..."

"So...you've been waiting for her to come back?" Xiaodeng asked softly, her voice full of sympathy.

The girl nodded slightly, her voice filled with endless weariness and helplessness: "I... I've been waiting... but... I can't wait for her... I'm so tired... I want to give up... but... I'm afraid... I'm afraid she won't be able to find me when she comes back..."

Her voice grew weaker and weaker, as if each word was draining her last bit of strength. Her body trembled slightly, as if she could no longer bear the heavy wait.

“I’ve tried to go out and find her… but I can’t get out of this room,” the girl continued, her voice filled with a deep sense of helplessness.

Now Yue understood why no one had ever said the house was haunted before, because people who usually come to the beach don't specifically look for this soundproof room to play the piano.

"Ugh... What a melodramatic script! Nobody would even read it nowadays," Miss Aine muttered to herself after hearing what the other person said.

"So... your wish is... to wait for the other person to come and complete the performance with you?" Yue asked.

However, unexpectedly, the girl slowly shook her head, a hint of sadness and relief in her eyes.

"No... Although I don't know exactly how much time has passed, I think the person I'm waiting for is probably no longer here... That's why they haven't come looking for me." Her voice floated softly in the air.

Her eyes gleamed with a faint tear, but no tear fell. It was a truth she had gradually come to understand during countless lonely nights: that person might have already left this world, and could no longer complete that unfinished performance with her.

"Right now... all I want to do is play the songs we created back then," the girl said softly.

“Since you’ve been unable to complete that performance, why don’t we… help you complete it?” Xiao Deng suddenly said.