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

Stage Climax: Chapter 80 - The Shiina Sisters

Maki Shiina is a perfect example of a genius, having demonstrated exceptional learning abilities since childhood.

At Haneoka Girls' Junior High School, known for its rigorous academic standards, Maki consistently ranks among the top ten in her grade, a position that is unmatched by most.

Moreover, Maki Shiina has also demonstrated amazing talent in music and leadership.

As a key figure in the Haneoka Wind Ensemble, she is not only proficient in multiple musical instruments, but also leads the team to achieve excellent results in competitions.

Under her leadership, the brass band has won numerous regional awards, making Haneoka Girls' Junior High School renowned for its musical prowess.

With such a powerful older sister, Shiina Tatsuki's life is not so easy.

The two went down different paths from elementary school onwards, and this gap became more and more obvious as they grew older.

Because of the four-year age gap, Riki and Maki did not have the opportunity to enroll in the same junior high or high school at the same time, which to some extent protected Riki from being directly compared to her older sister.

However, reality was not as easy as she had hoped.

Those upperclassmen who had witnessed Maki's talent always looked at Riki with expectation and hope, as if she should inherit her sister's strengths and be just as excellent.

"Shiina Tatsuki? Maki's younger sister? She must be amazing too."

Such "jarring" expectations have almost become a convention, and whenever someone mentions Li hope, they inevitably bring up this phrase.

It was as if her identity was inherently linked to Maki's brilliance, and that any achievement she made should be equal to that of her older sister.

Accompanying these words were those burning, expectant gazes.

Because... my older sister is outstanding, so... I have to be outstanding too?

In fact, Riki doesn't dislike her older sister; in fact, she greatly admires Maki's talent.

My sister is impeccable in both academics and music; she is almost the embodiment of perfection.

Lixi had watched her older sister since she was little, and her heart was filled with longing and admiration.

Lixi doesn't resent her sister, but whenever she stands in her sister's shadow, she feels powerless to face that heavy expectation.

Maki's radiance was too dazzling, and all she wanted was to find a place where she wouldn't get burned and catch her breath.

So she chose to run away.

Having escaped Haneoka, where traces of her older sister remained, she arrived at Hanasaki River.

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

Shiina Maki was always aware of the pressure her younger sister was under from her.

Although Lixi never mentioned it to her, that subtle atmosphere was always there.

To be frank, Shiina Tatsuki's talent is second to none. Whether at Haneoka Girls' Middle School or Hanasaki River, Tatsuki's academic ability is among the top.

After all, they are the kind of students who can get high scores even if they sleep in class.

His musical talent is top-notch; he can create a demo from scratch in one night, which would easily surpass most musicians.

But all of this is predicated on the absence of Maki as a "reference point".

The premise is... that there are no "monsters" like Toyokawa Shoko.

Genius seems to have become a necessity for young girls to reach the top.

Genius is merely the starting point, not the end. The real monsters are far more than just geniuses.

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

Therefore, when the pure white-clad girl invited her to form a band, she hesitated, even though she should have refused immediately.

Upon returning home, Maki, contrary to her usual behavior, did not go straight to her room but instead stopped Riki, who had just entered the room and was trying to quickly retreat to her own room.

Lixi had just changed her shoes and was about to slip into her room quietly when her sister gently called her back.

"Lixi." Maki's voice wasn't loud, but it was clear to her...

Li hope stopped and turned her head slightly, a hint of doubt in her eyes.

She and her sister never talked much, especially since she started junior high school, Maki rarely initiated conversations with her.

"Is something wrong?" Li hope crossed her arms, curious about why her older sister was suddenly chatting with her.

"Lixi... have you ever thought about forming a band?" Maki said something that Lixi didn't expect.

"A band?" Lixi was stunned, her face full of confusion. She never expected that this question would come from her sister's mouth.

After all, although it's now called the era of big girl bands, my older sister has never had anything to do with bands.

“Um… Today, a girl from the Moon Forest invited me to form a band,” Maki explained.

“I’m not interested in this, so… I’d like to recommend this opportunity to you.”

Upon hearing this, Lixi's face immediately turned ugly, and a wave of displeasure surged in her heart. If this were the case, wouldn't she have become a substitute for her sister again?

Li hope pursed her lips, about to refuse, the resistance in her voice almost bursting out.

However, Maki's next words interrupted her thoughts.

"Lixi, don't you want to try a path I've never walked before?"

Li hope was stunned, and all the unspoken complaints and dissatisfaction got stuck in his throat in that instant.

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

Shiina Maki believes her plan was quite successful.

When Xiao Lixi returned from her first meeting with the band members, her face didn't seem to have changed much.

Everyone thought the plan had failed, but then she accidentally discovered that her younger sister was laughing while looking at her phone.

At that moment, a glimmer of hope rose in Maki's heart—perhaps things weren't entirely fruitless.

Later, Maki secretly went to see Riki's first live performance. Standing in the crowd, looking at her younger sister and other members on stage, she had mixed feelings.

The band's overall performance was still a bit raw, especially the lead singer, who seemed to be pushing himself too hard. But she could feel that he was trying his best to convey his emotions, and that sincerity and passion really touched her.

I thought that if things continued like this, my younger sister would get better and better, but I never expected that the band would disband shortly after their first performance.

She originally planned to find another way to help Lixi later, but unexpectedly, a girl appeared in her life not long after.

"I think her name is... Hinasaki?"

The other person seemed to be a former idol. Maki had seen the other person perform on TV before. Although her memory was a bit hazy, she eventually managed to recall the name.

"Are idols starting to play in bands now? But... isn't there already an idol band before?"

Maki wasn't very clear about the band's affairs, but... she was quite clear about her younger sister's affairs.

Ever since that girl named Hinasaki appeared in Riki's life, Riki has been going home much less often.

Every time Riki returns home, she often has a faint smile on her face. Although it is not obvious, Maki, who knows her younger sister well, can clearly feel that she seems to be slowly changing.

Gradually, Shiina Maki also developed feelings of curiosity towards Hinasaki.

I've had diarrhea all day... I don't have the energy to check for typos.

Stage Climax: Chapter 81 Things Shiina Maki Isn't Good At

“Hina Saki…” Shiina Maki looked at the girl standing behind her younger sister.

Originally, Maki was thinking of finding an opportunity to meet this "friend" who had captivated her so much, but she never expected that the other party would take the initiative to visit her.

Moreover, the current scene seemed more interesting than she had expected—Lixi, who usually didn't talk to her much, was never this nervous.

Judging from the expressions on their faces, they don't seem to be ordinary friends... After all, if they were ordinary friends, Lixi wouldn't be so afraid... Lixi has never been very sensitive to social situations, and it's rare to see her react in any particular way to anyone.

She was suddenly confused. What was it like when Lixi brought friends home? This seemed to have never happened before.

She had absolutely no recollection of Lixi bringing friends home, as if such a thing was extremely rare for her.

This seems to be the first time my younger sister has brought a friend home.

----------

Although she was curious about the relationship between her younger sister, Shiina Tatsuki, and Hinasaki, Shiina Maki knew that she couldn't be too obvious about it.

After all, she didn't want Lixi to feel uncomfortable, and she didn't want to be disliked by her sister for being talkative.

So, after asking a few simple questions, she left the space to Lixi and her friends.

Back in her room, Maki closed the door and lazily collapsed onto the bed.

Clutching her pillow, her eyes were still filled with curiosity and longing, and she couldn't help but repeatedly ponder the scene she had just witnessed.

"Those two... there really is something going on..." Maki hugged her pillow, sighed softly, her voice low as if talking to herself, "I really want to know... but if I ask directly, Ritsuki will definitely hate me..."

"Just bear with it for a little while..." Maki hugged her pillow tightly, comforting herself, "Tachikami will definitely tell me eventually, it's only a matter of time."

To stop herself from overthinking, Maki decided to shift her focus.

She picked up her phone, intending to read some messages or chat to distract herself.

As a result, the first message she received was a relationship advice message from a female classmate in her club.

"Shiina... I think I've developed a crush on someone in the club, but I don't know how they feel... Could you give me some advice?"

Maki blinked. The message was from a female classmate in her club. Maki got along well with her, but they weren't particularly close.

Unexpectedly, this classmate sought my advice on relationship problems.

Relationship problems? Shiina Maki looked at the message on her phone screen and couldn't help but smile slightly, feeling a little helpless.

She's never been in a relationship before... but when she thought about her usual interactions with this classmate, since they were acquaintances she saw frequently in the club, it seemed a bit heartless to pretend she hadn't seen the message.

"I'm sorry, I don't have much experience in dating myself," Maki typed, her fingers moving quickly across the screen as she searched her mind for snippets of information she'd gleaned from novels and comics. "So I can't offer you any particularly good advice."

However, since you already have someone you like, why not be bold and confess your feelings?

She hesitated for a moment, making sure the message wasn't too hasty or casual, before pressing the send button.

The moment the screen displayed that the message had been successfully sent, Maki felt a slight sense of relief, thinking that the reply had been quite appropriate.

After all, she had done her best.

Just as she was about to put her phone down, images of Riki and Hinasaki suddenly appeared in her mind.