Aspiring to be a girl in a band

"What did you call me?"

Arakawa Kirika sounded very unhappy; she was quite dissatisfied with Shoko's sudden change of address to that rather unfamiliar form of address.

"Stop...stop fooling around, we're talking about serious matters."

Xiangzi's face turned a little red, and his tone became somewhat coquettish.

She originally wanted to cry out in pain... but she discovered that Arakawa Kirika hadn't actually used much force at all.

"Humph……"

As Xiangzi had predicted, Arakawa Kirika released her, though her expression still showed a hint of confusion.

"What are you talking about... I don't recall preparing any entertainment."

Xiangzi immediately turned around and stood facing Arakawa Kirika, his eyes staring directly into hers.

Hmm... those red snake eyes aren't so scary anymore, Xiangzi thought to himself.

"Oh dear... You're practicing so hard, don't you want to show everyone a little something? We're all lifelong partners, and we know each other quite well. It would be a real headache if someone didn't understand our feelings at a time like this."

Xiangzi crossed his arms arrogantly, a provocative smile on his face.

Oh……

Arakawa Kirika squinted her eyes.

She learned of Xiangzi's plans.

But... you want to play this game with me and see me make a fool of myself? VII迩僄球si奇删司裙聊?? This little Xiang is still 20,000 years too early.

And haven't you realized there's a very serious problem?

What an idiot.

Arakawa Kirika thought disdainfully to herself, and then spoke.

“I understand your desire to turn the tide, but… you must be mistaken, I didn’t bring the violin at all.”

...Hmm? Something's not right.

Arakawa Kirika sensed something was wrong as soon as she finished speaking, because... Shoko in front of her still had a smile on her face, showing no sign of being affected at all.

Just as she was wondering, Mu Tou timidly raised his hand.

"Um...actually...I brought the Misty Flower's zither with me..."

Arakawa Kirika was stunned for a moment, and then she understood everything.

I knew those two girls were acting suspiciously today; turns out they were discussing this.

Well... I never thought my Mu would betray me.

Arakawa Kirika looked at Mutsu with displeasure.

"Mist Flower...I...I'm sorry."

Mu quickly covered his face and apologized, but a faint sense of anticipation also arose in his heart.

I...did something bad again.

Mist Flower... How will you punish me tonight?

……

Arakawa Kirika shook her head and sighed inwardly, realizing that she was indeed not vigilant enough.

Just then, there was a gentle knock on the door of the practice room.

Xiangzi seemed to know who it was, so he naturally walked past Arakawa Kirika and went to open the door.

When I opened the door, it turned out to be the staff member responsible for delivering the instrument case.

This guy... he must have planned this all along, even the timing of delivering the instrument seems so coincidental.

Arakawa Kirika thought with dissatisfaction.

He watched as Xiangzi took out his zither and slowly brought it to him.

Arakawa Kirika suddenly felt a... urge to back down.

Arakawa Kirika never imagined that she would be performing in front of everyone.

She always knew that she wasn't someone who could shine.

To put it simply... she lacks self-confidence.

She could, of course, continue to stubbornly reject Xiangzi's proposal, but... would that really be a good idea?

She saw it very clearly.

Besides Xiangzi, who looked smug and wanted to get revenge, there was also Mutou with a hopeful expression. Even Chuhua, Miaomeng, and Hailing were all looking at this side with curiosity.

With everyone having expectations, should I... meet their expectations?

Arakawa Kirika hesitated, unable to make up her mind.

"Okay, catch it now."

Seeing Arakawa Kirika staring blankly, Xiangzi hurriedly urged her on.

tsk...

Arakawa Kirika let out a dissatisfied click of her tongue.

If you're so eager to win... then I'll let you win this once.

However... we can't let this guy get away with it.

Arakawa Kirika made up her mind, and then she looked at Shoko.

"You actually tried to pull this trick on me. I'll let it go this time, but I have one condition you have to agree to."

"You said."

Seeing that Arakawa Kirika actually agreed to his request, Shoko was very happy and readily accepted Arakawa Kirika's conditions.

"You have to accompany me..."

"That's no problem."

Xiangzi was taken aback; she had thought that Arakawa Kirika would make some excessive... blush-inducing requests.

But I didn't expect it to be so ordinary.

In that instant, Xiangzi suddenly remembered a sentence that Arakawa Kirika had once said.

If I were to learn piano... wouldn't that conflict with your studies?

……

Her face turned bright red instantly.

Because she thought of a possibility.

Could it be... that this guy... really chose this violin specifically so he could play a duet with me?

He's really... really a bad thing.

It can be embarrassing to be in a place like this.

With a blush on his face, Xiangzi quickly composed himself and placed his hands on the piano keys.

As for the music, I just got it from Arakawa Kirika.

……

The duet between the two has ended.

"How...how is it?"

Arakawa Kirika quickly put her zither back into its case, then waited nervously for everyone's evaluation.

"Wow, that's amazing...Mist Flower is so wonderful..."

This was Mutou's voice. Besides the straightforward and continuous praise, Mutou also clapped his hands enthusiastically.

Hmm... Just like no matter what the lamp does, Lixi will always take a completely positive attitude.

No matter how well you pull it, Mutou will only offer praise.

So... let's remove Xiao Mu's head first, her opinion isn't really reliable.

Thinking this, Arakawa Kirika shifted her gaze elsewhere.

Besides Mu, what she most wanted to hear was naturally Xiangzi's opinion.

"Hmm...it was a textbook-level performance."

Xiangzi, chin in hand, gave a serious evaluation.

A textbook-level performance? Arakawa Kirika blinked, because in her mind, this should be considered a compliment, but... it didn't match Shoko's current expression.

"What does this mean?"

Arakawa Kirika asked.

"It means exactly what it says... Your piano playing is just like the perfect exam template... If it were an exam, you would definitely get a high score."

...For some reason, even though Xiangzi was saying nice things, Arakawa Kirika felt a little uncomfortable.

"So... you're completely useless outside of exams, is that right?"

Arakawa Kirika squinted, clenched her fists, and sounded a little unhappy.

"Well... it can't be said that it's completely useless... but for a band, in addition to basic technical skills, what's valued more is personal style. Your overly 'conventional' playing style... to be honest, it's hard to find a market for it."

cut……

Arakawa Kirika turned her head away. Although she knew perfectly well that Shoko was right, she was still very unhappy.

What do you mean by "it's hard to find a market for her"? It makes it sound like she'd love to be on stage...

"So, in your opinion, Ave Mujika, my performance is not suitable for the band, right?"

Arakawa Kirika looked directly into Shoko's eyes.

Actually, she never really wanted to join the Muji group; she just wanted... Xiangzi's approval.