At 3 a.m., the landmines in front of the station

"Keep it up, handsome young men and beautiful young women who play music!"

Encouraged by the makeup artist, the group filed out of the waiting room and prepared to go on stage.

Compared to yesterday, the number of judges remained the same, but there were more staff and cameras in the audience, indicating that more media were present to record the event.

In the preparation area below the stage, all members of "Black and White" were already in place.

According to the official order of appearance, they are ranked after "Seven Colors".

In other words, Su Che and the others had to perform within their field of vision.

This situation made everyone, who were already lacking in confidence, even more nervous.

"Just ignore them, Che, you can do it."

At that crucial moment, Gu Zhi offered a word of comfort.

"Ah."

He squeezed her hand to indicate that everything was OK.

In the pitch-black backstage corridor, the host's announcement blared from the loudspeaker—

"Preliminary Round: 64 to 32! Round 1! Group A! First Match! Please welcome 'Seven Colors'! Their piece is 'Falling Snow'! The performance is about to begin! Please prepare to go on stage!"

"Let's go."

Everything was ready, and the lights suddenly came on.

An Qing led the way, with her most adorable posture and perfect expression, guiding the entire group up the steps.

Su Che followed in second place, watching her back with mixed feelings.

Once upon a time, the cuddly house cat has become capable of standing on its own, no longer timid in such important occasions, and no longer causing any unease.

Although she can't yet compare to a top vocalist like Hanabo, this growing girl subtly exudes the aura of a future star, radiating a shimmering glow.

Behind them, everyone walked with firm steps: Yuan Xiao with a serious face, Gu Zhi with composure and reliability, Yu Xi with an icy beauty, and Xiao Xiao who kept yawning. The group came to the stage, found their places, and set up their respective equipment.

Su Che tightened the guitar strap and, during the four-beat interval of the metronome countdown, glanced at the audience—

Followed by.

It seemed that a familiar gaze had been caught.

【? 】

Is it a hallucination?

For some reason, when his eyes met those of the female lead singer of "Black and White," for a fleeting moment, it was as if his senses were being pulled back to many years ago.

"That is……"

A gentle, reassuring gaze, much like that of Ise-nee.

Whenever I encounter setbacks, whenever I'm unhappy, whenever I want to cry, as long as my sister is by my side, all my grievances will vanish like smoke.

Such a gaze appeared in the eyes of an unfamiliar team and unfamiliar players.

Su Che was confused.

I don't know if it's a hallucination caused by lack of rest, or a memory misalignment caused by subconscious tension.

In short, he believed it was caused by a malfunction in his five senses and didn't have time to think about it further.

"The competition begins."

As soon as the host finished speaking, all the cameras simultaneously started recording.

Yu tide's keyboard playing, imbued with the most precise emotions, poured notes across the entire venue like a cascading waterfall.

The judges, who had been looking rather tired, immediately perked up and listened intently.

Because it was a love song dedicated to Ise, Su Che was able to perform it with his eyes closed, following the muscle memory of his fingers.

Actions etched into our DNA don't need to be refined by the naked eye; they're like talking to yourself, or like eating and drinking in everyday life.

In music, conveying emotions is often the primary goal.

Works devoid of emotion are soulless, mere shells without a core.

As a composer and arranger, Su Che naturally brings out the core of the work to its fullest potential, conveying it with 100% fidelity, whether it's a solo or lead vocal.

But compared to him, it wasn't so easy for others.

There is no doubt that Yu tide, with her exceptional skills, can recreate 95% of the original.

Lin Xiao, who was extremely tired, was able to maintain a rhythm of over 90%, which is already considered a superhuman performance.

Gu Zhi only practiced for one night and was able to get 85% of the bass part rhythm right, with all the beats correct, which already shows her talent level.

Yuan Xiao was under the most pressure. Having not slept at all, she was so exhausted she'd even forgotten the tension. Her mind was filled with thoughts like, "The next chord is XX, I can't play it wrong!" and "The next arpeggio has to be played like this, if I make a mistake I'll die!"...

By sheer luck, she actually guessed all the answers correctly...

Now, of all the group members, only An Qing needs attention.

Despite feeling unwell, An Qing used her greatest and rarest patience to finish singing the love song that Su Che composed for Ise.

For a lead singer, this is undoubtedly a double test of both mental and professional abilities...

Despite the emotional torment, they still had to put on a smile and sing their hearts out...

An Qing believes she has lived up to everyone's expectations and has made invaluable contributions to the team.

Su Che saw it all.

The brief three minutes and fifty seconds passed in the blink of an eye, and the judges snapped out of their reverie.

As the last note faded away, the agonizing wait for the score began.

Su Che watched as the judges below the stage whispered among themselves for a while, seemingly still discussing something. He couldn't leave the stage, so...

So he couldn't help but turn his gaze back to the captain of the maid troupe who had just given him a hallucination.

He wanted to confirm whether it was just his imagination.

"!"

The next second, something surprising happened.

The masked female lead singer remained in her original position, for some reason...

After listening to their team's heartfelt performance...

Surprisingly, there seemed to be a few glistening tears at the corners of her eyes...?

……

……

Chapter 254 Nighttime Caress of Agate

"In this competition, 'Seven Colors' received an overall score of SS."

"The stage performance score and image score remain unchanged, while the originality score is increased from D to A+. It could have been given an S or higher, but due to shortcomings in technical skills and preparation, it can only be given an A+ for now. If there is another performance, I hope everyone can use these few months to work together and improve their teamwork to another level."

The elderly judge, holding a microphone, gave a very fair score for the second round of performances.

Su Che nodded secretly, indicating that he understood.

Although I don't think there will be another round, I've improved by two levels compared to the first round's A-level, which is a kind of recognition of my original work. Even if I lose, my Dao heart won't collapse.

"If Mosse can't prove himself, he'll have to consider other paths."

Su Che's eyes darkened as he led the band off the stage.

The women followed behind him without saying a word.

"Please welcome the next band—Team A, Number 4! 'Black and White'!"

The host's voice resounded throughout the venue, but Su Che and the others who had the right to watch the game had no intention of staying.

The opponent's performance level is known, and their score will likely not be lower than SS. So no matter how much I struggle, staying to watch the game is no different from witnessing a death sentence. This kind of torment is not as good as going back to the hotel and getting a good night's sleep.

"Everyone's tired, so let's skip the game. Let's go have dinner together, then go back to our rooms and get some rest. We'll go home tomorrow."

Su Che's words caused the women to exchange glances, their expressions all becoming serious.

Everyone knows that Su Che appears calm on the surface, but in reality, his defenses have been completely breached.

Yuan Xiao tugged at her sister's sleeve and whispered anxiously, "..."

"Sister, sister, did I play it badly and mess it up...?"

Gu Zhi: "No. I think you've done your best. After all, even I can't hear anything out of place on the rhythm piano, which means your problem is probably the smallest."

Yuan Xiao: "But after I finished performing, I realized I forgot to press the volume pedal on the effects pedal... To be honest, I only used 40% volume the whole time..."

"?"

The little bird was pulled aside by its ears by its older sister, who then began to discipline it.

the other side.

Yu tide and Lin Xiao walked together.

"Senior, what if Su Che goes insane after receiving the death declaration and suddenly says he wants to disband the team or something? Shouldn't we have a plan in mind beforehand...?"

Lin Xiao's biggest fear was that he would stop playing and tell everyone to go home.

This situation represents the worst possible outcome, similar to the nightmare Bad End in the otome games she usually plays, signifying a life of defeat.

If he sends me back home, my future will be bleak! My soul will lose its vitality, my body will wither and decay! My body will never again find its proper release! I…

Of course, Yu tide certainly didn't want this situation to happen.

"Don't worry, if he really thinks that way, I'll change his mind."

"Huh? How do I change it?"

Xiao Xiao looked at her cold and serious pretty face with curiosity, thinking that her senior would have some serious solution, but who knew... she would just drop a bombshell:

"Take him to the basement, lock the door, and play a game called 'You can only get out by turning two people into three,' in order to change his mind."

"?"