They all have hidden attributes!

Hanakawa Kaori looked confident in Nekoya Hina and said in a relaxed tone, "If you have to play each person twice, that would be 22 matches. Hina-nee won't be able to come back to class until next month."

"Envious?" Takahashi Makoto handed the phone back to her.

"No, I'd rather stay with my brother, but—"

Hanakawa Kaori leaned back, tilting her head back and staring at the ceiling, a look of worry appearing on her youthful face.

"Yin Cai doesn't want my brother to know about the selection. She definitely won't tell me the outcome when she gets home. I just don't feel at ease."

Despite being the youngest, he likes to worry about these kinds of things.

Makoto Takahashi placed his hand on her head and predicted, "Win or lose, to put our minds at ease, Hina will definitely tell us today that I'll secretly take you to see the auditions next week."

"Yay!" Hanakawa Kaori cheered, raising her hands in delight.

"Ahem, everyone, please be quiet."

Chihaya, the supervisor, walked into the classroom carrying the textbooks. She turned to face the students on the podium and said, "Go back to your seats. We're going to have a class meeting."

She straightened her face and swept her stern gaze across everyone. When she saw that Hanakawa Kaori and Takahashi Makoto had become deskmates, she exuded a strong sense of resentment.

"Chihaya-sensei, the necklace you're wearing today is so pretty! Is it a gift from your boyfriend?" Hanakawa Kaori asked playfully, raising her hand.

"This was a gift from my childhood sweetheart when I went back to my hometown for the New Year."

Supervisor Chihaya lovingly stroked the necklace, revealing a shy expression full of girlish charm. The female students started to tease her and chattered about the necklace.

"He used to be on the baseball team, and he even made it to Koshien."

“My hometown is in Ehime, where there are many oranges like this.”

"Going back to my hometown to get married? Oh well, I'm not really that happy about it."

The supervisor, whose attention was diverted, was busy answering questions, which tantamount to tacitly approving the two's behavior of sitting at the same table.

Hanakawa Kaori, who had been full of energy just moments before, yawned and, ignoring the morning meeting, lay down on her desk to catch up on sleep.

"Good night, brother."

Looking at her adorable sleeping face, Makoto Takahashi continued reading with a feeling of tenderness.

As Makoto Takahashi had predicted, before the daytime classes were even over, Haruna Nekoya returned to the academy, eager to share her joy with the two of them.

During the last self-study period in the afternoon, she tiptoed in through the back door of the classroom, keeping a low profile like a thief, and quietly approached the two people sitting side by side behind her.

"Acheng, Huazhi, I'm back."

The two people who were reading turned around together. Nekoya Hina was wearing a long down jacket, with her hands on their shoulders, and a bright smile on her face.

"We won both matches today and are currently ranked 4th."

"Shouldn't it be number 1?" Hanakawa Kaori blinked.

"Because 6 people won all their matches today, [Neko-ya] starts with [N]."

After hearing Nekoya Hina's explanation, Hanakawa Kaori frowned and said, "Won't [A] get an advantage because of the Romanization?"

"No, if it's a tie, I'll actually have an advantage."

As she spoke, Nekoya Hina's gaze unconsciously shifted to Takahashi Makoto, and her cheeks visibly flushed when their eyes met.

"Because there are a lot of private sponsorships." She quickly looked away.

The thought of my impulsive decision to go on a date, and the fact that I'm still working hard to participate in the Group B selection, fills me with an indescribable sense of shame.

Isn't that a bit too enthusiastic?

"The person I met seems to be in Group B?" Takahashi asked.

“Takeda, that’s right, she’s also a singles player.” Nekoya Hina nodded.

"I also promised to give her a signed album."

"I'll pass it on for you, so you don't have to make another trip, it's too much trouble."

Hearing her say that, Takahashi Makoto asked curiously, "Aren't you competitors?"

"That's true, but we all have to compete with Group A for a spot, so we're temporarily on the bench together. Our relationship isn't that bad. Last time, it was just that I was less skilled than them."

Judging from her expression, Hina Nekoya did not blame the other party at all.

"I see, that sounds like the competition is pretty fierce. Good luck, Hina."

Makoto Takahashi patted her on the shoulder and said in a calm tone, "Just focus on your work and don't worry about anything else. Just tell me."

Upon hearing this, Nekoya Hina blinked blankly, her head feeling like it was about to explode.

"I...I...I understand." After biting her tongue twice, she ran out of the classroom.

Watching Hina Nekoya flee in panic, Hanakawa Kaori sighed sadly, putting on a helpless expression: "Hina-nee is too innocent, there's really nothing I can do."

"You're too bold."

Makoto Takahashi flicked her forehead with his index finger: "Take your hand away, this is a classroom."

"Oh." Hanakawa Kaori withdrew her hand dejectedly.

"Starting tonight, the Light Music Club will resume its activities."

"Has Sister Xing returned to the student council?"

"Yeah, she's been pretty bored lately, so she has a lot of time to deal with you."

Hearing Takahashi Makoto say that, Hanakawa Kaori turned her face away unconvinced and snorted, "I'm not afraid at all, it's only for the sake of the ice cream."

After a while, seeing that Takahashi Makoto didn't react, she turned her head and looked at him: "Doesn't my brother like this [unfrank] personality?"

"Have you thought this through? Aya might be kicked out of the house by Sachi tomorrow."

"I guess I'll pass." Hanakawa Kaori immediately backed down.

After school, before the girls in the classroom, who were itching to approach them, the two quickly fled the classroom and went to find Uesugi Maya in Class 1-A.

The three of them walked through the elevated corridor on the third floor and arrived at the Light Music Club office after a long time. Kashima Reiko and Shiraishi Junka were already in the rehearsal room tidying up the equipment, and the band's activities officially restarted.

"The goal is to finish the new album before the end of this semester."

As the team leader, Maya Uesugi adopted a serious and responsible attitude, explaining her plan: "Today is free practice. The sheet music has been sent to the group chat file. The key song for this album is 'Tokyo Flashback'..."

"Everyone is free to do as they please on weekends, but everyone must report to the office on time every evening..."

"My planned recording time is the weekend before graduation, to record all the songs in one go, and release them during spring break..."

After explaining the plan, Maya Uesugi asked at the end, "Do you have any opinions?"

"When are we going to Tokyo Dome?" Hanakawa Kaori asked, raising her hand.

"Summer." Maya Uesugi answered immediately.

"There really is a plan." Makoto Takahashi looked surprised.

On second thought, when Maya Uesugi approached him to form a band, there was a plan to perform at the Tokyo Dome a year later. Now, NiceFold has already amassed enough fans, so it would be strange if they didn't have a plan.

"If there are no problems, start practicing. Play together twice before the club activity ends to get back into sync."

Maya Uesugi's face turned cold as she glared at him. Makoto Takahashi, after confirming that the bass was fully charged, gave a perfunctory reply: "Y-yes."

The drumbeats began at the perfect moment, and he skillfully transitioned into the melody, with the "PA" notes of the electric piano interspersed throughout, the melodious notes floating in the air.

Seeing that the three of them easily regained their rhythm without needing to readjust, Hanakawa Kaori hurriedly took the guitar out of her guitar case.

"Why is it that no one cares when the strings of my guitar come loose, but someone takes care of my brother's bass?!" she roared in frustration.

Uesugi Maya did not answer her question. She looked down at the guitar in her arms, her long eyelashes trembling slightly, as if she were preoccupied.

......

"I also want to hold hands with my older sister."

Inside the slowly moving tram car, a young girl stared longingly at Tachimi Yuki, while Uesugi Maya turned her face away disdainfully, adopting a cold and aloof demeanor.

"No, you can't do that, you won't be able to walk then," Tachimi Yuki said with a sweet smile.

“But Uesugi has always monopolized her older sister,” another little girl said.

"We're not hogging the space. We're almost at our stop, so it's best if we're all together."

Tachimi Yuki skillfully reassured them while also remembering to restrain their movements: "It's a promise, everyone must stay together and not get separated."

At that moment, Ichinose, pretending to be cool, said from the crowd, "It's not good to go together. I want to be the first to arrive at [Cao Yuan Yi Di]."

"A drop from Cao Yuan?"

"It's Cao Yuanchi's stone tablet. Fujiwara is an idiot."

Seeing the lively scene, Tachimi Yuki simply smiled gently: "Ichinose has done her homework well, that's impressive~~"

An angel's casual praise caused a new uproar.

"I will be the first." A voice, seemingly from nowhere, reached Uesugi Maya's ears.

She turned her head to look at Tachibana Yuki, who was smiling, clenched her clasped hands, and felt a surge of competitive spirit welling up inside her for no reason.

"Xiaoye?" Li Jianxing asked.

"..." Uesugi Maya turned her gaze to the train door.

The tram arrived at the station with a "chirp" sound. After stopping, Uesugi Maya grabbed Tachimi Yuki's hand and ran quickly towards the door.

"Xiaoye? Wait a minute."

The moment Uesugi Maya jumped off the train, the two let go of each other's hands, and Tachikami Yuki lost his footing, feeling a sharp pain in his ankle.

"Xiao Ye?"

Uesugi Maya didn't turn around, but noticed Tachimi Yuki's pained expression, and the little girls around her gathered around.

"Big sister, did you twist your ankle?"

The impatient Ichinose completely forgot that she had just said she wanted to be number one, and waved to the teacher accompanying her, shouting, "Teacher, over here, over here!"

......

Was I the one who let go first?

Did I do something wrong...?

Uesugi Maya opened her eyes and sat up in bed. The distant dream was blurry, but that was how it appeared to Fujiwara and the others.