They all have hidden attributes!

Kashima Reiko was too embarrassed to say that she also wanted to change how she addressed Takahashi Makoto. Looking down at the menu to hide her wavering gaze, she feigned calmness and suggested:

"How about starting today, everyone should address each other by their names?"

"I'm fine!"

Hanakawa Kaori suddenly stood up as if she had come to her senses, raising her hand high:

"I've never had a friend I can call by my first name directly. I admire Shiraishi-senpai and I also want to hang out with outstanding adults like Takahashi-senpai and Kashima-senpai."

She will not be able to officially enroll in Tsurumizawa until April next year; she has only been admitted early. She is still young and inexperienced, so it's not surprising that she might mistake them for adults.

“Sin.” Shiraishi Junko’s pink lips parted slightly, her voice filled with a pleading tone.

Faced with her melting gaze, Takahashi Makoto rubbed his temples in exasperation and reluctantly agreed: "Okay, I'll try to get used to it."

"Mmm," Shiraishi Junka responded softly, tilting her head to rest on his shoulder.

The two were too close together; there was no room for them to dodge.

Seeing Hanakawa Kaori staring at her with her mouth agape in surprise, she added an unnecessary explanation: "I'm not a frivolous woman. I like Makoto, but it's probably not the kind of liking between friends."

Upon hearing this, Kashima Reiko handed the menu to Hanakawa Kaori, took out her phone, and reported the situation of the light music club to Tachimi Yuki.

She didn't want to do this, but the enemy was too formidable, far beyond what the maid could handle, so she had no choice but to call in the final boss.

"Bai... Chunke."

Makoto Takahashi awkwardly corrected his form of address and decided to let the waitress hold his arm until the food was served.

"It's better to think things through before saying you like someone. Are you really sure about your feelings?"

"Is there anything to consider?" Hanakawa Kaori asked, bewildered.

Kashima Reiko immediately replied, "Many people mistake the suspension bridge effect for liking someone, but that's not actually the case. So, if you have feelings for anyone, you need to carefully confirm it and also test whether the other person is suitable."

"I see."

Hanakawa Kaori nodded as if she understood, handed the menu back to Takahashi Makoto, and mustered up her courage to ask, "Makoto-senpai, I'd like to have cheese crab roe and sizzling scallion beef tongue, is that alright?"

The food at this izakaya isn't expensive, and her boldness lies in calling the dishes by their names directly.

"Beef tofu rolls and takoyaki," said Reiko Kashima.

“I’m just like Makoto.” Junko Shiraishi isn’t picky about food.

Makoto Takahashi called over a waitress to order drinks to celebrate the band's official formation today.

As the conversation veered away from romance, he brought up the band: "What's Lengzi's drumming skill level, roughly?"

The main purpose of today's lunch was, of course, to deepen the understanding between members and bring them closer together; simply put, it was about [breaking the ice].

“Songs with a BPM below 150 are no problem at all after practice,” Kashima Reiko replied without changing her expression.

"What is BPM? Is 150 impressive?" Hanakawa Kaori had no idea.

"BPM is the beat count. Senior Lengzi needs to drum 150 times in 1 minute."

Makoto Takahashi's gaze fell on Reiko Kashima's slender arm peeking out from under her white T-shirt; it was hard to imagine she could do such a thing.

"Considering that drummers may frequently use eighth notes or even sixteenth notes, the actual number of times they strike the drum far exceeds 150, not to mention that it is represented by different drums."

Therefore, most band drummers are very muscular, while Kashima Reiko's limbs are slender and long, as if they would break if broken. The [maid] is a creature that should not be underestimated.

"Wow, that's amazing." Hanakawa Kaori still didn't quite understand, but she still clapped her hands lightly and praised her.

“I tried playing the sheet music last night, it wasn’t difficult.”

Junko Shiraishi studied classical piano and has a basic understanding of music theory, making it very easy for her to learn keyboard: "Makoto, how about bass?"

"I don't care. Anyway, no one can tell if I don't plug in the speakers after I go on stage, let alone if I play a few wrong notes."

As soon as Makoto Takahashi finished speaking, Junko Shiraishi raised her hand to cover her mouth and burst out laughing.

The first person to understand his bass joke has appeared, and Makoto Takahashi's feelings are somewhat complicated.

As Shiraishi Junko revealed a gentle smile, the air in the crowded private room became more relaxed. In addition, Hanakawa Kaori, who was outgoing, became talkative as if she had regained her energy. Even without anyone deliberately guiding the conversation, the group gradually became familiar with each other.

When the waitress announced that all the dishes had been served, Makoto Takahashi pulled his arm out of Junko Shiraishi's soft and plump embrace and suddenly remembered Maya Uesugi eating a cold bento box alone in the club office.

We couldn't let her be alone, after all, she's part of a band.

Makoto Takahashi decided to find an opportunity to talk to her as soon as possible.

After lunch, the four returned to Tsurumizawa, and in the afternoon, under the arrangement of Uesugi Maya, they began rehearsing some popular songs of the moment, mainly for the purpose of matching.

At noon, Makoto Takahashi was still worried about the atmosphere in the badminton club, but by the afternoon he was already in dire straits himself.

Maya Uesugi's demands were too high, her standards were too strict, and she spoke without any politeness, turning the rehearsal room into a cold and high-pressure environment.

"Beth, you're wrong."

"Drummer, the drumbeats are too fast."

"Let's try again."

"Keyboard, have you really studied it?"

Takahashi Makoto truly experienced how terrifying Hell Girl was.

Chapter 67 The Young Lady's Sudden Attack

In late July in Tokyo, at 6 pm, it was still bright outside.

The setting sun cast shadows of trees on the courtyard pavement, the branches seemed to grow as if trying to grasp summer, the cicadas fell silent, and the air in Tsurumizawa gradually became calm and serene.

When Makoto Takahashi walked out of the special building, the air was still filled with the heat of the sun.

Walking beside him, Maya Uesugi looked down at the shopping list in her hand, listened to him recount what happened at lunch, and responded coldly in an almost inaudible voice.

Do you want to join?

As she walked out of the academy gate, Makoto Takahashi extended an invitation to her, saying, "Besides Sachi-senpai and your family, probably no one calls you by your name."

He knew that family was one of Uesugi Maya's sensitive areas, but when it came to special terms, the topic of family was naturally unavoidable.

"He would never call me by my name."

Maya Uesugi slowly raised her face and replied without hesitation, "Tachimi gave me a nickname just to make me dislike her, just like she would give me a gift even though she knew my birthday was my mother's death anniversary."

There was only one candidate: Uesugi Maya's high-ranking father.

A cold, indifferent voice came from behind him, and Takahashi Makoto couldn't help but turn to look at her. He found that Uesugi Maya wasn't cold-faced, but rather completely devoid of emotion.

His face was expressionless, as if it were an inorganic substance, devoid of all emotion.

Her beautiful caramel-colored eyes held a melancholy that was neither weak nor fragile, and her slender figure made Makoto Takahashi feel a flutter in his chest.

So, his usual cold expression was already a sign of kindness. He couldn't help but think that he should feel honored to have seen Hell Girl's smile.

"Anyway, we've decided to address each other by our first names from now on. As the head of the light music club and the band leader, are you really not going to join us?"

"Heh, I'm curious, what if you two stop seeing each other in a few days?"

Uesugi Maya sneered, her delicate face revealing a mocking expression of anticipation, which was far more beautiful than her previous lifeless, doll-like expression.

“Okay, how about between the two of us?” Takahashi Makoto compromised.

"Don't say disgusting things, it's just mutually beneficial."

"Please be considerate of my feelings; I am very vulnerable."

"..."

"Don't wait for me to eat tonight, I'm going to jump the East-West line."

"..."

Uesugi Maya ignored him with a cold face. When they arrived at the train station, Takahashi Makoto walked towards the subway station for the Tozai Line without paying attention to her. Only then did she impatiently ask, "Is it okay to have red miso soup tonight?"

This time, it was Makoto Takahashi's turn to remain silent.

Maya Uesugi took a deep breath. Considering that the band's project would take at least a year and they wouldn't suddenly cut off all contact, she gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, I agree."

"I want to have borscht with beef in it tonight."

Makoto Takahashi immediately turned back to the streetcar stop, as if nothing had happened: "Mayo, to be honest, I think if you want to achieve your goal, you and the other band members at least need to—"

Considering that Maya Uesugi's standards for "friends" were too strict and had become a minefield, he quickly changed his tune, saying, "At least you should be able to get along with everyone in the band, right?"

"What is my goal?" Maya Uesugi took out her IC card from her jeans pocket and passed through the ticket gate.

"Defeat the band formed by Senior Sister Xing".

“Tokyo Dome, I clearly said that.”

"Is there?"

Makoto Takahashi recalled carefully and realized that it was indeed true; at that time, the band's drummer was still Hina Nekoya.

Seeing the disdainful look in Uesugi Maya's eyes, he immediately raised his hands in surrender: "Wait, don't curse me, I remember, Tokyo Dome."

Although I'm a little confused as to why Tokyo Dome became the benchmark for defeating Tachimi Yuki, I can ask that later.

"It's easy to perform at the Tokyo Dome, you just need to spend money, but to be successful is to fill the Tokyo Dome with an audience and still not lose money. That's a very high requirement for a band."

Maya Uesugi was well aware of how unattainable this goal was, which is why she adopted such a strict attitude during rehearsals, making everyone feel immense pressure.

"To achieve our goal, the most basic element is the individual abilities of the band members, followed by the effect of their combination, and finally the market response to the original songs."

"Why Tokyo Dome and not Budokan? Budokan has a much richer cultural heritage, and it doesn't seem so far away. It's something that can be reached with a little effort."

Makoto Takahashi stopped in front of the platform. A gust of wind blew by, lifting Maya Uesugi's long black hair beside him.

She turned her gaze to the extended railway tracks and said coldly, "Tokyo Dome is the biggest stage in Japan. Once I get there, whether Ritsuka admits it or not, I've already defeated her."

"Have you asked Sachi-senpai what her criteria for being defeated are?" Takahashi Makoto pursed his lips speechlessly.

"No, she simply didn't believe I could successfully form a band."

"I'll ask for you when I have the chance."

“Okay.” Uesugi Maya nodded gently.

As the red streetcar slowly approached, Makoto Takahashi suddenly said, "Maya, a band can't function without bonds."

"It's up to you now."