Mygo? Bandori Girls? The goal is The Idolmaster!

Wakaba Mu plays a seven-string guitar, a staple of heavy metal, which can be considered the most radical form of rebellious rock. So, is Wakaba Mu's socializing just a formality?

Saki didn't know. She only knew that Xiangzi had asked her to help cover up. Judging from the current situation, the only possible targets were these two, right? So she took the initiative to go forward, not giving them a chance to get close to the counter, so as not to expose Xiangzi.

Wakaba Mutsu was very cooperative. Although she didn't know why Xiangzi got together with Saki, this just solved her urgent problem because Saki was also Saki.

Since Wakaba Mu had already gone, Nagasaki Suyo, who couldn't resist the atmosphere, naturally couldn't stand there in a daze, so she had to follow closely and began to have wild thoughts. For example: This is also Saki, so is it possible that she knows about Xiaoxiang?

Nagasaki Suyo thought this was very important.

"Tsugumi-senpai, please take your order." Saki called out, and at the same time gave Xiangzi some comfort and a reminder: I have stabilized the situation.

"Yes, I'll be right there." Tsugumi Yuzawa glanced at Xiangzi who was hiding beside the counter and immediately understood the situation.

"Long time no see, Xiao Mu; and, nice to meet you, classmate. My name is Konoe Saki, and I'm very happy to meet you." Saki clasped his hands together, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. Under the sunlight, everything seemed so beautiful.

Nagasaki Suyo even felt that the light had created a dreamy halo above the head of the girl with magenta hair.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Nagasaki Suyo." The flaxen-haired girl subconsciously put her hands up, feeling nervous about facing a socially strong person.

"Let's drink and talk at the same time. I'll have another cup of hot Earl Grey tea. Xiao Mu should have mango juice, right? What about Su Shi-san?" Saki naturally took the initiative in the conversation.

Hearing Saki's question, Ruoye Mu's eyes flickered and she nodded slightly: "Yeah." If her voice was any lower, everyone would think she didn't actually make a sound.

At this time, Wakaba Mutsu was a little surprised, because she and Konoe Saki were not very familiar with each other, and she didn't expect that the other party actually remembered her preferences. For a moment, she felt... It can't be said that she was flattered or at a loss, but she felt like "I don't know what to say, so I remain silent."

In the past, Nagasaki Suyo would definitely order a mocha, but now, she would rather drink hot Earl Grey tea. It would help her remember someone better.

At the same time, she secretly thought: [It's still Saki, it's still understanding and caring about Xiaomu, it's still liking hot Earl Grey tea.]

Even though Nagasaki Suyo knew that Saki was not Xiangzi, she still had the feeling that "Oh my god, this is definitely Xiangzi." For a moment, she was a little eager to do something.

But in fact, Saki didn't have any feelings about tea drinks. It was just because Xiangzi ordered hot Earl Grey tea. If she ordered milk, it would easily expose the fact that the two tea sets in front of her were suspicious. She had to order hot Earl Grey tea and then use the tea set used by Xiangzi.

"I feel like Su Shi-san is looking for someone. Can you tell me about it? Maybe I can help." Xiangzi didn't want to talk about her past, so Saki naturally wouldn't make things difficult for her.

But now, Saki, who suspected he had the opportunity to learn about Xiangzi's past from her, naturally would not let it go easily.

Saki's gentleness, kindness and thoughtfulness gave Nagasaki Suyo a strong sense of déjà vu. After some thought, she took out her mobile phone and showed Saki crychic's social account and the only video on the account - a video of Kasuga Kage.

Listening to the girl's singing, Ruoye Mu lowered his head slightly; Xiangzi, who was hiding behind the counter, covered his mouth directly. Deng's singing reminded her of the brief and unforgettable past called "crychic".

"...It feels like a very good song. Everyone's performance is above average, and the lead singer's voice is full of emotion, just like... emmm, a top-quality rough diamond?" After watching the video, Saki knew that Xiangzi was the keyboardist of this girl band, and guessed that something must have happened in the band, otherwise Xiangzi would not have kept it a secret.

Saki knew very well that Xiangzi was not a cold-hearted person. It was obvious that something had happened before that made Xiangzi put up a thick defense in his heart.

But facing the two people in the band, Saki just smiled and sighed silently, giving people a sense of praise.

The illusion of appreciation actually says nothing.

"That's right." Hearing Saki's praise, Nagasaki Moyo felt happy because her time at Crychic was the best time in her short life. She didn't want to let go of that time and those memories, so she worked hard to catch up.

Hearing someone praising crychic, Su Shi felt genuinely happy, and even had the feeling that "as long as you praise crychic, we are half-sisters!!!"

Saki didn't quite understand, so she could only smile.

Nagasaki Motoyo wanted to find Xiangzi and revive crychic. She didn't want to face the reality of watching the band fall apart and her teammates no longer being teammates.

But Nagasaki Suyo was only thinking about her own affairs and didn't understand what Saki meant at all.

Low EQ: The highlight is the strong brick-throwing skill. Has this lead singer never practiced this?

Saki could probably guess the conflict between Xiangzi and the band members:

Judging from the fact that Xiangzi took the initiative to work, he was extremely short of money, but Xiangzi was the heir of the Toyokawa Group, so this situation should not have happened. Therefore, it was mainly because Xiangzi encountered some "accidents" in the Toyokawa family that were not known to outsiders.

Judging from the video, although the instrumentalists are all of good quality, and the keyboardist and guitarist are even a level higher than their teammates, the lead singer's level is completely that of an amateur, supported entirely by abundant emotions.

In other words, this is an amateur team that is motivated by interest and has probably never thought about making a living from music.

Given this, Xiangzi's withdrawal from the group was a given. A family where even a middle school student had to work to supplement the family income couldn't possibly support a musical hobby; it wasn't allowed. Even if she could persevere for a while, the pressures of life would force her to give up.

In addition, Saki also received a "secret" information:

Shoko Toyokawa is the heiress to the Toyokawa Group, but she chooses to leave the Toyokawa family behind. Unfortunately, Toyokawa Kiyoshi is a talentless man with a drinking problem...

Now, everything makes sense: Xiangzi was defeated by real life, so he decided to quit the band.

But no one in the band knew about this, which led to misunderstandings and even a breakup between the two sides!

ps: Thanks to the girl band Wan Ci Wang Y for giving a blade and two monthly tickets, thanks to Mo Li for giving four monthly tickets, thanks to Wo Gan Shen Mo for giving fourteen monthly tickets, thanks to Yi Saki Ru Qiu for giving two monthly tickets, thank you for your support

Chapter 12 12. At this moment, the girl is full of determination

Saki took the initiative to ask, "The band actually disbanded like this... Was it really the fault of that girl named Toyokawa Shoko?"

Behind the counter, Xiangzi pursed her lips tightly and her eyes reddened when she heard what Saki said. On the one hand, she felt guilty and regretful, but on the other hand, she also blamed Su Shi for saying such a thing, which was like stabbing her in the heart.

Before this, Xiangzi blamed herself for not being able to reply to Suye's message, but with "Suye pressured Xiaomu and tried to ask for information", "now she said such words again, making Saki think that the responsibility for the band's disbanding was all on her", Xiangzi no longer felt guilty at all, she just felt that Nagasaki Suye had other ideas/purposes.

“…It’s not Xiaoxiang’s fault. Xiaoxiang must have had a reason for doing that.” After hearing Saki’s words, Su Shi felt her breathing stagnate, and she immediately started to excuse Xiangzi, but she didn’t know the reason, and the words she said seemed so pale and powerless.

Su Shi also noticed this and had to say: "Crychic is not disbanding, it's just...it's just...as long as Xiaoxiang comes back, everything will be fine."

The girl forced herself to smile, but she didn't know that her brows were filled with sorrow, which made people feel distressed just by looking at her.

"If everyone had sat down and had a good talk that day, the outcome would have been different."

Hearing this, Wakaba Mu just lowered her head. She wanted to help Xiangzi, so she couldn't help Nagasaki Suyo with the band's affairs. Moreover, she was just speaking the truth, and crychic was broken because of it, which made her a little sad.

The girl became more and more convinced that as soon as she opened her mouth, things would take a turn for the worse, and she felt even sadder.

If Xiangzi had not taken the initiative to avoid the two of them, as if he had something to hide, and if Nagasaki Suyo's behavior had not been a bit awkward, Saki would have wanted to let Xiangzi come out to meet his former teammates and let both parties sit down and have a good talk.

After all, judging from Nagasaki Suyo's words and expressions, the relationship between her and Xiangzi should be good, otherwise she would not defend Xiangzi so much. But this is obviously one-sided, Xiangzi does not know what she thinks, otherwise he would not avoid her so much.

And this way of handling things...should I say childish?

"I see," Saki replied, then asked, "Excuse me, Motoyo-san said she wanted to find that Shoko-san. Does Motoyo-san want to revive or reunite Crychic? What do the other members of the team think?"

"Mr. Su Shi doesn't seem to have discussed this with everyone? Or has he been honest about his thoughts?"

This is what Saki finds most strange: You keep saying you want to find Xiangzi, but what exactly do you want to do? Why do you just avoid talking about it?

It's no wonder Xiangzi avoided Nagasaki Suyo. They hadn't been in the band that long, and her former bandmates kept trying to find her, but they wouldn't say why. What if they were here to find fault? She'd definitely be on guard, right?

Furthermore, Nagasaki Motoyo feels that the band's disbanding isn't Xiangzi's fault. Do you all agree? It's a bit presumptuous to say that before reaching a consensus. What if Xiangzi returns and the others object? Wouldn't the band still have to disband?

Because of their previous study at Haneda, Saki knew the Shiina sisters and knew that Shiina Ritsuki was a straightforward child who spoke her mind, but also knew that she was not good at getting along with others. As for Ritsuki's personality... she must have done something irrational on the day the band disbanded, which was also a turning point in crychic's revival: if it was not handled properly, one of Ritsuki and Xiangzi would definitely have to leave.

Also, with the band already falling apart, why is Nagasaki Moyo only focused on getting Xiangzi back instead of stabilizing the rest of the group? Compared to Xiangzi, who remains silent, wouldn't it be easier to bring the others back? Crychic hasn't been apart for long, so there's still a chance to bring everyone back except Xiangzi. And if everyone works together, it would be easier to get Xiangzi back or decide the band's future, wouldn't it?

"This..." After hearing Saki's question, Nagasaki Suyo felt her heart tremble, because she had never thought about these questions at all.

Why are you looking for Xiangzi? Xiangzi is the captain of Crychic, she is the one who brought everyone together. Of course, looking for her is to revive Crychic, but are there other possibilities?

As for everyone's thoughts? Nagasaki Suyo believes that Xiaoxiang's return will solve all problems.

Because Deng said that it won’t work without Xiaoxiang, or conversely, as long as Xiaoxiang is there, it will be fine; and Lixi... Lixi should be that as long as Deng is there, it will be fine; she and Xiaomu are still here, so as long as Xiaoxiang returns, crychic will be resurrected.

Nagasaki Suyo thinks so: [So, the focus is on Xiaoxiang.]

Discuss with everyone? It’s not that Nagasaki Suyo hasn’t tried, but she thinks the effect is very bad: Takamatsu Deng doesn’t respond at all; Shiina Riki thinks everything is Toyokawa Shoko’s fault.

It was her fault, and she thought that Xiangzi's words and actions had seriously hurt Deng, and there was no need to bring him back; as for Ruoye Mu... she had never felt happy playing in a band.

This would never end, so Nagasaki Suyo wanted to find Xiangzi even more. She felt that Xiangzi could easily solve these problems, and then everyone could play in the band happily together again.

Nagasaki Suyo believed that was the only way out for crychic and felt that she should work in that direction. So, she smiled and made a formulaic statement of approval.

Saki immediately realized that he hadn't listened at all, still thinking about the idea that "saving Crychic requires finding Xiaoxiang first." She felt a little helpless.

But there was nothing she could do. After all, they were just casual acquaintances. Expecting a stranger to follow her advice the moment they met was not something Saki felt she had the nerve to do.

Compared to Su Shi, Saki felt that she could start with Xiangzi. The pressure on Xiangzi was easing, and he could definitely go back to forming a band. She would then help talk to Li Xi and talk things out, and there shouldn't be any big problems.

As for the "problem-solving ideas" of a certain classmate Su Shi... Saki could only wish Su Shi good luck. Anyway, she didn't think that this kind of meeting request without revealing personal thoughts would impress Xiangzi.

Even if Xiangzi was listening behind the counter, Saki didn't think that Su Shi's words could impress Xiangzi. The fact that she was still standing behind the counter without moving was very telling.

Nagasaki Suyo, out!

[However, in a sense, Suyo-san's situation is really embarrassing. Everyone in the store knows that Xiangzi is here, only she is unaware...] As compensation for concealing the truth, Saki feels that she should try a little harder and find a way to save crychic.

So, after the two girls left and the "tea party" that belonged only to her and Xiangzi was restarted, Saki took the initiative to say: "Although it may be a bit presumptuous to say this, but, Xiangzi, are you happy with your crychic time?"

Chapter 13 13. So girl bands are such a heavy topic?

"?" Shoko was stunned when she heard Saki's question. She guessed that Saki would ask about crychic, but what she didn't expect was that Saki neither asked her the reason for quitting the team and the details of the day of quitting, nor asked whether crychic had a chance to come back, but talked about an irrelevant topic.

Xiangzi originally wanted to say, "It's over, I ended it myself," but now he couldn't open his mouth.

It's impossible for her to reveal her secret weapon just because Saki asked her a question casually, right?

Xiangzi pursed her lips and frowned slightly. She felt that Saki had some bad intentions and always asked her questions that made her embarrassed.

But crychic was definitely not a bad memory, so after a moment of silence, the girl opened her cherry lips and said, "I will probably never forget crychic for the rest of my life."

"...?" Saki frowned, feeling a bit lost in Xiangzi's tone. Wasn't she talking about the band? Shouldn't the band be something like kirakira and dokidoki, like Kasumi said (though Saki had no idea what that meant)? Why did it sound so heavy?

How old is Xiangzi now? She is already talking about a lifelong topic here. Are all musical girls like this?

Saki thought about it carefully and realized that the musical girls she knew were all quite normal. Although some of them were under pressure to reach the top, that was clearly career-oriented, and it was completely different from the opposite of a lifelong commitment. After all, someone saying "I'll leave if I don't meet the requirements" was completely heartless.

Is it because I care too much that I can't get out?

Saki recalled her first encounter with Shoko and thought, "As the eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family, crying in the rain, she must be extremely sad, right? I really need to help them reconcile. It would be a shame if a misunderstanding led to them becoming strangers or even enemies."

Saki took the initiative to pretend to be listening attentively, and even ordered another cup of hot Earl Grey tea for Xiangzi. She took the initiative to hold Xiangzi's hand, hoping to warm the girl's heart and make her open up.

Feeling Saki's warmth, Xiangzi lowered her eyes. After a brief pause, she slowly spoke: from watching Morfonica's performance to her first meeting with Takamatsu Touma, to finding members to form a band, to band activities and live preparations, and finally, the night of her withdrawal...

After estimating the time, Saki realized that crychic's existence was even shorter than she had initially suspected. Thinking about Xiangzi's words about a lifetime, she felt something strange: "At first, it was just a shared destiny, playing music together, but now it's like something you'll never forget. It's really heavy in every sense, Xiangzi-san. You don't usually notice it."

[But if we push the timeline back a little further, it would be that incident. ]

After Xiangzi lost her mother, she came out of the haze of grief after watching Morfonica's performance and decided to form a band. The band was getting better, but her father's business failed. She chose her father, took the initiative to leave the Toyokawa family, and then began a difficult life fighting poverty.

She is only in the third year of junior high school. Before that, she was even a young lady who couldn't even use a beverage machine. The time she spent in crychic was her only chance to feel the beauty and sunshine in the past six months. With shadows and storms all around her, it is natural for her to want to miss it forever, right?

"Then let's revive it together, revive crychic," Saki invited. "Aren't Xiangzi's teammates working hard on it?"

"As long as there are still people willing to remember, there will be a chance to start over. That's the band Xiangzi founded and is proud of. I also want to see the scenery through Xiangzi's eyes."

As she spoke, Saki's hands further wrapped around Xiangzi's. She tried to persuade Xiangzi from a friend's perspective, hoping to impress him. Since Xiangzi said she would never forget it, it meant that she still had a fondness for crychic, and that there was a chance to start over.

Tsugumi Hanazawa was nearly moved to tears. She hadn't meant to listen, but she was concerned and wanted to help. Unknowingly, she approached the two and heard the whole story. She felt that crychic's disbandment was a shame, and she wanted to help even more.

But before Tsugumi Hanazawa could speak up for herself, she saw Xiangzi close her eyes and took the initiative to plead, "Saki, thank you, but my work has just started, and everything is not stable yet. It's not the time to think about this. So, please don't say anything, okay?"

The girl's voice trembled slightly, and her mood was extremely uneasy, but she still finished speaking these cruel words.

Xiangzi was happy that Nagasaki Suyo's words did not cause Saki to misunderstand her; Xiangzi was also happy that Saki expressed his willingness to help her revive crychic.

Xiangzi wanted to agree immediately. She looked at Saki's encouraging smile and thought: "Saki, are you a gift from the evil-minded God?"

Even though she had hit rock bottom, it seemed like she was climbing upwards no matter what happened. But, someone like Saki, whose every move touched her heart, was truly too precious, so precious that she was almost moved to tears.

So, she knew she couldn't just accept Saki's proposal.

Because what she wanted to do most now was to cheer her father up, and she felt that she did not have the energy to think about other things at the same time.

Most importantly, she had already failed once.

I think I'm old enough to understand things.

One day, she felt ready to balance her life with the band. She decided to go to a livehouse to practice with everyone. She was even on the verge of sending a confirmation message to Su Shi, but then she got a call that her father was in jail for alcohol abuse...

Thus, the night of reunion full of confidence turned into a night of withdrawal from the team that made people cry endlessly.

Because she understood a truth that night: she did not and would no longer have the energy to share her own interests, and she had to kill the weak self with her own hands.

Although I met Saki right after that, and various things happened as a result, it seemed like everything had turned around, as if everything was getting better and would never get worse again.

But... until she had a firm grasp on everything, she really didn't have the heart to think about the band anymore. She didn't want to repeat the same mistake. Unless...

A very bold idea gradually emerged in Xiangzi's mind: [Unless we can form a band that can immediately make a commercial debut.]

Want to balance work and life? That's impossible, unless work becomes life, or life becomes a part of work. Only in this way can she take care of her father and find ways to help him cheer up.

But that's really difficult, isn't it? Four professional-level teammates just happened to be waiting for her to form a team? How could it be so good?

Xiangzi considers herself not to be a person who is too ambitious. She feels that the current situation is good enough. As long as she takes steady steps, her life will get better. She has not yet thanked Saki properly, so how can she bypass Saki and think about her own happiness?

When you are in this world, you can't just think about yourself.

Thinking of this, she opened her eyes, and in her golden pupils she reflected Saki's magenta figure. She held Saki's hands with her backhand and said, "I'll come back to bother you when I'm ready. Until then, please wait for me. This is a once-in-a-lifetime request."