Another string reel from Bandoli

"No, no, Yukina is actually a very nice person. She used to love to laugh! Her smile is super cute!... It's just that now... the situation is a little different from the past." For her best friend Yukina Minato, Lisa Imai, who is the team mother that a normal girl band should have, tried hard to protect her reputation, but her voice became lower and lower.

"...Hey! Yuuki is gone! Sorry, I'm in a hurry!" Seeing her friend walking away and disappearing, Lisa Imai clasped her hands together and apologized to Mr. Yugaoka, then hurriedly walked forward.

In the jewelry store, Yukina Minato, wearing a clerk hat, looked at Lisa Imai in silence.

"Yuukina...are you looking for a new part-time job again..." Lisa Imai tried hard to speak in a light tone.

"It's working hours now... I don't want to waste my time on irrelevant things. Mr. Guest, please don't disturb me if you have nothing to do."

"...Yeah, that's it! It's okay! I'm used to being left aside by you!"

"But you see, the jewelry store is right in front of the Livehouse, so we can practice together after get off work."

"..." Minato Yukina's face was dull and her mood was gloomy and dull, making people feel an indescribable depression and heaviness.

The fact that she had lost her voice had not yet been announced to the band members.

Her band failed to find a guitarist, and the guitarist they had originally considered declined the invitation after learning about her details. However, the wild drummer Ako Ueda and the wild keyboardist Rinko Shirokane who were given as a buy-one-get-one-free gift in a bundle later on filled the festival's minimum requirement of three people, and together with bassist Lisa Imai, who was their initial partner, formed a four-member band.

In last year's competition, I received overwhelming praise... but was eliminated.

The start was difficult, with 207 followers on the SNS account and only 200 submissions.

But despite so much pressure, Yukina Minato still manages to balance her studies, band, and part-time job at the same time.

But now, as the lead singer, I can't sing because of too much pressure. That would be completely meaningless.

Roselia isn't an instrumental band. So, am I going to become a producer who relies on others to fulfill my dreams? Don't be ridiculous.

What kind of person would entrust his dreams to others?

Seeing that the atmosphere was a little off, Lisa Imai quickly changed the subject. "...Haha, sorry, Yuuki has been busy with various part-time jobs lately. It's really too tiring for you to practice again. But... aren't you working too hard?"

"I have to do this. For Dad. Lisa knows what happened to Dad after his record company went bankrupt."

"This..." Lisa Imai found it difficult to say.

Yukina Minato's father was once a popular vocalist in a famous band. After retiring from the music industry due to an accident, he became a salaryman. However, he encountered a series of accidents.

An explosion occurred in the former company building, causing him to lose his job.

Due to the collapse of the giant conglomerate, a large number of unemployed laid-off employees were trapped in the job search chain. Mr. Mou, who was young and not outstanding in the band, had his resume rejected again and again.

The food production company that Mr. Minato had finally gotten a job in went bankrupt and changed its business again because a group that had developed a market for it had to close down, and he was laid off again.

Finally decided to set up a record company and be my own boss but...

"Now is not the time for me to play music as I please. For the sake of my family, I must help my father escape from that sea of ​​suffering."

“…I also think Yukina’s father has a hard time. But, but…”

"...This customer, please stop disturbing me while I'm working." Minato Yukina's eyes were so determined.

Lisa Imai left hesitantly.

"Yeah... Now I'm dead as a weakling." After his childhood sweetheart left, Minato Yuki resolutely threw himself into his busy part-time job with a determined look in his eyes.

……

So about fifteen minutes later, because of a sliding tackle, she once again destroyed an entire wall of accessories and knocked over a box of cosmetics, and was fired by the store manager.

Just like always.

Chapter 32 Chapter 32 The old group also needs their own Toyokawa Shoko

Minato Yukina, covered in makeup stains, left amidst the customers' surprise and whispers.

"It is said that she is the mysterious singer who often appears in livehouses."

"Ahhhhhhhhh"

Lisa Imai, who had prepared towels in advance at the store entrance, had been waiting for a long time.

"Yuuki...are you okay with this part-time job..." Lisa Imai tried her best to maintain her usual smile, she was used to it.

When she first brought Yukina Minato to work at a convenience store, she was called away by the manager for a few minutes. Yukina took advantage of the customer's selection of discounted cucumbers at the counter and put the customer's small umbrella into the microwave to heat it up, then put it back without any problem.

What's worse is that she had no idea anything was wrong.

After repeatedly experiencing similar common sense mistakes that caused trouble in the convenience store, even she couldn't protect Yukina. From then on, she no longer had any expectations of her childhood sweetheart working part-time.

Apart from being very strong in music, she is not good at anything else. She has been aware of this reality since she was a child.

She still had to work part-time. No, absolutely not.

Not to mention losing weight, it's almost like putting pressure on her father.

After sending the tired Minato Yukina back to her doorstep in the heavy rain, Imai Sally also had to go back to her part-time job at the convenience store that she was scheduled to do tonight.

"Yuki, just have a good rest tonight and don't tire yourself out," Lisa Imai advised.

The two of them shared an umbrella and she got soaked. She looked back every few steps and wanted to say something to her neighbor and childhood friend. But she left with the umbrella, drowned by the sound of rain.

Walking into the home that is as familiar as before.

In the entrance hall, as always, there were only her and her father's indoor shoes. The pair of indoor shoes, tucked away in the shoe closet for someone else, were still clean, as her father still diligently cleaned them daily. But it also meant that the previous owner hadn't visited the apartment for a long time.

The house was still deserted, but kept tidy. Minato Yukina's opportunity to clean the house every day to relieve her burden was also preempted by her father.

The sticker on the kitchen refrigerator still has the words her father wrote in advance every day, instructing her on how to care for her life.

Her father went out drinking again tonight...

The freezer is full of nutritious everyday meals made with cheap but delicious ingredients.

Although the meal kit industry launched by Toyokawa Group in recent years has almost swept the entire Neon, becoming the second largest business of Toyokawa Group, there is even a trend of it becoming the largest business.

The show, which boasts of being the second-best chef, continues to impress audiences today with its series of five business battles in which the chef is defeated every time by a high school chef who is proficient in the industry.

These are cheap, delicious and nutritionally balanced dishes produced on an assembly line. Housewives only need to heat them with warm water to get dishes that are second only to the level of the masters of the Uncut Age who were immersed in this art and could only barely surpass them even if they gave their all in their best areas.

Despite adopting hunger marketing tactics, different styles of "Second Best" are sold in limited quantities, mainly as mid-range and affordable products.

It is still flowing into the markets of various industries at a very fast pace through business war programs, and the supply cannot meet the demand.

Under the control of someone, the business channels of a certain catering group were squeezed out and some unknown "accident" happened, which allowed the lucrative job of running the student cafeteria to fall into the hands of the Toyokawa Group.

No matter how delicious the food is, it is ultimately a dopamine effect. It only requires "a little bit" of technological hard work and a "gadget" developed by someone.

Add to that a machine equipped with analysis capabilities, and it's a living analysis machine for the three grades of culinary school students who were shrunk and captured. Just by replicating and reversing an eight-bit system, even a child with crayons could use it to revolutionize engineering and even extend their own future.

It is not difficult to reach the end of the so-called food desert where the earth's food is limited.

After all, their friendship, hard work and victory in the simulated real scene are so shining, it is really the best seasoning.

Especially after the brilliance of the so-called unpolished jade is transformed into bags of cold and frozen cheap meal packs on the assembly line.

It is very difficult to find a reservation for a dish from one of the top ten, but the dishes that are second only to their level can be easily tasted at any time by ordinary people if they are a little ruthless, instead of having to watch the judges enjoy it and swallow their saliva in secret during the cooking duel.

So what happens?

A little undercurrent, a little fuel to the flames, a little bit of the negative information about these high school chefs and their graduates who are rebellious and arrogant, which has long been known to the public.

The upper layer is still the upper layer, but like a fish out of water, some things are bound to change a little.

“It tastes better than the cooking dumplings, but the quality is just so-so.”

Although 99% of those who say this haven't tasted it, those who have are the latter half. Amidst the flock of those with ulterior motives, those without, yet still harboring malicious intent, and those who simply follow the tide, swaying their stances like a flip of the hand and drifting with the tide, (Seven) Liu Yi 3 Er Jiu 2 Jun, that top-tier culinary school with a tainted reputation...

And with all the outdated ingredients and even the channel suppliers who had been oppressed for many years and swallowed their anger, as well as the tacit consent of many gourmet food enthusiasts, the cooking group eventually...

They have become mere canaries in the hands of higher-ups, being toyed with at will and able to survive only on the little that they can get.

Everyone gained enough profit from this feast, and at least gained authority that was more in line with their status as diners.

——Of course, this is definitely not because the young Xianjuan Gan, who was in the sixth grade of elementary school, saw the arrogant first-year high school girl and her attendant secretary "condescending" to be on a very famous TV program in the Yamabuki Bakery, mocking this common people's bakery in front of the live broadcast camera and ordering it to close down, and made an immature move of carefully cooking dishes in warm water for three years, which he had even forgotten in the second grade of junior high school.

He doesn't think he holds grudges that much.

Oh, and I'll be clear: while the recipes updated quarterly are somewhat familiar and stray away from the most popular and accessible dishes, it might seem like they're being targeted, but that's simply to maximize profits and facilitate distribution to affordable family restaurants and student cafeterias. There's absolutely no other reason.

What connection could this have with the guest contestant who narrowly won the cooking competition that has been sponsored by Toyokawa Group TV station for several years?

After all, it would have been better if she had refused to participate at any time.

It’s a pity that the prepared public opinion direction plan has never been used.

Even in this general trend, Yukina Minato's father still insists on not using these meal packs and still prepares meals for his daughter in advance every day.

It wasn't because he hated the group product that brought misfortune to his family, but simply because he didn't like giving up the easy work that he could do for his family.

Not all homes and restaurants are so engrossed in the convenience of meal kits that they give up on more fundamental things.

——Also, the price of the cooking packs is actually not that cost-effective and is a bit expensive.

Yukina Minato was in a low mood, and her expression didn't change much. She was just used to it.

I picked out the bitter melon that I didn’t like from the dish, but in the end I left it for last and swallowed it stubbornly.

So bitter, so unpalatable...

After finishing the meal, I left the dishes in the sink and rinsed them all over.

——Ever since she broke most of the dishes in the house several times while washing dishes, her father thought she should stop showing off.

After finishing her self-reflection in her room, Yukina Minato began to spread out her homework and try to review.

Despite her earnest efforts to understand and focus, she is actually quite capable of learning, able to maintain a level that does not affect her musical activities.

If we ignore the fact that she was using a junior high school textbook, the review content started with "What is a quadratic function?"

It's hard to imagine that she could actually get into college in the original timeline.

Lisa Imai, great, no need to say more.

As the clock turned to 2:15 in the morning, Yukina Minato, who was half asleep, was awakened by the sound of the key turning in the door lock at the entrance.

I noticed the light in my daughter's room was still on.

Mr. Depressed Minato, who was dressed fashionably, knocked on his daughter's room.

Yukina Minato was wrapped in a blanket.

Yes, she fell asleep in the middle of her review. It was Lisa Imai who had climbed in from the balcony after get off work and covered her with the blanket.

The heavy rain outside the window stopped quietly last night.

If someone looked at the balcony next door, even though the lights were off, they would still see someone dozing off.

"Yukina, are you still awake?"

It was too late for Minato Yukina to pretend to be asleep. After a moment of silence,

“…I need to sleep now.”

"Yukina, can we talk for a moment?"

After getting permission, Yukina's father opened his daughter's door.

Although he tried to clean it up before coming back.

But there was still a faint smell of alcohol.

"Going to drink again..." Youxina frowned

Yukina's father said nothing. He advised Yukina: "Yukina, you can study, but don't overwork yourself. You should take a break and play with your friends occasionally."

"...The band has disbanded." By accident, Minato Yukina told a lie.

"There's no need for that anymore. Dad's the only one working hard, and I'm just going to go out and play. Even Mom..."

Yukina

The man interrupted his indignant daughter.

"...playing music, it must be fun."

He paused.

He glanced at the balcony opposite.

"Dad will work hard on things at home, and Yukina just needs to do what she wants to do."

"Don't say anything you'll regret, Yuki."

"...Always drinking outside, Dad, is this really okay?" Youxi's tone was low, and his fists subconsciously clenched tighter.

Yukina's father felt a little embarrassed: "Dad is busy with work when he drinks outside."