I have bound two systems.

After Ijichi Kouka smiled and comforted Kita Ikuyo not to worry about being stubborn, the rest of the group, including Yamada Ryo and Goto Ichiri, also echoed her.

There is still some time before they officially go on stage, so they can take a break and adjust their physical condition.

"Xiduo, drink some of this to moisten your throat."

Suzumiya Chisato trotted away and bought a cup of hot drink from the vending machine and handed it to Kita Ikuyo. Such remedies were better than nothing after a cold had already occurred, but she couldn't just do nothing.

As for her current situation, it can only be said to be a blessing in disguise.

Although the occasional sneezing and nose blowing seemed serious, the most important point was that her voice was not affected too much. The top priority now was to prevent her cold from getting worse.

"Thanks……"

Kita Ikuyo thanked her in a listless manner, and it was obvious that she was extremely reluctant.

Chisato Suzumiya guessed that her physical condition was secondary. What made her most nervous now was probably the guilt in her heart and the uneasiness about going on stage.

I was worried about what would happen if I didn't perform well. I was worried that I would drag down the entire team and make all their previous hard practice go to waste.

As the team leader, Ijichi Hongxia took her sister to confirm the next steps with the staff.

Ryo Yamada was debugging the equipment.

As for the remaining Goto Ichiri, although she has always been by Kita Ikuyo's side, due to her personality, she can't say anything good to comfort her.

Suzumiya Chisato touched her head.

There is a special tacit understanding between the two of them. With just a small movement and eye contact, they can understand each other's meaning without many words.

Goto Ichiri immediately moved closer to Kita Ikuyo and made room for Suzumiya Chisato to sit down.

"You're welcome. But speaking of this, Kita, you must have been looking forward to this day for a long time."

Kita Ikuyo forced a smile, lowered her eyes, and stroked the rim of the hot drink with her fingertips.

"Well, these days, the scenes I dream about are all the moments when we are on stage performing. Everyone on the stage works hard together, and the audience cheers for us. Our efforts have been rewarded. It should have been... like this, but it's all my fault... I'm such an idiot... At such an important moment, I couldn't even take care of my own body."

Goto Ichiri worriedly held Kita Ikuyo's shoulders, wanting to say something to comfort her, but he couldn't say anything. Only the worry on his face was clearly revealed, but that was enough.

Suzumiya Chisato turned her head to look at them, then looked straight ahead normally.

"Indeed, Kita, you were indeed careless this time. I had always thought that you were the most reliable person in the band besides the captain, but I didn't expect that you would have such an accident."

"..."

Hearing his agreement, Kita Ikuyo lowered her head even more, mistaking his words for a reproach.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Goto Ichiri looked left and right, panicking and not knowing what to do.

Of course, this is not the way to comfort people. Chisato Suzumiya is not a person without emotional intelligence who will only blame others when encountering problems.

A band is a group. Even if something goes wrong, everyone in the group should face it together, rather than just picking out one person to bear it alone.

So the next second, Suzumiya Chisato spoke up to make a turn.

"So, it's all that idiot Liang's fault. If she hadn't suggested that you take a bath to help you sleep, you wouldn't have had a fever after taking a bath in the middle of the night. As a result, you slept without a blanket all night and caught a cold."

"Eh……"

Kita Ikuyo looked up at me with a look of surprise, as if to say, "How did you know that?" She clearly hadn't told anyone in detail what happened last night.

"It seems that I guessed right, because I have had similar experiences several times. I felt drowsy after taking a bath, and fell asleep directly on the bed. However, I didn't catch a cold, but I had a stomachache the next day."

"Will Suzumiya-kun also have such an unreliable experience?"

Kita Ikuyo became a little more energetic.

"Yes, but in most cases I will hide it very well and won't let you find out."

Suzumiya Chisato said as she stretched out her hand to beckon over Yamada Ryo who had already tuned his instrument.

"what happened?"

"We were just discussing that you shouldn't have suggested taking a bath to Yudai last night. Otherwise, she wouldn't have caught a cold. You are the culprit."

"Ah! No..."

When Kita Ikuyo heard Suzumiya Chisato say this and was about to say something, Yamada Ryo pretended to be exaggerated and said "Eh——" with a droopy face and dragged out the sound.

"You can't really blame me for this. If you really want to find out, it would be more accurate to blame Pochi-chan."

"kindness?"

Goto Ichiri, who was playing the role of an unknown person at the side, pointed her finger at herself in confusion, not quite understanding why the topic had been brought up to involve her in an unrelated way.

Kita Ikuyo was also waiting for her explanation in confusion.

Yamada Ryo spread his hands.

"Because, if Pochi-chan hadn't opened the conversation in the discussion group last night, we wouldn't have talked about that."

"I see, that makes sense."

Suzumiya Chisato looked at Goto Ichisato who looked panicked.

Kita Ikuyo spoke hurriedly, hugging Goto Ichiri's arm.

"No, no, this is weird! Regarding my mistake, this can't be blamed on Pochi-chan anyway!"

Yamada Ryo put his hands on his hips.

"That's true. If we trace back further, if that idiot Hong Xia hadn't created the discussion group, we wouldn't have been able to have a group chat, and Yudai-chan wouldn't have encountered such an unexpected situation as catching a cold on the day of an important music festival."

"That's totally wrong! That's definitely weird!"

Kita Ikuyo couldn't accept it.

It just so happened that Ichichi Hongxia also came back at this moment, and happened to hear what Yamada Ryo had said before. She quietly walked behind her and put her hands on her waist.

"Really, Ryo, where do you get such ease from? You're an idiot yourself and you dare to call others idiots."

"Haha, Hongxia... stop it, it's itchy."

"Well, it's better not to make a fuss. You're worried about getting hurt."

Goto Ichiri stood up and tried to separate the two people who were entangled with each other.

Kita Ikuyo looked at them in a daze, then turned to look at Chisato Suzumiya who had a calm expression.

He seemed to say some insignificant words, but the effect they played was unquestionable.

Everyone was just like they always were in Fanxing, laughing and joking, nothing had changed at all.

No one complained about her physical condition, and no one worried that she would fall behind.

Just like what Ichichi Hongxia said to her when she first joined the band -

"…But, I'm not very good at guitar and my singing skills are average."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. There's no need to be perfect. We just need to do our best to have a clear conscience and perform happily all the time."

Suddenly recalling what happened at the beginning, my heart no longer trembled with excessive worry and fear.

The smile of encouragement and joy that appeared on Ijichi Hongxia's face at that time was now reproduced beside her, on the face of another person.

"Just like in normal practice, even if Yudai can't sing because of a cold, Liang and Hongxia will help. The more critical the moment, the more we need to rely on each other. This is the meaning of the band's existence."

Looking at Chisato Suzumiya slowly raising her fist, Ikuyo Kita's originally dull eyes slowly regained their luster, just like her usual energetic posture.

She also raised her hand and clenched her fist, then gently touched it with the other person.

"I understand."

"After these two busy days, let's find a restaurant to celebrate properly after the dinner."

"kindness!"

------

After trying to find a way to help Kita Ikuyo regain her spirits, Suzumiya Chisato walked out from the backstage and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

The band's lead singer's mentality problem has been solved for the time being, but the situation is still not optimistic.

There is no doubt that human physical health is not controlled by subjective will, otherwise there would be no need for hospitals to exist.

Kita Ikuyo's cold problem is still there. Maybe it will get better, or maybe it will get worse. No one can say for sure.

Considering the worst-case scenario, if the situation deteriorates and her vocal ability declines after singing a few songs, she will have to let the backup plan, Ryo Yamada, take the stage.

It's just that everyone has their own expertise. Although Liang's bass playing skills are extremely high, he can occasionally perform together with Ichiri to show off his skills.

But her singing skills... to be honest, are just at the average level, not at all as infectious as Yudai, and the same goes for Hongxia.

As for Yili, there's no need to think about it. She can sing a few lines along with Yudai's voice, but it would definitely be a bit difficult for her to suddenly take the lead on her own.

If the situation really develops to that point, my hope of getting a place in this music festival will definitely be ruined.

I have to think of another way to prepare for an emergency. Even if it's not for the system's reward, I have to consider everyone's mood when the band ends.

Suzumiya Chisato has seen their efforts over this period of time, and he doesn't want the music festival to end with them feeling lost.

"What are you thinking about? You have a gloomy face, which is scary."

While Suzumiya Chisato was thinking, someone suddenly hugged her neck from behind, and then she felt an extremely soft touch on her shoulder.

It's Ichichi Hoshige.

After arriving at the music festival, she seemed to be infected by the lively atmosphere around her, and her personal state quickly changed from sleepy in the morning to extremely excited.

Suzumiya Chisato patted her arm gently, signaling her to let go.

"Sister Xingge, you say you're scared, but your actions don't reflect that at all."

"What are you talking about, man? I just saw that you did a good job as a manager. You encouraged Yudai very well. Now there should be one more person who likes you."

"Don't think of girlish feelings as something cheap. I just stated the actual situation and didn't do anything special."

"But it does feel quite fulfilling, to be able to influence the mood of a young girl so easily... or something."

"Don't use that misleading statement. It makes me look like a gigolo who is trying to cheat people out of their money."

"You know what, I've always thought you'd have a very good future in this industry. At least you've already passed the test in terms of your own hard skills."

"Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment."

The two of them walked towards the backstage while talking indifferently.

But the so-called backstage is just a small area specially marked out behind the stage built in the square.

Chisato Suzumiya had never been to other music festivals and was not sure what the specific procedures were, but the rules of the one they were attending today were simple and easy to understand.

The concert venue is divided into several areas, with performance stages set up in different areas. Different invited musicians or band groups will perform on specific stages at different time periods.

The audience can use the timetable distributed upon admission to go to a specific stage to watch their favorite performances. Before the concert ends tomorrow evening, the organizers will announce the winners of the festival and give speeches on the large stage in the center.

"There are still more than two hours until they start performing. Anyway, I have nothing to do now. Do you want to go with me to watch other people's performances?"

Regarding Ichichi Hoshige's suggestion, Suzumiya Chisato thought about it for a while and shook her head.

"Can you spare some of your time to accompany me for a while, Sister Xingge?"

"Oh, sure, but what are you going to do?"

"Just follow me and you'll find out."

Ijichi Hoshige followed Suzumiya Chisato in confusion, and after going around in circles, she was taken to the parking lot.

Looking at Chisato Suzumiya, who opened the car door and got in first, and turned back to urge her to get in quickly, some bad thoughts suddenly emerged in her mind.

She looked hesitant and stammered as she wanted to ask something, but before she could open her mouth, Suzumiya Chisato said, "There's not much time left, let's hurry," and pulled her into the car.

The van shook for a moment and then calmed down.

………………

Chapter 7: An unexpected encounter

When she arrived at the meeting place her sister mentioned, Yukinoshita Yukino found that she had been fooled again.

When she saw a strange man sitting next to her sister, she knew that the situation this time was probably not much different from the last time. It was probably that her mother introduced a friend to her sister for her own reasons, and her sister verbally agreed but was actually quite rebellious.

When she called me before, she said in a weak voice that she had visited a friend early in the morning and felt a little unwell afterwards. Her parents were not around and she felt a little uneasy. She hoped that I could accompany her to the hospital for a check-up or something... It was all lies.

She knew that if she told the truth, she would not be able to get herself out, so she chose to lie again.

After Yukinoshita Yukino's eyes met her sister who took the initiative to extend her hand to greet her with a sweet smile, she was angry and wanted to turn around and leave. However, when she saw the half-human panda doll with a ferocious face that the other sister suddenly raised high, she stopped abruptly while preparing to leave.