Love? Please allow me to simulate it first!

"Can I speak now?" the blue-haired girl said calmly.

"Oh, sure, sure. Thank you very much for your cooperation."

"Yeah, because it felt fun."

"Really? You're quite a weird person."

"Hehe~" The blue-haired girl laughed twice with some pride when she heard Nakamura Mine's comment.

"No, I'm not praising you, am I?"

Regardless of what kind of weirdo the blue-haired girl in front of him is, Nakamura Mine’s top priority is to wake up a certain pink-haired guy first.

"Hey~ Goto-san, it's time to come back to your senses. Running away won't solve the problem."

To Goto Ichiri, Nakamura Mine's words were like the devil's whisper, forcing her back to a reality she didn't want to face.

She turned her head to look at the smiling Nakamura Mine, then turned back to look at the expressionless blue-haired girl.

Ugh! No expression at all. Is she angry? She must be angry. It is really unpleasant to be stared at by a hunchback like me. And you said it was a smell? Since she always hides in the closet, she must smell a bit musty, right?

"Well... although I'm not sure what you're going to do, I think it's almost time to start, right?" the blue-haired girl urged. She knew that if she didn't say something, the pink-haired girl in front of her wouldn't know how long she would be immersed in her own world, so she took the initiative to speak. She was still looking forward to what would happen next. Although the girl's performance was already very interesting, there should be more interesting things happening later.

"Oh, yes, wait a moment..."

After taking a few deep breaths, Goto Ichiri's eyes seemed to become much firmer. She looked at the blue-haired girl in front of her with the sharpest eyes she had ever shown.

"Good morning, what a nice weather today."

"Good morning?" The blue-haired girl glanced at the afterglow of the sun in the distance and didn't say much.

"My name is Goto Ichiri."

"I'm Ryo Yamada."

"Ye Lu died bitterly!"

"Ah."

Goto Ichiri breathed a sigh of relief. She had done it! She was able to greet and introduce herself so perfectly. She felt that she had left the realm of the dark character and started to move towards the path of a true Yang character.

When I become a world-class star, my title will be “the woman who is best at greeting and introducing herself”!

"Hehe, hehehe~"

At this time, Nakamura Mine was already a little stunned. When he heard the blue-haired girl say her name was "Yamada Ryo", Nakamura Mine immediately thought of the bassist of the band that ended in the simulation. It seemed that he was also called this name? And this child was indeed carrying a bass, and this was still Shimokitazawa. In short, the blue-haired girl in front of him with a calm expression and a teardrop mole under her left eye was undoubtedly the bassist of the band that ended, Yamada Ryo.

No matter how you look at it, this is just too much of a coincidence, right? Or is Goto Ichiri's fate really destined to be intertwined with the end of the band?

Japan is so small, Shimokitazawa is so small...

"Is that all?" Yamada Ryo asked tentatively.

"Ah, it's over, Ms. Yamada, thank you for your cooperation." Nakamura Mine replied.

Yamada Ryo refocused his gaze on Nakamura Mine's face, but his eyes revealed disappointment.

I thought it would be something fun, but this is all? Ryo Yamada was a little disappointed, as he had hoped to see something more interesting.

"Reward." Yamada Ryo suddenly asked.

"What?" Nakamura Mine couldn't keep up with the other party's rhythm.

"You don't think I can be taken advantage of for free, do you? Show me some sincerity, sincerity!" Yamada Ryo put his hands on his chest and demanded payment righteously.

Chapter 22 Liang and Hongxia

Regarding Yamada Ryo's behavior of asking for compensation immediately after helping a little, Nakamura Mine only wanted to comment - he is worthy of being a bassist.

"Here." Nakamura Mine took out a piece of chewing gum that he had bought when he passed by the store in the morning from his pocket and put it in Yamada Ryo's palm.

"..." Yamada Ryo stared at the chewing gum in her hand, and without much hesitation, she opened the package and put it into her mouth. After putting the wrapping paper into her pocket, she stretched out her hand again towards Nakamura Mine.

"remuneration."

A big tic-tac-toe appeared on Nakamura Mine's forehead.

This woman is so despicable.

"I'm hungry." Yamada Ryo suddenly said this for no reason.

Nakamura Mine pulled Goto Ichiri and wanted to leave this troubled place. He had an instinct that he and the blue-haired girl in front of him would definitely not get along. Should it be said that it was like attracting like or something? He just wanted to leave here first. He didn't care about fate or destiny. He only cared about his wallet now.

But when he turned around and wanted to leave, someone held his shoulders tightly.

"Ms. Yamada Ryo?"

"A new Russian restaurant has recently opened nearby."

"Really? But I'm not interested."

"I want to eat."

"That's great, we won't disturb you while you eat."

"I recently bought a new bass, so my wallet is empty now. I only ate some wild grass to fill my stomach at noon." Yamada Ryo said pitifully.

"It's great that there are wild grasses to eat. I'm so envious. This is much better than any Russian restaurant." Nakamura Mine said seriously.

"..."

"Would you like to eat?" Yamada Ryo took out some wild grass from somewhere and put them in Nakamura Mine's hand, signaling the other party not to be polite.

Nakamura Mine was also a ruthless person and he just threw the food into his mouth without even looking at it.

"It's bitter with a hint of astringency, and then sweet after the astringency. It's extremely delicious. Miss Yamada actually knows how to enjoy life."

The eyes of Yamada Ryo and Nakamura Mine crossed in the air, creating sparks of thunder. One had a calm expression while the other had a weird smile on his lips, but they both had the same idea in their minds at this moment.

This guy is a bit difficult to deal with.

Goto Ichiri stood between the two people with a confused look on her face, looking at one and then the other. She felt that the temperature of the air around her seemed to have dropped by several degrees.

"Liang, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, a lively voice interrupted the eye contact between Nakamura Mine and Yamada Ryo. When Nakamura Mine looked over, he saw a lively girl with fashionable clothes and long golden hair tied in a side ponytail.

"I'm asking for the compensation I deserve." Yamada Ryo answered honestly.

"Are you trying to get free food and drinks again?" The girl with blonde hair in a side ponytail had a suspicious look on her face. It seemed that Yamada Ryo was definitely a repeat offender.

Yamada Ryo shifted his gaze to the side, not looking directly at his friend in front of him.

"Oh, is that so? I knew it would be like this, sir?"

"Nakamura Mine, this kid is Goto Ichiri." Nakamura Mine directly introduced Goto Ichiri. After all, she had probably burned out just now, so it would be better to let her take a proper rest.

"Hello, Mine-kun, Ichiri-chan, I'm Ichichi Nijinka, Ryo's friend, you can just call me Nijinka."

Did you call me by my name right away? My level is quite high.

It's okay for Nakamura Mine, he doesn't mind being called by his first name or his last name, but Goto Ichiri is more concerned about this. It's not that she hates being called by her name. She's even a little happy because it's the first time that someone of the same age other than her family has called her so intimately.

It turned out to be Ijichi Kouka. As soon as the other party appeared, Nakamura Mine felt that it was almost certain. After all, Yamada Ryo didn't look like he had many friends, not to mention that this was Shimokitazawa.

"Just in case, I'd better ask, have you been cheated?" Ijichi Hongxia said as she glanced at Yamada Ryo who was standing beside her.

"A piece of chewing gum, 500 yen." Nakamura Mine stretched out his hand, imitating what Yamada Ryo had done just now.

"Ahahaha, Feng-kun is really humorous."

A piece of chewing gum costs five hundred, which is even more rip-off than their live house.

"By the way, I was a little concerned just now. Ichiri-chan is carrying a guitar on her back, right?" Ijichi Kouka turned her head to look at Goto Ichiri's guitar bag.

"Oh, yes, that's right, it's the guitar." Goto Ichiri's face turned a little red because he was not used to being called by his name directly, but it was not difficult to tell that he was actually in a pretty good mood.

"Ichiri-chan, how good are your guitar skills?" After hearing Goto Ichiri's answer, Ijichi Hongxia's eyes suddenly lit up. After looking at Yamada Ryo, she continued to ask.

"Well, this, that, should be pretty good." Goto Ichiri replied, trying hard to suppress a smug smile.

"What about Feng-kun? Since we came to Shimokitazawa together, are you also a fan?"

"As for me, I've only recently started learning guitar, but I've learned piano since I was a kid, so if I have to say, I'm better at keyboards right now." Nakamura Mine said this. Before he decided to come to Shimokitazawa, he had already decided to join the Ending band as a keyboardist, so it was natural for him to move up the ladder at this time.

After hearing that Nakamura Mine was the keyboardist, the light in Ijichi Kouka's eyes became even brighter. She felt that she was a little too lucky today. Their band had just been formed, and now there were only two people including her and Yamada Ryo. Now, a guitarist who seemed to be very confident in his skills and a keyboard player fell from the sky. You know, a qualified keyboard player is a scarce resource in a band, but they could easily meet one.

Good Job!

"Ahem, Mine-kun and Ichiri-chan, do you have business to do in Shimokitazawa?" Ijichi Kouka was about to ask indirectly. This was a good opportunity to complete all the members except the lead singer at once, and she didn't want to let it go easily.

"Well, there's nothing specific to do, but if I have to say it's that we're here to try our luck. If there's a band that's short of people, Ichiri and I can try to join in. We also want to find a live house to watch other bands perform."

Goto Ichiri was the first to react to Nakamura's words. She was quick to notice that Nakamura had changed his address to her name instead of Goto-san, which made her feel a little embarrassed and stunned. But she and Nakamura-san should be pretty familiar with each other now, right? There should be no problem with calling her that, right?

As for Nakamura Mine, his idea was very simple. He just felt that since Ijichi Kouka called her by her name directly, it would be a bit strange for him to be shy and call her Goto-kun.

As for Ijichi Nikka, after listening to what Nakamura Minoru said, she had already directly decided to make Nakamura Minoru and Goto Ichiri members of her band. Are you kidding me? Things have already matched to this extent, there is still no reason not to do it?

Chapter 23 Joining

(In the previous chapter, someone suggested that Kita should not have joined yet, so I re-watched the beginning of the anime and the manga. Although there was no clear statement about the time when Kita joined, it still helped me find a blind spot. In the photo that Ryo used when paying homage to Kita, Kita was wearing a high school uniform (although it was just a joke, probably.), so Kita did join the band in high school. I originally thought that the beginning of the anime was when high school just started, so it felt like she joined either in junior high school or during the vacation after graduation, but in fact it had been a while since school started. This was my mistake. Sorry, it has been changed back now.)

"Hehe, if this is your purpose, then why don't you come to our Fanxing?" Ijichi Hongxia looked at the two people in front of her with anticipation. In her mind, she had already decided that they would become the members of the final band. As for their technical skills, her own technical level was just average, so naturally she would not require other members to reach the same level as soon as they arrived.

"Fanxing?" Nakamura Mine pretended to be confused. He naturally knew that Fanxing was the live house opened by Ichichi Hongxia's sister, but he still had to pretend.

"Well, it's a live house opened by my sister. There happen to be several good bands scheduled to perform today. Do you want to come and have a look? We can make an exception and waive the ticket fee!" Although it was just a question, the words "you must come" were written all over Ijichi Hongxia's face.

"What do you think? Ichiri." Nakamura Mine gave the decision-making power to Goto Ichiri. After all, the main purpose of coming out this time was not to join the Ending Band but to train Goto Ichiri's abilities. Anyway, even if he didn't join now, there would probably be plenty of opportunities in the future.

"Ah, um, that...but..." Goto Ichiri hesitated for a long time, but she couldn't speak properly as she was being stared at by Ijichi Kouka and Yamada Ryo. Seeing this, Nakamura Mine had to come out to rescue her.

"She probably wants to ask why we are invited to watch the show even if it's free?"

Goto Ichiri nodded vigorously, expressing great affirmation for what Nakamura Mine said.

"Ah, this..." After a moment's hesitation, Ijichi Kouka finally decided to make things clear right now. She clasped her hands together, bowed her head and begged Nakamura Mine and Goto Ichiri:

"Sorry, Liang and I have recently formed a band, but we haven't been able to recruit anyone yet. So if you want to join the band, would you consider us? Or please give it some careful consideration!"

Seeing this, Yamada Ryo also followed Ijichi Kouka's example and clasped her hands together, but her expressionless face didn't seem like she was asking for help from others, but rather more like she was worshiping them.

"I can, what do you say? One mile."

"Form a band..." Goto Ichiri murmured softly. This was something she had wanted to do for the past two years. Now the opportunity was right in front of her. It was neither far away nor unreal. She didn't need to think about whether to join in or not, because her inner desire told her that she simply couldn't refuse.

This was a moment she had expected countless times. Although she had been longing for it, she was actually afraid that the guitar she had practiced for so long would be useless. Even if she went to a high school where no one knew her, could she really start over with her virtue? It really wouldn't be like the three years of junior high school that were about to end, when she could only hide in a corner where no one cared about her, talk to friends who didn't really exist in her mind, and command them to keep praising her, living in her own little world.

No!

Goto Ichiri hated herself for what she was like, and was afraid of the lonely future that would flash through her mind from time to time, so she made an effort, and tried very, very hard to keep up with the guitar so that she could join a band or make friends with like-minded people at any time in the future. She learned almost all the pop music in recent years, and at school she also tried her best to make others notice her hobby in her own way, in order to attract the attention of like-minded people.

Yes, she tried hard, but she never took that crucial step. She could never muster up the courage to actively look for opportunities. She was just trying her best within her comfort zone.

But now, someone invited her to join his band, which was perhaps more unbelievable than surprising.

Why did things go so smoothly? They were completely failed before.

The reason for all this is Nakamura Mine.

He communicated with her in an almost rough way, and then forcibly dragged her to a place that she would never dare to step into alone. He dragged her here by force, and then, she now saw a different future. This was different from the beautiful future that she always fantasized about but actually understood better than anyone that it was impossible. Her future was very likely to change because of her current choice.

Anyway, the situation won't be any worse than it is now.

Nakamura Mine once said that she would become a hero with her guitar, but in Goto Ichiri's eyes now, Nakamura Mine has become her hero. This is by no means a love relationship between a man and a woman, but is much more complicated, mixed with gratitude, admiration and other emotions that are difficult to express.

But Goto Ichiri at least realized one thing very clearly, that is, this unreasonable boy who suddenly broke into her world and forced her to move forward was her benefactor, even though they had only known each other for a few days.

"I, I want to try it!" With her fists clenched, Goto Ichiri used all her strength to say this. She was obviously the one being asked to do something, but at this moment she still looked so uneasy.

"Really? That's great! Now we have a guitarist and a keyboardist all of a sudden, Ryo." Ijichi Hongxia jumped up with joy. She was originally a little disappointed because she couldn't find suitable members, but now, their team is almost complete, and they even have a keyboardist, who she had no hope for at all.

"Yeah, that's great." Yamada Ryo clapped calmly, but his calm expression made it difficult to tell whether this guy was truly happy or not.

"Then without further ado, let's head for the 'Stars'!" Ijichi Hongxia raised her arms high with full of energy.

"Oh~"