Problem Girls Strategy

"Pochi-chan, what do you think of our performance?"

"Ah, very good." Goto Ichiri said this, but his mood was a little depressed.

"Why do you look so listless? Do you think the performance was not that good?"

"No...no, the performance was really great, but, the elder sister is so dazzling, I don't think I can do it like you." Goto Ichiri just thought about it for a moment, and if he were standing on Hiroi Kikuri's stage facing so many audiences, his hands and feet could not help but tremble, and he wanted to hide in the corner.

As expected, only people with cheerful personalities can shine like this on the stage, right?

Jiang Zao touched Goto Ichiri's head and said, "Stupid, give yourself more confidence."

"..." Goto Ichiri couldn't think of any reason to be confident in himself.

"In fact, I was still a gloomy person hiding in the corner of the classroom until high school."

"Eh?" Goto Ichiri turned around and looked at Hiroi Kikuri in surprise. Whether it was their first meeting or her current performance, the label of gloomy could not possibly be associated with her.

Was my elder sister also a dark person like me? I can't tell at all.

Ah, it seems that I have only seen the elder sister when she is drunk. What would she look like if she doesn’t drink?

"You really feel the same way, don't you?" Seeing Goto Ichiri's reaction to the corner of the classroom, Hiroi Kikuri smiled and said, "It turns out that yin corners attract each other."

"One day, I suddenly imagined my future. It was a boring life that made me despair."

"I wanted to try a completely different life, so I started playing rock music, went to music stores to buy bass guitars, and visited performance spaces. The first time was so scary, and I even drank to relieve the nervousness of my first performance."

"Everyone would be scared when trying something new, but Pochi-chan, you have performed on the streets and in STARRY without relying on alcohol, isn't that amazing?"

"Just like your boyfriend said, have more confidence in yourself. If that doesn't work, drink some alcohol to give yourself courage!" Hiroi Kikuri subconsciously stretched out her left hand. She thought she was holding shochu in her hand.

"Ah, no, that... I'm underage and can't drink." Goto Ichiri was enlightened by Hiroi Kikuri as a senior of Yinkaku, and he gained confidence in himself as big as a fingernail.

Yes, I have performed successfully twice. No...it’s just a bigger place with more people. It’s no big deal.

Goto Ichiri squeezed against Jiang Zao to draw more courage from him, and smiled at Hiroi Kikuri: "If you have time, please come and watch our performance at the cultural festival!"

After these words were spoken, everyone except Shimizu Elisa and Iwashita Shima who didn't understand the situation smiled with relief, which meant that Goto Ichiri had finally made up his mind to participate in the cultural festival performance.

"Yeah! That's right!" Hiroi Kikuri, under the influence of alcohol, excitedly punched the wall.

Jiang Zao used her right hand to steadily block her attack of destroying wealth and eliminating disasters. As a senior and a hidden corner person, she was the most suitable person to enlighten Goto Ichiri about this matter. As a thank you, Jiang Zao naturally had to return the favor and help Hiroi Kikuri avoid this accident of bleeding her wallet.

"Wow!" Hiroi Kikuri came back to her senses, broke out in a cold sweat, looked at Jiang Zao gratefully, then held Goto Ichiri's hands with tears in her eyes: "Pochi-chan, can you lend me your boyfriend? With him around, I will definitely be able to save a lot of money on destroying equipment."

"No, no!" Goto Ichiri stood in front of Jiang Zao like a hen protecting her chicks. Even if he tried to persuade his senior, he couldn't lend Jiang Zao out: "What if Jiang Zao refuses to marry me?"

"Hey~ I'm just borrowing it during the performance. How could I possibly steal your boyfriend, big sis?"

The last time you made this promise was when you said you wouldn’t blackmail high school girls.

Goto Ichiri was extremely firm in her attitude and refused to give in no matter what Hiroi Kikuri said. In the end, it was the store manager Xiaoyin who took her away.

After the show, everyone hadn’t had dinner yet, so they simply found a family restaurant nearby to eat.

Liang was the only one among the five who didn't have any food placed in front of him. Hongxia completely ignored Liang's rumbling stomach and said, "After the performance, the participation in the cultural festival has been finalized. Let's decide on the repertoire for that time!"

"According to Kita's information, each band has fifteen minutes to perform, so they can probably sing about three songs, right?"

While the cultural festival's set list was important, Liang's rumbling stomach was clearly more eye-catching.

"Really, really can't you give Ryo-senpai some food?"

"No!" Hong Xia coldly rejected Kita Ikuyo's proposal: "She has not paid back the money for Pochi-chan, so she should be taught a lesson."

"Yuyo~" Liang covered the corners of his drooling mouth and pretended to be pitiful, hoping that Yuyo Kita, who was the most sympathetic to him, could share some food with him.

"Um..." Kita Ikuyo was unable to resist such an attack, and tremblingly picked up her tomato pasta to give to Liang.

"Kita! Don't be fooled by the pretty boys in the band. The so-called [3Bs] who can never be boyfriends are the bassist, the bassist, and the bassist!"

Hong Xia's words were obviously personal. In fact, [3B] refers to bandman, bartender and beautician (Biyoushi).

"Alright, alright, Nijixia, calm down. Pochi-chan finally decided to participate in the cultural festival, so just let it go this time."

"Jiang Zao, you are simply an angel!" Liang never expected that Jiang Zao would speak for him. He immediately turned his pitiful gaze to Hong Xia: "Hong Xia, I will never borrow money from anyone again..."

"You really are... Jiang Zao, your girlfriend has been borrowed money and has not been repaid, why are you still speaking for Liang?"

"Well... because the amount isn't that big, right? And I believe Ryo isn't the kind of person who would never pay the money back, right?"

Hong Xia almost forgot that Jiang Zao was a local tyrant. She shook her head helplessly: "Since you said so..."

Liang felt a little guilty that Jiang Zao trusted her so much. After all, she had really planned that as long as Goto Ichiri didn't bring it up, she would not return the money. This made it even more difficult for her to look directly at Jiang Zao's smiling face, and she lowered her head and remained silent.

That holy smile, if I keep looking at it, I will be tortured to death by guilt...

"Waiter, another serving of curry rice, please!"

“Why curry and rice?”

Facing Liang's question, Jiang Zao scratched his head: "I saw you eating curry rice in the cafe before, and I thought you liked it. How about changing to something else?"

"No, thank you for the treat."

This means I'm treating you... You're worthy of it, Xieliang.

The corners of Jiang Zao's mouth twitched, and he admired Liang's ability to get others to treat him.

When the curry rice was served, Liang couldn't wait to scoop up the white rice covered with curry sauce with a spoon and put it into her mouth. It was so delicious that tears oozed from the corners of her eyes: "Jiang Zao, you are so gentle. I like you."

"Yes, yes, what's the truth?"

"I like your money." Liang's answer was also expected by everyone.

Senior Liang...are you still a gold digger?

Kita Yuyo was thinking about the human-shaped stand of Ryo. The eyes gradually turned into money symbols, and the "Encyclopedia of Edible Plants" in his hand also turned into a strange book called "How to Borrow Money". Her understanding of Ryo gradually went in a strange direction.

After eating and drinking, Liang took out a notepad and pen from his schoolbag: "I've already thought of the playlist."

"Eh? So fast?"

“When I heard about the possibility of attending the cultural festival, I started thinking about it.”

Hong Xia glanced at the contents on the paper and praised, "Oh, this arrangement is pretty good."

"The second thing to do is to add Pochi-chan's guitar solo." Liang circled the song title and tapped the pen twice.

Goto Ichiri and Kita Ikuyo turned their eyes away from the set list and looked at Ryo in surprise who had made this decision.

"This is your and Ikuyo's cultural festival, Pochi-chan, so we need to give you a chance to show off."

Kita Ikuyo had no objection and was even happy for Goto Ichiri. She knew that her guitar skills were not yet at the level where she could play alone, and she was happy to see Goto Ichiri show himself in front of the audience.

"But isn't it too ambitious to use only our original songs in the cultural festival performances?" Ikuyo Kita was worried that not many people might buy into the original songs, so it would be better to cover current popular songs.

Hongxia thought that Liang should have arranged the songs this way in order to make the band famous, and agreed with her approach: "I think it's great, we should be ambitious!"

"It's okay if the performance isn't good. There are four of us anyway, so the pain can be divided equally among us."

"So you arranged it this way so that we can all experience your psychological trauma, Liang..."

Jiang Zao raised his hand: "Do you want me to join in? Then it will be divided into five equal parts."

"No!" Hong Xia angrily pounded the table with her fist. "I begged you so much at the beginning, but you refused to join the band. Now you want to join just to watch our fun. I absolutely don't agree."

"Okay, okay, I won't join." Jiang Zao took out a tissue and handed it to Hong Xia: "Your hands are splashed with tomato juice, wipe it with paper."

"It's all because of what you said!" Hong Xia complained as she reached out to take the tissue handed to her by Jiang Zao. The inadvertent touch of their fingertips made her recall the illogical and absurd wedding dream, and her face turned red in an instant.

Liang poked Hongxia curiously: "Why are you blushing?"

"T-This is refreshing!"

"Why is it yellow again?"

"Anti-cold-proof wax!"

Hey guys, are you two performing "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy" here?

Jiang Zao complained in his heart, and seeing that Goto Ichiri hadn't spoken for a long time, he put her little hand in his palm and asked softly, "What's wrong, Pochi-chan?"

"Ah, I was thinking about the guitar solo."

"I see. Come on, I believe in you."

"Ok!"

"By the way," Jiang Zao remembered that Goto Ichiri's guitar would have some minor problems at the cultural festival, so he decided to remind her. After all, reality is not a joke: "Remember to check your guitar carefully when you have time."

"I will."

Kita Ikuyo listened to their conversation, feeling conflicted.

Did I make a mistake when I asked Jiang Zao to submit the registration form for Goto?

If it was just a simple band performance, it would be within Kita Ikuyo's expectations, but the guitar solo arranged by Liang was completely beyond her expectations. Kita Ikuyo's original intention was to be a companion, quietly pushing Goto Ichiri forward behind her, and changing her socially anxious personality little by little, so that she would not be too radical or too conservative.

Kita Ikuyo had long noticed that the level of Goto Ichiri's guitar playing when she taught herself in the Problem Children's Affairs Department was different from when she played in public. She believed that as long as she used this method of boiling a frog in warm water to slowly let Goto Ichiri adapt to playing in public, she would be able to display her true strength.

However, the guitar solo was like an iron ball thrown into a pot. It not only hit the frog on the head and suffocated it, but also directly smashed a big hole in the iron pot.

The moon climbed up into the sky, and only roadside billboards and street lights kept each other company on the empty streets in the night. The footsteps of Jiang Zao, Goto Ichiri, and Kita Ikuyo who left STARRY echoed in the air. The atmosphere was so quiet that Kita Ikuyo was tormented. Although Jiang Zao, as the mastermind of the plan, took the blame for submitting the registration form, it was actually her idea.

Goto-san won't just bear all the pressure in silence, right?

When she thought of this possibility, Kita Ikuyo felt even more uncomfortable. She stopped and tightly grasped the shoulder strap of her guitar bag. Her fingers turned white from excessive force. She called out to Goto Ichiri in a trembling voice: "Goto... Goto-san!"

Goto Ichiri was startled by her and turned around at a loss: "Ki, Kita-san, what's wrong?"

"Ah..." Kita Ikuyo opened her thin lips. She felt like she couldn't straighten her tongue and couldn't say a word. She took a deep breath, looked at Jiang Zao apologetically, and mustered up the courage to speak out her true feelings: "Actually, I asked Jiang Zao to submit the application form for you!"

"Because I want to attend the cultural festival with Goto-san, Ijichi-senpai, and Ryo-senpai!"

"But I didn't expect to ask you to perform a guitar solo at the cultural festival. You must have been under a lot of pressure. I'm really sorry!" Kita Ikuyo bowed 90 degrees to Goto Ichiri to apologize. She closed her eyes and dared not breathe. She was mentally prepared to be blamed by Goto Ichiri.

"T-Thank you."

Goto Ichiri's sincere thanks made Kita Ikuyo straighten up and look up at her in surprise.

"I was really worried at first, but now I'm looking forward to the performance at the cultural festival. This is also because you asked Jiang Zao to submit the registration form, so... I'm very grateful to you. Ah, don't worry about the pressure. Going to school every day and working at STARRY are enough for me to get used to the high-pressure environment."

"Hey, Kita, didn't you agree that I should take the blame?" Jiang Zao didn't blame him at all. Instead, he looked at Kita Ikuyo, the "naughty child", with a helpless and happy look: "It's great that Pochi-chan has a friend like you who cares about her."

"Well, Kita-san is a good person."

"I...I..." Kita Ikuyo choked up and wiped her eyes. She was very glad that Jiang Zao and Goto Ichiri persuaded her to join the band. "I will definitely practice even harder next time!"

Chapter 94 High-end Operation

"Hello? Pochi-chan, what's wrong?"

"Jiang Zao~" Goto Ichiri could only use this sweet tone on the phone, as if she had become a piece of taffy stuck to the body. Once they met, she turned back into the socially phobic abstract girlfriend that Jiang Zao was familiar with, and there was no trace of the person she was like on the phone.

In real life, I am timid and submissive, but on the phone, I can suffocate people to death without any hesitation. I guess I am talking about Goto Ichiri now.

"Well, I have to take tutoring classes recently and practice the music for the cultural festival. I may not have much time to spend with you..."

"Just focus on those two. I'll visit you at STARRY from time to time."

"Uh-huh!"

"After the cultural festival is over, I will grant you one more wish."

"Really!?"

"Of course, I can even pick them for you if they are stars." Jiang Zao was not joking. Did you see Nymph, the little angel who was playing with the canary in his home?

Synaps technology is beyond your imagination.

"Hehehe, are you pampering me too much..." Goto Ichiri rolled around happily on the tatami, his little face hot and he felt like he was about to melt.

"You are my girlfriend, who else should I spoil if I don't spoil you?"

"So...getting married...is that okay?"

Fortunately, Jiang Zao is not an ordinary person. He was not moved by Goto Ichiri's rather heavy topic, and even seemed eager to try: "Pochi-chan, it's not that I don't want to, but legally, neither of us are of marriageable age yet!"

"That's true..." Goto Ichiri really wanted Jiang Zao to turn 18 years old immediately so that he could marry him!

The female god lying on the high-end recliner seemed to have received a strong wish from Goto Ichiri at this moment. She picked up the coffee on the table and seemed to remember something: "Oh~ Speaking of which, I haven't fulfilled the wish of the excellent employee's girlfriend yet. Hmm... Let me see, if I set it to be sent in a few hours, it seems that there is a difference in the speed of time flow. What are the specific parameters? Forget it, it shouldn't be too different."