I said you are all war criminals

"It's okay... just a minor injury..." Xingge said weakly, trying to pull back his hand, but Hongxia held it tightly.

"Don't move!" Hong Xia rolled up Xingge's sleeve without saying a word. When she saw the scars on her arm, she took a breath.

Xingge's fair arms were covered with crisscrossing scratches. These scratches were very deep, some of which had even scabbed over, but others were oozing with blood, which looked shocking.

"This...did you scratch this yourself?" Hong Xia's voice trembled. She could certainly see how serious the injury was.

"I..." Xingge whispered, "I was worried about you. You left so suddenly... I, I..."

Hongxia wanted to say something.

But she couldn't say anything.

"Hongxia, don't, don't disappear suddenly like your mother..."

Xingge lowered her eyes and said softly, "Please, okay?"

Chapter 44: Dispute and Comfort

"Welcome back."

When Liang saw Hongxia again, he just said this simple sentence and then started to tune his bass.

Hongxia had anticipated Liang's reaction.

Liang is now very serious about the band's affairs, so her leaving without saying goodbye these days is indeed a bit unreasonable.

"I..." Hongxia was about to explain when Liang forced her back with a sharp look.

"You'd better give me a reasonable explanation, Hongxia." Liang said coldly, "Where have you been these past few days? You didn't answer my calls, you didn't reply to my messages. Do you know how much effort we put into finding you?"

"I..." Hong Xia bit her lip, and Xingge's scarred arm flashed through her mind. "I... I'm going to relax."

"Okay then," Liang spread out his hands, "pay the relaxation fee."

Hongxia was stunned for a moment, then actually opened her wallet and started counting the money - which in turn scared Liang.

Liang was shocked by Hongxia's behavior. She had originally just wanted to use this method to make Hongxia feel that "Liang is still the same Liang" and restore Hongxia to her original state. However, Hongxia's obedient attitude of paying the money made her feel a little uneasy.

According to past experience, Hongxia should have hit Liang on the forehead with a knife!

Liang was a little confused by Hongxia's unusual behavior. She plucked the strings a few times in frustration, and the harsh noise echoed in the practice room.

Until Hongxia put the counted money in front of Liang, "I'm sorry."

Ryo was enraged by Hongxia's behavior. She swept the bills off the table, sending them flying through the air like snowflakes, eventually landing on the floor. Hongxia was startled by Ryo's sudden fury; she had never seen Ryo lose his temper like this before. Before Hongxia could react, Ryo picked up his bass and slammed the door, leaving.

The door of the practice room slammed with a loud bang, echoing in the empty room.

Hong Xia was the only one left in the room. She looked at the scattered bills on the floor, then at the closed door, feeling a mixture of emotions. She picked up the money from the floor, sorted it out one by one, and put it in her pocket. It was then that she realized her phone had fallen to the floor at some point, the screen shattered into a spiderweb-like shape.

Hong Xia sat dejectedly on the ground, burying her head in her arms.

She messed up.

"Damn..."

She cursed under her breath, got up from the ground, and leaned weakly against the wall. The practice room was quiet, with only the sound of her own breathing and heartbeat. She closed her eyes and tried to calm herself, but her mind kept replaying the events of the past few days like a movie.

Cyberpunk, swords, trees that block out the sun...

If Hong Xia's experiences these days were made into a movie, it would definitely be a bad movie.

After breaking free from her memories, Hongxia staggered out of the practice room, and as soon as she went out, she saw Bai Ye.

Hakuno was standing behind the bar, slowly mixing drinks.

"……Why are you here?"

"Because someone's sister is injured and resting at home," Bai Ye shrugged, "and I happen to be free."

Bai Ye acted as if he hadn't noticed Liang running out angrily just now. He still had that cynical smile on his face. He slowly wiped the glass in his hand and said to Hong Xia, "Hey, why do you look so bad...Want a drink?"

Hong Xia rubbed her temples tiredly and said weakly, "I'm still a minor."

Bai Ye raised an eyebrow and said in feigned surprise, "Oh, I forgot about that. But seriously, you really don't look like a high school student. Tell me, what happened? It's not often that our Miss Hong Xia looks so sad."

Hong Xia hesitated for a moment, "...It's nothing, it's my fault, I shouldn't have run away from home."

"That's true for your sister, but not for Liang."

Bai Ye exposed his sister's past, "If she's going to be angry, she'll only be angry that you didn't take her with you when you ran away from home."

Bai Ye put down his wine glass and walked slowly to sit next to Hong Xia. He quickly took the initiative and reached out to ruffle Hong Xia's hair.

"I'm telling you, you're really something. You don't want to be a good young lady, but run away from home to experience life. So, are you experiencing the hardship now?" Bai Ye's tone was a little teasing, but more of it was concern.

Hong Xia slapped Bai Ye's hand away, "What kind of young lady am I..."

"I own a live house in Shimokitazawa, so I'm pretty rich." Hakuno said seriously.

"...It can't compare to your family, right?"

Even though she was very sad, Hongxia couldn't help but complain.

It wasn't the first day she'd known Ryo. In her future memories, she'd spent quite a while with Hakuno. Compared to the Ijichi family, these two were truly from wealthy families.

"Haha, it seems my joke wasn't funny," Hakuno sighed softly, "Well then...seriously, what were you thinking? Running away from home is not a good idea."

"I..." Hong Xia opened her mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Where would she begin to explain?

Will it start when Ryo becomes a heartless capitalist? Or will it start when Kita launches a war that sweeps the world?

Or, should it start from when Sister Xingge will destroy the world?

...Except for Hong Xia, who "has memories of the future", who would believe these absurd things?

"If you need help, you can come to me, I'm always here."

Bai Ye's face sparkled in Hong Xia's eyes, like an oasis seen by a traveler in the desert, or a lifeline grasped by a ship in a storm. But this did not mean that Hong Xia fell in love with him. It was just that in the confusion and helplessness at the moment, she instinctively wanted to grasp something, and Bai Ye happened to appear in her sight.

That's an illusion.

I only have the illusion of the other person.

"Anytime..." Hong Xia repeated the words, with a barely perceptible tremor in her tone, "Really?"

"Yes."

Hakuno said nonchalantly.

"I won't ask you 'what happened'. If you want to cry, you can come to me and have a good cry. If you feel that your anger is still lingering, you can also rush over and scold me... Ah, hitting me is not good, after all, I don't have much strength."

Hong Xia's tears burst forth like pearls from a broken string, falling one by one onto Bai Ye's shirt, quickly staining it with a dark stain.

"Hey, hey, stop crying. If you keep crying my clothes will be ruined." Bai Ye said with pretended disgust, but he just patted Hong Xia's back gently, as if he was comforting a lost kitten.

Hongxia didn't say anything, but just cried even harder.

PS: It’s the end of the year, and I’m working overtime a lot…

I don’t have any drafts saved, so I’ll start saving now. I’ll post as many as I save.

In addition, the "Orange" tag was not added by me, I will study how to delete it.

Chapter 45: Band Agency

"By the way, I have something I'd like to ask for your help."

After Hongxia burst into tears, Bai Ye, while mixing drinks behind the bar, casually said, "Didn't you ask me to find some band members?"

Hongxia had stopped sobbing and wiped away all the tears in her eyes.

In fact, she has now returned to her former sunny little sun self.

"Oh, so—do you want me to help you find band members?"

"That's about right," Bai Ye said, "because I have to help look after the store."

It would take at least two or three days for Xingge to recover enough to run the store. During this time, Bai Ye would take over the store.

"I can't find the band members during this time, so I have to entrust you."

Hakuno bluntly expressed his desire, "It would be best if all the band members were beautiful girls, preferably in high school!"

"...You're similar to Ryo in that respect. If Ryo were a boy, I can almost imagine her saying that line... Ugh, that's too bad..."

As Hongxia spoke, she couldn't help laughing.

"Leave the band members' matters to me!" Amidst laughter, Hong Xia patted his chest with a confident expression, as if saying, "Leave this matter to me."

However, her tone of voice changed accordingly.

"However, I have a condition."

"What are the conditions?" Bai Ye wiped the cup.

"The band members must be interviewed by me personally." Hong Xia said seriously.

"Huh?" Bai Ye obviously didn't expect Hong Xia to make such a request. "Why?"

"No reason," Hong Xia narrowed her eyes, a cunning smile on her lips, "Anyway, this is my condition. It's up to you whether you agree or not."

Bai Ye shrugged. "I've already entrusted it to you. You're fully responsible. Forget about interviewing them personally, you can even do it yourself... But don't try to fool me with some idiot."

"Don't worry, I'll do the job, you can trust me!" Hong Xia said confidently.

In order to find suitable band members as soon as possible, Hong Xia began to run around the school, spreading the news of the band recruitment to everyone she met.

Not only that, she also posted band recruitment posts on major social platforms.

"Urgently hiring band members! Located in Tokyo, no genre restrictions. As long as you love music and want to be on stage, come join us! The salary is excellent, and we look forward to your joining us!"

In order to attract more attention, Hong Xia also uploaded a video of herself playing and singing. In the video, she holds a guitar, playing and singing by herself, full of youth and energy.

...As for the fact that it was Hakuno who was actually hiring, Hongxia didn't say it was for her band. Besides, Hakuno's guitar playing was probably about the same as Hongxia's, so it wasn't really a lie, probably.

Probably because of the beautiful girl, Hongxia’s post quickly attracted a lot of attention.

"Hello, are you still recruiting band members?"

"I'm a guitarist. Do you still need a guitarist?"

"I'm a bassist. I'm very interested in your band. Can I join?"

Among the many replies, one message caught Hongxia's attention.

"Hello, my name is Toyokawa Shoko, and I'm a keyboard player. I saw your recruitment information. Do you still need a keyboard player? I can be a support keyboard player, and the compensation can be discussed in detail."

Hong Xia clicked on the photo sent by the other party, and what caught her eye was a girl with blue hair and a quiet temperament.

...It's her.

Hongxia found the other person's face in her memory, then replied to the message and made an appointment with Toyokawa Shoko to meet in a cafe the next day.

The next day, Hakuno didn't go to the interview because he had to watch the shop. Nijika went to the cafe alone to wait for Toyokawa Shoko to arrive.

The agreed time was two o'clock in the afternoon, and around one fifty, the door of the cafe was pushed open.

"Excuse me, is this Miss Ijichi?"

The blue-haired girl walked in, her manners quite elegant.

"Yes, I'm Toyokawa Shoko." Toyokawa Shoko bowed slightly. "Nice to meet you."

"Please take a seat."

Hongxia invited Toyokawa Shoko to sit opposite her.

Looking closely, Hongxia discovered that Toyokawa Shoko was even more beautiful in person than in her photos. To put it in a metaphor... Yes, she looked like a doll: her skin was fair and smooth, and her delicate features were as flawless as a meticulously crafted work of art.

After Xiangzi sat down, Hongxia said with a smile: "Hello Xiangzi, just call me Hongxia, no need to be so polite."

"Okay, Hongxia." Toyokawa Shoko smiled slightly, revealing a row of white and neat teeth.

"I saw the video you uploaded, and your guitar playing is so beautiful!" Toyokawa Shoko praised him generously. "I've always dreamed of joining a band and performing on stage. I thought this might be my chance."

"Ahahaha... that..." Hong Xia scratched the corner of her mouth a little embarrassedly. She almost let it slip, but luckily she stopped herself in time. "Actually, I was just playing around. I'm still far from the level I'm at."

"No, I think you play very well." Toyokawa Shoko said seriously, "I can feel your love for music from your performance."

"Really? Haha..." Hong Xia laughed dryly. Her guitar skills could only be described as tragic. The difference between percussion instruments and string instruments couldn't be erased by simply saying "they're all instruments."