Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

With such generous conditions and a little help from Blood Star's superpowers, Zhe Li successfully obtained the license.

Now they are just temporarily letting Takamatsu Deng join as a backing singer. It will not affect their schedule, and it will also give Deng another experience of performing in front of the crowd, which is really killing two birds with one stone.

"nervous?"

"...very, nervous."

Gao Songdeng lowered his head and carefully counted the mesh heads of the dynamic microphone, trying to relieve his panic, but it had little effect.

Bao Deng Zheli was adjusting the knob. When he heard the light's response, he paused, glanced in her direction, and said:

"Then remember how you feel at this moment."

"……what?"

"You're nervous because you're worried about messing up."

Unlike his usual appearance of leaning slightly to the side, bending his knees, lowering his waist, and naturally showing a sense of intimacy, Zhe Li was now straightening his back, but tilting his head, looking at the lamp with a look that could perhaps be described as condescending.

This forced Deng to raise his head to see his face clearly, and it was because of this that he saw the seriousness in his eyes.

He said in a deep voice, "You're worried about messing up, because you want to do your best no matter what..."

The light blinked.

In the center of her sight, the man finally turned his head slowly and faced her with a smile as bright as the sun.

"Please remember that desire to achieve something."

“It may not be exactly the same as the ‘cry’ in your heart, but it is a voice that is uniquely yours.”

“You just have to sing that voice.”

Gao Songdeng slowly opened his eyes.

"…My voice."

The words that resound in the heart seem to be able to stir up huge waves in the deep silence.

————Just like starlight.

In the turbulent whirlpool, the girl who couldn't swim looked up.

The shadow that falls in the long night,

It still shines brightly in the daytime.

Lost Star Chapter 61 Summer Record: Episode Lost Band

"Is that a live show on the road?"

"So strong! This is the first time I've seen it."

“Looks so professional…”

The sparse admiration from the crowd reached Takamatsu Deng's ears more clearly than ever before.

The microphone wasn't even on yet, but she still fiercely pursed her lips, afraid to let a single sound escape. Each sentence, clearly a sigh of emotion, somehow sounded like a barrage of criticism to her: off-key, cracking voice, bland and emotionless... The self-blame she'd always buried deep within her heart seemed about to be voiced through the audience.

"...Huh." She tried her best not to think about that, tightly gripped the microphone in her hand, and slowly turned on the switch.

"Hello everyone, hello everyone..."

Bao Deng Zheli stood in the center of the temporary stage and smiled at Nagasaki Motoyo and others standing in the front row of the "audience seats" - although it was called a stage, it was not specially raised. It was just a space simply enclosed by a few speakers, effects pedals, cables, etc., so that passers-by could spontaneously distance themselves from the performers on the "stage".

"We are, 'The Lost Band'."

Baodeng Zheli said this name for the first time.

This is the answer he gave to his and Lenai’s music.

"For you who are always lost, always troubled, and drifting in this world, we want to use our songs to tell you that you are not alone."

"——Even if you are confused, you must move forward."

A steady voice came through the speakers, and the crowd, which had been noisy at first, gradually quieted down.

Standing in the center of the stage, carrying his bass, with his back straight, he held his head high and wore a confident smile on his face.

"Please listen to... <Blue Bookmark>."

With the same smile, Le Nai gently plucked the strings, releasing a riff as clear as a wind chime. Zheli's bass joined in the third measure. With just two instruments, their precise and efficient playing effortlessly wove a rich melody.

So, even though Gao Songdeng still kept his head down, he still noticed the sudden increase in gazes from the crowd.

Yes. In a three-person band, there's a guitarist, a bassist, and the last person just holding the microphone... No matter who's looking at it, the first thing they'd notice about the lights would be the lead singer, so it's only natural that they'd cast such an expectant gaze.

I'm a backing vocalist. I'm just a backing vocalist...

Takamatsu's grip on the microphone tightened, her eyes, hazy and vacant, fixed on the lyrics book. The simple melody suggested the timing and content of the harmony, but she wasn't very good at reading music and had completely forgotten the exact pitch she had used to sing the harmony during that hurried rehearsal.

She racked her brains to recall, but time was not on her side...

Baodeng Zheli's deep and powerful singing voice instantly overwhelmed the slightly soft tone.

“Several pages of white paper were used to embellish our mood.”

"For some reason, there's a line that's always blank and can't be filled—"

He always exudes confidence when he stands on stage, and today was no different. But this was the first time Takamatsu Touma saw him from behind, as a member of the band. His tall figure stood tall and straight, his bass guitar held with a carefree and unrestrained air. Even though the gaze was too heavy for Touma, he seemed unfazed by it.

"Bookmark with dried flowers"

Although I couldn't see his face, I could tell from the song that he was smiling as he spoke. Lenai's voice then joined in:

““Ride a disposable bike with you””

Deng hurriedly glanced down at the lyrics book—she should be joining in the harmony, just like Lenai. But the melody, which sounded so gentle at first, wasn't gentle enough to pause for her to catch up. The next moment, only Zheli's relaxed voice remained:

"Building up the almost forgotten bricks only to have them fall down again..."

As she was still nervously waiting for the next chorus, she suddenly realized that the ever-gentle voice had gradually accumulated a certain heavy weight from this line of lyrics:

“Gradually being pulled closer to the horizon”

"Amazing blue skies"

"We are so tired from traveling that we probably never thought of this—"

The pause, symbolizing transformation, also pauses the lamp's breathing.

After that moment.

It's like something that has been suppressed for a long time has just exploded,

The man's sudden rise in pitch completely captured her attention.

"It's right here, facing me now!"

"Pushing down this beam of sunlight!"

"...Even though, the two of us are still right in front of us."

He whispered pleadingly, "'If only—'"

““See you someday” or something like that.”

Lenai's ethereal harmony followed, making him feel as if he was drifting into a distant dream.

After waking up from the dream, he chuckled with relief:

"Like, like, crazy..."

……

After the first chorus ends, the chords progress to the riff that is so familiar that people can hum it unconsciously.

After waiting for this section, it will be the next harmony...

The sound pressure from the speakers was so strong that Takamatsu Deng could even feel the vibrations on her skin. However, the melody of the song was so pure that even amidst the lingering notes, she was almost overwhelmed by the noise of the crowd stirring in the distance.

Or maybe, the noise did not come from reality, but from her heart.

The voice that reaches out to the outside world time and again but is resisted.

A voice that seeks resonance from others time and time again but is kept at a distance.

She wrote those sounds one after another into words and then into lyrics.

But, if you want to sing out loud, you have to work really hard...

Even at this moment, even as just an insignificant harmony singer, she, who was used to silence, still couldn't sing as easily as that man.

"Inner cry" and "inner voice"

It was precisely because she knew this that she was even more hesitant to speak.

——What if it’s like before.

——What if someone gets hurt because of this?

It was clearly a groundless worry, but it still stubbornly occupied my mind.

'but……'

The girl gripped the microphone tightly, so tightly that the bulging muscles could be seen on the back of her slender palm.

Want to tell.

Want to convey.

The lyrics were originally written to be sung aloud.

"How could you give up before you even open your mouth...!"

……

Lights, no openings at all.

Shiina Riki looked anxiously at Takamatsu Deng, who seemed to be frightened and at a loss, and was frozen in place.

Under the clear blue sky, only the girl seemed to be shrouded in a dark cloud. His concern for the lights far outweighed everything else, leaving Li Xi with no extra energy to pay attention to the other two's performances.

She began to feel lucky that Bao Deng Zheli had let Deng serve as one of the double choruses.

That way, even if I fall silent due to nervousness, it won't ruin the performance and cast a shadow on the lights...

...No, wait!

Li Xi suddenly opened his eyes wide.

In the center of sight, Gao Songdeng slowly raised the microphone.

Those eyes that were still somewhat timid faintly ignited something that could perhaps be called determination.

……

When the chord was in place, the man slowly approached the microphone and opened his lips——

“The hand that turns the page”

In addition to Le Nai's relatively high chorus, there was another relatively low and even hoarse singing voice.

“Lucky bracelet tied with lips”

There was nothing unusual in the man's singing, but the relaxed expression on his face gradually disappeared, and then a feeling that could be described as relief appeared on his face.

“Well, today is also the day that has not changed.”

"If it rains, we can still talk on the phone..."

The man narrowed his eyes, as if immersed in the beautiful sound of the guitar.

A gentle male voice sang softly: "Just like this, now facing you——"

"'A lucky bracelet that broke at some point'"

The two girls' voices, one high and one low, overlap harmoniously.

A distant male voice echoed: "My gentleness imposed on you——"

“‘But I can’t tell you why.’”

Takamatsu Touma's harmony is very light and careful, and although it is slightly low, it has an illusory beauty; Kaname Rakuna's harmony is very light and casual, and although the scale is quite high, it is full of energy and not harsh at all.

Bathed in the two harmonious voices on the left and right, Bao Dengzheli hummed with satisfaction: