Girls' Wishing Tree

The shrine on the hillside has become bustling with activity. A specially invited photography team has set up four cameras for live broadcast, and the people participating in the performance and special guests have arrived at the scene one after another.

While greeting the audience she knew, Sakura Takagi was also communicating the final details of the stage preparations. She was so busy that she almost had no time to rest. She only stopped five minutes before the live broadcast officially started, drank some water to moisten her throat, and then walked onto the temporary stage.

"Hello everyone! Welcome to this year's Sakura Festival! Although I've mentioned it before, I'd like to remind you one last time that this year's Sakura Festival will be broadcast live online. If you're bothered by your face being seen, you can find Sayu by the ema frame to get a mask!"

"Three of the live broadcast cameras are facing the stage, and one is facing the audience. We'll also produce a disc for sale later. Those who wish to have the audience camera censored when the disc is produced can also register with Sayu!"

As soon as Sakura finished speaking, she saw a figure carrying a guitar quickly rush to Sayu's side and take away a mask - from the iconic pink sportswear she was wearing, Sakura knew her identity without having to guess.

But what is going on?

Aren’t you, Goto Ichiri, going to perform on stage later?

The live broadcast was about to begin, and Ying didn't care too much about it. She just read the program list to everyone and thanked everyone for being invited to the scene.

But Yili here fell into a "crisis".

She was surrounded by Maruyama Aya and Hikawa Hina - the members of PasPale had always thought that it was Sakura Takagi who came to the scene to encourage them at their comeback live. When they noticed Ichiri Goto again, they realized that she was the one who went to the scene on Sakura's behalf that day and then ran away.

Sakura would ask Ichiri to go to her to watch PasPale's live performance, which shows that the relationship between Sakura and Ichiri is very good. In addition, Ichiri participated in a guitar interview, so Hina happily went to find Ichiri to ask for his contact information.

"Guitar Hero, right? Let's exchange contact information. I'm Hikawa Hina, the guitarist from PasPale!"

Ichiri shrank to the side of the ema frame, his legs trembling. "Ah... that... let me go. I'm a wild snake that needs mosaicing, a plankton that should be hiding in a waste paper box..."

Sai and Hinata looked at each other and both felt that they couldn't match Goto Ichiri's emotions.

Sayu took a step forward, blocking Goto Ichiri's body, which was about to melt. "Please don't make her feel uncomfortable."

Maruyama Aya quickly explained: "We won't make her feel troubled. This is just normal communication. There is absolutely no bullying involved—"

"Ah, it's my problem." Yi5WingBa8LinFin1 explained while lying on the ground, then crawled back to the audience seats like some kind of insect, leaving the three people standing there awkwardly.

Yili looked at Ying timidly, and at this time Ying had a guitar in her hand.

It was a Tele with a rather odd shape. Ichiri had seen it before when he was video chatting with Sakura, but this was the first time he had seen it in person.

"Hello everyone, both in person and watching the livestream! I'm Sakura Takagi, the shrine maiden of Sakura Shrine in Toshima Ward, Tokyo! I'm currently presiding over the shrine's operations! This year's Sakura Festival is the first to be held online with ticket sales! The number of tickets sold on Chinese video sites has astonished me and my friends! So, let me start by singing a Chinese song for you! I'm bringing you "Falling Flowers"!"

Ying took a few seconds to adjust her expression and posture, and her fingers played a series of notes on the strings.

She played and sang the song "Falling Flowers" by Yang, a singer who was very good at singing sweet songs in her previous life. To suit the occasion, she made slight modifications to the lyrics.

Sakura has a sweet girlish voice, which is very suitable for singing this kind of song. The accompaniment is not a burden for her, so she can focus more on managing her expressions. This is also the live broadcast advice given to her by professionals.

"That day the wind blew, bringing the news of falling flowers." Ying began to sing with a smile on her face, and soon aroused a string of SCs in the live broadcast room.

[No matter how many times I hear Sakura's voice, I always feel comfortable. How can there be such a beautiful voice in the world?]

[Don't stay in Tokyo! Come save the Chinese music scene, we'll give you money!]

"Fallen flowers are but expressions in the spring breeze, traces of a faint smile. The wind is gentle, the flowers are light, swaying and dancing in the spring day. The petals are everywhere, reflecting the image of spring. Everyone will cherish them..."

Ying doesn’t see the popularity of the live broadcast room at all now. She just brings her songs to the audience in her own way.

Although everyone at the scene didn't understand Chinese, most of them understood music, and many of them were mesmerized by Sakura's voice.

Everyone knows that Sakura is great at playing musical instruments, but few people know that she can also sing beautifully, and the way she uses her voice makes it clear that she has a professional voice. She can definitely make her debut with a record company.

The speakers shook off some cherry blossom petals that were about to fall, and one of them happened to fall on Sakura's face. Sakura blinked her eyelids to let it fall, and the camera captured it as a lively wink of a girl.

The comments in the live broadcast room were scrolling like crazy, and the people at the scene began to sway to the rhythm of the music. It was obvious that the beginning of this performance was very successful.

In the back row of the auditorium, several girls sat together and also waved their cheering sticks along with the crowd.

They are Deng, Lixi, Sushi, Xiangzi and Mu.

More than half an hour ago, when Yingjie saw five people appear together, she was shocked - she thought that these five people were members of three bands, one was the band that Xiangzi and Su Shi invited her to join, one was the band that Li Xi's sister asked Li Xi to join, and the other was the band that changed Deng's mind.

Unexpectedly, these three bands "merged". The band that Xiangzi said was short of a violinist, the band that Lixi said found her through her sister, and the band that Deng said asked her to sing out the notes when the cherry blossoms fell were all the same band.

but……

No matter how you look at it, this band looks dead.

Deng's option stated that her first band would be a huge success, and Li Xi's option stated that she would work with Hachiman Kairei as a rhythm section for a long time.

Even if we put aside the options, this band, which seems to be formed entirely by Xiangzi's invitation, does not seem to be able to stick to one goal for long.

Deng is a girl who likes radio waves, Lixi is still thinking about Hailing, and Sushi is a child who lacks love. These three guys want to stay in a band for a long time, and what they need most is warmth.

As the eldest daughter, Xiangzi has an irresistible dominance. This dominance can easily pull the band together, but when it accumulates to a certain extent, it can easily turn into a "self-protection" type of dissatisfaction among everyone.

In this situation, Sakura decided to join the band - she didn't want to miss out on this kind of "fun".

Watching the girls' first band fall apart is much more enjoyable than watching those exaggerated variety shows on TV. At least what you can feel is all genuine emotion, without any adult "additions" at all.

Chapter 134 Spring, Sakura and Crychic:36, The Power to Move People

After Sakura finished singing the Chinese song, she went to Miyazono Kaoru while Morfonica and other bands were performing on the stage.

"Xun, wait a minute, we'll be on stage before Roselia. Are you feeling okay now?"

"I asked my mother to go to the shrine to wake me up, so I should be able to hold on until the end of the performance." Xun grabbed Sakura's hand and said, "Thank you, God, for your favor. I can still see such a beautiful world."

"I'm glad you're okay. The Morfonica on stage right now is a girl band with a violinist. When you recover, maybe we can play in a band together."

Xun smiled at Sakura, but there was a hint of loneliness in his eyes.

The long-term illness did not destroy Xun's positive attitude, but it has made her more "realistic" to some extent.

She no longer accepts encouragement so easily.

However, when she saw Morfonica on the stage, Miyazono Kaoru's expression was still filled with anticipation.

Wearing a performance costume, Yashio Ruyu pasted a few blue butterflies on her violin, echoing the theme elements of the band Morfonica, and their performance did have a bit of a butterfly feel - bright, jumping, and a little psychedelic.

Ying took the time to take out her phone and check the live broadcast room. The audience in the live broadcast room also showed a very positive attitude towards the performances of bands such as Morfonica.

At least the comments were all filled with words like "cute" and "nice to listen to", with almost no negative comments.

Sakura took a few photos of the scene, found time to post an update, talked to Xun, and then went to join Suye and the others.

"Su Shi, get ready, we are going on stage. Miao Meng and Xun have already gone backstage." Ying patted Su Shi's shoulder.

"Oh, okay, I'll be there right now." Su Shi picked up the bass bag beside him, turned his head and said to Xiangzi, "I'm going to perform two songs on stage and will be back in a while."

Ying took Su Shi's hand and waved to Deng and Li Xi: "I'll borrow Su Shi for now, have fun."

Riki watched Sakura and Suyo leave and whispered, "Today's Takagi Sakura...is normal Sakura."

Deng's eyes widened a little, as if trying to understand what Li Xi said, but Li Xi quickly added, "It's nothing. You'll understand when Ying comes on stage again."

Xiangzi grabbed Mu's wrist and said, "Xiao Mu, Ying can also appreciate Morfonica. She will definitely be able to resonate with us in the band! I'm already composing the lyrics for the lamp, and I'll be able to finish it when I get back!"

"Hmm...hmm." Mu answered perfunctorily, but most of the time when she communicated with Xiangzi, she was not the one who took the initiative to express herself, so Xiangzi didn't pay much attention to it.

After Morfonica, a band called Chispa took the stage. Their performance wasn't particularly impressive, but the energy of the girlish band was undeniable. Both bands were personally selected by Sakura to showcase the youthful energy of spring.

Next up was Afterglow. This band’s performance seemed more mature, with the five girls’ musical expressions already forming their own style, but the sense of youth was not that strong.

Guo Yu, who was thousands of kilometers away, was watching Ying's live broadcast room on his mobile phone.

The girls in the live broadcast room sang Japanese songs, which she didn't understand, but when she saw the scale of the wishes gathered at the scene, she felt a little jealous.

It is difficult to accurately judge the direction of the flow of wishes through the images captured by cameras and transmitted over the Internet, but if you watch it with a preset mindset, you can still roughly see the magnitude of the wishes gathered in this festival.

Does turning on Live really have such a good effect?

Sakura took the stage with a band. She and the violinist wore shrine maiden costumes, while the rhythm section wore Japanese-style dresses. The drummer was more active, seemingly trying his best to attract attention, while the bassist seemed a little shy, cradling his bass and glancing constantly between the cameras and the crowd.

In comparison, the two girls in shrine maiden costumes had much better stage presence. Although one of them looked a little sick, she gave people a very reassuring feeling when she stood on the stage.

"We're the temporary band for the Sakura Festival, and we're bringing you two pieces of pure music. This is the talented violinist, Kaoru Miyazono. She's been inactive for a few years due to health reasons, but she's never given up on the violin. This is the anchor, Miao Meng, who straddles the boundaries of beauty and music. And this is junior high school student, Nagasaki Suyo, who's very accomplished in the bass!"

Sakura briefly introduced the band members and soon the music started.

This is a song describing a quiet summer night. Ying's playing is very gentle, like the gurgling spring water in the night. The performance of the rhythm section is also remarkable. Miao Meng's drum beats are actually very "ferocious", but the relatively "soft" bass gives the drum beats a soft listening feel.

Coupled with the sad yet hopeful violin sound played by Miyazono Kaoru, it was clearly just music, but it brought a strong sense of picture. Many of the audience present closed their eyes and felt the atmosphere of the music with their hearts.

Their performances also raised the quality of the performances - the previous bands were actually mainly for the audience to hear the liveliness and beauty of girls, and the girl bands chosen were those with some flaws but whose merits outweighed their flaws. But from here on, every band that followed was of professional standard.

Bands like Roselia and SICKHACK gradually elevate the atmosphere to its peak. The grand finale features Sakura leading the shrine maidens in a prayer, tying back to the Sakura Festival theme, and then singing two Chinese songs for the audience to wrap up.

The two pieces being played now are the ladder. With their simple but exquisite performance, they elevate the second half of the performance to a level worthy of the tens of thousands of spectators.

The four instruments are built together in a layered manner, creating a "chemical reaction" in the overall listening experience, but when taken separately, the timbre of each instrument is extremely clear.

Sakura herself had not expected that the duet with Miyazono Kaoru could produce such an effect - during the rehearsal, Kaoru's emotions were not so rich, and she was worried that the final effect would not be good, but in front of the camera, Kaoru proved herself.

It proves that even with her thin arms, she can control the violin to "shout" out the voice in her heart.

After the two songs were played, Ying's eyes were wet.

Having lived two lives, she was rarely moved by music, but the performance of this makeshift band did just that. She tried her best to control her tears and bowed deeply to the audience.

Music has the power to move people's hearts, and this power has spread far and wide through the Internet.

Some people are crying in their rented houses in big cities, while others are biting their lips on the streets of small towns.

Guo Yu was sitting in a fast food restaurant in a rural area, with a plate of fried chicken in front of him, but he suddenly lost his appetite.

Chapter 135 Spring, Sakura and Crychic:37, Pressure of Two Lead Singers at One Performance

As the last few fireworks on the stage burst into sparks, the cherry blossom festival came to an end.

From the hazy beauty of spring brought by several girl bands at the beginning, to the audio-visual enjoyment brought by several professional bands later, to the blessing dances performed by the shrine maidens, this festival was extremely successful both from the on-site and online perspectives.

"Goto Ichiri! Come here!" Sakura waved to Goto Ichiri in the corner of the audience according to the program.

Goto Ichiri, huddled in his seat, took his guitar out of its case and trotted onto the stage. Sakura glanced at Sayu and said, "Bring me the bass."

This was a last-minute addition - the night before the performance, Sakura made some changes to Goto Ichiri's program and asked her to accompany her final Chinese song segment. She also chose Sayu as the drummer.

After this period of training, Sayu's drums have been able to play basic rhythm patterns well. There is no need to add any embellishments or anything like that. She just supports her and Ichiri's performance, and there is no problem with that.

Ying bowed deeply to the camera and said in Japanese, "From now on, I will speak in Chinese. This will mainly be for the live audience, so everyone just listen to the song!"

She slung her bass over her shoulder and switched to Chinese: "Hello everyone watching the video on the Chinese site! I heard from the staff that tens of thousands of tickets were sold this time, and that's just yesterday. Thank you very much for your support! Finally, I'll sing a few Chinese songs for you. The drummer is Sayu, the shrine maiden from our shrine. Over here, this is my frequent collaborator, Guitar Hero!"

Before going on stage, Yili seemed a little timid, like a country girl from some rural area who came to Tokyo, but from the moment the guitar was plugged into the speaker, her temperament became completely different.

Even Maruyama Aya and Hikawa Hina, who had stopped her earlier to get her contact information, noticed her change.

Although she still kept her head down, she struck her performance pose, her face, shadowed by her bangs, instantly firmed up, and her body adjusted accordingly. Upon hearing Sakura introduce herself, Ichiri's body trembled slightly, but she regained her composure and simply greeted the audience with a passionate guitar solo.

The barrage immediately started:

[This pink-haired girl is a hidden genius!]

[Saying hello with a guitar is so cute!]

[This person has been interviewed by Ying before, but he didn't show his face last time. Unfortunately, he still wore a mask this time.]

The focus of the barrage immediately changed when Sakura started singing.

Sakura sang an old song with a simple rhythm. The original song of the interlude was a wind instrument, and she asked Yili to adapt it for guitar.

"There is a Cloud Made of Rain in the Wind", a classic song that has been proven in previous lives.

"...The clouds are heartbroken in the wind, and I don't know where they will be blown to next. They blow and blow, and the petals are all over the ground, but I can't find a trace of pity..." Sakura's voice echoed in the small shrine square.

The stage was already covered with a thin layer of cherry blossoms, but the lush cherry blossoms on the trees had not decreased much - Sakura used the skill of "off-season cherry blossoms" to temporarily create some petals as a program effect for this festival.

Using magical powers to produce more cherry blossom petals during the flowering season is not an obvious action and can be used to fool people.

Jing Serina's eyes were fixed on Sakura on the stage.

She knew Ying could sing, but she had no idea she was this good. She had sung a song at the beginning of today's show, and now she was singing another one. Although they were both lyrical songs, she could sing lyrical songs so exquisitely, which was definitely not something that could be achieved at the KTV level.

The "scary" thing is that Ying played and sang both songs, which was much more difficult than singing alone.

Momoka wasn't here today, and Tomoka and Rupa were helping out as miko, so she had to sit with Hongxia. Next to her, Hongxia waved her cheering sticks, gently colliding them to the beat, completely absorbed in the music, seemingly not thinking about the band at all.

Momoka chose Jing Serina as the lead singer of the band.

This choice is so firm that it can even be said that it is because of Nina's voice that Momoka is willing to re-enter the field of "band".

But now, Ninna Sanrei can't respond to Momoka's high-level singing like Sakura did.

She glanced at Meow Meng in the rows in front of her, then at Zhi and Rupa who were walking out of the shrine, and felt the pressure growing even greater.

Her family's dissatisfaction with her academic performance, the band's difficult running-in, and the pressure from the female lead singers such as Ran, Yushina, Kikuri, and Sakura almost crushed her into a thin layer.

"The last song! 'Sunlight' brought to you all!" Ying smiled and waved to the camera.

At first, Ying sang "Unforgettable Tonight" with a bit of bad taste, but after searching on the Internet, she found that this song also existed in this world, but there were two details that were different from the previous life, so she chose "Sunset Glow", which is also a very suitable song for the finale.