Girls' Wishing Tree

"Yes, under normal circumstances, fantasy is just fantasy. Speaking of which, this has something to do with you."

Ying was even more confused after hearing this: "What does it have to do with me? When I first saw that ghost, it was already a physical thing."

Guo Yu explained, "Ying is Sayu's longing, fused with your scattered demonic power, forming something similar to a guardian spirit. You can think of it as another consciousness of Sayu herself, and that consciousness is playing the role of the knot in her memories. Do you understand?"

It was a bit confusing, but Sakura understood. "So... there's no need for purification? Will it have any effect on Sayu herself?"

"This situation isn't common. I spent a lot of time researching and even consulted with my master before I could confirm this. Based on our speculation, there's no need to worry about it. Fortunately for Sayu, her split consciousness doesn't recognize itself as another Sayu, but as Yuko. Therefore, the two consciousnesses won't fight for control of the body, but rather exist as subordinate consciousnesses, acting as supernatural spirits."

Sakura was silent for a moment. "I see. So, Sayu has a bug, but her program runs fine, so there's no need to debug it."

"From a programmer's perspective, that's correct, as long as you don't cause a surge of spiritual energy... but Sayu is at the shrine, so even if it does, you should be able to suppress it."

Ying sighed, took out the amulet and put it on. "I'll continue to monitor his condition. By the way, is the system in my body something similar, like—my own second consciousness?"

Guo Yu suddenly lowered his voice. "The system in your body is different. I've observed that it can mobilize your demonic power to a certain extent. And it's not just ordinary parasitism. A creature that can parasitize a large tree demon must be a more powerful monster. Considering that it may also help you become a senior tree demon... In short, it's very strange."

"Oh." Sakura responded with a bit of disappointment.

"Don't worry, I'll come back to see you in about two months. I think there should be a solution by then."

"What's the solution?"

"Keep it secret for now. It won't work if you tell it out." Guo Yu said this, and seemed to be afraid that Ying would continue to ask questions, so he hung up the phone directly.

Sakura put her phone down and paused what she was doing.

It’s a good thing that Sayu doesn’t need to worry about it for the time being, but the system’s matters must always be clarified.

Although the system had shown weakness in front of her under the threat of the amulet, Sakura still couldn't completely believe what the system said.

The chirping of cicadas in the shrine gradually died down in the sunset. Kaname walked through the torii gate in the last ray of sunlight of the day, with the ends of her hair stained with plant hair that had come from nowhere.

"Lena, are you coming to sleep over again today?"

Lena said in front of everyone that she would sleep at the shrine every day, but her grandmother obviously would not allow this to happen. Now Lena comes to the shrine to stay overnight every two or three days, and every time she comes, she plays guitar until late.

"I met an interesting little kitty today." Le Na stretched. "There's a tuft of black hair on his philtrum. He looks like a gentleman from the Taisho era."

"Really? What an interesting cat—" Before Sakura could finish her words, Lenai threw herself into her arms.

Fortunately, there were no visitors to the shrine, and Sayu was also attending a cram school class.

Sakura patted Lenai's back slightly embarrassedly, and sure enough, Lenai had a cat scent that had been sun-baked that entered her nostrils.

She suddenly thought of something - why did the system, which was keen on intervening in the lives of young girls, never issue any tasks for Lenai?

Ying took off the amulet with a stealthy movement, and while Lenai was washing her hands, she questioned the system: "Why is there a dialog box above Lenai's head, but you haven't posted any tasks for her?"

There was no immediate response.

Just when Sakura thought the system was going to "play dead", a nebula-like map suddenly unfolded before her eyes.

If you look closely, this is Lenai’s life trajectory.

The first part was normal, but after the cat demon joined in, it suddenly split into countless colorful silk threads, like a ball of wool tangled by a cat's claws.

The system's voice echoed in Sakura's mind: "All options are based on effective analysis of the girl's future. The subject, Lenai, has serious disturbances in her future and cannot be observed, so the mission cannot be issued—"

Sakura suddenly saw Lenna's shadow split under the cherry tree - it seemed that many Lenna from different periods appeared and then all turned into cherry blossoms and disappeared.

Until Sakura observed a Lenna with cat ears.

This Lenai looked much more lively, blinking at Sakura and even twitching the tips of her ears.

These ears definitely do not belong to humans.

Lenai suddenly spoke up: "Ying, I want to eat buckwheat pancakes."

Sakura looked carefully and saw that the cat ears on Lenai's head had disappeared again, as if it was just an illusion.

"The pancakes need to be prepared in advance. I'll cook some buckwheat noodles for you." Ying walked towards the small building - she had decorated a kitchen in the small building, so she could cook some food.

It is normal for Lenai to come back hungry and ask her for food.

It's like a domestic cat that has been outside all day and comes back to ask its owner for cat food.

"I can send out tasks about Lenai now. Lenai wants to eat soba noodles now. Cook a bowl of soba noodles for Lenai and get her approval, and you can get 20 shining points." The system prompt sounded.

Sakura sighed irritably—this wasn't the kind of mission she wanted.

But then she thought again, she was going to cook noodles for Lenai anyway, so these few "mosquito-leg" points were earned in vain.

Chapter 181 Harvest, Band and BangDream: 29, The Next Stage of the Competition

The summer cicadas' chirping echoed through the woods near the shrine, leaving a long aftertaste. Sakura gazed at the data sheet Momoka handed her, her fingertips repeatedly rubbing the red "FogBand" mark. The setting sun streamed through the training room windows, dyeing the stage costumes hanging on the wall a honey-colored hue. The hem of the stage costume Momoka had worn during her performances was still stained with the fluorescent pink of the livehouse.

"Composing isn't difficult..." Ying tapped a pencil on the papers on the music stand, her eyes scanning Taoxiang's dark circles. "But you and Hong Shengjiang both have decent creative abilities. If you rely too much on my lyrics and music, it'll give people the impression you're a cover band, which could be counterproductive."

Taoxiang unconsciously tugged at the ends of her split hair. "In the last round of audience voting, we were 127 votes behind ninth place. If we don't come up with an original song next week, we'll be eliminated. You know, according to the BangDream competition system, the top ten teams will advance to the second stage. The second stage is limited to one performance per week, and there will be highlights of the best performances, but one band will be eliminated every week until the final winner goes to the Budokan. I didn't expect to beat RAS and Roselia, but if we can make it into the top five, it will be an encouragement for our band, and..."

Momoka hesitated at this point, but after a brief pause she continued, "Also... Renai also needs to go further in this competition to give her family an explanation."

Ying was silent for a moment: "Don't you have any new songs?"

"Yes, there are a few, but with this competition system, if you want to stay competitive, it's best to have two or three new songs every week. Songwriting requires inspiration, so I'll have to ask Sakura for help."

Sakura gently stroked her chin with her thumb. "Of course you can, but I have an idea. I'm going to ask Zhi and Rupa to stop watching the shop starting tomorrow and focus all their energy on composing and arranging the new song. If the three of you work together, you should be able to complete most of the composition work."

"The work at the shrine..." Momoka glanced at the JKs outside the window. They were muttering something in front of the shrine, as if they had something to pray for.

"I can ask Taoxiang to look after the shop, and hire two more part-time JKs. Also, if the three of you really can't finish the writing, don't interfere with the band's rehearsals. By the way, have you thought of a name for the band? If we use FogBand again, it will probably become the official name. If too many people accept this name, then there's no point in changing it."

Taoxiang's fingertips unconsciously stroked the corners of the guitar fretboard, and the frets glowed coldly under the light.

"I can't think of any good names. Even DiamondDust wasn't my idea. I'll ask everyone again."

"I heard from Xiaozhi that Nina's family came to Tokyo?"

"The day her sister came to Tokyo, Nina hid backstage at the livehouse all night." Momoka pulled a crumpled train ticket from her violin case. The platform stamp showed it was from Kumamoto to Tokyo. "I found this after her sister left."

Ying took the ticket and took a look at it. At this time, the air conditioner in the training room made a slight hum, and the band poster on the wall was blown up by the cold wind.

"They met in front of the convenience store. Renai's sister asked her to convince her family herself." Taoxiang continued while plucking the strings of the guitar, and the strings vibrated with a long lingering sound in the silence.

"In the end, Nina sent the living expenses bank card her father gave her directly back to her father, and said she would go back after the Kumamoto concert."

"It seems like she does have reason to do well in the BangDream competition." Sakura suddenly understood what Momoka meant by what she had said before.

"I can't ask directly, so I have to ask Hongxia to find out the situation. Hongxia is better than me in interacting with people." Taoxiang whispered to Ying.

Hongxia's personality is indeed more sunny than Momoka's, but Sakura always has a feeling that only Momoka can break through Ninai's somewhat awkward shell.

But now wasn't the time to voice her thoughts. Ying chose to change the subject: "By the way, have you considered doing some stage design? If you want to arouse the audience's emotions, this is a more pleasing method."

"Do some design...on the stage?" Momoka didn't quite understand what Sakura meant.

"It's a compromise for commercial purposes, but not for musicality. For example, during the most explosive parts of the music, we could arrange special effects like fire on stage. This would arouse the audience and often motivate them to vote." Ying sketched a simple diagram: "Like having fire spit out at this location, or an explosion on the big screen."

Taoxiang thought for a moment and said, "That's one way, but it would cost a lot of money, right? I'd have to either do computer animation in advance or set up the stage equipment."

"Well, this is indeed a bit difficult, but as part of the resources my band can get, I still arranged for someone to do it." Ying pushed a business card in front of Momoka: "This is Ms. Miura's business card. She is half a fan of yours, and she is also an employee I recruited. She will help you contact performances so that you can focus your energy on running the band."

Taoxiang's face turned red: "My band has been giving Sakura money. I don't know when Sakura can make money——"

"Well, actually, the losses aren't that big. Your singles are selling pretty well, basically covering the operating costs. Speaking of which, you've sold quite a few singles in the Huaxia region. After the BangDream competition is over, have you considered holding a concert there?"

Momoka looked at Sakura and said, "Then Sakura will translate for us then?"

This time it was Ying's turn to frown - it was not that she didn't want to go, but her true form was a tree. Even if she became a senior tree demon, she would not be able to leave the area of ​​Japan. Only by becoming the ancestor of the tree demons could she visit China in this world.

"Haha, I will definitely go when I have time. Even if I don't have time, I will appear on your stage through live broadcast." Sakura wanted to say something when Sayu pushed the door in.

There is no need to wear school uniforms in the cram school class, and it is not appropriate for Sayu to wear a shrine maiden costume, so she wore casual clothes and put on a little light makeup, which made Sayu, carrying a handbag, look more like a college student.

"I'm back." Sayu bowed slightly towards Sakura and Momoka. "Momoka is here too. Do you want to eat something together?"

"No need." Momoka picked up the business card and walked out the door. "Then I'll go prepare for the next performance. Sakura, you don't need to help me promote this time. I'm still confident that I can win ninth place."

Ying reminded Momoka before she left, "They're from the same agency as PasPale. They're very good at business operations, so you have to be careful. It's best to aim for eighth place."

Chapter 182 Harvest, Band and BangDream: 30, Separation Should Be Dignified

The neon sign of LiveHouseRing illuminated the surrounding rain curtain on the rainy night, and Su Shi's fingertips holding the bass neck trembled slightly.

A few months ago, Crychic fell apart on a rainy night like this. She was just like today, staring blankly at the transformer outside the window, waiting blankly.

Kita was practicing the bass in front of the mirror, and her face reflected in the mirror looked a bit troubled.

"Hmm...it's so hard to press...Sushi, which finger should I use on the fourth string?"

Su Shi finally came to his senses: "Xiduo, just use your ring finger. If you can't press it in, you can pull your finger."

Kita has been practicing bass for some time now, following Suyo's instructions. Suyo is a very good teacher—gentle, patient, and able to explain to her the key points to pay attention to when playing the bass.

She stretched her fingers hard and finally pressed the string into the right position.

Seeing Kita's efforts, Su Shi couldn't help but ask: "Why did Kita choose bass? There are actually not many girls who like the sound of bass."

Kita's face turned slightly red - buying a six-string bass and using it as a guitar was definitely a "dark history" and she didn't want to tell even Su Shi about it.

Su Shi seemed to recall something from the past: "I learned bass because I learned double bass. It was also because of my experience performing double bass that I was noticed by Crychic... uh..."

When it comes to Crychic, Su Shi didn't know what to say for a moment.

Fortunately, Kita didn't notice Suye's pause. She threw out what she wanted to say: "I wanted to learn bass because of Yamada Ryo-senpai's bass playing! Ryo-senpai gives people a very calming feeling on the stage. As long as she stands there, people feel at ease..."

"Oh? Yamada Ryo? That name sounds familiar..."

"Yeah!" Kita clenched his fists. "She used to be the bassist for FadeScar, but she later quit. Now she sometimes plays support guitar!"

Su Shi nodded: "If it's still active, I might be able to help you contact it."

"Ah? Really?" Kita looked at Su Shi a little embarrassedly: "I have already asked Su Shi to teach me bass. If I ask Su Shi to help me find someone else..."

Su Shi turned his head to avoid Xi Duo's somewhat fiery gaze: "If you feel sorry for it, how about Xi Duo help me find someone in exchange?"

"Who are you looking for? Su Shi's circle of friends should be wider than Xi Duo's, right?" Xi Duo didn't notice Su Shi's guilty conscience and asked curiously.

"A junior high school student. I used to have a good relationship with her, but after transferring to another school, I changed my phone and lost her Line." Su Shi lied: "If you find out where she is, I will go and tell her in person. This way our friendship will have a more ceremonial feel."

Xiduo nodded: "Okay, what's that person's name and where is he? Can you show me a photo?"

Sushi subconsciously wanted to show Kita the Crychic video, but that would have been too obvious. She suppressed her excitement and rummaged through her phone's photo album, finally finding a photo of Toyokawa Shoko participating in a Tsuki no Mori club event over six months ago.

Xiangzi in the photo was smiling happily, like a sunflower facing the sun. Seeing Xiangzi's smile, Su Shi felt that she was healed to some extent.

But when Su Shi thought about the fact that Xiangzi had left Crychic and herself, she became a little depressed again.

"This person also plays in a band. She's a very good keyboard player and has won many awards since she was young." Su Shi pointed at Xiangzi's face: "But she doesn't seem to have a fixed band now."

"Su Shi, it's okay. As long as you believe in the power of friendship, you will definitely find it!"

"Sakura might know where she is." Su Shi still didn't dare to look at Kita's face: "But she probably won't tell. Sakura doesn't like to talk about other people's information behind their backs."

"I understand." Kita hugged Qin and nodded: "I will definitely not ask Sakura directly!"

the next day.

Kita brought his bass to the shrine and approached Sakura: "Sakura, I've been learning bass from Sushi lately, but I still have some questions. Can I ask you for advice?"

"Of course, no need to use honorifics." Sakura gestured for Kita to enter the training room. "Sayu is in the cram school class. If you're willing to wait a little longer, you should be able to see her. She's the drummer in the band, and as the bassist, it would be best if you could practice together. I've prepared a program for you for the Harvest Festival, but at the current rate, I'm afraid you won't be able to perform on a more formal stage until next year's Harvest Festival."

"Hey hey hey..." Kita scratched his hair: "Then Sakura, can you tell me the story of the band? This is my first time in a band!"

"The band's story?" Ying laughed. "That's too broad, isn't it? What specifically do you want to hear?"

“What if someone has been playing in a band for a long time and suddenly stopped playing? For example, Yamada Ryo-senpai suddenly stopped appearing in a regular band——”

"Perhaps Taoxiang is more appropriate to answer this question. She left DiamondDust. But since you asked me, I can share my thoughts. It's normal for band members to change. Let's take Taoxiang as an example. After she left her old band and formed a new one, there were also member changes. The original drummer was Miaomeng, but Miaomeng's philosophy conflicted with Taoxiang's, so they chose not to continue together. Later, Hongxia took over as drummer, and the whole band's atmosphere was lifted. Now they have entered the second stage of the BangDream competition."

At this point, Ying paused. "I've heard Yamada Ryo's performances. A musician of her caliber should have high standards for music itself. If she just randomly found a band, it wouldn't be difficult for her. Right now, she's probably selecting the right band with the mentality of preferring to have nothing rather than something less than perfect."

"If the band suddenly loses a member, how should we find him?" Kita gradually led the topic to Xiangzi.

"Are you talking about yourself?" Sakura patted Kita's shoulder. "Band members are destined to be together. If you really can't find one, you can't force it. Just like you ran away before, you didn't even know how to play an instrument, but Sayu still found you and made you the bass vocalist. That's fate, isn't it?"

Kita thought for a moment, his face flushed red, and he couldn't think of how to bring up Xiangzi's matter, so he had to continue to steer the topic towards Liang: "Ryo-senpai's band members probably haven't looked for her. She's still active as a support musician, so they should be able to find her if they want to."

"It's not necessarily that they haven't looked for him. Maybe even if they did, they wouldn't want to go back." Sakura glanced at Kita. "We should have separated in a dignified manner. That Nagasaki Suyo who taught you bass was good in every way, except that after the band broke up, she kept wanting to make a comeback. It's just like those people who want to be kings decades after the last dynasty has disappeared..."

Chapter 183 Harvest, Band and BangDream: 31, Special Audience

"I'm sorry!" Kita clasped his hands together and apologized to Su Shi: "I couldn't find out where Xiangzi was!"

Su Shi looked at Kita who was "apologizing" in front of him: "Uh...it doesn't matter if you didn't find out. I didn't really want you to help me recruit Xiangzi."

Although Su Shi didn't say anything, her expression showed a clear sense of loss. She looked towards the shrine, a trace of indelible sadness in her eyes.