After being elected as the governor of Tokyo, he will debut as a band!

"understood."

After the brief conversation, Aoyama and Suzumiya Hyakubi parted ways.

Shinjuku Folt wasn't far from here; he walked for about five minutes to reach the entrance, where he saw a girl struggling to buy a ticket.

Aoyama had seen a photo of Toyokawa Kiyoko's daughter at Inspector Itokawa's place before and recognized her at a glance.

Make way for me: 081 I want to join Sickhack

If I remember correctly, her name should be Toyokawa Shoko, right?

Aoyama looked at the girl's profile from behind her right, recalling information about her.

She was once the eldest daughter of the Toyokawa Group, but because she insisted on living with her father who was expelled from the family, she temporarily lost the power to control the Toyokawa family's assets. In addition, her father, Toyokawa Kiyoko, had almost no income, so their financial situation was very difficult.

So, is she struggling with the ticket price, which is a bit too expensive for her?

It seems that the compensation that lawyer Komekado secured for their family hasn't reached her hands yet.

Since that's the case, I'll help her out a little.

"Are you Miss Toyokawa Shoko?"

Aoyama walked to a safe distance of about three steps from her and spoke to her.

When a man much older than himself spoke to him, Xiangzi cautiously took a step to the side before turning around to respond.

"Honey, may I ask where we are meeting..."

Then she saw the highly distinctive mask on Aoyama's face, and his clothing, which was not complicated in style but difficult for others to imitate.

The reason why it is said that it is difficult for others to imitate is mainly because his outfit is very expensive, and ordinary people cannot see why it is so expensive.

Only someone from a prestigious family like Toyokawa Shoko could discern its quality at a glance and thus quickly ascertain Aoyama Mukai's identity.

"You are... Mr. Hack?"

"you know me?"

"Yes, when I was at the Starlight Showroom, the store manager's sister showed me a video of a live SickHack performance."

"Hmm...any thoughts?"

"My impression is that the performances by the Sickhack veterans were absolutely fantastic."

"you flatter me."

Aoyama nodded, then said to the ticket seller, "This child is Ms. Hiroi's friend, let her go in directly."

"Ok."

After waiving Xiangzi's ticket fee, Qingshan Xiang lost interest in continuing to talk to her, waved his hand, and planned to enter the performance hall by himself.

But Xiangzi called out to him again.

"Mr. Hack, if it were possible, could I also join Sickhack?"

Xiangzi understood very well that if he wanted to become a member of Qingshan's campaign team, or at least become a valued tool, he had to first demonstrate his worth to him.

For someone like Aoyama, who holds a high position of power, his youth and beauty are not that attractive. So, the only thing that can get him to notice him is his ability.

Technical skills in playing the piano and musical keyboards, the ability to organize and manage a band, and creativity in composition.

If you want to demonstrate these abilities, the best way is to join the band that Aoyama Muto belongs to, and impress him with real audience feedback, Sportfy hit songs, and performance rights in top venues, in a place as close to him as possible.

"Oh? You saw our live performance and want to join us? You seem very confident in your skills."

Aoyama was intrigued by her words and asked in return.

"Mr. Harker, I am well aware of my own technical limitations, and I am willing to work with you..."

Compared to professional musicians like Ms. Hiroi, there is indeed a significant gap... However, this doesn't mean I can't contribute anything after joining Sickhack.

"Really? Tell me, what can a high school student like you do in our team of four adult professional musicians?"

“I’ve listened to sickhack’s new song ‘Yellow.’ The lyrics, melody, and the stage performance of the four senior artists are all almost perfect. The only flaw is that the song’s underlying tone should have been more complex and varied, but the senior artists used a dual drummer lineup to highlight the power and impact of the music. This resulted in a hard rhythm even in the gentle and melodious parts. If the keyboard sounds were interspersed in at this point, it would have made up for this flaw.”

Shoko Toyokawa was nervous when she said these words, but even so, she was able to keep her voice steady and speak confidently and eloquently.

This alone demonstrates that her mental fortitude surpasses that of her peers.

At the same time, Xiangzi also had to do his best to observe the changes in Qingshan Xiang's eyes—because Qingshan Xiang was wearing a mask, he couldn't see his expression directly, which obviously increased the difficulty for Xiangzi to observe his emotional changes. However, this behavior could not be omitted. To persuade someone, you must understand their emotional response after hearing a certain sentence, and then adopt different language strategies based on the response. If this is not done well, it is easy to make the mistake of flattering someone but ending up with something you don't like, and it will also give people a negative impression of "you are too bad at reading people's expressions".

Fortunately, Xiangzi did indeed read a hint of "approval" in Qingshan's eyes, so she struck while the iron was hot.

"For example, the third, sixth, and eighth measures of the verse in this song would be suitable for C minor, and the second to sixth measures of the chorus would be suitable for variations between C minor and A minor. All the measures of the interlude and the first measure of the coda... I haven't decided on these two places yet, but if I go by feeling, D minor seems to be very suitable..."

"..."

Aoyama gestured for him to wait a moment, then closed his eyes and mentally reviewed the effects of the several modes that Shoko had suggested on the performance of "Yellow".

Well, although there are still many discordant aspects, the solution that a non-professional musician came up with on the spot is quite remarkable.

“That’s interesting, Toyokawa. Are you available to come on stage today? Showcase those ingenious ideas you just mentioned in your performance. We’re going to play ‘Yellow’ today.”

"Huh? You want me to go on stage today? But what if the audience doesn't like it? Wouldn't that tarnish Sickhack's reputation?"

Xiangzi was somewhat surprised.

She thought she was proactive enough, offering suggestions without hesitation, and didn't back down at all because judging her senior's performance was considered impolite. However, she didn't expect that Aoyama was even more proactive than her. He didn't even verify the effectiveness of her suggested performance method before preparing to let her go on stage and face the audience's test directly.

As expected of a strongman who ascended to the position of Governor of Tokyo at the age of 30, his courage is truly extraordinary.

"...Don't worry, you can't tarnish Sickhack's reputation."

After all, Sickhack's reputation has been completely ruined by some old drunkard.

"Even if we fail, it's okay. We can just play a couple more pieces on top of the original repertoire."

After spending more than a month together, Aoyama has been able to grasp the preferences of the three members of Sickhack.

Hiroi only needs to buy her a good bottle of wine at the celebration party later, and that will be enough.

Eliza loves anime and manga, so I gave her a lot of official Toei merchandise.

Shima loves life and is very thrifty. Every year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has an endless supply of coupons and gift certificates. Aoyama doesn't even need to bother Utsunomiya; he just needs to mention it to Yukinoshita, and she can get hundreds of them that she doesn't need.

Every time Aoyama gave these coupons and gift certificates to Shima, Shima would clasp her hands together, mutter something, and shed tears.

……

There's a bug; it's really hard to post this new chapter.

Make way for me: 082 Ai Yin: Today was a pretty unlucky day.

Only Takamatsu Akari received an invitation from Toyokawa Shoko, but after discussing it, Ritsuki and Aine decided to go with Akari.

From Lixi's perspective, Toyokawa Shoko had a history of harming Takamatsu Akari, and sending Akari alone to Shoko's invitation was tantamount to sending a lamb to the slaughter. She couldn't feel at ease no matter what. Of course, she also wanted to see what kind of trick Shoko was up to this time.

As for Chihaya Aine, she simply had a premonition that this operation would trigger some kind of event, and if she didn't go, she might miss an opportunity to increase Takamatsu Akari's favorability.

That kind of thing is like a tonic!

Led by Kikuri Hiroi, the group soon arrived at the entrance of Shinjuku Folt and met Shoko Toyokawa, who was waiting there.

"I'm going to go ahead and prepare for the performance. You four can chat here."

Hiroi Kikuri couldn't stand the heavy atmosphere of these people together, so she just slipped away.

"Here's a ticket for you, Lamp."

Although Xiangzi was short of money, he still bought tickets for Gao Songdeng's performance, since she was the one who extended the invitation.

"Um, Toyokawa-san, don't Shiina-san and I have any?"

Chihaya Aine waited for a long time, but Xiangzi still didn't produce the third ticket.

Shiina is Tatsuki's surname.

"I didn't invite you. If you want to see the live show, you'll have to buy your own ticket."

Xiangzi glanced at her and thought to himself, "Is this person really that shameless? Look at Lixi, she arrived and ran to queue up to buy tickets without saying a word."

"Well, you're right. So, Little Lantern, Shiina and I are going to buy tickets. You wait for us here."

"What about Xiao Xiang? Will he stay here too?"

The lamp looked at Xiangzi with some anticipation.

Her bright, watery gaze was so alluring that Xiangzi had no choice but to look away and then, with a hardened voice, shattered Deng's expectations.

"No, I have something else to do."

"Hey, Toyokawa-kun, you're not thinking of calling Kodama over and then just leaving, are you?"

"Chihaya-kun, I'm not as boring as you think."

"That's not right either. You invited Xiaodeng over, but you left her outside all alone. Is that how you invite someone?"

"........."

Ai Yin's two sentences left Xiangzi speechless. Only then did she understand what "an idiot will drag you down to her level and then beat you with her rich experience" meant.

She knew perfectly well that Chihaya Aine was saying stupid things, but she couldn't help but feel that there was a certain logic to what she was saying.

"In that case, Little Lamp, why don't you come with me? Mr. Hack shouldn't mind."

The lamp followed Xiangzi into the performance hall, leaving Chihaya Aine standing there dumbfounded.

"Fine, I'll just buy a ticket and go too."

Sick Hack is much more popular now than before, and the line to buy tickets twists and turns several times in the stairwell.

Shiina Riki lined up earlier, so by the time Aine also wanted to buy tickets, there were already about ten more people between her and Riki.

Queuing is boring, so Ai Yin wanted to stand with Li Xi so they could chat while queuing and maybe even get some information out of him about Deng and her past.

As a result, Aine stood there joking around for a long time, but Lixi completely ignored her. The people queuing behind Lixi looked at her with eyes that said, "Are you here to cut in line?" Even Aine couldn't bear this silent moral condemnation, so she could only slink to the end of the line.

"I feel like I'm having such bad luck today..."

……

With tickets sold out, Sickhack's show time is fast approaching.

Gao Songdeng was led by Xiangzi to the preparation room behind the stage, where he watched four professional musicians make final adjustments before going on stage.

"Hiroi, stop secretly drinking over there. There are only ten minutes left. Check if the bass is tuned properly. This isn't your own bass... And what's with that outfit? Going out like that will make your old fans laugh their heads off!"

Shima glared at Hiroi Kikuri while playing the drums.

"Oh, Shima, please spare me today! You have no idea what I've been through today... If I don't have something to eat right now, I won't be able to make it through the performance later..."

"Alright... I heard you went to court today, so I'll forgive you this time... But if anything goes wrong with the performance later, be prepared to apologize to the audience and Mr. Ginjiro!"

Shima assumed that Hiroi was acting this way because she couldn't handle the pressure of appearing in court, and didn't even consider that the source of her stress was the short-haired girl sitting obediently on the sofa.

"Shima is such a magnanimous person!" Hiroi looked around for a while, then moved closer to Takamatsu Akari. "Oh, Akari, you must have had a hard day. How about you have a sip of incense? It'll help you forget all your troubles."

"Huh? Have you forgotten all your troubles...?"

The lighthouse stared at the cardboard box of Oni Slayer Sake in Hiroi's hand, a hint of excitement even showing in its bewildered eyes.

"Hey! Don't push your luck!" Shima's drumstick hit Hiroi squarely on the head, knocking her to the ground. "Inducing minors to drink is something only the most depraved adults do. If you keep going, I'll have to send you to the police station!"

"Tch... Little Light, see that? This is what it means to pretend to be serious. Don't become a band member like Shima-neechan in the future! Of course, don't become a band member like me either."

Kikuri Hiroi covered her head and complained.

"I think Shima-nee, Eliza-nee, and Hiroi-nee are all very cool."

The lamp watched the interaction between the two, its eyes sparkling.

She genuinely envied that kind of teammate relationship.

“Oh dear, Little Lamp is such a good boy,” Eliza couldn’t help but lean over and hug him. “But he didn’t mention Mr. Hack.”

“Mr. Hack is wearing a mask, so his face cannot be seen.”

"Since Little Lamp said so, Mr. Hack, would you like to take off your mask during today's performance?"

Eliza asked, half-jokingly.