Can Lixi look at me alone?

"Little Yue? Are you there?"

If I'm not there, who answers the phone?

Jieyue straightened her collar in front of the mirror.

"Yes, Xiao Xiang, what's up?"

It's best not to take up too much of her time.

"Ah...it's Haruhi Kage. Riki and I have finished the basic arrangement. But the computer effects can't be completely accurate, so I was thinking...having you play it out, Suzuki. I'll listen and see if there's anything we can improve..."

That sounds so complicated...

Of all those words, only Xiao Lixi piqued her interest even slightly.

But I did promise Xiaodeng after all... and isn't practice tomorrow?

"Tomorrow is practice, right? Xiao Xiang can try it out with everyone tomorrow, right? After all, I can only help Xiao Xiang with the keyboard part."

Hopefully she can let it go. Yuzuki glanced at the sky, wondering if she could go to the planetarium to see the stars today.

"It's because of tomorrow's practice! That's why I wanted Yuzuki to cooperate today... I'm worried there might be problems if I perform for everyone directly tomorrow..."

"But I can't control what happens if the bass, guitar, or drums break down..."

Jieyue hesitated whether to forcefully refuse, but Xiangzi shut her up with a single sentence.

"A keyboard is fine too! Besides... this is a song that Xiaolixi put a lot of effort into. Don't you want to try playing it, Xiaoyuyue?"

Li Xi-chan's... hard work?

Even if it's for the band, why not for me...?

"Hmm... I understand. Should I go find Xiao Xiang now?"

She really agreed!

The ecstatic blue-haired octopus rolled around on the bed.

"No, no need! I'll go find Xiaojieyue directly, otherwise it feels kind of unsafe for her to go home at night..."

I feel even more insecure with you.

After putting down her phone, Jieyue brought herself some hot water and picked out some fruit from the refrigerator to make a fruit salad.

"Sorry, Xiaodeng. Xiaoxiang suddenly has something urgent to discuss with me, so we might have to wait until next time to go to the planetarium."

"It's alright, Xiaoyue, just focus on your own things!"

Hmm... looks like that should be okay. Let's get Xiao Xiang another glass of juice.

The girl who was holding the glass heard the knocking and deliberately made her wait a while before opening the door to greet her.

"Sorry... I was preparing a drink for Xiaoxiang. I didn't hear you..."

With a smile on his face, Xiangzi closed the door behind him, changed into slippers, and went into Jieyue's house.

Really...

Jieyue placed the fruit salad on the table, gesturing for her to wash her hands first. Then, she deliberately turned off the bathroom light, waiting for her to call her name before turning it back on.

"Sorry, Xiao Xiang. My lights are a bit off... Would you like to try some fruit salad?"

Startled, Xiangzi used a fork to pick up a few pieces of fruit and put them in his mouth, praising Jieyue's cooking skills while handing her the paper keyboard score.

"Let's go familiarize ourselves with the sheet music first~"

What an... disgusting face.

But this is Li Xi Jiang.

My hard work...

Damn it, Toyokawa Shoko, why did you have to mix Riki-chan's hard work with your own stuff? It's simply... an insult to Riki-chan.

Yuzuki forced a smile as she walked toward her keyboard, tapped it twice to wake it up, and then awkwardly played the first tune.

Unexpectedly, Xiangzi, who had played the piano on the first try, spat out a few seeds that hadn't been cleaned up, and listened carefully to see which parts could be improved.

The pink-haired girl, who knew nothing about composing, didn't feel anything special. After playing the score twice, she stopped.

Two times should be enough.

Besides, Xiangzi is a keyboardist himself. If you want to hear it, go play it yourself. Stop bothering me all the time, okay?

"Xiao Xiang? I think it's great."

It's good because of Riki-chan's hard work, and has nothing to do with you.

"Red Bean? That's wonderful! Even Suzuki says so... Our Haruhi Kage is sure to be a great success!"

What a great success...

Jieyue smiled politely and remained silent. She waited for Xiangzi to finish speaking before asking her to leave.

"After our practice tomorrow... we can perform live next Monday! Everyone, please practice hard..."

Is there a live performance next week?

"Everyone needs more time to practice, right? Xiaoxiang, aren't you worried about Xiaodeng and Soyo?"

Yuzuki, who wanted to stall for time, heard her reply.

"It's okay! I trust Xiaodeng won't let me down... As for Soyo, it's alright! Anyway, bass..."

Then there's nothing more to say.

"Is Xiaoxiang planning to play a keyboard duet with me? Or will he have a solo part?"

Yuzuki, who intended to kick her out, obtained the sheet music that Shoko had processed.

"I'll handle things here! As long as Xiaoyue follows the instructions, there won't be any problems!"

That's great! Now that you've said that, get out of here.

"Yes, Xiao Xiang is the best."

Seeing Xiangzi beaming with joy at the praise, Jieyue glanced at the time and then began to shoo him away.

"But it's already so late, is it alright for Xiao Xiang to stay a little longer?"

Xiangzi looked at the clock.

"I'm sorry, Xiaoyue, but it's so late, I'm afraid I have to go first..."

After seeing Xiangzi off, Jieyue picked up the sheet music and played it twice more as practice, moving her slightly sore fingers.

Little lamp... please don't let me down at the crucial moment and make Lixi unhappy during the live performance.

It seems I still need to find a way to go out and practice singing with Xiaodeng, so that she at least won't hold Lixi back.

I'm a little tired...

So many things happened today, I wonder what tomorrow will bring…

Jieyue lay on the bed, wrapped tightly in the blanket.

She started to look forward to tomorrow, to next week's live performance, and to Riki-chan realizing her feelings afterward...

We will definitely... be together.

Black Tower Sister, But the Envoy of Pleasure

orange

Book 1 Crychic!!!: Chapter 41 Wanting to Become Human

During her lunch break at school, the girl was washing the stones she had picked up when her phone vibrated a few times. When she opened it, she found that it was a new message from Yuzuki, who had rejected her yesterday.

"Little Lamp, do you have time today?"

Are we going to the planetarium? But it's cloudy today... the planetarium won't be open.

"Xiaojieyue, the planetarium is closed today... We can go tomorrow."

The pink-haired girl glanced at Lixi, who was concentrating on the lesson, and then typed a reply on the screen.

She was initially hesitant to bring up the matter of postponing today's appointment, but now...

I'm sorry, Xiaodeng... I can't let you make Lixi unhappy.

"Hmm... Xiao Xiang just told me yesterday that we're going to have a live performance next week. I wonder if Xiao Deng is ready?"

So fast...?!

After a moment of stunned silence, Deng felt a little scared. She was afraid that she would mess things up that day and cause everyone's hard work to go to waste.

But then, Yuzuki's gentle words of comfort came into her eyes.

"I told you Xiao Xiang was in a bit too much of a rush. Xiao Deng isn't ready yet, is she? I don't have it either. I only got the sheet music for 'Spring Shadow' yesterday..."

The end of the month...

"So, if Kodama isn't ready... would you like to come to the practice room and practice with me today?"

"It's just the two of us."

Only...we...

There are no other companions, only Yuzuki... Then, I'll go!

"Yes! I will go!"

The little lamp is so energetic!

She didn't call Su Shi because she was afraid that a large crowd would put pressure on Xiao Deng and prevent her from singing well. Xiao Mu doesn't need to practice; Li Xi-chan is the most perfect…

Is there anyone else? There's probably no one else.

"Okay, it's settled then. I'll wait for Xiaodeng in the practice room after school today."

Hmm... I need to go home with Riki-chan first. After all, it's one of the few times I get to spend with Riki-chan each day, so I can't just give it up for Kodama...

Besides, let's go home and get some konpeito first. After these few days of settling... these candies are almost the same quality as those sold in supermarkets.

After resolving the issue with the small lamp, Yuzuki, as usual, lay down on the table to sleep. This caused Riki, who had been paying attention to them, to sigh helplessly.

How will Yuzuki advance to higher education if things continue like this...?

Maybe I'll have to find a girl with good grades and a good personality to tutor her in the future.

...?

The winged birdman found Yuzuki once again.

"Hey, you're not really planning to just stay by Riki-chan's side like this, are you?"

The girl tilted her head in confusion, wondering how to cook such large wings.

"Why 'Lai'? Li Xi-chan, she just doesn't realize how I feel. One day she'll see it."

Someday, some moment.

The angel tapped her on the head.

"If she still doesn't realize it, either she has intellectual disabilities, or she's simply not the person you're looking for! If you meet the wrong person, no matter how much sincerity you give, you won't get any response!"

Of course, Li Xi-chan doesn't have any intellectual problems.

But Li Xi-chan is definitely not... the wrong person.

Because she was the only girl who entered his world when he needed her most.

That Lixi-chan must be the love of her life.

"I don't believe it. Unless someone can make Riki-chan fall in love with her quickly, I don't believe it..."

The angel embraced her.

Why wait until you get hurt to realize your mistakes?

She couldn't understand.

But she knew that the girl who had woken her up was now waiting for her to go home together.