My daily life is getting weird because I am caught between being in a band and being an idol.

She was secretly anxious, clutching a few thousand-yen bills in her hand, which was clearly far from the hundreds of thousands of yen she had.

Chaoyang looked at her expression and chuckled inwardly.

Honestly, it's quite cute.

Chaoyang shrugged.

Yuyuko had no choice but to bite the bullet and look at the ground as she spoke in a muffled voice.

"Um... can I pay you in installments?"

After hearing this, the others in the lounge who initially thought Yuyuko was difficult to get along with now all thought she was quite humorous.

"Unfortunately, that's not possible."

“Hmm…”

Just then, the door to the lounge opened again.

"Senior Yuyuko, there's no performance today. How long are you going to stay in the dressing room? Honestly. Ah, sorry to bother you. Did our Senior Yuyuko cause you any trouble?"

A girl wearing a black mask, with short silver hair and long sideburns walked in.

"Haha, of course not. Thanks to her, our teammates weren't nervous at all."

Upon hearing Chaoyang say that, the girl immediately covered her forehead.

"...I'm sorry, my name is Hasegawa Aimi, I'm the drummer for SIDEROS, and she's our leader. I often get stuck on some strange things, so please don't mind...Alright, Yuuko-senpai, let's go."

at this time.

Yuyuko finally understood herself; it didn't make much sense, but just then...

"Please wait a moment."

Before Hasegawa Aimi could pull Yuuko away, Asahi stopped her.

"Hey? You, is something bothering you?"

Yuyuko thought that Asahi was angry and wouldn't let her off the hook, but Asahi simply handed her a business card from his pocket.

"As compensation... my agency has a performance in Shibuya at the end of this month. Since the venue is paid by the day, would you like to be a specially invited band to perform? As compensation for us taking your band's performance away from us this time?"

"what?"

It was obvious that both of them were surprised.

Even Yuuko herself knew she was being a bit unreasonable, but she did sometimes struggle to control her aggressive personality. Now, having calmed down, she let Hasegawa Aimi pull her away.

But to my surprise, Chaoyang actually invited me to participate in the live performance.

"No, I couldn't possibly accept that, and besides, we..."

"Really, really?"

Yuyuko was visibly pleased, because their current skill level was at best at performing, with an audience of only 100 to 300 people. The prospect of performing in front of thousands of people was incredibly tempting for Yuyuko, who considered herself a genius.

"…Senior Yuyuko, you just offended someone…aren't you afraid they'll set a trap for you?"

Hasegawa Aimi is actually just a bit lazy. She was already exhausted from being forced to train every day by Yuyuko and then being criticized after the performances. She didn't want to add any more work.

But Yuyuko, feigning strength, waved her hand and said...

"Hmph, who cares! We SIDEROS don't need such an opportunity!"

But her eyes secretly drifted to the business card in Chaoyang's hand, her anticipation almost written on her face.

She unconsciously tugged at Aimei's sleeve, a pitiful longing in her eyes, like a stubborn but soft-hearted child pleading. She said, pretending not to care.

"However... since he's being so sincere, we can't let his good intentions go to waste, right?"

Aimi looked helplessly at Youyouzi's cautious yet stubborn expression and sighed inwardly.

"I'm sorry, thank you very much for the invitation. Please allow us to have a private discussion before giving you a reply."

"The decision is in your hands, no need to rush."

Chaoyang gently placed the business card into Youyouzi's hand, then added with a smile.

"Opportunities don't wait for anyone. We hope that SIDEROS can shine on a bigger stage. We look forward to your reply."

. .

Why would you suddenly invite a complete stranger to participate in a performance?

Qian Sheng asked.

"...Well, after all, that's how you got your performance opportunity in the first place... Consider it returning a favor. Besides, our venue fees are charged per day, which will still increase our burden, but if possible, we'd like to see more performances of different styles to increase anticipation for the next show."

"All right......"

"Let's not talk about that. They agreed without even saying anything, and I just did it on a whim. I brought some gifts, everyone, please eat."

"Speaking of which, what about Hina and Maya?"

Since just now, the rest room has only had Aine, Chisato, and Maruyama Aya.

The other two people were nowhere to be seen.

"Hina said she was getting bored staying here and wanted to go out for a walk. I asked Maya to go with her to avoid getting into trouble."

Qian Sheng answered.

"Oh... Aine, are you alright?"

Asahi noticed that Aine was unusually quiet today, so he brought over some popular snacks. Normally, Aine would immediately come over, but Maruyama Aya was also a bit quiet.

However, Asahi isn't entirely sure if Maruyama Aya actually has this kind of personality.

Chaoyang took out a box of strawberry cake, which was already cut into pieces, and handed it to the two quiet people.

"Eating some sweets will make you less nervous... Ai-yin, the rehearsal hasn't even started yet, and your eyes are already rolling around!"

"It's okay! Ma, it'll be fixed soon! ... Ouch, I bit my tongue, it hurts so much~~"

Asahi turned to look at Maruyama Aya, who seemed less flustered than Aine.

"Xiao Cai? Are you alright?"

"...It's okay, producer. I was prepared...I used to get stage fright easily, and as the lead singer standing at the front, I didn't know how to handle unexpected situations."

Chisato immediately realized that Maruyama Aya was talking about the time they lip-synced. At that time, Maruyama Aya was stunned and couldn't say a word. It was Chisato who reacted quickly and took control of the situation, then directed the band to leave.

"I don't have everyone's talent, I just practice hard, but... I've been working my butt off to make today's performance a success. No matter the outcome, I will show everyone the real Aya Maruyama! Producer! So thank you so much for giving me this opportunity again!"

Maruyama Aya suddenly stood up, tears welling in her eyes, and confessed her love to the rising sun.

"Let's save those kinds of words for after the performance. Let's leave these important feelings to the audience. Don't waste them on me."

"...To be honest...it's not just Aya-chan...actually, it's me too...Thank you so much, producer..."

At this moment, Qian Sheng leaned close to Chao Yang's ear.

"I'm sorry, I can't fulfill your request. If I graduate someday... please contact me again then."

Damn, how many years into this empty promise are you making?

Chaoyang thought to himself, wondering if Qiansheng was trying to keep him hanging on like this.

"Wow~ It's surprisingly small, but we finished exploring it in no time."

"You were too excited today, so you ran so fast that you finished shopping very quickly."

Just then, Tenma and Hina, who were chatting, walked into the lounge.

"Ah! The producer!"

As soon as Hina saw the sunrise, she jogged over as if she'd found a thrill.

"It's incredible! At first, I didn't think it was a big deal, but now I'm getting excited, so excited, so thrilled, so happy~~"

Maya looked like she had a headache.

"Tori Nasa Sauce, all I want right now is to rest, rather than feel stressed."

After saying that, he plopped down on his seat.

Chaoyang also thoughtfully handed her a strawberry cake.

"Eat up, sweets will help you recover."

"Wow~ Thank you... I feel like I don't deserve such girly desserts."

Maya held the cake and said with a hint of self-consciousness.

"No way, it's just a snack. There's no question of whether it's a good match or not. Besides, Maya, you're so cute. I'm thinking of confessing my feelings to you and asking you to be my girlfriend."

However, these words of comfort immediately caused Chisato, who was eating cake, to turn to Asahi with a forced smile and say each word slowly and deliberately.

"Producer... this joke is not funny. Dating one of your idols is a serious breach of professional ethics."

Chapter 97 Cai Cai finally starts repairing the car!

"Pastel-san, the rehearsal is about to begin, please get ready."

The staff member shouted as he tried to open the door to the break room.

At this moment, Chaoyang stopped him.

"I'm sorry, they are changing clothes. I'll take them there right away."

"Ah...yes, I'm sorry...I understand."

Generally, band members rarely wait until the venue to change clothes; they usually go to rehearsals in casual or simple attire. However, as an idol band, Pastel*'s stage costumes are relatively extravagant and not suitable for everyday wear or public transportation.

That's why they change clothes in the dressing room before going on stage, just before rehearsals.

During this time, Chaoyang stood guard at the door for them. It was a mixed bag, and it was hard to say who was inside.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, the door to the lounge was pushed open.

"Producer, we've changed everything, you can come in now."

"Let's not go in, let's go straight to the rehearsal. We've already made them wait."

"Yes"

Upon hearing Chaoyang's words, everyone in the lounge responded in unison.

. .

Chaoyang could have skipped the rehearsal, but since she hadn't seen it before, she went with them out of curiosity.

"Wow... This seems to be the first time we've had an idol appear on screen..."

Generally speaking, it's not limited to rock music; they accept all kinds of performances. However, according to the staff, the somewhat effeminate shop manager, Yoshida Y-jiro, is a hardcore rock musician who only accepts applications from rock bands to perform.

"They're rock bands too, they're an idol band."

"An idol band? If idols don't jump around... what's the point of wearing those outfits?"

As the staff members offstage were whispering among themselves, store manager Yoshida Yjiro immediately appeared behind the two.

"Are you all too idle?! Go outside and move some tables and chairs! Honestly."

On stage, even though it was still just a rehearsal, things were already looking bad.

"Oh dear, Xiao Cai, your expression is too stiff."

Hina smiled and pointed at Maruyama Ayaka.

"Ah, haha... Sorry, I was still a little nervous."

"This is just a rehearsal, you know. Were all those words you said to the producer just empty promises?"

Qian Sheng said somewhat seriously... but then chuckled a second later.

"But this is quite in line with Xiao Cai's style."

Standing on either side of the stage, Chaoyang was a little uneasy.

"Excuse me, I need to go up and confirm with them."

After saying that to the employee and hearing them say "please," I immediately grabbed a towel and went over.

She went straight to Aine's side.

"Ano, you're sweating a lot. Are you feeling unwell?"