Will the plagiarism girl be a substitute for the preference for women?

He, on the other hand, acted as if he and Chika were very close.

In this way, when faced with Su Shi's questions about China, he could only try to answer that he didn't know. This would not only prevent him from being exposed, but also subtly show that he and China had a distance between them and that there were many things he didn't know about China. It was precisely because "distance makes the heart grow fonder" that he and China became good friends.

This kind of "not-so-close" friendship should make Su Shi feel more at ease.

"It's flawless, and the logic is self-consistent," Ai Yin thought to herself, praising herself inwardly.

But for this band to have to worry about so much before they even start, it's really suffocating...

The plan to "pretend to be old friends" that I made with China back then should have been reconsidered.

……wrong.

If Chika actually keeps her distance from me, doesn't that contradict what I just said about her "keeping secrets from me"?

Entrusting a secret to someone you feel distant from... how do you explain this premise...?

I'm so tired, I need to think of a new topic.

Seeing that Aine looked a little nervous, Su Shi realized that her rhetorical question had given her away.

If Aine continues to ask questions like this, she might worry about whether she will become jealous and carefully consider her response, making it seem as if she and China are not as close as they are in reality, which would affect the authenticity of her answer.

Since we've only just started forming a band with Ai Yin, I can't put so much pressure on her right away just from a casual chat; I need to tone it down.

So, asking Aine for advice on how to get along with Chinatsu will have to wait until later. Let's change the subject for now.

However, Su Shi didn't know what to talk about. Could she hope the lantern festival would provide a topic of conversation...?

Su Shi glanced at the lamp, which seemed to be engrossed in studying its reflection in the water glass.

...It's still too far-fetched.

Before either of them could break the silence, the sound of a suitcase wheel rolling came from the doorway.

Wow, what professional equipment!

Ai Yin saw a girl with short white hair and heterochromatic blue and yellow eyes walk to the stage in the corner of the store, carrying a guitar and a case of effects pedals.

"Lena, do we want to do it like before?"

The store manager asked, then came over and plugged Le Nai's equipment into a power source to start setting it up. It seems that Le Nai is also a regular customer here.

"Ah."

After a brief response, Lena plugged in the guitar, which immediately emitted a loud whistling sound.

Ai Yin couldn't help but cover her ears, but she was also glad that the child had diverted her attention and prevented the atmosphere from becoming too cold.

Then, Yoro Nai began to play with great passion, and her technique amazed everyone present, especially Ai Yin, who is also a guitarist.

With such impressive skills, she must be the kind of talent that every band would be vying for, right?

When I first witnessed China's singing and playing skills, I was a little shy about forming a band with her, and I even thought about becoming the guitarist and lead singer.

But through some subtle exchanges with China, he gradually resolved his inner conflict. He realized that even if China was incredibly capable, she still needed someone to protect her and offer solace to her soul.

The term "China's guardian" might sound a bit too sacred, but in any case, the current relationship of mutual support between Aine and China makes it stress-free for Aine to form a band with her.

But if this guitar-playing kid joins the group, will I still have my shining moments on stage...?

Ai Yin felt she was overthinking things. Other bands were trying their best to recruit this kid, so why would he come to their band of five?

"Hehe~" After the performance, Le Nai left satisfied.

Then, Aine and Suze also found a topic to talk about and talked about their past. Aine also boasted about her experience as the student council president in forming a band in the student council.

Both sides deliberately avoided talking about China, to prevent the conversation from falling into an awkward silence again.

Although there hasn't been any substantial progress in the band project, they've at least gotten to know each other.

After saying goodbye, Nagasaki Motoyo also began to make some plans.

Just now, because I didn't want to admit that I had a conflict with China, I didn't ask Aine and Akari for China's contact information.

But now that I know that Chika and Shoko are both in Haneoka, that's enough.

Find some time to stake out the entrance of Haneoka School after school, whether you spot Chika, Shoko, or the two sisters.

Su Shi had a lot she wanted to say to them.

……

Meanwhile, a girl wearing the Moon Forest school uniform is waiting for someone.

Even though she was just standing there expressionless, she still attracted a lot of attention and discussion from the students.

"Wow, is that comedian's daughter?"

"Yes, she's even cuter than a doll."

Such a conspicuous situation caused Xiangzi to walk around Mu instead of going up to him when he walked out of the school gate, while Mu followed closely behind.

It wasn't until they arrived at the tea shop, sat down, and ordered an inexpensive cup of tea that Xiangzi spoke to Mu: "Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"Because you didn't reply," Mu said, turning his gaze to the side.

"Didn't I tell you before not to mention me to anyone?"

"No."

"Your conspicuous behavior is tantamount to telling everyone."

Xiangzi said somewhat reproachfully, then took a sip of tea, and his expression immediately changed because of the taste of the cheap tea.

"Mm, delicious."

"Su Shi..."

Upon hearing Mu utter the name, Xiangzi's expression changed back, and he interrupted.

"Just tell her I moved."

"No...the reason she hasn't asked me about you lately might be..."

"She knows about my situation?"

Bang??

Xiangzi quickly placed the teacup on the table, his face showing reluctance.

I need to talk to Chika.

Chapter 40 The Way to Debut

"162, 163, 164, 165..."

In the spacious single hospital room, China had ample space to exercise.

When I get emotional, I use jump rope to release my emotions. I have already done five sets of 200 jumps.

Come to think of it, it would have been quite embarrassing if the nurses had seen us jumping around without a rope. But with a rope added, it looked like we were exercising, and it didn't seem strange at all.

"Whoo~"

China wiped her sweat with a wet wipe, then took out her switch and portable dock from her bag and connected them to the TV in the ward.

The television was recessed into the wall, and the connection was hidden quite deep. It took a long time to connect it, and the nurse arrived at that moment.

"Time to get an IV drip."

In cases of high blood lithium levels, intravenous saline solution is usually administered to replenish fluids and accelerate metabolism, thereby lowering the blood lithium concentration.

Seeing Chizuru, dressed in her school uniform, with her schoolbag on the table, fiddling with the television, the nurse couldn't help but smile.

"You were admitted to the hospital midway through your school term, right? Did you bring your game console with you on your way to school?"

At this moment, still excited, China revealed her true thoughts:

"If I hadn't been hospitalized, I was planning to connect the main unit to the teacher's television."

As soon as she finished answering, China glanced down slightly, then raised her fist and cheered, "YES!"

She was just guessing whether the nurse who came to check on her would be wearing cloth shoes or Crocs. If she was wearing Crocs, she would reward herself with an ice pop. She guessed right.

However, it's still better to buy the kind without trans fats.

"What's wrong?" the nurse asked.

"It's nothing, please be gentle, nurse~"

China stretched out her hand, the one without the knife cut.

"We need to measure your blood pressure in both arms before starting the IV drip," the nurse explained. "Sit still for a bit. You were just exercising, so the readings might not be accurate. Also, try not to sweat too much, as it can increase your blood lithium levels."

"Uh, okay..."

Although the knife marks on my hands were not strictly self-inflicted, I still hesitated to show them to others.

Thinking about it carefully, it hasn't been long since I was hospitalized here due to excessive bleeding...

After being put on an IV drip, China didn't have much of a chance to move around, but the jump rope earlier had released most of her manic energy.

I'm just sweating a bit too much.

I really want to take a shower, then lie in bed and play video games in front of the TV.

...It seems like they're treating the hospital ward like a hotel.

Although she needed to take care of China's emotional well-being due to her illness, the nurse, considering she was still a high school student and in the most precious time of her life, tapped her on the side and said:

"By the way, is there anything important you haven't done yet?"

"Something important..."

For people my age, the most important thing is still studying.

However, she remembered something else important.

Managing the account where you post your own songs.

The songs released so far have reached 100 million plays, and the revenue from plays is substantial, but relying solely on this one source of income seems a bit of a loss.

After the nurse left, China opened her account's private messages and was overwhelmed by the numerous collaboration messages that had accumulated over the past few days.

I reckon that during my manic phase, I wouldn't even have the motivation to learn about all the companies that have applied for cooperation.

Even if you manage to compile a list of your preferred partners, you'll still struggle with which one to choose.

"So this is the troubles of Versailles..."

Since you don't know which company to choose, let's look at personal operations.

Following her initial intention of "debuting masked" to prevent excessive popularity from affecting her offline life, China began to think about account planning.

She looked at other musicians' videos on YouTube, which were mostly about sharing musical ideas and personal lives, relying on their popularity to earn money from video views, and some even did live streaming.

Some people with extensive experience in various fields can make vlogs that look like blockbuster movies, and some are very good at games. Although they may not be the most skilled players, they have the advantage of having "great songs" to attract a lot of viewers to their live streams.

There are also live streams with amazing effects, where the person is almost more popular than the song... The rapper's live stream of gang conflicts is so hip-hop.

It seems the competition among musicians for side hustles is quite fierce; we need to think of ways to overtake them.

……

After some thought, China decided to do something she had never considered before.

Become a virtual streamer.

She's not the only musician whose work has been played over 100 million times.

But among the suited characters who create original songs... there aren't any at that level in the world China is currently in.

Qianna has already secured her place in the musician + virtual streamer track!

After careful consideration, China chose her favorite illustrator and spent an entire night designing the character for her virtual avatar before sending it to the illustrator.

There are generally two ways to charge for virtual avatars.

One type is the corporate type, which requires a portion of the revenue from live streaming and videos to be used as a component of the virtual avatar.

One type is like China, an individual influencer, who buys the entire image outright.

Just now, Qiannai saw that a virtual streamer project was also looking to enter this field and sent her an invitation, offering to provide virtual avatars, promotion and operation for free, but demanding a 10% share of the virtual avatar revenue and a 10% operation fee.

“That’s a bit of a joke, friend,” China replied.

However, the other party continued to speak at length: