I'm in Morioh, just joined a chat group for cute girls.

Yutenji Ruomai's smile froze. She looked at Xiangzi, then at the three people who had walked over, a hint of surprise and dissatisfaction flashing in her eyes.

Just as she was about to speak, Hachiman Kairin, who was sitting next to her, subtly stepped on her foot under the table, while giving her a disapproving look.

What's going on... Isn't this Ave Mujica's victory celebration party?

Why are there outsiders? Miaomu was screaming inside, but Hailing's gaze made her swallow her words for the time being.

"Sorry, we're late."

Gu Ye's voice was calm. He pulled out a chair and naturally let Ilya sit in the empty seat between himself and Xiangzi, and then sat down next to Ilya.

Ilya stayed close to Gu Ye the whole time, curiously observing everyone at the table, and finally her gaze fell on Ruoye Mu, as if she had become interested in this quiet doll who was just like herself.

"Xiangzi-chan~! Nice to meet you! I'm Marin!"

Completely oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, Kitagawa Kaimu enthusiastically extended her hand to Shoko, exclaiming, "You were so cool on stage! That keyboard solo! Absolutely amazing!"

Shoko Toyokawa paused for a moment before politely returning the handshake. "...Hello, Kitagawa-san. Thank you."

"Just call me Hai Meng!"

Hai Meng smiled, then turned to the others, "Hello! I'm Kitagawa Hai Meng! This is my... um, classmate, Gu Ye! This is Ilya-chan!"

Sanjiao Chuhua nodded and smiled politely, but her eyes involuntarily drifted towards Xiangzi, with a hint of inquiry.

Yutenji Wakame forced a businesslike smile, quickly assessing how much traffic building a good relationship with the famous cosplayer Haimeng could bring.

Hachiman Kairin still had that indifferent face, but she nodded slightly to Gu Ye as a greeting.

As if he hadn't heard her, Ruoye Mu continued to study the pattern on the tablecloth.

"Everyone's here, let's order."

Xiangzi withdrew her hand, picked up the menu, as if the incident had never happened. She simply introduced them to the others, "These three are my... friends."

Friend. This word made Miaomu raise an eyebrow.

The celebration banquet began in this wonderful atmosphere.

Haimeng is a natural mood maker. She can chat with Hatsuka about Sumimi's songs, discuss the latest eyeshadow with Miumu, and even try to discuss bass string height with Hailing, although Hailing's responses are mostly "um" and "I don't know".

Ilya showed little interest in the food, taking small bites of the steak Gu Ye had cut, and spending most of her time observing.

Her calves swayed gently under the table, occasionally brushing against Gu Ye's legs.

After a few rounds of drinks—even though the minors were drinking fruit juice—Xiangzi stood up and raised his glass.

First of all, thank you everyone.

Her gaze swept over the four members of Ave Mujica. "Without you, Ave Mujica's debut performance wouldn't have been so successful. Amoris, your drumbeats are the heartbeat of the band; Timoris, your bass is the skeleton of the band; Mortis, your guitar is the soul of the band; Dolores, your vocals are the life of the band. I firmly believe that we will be able to stand higher and farther, and let the world hear our voices."

These words were very persuasive, and a light ignited in the eyes of both Miaomu and Chuhua.

Xiangzi paused, then turned to Gu Ye, raising his glass in a gesture of thanks: "Also, I want to thank Gu Ye. If it weren't for you... Anyway, thank you very much."

She didn't explain why, which only fueled Miaomu's curiosity and dissatisfaction.

Gu Ye simply raised his glass calmly, drank it all in one gulp, and didn't ask any further questions.

Dinner drew to a close amidst Hai Meng's one-sided socializing and the silent contemplation of the others, each lost in their own thoughts.

When it was time to pay the bill, the waiter handed Xiangzi the bill folder. Xiangzi gracefully took it, opened it, and glanced at it.

Her fingers stiffened for a moment when she saw that pile of numbers.

Despite being mentally prepared, the cost of the meal for a five-person band, plus the three uninvited guests, still exceeded her expectations.

She still wore a polite smile, but when she took her bank card out of her wallet and handed it to the waiter, her slightly trembling fingers betrayed the pain in her heart.

It's okay... I can just schedule a few more shifts for my part-time job next week.

Xiangzi said to himself.

After leaving the restaurant.

"Then let's part ways here."

Xiangzi stopped and spoke to Gu Ye and the other two.

"Yeah, Xiangzi-chan, you've had a great day! Let's go shopping in Akihabara together sometime!"

Hai Meng is still full of energy.

"Wait a moment."

Gu Ye called out to Xiangzi, who was about to turn around.

He took a very ordinary notebook out of his shoulder bag and handed it over.

"this is for you."

"This is?"

Xiangzi took the notebook with a puzzled look. It was thin and had no markings.

"I'll look at it when I get back."

Gu Ye said, "Consider this... a small piece of advice from a stranger regarding your future. I hope you can make the right choice."

"It's getting late, and there are no more express trains back to Morioh."

Gu Ye glanced at his phone. "We need to go back too."

"Huh? What should we do then? Should we stay in a hotel?"

Hai Meng asked.

Gu Ye didn't answer, but simply took Ilya and Hai Meng's hands and walked towards a deserted alley.

Xiangzi and the other four instinctively looked over and saw a magnificent locomotive silently tearing through space in the shadows deep in the alley, hovering quietly in mid-air, the light around the locomotive distorted, rippling outwards.

"Come up."

Gu Ye pulled the two women into the ripple, and their figures vanished instantly. Then, the mysterious train engine also turned into a phantom, disappearing into the night as if it had never existed.

The four members of Ave Mujica were stunned.

Yutenji Wakana's mouth gaped open in an "O" shape, Hachiman Kairin's eyes were also filled with shock, Misumi Hatsuka subconsciously grabbed Shoko's arm, and even Wakaba Mutsu raised his head for the first time, his empty pupils reflecting the empty darkness.

After a long silence, Xiangzi was the first to come to his senses.

She gripped the notebook tightly in her hand, turned around, and walked towards the station.

"Xiangzi!"

Yutenji Wakana chased after them, unable to suppress her questions any longer, "Wait a minute! Who are those three people? What 'friends'? And what was that... what was that thing just now?!"

"They are friends."

Xiangzi repeated it, his steps never faltering.

"Friends shouldn't come to our band's after-party! That's for the five of us!"

Miao Meng's voice sharpened, "You didn't explain anything clearly before dragging outsiders in like this. What do you take us for?!"

Xiangzi stopped and looked back at her, his eyes appearing cold and distant under the streetlights.

"This was my oversight."

She said, without a hint of apology in her voice, "Next time, I will hold a bigger and more grand celebration banquet, just the five of us."

She then offered a new, even more enticing promise.

After saying that, she didn't give Miaomu a chance to ask any more questions and turned into another path.

"I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

The blue twin tails quickly disappeared into the darkness of the night, leaving the other four looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Tch...it's the same old story."

Yutenji Wakame kicked a pebble on the roadside in frustration.

Yawata Kairin looked in the direction Shoko had left, then glanced at Hatsuka Kazumi beside her who was clearly still clueless, and finally turned her gaze to the night sky where the strange train had once appeared, her brows furrowed.

Shoko Toyokawa walked hurriedly home alone.

The key was inserted into the lock and turned, producing a dry, metallic scraping sound.

Shoko Toyokawa pushed open the door, and a blast of stagnant air, mixed with dust and a slight musty smell, rushed out.

This was a small, cramped room. Apart from a mattress covered with a thin blanket in the corner and a cardboard box used as a desk, there was nothing else.

There were a few sheets of soundproofing cotton pasted on the wall; it was a measure she took to practice keyboarding here, something better than nothing.

This is her "home," a forgotten corner that has nothing to do with anything that the surname "Toyokawa" represents.

She took off her shoes, carefully hung the white dress on a hook on the wall, and then changed into an old tracksuit.

The cold, incandescent light shone down without reservation, illuminating the lingering fatigue on her face.

She didn't turn on the air conditioner; she simply walked to the window and pulled back the curtains a crack.

A sultry evening breeze swept in, carrying the noise of the izakaya downstairs and the greasy smell of food.

Xiangzi watched all this expressionlessly, then drew the curtains, completely isolating himself from the outside world.

She sat cross-legged on the cold floor, placing the dark blue hard-cover notebook on her lap.

Gu Ye said that this was her future.

The touch on her fingertips was a little cold. She took a deep breath and turned to the first page.

The delicate handwriting records the story of a girl named "Toyokawa Shoko".

From the formation of CRYCHIC to the breakup on that rainy night; from the dramatic changes in her family to her donning a mask and forming AveMujica... one thing after another, those memories she had deliberately buried, those pains she didn't want to face, were laid bare before her in this notebook.

Her breathing gradually became rapid.

...It turns out that Mu gave the cucumber to Su Shi because she felt it was her fault...

...Chu Hua...she did all this for me...

...To protect my so-called self-esteem, I turned on the light with the most hurtful words...

The pages of the notebook were slightly wrinkled from her grip.

She witnessed how Ave Mujica gradually fell apart due to distrust, exploitation, and ideological differences among its members; she saw Yutenji Wakana's betrayal; she saw Hachiman Kairin's departure; she saw Wakaba Mutsumi fall into the abyss of silence once again; and she saw Misumi Hatsuka being completely dragged into the quagmire called "Shoko" by her.

In the end, she herself lost everything and was completely consumed by the "darkness of the Toyokawa family" in endless regret.

Upon seeing this, Xiangzi's body stiffened, and his eyes were filled with a lifeless, icy sea.

Is this...my fate?

With trembling hands, she continued to roll backward.

However, the style of the following content changed abruptly.

The tense and oppressive narrative disappeared, replaced by an extremely abrupt and forced unfolding of "mutual understanding".

Miraculously, everyone put aside their past conflicts, sat together, resolved all their inner conflicts, and then joined hands to create a bright future.

The story abruptly ends with a bizarre "happy ending".

"..."

Xiangzi stared at the text and remained silent for a full minute.

Then, a very soft, utterly contemptuous sneer escaped from her pale lips.

What a joke.

This plot... is practically a clumsy comedy of self-deception.

All the pain, struggle, and contradictions that came before were negated by this cheap "dumpling-making" ending.

This is not salvation; it is an insult to everyone's experience!

That sucks.

She closed her notebook, her chest heaving violently.

Anger, absurdity, and a nauseating feeling of being fooled by the script intertwined.

She needs an outlet, she needs confirmation.

She reached for the phone that was lying to the side.