Green plums cannot become lovers.

An and Asuka originally intended to ignore it and leave. Everyone has a beginner stage, and there's nothing wrong with practicing in the park. He just happened to be passing by, and there was no need to judge a stranger's practice level.

However, just as he took another step, the stumbling guitar sound rang out again. This time, the player seemed to be trying to play a slightly faster melody, but the result was even more disastrous—his fingers couldn't hold the strings, the slides turned into a grating friction sound, the rhythm completely collapsed, and it ended abruptly with an extremely unpleasant muffled note, followed by a small, frustrated sob.

"Well......"

An and Asuka stopped in their tracks once again.

It's really bad.

It's so bad that it's a little... bothersome.

It's not out of a sense of superiority or pickiness, but rather a reaction that's closer to instinct—like seeing someone hold chopsticks in an extremely awkward way, or solve a basic math problem in the wrong way, you can't help but want to correct them.

He hesitated for about two or three seconds. Meddling in other people's business is not in line with his usual way of doing things, but music is perhaps one of the few areas where he would actively "get involved".

Moreover, the frustration and effort conveyed in the music inexplicably reminded him of a long time ago when he was alone in an empty room, struggling to learn with tattered textbooks and a secondhand guitar.

In the end, he changed direction and headed towards the source of the music.

It was a bench near the bushes.

Volume 1: Chapter 213 You Come Back Here!

A red-haired girl sat on a bench in the corner of the park.

Her hair was a vibrant orange-red, still striking in the evening light, tied in a neat high ponytail that swayed slightly as she looked down at the fretboard. She wore a light gray hooded sweatshirt and dark trousers, and carried a seemingly new acoustic guitar in her arms.

She was frowning, staring at her fingers, and then trying to press a C chord.

Nourishes—

Noise.

She clicked her tongue, adjusted the position of her fingers, and tried again.

Nourishes—

It's still background noise.

"Ugh—really!" she muttered under her breath, but she wasn't discouraged and immediately tried a different finger technique.

An and Asuka stood not far away, watching this scene.

This was the third time. Each time she failed, she would immediately start over, her brows furrowed and her hands moving without stopping. This "never give up" spirit actually made him somewhat concerned.

He walked over.

The girl was staring intently at the fingerboard until she caught someone approaching out of the corner of her eye, at which point she suddenly looked up.

Eyes facing each other.

Before An and Asuka could speak, the girl blinked, a hint of confusion in her eyes, and then naturally asked:

"Excuse me... is there anything I can help you with?"

Her voice was clear and loud, without any nervousness or wariness of being spoken to by a stranger. Instead, it carried a sense of initiative, as if asking, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Those large, amber eyes stared directly at An and Asuka with unwavering curiosity.

—Completely different from the imagined reaction of "being embarrassed by discovering that one plays terribly".

Anhe Feibiao paused, then pointed to the guitar in her arms: "I just passed by and heard you practicing. There's something wrong with the angle of your right hand plucking the strings; the tone sounds too harsh."

"Huh?" The girl looked down at her right hand, then looked up at him. She didn't blush or flinch; instead, she asked earnestly, "What's wrong?"

This frankness surprised An and Asuka. He adjusted his words slightly: "Your wrist is too stiff. Plucking the string isn't about 'stabbing' it in, it's about 'sliding' it across. The harder you try, the worse the tone will sound."

"So that's how it is!" The girl suddenly realized, immediately adjusted her wrist, and tried plucking the string.

It's still astringent.

"Uh...is this how it is?" She adjusted it again and tried again.

Still not right.

"Hmm..." She frowned, staring at her hands with some distress, then looked up at Anwa Asuka, her eyes sparkling, "Um, could you demonstrate?"

An and Asuka glanced at her but did not refuse.

He took two steps closer, took the guitar from her, and plucked a few open strings briefly to test the sound. Then he slowed down and demonstrated a standard plucking motion at an extremely slow pace.

"Relax your wrist, imagine the pick 'slides' across the strings, don't resist it."

He returned the guitar to her.

The girl took it, took a deep breath, and imitated his actions, trying to dial it.

The tone is noticeably more mellow.

"Hey! It really is different!" Her eyes lit up, and she immediately tried it a few more times, getting better and better with each attempt. "Wow, it's amazing! I always thought that the harder you hit it, the louder the sound would be, but it turns out it's the opposite!"

She looked up and gave An and Asuka a bright smile: "Thank you! You're amazing!"

Her smile was so bright it was almost dazzling.

An and Asuka took a half step back without making a sound: "...You're welcome."

The girl seemed completely oblivious to his subtle reaction, continuing to adjust the angle of her wrist as she plucked the strings, muttering to herself, "So that's it, relax... No wonder my voice always sounded off after practicing for so long..."

She was so engrossed in her practice that it took her several seconds to remember something. She suddenly looked up and said, "Oh right, my name is Kita Ikuyo! What's yours?"

—Completely outgoing and friendly.

Anwa Asuka paused for a moment, then gave her name: "Anwa Asuka."

“Anhe… Asuka…” the girl repeated, blinked, and then—

"Eh?! That bird?!"

Her voice suddenly rose, and she almost jumped off the bench, shouting, "The Asuka who sang 'If You Can Shine'?! The Asuka who sang 'Summer'?! The Asuka who was in charge of music for 'Ember Knight'?!"

She stared wide-eyed at An and Asuka's faces in disbelief, then suddenly leaned closer.

An and Asuka instinctively leaned back.

"It really is you! No wonder you looked so familiar!"

Kita Ikuyo clapped her hands excitedly, "I've seen your posters on social media before! And concert recordings too! You look even better in person than on camera!"

There was no embarrassment or awkwardness in her tone, only pure, undisguised surprise and admiration.

Anwa Asuka: "..."

This development was completely different from what he had expected.

"Ah, so you spotted what was wrong with me right away!" Kita Ikuyo showed no sign of stopping, excitedly continuing, "I knew it! How could an ordinary person spot such a detail at a glance! You're a professional, no doubt!"

She held her guitar, her eyes sparkling as she looked at An and the birds, as if she had spotted some rare animal.

An and Asuka were silent for two seconds before deciding to steer the conversation back on track.

"...What piece were you practicing just now?"

"Huh?" Kita Ikuyo paused for a moment, then looked down at the guitar in her arms and scratched her cheek. "Actually, there's no specific song... I'm just practicing basic chord changes. I haven't been learning guitar for very long, so I'm not very good yet."

She spoke frankly, without any sense of inferiority or concealment; she was simply stating a fact.

"But I want to form a band!" she looked up again, her eyes sparkling. "So I need to practice quickly. Otherwise, how can I go on stage with them!"

"A band?" An and Asuka asked.

“Yes!” Kita Ikuyo nodded. “I like music, and I was in a band before, but…”

Her voice paused here, and her smile became somewhat subtle—not frustrated, but more like an embarrassed "Oh dear, this is a bit awkward."

"and then?"

"Then... I ran away."

Kita Ikuyo scratched her head, her tone relaxed, but her eyes were a little unfocused. "Because I think I'm too bad at it. Nijika-chan is amazing at drumming, and Ryo-senpai is amazing at bass. I can't even play chords properly. If I joined in, wouldn't I just be dragging them down?"

"So you just disappeared?" An and Asuka asked.

"Hmm! Not answering the phone, not replying to messages, completely out of contact!"

Kita Yu nodded confidently, then shrank back a little guiltily, "...Although I know it's not a good thing to do this."

An and Asuka looked at her.

"But you still practice guitar here."

“Of course!” Kita Ikuyo raised her head, her tone carrying a stubbornness that seemed to take it for granted. “It’s not that I don’t want to play the guitar anymore. I just… don’t want to hold them back until I’ve mastered it.”

She paused, then lowered her voice: "I'll go back and apologize to them properly once I've improved. Until then, I can't let them see me in such a terrible state."

An and Asuka remained silent for a moment.

“Have you ever thought,” he said casually, “that they might not care whether you play well or not right now?”

Kita Ikuyo blinked.

“They invited you to join, not because your skills are perfect, but because they want to make music with you,” An and Asuka said calmly. “Skills can be practiced, but you as a person are irreplaceable.”

Kita Ikuyo was stunned.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

A gentle evening breeze swept through the park, lifting the ends of her ponytail.

“...But,” she said softly, her voice no longer as loud and confident as before, “I’m afraid they’ll be disappointed in me.”

“Disappointment is predicated on expectation,” An and Asuka said. “And their biggest expectation of you is not that you immediately become a guitar virtuoso, but that you can come back.”

Kita Ikuyo lowered her head and looked at the guitar in her arms.

Her fingers unconsciously caressed the strings, and she remained silent for a long time.

“…You’re right.” She finally spoke, her voice soft but no longer ethereal. “I actually know that too. Nijika-chan is such a nice person, even if I play terribly, she won’t scold me. Ryo-senpai is so quiet, he’ll probably only say ‘Oh, you’re back.’”

She looked up and smiled at An and Asuka. The smile was still bright, but it held something more than before.

"I'm just... a little scared."

An and Asuka remained silent.

"I'm afraid that if I go back, I'll find that I'm really not good enough."

Kita Ikuyo said, "I'm afraid that during rehearsals, everyone will get stuck because of me, and I'm afraid that the tickets for the performance will be sold, but I'll mess it up."

She paused, her voice even softer: "I'm afraid...that they'll find out I'm not as amazing as they thought."

An and Asuka looked at her.

This girl, who had just been frank, generous, and beaming with smiles, now revealed a rare vulnerability. But this vulnerability wasn't heavy; it was more like a thin layer of mist, ready to be dispelled by the sunlight at any moment.

"So, how amazing do you think they imagine you to be?" An and Asuka began.

"Huh?"

Kita Ikuyo blinked, tilted her head and thought for a moment, then said with a serious expression:

"It must be the kind of person who can play all sorts of difficult pieces with ease, with superb technique that leaves you breathless."

An and Asuka were silent for a moment.

"...You really don't hold back."

"Hehe." Kita Ikuyo grinned, scratching the back of her head without any hesitation. "I was just kidding!"

She lowered her hand, her smile fading slightly, and her tone became more candid:

"Actually, I'm not quite sure how they see me."

She looked down at the guitar in her arms, her fingers unconsciously tracing the strings lightly, producing a soft rustling sound.

“When Hongxia invited me, she seemed very happy, saying things like ‘Finally found a guitarist,’ ‘Now we’re a complete band’... But I don’t really know what she saw in me? Clothes? Business? Abandoned? Wu?i?u?”

She paused, "After all, I played even worse back then than I do now."

An and Asuka didn't speak, they just listened quietly.

"I can't understand Senior Liang at all. She speaks so little and has no expression on her face... I have absolutely no idea what she thinks of me."

She laughed as she spoke, as if she didn't think it was anything particularly heavy.

An and Asuka looked at her.