Green plums cannot become lovers.

Kita Ikuyo was a complete novice, and had always practiced alone without any experience in playing with a band. As soon as Nijika's drumbeats came in, she panicked. She couldn't keep up with the rhythm at all, either rushing or dragging the beat. Her fingers were so tense that they were stiff, and the chords she could usually press steadily were all trembling.

The first rehearsal session completely collapsed after thirty seconds.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry, so sorry!" Kita Ikuyo clutched her guitar, wishing she could disappear into the ground. "I'll try again!"

The second time was a little better. I managed to hold on for a minute, but then I completely lost my way when the chorus started, having no idea what I was playing.

"Waaah..." She buried her face in the guitar, letting out a desperate wail.

Hongxia showed no signs of impatience. Instead, she earnestly discussed with Liang, "Was the prompt for entering the song not obvious enough in that place just now? Should we add a hand gesture?"

Liang nodded: "Mm."

An and Asuka walked over and circled a few places on Kita Ikuyo's music stand with their pens.

"Here, here, and here are the places where you're most likely to break. Prepare half a beat in advance, and don't just stare at the fretboard, look at Hongxia's drumsticks too."

Kita Ikuyo looked up from her guitar, her eyes a little red, but she didn't cry.

“…Yes.” She nodded vigorously, holding back her tears. “I’ll remember.”

The third joint practice session.

It's still not perfect. There are still wrong notes, gaps in the rhythm, and some out-of-tune moments.

but--

It's better than the first time.

Kita Ikuyo could feel it herself. Her fingers began to slowly memorize the chord positions, her ears began to catch the rhythm of Nijika's drumbeats, and her eyes learned to look up at her teammates' cues while keeping an eye on the fretboard.

When the practice ended, she let out a long breath, as if she had just finished running a marathon.

Then she laughed.

"So tired—" She slumped into a chair, clutching her guitar, but a bright smile graced her face. "But so happy!"

Hongxia handed her a bottle of water, and she herself was also covered in sweat from exhaustion.

"Right? That's what ensemble playing feels like!"

"Mmm!" Kita Ikuyo nodded vigorously, then gulped down half a bottle of water. "Super happy!"

Ryo Yamada sat to the side, calmly wiping the bass strings.

“Today’s failures,” she said, “were 30 percent fewer than last week.”

"Eh? Senior Liang, you actually do this kind of statistics?"

"Yes." Liang nodded. "Significant progress."

Kita Ikuyo paused for a moment, then a big smile spread across her face.

"Then I need to improve by another 30% next week!"

"The target is too high," Liang said coldly. "Fifteen percent is reasonable."

"Then twenty percent!"

"......what ever."

An and Asuka put away their guitars and glanced at the time.

That's all for today, see you at the same time next week.

“Okay! Thank you, Asuka-senpai!” Kita Ikuyo replied energetically.

She stood up, put the guitar back in its case, and suddenly remembered something.

“Wife. ???Shirt Ling?罒鸠琦叁z斯? Ah, right.”

She turned to An and Asuka, her amber eyes gleaming with seriousness.

"Thank you so much for today, Asuka-senpai."

She paused.

“If it weren’t for what you said to me in the park yesterday, I might still be squatting at the door, too scared to come in.”

She smiled.

"So, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, I will definitely help you!"

She spoke with great seriousness, as if she were making a very important promise.

An and Asuka looked at her.

“…Hmm.” He nodded. “Got it.”

Kita Yuyo smiled contentedly, slung her guitar case over her shoulder, and waved to Asahi Natsumi and Ryo.

"I'll be going now! See you next week!"

"See you next week!" Hongxia waved.

"Mm." Liang nodded.

The bright orange ponytail disappeared at the entrance of STARRY.

The practice room fell silent.

Hongxia, who was putting away the sheet music, suddenly spoke:

“Anhe, classmate.”

"Ok?"

"Thank you."

Her voice was soft, but very earnest.

"It's not just about helping us find Kita, but also... being willing to stay."

She looked up, her amber eyes filled with a genuine smile.

"Really, thank you so much."

An and Asuka looked at her.

"You're welcome, after all, this is my band too."

Although it's only temporary.

Although he will leave in a month.

But at least for now, he is a member of this band.

Hongxia paused for a moment, then laughed.

"Yes! It's our band!"

-

When An and Asuka left STARRY, it was already completely dark.

He walked the streets at night, reflecting on everything that had happened that day.

Kita Ikuyo crouching furtively at the door, Nijika rushing up to hug her, Ryo expressing her concern in a strange way, and the final, stumbling but vibrant joint practice.

He suddenly realized that agreeing to stay and continue helping seemed like a good decision.

My phone vibrated.

He took it out and saw that it was a message from the "Praise Music" group chat.

Marina: "Asuka, Asuka! Do you have the sheet music for the new piece we'll be practicing next week?!"

Eriri: You promised to write a song that's good for keyboard play, don't forget!

Kasumigaoka Utaha: Junior's been going to STARRY a lot lately, but the band stuff there hasn't been sorted out yet?

Xiao Ai: Bird, you've worked hard~ Remember to rest!

Shizuka: The activity room will be cleaned tomorrow, so everyone remember to bring a rag.

He read through them one by one, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Running back and forth is a bit tiring.

But both are bands he wants to take seriously.

He replied in the group:

I'll release the new song this weekend. I'll bring a rag when I clean tomorrow.

He put away his phone and quickened his pace.

A cool night breeze blew, and streetlights stretched into the distance.

There's still a long road ahead, but that's okay.

He will write each song one by one and perform each show well.

No matter which band I'm with.

Together with these friends who came together because of music.

This is the life he chose.

Volume 1: Chapter 215 Crisis?!

"Kita-kun, you need to press it like this."

An and Asuka stood half a step behind Kita Ikuyo, their fingers lightly pointing to where she had placed her finger on the guitar fretboard. The practice room lights shone down from above, clearly outlining the contours of their focused profiles.

"Like this?" Kita Ikuyo adjusted the angle of her fingers, her amber eyes fixed on her fingertips, and asked cautiously.

"Hmm. Relax your wrist a little more, yes, that's it."

Kita Ikuyo tried plucking the string, and the tone was much cleaner than before. Her eyes lit up, and she immediately tried it a few more times, as if to solidify this new muscle memory.

"Wow, it really is different!" She looked up and gave Anwa Asuka a big smile. "Thank you, Anwa-senpai!"

An and Asuka nodded, took a step back, and glanced at the clock on the wall.

Five days have passed since Kita Ikuyo returned to the team.

During these five days, the band's practice pace noticeably accelerated—after all, there were less than ten days left until the performance next month, and the time was so tight it was nerve-wracking.

Kita's progress was visible to the naked eye, but to be honest, it wasn't fast. She practiced very diligently every day, practicing until her fingers bled and were covered in bandages without uttering a sound, but the guitar is something that can't be learned in just a few days.

Her foundation is too weak. She practiced haphazardly on her own before, which led to many bad habits. Now she needs to correct them one by one, which will take time.

Unfortunately, what they lack most is time.

An and Asuka knew that at the current pace, the first performance would probably not be very successful. But he couldn't say that out loud—Kita had already tried his best, and Nijika and Ryo had never complained. As a temporary "outsider," he had no right to discourage them.

He could only do his best to help happy practice more.

After all, he's the only one here who can play the guitar.

Strangely enough, the "halo" around him that could greatly increase the learning speed of the girls around him seemed to have no effect on Nijika, Ryo, and Kita.

Is it because the emotional connection they've built with themselves isn't deep enough? Or is it because the halo only works on specific people? An and Asuka haven't delved into it, and they don't have time to study these things right now anyway.

Fortunately, Kita Ikuyo was diligent enough. Her fingers would press the strings until they were red, but she never complained of being tired; she would practice the fingerings that had been corrected repeatedly until she memorized them; if she made a mistake during an ensemble performance, she wouldn't be discouraged for long and could quickly adjust her mindset and continue.

This attitude is more important than talent.

An and Asuka are confident that they can "train" her to the point where she can successfully complete the entire performance before she goes on stage—or at least not hold her back.

"Alright, let's play it together one more time."

“Okay!” Kita Ikuyo immediately picked up her guitar and replied with great enthusiasm.

Hongxia tapped her drumsticks: "Come on, let's start from the part before the chorus. We got stuck here for ages last time."

Liang Mian adjusted the bass straps expressionlessly, his fingers resting on the strings, ready to begin at any moment.

Music started playing again in the practice room.

This time it was better than before. Kita's rhythm improved, and the chord changes were smoother. Although there are still some minor flaws, the overall sound is more recognizable as the original piece.

As the song ended, Hongxia nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad, not bad, much better than yesterday!"

Kita Ikuyo, panting, had a satisfied smile on her face: "Really?"

“Really.” Liang rarely spoke up, “You’ve made significant progress.”