Green plums cannot become lovers.

"Wow! I got praised by Ryo-senpai!" Kita Ikuyo's whole face lit up as if she had received some incredible reward.

An and Asuka glanced at the time and realized it was already late. He needed to go back and deal with matters related to "Praise Music," so he couldn't stay any longer.

"That's enough for today." He put down his guitar and began packing his things.

"Eh? Are we leaving already?" Kita Ikuyo asked, somewhat reluctant to part.

"Yeah, we have things to do tomorrow." An and Asuka put the guitar into its case and put on the shoulder strap. "You guys should go home and rest early too, don't practice too late."

“Okay—” Hongxia replied in a drawn-out voice.

"Goodbye, Anwa-senpai!" Kita Ikuyo waved.

"Goodbye." Liang nodded.

An and Asuka waved to them, pushed open the door to the practice room, and their footsteps gradually disappeared at the end of the corridor.

The practice room fell silent.

Kita Ikuyo didn't pack her things immediately. Instead, she stared at the direction An and Asuka had left, her gaze lingering for a long time.

"What?" Hongxia leaned closer, followed her gaze, and gave her a mischievous smile. "Are you still reluctant to part with Anhe?"

“Yes!” Kita Yu admitted confidently, completely oblivious to the teasing. “That’s Anwa Asuka! They’ve joined our band and are even going to perform on stage with us! Aren’t you excited, Nijika?”

As she spoke, she became excited, her amber eyes sparkling.

"Just think about it, that's Asuka, the singer of 'If I Can Shine!'! Asuka, who has held solo concerts, whose albums sold like hotcakes, and who has countless fans! And now she's right here with us, teaching us how to play guitar! Two months ago, I wouldn't have even dared to dream of something like this!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, as if she were about to float away.

Hongxia was infected by her laughter and laughed too: "Haha, I'm excited too."

She walked over and sat down next to Kita, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes filled with a sense of reminiscence.

"When Anwa first came to STARRY, I was standing at the door and didn't know who he was. My sister later told me that he was 'that' Anwa Asuka, and I was stunned for a long time."

"And then what?" Kita leaned closer, looking curious.

"Then he went in and talked to his sister about renting a practice room. I never imagined he would come to help our band."

Hongxia paused, then smiled a little shyly, "Actually, I'm a fan of his too. I still have recordings of his concerts on my phone, and I watch them from time to time."

"Eh—! Nijika-san is a fan too?!"

"Yes, yes, so when I found out he was going to join at the last minute, I was so excited I couldn't sleep all night."

The two girls exchanged a glance and burst out laughing at the same time.

"I never expected Anwa to be so approachable," Kita Ikuyo remarked. "I used to think he was a very serious and aloof person. After all, he's a genius, so I always felt he would be hard to get close to."

“Me too!” Hongxia nodded vigorously. “When he first came to STARRY, I didn’t dare to say much, afraid of saying something wrong. But later I found that he was very approachable, spoke gently, and patiently taught people... completely different from the ‘genius musician’ I had imagined.”

"Right, right! And he's even willing to stay and continue helping us, even though his own band is very busy..."

Kita rested his chin on his hand, his eyes filled with admiration, "Anwa-senpai is so kind."

The two girls were chatting enthusiastically when a calm voice came from the side.

"Alright, everyone pack up and get ready to go back."

Yamada Ryo had already set up his bass and was standing at the door watching them. His purple eyes were calm, but his tone carried a hint of urging.

"Ah, okay!" Hongxia quickly stood up and began to tidy up the drumsticks.

"I'll help too!" Kita stood up and helped organize the music stand.

They moved quickly and soon restored the practice room to its original state.

Kita, carrying his guitar case, was about to leave with Nijika and the others when he saw Nijika suddenly stop and her expression turn strange.

"What's wrong?" Kita asked.

Hongxia didn't say anything, she just stared blankly at her phone screen.

Kita leaned over to take a look and saw that it was the ticketing backend interface.

Then she saw a string of numbers—

Sold: 3 tickets.

Total votes: 120.

“…Eh?” Kita uttered a puzzled sound.

Hongxia suddenly raised her head, her expression as if she had just been doused with a bucket of cold water.

"Oops!"

Her voice was clearly filled with panic.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" Kita was startled by her.

"Tickets!" Hongxia pointed at her phone screen, her fingers trembling. "Our tickets! They haven't been sold yet!"

Kita Ikuyo was stunned.

She blinked, then looked down at the number more closely.

Sold: 3 tickets.

Three.

She suddenly raised her head.

"Eh?!?!"

The gasps echoed in the empty practice room, making the sound-absorbing panels on the walls seem to tremble.

The cause of the matter was actually quite simple—Hongxia had completely forgotten about selling tickets.

Normally, tickets for livehouse shows should go on pre-sale three to four weeks before the performance. This is partly to recoup some funds in advance, and partly to give audiences enough time to plan their trips. This is especially important for new, relatively unknown bands, who need to promote themselves early and gradually build up their ticket sales.

However, Hongxia has been extremely busy lately.

First, she was frantically trying to find Kita, staring at her phone every day waiting for news; after Kita returned, she had to seize the time to practice and make up for the progress she had fallen behind in; in addition, with the addition of An and Asuka, she needed to readjust the arrangement and adjust their coordination... With all these things piling up, by the time she came to her senses, there were less than ten days left until the performance.

She completely forgot about the ticketing.

"It's all over, it's all over, it's all over..." Hongxia clutched her head, squatted on the ground, and let out a desperate wail, "How could I have forgotten something so important!"

Kita Ikuyo panicked, but she tried to reassure everyone, "N-It's okay! There are still ten days! If we hurry up and sell them..."

"One hundred and twenty tickets!" Hongxia looked up. "One hundred and twenty tickets in ten days! We're not a famous band! How could we possibly sell them all!"

She paused, her voice lowering, "And... if these tickets don't sell, we'll have to pay for the rest ourselves..."

Although STARRY owns its own livehouse, it's not free to use. Each performance incurs venue fees, equipment costs, promotional expenses, and so on, which are primarily covered by ticket sales. If tickets don't sell, they not only don't make money, but they also have to subsidize the losses themselves.

Hongxia didn't want to become a "debt dodger" who owed her sister money.

"I'll go to school and hand out flyers tomorrow!" Kita Ikuyo immediately declared. "I know a lot of people, I'm sure I can sell some!"

"I'll go too," Liang said calmly.

Hongxia looked at them and felt a surge of warmth in her heart, but her anxiety did not lessen.

"Thank you... but..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant.

Three high school students with no fan base and no promotional channels are tasked with selling 120 tickets in ten days—a feat akin to turning Kita Ikuyo into a guitar master in a week.

But there's no other way right now.

"Let's give it a try." Ichiji Nijika stood up, patted her face, and forced a smile. "We'll sell as much as we can. If it doesn't work out... we'll figure something out later!"

Kita and Ryo exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

"it is good!"

Over the next few days, the three girls embarked on a frantic ticket-selling campaign.

Kita Ikuyo fully utilized her "social butterfly" advantage. She would grab any classmates she knew in the school corridors to promote her products, spend her lunch break promoting her products to various clubs, and after school, she would stop passing students at the school gate to hand out flyers.

"Our band is playing at STARRY next Saturday! Tickets are only 1,500 yen! It's a super deal!"

"Please, please! Come and support me!"

Her smile was bright enough, and her attitude was sincere enough; over the course of a few days, she did sell some tickets.

But there were only a few.

Most people weren't interested in the student band's performance. Some politely declined, some took the flyer and immediately threw it in the trash, and others simply walked around it, pretending not to see her.

Kita experienced rejection for the first time.

But she didn't get discouraged. Every time she was rejected, she would immediately move on to the next target and continue to smile.

Hongxia was mainly responsible for promotion within STARRY. She would enthusiastically approach every customer who came to the store to watch a show or inquire, hand them a flyer, and talk at length about her band.

"Our band has a dual-guitar lineup this time! We have an incredibly talented temporary guitarist! You definitely have to come and see us!"

"Ryo-senpai's bass is amazing too! You won't be disappointed!"

Her big eyes and energetic attitude did charm some people, but most customers simply accepted the flyer politely and then casually put it aside.

The cooling method is even more direct.

She stood on the street, dressed all in black, expressionless, holding a sign that read:

"Band concert tickets, 1000 yen. Take a look even if you don't buy one."

People who see her are either intimidated by her aura and walk around her, or they stop to take a second look out of curiosity, but very few actually spend money to buy from her.

Three days have passed.

They sold a total of twelve tickets.

On average, four photos a day.

At this rate, we'll probably sell around forty tickets by the day of the performance. That's less than a third of the total tickets.

"Ugh..." Hongxia stared at the numbers on the backstage screen, collapsing onto the STARRY sofa. "It's all over, it's all over..."

Kita Ikuyo was also exhausted, but she still tried her best to encourage Nijika: "It's okay, Nijika-san! There's still a week left! Let's keep going!"

“But…” Hongxia said weakly, “I can’t think of any other way.”

They did everything they could. Schools, streets, livehouses—they tried everything they could do, anywhere they could come into contact with people.

The rest of the people will not actively engage with their promotions.

"How about..." Kita hesitated for a moment, then cautiously began, "Should we ask Anwa-senpai for help?"

Hongxia paused for a moment, then shook her head: "No."

"why?"

“He’s already helped us so much,” Hongxia said earnestly. “He joined the band, practiced with us, taught Xiduo to play guitar… He doesn’t owe us anything, how can we bother him with everything?”

She paused, then lowered her voice: "Besides, this is our band's own business. We should sell our own tickets."

Kita opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he kept it closed.

She knew Hongxia was right.

An and Asuka are here to help, not to clean up their mess. Selling tickets is something they should really handle themselves.

but

Looking at the number "12 sold," she felt a surge of helplessness.

What should I do?

Volume 1: Chapter 216 Suspicious Jersey Company Negotiation 6a·Skirt Chapter's First Appearance

Meanwhile, An and Asuka are in the "Praise Music" activity room, discussing the arrangement of a new song with the girls.

"The keyboard tone here is too heavy, it drowns out the vocals," he said to Eriri, pointing to a section of the score.

　 "Huh? I already turned it down really low!" Eriri retorted, unconvinced.

"Try a little softer. The part about Xiao Ai should be pushed forward a bit, creating a different layer from the keyboard."

“Okay—” Xiao Ai replied obediently.

Just as the discussion was nearing its end, An and Asuka's phones vibrated.