Green plums cannot become lovers.

He took it out and saw that it was a message from Kita Ikuyo.

Kita: Anwa-senpai!

Kita: Um... I wanted to ask, are you coming to STARRY tomorrow?

An and Asuka raised an eyebrow, remembering that they hadn't been to Starry for two days, and replied with a single word:

--Come.

Kita: Okay! See you tomorrow! (^▽^)

Everything seemed normal. But An and Asuka felt that something was off.

Given Kita's personality, if it were just a question about whether she'd be coming tomorrow, she would probably just send a simple "See you tomorrow" and be done with it, without using this "confirming the itinerary" tone.

He thought for a moment, then sent another message to Ichi Nijika.

Anhe: Has the practice time changed?

After a while, Hongxia replied:

Hongxia: No, no! Same time as always!

Hongxia: What's wrong?

Anhe: It's nothing, see you tomorrow.

Hongxia: Okay! See you tomorrow!

It seems that everything is normal.

An and Asuka put away their phones without giving it much thought.

The next day, An and Asuka arrived at STARRY on time.

As he walked down the stairs and pushed open the soundproof door, the first thing he saw was three girls slumped on the sofa, their faces etched with exhaustion.

Ichika Niji leaned back on the sofa, her eyes half-closed, as if she hadn't slept well all night. Kita Ikuyo leaned on the armrest, clutching a stack of flyers. Yamada Ryo sat expressionlessly to the side, holding up a sign that read, "Take a look even if you don't buy."

"...What's wrong with you guys?" An and Asuka walked over and asked.

The three of them looked up at the same time.

Hongxia forced a smile: "N-nothing! I'm just a little tired..."

“Flyers.” Anwa and Asuka looked at the stack of papers in Kita’s hand.

Kita instinctively tried to hide the flyer behind his back, but it was too late.

An and Asuka reached out their hands, and she had no choice but to obediently hand them over.

He glanced at the flyer—"Band's First Performance! Next Saturday! STARRY!"

Below are the dates, ticket prices, and how to purchase tickets.

Then he looked up at Hongxia.

"Tickets aren't selling well?"

Hongxia remained silent for two seconds, and finally gave up struggling.

“…Mmm,” she replied softly.

How much is left?

“One hundred and eight.” Hongxia’s voice grew softer and softer.

An and Asuka counted, there were a total of 120 tickets, and they sold 12 of them.

Ninety percent remain.

"How long have you been selling them?"

"Three days..."

An and Asuka fell silent.

If we sell twelve copies in three days, even if we maintain this pace for the remaining seven days, we can only sell around forty copies.

This is indeed a big problem.

He looked at the three dejected girls and suddenly asked:

Why didn't you tell me sooner?

Upon hearing this, Ichiji Nijika raised her head, opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

Kita Iku spoke for her: "Nijika-san said she doesn't want to trouble you with everything."

An and Asuka looked at Nijika.

Hongxia felt a little guilty under his gaze, but she still forced herself to say, "You've already helped us enough... Selling tickets is our own business, and we should handle it ourselves."

An and Asuka remained silent.

He looked down at the flyer in his hand, paused for a few seconds, and then said:

"How do you plan to resolve this?"

Hongxia opened her mouth, then closed it again.

She didn't know how to solve it. She had tried everything she could think of, and considered every possible solution. She truly didn't know what else she could do.

Looking at her expression, An and Asuka already knew the answer.

"Leave it to me."

“But…” Ichiji Nijika subconsciously wanted to refuse, but before she could finish speaking, she was interrupted by An and Asuka.

“What’s there to ‘but’?” An and Asuka said calmly, but with an undeniable certainty. “No matter what, I’m still a member of this team. It’s only right that I contribute to the team.”

"But you've already helped us so much!" Hongxia's voice was a little anxious.

She was telling the truth.

From initially joining, to helping find Kita, to these past few days personally teaching Kita to practice, accompanying them through countless rehearsals, and giving so much professional advice... every single thing has been incredibly helpful. Without An and Asuka, their band might still be stalled due to the guitarist's disappearance, let alone having a performance next month.

“How much?” An and Asuka countered. “I just think it’s something a team member should do.”

His tone was so matter-of-fact, as if it were nothing to be thanked for, just an ordinary daily occurrence.

This statement stunned Ichiji Nijika.

Kita Ikuyo stopped scrolling through her phone and looked up at him.

Even Yamada Ryo, who was always expressionless, showed a slight ripple in his purple eyes.

The three of them stared straight at An and Asuka, and for a moment no one spoke.

The silence lasted for a few seconds.

Then, Kita Ikuyo spoke first, her tone carrying an almost devout reverence:

"Senior Anhe, you are truly great."

Her eyes sparkled, as if she had seen something extraordinary.

“Yes, yes, great, no need to say more!” Yamada Ryo rarely agreed, even nodding vigorously, the movement so large that her short blue hair swayed.

Ichi Nijika was amused by the two of them, but when she looked at An and Asuka, her eyes were filled with deep emotion.

"Thank you, Anhe..." Her voice was soft, but very sincere.

"It's nothing." An and Asuka shook their heads, their faces expressionless, as if they really didn't think there was anything to thank them for.

He took out his phone and tapped the familiar blue icon—bico, one of the largest social media platforms in China. He had been running his account there for several years, starting by sharing practice snippets and his daily creative routine, and now he had accumulated over two million followers.

He edited a new post:

I will be performing at 'STARRY' in Shinjuku Ward on June 1st at 7 PM. I'll be playing guitar for a new band as a temporary guitarist. They are very serious about making music, and I hope you can come and support them. Tickets are available below.

He thought for a moment, then added a sentence at the end:

This is my first time working with them, and I'm really looking forward to it. See you then!

After editing and checking for typos, I clicked "Publish".

Once the message was sent, a "Published successfully" message popped up on the phone screen.

at the same time--

Ding.

Ding.

Ding.

Three crisp message notification sounds rang out simultaneously.

Anhe and the flying bird raised their heads.

Nijika Ichi, Ikuyo Kita, and Ryo Yamada all looked down at their phones, where a push notification from bico was prominently displayed on the screen.

The user you follow, "Flying Bird," has posted a new update.

“......…”

An and Asuka were silent for a moment.

He glanced at his phone, then at the three pairs of eyes staring intently at the screen, and couldn't help but laugh.

"You've all started following me?"

“Of course!” Kita Yu replied matter-of-factly, her amber eyes widening. “How could I not follow Anwa-senpai’s account!”

“I’ve been following you for a long time.” Ichiji Nijika smiled a little shyly. “I told you before that I’m your fan.”

Yamada Ryo didn't say anything, but silently turned his phone screen towards Anwa Asuka, which showed his account homepage—and the bright "followed" icon.

An and Asuka looked at the three girls "lurking" in their fan lists and shook their heads helplessly.

"alright."

Meanwhile, on the bico platform, this newly posted message is gaining traction at a visible speed.

The account "Flying Bird" already has over two million active followers. He doesn't post much on a regular basis; sometimes it's practice clips, sometimes it's teasers for new songs, and sometimes it's everyday life. Each post easily gets tens or even hundreds of thousands of likes.

Fans have long been accustomed to the update rhythm of this musician who is "prolific but low-key".

But today's post is a little different.

Performance announcement? Asuka is going to perform?

Wait—not a solo concert? Is it a temporary guitarist? Joining a new band?

The comment section instantly exploded.

Wait, wait, wait, did I read that right? Asuka's going to be someone else's temporary guitarist?!

[Never heard of her, is she a new employee at some company?]

[I looked it up, and it seems to be a student band? They're performing at a small livehouse...]

[A student band? Asuka is temporarily playing guitar for a student band? What kind of divine intervention is this?!]

[No, the key question is—where are the tickets?! Where's the ticket purchase link?! I can't click on it!!]

[It's also showing "loading failed" on my end... Could it be overloaded?]

[Aaaaaaah, I don't care, I have to go see it! Asuka's live performance! And in such a small livehouse! This is going to be a blast!!]

[Rational Analysis: I checked the STARRY venue, and its maximum capacity is only a little over a hundred people, right? Who's going to be able to snag those tickets?]

[Over a hundred tickets?! Asuka, are you serious?! Two million fans vying for just over a hundred tickets?! Are you trying to start a world war?!]

[It's already refreshing! I'm not sleeping until I get some tickets today!!]

Meanwhile, in the background of the ticketing page, the numbers are jumping at an alarming rate.

Within a minute, the previously stagnant "sold" number skyrocketed like a rocket.

Meanwhile, in STARRY's practice room, three girls were huddled together, staring at the constantly changing numbers on Kita Ikuyo's phone screen, letting out gasps of surprise.

"One hundred! One hundred more!" Xi Duo's voice trembled with excitement.

"It's still going up! It's reached 115!" Hongxia gripped Xiduo's arm tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Yamada Ryo didn't speak, but her eyes were fixed on the screen, her purple pupils reflecting the constantly changing numbers.