Green plums cannot become lovers.

“Moreover,” Toyokawa Shoko lowered her voice, “he not only sings himself, but also composes music for games. He composed music for Ember Knight, and that game was incredibly popular.”

The girls remained silent for a long while.

Finally, Chihaya Aine said in a breathy voice, "So yesterday... we spilled tea on a famous musician?"

“Yes.” Shiina Tatsuki nodded expressionlessly.

"...We're doomed."

He said he's fine.

"But it's so embarrassing!"

Nagasaki Motoyo sighed softly: "However, he really does seem very approachable. He wasn't angry when tea was spilled on him yesterday, and he even chatted with us for so long."

Toyokawa Shoko nodded: "He is even more...gentle in person than in the video."

Her cheeks flushed again.

Chihaya Aine looked at her and suddenly smiled mischievously: "Shoko, you're not a fan of his, are you?"

Toyokawa Shoko paused for a moment, then her face turned even redder.

"...I guess so," she admitted softly. "I've heard all his songs."

"Wow—" Chihaya Aine exclaimed in a low voice, "Then why didn't you say so just now?"

"This is so sudden..." Toyokawa Shoko covered her face. "I never expected to run into him here..."

The girls couldn't help but laugh when they saw her like that.

The girls couldn't help but laugh when they saw her like that.

"Wait a minute, I've noticed something?"

Just then, Chihaya Aine suddenly spoke, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"What is it?" Nagasaki Motoyo immediately looked at her.

“If Anwa is also going to participate in the roadside concert,” Chihaya Aine said slowly, “that means—we’ll have to compete against his band?”

The girls were all stunned.

silence.

silence.

Still, silence.

“...It seems so.” Shiina Tatsuki spoke first, her voice carrying a hint of seriousness.

“So,” Nagasaki Motoyo’s expression also became subtle, “we’ve been having tea and chatting with an opponent we’re about to face on the field?”

"And they even spilled tea all over him."

"...Lixi, please don't bring this up again."

Chihaya Aine covered her face with her hands: "Aaaaah, we were actually discussing what piece to perform in front of him! Didn't that completely expose us?!"

Gao Songdeng said weakly, "I feel that in front of someone like that, it doesn't matter whether I expose myself or not..."

"That's a fancy way of putting it." Chihaya Aine lowered her hand, looking indignant. "But we've already revealed all our information, so isn't the pressure even greater?"

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

The girls immediately felt immense pressure.

If it were just an ordinary band, that would be fine, but the other side is An and Asuka. They're renowned musicians who have composed countless hit songs and even created soundtracks for blockbuster games. Could someone like that and their band be lacking in talent?

But soon, Chihaya Aine cheered up again.

"No, no, we can't give up!" She slammed her hands on the table, making a loud "bang" that startled the girls.

"Aine, keep your voice down..." Nagasaki Motoyo reminded helplessly.

"Sorry, sorry." Chihaya Aine shrank back, but her eyes remained firm. "Since we've entered the competition, we definitely want to win the championship, right? If we want to win the championship, we have to face all our opponents!"

"So?" Shiina Tatsuki asked.

"So—" Chihaya Aine's eyes lit up, "we should also spy on the enemy!"

The girls looked at each other in bewilderment.

"To spy on the enemy?" Nagasaki Motoyo repeated.

“That’s right! He overheard us discussing the piece before, so we can ask him questions too!” Chihaya Aine said matter-of-factly. “It’s called reciprocity!”

"...This is called mutual harm, isn't it?" Shiina Tatsuki retorted.

But thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with it.

After all, the competition is fair. He can't be allowed to listen to their information while they aren't allowed to ask him questions, can he?

The girls exchanged glances and reached a tacit understanding.

So they stood up again and walked toward An and the flying birds in the corner.

-

An and Asuka were organizing their notes when they caught a glimpse of several girls gathering around them again.

He looked up and met five pairs of eyes, each with a different gaze.

"what happened?"

Chihaya Aine cleared her throat, trying to appear more confident.

"Anhe, we just discovered something."

"what's up?"

"Are you going to participate in the roadside concert too?"

"Correct."

“That means,” Chihaya Aine leaned forward slightly, “that we are competitors!”

An and Asuka couldn't help but laugh at her trying so hard to look imposing.

"seems like it."

“So—” Chihaya Aine took a deep breath, “we’d ​​also like to know about your band!”

An and Asuka raised an eyebrow.

"You're trying to spy on the enemy?"

"...Don't be so direct," Chihaya Aine said somewhat guiltily. "It's just...getting to know each other a little?"

Nagasaki Motoyo added from the side, "After all, you heard us discussing the piece earlier. In that case, to be fair..."

She didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear.

An and Asuka looked at them and suddenly found these girls quite interesting.

She had accidentally let him overhear her information, yet now she was trying to use the excuse of "fairness" to trick him into revealing more information.

but--

He didn't mind.

Anyway, this information would be revealed once the competition started, even if he didn't say it. Besides, he really wanted to learn more about this band. After all, they had close ties with the strong teams in Group C, and it might come in handy later.

"Okay."

The girls were stunned.

"Huh?" Chihaya Aine blinked. "You...you agreed?"

"Hmm." An and Asuka nodded, closing their notebooks. "What do you want to know?"

Chihaya Aine was speechless for a moment.

She had thought she would have to do a lot of persuasion, but to her surprise, the other party agreed so readily.

Volume 1: Chapter 238 Toyokawa Shoko

Chapter 245 Toyokawa Shoko's Contact Information

"Um, your band's name is 'Praise Music,' right?" She tilted her head, looking at An and Asuka. "I remember you mentioned it yesterday?"

“Yes, that’s right.” An and Asuka nodded.

"Huh?" Toyokawa Shoko suddenly exclaimed.

Several girls looked at her.

"Xiangzi? What's wrong?" Chihaya Aine asked curiously.

Toyokawa Shoko didn't answer, but just stared blankly at Anwa Asuka, her expression changing from surprise to disbelief, and then to some kind of complex emotion.

“Praise…music?” she murmured, repeating herself.

“Yes.” An and Asuka nodded. “What’s wrong?”

Toyokawa Shoko opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a word.

Chihaya Aine looked at her and became even more puzzled.

"Xiangzi, what's wrong?"

Toyokawa Shoko took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

“Um…” her voice trembled slightly, “Ave Mujica also means ‘music in praise of music’.”

The girls were all stunned.

"Yue/Yi-Yiqi Lu Ying San Er Jiu Er E E E E E E E—?!"

Chihaya Aine's voice nearly blew the roof off the café. Several customers at the surrounding tables turned to look, and she quickly covered her mouth, but her eyes were wide open.

"What are you saying? Don't you know?" Nagasaki Motoyo looked at her speechlessly.

"Eh, I don't know," Chihaya Aine honestly admitted.

Nagasaki Motoyo sighed helplessly.

An and Asuka were also taken aback.

Ave Mujica, does it translate to "Music of Praise"?

He really didn't know that.

He had only heard that the band was very strong, and that they had performed at the Budokan shortly after their formation, but he had no idea what their name meant. He had always assumed that "Ave Mujica" was Latin or something similar, but he never expected that the translation would be the same as his band's name.

Looking at his stunned expression, Toyokawa Shoko suddenly felt a strange emotion welling up inside her.

Coincidence?

still is……

She felt somewhat happy.

It wasn't for any other reason than this coincidence that made her feel that there seemed to be an inexplicable connection between her and the boy in front of her.

"Alright, is there anything else you want to ask?" An and Asuka came back to their senses and looked at the girls.

Chihaya Aine immediately raised her hand: "Yes, yes, yes! So what's the lineup of your band? How many people are there?"

"Yeah, six, two guitarists, the rest is pretty much like a regular band—bass, drums, keyboards, vocals."

“Six…” Chihaya Aine nodded thoughtfully, “That’s more than us.”

Nagasaki Motoyo then asked, "Then why did you participate in the roadside concert? You guys are so amazing, it's so unfair!"

She said this half-truthfully, with a hint of teasing and a genuine touch of curiosity.

Anhe Feiniao shook his head.

"Actually, they are just ordinary girls, not as amazing as you imagine."

"Besides me and the lead singer, the other four of us only started learning instruments this year. All in all, we've only practiced for a few months."

"You're lying." Chihaya Aine looked unconvinced.

The girls looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Why would I lie to you? It wouldn't do me any good," An and Asuka said with amusement.