Green plums cannot become lovers.

"Don't worry, Ring gets a lot of people to watch the shows every day. The small theater can probably seat over a hundred people. Most of the tickets have already been sold, so there's no need to worry about a lack of attendees."

More than one hundred people.

This number left all four girls speechless.

There were 800 people in the audience during the preliminary rounds.

But it was a competition; everyone was watching the performance on stage, and everyone had their own expectations. They were just one performer among eight hundred people.

And now-

A small performance hall for over a hundred people, closer proximity, and more direct observation.

It's a different kind of tension.

"What?" An and Asuka looked at them. "Afraid to go?"

“Who says I’m afraid!” Kita Ikuyo was the first to jump out. “I’ll go! It’s not like I’ve never been on stage before!”

Ichi Nijika took a deep breath and nodded.

"Kita is right."

Yamada Ryo simply said, "Okay."

Then everyone looked at Goto Ichiri.

Goto Ichiri huddled in a corner, clutching his guitar, his face flushing red and then turning pale.

Her legs felt a little weak.

But when she looked up and saw An and Asuka looking at her, memories of those days flooded back—the evenings in the park, the passersby, and his repeated encouragement.

And today, he wrote such a wonderful piece for them, rented such a large practice room, and even arranged a stage.

She cannot back down at this time.

“…Go.” She whispered, her voice barely audible, but firm.

An and Asuka smiled.

"Let's go then."

-

The five girls from MyGO!!!!! also came over.

"We want to go see it!" Chihaya Aine raised her hand. "Let's cheer for everyone who's finished with the band!"

Motoyo Nagasaki smiled gently: "We also want to see what 'Clover' will look like on a real stage."

Shiina Tatsuki nodded, Takamatsu Akari whispered "Good luck," and Rakuna remained expressionless but followed the others.

The group arrived at a small performance hall.

The backstage area wasn't large, but it was fully equipped. Several staff members were adjusting the sound system and lighting. When they saw An and Asuka, they nodded to him.

"Anhe-kun, are you ready?"

"Yes, thank you for your help."

The staff member smiled and turned to make the arrangements.

In the backstage corridor, the four girls who had just finished their band performance stood together, making their final preparations.

Kita Ikuyo was flexing her fingers, doing warm-up exercises over and over again. Ichika Nijika took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Yamada Ryo was expressionlessly checking the bass's pitch. Goto Ichiri was holding his guitar, head down, lost in thought.

An and Asuka stood aside without urging them on.

After a while, Ichiki Nijika raised her head and looked at him.

“Anhe, classmate.”

"Ok?"

Do you think... we can do it?

An Erlin looked at her and smiled.

"You've practiced for so long, you've mastered the piece, and your coordination is getting better and better," he said. "Why not?"

Ichi Nijika paused for a moment, then smiled.

"That's true."

-

The stage lights came on.

After the host finished announcing the program, a few scattered claps rang out from the audience.

Four girls walked onto the stage.

The audience seats, which had more than a hundred people, were completely full.

Nijika Ichichi sat down behind the drum set, her gaze sweeping across the audience. She saw the five MyGO girls sitting in the second row, with Chihaya Aine waving at her. She also saw An and Asuka standing at the very back, arms crossed, quietly watching the stage.

She took a deep breath and raised her drumsticks.

I tapped it three times lightly.

Kita Ikuyo walked up to the microphone, her voice clear and bright.

"Hello everyone, we are the End Band!"

Another round of applause erupted from the audience.

"Today's performance is 'Four-Leaf Clover'."

The sound of a guitar began.

Goto Ichiri's prelude flowed out like water, gentle and clear. Her fingers danced lightly on the strings, each note precise and full of emotion.

Then, Kita Ikuyo's voice joined in.

For the reunion three years later

We made a long-standing promise.

The audience fell silent.

Ryo Yamada's bass provided a steady low-pitched sound, while Nijika Ijichi's drumbeats were light and rhythmic.

I hope to see you again in three years, unchanged.

The magnificent Milky Way casts a rainbow over me.

The voices of the four people and their instruments blended together, and the melody echoed in the concert hall.

The audience listened quietly, some nodding gently along with the melody, others closing their eyes.

The five girls from MyGO listened intently. Chihaya Aine stared at the stage without blinking, Nagasaki Motoyo gently rested her chin on her hand, Shiina Tatsuki rarely showed such a focused expression, and the gray penguin tightly held onto Rakuna's little hand, making her sit quietly, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting the stage lights.

The song ended.

When the last note fell, the audience was silent for a second.

Then--

Applause erupted like a tidal wave.

It wasn't just polite applause, but genuine, enthusiastic applause.

"It sounds great!"

"One more song!"

Someone is shouting.

The four girls stood on the stage, looking at the applauding audience below, and they all smiled.

Thank you everyone!

"We are, the End Band!"

-

Backstage, Kita Ikuyo was the first to lose her temper.

"Wow, we actually performed on the Ring stage!" She hugged her guitar and spun around in excitement. "We've only been on the STARRY stage a few times."

That's absolutely true. Although they've reached bigger competition stages, they've only performed on their own STARRY stage a handful of times. And on those limited appearances, they always made mistakes here and stumbled there, getting teased by Ijichi Hoshika every time they came off stage.

"Don't tell jokes like that," Ichiji Nijika said with a helpless smile, but there was no real blame in her tone.

"Hehe, but the stage at Ring really feels different from Starry Night." Kita Ikuyo stopped spinning and seriously recalled the feeling of standing on the stage just now. "The lights are brighter? The audience is closer? Or is the air different?"

"It's the pressure from an unfamiliar environment," Yamada Ryo replied seriously, a rare occurrence for him. "When you're used to a place, you can act naturally, but when you change places, you have to readjust."

"Ryo-senpai is right!" Kita Ikuyo gave a thumbs up.

Ijichi Nigatsu looked at Goto Ichiri, who was standing quietly to the side.

"Little Lonely, what do you think?"

Goto Ichiri hugged her guitar, thought for a moment, and whispered, "Tense, nervous... but it's much better than the first time I played it in the park..."

"Of course!" Kita Ikuyo put her arm around her shoulder. "Little Lonely Girl has already acted in front of eight hundred people! What's a mere hundred people!"

Goto Ichiri stumbled forward a step after being pulled by her, her face flushing slightly, but she did not pull away.

Just then, the backstage door was pushed open.

Volume 1: Chapter 249 Let's Progress Together

"congratulations!"

Chihaya Aine was the first to rush in, a genuine smile on her face. Nagasaki Motoyo followed behind her, carrying several bottles of water.

Shiina Riki stood at the door with her arms crossed, Takamatsu Akari peeked half her head out from behind her, and Kaname Rakuna found a corner to sit down by herself, but her eyes kept glancing this way.

"That's amazing!" Chihaya Aine walked up to Kita Ikuyo. "The moment the intro started, I was completely captivated! Especially the chorus, it's so beautiful!"

Kita Ikuyo, a little embarrassed by the praise, scratched her head and said, "Oh, not at all, we still have a lot to improve..."

"That's already very good." Nagasaki Motoyo gently patted everyone down. "To maintain this level of performance on an unfamiliar stage for the first time is really impressive."

Shiina Tatsuki nodded as well: "The drumming is much more stable than this afternoon. He's adapting very quickly."

Ichi Nijika took the water and thanked her with a smile: "Thank you! Maybe it's because I was so nervous before going on stage that I was more focused."

“I understand, I understand!” Chihaya Aine nodded vigorously. “I used to get incredibly nervous before every performance, but I would feel fine once the show started!”

Gao Songdeng stood to the side and whispered, "The song... is very nice."

Her voice was soft, but her tone was sincere.

Goto Ichiri met her gaze, hesitated for a moment, and whispered, "Th-thank you..."

The two looked at each other for a moment, then simultaneously looked away.

The atmosphere was a little awkward, but much better than the completely speechless state I was in that afternoon.

Yao Le Nai had somehow walked up to An He Fei Niao and San Si Lin Qi Er Shi Ba, looking up at him.

"music score."

"I'll give it to you tomorrow," An and Asuka said with a smile.

"Hmm." Yao Lena nodded in satisfaction and walked back to the corner to sit down.

Chihaya Aine glanced at the time and exclaimed, "Ah, it's so late!"

Nagasaki Motoyo glanced at her phone: "It's time to go back. We have practice tomorrow."

"We're off now!" Chihaya Aine waved to the girls who had finished their band performance. "See you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow!"

Several girls left the backstage area one after another, and the performance hall gradually quieted down.

An and Asuka watched the four members of the band finish their performance. Instead of leaving immediately, they sat down on the folding chairs next to them.

"So, what are your thoughts on today? Are you adapting or not?"

Although he decided to use this joint training method to improve their skills, he still wanted to hear the girls' opinions. After all, everyone's feelings are different, and if someone felt uncomfortable or under too much pressure, adjustments would be needed.

Kita Ikuyo was the first to speak.