Green plums cannot become lovers.

The shop was small, and the noren (traditional curtain) at the entrance swayed slightly in the wind, revealing several lanterns with menus written on them. The light from the lanterns shone through the red lampshades, casting a warm glow on people's faces.

A few people opened the sliding door and went inside. The heat from the shop, mixed with the aroma of grilled skewers, hit them in the face.

An and Asuka sat down in the innermost seats, and An and Subaru naturally sat down next to him, while Iori Nijina squeezed in to occupy the other side.

The group ordered several bottles of beer and soft drinks, as well as various grilled skewers.

The food and drinks were served quickly, still steaming, with grease sizzling on the skewers and the aroma of caramelized seasonings mixed with the smell of alcohol wafting across the table.

The meal was much easier than An and Asuka had expected.

However, the girls' conversations were sometimes too far-fetched and they rarely talked about music, so he couldn't get any more information from them.

But it was precisely this aimless chatting that gave him a more direct understanding of these people.

Jing Qinrencai is the kind of person who can't hide her feelings. When she's happy, she laughs loudly, and when she's unhappy, she keeps quiet and broods. All her emotions are written on her face.

But she wasn't the kind of bluntness that would annoy people. Her bluntness carried a kind of naiveté, making people feel that she wasn't ignorant of social etiquette, but rather that she disdained to understand it.

In contrast, Ebizuka Tomoyuki doesn't talk much, but every word she utters is to the point. She observes people very meticulously; when her gaze falls on you, it doesn't make you feel offended, but rather makes you feel that she has seen something you don't want others to see.

Momoka Kawahara is one of the older members of the group. Her demeanor carries a composure that comes from experience, but this composure is not innate; rather, it is more like a mark left by something that has shaped her.

She would pause occasionally when she spoke, as if she was choosing her words carefully, or as if she was confirming whether what she wanted to express was exactly what she meant.

RUPA is the most unpredictable of them all.

She wore a gentle smile throughout, striking up conversations when appropriate and laughing when she felt like it, but there was always something indescribable hidden deep in her eyes, like looking at people through a layer of frosted glass.

An and Asuka noticed that she had already downed several glasses of beer, and showed no sign of stopping.

She didn't sip her drink like others; instead, she poured it straight down her throat, barely touching her tongue, as if the foamy liquid wasn't alcohol but plain water. This person was undoubtedly a complete alcoholic.

"Anhe, will you come again tomorrow?"

Jing Qinren put down her chopsticks, leaned forward slightly, and looked on with anticipation.

Yes, I will.

An and Asuka nodded.

Upon hearing this, Jing Qinrencai's lips curled into a wide grin, her happiness undisguised, and she even relaxed her posture.

At this moment, Momoka Kawahara put down the bamboo skewers she was holding, wiped her fingers with a tissue, and looked up at him.

Her gaze held a hint of curiosity, but her tone of question was not abrupt: "Speaking of which, why did Anwa-kun suddenly come here? Was it just because of Subaru's invitation?"

An and Asuka paused for a moment on the edge of the plate with their chopsticks, then picked up a piece of radish, put it in their mouths, chewed it slowly and deliberately, and then answered.

"Oh, I've been doing band research lately."

He spoke with a natural expression, his gaze sweeping calmly across the table, revealing no flaws.

Although An and Subaru hadn't rehearsed their lines beforehand, he knew that the girl probably didn't want her teammates to know the true purpose of his visit.

After all, nobody wants to hear the excuse that "the band had too many problems, so they asked for help," and he was too lazy to expose that.

"Band research?"

An and Subaru secretly breathed a sigh of relief and winked at him when the others weren't looking. The other girls exchanged glances, their faces showing varying degrees of confusion and curiosity.

"Um,"

An and Asuka placed their chopsticks on the rim of their bowls and continued their rambling in a calm tone, "I've been observing and evaluating several bands around me lately. If they pass my test, I'll recommend them to join rouge en rouge's studio, and I'll even write a song for them myself."

The moment he finished speaking, the table fell silent.

That silence wasn't an awkward blank, but rather a brief moment of speechlessness after being bombarded with information.

Putting aside what joining a big company like Rouge En Rouge means, the fact that "this young man writes his own songs" is enough to drive countless bands crazy, since everyone present knows just how talented this young man is.

He wrote several groundbreaking works in just two or three years and became a trendsetter. His song "Summer" alone has been played over a billion times.

This is exactly what they... no, not just them, but all the little bands like them dream of.

"So what makes someone qualified?"

Renna's voice was a little more urgent than before, and she leaned forward, almost lying on the table. Her eyes burned with an undisguised flame, hot and bright.

An and Asuka looked at her, the corners of their mouths curving slightly, and then they slowly shook their heads.

"Well, I can't say."

He spoke with a hint of amusement, watching the girls' disappointed expressions because of those words.

"What? You're just teasing us." Jing Qinren pouted and said somewhat angrily.

"After all, if I gave you the answer key, wouldn't that be like an open-book exam? That would be meaningless."

"If you want this spot, then you'll have to earn it with your own hands. Of course, if you don't want it, that's fine too. I won't force you."

Anhe and Asuka used a feigned retreat to advance, and sure enough, Jingqin Rencai, who was originally somewhat disappointed, slammed her hand on the table and said with overwhelming momentum, "Who said we don't want it anymore?"

They really wanted it.

Volume 1: Chapter 294 Did you try your best?

As I stepped out of the store, a night breeze greeted me, carrying the coolness unique to early autumn, dispelling the lingering smell of cooking.

Anwa Subaru lagged a few steps behind the others, following beside Anwa Asuka. Only after the distance between the people in front of her had increased a bit did she lower her voice and speak.

"Asuka, you didn't tell me about that decision you just made."

Her tone held a hint of resentment, mixed with a lingering surprise. Heaven knows how many beats her heart skipped when she heard the words "personally write the song."

"Yes, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision."

An and Asuka nodded, their hands in their pockets, their pace neither fast nor slow.

"Huh?"

An and Subaru paused for a moment, then stopped in their tracks.

An and Asuka also stopped and turned to look at her. The light from the streetlamp shone from the side, cutting a line of light and shadow across his face.

"What? You don't want me to introduce you to someone or help you write music?"

"I really want it!"

An and Subaru nodded hurriedly, as fast as a chicken pecking at rice.

"Then work hard with your teammates."

After An and Asuka finished speaking, they continued walking forward.

An and Subaru jogged a few steps to catch up with him and stood beside him. After hesitating for a few seconds, they couldn't help but speak up: "But at least tell us what to do. Just tell me, I won't tell them."

She really didn't intend to say anything, but the feeling of not knowing anything was too unsettling, like being blindfolded and standing on a road that didn't know where it led, having to stretch out her foot to test the waters before taking any step.

"That won't work."

An and Asuka shook their heads, their tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"I told you, you have to work hard on yourselves."

"Wow, that's so strict."

An and Subaru pouted, their cheeks puffing out slightly.

She thought she would be special in the boy's eyes, but now it seems that the boy treats everyone equally and doesn't go easy on her when necessary.

"come on."

An and Asuka smiled and softened their tone.

That smile dispelled most of the lingering emotions in An and Mao's hearts. She didn't press further, looking down at her shadow, which stretched and shortened in the streetlight's glow.

This girl was certainly special to him, after all, she was his younger sister. But she was also a member with thorns and without thorns, and there were some hurdles that had to be overcome together as a team, rather than him taking a detour to carry her across alone.

“Let’s work together,” An and Asuka’s voices came from the side. “I believe in you.”

work together

An and Subaru repeated those four words in their minds.

Yes, let's work together, that's the only way.

She looked up, and the blank look in her eyes had faded considerably.

The next day, An and Subaru were surrounded as soon as they entered the practice room.

Renna was the first to rush over, clutching a half-empty bottle of mineral water that she almost spilled: "Has Asuka arrived?"

Ebizuka Tomo leaned against the keyboard stand, arms crossed, his voice faster than usual: "Did you ask about the assessment content?"

RUPA sat on a low stool by the wall, holding a bottle of water in his hand. Although he didn't speak, his gaze was fixed on her.

"What exactly should we do?"

Jing Qinren asked again, her tone revealing her barely concealed urgency.

An and Subaru put down the drum bag, unzipped it, took out the drumsticks, and slowly placed them on the edge of the snare drum.

She raised her head, glanced at the group of people, and shook her head.

A hint of disappointment flashed across their eyes, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, dimming by half a degree.

But An and Subaru then smiled.

"But Asuka said that as long as we work together, we will definitely be able to overcome the difficulties."

"Does that mean we should believe in the power of belief?"

Ebizuka Tomo tilted his head slightly, his tone carrying a hint of nonchalant sarcasm.

That's roughly the idea.

An and Subaru did not deny it.

The girls were silent for a few seconds. An inexplicable hesitation hung in the air.

This answer is a bit too idealistic. It's not a method, not a standard, not a specific path, just a phrase like "let's work together." It sounds like a line from a shonen manga, and it feels a bit unrealistic in reality.

"Sigh..." Someone sighed first.

But after that sigh, it was Ebizuka Tomo who spoke first.

"Then let's work together."

She adjusted the keyboard stand, sat on the piano bench, and placed her fingers on the keys without pressing any.

"To debut."

RUPA stood up from the wall, walked to the bass, and bent down to pick it up.

Jing Qinren tightened the screws on the mineral water bottle, slammed it onto the shelf beside her, and when she turned around, the fire in her eyes blazed again.

"Oh!!!"

Her voice was clear and crisp, with a force that could pull people out of a gloomy mood.

An and Subaru gripped the drumsticks and tapped the edge of the snare drum twice, producing two crisp "tap-tap" sounds as a signal to begin.

The five people each took their designated positions.

Only Momoka Kawara stood slightly off to the side, a guitar slung over her body, her fingers resting on the strings, her head bowed, saying nothing.

No one noticed the line she made with her lips, nor did anyone notice that she never responded.

箘·邻贰倭I伞澪巴

For the next week, An and Asuka would come to the livehouse whenever they had time.

Sometimes it's during afternoon practice time, and sometimes it's during evening performance time.

He never gives prior notice, nor does he sit in a prominent position. He usually just finds a chair in a corner, sits down quietly, and watches the entire performance or rehearsal. Afterward, he occasionally offers a few words of guidance.

The problems he pointed out were very specific: where things were a beat too slow, where the rhythm wasn't quite right, and where the changes weren't obvious enough. He never talked about abstract things; every word he said was grounded in reality.

However, after several rounds of guidance, their performance showed no significant improvement whatsoever.

It's not that it's gotten worse, but rather that it's stagnated, like a car with the accelerator floored but the handbrake on—the engine is roaring, the tires are smoking, but the car body doesn't move an inch.

That feeling is more frustrating than simply regressing, because you've put in the effort but can't see the results.

An and Asuka stood beside the mixing console, watching the backs of the people on stage packing up their instruments, and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Have you really tried your best?