Who says meal replacements can’t be eaten as meals?

"It's vegetable macaroni. Wash your hands and let's eat together later." Su Shi's voice was as gentle as ever, but the words she said made Sakuya feel like she was falling into an ice cellar.

Ms. Sakuya, who had already eaten vegetable macaroni four times this week, felt her pupils tremble slightly and uttered a light "ah" in disbelief.

"Eh? Vegetable macaroni again?" Then, there was a pitiful sob of despair. It was like a hard-working office worker who had worked all night for a week and finally made it to 5:30 on Friday, but was notified by the boss to work overtime on the weekend. The complex emotions filled his heart.

Soon, Sakuya, a corporate slave who faced reality, sat down at the dining table with a look of despair, waiting to be ravaged by the horrible green macaroni.

"Is it so unpalatable? You look so unhappy." Su Shi, amused by his sister's reaction, said with a smile.

"It's not that bad, but I've eaten it four times this week. Won't you get tired of it, sister?" Sakuya protested, lying on the table.

"No way~" Su Shi chuckled, carrying two plates of vegetable macaroni, and walked to the table with ease. "Here, this is for Sakuya."

"Thank you, sister." Someone read.

"I would appreciate it more if you showed some emotion." Su Shi nodded his sister's little head lying on the table, turned around and walked towards the kitchen.

The aroma of meat mixed with the sweet teriyaki sauce wafted into her nose. Miss Sakuya, who was lying on the table cosplaying a corpse, was resurrected. She ran to the other side of the table full of energy and pulled out a reclining chair for her sister with the professional attitude of a waiter in a high-end restaurant.

"Dear Miss Nagasaki, please take a seat and have your meal."

"It seems that someone's thanks just now were not sincere." Putting down the perfectly grilled teriyaki chicken steak, Miss Su Shi said with a rather deliberate tone: "It's a pity that I work hard to cook for others every day, but I am still despised. Do you think that sisters should suffer such grievances?"

"That's right, that's right. Whose sister is this? How could she be so excessive?" Sakuya said righteously while kneading Su Shi's shoulders.

"I don't allow you to say that. She is graceful and cute, and she likes me as her sister the most." Nagasaki Suyo scolded with chopsticks.

"Since she is so stunningly beautiful and talented, I have nothing to say." He suppressed his smile and sat opposite his sister.

"I really like my sister the most!" Ichinose Sakuya said sincerely to the chicken cutlet on the table.

Chapter 20 Come out and play with me

Saturday, a beautiful noun.

It is the last spiritual barrier for social animals under the destruction of capital, and the source of vitality for young students. It also means that you don’t have to go to school and can lie lazily in bed and enjoy the sun at eight or nine o’clock.

The sun shines directly on Ichinose Sakuya who is wrapped up in a ball through the well-lit French windows. There are soft footsteps at the door, and the cat and cat who is squinting in the sun immediately turn around to face Nagasaki Motoyo who is calling him for dinner.

"Good morning, sis~" Sakuya greeted lazily.

"Really? Now that you're awake, get up quickly. Breakfast is ready." Nagasaki Suyo walked to the bedside with dissatisfaction and rubbed her sister's messy long hair.

"I have nothing to do today anyway, so it's okay to get up a little later." Sakuya huddled in the quilt, feeling a little itchy, and muttered quietly, "Breakfast will definitely be vegetable macaroni again anyway."

"Oh~ I see, I specially prepared an egg sandwich this morning." Looking at the cat and mushi who was in defense position with amusement, Nagasaki Suyo pinched her throat and sighed in a skilled and gentle tone: "What a pity, it seems that someone doesn't like it very much."

The cat and mouse on the bed moved its ears noticeably.

"I even added extra salad dressing and ham, but if you don't like it, Sakuya, don't force yourself. I will try my best to finish it all." After saying this, Su Shi made a gesture to leave.

"No way~" Miss Sakuya's voice was quite flattering, and her body was not slow either. In a split second, she completed the evolutionary process that took humans tens of millions of years to go through, evolving from reptiles to primates. Her elastic white wrists wrapped around Su Shi's voluptuous waist. Her little face rubbed against her sister's belly, which felt quite good to the touch.

"My sister is so fat now, let me take care of it!" Miss Sakuya looked up with a righteous and selfless look, wanting to see her sister's pretty face. However, due to objective factors, she could only see two mountains blocking her view.

It's hard, the fist is hard.

And when the fist becomes hard, someone will get hit.

Bang bang, ...

Ignoring the embarrassing thing of rolling around on the bed pretending to be in pain, Miss Su Shi returned to her usual gentle image. She sat down in the middle of the sofa and took a sip of black tea. Just as she was about to sigh about the fresh aroma and bright taste of today's Ceylon black tea, she was interrupted by the round "egg" that suddenly filled her sight.

Sakuya Genki's voice came from the room, and it seemed that the toothpaste that she had just given her a few days ago was missing again.

Nagasaki Suyo couldn't help but hold her forehead with one hand.

My sister didn't seem so stupid when she was a child. Why does she seem to have regressed after being separated for a few years? Now she even starts picking up stones at home.

I looked helplessly at the round stones placed on the shelf side by side with the gilded elk and the glass vase. They were gray and had no special features except that they were round. I could find a few similar stones if I went to the courtyard of the Moon Forest. If I were to pick up stones, I should at least pick up a pebble.

Nagasaki Suyo took another sip of black tea with a subtle feeling of being wasted, and the undisguised sound of slippers clacking could be heard behind her.

"Sakuya, what are the stones on the shelf?" Su Shi was indeed a little curious.

"Eh? That's a gift from Tomo...Tomodachi. It's a very memorable one!" Sakuya wiped the sweat from her forehead and gave herself a thumbs up for her cleverness.

"Oh, I see. You've made friends. Did you find the toothpaste?" Su Shi spoke in a doting tone towards the silly child.

"Oh, no." Sakuya tilted her head and took a bite of the egg sandwich. The salad dressing and mashed eggs blended perfectly, the fried sliced ​​ham became crispy, and the garlic flavor mixed in made the taste rich and layered.

After swallowing the delicious food in her mouth, Ms. Sakuya continued, "So I borrowed your toothpaste."

"Alas..." Su Shi sighed.

What else can I do? After all, she is my own sister. Can I just throw her on the roadside like a kitten and wait for someone to adopt her?

Feeling as if she was being pitied, Sakuya tilted her head to the other side. She didn't understand and simply gave up thinking. She ate Nagasaki Suyo's special sandwich in a few bites, drank the hot milk at the perfect temperature, and then washed it in the kitchen sink. Sakuya stretched lazily in front of the green plants on the balcony, jumped happily to Suyo who was browsing her phone, and happily leaned against each other.

"The sun is shining brightly today." Sakuya leaned sideways, letting his weight rest on Su Shi's shoulders.

"Yes." Su Shi answered perfunctorily while scrolling through his phone.

"You seem to be free today." Sakuya hugged her sister skillfully.

"Yes." Su Shi turned sideways, looking a little disgusted.

"So, sister, let's go out and play together!" Sakuya's true intentions were revealed.

"Rejected." Su Shi turned off the phone with a frown on his face and pushed away his sister's face.

"Eh? Sister, you shouldn't keep talking now." Sakuya hugged Suyo tightly and stopped her from leaving. "Sister, come with me to play. Do you want your sister who just came to Tokyo to wander around in this strange city alone?"

"I still have to finish my homework for Moon Forest today, so I'll go play with other people in the school." Veins on Su Shi's forehead twitched slightly, and he tried hard to pull himself away.

"It's obviously a day off, and I'm so cute. If I go out alone, I'll definitely be lured away by a bad woman. What should I do then?" Sakuya closed her eyes and held on to the pole like an investigative reporter on a typhoon day. "Besides, not all of my friends at school are free on the weekend. Sister, let's go out and play together!"

"I know, let go first." Su Shi struggled and found that he couldn't get away, so he agreed reluctantly. He patted his silly sister's head, which was considered as surrender.

"Really? Let's go buy new hair accessories together or go to a cafe?" Sakuya let go of her hand and lay down on the sofa, looking up and asked.

“Okay, Sakuya, you already have a lot of hair ties, do you still want to buy new ones?” Su Shi was puzzled.

"Because it's really cute, and what's important is not the hairband, but the experience of going out together. Don't you feel a sense of bond, sister?" Turning over, with a cross-shaped light in her eyes, Ms. Sakuya leaned in to take a look at Suyo's long hair. "Sister, your hair is obviously well maintained, why don't you tie it up? By the way, do you want to have the same hairstyle today? I'll help you tie your hair!"

"Hey, hey, whatever you like."

Even though she's in high school now, she still likes to act like a spoiled brat, just like before.

Chapter 21: First Meeting

In student bands, the commonly used practice venues are roughly divided into two areas, one is the Live House and the other is also a Live House.

RiNG is one of them. Located in a prime location in Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, the building is a single-story building with a steel frame and hardened glass. Upon entering the building, you will see a three-story light-transmitting lobby, where bright incandescent lamps are reflected on the smooth marble floor. Even a Kyoto girl who knows nothing can feel the professionalism that comes to her. The coffee shop on the side of the lobby, connected by a wooden staircase, is also full of high-end flavor, and the product brochures outside the store are full of technical terms that Sakuya has never seen before.

"This store was built as the second CiRCLE store at the request of our boss, Tsuzuki Shifune, in order to cater to the development of the era of big girl bands and the demand brought about by the rapid increase in the number of girl bands..." Sakuya clicked his lips unconsciously after turning off the navigation on his phone that was still broadcasting the detailed introduction of the Live House.

As expected of Girls' Generation, Tokyo high school girls must have a lot of pocket money.

Today, Sakuya changed into a black Q-version bass hairband, and still wore the classic Yugaoka student suit, with a light blue backpack bass bag on her back that she carried all the way from her hometown in Uji. The effect of the bond is that the liveliness increases by 5%, giving her an advantage when judging conversations with the band girls.

Miss Sakuya walked through the crowds of girls of the same age who were also carrying instrument bags, and once again lamented the popularity of RiNG among high school girls. She finally came to the notice board opposite the bar.

Compared to the popular coffee shop, the bulletin board area of ​​RiNG seemed a little empty. Perhaps because we arrived too early, besides Sakuya, there was only another handsome black-haired girl who looked up and quickly scanned the recruitment information on the bulletin board.

With some curiosity, she glanced at the unfamiliar girl with medium-length hair on the left, and her eyes were first focused on the shiny black Best bag. Sakuya tilted her head and stared at the golden logo on the lower right corner of the suitcase for a few seconds, then looked up again. The silver short skirt with a slightly reflective color barely covered her hips and thighs, and her white long legs were exposed on the outside. Her upper body was a black leather jacket with rivets and a bright red lining. Under the not-so-conspicuous side bangs were a pair of light green and blue indifferent eyes. The overall temperament was quite mature, giving people a sense of adult reliability.

As if she had noticed Sakuya's gaze, the girl turned her head. Their eyes met for a moment, and then she nodded, returning to her previous cold demeanor.

This... doesn't feel like a high school student, but a professional rock musician. Is the nod a greeting?

It’s RiNG as expected, the reputation is well-deserved.

After sighing for who knows how many times today, Sakuya-san cast her eyes towards the notice board.

I skipped over the Live House announcements that few people read, and the band Live flyers with strange names, and finally came to the section for recruiting band support.

The bassist's band support requests were surprisingly high, accounting for about 60% of the page. The remaining 40% was split equally between the drummer and keyboardist, with the guitarist's name not appearing once.

As expected, everyone likes to play the guitar. After all, it feels like being in the spotlight.

With strange and irrelevant thoughts in her mind, Ms. Sakuya's human search device successfully retrieved the keyword "Higaoka".

The band's name is [NyaAki], which sounds very cute. Nyaa means cat, and Aki might be the name of the band's lead singer?

The drummer and keyboardist are both sophomores from Yuqiu, and the guitarist is a freshman from Hana. There are certain requirements for the level of the bassist, which needs to be assessed.

That’s great. We found a suitable band so quickly. We will have more common topics if we form a band with seniors from the same school.

Ms. Sakuya, who was a little proud of her bass playing skills, confidently extended her left hand towards the recruitment notice.

Then...it collided with another slender right hand in the air.

"Oh, sorry...eh?" I subconsciously pulled my hand back, but found that... I couldn't take it back.

The hand felt kneaded, and the other party's technique was very familiar. The slightly cold fingertips passed over the tiger's mouth, groping wantonly on the white and tender hands with obvious calluses, and pinched the girl's palm from time to time.

"You have a pair of nice hands. Your bass must be good." The black-haired girl spoke in a calm tone, as if stating a fact. She did not release her right hand and continued to rub.

Eh? What is this? Is this a unique way to pick up girls in Tokyo? Or is this a common etiquette for girls in bands? ? ?

She opened her mouth hesitantly, but could only utter a few meaningless interjections. With a red face, Ms. Sakuya forcefully retracted her left hand that had been bullied, and glared at him with wide eyes in anger.

The black-haired girl took back her right hand thoughtfully, put it on her chin, and apologized: "I'm sorry, it's so rare to see a nice hand. I'm very sorry."

"You can't just pinch me, I don't know you at all." Miss Sakuya stared at the pretty face which was definitely pretty with dissatisfaction. Since coming to Tokyo, only my sister has pinched my hand. It's too mean. Even if you are pretty, you can't just do that!

"You just did that... to check on my bass level?" Thinking of the previous explanation and the other person's pretty great face, Ms. Sakuya guessed at the possible explanation.

"At first, yes." The girl remained calm. "Then, because it felt so good, I rubbed it a little longer."

“Ah? That…that’s not possible either…” Miss Sakuya’s answer was somewhat incoherent, perhaps out of shyness or anger, and her cheeks turned pink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Looking at the shy flaxen-haired girl in front of her, Hailing closed her light green eyes and opened them again. She made a suggestion: "How about I let you pinch it back?" She handed the Bess bag in her left hand to her right hand, and stretched out a slender hand covered with traces of practice in front of Sakuya.

Looking at the confident performance of the band members in front of her and the thin calluses on the fingers, Sakuya's anger gradually turned into doubt.

Could it be that...in Tokyo...squeezing each other's hands is a common thing?

When people in a band meet for the first time, do they pinch each other's fingertips to check their level?

Come to think of it, my sister also pinched my fingers when we first met.

Am I overreacting?

Miss Sakuya's thoughts were all mixed up like an overturned paint palette, and her brain, which was not very smart to begin with, completely stopped functioning.

"Don't you want to pinch it?" Hachiman Kailing still had that calm and unperturbed tone.

He glanced at Ms. Sakuya, who was lost in thought with a wise expression on her face, and then turned to the notice board and tore off two slips of paper with contact information at the end of the recruitment sheet. He then separated one of them and put it in the palm of the dazed girl's hand.

"I'm Hachiman Kailing. See you at the selection." After saying that, he turned and was about to leave.

Looking at Hai Ling's elegant back, Miss Sakuya, who had not yet recovered from her shock, spoke in confusion:

"You just? Just left like that?"

Hai Ling, who was carrying the bass bag, stopped and turned around again. She tilted her head and thought for a while, then spoke:

"Indeed, it is a bit unfair for you to unilaterally inquire about your performance level."

The light green eyes swept across the electronic wall clock at the top of the hall, and then turned to the cafe covered with green plants and natural wood-colored decorations.

Through the gap, a familiar black emission can be vaguely seen.

"Would you like to go for a drink?" Hachiman Kailin asked Ichinose Sakuya.

Chapter 22 Sakuya, please sit down

Hachiman Kailin, 15 years old, is a student in Class B of Hanasakigawa Girls' College. As a rare bassist among female high school students, she now serves as a supporting musician in nearly bands. Her impeccable playing skills and vigorous way of doing things have made her quite popular in the band girl circle in Tokyo, and she has also earned the title of a bass mercenary.

Of course, even Ms. Hailing, who can be called a master of time management, cannot handle the performance requests of 30 bands at the same time. Most bands formed by high school girls are formed by blindly following trends and impulses. After choosing a name, they may not even hold a live performance. They only occasionally dig out dusty instruments and play casually.

Of the thirty bands that Hai Ling works for part-time, only about ten are still active.

As for why you were standing under the bulletin board searching for new band support?

First, there is a lot of free time for performances, and I can carve out about six hours of extra free time every week.

The second is an introduction from an acquaintance. A big star in the back row quietly revealed that this time the band was more like playing house with the band. There wasn't much work, but the pay was good.

The light green eyes opened and closed, and soon locked onto the band recruitment that was drawn with many cats in stick figures.