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

Chapter 99 Very ⑨ Chapter Title

Kanzaki Kairo left with a serious face and deep eyes, with a clarity that saw through the origin of the material world, and went straight to the greater and more inner essence.

Anyway, let’s go get some spicy noodles first.

The mellow black tea and the clear evening light soothed my anxiety.

Sakuya handled today's homework as usual. After all, she was a high school girl and she still had to study. The level of introversion in the astronomy department room suddenly increased by one third, attracting the attention of Chihaya Aine, who was occupying the sofa.

The view shifted slightly, and the small lamp that shared the desk was still concentrating on wiping the various new stones that were acquired today, which made Miss Aiyin's desire to roll with them quietly fade away.

Sure enough, students like Kosakuya who are anxious to finish their homework are rare~

"Xiao Deng, Xiao Sakiya, um, um, do you want to write a new song?" After closing the guitar chord tutorial that she had just opened not long ago, Chihaya Aine suddenly spoke.

"Sounds good." Ms. Sakuya, who was struggling with a big math problem, didn't even raise her head, her pen flew quickly, and she answered casually.

“Hmm?” Takamatsu Deng carefully placed the stone and turned to look at Miss Aine who had come up behind him.

“I was thinking that a new band must have new songs~” Aine-san nimbly spread her left and right fingers apart, drew a semicircle, and then reunited them. “Deng-chan has written her own songs before, and Sakuya’s junior high school classmates also compose, so this is pretty normal~”

"That's right." Team member Sakuya pinched the page of the book, twisted his wrist slightly, turned a new page, and continued with the primary task of destroying the exercises.

“New song...?” Takamatsu Deng leaned back slightly, looking a little helplessly at Chihaya Aine who suddenly came close to him.

“And for the guitar part, I think it’s better to start with something a little bit simpler.” Aine’s rich hand movements moved spontaneously, and she made a controversial gesture that would not pass the review in Korea, and continued. “Sakuya thinks so too, right?”

"Yes." Ms. Sakuya replied automatically.

"Right, we still have a lot of other things to prepare, such as the band's name, uniforms and so on, so let's start with a simple and neat song." Chihaya Aine spread her palms and put her ten fingers together, squinting her eyes and begging.

“Aine… I’m sorry.” Takamatsu Deng tilted his head slightly and looked at Aine, his amber eyes showing embarrassment. “I only know how to write lyrics.”

“Oh, sorry, I thought too far ahead…” Aine scratched her head and cried out in her heart. The quick and easy upgrade operation failed!

With the last bit of hope in her heart, Aine-san looked at the homework processing machine on the other side that was working hard. "Where's Sakuya-chan? I'm sure Doraemon will be able to compose music!"

"Haha, I don't know." Miss Sakuya said regretfully after writing three pages of draft paper and finally came up with x=x. "I'll ask Xiaoxiang tomorrow..."

"Shoko-san can compose music? Really? That's a great help. Thank you, Dorasaki!" Chihaya Aine was moved and gave a big hug to the country girl who looked up blankly.

“What and what?” Ms. Sakuya asked in a muffled voice, her head buried in Chihaya Aine’s chest, which was beginning to take shape.

======

"So this is the reason why you are almost thirty minutes late?" Nagasaki Suyo stood quietly behind the soft and spacious beauty chair, wearing a graceful and elegant Tsuki no Mori winter uniform, with a light gray scarf hanging on her chest, and her hands caressing the girl's flaxen hair.

Nagasaki Suyo was looking carefully at a well-lit half-length mirror. The reflected image showed a beautiful girl with the same face. Her hair was the same flaxen color and about the same length, but Sakuya's hair was of a slightly worse quality. She hadn't taken good care of her hair, and it wasn't curled. When she untied her hair, it hung straight down behind her head.

Miss Sakuya, who came to this high-end barber shop for the first time, was a little curious. She kept looking at the bottles and jars and high-end instruments whose functions she couldn't tell at all. She pressed the automatically rebounding armrests of the chair with her small hands again and again, and took a bite of the free pastry before she responded casually.

"It was really just because I didn't know how to do my homework that I was delayed for a while, but Xiao Deng said that he still needs to ask everyone's opinions before deciding whether to write a new song. I'm a supporting musician so it doesn't matter. Doesn't my sister have to go to RiNG?"

"There's still time left before the agreed time, and if I hadn't waited for you downstairs, who knows if some idiot would have continued to get lost." Miss Su Shi tapped her sister's highly hydrated head, withdrew her hand, took two steps back, lowered her eyes, and naturally groped her tender fingertips.

Xiao Deng is still making meaningless efforts...Anyway, without Xiangzi's help in composing the music, the lyrics alone are useless.

After the first live, I asked Aiyin to leave the band. She is a reasonable person and after listening to Xiaomu's performance, she should be obedient, right?

After thinking it over, Ms. Suyo clapped her hands and said gently, "Then I'll go talk to the teacher. It may take a while, Sakuya, just wait here for me~"

Wouldn't that be boring? Sakuya thought as she looked at herself in the mirror, tilting her head in thought.

But...it’s a good thing that my sister is starting to take an interest in the new band, right?

Stretching her legs and tapping the ground, the massage chair turned half a circle. Sakuya looked at her sister, who was the same age but much more mature, and said softly, "Then I'll wait here, sister. Do your best in the band activities."

"Of course." Su Shi smiled and then closed the door of the private room.

"Are you sure you want to do the same hairstyle? If you do that, there's a good chance that people you know will mistake you for someone else in your daily life." The beautician, who had been waiting for a long time, put down her phone and looked at the navy blue uniform the girl was wearing before asking.

"Yes, sure. My sister always pesters me to try to keep the same hairstyle. Would it be fun to go out?" Miss Su Shi said in her usual gentle tone. Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she clapped her hands and asked. "Excuse me, how long does the whole process take?"

"For local perm, it will take at least one and a half hours, and the process is not much different from what classmate Su Shi did last time." The beautician smiled business-like and explained softly.

"Ah~ Well, if possible, could you please extend the time to about three hours? Sakuya's hair quality is not very good, so please help me with comprehensive care." Miss Motoyo's request was a bit strange.

"It won't take more than three hours..."

"Please do it." Nagasaki Suyo fumbled with her fingers and interrupted the beautician. "I will come back to pick her up after the band activities. Please."

The beautician glanced at the familiar Tsuki no Mori uniform on Su Shi and shrugged slightly. Her behavior of actively increasing the duration was a little strange, but since she was a student of Tsuki no Mori, it was normal... The last time she received the white-haired girl from Tsuki no Mori, she was also given a lot of instructions by the other four people who were traveling with her. Maybe this is the eldest lady's quirk?

Chapter 100 Test

Live House, RiNG, ladies' restroom on the third floor.

Nagasaki Suyo changed into casual clothes and walked to the mirror. Her long, shiny flaxen hair was gathered behind her head. She had a new hairstyle of low ponytail. The hair accessory was a cartoon coconut pattern that she had pulled off Sakuya's hair at the beauty salon. Her elegant and mature face was made to look a little childish, as if she had returned to the first year of high school.

How childish, Su Shi thought to herself in the mirror.

But childish...

Miss Su Shi raised her hands, extended her slender index fingers, placed them on both sides of her cheeks, and pushed them up slightly, causing her facial muscles to rise together, until she revealed a slightly silly smile.

As her fingers loosened, the expression on Nagasaki Suyo's face receded, returning to her previous ritual smile, and then turning into an expressionless look of thought.

She fumbled with her fingertips in thought, raised her hand and turned on the faucet.

The sound of water splashing hits the mirror and echoes and overlaps.

That's not right... Sakuya should be more spiritual... not this fake thing with nothing but beauty.

Nagasaki Suyo lowered her head, scooped up some warm water, and washed away the little bit of foundation on her face.

She did it again.

She thought about Sakuya's happy expression when he ate meat, and his disgust when he saw the vegetable macaroni, and the feeling of him hugging her waist and rubbing against her when she wanted to stay in bed, and the stupid things he did in Uji, and how he was so scared but still defied her...

Nagasaki Suyo smiled, and the water droplets slid down the corners of her face, dripping onto the sink and slightly wetting the corners of her clothes.

Not the kind of gentle smile with pursed lips...

Her smile comes from the heart. It's a natural smile of understanding because she encounters something beautiful. People who see it will also chuckle because of the girl's warmth.

Sakuya would think like this and laugh like this, so now I am - Ichinose Sakuya.

======

RiNG, practice room 507.

The lighting and spotlights were turned on roughly. The waitress, who had no concept of saving electricity, sat behind the drum set with dissatisfaction, her hands folded across her chest, her right hand still holding the iPhone 13 that she had just checked the time on, and her feet tapping anxiously to the slightly out-of-tune beat, which sounded like the first song Afterglow played at the Live yesterday.

Yes, Shiina Riki was still wearing the blue-black uniform of a cafe waitress. She had a part-time job today, and after finishing it, she was worried about missing the rehearsal time and making the lights wait for a long time, so she rushed to the practice room like a flash.

She didn't even wait for the elevator, she ran all the way up the stairs.

As a result, Ms. Lixi was the first to arrive.

She arrived five minutes earlier than planned, and now it was fifteen minutes past the agreed time, and she was still the only one in the practice room.

"Sorry, sorry, I missed the train and am late..." A cheerful and energetic female voice came from the door. "What? Am I not the second one to arrive?"

The trembling guilty voice instantly became righteous, and Chihaya Aine, who was jogging over with Takamatsu Deng, complained in a low voice while panting.

"Tsk!" She was angry when she saw the naturally evil pink-haired outsider, especially since this guy was holding Xiao Deng's hand! Ms. Lixi stomped on the double pedals, letting the bass drum issue the condemnation on her behalf. She was worried that her curses would be too dirty and pollute Xiao Deng's pure ears. "You're too slow, and you've made Xiao Deng late too."

“Huh? I worked really hard to get here, and besides, haven’t we started rehearsals yet?” Miss Aine glared back in dissatisfaction.

“Well...well, Riki and Aine, stop arguing. I missed the bus because I wanted to go back to the astronomy department to get my notebook. It’s not Aine’s fault..." Without Nagasaki Suyo to smooth things over, the little gray-haired animal mustered up the courage to stand between the two people who were on the verge of a fight.

“Ah! It’s not the lamp’s fault.” Ms. Li Xi hurriedly stood up, paused for a moment and sat back down again, and reluctantly squeezed out a word of “Sorry” to Aine.

“Hehe~ What, I didn’t hear clearly, what did Rikki just say?” Miss Aine continued to press forward.

"Huh? If you're deaf, go see a doctor. And who the hell is Rikki?" Ms. Lixi immediately hit back.

"Ah..." Takamatsu Deng, who was stuck in the middle, was at a loss. He waved his hands cutely and tried to organize his words.

click -

The door of the practice room was suddenly opened, and the free Yao Lenai dragged his guitar and effects, walked straight to Ms. Lixi as if no one was around, took out the guitar, connected the strings and tuned it in one go. "Are you going to start? Band."

“Ah, it’s Rina-chan…” Miss Aine also greeted reluctantly while holding her guitar.

As expected, this girl named Runa also wants to join the band... Although I promised Sakuya that I would try my best, I still feel a lot of pressure!

"It's okay, little Aine, didn't we make an appointment?" Takamatsu Deng seemed to see directly into Miss Aine's thoughts. He held the hand that he had held not long ago and comforted her softly.

“Little Light…” Aine was touched.

"Hey! Are you going to practice or not? You should decide quickly which song to rehearse." Ms. Lixi's face twitched for a moment, and her tone sounded even more unhappy.

"Play." Maomao chimed in.

"Wait, wait, Motoyo-san hasn't arrived yet, have you sent her a message?" Aine finally remembered Motoyo-san, the first person who agreed to form a band with her.

"He said he was delayed by something and will be here soon, but it's rare for Su Shi to be late..." Li Xi responded, pushing away the stray cat who wanted to grab the drummer's chair, and continued to put pressure on the pink-haired guy. "Can you play the Kasuga Shadow that I sent you yesterday?"

“It’s…it’s only been one day, I feel like I still have a lot of room for improvement…” Aiyin turned her head and happened to see a familiar figure of a girl at the door, with long flaxen hair in a low ponytail, and a slightly larger bass backpack on her back.

"Sakuya? Didn't you say you had something to do today so you wouldn't come?" Chihaya Aine tilted her head in confusion.

"Don't you welcome me, Aine-chan?" Ichinose Sakuya winked playfully, took off her backpack, skillfully fastened the canvas shoulder strap of the GB-4, and began to tune the strings with a simple finger roll.

Although this is not the first time I use this bass, the tightness is indeed somewhat different from my usual habits.

"Sakuya, Suyo...Suyo is not coming today?" In front of her younger sister, Ms. Riki still gave Nagasaki Suyo some face.

"Well, my sister isn't feeling well. It seems she has a cold, so please let me take her place~" Ms. Sakuya said, with a hint of complaint in her tone.

"Are you okay?" Gao Songdeng was a little worried.

"It's okay, it's okay. I only came to help after I coaxed my sister to sleep." After finally tuning the strings of the guitar, Sakuya raised his head again and smiled.

"Let's get started~"

Chapter 101 The Cat Knows, the Cat Doesn’t Tell

The sudden guitar tremolo interrupted the melody, and the performance that had just begun ended in vain.

"Sorry... the guitar part is still a little difficult." It was still a bit difficult for Chihaya Aine to play a song she had only heard twice in one night, not to mention that she had taken the time to watch all the videos that Meow Mengqin had recently posted last night...

"What's going on? I still can't practice it in the end." Shiina Tateki was swiping the music score of "Kasuga Shadow" on the tablet, his face stern and his tone impatient.

This guy who can't even play the F chord properly can't keep up with the others. Is he really practicing?

"How about we change a song to practice? 'Kasuga Shadow' lacks a keyboard, so we can't have Rakuna-chan singing the harmony at the beginning every time." Ichinose Sakuya suggested softly while holding the bass.

"Sakuya, don't pamper this guy too much..." Li Xi was helpless. Maybe it would be better to start practicing with simple covers?

"It's okay, it's okay. Just play 'Haruhi Shadow'. This song is very important to Xiao Deng, right? I will try my best to play it well." Miss Aine was inexplicably confident. She had mastered the chords by learning a few strokes occasionally while watching videos yesterday. It would be easy for her to keep up with everyone. Maybe she is unexpectedly talented in guitar!

"Xiao Aiyin..." Gao Songdeng, who was timid and unable to sing, raised his hand to cover his heart.

"Tsk." Li Xi glanced with his purple eyes. This guy is really brave... However, not having a keyboard player is indeed a problem.

"Tsk... why do you have to practice with "Haruhi Kage"? That's Crychic, an important song for Xiaoxiang. There are so many other songs..." Nagasaki Suyo stroked her fingertips and lowered her head to hide the unhappiness in her eyes.

There was a moment of silence in the brightly lit practice room, and Miss Lenai, who had been silent, stood quietly beside the bassist, staring at the bad woman's face and chest with a little confusion.

The white-haired cat opened his yellow and blue eyes wide, and as usual he leaned close to the bad woman's chest, breathing slightly.

The smell of figs is so strong, as if it was smoked.

Kaname Lenai sneezed cutely, staggered and buried her head in Su Shi's chest, swaying from side to side uncomfortably.

"Woo~ please..." The cat's unconscious movements were somewhat stimulating. Nagasaki Suyo, who was used to speaking honorifics, quickly bit her lower lip and silently endured the nasal sound that made people blush and heartbeat.

"Hey! Enough of you two!" Ms. Lixi, who was the only one in the band who had no one to stick to, beat the drum angrily. "Stray cat, stand in the corner. I told you not to do things like this with Sakuya that could easily lead to misunderstandings!"

"I didn't." Yao Lenai used her two little hands to support her soft flesh ball to stand up again, and uttered words that were completely contradictory to her actions.

This is a woman with bigger breasts, so I’m not playing with the bad woman’s balls.

Nagasaki Suyo's smile was a little forced, and there was still an unspeakable feeling in her chest, but she still imitated her sister and blocked Li Xi's sharp gaze. "Little Lenai, don't do it next time, okay?"

"Yeah." The cat nodded obediently. It was enough to just smell it with its nose.

"Everyone." Miss Aine raised her guitar pick and shook it. "How about we write a new song?"

“As a new band, we should have our own new songs, right? Xiao Deng can be responsible for writing the lyrics, and Xiao Sakuya will ask Xiangzi to compose the music, right?” Aine winked at the flaxen-haired bassist.

"Huh? Are you serious about letting that guy Xiangzi compose the music?" Ms. Lixi disagreed.