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

She still likes the way Su Shi looked yesterday.

======

In the Moon Forest, in the news department room, the curtains were drawn tightly, letting in only a tiny bit of light. Even darker than the room were the murky hearts of the three people sitting at the table.

"No, it won't work. Why don't they just hug and kiss each other? There isn't even a single usable photo." Fujimiya Hermia spoke confusingly but did rational things, bit by bit flipping through the results of this afternoon's ambush.

They were all meaningless scenes without any physical contact. Most of them were of Wakaba taking care of the flowers and Nagasaki standing by and watching quietly. There was no harmony and friendship from yesterday at all, not to mention the excessive concentration of friendship between the girls.

"I'm about to be dehydrated by the sun. The melanin I've accumulated today is definitely above the limit." Ge Mei Ai was applying sunscreen as a last resort, and she was equally dejected.

"President, PS is ready." A slightly cold female voice came. The junior high school girl with the computer light reflecting in her glasses was naturally the other half of the news department. She was proficient in photo editing and cutting out, and was good at splicing and creating non-existent news.

"Well... isn't it a bit too much to use Photoshop? You're in the news department, right?" Miss Katsume, who is Nagasaki Suze's close friend (self-proclaimed), looked at Hermia in shock as she was about to nod.

"Go ahead, Banxia... Although I also want to say this, but there is some truth in what the outsider said. We are the news department, and methods like Photoshop and spreading rumors are still too despicable. It will have a very bad impact on the parties involved." The blonde Fujimiya Hermia spoke righteously, looking like a great and glorious reporter with a full sense of social responsibility.

"Pah, pah." Kazumi Ai clapped her hands in cooperation, shouting out the sound of applause, and was a little curious. "Come to think of it, why do we have to draw the curtains to talk?"

"Because it creates an atmosphere of conspiracy, that's what the president said when he came in this afternoon." Kongshan Banxia answered the customer's questions diligently.

"The people in your news department are... quite unique. But conspiracy sounds quite interesting, right, Hermia?" Kazuaki Ai clasped her fingers together and chuckled to ease the slightly awkward atmosphere, and by the way, she turned the topic to the reporter who had been silent from the beginning.

The air was quiet for a while, and the two leaders of the News Department looked at each other and lowered their heads to organize the photos in front of them.

"Ms. Hermia?" Kazuaki Ai repeated in a horrified tone.

"Xiao Ai, what do you think...if two people were suddenly locked up in the school's equipment warehouse, a lonely girl and a widow, sharing a room, wouldn't it be exciting?" Fujimiya Hermia played with the WX350 in her hand, her tone becoming inexplicably profound.

Chapter 123: Flower Girl's Students Have Some Free Time

The sound of the train leaving the station dinged, followed by the friction of the air valve closing and the air, which became conspicuous in the darkness.

The train continued to move towards Waseda, which is just an inconspicuous small station on the Arakawa Line. The platform is simple and there are no seats. Only the still yellowed route map and awning are still working day after day, but for Shiina Tatsuki it has an unusual special meaning.

This is the fixed route I take to deliver the lanterns home.

Because it is related to lights, it is probably so profound that I can remember it clearly even in my dreams.

Li Xi turned his head and saw Deng's familiar profile.

Am I... sending the light home?

That’s right, the new band’s rehearsal ended in a bad mood again, and I’m now on my way home to deliver the lamp.

"Lixi, are you okay?" Gao Songdeng gave him a worried look, his amber eyes looking a little hazy.

"It's okay, I just thought those guys have too little sense of band. Today was the same, they failed to practice successfully in the end." Ms. Lixi sighed lightly, walked in front, and stepped onto the only overpass illuminated by lights.

"The pink-haired guy never practices, or practices very little. He still can't finish the first part of "Kasuga Shadow", but he's so confident that he says, 'I'm going to be in a band for the rest of my life, so I'll just work harder later.' Stray Cat is always late and leaves early. Every time RiNG comes, he finishes playing and then disappears. Sometimes he takes Sakuya to the cafe downstairs. If it weren't for the kindness of the store manager Rin Rinko who waived the bill, my part-time salary wouldn't be enough to pay for the two of them to pay for Buffy's bills. And Soyo is the same. She doesn't focus on studying the bass playing techniques and is always worried about the music score she plays..."

Shiina Riki talked a lot until he had completely vented out all his unhappiness. Then he realized that he had exaggerated a bit. He shouldn't have said so many bad things about his teammates in front of Deng...

"Lixi doesn't like the current band..." Gao Songdeng's words were a little vague. Although there was someone behind him, the voice came into his ears from both sides at the same time.

"How could I not like it!" Shiina Riki tightly grasped the backpack strap and shouted excitedly.

Tianjiao was extremely quiet under the night sky, with only the lonely sound of wind brought by passing cars.

Gao Songdeng looked at him in a daze. It seemed that this was the first time that Li Xi wanted to express something clearly to him.

"I...feel really happy to be able to form a band with Deng." Li Xi lowered his eyes and dodged for a moment, but still mustered up the courage to look straight at Gao Song Deng.

"Because I can't forget the song of the lamp."

A look of surprise was clearly visible on Gao Songdeng's delicate face, and Ms. Lixi couldn't hold on for long either, as her cheeks quickly turned red.

"Goodbye!" Shiina Riki quickly returned along the same path and stopped right in the middle of the street light.

"As for "Haruhi no Kage" and Xiangzi's matter, Deng doesn't need to worry." She adjusted the headphones that had appeared out of nowhere. They were square and felt strange. There must be something wrong with the center of gravity design.

"I have been working hard to learn how to arrange music these days. It doesn't matter if I don't have any inspiration for lyrics yet. I will try my best to write a song worthy of the lights."

She took a deep breath, and with inexplicable courage, she confessed to the lamp the inferiority complex that she would never dare to express out loud.

"I'm no worse than that annoying guy Toyokawa Shoko!"

The world began to fall apart, and a feeling of weightlessness suddenly came over him. When he opened his eyes again, Shiina Riki was facing the suddenly bright Hanajo classroom.

Miss Lixi stood up panting, and then she felt something square flying out of her head.

"what..."

It looked familiar. It seemed to be the orange-flavored milk jelly that Hailing liked. Because there was a panda decoration on it, I liked it too.

Miss Lixi, with sleepy eyes, watched the milk jelly draw an elegant curve and then fall steadily into the palm of someone's outstretched hand in time.

"Even if you don't like it, you wouldn't throw it away just like that, right? Or are you practicing some weird skills?" Hachiman Kailing turned her palm, and the orange and white little panda somersaulted and stood firmly on the wooden table again.

"It's your fault for just putting the drink on my head..." Ms. Lixi retorted weakly, and continued to lie on the table, rubbing her eyes surrounded by dark circles.

"Did you choose to stay up late just to cosplay as a panda?" Miss Hailing, holding her guitar bag, tilted her head and changed the subject.

"I was resting well." Ms. Lixi retorted unhappily.

"I didn't know there was this novel way of taking a break by shouting out your sleep talking in class." Miss Hai Ling complained calmly.

"Ah... I... I may have been studying too hard recently." Ms. Lixi felt that she probably needed some adjustments. Now when she closed her eyes, all she could see was the blue-gray interface of the music arrangement software. However, the teacher was really kind and she was not called up to stand in the corner for such a serious mistake.

"Hai Ling, which band is playing today?" Li Xi gave up thinking, looked at Hai Ling's shiny black handbag, and asked with his chin in his hand.

"NOTORIA, JASMINE & HUSKY, and LYRIC." Hailing's light green pupils remained motionless, still staring at the teardrop mole at the corner of Lixi's eyes.

"I don't even know the name of the band." Li Xi yawned and muttered.

"You asked me, didn't you?" Hai Ling continued to ask, without changing her tone. "Is Li Xi going to work part-time?"

"I have an early shift today, followed by band rehearsal." Li Xi shook the milk jelly gently, and seemed to be in a good mood.

"Have you found new band members?" Hai Ling blinked in surprise. Perhaps she had been paying more attention to the other side recently and failed to notice Li Xi's recent situation.

"It's not like that..." Li Xi looked up, as if he wanted to explain something.

"So that's the former member? That's great." Hachiman Kailing said quickly without changing her tone, turned around and walked towards the door.

She has an appointment today, so she has to rush to Shimokitazawa to make preparations early.

"Hai Ling, please wait a moment." A very polite and familiar voice stopped Hai Ling as she was about to go downstairs.

It was Sanjiao Chuhua, who was wearing the first-year school uniform of Hua Girls. Her outstanding figure as a professional idol was concealed by the khaki jumpsuit. Her gorgeous purple eyes and gentle smile exuded a sunny force field.

Miss Hatsuka walked up to Hailing and asked casually, "Are you going to play with Sakuya today as well?"

"Yes, what's the matter with Chuhua-san?"

"What about Friday?"

"Of course I have an appointment. If Chuhua wants my services, just let me know next time." Hailing mentioned Bess and continued walking, ending the topic a little forcefully. "Goodbye."

"Okay, bye." Chu Hua took a step back, and the smile on his face disappeared little by little, then reappeared.

Hai Ling's attitude surprised her a little, but...it didn't matter anymore.

She will prepare in advance.

Chapter 124: Rare Confusion

Shiina Riki held up a freshly wiped glass and smiled with satisfaction. After resting in class for half a day, she finally regained some energy.

It turned out that staying up late to learn composition knowledge recently was worth it. At least the song of "Haruhi Shadow" has been revised. Now, Deng can let go of his worries and sing with all his heart.

I will be able to meet Deng again later, and today I was lucky enough to meet Afterglow's Yuze-senpai. Since the afternoon work, this ordinary person has been talking with PoPiPa's Saaya-senpai and store manager Rinrinko about performance times and participating in bands.

Maybe it's a new joint performance.

Ms. Lixi, a fan of Afterglow, picked up the freshly rinsed juice cup with a little anticipation and continued to wipe it.

"Xiao Lixi, you have been forming a band recently, right?" The manager Rinrinko's voice was very lively, as if she was sleepy and there was a comfortable recliner in front of her, and it was thoughtfully equipped with pillows and thin blankets.

"Eh..." Shiina Riki showed a cute dazed expression.

======

"A concert hosted by PoPiPa and Afterglow?" Nagasaki Suyo clapped her hands and praised sincerely. "Xiao Lixi, you are amazing."

"Sodayo." Ms. Sakuya, who was still thinking about her life, casually agreed while holding a glass of ice-cold lemon sparkling water.

"Wait...wait, isn't it too early for us to attend the concert? The band has only been formed for less than a week~" Chihaya Aine leaned forward a little, and her hands under the table clenched slightly.

"what?"

"Sodayo." Ms. Sakuya nodded unconsciously, her eyes still on the glass in front of her. After the evening light was refracted several times, the colorless and transparent ice cubes also shone with golden light, revealing a familiar feeling.

"You clearly said before that the concert is a short-term goal, right?" Li Xi tapped the table lightly, causing the red teacup to vibrate along with it.

“We haven’t really practiced even once.” Aine retorted hastily.

"Then let's start practicing today." Lixi did not give in. In her opinion, the band should have started formal practice a long time ago.

"Soda..." Ms. Sakuya was halfway through her automatic reply when she was interrupted by Takamatsu Deng gently tugging at her sleeve. She looked up at the guitarist and drummer who were full of hostility with a little confusion.

"That's true. What about the allocated time?" Nagasaki Suyo tried to smooth things over, glancing curiously at her sister who was unusually obedient today.

"About ten minutes, we should be able to sing two songs." Li Xi was not dissatisfied with the time arrangement. It was a little short and not quite prime time, but it was undoubtedly a valuable showcase opportunity for the newly formed band.

"We haven't performed together yet, so maybe we should focus on practicing one song?" Nagasaki Motoyo suggested softly, looking at Miss Aine who was obviously feeling uneasy across from her.

"Wait a minute, Sakuya-chan may not have time to go on stage, and we are totally unprepared, right?" The pink-haired guitarist, who was very self-aware, looked at Sakuya as if asking for help.

“As for me…it won’t be a problem to arrange it about a week in advance. Besides, it’s only ten minutes, so it shouldn’t take too long including the preparations.” Miss Sakuya, who had just come to her senses, habitually evaluated the new work commission and ruthlessly blocked Miss Aine’s escape route.

"Where's Deng?" Li Xi didn't care about Chihaya Aine's feelings. She stared at Takamatsu Deng seriously and asked with a little pressure. "Does Deng want to attend the concert?"

"I...I..." Takamatsu Deng turned her head away unconfidently. She first looked at Sakuya's familiar profile, then turned to the other side and met Aine's light grey eyes.

If Xiao Deng is still sad about the past, just let it go for now and do something you like.

Isn't it enough for us to just work hard and avoid making the same mistakes?

The words of the two echoed in his heart one after another, all of them were equally gentle and dazzling. Takamatsu Deng didn't think there was anything wrong with what Sakuya and Aine said, but now it was his turn to make a choice.

Just like now, we continue to maintain the name of the band and everyone happily gets together to play for each other.

Or should you aim for Live, continue to express the cry in your heart, and try to move forward even if there is no direction?

In fact...I had already made up my mind.

Gao Songdeng clenched her fists, but she still wasn't confident and nodded slightly.

"Light." Li Xi was relieved that his efforts were not in vain.

“It’s decided then.” Su Shi heaved a sigh of relief. Even though she was still a little worried about Aine’s level, it might be a good thing.

“Eh——?” Aine pulled her hair in pain, feeling like she was going to lose them in the next while.

"Anyway, is today's meeting over?" Miss Sakuya, who didn't care at all, picked up the lemon sparkling water on the table and drank it all, then rolled up a small ice cube that had melted and become round, stood up and put her bass backpack back on.

"Sakuya-chan, are you okay today? You seem absent-minded." Takamatsu Deng grabbed the light gray sleeve before someone hurried away. Maybe it was her illusion, but she felt that Sakuya was getting farther and farther away from her...

"It should be considered my own problem, right? Don't worry, it won't affect anyone else." Ms. Sakuya confidently put her hands on her hips with an ice cube in her mouth, and added as if she suddenly figured out something. "Probably."

Although I don't know what my sister's plan is, it would be great if I could reconcile with Xiangzi as soon as possible...

I can be said to have fled this afternoon. Until now, my mind is still full of the glowing golden pupils and the smile of the blue-haired little hedgehog. Moreover, I sang the lyrics I wrote so gently, Toyokawa Shoko... This is a bit too unfair.

Ms. Sakuya bit down on the ice cubes hard to physically cool down her dizzy head, but she still couldn't figure it out.

Is my feeling for Xiangzi just friendship that goes beyond the standard or is it so-called love?

Even if it was, now was definitely not the time to confess. Neither himself nor Xiangzi were ready to face everything.

Fortunately, her high school career was still long, long enough for her to have enough time and leisure to think about these troubles unique to girls.

So she gave up thinking as usual.

Leave all your worries to your future self. Time will eventually give you a convincing answer.

Now...it's time to set off. Hailing is already waiting for me in Starry.

Chapter 125 Admitting Mistakes

"The drink fee is 500 yen. Which band are you going to see today? Would you like to take a look at a flyer?"