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

"It looks like Motoyo-san has arrived. Should we hurry up too?" Chihaya Aine sent a [received] cute cat emoticon to her, pressed the screen-off button on her phone, turned around and whispered to the two people who were walking beside her in silence.

"Yeah." Gao Songdeng nodded slightly and held the emerald green notebook tightly in his palm unconfidently.

"Sodayo." Nagasaki Suyo had no interest in acting. She fumbled with her fingers, thinking about how to reverse this sudden change.

"Ahaha...but we're almost there, we can see the RiNG sign." Not getting any positive response, Chihaya Aine laughed awkwardly, turned around, and began to wail in her heart.

It is probably normal for Xiao Deng to get stuck in a dead end from time to time, fall into a closed loop of thinking, and become more and more frustrated.

But why is Sakuya so depressed today? It seems like he is struggling with something. Could it be that he is also thinking about the Live?

What's going on? Wouldn't it be me who is so excited that I would be left out?!

Ignoring the fact that she didn’t practice guitar hard, Xiao Aiyin’s heart is probably still with everyone in the band!

I also want to live with you all, please wait for me for a while...

Miss Aiyin paused in her heart for a while, and made up her mind that from tonight onwards, she must seize the opportunity and try her best to catch up with everyone's pace, or at least reach a level where she would not fall behind.

"Saki-chan." Takamatsu Deng, who had been keeping his head down, suddenly spoke up, breaking the silence. His amber eyes dodged and glanced at the flaxen-haired girl beside him. "Do you think my sudden decision not to participate in the Live is too much?"

Nagasaki Suyo, who was still in deep thought, was stunned for two seconds before realizing that Xiaodeng was talking to her.

"Why do you ask that?"

She wanted to use her usual rhetoric to get more information, but Xiao Deng's sudden change of heart was indeed a little hard for her to accept. Riki was completely a bot of Xiao Deng's approval, Aine made it clear that she didn't want to participate in the Live, and Sakuya had always been indifferent, and Rakuna was even more unsure whether she should join the band...

If the band doesn't participate in this live, what reason do I have to discuss the band with Xiaoxiang?

We must participate in the Live and let Crychic be reborn with the prototype of the current band.

Nagasaki Suyo thought a lot today, and she also thought about whether she should use Sakuya's identity to inquire about Takamatsu Deng's thoughts.

But I am Sakuya now, and I have to solve the problem in Sakuya's way.

"Not at all~" Nagasaki Motoyo put a bright smile on her face again. If it were Sakuya, she would probably say this.

“Although I don’t know what happened in the past, Xiao Deng must have been very hurt, right? So it’s normal for her to want to escape, and it’s totally okay if she doesn’t want to participate in the Live.”

"Life is still so long. It's also an option to take a good rest, prepare yourself, find your goal and then move forward, right?"

"Kosaki..." Takamatsu Deng stared blankly, feeling relieved and touched.

"Sakuya is right. We are still high school students. There is no need to be so anxious..." Chihaya Aine nodded in agreement, gestured with her hands, and continued to say something.

"Here, the world!"

"Sakuya-chan, your phone is ringing." Miss Aine heard the familiar melody and hummed along. She turned her head to look at the girl with flaxen hair and said with a smile. "Sakuya is also a fan of Sumimi. How about going to karaoke together next time? I'll sing the part of Hatsuka and Sakuya can sing the part of Mana?"

Looking at Chihaya Aine who was talking eloquently, Miss Moyo smiled back.

As expected, she still felt that this pink-haired scoundrel was a bit annoying.

Chapter 135: Do you need a hug?

Accidents always happen unexpectedly.

A light blue shark-shaped phone was pressed against her ear, and the leaves of the sycamore tree rolled down and spread in the sunlight, leading to the glass building reflecting the rainbow. Her sister's low voice sent a message for help, and Nagasaki Suyo suddenly quickened her pace, passing through the leaves and passing the light spots, with complex emotions in her gray-blue eyes.

Miss Su Shi was probably in a state of devastation at this moment.

She didn't expect Sakuya to act very well, but it had only been a few days and she had been so careless that she was...caught by a cat?

"Anyway, sister, please come and help quickly. Lena keeps moving around and I can't control her anymore. Ah, stop it..." Miss Sakuya, who was holding down Mao Mao's head with one hand, was probably finally able to break free from her restraint when Mao Mao found the right moment. After two or three more sounds of fighting, there was completely no sound.

"What's wrong? Sakuya suddenly walks so fast." Chihaya Aine tilted her head and looked at Ichinose Sakuya who suddenly quickened his pace and walked to her side, and asked in confusion.

"It seems like there's some emergency over there that needs help, so I'll go ahead. Aiyin and Xiaodeng just wait in the practice room later." The worried Miss Su Shi said quickly, and without waiting for a response from the two, she trotted towards RiNG.

“Just wait a moment...?” Chihaya Aine tilted her head, put her hand on her chin, and muttered to herself as she watched the flaxen-haired girl running away.

Maybe it's because she's been with Xiangzi for too long, Sakuya sometimes speaks in a ladylike tone.

======

"Really, Sakuya, you really don't care about social distance and personal privacy. How can you let other girls wear the clothes you have worn? It's very rude." Nagasaki Suyo was helping Rana, who had finally calmed down after making a fuss, to put on the Tsuki no Mori school uniform she brought from home, while educating her younger sister who was changing into the Haneda school uniform.

"There's nothing I can do. Who knew I would run into little Lenai who suddenly appeared and insisted that I borrow her clothes? She's so unreasonable when she acts like a spoiled child, just like a cat..." Miss Sakuya looked at the new teeth marks on her hand with some heartache, and looked at the culprit, the white-haired cat, with dissatisfaction.

"Why is little Lenai so obedient under her sister's hand?"

"Because it's uncomfortable, this woman is comfortable." Miss Lenai answered as a matter of course, enjoying the woman with bigger breasts tying her scarf with peace of mind. Although it didn't smell like flowers, the dress was fragrant.

"Why? I'm very gentle too!" Miss Sakuya retorted unconvincedly. It was clearly Xiaomu who helped her put on her clothes in this way.

"I've told you not to say things that could be easily misunderstood in the future." Nagasaki Suyo said with some resentment in her tone. She tapped her sister, patted the cat's head, and then reached out to smooth down Lena's messy white medium-short hair bit by bit.

"Oh..." Le Nai responded, squinting her eyes in enjoyment, and it was unclear whether she heard it or not.

Should I say it's a good thing that only Rakuna found out? Sakuya was a little too careless.

Nagasaki Suyo sighed lightly and casually reminded, "Don't spread it outside." Then she sent Miss Lenai away, who looked like she had secretly worn adult clothes.

For a moment, there were only two sisters wearing the same clothes in the bathroom.

Although it was a little different from the plan, I could take this opportunity to exchange today's information with Sakuya, which would make it easier to deal with Xiao Deng and the others later.

"Sakuya, did you have a good time in the Moon Forest today?" Miss Motoyo unfastened the buckle of her tie with one hand, and with the other hand she took off the hair accessory behind her ear and gently placed it on the sink in front of Sakuya.

"You look quite happy. Where's your sister?" Sakuya wrapped her hand around the light blue dolphin hair tie and skillfully twisted it around twice to tie the ponytail. She then looked at herself in the mirror and adjusted the position.

"I can't say I'm very happy." Nagasaki Motoyo looked lonely for a while, and reached out to continue straightening the wrinkled Tsuki no Mori school uniform, which was the one Sakuya had been wearing today.

"Xiao Deng... doesn't want to participate in the Live show again."

"Isn't that good?"

"I knew you would say that." Su Shi rolled her eyes slightly, and looked at the girl in the mirror who looked exactly like herself with a headache, but she still cheered herself up again.

Crychic must be resurrected, but...

I don't want to hurt Sakuya either.

She shouldn't and must not achieve her goals by destroying Sakuya's interpersonal relationships...

"Anyway, I've already answered for you and Xiao Deng, so remember not to be clueless when asked questions later."

"Oh..." Miss Sakuya paused for a moment, her fingertips stuck in her hair, before continuing. "What do you think, sister?"

"Of course I still want to hold a live show, in order to..." With gray-blue pupils flashing, Nagasaki Suyo no longer looked at herself. She lowered her head, picked up the neatly folded Tsuki no Mori school uniform, and walked towards the cubicle.

I am doing this for Crychic and for everyone in the band, Nagasaki Suyo convinced herself.

"Sister." Sakuya suddenly turned around and opened his arms towards his sister.

"What's wrong?" Nagasaki Suyo looked back and asked puzzledly.

“Do you need a comforting hug?” Ichinose Sakuya blinked with a smile on her lips, and her watery eyes gently looked at the girl who was exactly the same as her, yet completely different.

The corners of Nagasaki Suyo's eyes twitched, they were slightly moist, and her nose was a little blocked.

"Really? Why are you suddenly so sentimental?" Miss Su Shi's tone was slightly disgusted. She lowered her head, looked back, pushed the door open and walked in, her movements were quick and smooth.

"Eh? Really not necessary?" Sakuya approached the door and asked.

"Go away!" Su Shi wiped the moisture from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve, impatient to respond.

"Then I'm really leaving." Sakuya covered her mouth, trying to suppress the laughter in her voice.

"Get out of here!" Miss Su Shi ordered ungracefully.

"Oh..." Someone withdrew his hands indifferently, put them behind his back, and walked out of the door in a skipping manner. His sister should be the kind of tsundere that is often mentioned on SNS, right?

The usually dignified sister also has a cute side.

"Oh, right." As she approached the door, Ms. Sakuya suddenly seemed to remember something and turned her head towards the cubicle and said, "I helped my sister get third place in the class in the physical education test today~"

"Yes, yes, you are good, but please run slower next time. Your sister is not as good as you." Miss Su Shi zipped up her clothes and said perfunctorily. She always felt that today's school uniform had a refreshing scent of cucumber.

"By the way...it seems that the teacher also signed up my sister for the 1600-meter race in the school sports meet." Someone seemed to have just realized the seriousness of the matter. He hesitated and said before running out the door.

"what!?"

Chapter 136: Boring

"Little Le Na, why are you wearing Su Shi's clothes? This is so cute!"

Chihaya Aion was walking around with her cell phone taking pictures of the white-haired cat. She and Lenai were not very familiar with each other yet, and she was even a little worried that her lead guitar position would be taken away by this hardcore guitarist who suddenly joined the band. But the little Aion in her heart had already told herself that she would regret it later if she didn't take pictures now.

Kaname Lenai can always be called cute, but this is a different kind of cuteness on the track.

It was like a dirty but elegant stray cat that had been carefully groomed and dressed up. The colors were brightened by two or three shades, and the freedom and handsomeness turned into a well-behaved and simple beauty. Both hands were tucked into the overlong sleeves, and the short legs that were previously generously exposed were covered by the long skirt, which only stopped one or two centimeters above the ankles. The white hair was combed neatly, and the little face was simply washed, just like a little lady who stole her sister's clothes.

"Hey, that's enough, you guy. We didn't come here today to take photos of Wild Cat changing into costumes. And Su Shi, why are you fooling around with them?" Shiina Tachi, who was sitting behind the drum set, looked at the band members who had been standing in a circle around Lenai since they entered the door, and shook his head slightly.

"Hey... Lenai's clothes are torn, and I happened to have a spare school uniform with me. Even though it doesn't fit well, this will allow us to practice better together, right?" Nagasaki Suyo put her fingers together, tilted her head and revealed her signature gentle smile.

"Speaking of which, now that everyone is here, Xiao Deng, you said you had something you wanted to tell us. What exactly is it?" Miss Su Shi didn't wait for others to ask about school uniforms, and smoothly led the topic to the aspect she expected.

"I..." Gao Songdeng looked up when he heard the words, and his eyes, either eager, confused, or happy, met hers one by one, and then strayed away again. His voice was stuck in his throat and he couldn't spit it out...

"Xiao Deng is a little scared, so he doesn't want to participate in this live." Ichinose Sakuya stood behind the gray-haired animal, gently put his hands on his shoulders, and spoke in a calm tone and concise words.

"Is that what you mean?" She lowered her head and met Gao Songdeng's gaze as he turned his head to look up at her, her tone becoming gentler.

"Yeah." Gao Songdeng felt much more comforted and nodded vigorously.

"Xiao Deng, why?" Nagasaki Suyo folded her hands on her abdomen, gently feeling the back of her hands, and finally found an opportunity to ask the doubts in her heart. She had been thinking about it for almost the entire day but couldn't figure out why Xiao Deng's attitude changed 180 degrees.

"It's right to prepare for a while, right? After all, we don't have a band name, nor do we have costumes, so it's natural for Xiao Deng to be hesitant about the live performance. And... and my..." Miss Aiyin, who was carrying the ESP guitar, blushed a little, but admitted it bluntly. "My guitar skills are a bit behind everyone else, isn't it a little too early to start the live performance now?"

Shiina Riki didn't look at the chattering fan-haired girl, only gave her a little glance at the end, and then turned all his attention to Takamatsu Deng who lowered his head and didn't dare to look at everyone.

"Deng, why?" Ms. Lixi's voice sounded a little uncomfortable and aggrieved. She didn't know how to face such a betrayal without any reason. But she had already promised the seniors from Afterglow and Popipa that she would definitely attend...

"The band will be over." Takamatsu Deng felt the slight weight on his shoulders, and mustered up the courage to look into Riki and Su Shi's eyes and said.

"If I go to a live show, the band will end." Because I can't sing well...

Xiangzi must have quit Crychic because of his own reasons, which eventually led to the fall apart of everyone.

Everyone had finally gathered together again, and she didn't want to see such a scene again.

After the warmth is gone, I am still the watermelon worm hiding under the stone, motionless, curled up and enduring the sadness.

"End...?" Chihaya Aine was a little stunned. Didn't Xiao Deng decide to give up the Live just to take care of herself?

Shiina Riki's delicate eyebrows slightly frowned, she probably understood what Deng meant.

He asked Le Nai to stop fiddling with his sleeves and looked at him in confusion.

Ms. Sakuya wanted to complain but couldn't say it in the end. She just moved closer and supported him silently.

"Xiao Deng." Nagasaki Suyo chuckled. Her heart, which had been soothed by Sakuya's noise, was completely relaxed. She looked straight at Takamatsu Deng's evasive eyes and said softly, "Thank you for telling us your thoughts."

"You must be very uneasy, right?" Miss Su Shi held the right hand of the lamp hanging by her side with both hands, tilted her head gently, and continued to comfort the confused little animal. "However, this time everyone will communicate well, there will be no problem."

"So... okay?"

In front of him was the familiar face of Su Shi, and behind him was Sakuya's warm support. Takamatsu Deng hesitated for a moment.

She still refused and pulled her hand away from Su Shi's palm.

"Feel sorry..."

She escaped.

======

The neglected Kaname Rakuna has not yet adapted to the Tsuki no Mori school uniform that is two or three sizes too big. She tried to stretch out her tender little hands under the long sleeves and stared at the unopened guitar case and effects pedal. There are many girl bands in RiNG, and many of them invite her to play with them. Every day, there are people who are excited, but soon their enthusiasm dies down and they leave in dejection. This has happened so many times that Maomao can no longer remember clearly.

I chose this new shelter myself because the gray-haired girl in front of me with her head down and holding a notebook was really interesting. She was the only one who was willing to compete with me for the parfait.

Brilliant music always comes from spirit, never just technique.

Le Nai had seen a lot and was used to the faint smell of dampness that everyone exuded before the band ended, like the dampness in the air before a rainstorm. The melody they played gradually went out of tune, and everyone stopped practicing together. Sometimes, even the speaker cable was not connected at the end of the day. Everyone quarreled among themselves and no one paid attention to her. Le Nai didn't like this kind of fate.

For her, the shelter is not only a place where she can play to her heart's content, but also a place to go after playing and passing by neon lights late at night. On rainy days, when she is not in the mood, they can curl up together and listen to the slanting wind and drizzle outside the window. After the performance, they go together to make some matcha parfaits and playfully scramble to finish them.

Yao Le Nai thought she had found the right home.

but now.

The girl who used to talk about her whole life seems to have become a little boring, and not as interesting as the bad woman who snatched her parfait.