Tokyo Soft Rice King

"Hitomi...and Kuroba-san and Murasakimiya-san, you're here too."

Naturally, she did not ignore Kuroba Ming and Murasakimiya Shion who were not far behind Asato Hitomi, and smiled at them. Although she had only met them once, she had a deep impression of these two people.

Hei Yuming asked.

"Why is Saionji-san here?"

"I'm here to visit your school's cultural festival on behalf of our school. I just heard the announcement and thought your school might be in trouble, so I came to see if there's anything I can do to help."

Well, she is really worthy of being Saionji Mamoru. She draws her sword to help when she sees injustice. She is simply a warm-hearted superman of justice.

Then she said with a helpless smile.

"I just didn't expect it was my sister who caused you trouble... By the way, Xiaotong, have you seen Makoto?"

"Did something happen to Makoto?"

"Makoto should be fine. Myoenen-senpai said she was the lead singer and guitarist for this show, but she disappeared just as the show was about to start, and we can't contact her."

It seems that Hikawa Makoto caused the performance to be delayed.

Kuroba Ming secretly glanced at the class monitor. He thought that the class monitor must have colluded with Hikawa Makoto in advance and had staged the drama of canceling the performance before the show.

Just looking at this, it seems that Saionji Mamoru didn't know the inside story and thought that it was her twin sister's willful behavior that caused the performance accident, so she wanted to do her best to make up for it.

At this time, Senior Sister Miao stepped forward and took the responsibility on herself.

"This is mostly my fault. From the very beginning, Makoto-san said she would only be a temporary member of the band on the 'first day of the cultural festival.' But because yesterday's performance went so well, and they even added an encore at the students' request, I naturally assumed Makoto-san would be willing to continue filling in the shoes the next day. I didn't expect her to just disappear... I should have talked to her in person beforehand."

"I'm so sorry, Makoto is just a bit willful. She has her own set of rules and she always does what she says..."

"Now that things have come to this, we should find someone as soon as possible. I don't think Makoto-san would run away from school during the cultural festival."

Just when everyone was in distress, Asato Hitomi raised her hand and made a suggestion.

"Well... I suggest that we find temporary members on site."

"Oh? You mean, we need someone to perform in Makoto-san's place?"

"Yes, after all, waiting like this isn't a solution. The show has already been postponed once, and if it's delayed again, the audience's patience will be worn out."

"But if there's no prior rehearsal, it's easy for a makeshift band to make mistakes, right?"

After all, student bands are amateurs, and if they suddenly replace members, the performance will most likely be a mess due to lack of coordination.

"The band's performance is the finale of the cultural festival. If it fails, the reputation of our school's cultural festival will be greatly negatively impacted..."

As the student council president, what Miao cares about most is the school's image and the success or failure of the cultural festival. After all, this concerns her personal reputation.

"But if we can't find Makoto in the end and the performance is forced to be cancelled, everyone will say that we can't even arrange a cultural festival properly. Not only will the reputation of the cultural festival be affected, but the reputation of our school will also be affected, right?"

Hearing this, Senior Miao frowned and showed an unhappy expression.

Anri Hitomi knows very well how to convince Senior Miao. For someone who is pursuing something, just start with what the other person cares about.

Saionji Mamoru looked at Asato Hitomi with admiration and nostalgia. She hadn't seen a little Hitomi like this for a long time. She was the same as when she was a child... no, even more "shrewd" than when she was a child.

"And as long as we can guarantee the success of the performance, that's all that matters. For that, I have someone I highly recommend, you know? It's the future star next to me, Ziyin."

Anri Hitomi pushed Ziyin out from beside her, and added her name in a very intimate manner, even though she had called her by her full name during the confrontation just now.

Ziyin had no expression on her face and appeared cold and aloof to others.

"Oh……"

Only then did Senior Miao look at Ziyin, and after seeing her appearance, she froze for a moment, but as the student council president, she had seen more big scenes, so her reaction was much smaller than that of ordinary people. She quickly regained her composure and asked.

"Is this person also a student of your school?"

Because the sailor suit that Shion is wearing now is the school uniform of Shirayuri Girls' High School, so Senior Miao naturally thinks that Shion is "a member of the student team who came to visit our school's cultural festival with Saionji Machiru."

Although Murasakimiya Shion no longer came to school, the school still retained her student status. Theoretically, she was still a student of Shirayuri Girls' High School, so the serious Saionji Makoto nodded in acknowledgment.

"Yes, she's a student at our school... So, Hitomi, do you want Murasakimiya-san to perform on stage instead of Makoto?"

"That's right, Shion is very good at singing. After all, her dream is to become a voice actor and singer."

When introducing Shion, Hitomi Asato arbitrarily added a singer after the original voice actor, which directly exposed that all this was her conspiracy.

Saionji Mamoru naturally knew about this matter. After all, she had asked Shion in person, so she also spoke up to help.

"Well, I also think this is a good idea. Murasakimiya-san's voice is indeed very nice, and she is wholeheartedly focused on her career path. She is the most suitable replacement candidate."

"I see……"

After thinking about it for a moment, Senior Miao also felt that this was a good idea.

If she were a student from another school, she might have hesitated, but Murasakimiya Shion is Shirayuri's student. This girls' high school and Hibiya High School are cooperative schools, and the relationship between the two schools has been very good since a long time ago.

If Ziyin were to sing on stage, it would not only promote exchanges between the two schools, but also serve as a "surprise" for the students, especially the curious boys who had long wanted to meet Bai Baihe's daughters.

And with the endorsement of Machiko Saionji, the student council president of Baiyuri Girls' High School, Miao felt that this was a very feasible alternative.

The successful holding of the cultural festival is related to the reputation of the school. Senior Miao certainly does not want anything unexpected to happen in her class of students, so even if it means taking a gamble, she has decided to bet everything.

So Senior Miao lowered her head solemnly and entrusted Ziyin with the task.

"Then, on behalf of our school's Student Council and the Cultural Festival Executive Committee, I sincerely invite you to help us complete the performance for the Cultural Festival... Regardless of whether it succeeds or not, our school will express its sincere gratitude to you, and I will personally provide you with performance fees."

This is a nice way of saying it. It doesn't put pressure on the other party, and it conveys very well that you won't be blamed if you fail. It also means that there will be performance remuneration, which gives people a feeling of "it's okay to give it a try."

So, at Senior Miao's sincere request, all the people behind the scenes focused their attention on Ziyin.

It was something she had felt before and felt again now, the feeling of being enveloped by gazes.

She hadn't felt this way for a long time, so long that she even felt a little nostalgic.

I used to hate it so much and felt uncomfortable... Although I can’t say I like it now, I don’t feel uncomfortable at all.

Ziyin suddenly realized that what Anli Tong said was right, she was protected too well by Mingjun.

Thinking of this, Ziyin looked at Hei Yuming, and to others, it seemed like Ziyin was asking for the opinion of this inconspicuous man.

So the focus shifted back to Hei Yuming.

But at this moment, Hei Yuming didn't care about the gazes of the people around him at all, and just smiled at Ziyin alone.

"You can refuse it. If you don't like it, you don't have to sing it. You have the right to refuse."

Instead of encouraging Ziyin, he said something that went against the situation on the scene, causing the eyes of the people around him to change from curiosity to disgust.

Most people thought, how could this person be so inconsiderate? How could he say such things at this time?

Only three people had different attitudes.

Only then did Senior Miao look directly at Hei Yuming. She hadn't paid much attention to this boy before, but she still knew Hei Yuming. It could be said that she remembered the names and appearances of all the students in the school.

As she had access to all the information on campus, she naturally knew that Kuroba Akira and Asato Hitomi were suspected of dating, and that there were rumors of a love triangle in the daytime news department... It seemed that this Murasakimiya Shion was the third point in the love triangle.

She knew very well how outstanding Asato Hitomi was, and had invited her to join the student union as secretary several times, but she had rejected it every time. And Shion was a girl recognized by Saionji Makoto, and judging only by her appearance, she was already a top-level beauty. And both of them fell in love with this boy... It seems that Kuroba Akira also has his good points, so she can pay more attention to him in the future.

This is how women's reputation for men develops. When a man is admired by many good women, the first thing other women think of him isn't "He's a scumbag!" but "Is he really that good?" Their curiosity about him turns into a basic level of favorability, and his overall reputation among women rises.

On the other side, Saionji Makoto looked at Kuroba Akira with admiration and a satisfied smile. Although she was not clear about the emotional entanglement between "Hitomi, Akira, and Zi", Kuroba Akira's act of protecting "his woman" made her feel that he was a manly person, which was in line with her aesthetic standards.

In addition, there is the issue of Kotori's future, which was finally resolved by Kuroba Akira. She also wanted to thank Kuroba Akira in person, so her impression of Kuroba Akira became even stronger at this time.

In the end, Hitomi Asato just smiled as always. She knew that Hei Yuming would definitely favor Shion. No matter what anyone said, he would not easily let her attract attention from the outside world. He would protect her from harm as carefully as holding a fragile egg.

After all...she was his treasure.

Even if the preparations have reached this point, as long as Hei Yuming gives the order, Zizhigong Ziyin will definitely refuse it mercilessly, making all the arrangements go to waste.

However, the egg is mature enough, and Anri Hitomi has provided enough "catalyst".

It's time for the chicks to hatch.

"I will go, Mingjun."

Ziyin shook her head at Hei Yuming, then smiled.

"It just so happens that I also want to vent... After all, because of someone, I'm really angry right now."

Singing is indeed a good way to vent, especially when facing pressure, frustration and negative emotions. You can sing a song to your heart's content, pour all your emotions such as joy, anger, sorrow and happiness into it, and let them all out through the microphone.

Hei Yuming nodded, then took out the hairband she had taken off earlier.

"Well, if you hate showing your face, you can change your hairstyle or wear a mask. I remember the drama club had half-covered masks...Is wearing a mask okay, too? Myo-senpai?"

Senior Miao naturally didn't care. She crossed her arms and nodded.

"Of course, Murasakimiya-san's willingness to perform on stage is already a huge help. I understand your reluctance to show your face, and wearing a mask will create a more mysterious aura, which I think will be even better with the audience."

"That's good... then Ziyin, you should wear the mask."

"……Is it really possible?"

Originally, Ziyin had already prepared herself mentally to appear in public today, but Hei Yuming gave her the option to take a half step back.

"Well, you don't have to force yourself. We all already know your determination, and that's enough."

Then Kuroba Akira turned to look at the class monitor, who shrugged and smiled, saying, "I have no objection."

Of course, she would not dwell on whether Ziyin would show up. As long as Ziyin was willing to stand on the stage, her plan would be successful.

After getting the class monitor's consent, Hei Yuming turned around and spoke to Ziyin again.

"Although it's very rare, I know of some famous singers who don't show their faces even during live concerts."

In fact, there are many singers in Japan who never show their faces. The most famous one is Miss Ado... She really conquered her audience with her voice alone.

Even when singing live, they would wear masks or use special lighting to prevent the audience from seeing their true faces.

Of course, I won’t participate in any variety shows, I’m just a pure singer.

If it was a stage performance in this form, Hei Yuming felt that it would be okay to let Ziyin appear in the public eye.

"You can choose to 'be yourself.'"

"……Um!"

"Well, time is running out. Murasakimiya-san, why don't you go over the repertoire with the band members first? Pick out songs that you can sing and they can also play, and make some last-minute changes to the setlist."

"Ok."

After that, Ziyin went to look at the music while tying her hair into two ponytails. The main reason was that she didn't have enough time to tie her hair into pigtails.

After deciding on the lead singer, Senior Miao and the others breathed a sigh of relief. At least now they had a backup plan. As long as they could make it through the performance, they could celebrate at the bonfire party afterwards.

"Okay, then, now that we've found the lead singer, the only thing left is the guitarist... Is there anyone here who can play guitar?"

Senior Miao asked, but no one raised their hand and the scene fell silent.

People who can play the guitar don't dare to volunteer at this time. After all, they will be blamed if they mess up. If they only have a half-baked level of skill and always play the wrong notes when they go on stage, they will be a complete hindrance.

"Well...if there really isn't one, it should be okay to have one less guitarist..."

Just then, the curtain behind the stage was drawn open, and a weak voice sounded at the entrance.

"Excuse me...Excuse me, is Ming, uh, Kuroba-san here?"

All eyes turned to her.

Mirai Takanashi seemed a little scared. She was already a little shy, and after starting to stay at home, she became even more afraid of being stared at.

Being suddenly stared at by so many people made her feel a little nervous, and she laughed dryly and said.

"Everyone is here...haha...uh...am I here at the wrong time?"

Hei Yuming snapped his fingers and pointed at her and shouted.

"No! You came just in time!"

The future is here.

The performers have arrived.

Chapter 245: The Magnificent Cultural Festival Part 17

The timing of Kotori's future appearance was just right, so coincidental that Kuroba Akira thought that even this was arranged by the class monitor.

But then I thought, the fact that she would come to watch the band performance on the second day of the cultural festival was something only Kuroba Akira knew, and she hadn't told anyone else, so her appearance must have really been just a coincidence.

In fact, when Kuroba Akira and the other two came behind the scenes, they happened to be seen by Takanashi Mirai, so she followed them.

But because she was a little shy, she didn't dare to go backstage. But after waiting outside for a while, no one came out, and the band's performance was postponed. She couldn't resist her curiosity and wanted to come in to see what was going on. As a result, she was caught by Hei Yuming.