dmims Page 67
Page 67
After saying that, Taro picked up both boxes, hugged them to his arms, paid the bill, and left.
"Forcing myself or something..." Aine smiled a little shyly, smoothing her hair. Yuzawa Tsugumi placed Yuzawa Special Mix on Aine's table. Aine looked at her with some surprise and a little embarrassed, and whispered, "Um... I didn't order anything."
"It's my treat, don't be shy." Yuzawa Tsugumi's smile was very innocent, and she chuckled, "Taro isn't very good with words... I remember your name... Aine-kun? Please bear with me."
"Yes, President!" Aine replied instinctively to Tsugumi Hanazawa. Tsugumi smiled sheepishly, "Don't call me that outside of school. Please enjoy your meal."
Although Tsugumi Hanazawa told her to enjoy her coffee, Aine quickly finished it because she had other things to do later.
She took out her phone, carefully looked at the schedule Hailing had prepared, and then sent a message to Miaomeng in the group chat with a smile: "Dear Miaomeng, are you free now? I saw that you don't have any plans on the schedule. Can I come to your house?"
After a while, Miaomeng replied with a message: "Sure, sure... but my place is a bit cramped, you know?"
"Please let me go!"
At Ai Yin's insistence, Miao Meng sent her a location.
The perspective shifts back to Taro. Toyokawa Shoko watches as Taro arrives at work, carrying two boxes and wearing a red peach crystal around his neck, looking very happy. His two pigtails, as if sensing something, suddenly sway into waves.
"Senior? You seem to be in a good mood today?" Xiangzi disguised himself with a gentle smile, trying to get some information out of Taro.
"Yes! I received a gift." Taro smiled happily, and Shoko seemed genuinely happy for him: "Who gave you a gift, seniors? What kind of gift was it?"
"The crystal pendant Aine gave me, and the cookies she baked...!" Taro was still very excited: "This is the first time I've ever received such a gift from a woman!"
"So that's how it is..." Xiangzi was still smiling on the surface, but inwardly he was cursing: That inherently evil pink-haired brat! How could he do such a despicable thing! We absolutely cannot let this guy succeed! Otherwise, what will happen to our elders' children when they go hungry!
"You must be Chihaya-kun, the guitarist from the senior band," Shoko handed the bento to Taro. Taro nodded, took the bento, and asked, "You know Aine?"
"Yes, Chihaya and I are classmates at the same school!" Shoko answered Taro's question with a smile. Taro had just poured the broth into the noodles and started stirring when he heard Shoko say this. He paused slightly and asked, "I remember Takamatsu and Aine went to the same school, right?"
"Hmm..." Xiangzi's tone lowered slightly. She thought of how she used to hide from Deng at school, and felt disappointed again. She said softly, "Deng and I went to the same school, but because of... what happened before, I don't dare to talk to her."
Although she tried her best to beautify her behavior, one can't always deceive oneself; she knows the truth best.
"Thank you for the treat." Taro put down his chopsticks, seemingly not intending to ask any further questions. Shoko breathed a sigh of relief and asked with a smile, "Senior, how many points can I expect to get today?"
"35 points!" Taro gave a very ordinary evaluation, then sorted out the order form and went to deliver the goods.
Shoko slumped weakly onto the table. Gaining recognition from his senior was truly difficult… Speaking of which, his father's ramen only received a 54 rating from Taro-senpai, right? That meant his own ramen had to surpass his father's first…
Xiangzi revealed the same resolute expression as Su Shi.
On the other side, Aine arrived at Meow Dream's house, rang the doorbell, and was led into the room by Meow Dream.
"Eh~ Meow Dream's room, I thought it would be bigger..." Aine looked at Meow Dream's room in surprise. Although she had already mentioned it on Line, she thought Meow Dream was being modest. She didn't expect it to be really cramped.
The small room was filled with electronic drums, a sofa, bookshelves, and other furniture, making the already small room feel quite full. She looked curiously at the cosmetics piled up on the table and asked, "Does Miaomeng usually film her videos here?"
Miaomeng reached out and pinched Aiyin's cheek, saying with dissatisfaction, "Oh yeah, disappointed now? I told you it was small here."
"No, no," Ai Yin pleaded repeatedly, and it took a lot of coaxing to finally get Miao Meng to let go. Ai Yin rubbed her slightly swollen cheek. Miao Meng lay down on the sofa and asked with dissatisfaction, "So, what did you come to me for?"
Ai Yin sat down next to Miao Meng with a fawning expression and reached out to rub the other's shoulder: "Miao Meng, you don't seem to have much time lately, so I came to ask you?"
Lying on the sofa, Miaomeng glanced sideways at Aiyin. She carefully relaxed her back, waist, and arms, and finally could only sigh helplessly: "Our live performance the day before yesterday was a huge success, and after the celebration party, my popularity was pretty good, so I received a lot of invitations."
She buried her face in her arms, leaned on the sofa, and mumbled, "Don't worry, it won't affect the band's operations."
"Hey~ that's not what I wanted to talk about!?" Aine puffed out her cheeks and rubbed Meow's back. "I wanted to ask if you're free on Sunday, do you want to hang out together? Now that I think about it, the Dong Brothers group has always been practicing and stuff, it would be better if we all went out and had some fun together."
"What did Taro and the others say?" Meow's voice was full of exhaustion, and under Aine's massage, she gradually seemed to want to fall asleep.
“Taro said that if you all agree, he will agree too.” Aine gently massaged Miaomeng’s waist and said, “Miaomeng, I watched yesterday’s video. If your back and shoulders are uncomfortable, you should rest well.”
Hearing Aine say that, Meow Dream closed her eyes and said softly, "Well, when a band is starting out, practice is still necessary, but... if Aine says so, then this is the only time."
Anyway... the Dong Brothers group still has pretty good traffic. Let me stay here a little longer as a stepping stone. Miao Meng slightly opened her eyes, glanced at Ai Yin who was smiling very sweetly, and then closed her eyes again as if to avoid something.
Request for leave + a short story: Self-introduction
The video begins with a handsome young man wearing a red jacket and white shirt standing straight in front of you.
I'm Momoi Taro, the owner, lead vocalist, and keyboardist of the Dong Brothers group. My job is a happy deliveryman. A deliveryman's job is to deliver goods from one place to another at the customer's specified time—a job that brings happiness to people! That's all.
Too serious...? Posture? I get it.
Taro strikes a classic Noh pose, striding forward: Born from a peach~ *Tootomo Taro*—
Taro then stopped his pose: "Is this okay?"
His hand reached out and covered the screen, and then the video ended.
Episode 11, Dong: The Giant Dragon Flame Group (tentative title) (6K)
Meanwhile, in RiNG's practice room.
A powerful melody began to play.
"Ah...!" Takamatsu gripped the microphone tightly, stopping her performance: "I'm sorry... I made another mistake."
"No... let Deng rest for a bit." No matter how much Lixi favored Deng, she couldn't say anything at this moment, she could only sigh.
Today's practice has been going on for a long time, and Deng keeps making mistakes. He's either playing the wrong notes or forgetting the lyrics. Is his sheet music too difficult...? Hmm, it's definitely his problem. He should revise the sheet music again.
“No way—” Su Shi seemed to see through Li Xi’s thoughts and gently shook her head to stop him, “If we continue to change the difficulty of the score, the part of the piece will sound too monotonous, and the effect will be lost.”
Li Xi bent her fingertip, put it in her mouth and bit it, her brows furrowed tightly.
[If it were Momoi Taro or Shoko, they would definitely have a way. I'm sure I can think of a way too...]
Su Shi sighed again, looking at Li Xi's worrying state of mind. During the practice session, Li Xi actually had the second-highest error rate. She was alright at first, but for some reason, mistakes started happening later on, and she didn't even seem to realize her own errors now.
"Why not just find another guitar?" Su Shi calmed herself down and made a very practical decision: "Two guitars would not only reduce the pressure on Xiao Deng, but also make the arrangement more layered."
Lixi thought about it carefully and realized that this was probably the only way. So she said somewhat reluctantly, "I know. We need to find a better guitarist."
"I'm sorry..." Gao Songdeng apologized to his two teammates again, lowering his head. Li Xi hurriedly apologized, "No, Deng, you don't need to apologize. It was a problem I didn't think through."
"I'll recruit a guitarist on RiNG's recruitment board... Anyway, there are more guitarists without a team than stray dogs on the street." Su Shi closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The interaction between her other two teammates had always given her a headache.
"When did you... become so mean?" Li Xi couldn't help but complain as she looked at Su Shi's indifferent face.
"This is my nature, is that wrong?" Su Shi gently twirled her hair, glancing at Li Xi. Although she appeared quite indifferent, Su Shi was actually quite uneasy inside...
“No…” Li Xi shook his head, offering no opinion, but simply said, “If possible, find a good guitarist.”
“…It’s easy to find ordinary guitars, but most good guitarists already have bands.” As she spoke, Su Shi paused slightly, as if she remembered something: “There is a guitarist who should be free recently, I’ll go and invite him.”
“…Ah, it’s up to you.” Li Xi seemed to have guessed who the guitarist Su Shi was talking about was, but she just closed her eyes and didn’t object.
And so, the nameless band's practice for the day came to an end.
The next day, Su Shi found the girl with long green hair during her lunch break and asked, "Xiao Mu, can you come out with me for a bit?"
Ruo Ye Mu looked at Su Shi with a slightly unfocused gaze. At first, she seemed a little absent-minded, but after hearing Su Shi's words, she focused her attention, nodded in agreement, stood up, and followed Su Shi out.
Ruoye Mutsu was Su Shi's former band's guitarist. Although Su Shi didn't know why her personality had suddenly changed, she believed it was most likely Su Shi's own fault. Since apologizing to her that day, Su Shi had increased the frequency of their conversations.
"Xiao Mu, do you have a band now?" Su Shi asked seriously. Xiao Mu nodded and said softly, "He Xiang and I have formed a two-person band."
“…I see.” Su Shi looked somewhat disappointed. Ruo Ye Mu tilted her head and said softly, “But, there hasn’t been any activity recently.”
"So, would Xiao Mu be willing to join my, Deng's, and Li Xi's band as a temporary guitarist?" Su Shi didn't have any particular emotional reaction; she simply extended the invitation calmly.
Ruoye Mu stared into Su Shi's eyes, seeing that there seemed to be nothing hidden in them, and so... she smiled slightly: "Yes, that's fine."
“Then, bring your guitar after school… let me see.” Su Shi took out her phone, glanced at it, and said to Xiao Mu, “Can we come to the practice room across from Mr. Momoi?”
"Hmm..." Ruoye Mu nodded obediently, which was considered as agreeing to Su Shi's words.
After school, Ruoye Mutsu carried her guitar bag to RiNG's practice room. She subconsciously wanted to push open the door of the Dong Brothers group, but when she put her hand on the door, she froze.
She shook her head slightly, turned and walked towards the door opposite. With her back to the Dong Brothers' practice room, she pushed open the door and went inside.
Time has shifted back to a slightly earlier period.
"Su Shi, which guitarist did you find? When will they be here?" Li Xi crossed her arms, looking a little impatient. She glanced at her phone; yesterday, she had rearranged the only two songs her band had, assuming two guitarists, which had taken quite a bit of work.
What she needs most right now is naturally to gain insights from actual performances.
Gao Songdeng sat in a chair, holding his guitar, silently looking out the window.
Su Shi casually picked up her phone and said, "They should be here soon. The agreed time is five o'clock. It's only four fifty-nine now, still early, isn't it?"
As Su Shi said this, she looked thoughtfully at the door, which was suddenly pushed open, and a green-haired girl wearing the Moon Forest school uniform walked in carrying a guitar. The atmosphere froze slightly.
"Su Shi, Deng, Li Xi." The green-haired girl with a doll-like face took the initiative to greet them, breaking the silence.
"Ah... good evening, Xiao Mu..." Deng was the first to respond.
"Good evening, Xiao Mu," Su Shi greeted Xiao Mu with a gentle smile.
"Now that everyone's here, let's start practicing." Li Xi didn't stand on ceremony and urged everyone to begin practicing. Then she handed a sheet music to Ruo Ye Mu: "This is the sheet music. Familiarize yourself with it a little, and then we'll start practicing. Also, if possible, I hope your band can support us until the end of the next live performance, okay?"
"Hmm." Ruoye Mu nodded expressionlessly, took the sheet music, placed it on the music stand, and took out her guitar to familiarize herself with the music.
Ten minutes passed, and Wakaba Mutsu nodded, saying, "It's ready."
So everyone went to their places.
A powerful burst of music began—
With the help of the lead guitar, Takamatsu Takamori's guitar duties were greatly reduced, allowing even a novice like him to sing while playing.
Overall, it's not bad.
Except for one person, everyone seemed quite satisfied.
"No, this melody is far from matching the lyrics of 'The Lamp'!" Li Xi stood up, annoyed, and put the sheet music away. "Tonight I will compose a better melody, one that matches the lyrics of 'The Lamp'!"
"..." Seeing Li Xi's anxious expression, Su Shi sighed softly. Standing behind Li Xi, she pressed down hard on Li Xi's shoulders with both hands, forcing Li Xi to sit back down: "Don't be too anxious, little Li Xi."
"What you need most right now is rest, not anything else. The rhythm of the drums was a bit off, wasn't it?" Su Shi said softly, trying to comfort Li Xi's anxious heart. But Su Shi's comfort only made Li Xi feel a pang of pain.
There was a clear opportunity for Deng's singing to shine, and there was a suitable guitar, so why... why did it turn out like this? I'm the one who's holding everyone back, and I'm not reconciled.
Looking back now, I realize that I made the most mistakes, and I only noticed them after being reminded by others. This version of myself is... the worst.