Momoi Taro wants to form a "don" brother duo, but it's a music anime.

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Ruoye Mu knew that she couldn't hide anything, and she never intended to. So she told Taro about his situation that day.

"Is there no one to take care of Taro-senpai now?" Xiangzi asked in a panic, looking at Xiaogua. She shook her head slightly and said softly, "Aine and Su Shi are here."

In her mind, these two wouldn't just leave like that, would they? At least one of them should stay and take care of Taro?

"But I think it's okay for Momoi Taro to be alone!" Deep down, Metath was even more confident than Wakaba Mutsu herself.

“Hmm… Taro, no problem.” Wakaba Mutsu nodded, both in response to Shoko and in response to Metaphor.

"Hmm! If it's a senior, there definitely won't be any problem!" Xiangzi smiled, recalling the almost invincible Momoi Taro, she reassured herself that there would definitely be no problem.

Seeing Xiangzi's happiness, Ruoye Mu hesitated slightly... but then decided to say something less happy during her happy time amidst her unease: "Xiangzi, I, Deng, Su Shi, Li Xi and I have formed a new band as support musicians."

"Eh...?" Xiangzi looked at Mu in surprise, hoping to see a hint of a joke in her expression, but all she saw was Mu's extremely serious expression.

"Oh...I see..." Xiangzi forced a few laughs. She thought she could easily face this kind of news, but when she actually heard it, she still felt a stinging sense of betrayal. However, she still tried to force a smile: "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. It's just that I'm too slow to get started. Congratulations, Mu."

"Well, but right now the band only has one song. If we want to hold a live performance..." Mu lowered her head and said softly. She knew that these words would make Xiangzi uncomfortable, but... she also bore a lot of responsibility for the disbandment of Kulaixi.

Now that everyone can move forward, she wanted to lend a helping hand. So she spoke up...

Xiangzi took a deep breath. She naturally knew what Ruoye Mu was talking about. If Mu said that, Su Shi should really be okay... As for Deng, she felt indebted to them, so she solemnly said, "Yes, no problem. It's your freedom to sing. You don't need to tell me specifically."

"Hmm..." Xiao Mu sipped the remaining mango juice in one gulp, letting out a soft sigh. Xiang, it's about to spoil again.

Shiina Tatsuki dropped Takamatsu Akari off near her home. Looking at Akari, who was clearly still worried, she asked softly, "Akari... you really admire Mr. Momoi Taro, don't you?"

“Hmm…” Takamatsu Akari nodded timidly and said, “Master Taro… is very amazing. He can do things that I can’t. Whether it’s the band, the instruments, or singing, he’s better than me in everything… I want to try and catch up with him.”

"I see..." Li Xi nodded thoughtfully, and after watching Deng return to her home, she turned and left as well.

Lixi's house was some distance from Deng's house. After taking the tram back, she slowly pushed open her door and whispered, as if afraid of disturbing the person inside, "I'm back."

However, her self-deceptive idea undoubtedly failed, as a reply came unmistakably from the living room: "Ah? Welcome back, Little Lixi."

That was her older sister, Shiina Maki's voice. Ritsuki didn't reply, but simply changed into her indoor shoes and walked around the living room where her sister was likely. But her sister's voice persisted: "Little Ritsuki, have you had dinner yet? Come and eat dinner first?"

At this point, she couldn't pretend she hadn't heard anything, so she could only say perfunctorily, "Coming right away."

Lixi entered the living room, where a table was set with a simple yet exquisitely prepared meal. It was made by her older sister, who, in her eyes, was an all-around capable person, much like Momoi Taro.

No matter how well I can do anything, no matter how well I do anything, I'm still just Shiina Maki's younger sister... Ever since I joined the band, I can only hear myself in the songs of the singers.

So, she always wanted to stay by Deng's side and be herself... But there were just too many talented people around Deng. Could she really shamelessly stay by Deng's side forever?

She quietly picked at her food, her mind blank. She had made up her mind to become someone worthy of the song that shone like a lamp... Starting tomorrow, her lunch break would be one hour shorter.

Having made up her mind... she quickly ate a few bites of food, not caring about the taste anymore. After replenishing her fuel, she returned to her room, where she spent the entire night with her coffee.

Time rewinds slightly to a point after those people took Taro away—

After everyone else left, Hailing and Miaomeng remained in the practice room. Seeing that Hailing didn't seem to want to leave, Miaomeng tilted her head and asked, "Haizi, don't you still have work to do?"

"Ah, but I have something else I want to tell you." Hailing, holding her bass bag, remained motionless and simply said to Miaomeng, "You seem to have gotten quite a bit more work lately, haven't you?"

“That’s right!” Miaomeng put down her drumsticks, leaning back as if dissatisfied with Hailing’s lecturing, and shouted, “Any objections?”

"No, I personally have no opinion." Although Hai Ling said this, her indifferent eyes seemed to carry a hint of warning: "I just hope that Miao Meng's personal activities and the band's activities will not conflict. Simply put, don't let your personal life affect the band."

"Yes, yes, I know. I'll handle it well." Miao Meng put down her drumsticks and was about to leave. Hai Ling stopped her, and Miao Meng sighed again: "What's the problem now?"

“If you’re a member of the same band, I can help you with your schedule without any problem.” Hai Ling smiled confidently. As an ordinary high school girl who had worked part-time in more than 30 bands, she was quite confident in her time management skills.

"Really? Thank you for your kind offer." Miao Meng looked at Hai Ling suspiciously, frowning at Hai Ling's confident patting of her chest. She gave a professional, fake smile: "Sorry, I don't have that intention."

"Why?" Hai Ling's distinctive voice rang out, as if she were seriously asking Miao Meng for her opinion.

Seeing Hailing's serious expression, Miaomeng replied just as seriously, "Because Haizi is not worth describing."

Seeing that Hailing was stunned by her words, Miaomeng shook her head, pulled Hailing aside, and walked out of the door.

That's right... Hai Ling isn't trustworthy in the Dong Brothers group, just like me.

Miaomeng let out a sneer, seemingly mocking someone. Hailing let Miaomeng leave, lost in thought, until Miaomeng was almost gone when she called out to her, "Wait, Miaomeng, dear."

"What? Is there anything else?" Miao Meng's tone was slightly impatient.

"No, it was just a piece of advice." Hai Ling crossed her arms expressionlessly, calmly looking at the other person, and said, "Looking at your submitted schedule, you... want to develop in the direction of a multi-talented artist, right?"

"So what?" Miao Meng grew increasingly impatient. Hai Ling didn't answer immediately, but stepped out and said, "Multi-talented means all-round. When we talk about our band being all-round, we think of one person, don't we?"

Miao Meng stopped in her tracks. She immediately understood who Hai Ling was talking about... her own general, the "owner" of this band, the lead singer and keyboardist—Momoi Taro.

Why hadn't she thought of that...? No, it wasn't that she hadn't thought of it, but rather that she had subconsciously overlooked it. The reason was very simple, and she understood it perfectly well—

She was filled with fear and envy towards Momoi Taro. She was also the one who knew Momoi Taro's talent best. She had honed her drumming skills under his tutelage. Without a doubt, Taro's drumming skills were top-notch, and his teaching abilities were also top-notch.

She couldn't even think of anything Taro wasn't good at... well, except for lies. So, the person most shocked to see Taro in such a weak state today was undoubtedly Nyanmu herself.

She had been subconsciously avoiding Taro's thoughts... After Hai-ling pointed this out, she felt ashamed and annoyed at her own lack of self-control. However, now that it had been pointed out, she would no longer run away from it.

A hint of fierceness flashed in her eyes. She wanted to learn from Momoi Taro, acquire all his knowledge, and then leave the band.

Of course, venting is one thing, but work still needs to be done. Although it's just a small order, it's still a formal endorsement.

"Ah...so tired..." Miao Meng stretched. Fortunately, her workplace wasn't too far from home, so she could easily walk home.

"Hmm...?" Walking down the street, Miaomeng heard a familiar, slightly confused, muffled guitar sound. In the quiet of the night, the unplugged electric guitar sounded so distinct.

She thought for a moment, not quite figuring out why it felt familiar, but curiosity drove her toward the sound of the guitar.

She walked a little while and saw a white-haired girl sitting on the railing, playing a dark brown guitar. A large group of kittens surrounded her, as if listening to her performance. Every now and then, a few cats seemed to hear the confusion in her music and rubbed against her fair legs in a comforting way.

As the song ended, Miaomeng clapped in real time, and the surrounding cats scattered in surprise at the applause.

The white-haired girl didn't turn around, but simply lowered her head, looking somewhat dejected. Miaomeng tilted her head and chuckled, "Rakunako, aren't you going home after playing so much? What are you doing?"

The girl tilted her head, seemingly not quite understanding what Miaomeng was saying, and simply replied, "Play with cats."

"Haha... Rakunako's words are really hard to understand." Meow Dream naturally sat on the railing next to Rakunako's railing: "Rakunako's song just now, I felt a bit confused, was she worried about the general?"

"Yeah, Taro's weak right now." Rakuna nodded, indicating a pause, then smiled again: "But... I asked my friend for help, so it's okay."

"Huh? Is Rakunako's friend taking care of Taro?" She was still trying hard to understand Rakuna's words. Rakuna stood up, put the guitar into the case, and picked up the suitcase.

"Rakunako, what's going on?" Meow Dream watched as she suddenly stood up again, feeling like her brain couldn't keep up with her pace.

"I'm back." Renai calmly answered her question, then pulled her suitcase and left. Haha... My grand plan to build a good relationship with Renai has failed once again.

This kind of thing actually happens quite often. On days when she doesn't practice, Rakuna would occasionally come to see Aine. She often treated Aine to matcha parfaits, but Aine was closer to Aiko and Daisho than to her.

That's probably why... I'm not trustworthy. Miao Meng gave a bitter smile, then walked towards home.

Episode 14 of "Dong": Goal! Commercial Debut

At six o'clock sharp, Taro opened his eyes. He felt something warm enveloping his chest. He looked down and saw a pure black cat lying on his chest.

Although he was very weak yesterday, he still remembered most of what happened, but he had no memory of the cat. When Taro woke up, the black cat seemed to sense it and opened its eyes, trying to scurry away.

Taro swiftly grabbed the black cat by the scruff of its neck, lifted it up, and said with a smile, "You helped me yesterday, didn't you? Wait a minute, I'll make you a nice cat meal!"

The kitten seemed to understand Taro's words and nodded silently. Taro calmly put the kitten down, then gathered some ingredients from the refrigerator, made a cat meal, and placed it on the table.

Back in his room, Taro told the little black cat, then picked up his phone and looked at the schedule Hailing had prepared. He nodded and announced in the Dong Brothers group chat that they would have dinner together at his house after practice that night.

After responding to the caring greetings from Hailing, Miaomeng, Aine, and Ryuna, Taro tidied up and prepared to go to work.

It seems that Hai Ling has taught Le Nai very well. She can speak now. At the last dinner party, she still asked Hai Ling to serve the food for her, but now... although I don't know why, it feels like Taro is serving it himself.

What the "Don Brothers" mean to Taro is still unclear to him. After all, forming the Don Brothers was simply a result of Taro following his inner voice. However, Taro doesn't regret forming the Don Brothers.

Momoi Taro has no friends. Perhaps he once had some, but they all drifted away from him due to his unchanging ways. During his brief time with the Don Brothers, Taro often sensed a connection that was stronger than any other relationship he had ever experienced.

After that incident, only Furrie and Mocha would occasionally contact him. Although Taro felt it was just a minor setback, the atmosphere when they met afterwards was still a bit strange. However, Taro wasn't the type to dwell on the past.

He smiled slightly, then sent a message to Gao Songdeng: "Gao Song, is your band practicing tonight?"

From his memory of last night, it seemed that Wakaba Mutsumi had joined their band. But that was fine with him, as long as they didn't seem reluctant. There was no problem.

The lamp quickly sent a reply: "Practice between five and six o'clock in the room opposite the practice room that Master Taro rented."

"I understand. After you finish practice, would you like to come to my house? As a return gift, it's on me! Tell me what you want to eat." After sending this message, Taro prepared to go to work.

When he went out, he received Gao Songdeng's reply that he wanted to ask the other members of the band. He didn't care, just put his phone aside and prepared to get back to work.

4:59 PM.

The four members of the Dong Brothers were in the practice room as usual, but Miaomeng and Aine didn't look too good. Hailing stood aside indifferently, looking at the sheet music and familiarizing herself with the rhythm, while Lenai sat on a chair near the wall, kicking her legs boredly.

At the entrance of RiNG, Mutsumi Wakaba, carrying a guitar bag, and Taro Momoi met by chance outside. They nodded to each other, didn't say much, and walked together silently before parting ways on either side of the practice room and entering each other's rooms.

Five o'clock sharp—

The moment the door opened, Aine and Nyanko's expressions relaxed for a split second, and Rakuna stopped kicking. Then, Aine familiarly jumped to Taro's side: "Taro! I'm so glad you're alright!"

Taro glanced at her, head held high, and said, "Don't talk nonsense. What could possibly be wrong with me?"

"Hey~ who was the weak and listless person yesterday?" Aine teased Taro with a mischievous expression, leaning her head closer. Taro, of course, didn't hold back in punishing her; he spread his fingers and pinched Aine's head hard.

Ignoring Aine's screams, he clamped his five fingers around Aine's head as if they were driven into her skull, and only released his grip after moving her to the side.

"Alright! Attendants! Practice begins!" His voice was as arrogant as ever. Aine glanced at Taro with a resentful look. Now she was starting to suspect that if she died and the forensic doctor dissected her body, there would definitely be five finger marks on her skull, and this man would become the prime suspect.

However, she didn't say anything, obediently returned to her seat, and slung her guitar over her shoulder. Then she watched as Taro went to everyone's seats and placed a sheet music sheet there.

"Servants! This is the lyrics and music I've come up with for today!" Taro announced with a smile and a touch of assertiveness, "This is my confident composition! No changes are needed!! Today's practice will be on this!"

The four of them remained silent, quietly familiarizing themselves with the sheet music. Taro looked around and said again, "And then! Our band's next goal is—a commercial debut!"

When Taro said this, all four of them paused what they were doing and glanced at him. Rakuna quickly returned to focusing on the sheet music and hummed the melody from time to time.

Aine quickly lowered her head and accepted the fact. She chuckled and said, "Although I was mentally prepared for this a long time ago, after all, Taro also said that our band's goal is to be number one in Japan. A commercial debut is a natural thing, but isn't it too fast?"

"Chihaya-kun is right, after all, we've only had our first live performance. Or do you have a plan, Taro?" Hailin asked calmly, based on the objective facts.

"Yes!" Taro smiled confidently and showed the brochure in his hand: "There will be a large music festival near Tokyo in three months. As far as I know, quite a few record companies will be coming to watch it."

"I see. If we perform well at that music festival, we have a great chance of debuting with a record company?" Hai Ling nodded, understanding, but she still asked a question: "Then, does our band qualify to perform?"

"No!" Taro answered directly, but the Dong brothers seemed used to his words and calmly waited for him to continue: "Ms. Sanae... an executive from my company invited me to participate in a live performance at a surrounding festival. That live performance was organized by the organizer of that music festival. In other words, it could be considered an audition for the music festival."

"When is that festival?" Miao Meng couldn't help but ask, after all, it was a very important part of her career plan.

“Next week!!” Taro replied calmly, “Even if we participate, we can’t relax. That festival alone isn’t enough. We have to prove our strength. From now on, the activities of the Dong Brothers Group will become very frequent! Live! More live! I’ve already made a reservation for the week after next, at CiRCLE, for an hour-long live.”