Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 146 Good and Evil

"Are you really not going to reconsider?"

"I'm not going to think about it anymore, let's just leave it at that."

Ji Yexue smiled and teased, "Isn't this great? Apart from you, all the members are women. Light Music Club has become your harem."

"Then I should thank you?"

Akizuki Makoto couldn't help but complain, wondering what Himeya Yuki was thinking, why she agreed to let Shiraishi Rin join the company so readily.

Originally, the fact that Shiina Maki was allowed to join the Light Music Club was already enough to shock and puzzle him, but now Shiraishi Rin is also involved.

"Don't worry, I didn't do anything reckless. I have my reasons for letting her join the company."

Ji Yexue smiled slightly and said with great interest, "Didn't you say that Shiraishi Rin has changed a lot? I'm also quite interested in this, so why not let her join the club and observe her carefully?"

"Isn't this just reckless behavior?"

Akizuki sighed, rubbed his temples as if he had a headache, and then said, "This isn't a research department. How can we agree to let someone join the club just because we're interested in them?"

"What does it matter? She can play the piano anyway, so she meets the requirements for joining the company."

"..."

Akizuki Makoto couldn't refute this point, because ultimately the hiring requirements weren't set by him, but by Himeyasuki.

It's none of his business who Ji Yexue wants to join.

"That's settled then. Could you please inform Shiraishi that she's coming to report this afternoon?"

"Um……"

Thus, Akizuki Makoto said goodbye to Hime Yuki, packed his lunchbox, left the student council room, and returned to his classroom to sit down.

Shiraishi Rin was still engrossed in her book, sitting upright with her slender, fair fingers pressing down on the corners of the pages, occasionally turning the pages.

Judging from her current appearance, one would definitely think she is a well-bred, quiet, elegant and dignified young lady from a prestigious family.

Makoto Akizuki simply couldn't reconcile the current Shiraishi Rin with the arrogant brat she used to be.

"That's why I didn't want her to join the club..."

Qiu Yuecheng sighed inwardly, already guessing that there was definitely more to the story.

No matter what, the change in personality is too great. If there is a gap of one or two years, it can be understandable, but it is impossible for a person to go from an arrogant and wicked little devil to a gentle and virtuous young lady in just one or two weeks.
But since Ji Yexue had already decided to let Shiraishi Rin join the club, there was nothing he could do but try his best to avoid getting involved with Shiraishi Rin in the future.

He always felt that anything involving Shiraishi Rin could never be good.

"Um, Shiraishi."

While thinking about these random thoughts, Akizuki Makoto said aloud, "During lunch break, I spoke with President Himeya, and she said you can join the company directly without an interview."

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Shiraishi Rin immediately looked up, staring at Akizuki Makoto in surprise, before exclaiming with delight, "That's wonderful! I will definitely not let President Himeya down!"

"Okay, good luck..."

Makoto Akizuki could only smile wryly, already starting to worry about what the future of club activities would be like.

……

After school in the afternoon.

Makoto Akizuki called together Maki Shiina and Rin Shiraishi, and they went to the Light Music Club to prepare for training.

It was called training, but it was really just practice. He couldn't play the guitar, and Ji Yexue couldn't play the drums.

For now, he wants to try learning it first, and then use intermediate skills to master the guitar.

He had told Ji Yexue that he couldn't play the guitar, and that if he suddenly became proficient in playing it overnight, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

Shiina Maki's club activities in the craft club have been temporarily suspended. She is currently a vocalist trainee, so she needs to practice hard these few days to get through the final test this weekend.

"Shiro, Shiraishi-kun is going to join the Light Music Club too."

After hearing from Makoto Akizuki that Rin Shiraishi had also joined the Light Music Club without taking an exam, Maki Shiina became somewhat uneasy.

On one hand, she was still wary and fearful of Shiraishi Rin, and on the other hand, she felt unbalanced inside.

Rin Shiraishi bowed to Maki Shiina and said with a smile, "Nice to meet you, Shiina-kun."

"I...I'm the one...please take care of me!"

Shiina Maki quickly bowed in return, looking somewhat apprehensive.

Although she could also sense that Shiraishi Rin was different from before.

The current Shiraishi Rin can be described as someone who is easy to get along with and very polite, but Shiina Maki still harbors some fear of her, afraid that she might change her attitude at any moment.

When they arrived at the Light Music Club, Himeyasu and Rie Niijima were already there.

After the five of them entered the activity room together, under the arrangement of Ji Yexue, Shiina Maki, Shiraishi Rin, and Niijima Rie took turns introducing themselves and explaining their reasons for wanting to join the Light Music Club.

Of course, apart from Rie Niijima, the other two didn't tell the truth. They both said they were interested in bands and then happened to see that K-On! was recruiting.

Ji Yexue didn't care that they were lying, but Niijima Rie got excited and grabbed Shiina Maki and Shiraishi Rin's hands, shouting that she wanted to form the best band.

"Alright, now that we know each other, let's start practicing."

At Ji Yexue's command, the club activity began, and everyone took their instruments and stood in their assigned positions.

Akizuki Makoto also received the guitar that Hime Yuki had prepared in advance. It was said to be a guitar worth tens of millions of yen, which made him too embarrassed to play it, for fear that he might accidentally break it.

Since neither he nor Ji Yexue knew how to play guitar or drums, Ji Yexue specially invited two professional teachers to teach them.

For music beginners, the first thing to learn is music theory, which is essential regardless of what instrument you are learning.

Because Ji Yexue had experience with several musical instruments, she skipped the music theory learning stage and began playing with instructions from the teacher.

Playing the drums requires coordination of the limbs and quick reaction speed, both of which Ji Yexue possesses.

She picked it up quickly; in just half an hour, she was able to follow her teacher's instructions and start playing some simpler pieces.

At this point, Akizuki Makoto had just learned music theory and was beginning to understand the six strings and various parts of the guitar, which was the most important step.

Whether playing the piano sounds good and smooth depends on how you hold the instrument with both hands and where your fingers are placed.

Akizuki Makoto learned very quickly. He had a strong memory and grasped concepts immediately. He could play the little star game that Shiro loved as soon as he started playing.

Ultimately, the learning curve for each instrument is not steep; the real challenge lies in developing experience and muscle memory.

The guitar has six chords. Chords are not difficult to learn, but the difficulty lies in how to switch between them skillfully. This requires a lot of practice to develop muscle memory.

For a while afterward, the five of them practiced separately, and the sounds they produced would sometimes resonate and create unexpectedly beautiful music, while at other times they would be chaotic and affect the performances of the others.

The sounds of musical instruments only ceased at 6 p.m., when the bell rang to signal the end of the club activities.

After several hours of intensive practice, Akizuki Makoto roughly understood how to play the guitar. The rest was just a matter of practicing slowly and accumulating experience.

Before the group disbanded, Ji Yexue assigned him a task: to practice the guitar part of the song Shiina Maki was going to sing over the weekend, and she would also practice her part on the drums. Ji Yexue had already prepared the sheet music for the guitar part; he just needed to go back and spend some time practicing.

Overall, Makoto Akizuki felt pretty good about the first day of the Light Music Club activities; at least everyone was practicing seriously.

The two people he was most worried about, Shiina Maki and Shiraishi Rin, were very well-behaved and did not slack off at all.

"……See you tomorrow."

After saying goodbye to everyone, Shiraishi Rin left alone, went to the shoe cabinet to change her shoes, and contacted Shimada Rieko to pick her up.

She has already reported to the club that she will have to go home at 6 p.m. after school, and the club has agreed.

"Are you going to a performance this weekend...?"

Rin Shiraishi got into Rieko Shimada's car, watching the street scenes rushing past the window, a faint sense of anticipation rising in her heart.

Although her life was short, it was at least fulfilling, and she had happy memories, so she had no regrets.

The reason she would read books alone at school was partly because she wanted to experience other people's lives and stories through books, and partly because she didn't dare to get involved with anyone.

She can only live for a week, and after that, she will be a new individual again.

If someone becomes involved with another person but has no corresponding memories or feelings about their interactions with them, the new individual may feel confused, leading to unnecessary trouble.

"arrive."

As Shiraishi Rin was reflecting on everything that had happened that day, Shimada Rieko's voice suddenly rang out, interrupting her thoughts.

She immediately came to her senses and realized that she had unknowingly returned to her luxury apartment in Jimbocho.

"Thank you."

Shiraishi Rin habitually thanked him, got out of the car, took the elevator alone to the 22nd floor, unlocked the door, changed into disposable slippers, and went to the main room.

Today, she only knocked once and received a response from the entity allowing her to enter.

"So, any progress today?"

As always, Shiraishi Rin, in her true form, lay on that luxurious princess bed.

She was wearing a black nightgown, her unkempt hair was loose and disheveled, and she exuded a dark and sickly aura.

"Akizuki-kun and President Himeya have formed a band, and I've applied to join..."

The cloned Shiraishi Rin truthfully recounted her experiences of the day and explained the causes and consequences.

After hearing this, Shiraishi Rin's gloomy face revealed a slight smile.

“Heh…heh…”

"Forming a band?"

"How youthful it is..."

She muttered to herself, her heart filled with jealousy and hatred.

This applies not only to the cloned individuals, but also to Akizuki Makoto, Himeyasuki...

She equally despises and envies anyone who lives a happy and fulfilling life.

Now, the darkness within her heart has grown ever deeper.

As long as she remains in bed, the darkness within her heart will deepen day by day.

"I...will try my best."

As a clone, Shiraishi Rin could only make such a promise.

She didn't want to hurt Akizuki Makoto, but she also didn't want his true form to continue suffering like this.

They are one; she can feel and understand the negative emotions that the original body harbors.

She represents the good side, but her true nature is evil. If the source of evil is resolved, then evil can be transformed into good.

"...Get out of here."

Shiraishi Rin, in her true form, waved her hand and weakly gave the order to leave.

"Goodbye."

The clone of Shiraishi Rin bowed, left the apartment, and got into a car to go home.

The accommodation prepared for her was a single 1LDK apartment in Shinjuku-Waseda, which also belonged to the Shiraishi family.

"I am back."

After returning to her residence, Shiraishi Rin stood in the entryway and greeted the empty living room.

"Empty" doesn't mean there's no one there, but rather that the house is truly empty.

There was no sofa, TV, coffee table, refrigerator... in short, nothing related to furniture was present in the living room.

This was at the behest of the original Shiraishi Rin. As the original Shiraishi Rin, she did not want the clones to live a comfortable life, even if they could only live for a week.

The living room was unfurnished, and the bedroom was equally empty, containing only a desk and chair. This was only because she needed to do her homework; otherwise, there wouldn't even be a desk and chair.

As for the bed...

She always slept on a makeshift bed on the floor, and her back ached every day.

If the bedding is too thick, she'll wake up from the heat in this weather.

Without air conditioning or a fan, her only way to beat the heat was to wear the bare minimum of clothing, essentially going commando, wearing only an extremely thin tank top.

"call……"

After taking off all her clothes and putting on a thin tank top, Shiraishi Rin touched the fine beads of sweat on her forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.

Then, she took the water glass, filled a glass with tap water from the kitchen tap, and drank it all in one gulp.

After doing all this, she returned to her bedroom, took out a diary, and wrote down everything that had happened that day.

She writes a diary every day, and she writes very carefully, so that the next clone can understand the current interpersonal relationships and ensure that no mistakes are made.

Today, she focused on writing about the Light Music Club, and also wrote about her impressions and feelings about the other four members.

By the time she finished writing in her diary, it was completely dark outside, and she felt a pang of hunger.

She has 1,000 yen a day for living expenses, which is enough to barely fill her stomach, but the food is not good.

In the morning, I would spend about 200 yen to buy bread and water. I would eat lunch at the school cafeteria, which was basically the cheapest food. In the evening, I would only eat cup noodles or bread.

Anyway, she only had one week to live, so it didn't matter if the food was bad. She just felt hungry every day and had a strong urge to eat and drink a lot.

After dinner, she does her homework, and then takes a cold shower to end her day.

Fortunately, the weather is hot now, so taking a cold shower won't cause any health problems, and it won't make me feel uncomfortable.

(End of this chapter)