People are in animation, but they can connect to reality

On the stage, Nina continued to sing with all her might, a slight bead of sweat on her forehead and a blurry vision. Singing on a stage like this, she could unconsciously be moved, and memories of the past would come flooding back. Especially when she saw the audience captivated by her singing, those bad memories from the past would suddenly flash back, making her feel like everything was in the past.

After the performance, the judges in the audience applauded. Ebizka Satoshi couldn't help but look towards the judges' table, where she suddenly saw a familiar figure. Ebizka Satoshi was stunned for a moment.

Her teacher was actually sitting there, looking at her with a smile. Ebizka Satoshi wiped the corners of his eyes, feeling a little wet.

“Excellent, very impressive!”

Asagi gave both thumbs up in praise.

"Especially Nina, you have made great progress. I feel that your voice has become much more stable after returning from your hometown." Asagi recalled Nina's voice just now. Although it was not mature enough, it had improved a lot compared to before.

Perhaps it was the relief of a burden, or perhaps it was the added burden of a new burden, perhaps this new burden was the expectations and recognition of her family. In short, Rencai has grown a lot.

“Hehehehe…”

Renai rubbed the back of her head and smiled foolishly.

Toyokawa Shoko took in everything, and once again, she began to doubt Asagi's relationship with the band. Their relationship didn't seem like that of a fan and an idol. The girl actually smiled with delight at Asagi's praise. That was something fans couldn't do; they wouldn't act like children, smiling like a spoiled child just because of a few compliments.

For a moment, Shoko Toyokawa couldn't figure out what the relationship between Asagi and them was.

Just as she was swaying back and forth, her eyes met Nina's for a moment. Nina immediately gave Toyokawa Shoko a bright smile. She really liked that fairytale-style song.

Chapter 209 We Advance

Toyokawa Shoko avoided Nina's sight, she turned her head and pretended that it was just a coincidence. Nina was not depressed, she still kept a smile on her face.

"Okay, you can sit down now. You won't disturb others."

MMK, standing nearby, grasped Renai's shoulders and pressed her down onto the seat. Renai didn't react, obediently following the pressure and sitting down. After settling in, Renai glanced around and noticed several people watching her. Renai immediately shrank back, her hands resting on her knees, fidgeting restlessly.

Nina's cheeks flushed instantly. Although she had just sung with great joy, the melody had stirred her blood and made her want to vent. However, Nina was still a somewhat timid child at heart. She would hide her head and stay in a corner cautiously because she was worried about other people's feelings.

Although sometimes, Jinna can be unusually brave. Now that Hina is no longer by her side, the person who understands her best is no longer here. Jinna has so much to say, but no one to confide in. MMK is more of a character who can act like a spoiled child. Jinna can act like a spoiled child to MMK whenever she's upset, and MMK won't reject her.

However, Hina is the one she can confide in. In front of Hina, she can say anything, happy or sad, what she wants to do or not, even secretly saying other bad things behind her back, and Hina will listen to her carefully.

Because Hina understands her, better than she understands herself. At this moment, there are many things in Renai's heart, but after looking around, she found that some things are not suitable to be said to MMK and others, and those things can only be hidden in her heart.

The more you grow, the more you pay attention to other people's feelings, and there are many things you can't say out loud.

Why did I realize it only now? That friend with whom I could talk about everything, with whom I didn’t need to hide any thoughts, a friend with whom I could speak boldly and without any scruples, whether it was something happy or sad.

She had actually pushed her away.

"??? Why are you crying, Niina????"

MMK noticed Renna's slight twitching. She remained calm and smiled at Renna. She felt that Renna's crying wasn't a sign of sadness, but rather a sign of joy. So, she wasn't worried at all.

"MMK-san."

Renai threw herself into MMK's arms and choked with sobs.

Behind them, 486 and Ebizka Satoshi exchanged bewildered glances, each thinking Nina was a real crybaby, prone to tears at the slightest provocation. Though Nina was the same age as 486 and Ebizka Satoshi, her childhood had been detached from reality, leaving her with a more innocent emotional state. Nina's greatest challenges were sudden, unforeseen challenges, not the torment of reality.

486 has long been thinking about his favorite music and his guilt towards his grandmother, while Ebizuka Satoshi had already made plans to live alone in junior high school. They are more mature than Nina.

Even though she had realized it, MMK was still a little flustered trying to comfort Nina. Nina's emotions were very complicated at the moment, with not only the joy of success, but also the desire to act like a spoiled child to MMK, and even some guilt towards Hina.

"The singing is very nice." This is Ruoye Mu's voice.

Asagi turned around and noticed something was amiss with Wakaba Mu's expression. She lowered her eyes, staring at her hands. Her hands were clearly empty, but in Wakaba Mu's eyes, it seemed as if they held many things. Those things captivated her deeply, making her unable to look away.

However, there was sadness and grief in his eyes, just like a lonely child hiding in a dark corner, hugging his knees and looking at the dark world in front of him anxiously.

Asagi looked at Wakaba Mutsu and felt sorry for the girl. However, Asagi didn't know much about Wakaba Mutsu. In the original story, Wakaba Mutsu's role was too small. There was not much expansion of Wakaba Mutsu's story.

Asagi only knows that Wakaba Mu's inner self is different from her outer self, and that there is something hidden within her that she has never revealed. That something is the root of her sadness. Currently, the only person who knows that something is Toyokawa Shoko.

Asagi didn't know how to help the child.

"Mu's voice is also very nice." Asagi said.

Wakaba Mutsu looked up at Asagi for a long time.

The last person to appear was Diamond Dust. Unlike the other scheduled appearances, Diamond Dust's appearance immediately caused a lot of murmurs in the audience. Diamond Dust has been very popular recently. Asagi saw many Diamond Dust advertisements on the street, and even outside large shopping malls, Diamond Dust ads were playing.

Many bands at the event knew Diamond Stardust. They whispered about why Diamond Stardust was there. With their current fame, they didn't need to compete with them. That would be a terrible thing to do.

If a rising, well-known band competes against everyone, winning is fine. But if they lose, they'll definitely leave a dark mark on their record, potentially even facing a complete collapse. Losing to a well-known band is understandable, but losing to a nobody will be an opportunity for many to criticize them, claiming they don't deserve the reputation and are unqualified.

So, a band like Diamond Stardust, which has been around for a few years and is even starting to gain popularity, shouldn't be here. At least, the disadvantages are too great.

When Rin, Nana, Ai, and Hina took the stage, there were also many photographers filming from below. As a participating band, their entourage was not as good as the ones brought by Toyokawa Shoko and others, but it was still among the top few.

The camera crew snapped a lot of photos of Diamond Stardust, whether they were with the band or just the other random people. As always, a popular band means traffic, so they snapped them first and figured out whether they would be useful later.

"Hina, Hina, Hina, come on!" Seeing Hina's figure, Nina stood up suddenly, waving her arms vigorously and shouting loudly.

Renai's voice attracted the attention of many people. They stared at Renai strangely, thinking that this guy was weird. 486 immediately stood up and pushed Renai down.

"It's so embarrassing. I've said it many times, this is not a fan event." 486 sighed.

"Oh, I understand." Renai also realized her mistake and apologized with her head hung down.

Diamond Dust and the others sang a song that Asagi had never heard before, but Hina's talent was not inferior to Nina's. After Diamond Dust finished, the whole process fell into a brief silence.

Because next, the judges would announce the names of the teams that remained. Renai listened intently as the judges blurted out the names, some of which were unfamiliar.

"Ave Mujica,"

"MY ALL,"

The names of Toyokawa Shoko's band and Asahi's band appeared almost simultaneously. The members of both bands stood up and cheered. On Ave Mujica's side, only Meow Meng was particularly excited; the others were much calmer. Meanwhile, Nina, 2, and Ebizuka Satoshi were all excited. They had endured hardship for far too long.

"We advanced!"

Chapter 210 Take a Break

After the first round of incidents, half of the bands in the venue will be disqualified. Most of these disqualified bands will choose to leave, and a small number of musicians will choose to stay and see it to the end.

The reasons for those who stayed varied. Some had acquaintances or friends in other bands, others liked a particular band, or wanted to see it all out to see how strong the other bands were.

After returning to the car, Asagi and the others went to the tent again. Asagi helped take out the lunch boxes that Rupa and the others had prepared.

It was lunchtime, and there was a one-hour break between the first and next two rounds for the bands to have a meal. The eliminated bands could also take this time to leave the venue to avoid chaos.

Asagi helped carry out the lunch box, which was made of white plastic and contained a layer of insulation cloth inside. Even so, the lunch box had gone cold.

The drive to get here, including the waiting time and the game time, took about three hours. It was hard to keep the bento warm after such a long time. By the way, they got here in the same van that MMK borrowed.

"This is for Asagi. Since he's a boy, he needs a larger portion." Rupa opened the box, took out the lunch boxes, and distributed them one by one. There were seven of them, and the box contained seven lunch boxes and water. Rupa handed Asagi an extra-large lunch box. Judging from the appearance, Asagi's lunch box looked twice as big as the others.

"Uh, it's a bit too much." Asagi took the lunch box, which was heavy. However, since he had gotten a bargain, he certainly wouldn't act coy and instead gave it a little reluctantly.

However, he was really hungry and could eat a lunch box for two.

"Is your portion a little small? Do you want me to share it among you?" Asagi asked. Because when he opened the lunch box, he found that his large lunch box was filled to the brim, while the others were relatively empty.

"Because I have a competition, I can't eat too much. Besides, girls don't eat much anyway." 486 held the chopsticks between his fingertips and gestured proudly in the air.

"Eat your meal, this much food can't stop you from eating." Ebizuka Chi stuffed a piece of tempura into 486's mouth with a chopstick. Tempura was deep-fried and had one end cut into many small pieces, like an octopus's legs.

"Mmm, Mmm," Satoshi Ebizuka's chopsticks were against 486's lips. While chewing, 486 cast a dissatisfied look at Satoshi Ebizuka.

MMK and Rupa were used to this kind of playfulness. Or perhaps it was the playfulness between Nina, Ebizka Satoshi, and 486 that was proof of their close relationship.

"That's true. If you eat too much, you'll gain weight, which will in turn increase the burden on your body. If you become fat, your body will lose flexibility, and you might not be able to play music anymore." Asagi said casually.

"How can you say such things!" Asagi's words seemed to annoy the girls, and they expressed their dissatisfaction in unison.

Asagi, who noticed the slip of the tongue, pretended not to hear and concentrated on eating.

"Captain, what do you think of the opponent's strength?" During the break, Miao Meng moved slowly and came behind Toyokawa Shoko.

Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth and didn't answer. She ignored Miao Meng's question, and Miao Meng knew that Toyokawa Shoko was deliberately ignoring her and pretended not to hear.

However, Miao Meng didn't care.

"Are you full of confidence, or are you worried?" Miao Meng laughed. At this moment, she seemed like a bad woman, as if she was deliberately embarrassing Toyokawa Xiangzi.

Her body swayed behind Toyokawa Shoko, sometimes appearing at Toyokawa Shoko's left shoulder, sometimes at his right shoulder. In short, Meow Meng kept moving.

There was a bad woman's smile on her face, with the corners of her mouth slightly raised like a villain.

"The captain is so quiet. As a team member, I'm really worried." Miao Meng showed a regretful expression. She twirled her body like a dancer.

"Alas, my trust, my future, have all disappeared." Miao Meng even sang like a kabuki.

Toyokawa Shoko was very impatient with Miao Meng. At this moment, she regretted why she had brought this woman into the team. She was a newcomer. Although she was a well-known anchor, her fame was useless to the Masked Band.

What kind of force made her make such a failed decision?

Furthermore, in terms of age, the other people on Ave Mujica were all high school students, the same age. Only Meow Meng, the woman named Yutenji Wakamai, was a university student. She was pretending to be young.

"Hey, Meow Meng. Don't disturb Xiangzi. Let her be quiet for a while." Hachiman Kailing stopped Yutenji Wakami.

"Hi, hi, hi," Yutenji Wakami drawled out the note and backed away from Toyokawa Shoko.

Hachiman Kaisu is the only guy in Ave Mujica who seems reliable, not only because of her mature and taciturn personality, which gives people a sense of stability, but also because Ave Mujica is very strong and tall, and when he stands up, he has an oppressive feeling of an adult.

"But, isn't Hailing curious? Where will we go and can we get the top three places? You heard that girl's voice, right? I'm very worried." When Yutenji Wakamu mentioned the girl, he pointed his finger to the right.

Hachiman Kairin instantly understood what Yutenji Wakami meant. She was talking about the girl named Niina. Coincidentally, Wakaya Mutsuki seemed to know the band nearby, so Hachiman Kairin paid attention to the band nearby, intentionally or unintentionally.

The child named Nina stood up several times, drawing her attention. Hachiman Kairin didn't pay much attention until they took the stage and began singing. That's when she realized their strength. The guitarist, keyboardist, and bassist were all very strong, while the drummer was a bit weaker, but he was trying hard to keep up with the others.

"Not to mention teams like Diamond Stardust. They've been really popular lately, I've even seen their street ads."

"Sorry, I'm not familiar with it." Hachiman Kailing interrupted Yutenji Wakami's rambling. She looked at Toyokawa Shoko, knowing how she felt at the moment. Hachiman Kailing was also unsettled. She was shocked by the team around her and felt the pressure.

So, as the captain, Shoko Toyokawa is under no less pressure than her at this moment.

Chapter 211 I'm Really Slow

"Which songs do you plan to choose for the next two songs, MMK-san?" After lunch, while everyone was taking a break, Asagi asked casually.

Asagi has contributed 3 songs to the band, all of which have received very good responses. MMK has contributed 2 songs, and the style is still a continuation of her previous style, a niche rock style.

Of course, Asagi still likes MMK's songs because there is a sense of loneliness and cry in MMK's songs, which is very picky about the audience. As an omnivore like Asagi, as long as the song is good, he will hardly be picky about anything.

"Ms. Miura and I have discussed it, and we'd better choose your song, Asagi, to be more stable." MMK replied indifferently.

"Well, in this kind of situation, it's better to come up with a song that has a better chance of winning. Of course, it's not that MMK-san's songs are bad. I really like MMK's songs, so I became an MMK fan. But..."

Miura Shiomi took a deep breath.

"As a professional manager, I understand the market and the audience better. Putting aside my personal stance, I think Asagi's music is more suitable."

After Miura Shiomi finished speaking, she glanced at MMK's expression. MMK seemed to have accepted her fate and didn't refute her.

"It's okay. That's my level. I already knew it. On the contrary, everyone has been considering my feelings, which has made everyone cautious and restrained. I'm sorry about that."

"But I have no intention of changing at all. I will continue to compose music."

MMK's hands supported her body from behind, she was half lying down, her eyes staring at the sky in the distance. In the sky, white clouds were flowing, reflecting the pure white color in MMK's eyes.

Although MMK didn't say anything, everyone understood how she felt. The failures she had endured had left her scarred and battered. She had spent countless dark nights hiding and crying secretly.

"But I did learn a few things, especially after leaving Diamond Dust. I realized I wasn't that important after all. It turns out I was the one holding everyone back, but I thought it was Ms. Mishima who was holding me back. [I don't know who Diamond Dust's agent is, so I'll use Ms. Mishima instead.]"

"I only realized this after I left. I'm really slow to react. But I don't want to give up at all. I'll probably make a lot of unpopular songs in the future. At that time, people can say whatever they want about me, but I still want to keep writing."

Nina, 486, Ebizuka Satoshi, and Rupa stared at MMK silently. They didn't speak, but instead turned collectively to Asagi. Asagi's position was now unchallengeable. After so many years of struggle, everyone had already recognized who was the core of the band.

MMK dropped out of school three years ago, achieving nothing, and nearly fled back home in disgrace. Ebitsuka Satoshi and Rupa toiled quietly for two years, still relying on day jobs to support themselves. 3, though a newcomer, had already considered music. Only Nina, a complete newcomer, was deeply supportive of MMK and a devoted fan.

Although she is a loyal fan of MMK, she doesn't understand why MMK's songs are so popular even though they are so good?

"I'm sorry for saying some willful and inappropriate words." MMK stood up and bowed to apologize.

Everyone looked at Asagi, waiting for him to speak. They were confident in the band's future, as long as Asagi was there. However, MMK's willfulness came at a cost; her willfulness required more effort from the others.

Even though everyone already knew the answer, they still heard Asagi say it.

"Why do you say that, MMK-san?" Asagi tapped MMK's head lightly. Although he was the youngest, no one in this strict hierarchy would find his behavior strange or abrupt.

"I've already told you and made my stance clear. It doesn't matter if you continue to act willfully. I'll cover for everyone. Just do your job well. Of course," Asagi paused, "it's not just MMK, it applies to everyone else as well. Be willful and live freely. When you make money in the future, you can go on strike occasionally, or even band together to fight me."