Tokyo Heart Thief's Daily Life

Hongxia did imagine that she and Liang might be able to team up with Momoka.

But, Nijika explained to Aine who looked surprised:

"Momoka-san is a very strict professional and really intends to make a living from music, so it's only natural that she can't team up with us. Ryo and I haven't made up our minds yet and we plan to go to university in the future, so it would really be a burden to Momoka-san."

Liang: "No, I didn't say I wanted to take the exam. I already said I planned to live off my parents after graduating from high school and let them support me for the rest of my life. Guwuwupu~! (? ? ?)"

Before Xieliang could finish her despicable lines that had no self-respect at all, Hongxia skillfully choked her neck, making her face turn pale and she clapped her hands desperately for mercy.

Hong Xia's expression remained unchanged, and she sighed indifferently:

"I envy Renai and the others, but I really can't learn from them. And Luo Zhenjun is the same... Although he seems to be an excellent student with good grades, I always feel that he has a bit of a disconnected attitude. It's like going to school is not that important to him. If Momoka-san said anything, he would really drop out and follow her."

It feels like the worlds we exist in are so far away from each other.

Although Luo Zhen and Nina are only 17 years old, they have the feeling of being adults who have made up their minds and are ready to take responsibility for their own lives.

This made Hongxia feel a strong sense of distance and a little ashamed of herself.

"Professional, making a living from music... Does that mean you want to be in a band for life?"

Aine muttered to herself, but she felt as if she had just been enlightened.

When the prelude of [Empty Box] sounded.

An unknown band formed with Luo Zhen as the temporary bassist.

Several girls of different backgrounds, ages and thoughts expressed their inner cries through music on the stage.

......incitement.

Aine quietly grabbed her collar, feeling her chest pounding.

It was her first time to come to such a dark and cramped place as the exhibition hall, and her first time to see an underground band perform live.

This is completely different from when she was in junior high school, when she formed a band as the student council president and performed at the campus festival.

"...If you've experienced this feeling yourself, no wonder you want it for the rest of your life..."

Aine muttered to herself, quite lost in thought.

This scumbag senior of hers is more talented than she thought. Aiyin is now really admiring him.

139. First time in my life (4k5)

The feeling of performing on stage with Momoka and the others for the first time was much better than Luo Zhen had imagined.

to be frank.

Luo Zhen has always felt that he is the type of person who prefers to watch others perform rather than perform himself.

He had never actually thought that he would perform on stage with a musical instrument in his hands.

The reason why he learned bass from Yamada Ryo was really just to please Momoka, it was very simple and unpretentious.

......But...

After actually experiencing this once, Luo Zhen finally understood.

Why would some people rather drop out of school, fall out of the team, or not attend class than give up music?

This sense of accomplishment is really addictive. Practicing in private and performing on stage are really two different things.

"But having said that, I still don't plan to keep going."

After stepping down from the stage, Luo Zhen immediately started to talk tough.

In Momoka, Nina and Subaru,

Amidst the three people's tacitly booing, Luo Zhen coughed seriously:

"I still prefer watching you from the audience to performing in person. I want to see you shine, and I really do."

"Well, the seats on stage are like special seats, right? So, from now on, I'll just do it occasionally, as long as I can practice with you guys... Why are you looking at me with such subtle expressions? It's like I'm reading some shojo manga with a wooden male protagonist who's really trying to drive you crazy."

This person's self-deprecation was quite accurate, and the young girls (and adults) present were all complaining in their hearts.

Momona Subaru and the other two ignored Luo Zhen and gathered together to talk in private.

Subaru was the first to grumble:

"I'm telling you, is that man real or fake? How could anyone be so stupid?"

"And 'I want to see you guys sparkle?'... This is definitely a confession, right? He confessed to all three of us! Momoka-san, get your little man under control!"

Momoka: "He's just this natural, shameless Sea King. I can't help it... And he's not as shameless as 『?~』, right? Subaru, you're acting too exaggerated. You should be more natural and handsome."

Nina: "That's right! My Luo Zhen is really handsome, not as despicable as Subaru-chan... Woohoo, Subaru, why are you getting into my head! You just didn't show how handsome Luo Zhen is, I'm not wrong! (?>﹏

These two women are useless, their heads are filled with the soy milk of that scumbag harem king!

Miss Subaru, who had completely torn off her mask of a well-behaved and beautiful girl in front of her companions, glared at Luo Zhen with a bit of displeasure.

It’s a pity that Luo Zhen had no idea what she was angry about.

But he felt that if he asked this question, he would be given an unreasonable response like "'That's your problem~'", so Luo Zhen decided to keep quiet.

This silence only earned Subaru a louder sigh.

"I lose to you. I'm the only one here who joined the team purely for the love of rock music, and I haven't been tainted by the pink atmosphere of love. From now on, I have to be more clean and can't let you pollute me."

Momoka: "How rude! I'm not tainted by the pink air. If anything, I should be white! The pure white of my love for music!"

"No, no, it's clearly salty, wet, and sticky white."

Subaru stuck out his tongue and made a blunt remark without giving Momoka any face.

But even so, Subaru was also drawn into the excitement of the performance and couldn't stop.

The exhilaration of performing on stage is so great that it gives one goosebumps!

As the only person present wearing a JK uniform (though he himself is not actually a JK), Subaru successfully demonstrated his social control, which is more mature than Aine's, and immediately turned the offensive to act cute towards Xingge:

"Thank you, Sister Xingge, for giving us this opportunity. It's so great to be able to perform on stage at short notice! And I heard they won't charge us a performance fee this time? Is that really okay?"

"Ok, Ok."

Sister Xingge waved her hands generously, also smiling:

"Excellent new bands are all treasures to LiveHouse. Coming to my place more often in the future is the best reward. Besides, this wasn't a formal event to begin with. Technically, you were the ones getting my warm-up gig for free. I want to thank you."

"Hey hey hey~, Sister Xingge is really awesome~!"

Subaru also kept praising and flattering the generous Xingge, which obviously made her so happy that her hair was spinning.

And at this time.

Aine, who was visiting a place like LiveHouse for the first time, quietly approached Luo Zhen:

"Hey, senpai. Subaru just said that Xingge-san was supposed to collect your participation fee? So bands have to pay to perform at LiveHouse?"

Luo Zhen: "I guess so. The stage fee for performing is the basics, and then there's usually a share of ticket sales and quotas... By the way, Subaru-chan? You've become close to her so quickly, huh?"

This kind of girl from Yangjiao is really scary... Luo Zhen, who is essentially a very passive and introverted player, was a little scared.

If it were in the past, Aine would definitely show off her social skills and say that she can be friends with anyone.

But at this moment, Aine's attention was not here.

She kept blinking her big eyes and looked at Luo Zhen with even more curiosity:

"Stage fees? Ticket share? Indicators? Senior, scumbag, please tell me in detail! Please!"

"Uh... yes, that's fine. Let's go sit in the lounge."

Luo Zhen was a little surprised why the girl suddenly became so serious.

Because there were other bands performing later, the hall was so noisy that it was definitely impossible to have a conversation.

So Luo Zhen took her to the staff lounge, and after she sat down, he explained to her:

"Between LiveHouse and the performing bands, they generally adopt a system of platform fees or a profit-sharing system. Most of the time, it's a combination of both."

"As the name suggests, the stage fee is a basic fee the band pays for using the LiveHouse stage. After all, the venue, lighting, sound, and instruments all cost money to maintain."

That’s true...Aine nodded in sudden realization.

"Then there's the quota sharing, which means LiveHouse will allocate tickets to participating bands. The bands will first buy a certain number of tickets at a low price, and then they can promote and sell them to fans."

"If the tickets sold are high, both the LiveHouse and the band can make money. But if the number of tickets sold is not enough, the band will have to cover the remaining costs."

This is also one of the few ways for independent bands to generate income, and it is considered the main way to make money.

In addition, bands often make their own merchandise and sell it themselves or at LiveHouse, which of course also takes a cut.

This is the way for independent bands to survive. Luo Zhen basically explained the situation in detail.

Aine listened carefully to Luo Zhen's explanation and kept taking notes on her phone.

Luo Zhen looked at her thumbs moving up and down, quite curious:

"Aine, why are you suddenly so interested? A band that actually performs at a livehouse is pretty hardcore. You don't have to learn it."

"Ordinary students can just hang out in school clubs and perform on stage at events like school festivals. There's no need to engage in these kinds of commercial activities outside."

“Yeah, I know that too.” Aine answered immediately.

"But if you're going to rent a band for life, you have to consider the profitability, right? Otherwise, it won't last long."

...Wow.

The look in Aiyin's eyes when she looked up from her phone made Luo Zhen look at her with new eyes.

Her already beautiful big eyes now shone brightly as if they were on fire.

She also put aside her usual cuteness and clenched her fists very seriously:

"When Xiao Deng suddenly asked me if I was willing to be in a band with her for the rest of my life, I definitely backed off. I felt that the term 'forever' was too heavy a burden, and I definitely wouldn't be able to stick with it."

"But today, seeing people like Senpai who are so close to me, and girls around my age like Nina-chan and Subaru-chan, all perform so handsomely, I was really moved!"

"Yeah, I understand. Calm down and talk slowly. Would you like some soy milk?"

Luo Zhen took out the iced soy milk he brought from home and poured a cup for Aine.

He was trying to use this homemade drink to capture Xingge and the others, and eventually get the boss to agree to let him add more food menus in the store. This was all part of his plan!

Aiyin was not on guard at all, and just drank from the glass in surprise.

Then her eyes brightened:

"Delicious?! No, this is too delicious~! Fragrant, sweet, and refreshing, not at all like the sugary taste of packaged soy milk sold at convenience stores... How did you do that, you scumbag senior?! How do you make this soy milk!"

Luo Zhen: "This is an exclusive secret. I won't tell anyone else. ...And do you really want to keep saying 'scumbag senior'? I don't care."

Although Aine was quite firm in giving nicknames, she had no ill intentions when she called her that and she did so simply because she thought it was funny, so Luo Zhen didn't mind at all.

The girl smiled confidently, revealing her pointed little fangs:

"This is to express my love. It means that even if Senior is a scumbag, I still think you are a good person."

Then, back to the band...Aine immediately became serious again:

"The band Xiao Deng formed before was called Ciallo... Oh, no, it was Crychic. They both have original songs written and composed by themselves, so they must have performed them outside, right?"

"So, Xiao Deng must have felt the same way I feel now, and been moved by it. And she's the lead singer of the band! Such a cute little mascot, when she's the lead singer, will she unleash incredible power like Nina-chan does... I'm really curious!"

Anyone who has actually seen Renai's live performance will be shocked by this girl who looks childish but is a rock star at heart. The impact caused by the contrast is even greater.

Although Luo Zhen had never seen Takamatsu Deng perform on stage, he had indeed seen her heart.

With the storm in her heart, Luo Zhen had no doubt that when she got serious, she was definitely as tough as Renai.

So, Luo Zhen also nodded in agreement:

"I also think that Xiao Deng must be a very good lead singer."

"Right, right? I knew that your judgment of women would never be wrong, Senior Scumbag! After all, you have a lot of experience~!"

Hmm...even though this sentence should be a compliment, why does it sound so strange?

Luo Zhen smiled but said nothing, trying not to complain about the girl's natural venomous tongue.

Moreover, Luo Zhen completely understood what Aine wanted to express.