How can my simulation be a real love?

"call……"

As she continued playing, Pochi let out a long sigh. The roar of the guitar, like a cry from within, swirled in her ears, and the tinnitus-like, distorted sounds made her feel as if she were completely immersed in her own world.

The girl, whose eyes had been lowered as she played the violin, slowly raised them toward the light.

Try to recall how you played the instrument in your 'dream'.

Trembling fingertips suddenly gripped the pick tightly.

hum! ! !

Fragments of memories from the 'dream' seemed to flow into her fingertips like the power of her soul. In that instant, the girl opened her clear, unblemished blue eyes wide. Her right hand picked up the guitar and her left hand slid the strings, producing a piercing, hot roar that instantly reversed the gentle, lyrical melody that had just begun.

Everyone is giving it their all; she absolutely cannot afford to have any problems here.

After all, he was his guitar hero!

"Private one person!!!"

The moment Kita Ikuyo shouted, the trembling guitar seemed to tear apart the steps bound by shackles, and the high-speed, steady, gorgeous legato was like a girl who hesitated because of her doubts.

In the final moment, muster your courage and choose to take a firm step forward.

The unexpected twist in the melody instantly captivated the hearts of everyone in the auditorium, including Shoko Toyokawa, who was watching the performance from the far corner. Upon hearing this 'twist,' she couldn't help but widen her beautiful eyes.

Shoko Toyokawa's mouth agape slightly as she exclaimed in astonishment, "What an amazing melody..."

"Isn't my composition pretty good?"

Kazami Mei's undisguised smugness made Toyokawa Shoko blink blankly, then she couldn't help but laugh out loud as if she was amused by him.

"They are so lucky to be able to play a piece that Ming wrote himself."

Faced with Toyokawa Shoko's exclamation, he merely raised an eyebrow, a smile that was difficult to decipher appearing on his face.

"Not just anyone can play this piece. Even professional bands need time and effort to play 'Forget Me Not,' let alone a new band like theirs."

"Being able to play this piece perfectly without making a single mistake is absolutely inseparable from the all-out training."

Hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko nodded slightly and said with a hint of understanding, "That's true, especially that lead guitarist, he's really amazing."

If there is a keyboardist, the pressure on the lead guitarist will be greatly reduced, but if there is no keyboardist, the lead guitarist will have to carry the entire load.

To be able to play such a complex melody perfectly in such a short time requires not only hard work and diligent practice, but also exceptional talent!

With such an excellent performance right from the start, Mygo, who will be taking the stage later, will need an even stronger impact to win.

Kazami Mei naturally shared the same thought as Toyokawa Shoko. He turned to the blue-haired girl beside him and said softly, "Shoko, I'm going backstage first."

"I understand, you can go ahead then."

After Mr. Daisho nodded, Kazami Mei smiled apologetically and turned to walk towards the backstage area.

In fact, judging solely by the quality of the melody, there shouldn't be much difference between the closing band performance of "Forget Me Not" and MyGo's performance of "The Blue Snowflakes."

The problem is that "Forget Me Not" is more difficult to play, especially in terms of vocal ability and lung capacity of the lead singer and the skill of the guitarist.

Kazami Mei also considered this before choosing to hand this song over to the current End Band. If Kodama were to sing it like this, she might not be able to breathe.

"Kita and the others performed very well this time. I hope it didn't put too much pressure on Akari and the others?"

Kazami Mei, feeling somewhat uneasy, could only sigh helplessly.

Since he couldn't go on stage this time, there wasn't much he could do. He could only gradually quicken his pace and get to the practice room as soon as possible to check on everyone's progress.

……

"Sorry! We're a little late!"

Chihaya Aine, still wearing the 'Committee Member' armband, opened the door to the preparation room in a somewhat flustered tone. As she did so, Nagasaki Motoyo walked in with a smile behind her.

This made Shiina Riki, who had been waiting inside with her arms crossed for a long time, raise her sharp eyebrows in impatience: "You guys are taking way too long!"

"Sorry, Riki-chan, Aine-chan was a little delayed because she was waiting for me."

Nagasaki Motoyo apologized to Shiina Tatsuki with a hint of remorse.

This made Ms. Lixi, who was naturally more responsive to gentle persuasion than force, feel embarrassed to continue getting angry. Holding her drumsticks, she looked towards the stage with a somewhat irritable expression, even though she could hear the performance from backstage.

Beside her, Kaoruna was still munching on matcha-flavored rice crackers, and there seemed to be no trace of unease or nervousness on her face.

The little penguin, who was carefully holding the microphone and sitting in the corner, only reached out and greeted Ai-yin and Su-shi in a weak voice after they returned.

"The band is almost finished playing, and we still have some time to prepare before we go on stage. How about we do one more round together during this time?"

"Shall we combine them now?"

Chihaya Aine's eyes also showed some interest upon hearing Shiina Tatsuki's words.

Although everyone had practiced the song countless times for this "competition" with the band, and had memorized the sheet music by heart after seven days of training, they still couldn't help but feel nervous in this situation.

After all, the bands that came before were really good.

Especially Kita Ikuyo, the lead vocalist, performed so well as a 'rival' that even Chihaya Aine, who is very good at self-motivation, felt a little reluctant to give up.

And then there's Bochi, who's also a pink-haired guitarist, but his skills are far superior to hers.

Not to mention that the 'bet' between Chihaya Aine and Kita Ikuyo was so big this time, which made her psychological pressure increase day by day over time.

"I have no opinion."

Nagasaki Motoyo simply nodded slightly.

"I want to play."

Miss Lena raised her right hand as if answering a question.

Finally, when everyone's attention turned to Takamatsu Akari, the gray-haired girl holding the microphone looked around somewhat helplessly, and after hesitating for a moment, she nodded slightly.

"Then let's begin!"

As a 'action-oriented' girl, Ms. Lixi naturally does what she says she will do. She picked up her drumsticks and headed straight for her drum set, while the other girls quickly picked up their own instruments and prepared.

As the drumsticks struck to signal the start, the rousing music of Blue Snowflake began to resound all around.

Kazami Mei arrived at just the right time; he bumped into the Mygo members who were playing together backstage.

The girls naturally noticed him suddenly walk in, but they all tacitly agreed not to interrupt their ensemble practice and obediently finished playing the entire piece.

As the lead guitarist, Miss Stray Cat, finished the last note with a flick of her fingers, she immediately pursed her cat lips and revealed a slightly mocking smile. She put down her guitar and jogged towards Kazami Naruto.

Kazami Naru, who was already prepared, quickly took out some candy and stuffed it into her mouth, which barely calmed the restless little cat down.

Seeing Shiina Tatsuki's questioning gaze sweep over, Kazami Mei shrugged slightly and spoke quite frankly: "Looks like everyone's been practicing a lot lately. Isn't the ensemble playing quite good?"

The others breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing Kazami Naru's casual praise, except for Nagasaki Motoyo, whose eyes were fixed on his face with an unusual light.

"Of course, Kazami, don't underestimate us."

Shiina Tatsuki crossed her arms over her chest and gently raised her head, seemingly trying to project a calm and composed image so that the person in front of her could feel at ease.

However, Kazami Naruto, who was familiar with her personality, knew that Riki-nii would only show this state when she was flustered.

"Yes, yes, yes~ Anyway, just keep this attitude when you go on stage, and you'll definitely attract everyone's attention."

Kazami Mei smiled and raised an eyebrow. His confident and elegant words seemed to possess a kind of 'magic' that made people involuntarily trust them.

Just then, Miss Su Shi, who hadn't said much, suddenly asked out of the blue, "Ming, do you think we can win this time?"

Without the slightest hesitation in his eyes, Kazami Mei smiled slightly and said, "Of course, I believe you."

A heart that believes is your magic.

Upon hearing this, a slight emotional fluctuation flickered in Nagasaki Motoyo's eyes. Her fingers, which were fiddling with the ends of her brown hair, trembled slightly. Seeing the look in her husband's eyes, she couldn't help but murmur softly—

"Better than 'Forget-Me-Not'?"

Even now, the irritability in her heart has not lessened in the slightest.

Motoyo Nagasaki found the band's performance of "Forget Me Not" extremely infuriating. She simply couldn't accept that other bands claimed the song as their 'original composition,' yet she was unable to vent her negative emotions.

"Seriously... Meimei is such an idiot! You're making me nervous!"

Chihaya Aine, who was already extremely anxious, couldn't help but puff out her cheeks and gently bump her smooth forehead against his chest.

Perhaps because Kazami Mei ran over, her anxiety lessened a bit. However, the thought of facing such a formidable opponent as the band that was about to end, while her boyfriend, who was supposed to be her "reassurance," couldn't go on stage with her...

The restlessness in her heart could never be calmed down.

"Just perform at your usual training level for this show. When you get serious, you're no worse than the End Band."

"I will always be there to support you. Just go for it."

13

Chapter Thirteen: Forget Me Not.

Kazami Mei gently stroked Takamatsu Akari's smooth, delicate gray short hair. Her adorable, anxious expression made it impossible for anyone to ignore her. If it weren't for everyone watching, he would have kissed her at least once.

The little penguin seemed to understand his thoughts, and nodded its little head seriously with a blush on its face.

Mommy, if this keeps up, he'll be killed by cuteness sooner or later.

"Okay, okay~ Mingming's words are a bit cheesy!"

Unlike the little penguin who was determined, Miss Aine could only force a serious expression to reassure him.

This performance was not simply about winning or losing for her; just thinking about what would happen if she failed made her uncontrollably nervous.

As several girls prepared to go on stage, Kazami Mei gently waved to Ms. Riki, who was not far away.

Shiina Tatsuki, still holding a drumstick, raised an eyebrow in confusion. After the other girls left, she quickly walked over. Being alone with the other girl made her feel inexplicably nervous.

But to hide her true feelings, she put on a cold expression and asked calmly, "What?"

"Shiina, I'll have to trouble you to keep a close eye on things later."

"what?"

Somewhat puzzled, Shiina Ritsuki responded subconsciously, but the next second she suddenly realized the meaning behind Kazami Mei's words.

As the lead guitarist, Le Nai is almost impossible to make mistakes in her performance, and as the drummer, she naturally has to take on the important role of 'core' and lead the rhythm of the whole song at all times.

Both Kazami Mei and Ritsuki were well aware of this.

However, just in case, Kazami Mei slowly began to explain—

"Shiina, you're the one I trust the most when it comes to reacting on the spot."

"If you sense an unexpected situation during your performance, you need to react in time and bring the rhythm back on track. I can't go on stage this time, so I can't coordinate with you. Therefore, you also need to trust your teammates. As long as you react, Lena will definitely notice."

Is this guy the one who trusts me the most...?

Shiina Ritsuki, her cheeks inexplicably flushed, gently hugged her chest. A faint pink blush gradually rose on her fair and tender skin. Being naturally perceptive, she simply put on a nonchalant expression and waved her hand.

The girl's tone carried a hint of barely concealed panic: "You're so nagging! When did you start acting like an old woman?"

"Even if you don't go on stage, I can still control the situation. Instead of worrying about you, you should practice your keyboard more. You probably haven't practiced much lately, have you?"

Before Kazami Mei could react, Shiina, who could no longer hide her true feelings, picked up her drumsticks and turned to leave, leaving him with a rather 'cool' back view.

This made Mr. Kazami, who had been somewhat worried, breathe a sigh of relief.

With Li Xi's personality, maybe if I confessed to her, her arrogant nature would fool me?

……

Miss Aine, who was already standing in front of the curtain with her guitar, slapped her cheeks hard several times until her fair cheeks turned red from the force. Only then did the slight tension in her heart dissipate a little.

Upon seeing the red and gold-trimmed curtain in front of her, she couldn't help but swallow.

"It will win."

The comforting words she murmured to herself gradually gave her some courage.

As the curtain was drawn back, the figures of thousands of audience members in the entire auditorium were revealed. Mygo and his companions, who had never seen so many audience members before, were slightly taken aback, but they quickly recovered and prepared themselves.

Holding the microphone, Takamatsu Touka stared straight ahead, having already silently made up her mind.

"Hello everyone, we are the band [Mygo!!!!!!!!!]"

"Although we are not yet mature, we will do our best in the performance..."

Taking a deep breath, the girl with short gray hair spoke again—

Please listen to our song – "The Blue Snowflakes Sing".