How can my simulation be a real love?

Her fair, delicate hands gripped the neck of the violin, her slender and delicate fingers swiftly traversing the fretboard, producing a series of smooth chords and perfectly coordinated with the pull-offs, while her right hand rapidly swept the pick up and down.

The formidable strength he immediately displayed completely shocked the girls present.

The girl pursed her lips and revealed a faint smile of excitement. The gentle melody that had only existed in her headphones blossomed on the guitar through her fingers, and the beautiful and melodious piano music filled the entire room.

Old things and a few Lingjiulong stables

"Amazing……"

Chihaya Aine exclaimed in surprise.

It's worth noting that Lena only glanced at the sheet music, yet immediately memorized its contents and was able to play it fluently.

This level of skill is something that not every guitarist can achieve!

"Hmm... I'm definitely a bit taken aback."

Chihaya Aine moved closer to Kazami Naruto rather slowly, giving him a slightly resentful look.

Despite being a girl even younger than her, Yao Lenai's guitar skills far surpassed hers!

If Chihaya Aine hadn't known this beforehand because of the 'dream', she probably would have been somewhat on the defensive.

"wrong……"

This might be an opportunity.

Or should we take this opportunity to pretend to break through defenses and escape again?

Chihaya Aine looked thoughtful. If she 'ran away' because of this, wouldn't that bring Meimei to comfort her?

This way, one can replicate the world in their dreams and embark on their own 'path'.

However, after thinking about it for a moment, she gave up, because she was really not good at acting, and she felt that if she did it, Mingming would definitely see through her...

A moment later, the initial band practice session came to an end.

Although the coordination was still a mess, with the less skilled members unable to keep up and the more skilled members playing on their own, it was clear that they had the beginnings of a rock band, which was a good start.

"satisfy."

After playing to her heart's content, the cat stretched lazily and contentedly.

Then she put away her old guitar and effects pedals, turned her head and looked at Kazami Naruto not far away, and went up to him very affectionately.

"Ming."

The cat pursed its lips and stretched out its two little paws; its meaning couldn't be clearer.

They've come to ask him for a 'reward'.

"Aine, you and Deng take Renai to eat matcha parfait first."

"I still have some arrangement-related issues to discuss with Lixi."

Kazami glanced at Shiina Tatsuki sitting in front of the drum set. Because they had just finished playing together, there were fine beads of sweat on her delicate forehead. When she noticed Kazami's gaze, her eyes darted away.

"Eh?!"

Chihaya Aine stared wide-eyed at the two people in front of her. Why were they suddenly going to be alone together?!

Even though it was just a discussion about 'music arrangement,' it was still dangerous for my Naruto to be alone with that Rikki!

Rikki is just a tsundere who says one thing but means another. In the dream, she even took her place as her daughter's godmother. Does this mean that in reality, she wants to take over and become the biological mother?!

No, absolutely not!

She has to find a way to be a third wheel!

"Alright, Aine-chan, let's go out now~"

Nagasaki Motoyo had a smile in her eyes. Sensing the problem, she acted like a wealthy lady leading her children, holding the lamp in one hand and the pink-haired girl in the other, leading the others out together.

"Wait...wait a minute!"

With the soundproof door closed, only the two people remained in the huge practice room.

"In short, I want to apologize to you first."

Chapter Eleven: My feelings towards Li Xi Ge have always been... [5k]

Shiina Tatsuki's sudden apology did indeed put Kazami Mei in a difficult position.

He really didn't expect that Li Xi, who was arrogant and domineering, would apologize to him so frankly to his face. In fact, he had always thought that Li Xi was a very reliable good brother.

During the simulation, Kazami Mei had already figured out the other party's straightforward yet somewhat irritable personality.

He had absolutely no negative emotions and was even a little unsure how to deal with the situation.

"..."

When Shiina Riki saw that Kazami Mei hadn't replied for a long time, her already suppressed shyness suddenly ignited, and her fingers gripping the drumsticks tightened until they turned white.

That face, which was usually so sharp, was now tinged with a faint peach-pink that made you want to take a bite.

"It was wrong of me to suspect you before, and the 'bet' you mentioned is still valid."

Oh no, suddenly I find Lixi kind of cute.

Kazami Naruto immediately shook his head, almost feeling that their brotherhood was about to change.

“It’s nothing, because this is about the lights, so I can understand.”

“I can always tell that Shiina you are very serious about forming a band. You take the initiative to take on all the trivial matters within the band, including equipment debugging, because I don’t have the energy to take care of so many things. So I’m very grateful to you, Shiina.”

Forming a band isn't easy.

Don't be fooled by the fact that many young female high school students seem to form bands on a whim. For example, in the band next door, Nijika actually handles all the affairs, and she simply leaves the things related to live performances to her older sister.

Because Kazami Mei, as a 'ghost member,' always had to run between the band and Mygo, he naturally had little time to attend to band matters, training, and things like applying for live events.

It's fair to say that Mygo basically relies on Lixi to solve all the problems by himself.

Every time they come for ensemble practice, they only need to look at the sheet music that Lixi prepared at night and they can start practicing immediately without worrying about anything else. In the simulation, even the live performance was 'application' and preparation made by Lixi.

That's why Kazami Mei thought Tachi was reliable.

After all, as a bandmate, he is truly very reliable.

"Huh...? Thank me?" Shiina Tatsuki, who was suddenly thanked by Kazami Mei, was a little at a loss.

She subconsciously shifted her gaze and crossed her arms over her chest, seemingly trying to maintain her unwavering seriousness as before, but the slight movement of her fingers clearly revealed her wavering.

"To be a decent band, this is just the average level..."

"It's nothing at all."

In Shiina Tatsuki's eyes, these were things that she was naturally obligated to do.

Because there's not much you can rely on in the band.

Whether it's the adorable Takamatsu Lantern, the seemingly clumsy pink-haired cat, the long-term vegetarian who always seems a bit distracted, or even the most recently added, obviously unreliable stray cat—

In Shiina Tatsuki's eyes, none of them were capable of handling the band's affairs.

“But this level is much less stressful than ‘arranging’,” Shiina Tatsuki said softly in a low voice.

In her opinion, she was not yet capable of handling such an important responsibility as 'arranging music', while Kazami Mei in front of her was just like Toyokawa Shoko from CRYCHIC back then, who was truly convincing and reliable in this regard.

Kazami Mei didn't even need her to worry about anything.

It's simply that the other person's musical skills are much higher than hers, which makes her feel frustrated and inferior because she can't use her talents.

Just as Shiina Riki was feeling somewhat irritable and heavy-hearted, Kazami Mei, who was so talented in her eyes, sighed lightly and looked at her with eyes that said 'I'm an idiot'.

"I think Shiina is very reliable; I can't handle a bunch of troublesome matters."

Not only were they thanked, but this time they were even praised.

Shiina Tatsuki frowned slightly. She could tell that Kazami Mei wasn't just casually comforting and praising her, but genuinely believed that she had been a great help.

This left Shiina Tatsuki, who had rarely received praise, somewhat at a loss.

"Shiina, don't overestimate my abilities."

"My piece is currently only a semi-finished product. There is still a lot of room for improvement in the melody, but as the arranger, it is naturally difficult for me to see where the problems are. Of course, I need other people to give appropriate opinions."

“This…” Shiina Riki paused, a sudden blank look appearing in her eyes as she looked at Kazami Mei.

"It would be a bit difficult for me to compose a melody that matches the lyrics all by myself."

"So after this piece is finished..." Kazami Mei paused for a moment, then continued.

"I would like to trouble you to help me check and improve this."

He didn't just say that to comfort Shiina Tatsuki.

Kazami Mei has a very clear understanding of his own musical ability. No matter how excellent the quality of the music he writes in the simulation is, it is still written by him after he has grown up in the simulation.

He can't guarantee he'll be able to write good music yet, after all, the music he composes needs to be paired with Gao Songdeng's emotionally charged lyrics, and if the quality isn't good enough...

Putting aside whether Shiina Tatsuki would be satisfied, he himself would be dissatisfied.

"Shiina, what do you think?"

Kazami Mei's words pulled Shiina Ritsuki out of his daze. In his opinion, Shiina Ritsuki's music theory level was also quite high. If one person's ability is not enough, then two people can combine their abilities.

Li Xi, who is only focused on forming a good band, is currently his most powerful helper.

Shiina Tatsuki hesitated for a second, then slowly sighed as if releasing something.

“…Since you’ve said so, I understand.” She raised her sharp, dark purple eyes.

"In order to live up to the lyrics written by Deng, I will do my best to make the song you wrote even more perfect."

Seeing that Shiina Riki seemed to have regained her initial determination, Kazami Mei smiled and then casually extended her right hand towards her.

Shiina Tatsuki, who hadn't expected him to do that, was clearly stunned. After hesitating for a moment, he put down his drumsticks.

"Please continue to guide me in the future."

The next moment, a slender and soft, fair left hand gently grasped it.

Because Riki had been playing the drums for a long time, Kazami Mei could still faintly feel the strength in Riki's hands, but she could also clearly feel the unique delicacy and warmth of the girl's fingers.

Perhaps because she attended all-girls schools from childhood, Shiina Tatsuki has basically never had any contact with the opposite sex.

This time, directly interacting with men her own age, even with her typically aloof and assertive personality, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable and shy. Her usually dark and icy face was now flushed with an alluring crimson.

"Kazami, let me make this clear beforehand." To calm the inexplicable panic in his heart, Shiina Tatsuki forced a 'cold' tone, raised his eyes, and spoke seriously.

"If the quality of your subsequent arrangements is so poor that I can't even make any changes..."

"Then I will make you go back and rewrite it without any hesitation."

She was blushing slightly, but she kept repeating lines that kept people at arm's length.

Kazami Mei suddenly felt that Riki-san in front of her was actually kind of cute.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Shiina."

Shiina Tatsuki hadn't expected her emotions to fluctuate so much. After cursing under her breath, she tried to take deep breaths, intending to use the simplest method to calm her somewhat nervous emotions.

I don't know why, but I don't hate this guy as much as I did at first.

Even though he was initially wary of the frivolous and lazy Kazami Mei, Shiina Tatsuki's opinion of him had improved considerably by now, at least he could tell that he wasn't just 'talking it out'.

In a true sense, he promised to form a proper band with Deng.

"There's one more thing, it's about Live..."

Shiina Riki paused for a moment, just as he was about to continue the discussion with Kazami Mei.

The guy in front of her, who was only good-looking, suddenly stopped her and then gestured towards the door of the practice room. Shiina Riki raised an eyebrow slightly.

She looked towards the doorway in confusion, and her emotions, which had just calmed down, suddenly surged up again.

……

"Aine-chan, isn't this a bit inappropriate?" Takamatsu Akari gently furrowed her soft, arched eyebrows and reached out a small hand to tug at the hem of Chihaya Aine's clothes.

Kazami Mei had previously told them to wait outside for a while, but after Rakuna-chan enjoyed her matcha parfait, Chihaya Aine couldn't wait to return to the practice room, intending to eavesdrop on the conversation inside through some improper means.

"No problem!" Chihaya Aine proudly brushed a wisp of cherry-pink hair behind her ear.

"Rikki-chan and Naru-san don't get along very well, so if there's any conflict between them, we can find out immediately!"