Tokyo Psychic

"That's nothing to be proud of!" Ijichi Hongxia could barely contain her urge to complain. "I honestly can't believe someone could buy four ridiculously expensive basses in just two months!"

Yamada Ryo gave her a thumbs-up. "Those are all 'collector's editions' signed by my idols. I'll invite you to my house next time to see those precious collections!"

Ichichi Hongxia finally couldn't stand it anymore, "So, you owed me money for almost two months!"

Yamada Ryo shrank his neck and quickly put his hands together to beg for mercy, "I promise I can pay off the debt soon!"

Ijichi Hongxia took three steps back in shock, "Don't you still have a month before your living allowance is due?"

Yamada Ryo straightened up silently, then turned around and bowed to Jingqin Renai beside him, "Little Renai, are you willing to lend me..."

Seeing that she was about to fall to the ground, the band's lead singer and drummer rushed over to support her, "Calm down!!"

Toyokawa Shoko covered her face, quickened her pace and walked to Kurusu Akatsuki's side, pretending not to know the noisy guys behind her.

Since her father's sincere repentance, the girl, who is slightly younger than the rest of the band, has become more cheerful and generous than ever before.

After some tugging and pulling, everyone reunited at "STARRY" after a long absence.

Their first roadshow was coming up soon, and they had to borrow the venue of the Livehouse before it opened to get used to the feeling of performing in front of others... In addition to the Livehouse manager Ijichi Hoshika and the sound engineer PA, Kurusu Akatsuki also asked Anhe Subaru to call all her band members to the audience.

The girls in the band basically all brought their own instruments.

Ijichi Hongka didn't bring anything with her, because she was learning musical instruments using the drum set that came with "STARRY", so she just went to the recording studio and picked out a set at random.

Jing Serina tugged at her school uniform tie, stood on the stage, and then turned back in panic to look at Kurusu Akatsuki who was installing the effects pedal behind her, trying to find some sense of security from him.

In her expectation, this "advance rehearsal" should have only had a maximum of six listeners...

She looked at the dozens of heads crowded below the stage and felt like crying but had no tears.

After all, I underestimated the influence Kurusu Akatsuki had created during his half-month part-time job at STARRY.

Almost all the colleges and universities near Shimokitazawa know that there is a waiter in this performance hall who is as handsome as the male lead in idol dramas. Every now and then, groups of girls will come out to try their luck.

Not to mention girls, boys are curious too.

When they heard the words "extremely handsome", their curiosity was really piqued and they had to come and see what it was all about.

This situation has led to the phenomenon that STARRY is always crowded with young customers even though it is not yet open.

As Kurusu Akatsuki walked into the performance hall carrying his musical instrument, the customers who remained in the store took out their phones and started posting on the campus forum to make a fuss.

It was time to go home from school, and club activities were more or less coming to an end. What Shimokitazawa was not short of were middle school students with nothing to do, wandering around the streets.

After reading the latest post, they formed gangs and called on their friends, and soon they formed a whole "expedition team" and headed to STARRY's store.

......

An and Subaru whispered to Goto Doku beside him, "Do you feel uncomfortable?"

Goto approached her cautiously, trying to keep a distance from the crowd around him. "I'm almost melting."

Rupa and Satoshi Ebizuka looked at their own guitarist, who was extremely socially anxious, with some helplessness, as if they were disappointed in him.

It was obvious that this child's playing level was surprisingly high, but her mentality was ridiculously bad. Let alone performing on stage, she had difficulty even doing the most basic coordinated performance... She was either rushing the beat or being a few beats slower due to panic. At least she didn't play the wrong notes, which gave the captain, Satoshi Ebizuka, some insignificant comfort.

"Can we really find a suitable lead singer?" she couldn't help but sigh.

She was willing to accept An He Subaru's invitation to come to Shimokitazawa specifically because he had picked up a wild guitarist near Shimokitazawa last time.

This time, I wanted to try my luck and pick up a wild lead singer.

The atmosphere around became increasingly heated as Kurusu Akatsuki appeared on the stage. A group of girls held up their mobile phones and frantically pressed the shutter button to take pictures. Japanese mobile phones are set to "make a loud sound when taking pictures" and automatically trigger the flash in the relatively dim environment. A white light like an electric current flickered under the stage.

The situation was about to get completely out of control.

Jing Serina on the stage was becoming more and more nervous, and even Ijichi Hongka, who was not particularly nervous at first, started to sweat in her palms.

Ijichi Xingge, who was sitting at the very edge of the venue, couldn't stand it anymore. She stood up a little impatiently, found the loudspeaker, and went forward to maintain order.

At this moment, a red-haired boy suddenly shouted in the middle of the crowd, "The show is about to start, please be quiet! And please stop filming! Please respect the band on the stage!"

He was wearing the elementary school uniform of the famous "Private Ji-scratch Academy" in Shimokitazawa. He was probably in the third grade of junior high school. He did not show any signs of stage fright. Instead, he looked at the customers around him who were much older than him with a sharp gaze. Even when facing the gazes of adults, he did not show any intention of backing down.

The people around him might have been reminded of civilization and morality by such a reminder, or they might have been shocked by the pair of extremely expensive Marvel co-branded sneakers on his feet and the luxury-level mechanical watch on his wrist. In short, the noise soon died down and the screens of their mobile phones went off one after another.

A group of people took the lead, and soon more people began to follow...

The river of flashbulbs quickly died down, and the atmosphere in the venue became quiet.

"What's going on with that guy?" In front of Ebzuka Satoshi, several female high school students were whispering.

"Suddenly it got really loud..."

"He seems to be a student at that private academy."

"To be able to attend that school, you must be either rich or noble, right?"

"No, occasionally there are students with excellent academic performance or sports skills who can get in."

"In comparison, our Shuka High School...eh? Wait, Kita, look at the person behind you...Hey! Goto-san!" Several girls were surprised to recognize this classmate who had been assigned to the same class as them in the recent entrance exam because of a subtle difference in scores, and even sat next to them.

The girl named Kita Ikuyo also looked over curiously, "It really is Goto-san? Why are you here too? Could it be..."

Goto Du, who was recognized, shook his head repeatedly. He was stunned for a long time and couldn't explain to them the purpose of his visit to the Livehouse. He had to hide behind An and Subaru, trembling as if he was running away.

She didn't know why she was suddenly involved with this cheerful and famous popular Yangjiao in the first grade. Her already serious social anxiety was almost at its maximum, almost making her breathless.

An and Subaru had no choice but to explain on behalf of their guitarist, "Goto-san was invited by me to watch the performance here."

"Oh, you are..."

"Anhe, Subaru Anhe, a second-year student at Shujin Academy in Shibuya."

"Okay! I'm Kita Ikuyo, a freshman at Shimokitazawa Hideka High School! Nice to meet you!" Kita Ikuyo happily rushed up to shake hands with An and Subaru.

"Senior An He is so beautiful!" Her friends were discussing it in a buzzing voice.

"He looks like an idol."

"No, idol... I think I've seen someone who looks very similar to her somewhere... that one..."

"Please be quiet!" The red-haired boy at the back of the crowd couldn't stand it anymore and simply raised his voice to remind them.

The way he shouted and yelled was just like a big boss slamming the table and scolding his employees in the workplace.

The girls near the stage immediately fell silent.

The venue was finally completely quiet.

Jing Qinrencai looked at the microphone with a helpless expression.

Kurusu Akatsuki took two steps forward and snatched the microphone from her. "Sorry to bother you all, but it's not STARRY's business hours yet. We're just using the venue to rehearse our band's songs... We're just a band formed for fun, and we're new, so we don't have any performance experience. If there are any minor mistakes during the performance, I hope you'll be understanding!"

After saying this, he bowed deeply to the customers below.

Jing Qinrencai, who was so nervous that her blood pressure soared, quickly imitated him and bowed to express her gratitude and apology.

I heard that in neighboring China, there is a custom of couples bowing in the hall when they get married... This inexplicable sense of déjà vu made a woman in a suit in the venue feel particularly familiar.

Kurusu Akatsuki didn't let go of the microphone and continued, "We're going to perform our original song, 'Because I Can't Be Someone Else.'"

Then he returned the microphone to Jing Qinrencai and returned to his seat with his guitar.

Hearing that it was an "original song," the customers below the stage...especially the girls who formed a band with Ann and Subaru, all perked up.

Until they heard the scattered drum beats, the out-of-tune guitar, the stumbling lead singer, the lead guitar and keyboard players desperately trying to save the show - and the rhythm guitar who was slacking off and pretending to be strumming seriously.

The main one is to play one's own music.

What about bass?

Everyone looked over and saw the bass hanging in the arms of the blue-haired girl, her hands in her pockets, a cold expression on her face. Her hands were still her hands, and the bass was still her bass, but they weren't glued together... She had probably given up on trying. In the chaotic melody, there was no room for her to express herself.

"How do you feel?" An He Subaru smiled awkwardly and asked Ebizuka Satoshi beside him.

The keyboardist, aiming for a career, snorted coldly, "It's just playing house."

"Should we go up and try it too?" Rupa seemed to be interested. She clenched her fist and put it to her mouth, and gestured the singing movements to her best friend.

Goto Doku, who was hiding behind An and Subaru, began to tremble even more violently.

Ebizuka Satoshi raised an eyebrow and said, "No."

Rupa smiled and hugged her shoulders. "No big deal, we can each wear a cardboard box on stage."

"That's too stupid," Ebizuka Satoshi quickly rejected Rupa's proposal.

Goto Doku, who was shot without saying a word, was almost in tears, because if she didn't wear the cardboard box, she really didn't have the courage to play in front of others.

At this point, the entire song is finished.

Many customers in the venue got up and left disappointed, planning to come back when the venue officially opened.

On the stage, Momoka Kawahara seemed to have long been accustomed to this "disappointing" and frustrating feeling. She quickly ran to each girl and began to encourage and comfort them.

Soon, this band, which hadn't even come up with a name, started playing again.

It’s still that original song, “Because I Can’t Be Someone Else.”

Half an hour passed, and the girls in the band finally got used to the feeling of performing in front of others.

There are almost no audience members under the stage now.

Only a few girls from Xiuhua High School who had come to join in the fun were left, pointing and talking at Kurusu Akatsuki.

“He’s really handsome!”

"Damn, it seems like I need his contact information..."

As they discussed this, they all looked at Kita Ikuyo, who was very famous among the first graders and was known for her sunny and cheerful personality, extremely good looks, and very beautiful voice.

"Kita-san, it seems like you still owe us one more 'Truth or Dare' from yesterday's 'Truth or Dare'?" The girls' smiles gradually became a little sinister.

Kita Ikuyo panicked and tried to escape, but was immediately restrained by them. "Anyway, I'll ask the lovely Kita-san to try to get the Line of that super handsome guy!"

"That kind of thing is impossible!!"

At the same time, Anhe Subaru poked Ebzuka Satoshi's arm with his elbow.

"Chi, look over there."

"What's wrong?" An and Subaru whispered, "It seems we found the lead singer."

Ebizka Satoshi's eyes widened.

The next moment, An He Subaru stuffed his mobile phone screen in front of her. The screen showed the girl named Kita Ikuyo. She was standing in a KTV room, holding a microphone and singing with skills that were no less than those of a professional singer... This was a video posted on Twitter with the title "Imitating My Favorite Singer".

Ebizuka Satoshi listened carefully to the song in the video and looked at An and Subaru in amazement, "How did you do that?"

Last time, she picked up a guitarist with extremely high solo skills without saying a word. This time, when she visited a livehouse, she casually grabbed a talented lead singer who was simply a gift from God.

An He Subaru whispered, "Her social media platforms all have the same name. Searching her name on the browser immediately brings up a bunch of related art photos and videos..."

"How could a normal person go out of their way to search for the name of a stranger they just met?"

"Goto-san whispered to me. She said she often heard Kita-san want to join the light music club, but she missed the deadline to apply because her teacher called her into the office after school. It seems Kita-san was very disappointed after not being able to join the light music club, so she kept posting singing videos for her own amusement online."

......

at the same time.

Kurusu Akatsuki, who was walking off the stage with a guitar in her arms, was stopped by Kita Ikuyo.

Even Kita Ikuyo, who is cheerful and generous and has a lot of social phobia attributes, can't help but stutter and can't speak a complete sentence when she meets a super handsome guy for the first time.

"Um, please...can I..." Kita Ikuyo's eyes were wandering, and she was almost killed by the shame and embarrassment in her heart.

Suddenly rushing up to someone and asking for their contact information is not only rude, but also easy to cause misunderstanding.

Kurusu Akatsuki half-bowed towards her with a businesslike smile. "Thank you for your interest, but my part-time job is about to start, so please make way. If you need anything, please discuss it in detail while I'm working."

Thus, the beautiful girl's sincerity and blushing, which were considered to be the magic weapon of all-powerful success, were frustrated for the first time.

Kita Ikuyo returned to her friends in shame, stamping her feet in shyness and embarrassment.

Suddenly, An and Subaru approached and quietly patted Kita Ikuyo on the back.

"It's Anhe-senpai, what's the matter?" Kita Ikuyo tried hard to put on an indifferent expression.

"You want that boy's contact information?"

Kita Ikuyo quickly shook her head. "How could I possibly want that?"

This was a lie. As a true super-popular person, she simply could not resist the temptation of adding a celebrity from the campus forum to her social media account.

But An and Subaru simply bypassed Kita Ikuyo and said to her friends, "I have a way to add that boy on Line!"