Tokyo Psychic

In the photo, half of the keyboard player's face was covered in shadow, and he was wearing very low-key casual clothes, but he showed a cheerful and sweet smile that made them feel strange and familiar.

"Yeah." Still a short answer.

The pale light in the living room seemed to become complicated all of a sudden, like a sharp knife placed on ice, cold and eerie, making people shiver to the bone.

The girl with long light green hair placed her hands on her knees, trembling as she clenched them into fists, but soon released them. "She's very happy."

The brown-haired girl took the tablet back and repeated it, imitating her tone, "She's very happy."

The girl sitting on the other side of the sofa bit her lip, lowered her head and said nothing.

After a while, the other party said, "They're performing at 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon... at Shimokitazawa South Exit Shopping Street. Want to go and see it together?"

The girl, with a doll-like expression, stared fixedly at the glass on the coffee table in front of her. The light passed through the gradually melting ice in the glass and reflected back in her pupils with a rainbow halo.

"Ah."

Still a short answer, like the low hum of a plucked bass.

*

Shoko Toyokawa looked at the greetings sent by familiar IDs in her private message box. The emotions she had expected, such as embarrassment, panic, or anger, did not appear at all. Instead, a deep sense of guilt and apology spread in her heart like cinnabar soaking into well water.

When the "past" that she had always been unwilling to face rises up on some dramatic occasion, steps onto the stage of fate, and arrives at the "present".

But she is no longer the ordinary high school student who has to hide herself for the sake of self-esteem.

I just calmly agreed to the request from "Nagasaki Suyo" that "I want to watch your performance."

And "Nagasaki Suyo" sent a new message almost immediately.

【After the performance, can we find a place to chat alone for a while? 】

Toyokawa Shoko hesitated for a moment, but still replied truthfully, "I can't tomorrow. I have an appointment with a friend."

082. "All the Talents Arrive" (Two-in-One)

Sunday, May 2022, 5

【The first road show of “The End Band”. 】

Jing Qinrencai got up very early. She glanced at the time stamp on her phone and it was already seven o'clock.

She jumped out of bed in a hurry, opened the wardrobe, and then rarely fell into thought while looking at the wardrobe full of clothes.

At this moment, Jing Qinrencai didn't notice at all that her expression of pretending to be thoughtful was very similar to Kurusu Akatsuki's.

"What should I wear for my first performance..."

She habitually reached for a black hoodie.

For some reason, I thought of the contents of several fashion magazines I had read by chance.

The hoodie was thrown onto the nightstand. "No, no, this is too tacky."

Then the casual summer T-shirt and shorts were thrown on the nightstand, "This is too frivolous!"

White shirt and dark skirt, "It's just a concert, not work!"

......

After rummaging through boxes and drawers for a while, she finally found the only dress in the entire wardrobe. It was a dress her sister had sent her some time ago, and it came with a pair of red princess shoes. "This is too embarrassing!"

Jing Serina really couldn't imagine herself performing in a dress, princess shoes, and a pear-shaped hairstyle...

She fell onto the bed, rolling around with her pillow in her arms, looking distressed. "What should I wear when I go out?"

At this moment, the cell phone in her pocket vibrated.

It is a special reminder tone set by Line.

Jing Qinrencai hugged the pillow and was silent for two seconds, then took out her cell phone and looked at the message on the screen. Her face inflated quickly like a puffer fish, her cheeks puffed up, and she opened the chat box sullenly.

Millionaire: Meet at STARRY at 9 o'clock. Are you out now?

[Jing Qin Rencai: I'm still picking out clothes.]

[Millionaire: Mr. Sakura asks you to have breakfast at LeBron before leaving.]

After saying this, Kurusu Akatsuki's profile picture quickly dimmed, as if he didn't care about her explanation at all.

Jing Qinrencai stared at the screen of her mobile phone for a long time, and her heart suddenly felt itchy as if it was being scratched by a cat's claws.

Choosing what to wear suddenly doesn't seem so difficult.

......

"Is this all right?" In the stairwell of STARRY, Toyokawa Shoko, who met her, looked curiously at the content on Kurusu Akatsuki's phone screen.

She got up at six o'clock, dressed up carefully, and then took the train to Shimokitazawa.

Kurusu Akatsuki opened the shop door and put his phone back into his pocket. "That's good. She'll be out soon."

"Isn't it a bit too cold towards her?"

"That's not the case..." Kurusu Akatsuki led Toyokawa Shoko into the recording studio. There were no customers in STARRY now. Ijichi Seika had gone out to purchase ingredients and drinks for the evening business. He and Toyokawa Shoko each took a broom and started cleaning.

Although Qi Xiao is now worth more than two million, in fact, the bank has asked him to pay back the debt many times. By the time he pays the interest and repays his debt to the Fengchuan family, the money will be almost gone.

To sum up, Kurusu Akatsuki's part-time job is necessary before the light novel publishing becomes profitable.

Although he signed with Atlus Idol Agency, according to his own development expectations, the record company that actually connected with him was "Vanillasha" under Atlus.

Considering that he is still a high school student, the first work arrangement will be made next weekend.

Kurusu Akatsuki was cleaning up the food scraps and support items left by last night's customers in the corner of the performance hall.

"If I chat with Jingqin for a few more minutes, she'll just keep asking questions, seemingly endlessly, and then she'll become even less motivated and keep putting things off. On the contrary, if I try to limit irrelevant topics and make direct requests, she'll actually be much more motivated."

With the filter of the identity of "Mind Thief", even if Kurusu Akatsuki uses a tone that is like a lecture or almost a comment, it will not make Toyokawa Shoko feel abrupt. Instead, it comes across as a capable, calm and reliable person.

"...She depends on you a lot." Toyokawa Shoko blinked her eyes and finally figured out the position of Kurusu Akatsuki in Ichinose Rinna's heart. Suddenly, she felt inexplicably sour, a little envious and a little dissatisfied.

The Phantom Thief picked up the garbage bag and headed towards the stairwell. "He's just a kid who hasn't grown up."

"Children will grow up eventually."

"No one can tell when this 'sooner or later' will be... After all, even facing her past now requires the security provided by others."

As she spoke like this, Kurusu Akatsuki disappeared down the stairwell.

Shoko Toyokawa looked down at her palms and gently clenched them into fists, as if trying to grasp something invisible. At this moment, she could feel the power of the personality mask responding to her call in her heart.

Do I have the courage to face my past, my current situation, and my true self?

When she thought of this question, she spread her hands and had the answer in her mind -

It turns out that I have "grown up".

Kurusu Akatsuki's evaluation was not biased. At only 16 years old, Toyokawa Shoko was a mature personality mask user.

Don't take risks rashly, don't panic when danger comes, and try to think of ways to deal with difficulties even if you are afraid.

The word "growing up" is very cruel, just like killing the weak self that was once there, and then giving birth to another self with an exoskeleton that is strong enough to withstand all kinds of crises from the outside world from the empty shell. The whole process is as painful as a beetle breaking out of its cocoon, making it difficult to breathe.

When I put on a shell, or even picked up weapons like poison needles or pliers, and began to deal with life with an indestructible image, I suddenly realized that the interesting or sad things I experienced on campus were becoming less interesting and less sad one by one, as if I had suddenly realized some cosmic philosophy.

Those betrayed promises or inadvertent mistakes seem as thin as paper in the face of the difficulties called "life".

A gentle poke with your hand will leave a hole, through which you can see those childish and sincere cries and laughter.

*

Familiar performance hall, familiar recording studio.

The boy and girl, who were already familiar with each other, sat around the coffee table in silence for about a minute.

"Let me speak first."

It was Kurusu Akatsuki who broke the silence first.

He looked at the trembling Ijichi Hongxia and Ii Serina and got straight to the point, "We're famous."

Just yesterday, the official account of "Ending Band" released a group of photos and the location of tomorrow's roadshow. After just one night of fermentation, it actually received an astonishing number of views for a new band.

The reason was that due to various coincidences, Shoko Toyokawa was recognized by her junior high school classmates in Tsuki no Mori.

Then the news was forwarded to circles of all sizes in Tsukinomori. Everyone knew that the arranger of the song "Kasuga Shadow" which was quite famous in the school, Tsukinomori's former student, the eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family with genius composing ability, had found a new band...The above is excerpted from the original text written by Mashiro Kurata, the lead singer of the well-known band "Morfonica" launched by the private Tsukinomori, in his own news.

No one could explain why Ms. Mashiro Kurata, the lead singer of "Morfonica", whom they had met behind the scenes of a concert, suddenly forwarded this news.

Immediately afterwards, the newly formed band "Diamond Dust" also retweeted this post, helping their fans recognize that the lead guitarist in the newly formed "End Band" was the author of "Sora no Bako", Momoka Kawahara.

In short, as a new group, their first roadshow will probably result in being blocked on the streets.

"What you mean is..." Jing Qinrencai said tremblingly, "If our performance fails, we won't even have a chance to escape?"

Ijichi Hongka hugged Yamada Ryo's arm, trying to find some sense of security from this bassist with performance experience.

The bassist stood there indifferently, probably frightened by the situation of "no way out".

Kurusu Akatsuki said, "At least it's better than us making a fool of ourselves in a livehouse... After all, it's a street performance, so minor flaws and mistakes are easier for the audience to accept."

Momoka Kawahara, a professional singer, leaned back on the sofa with her arms folded. "That's true. Furthermore, with street performances, there are actually very few people who have the time to come and listen... Those who are willing to make a special trip to Shimokitazawa just to hear us play a few songs at 2 p.m. are generally former fans of Diamond Dust or old acquaintances."

"So, the 'siege' situation will most likely only happen to Miss Momoka." Kurusu Akatsuki held her guitar and strummed the strings with a pick. "After all, she's the only professional singer who truly has fans."

"If something really happens, we can just run away with her together."

Toyokawa Shoko's expression was a little subtle, "Well, I think... I might also be..."

Kurusu Akatsuki looked at her strangely. "Are all your classmates your ardent fans? There shouldn't be such messy disputes like emotional attachments in a girls' school, right?"

Toyokawa Shoko lowered her head in embarrassment, and for a moment she didn't know how to describe the true situation of "Private Tsuki no Mori Academy" to Kurusu Akatsuki.

"Anyway, let's use the remaining few hours to rehearse well on stage." Kurusu Akatsuki made this arrangement and pushed open the door of the recording studio.

When passing by the counter, Ichichi Xingge actually praised them, which was rare.

"Your performances are now running at a steady pace, and there's been some discussion online. If today's performance continues to perform at the current level, tickets will be available for sale on STARRY starting tomorrow."

Hearing her sister's praise, Ijichi Hongxia straightened her back and clenched her drumstick, as if a lot of amazing strength surged in her body.

Even the shy Jing Qinrencai couldn't help but cover her face and smile foolishly for a while when she imagined her future as a singing star.

......

Five hours later.

Ijichi Hongxia looked at the busy street and found that her hands were shaking as if they were frozen, and every movement seemed stiff.

Jing Qinrencai held the microphone, completely petrified, standing there blankly, staring at the crowd, as if her heart was about to jump out.

Shoko Toyokawa seemed to have discovered several familiar figures among the pedestrians who were gradually gathering around her, and her expression was particularly conflicted.

Kawahara Kimoka and Yamada Ryo looked at each other for a while, then looked at Kurusu Akatsuki at the same time.

The meaning is very clear: If you dare to play a prank again, our performance will be really ruined.

The thief held up the pick and gestured against the strings for a while, indicating that he would definitely give it his all this time.

Perhaps recognizing their identities, some fans of "Morfonica" and "Diamond Dust" who had nothing to do and came to listen began to gather.

The flow of people suddenly increased.

No one noticed that there were some girls dressed in low-key clothes mixed in the crowd, quietly approaching the "End Band".

"Are you also fans of Miss Mashiro?"

"We are fans of Ms. Momoka."

"..."

Fans of different bands began to recommend their favorite songs to each other.

Of course, there are also some gossip mixed in.

"I heard that the keyboardist of this band 'The End' was once a student of Tsukinomori, and was even praised by Ms. Mashiro as a 'genius composer'."

"Tsuki no Mori... that's the school where Morfonica is currently studying. Of course I know it."

"I don't know what's going on with those girls. There's a lot of talk online about that place gathering students who are so obsessed with music that they're developing psychological problems."

"You know what? That Yue Zhisen seems to have quite a few split personalities. To be honest, I used to work behind the scenes at a concert, accompanied the motorcade to send those girls back to school, and helped carry the musical instruments back to the teaching building several times... I saw with my own eyes the same woman say 'It's not Xiaomu's fault' and 'It's your fault this time and last time'. It's terrifying."

In the crowd, the girl who said "It's not Xiaomu's fault" subconsciously turned her head to look at Ruoye Mu beside her.

Ruoye Mu clenched his hands and refused to look up at her.