Chapter 103

Kita's deep, mature voice, combined with a powerful and complex melody, swept through the streets with a terrifying aura completely different from his previous playful demeanor.

A large number of pedestrians formed a dense circle around the area so they could see and hear more clearly and so as not to disturb other pedestrians.

As Hiroi Kikuri watched the five people playing music, she couldn't resist taking out her drink. Just as she was about to start drinking, a pebble flew over and knocked her drink to the ground.

She glanced around and figured the stone grains were coming from the direction of Ishikawa Hayato.

He was typing on the keyboard with a gentle smile on his face.

Hiroi Kikuri stiffly put the sake back in her pocket.

She was a little disappointed; it was such a shame she couldn't drink while listening to such upbeat music.

To be honest, when she saw fans causing trouble in the past, she wondered how she could help them and whether they would be able to continue their performance.

Unexpectedly, the boy, Ishida Hayato, managed to turn things around, even uniting everyone in their hatred of the enemy and making them more cohesive.

Although their performance is still somewhat immature, some of them have already reached a certain level of skill, and given time they will surely become an outstanding band.

89. String playing

After their performance stopped, Nijika breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the fine sweat from her brow, and then eagerly looked up again.

She looked surprised and delighted when she saw the large audience in front of her.

Although she already knew their band was great, seeing so many people stay to listen because they like it still gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

The audience, who only then realized the music had ended, applauded continuously after the first round of applause.

The loud applause reflected their excitement.

Meanwhile, someone else was shouting.

"You sang wonderfully!"

"You played the guitar really well!"

"It sounds beautiful."

Kita, who was ahead, even overheard people talking.

"I've never heard of this band before, but they're really great."

"It'll be a hit next, right?"

Upon hearing that the band had been recognized, Kita smiled happily and glanced in the direction of the fans, but unfortunately, they were already gone.

She felt a little regretful that she hadn't been able to make the man stop and admire her.

But now was not the time to think about those things, so she quickly took over the announcement.

"Good evening, everyone. The song we just Kessoku Band's original song, 'That Band.' We'll be covering a few more songs next, so please enjoy."

Although the performance started suddenly and they couldn't use the lines they had agreed on beforehand, putting together a new line on the spot was a piece of cake for Kita.

She went on to add.

"We'll be performing at the STARRY store here next week, so please be sure to come if you're interested."

While Kita was speaking, someone approached Ishikawa Hayato and asked him if they could take pictures.

After confirming with Nijika, Ishikawa Hayato said there was no problem and asked her to make him look handsome in the photos.

The person gave an affirmative answer.

Afterwards, their performances continued, and although the covers didn't quite capture their essence as well as their original songs, they still attracted a large audience.

As the performance progressed, the number of tickets and merchandise that Nijika had placed on the stall in front of her decreased, while the amount of money she made increased.

Even a few signed endbands were successfully sold.

Even the cold coin boxes are getting people to put money in.

When Liang saw it, his eyes lit up with gold. He put down his performance and ran over to check the money in the coin box.

But then, during halftime, they were beaten up by Nijika and got a big bump on their chest.

Finally, Kita glanced at the other band members, who nodded in agreement.

Looking at the sea of people before her, she announced the end of tonight's performance.

That concludes today's performance. Thank you for watching.

In no time, the large crowd that had gathered began to disperse and leave, having enjoyed themselves. Some people even came to buy tickets and souvenirs they had brought with them.

Although Nijika had just beaten Liang, at this moment, she herself seemed to be obsessed with making money, happily selling merchandise.

Her smiling demeanor gave the impression that setting up a stall was her main job.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at her.

The experience I gained from working for my own family for many years came in handy.

Thank you for your patronage!

She smiled brightly as she saw off the last customer who had bought their merchandise. Turning around, she saw Kita excitedly talking to Ryo, Ishikawa Hayato, and Bocchi.

She walked over.

Although Kita was overwhelmed with joy, she wasn't completely oblivious. Hearing footsteps, she turned her head to look.

"Ijichi-senpai ~! Tonight's performance was a great success!"

"Kita, are you going to talk to everyone one by one?"

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled and made a sarcastic remark.

"Mmm, that's great!"

Bocchi was also laughing heartily at this moment; she was among those who were absolutely overjoyed.

She clenched her hands excitedly, her face beaming with joy, and for every shout of Kita, she responded.

To Ishikawa Hayato's right, Ryo was carefully counting the money she was putting into her coin box.

"Six thousand yuan."

She said this with satisfaction, and opened her wallet. Just as she was about to put the money in, Nijika, who had come over quickly, snatched it away.

"Confiscate it! This is everyone's money!"

When Ishikawa Hayato saw Ryo's aggrieved expression after her money was taken away, he probably would have called Nijika a skinflint if he didn't know the whole story.

Kita looked at the two people, her expression stiffening again, but she quickly changed the subject, excitedly taking out her phone and speaking.

"It's my first time performing on the street, let's take a group photo!"

Her suggestion was unanimously agreed upon by Ishikawa Hayato and the others, and she happily took out her selfie stick and walked to the front of their street performance location.

If we're going to take photos, we definitely need to choose a good location to capture as much of their performance position and the condition of their instruments as possible tonight.

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and followed, with Nijika, and Bocchi following behind him.

But after taking only one step, Ishikawa Hayato heard a cracking sound.

He turned around and saw that Bocchi had fallen to the ground.

Under the gaze of the four, Bocchi, who was lying on the ground, stiffly raised his head and said with a gloomy and pitiful expression.

"I'm sorry, my leg just... I couldn't move it at first."

"Just tell me."

Ishikawa Hayato reluctantly walked over, helped her up, and put his arm around her as they walked toward the center.

The three of them were already in position, with Kita holding up a selfie stick and waiting.

Ishikawa Hayato helped Bocchi walk over, and the five of them stood still, raising their hands in a V-sign to indicate that tonight's performance was a success. Then, a cell phone rang with a click.

As the sound rang out, Ishikawa Hayato suddenly realized that he, too, was feeling elated by the success of the performance.

They didn't even notice that Bocchi would fall.

The sound faded.

The light at that moment was captured by the camera lens, transformed into data, and stored in the digital photo album, as if all the emotions in his heart were sealed within it.

He became much calmer.

At that moment, a cool summer night breeze swept by, and Ishikawa Hayato looked ahead into the distance, where various warm-colored lights adorned the city against the dark night sky.

Ahead are passersby, beside them are four girls with different personalities who never seem to stop, and behind them are the musical instruments they brought for their performance.

He had mixed feelings, as if he had sensed some kind of genuine bond that brought them together.

Watching Kita uploading photos on his phone, and Nijika and Ryo heading to the back to disassemble the drum set to take it back, I noticed...

And there Bocchi, still leaning against him.

Ishikawa Hayato sensed something precious.

Just as the five of them finished packing up their instruments, a muffled voice sounded from their side, seemingly heading straight towards them, getting closer and closer.

"Come on, come on, don't be shy. Everyone definitely wants your feedback."

The five people stopped what they were doing and looked over there. They saw Hiroi Kikuri pulling the fan by the hand, as if she were being dragged over.

The fan looked helpless. When she saw the five people, she immediately looked away, but was still pulled away by Hiroi Kikuri.

After Hiroi Kikuri stopped in front of the five people, she smiled and said...

"This child has been watching you for a long time, and I thought she might have something to say, so I brought her over."

The five people shifted their gaze from Hiroi Kikuri to the fans.

The fan looked up, glanced at the five people, hesitated for a moment, then bowed, apologizing while avoiding their gaze.

"Well... I'm really sorry, please let me take back what I just said about you not taking it seriously. You all performed exceptionally well."

She hesitated for a moment as she spoke, seemingly unsure.

"Although... although you still can't compare to Miss Yamada's previous band, I can sense something different about you. I hope you can continue like this. That's all I wanted to say!"

When Liang heard her say to keep going, a smile appeared on her face, and her gaze shifted slightly to the side before quickly returning to its original direction.

After she finished speaking, the fan turned and ran away.

Liang raised her voice slightly as she spoke.

"Thank you for your feedback. You are welcome to visit my channel again in the future."

The fans did not respond.

Hiroi Kikuri watched from the side, smiling as she took out the Demon Slayer Sake. Like drinking a regular beverage, she naturally took out a straw, stuck it into the cardboard box, took a sip, and said...

"Wow, everyone's performance was fantastic! Are all the tickets sold out?"

"Yes, thanks to you."

Kita's opinion of the drunkard changed slightly.

"That's such a pity, I wanted to go see it too."

As if hatching some wicked plan, Hiroi Kikuri then said to Nijika, "Then next time you perform, just let me in for free."

In an instant, their gratitude towards her vanished.

With a cold expression, he began packing up his instruments, preparing to leave.

But in the end, Ishikawa Hayato took out a ticket he had prepared to give to his family and said it to Hiroi Kikuri.

"If you don't drink alcohol next time you come to the store, I'll give it to you for free."

"Eh..."

The drunkard let out a wail.

By the time we finished packing up our instruments and prepared to go home, it was already quite late.

As the five walked back together, Ishikawa Hayato noticed the lingering enjoyment on their faces, but also the thin layer of sweat on their skin.