Chapter 160

Leadership skills.

That's why she thought the two looked alike.

This unique quality that both of them possess is truly dazzling.

Kita let out a long sigh in his heart.

Unbeknownst to the two, Ryo fell asleep silently after the sound stopped, while Nijika remained awake.

Her eyes were filled with terror.

Kita- chan is already dating Hayato-kun?! When did this happen?!

It's cold! It shouldn't be cold, right?

And what were those two doing with their phones just now? Were they chatting?

Nijika suddenly had the illusion that, apart from her, everyone else in the band had fallen for Ishikawa Hayato.

She suddenly felt that she was in danger.

134. Starting

Time passed little by little.

The five of them continued their daily routine, which was somewhat tense yet filled with small joys.

Just two days later, as expected, they received the performance arrangements from the organizer.

They performed during the final segment of the last day, with SIDEROS, Otsuki Yuyuko's band, handling the headlining act. Clearly, the organizers valued them and Otsuki Yuyuko's band highly.

SIDEROS was even the closing band for the festival.

When it's their turn, all the other livehouse performances will have ended, and the last audience members will gather at Shinjuku Folt to listen to the final show.

This shows that the organizers believe in their abilities and their ability to attract followers.

Although the Kessoku Band didn't receive that treatment, the headlining act still garnered roughly the same amount of viewership.

More important than anything else is this for them right now.

Upon receiving the news, they were excited, but also felt immense pressure and the terror of being at the end of the line before being beheaded.

Under such terror, Ishikawa Hayato was so busy every night just replying to messages on LINE that he was practically dying.

The four of them would receive messages until midnight, but they didn't have much important business to discuss, so they would usually start chatting after a while.

It seemed that simply exchanging messages with him was enough to put their minds at ease.

However, the outside world's reaction was completely different from that of the girls.

After the performance was scheduled, the most excited people were naturally the countless music fans.

The Seesaw Festival is a goldmine for many music fans every year.

Witnessing a new band rise to fame overnight, or finding your favorite Sprout Band in the vast sea of people, is incredibly exciting.

They first browsed music writers' reviews of the various bands, searched for their performance videos, then checked the organizer's schedule, and finally decided on the itinerary for their three-day music tour.

Very suddenly, a band that was clearly favored by the organizers, but had little information about them from music writers, and even only had a street cover performance video online, entered the public eye.

Because they were a band that seemed to have some talent, they naturally caused quite a stir on the Seesaw Festival's related forums.

"Kessoku Band, End Band? That's a really lame band name."

"While Seesaw Festival can be considered a cradle for new bands, there are actually bands that sign up without any prior performance experience."

"I feel like we can look forward to this."

"This is a perfect band consisting of four super beautiful girls and one incredibly handsome guy. Their performances are the most amazing in the world; you absolutely have to see them!"

"Hayato-kun! Practice properly!"

"There's a limit to boasting! Delete it now!!"

Putting aside those few odd remarks, this music festival is also a celebration for writers.

Their brand-new debut provided the band with ample opportunities for media coverage, and the resulting surge in attention kept them extremely busy.

In a lovely room, Sato Aiko, who is actually in her twenties but looks like a junior high school student because of her short stature, is quickly searching for information about the bands performing at this year's Seesaw Festival on her computer.

She is a freelance writer, and writing press releases for bands is both her main source of income and a hobby.

But when she clicked on a band's performance video and listened to the terrible music blasting from her headphones, she sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time.

She then opened a video website that was running in the background and played some music to soothe her ears.

The incredibly skillful guitar music filled her headphones, and she relaxed, pondering how to evaluate the band while casually saying something.

"Guitar Hero hasn't been updating his videos lately, could he be busy preparing for the Seesaw Festival...?"

But as soon as she finished speaking, she laughed at her own absurd idea and shook her head.

"How could that be? No matter what, Seesaw Festival can't accommodate a professional musician like Guitar Hero. Even a beginner should be in a bigger venue."

"So what is she doing now...?"

Sato Aiko stared blankly out the window.

Meanwhile, a pink-haired girl was holding her phone and chuckling to herself.

On the other side, Fans Number One and Number Two, who knew early on that the Kessoku Band was going to participate in an event, asked in confusion after receiving the Kessoku Band's performance schedule, as Number Two didn't know much about the performance.

"Why was Kessoku Band scheduled for the last day? Their music is so amazing."

Meanwhile, Number One, who frequently attends various band performances, answered her with a smile.

"That's precisely why it's ranked last; it's the most important position."

"I see."

Number Two smiled with a look of sudden realization, but then blinked and suddenly lowered his head as if deep in thought, beginning to mutter something under his breath.

"If the Kessoku Band has such great opportunities at these big events, they'll definitely have more and more fans in the future, and tickets will become increasingly difficult to buy. At that point, those who could get up close will feel as distant as idols, and there won't be any chance to chat like before. Otherwise, fans will complain about how unfair it is..."

Number One looked at Number Two, who was babbling incessantly with his head down, radiating a dark aura, with horror, and couldn't help but interrupt him.

"How come you know so much about this?!"

After giving a long speech about the future, Number Two ignored Number One's scream and instead raised his voice, crying as he asked her a question.

"What should we do?!"

Number One hesitated for a moment before answering.

"As long as I become the president of the fan club before everyone else, no one will have any complaints..."

"That's all!"

Number Two said without hesitation.

Seeing her resolute expression, Number One couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart; she had a feeling that she had caused trouble for the Kessoku Band.

The music festival opened soon after.

However, the five of them did not go to watch other people's performances, but instead stayed in the Starry Night rehearsal room to practice their new song.

Instead of letting other people's music distract you, it's better to cram a little more at the last minute and give yourself more reasons to believe in yourself.

After all, this time is different from before. Before, they were all on their home turf, Starry Sky, and they knew that place so well that it felt like their own home.

This was not only a big event, but also in an unfamiliar place, which made the group quite worried about whether they could perform well.

While they remained hidden, the activity proceeded in full swing.

Countless music fans, musicians, and even record companies gathered in Shinjuku.

People carrying musical instruments and bands could be seen everywhere, and for a time, Shinjuku seemed to have become a music temple.

The outside world's reaction, as well as the actual situation of the music festival, were almost completely unknown to the five people hiding in the Starry Night rehearsal room.

After completely ignoring the start of the performance, they felt a sense of spiritual detachment.

To put it simply, if I dare to skip the opening ceremony, what else is there to be afraid of?

In this overly relaxed state, time came to the final day of the Seesaw Festival.

That day, Ishikawa Hayato, unusually, carried his keyboard alone and walked towards the stars.

He was dressed in a band T-shirt and dark casual pants, a relaxed bandman's outfit that attracted many flirts as he walked, but he politely declined them all.

Before they even arrived at their destination, Ishikawa Hayato spotted Nijika and Ryo standing by the flowerbed, wearing band T-shirts just like his.

Nijika looked at Liang with a slight hint of reproach, while Liang stood lazily, even yawning, looking like he was about to fall asleep.

Before Ishikawa Hayato even got close, Nijika noticed him.

She raised her hand high and greeted Ishikawa Hayato with an extremely bright and gentle smile.

"Hayato-kun ~"

Ishikawa Hayato jogged over and said with a smile.

"Looks like I'm pretty early."

When Nijika greeted them, she was excited, but once they got closer, she subtly kept her distance from Ishikawa Hayato.

"Hayato-kun always arrives early, but Kita- chan and Bocchi-chan should be here soon too."

For some reason, Nijika's smile carried a sense of distance.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at her curiously, then cautiously took half a step forward, while Nijika also subtly took a step back.

Ishikawa Hayato followed up, but she retreated again.

Before it was even the third time, Nijika noticed a mischievous smile on his face.

"Hayato-kun, now is not the time to bully me!"

She stomped her foot angrily.

Ishikawa Hayato laughed and waved his hand in apology, then followed Nijika back to their original positions.

Before long, Bocchi and Kita arrived one after the other.

After exchanging greetings, Ishikawa Hayato looked at the four energetic people, then turned back to look at Fanxing and gave a clenched fist salute.

"The appointed time has arrived. Now let's leave the Time and Hyperbolic Room and conquer the Cell Games!"

Upon hearing his words, the four people instinctively raised their hands, which then froze in mid-air.

After each sighing, they raised their small fists, revealing their fair and delicate wrists, in response.

"Oh~"

After getting off the train, Nijika glanced at Ishikawa Hayato, who was carrying the heaviest instrument. Remembering that Ishikawa Hayato had always been the one to carry the instruments when they went out before, she made a suggestion to the others.

"Speaking of which, we can't keep moving equipment like this for every performance. If possible, let's save up and buy a van for transporting equipment."

"Good idea."

Liang agreed to her suggestion without hesitation.

Nijika saw through her thoughts at a glance and looked at her with disdain.

"Liang is probably just too lazy to move around."

Liang responded with a smile that held no meaning.

"I agree," Kita added.

"Me... me too," Bocchi followed up.

After everyone had expressed their thoughts, they noticed that one person hadn't said a word and looked at him in surprise.

Ishikawa Hayato, tears welling in his eyes, clutched his keyboard and asked the four of them.

"Does everyone... do you all dislike me?"

Upon hearing his words, the three of them looked at him coldly.

Who are they buying cars for?

The five chatted as they walked out of the station, but as soon as they reached the streets of Shinjuku, they immediately felt that this Shinjuku was completely different from the last Shinjuku.