Chapter 215

After a pause and seeing that no one objected, Nijika smiled and lowered her hand. But Liang raised his hand at the same time she lowered it, staring at her intently.

Ignoring Ryo's actions, Nijika nodded with satisfaction, hands on her hips.

"Great, let's discuss the study session time after school starts."

Ryo reluctantly withdrew his hand and glanced at Ishikawa Hayato.

A girl in love has a chaotic mind; even her thoughts from one second to the next are completely disconnected.

Nijika herself didn't know why she felt so relaxed.

Her previously chaotic feelings were gradually being sorted out. As the fog in her mind slowly dissipated, she found a reply that was still under observation and intended to be submitted later.

After the previous meeting, the five of them practiced together in the rehearsal room. They quickly regained their usual rhythm and continued their daily routine.

But the five's peaceful practice and play were soon disrupted when a small accident occurred in the last two days of summer vacation.

In the afternoon, when the five had practiced for about the right amount of time, Ishikawa Hayato sensed that the girls were starting to become restless.

The reason is simple: their first CD is almost ready.

This is no small matter; it is not only a summary of their efforts over the past six months, but also a cornerstone for future development.

When it was time to rest, seeing their state, Ishikawa Hayato made a suggestion.

"Let's all take a break."

"Hmm." / "Okay." / "That's true."

None of them objected, and amidst Ishikawa Hayato's teasing, they chuckled and complained as they put away their instruments.

The five of them came out of the rehearsal room and saw Seika sitting at the bar. She only said one sentence when she saw them come out.

"You finished practicing so quickly today?"

I continued to bury myself in my laptop.

Ishikawa Hayato, who had originally intended to bicker with her, noticed that she seemed a little preoccupied, so he didn't bother her.

The girls behind him weren't as perceptive; they were already quite used to Seika's appearance.

They sat down at the long table to rest, while Ishikawa Hayato, as always, accompanied Nijika to get drinks for the others.

As she walked toward the counter, Nijika asked them a question.

"Is it the same as before?"

Kita and Hitori both said nothing had changed, only Ryo said, "Don't add ice."

It's almost September now, and the weather has started to cool down. It's even chilly at night if you wear short sleeves. The passage of time is truly remarkable.

Nijika responded and walked towards the bar.

She and Ishikawa Hayato maintained their usual distance as they walked toward the bar.

Nijika went to the bar to get a drink cup, while Ishikawa Hayato quickly cleaned the beverage machine, which was being used for the first time that day, and confirmed that it was working properly.

Because of their previous conversation, Ishikawa Hayato didn't speak to Nijika. Even when they were alone, he didn't want to say much, so as not to interfere with her decision.

Nijika didn't seem inclined to talk to him either. She handed the two drink cups to Ishikawa Hayato, and the two quietly made their drinks on different machines.

Seika looked up at the two who were unusually quiet today, and glanced at their silent cooperation while each of them was working on their own tasks. She didn't say anything and kept scrolling the mouse wheel.

However, the look of frustration on his face grew deeper and deeper.

A while later.

Kita sipped her drink, sighed, and slumped onto the table. Her yellowish-green eyes stared at the surface, and her beautiful, medium-length red hair hung limply over the table.

"Sigh... I've spent the entire summer vacation in the rehearsal room, I don't feel like a high school student at all..."

Hitori was taken aback when he heard her sigh.

"Eh... well, Kita- chan, didn't we already go to the beach?"

Clearly, this level of fun was enough for Hitori. She even went to see fireworks with Ishikawa Hayato in private, chose a rental house together, and bought furniture together.

This summer has been full of memories for her.

Kita looked up and thought for a moment, then couldn't help but think of the amusement park trip with Ishikawa Hayato, and felt a pang of guilt.

"It seems so."

She smiled at the group and said, "But it's still a bit of a shame that my first summer vacation in high school is over. What was your first summer vacation like, Ijichi-senpai?"

"Ah..." Nijika looked embarrassed when asked, "Working, practicing, and doing housework, that's it..."

Kita's face stiffened. She glanced at Ryo, who inexplicably smiled slightly.

Still feeling uneasy, she asked, "What about Ryo-senpai?"

"Roughly the same."

A bunch of homebodies!

Kita, who still wanted to take them out to play, took two gulps of her drink in Kita.

Finally, she turned to Ishikawa Hayato, who was staring at his computer, seemingly doing something, though she had no choice but to bother him.

She asked.

"Hayato-kun, what are you doing?"

"I'm calculating the approximate number of people who will buy our CDs."

"Wow, that's amazing! How did you calculate that?" Kita surprise.

The group, who had been Kita quiet and only responded when Kita spoke, looked at him with some interest.

Ishikawa Hayato closed his laptop and said with a smile.

"There's nothing I can do, everyone's always looking at me like, 'Hey, why hasn't the CD arrived yet?' It's made me start doing some weird things."

The girls' expressions froze.

"Is it... that obvious?" Nijika asked guiltily.

Ishikawa Hayato nodded, then spoke to Kita, the only one still thinking about playing at this moment.

"We'll be busy once the CDs arrive. If you want to have fun, let's go somewhere together after we all pass our makeup exams."

"Real?"

Kita's eyes lit up. She glanced at the others, and without exception, none of them seemed to object.

But Ishikawa Hayato still checked with them.

The three girls, who had initially noticed Kita's desire to go out but hadn't expressed any opinion, now all agreed.

They didn't even need to confirm the date, saying they would have time at that time.

Just as they were discussing where to go, footsteps came from above the stairs, and instantly, all five of them looked towards the door.

Stepping down was... a woman in a dark, off-the-shoulder dress, with long, straight black hair, seemingly a dignified and elegant beauty, yet not content with the status quo, she added a touch of mystery with a purple undercoat dye, and alluring lip and ear piercings...

CD transporter.

"HELLO, sorry to keep you waiting."

PA-san, standing on the stairs, saw the group and smiled, taking out a CD and waving.

"Thank you, PA-san!"

Nijika ran over and took the CD from PA-san's hand, examining it carefully. The other four also rushed over.

After thanking PA-san, the group left her aside amidst her increasingly pitiful gaze and gathered around Nijika to watch their first CD.

The CD cover features the Kessoku Band's logo and tracklist, all of which Nijika has cleverly incorporated into this small disc with excellent design.

The more they looked at the cover, the more they liked it, not to mention that inside were the fruits of their hard work over the past six months, and an important cornerstone for their future.

"So beautiful!"

Kita couldn't help but place his hands on Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika's shoulders, as if he wanted to take them in his hands and examine them.

Ryo's eyes lit up, a rare sight, as he spoke to Hitori beside him.

"It looks like it's going to be a big seller. Bocchi needs to figure out what to buy with the dividends."

"Um!"

Hitori nodded, glancing expectantly at Ishikawa Hayato beside him.

"You need to plan how you spend your money."

Ishikawa Hayato patted her head, then looked at Nijika.

She stared intently at the CD in her hands, her breathing slightly rapid. After a moment, she raised her head, looked directly at Ishikawa Hayato, opened her mouth as if to say something, but then stopped.

She then raised the CD and spoke to the group.

"The first CD is finished!"

"Yeah!"

The others noticed Nijika's gaze for a moment, but said nothing and cheered together.

The noise made Seika, who was standing by the bar, sigh and look over.

After the cheers, Ishikawa Hayato urged.

"Go listen to it right away."

171. The Choice Before the Semester (End)

At Ishikawa Hayato's suggestion, the five of them eagerly returned to the rehearsal room to check the quality of their first CD.

Although it wasn't a real album yet, Nijika seemed to cherish the CD very much, even hesitating for a moment before opening the box.

She kept calling out when urged by the others.

Give me some time to prepare myself!

Finally, the CD was safely placed into the player.

Once the playback started, the music they had recorded together a few days earlier, and which had been tuned, echoed in the room.

Even when faced with songs they knew intimately and their own performance, they listened patiently and checked their work.

Time passed slowly, and the CD finished playing in less than half an hour, with only a few songs playing for a short time.

The music that had been filling the rehearsal room soon stopped, leaving only faint echoes lingering in their minds.

But they remained quiet for a while.

"I really need to thank PA-san properly."

Nijika's tense mood completely relaxed, and she turned to look at the people around her.

"Um."

All three girls agreed with her statement.

They did this because they were very aware of their own abilities; PA-san's tuning did indeed elevate their music by several levels.

If it were just an average performance, they would definitely jump for joy, but this CD has far exceeded their expectations.

They could even shamelessly call this CD an album.

Of course, it still falls short of a full-length album in terms of completeness, musicality, and professionalism, since it's just a CD that includes all of their current songs.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at Ryo, sensing that she was about to speak. He guessed what she would say and preemptively encouraged the others to speak, full of anticipation.

"But on another note, didn't we get an amazing CD? Was everyone mentally prepared to be overwhelmed by the money?"

The three women were taken aback. Having spent a considerable amount of money on the band, they were thrilled to hear about the income and began thinking about the items they wanted to buy.

Liang paused for a moment, glanced at him, but then joined the group. Even though she was the last to enter the fantasy, she had already decided what she wanted to buy.

"I definitely have to get this month's new bass."

"Yes! I also have a few synthesizers and musical instruments I'd like to buy."