"Once you learn, we can go to a live performance together!"
Ritsu Tainaka continued to persuade her.
"By then, everyone in the audience will be your fans, shouting your name."
Ritsu Tainaka paused to take a sip of tea, then rolled up a textbook on the table into a microphone shape and began her performance.
"Next up is the performance you've all been waiting for! They are the Light Music Club from Private Comprehensive High School. Let's welcome their first member – Yui Hirasawa!"
"Yui Hirasawa!"
"Yui Hirasawa!"
A certain young lady happily chimed in beside Ritsu Tainaka.
Yui Hirasawa continued to imagine along with Ritsu Tainaka's description. Yui Hirasawa felt like she saw the crowd waving glow sticks in the audience, and she was already standing center stage.
"Yui Hirasawa!"
"Yui Hirasawa!"
The people were shouting her name.
This feeling was... great!
"So? So? Do you have the motivation to learn an instrument now?" Ritsu Tainaka said with a smile.
"Mhm, I want to learn."
"Then have you decided which instrument you want to learn, Yui?"
Yui Hirasawa remembered Luo Yu's figure as he played.
"Then I'll take the one Luo Yu is holding."
Yui Hirasawa thought Luo Yu's instrument looked the coolest among the four of them.
"A guitar, that's nice. In that case, let Luo Yu teach you. After all, he's the strongest among us. What do you say, Luo Yu, you don't have any objections, right?"
Luo Yu waved his hand, indicating he had no objections.
"Alright, the decision has been made," Ritsu Tainaka said, clapping her hands. "Then there's only one thing left, and that is, Yui, you need to buy a guitar first."
"Huh? I have to buy it myself?"
Yui Hirasawa asked with a blank look.
"Of course," Ritsu Tainaka said, putting her right hand on her forehead.
"Although I can lend you a guitar," Luo Yu said to Yui Hirasawa, "if nothing unexpected happens, it will accompany you for at least three years, so you should have your own guitar."
"Okay, then I'll buy it myself," Yui Hirasawa said dejectedly.
After taking a bite of a pastry, Yui Hirasawa asked, "How much does a guitar cost? Is 5,000 enough?" (Still in Japanese Yen purchasing power, the author is too lazy to convert, those who know, know.)
"5,000 isn't enough at all!" Ritsu Tainaka exclaimed. "Never mind, Luo Yu, why don't you tell her? What's the current price of guitars? You should know better."
Luo Yu thought for a moment and said, "Cheap ones are around 10,000. If you're starting out, it'll be at least 50,000 and up."
"Fifty thousand!"
Yui Hirasawa's eyes widened.
"That's my allowance for ten months..."
"There are also expensive ones over 100,000," Mio Akiyama added from the side.
"Perhaps Yui can ask her parents to advance some of her allowance."
"Then I won't have any allowance for a long time? I don't want that!"
"Can't we use club funds?" Yui Hirasawa asked Ritsu Tainaka with a smile.
"No~" Ritsu Tainaka replied with a smile.
Yui Hirasawa's mood visibly sank.
"This is very delicious," Tsumugi Kotobuki, the young lady, started feeding her again.
The effect was very significant, and Yui Hirasawa became happy again.
"Why don't we go to the instrument store first?" Luo Yu's sudden voice attracted everyone's attention.
"After all, the price of each instrument is different. We won't know how much is needed until then."
"That's true. Alright! It's decided~ Let's go pick out a guitar this weekend." Everyone turned their gaze to Ritsu Tainaka.
"Let's consider it a club welcome event, everyone will accompany Yui to buy a guitar."
"Okay!" everyone responded in unison.
Saturday, Luo Yu left the house early in the morning.
"Hey, Luo Yu, where are you now?"
"I'm here, I just got off the bus. Where are you guys?"
"Oh, oh, I see you! We're across the street."
Hearing this, Luo Yu looked across the street and indeed saw the three girls from the Light Music Club on the other side.
"I'll be right there." With that, Luo Yu hung up the phone.
He walked towards the girls, and Ritsu Tainaka was still waving her hand.
"Luo Yu, over here, over here!"
"Sorry, I'm late."
"It's okay, we only just got here ourselves," Tsumugi Kotobuki said with a smile.
As expected of the wealthy Tsumugi Kotobuki, she's always so gentle.
"You all look beautiful today," Luo Yu said, complimenting their outfits.
"Thank you for the compliment," the rich girl replied with a smile.
"Has Yui not arrived yet?" Luo Yu looked around and asked Tsumugi Kotobuki.
Yui Hirasawa was a bit of a ditz. After only a short time together recently, she had already started calling everyone in the Light Music Club by name.
Tsumugi Kotobuki shook her head and said, "Not yet. She just called saying she overslept."
"I see."
"Exactly! She's supposed to be here to buy a guitar, and she's the one who's late," Ritsu Tainaka chimed in.
Mio Akiyama sighed, "But that's just like Yui, though."
"That's true."
After spending this short time together, everyone knew what kind of person Yui Hirasawa was. They were all mentally prepared for her to be late, as it was something that happened quite often.
After all, it was a very common occurrence.
The group chatted by the roadside, waiting for Yui Hirasawa. About ten minutes later, Yui Hirasawa's soft, sluggish figure finally appeared across the street.
"Yui, over here, over here!" Ritsu Tainaka waved at Yui Hirasawa.
"Ah, minna!"
Yui Hirasawa waved and ran over.
Bang!
"Yui, I'm sorry."
She accidentally bumped into a passerby, making the members of the Light Music Club frown.
How can you bump into someone on a road this wide?
"Kawaii."
As soon as she crossed the road, Yui Hirasawa was distracted by a small dog by the roadside. She crouched down and started petting the dog's head, looking utterly delighted.
She's only a few meters away, and she's not coming over?
"Yui! Hurry up and come here!"
Even Ritsu Tainaka couldn't stand it anymore.
"Minna-san!" Yui Hirasawa greeted them with a goofy smile.
Seeing Yui Hirasawa's goofy smile, everyone decided not to dwell on it.
Chapter 14: The Music Store
Then, the group walked along the commercial street towards the music store.
Along the way, passersby kept casting strange glances at them.
It made sense, though. Their group was a bit unusual: Luo Yu was the only guy among the five of them, and the other four were beautiful, vibrant young girls.
"Damn normies!"
"Ugh, why isn't that me?"
"Go die!"
Luo Yu ignored all the envious and jealous comments from the surroundings.
"Do you have the money ready?" Mio Akiyama asked.
"I borrowed fifty thousand from my mom," Yui Hirasawa replied. "I'll have to plan carefully how to use it…"
Yui Hirasawa glanced at a nearby clothing store. "But I can afford it now."
"Alright, alright," Ritsu Tainaka grabbed Yui Hirasawa by the back of her collar and lifted her up.
"I'll just take a look."
Then, Yui Hirasawa rushed into the clothing store.
"We're here to buy a guitar, remember?" Luo Yu reminded her from behind.
"Well, it's still early. Let them play for a bit," Tsumugi Kotobuki said to Luo Yu with a smile.
As soon as she spoke, the young lady joined the ranks of the other three girls.
You want to play too, don't you? Luo Yu thought. But Tsumugi Kotobuki is also just an ordinary girl.
Unbeknownst to them, they had been shopping for a long time.
"Ah, I'm tired of shopping!" Yui Hirasawa said, propping her right cheek with her hand at a drink shop.
"We had so much fun, didn't we?" the young lady said happily.
"I say, have you all forgotten something?" Luo Yu took a sip of his coffee and reminded the girls.
"Huh? Have we?" Yui Hirasawa asked blankly.
"The instruments, the instruments," Mio Akiyama suddenly realized.
We still came here, Luo Yu thought, looking at the sign above his head.
[10GIA], the name of this shop, was also where Yui Hirasawa and the others came to buy instruments in the original work.
"Luo Yu, don't just stand at the entrance. Hurry up and follow us. Go down from here."
"Coming."
Luo Yu followed the girls downstairs.
The instrument shop was located in the basement. As they walked in, soft music filled their ears.
"This is a large chain music store where you can buy almost any instrument. If an instrument breaks, you can bring it here for repairs, and there's no repair fee. Of course, you still have to pay for materials," Ritsu Tainaka enthusiastically explained to Yui Hirasawa.
"Wow! So many instruments!"
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