"Once you learn, we can go perform live together!"
Ritsu Tainaka continued to coax her.
"When the time comes, the audience will be full of your fans, all chanting your name."
Ritsu Tainaka paused to take a sip of tea, then rolled up a textbook on the table into the shape of a microphone and began her performance.
"Next is the performance you've all been waiting for! They're the Light Music Club from Private Integrated High School. Let's welcome their First One member—Yui Hirasawa!"
"Yui Hirasawa!"
"Yui Hirasawa!"
A certain young lady happily played along beside Ritsu Tainaka.
Yui Hirasawa continued imagining along with Ritsu Tainaka's description. She felt as though she could see a crowd below the stage waving glow sticks, while she herself stood at the very center of the stage.
"Yui Hirasawa!"
"Yui Hirasawa!"
The crowd was shouting her name.
This feeling was... really amazing!
"Well? Well? Do you feel motivated to learn an instrument now?" Ritsu Tainaka asked with a grin.
"Yeah, I want to learn."
"Then have you decided what instrument you want to learn, Hirasawa?"
Yui Hirasawa recalled Luo Yu's figure during the performance.
"Then I want the one Luo Yu had in his hands."
Of the four of them, Yui Hirasawa thought Luo Yu's instrument looked the coolest.
"A guitar, huh? That's a great choice. In that case, let Luo Yu teach you. After all, he's the strongest one here. What do you say, Luo Yu? You don't mind, right?"
Luo Yu waved his hand, indicating that he had no objection.
"Alright, it's settled." Ritsu Tainaka clapped her hands. "Then there's only one thing left. Hirasawa, you need to buy a guitar first."
"Huh? I have to buy one myself?"
Yui Hirasawa asked blankly.
"Of course you do." Ritsu Tainaka put her right hand to her forehead.
"I can lend you a guitar," Luo Yu told Yui Hirasawa, "but barring any accidents, your guitar will be with you for at least three years. You still need one of your own."
"Okay, then I'll buy one myself." Yui Hirasawa sounded dejected.
After taking a bite of cake, Yui Hirasawa asked, "How much does a guitar cost? Is 5,000 enough?" (The purchasing power is still in yen. The author was too lazy to convert it. Those who know, know.)
"5,000 definitely isn't enough!" Ritsu Tainaka cried. "Forget it, Luo Yu, you explain. You should know current guitar prices better."
Luo Yu thought for a moment. "The cheap ones cost around ten thousand. If you want an entry-level one, you'll need at least fifty thousand."
"Fifty thousand!"
Yui Hirasawa's eyes widened.
"That's ten months of my allowance..."
"There are also ones that cost more than a hundred thousand," Mio Akiyama added from beside her.
"Maybe Hirasawa can ask her parents for an advance on her allowance."
"Then I won't have any allowance for a long time afterward, right? I don't want that!"
"Can't we use club funds?" Yui Hirasawa asked Ritsu Tainaka with a smile.
"Nope~" Ritsu Tainaka answered with a smile as well.
Yui Hirasawa's mood visibly sank.
"This is really tasty." Tsumugi Kotobuki began feeding her snacks again.
The effect was immediate. Yui Hirasawa perked up again.
"Why don't we go browse an instrument shop first?" Luo Yu suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention.
"After all, every instrument has a different price. We won't know how much we need until we get there."
"That's true. Alright! It's decided—we'll go pick out a guitar this weekend." Everyone turned their eyes toward Ritsu Tainaka.
"Let's treat it as a welcome event for the club. We'll all go with Hirasawa to buy a guitar."
"Yeah!" everyone agreed.
That weekend, Luo Yu headed out early in the morning.
"Hey, Luo Yu, where are you now?"
"I'm here. I just got off the train. Where are you guys?"
"Oh, oh, I see you. We're across the street."
Luo Yu looked across the road and, sure enough, spotted the three girls from the Light Music Club on the other side.
"I'll be right there." With that, Luo Yu hung up.
As he walked toward the girls, Ritsu Tainaka was still waving her hand.
"Luo Yu, over here! Over here!"
"Sorry, I'm late."
"It's okay. We only got here a little while ago," Tsumugi Kotobuki said with a smile.
As expected of Lady Tsumugi Kotobuki. She was always so gentle.
"You all look beautiful today," Luo Yu praised as he looked at what the girls were wearing.
"Thank you for the compliment." The young lady smiled in reply.
"Has Yui not arrived yet?" Luo Yu looked around and asked Tsumugi Kotobuki.
Yui Hirasawa was a natural airhead. Despite knowing one another for only a short time, she had already started calling everyone in the Light Music Club by their given names.
Tsumugi Kotobuki shook her head. "Not yet. She called just now and said she overslept."
"I see."
"That's what I'm saying. We're here to accompany her to buy a guitar, yet she's the one who's late," Ritsu Tainaka chimed in.
Mio Akiyama sighed. "But that's just like Yui."
"True."
After their brief time together, everyone had come to understand what kind of person Yui Hirasawa was. They had already mentally prepared themselves for her oversleeping.
After all, it was a perfectly ordinary occurrence.
They chatted by the roadside while waiting for Yui Hirasawa. More than ten minutes later, her soft, floppy figure finally appeared across the street.
"Yui, over here!" Ritsu Tainaka waved at Yui Hirasawa.
"Ah, everyone."
Yui Hirasawa waved as she ran over.
Bang!
"Sorry, I'm such an idiot."
She accidentally bumped into a passerby, making everyone from the Light Music Club frown.
The road was this wide, and you still managed to bump into someone?
"So cute."
Having just crossed the road, Yui Hirasawa was distracted by a puppy by the street. She squatted down to pet its head, looking utterly delighted.
We're only a few meters away, and she still wasn't coming over?
"Yui! Get over here already!"
Even Ritsu Tainaka couldn't take it anymore.
"Hi, everyone!" Yui Hirasawa greeted them with a goofy grin.
Seeing Yui Hirasawa's silly smile, everyone decided not to pursue the matter.
Instrument Shop
The group then headed along the shopping street toward the instrument shop.
Passersby kept giving them strange looks along the way.
But that made sense. Their group was indeed a little unusual: of the five of them, Luo Yu was the only boy, while the other four were youthful, beautiful girls.
"Damn normies!"
"Why can't that be me over there?!"
"Just die already!"
Luo Yu pretended not to hear any of the jealous voices around them.
"Have you got the money ready?" Mio Akiyama asked.
"I asked Mom to lend me fifty thousand," Yui Hirasawa answered. "I need to plan carefully how I use it..."
Yui Hirasawa looked toward a nearby clothing store. "But I can afford things now."
"Hey, hey." Ritsu Tainaka grabbed Yui Hirasawa by the back of her collar and lifted her up.
"I'm just looking."
Then Yui Hirasawa charged into the clothing store.
"We came here to buy a guitar, didn't we?" Luo Yu reminded them from behind.
"Well, it's still early. Let them have fun for a while," Tsumugi Kotobuki said to Luo Yu with a smile.
As soon as she finished speaking, the young lady joined the other three girls.
You wanted to have fun too, didn't you? Luo Yu thought. Still, Tsumugi Kotobuki was an ordinary girl too.
Before they knew it, the group had been shopping for a long time.
"Ah, I'm tired from shopping!" Yui Hirasawa said, resting her right cheek on her hand in a drink shop.
"You had a lot of fun, didn't you?" the young lady said happily.
"Say, have you forgotten something?" Luo Yu took a sip of coffee and reminded the girls.
"Huh? Did we?" Yui Hirasawa asked vacantly.
"The instrument! The instrument," Mio Akiyama suddenly realized.
So it was this place after all, Luo Yu thought as he looked at the sign overhead.
10GIA—the name of the shop. It was also the instrument store where Yui Hirasawa and the others bought their instruments in the original story.
"Luo Yu, don't stand at the entrance. Hurry up and follow us. We go down from here."
"I'm coming."
Luo Yu followed the girls downstairs.
The instrument shop was in the basement. The moment they entered, soft music drifted into their ears.
"This is a large chain instrument store. You can buy almost any instrument here. If your instrument breaks, you can also bring it here for repairs, and there's no repair fee. Of course, you still have to pay for materials."
Ritsu Tainaka enthusiastically explained it to Yui Hirasawa.
"Wow! There are so many instruments!"
Before you continue