Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 24

Sitting next to him, Nagasaki Motoyo, who appeared to be watching the stage but was actually focused on Genjiro Tou, immediately noticed the boy's actions and asked him with concern.

"Xu Doujun, are you feeling unwell?"

"I wouldn't say I'm uncomfortable..."

He's just not used to this overly enthusiastic atmosphere. He can listen to heavy metal at home, but when it's amplified by the KTV speakers, it exceeds his tolerance for the beat.

However, he had no intention of revealing his discomfort in front of everyone when Wakaba Mutsumi was singing.

Yuan Xudou held the back of his neck, turned his head slightly, and quickly regained his composure.

"...Wait a minute, I'll go up and sing a song."

"really?"

The girl's eyes lit up.

Surprisingly, Xu Doujun doesn't seem to mind singing in front of everyone... But since he can even perform in front of them, it's not surprising that he's willing to sing.

"Ah."

Yuan Xudou turned his head slightly to look at his other side, where he was curled up on the sofa. He listened attentively to whatever songs everyone was singing, but showed no intention of going on stage himself.

Taking advantage of the dim indoor environment, he moved closer to Nagasaki Motoyo's cheek and lowered his voice.

"Everyone has to go up and sing once, that's how it..."

The girl didn't hear a word that followed.

She had no idea that the boy would suddenly get so close to her, and she wasn't prepared at all.

When that gentle and handsome face drew near, his warm breath brushed against her smooth, sensitive earlobe, sending gentle, whispered words into her mind...

Even knowing that he did it unintentionally.

Nagasaki Motoyo couldn't help but squeeze her legs together, her whole body going limp.

The only saving grace was that the dimness of the room not only shielded the two from the attention of others, but also made the blush on the girl's face less noticeable.

It wasn't until Gen Xudou took the microphone from Ruoye Mutsu, left her side, and slowly stepped onto the stage amidst the expectant gazes of the others that she snapped out of her dazed state.

Nagasaki Motoyo quickly gathered her wandering thoughts and refocused her attention.

"Xu Dou, which song do you want to sing?"

Shoko Toyokawa, who was standing in front of the song selection screen, waiting for an opportunity to get Takamatsu Akira to sing, was somewhat surprised when she saw the boy approaching.

"Um……"

Yuan Xudou thought for a while and randomly picked a familiar song from the music list provided by the KTV.

He turned around and faced the girls' gazes, which had suddenly become sharp and focused for some reason.

He frowned slightly.

"...Let me make this clear first, I don't sing much normally."

"It's okay, as long as you have the courage to speak out, the final result doesn't matter!"

(1) The sentence "起H榴异3兒贰诌兒箘p" was originally intended by Toyokawa Shoko for Takamatsu Akari.

Sensing her inexplicable excitement, Yuan Xudou sighed.

He picked up the microphone and brought it close to his lips.

Waiting for the accompaniment to begin, I lower my eyes and recall the melody of the song in my heart.

Then, he raised his handsome face, his long, dark eyebrows trembling, as if uttering an aria, and began to sing.

"あの日见多した渚を,"

(The coastline I looked out over that day)

"Now I think I'm going out."

(I can still remember it to this day)

"The sand is carved on the sand and the leaves are carved,"

(Words carved in the sand)

"The queen's posture."

(And your back view)

Her clear and ethereal voice still carries the unique naiveté and clarity of youth.

The once steady and refined voice was liberated, its pure gentleness carrying sound waves that lifted up the boundless blue sky.

Like a white dove flapping its pure white wings, soaring from the dust across the sky—leaving all constraints and entreaties behind, chasing the glow of the clouds and the sun with complete abandon, until finally plunging into the sea.

"Send り return す波が,"

(Surging waves)

"It's full of energy."

(What exactly did it sweep away as it passed by your feet?)

"Yunagami no Chu,"

(In the midst of calm)

"Higurashi れだけが通りpass ぎて行く."

(Only dusk quietly slips away)

Eternal tranquility seems to have lost something important, yet it cannot even be retrieved from memory.

I bent down and groped along the beach of memories, but my fingertips could only touch the cold seawater.

A faint yet absolute sorrow slowly devours the landscape of my heart, leaving only an empty silence.

Unable to bear this desolate loneliness, I abandoned all direction and reached out towards the fading light, my voice rising—

"パッと光って咲いた,"

(A burst of light)

"Hanabi を见ていた,"

(Fireworks come into view)

"きっとまだEndわらない夏が."

(Summer must not be over yet)

"Ambiguing the heart is the solution, the relationship is the relationship,"

(Untie the knot of ambiguity in their hearts and then reconnect them tightly)

"この夜が続いてdesireしかった."

(May this night never end)

Brilliant fireworks burst forth on the screen behind them.

The melody rises and falls from sorrow to passion, leaping and nimble, and he also suddenly raises the pitch.

Cast aside all emptiness, and sing, proudly raising your head.

Her eyes, as bright as stars, reflected the astonishment and stunned silence of the audience in front of her. Her fair and slender throat trembled, clearly pouring the soul-piercing melody into everyone's ears.

The colorful ambient lights cast intricate shadows, making the naturally perfect face appear and disappear in the shadows, making it difficult to discern what the boy could see.

But because of this, a strange illusion arose in everyone's mind.

The singing was so free and unrestrained, revealing a passion and vitality completely different from his usual self.

Each of them believed, or rather sincerely hoped—

'He was looking at me as he sang that song.'

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Getting Closer to the Real You

As they walked out of the karaoke bar, everyone's expressions were somewhat subtle.

It's hard to say whether I'm happy or disappointed... perhaps it's more like a bewildered state of mind.

Moreover, everyone had a blush on their face, seemingly from being too excited during the performance.

In short, after everyone else had sung their turn, encouraged and led by Toyokawa Shoko and Genji Koto, Takamatsu Akari also stood up and sang a song in front of the band members for the first time.

But by then, everyone, including the singer Takamatsu Akira herself, had stopped caring about it.

It should be said that the boy's actions achieved their purpose; he successfully distracted Takamatsu's attention and greatly reduced her fear of "singing in front of others."

That's where the problem lies.

Yuan Xudou's singing voice is quite a contrast to his usual image.

They had become quite accustomed to the boy's way of speaking, which was almost monotone, with only subtle changes in tone of voice used to express his emotions.

No matter how good or gentle a voice is, after listening to such a flat and monotonous tone for a long time, it's hard to feel anything simply because the voice is pleasant.

Just like Yuan Xudou's face, it's good-looking, but without any embellishment, after a while it becomes just another part of life, and you won't be as amazed as you were the first time you saw it.

However... precisely because we've become accustomed to it, the shock is even greater when that "common sense" is broken.

Suddenly hearing such a voice, which not only unreservedly but also intentionally utilizes its natural vocal advantages to seamlessly connect the gentleness and melancholy of the song, freely stirring the thoughts in people's hearts, makes people unable to help but feel empathy and longing...

This is much more shocking and contrasting than Ruoye Mutsu's love for heavy metal rock.

They simply couldn't hold on.

The person most affected, Nagasaki Motoyo, was almost implanted with a memory that never happened—watching fireworks with the boy at a temple fair. Wakaba Mutsumi and Shiina Tatsuki, whose symptoms were milder, also experienced some hallucinations to varying degrees.

Now everyone can finally understand why Yuan Xudou deliberately "sealed" his voice using this way of speaking.

If we don't do that, and let the boy speak in his normal voice—

About 80% of the girls who meet him for the first time will think, "Does he like me?"

With his looks, he's practically a fertile ground for all sorts of infatuated women... Did he instinctively choose to suppress his voice in order to protect his daily life?

Although she was eventually caught by Takamatsu Akari and Toyokawa Shoko and pulled into the band.

However... the women still had some doubts.

The singer, whom I just caught a glimpse of, exuded charm with abandon, her eyes brimming with confidence, shining like the blazing sun.

He is usually reserved and calm, always giving people a sense of absolute security, as serene as the foundation of a full moon.

Which side is closer to the truth about Yuan Xudou?

Or perhaps, both?

It is precisely because of the conflict between these two images in their minds that they appear dazed.

In the end, it was Wakaba Mutsu who spoke first for everyone.

Xu Dou,

Of the six people who were originally standing in a row, the girl with light green hair quickened her pace slightly, walked around to the front of him, and tilted her delicate and indifferent fair face up, revealing a hint of confusion in her pale golden eyes.

She called out to Yuan Xudou, looked at the boy's face, hesitated for a long time, and finally squeezed out a few slightly dry words from her moist lips.

"...The song is beautiful."

"It's so different."

If Ye Mu is genuinely curious.

However, due to her slightly limited language skills, she was unable to accurately express her thoughts.

"..."

Yuan Xudou understood, but he didn't know how to respond.

While at the karaoke bar, he was caught up in the intimate and open atmosphere, so he got a little too into singing... The boy didn't really want to talk about it.

Finally, after thinking it over, he decided to avoid the main issue and focus on the less important one.