Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 40

"Yes, it looks so small and harmless."

"Don't describe the lamp as some kind of small animal."

He lowered his voice and chatted casually without disturbing the two people behind him, trying to ignore his slightly anxious feelings.

...This is really unbelievable. I never knew that having someone important could cause such a big change in one's mindset.

Unlike Nagasaki Motoyo, this was the first time that Toyokawa Shoko had witnessed Minamoto Kōdō being intimate with other girls, and she couldn't help but feel a faint bitterness that she had never experienced before in her life.

It was a happy thing that Mingdeng and Xu Dou had a good relationship, and it was an even greater good thing that Mingdeng sang her own song in front of everyone. With these two good things combined, the girl felt a little heavy-hearted.

My previously confident heart is now filled with a slight sense of urgency.

The girl felt that in order to maintain her unique relationship with Yuan Xudou, she should take the initiative to do something more intimate. No matter how much she valued their spiritual connection, it didn't mean abandoning their physical bond.

To appease her somewhat strange self, Toyokawa Shoko chose to change the subject.

"However, the lamp's singing voice is really beautiful."

"If I can maintain this level of performance, I'll be considered a qualified lead vocalist even if I go to the Budokan."

Although the problems are the same as Yuan Xudou's, and his speaking skills are still lacking, his strengths are also the same as the boy's: his surging and infectious emotions are enough to make most people overlook these problems.

Ultimately, music exists to touch people's hearts, and as long as that purpose is achieved, any method is merely a means to an end.

However, Nagasaki Motoyo's expression turned somewhat strange upon hearing this.

'Have you maintained this level of quality...?'

Does this mean the level of confessing one's love to Won Heo-doo in front of hundreds of audience members today?

She couldn't stand having to watch other girls confess their love to their crushes with songs that screamed "I want you!" every time she performed... not even Takamatsu Akira.

The first time was fine; Nagasaki Motoyo, touched by the sadness and confusion in the girl's song, could overlook it and was even moved to tears—but if it happened too often, then let's just let her off the hook.

...Could it be that Xiangzi has some strange fetishes that allow her to so readily accept the relationship between Xu Doujun and her?

Lost in thought, Nagasaki Motoyo smoothed a strand of brown hair from the corner of her eyebrow, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked in a more tactful way.

"...Xiangzi, do you mean something like today?"

Because of her subtle tone, Toyokawa Shoko quickly understood her unspoken meaning.

In an instant, a vibrant blush crept up the girl's neck—not from shyness, but from anger.

"Su Shi, what shameless things are you thinking about?"

Struggling to suppress the urge to yell at the other person, Toyokawa Shoko lowered her voice, her long sky-blue hair rising and falling with her breath, making her look like an angry little blue octopus.

"I was talking about the light's focus and its infectiousness—but you've made those connections!"

"Honestly, I never thought you were such an impure person... Xu Dou even lives near your house, it's really worrying."

Wait until you know that he and I are basically living together before you say that.

Completely disregarding the other party's opinion, Nagasaki Motoyo silently retorted in her mind, but had no intention of revealing the matter now.

On the one hand, having information that the opponent does not know means having an advantage and initiative; on the other hand, if Toyokawa Shoko finds out about this, given her extremely high efficiency, who knows what extreme methods she might use to make up for the gap.

...Moreover, despite having such an advantage, her progress wasn't much faster than others, stopping at physical intimacy like hugging and cuddling.

Acknowledging this fact, in this day and age, can't even be done to assert sovereignty. It would only provoke the other party and have no real effect. She wouldn't do something so thankless.

After weighing the options, Nagasaki Motoyo abandoned the idea of ​​mocking Toyokawa Shoko and chose to change the subject.

"So, what are you planning to do about it?"

"..."

When asked the key question, the girl, who had calmed down from the other party's words, remained silent for a while, sighed, and showed a rare look of helplessness and despair in her pale golden eyes.

She pressed her eyelids, feeling a slight headache, and responded softly.

"There's nothing I can do. Like you said, I can't change anything."

"Even I..."

"Oh dear, Xiangzi, you can't do it?"

Having caught the keyword, Nagasaki Motoyo suddenly became excited and immediately began to promote herself.

"If it were me, I would confess to the person I like, even if there were dozens of times more people watching."

Having discovered that the other person was inferior to her, she directly and subtly provoked them—at this moment, Nagasaki Motoyo was completely detached from her usual graceful and gentle rich girl image, revealing the girl's true competitive spirit.

However, at this moment, Toyokawa Shoko was not the tolerant, generous, sunny, and kind young lady she usually was.

Faced with the girl's provocation, she narrowed her eyes slightly and retorted crisply in a clear voice:

"If it were me, I would only invite my family members as proof; it would be meaningless to invite more strangers."

"...Tsk."

Having reached this point, the two, who didn't want to completely escalate the situation, could only stop there.

Toyokawa Shoko ignored the other person's barely audible but still faint smacking of the lips, continuing the previous conversation.

"Anyway... Deng isn't a very competitive person."

"She was probably still confused and didn't know how to deal with it."

"Xu Dou is a man of principle; let him decide for himself."

"...Same."

While agreeing with most of her points, there was one thing Nagasaki Motoyo felt was that Toyokawa Shoko's ideas were completely wrong.

Takamatsu Akari is not some clueless, naive girl who can't face her own feelings.

Motoyo Nagasaki was certain that the heavy obsession she felt from her was not something fake.

She only noticed a slight, unsettling feeling that moved even her twisted and morbid inner self—she was currently only restrained by the joy of the band and the tolerance of Yuan Xudou, so no one could truly feel it.

...But so what?

Nagasaki Motoyo had no intention of telling Toyokawa Shoko her judgment, nor did she believe that Minamoto Kōto would lose control of Takamatsu Akari.

That heaviness will not become a threat to [CryCHIC].

As for the possibility that the unsuspecting Toyokawa Shoko might suffer a bit... wouldn't that be a good thing for her?

Nagasaki Motoyo isn't kind enough to help her love rival clear a minefield.

Testimonials

After 140,000 words, this book is almost ready to be published.

I am very grateful for the support from all my fellow readers during this time. Seeing your friendly comments in the book review section lets me know that people are seriously reading my book, which is a great honor and the best motivation.

I hope that everyone who's read this far will at least place an initial order for this book, so I know how many people have followed it this far. I'm bowing down to you all! (bang bang bang)

The book's performance so far has been lukewarm, not comparable to most other band-themed fanfics. I've summarized the problems a bit, and I think it might be because, on the one hand, everyone has read quite a few slice-of-life Mygo fanfics, and this book doesn't have anything particularly outstanding. The only redeeming qualities might be the relatively detailed writing style, or the relatable male lead? (Just kidding.)

On the other hand, during the C-group period, I didn't plan too many dramatic moments. My main goal was to create a near-perfect memory. Even now, I'm still avoiding direct emotional conflicts between the female leads—which obviously might deviate from what people want to see.

So, let me give you all a heads-up.

Next, there will be a scene where C-group plays "Spring Shadow," which will completely unite the group's spirit, as well as a summer swimsuit episode where feelings of affection will intensify (on the Toyokawa family's private beach, where no irrelevant bystanders will appear), and then there's the Black Knife Night that everyone is looking forward to.

The C group will explode into a firework display even more shattered than in the original story—I assure you, I will not hesitate, I will not make the same mistake as Mujica, leaving room for resurrection.

Next, it's time for Aine and Neko to appear, and for the GO group to join. I didn't plan to adjust the timeline for this part.

Then, if everyone thinks it's necessary, I'll create a book club group in a few days.

I'd like to ask for everyone's opinions on what you think about going to first base. Of course, I haven't planned that kind of storyline yet, but I might consider writing some slice-of-life episodes after marriage and putting them in the group chat. There might be some content that's not suitable for children. I don't know if everyone can accept that.

Also, regarding the flaws mentioned in the comments... I'll address them when I have time.

This includes the fact that there should have been several bursts of updates after the book was released, but I'm a poor college student in the middle of the semester and can only barely maintain around 4000 words a day recently. I'll make it up to everyone during the May Day holiday.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Finally, let's sort out the current relationships between the characters.

According to Xiangzi's "family theory," the current C group is formed by Yuan Xudou and Toyokawa Xiangzi as the parents, and the rest as the children. Both of them alternate between being strict and kind, with Yuan Xudou having slightly more say.

As the eldest daughter, Nagasaki Motoyo also takes on the role of a stepmother. She is a staunch supporter of the father's side and the biggest advocate of the "Oedipus complex." She is currently the fastest progressing, but they haven't reached the point of being too intimate yet.

Shiina Riki is the second daughter. Originally a centrist, she is now leaning towards her father's side. Her feelings for him are actually quite strong, but there has been little progress. Moreover, her tsundere personality makes her hesitant and she has to wait for the C group to break down before she can make any progress.

If Ye Mutsu is the third daughter and also Toyokawa Shoko's best friend, she was originally a staunch supporter of the maternal side, but is now gradually wavering. Her taciturn nature prevents her from launching effective attacks, and she has to wait for the C-team to break through her defenses.

Takamatsu Akari is the youngest daughter, the group's darling, and an even more steadfast supporter of her father's faction than Sue. However, she usually doesn't express her opinion, but when it comes to ranking up, she runs faster than anyone else, though she's currently being suppressed. She will become another core member of the GO group, besides Aine.

So, when Group C explodes, it will become a bizarre story of a divorced old father taking his three daughters, each with an Oedipus complex, to find a stepmother... Of course, this isn't the actual plot development; it's just an analysis of the character relationships based on Xiangzi's deduction. They certainly won't really see themselves as daughters, and Yuan Xudou won't want to be a father unintentionally, so there won't be any strange scenes. (What about the ethical issues?)

And lastly, let's gather some questions about the upcoming plot here. Feel free to ask in the comments section, including questions about character design and plot changes. I'll try my best to answer without spoilers.

Chapter 55 The Promise That Binds Us Together (Seeking First Subscription)

The journey, with its slight jolts, finally came to an end.

"lamp."

Yuan Xudou gently shook the girl who was leaning on him awake.

He reached out and smoothed the other person's slightly messy light gray short hair. Having just emerged from a dream, Takamatsu Akari, still in a half-awake state, blinked her sleepy amber eyes in a daze. Her eyes, still slightly swollen and red from the previous tears and deep sleep, subconsciously looked towards the source of the voice that had woken her.

"what……"

Before her vision could even clear, the familiar silhouette and scent had already reached the girl's senses.

So, even though she hadn't fully opened her eyes, a satisfied smile had already appeared on the girl's rosy face.

"Xu Dou".

Her voice was somewhat hoarse and weak—the strain of shouting to the point of almost breaking her voice put a strain on her vocal cords that couldn't be recovered from with just a short rest.

Noticing the unusual tone in her voice, Yuan Xudou stopped stroking the girl's head, and his usually calm words became more concerned.

"Is your throat sore? I'll bring you some throat lozenges tomorrow."

"No, it's okay..."

"The lead singer's voice is the band's treasure, so listen to him."

Ignoring the flattered Takamatsu Akari's instinctive refusal, Gen Xudou finalized the matter in a slightly forceful tone, and then revealed his true purpose for waking the girl.

"After getting off the bus, are you still able to walk?"

He felt his strength had returned and wanted to nod, but for some inexplicable reason, Takamatsu Akari hesitated and shook his head.

"Then I'll help you down."

"……Um."

Yuan Xudou greeted the others in the car and told them to wait there for a while, while he went to take Gao Songdeng home.

He held the girl's low, delicate shoulders and helped her, who was still swaying slightly as she walked, out of the car.

Takamatsu, with her head slightly lowered, gently held onto the boy's clothes with one hand and obediently followed him forward.

After the excitement of being on stage faded, even after a nap, the girl still felt fatigue and exhaustion coursing through her body. Coupled with a stinging pain in her throat, she had many things she wanted to confide in Yuan Xudou, but at this moment, she was somewhat unable to speak.

So, despite being so close, the two intimately connected found themselves in a soft and harmonious tranquility.

It wasn't until Yuan Xudou spoke up that the calm and peaceful tone of his voice, tinged with an unusual and ambiguous meaning, broke the tranquility.

"...The song today was very nice."

"It sounds even better than when we practiced before, lamp."

Takamatsu looked up in surprise at the profile of Gen Heo-to, whose expression had never been so gentle in her eyes.

His well-proportioned eyebrows curved slightly into an alluring arc, and his dark eyes reflected the brightness of the street scene. If it weren't for the still-flat undulation of the corners of his mouth, she would almost have thought he was smiling as he said those words.

The sudden sound of a heartbeat caught the girl's breath. An indescribable feeling, one she had experienced before but never as intense as this, welled up from her parched heart, which should have been emptied by the song, and filled her heart once more.

Takamatsu, who knew nothing about "love," didn't know why her cheeks felt hot as if they were burning, or why her heartbeat, which should have been tired and sluggish, had become active again, bringing an incomprehensible restlessness to her whole body.