Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 50

'It's so soft, but it's also a little firm here...it's amazing...'

The uncontrollable surge of emotions within her caused a faint blush to appear on the girl's profile.

Before Takamatsu Akari's thoughts could drift away, the vibration from her palm instantly pulled her thoughts back to where they were.

"Let's do it again. This time, feel where I pronounced it."

"Uh-huh!"

To cover up her momentary lapse in concentration, she nodded hastily.

After reminding Takamatsu to focus, Yuan Xudou vibrated his throat again, letting his light and clear voice flow out slowly once more.

The sound, though extremely penetrating, was not at all harsh; it dripped from the clouds like rain, turning into a mist that filled the room.

Not only was Gao Songdeng listening intently and feeling the music, but the other four people would also occasionally pause for a moment while fiddling with their instruments, and then pretend to casually turn their heads to look at the origin of the melodious music.

In 【CryCHIC】, the most trustworthy and reliable pillar and the most beloved and caring member are brought together... This contrast is quite wonderful.

They gazed at the two with warm eyes, mixed with a touch of envy, and absentmindedly began to play music.

Chapter 71 The Dawn Will Eventually Fall

Time flies by, like a rushing spring, or a light rail that will eventually reach its destination, heading towards the other side without any hesitation.

The Chinese language class once taught us: "Time flows on like this river, never ceasing day or night."

The more fulfilling and happy the moment, the more hurriedly one picks up their footsteps, not even having time to reminisce about their departing figure, before disappearing into a place no one can see in the blink of an eye.

Trying to hold onto such a moment is like scooping up a handful of water from a flowing stream; in the end, you can only watch it drip through your fingers, leaving behind a cold sensation.

"No matter how beautiful the morning light, it will eventually fade into the night."

No matter how reluctant we are, the day that is bound to come will not be delayed in the slightest.

Amidst the intensive preparations, everyone was being pushed and shoved forward.

The day before the performance, Yuan Xudou left the girls in the backstage waiting room to familiarize themselves with the environment. He then went alone to the stage before the opening time. The stage was shrouded in a silent emptiness, and the lights were not yet on, making it seem somewhat eerie and deserted.

RiNG features both public stages for mass viewing and impromptu entertainment, as well as more formal and professional stages for private rental.

Generally speaking, novice bands will choose to slowly build up popularity and accumulate fans in the former before gradually considering moving towards the latter.

After all, no matter how talented a band is, if they start restricting public access to them before they've even gained popularity, they're just asking for trouble.

However, CryCHIC is an exception.

Perhaps it was because their performance was truly moving, or perhaps it was due to the influence of a small number of well-known figures in the band... the video of their first performance posted online unexpectedly became a minor hot topic, and some well-known girl bands, presumably to help their juniors, offered kind comments during this period of popularity.

It is foreseeable that, whether out of curiosity or appreciation, this performance, which seized the opportunity of high viewership and announced on social media in advance that it would present original songs, will not be as deserted as most bands' first live performance.

This time, they weren't performing as an unknown fledgling band, but rather at a crucial event for a rising star group to make their debut. Audiences who came specifically for them would undoubtedly have higher expectations and be more critical.

But that alone wasn't enough to instill fear in the group, whose morale and spirits were at their peak after just one success. They even managed to adjust their expectations of pressure themselves, no longer causing Yuan Xudou any worry like last time.

With the ensemble rhythm arranged and the singing techniques taught, the boy, who unexpectedly had some free time at this final moment, simply left first, letting them prepare for the rehearsal, while he went to check the stage equipment.

He walked past the rows of seats below the stage, looked at the location of each aisle in turn, and finally went up to the second floor, holding onto the glass railing to look down at the stage scene.

Lighting effects, crowd flow, set design, scene direction... Slowly pondering these things that others would consider incredibly complicated and need not worry about, Yuan Xudou calmly blended his presence into this silent solitude.

The silence was broken by a series of unfamiliar footsteps that came from behind him.

"Ms. Maji."

Without turning around, the boy deduced the identity of the person who approached him based solely on their aura and intuition.

He spoke in a calm, polite tone:

"What do you want from me?"

So, Rinko Maji, the dark-haired young woman who was ostensibly the store manager of RiNG but actually did much more than the store employees, and sometimes even complained to these familiar customers about adult things, maintained a proper distance and stood beside the boy.

Instead of answering the boy's question immediately, she first adopted the airs of an elder and protested his words as if she were dissatisfied.

"Haven't I told you many times that you can just call me Rinrinko?"

His expressionless, solemn posture was broken. Yuan Xudou sighed helplessly, his arm that was leaning against the railing slumped a little, and he turned to look at the other person.

Then, he repeated what he had just said.

"Miss Rinrinko, is there something you need from me?"

Instead of answering his question immediately, Rinko Maji first looked the boy up and down.

His eyelashes, more delicate than willow catkins and softer than feathers, trembled slightly. His beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly due to unexpected troubles, but this did not ruin the natural beauty of his perfectly matched features. Instead, it added a lot of liveliness to his angular face.

It's like a top-notch ink painting that captures the essence of a fleeting moment of change and freezes it in time, with every detail flawless.

Without going too far, making Yuan Xudou show a slightly helpless expression is something that these RiNG employees who are familiar with each other like to do most on a daily basis.

Sigh, this is just a little bit of spice to keep her, an adult, interested in the boring and hard life. I believe the other party will forgive her.

After all, who could resist such a handsome, tall, wealthy, mature, and caring young man?

If she were a few years younger, she would definitely pursue him. This kind of person is absolutely perfect as the dream lover of girls her age.

However, now, as a miserable office worker who doesn't want to be arrested for violating the law protecting minors, spend the rest of her life in jail, be stared at by her family every day with disappointed eyes saying "How did you end up on such a crooked path?", and might even be featured in the newspaper as a negative example to warn other adult women like her, Maji Rinko has well restrained those strange aspects of her impression of boys, retaining only the purest appreciation.

Just look at the sweet and heartwarming daily life of these six people, enjoy a dose of spiritual nourishment, and marvel at how wonderful it is to be young. There's no need to jeopardize your future and get involved in something like this.

As for the group of five women and one man, which seems to be involved in indecent behavior... none of them seem to have any objections, and they seem happy every day. Why should an outsider like her worry about this?

Young people, especially those in bands, what's wrong with a few messy relationships? In fact, Yuan Xudou's relationships with other girls are practically pure love within the rock music scene.

Kind-hearted Ms. Shinji would never label such an excellent guy as a "scumbag" just because of something as trivial as Gofune jumping off a boat.

"...Miss Rinrinko?"

Uh, oh no, I seem to have drifted off into daydreams.

Bringing her wandering thoughts back, Rinko Maji chuckled awkwardly as she looked at the boy who had begun to tilt his head slightly, his expression one of confusion.

Although it looks good this way, and she knows Yuan Xudou's personality well, she also knows that he is someone who rarely gets angry, but leaving him standing there would still cause him dissatisfaction.

She's not the kind of weirdo who would react to the disdainful looks of younger, handsome boys; she'd rather stay away from that kind of perverse pleasure.

"Ahem, sorry, sorry... It's like this."

Rinko Maji covered her face with her hand, lowered her head, and coughed as if to cover up her embarrassment.

She lowered her hand, looked up again, her expression returned to normal, and then finally revealed the purpose of her visit.

"Boss, I'd like to see you."

Chapter Seventy-Two: A Respectable Senior

"……boss?"

"I'm not talking about someone like me, I'm talking about the actual owner of this shop."

Rinko Maji scratched her head.

"I'm just a poor employee, even though I'm nominally the store manager."

"I know."

Wow, what a straightforward reaction...!

Without showing any surprise, Genjiro calmly stated that he had already understood the matter. His attitude, which showed that he had never treated her with the respect due to a boss from the very beginning, made Rinko Maji feel slightly hurt.

Although she was self-aware enough to know that she didn't usually act like the shop owner at all...

"So, why did the boss call me?"

Ignoring her distressed expression, having long known that she was a person with a lot of inner thoughts, the young man simply frowned and asked his question.

As he expected, Rinko Maji quickly composed herself and sighed helplessly in the face of his question.

"I don't know either. I've already said I'm just an employee, so of course I'll do whatever the boss tells me to do."

"However, it shouldn't be a bad thing, right?"

She moved a little closer, glancing around as if avoiding other people's gaze, then lowered her voice and whispered to Yuan Xudou.

"Just between you and me, I feel like the boss values ​​you guys quite a bit."

After saying that, she retreated back as if nothing had happened, pretending that she hadn't done anything.

There was clearly no one else here except them... The boy could only interpret this as adult humor.

"So, Heo Doo-sang, what's your decision?"

On one hand, there's the boss who single-handedly raised her from humble beginnings, guiding her through the Tokyo music scene, leading her from a clueless country girl to a steadfast figure in the treacherous industry, even entrusting her with the important responsibility of managing a new store—a boss whose kindness is immeasurable…

On one hand, there's the treasure trove of a group I discovered since the business opened. Not only are they generous and have a stable working relationship, but the members are all good-looking men and women. They have a great relationship and I've already become familiar with them. They are high-quality customers who spend their days watching them flirt...

Both sides are dear to me, and if they clash—ugh, how can such a painful choice exist in the world…

Just imagining that scene made Rinko Maji feel like her otherwise pretty face was going to crumple into a miserable mess.

Compared to her conflicted state, the boy's thoughts were much more open and honest.

"I have no reason to refuse, so please lead the way, Ms. Rinrinko."

He nodded politely to her, indicating that she could take him to see the boss.

However, Shinji Rinko seemed to have no intention of moving an inch.

"No need to lead the way."

She waved her hand.

"because……"

"Because I'm already here."

An aged yet powerful voice rang out from the shadows of the stairs, interrupting the tone that Rinko Maji had just raised.

His temples were gray, his face was wrinkled, and his deep blue tiger eyes, as deep as a pool, were no longer clear, but one could still glimpse the brilliance hidden within them.

The elderly man, showing no signs of aging, strode out of the stairwell. The moment his sharp eyes emerged from the shadows, they slashed at the two of them like knives.

From the moment she appeared, the atmosphere in the originally quiet, even somewhat subdued venue was immediately suppressed and completely replaced by a stern and solemn atmosphere.

"boss……!"

Faced with that familiar sense of oppression, Rinko Maji, who had put aside her playful mood, immediately straightened up and let out a soft gasp in surprise.

Yuan Xudou, who was equally surprised, couldn't help but glance at her.

'Shouldn't you already know about this? Why are you so surprised?'

Although she didn't quite understand, she knew the boy was looking at her with surprise. Rinko Shinji gave him an innocent look in return.

'I had no idea either; the boss was actually on the stairs!'

She should have been the one to act as the middleman and bring the old man over.

Besides, this was the first time she had ever seen her boss take the initiative to approach a junior colleague in private. Who did he value so much? Even if she knew beforehand, how could she not feel it was unreal when she saw it with her own eyes?

You know, the boss is...

...By the way, since the boss was on the stairs just now...could he have overheard what I secretly told Xu Dousang?

I hope the boss doesn't realize I'm talking about her behind her back!

Rinko Maji, who was sweating profusely, could only sincerely thank herself for lowering her voice out of amusement and hoped it had worked.

Fortunately, the old woman didn't seem to hear her, or perhaps she simply didn't care about her behavior. She glanced casually at Rinko Maji, and as a tense shiver ran down her spine, she spoke in a calm tone.

"Rinko, you can go out now."

"Yes!"

As if granted a pardon, Rinko Maji stood at attention with her legs together, saluted, and then quickly left with standard, soldier-like steps.

Before disappearing completely into the shadows of the stairwell, she quietly turned back and gave Yuan Xudou a look that was a mixture of encouragement and pity, as if saying "good luck."

This time, the boy didn't think the other party was making a mountain out of a molehill.