novelhk Page 55
Page 55
"Huh? Now? Let me see if I have any..." Aine reached into the pocket of her skirt and pulled out a matcha candy: "Ah~ I'm so glad you brought some. Listen up, Rana, here's the candy. After you finish it, you have to stay here and wait for the live to start."
"Mmm." Lena nodded, opened her mouth, and waited for Aine to feed her.
"Ah...it's happening again!" Aine tore open the packaging and put the dark green round candy into Renai's mouth.
"Aiko~" After checking the drumsticks in her hand, the girl named Meowmeng, dressed in a suit similar to a woman's, put them down and gently tapped her face. She asked with some confusion, "Aren't you spoiling Ranako too much? If she keeps eating like this, she'll get cavities soon."
"Hehe~" Ai Yin put on a smug expression, put her hands on her hips and laughed: "It's okay, I bought some products from the Miaomengqin video for Le Nai before, from MengX, and I've been using them properly, so there won't be any problems, right~ Little Le Nai."
Upon hearing her name called, Lena tilted her head. Although she didn't quite understand what Aine was talking about, all she had to do at that moment was nod.
"Ah..." Miao Meng slumped weakly onto the table and muttered, "Aiko is definitely the kind of person who is easily tricked into buying crystals."
"Hmph, I'm very smart, I won't be fooled like that." Aine smiled and nudged Taro with her elbow: "Taro, you should know how unrealistic your idea is once you get backstage."
"No, if you go through the audience area, you can easily get across the Shinkyo Bridge! That's how people from Hello-Happy-World often do it." Taro retorted, arms crossed, "We need more momentum during the harmonies! The momentum of the harmonies is also key!"
"Hey hey... The general has said it so many times! There's no need to emphasize it anymore," Meow Dream said weakly, slumped on the table.
"It seems like things are almost done over there. Should we get ready?" Hailing stood up.
“That’s true, servants! Get ready!” Taro stood up and declared. Aine raised an eyebrow slightly, her small eyebrows and forehead twitching, as if she had thought of a good idea: “Taro, Taro, if we form a circle, it will definitely be more impressive when we sing in harmony later! Because a circle represents that we are a whole, it will definitely be different then!”
“I see…” Taro thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement with Aine’s statement: “In that case, let’s go! Attendants, form ranks!”
A wild smile appeared on his face as he beckoned his four companions to form a circle. Aine's lips twitched slightly. She always felt that Taro was much different when he was performing live than when he was practicing. Wasn't that interesting?
"What should the circle formation shout?" Hai Ling stroked her chin. She never participated in the circle formation in her band, so this was the first time she had done it like this, and to be honest, it was quite novel.
Aine thought for a moment, her eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, "How about this, when Taro says we are—, then the four of us will respond as the Dong Brothers Group."
"Good strategy!" Taro smiled, but shook his head: "But I want to make a slight modification. The beginning is the same, but your answer will be changed to 'Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong Brothers Group'!"
"I see." Miao Meng looked thoughtful. For some reason, as she was about to enter the real live performance, her heart was more excited than ever. She tried hard to suppress her excitement and put on a calm demeanor: "The four 'dong' represent the four of us. Does the one in front refer to our leader, the general himself?"
“Interesting, let’s do it,” Lena said with a genuine smile.
"So, servants! Are you ready?" Taro extended his hand, and the other four followed suit, one by one: "We are—"
"Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong Brothers!" the other four shouted in unison, while all five of them pressed their hands down.
"Alright, get ready to go on stage!"
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After Afterglow finished his farewell speech and left the stage.
The audience reacted in various ways. Nina, who was in the middle, pulled the silver-haired girl next to her and said excitedly, "Did you see that! Momoka-san! So cool!"
"I saw it, I saw it. Seriously, don't make such a big fuss when watching a live show," Momoka said, rubbing her forehead. "You promised to give me an answer today."
“I know!” Nina turned her gaze back to the stage, waiting for the band she really wanted to see to come on stage.
Taoxiang glanced around. Apart from a few individuals, everyone was discussing the performance of the previous band, and no one was paying attention to the opening act. This situation was very unfavorable for the opening act; even if they sang very well, it was very difficult to win back the audience's attention...
However, although I didn't know Momoi Taro very well, I always felt that he wasn't the kind of person who would fall down like this.
Standing in the front row were Shiina Tatsuki, Takamatsu Akari, and Nagasaki Motoyo.
Lixi looked excitedly at the stage and shouted at the light next to her, "Did you see that! Light! Afterglow is definitely the best!"
“Hmm…I think it’s amazing,” Takamatsu Akari nodded quietly in response. Meanwhile, Riki kept chattering on about how amazing Afterglow was. Suze quickly stopped her, saying, “Little Riki, the Dong Brothers are about to appear! If you keep talking about Afterglow, Mr. Momoi will be really annoyed.”
"Ah... I'm sorry." Li Xi tried to calm down, staring at Gao Songdeng, whose eyes were wide open as he waited for the Dong Brothers to appear on stage. He sighed silently and didn't say anything.
Not far from them, a tall woman dressed in a long, black jumpsuit watched Chihaya Aine, Momoi Taro, and Kaname Rakuna on the stage through their backs.
In one corner, an elderly man with a cane stood dignifiedly, watching the band that had not yet appeared on stage.
Meanwhile, in the other corner, the silver-haired girl at the head of the group of five stared at the stage, her indifferent face showing no emotion.
The shortest of the purple-haired girls was shouting, "Rinrin~ Lisa-nee! Did you see that?! Ayako's sister is super super super cool!"
"Haha, I saw it! Tomoe's performance was really cool, and so were the other members." The brown-haired older sister tried to soothe Ayako's emotions. "But, if Ayako keeps acting like this, won't she cause trouble for Taro?"
"Hmm... I also think, Ayako's older sister... is amazing..." the girl with long, straight black hair said earnestly, but her gaze was fixed on the stage.
"Indeed, Tomoe and the rest of Afterglow played very well," the blue-haired girl commented with her arms crossed and expressionless. "For Taro and the others, who are still in a new band, the situation is very unfavorable."
"Why is it that the audience's attention is currently focused on the previous band, just like Udagawa-kun's... It's really too much of a stretch to have a new band perform for a band of this size."
"As for Momoi Taro, no problem," the silver-haired girl said, her pale yellow eyes filled with trust and seriousness.
On the far left are girls with pink, blue, yellow, and red hair. The girl with short blue hair sits proudly in the corner, looking arrogant and disdainful of being associated with others.
The red-haired girl, Kita, looked at the stage with longing and whispered, "It'll be Momoi-senpai's turn to appear soon!"
"Hmm... I guess so." Pochi shuddered and looked around nervously in the crowd. Although his condition had improved, he still found it a little hard to accept being in such a crowded place.
"Well~ is Taro-senpai okay...?" The blonde Nijika looked around worriedly. This situation was common in her own Fanxing band. When bands with a large gap in popularity appeared, this was often the case. Even if the less famous band was slightly stronger, they were easily overlooked. In this situation, the most important thing was not strength, but experience.
How to win back the audience's attention is also an art.
"But with the keyboard skills you had at the last live performance, you should be fine, right?" Hongxia quickly reassured Boqi, who seemed even more uneasy.
Not far from them, Toyokawa Shoko with blue twin tails and Wakaba Mutsumi with long green hair calmly watched the stage.
The two groups of three standing near the back huddled together, chatting.
"Aine's junior high school students, are you here to support Aine (⑵I Sanwuqi ⑨Liu San ②[/Yueyi*.)?"
Traffic Light Duo: "Yes, yes! We're all here to support Xiao Aiyin. Do you know Xiao Aiyin?"
"Yeah, yeah, we were classmates with Aine in junior high. We even formed a band together back then—"
The two groups exchanged pleasantries, and soon, the members of the Dong Brothers group slowly walked out of the door!
Episode 55, The Live Show Begins (Part 1)
"General... isn't this atmosphere ominous?" After exchanging a few pleasantries with Lan and the others on the side of the stage, Miao Meng couldn't help but feel a little scared as she looked at the audience members who were enthusiastically discussing the band's performance.
"So, as I said from the beginning, if it's Shinjiro who appears, there won't be any problem!" Taro answered Nyanmu's question very seriously.
Miao Meng tried to imagine that scenario, and it seemed that what the general said really made sense. If she made such a flamboyant entrance, the audience's attention would definitely be drawn back in an instant, if nothing else.
"This is just my personal opinion," Hai Ling said expressionlessly. "There's no point in saying anything more now."
"What should we do then?" Aine couldn't help but feel a little nervous, after all, the atmosphere looked really bad.
“Just play it normally.” Lena tilted her head, not understanding why everyone was backing down at this point.
“That’s right!” Taro nodded in agreement. “As long as you fully demonstrate the power of your harmonies, these things are nothing!”
"Servants! It's our turn to step forward!" Taro walked fearlessly to the front, and the other four could only follow behind and take their places.
Seeing that no one seemed to care about the audience members who were going on stage, Taro smiled. This was more interesting. He turned to look at Nyanmu as if he hadn't been discouraged at all. Then, he grabbed the microphone and the sharp electronic sound echoed throughout the venue, drawing the attention of the audience.
Miaomeng understood, tapping her drumsticks and counting the beats. Then, intense drumbeats and Lena's exciting electric guitar sounds emerged.
Then, the four girls, along with Taro, shouted in a powerful and angry voice: "Hey!"
Then, the bass and rhythm guitar joined in, echoing the drums and lead guitar. Taro's keyboards also began to add a touch of color to the song; he shouted with furious vocals, his unique voice piercing the entire venue: "Wow! Wow!"
Although they were just some meaningless shouts, their distinctive and passionate cries kept the audience's attention glued to the stage.
Despite the flawless performance of the instruments, Taro easily sensed the unease in the drummers and rhythm guitarists' playing. His smile remained unchanged, and he maintained his usual calm demeanor.
[What incompetent servants! I can't do anything with you! I'll light your way with my song!]
His gaze was resolute, the music never stopped, and when the verse began, he sang:
"Shake off those entanglements of time, and surge to the limit in one breath—"
"Once we've maintained our near-limit position, it's time to go for it—my way!"
The urgent, narrative-driven, slightly hoarse voice conveyed its owner's perseverance and miraculously dispelled the unease in the hearts of the rhythm guitarist and drummer, who were making their first appearance on stage.
Meanwhile, Nina's eyes lit up in the audience. She nervously rubbed her thighs with her hands. The moment Taro sang the first line, Nina was captivated. Although she didn't know why she was so attracted, she wanted to shout out like Taro.
Aine and Meowme seemed to be filled with courage. As they regained their composure while listening to their performance, Taro's smile widened. However, he had no intention of stopping the rhythm. On the contrary, what he was going to do now was to push these emotions to their limit, just like the lyrics!
"With a burning, fiery passion in my heart, after traversing the monotonous, dark landscape..."
"No need to stop, surpass everything in one breath!"
Although she had heard the lyrics countless times during practice, Hai Ling felt a completely different way during the actual performance...
Hai Ling's first band in the past felt the same way to her. She threw herself into the band with all her passion and without hesitation, only to be betrayed in the end. This was her monotonous black and white landscape.
But... can she really surpass everything without stopping...? She recalled that after that band, she never officially joined another band. Although she longed for a formal sense of belonging, the sense of belonging she truly desired remained in the past.
But... the home that Momoi Taro promised him, even though Taro himself didn't know how important it was to him.
But that doesn't matter. What matters is that she finally has the courage to embrace her new home!
Thinking this, the bass guitar in his hands became even more energetic. Of course, the audience would hardly notice.
"I want to reach the finish line faster than anyone else, because I still have people to protect—"
Taro sang the last line of the first verse, grabbed the microphone, and from then on, he no longer needed his keyboard.
"Crazy, keep on driving! Make it more intense!"
"Sprint with all your might, there's no turning back, one way, one road!"
He turned to his attendants, his deep, hoarse voice propelling the entire piece forward, and the attendants, in turn, helped him elevate the chorus to an even higher level—
As the chorus ends, the song transitions into an interlude, and Lena reveals a fervent smile as the electric guitar plays incredibly beautiful notes in her hands. The bass, drums, and another guitarist all give their all in support of her wild performance.
Taro's keyboard playing, in particular, brought out the richness of the music.
I'm breathing... the free spirit of my guitar. With Taro by my side, my guitar can gain freedom.
So, I'll keep playing with Taro and Aine forever!
The intense interlude, superb performance, and excellent lighting effects made the audience briefly forget the previous band's performance and fully immerse themselves in the Dong Brothers' music.
After the interlude, Taro spread his five fingers and raised his hand high, his palm open as if he were taking in the light directly above him, and then entered the chorus:
"Let go of those listless days filled with loneliness and anxiety!"
He clenched his fist and swung it forward: "Smash it to pieces!"
Listening to Taro's verses, she was indeed impressed by their greater power and narrative quality compared to when she practiced. Moved by Taro's voice, she couldn't help but recall her days in England.