hotmtlnovel Page 123
Page 123
Now, she had come to soil where flowers could bloom again. She was determined to cherish it, she thought, glancing slightly at Taro. She sighed again, then returned to her usual demeanor.
"That's true, but it was played backstage, we didn't see it at all—" Aine retorted, puffing out her cheeks. Then, as if remembering something, she asked, "Speaking of live performances, our live performance today was definitely a huge success!"
“For me, it should be called a huge success,” Hai Ling said, bending her index finger and resting her chin on her hand as she pondered.
"What about Xiao Lena? What are your thoughts?" Aine looked down at Lena in her arms and asked her curiously.
"When is the next time?" Ryuna casually uttered her inner thoughts. Aine's smile froze instantly: "Haha, Ryuna really likes live performances."
"Yes, I'm happy to be here." Lena nodded firmly without wavering.
“But watching fireworks is more interesting now.” Aine looked up longingly, and the fireworks in the distance exploded in her pupils: “Wow—it’s so beautiful.”
"But it's too far away to see anything clearly," Ai-yin said, puffing out her cheeks in annoyance.
"Aiko really likes fireworks?" Meow Meng sighed and comforted her, "Don't worry, the fireworks now are only of medium quality. There are three fireworks displays every year around this time, and the fireworks at midnight will be much more dazzling."
With a mischievous smile, she walked over to Ai Yin and nudged her waist with her elbow: "I know a great spot to watch fireworks, want me to take you?"
"Why does Miaomeng know so much?" This piqued Aine's curiosity. She recalled the events of the live performance and said uncertainly, "During the live performance, when Miaomeng introduced me, she didn't seem to use my online name like before."
"Huh~" Miaomeng tilted her head in confusion and asked, puzzled, "Didn't I say? This is my hometown. I've lived here since I was a child, so of course I'm familiar with it."
Of course, she was faking it; she certainly remembered that she hadn't told anyone other than Taro.
"Eh—I've never heard of this before!" Aine stared at Nyanmu in utter surprise, her cheeks puffed out. "You should have said so from the beginning!"
"By the way, I don't know either," Hai Ling calmly echoed.
"That's right! Neither Hailing nor I knew!" Aiyin accused arrogantly.
"Yes, yes, I was wrong." Looking at Aine's expression, Miaomeng couldn't help but reach out and ruffle her hair, chuckling, "So? Do you still want the spot to watch the fireworks!?"
"Of course I want to!" Aine slapped away Meow Dream's hand in dissatisfaction. It's one thing to tease Rina, but why is she touching me too?
“Stare—” As if sensing something, Lena broke free from Aine’s embrace and stared at her.
Ai Yin looked away, feeling a little guilty.
However, Nyanko patiently explained the directions to Aine, then smiled and said with narrowed eyes, "Aiko, you can go ahead by yourself. I'd like to borrow the general for a bit; I have some things I'd like to discuss with him."
"What do you mean 'mine'..." Ai-yin's pretty face flushed slightly as she pulled Le-nai forward, saying, "I don't care about you guys."
As she turned around, Aine's face showed a hint of worry, and then she turned to look at Taro, who had no expression on his face.
She turned back to look ahead, realizing she must have lost her mind to worry about Momoi Taro.
You can do it, Taro... Keep Nyanmuchi here.
"Hailing! Let's go!" she called back, pulling Lena along as they ran even faster.
Hai Ling sighed softly and said gently, "Then, I'll take my leave."
She glanced at Miaomeng again, then turned and left without hesitation.
This is proof that I trust you, Momoi Taro. Now, can you trust me too?
The atmosphere fell silent for a moment. The two walked side by side for a long time, emerging from the bustling temple fair and slowly making their way into the secluded grove.
Perhaps he was getting impatient, or perhaps Taro felt the time was right, he spoke up and said, "What is it that you want to talk to me about alone?"
When Meow Dream heard Taro's question, she froze.
She stopped in the grove of trees, raised her head slightly, and looked at the crescent moon in the sky.
People experience sorrow and joy, separation and reunion; the moon waxes and wanes. This is an ancient saying from the other side of the ocean, and perhaps the existence of bands is similar.
She took a deep breath, looked at Taro, and calmly said, "I'm leaving the Dong Brothers Group."
Dong, Chapter Fifteen: I'll Always Be Waiting for You
"Chihaya-kun, there's no need to run so fast." Hailing quickly caught up with Chihaya. After these days of training, this kind of jogging no longer left Hailing breathless; even with a bass amp, she wouldn't be out of breath—
Seeing that Aine had slowly pulled Rana to a stop, Hailin finally breathed a sigh of relief, maintaining her composure, and said, "Chihaya-kun doesn't know yet, does she? Yutenji-kun is going to tell Taro..."
"I know."
Before Hai Ling could finish speaking, Aine interrupted her. She calmly continued, "What she told Kazutaro was about leaving the Dong Brothers group, right?"
She turned to look at Hailing and said seriously, "I've known about this for a long time, ever since my first live performance."
Lena squinted, seemingly not understanding what was going on, while Hailing remained silent. Aine, on the other hand, looked up at the crescent moon in the sky.
Under the crescent moon in the sky, Yutenji Wakana firmly said to Taro, "I'm leaving the Dong Brothers Group."
Faced with Yutenji Wakana's resolute declaration of withdrawal, Taro remained calm, simply turning around to look at the lake beside the grove of trees, and softly saying, "I see. Is that enough?"
"Huh?" Ruomai felt a little uneasy about Taro's calm answer.
"What I mean is, is that enough?" Taro continued, "You joined the band to learn, right? Is your current level sufficient?"
Ruomai remained silent, calmly gazing at the lake, where the reflection of the crescent moon rippled slightly.
The waning moon in the sky cast a cold light on Aine's face. She slightly opened her mouth and began to speak:
“Miaomeng, actually she’s afraid…” she sighed softly, “She’s afraid of slowly becoming weak.”
Faced with Taro's question, Ruomai subconsciously took a step back, her pupils trembling as she looked at Taro.
"Yes, that's enough. Thank you for taking care of me all these days." She tried to remain calm, bowed slightly to Taro, and stood up, saying:
"Of course, I won't cause trouble for the rest of the band. I'll stay with the band until the end of the next show, and I can leave early if you find a suitable drummer during that time."
After saying that, she turned to leave. Taro gazed at Ruomai's retreating figure and murmured, "Is that so? Do you think you can beat me and that's why you're leaving? Or are you just running away?"
"Tsk..." Ruomai's steps, which were about to leave, were tripped up by an invisible word.
Are you kidding me? You think you can beat Momoi Taro already...? I'd never even think that way, no matter how much I drink.
But I had to leave, I had no choice but to leave. If she didn't leave soon, if she didn't leave soon...
Aine's eyes met Hailin's, and she said seriously, "Nyan Meng has started asking Taro for advice on work for some reason. I've seen it several times... It's this matter that made her realize that she seems to be becoming more and more dependent on Momoi Taro's existence."
Hai Ling was sweating profusely, although, but maybe, perhaps, or should... it had nothing to do with her, right?
Hai Ling tried her best to keep a poker face and calmly said, "What's wrong with relying on Momoi Taro?"
Looking at Hailing, Aiyin parted her thin lips slightly and continued to explain.
My dream is to become a multi-talented artist...
Ruomai lowered her head and thought about it.
[The band's earnings alone are simply not enough to support their parents, younger siblings, and older siblings...]
"Boom—" Thunder was brewing in the sky, and gloomy clouds blocked the waning moon.
[Actually... I'm just afraid, afraid that I'll slowly become dependent on Momoi Taro, and if that happens, I'll never be able to leave the band again. Before that happens, I absolutely have to quit—]
The rain fell as expected, and the gradually intensifying thunderstorm did not affect the laughter at the distant temple fair, nor did it affect Ai Yin and Hai Ling, who were having a conversation.
"So that's what Miss Yutenji thought." Hailing said in disbelief, touching her cheek. Looking at the sky, which was slowly turning gloomy, Hailing looked at Aine, not knowing what to say.
"Miao Mengqin may seem frivolous, but she is actually a very strong-willed person..."
The rain soaked the three people's clothes, and Lenai felt uncomfortable, so she quickly rushed forward and took shelter in the pavilion to the side.
Hai Ling and Ai Yin were hurrying over there at a leisurely pace. Ai Yin said softly, "So, Miao Meng wants to leave the Dong Brothers Group no matter what, it's just a matter of time."
"Knowing this, why did you leave so readily?" Hailing asked, tilting her head in confusion, as she and Aiyin entered the pavilion to take shelter from the rain.
“Of course it is…” Aine raised her head, looking at the lightning flashing in the sky: “I believe in Momoi Taro—”
Hai Ling stared at Aine, speechless. This was Chihaya Aine's trust.
It's really... more heavy than I imagined.
Rumbling--
The lightning illuminated Hailing's face, which was covered in cold sweat and looked extremely frightened. In the distance, Ruomai's face, soaked by the rain, was also covered in raindrops.
She licked the raindrops that had dripped from the corner of her lips, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down: "Of course not, I'm quite self-aware. But I can clearly feel that every time I ask you for help, I become more dependent on you..."
"And you, to me, are a sweet poison." She turned around, looking at Momoi Taro, her eyes filled with resistance:
“I know that you don’t know everything when I ask you about work, but you understand it at a glance. Indeed, I can grow faster by your side.”
"But being by your side... my heart feels like it's being poisoned. Seeing you makes me wonder, what are all my efforts worth—"
“I understand that I can grow faster by your side, but—” Ruomai opened her mouth, trying hard to say something.
But she was still unable to describe her feelings, and could only say in despair:
"In short, I'm just jealous of your talent, that's all you need to think of it."
"Isn't the result just running away?" In the pouring rain, Taro's tall and upright figure remained unshaken by the rain.
"Yeah! I'm running away! So what!" Miao Meng turned her head away in despair and shouted, "You don't need to worry about me anymore."
"Yutenji Wakana!" Taro solemnly called out her full name. Wakana reluctantly looked at Taro and whispered, "How is it?"
“Ruomai…that’s a really nice name.” He said calmly, “Wheat only gets stronger when it’s trampled. It’s really outrageous that it’s fallen like this.”
"Tsk... It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering. Your talent isn't just about stepping, it's about the level of a road roller!" Ruomai retorted loudly to Taro, "It's not even in the same league! I feel like I'm bad at everything when I'm around you, even my best drumming is—you keep telling me it's no good."
“That’s the same as me.” Taro said without hesitation, “Since I was a child, I’ve been good at everything, so I don’t have anything I’m good at.”
"Huh...? How are you the same?!" Ruomai became even more agitated, questioning Taro: "Compared to you, who can do everything so easily, I can't do anything well, and I'm never good enough—something you can do in a minute takes me dozens of days, don't you understand! I can never beat you! Only by leaving you can I truly breathe!!"
The streetlights stood between the two people, and the rain they illuminated seemed to create an invisible wall between them.
Neither of them spoke, letting the rain pelt them.
A rumble of thunder broke the eerie silence once again, and Taro spoke softly in sync with the thunder.
However, what she said made Ruomai wonder if she had misheard: "What...what did you say? Say it again?"
“I said…” Taro’s face was full of seriousness: “You have, don’t you? You have things that surpass mine.”
"Huh? I don't understand what you mean." Meow Dream took two steps forward, raised her head and looked at Taro with determination: "What does this mean? Please explain it to me properly."
“Your efforts, your progress… have surpassed mine.” Taro met her gaze without flinching and said, “I’ve seen your efforts and progress since the moment you joined the band.”
"I have no need to try, nor is there any possibility of improvement," Taro said softly, looking into her eyes.