socalfunplaces Page 39
Page 39
"Stop crying, everyone stop crying. You're all grown up, why are you acting like little kids?" Sonoda Umi said, turning her face away from everyone's view—she was a very emotional person, how could she possibly calm down after seeing such a story?
“Little flower…” Rin Hoshizora looked at Hanayo Koizumi, who looked back at her with the same gaze: “Rin-nyan…”
With a "whoosh!", the two first-year students hugged each other, completely oblivious to the snot and tears falling onto their clothes.
Only Ayase Eli bit her lip tightly, which made her look much more normal—she was also the only one who noticed that Baili Xiao had completed the manga sketch after he stopped using the pressure-sensitive pen.
"Teacher Baili, thank you for your hard work!" Ayase Eli respectfully stood up and bowed. Just as she was about to remind Tojo Nozomi and the others next to her, Baili Xiao put a finger to his lips and said, "Don't disturb them. You've all been under a lot of pressure lately, so it's good that you can vent. But... you have to continue training tomorrow, so remember to remind them not to sleep in."
"Well then, see you tomorrow!"
P.S.: Please stop commenting and stirring up trouble. I've already said, "Being a eunuch is impossible, I will never be a eunuch in my life."
Yesterday was a day of moving house, including the computer, so I didn't have time to go online. I only had time to post an announcement in the evening saying I owe...emmm, I don't even know how many I owe. I'll try my best to pay them back, and if I can't, I'll just settle it with a shady deal...lol.
Chapter 0107 Can You Stop Singing? (2/5 Please Subscribe)
While Muse continued their intensive training, the final draft of 【lovelive】, completed by Baili Xiao alone and highly anticipated by the doujinshi community, was sent to Akane Kousaka and others' email addresses.
Shinazugawa Bunko, rouge-en-rouge circle, and Chishima Publishing began their work in an orderly manner—approval, printing, merchandise production, promotional posters, and so on.
Although Baili Xiao said that there was no need to hold a sales event, the three companies still did a very good job in promotion. No, it should be said that it was better than any previous promotion!
Of course, Baili Xiao was unaware of these things. After all, there was no need to tell him about such a "minor matter" that Akane and the others considered, because he had more important things to do.
Kasumigaoka family.
Baili Xiao examined the original drawings one by one, and a smile gradually appeared on his face: "Very good. With your current drawing skills, you are more than capable of producing [5 Centimeters Per Second]. I am already looking forward to what the animated film will look like after it is completed."
Eriri and the others exchanged glances and smiled (only Mashiro remained expressionless). Eriri crossed her arms, gave a soft hum, and tilted her head back, her two golden ponytails swaying slightly with her movement: "Of course! We were already creating the original artwork when the '5 Centimeters Per Second' novel was being produced, so of course we'd be even more skilled now that so much time has passed!"
Hashima's right hand, out of Baili Xiao's sight, gently tugged at Eriri's skirt—she had been reminding Eriri "not to talk to Baili-kun like that," but the latter clearly hadn't taken her words to heart at all.
Faced with Eriri's clearly "Come on, praise me!" expression, Baili Xiao shook his head and turned his gaze to the silver-haired Izumi Sagiri, whose eyes were sparkling with hope as she awaited his praise.
"Sagiri has also made great progress. From only being able to draw erotic manga at the beginning, she has become an all-rounder. Her improvement is particularly fast... As expected of Eromanga Sensei."
Izumi Sagiri blushed, pulled the hood of her dark green coat over her head to cover her signature silver hair, and protested in a low voice, "Please, please don't say that name again. I don't know anyone with that name!"
"Okay, okay, I got it." Bai Lixiao's smile became more and more exaggerated—of course he knew that Izumi Sagiri didn't want to hear the words "Eromanga," but every time he saw Sagiri, he couldn't help but tease her in this way...e(aeej)mmm, this habit is really bad!
"What about Mashiro? What have you learned from working together for so long?" Baili Xiao looked at Shiina Mashiro with great interest. In his opinion, the latter's changes were more important—after all, it was much more difficult for an innocent, emotionless girl to change than for Eriri and the others.
"Mmm." Shiina Mashiro responded softly, tilting her head to think for a moment before extending her small hand in front of Hyakuri Akira: "The Baumkuchen the fairy bought was delicious. Eriri always likes to swing her twin tails when she's unhappy..."
Eriri's originally fair cheeks suddenly flushed red. She let out a soft "Mmm!" and buried herself in the sofa, her eyes darting around aimlessly before her gaze fell under the table.
Everyone knows about her little quirk—whenever she encounters something unpleasant, her two twin tails will unconsciously start moving, and the extent of the movement is directly proportional to the degree of "unpleasantness"—of course, this is just a little quirk, no, it can even be said to be Eriri's adorable quirk!
No one would care, and even if they encountered it, they would just laugh it off... Only Shiina Mashiro kept it in her heart, and said it today!
Bai Lixiao grinned and glanced at Eriri casually. As if sensing his gaze, Eriri lowered her head even further.
"Well, anything else?" Baili Xiao stroked Zhenbai's golden hair, and whether it was his imagination or not, he seemed to see a slight smile on Zhenbai's lips: "Yeah, it's fun drawing here..."
(I'm so happy... It's really not easy for Mashiro to say those two words.)
Bai Lixiao sighed inwardly and clasped his hands together: "So, after nearly a month of drawing and production, all the original drawings and in-between drawings needed for [5 Centimeters Per Second] have been completed today! Most of the steps required for the animated film will be handled by Ms. Kurosaka and the others. Only the theme song and insert songs, etc., need to be produced by me."
"Of course, these things are very simple. Just go to a recording studio and sing a few lines. I can handle it all by myself..."
Before Baili Xiao could finish speaking, everyone sitting in the living room looked at him with disbelief and stared blankly at him.
Raising an eyebrow, Baili Xiao shrugged: "What's with those expressions? Did I say anything weird?"
"Wait!" Kasumigaoka Utaha interrupted him with a furrowed brow, her right leg, clad in glossy black stockings, slowly rising and falling to the ground. "Brother, you mean... you're going to compose the movie's theme song and insert songs? Oh, right, since you can teach Muse, your composition and lyrics shouldn't be bad, but... who will sing them?"
Everyone's eyes were fixed on Baili Xiao, hoping to hear the name of any singer, whether familiar or unfamiliar, from him.
But... Baili Xiao actually said "Of course it's me" as if it were the most natural thing in the world!
“Brother…” Kasumigaoka Utaha sighed with a complicated expression. Not only her, but everyone else did too.
They clearly remembered that, some time ago, when Baili Xiao saw the painting "The Monkey King: The Earthly Traveler," she hummed a couple of lines softly.
While the singing wasn't exactly "completely off-key," it wasn't far off either... You could even say that "anyone who has studied music could sing better than Baili Xiao!"
Since then, everyone has been deliberately avoiding suggestions like "Let's go to karaoke?" because they are afraid that Baili Xiao will feel inferior!
But today...
"Ahem!" Kasumigaoka Utaha coughed lightly, her gaze sweeping across everyone's faces.
Eriri and the others looked embarrassed and turned to look at her.
(Sigh!) With a silent sigh, Kasumigaoka Utaha made up her mind—she and Hyakuri Akira were the closest, so it was only right that she was the one to tell the story!
“Brother, um... I think you shouldn’t sing it yourself. Can you give the theme song to someone else?” Kasumigaoka Utaha paused, collected her thoughts, and continued, “I know you have an extraordinary affection for ‘5 Centimeters Per Second,’ and I believe you can create perfect lyrics and music, but... as the saying goes, no one is perfect. Perhaps... you’re not suited to singing?”
Chapter 0108 Baili Xiao is singing! (3/5 Please subscribe)
"Not suited for singing?" Baili Xiao repeated with a puzzled look, only to see the others nodding in agreement.
“Bai Li-kun, as you know, animated films are going to be shown in major theaters. I think it would be better to leave the job of singing the theme song to professional actors.” Kato Megumi said as she got up and took the glass next to Bai Li Xiao and filled it with juice.
“Yeah, let’s leave it to someone else! Don’t you still have the task of ‘training the Muse’? Let’s save ourselves the trouble!” Eriri nodded with a dry laugh and winked at the others.
For a time, everyone except Shiina Mashiro used different methods, but in the same tactful way, to dissuade Baili Xiao from "singing himself" and to try "giving it to someone else".
Shiina Mashiro's orange eyes flickered, and her small mouth opened slightly as if she had discovered something...
"You guys..." Baili Xiao looked at everyone with a mix of amusement and exasperation, rolling her eyes helplessly: "So you all think I sing badly, that's why you're trying so hard to dissuade me from singing the theme song?"
No one answered his question—but their faces conveyed a rhetorical question: "Isn't that right?"
“That’s true, it didn’t sound good when I hummed it before.” Baili Xiao shook his head with a wry smile, then pondered mysteriously for a moment: “Well, let’s just consider it as practicing the theme song. Listen to me sing it. If you still have this feeling after I finish singing, then I don’t want to sing it myself anymore.”
Kasumigaoka Utaha took a deep breath and nodded gently on behalf of everyone: "~Okay!"
...
"One More Time, One More Chance" is the theme song of the animated film "5 Centimeters Per Second".
With the ability to become a national idol, Baili Xiao easily composed the lyrics and music.
"It's surprising that Hyakuri-kun can write lyrics and compose music. There's really nothing that can stump him." Akane Akasaka sighed softly, watching Hyakuri Akira earnestly tuning his guitar across from her. She then added in an even softer voice, "But Hyakuri-kun probably isn't very good at singing, is he? After all, last time..."
She didn't say what came next, but as one of the people who heard Baili Xiao humming at the time, it wasn't hard to guess the meaning behind her words.
"Ms. Kousaka, it's really too much trouble for you to come all this way to deliver the guitar in your busy schedule." Kasumigaoka Utaha bowed slightly to thank Kousaka Akane, who waved her hand and said, "Well, I can handle most things without any problems. He's grown into a capable person in charge now."
After saying that, Akane Akasaka turned her gaze back to Hyakuri Akira, her eyes sparkling with interest: "I'm really looking forward to Hyakuri-kun's performance now. I heard you couldn't persuade him no matter what you did?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha smiled slightly: "I hope Miss Kousaka won't laugh at my brother later."
"How could that be? I sense that Hyakuri-kun is quite confident. You might be the ones who are surprised later!" Akane Kousaka slowly shook her head: "Let's wait and see..."
"Zheng~" The guitar bow vibrated, producing a slightly low and somewhat suppressed sound.
"Zheng~zheng~zheng~" Her fingers danced on the strings, plucking out different tones one after another. Baili Xiao played the instrument in her hand skillfully, just like a bar singer. This was an ability added by the [National Idol], which allowed her to play some common instruments such as guitar and piano skillfully.
Of course, this additional ability is only for ordinary people. Many musicians who have achieved a certain level of success in musical instruments can surpass Baili Xiao, so it will not appear in the introduction of [National Idol].
However... playing today's program is enough!
(My brother can play the guitar? I've never seen him play before...) Kasumigaoka Utaha thought to herself as she heard the first line of Hyakuri Akira's song.
How much more must I lose before I can be forgiven?
What kind of sound was that?
His voice was slightly somber, carrying a hint of vicissitude, immediately giving the impression that "this is a person with a story."
How much more suffering must I endure before I can meet you again?
The lyrics, interspersed with the sound of guitar, reach everyone's ears and strike straight into their hearts without any hindrance!
No one can truly understand the pain, sorrow, loss, and resentment hidden within the song.
"One more time, seasons, let them not change; one more time, let us return to the time when we played together..."
Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned slightly and opened her mouth slightly to breathe—for no reason, she felt a little short of breath.
0 ····Requesting flowers···· ·········
Not only her, but everyone in the living room who heard Baili Xiao's singing unconsciously made this gesture.
"When we argue, I'm always the one who gives in first."
"But your willfulness makes me even more infatuated."
"One more chance, imprisoned by memories, one more chance, unable to choose my next destination..."
An illustrated poster gradually emerged in everyone's minds. It was a beautiful and heartwarming scene—under a huge cherry blossom tree, pink cherry blossom petals were falling in the wind, and a girl was smiling at a boy.
Did you know? I heard that cherry blossoms fall at a speed of five centimeters per second!
Spirit... ...
Long Ge's voice suddenly rose to a high pitch, but it seemed to be suppressed by something, preventing her from singing loudly.
"I have been searching, searching for your figure, in the room across the street, in the window of the alley, even though I know you are not there!"
"If my wish could come true, I would come to your side immediately. I am no longer afraid of anything. Even if it costs me everything, I will hold you tight!"
What exactly is suppressing the singing?
A voice in my heart kept repeating two words over and over again.
Reality...
Like the train tracks that separate the two.
Like those letters that kept coming back and forth but then stopped.
Just like that same star-studded night sky.
Just like the ring on that ring finger, sparkling with the light of a diamond.
That light, while stinging the eyes, also stung the heart; it was something called "reality."
The singing faded away, and the guitar music slowly dissipated with its final tremor.
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt something cold brush against her cheek, following the contours of her face, gathering at her chin, and then falling, splashing small water droplets on her clothes.
As the mother of "5 Centimeters Per Second," when she heard Baili Xiao's singing, scenes from the novel involuntarily flooded her mind. Every word and every scene appeared like a revolving lantern, and then disappeared.
Baili Xiao let out a soft sigh, raised her eyes, and saw a group of people with tear stains and their tightly furrowed brows.