svetikya Page 32
Page 32
"Snapped--"
Did it hit? Metis looked expectantly in Taro's direction, but clearly saw that her branch sword had been blocked by the folder.
It turns out that Momoi Taro caught the falling folder the instant it fell and used it to block his tree branch sword attack.
It's like Iehara Bokuden using a pot lid to block Miyamoto Musashi's sneak attack.
While Metis was stunned, Taro was not. He used the folder to knock away Metis's branch sword, then threw the folder, which hit Metis in the face. The shocked Metis collapsed.
Inside the room, Aine and Meowme covered their eyes with their hands, somewhat disappointed. They had expected to see Taro's embarrassed state. They hadn't expected Motis to be so incompetent.
Taro glanced around the room and saw the chair that Motis had brought over to stand on and the shoes placed to the side. He immediately had an idea: "200 round trips up and down the stairs!"
"Huh?" Metis stood up, clutching her head where it had been hit and a red mark, with tears welling in her eyes. She couldn't understand Taro's words at all and could only utter a single syllable instinctively.
“This is a game, and there’s a penalty game if you lose,” Taro said matter-of-factly, taking out the bread he had brought: “Aine, your fruit sandwich; Meow Dream, melon bun; Takamatsu, you can choose one.”
The last one was naturally reserved for Motisse, who had finished exercising.
Metis tilted her head and thought for a while. Suddenly, the light bulb next to her head lit up, and her amazing wisdom suddenly gave her a very good idea.
"Mumu, I don't know if it's because I was hit by that wretched Momoi Taro and I'm a little dizzy, but I'm starting to lose consciousness. From now on, the fate of humanity... the world is in your hands."
"That's what Metis thought to herself," she said, then sank into the deepest part of her consciousness and returned control of her body to Xiao Mu.
This was Metis's strategy—to flee.
And so, the innocent-looking little yellow girl was pushed forward. She walked to Taro's side, tugged at his sleeve, and when she saw him turn around, she whispered, "He ran away..."
Taro looked her up and down, roughly understanding what was going on, and said, "That's alright, it's the same body anyway, you can take her place."
Little Cucumber's expression froze completely; she stood there, at a loss for what to do. So Taro pointed to the small stool that Motis had just used to put her folder on.
"Oh..." Little Cucumber walked stiffly to the bottom of the chair, stretched out her legs so that her whole body was standing on the chair, then stepped back and counted, "1..."
She counted slowly.
Gao Songdeng chose a large quantity of melon buns and ate them in small bites.
The practice room door creaked open again, and a small pink head peeked out from outside:
As usual, Aine and Nyan showed Taro their training results, and Taro corrected their mistakes. Taro was quite satisfied with their progress.
On the other hand, Miss Ruoye Mutsu hadn't done such strenuous exercise in a long time. Although she did a lot of exercise from ballet, it paled in comparison to this.
After finally finishing the move, he lay on the floor of the practice room in a very unseemly manner, panting heavily.
"Metis... go inside and reflect on your actions!" Wakaba Mutsu vowed to make her realize who truly owned the body.
"..." No reply came from Metis's body.
"Mumu... looks so tired." Kodama said cautiously, looking at Taro. "She looks like she's in a lot of pain..."
“Her body needs pain.” Taro’s expression showed no remorse. “While she’s still young, she should sweat more and train her body and mind! That way, she can take another step towards what she wants.”
"Um!" Ai Yin weakly raised her hand: "We're just a band, we shouldn't need that much physical exertion, right?"
"What if we hold a solo live concert and the audience asks for an encore?" Taro looked firmly into Aine's eyes: "What if we don't have enough energy then?"
"General, excuse me, I need to interrupt for a moment." Meow Dream raised her hand as well: "Aren't you thinking too far ahead? Our first live performance hasn't even started yet!"
I just can't get along with that amazing guy, Taro Momoi! He should just do a few live shows with this band, make enough popularity and money, and then leave.
"That's why I didn't let you start training now!" Taro turned to Meowmee and said seriously, "Right now, both your technique and physical fitness are very weak, but between the two, improving your technique should take priority!"
"Ugh! I still can't stand that self-righteous tone!" Ai Yin exclaimed angrily. Just then, the door opened, and Pochi, after starting his part-time job, walked in.
"Um... excuse me." She walked in timidly and was startled when she saw Miss Tsukimori lying unceremoniously not far from the practice room door. She carefully avoided the young lady.
As for whether she was surprised or not, she was actually quite surprised, but she didn't dare to go up and talk to the other person, so she could only silently avoid them.
"Ah, it's Dudu! Are you here to train with Taro today too?" Aine's expression changed instantly. She waved to Bochi and greeted him. Seeing that Bochi had also brought his guitar, she asked curiously, "Speaking of which, you brought your guitar last time too. How's Dudu's guitar playing?"
"Hmm..." Little Boqi lowered her head, placing the guitar case in the corner. Although she desperately wanted to tell the other person that she was the guitar hero with 30,000 followers online, and that she played exceptionally well, her personality prevented her from doing so. She could only stammer, "So-so..."
"Hey~ I'm just starting out too. If you don't mind, we can practice together," Aine said with a smile, looking very enthusiastic.
In his heart, he was thinking: "Great! If Dudu isn't very skilled, practicing with her will make me look even cooler! Although it feels a little unfair to Dudu, I'll teach her carefully during practice! This way, we can also get closer to her."
“No… that…” Pochi waved his arms helplessly.
“Her skill level is far superior to yours,” Taro said bluntly. “You need to practice more. The practice the day before yesterday wasn’t very effective!”
"Sigh... I practiced really hard today." Aine was a little unhappy at first, but then she noticed Taro saying that Pochi's level was very high, and asked curiously, "Is Dudu's level really that high?"
"Well, in terms of technique alone, she's professional-level," Taro commented objectively. "However, her music is full of confusion and anxiety, and she's completely out of sync. Her performance in a band might not even be as good as yours."
“Goo-wah—” Pochi’s body went limp when his weakness was exposed, and he knelt down, muttering to himself, “I am… I am the planktonic creature Goto Desu.”
She's become so depressed again. She's such a nice person, so much better than that Momoi Taro... Hmm, what should I do?
Ai Yin tilted her head and thought for a moment. Seeing Boqi's dejected expression, she felt a little anxious. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she excitedly said, "That's right! Since Dudu plays so well, why don't you teach me to play the guitar?"
“Eh…me…?” Pochi responded to Aine’s words with trembling all over.
"Hmm! Taro said you play very well, then you must play very well! So, can you teach me?" Aine grabbed Pochi's hand and said with great admiration, "When do you have time, Dudu?"
"Um... I have to work at the livehouse this afternoon, but tomorrow is the weekend, so..." Pochi was unconsciously led astray by the topic.
"Really? Can we come here tomorrow?!" Aine let go of Boqi's hand. "Or is your home too far away?"
"Hehehe...no...my home is nearby." Boqi, flattered by the compliment, had no chance to resist.
"Then, can Dudu teach me?" Aine asked, hoping that this would allow them to gradually become friends.
"Yes~ I will try my best~" Little Pochi was easily controlled by Aine.
“Isn’t this good, Goto? Just keep this expression on your face.” Taro suddenly said, “Use this expression to greet customers, don’t hide under the counter.”
Hearing Taro's words, Pochi, who was flattered, remembered the purpose of her visit. She said softly, "Um... I can face customers now... but I still can't smile properly at them."
"Ah, it's because Dudu seems very introverted, there's nothing we can do about it." Ai Yin roughly understood what had happened just from Boqi's description, so she tried to smooth things over for Boqi.
"I see, I understand now." Taro smiled. "So that's why you were too shy to make eye contact with others, and that's why you performed so badly on stage!"
Xiaodeng also secretly watched Boqi. Was this person, like herself, unable to perform well because of fear...?
"Taro! It's so rude of you to keep talking like that," Aine tried to stop Taro from speaking.
"I'm sorry, I am the planktonic Goto—" and Pochi, who was still feeling smug, suddenly went limp and knelt down again.
“No, you don’t need to be ashamed of it, you should be proud of it,” Taro said matter-of-factly. “Only when people know their weaknesses can they move forward.”
"Thank you for your comfort..." Before Pochi could say anything more, Taro announced loudly, "Therefore, let's go to the streets for a live performance tomorrow."
"Huh?" Pochi froze, his face turning deathly pale, and screamed, "Street live!!?"
Chapter Thirty-One, the performance is about to begin (4 Jun, ?〤? Yang Luyi weeping I2⑻ things have passed away"|/8)
All five people in the practice room turned their gaze to Boqi, who was screaming and lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and convulsing.
"General, no matter what..." Miao Meng was a little worried and a little excited. She was worried about the girl's health, but excited because the content for tomorrow's video was settled.
A street photographer encountered a powerful figure; the street performance was terrifying, and no amount of effort could defeat him.
"Yeah, Taro. This is way too difficult for Dudu!" Aine worriedly supported Pochi's body and gently shook her: "Dudu, are you alright? Don't die!"
"Taro, want to do a street performance?" Wakaba Mutsu thought about her plans for tomorrow. She didn't seem to have any classes during the day, so she could go and watch.
"Don't panic! Attendants!" Taro's calm voice rang out in the practice room. He took out a bag and put it over Bochi's mouth and nose. After she breathed for a while, she seemed to be much better.
After Pochi felt a little better, Taro explained what he had just said: "The simplest treatment for introversion is desensitization therapy. As long as you are exposed to more things, you will gradually stop being afraid."
"But isn't this a bit too difficult to do in one go?" Ai Yin tried to help Boqi out: "Wouldn't it be better to start with something easier?"
Pochi nodded frantically in agreement, his long hair swinging wildly in the air, looking like a demon from hell.
“What’s so good about it!” Taro retorted without holding back, his arms crossed as usual. “If you reduce the difficulty a little today and a little tomorrow, you’ll never improve. You should use an efficient approach.”
No, no, no! If I go to perform on the street, I'll definitely get booed and kicked out. I might even get rotten eggs and tomatoes thrown at me. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me despair!
Pochi shook his head even more forcefully, resisting Taro's arrangement.
"Um... Master Taro." Kotori spoke as if she had made up her mind, her two hands clasped tightly together, and said nervously, "I... I want to go too."
"Huh?" x3
Meow Dream, Aine, and Pochi all looked at Takamatsu Akari in perfect unison, uttering a single syllable. Wakaba Mutsu also looked at Akari with some surprise.
The light has changed.
She smiled faintly, happy that her former companion was doing well, and struggled to support her weak body so that she wouldn't collapse to the ground again.
“Me too… I’m extremely afraid of facing an audience.” Gao Songdeng lowered his head as he recounted his past experience: “That day, during my band’s live performance, everyone said I sang really well…”
She lowered her head even further, her voice becoming increasingly thin and dejected: "But I have no memory of that live performance... It just ended so suddenly."
“It must be because I’m too scared…” Xiaodeng’s voice gradually became firm: “So, I also want to… want to try to change myself.”
“Although Mr. Taro said that the band’s disbandment wasn’t my fault for singing badly…” Xiaodeng lowered her head and walked to Boqi’s side. Then she slowly looked up and met Taro’s gaze, saying, “But I feel that if I could sing a little better… at least, I don’t want the new band to face the crisis of disbanding for this reason.”
“I want to move forward too… I want to change myself!” She looked into Taro’s eyes, trying her best to show her determination: “I can’t… stay stagnant like this.”
“So, Master Taro!” Takamatsu Akari closed her eyes and bowed, “Please allow me to participate as well!”
"Isn't this great?" Taro smiled and praised, "Great, no, it's excellent! Come with us tomorrow too. It's very important to have the willingness to change yourself."
“I…” Boqi fixed his gaze on Takamatsu Akari, even without deliberately observing her. Through the time they spent together that night, Boqi had come to know what kind of girl Takamatsu Akari was.
While it can't be called social anxiety, the other person's level of introversion is probably about the same as mine.
But now, in Pochi's eyes, Takamatsu was practically shining. She had always wanted to change herself, but whenever she wanted to embark on the path to the future, she would choose to back down.
So, despite both being introverted, the other person took the initiative to speak up and change herself, which made Pochi truly feel that Ms. Takamatsu was shining brightly.
In contrast, I can't seem to change myself, even though Mr. Taro made the request... No, this won't do.
"I...I will go too..." she said timidly, collapsing to the ground as if she had exhausted all her strength.
“Xiao Yili…” Deng looked at Yili and said softly, “Then, let’s work hard together.”
“Very good! Takamatsu, Goto, what pieces can you play?” Taro asked the two directly.
"In order to be able to play immediately after joining the band, I can play all the popular songs in recent years..." Pochi said very quietly, then stole a glance at Takamatsu, who had her head down. As long as she told him that she could sing, he would definitely be able to cooperate well with her!