Chapter 103: It's time for the cherry blossoms to bloom...

[You and Eden graduated successfully. Because of your respective choices, you were temporarily separated for a while.]

[Eden went to the agency she chose and prepared to debut under the company's arrangement, while you packed your luggage and started to meet some people you wanted to meet, well... or, should I say, start your music journey.]

[After all, you are a "bard", aren't you? Then you should be like the wind, carrying your songs to all parts of the world, singing to others, and gaining some... stories and inspiration from others.]

[The first stop is naturally the church. You first went to the cemetery to visit Father Enrique and sister Teresa, and once again presented white lilies for mourning, and said a lot of words in front of their graves.]

[After that, after obtaining consent, you also performed in the church for several days to thank the church for its continued support and help... Here, you borrowed a little from your popularity on the Internet and informed your fans that you would perform in the church, which attracted a large number of people to come and listen, which surprised the priests and nuns in the church.]

[But fortunately, there were no stampedes, nor any overly fanatical fans... I guess that's because you rarely upload anything other than your own performance videos, which makes most of your fans more "pure", just coming to listen to your songs.]

[Even if some businesses have approached you for promotion, you would not record a special video. At most, you would just put the product in a more conspicuous place... But this method is unexpectedly good. At least when others scan your video, they can see at a glance that you have accepted the "business order", and they will also support it a little for your points.]

[Well...it's probably because the quality of the products you accept is very good. Generally, you won't accept products with quality issues.]

[Okay, that's a little off topic, but in short, you played in the church for a few days and then left.]

[The second stop is still the church where you once lived. As your former "home", you have to come and visit it. In addition, you also went to meet everyone in the community. Seeing you come back to visit them again, the people in the community are very happy. Well... it would be better if they didn't care so much about why Eden didn't come with you.]

[The third stop is the boarding school you attended before. You came here mainly to visit your music teacher... He seems to have been promoted, and he looks a bit busy, with some wrinkles on his face. It is obvious that the students he has been teaching recently have made him a little worried.]

[He seemed very happy to see you. He also followed your personal account online and watched you grow from a few hundred fans to your current level. In a sense, he can be considered your "old fan".]

[He is very happy because you have indeed surpassed him and left him far behind. He is indeed proud of you... Well, you will be his bragging capital from now on.]

[As before, you stayed here for a few days, played a few songs in your old school, took a photo with your teacher, and then continued your journey.]

[The next stop might be quite busy. After all... Li and the others are all in different places. It would take quite a while to find them one by one.]

[But fortunately, you don't have too much time now… You travel and play along the way. When you arrive at the city of the person you are looking for, you will find a place to stay and play on the street until late at night… Many people recognize you along the way, but most of them just sigh, take a photo of you playing, and then leave in a hurry.]

[After all, everyone has things to do. Although there are many people who can stop and listen to your performance, they are not particularly many.]

[You are also happy to do this and concentrate on your own things, which is good, and... your music can make people in a hurry stop for a while, marvel at your singing and your performance, and be willing to take pictures for it, which is enough for you.]

[During the breaks in the performance, people often come up to chat, or some management companies want to recruit you, or some fans want to take photos with you. You deal with these people calmly and freely.]

[The only troublesome thing is that some nosy media always want to interview you, or dig out some "explosive news" from you, and they also have a "nitpicking" tone when talking to you, and even often have some "traps", which makes you a little unhappy.]

[But what's quite magical is that although these media always emerge continuously, they disappear very quickly... It's magical that these people will eventually be exposed for some inexplicable reasons, and then be warned, and some people will even be arrested for spreading rumors... It's quite magical.]

[In the end, no media outlets like this came to you anymore. After all, people with a keen eye have noticed that there seems to be something "weird" about you.]

[So, they prefer to make up imaginary rumors on the Internet. Anyway, they just say them casually to attract attention, and you don't seem to pay too much attention to them, so they just quietly entertain themselves in the corner of the Internet. At most, they will suddenly jump out occasionally to disgust people, and then they will be quickly debunked, criticized by everyone, and then apologize, and then say that they have been bullied online... just... well, they are quite skilled.]

[But you don't really care about these. Compared to the confusing comments on the Internet, you prefer to hear stories and experiences from others when chatting with them on the street. From other people's descriptions, you can often see many inexplicable but interesting things in the world that seem to have traces to follow.]

[Some may be bitter, others may be troubled, but there are also some that are plain, happy, and joyful... You always like to listen to these stories, just like they like to listen to your performance.]

[They get lightness and peace from your music, and you get inspiration from their stories. It's a good exchange, isn't it?]

[Ah, you feel like you are becoming more and more like a "bard". It seems that what your friend said was not wrong.]

[So in this rather wonderful and pleasant experience, you slowly met the friends you had planned to meet, and then changed direction, planning to meet Lu and Yin... But the two of them don't seem to be together now, but have gone home to deal with things.]

[You hesitated, but in the end, you still chose to visit Yin first... If you were to ask why, it was because Yin's home was in the Far East.]

[You always feel that you should go there first, to the Far East. There is no special reason, you just feel that you should go there first.]

[You didn't have any doubts, just packed up your things and set off immediately to the island where the cherry blossoms were flying.]

————————

"Hmm... let me see... the brand... the brand... ah, I see it."

Nozomi, who had just got off the plane, was dragging his luggage and carrying his musical instrument while looking for the person who would pick him up as Yin had mentioned. After a while, he saw a held-up sign with the words "pick up" written in the Far Eastern language and the common language, and he walked over quickly.

"Ah, hello, did Yin ask you to pick me up?"

Looking at the neatly dressed and strong men, Nozomi asked politely.

"...Oh, so you are the record player that the young lady was talking about?"

"Yes, I am [Record Player]~"

"That's good, Miss is looking forward to your arrival... Please follow us."

The men nodded, quickly stepped forward to help Nozomi pick up the luggage, and took Nozomi out.

After getting into the high-end-looking black car, the few people remained silent in the car and quickly drove Nozomi to a large courtyard.

"Wow... I didn't realize Yin lived in a place like this... huh?"

Nozomi was being led through the courtyard, taking in the tranquil and beautiful scenery around him while sighing softly. However, halfway through, a hint of light pink passed by the edge of his sight. He subconsciously shifted his gaze and found that it was a complete cherry blossom falling from the sky.

"A whole flower... that's a bit rare..."

Somehow, Nozomi seemed to be attracted by this cherry blossom. He subconsciously stopped and reached out to catch the cherry blossom that was dancing in the cold wind. It looked helpless, lonely, and even fragile. His fingertips gently touched the light pink petals, and he felt a faint floral fragrance lingering around his nose.

"...I knew that you the record player would be the most worrying thing."

Yin's calm voice sounded from the side.

"You asked someone to lead the way and you stopped halfway... just because your eyes were attracted by the flowers? Are you a child?"

He turned his head and found that Yin had come to his side without him knowing when. Her figure was still petite, but her temperament was slightly different from before, with a bit of severity of a superior.

"Long time no see, Yin... Um, sorry to ask you to come out to pick me up~"

Nozomi didn't react much to Yin's accusation, he just smiled and said.

"It's really rare... In the past, it was rare to see Yin leave the house."

"I haven't left the house yet. This is still my home."

Sakura continued to speak expressionlessly, and pointed around, indicating to Nozomi that the surroundings now belonged to her "home" and she had indeed not gone out yet.

" do you like Sakura?"

As she spoke, Yin turned her gaze to the cherry blossom in Nozomi's hand... Now is the season when cherry blossoms are in full bloom, but at this time a complete cherry blossom actually fell and happened to float to Nozomi's hand. This did feel a bit coincidental, especially looking at Nozomi's appearance... He seemed to like it very much.

"If you like, you can break off a branch and take it away, but if you want to keep the flowers on it, you have to ask someone to do it for you."

"Ah, that's not necessary. Rather, I just had some, um... inspiration about this."

"Really? Then I'm looking forward to your song, [Record Player]."

"Okay, if I write it down, I will record it and send it to you as soon as possible."

"You are so thoughtful."

Yin nodded, then opened her arms and gently hugged Nozomi.

"Long time no see, Nozomi."

"Long time no see, and...it's rare to hear you call my name."

"That word has a heavy meaning, and it's too far away for us."

"But I'm right in front of you now, right? And you're holding me in your arms."

"…That's true."

yin smiled rarely and then returned to her expressionless look. She patted Nozomi's back gently, then let him go, took a few steps back, turned around, and walked forward with Nozomi.

"Come with me, [Record Player], don't fall behind this time... What are your plans after you get here? Or do you want to go around and perform like you did before?

"That's right. After all, this time I'm mainly here to visit you. After that, I'll just wander around the Far East and see if I can find some inspiration and hear some stories... Oh, by the way, Yin, do you prefer digital albums or vinyl records?"

"I prefer digital albums because they are more convenient, but vinyl records are also very good and have great commemorative significance. I like them too... What? Are you going to release an album? Come to think of it, the videos you uploaded recently are all songs you wrote yourself, which is enough to fill an album."

"Hmm... about the same. If I'm planning on releasing an album, I'll send you a copy... Actually, I prefer records, since you guys always call me 'record player.' But at first, I was a little worried that you guys wouldn't like records... But since you guys don't mind, I'm relieved."

"You bastard..."

Yin looked helpless.

"The most important thing about giving gifts is the thought behind it, the gift itself is secondary... You even have to ask me before giving it to me. I really don't know what to say to you."

"hehe..."

Nozomi chuckled twice but did not refute. He then followed Yin and continued to move forward, coming to a place that seemed to be used to receive guests, but here... they met some people.

"Miss."

"Well, are you all ready?"

"Yes."

"Then follow me, [record player]... [record player]?"

Yin called out twice and found that Nozomi did not respond to her, so she looked back curiously and found that his eyes were fixed on a figure not far ahead.

Following his line of sight, you can see that it is a girl who looks like cherry blossoms, with long pink hair like fallen cherry blossoms, a pretty face, and lavender pupils. Her temperament is a little weak and restrained, yet a little erratic, just like the cherry blossoms that easily fade away.

And... yin discovered that not only Nozomi himself but also the girl, had their eyes fixed on Nozomi, with expressions that seemed a little surprised and confused.

"...You guys go first, I want to talk to my friend."

"Yes."

Yin thought for a while, then waved her hand, signaling her men to leave first and leave a quiet enough place... The others naturally obeyed, and even the girl who looked like a cherry blossom quickly gathered her thoughts and left quickly with the others.

But when she passed by Nozomi, she subconsciously lowered her head and looked away, as if to avoid her eyes and thoughts from lingering on Nozomi again.

"......"

Nozomi turned his head slightly and looked at the pink figure that was quickly leaving, then looked down at the cherry blossom in his hand, as if he felt something.

"…Why, are you obsessed? Or do you have some other ideas?"

Yin closed the door and said expressionlessly while motioning Nozomi to sit down.

"Well... I just feel a little familiar... I feel like I've seen her somewhere before."

"Although I really want to say that your reason for chatting up is too vulgar and old-fashioned, but considering that you are the one who said it, I will just take it as the truth."

"…Thank you for your trust."

Nozomi felt helpless. He could hear the teasing in Yin's words, but what he said was true. When he saw the girl, he did feel a sense of joy of reunion, but this should be their first meeting...

"... Yin, can you introduce her to me?"

"Why? Do you want to contact her? You should have a lover, right?"

"No, not that kind of thing... I just want to clear up some of the doubts in my heart."

"...Her name is Sakura. She is a talent I discovered here. She is my subordinate. Well... I can tell you that her fighting ability is not low, and her swordsmanship is also very good. I advise you not to provoke her. Even if you are a celebrity now, not all girls will throw themselves at you."

Yin thought about it for a moment and then simply introduced Sakura to Nozomi.

"I already said that I didn't mean that... I just felt that she was somewhat familiar, and... she has practiced martial arts, no wonder she has such a good figure, um... Eden should be satisfied... um? What's that expression on your face, yin?"

Nozomi noticed that there was a hint of surprise in Yin's eyes when she looked at him and asked with some confusion.

"...Can I ask what your lover is satisfied with?"

"Eden and I are not lovers, are we? Never mind, it's not that. It's just that Eden was keen on designing clothes for a while, so she wanted to find a girl with a standard figure to be a model for women's clothing... Don't ask me why she doesn't try it herself. It's Eden's own interest to dress up beautiful girls and even design clothes."

Nozomi tilted his head, thinking about the relationship between himself and Eden... Although they haven't officially confessed their love yet, the way they get along with each other is enough to be called "lovers," but neither of them has yet to break that layer of paper. After all... they each have their own ideals and wishes to pursue.

But he soon put aside this meaningless thought and turned to explain to Yin

"She said before that 'if we don't want to sing on stage anymore, we can open a clothing design store and live the rest of our lives in peace.'"

"......"

Yin really wanted to complain. Since you two have already thought about how to live a stable life in the future, this is already at the stage of discussing marriage. How can you not be considered lovers... But in the end, she held back.

This is the record player's own business; let him handle it himself.

But... the model...

"Just assume that what you said is true... If you really want someone, you can come to me and ask her. Of course, the premise is that she is willing... And if you, a [record player], come to poach someone from me, you have to give me some compensation."

"Okay, um...Yin, what do you want?"

"...give me a copy of every album from now on, one number per record, and the records must also be signed."

"…that's it?"

Looking at Nozomi's somewhat surprised expression, Yin tilted her head and slowly typed a question mark.

"You, record player, do you have any self-awareness? You are already a big celebrity on the Internet, and your number of fans is steadily increasing. You have to know that these are fans you attracted only through your music. I dare not even think about how much you can sell one album for. If you include the signature, I don't know how much it will cost, but at least I can guarantee that its value will not be low."

"I don't think so…"

"... Never mind. I can't explain this to you... Anyway, it's that simple."

Yin was a little helpless. Anyway, with Nozomi's current value constantly rising, as long as Nozomi agreed, she would make money anyway.

And this guy is really something. She said she would like compensate from Nozomi, and he really gave it to her... 'I can't stand him at all.'

"We can talk about other things later... [Record Player], come on, I want to order some songs."

"Okay, but... if I sing it a cappella, would you be okay with that?"

"A cappella? Why do you want a cappella? There are musical instruments here."

"Shamisen...Yin, you haven't given up yet..."

"Stop talking nonsense, you record player! Play for me!"

Perhaps because there was no one else around, the fluctuations in Yin's tone and attitude became somewhat obvious, which made Nozomi think of the days when he played together with everyone... Speaking of which, he heard from others that Yin had originally wanted to give him a shamisen. It seemed that Yin really liked this musical instrument, but later for various reasons, she did not give it to him directly.

Now, she can ask Nozomi to play the shamisen directly, and she can also directly order songs, which can be regarded as fulfilling her original wish.

Moreover, Nozomi could also sense that Yin's expression contained a hint of anxiety and boredom. It was obvious that she had encountered many things and felt a lot of pressure after she came back... Well, it was a good opportunity to comfort her a little at this time.

So, after briefly familiarizing himself with how to play the shamisen and trying out the sound, Nozomi slowly began to play the tune specified by Yin.

Time passed slowly, and Yin gradually stopped talking and just quietly enjoyed Nozomi's performance.

Hmmm~

Everything around became peaceful, leaving only the sound of Nozomi playing the music, the song he was humming, the occasional breeze, and the occasional falling cherry blossom petals.

But... Sakura...?

Nozomi, who was still playing, glanced at the light pink petals falling from time to time outside the window, then looked at the complete cherry blossom that he had placed on the table, and subconsciously thought of the girl who looked like a cherry blossom and even had the name "Sakura."

It's quite fitting...this name.

Nozomi's mouth curled up slightly - he had some inspiration again.

However...the production of this song will have to be postponed for a while.

......

.........

At night, after seeing Nozomi off, Yin sat silently in her seat.

"...come."

After closing her eyes and thinking for a while, Yin seemed to have sorted out some things and then spoke expressionlessly.

"Miss."

"I remember that organization wanted to ask us for people...right?"

"Yes, they took a fancy to some of our people, so they wanted to exchange with us..."

"No need to change. Use money to exchange for their deal. Tell them that we are willing to help them invest in a new training ground and arrange some safe houses for them in the Far East."

"Ah? Miss, this is not a good deal, right?"

"Are you questioning my decision?"

Yin glanced at him briefly, her tone was calm, and even her eyes didn't change much.

"I don't dare."

The man lowered his head quickly.

"Find our products that are on the market, not the ones that are of low quality or have problems, and then go to [Record Player] and ask him for an endorsement and advertisement. He will take it... He will help us make back the money we lose in this regard."

"…Is it really possible?"

"Heh...just wait and see, his value will increase in the future."

Yin chuckled rarely, and then her eyes, which had been calm before, turned cold in an instant, and her tone became full of danger.

"I'll say it again, don't question my decision. Since I took over, have I ever caused the family to suffer losses?"

"...sorry."

"Go do your own thing."

"Yes."

After waving her hand casually and sending her men away, Yin shifted her gaze to the computer in front of her, her mind briefly empty for a moment.

"Model... This career is not bad. Hmm... When the time comes, should I ask the lover of the record player for a fashion design job..."

Yin muttered to herself softly, while unconsciously controlling the computer and calling up a communication... The latest news in it was a photo of Yin's parents, with a snowy field in the background.

"...These two old guys left everything to me and then went to travel around the world... That's too much."

When she thought of this, Yin gritted her teeth... Her dear father and mother no longer existed on the day when all family affairs were placed on her. Now there are only two "old guys" in the world who travel everywhere and keep sending photos to her to show off.

But...

Yin glanced at the shamisen placed aside, recalling the tune that Nozomi had played before... Although it was a little different from what her parents played, it also had a different flavor.

"sigh..."

Forget it, let them have fun.