Momoi Taro wants to form a "don" brother duo, but it's a music anime.

Page 71

"Live! I want to play!" Lena said excitedly, her guitar playing an exciting tune.

"Little Renai really loves live performances, doesn't she?" Aine tilted her head, leaned close to Renai, and gently patted her head, but asked with some doubt, "But, is it too late? We only have one live performance experience... Waaah, I'm not very confident."

“Then, how about we have Chihaya participate in more live performances to solidify her confidence?” Hailing smiled gently. “When I met with other bands yesterday, RiNG had about a 30-minute gap in four days. I’ll come…”

“This has already been confirmed over the phone!” Taro interrupted Hailing without any politeness, laughing as he said, “However, a band had already made a reservation before us. It seems to be a new band. They can only play for fifteen minutes, so I booked the rest of the time.”

“I see…” Hai Ling’s tone seemed a little disappointed. Taro didn’t seem to care much, and just shouted, “Alright! Ladies! Keep practicing! RiNG’s live performance in four days! I’m going to sing this song!”

Hearing Taro say that, Aine returned to her seat, and then—

A powerful burst of music began—

So smoothly—

Ai Yin thought to herself, even though it was the first time they had practiced the piece, everyone had completed the performance very smoothly. This was completely different from yesterday, when they had played the piece many times, but everyone's notes were always out of sync.

She looked at Taro, pondering to herself. Was this what people meant by having a pillar of support? No, perhaps it was just psychological? When she was in a better mood, the music she played was more moving, and the notes were more perfectly in tune!

Maybe that's true!

As the music ended, Taro smiled with satisfaction and said, "Excellent! Attendants! That's it! One more time!"

Naturally, it was completed very smoothly. Afterwards, I practiced "Clear Mind," "Blue Sky ni Naru," and the piece I practiced yesterday, and all of them went very smoothly.

After a quick selection, Taro finalized the playlist.

"That's all for today!" Taro smiled. "Next, let's go to my house for a meal! I have something important to say, just like last time! If there's anything you'd like to eat, just let me know!"

"Huh? You're up so early today?" Ai looked down at her phone. It was only 5:57. Usually, there would be a short debriefing meeting. Wait, when did she become so petty about even three minutes?

"You guys go back first. If you want something to eat, just send it to the group chat like last time!" Taro waved his hand, not answering Aine's question, and let them leave first. It would be easier to explain later than to explain now.

After they left, Taro looked at his phone, which displayed a message from Takamatsu Akari: "Everyone says it's okay."

Then came Taro's reply: "If there's anything you want to eat, don't hesitate to tell Wakaba. I have something I want to talk to her about later."

She replied "okay" again, and around 6:00, the door to the practice room opened, and the green-haired girl walked in carrying a leather bag.

Without saying anything, Ruoye Mutsu handed the paper bag to Taro. Taro glanced at the contents and smiled, "Nice cucumbers! They're always taken very good care of; they're wrapped in love. Very good! 65 points!"

"I'll make it into a super delicious dish later." Taro accepted the cucumber, and upon hearing Taro's words, a faint smile appeared on Wakaba Mutsu's usually indifferent face.

"You, come with me to buy some ingredients." Taro gave the order naturally, picked up the cucumbers and went out. Ruoye Mu followed closely behind Taro, holding her own phone.

She listed the things that everyone in the "Dragon Flame Group" (tentative name) liked to eat, and Taro bought the ingredients. By the time the two of them had finished preparing, it was already getting dark. Taro and Wakaba Mutsumi walked towards Taro's house.

"What's this about Toyokawa asking me to help with the recording this morning?"

That's right, that's why Taro wanted to keep Wakaba Mutsumi around. Not long after he sent a message to Takamatsu Akari today, Wakaba Mutsumi also sent him a message: "Taro, Sho wants to ask you to help record the bass and drum audio."

The reason he called her out alone was to talk about this matter. Taro had seen how devastated Suze was last time, and he tried his best not to mention Toyokawa Shoko in front of her. That was Taro's idea, but of course, he wouldn't hide it if she asked.

"Yes, Sho, we can't find any band members." Wakaba Mutsu had no intention of hiding anything from Taro and told him directly about Sho's current predicament.

“I see, I understand. The Dong Brothers are a bit busy right now, so joint rehearsals are unlikely. Have Toyokawa send me the sheet music.” Taro agreed casually, without needing any special reason. It was simply because he had become acquainted with Toyokawa Shoko, and that was enough.

Wakaba Mutsu nodded and took Taro's phone. Taro had just given it to her because he was carrying large bags of food in both hands and it wasn't convenient for him to look at his phone.

She stared blankly at the chaotic group chat of the Dong Brothers, scrolled up to the menu she had just seen, and then scrolled down, announcing the names of the dishes: "Matcha cake, hamburger patties, cat food."

Ruoye Mu's eyes widened slightly as she carefully examined the message in the group chat before confirming, "Cat food. Extra large portion."

"I see, I understand." Taro, on the contrary, seemed completely unsurprised and calmly continued buying materials. Wakaba Mutsu watched the chaotic situation of the Dong brothers with great curiosity. It seemed that Aine was the one persuading the person named Rakuna that the cat food couldn't be eaten.

"The Dong Brothers group is quite interesting." Wakaba Mutsu covered her mouth and smiled faintly. Compared to the Dong Brothers group, the Dong Giant Dragon Flame group basically didn't talk much except about practice.

Of course, Ruo Ye Mu herself wouldn't care too much, after all, she was just supporting the musicians.

Unexpectedly, Taro stopped and asked Wakaba Mutsumi very seriously, "So... will you be my servant?"

Episode 15 of "Dong", Dong and Dong

"So... will you be my servant?" Taro stopped and looked at Wakaba Mutsu very seriously.

Ruoye Mu's heart stirred slightly. Becoming Taro's attendant...? This was something she had never imagined, but managing three bands simultaneously was indeed a strain on her...

Seeing Wakaba Mutsu's stunned expression, Taro seemed to think that the other party had misunderstood something, and took the initiative to explain: "Becoming my servant does not mean that you have to join the Dong Brothers Group."

Taro turned his body to face forward, keeping parallel to Wakaba Mutsu, and continued walking. Seeing Taro resume walking, Wakaba Mutsu naturally followed behind him.

"The Dong Brothers Group was formed for someone like me who doesn't understand what happiness is." Taro explained to Wakaba Mutsumi as he walked, carrying two huge shopping bags that were stuffed full. "Its goal is to make everyone feel happy, so that I can understand the meaning of happiness. So, I hope you can be happy too."

Ruoye Mu instinctively followed Taro's footsteps, but her gaze involuntarily remained completely focused on Momoi Taro's back. Her own happiness... Yinglinqi VIII 咝妻si (五) 陶?

“I’ve noticed. You and I are the same.” Taro’s expression and tone were completely calm, simply stating a fact, “You are also someone who doesn’t understand what happiness is.”

Ruoye Mutsu was stunned. What exactly was happiness to her? Was it the time she spent playing with Xiangzi in her childhood? Or was it the bitter days of hardship? Both seemed so far away. They couldn't be called happiness. Her guitar playing couldn't satisfy her; she couldn't sing the voice of her heart…

Everyone's songs are cries from the heart, but one's own guitar alone cannot express that kind of cry...

Ruoye Mu closed her eyes slightly and took a deep breath.

"I want to make you happy," Taro said very seriously. He had no idea what those words meant to a teenage girl.

Wakaba Mutsumi's pretty face flushed slightly. Although she knew Taro didn't mean it that way, he smelled wonderful, like the sun. Even though Taro didn't mean it that way, he meant it sincerely—that was the only thing Wakaba Mutsumi was certain of.

"Taro..." Wakaba Mutsumi's pretty face flushed slightly, her eyes tightly closed, then... she suddenly opened them, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes, as if her whole person had changed: "Momoi Taro! Don't even think about me becoming your servant! I will definitely beat you!"

Kono Dongmo Mojiro will never be subservient to anyone!

“…Metis, then so be it.” Taro raised his head, his expression still calm. “You are always welcome here, whether as a servant or as an opponent.”

"Don't talk to me like a victor! I haven't lost yet!" Metis vented her frustration to her guardian like a sulking child, trying to maintain her childlike pride. Taro didn't answer or argue; he simply took Metis back to his home.

Taro promptly asked everyone in the kitchen to leave. The members of the Dong Brothers and Dong Flame Dragon groups sat together in a subtly silent atmosphere. Although most of the members of the two bands knew each other, this was the first time the two bands had gathered together like this.

Ah, of course, except for Miaomeng. If any couples were to form relationships within this group, Miaomeng would probably be the one who ends up taking a taxi home alone.

The seating arrangement was as follows: on the right sat Akari, Riki, Sose, and Mutsu; on the left sat Aine, Hailing, Nyanmu, and Rakuna. They sat facing each other in pairs, unsure what to say. As Taro brought out dish after dish, the spacious round table was quickly filled with a dazzling array of food.

Looking at the table laden with delicious-looking and fragrant dishes, both groups wore expressions of disbelief. They had personally witnessed these ingredients being transformed into finished products in Taro's hands, each one looking incredibly tempting.

There was only one exception. Lena was completely oblivious to the atmosphere at the table, sharing a matcha parfait with Taro's little black emu.

"Little Lenai! We'll all eat together once the dishes are served." Ai Yin puffed out her cheeks, striking a pose like the lady of the house. She left her seat and leaned over, gently poking Lenai's cheek: "This cat...? I don't think I've seen it before when I came last time."

“Hmm, friend.” Lena pointed to the little black cat, a faint smile on her face, and then gently poked the pink nose of the kitten, who was engrossed in eating matcha cake, with her fingertip. The kitten reached out its paw to brush Lena’s finger away and continued to eat intently.

Miaomeng, standing nearby, suddenly realized. So the "friends" the child was referring to were these cats. But being able to be friends with cats, that's really strange...

Lena didn't care about Aine's finger poking her face. She just scooped up a big spoonful of parfait, handed it to Aine, and said, "Aine, open your mouth."

Hearing Rakuna say that, Aine instinctively opened her mouth. Rakuna fed Aine a full spoonful of parfait, looking at her with a sly smile. Although Aine felt something was off, the parfait in her mouth was indeed delicious, as expected of Taro's.

“Aine, you’re an accomplice.” Lena smiled triumphantly, then continued eating her parfait without a care. Aine finally realized what was happening, and angrily put one hand on her hip and pinched Lena’s cheek with the other, pulling her away: “Little Lena, you can’t do bad things.”

"Aine, you're a bad person." Rakuna reached out to pry Aine's hand off her face. Aine, who was about to let go, pinched her again before releasing her, leaving a noticeable red mark on Rakuna's face. Rakuna glared at Aine with her resentful heterochromatic eyes.

After this little farce, the atmosphere at the dinner table lightened considerably. Seeing an opportune moment, Hailing immediately inquired about Lixi's mental state. Lixi didn't answer, but silently savored the hand-ground coffee Taro had brewed.

Aine, Ryuna, Wakaba Mutsu, and Takamatsu Akari were talking on the other side, but it was mostly Aine who was talking. Ryuna hardly responded, while Akari listened quietly to Aine, occasionally replying with something like, "Aine is amazing."

Meanwhile, Miaomeng, bored, started tapping out air drum beats on the table with her fingers. When Lixi, who was drinking coffee, saw this, she also started practicing tapping the air drum. Hailing, seeing this, sighed almost imperceptibly.

Su Shi looked at the lemon tea in front of her, stirring it gently with a spoon, her eyes fixed on the swirling eddies in the cup, lost in thought.

Taro kept bringing out new dishes. After chatting for a while, Aine looked around the large round table with some confusion, tilted her head and asked, "Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you this last time, why does Taro's house have such a big round table?"

Just then, Taro came out carrying a large pot of steaming stew and overheard Aine's question. He calmly replied, "I made this table when I was ten years old. Back then, I thought that one day I would form a band, if not tomorrow, then someday in the future. I wanted to prepare as much as possible for that day. This table is part of that."

"Cat food, extra large portion." Taro placed the cat food on the table, lifted the lid, and said calmly, "I didn't know if Ryuna wanted to eat it, so I made it cooked. Even if she does want to eat it, it's no problem."

Aine widened her eyes slightly, looking at the large table of sumptuous dishes in front of her, and said with sincere admiration, "Taro, you really are amazing. You're really incredible."

Lena reached out her spoon and rummaged through the cat food a few times. It mainly contained minced meat and chopped animal offal. After rummaging around for a while, she leaned closer to sniff it, looked up at Taro, and protested softly, "There's no matcha."

“You didn’t say anything.” Taro calmly walked back to the head of the table, glanced around at everyone, and said, “I called everyone out today because there’s something I need to say.”

Seeing that Taro seemed about to get down to business, Aine quickly returned to her seat. Meow and Riki stopped playing their air drums. Akari, seeing Aine settled, also returned to her place. Suze stopped stirring her lemon tea. All eight eyes were fixed on Taro, waiting for him to speak.

“First of all, our band is going to be participating in a music festival.” Taro looked at Takamatsu Akari and asked, “Did Aine tell you about this?”

Takamatsu Akari nodded slightly, indicating that Aine had already informed him. Taro smiled slightly and said, "Then it's easier to talk. I confirmed with Rinrinko that your band's next live performance will be right after ours."

Takamatsu Akari's eyes widened slightly, clearly not expecting this arrangement. Taro continued, "If your performance at that live show satisfies me, I'd like to invite you to be the opening act for the Dong Brothers' special live show."

"Huh? Why do I absolutely need your approval?" Li Xi slammed her hands on the table and stood up abruptly, glaring at Momoi Taro with displeasure. Taro simply crossed his arms and confidently replied, "That doesn't need any explanation. Whether it's playing technique or band reputation, the Dong Brothers are superior to you!"

"You...!" Lixi was furious, but couldn't think of any rebuttal, because what Taro said was indeed true.

"Isn't that going too far?" Hai Ling tried to speak up, but Taro turned his gaze to her and looked down at her slightly, saying, "Not at all! I'm just stating the facts."

"This guy! He's infuriating!" Li Xi slammed her coffee cup down on the table, picked up a large mouthful of food, and took a big bite as if venting her anger. Then she exclaimed in surprise, "Delicious!?"

"Right? Taro's cooking is amazing, isn't it!" Aine said smugly. Suze, quite annoyed by the pink-haired dog's ladylike demeanor, said in a high-pitched tone, "Ahem~ Aine-kun, this is all thanks to Momoi-san, isn't it?"

"Eh~ It's because Taro's cooking is so delicious, I just wanted to recommend it to everyone. Su Shi is being too sensitive." Aine smiled and squinted at Su Shi.

The two seemed to dislike each other. Taro looked at them and calmly asked, "Nagasaki, you..."

Hearing Taro call her name, Suze sat up straight nervously and looked at him. In her nervousness, her voice unconsciously hardened as she softly asked, "Mr. Momoi, is there something you need?"

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them so much she wanted to slap herself. Didn't she say she wanted to change? What was she doing? Was it because there were too many strangers...? As she was reflecting on this, Taro continued:

"you……"

Taro's words caused everyone except Rakuna to unconsciously hold their breath, waiting for him to continue: "You... is your throat uncomfortable?"

...At this moment, it's hard to describe the complex feelings of these two groups. Su Shi tried to compose herself and restore her voice to normal, saying, "It's alright, Mr. Momoi."

Taro nodded, and Riki glanced at Su Shi again without saying anything.

Lixi hadn't planned to come at first, but Deng seemed very determined to come, so she accompanied her. When she heard that they could order food, for some reason, she ordered the dishes her sister had made for her yesterday.

She simply wanted to make a comparison... but after just one bite, she knew there was no need for comparison at all. The image of her almost omnipotent older sister in her mind seemed to have been shattered by the presence of Momoi Taro.

She thought she would fall into deeper self-doubt because of this, but unexpectedly... she felt a sense of relief, although she couldn't understand why.

Thinking this, she finished the rest of her coffee in one gulp, trying to dispel her fatigue and refresh herself.

Meow Dream, standing nearby, raised her hand and said, "Um~ General, there's something I'd like to discuss. Regarding the song list, that song is still a bit... Maybe we should use the previous song for now?"

"Why? Didn't you play it very well during practice?" Taro looked at Nyanmu with some confusion. Nyanmu explained naturally, "Because I felt that song might be more suitable for playing at a music festival?"