After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

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Five minutes later.

The Red Pepper Band, which had paused their performance, walked out from backstage and onto the stage again, and the audience was immediately surprised.

Because there was one less member among them, but one more person who shouldn't have been there.

"Ah, ah." Ai Cheng Hana Lian tapped the microphone to test it, then said, "Sorry to have kept everyone waiting, Nanachan is feeling a bit under the weather, so we let her leave early. But we didn't want to give up on the performance, we still have one last song to sing, so we've brought in a substitute guitarist—Mr. Kagura!"

Kagura Hikaru, wearing a black mask (borrowed), nodded towards the audience.

He appeared indifferent on the surface, but was sweating buckets behind the scenes.

He gripped the electric guitar tightly, his heart doing somersaults, fearing a cold reception.

He had never had the experience of performing on stage—at least not since losing his memory!

On the other hand, some parts of the audience cheered upon hearing Ai Cheng Hana Lian's introduction. They were regulars at the livehouse and quickly recognized Kagura Hikaru, the freelance guitarist who often roamed the underground music scene.

The support from these people somewhat eased Kagura Hikaru's tension.

He had been worried that as a man, he would be rejected by the audience of an all-girls band, but it seemed the situation wasn't too bad.

Emboldened, he dared to look into the audience, only to accidentally lock eyes with the chubby talent scout he had spoken to before.

The latter obviously recognized him, probably because he hadn't changed his clothes, and looked surprised. He likely hadn't expected Kagura Hikaru to be acquainted with the members of the Red Pepper Band, let alone take to the stage with a guitar as a substitute.

Sorry, uncle, I didn't expect it to turn out this way either.

"So please listen to the last song, an original track by the Red Pepper Band— 'Red and Blue'," said Ai Cheng Hana Lian.

She turned to look at her bandmates and exchanged a nod with Kagura Hikaru.

Kagura Hikaru took a deep breath, counted the beats silently in his heart, and fiercely struck the strings with his pick.

This song kicked off with a crisp guitar solo.

Though the rhythm was not fast, it was a challenge for the heart.

Fortunately, his muscle memory was reliable, and he managed to complete the ten-second solo at the beginning smoothly. Ai Cheng Hana Lian's vocals then began, accompanied simultaneously by the bass and drums as the performance started.

"Rewind to three thousand years ago, there were two girls, red and blue. They were warriors as well as maidens, swearing to the king to slay the evil dragon for peace. Amid blessings and cheers, they embarked on the road of death—red returned unscathed, blue shattered and broken. What was all this for, anger, sorrow, the maiden turned into a red dragon—"

The overall style of the song was pop rock, the atmosphere was not sad, in fact, it was inspiring and passionate, like recounting the tragic tale of Hamlet in the tone of singing about the hero Don Quixote.

As long as one understood the lyrics, one couldn't help but be firmly captivated by the contradiction.

When Ai Cheng Hana Lian and her bandmates first came up with this song, it was based on Nakajima Miyuki's "Riding on the Back of a Silver Dragon," which, though sorrowful and profound, felt quite mundane.

It was after incorporating Kagura Hikaru's suggestions that they changed direction, turning into what it was now.

There had been a bit of an argument at that time.

But after Kagura Hikaru truly rebuilt the song according to his own philosophy, everyone in the Red Pepper Band was convinced and decided to adopt this version of the style.

Looking back now, this part of the story felt a little bit like a face-slapping Mary Sue plot.

.....Eh?

Kagura Hikaru belatedly realized, this memory, he shouldn't be able to recall it.

It was clearly something he had experienced before losing his memory!

He couldn't even remember Ai Cheng Hua Lian, so how could he possibly recall those warm little stories from composing music with the Red Pepper Band?

As he continued to play, Kagura Hikaru gradually shifted from being clueless at the beginning to being adept, and he started to remember more.

He seemed to have done many similar performances in the past.

Taking the stage with some people, just like now, holding a guitar, supporting the band with its strings.

A few livehouses in Tokyo had seen his tracks.

And there was the matter of Ai Cheng Hua Lian.

Memories about her were surfacing bit by bit.

In the midst of songs, Kagura Hikaru saw Ai Cheng Hua Lian sitting beside him in a sunlight-filled tram, smiling.

Sharing a meal on the rooftop, walking to school together, chatting in her room with a guitar in his arms.

Had they been this close before?

Could it be… Ai Cheng Hua Lian was actually his girlfriend?

This was the first time he experienced memories surfacing out of nowhere, and Kagura Hikaru was momentarily thrown into confusion.

Unfortunately, he hadn't managed to remember everything, only brief fragments.

He had a suspicion.

Kiryu Hina seemed to be working hard to help him regain his memory, but why was Ai Cheng Hua Lian the first person he remembered?

Was it because she was very special to him, or...

Kagura Hikaru had some guesses in his heart.

He had lost his memories after the second year of junior high school, and if what Kiryu Hina had said was considered, the three years he forgot were filled with not so great memories: his parents' divorce, breaking up with his girlfriend, and then the car accident.

In other words, his memories had stopped at a relatively happy stage of his life.

There were no changes in the family, good relationships with people, he had a lover and friends, living life like a romance novel's male lead, with a bright future ahead.

And the worst part of his memory after the car accident was erased.

He couldn't imagine what he had experienced before he lost his memory, but it must have been a lot of painful events.

Normally, one can't escape memories, and the selective amnesia caused by a concussion seemed like a godsend that wiped away all the memories he didn't want to keep.

On the other hand, if they were happy memories, there might be much less of a barrier to recalling them.

Kagura Hikaru wasn't even experiencing a headache now.

Did this mean that, to his pre-amnesia self, memories of being with Ai Cheng Hua Lian were all happy ones?

"The Kingdom collapsed, the Red Dragon stood atop the ruins of the castle, roaring skyward, calling all Mages to come with all the kingdom's treasures—under the sparkling stars, the miracle of magic unfolded, and the Blue Maiden was resurrected amidst expectations, raising her sword towards the Red Dragon—"

From here, Ai Cheng Hua Lian's lyrics became fast and intense.

The band members behind her started to burst into performance.

"In the fierce battle, the Red Dragon was brought down, transforming into the Red Maiden, friends reunited, only to face eternal farewell, the light of magic faded from her, the Blue Maiden willingly gave up her life, ending her own path, agreeing with her friend to move on to the Underworld—"

"Looking back from now, three thousand years ago, there were two girls, red and blue, both maidens and warriors, who vowed to the king to slay the Evil Dragon, to bring back peace, and amidst blessings and cheers, they embarked on the road of death—between the thrones of the past, on the cliffs of the present, the embracing maiden statues find eternity in their vigil."