Zongman: Hong Kong's black ceiling but autistic, what should I do?

Nakamura stood in the light music club's activity room, looking at the violent storm outside with worry.

"If the rain doesn't stop, the performance will probably be cancelled."

The bassist was also a little worried. He walked to the window and watched the stage that had been set up on the playground swaying in the strong wind.

"It's a shame for all our efforts during this period."

The keyboard player was rubbing the electronic keyboard absentmindedly, and his frown revealed his worry.

Nakamura clenched his fists as he listened to his teammates' discouraging words.

"We have to do something. We can't just give up like this!"

"Nakamura, I know you're not happy about this, but there's nothing you can do about this weather. Pack up your things and go home to rest when the rain stops. You've been busy all this time, learning the musical notation and practicing your singing skills. Thank you for your hard work."

The guitarist patted Nakamura on the shoulder.

"But..."

Nakamura found it hard to accept that his efforts had once again gone to waste. Wasn't it possible for him to just do one thing well?

"Even though...even though I mustered up the courage to talk to Fukuzawa-san about the performance."

Nakamura lowered his head, his clenched fists trembled slightly, and a few tears slid down his face.

"Nakamura..."

The guitarist was closest to Nakamura, so he saw Nakamura's loss of composure and wanted to say something to comfort Nakamura, but he couldn't find the right words for a moment.

The drummer, who had been silent the whole time, saw that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly depressing, so he took the initiative to suggest:

"How about we hang a sunny doll? It's... the only thing we can do right now."

"Good idea, let's do it together, Nakamura!"

...

Six sunny dolls of different shapes were hung one by one in front of the window of the light music department by their makers.

"Is it okay to do it so ugly..."

The keyboard player was somewhat worried that these six ugly dolls that looked like they might scare children would make the rain heavier.

"Well, it's a sunny doll anyway...it should be fine."

The guitarist looked at the doll he had made with a guilty conscience.

"We'll see. If the rain gets heavier, we should take down these six ugly... um... sunny dolls."

The drummer touched the back of his head. He really didn't expect that none of the six people in the band knew how to do handicrafts.

Nakamura looked at the sunny doll from the side, silent.

a long time.

"The rain...seems to have stopped!"

Nakamura, who had been looking out the window, was the first to notice that the sky had cleared. His originally dark eyes now glowed slightly like the sunlight shining through the dark clouds in the sky.

"Really? I came to ask if there will be any performances later!"

"Ask, ask, ask!"

"Great! The first performance will start in twenty minutes. Let me see, we are the sixth one, and it will be our turn in about forty minutes. Hurry, let's get ready!"

After a moment of chaos, the band members hurried to the backstage, and the first performance had already begun.

The keyboard player hid at the edge of the stage, looked around, counted the number of audience members with his fingers, and returned to the backstage in disappointment.

"There are so few people coming to watch the performance, less than 20 people."

"Well, after all, the stage is on the playground. If it rains heavily, we will get wet even if we run back, so many people will not want to come~"

"It's okay. At least it's much better than before. Now we can at least perform! And, do you know the power of songs?"

"The power of song?"

"Yes! I heard that there was a band that was even worse off than us at the beginning. No one came to watch their performance.

But when they started their performance, many audiences could hear their beautiful singing from far away, and gradually, many people were attracted by the songs, and the originally empty auditorium became packed!

So I believe that with our songs, we can definitely attract all the students in the classroom!"

"This is an exaggerated fairy tale, isn't it? Is it true?"

Nakamura felt that this story was a bit too cliché and didn't seem like something that would happen in real life.

"Be more confident, Nakamura! We all agree that you have a great voice! If you're not confident, you've already lost half the battle!"

"Oh, um, okay! I'll try my best!"

Although he said he would work hard, Nakamura was still very nervous.

What if I forget the lyrics when I go on stage? What if the equipment and instruments break down? What if the audience thinks my singing is bad? What if... what if Fukuzawa thinks my voice is bad?

Countless worries made Nakamura, who was on stage for the first time, feel a little breathless.

Listening to the host's announcements again and again, Nakamura felt his vision becoming increasingly blurred, and the sounds around him becoming increasingly distant...

"Tick-tock-"

Nakamura suddenly felt a chill on his forehead and woke up from the hallucination, but this was obviously not a good sign.

It's raining again, and it seems to be getting heavier.

"What should I do? The host has announced that the performance has been suspended. The student union just sent a message saying that the performance will not continue."

"It's almost our turn..."

"I'm sorry, I wish I had drawn a higher number when I drew the lot."

"The audience is almost gone..."

The backstage staff and performers had already left, leaving only the six members of the band backstage.

"..."

Do we have to give up like this?

"..."

Will all the efforts during this period be in vain?

"..."

Is success going to slip through your fingers again?

"..."

Do not!

“Even if there’s no audience, I still want to… continue performing!”

Nakamura was caught in the rain, his clothes were already wet, but his eyes were exceptionally determined.

The other five people looked up and saw Nakamura so determined, and smiled at each other.

"Ah, yes. After all, we have been rehearsing for so long, there is no reason not to perform!"

"Yup!"

“Let’s go. Even if there are no audiences, we must pass on our music and emotions to everyone!”

"One! Two! Three! Come on!"

The six members of the band picked up their equipment and walked onto the stage in the rain.

Nakamura stood in the lead vocal position with his head lowered, waiting for his teammates to debug the equipment. His slightly trembling hands revealed his inner anxiety.

Even though Nakamura kept telling himself that there would be no one in the audience, and that person... would not brave such a heavy rain to watch the performance of a classmate with whom he was just an ordinary friend, Nakamura still had a glimmer of hope in his heart.

"Maybe he will come."

"But, it's raining so hard, even the staff have left, so there will definitely be no spectators."

"But he promised me before, and he is always a man of his word."

"But he was at the Teiko Festival with the student council president earlier. A gentle person like the student council president would definitely not let him go out in such heavy rain."

"but..."

"Nakamura, it's ok!"

After receiving the signal from his teammates, Nakamura had to stop his inner struggle and turned around to look at everyone who were encouraging him with their eyes.

"Yes, even if he doesn't come, I want to use this song that the six of us in the band have chosen together to say goodbye to myself who kept struggling in the past but always ended up failing, and to express to that person... the emotions that have always been hidden deep in my heart."

Nakamura closed his eyes, and as if he had made up his mind, he shouted on the stage with the loudest voice he had ever made:

"Now please enjoy the song "Split" performed by the Light Music Club and Class 3 C."

The announcement ended and the music started.

Even though the heavy rain was still continuing, and even though the instruments could only make faint, simple percussion sounds in the rain because there was no power, everyone on the stage still wanted to try their best to vent the emotions that had been suppressed through this song.

How many times have I wanted to give up

But I keep trying

why?

Parents’ request?

Respect from classmates?

The attention of your secret crush?

still is

I'm used to working hard.

I'm used to aimless efforts.

Just work hard.

As long as you work hard, you can respond to your parents' requests.

As long as you work hard, you can gain the respect of your classmates.

As long as you work hard, you can get the attention of your crush

but

What can I gain from hard work?

I can't get anything

Nothing to gain

When will I be able to live for myself?

Just once is enough

just once

Is it really just once?

Since you want to live for yourself

Then don't do it once.

I need to

forever and always

forever and always

Live for yourself forever!

For yourself! "

(The lyrics are original, any similarity is purely coincidental.)

When the song ended, Nakamura opened his eyes, holding back tears, and bowed to the audience.

"What a terrible show, luckily he didn't come."

"Pa pa pa..." applause rang out.

Nakamura stood up and looked in surprise at the audience, whom he had not dared to look at since he went on stage.

I saw Sakura Fukuzawa holding a red umbrella, sitting in the middle of the first row of the audience and clapping her hands.

One was in the center of the stage, and the other was in the front row of the audience. The two were looking at each other from a distance, and Nakamura's eyes and Fukuzawa Sakura's eyes intersected in the air.

Finally, Nakamura could no longer hold back his tears, and tears mixed with the heavy rain slid down Nakamura's face.