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

"President Ayakoji, is there a problem with our acting?" Kohinata Motoyo asked with a smile.

Ayakoji Chiyoko challenged him, "You said that the kissing scene was supposed to be a fake kiss, so why did you get so close?"

"Even for a fake kiss, we need to get close to give the audience a more realistic effect."

"This is just a high school cultural festival. There's no need to be so serious, those were your words exactly, weren't they?"

"Yes, but doing our best is our duty as actors, right?"

A frustrated anger burned in Ayakoji Chiyoko's eyes.

Yet, Kohinata Motoyo maintained his pure smile, boldly making eye contact with her.

The atmosphere was tense, ready to explode at any moment.

Supposed to act as a peacemaker, Kagura Hikaru seemed oblivious to their conflict, silently reciting his lines on the side.

"Refusing me is like sending your lover to death!"

"Forget everything you've seen, and go..."

"Only you can let my song soar. I love you, Christine."

He practiced the moves from The Phantom of the Opera as if no one else was there.

Kagura Hikaru's acting style was devoid of personal emotion, with complete immersion instead.

The character's anger, madness, loneliness, pain, and sadness were all vividly displayed, sharp and powerful, as if the real Phantom of the Opera had appeared.

A man filled with anger and jealous of the world of light, pitiable, detestable, a homicidal control freak, yet he possessed a dark charm unique to him.

On and off the stage, people who were originally working couldn't help but stop their actions and look towards Kagura Hikaru.

As members of the Drama Club, they had a higher appreciation level than average students.

The better the discernment, the more apparent the prowess of Kagura Hikaru became.

Even Ayakoji Chiyoko and Kohinata Motoyo, who were arguing on the side, found themselves unconsciously stopping their dispute, captivated by his performance and watched for a long time.

"Hikaru's acting is impressive, isn't it?"

Kohinata Motoyo's eyes locked onto Kagura Hikaru, not missing a single detail in his movement, expression, or voice, his eyes sparkling as he proudly said, "Even at his current level, he could make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. With one classic piece, he could even be on par with other masters."

"..."

Different from Kohinata Motoyo's undisguised longing and agreement, Ayakoji Chiyoko's eyes flickered uncertainly, seemingly not eager to see such a version of Kagura Hikaru.

The current him gave Ayakoji Chiyoko a sense of distance, as if he was far away from herself.

After Kagura Hikaru graduates and enters society, what path will he choose?

Sword Dao expert? Musician? Actor?

No matter what, he is bound to make a mark and lead the forefront, isn't he?

At that time, could they still maintain their current relationship?

Ayakoji Chiyoko, always seen as a genius by others, felt a rare surge of inferiority.

There are differences even between geniuses.

But after all, she is Ayakoji Chiyoko.

Seeing a peak won't make her want to retreat, but will only firm her determination to climb further.

A smile slowly formed on Ayakoji Chiyoko's face.

The increasingly excellent Kagura Hikaru made her proud, compelling her to challenge him.

She would catch up.

She would put in more effort and time than she did now, achieve enough to match Kagura Hikaru, prove that she was not just a genius's appendage, and then stand by his side, supporting each other as they moved forward.

This was the relationship Ayakoji Chiyoko wanted.

Her brief emotional shift was clearly observed by Kohinata Motoyo, who stood by her side.

This girl was a bit of a handful, she thought to herself, her expression unchanged.

The afternoon rehearsal continued for two hours.

Unexpectedly, Ayakoji Chiyoko adapted quickly.

Drama, as a high-threshold form of performance, initially presented the challenge of memorizing lines.

They needed to memorize the entire script without a prompter, as there would be no chance to look at their scripts during the actual performance, akin to a one-shot, one-hour movie.

Of course, there were scene changes during the play, but that time was consumed by changing costumes and applying makeup, hardly a break.

As a high school cultural festival play, it obviously wouldn't be as professional as a real theater performance, but the requirement to memorize numerous lines was the same.

The Drama Club members never expected from the start that Ayakoji Chiyoko could memorize all the lines quickly, and even prepared themselves mentally for the possibility that she wouldn't finish memorizing before the festival started.

If it had been a supporting role, it would have been manageable, but the lead role of Christine had too many lines, the most in the entire play, including singing.

But as it turned out, they had underestimated the current Student Council President of Ugao High.

During the first rehearsal, Ayakoji Chiyoko demonstrated remarkable memory skills; she recited all her lines without missing a word, her delivery smooth and coherent.

Once or twice might be coincidental, but three or four times was not.

In terms of acting, Ayakoji Chiyoko still had a lot to learn, but she was also learning rapidly.

She had Kohinata Motoyo and Kagura Hikaru, two actors with superb skills, for reference and guidance, along with the muscle memory from being a child star and going through systematic training.

The memories of her child star days did not leave much of an impression on Ayakoji Chiyoko; after all, she was too young at the time, and many feelings about acting were only gradually retrieved through deliberate digging.

Once her state returned, she began to let go and managed to speak on stage as the character, rather than as 'Ayakoji Chiyoko' herself.

Progress on the Drama Club's part was going very smoothly.

At the same time, the Executive Committee led by the Student Council was also rapidly advancing the preparations for the cultural festival, posting advertisements everywhere and gradually transforming the school's style.

As previously decided by Ayakoji Chiyoko, this year's Uka High School's cultural festival would be Halloween themed.

The chosen main colors were black and orange; school street lamps were decorated with ribbons and vines, and even the school sign outside Haneoka Private High School was adorned with bat-shaped stickers.

The school was gradually taking on the atmosphere of the cultural festival.

Although the theme was Halloween, Ayakoji Chiyoko and her group did not really intend to turn the cultural festival into a Halloween event. It was merely a kind of gothic style that was not quite similar in form or dark in essence.

If it really turned out that way, the Student Council would be the first to lead the opposition.

The cultural festival was an activity unique to the school; if it was overshadowed by the impression of another holiday, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

Ayakoji Chiyoko was very concerned about this aspect.

How well she managed this first major festival since becoming the Student Council President would affect the students' impression of her and her re-election the following year.

In the midst of busy days, the cultural festival entered the countdown.

The cultural festival would officially begin in three days.

And before that, Class 2A, Kagura Hikaru's class, finally decided on the class program to be presented at the cultural festival.

It was a maid café.