Joker's Band Game Story

She still hoped that Hailing could be more intimate... but she really couldn't ask Hailing to be.

It was I who made Hailing the way she is now. If I hadn't invited Hailing to join the band, she would probably be having a lot of fun with her friends right now.

Chu Hua sat back down, feeling a little sad. She had become the middleman between Hai Ling and Xiang Zi. As Hai Ling's classmate, she knew Hai Ling's abilities, which was why she recommended Hai Ling to Xiang Zi. But she had never heard Hai Ling mention joining any other bands.

Who would continue to support other bands after joining one? So when she learned that she was going to have her final performance with the band members on Saturday, her expression was indeed awkward.

How about we go check it out and show our support this weekend?

Chu Hua felt a mix of emotions, a very complicated feeling.

Meanwhile, Lixi, who was sitting in front, would occasionally turn around to look at Hailing and Chuhua's conversation. She didn't understand how the two of them had suddenly become so close.

Do the two of them usually talk this much?

No, no, I can't think about their situation anymore; my own situation is more important.

Shaking her head, Lixi lowered her head and quickly looked at the notebook in front of her. She was currently composing music for the lyrics that Deng had just written.

Looking at the title of the lyrics—"Poetry Beyond Bonds"—Li Xi felt a surge of motivation.

If it's for the sake of the light, then that's certainly the case.

Next, we need to work hard!

"Wow~ You actually wrote it down! Tanuki, you're amazing!"

Ai Yin looked at the new sheet music in her hand and happily praised Li Xi.

Although the last piece, "Azure Sky Accompanying Walk," was also completed in about a day, the thought that she could compose a piece in just one day is terrifying.

"Lixi, you're amazing."

Even Deng couldn't help but praise him; she also thought Lixi was amazing.

Lixi felt embarrassed after receiving the lamp's praise.

Actually, she's not that amazing... Compared to more amazing people, what she wrote in one day is nothing at all.

But for some reason, she felt so happy to be praised by the lamp.

"Music, live performances, I like it."

The cat, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, couldn't help but praise him. Although her words didn't sound like praise, everyone could tell that Lena was complimenting Lixi's writing.

"Then let's try practicing and try to play it as well as possible during today's performance."

"Eh!"

"Hey, don't tell me you've practiced for so long and still can't read sheet music!"

Li Xi started putting pressure on her again, but Ai Yin's stress resistance was naturally very strong. She was not afraid of Li Xi's situation and continued to watch attentively.

Chihaya Aine is completely different now! She's also a very skilled guitarist!

"Wow! This piece is so difficult to play!"

"Stop yelling and get back to practicing!"

"Teacher Lian, help!"

Clearly, Ai Yin hasn't yet developed into a truly skilled guitarist at this point.

"The world is so far away from me, with lonely stars spinning endlessly. Even if I try my best to stand on tiptoe, I still can't become human."

On the stage, Deng is reciting poetry, while the cats, Ai Yin, and Li Xi around him have already begun playing music.

This performance was more unusual than some of the previous concerts. Yesterday, Deng and Le Nai's performance had already made them somewhat famous, and many people were discussing their performance. However, compared to yesterday, there were four people on stage today. Considering Deng's opening remarks yesterday, people seemed to have some guesses about this.

"Huh? Isn't this the band that performed at the concert before?"

At this moment, someone recognized the band on stage as the same band that had performed at AG and 4P's concerts before, where their music was quite amazing.

Could it be that the band had a fight and couldn't get along, which is why they had this kind of performance?

"It seems like there's no bassist..."

"Yes."

Although they always joked about the bass, the presence or absence of a bassist was still noticeable at the live performance. Looking at the missing bassist on stage, the audience whispered among themselves, speculating about the reasons why there was no bassist present.

Meanwhile, Ren Amamiya, sitting in the audience, quietly recorded the entire scene on his phone. He then sent the recording to Sousei.

Are you still planning to ignore them?

In her room, Sosei hugged her little dinosaur doll and looked at the message Ren Amamiya had sent her. She then immediately turned off the screen, not wanting to read any further.

What does he mean? What do they mean? And what should I do?

Covering her face in the little dinosaur, Shuangshi hugged her little dinosaur tightly. Her heart was still full of complicated feelings. She wanted to say something, but she couldn't say it.

And this silence lasted for an entire day.

(PS while writing this chapter: I can't take it anymore. While writing this chapter, all I could think about was that awful episode 7. What the hell? Why did you split this episode into two? So much stuff was sacrificed for the plot, and this is what you give us in the end. And you even had to let that idiot Kakimoto write this episode 7. I'm so angry at Kakimoto, are you having a fit of madness here? Damn it, the more I think about it, the more I want to cut it up. I want to see how you write episode 8, and then I'll have to consider whether to cut the whole thing up or just episode 7.)

Chapter Ten: Aine: I'm coming to get you~

"It's already Wednesday, and there's still no response?"

Aine, who was lying on the table, couldn't help but say that she was already worried about whether Sōse would come back.

"So what do you plan to do? Go find her?"

"No, I have to go and catch her."

At this moment, Aine decided to take initiative again. She felt that just singing here wasn't enough. She had been singing for several days, but there was still no sign of Sōse.

"Moon Forest? Moon Forest isn't so easy to sneak into. Don't think that the school of that young lady is as easy to sneak into as Hanasaki River."

Lixi placed the matcha parfait on the table and handed it to Lena to eat, but she didn't think Aine's approach was very reliable.

"Hmph, I'll wait for her at the school gate. I don't believe she won't come out for a whole day."

"And then what? What if she ignores you?"

"Ignore it and see! It's settled then!"

Ai Yin slammed her hand on the table; she felt this matter had to be dealt with immediately.

If we keep waiting, who knows when Shuangshi will soften his heart? So we have to take the initiative!

True to her word, Aine asked for leave to go home the next afternoon. In reality, she went to wait for people at the entrance of Tsuki no Mori school.

"What are you doing here, young man?"

Unfortunately, she seemed to have arrived a little too early. After school, it was time for various club activities, and most of the students at Tsukimori would participate in clubs. Of course, there was no such thing as a "homecoming club" at the young lady's school.

So right now, Aine is just standing there, not knowing what to do.

This strange behavior naturally attracted the attention of the gatekeeper, who came over to ask Ai Yin what was going on.

"Ah, I'm here to wait for a friend, haha."

"I see. Shall we sit and wait in the pavilion?"

"No, no, thank you, Uncle. I'll just wait here."

Ai Yin was surprised that the gatekeeper was so kind and even invited her to sit in the gatehouse.

But if I actually go in, it would be terrible if I couldn't see Shuangshi when he came out.

The security guard tried to persuade Ai Yin a few times but couldn't, so he stopped. He had talked to Ai Yin for a bit and probably knew about her situation.

A person's appearance and temperament often reveal what they want to do. He was watching Ai Yin here because he was afraid that Ai Yin might do something strange.

For example, someone might be carrying sulfuric acid and splash it on the young lady's face to disfigure her... Although the possibility of such a thing is very low, if it really happened, his job as a security guard would be over, so of course he has to be careful.

Moreover, the fact that she arrived so early was rather strange. Usually, people only come after arranging a time with their friends. The fact that she had been squatting there for half an hour was naturally quite odd.

If Ai Yin hadn't been so open and unreserved during their conversation, he would have been much more cautious.

Even so, he kept a close eye on Aine from time to time to prevent her from making any small moves.

Aine was unaware of the gatekeeper's thoughts; she was still waiting for Shuangshi.

Meanwhile, in RiNG, Deng and Lixi were also waiting for news from Aiyin. Lixi was sitting opposite Deng, her head down, apologizing.

"I thought I was thinking of you, but I wasn't. I took it upon myself to call Hailing over, I'm sorry."

At this moment, she was finally willing to admit her mistake. Before this, she had wanted to say it, but was too embarrassed to do so.

Now that Aine is no longer around, she finally mustered up the courage to speak her mind.

"You said you hated bands, yet you went on stage, which I completely didn't understand. But... after listening to your songs, I understand."

The lyrics to "The Lamp," the recitation of the poem about the lamp—this poem made Li Xi completely understand the meaning of "The Lamp," and she realized that this was what she was thinking.

It was only at this moment that Lixi understood why Deng wanted to go on stage and why she wanted to sing there.

Deng and Lixi have always been completely different types of people. Because of her own experiences, Lixi is a more rational person. She cares more about the process and the result, while ignoring everyone's feelings and emotions. Years of pressure from geniuses have also made her close off her inner thoughts. Therefore, she is more like a person who does practical things.

This is why Amamiya thought she was suitable to be the captain, because she was capable and capable of doing things well, and she wouldn't let her emotions affect her actions. But such a person can only be a captain, not a leader.

The most obvious example is the band AG. Although everyone in AG revolves around Ran Mitake, the actual leader of the band is Hishiri Uehara. This is because the leader and the captain don't necessarily have to be the same person. One uses their personal charisma to attract the band to unite and remain stable, while the other can handle practical matters and lead the team forward. The two are somewhat like Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang: one gets everyone to work together, while the other plans and strategizes to determine the band's actions.

But Deng is overly sentimental, to the point of being somewhat eccentric. Her brain works very slowly, sometimes taking a long time to understand what others mean, but on many occasions she can abandon conscious thought and act immediately based on her intuition. Everything she reveals is genuine emotion, all stemming from her overly fragile and sensitive heart.

This is why she was so bothered by the comment that "the lead singer was working too hard," because she believed that "she was the one who needed the most practice," which led to Crychic's disbandment. That's why she was so bothered by it, even when the new band made their first live performance.

Therefore, Lixi has never been able to understand Deng's emotional thinking. She can only use her own rational thinking to speculate on what Deng is thinking, and then make what she believes to be the right thing to do. She thinks that if Deng wants to form a band, then she should immediately assign everyone's tasks, who writes lyrics, who composes music, who plays which instrument, and so on. She prioritizes efficiency, and she puts pressure on everyone, including herself, during every practice session to ensure that the live performance will be the best it can be.

After learning that Deng wanted to continue playing in the band, she didn't mind Xiangzi leaving, Shuangshi leaving, or even if Aiyin was planning to leave. She only wanted to make sure that Deng could continue playing in the band. That's why she called Hailing to ensure that there were enough people in the band to continue playing and that there would be no vacancies in important positions.

So she ignored Deng's inner feelings and never knew Deng's true thoughts until... Shi Chaoban appeared.

In this song, she finally heard what Deng's soft heart truly wanted, and she also realized how wrong it was to call Hailing. This made her, who was as stubborn and straightforward as a steel man, finally express her apology for the first time.

"Lixi, thank you for coming back."

For the first time, Deng responded to Li Xi, her sensitive heart sensing his apology.

She had always been a little afraid of Li Xi. She didn't understand why Li Xi was so good to her, nor did she know how important her singing voice was to Li Xi. So, she often avoided Li Xi's fatherly behavior.

She didn't understand why Lixi didn't speak out about many things. She didn't understand Lixi's rationality; after all, she was just a small animal, and she didn't have a brain as sharp as Lixi's to understand why she called Hailing over. She didn't understand Lixi's behavior, why Lixi always put pressure on everyone, or why she didn't want everyone to care about Shuangshi. Even though Lixi's actions were all for Deng's good, it was precisely because of this lack of understanding that Deng never felt it, and she was always absorbing negative emotions.