Joker's Band Game Story

Page 36

Lixi couldn't help but squat down, letting Amamiya Ren continue to hold her left wrist tightly.

Even after being hit, Ren Amamiya did not let go of his hand.

"Because you are running away."

Amamiya reached up and adjusted his glasses; the slap from the other man had knocked them askew.

As for the redness and swelling on his face? It did hurt, but he didn't care much about it.

You cannot escape.

"But I want to escape... Let me go..."

"Then tell me your reason, and I'll let you go."

There's an old saying that goes something like this: "A good woman is afraid of a persistent man." Amamiya Ren's relentless pursuit is all about pulling out all the thorns from Ritsuki.

Only in this way can Lixi face himself squarely and become an excellent leader.

Otherwise, if her weaknesses surface and problems arise, she will only become a second Xiangzi.

"I...I don't think I deserve it."

She eventually revealed the reason: she was neither qualified to compose music nor to be in charge.

Her inferiority complex and sense of inadequacy permeated her entire being, so when Ren Amamiya brought this up, she could no longer remain calm.

"Unworthy of composing? This is the first time I've heard such a thing. Are there really people who are unworthy of doing this kind of thing?"

"But I'm just not as good as them."

"Not as good as whom? Who are they?"

Amamiya clearly said she would let go of her after telling her the reason, but now she is still holding her hand tightly. She wants Riki to say all those things.

As the saying goes, if you don't vent your emotions, they will always accumulate inside.

But Lixi was clearly in a panic; she was disoriented and didn't know what to do.

She could only squat here, like a little turtle burrowing into its shell to protect herself.

"Lian, that's enough."

At this moment, Hailing came over and grabbed Amamiya Ren's wrist, hoping he would let go: "Lixi is about to give up."

"And then it just stays like this?"

Ren Amamiya turned to look at Kairin. They stared at each other, and he observed her expression.

She wasn't happy; this was a rare instance of negative emotion that Ren Amamiya could see on Hailin's face.

“Lian, you are too arrogant and condescending.”

That wasn't a light statement, but she wasn't wrong either.

Ren Amamiya is indeed somewhat aloof.

"You're like a stubborn middle-aged person in their forties or fifties, forcing the other person to listen to you, thinking you're doing it for her own good but actually hurting her. You don't understand her at all; you're just spouting platitudes. You're only hurting her like that."

"Do you think I'm trying to hurt her?"

"She cried."

Hailin didn't know what had happened between Ren Amamiya and Riki, but she knew their personalities, what Riki was afraid of, and that Ren Amamiya usually didn't like to meddle, but once he started, he would see it through to the end.

These two are not smooth at all. Riki's personality is straightforward, and so is Amamiya's. When the two of them meet, it will only be a clash of titans, and one of them will definitely get hurt.

That's how it is now. Riki has been pushed to the limit by Amamiya Ren. She even slapped her, something Riki would never normally do.

Therefore, she felt that the two of them needed to slow down, otherwise things would not end well.

"Let go, Lotus."

Hailin's words silenced Amamiya Ren. He let go of her hand and watched as Riki ran back to the kitchen alone.

Rinrinko only dared to come over at this moment. The atmosphere between the two of them was too tense just now, and she didn't know how to interrupt. She could only watch as that happened between the two of them.

"Ah Lian, let's apply it first."

She brought over a homemade ice pack. Ice is quite common in cafes; you can wrap it in cloth to make a small ice pack.

Ren Amamiya's face was already red and swollen from that slap. The drummer's hand was very strong, so of course his face would swell up.

Ren Amamiya accepted the ice pack, thanked her, and sat back down in his seat.

Hailin sat down next to him, watching Amamiya Ren apply a face mask.

"Are you calmer now?"

"better."

Just now, it wasn't just Riki who got carried away; Amamiya Ren got carried away too.

Perhaps Hailin wasn't wrong. Amamiya Ren was just a middle-aged man who insisted on saying "this is for your own good" without considering the feelings of others and forcefully said those words.

As people get older and gain more experience, they want to express their opinions on the actions of others. However, because they consider themselves "elders," their attitude tends to be more assertive, thus ignoring the fact that different things cannot be viewed with the same mindset. This leads to a lack of resonance with younger generations, resulting in conflicts.

Hailing knew that Amamiya was doing this for Lixi's own good, and he also wanted to help Lixi overcome her inferiority complex. But it wasn't that simple; such a direct approach would only break her down. She was unwilling to tell Amamiya about herself, and continuing to pester her would only lead to nothing good.

"I know at least a little about Lixi's affairs. You can listen to my explanation before you decide what to do."

After seeing that Amamiya Ren had regained his composure, Hailing continued talking about Riki.

She didn't dislike Ren Amamiya's personality; she simply felt that his approach was inappropriate and that he needed to slow down instead of continuing to be so rigid.

Amamiya could have simply stood by and watched, doing nothing, since what did Riki's affairs have to do with him anyway? But he still took action.

This is something Hailing envies. Sometimes he doesn't know how to properly express his kindness, which leads to misunderstandings, denials, and rejections from others, yet he still holds onto this willingness to help others. It's just a pity that he often does this; his initial intentions are good, but his methods are wrong. He is like this, and so is Lixi.

It really looks like it.

Hai Ling couldn't help but think to herself.

She gently explained the reason for Riki's inferiority complex, which was all because of her older sister, Maki.

Maki is a genius, a true genius, so much so that even Urin would praise her.

As Maki's younger sister, Ritsuki is not a genius compared to Maki; she is rather 'mediocre'.

There's no need to say more. Under the brilliance of genius, 'mediocre' will only be called 'the genius's sister' in other people's mouths. If they do well, they will only say 'it is only natural that Maki's sister does well'. If they do poorly, they will be criticized 'how can Maki's sister do so badly'.

Maki, Maki, Maki—all she heard was talk about Maki. No one talked about her; everyone was comparing her to Maki. This attitude gradually drove her to the brink of collapse, and her sense of inferiority grew stronger.

She hated herself, she loathed herself, she despised herself. Why was she so stupid? Why was she so much worse than her sister?

So she constantly pressured herself, trying her best to catch up with her sister. But how could the sweat of a mediocre person keep up with the inspiration of a genius? What Maki could do in an hour might take Ritsu a whole day. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't keep up with her sister. This was an unchangeable fact, and it made her inferiority complex even more apparent.

Her toughness was merely a thorny shell, while inside she was incredibly weak. Amamiya pried open that shell, saw the weakness within, but was also pierced in the palm by the thorns of that shell.

(PS: Li Yaoling in the New Year's pool is so sexy, I feel like my wallet is going to be empty again. Although my big head keeps saying that this outfit is not suitable for a New Year's cheongsam and is a bit too stereotypical, my little head doesn't think so.)

(PS2: Wang De's new outfit sunglasses are so interesting. He really looks like a Tokyo lord and a Kyoto lord. And he's added another flounder to his collection.)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Ghosts

Lixi was lying face down on the table, lost in thought.

There was still plenty of time before class started, so she had plenty of time to daydream.

She doesn't really want to recall what happened yesterday, and she's unusually silent now.

"Lixi."

At this moment, Hailing walked up to her and saw her standing there in a daze.

Noticing Hailing approaching, Lixi turned her head away. She didn't want to see Hailing; at that moment, she just wanted to be alone and calm down.

Yesterday, Hailing saw her own appearance, which made her afraid to look Hailing in the eye. So, unusually, she started to avoid the situation and stayed here alone.

"Lian said he won't be going to RiNG today."

As Hailing spoke, she placed a box of milk jelly on Lixi's head, but Lixi did not respond at all and continued to play dead.

Hai Ling wasn't in a hurry. She simply took out a piece of paper and placed it on Li Xi's desk: "This is for you."

"I do not want."

Lixi spoke, like a willful little girl, saying she didn't want anything as soon as she opened her mouth.

But ultimately, her conflict wasn't with Hailin, but with Amamiya, which is why she only coldly said no instead of running away.

"You haven't even seen what it is before you say you don't want it?"

"I don't think it's something I want."

Lixi continued to lie face down, her face against the wall. She was deliberately avoiding looking at Hailing, and Hailing wouldn't go to the other side to make her stare at her forcefully.

"lyrics."

"what?"

Receiving something unexpected made Lixi look up, and then she looked at Hailing.

"I have lyrics for a song, and I'd like you to set them to music."

Hailing then explained things more clearly. Lixi picked up the paper and looked at the lyrics on it.

Upon seeing it, her fists clenched involuntarily.

'I never intended to hurt anyone, and I feel sorry for everything.'

'But my inferiority complex outweighed all those who loved me, so I killed all those I loved.'

'But your grief outweighed all that loved you, so you killed me.'

'Why are you bleeding? For whom are you shedding tears?'

'I hide in the night and mock the darkness, for no one can kill a ghost.'

The lyrics are very short. In Li Xi's opinion, if you were to actually sing it, it might not even take a minute, no, half a minute.