It started with being hated by the girl in the band

From then on, Nakagawa Nobuyuki finally wrote something serious in his notebook.

"…Do you know why I told you not to stay up late to read the composition book?"

While flipping through the pages of the book silently, looking at the pile of notes he had written while staying up late, it seemed that the scene of himself dozing off was still vivid in his mind. Shiina Riki felt quite complicated.

Is it useful to stay up late, is it useful to waste time blindly...couldn't she know this?

I casually opened Nakagawa Nobuyuki's notebook and looked at the rather chaotic scribbles on the first few pages, with traces of smears everywhere...Haha, Nakagawa is the same as me. He is probably also staying up late reading the composition book, but the more he reads, the more headache he gets.

"...Nakagawa, this kind of thing may sometimes be the preserve of geniuses."

Shiina Riki's face looked a little sad, but also a little helpless, as if he had accepted his fate.

"You know, Nakagawa, Shoko... is that genius."

With a somewhat ambiguous expression, Shiina Riki sighed slightly.

Perhaps, I really shouldn't be so arrogant as to say that I would teach this guy how to compose music. Should I at least wait until my level is a little better?

...After all, this guy is obviously the same kind as me—

...?

Shiina Riki's vision froze slightly.

This page is very different.

The previous pages were filled with scribbles of musical notes and knowledge points. It was extremely difficult to make out the handwriting, let alone the logical relationships.

This page suddenly changed its style. Not only was a short melody neatly listed, but the BPM and instruments of each section were also carefully marked...

Don't be so funny, it's a bit too much to start composing music right away...

huh huh huh huh……

...Why, it seems like it sounds pretty good when humming.

“…What song is this?”

Shiina Riki frowned and clicked on this paragraph in the notebook, feeling a little confused.

This feels like a ready-made song, right? Then why do I need to copy the score...? Although looking at the score does help to sharpen my eyes... but copying it by hand is not necessary -

"I don't know. I haven't decided on a name yet, and I haven't finished it yet."

Nakagawa Nobuyuki shook his head calmly, not realizing that Shiina Tachibana in front of him had misunderstood and thought that the piece of music was copied from a ready-made score.

"..."

Shiina Riki held up the notebook in his hand in a daze, and looked at the page in silence.

"But I noticed that Deng always seems to like to give his songs three-character titles, like [Spring Shadow], [Lost Star Call], etc."

Nakagawa Nobuyuki stroked his chin, quietly pondering the unique style in which Xiaodeng-san named the lyrics.

How should I put it, that kind of inexplicable radio feeling is indeed quite characteristic of Xiaodeng.

"...So, you wrote this paragraph yourself?"

There was no expression of shock on Shiina Riki's face, just extraordinary calmness.

However, the feeling of disbelief in his heart and his usual impression of Nakagawa Nobuyuki as hypocritical as ever made him still go crazy and deny such things in a despicable manner.

At this moment, although he didn't want to admit it, at this moment, Shiina Riki's heart was indeed filled with inexplicable and dark expectations...

In fact, this guy copied it from somewhere else.

Actually, this guy is just lying to me.

Wait, this guy will suddenly chuckle and tell himself, "I'm just kidding, I copied it from the Internet," and then say some inexplicable words to make himself angry. This way, he won't look depressed, right?

...Hurry up and tell me, I know what you want to do.

Shiina Riki clenched his fists tightly and looked at Nakagawa Nobuyuki who was thinking about something with an indescribable expression.

Nakagawa Nobuyuki had no idea what Shiina Riki was thinking at the moment, he just nodded seriously and spoke softly.

"…Thanks to Shiina for lending me the composition book. It really helped a lot."

Instead of saying directly that he composed the song, Nakagawa Shin just thanked Shiina Tatsuki in front of him in a serious manner.

This statement is true.

If it weren't for the exaggeratedly detailed annotations in Shiina Riki's book, even if Nakagawa Nobuyuki had a good memory, it would be impossible for him to remember what a bunch of strange kana stood for. So what would the use of having a [progress bar] be?

However, when these words fell into Shiina Riki's ears, they took on a different meaning.

……What's the meaning?

Is this to comfort me? To pity me?

“…I’m asking, did you make this?”

Gritting his teeth, Shiina Riki looked at Nakagawa Nobuyuki with his slightly shrunken pupils and trembling eyes, and his tone contained a complex meaning that was difficult to explain.

"That's right."

Even though he had the help of the [progress bar], it was impossible for him to really say that he had a [progress bar]. In addition, this short paragraph was indeed written by himself, so Nakagawa Nobuyuki's answer was not wrong.

...However, probably because my proficiency is still not high enough, although there is a melody and template in my mind, when I write it down, I can only write this part.

...I guess as long as I can gather enough emotional energy by then, I will be almost perfect, right?

Thinking of this, Nakagawa Nobuyuki moved his eyes slightly.

Now, Nakagawa Nobuyuki saw the slowly crawling [progress bar] and Shiina Tatsuki who was trying hard to raise the corners of his mouth to reveal a forced smile.

"...Very, very good... You don't need me to teach you at this level, right?"

Turning his head slightly, Shiina Riki, who usually looks prickly, now has an unnatural smile and mutters in a low voice.

With his fingers curled together tightly, Shiina Riki still felt a little uncomfortable and could not understand the strange thoughts in his mind at all.

...This guy, couldn't he have deliberately made fun of me before - no, it's impossible, if that was the case, he didn't know anything at the time...

However, Shiina Riki felt a little uncomfortable and even preferred the relaxed Nakagawa Nobuyuki to be making fun of him.

Shiina Riki pinched his fingers and bit his thin lips which were turning pale.

...If it's that simple, then what are the things I see and do?

...If it's so simple, why can't I do it?

Shoko is fine... but that stray cat... even Nakagawa Nobuyuki, who he regarded as a "novice", could -

"Lixi!"

Looking at the obviously unwell Shiina Riki in front of him, he suddenly took a step forward and spoke in a deep voice, interrupting Shiina Riki's gradually distorted thoughts.

140

Chapter 140: Shiina, you are very important to me.

Friends who have read The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber must know what Yin Susu said to Zhang Wuji before she committed suicide.

[The more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to lie]

If this statement is true, then Shiina Tatsuki, who is definitely a very beautiful girl, must be quite good at lying.

However, although that is what he said, if Zhang Wuji had a [progress bar] floating in front of him at that time, the possibility of being deceived would be much smaller.

Looking at Shiina Tatsuki who was clenching his fists and obviously forcing a smile in front of him, and the slowly rising progress bar, Nakagawa Nobuyuki could only frown and suddenly speak out to interrupt Shiina Tatsuki whose thoughts were becoming increasingly distracted.

Although he couldn't read Shiina's mind, Nakagawa Nobuyuki, who was familiar with Shiina Riki, knew that at times like this, it was best to interrupt him immediately and stop his wandering thoughts.

Although [progress] is important, if you deliberately ignore your friends for this reason, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?

The hand on the girl's shoulder could clearly feel Shiina Ritsugi's shoulder tremble softly, but Shiina Ritsugi still spoke with great stubbornness.

"... Didn't I say congratulations? What else do you want to hear?"

With his head lowered as if escaping, Shiina Riki suppressed the inexplicable despicable emotions in his heart and muttered to himself.

"What good words..."

Nakagawa Nobuyuki frowned slightly, and his brain began to work rapidly.

Whether it was the inexplicable anger just now, or the equally inexplicable low pressure now... there is one common key point.

It was only after I mentioned anything related to composing that I suddenly became a little unstable.

Now he is obviously saying things like [Congratulations] and [Very good] against his will... To be honest, even though I haven't known Shiina Riki for very long, of course I can see that there is something wrong on this level.

It would feel more normal if Shiina Riki had a stern face and said something like, "Hmph, it's not bad, but you still have a lot to learn," or "For beginners, it's okay."

...Wait, maybe I really can read minds.

Thinking of this, Nakagawa Nobuyuki suddenly had an idea and shook Shiina Riki's shoulder.

"Don't say anything nice or bad... Li Xi, look up and look into my eyes."

Since I can tell what Shiina is thinking by looking at his eyes, isn't this just perfect?

"…I told you I'm fine."

There was no intention of correcting Nakagawa Nobuyuki's address. Shiina Riki just bit his thin lips and deliberately turned his head to the side, like an ostrich burying its head, and looked at the traffic passing by on the street with a somewhat shaken gaze.

However, because such low pressure still exists, people can clearly feel that Nakagawa Nobuyuki still did not let go easily, but continued to confront her like this.

"…It's so annoying! I told you I'm fine! Is it okay even if you do a good job?"

This went on for more than ten seconds, and then he shook his shoulders as if he was impatient. But probably because he didn't shake Nakagawa Nobuyuki's arm off, Shiina Riki gritted his teeth and squeezed out these words.

No, after all, is my performance so obvious?

...I'd like to see what this will do to my eyes.

Thinking of this, Shiina Rikki immediately clenched his fists, turned his pretty face slightly which was a little pale, and stared fiercely at Nakagawa Nobuyuki who had a calm expression on his face.

(Why are you sulking?)

Nakagawa Nobuyuki gave him a calm but serious look.

(…It’s all because of you──)! ?

Shiina Riki's pupils suddenly trembled, and he was so scared that he immediately looked away.

Although I have long been able to communicate with this guy with just a glance, it turns out that my own thoughts can also pop up all of a sudden? !

What kind of a joke is this!? I can’t tell this guy, “Your composition is so good, I feel bad anyway”!?

Looking at Shiina Tatsuki who suddenly turned away in shock, Nakagawa Nobuyuki sighed lightly, slowly let go of his hand, and spoke again.

"Why are you just speaking halfway?"

Of course, Shiina Riki had something to say, but this time she really didn't dare to look Nakagawa Nobuyuki in the eye.

What if this guy really knew about my weird thoughts...

"From now on, don't look me in the eyes again."

Shiina Riki bit her lip and whispered a warning to Nakagawa Nobuyuki, who always had no sense of boundaries in front of him.

"…So, why are you so sulking?"

However, Nakagawa Nobuyuki's emotional intelligence seemed to be completely non-existent at this moment. Although Shiina Riki obviously didn't want to bring up this topic, he still kept pursuing it and was unwilling to let go.

In fact, this is not Nakagawa Nobuyuki's fault. Nakagawa Nobuyuki was still hoping that Shiina Riki would lend him a few more composition books in the future. Especially since this composition book actually has several other series of books, which is actually a set of books.

Because she still wanted to ask for help from Shiina Riki, Nakagawa Nobuyuki now really wanted to understand why Shiina Riki was sulking with her.

Please forgive Nakagawa Nobuyuki for being a little humble. I always feel that for a very responsible guy like Shiina, it is entirely possible that there will be someone who blames himself because he feels that he made a promise but did not help others.

Although Shiina Riki always looks fierce, Nakagawa Shin is 100% sure that this guy might really be particularly concerned about places like this.

Therefore, Nakagawa Nobuyuki had to get to the bottom of this matter before it would count... Apart from anything else, if Shiina was really sulking and feeling pressured by herself because of this matter, Nakagawa Nobuyuki would feel a little embarrassed.

"..."

Although he really didn't want to say it, because of the concerned and somewhat exaggerated aura coming from Nakagawa Nobuyuki, Shiina Riki couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, and his lips slightly opened.

Finally, as if he could not get used to Nakagawa Nobuyuki's concerned gaze, Shiina Riki closed his eyes in despair, clenched his fists even tighter, and spoke with a desperate look.

"…Because…Because you did such a great job—Are you satisfied now?"

"I've been reading for so long, and I've memorized so many things... It must be much longer than you, right?!"