A comic book, but a librarian

When he looked up again, Uesugi Cheng was walking back with his back turned.

"Yuigahama-san, it's all over. Why are you still standing there like an idiot? It's time to get ready to leave."

"Eh, oh oh oh..." Yuigahama Yui woke up as if from a dream. She looked at the two people opposite her who were in a miserable state. She wanted to say something but found that she couldn't say anything. After all, she was just a pendant used to start the game in this matter. She didn't play any role at all. Maybe she even blocked Uesugi Sumire's performance.

"Is it so extreme?"

"Is this too extreme? It would be better to say that since you have the nerve to say that you hope everyone has fun, then shouldn't you make me happy?" Uesugi Sumire said the bad words very naturally. Yukinoshita Yukino frowned. She had a new understanding of this so-called 'sponsor' of Hikigaya. This person seemed to be much worse than she had imagined, and even more difficult to approach than she looked.

"It seems that Yukinoshita-san seems to recognize me again. Well, Uesugi Sumiya, please give me your guidance." Uesugi Sumiya stretched out his hand.

"Yukinoshita Yukino, Uesugi-san is more..."

"There's no need to talk about the rest. I hope I can keep my good mood until school is over."

Uesugi Sumire's interruption caught Yukinoshita Yukino off guard, and there was a look of surprise on her pretty face, which made Hikigaya suddenly feel that 'so this day will come to you too'.

"Hikigaya, come and help, Chief Yukinoshita, can I borrow this person?"

Yukinoshita Yukino finally nodded. She really had no reason not to let him go.

Walking in the school corridor, Uesugi Sumiko and Hikigaya Hachiman were walking towards the art club, one in front and one behind.

"I look a little off, don't I?"

"So you knew it yourself?" Hikigaya Hachiman finally couldn't help but complain. He thought that what was wrong with Uesugi Sumika today was just that his accumulated emotions finally burst out, but now it seems that is not the case.

"Don't worry, I haven't been contaminated or bewitched by anything. I'm just a little...confused lately."

"Is your confusion to pin the two of them to the ground on the tennis court? Then I should be thankful that you didn't use force on me." Hikigaya Hachiman shuddered.

"It just happened to be the right time. After all, you know that I'm not very emotionally stable."

They arrived at the art club one after another. The moment the people inside looked up and saw Uesugi Sumire, Hikigaya couldn't help but sigh that the human face could make so many expressions in an instant.

"Uesugi-san!! You're finally here!!"

Uesugi Sumire received a warm welcome, but this time, Uesugi Sumire seemed very patient and gentle, which was completely different from the vague and tyrannical feeling just now.

"I'm here to practice after a long time, so can anyone lend me some paint?"

Uesugi Sumiko found a piece of drawing paper and sat in front of an empty drawing board. The plaster statue facing the board was the subject that the members of the art club were currently drawing, but Uesugi Sumiko's eyes seemed to pass through the plaster statue and look towards something farther.

"Um... Uesugi-sama... no, Uesugi-san, this is the paint you asked for."

Uesugi Cheng took the raw materials as if no one was around, and said something habitually, but it seemed that his attention was not here at all. He looked at the afternoon sky, and his thoughts gradually drifted away.

Hikigaya was accustomed to this situation. When he was earning assistant fees from Uesugi Sumire, he would often see him sitting like this for hours. Sometimes he would suddenly stop thinking and then pick up the pen to create a masterpiece, or he would sit until he was hungry and then go to eat.

Uesugi Cheng was mixing various paints in his hands, but no matter what, he seemed not satisfied with the paint in his hands. His serious expression made several members start to doubt whether there was a problem with the quality of the paint.

"I'm sorry, everyone. It seems that I can't write today..." Uesugi Cheng sincerely apologized to the art club members who were looking forward to him, and then he was comforted by several people, and some people said, "It's okay, we are often like this."

"Hikigaya, I know what I'm missing. It's color... I'm looking for the color I want."

Chapter 42: Uesugi Sumire in Goto's One Eye

"Huh? Pigments...are those pigments not good enough?" Hikigaya didn't know much about painting. He raised the question based on the knowledge he did know. In his impression, Uesugi Sumiya had never encountered any problems related to color. It would be better to say that the most terrifying and unimaginable thing about Uesugi Sumiya's paintings is the colors. The colors that make people feel as if they are in the scene are the reason why he is called a genius.

"No, if it were any other time, those paints would be perfectly fine, but this time is different... maybe I really need to further my studies. Hikigaya, I'm sorry. It seems like I dragged you around and did nothing today."

After saying this, Uesugi Sumire said goodbye to Hikigaya as the school bell rang, and set out on the journey home alone.

Uesugi Cheng calmed down his chaotic emotions. He didn't understand why he was so excited. How long had it been since he had such a strong desire to do something? Even the renovation of Silent Bookstore didn't make him so enthusiastic. He asked himself this question while sitting in the church.

[Abbey Church Nave]: For thousands of years, the many aspects of the "Invincible Sun" have been worshipped here - although since the dark days of intercalation, its many aspects are considered to be independent hours in their own right, and the birth and death of the sun are also celebrated today.

The abbey church was once more magnificent, but many valuable items were lost with the dissolution of the abbey, including the original stained glass. These magnificent stained glass windows were made in recent years and paid for by the eighth librarian Green, a follower of the Second Dawn.

Standing in front of the altar of the Invincible Sun Church, watching the light pouring down through the stained glass depicting the four Hours, reflecting the glass beautifully, he closed his eyes. His souls were busy. The fragrant flowers in the garden needed to be picked, and some books needed to be reviewed to help him regain his memories. And most importantly...

Uesugi Cheng looked back at the still blocked road leading up. There were four shrines in the room next to the church, all shrouded by special magic or simply the power of Si Chen himself. He had to find another way to remove these obstacles that blocked his progress one by one.

So, Uesugi Cheng placed his hands on the keyboard of the huge organ and began today's practice.

Of course, in addition to practice, Uesugi Cheng occasionally goes to Fanxing to get the necessary assistance.

"You seem to be a little different today, Ryo, what happened?"

Uesugi Sumire slumped in Fanxing's chair. Although his playing style made it impossible for him to fit into the band that Yamada Ryo and Ijichi Kouka decided to form, it was harmless to come here to practice. However, today it seemed that Ijichi Kouka had disappeared suddenly.

"I don't know. Hongxia didn't reply to the message either." Yamada Ryo was wearing a black shirt and fiddling with his short hair.

Just at this moment, Ichichi Hongxia pushed open the door of Fanxing, bringing with her a pink-haired girl who was trembling like a stressed animal.

"what's the situation?"

Uesugi Cheng watched with interest the pink-haired girl who seemed to be about to faint from fear, and wondered in his heart, is there anyone who is so shy? She looked like she was about to faint just by saying hello, especially the sound engineer of Fanxing, the black-haired lady with lip piercings, who seemed to be asking the girl to get up and apologize with just a slightly cold word.

"This kid is Goto Doku, he's the guitarist who miraculously appeared in the park. This is Yamada Ryo, our bassist."

Goto Du is very regretful now. Why couldn't she be brave enough to say that she had something to do and refuse the gentle Hongxia from going home? A place like LIVE HOUSE is not a place that someone of her level should challenge. The closet at home is the place where she should stay.

"Oh?" Yamada Ryo tilted her head slightly and looked at Goto Doku. After just a few seconds of looking, Goto Doku suddenly began to bow and apologize, which made her a little curious.

"Don't...it's okay. Ryo just doesn't have many expressions. That person over there is Uesugi Sumiya. Although he can play the guitar, he is totally unable to perform with us. That's why we had to find a temporary guitarist. I'm so sorry."

Goto Doku turned her neck stiffly. She saw a gentle and cheerful boy sitting on a chair with an old-looking guitar next to him. His clothes and expression were completely different from her, a country girl who wore a pleated skirt over her sportswear. It was better to say that he looked more like the impression that everyone had of a musician.

"I really have to admit that this is an evaluation. Hello, my name is Uesugi Cheng. I am currently simply cooperating with them in practice. By the way, Hong Xia, the store manager said that you must practice well before going on stage, and he was very angry about your sudden disappearance. Now he has gone out to buy things."

"Oops... let's go to the practice room right away."

Goto was led into the practice room. To her surprise, Uesugi Sumika did not follow her in, but was drawing something on her phone.

"That...band member?" Goto asked tentatively.

"Ah, it's just the few of us. Uesugi-san can't go on stage to perform with us, so we're the only ones who can go on stage."

"Eh...ah...ok!" Thinking of her own guitar level, Goto Du's heart was burning with fighting spirit. Perhaps today was the day for her to change.

After a song ends.

".......Super bad." The comments from Hongxia and Yamada Ryo made Goto Doku almost turn into snow-white ash and be blown away by the wind. She herself didn't understand why her guitar skills were obviously good, but she performed like that just now.

“Yes, yes, yes, I’m sorry…” Goto curled up on the ground alone and looked like she was about to turn into plankton. Because of her social phobia, she didn’t even dare to approach other members of the band, resulting in a complete lack of coordination among them, which prevented her from fully displaying her skills.

"This is troublesome. You will be going on stage soon." Uesugi Sumire walked in with his guitar. When Goto Du saw this, he simply shrank back into the box.

"Little Lonely, is it okay to call you that?"

Uesugi Cheng looked at the shaking box of "perfectly ripe mangoes" and once again wondered why someone could be so socially anxious.

Just as Hongxia was trying to dissuade him and Yamada Ryo was watching the show, Uesugi Cheng played the guitar in his hand.

It wasn't really a song, it was just a melody, a short melody.

But surprisingly, the three girls relaxed a little unconsciously after hearing this melody.

"I have the same problem of not being able to perform with them as you do, oh little loneliness, but you can definitely overcome it, right?"

Goto raised her head alone. She felt that the aura of liveliness around Uesugi Sumika was about to evaporate her, but when she really raised her head, it didn't seem that serious.

"Take a deep breath, relax a little...try it again, this time keep your head up."

And so, the rehearsal began again.

Chapter 43: Vision

"Ah, in the end I got into the box when facing the crowd, and the whole performance was a disaster..."

Uesugi Sumiko plucked the strings of the guitar. The first performance of the "Bond Band" temporarily formed by Ijichi Kouka could not be said to be average, but could only be said to be a disaster. The guitar was completely separated from the bass and drums, and even seemed to be more self-centered than Uesugi Sumiko's performance.

Not only were there too many mistakes, but there was also little response to the warm-up segment. It can even be said that the students that Hong Xia had attracted by relying on her popularity would not come a second time.

"That... down, down, down, down..."

The view of Goto walking alone with the box on her head looked quite scary in Hongxia's eyes. After all, not only did she look as unsteady as a zombie when she walked, she couldn't utter a complete sentence, and she couldn't even raise her head to look at the person standing opposite her.

"I will at least practice until I can greet my classmates before the next performance!!"

"You've grown up." Yamada Ryo took out a handkerchief from somewhere and started wiping his non-existent tears.

"Goto-san."

Uesugi Sumiko called out softly, and then when he found that Goto Doku suddenly stood up straight and began to tremble wildly, he suddenly felt a little guilty, as if he was teasing a cute little animal.

"Goto's guitar skills are very impressive. I think Hongxia and Liang will not deny this, so there is no need to be too nervous. What you need most now is..."

Uesugi Sumire tried to comfort her. After all, Ijichi Kouka had finally found a guitarist who looked very good. Although he had some character flaws, he thought it was very normal for a band to have such a situation.

But he felt that Goto Doku looked as if her soul had left her body and her body had frozen as she stood there blankly. If Mingshi had not seen that Goto Doku was extremely healthy both in soul and body, he would have thought that this girl had also been possessed by some strange evil spirit and had lost her soul.

"Before the next band starts performing, there will be a warm-up session... The store manager asked me to step in as a temporary replacement. Is it really okay for a beginner like me to play the guitar solo?"

Under Goto's gaze which was mixed with countless emotions, Uesugi Sumiko shook his head helplessly and picked up the guitar. Apart from the blessing of the great technique, his guitar skills were probably at the beginner's level, so in order to get the reward mentioned by the store manager Ijichi Hoshika, he now had to go all out.

"You're so awesome... Uesugi-san." Goto Du's words were filled with envy. She also wanted to be able to stand on the stage and perform without any psychological burden like Uesugi Sumika. But when she thought of the way the people in the audience looked at her, and the possible malicious words, she wanted to hide back in her little box.

"Then next... let's wait for Uesugi-san to finish his performance, and then hold a welcome party for Xiao Gu Du and a reflection meeting for the band's first performance!" Hong Xia still looked enthusiastic and energetic. When Goto heard that a welcome party was even held for himself, he wished he had two more legs to run away. Before Hong Xia could react, he used the excuse that his social energy was exhausted and left the practice room.

She originally wanted to leave Fanxing directly, but when she stepped onto the stairs, she looked back and saw a few people standing scattered below the stage. Some were taking pictures of the exquisite murals on the walls of Fanxing, but no matter what, they didn't seem to care much about Uesugi Cheng who came on stage to debug the equipment.

Goto Du slowly walked down the stairs. In her eyes, Uesugi Sumiko was perhaps the person she most wanted to become, confident, calm, and able to attract the attention of others.

"Test, test, can you hear me? Hello everyone, this is Uesugi, the temporary guitarist on my first day at work, please bear with me."

A few people looked up, seeming to be interested in the word "newcomer" mentioned by Uesugi Cheng.

The sound of the guitar was very steady, and Goto Doku suddenly felt the lack of words. Obviously, this electric guitar solo was very powerful, but in her ears there was a sense of calmness. Every note appeared where it should be, and every melody was like a perfect replica, except for... the emotions.

Empty? Pale? Goto Du really felt that she should read more books. Now she didn't know how to describe Uesugi Cheng's guitar playing. There were no mistakes, but there was no emotion either. It was like a machine strictly arranging the notes one by one. Maybe this was why Uesugi Cheng said that he was completely unable to perform with Nijika and Ryo.

Even so, Uesugi Sumiya still stood on the stage. The warm-up song was not particularly difficult, and many people seemed to be moved by Uesugi Sumiya's performance, but it was obvious that most people just looked up and then continued to check their phones.

But even so, there was no expression on Uesugi Sumiko's face. Goto Du brought the people on the stage into her own life. She felt that if she encountered such a situation, she would probably have lost her language ability and was completely ignored. She might even be treated as a joke during a conversation.

She could even imagine the two of them chatting and laughingly saying, "The guy who went up to warm up last time really overestimated his own abilities. How dare he go on stage when he played like that?" When she thought of this, she felt as if her body was frozen and stiff, and the emotion of fear and avoidance began to spread.

"Little Lonely? Little Lonely...? Do you mind if I call you that?"

When Goto Du came to her senses, Uesugi Sumire was already standing in front of her. She was so scared that she fell back and almost fell to the ground.

"No, no, no, it's okay... You can call me anything." Goto Du felt someone holding her hand, and Uesugi Sumika pulled her and helped her stand as if he had done something insignificant, then continued speaking.

"How was the performance just now?"

"Ah... Fei Fei Fei is very good."

In fact, she didn't think so at all in her heart, but when Uesugi Sumika's face looked at her, Goto Du could only squeeze out these few words dryly. She hated herself so much. Someone came to talk to her because of the guitar just as she had originally thought, so why couldn't she grasp the opportunity at all?

"You're still not feeling well, right? Do you mind going out with me? How about just chatting with friends?"

Uesugi Sumiya really felt that Goto Doku was very interesting. He asked a question and laughed when he saw Goto Doku, who was so excited that he couldn't speak and could only nod.

"Just the open space outside Fanxing. I'm going to buy a bottle of drink."

Chapter 44: Aspirations and Another Rumor

Goto Du didn't know why she agreed to Uesugi Cheng's suggestion to go out and talk, just like she didn't know why she agreed to Hong Xia to be a temporary guitarist. Perhaps her inner desire has never changed.

"Here, soda. How's the band?"

"Ah... not bad, I like it very much." Goto Du's voice was so weak that it was almost inaudible, but she said it from the bottom of her heart.

"Is that so? That's good..." Uesugi Cheng nodded. Goto Doku's guitar skills were definitely not as bad as she appeared. What she needed more was practice in interacting with people, which was completely different from him. If she wanted to fit in the band, she must at least be able to communicate normally with the band members.

"Well... Uesugi-san is also very good. I... I can't do it, playing the guitar in front of so many people watching..." Goto Du unexpectedly discovered that she didn't seem to be afraid to speak in front of Uesugi Sumika. Perhaps it was because she saw Uesugi Sumika's solo, or maybe it was the tone and intonation of his voice that made her less afraid.

"Really? Thank you..." Uesugi Sumiko was a little surprised by Goto Doku's sudden praise. He could only attribute it to the fact that people with social phobias tend to have more jumping thoughts.

"Um... can you teach me? How to talk to other people or something..." Goto Doku had never thought that he would actually say such things to a person of the opposite sex, not to mention that this person of the opposite sex was a boy he met for the first time.

"Well... I may not be able to help you with anything. If I really have to say it, just be brave... If you find something you want to do, you will have the courage to do it."

Goto Du was a little confused by Uesugi Sumi's words, but she still nodded happily. It was the first time she made new friends through guitar, and the first time she joined a band, and all the band members were nice people.

"Compared to this...how can I incorporate my own emotions into the performance?" Uesugi Sumika asked with some distress. Anyway, Goto Doku's guitar skills were definitely better than his current ones, so it wasn't a shame to ask this.

"Hey... this... that... I..."

Uesugi Cheng looked at Goto Doku with some horror, as if he was a gradually overloaded computer that began to tremble and deform irregularly, as if he would freeze if it continued.