They are in the music show, but I am a stranger to them

In the brief silence, everything was said without words. Facing Goto's face, which was already red, even when he was about to faint from the heat, Chen Qi smiled lightly and paved the way for Goto, saying:

"It's okay. In the summer, people don't have much appetite anyway, so we need to eat small meals frequently. It's okay to just eat one to fill your stomach."

"Besides, this sandwich is very healthy. It contains tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and eggplant. I also added some scrambled eggs to it, so I don't have to worry about gaining weight."

"Well, that's rude..."

Faced with the sandwich that had been delivered to him, Goto Ichiri, who was not good at refusing, took it from Chen Qi's hands with both hands tremblingly. Then he quickly turned his head away, not daring to look up at Chen Qi again, and began to eat it in small bites like a hamster.

While Goto Ichiri was eating his sandwich in small bites, Chen Qi was looking at the person in front of him, Goto Ichiri, who was affectionately called "Pochi-chan", with curiosity.

Although he has the same pink hair as Aine, he is so cautious and afraid to make eye contact with others. If this world is not so gentle, this child would probably not have an easy life. He would either be smoothed out by society or become a shut-in avoiding society.

Fortunately, for Chen Qi, Xiao Gudu was not much more troublesome than his sister Gao Songdeng.

Although Deng is not socially anxious, her sensitive fear of being hurt makes her behave more cautiously than the average socially anxious person.

A little lonely just means she has more inner drama, but Chen Qi still knows how to communicate with her.

"Why do I feel like you've been looking at me..."

Goto Ichiri, who was eating the sandwich in small bites, had no attention on her taste buds. She was still sweating profusely, but she was paying attention to Chen Qi's every move beside her, intentionally or unintentionally.

This was the first time I sat face to face with a member of the opposite sex other than my father, and was stared at like this by someone of the opposite sex...

Xiao Gudu didn’t think that it was his current appearance that attracted the other party. Instead, he felt that the fact that he was sweaty and smelly made the other party think he was weird!

Thinking of this, Xiao Gudu couldn't hide his blushing face and moved to the other side cautiously.

But her actions seemed to have caused a chain reaction.

When Chen Qi saw that Xiao Gudu was a little further away from him, he realized that he must have been too focused on watching Xiao Gudu, making him feel uncomfortable.

So, he was very considerate and moved to the edge.

Sure enough, it was my sweat smell that was disliked!

The little lonely man who had suffered a huge trauma in his heart was now in tears. He ate the tasteless sandwich while comforting himself.

Fortunately, she was not seen like this by her fan, otherwise she would never want to meet people offline again in her life.

Just when Xiao Gudu wanted to cry but had no tears, and Chen Qi was keeping a safe distance from Xiao Gudu, behind the two of them, at the top of the stairs, a figure who had arrived late had already witnessed the whole process. After a long while, he looked down from above and said in a deep voice:

"... I say, the front of my store is not a place for you young lovers to have a tryst and picnic. Can you find another place?"

The sudden female voice made Chen Qi and the trembling Xiao Gudu subconsciously turn their heads to look.

Instead, a woman with smooth long yellow hair, quite tall, delicate and somewhat cold features, who was probably a few years more mature than Chen Qi, slowly approached and stared at the two of them with a helpless and disdainful look.

This person should be Hong Xia's sister, right? Chen Qi slowly stood up and accurately judged the woman's identity based on her similarity to Hong Xia.

But he did not forget to help Xiao Gu Du, he took the initiative to stand up and replied softly:

"No, we are here to wait for the Livehouse to open. My partner and I have an appointment to practice here."

"Practice? Ah, you carried a guitar too."

Hongxia's sister, Ichichi Xingge, nodded in sudden realization when she saw the guitar bag behind Chen Qi.

However, before her frown could relax, after seeing Chen Qi dressed like this and seeing his unfamiliar face which she had never seen before, she suddenly frowned again and asked in a somewhat unfriendly tone:

"Wait, you're not the 'Chen Qi' that Hong Xia mentioned, are you?"

"Uh...it's me."

Seeing Xingge’s unfriendly attitude, Chen Qi was unusually nervous. What had he done wrong?

Chen Qi had just confirmed his identity, and Xing Ge, frowning, looked him up and down. After a long while, he questioned Chen Qi word by word in a rather resentful tone:

"It was you who caused Hong Xia not to come home yesterday, and made me wake up today to find that there was no breakfast. I had to go to the convenience store downstairs in the hot sun with an empty stomach to buy rice balls?"

"what?"

Hongxia, didn’t you go home yesterday?

When Xing Ge said this, Chen Qi blinked in surprise, but he soon guessed the reason.

His mouth, which had been slightly opened in surprise, slowly closed again, revealing a subtle expression that was hard to tell whether it was joy or sorrow.

Chapter 13: Chen Qi wants to go all out, and uses the old-fashioned method of encouraging Little Loneliness?

"Huh...huh..."

"Be careful, Goto-san, and put it down gently."

"Okay, okay."

Ten minutes later, with the efforts of Chen Qi and Goto Ichiri, the two of them moved the two sofas from the studio into the practice room, and then carefully moved Liang and Hongxia, who were already asleep, to the sofas.

After settling them all down, Chen Qi and Goto walked out of the practice room one by one.

As the door of the practice room slowly closed, Xingge was already waiting for the two of them outside the door.

However, the sandwich in her hand looked familiar to Chen Qi and Goto.

"Your cooking skills are pretty good. I didn't expect that a grown man like you is quite good at cooking. Just use less meat."

Xingge also looked extremely hungry. It took Little Lonely a long time to finish a sandwich, but Xingge could finish one in five bites. Facing the stares of Chen Qi and Goto, Xingge didn't care. Instead, she waved her hand and said:

"Don't worry, I won't eat your food for free. I'll treat you to some drinks. They're cool and refreshing."

Little Lonely: "But, but, the market price of sandwiches is much more expensive than drinks... I'm sorry."

Goto Ichiri, who had inadvertently revealed Xingge's inner thoughts of taking advantage, shut his mouth immediately after seeing the cold gaze from Xingge, and failed to successfully defend the existence of justice.

"Please sit down. I have something to tell you."

Xingge also stuffed all the sandwiches in his hand into his stomach, leaving only the last two pieces. After clapping his hands to signal Chen Qi and Goto to sit down reluctantly, he did not beat around the bush and asked directly:

"I just asked their teachers for a day off. We have plenty of time now."

"So, first question, are you two the people Hong Xia asked for help yesterday?"

"I, I'm not..."

At this time, Goto Ichiri, who was previously misunderstood by Xingge as a tryst with Chen Qi, finally seized the opportunity and carefully raised his hand, saying tremblingly:

"I was just invited by a friend to come here to watch the live show."

"Ah, you are just an ordinary guest. I saw you two were so close just now, drinking water and eating sandwiches, I thought you two were together."

Xingge was a little surprised, and looked at Chen Qi and Goto again and again.

But after confirming that Chen Qi, who looked a few years younger than him, was so calm and composed, and looking at Xiao Gudu, who was trembling with fear and didn't even dare to look anyone in the eye when talking, he believed her words.

These two people really don't seem to be a good match, both in terms of personality and age.

"So, it was you who told Hongxia and Liang yesterday that they had to give their best in their first performance, and you also wrote a new song for them and asked them to practice in the practice room all night long?"

"Yes."

Chen Qi, who had not expected this situation, chose to openly admit his "crime" after a brief silence.

Chen Qi had indeed not expected that he had only wanted to "not ruin the plot of the band's ending" and deliberately wrote a song that was definitely too difficult and too late to complete, in order to make Hong Xia and Liang give up.

Chen Qi even thought that if Hong Xia and Liang could guess his reluctance from his behavior, it would be nice to directly inform him that they didn't need his help anymore.

This way I can get away from the plot of ending the band and concentrate on preparing to form Ave Mujika.

But, when Chen Qi entered the practice room before and saw Liang sleeping against the wall with his bass in his arms, and Hong Xia even with her face resting on the drumhead without letting go of the drumsticks with both hands, he was indeed surprised.

He didn't expect the two girls to be so persistent.

It's not just to get his approval and do justice to the song he wrote.

Chen Qi could feel how seriously they took this live performance and their spirit of never giving up.

This caused some uncontrollable subtle changes in Chen Qi's attitude towards this live, as well as Hong Xia and Liang's thoughts...

Chen Qi, who had performed on the streets countless times, forgot that this live performance was the first time for Hong Xia and Liang, which was very important to them.

Facing the questioning from Hongxia's sister, Chen Qi, whose mentality had changed a little, had no intention of evading responsibility.

After all, if you put yourself in his shoes, if Takamatsu Deng stayed in the practice room singing all night and didn't go home because of a stranger's words, he, as his brother, would also be angry.

Xingge might be just as strict about music as she was during her time at Crychic, but Chen Qi could understand her love for her sister.

Therefore, he was mentally prepared to face Xingge's sharp or sarcastic words.

"...Don't be so stern. Don't worry. I'm not here to scold you."

Xingge also obviously understood Chen Qi's thoughts from his calm expression. His originally cold face softened a little, and he whispered something that even Chen Qi was shocked:

"You were in a band before, right?"

"How did the store manager know?"

Chen Qi was also slightly surprised, and his fingers clenched into fists almost subconsciously.

He didn't expect that Xingge would know him.

After all, he never appeared on the stage in Crychic, and very few people knew that he was the sixth member of the band.

How did the store manager know?

"You can tell this kind of thing at a glance, right?"

Upon hearing this, Xingge replied in a matter-of-fact tone:

"I've seen your song before. Although I haven't seen the lyrics, I can tell from the melody that an ordinary arrogant kid wouldn't be able to compose such a meticulous song."

"I heard from Hong Xia earlier that you were performing on the streets. You were probably the lead guitarist and singer in your previous band, and you were also a songwriter, right?"

"I wanted to search for your former band, thinking that a band like yours should be very famous, but I was a little surprised to find nothing."

After hearing Xingge's words, Chen Qi's originally tense heart relaxed a little.

However, he did not notice that Xingge's words surprised Goto Ichiri, who was quietly drinking a drink on the side, and he looked at Chen Qi beside him with a surprised look.

Such an amazing person was right next to me before and even offered me water and a sandwich?!

Goto Ichiri, who had always dreamed of becoming a "superstar", almost regretted it to death when he thought that he had finally met a real musician, but had just eaten the sandwich that the other party gave up and it was tasteless.

If she were given a chance now, she would definitely taste the cooking of a real musician! And ask him for advice on how to become a rock star - if only she had the courage to do so.

However, when Goto thought about the scene where Chen Qi beside him despised his sweaty smell just a few minutes ago, all the surging emotions in his heart suddenly died down again. All the fantasies he had conceived in his mind were instantly shattered. He shrank into a ball and squatted in the corner silently, complaining to himself...

"…What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing, that's just how the kid is."

Chen Qi had already had a clear understanding of Xiao Gudu's autistic state. After hearing Chen Qi's words, Xingge did not care too much, but focused all her attention on Chen Qi.

"Well, since you were once a professional band member, you wouldn't stay in the band and play house with these high school students, right?"

Xingge was also playing with his fingers casually, and once again revealed Chen Qi's thoughts.

"That's why I left such a difficult song for them to practice. You really made them suffer."

"...As expected of the store manager, you saw through my thoughts right away."

When talking to a mature woman who was slightly younger than him, Chen Qi, who could no longer conceal his thoughts, nodded calmly and acknowledged it.

Facing this sister who, in the original book, seemed very strict but had always done her best for her sister's band, Chen Qi asked with a slightly bitter tone:

"So, the store manager wants to call me to task? If so, I'm ready."

"I told you, I'm not here to cause you any trouble."

Xingge also shook her head and looked directly at Chen Qi and said, "On the contrary, I want to thank you for making them feel the pressure and realize the gap between themselves and professional bands. It's not something that can be surpassed all at once just by believing in the bond at the critical moment."

"I understand that you don't want to play with them. I also understand that you can't say this. When the time comes, I will help you find a way to get you out of these kids' hands."

"But I also have requests."

As he spoke, Xingge turned his gaze straight towards Chen Qi, and at that moment, Chen Qi also felt the seriousness in Xingge's eyes, as well as a deeply hidden, irresistible persistence.

"Although I specially approved this live performance for Hongxia and her group, their level is not good enough to perform on stage, but Hongxia has been looking forward to it for a long time. This performance may even be the one they can see the most audiences."

"So, I absolutely won't allow this to go wrong, understand? This is their first performance, and I don't want the audience to be bored, but I also don't want them to lose the confidence to continue after realizing the gap between them and professional band members like you."

"So, you'd better restrain yourself. If Hong Xia can't get back on track, I won't let you go."

What a severe threat...