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

Aiyin held a bit of luck in her heart, and watched her classmates leave one by one with a smile on her face. When she felt that she could breathe again, Aiyin also breathed a long sigh of relief...

She no longer wanted to experience the same welcome a second time.

"Chi-Chihaya-san..."

But just when Aiyin took a breath, a weak voice attracted her attention again. Soon, Aiyin found that Gao Songdeng, who had left a little impression on her because his eyes and temperament were a bit like Chen Qi, walked in front of her somewhat unconfidently.

"What's wrong, Takamatsu-san?"

Facing Gao Songdeng, probably because she and Chen Qi were quite similar, Aiyin was particularly friendly to her. Gao Songdeng also tried to muster up his courage and praised Aiyin sincerely in a weak voice:

"The song Chihaya-san just sang was very, very nice. I heard the sounds of summer, sea breeze, and beach in it."

"Hey, is this true? I didn't think that much..."

Hearing such praise from Gao Songdeng, Ai Yin, who had been practicing with Chen Qi the whole night yesterday, was a little surprised. She had been listening for a whole night, but she didn't have as deep an understanding as Gao Songdeng. If she didn't know the lyrics, she might not have been able to tell that the song was about summer.

Could this child be a genius?

Aiyin stared at the somewhat different Takamatsu Deng in front of her, and subconsciously smoothed her hair with her fingers, revealing several conspicuous Band-Aids on her fingertips.

It was these penguin-shaped Band-Aids that immediately attracted all of Gao Songdeng's attention.

"This is a penguin band-aid!"

This originally weak and even slightly timid girl's pupils shrank slightly when she saw the Band-Aid on Aine's fingertips. Almost instantly, a figure she had been thinking about day and night suddenly emerged in her mind.

Yes, when I was in Crychic, besides myself, Qi was the only one who would use such a Band-Aid!

Most people don’t have the hobby of collecting these penguin band-aids, only Qi knows——

With this thought in mind, Takamatsu Deng approached Aine almost reflexively. Facing Aine who didn't react, Takamatsu Deng asked Aine in the fastest tone possible, anxiously, nervously, and even a little flustered:

"Chihaya-san, could you please tell me where this penguin band-aid came from?"

Chapter 16: Aine: Takamatsu Touma's brother? Who?

"Hey? Band-Aid? This one?"

Aiyin looked at Takamatsu Deng who suddenly became excited in front of her, and was slightly startled, but she also felt a little confused.

It's just a Band-Aid, what's the point of getting so excited?

Although Aiyin was confused, she still obediently showed her left hand with the Band-Aid on it.

"Yes, yes! That's it!"

And when Takamatsu Deng, who was in a panic, saw the penguin-shaped Band-Aids on Aine's fingers, he also took out a small box from his pocket in panic and excitement.

And in Aine's eyes, she saw that the small box handed to her by Takamatsu Deng was filled with Band-Aids with penguins printed on them, which were very similar to the ones on her fingers.

Obviously, this was specially collected by Gao Songdeng.

"I, I like penguins very much. I think they are very cute."

Gao Songdeng realized belatedly that she was a little too excited just now. But now she couldn't calm down at all. Before she knew the truth, it was difficult for her to calm down.

"So, Chihaya-san, who did you get these band-aids from?"

"Hey~ Takamatsu-san also collects these things, but that's normal, everyone likes to collect something."

Aine nodded as she suddenly understood. Under Takamatsu Touma’s extremely focused gaze, Aine once again stretched out the five fingers of her left hand without any hesitation and said openly:

"I finally found these yesterday from the Band-Aids in my house. I searched through the entire box of Band-Aids, but only found these few."

Aine didn't lie.

Ever since Chen Qi put a penguin-shaped Band-Aid on Aiyin yesterday, after the practice, Aiyin realized that her other fingers were also hurting. In order to find a Band-Aid that could match the one Chen Qi put on her but was not exactly the same, she fiddled with her own medicine box for a long time before she put together these four penguins that looked different.

Before this, Aiyin, who had no idea how many times Chen Qi had applied medicine to her, had actually noticed that all the Band-Aids Chen Qi bought were of the same brand.

A special feature of this brand of Band-Aids is that every box contains one or two Band-Aids printed with penguin shapes.

Aiyin once asked Chen Qi why he only bought this kind of Band-Aid, and Chen Qi's answer to her was surprisingly simple:

"Maybe it's nostalgia. I used it a lot in the past, and later I didn't want to change it."

Aiyin: "You're lying. If you like penguins, I won't laugh at you. Penguins are cute, aren't they~"

At that time, Aiyin had also joked with Chen Qi in this way.

And after that day, perhaps because she thought the "easter egg" design of the Band-Aid was quite interesting, or perhaps just out of a simple desire to "use the same one as Qi Ge", Aiyin also bought a few more boxes of such Band-Aids.

"If you like it, Takamatsu-san, I have a few boxes at home. There should be some penguin band-aids in them. How about I give them to you when the time comes?"

Takamatsu Deng: "...No, that's okay. Thank you, Chihaya-san."

Turns out, it was just a coincidence.

Gao Songdeng's expectations were dashed. His excited and nervous heart could not help but feel a little bitter the moment it cooled down...

Why, Qi doesn't even want to tell me where he is?

Why, even though Qi said on the phone that he had never blamed me, he just didn't want to see me?

Mingming, any voice, no matter if it is complaining or even resentful, you can tell me, aren't we brother and sister?

Just don’t do this, don’t let me not see you.

I can only search for your traces in this way, but I can't find your feeling at all. It's really sad...

I know it's impossible to find you, but I still can't help but look for all traces of you.

Gao Songdeng's expression couldn't help but dim a little. Ever since Chen Qi left her, that familiar feeling of loneliness began to come over her again, gradually surrounding all the space around her.

That feeling, the feeling of being unable to breathe, came back.

The sound cannot be made——

A strong feeling of loneliness once again hit Gao Songdeng. It was a feeling she should have gotten used to long ago, but the moment Chen Qi disappeared from her life, she could no longer adapt to the loneliness she was so familiar with.

She couldn't do it anymore, she couldn't cry and make peace with her loneliness anymore.

"Um, are you okay?"

The drastic change in Takamatsu Deng's emotions was also keenly captured by Aine who was standing beside him. She also stood up carefully, with her hands ready to catch Takamatsu Deng's trembling body that might fall at any time.

This, this is what I should do?

On the first day of school, I met such a strange child. The expression in his eyes was very similar to Brother Qi, but he didn’t seem to have Brother Qi’s tenacious character at all!

No, calm down, Chihaya Aine. Now that everyone has gone to take a lunch break, you are the only reliable person left. Think about what to do?

Yes, that's right! Think about Brother Qi! If it were Brother Qi, what would he do?

When Chihaya Aine was most helpless, she did not think of her parents first, but the neighbor brother with whom she had only been living for half a year.

Perhaps it was because my parents were not at home except in the morning and evening, so I actually spent a large part of the past six months with Chen Qi.

But more importantly, it was because Aiyin suddenly remembered that in the past, when Chen Qi heard about her dark history of dropping out of school in the UK, he did not have any intention of mocking her, but instead made up an excuse for himself...

Aiyin subconsciously felt that Chen Qi's method might be more effective. After all, he could even coax a girl like herself who had a bad temper, so Chen Qi's method must work on girls!

So, Aiyin, who had made up her mind, couldn't help but start imitating her impression of Chen Qi.

She concealed her slightly panicked expression and made an expression almost identical to Chen Qi's, calm and composed even when faced with a catastrophe. A warm, faint smile also reappeared on her face.

As for the deepness in the pupils... I can't do that! I can only do it this way for now!

"Takamatsu-san, you don't have to be afraid. Although I'm not sure what terrible thing you just thought of, everything will pass in the end."

"Look, I'm right beside you now, and I'll take care of it with you, okay? So relax a little, okay?"

As she said that, Aine couldn’t help but walk forward and gently placed her slightly at a loss little hand on Gao Songdeng’s shoulder, gently holding down her trembling body, and kept comforting her:

"Okay, don't be afraid. There's nothing scary here, okay?"

However, perhaps it was because Aine’s comfort really worked, but Takamatsu Deng’s body, which was originally surrounded by loneliness, really gradually stopped shaking violently.

And Takamatsu Deng's body, which had been curled up because of the chill brought by loneliness, began to stretch out. Her head, which had been lowered, finally slowly raised up again and met Aine's eyes again.

And at this moment, the face of Chihaya Aine, who still maintained a calm smile and relieved eyes, suddenly changed in the eyes of the dazed Takamatsu Deng.

In a trance, the face that I had been thinking about day and night seemed to appear in front of me again.

He is still the same as I remember, always by my side, and always there when I need him most.

"Don't be afraid, Lantern. I will never run away."

"As long as I am here, I will do my best to make sure you are no longer lonely, Deng."

We clearly agreed that it would be forever——

"what."

The memory was suddenly interrupted, and Takamatsu Deng broke free from the memory. With a small cry, Takamatsu Deng, who suffered a strong mental shock, subconsciously took a few steps back and broke free from Aine's palm in an instant.

If the wall behind it hadn't blocked the body of the lamp, it would have almost fallen to the ground.

"Well, are you feeling better?"

Aine was a little confused about the situation. What happened to Takamatsu Deng in front of her? Why did his face turn pale and blue?

"No, it's okay. I get like this sometimes... I get distracted and sometimes I feel cold."

Hey? I can make sounds again?

Gao Songdeng was stunned for a moment, but she soon understood why. Chihaya Aine had a smell very similar to Qi, and it was that smell that made me no longer surrounded by loneliness.

And the trance just now also made Gao Songdeng realize something.

Although Aiyin and Qi were in completely different states of mind, they had one thing in common—the feeling that was as warm as the sun, shining on everyone around them, was the same.

At least for Takamatsu Deng herself, the aura of Aine and Qi had the same effect on her.

As long as I am under the afterglow of such a "sun", I will no longer be afraid of the loneliness and coldness.

As long as you are no longer surrounded by loneliness, you will have the courage to sing out what is in your heart!

As long as she has the courage, she can face her brother whom she feels guilty about.

As long as she has the courage, she can let Qi see her own growth!

Well, I am no longer a child who needs my brother’s protection all the time. I also have to...work hard to do something for Brother Qi!

"Chihaya-san, is there any band you want to join?"

Do it, I did it! Gao Songdeng kept encouraging himself in his heart. After trying his best, he finally said the request that he had always wanted to say in his heart in a voice as soft as a mosquito.

"Hey? Is Takamatsu-san also interested in the band?"

Aine also blinked her eyes, and looked at Takamatsu Touma, who was acting a little different from the ordinary people in front of her. He actually overcame the timid impression he left on her at the beginning, and when he took the initiative to talk about the band, he also smiled and replied:

"Could it be that Gao Song-san once also had a band?"

"Well, there have been..."

When the past events were mentioned, Gao Songdeng, who had just mustered up a little courage, looked a little dim, but he still tried hard to clench his fists, not wanting to fail.

“But it was later disbanded for some reasons.”

"Really? That's really bad."

The topic suddenly became serious, and Aine realized that she had said something wrong and had to avoid the topic in a nonchalant manner. Aine looked at Takamatsu Touma who looked a little sad in front of her, and she tried to comfort him:

"Well, this kind of thing happens all the time. Don't worry about it, Takamatsu-san. I believe it will be better next time."

Really, who is so cruel to abandon Takamatsu-san who is as sensitive and cute as a little animal?

Even though it was the first time that Aine met Deng, Deng's vulnerability and fragility, coupled with her cute face, had already made Aine subconsciously feel that she cared for her.

She really couldn't imagine how cruel the guy who disbanded the band had to abandon a lovely girl like Takamatsu Deng to be sad all alone.

Don't let her find that guy, otherwise... otherwise she will ask Brother Qi to beat that guy with a guitar!

"To be honest, I've been interested in bands since I heard about the tradition of forming bands in Haneda. It would be great if Takamatsu-san is willing to help!"

Aine also promptly ended this heavy topic, and promptly extended her invitation to Takamatsu Deng with a smile, laughing softly:

"So, Takamatsu-san, what position did you play in the band? Bass? Drummer? Keyboardist?"

"No, I, I'm the lead singer..."

When Deng heard Ain take the initiative to invite him, he couldn't hide his joy in his heart. Finally, the most difficult step had been taken!

However, Takamatsu Deng also knew that it would be very difficult to convince Aine, a girl who had just demonstrated excellent guitar skills and had original creative ability that rivaled that of Inori, to give her the position of lead singer.