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

After all, Aine and Qi are different.

Qi is her elder brother, who takes good care of her and always gives in to her.

In addition, although Qi was the absolute backbone of the band when he was in Crychic, one of the main reasons he joined the band was that Deng lacked the confidence to sing without him by his side.

Moreover, according to Chen Qi himself, his singing level is very average. This is also very clear to those who have heard Chen Qi sing "Tuanzi Big Family".

So to sum up, Takamatsu Tomori's position as the lead singer of Crychic is so stable.

After all, all the band members supported her as the lead singer at that time.

But now, the situation is completely different from before when it comes to forming a new band. If Takamatsu Deng wants to gain the recognition of new members, he must show his belief and ability to convince everyone.

Takamatsu Deng will prove her ability in the future, but now, she must show her faith in convincing Aine.

"I, I'm not trying to steal your lead vocal position, Chihaya-san!"

"But, please forgive me, I have my reasons for having to take the lead singer position - I have people I must call back!"

In order to find Chen Qi, Gao Songdeng mustered up more courage than he had in his entire life. He clenched his fists, closed his eyes, and shouted to the bewildered Ai Yin:

"My brother, I must find him. I have many things I want to tell him in person."

"So, so!"

"Chihaya-san, please allow me this one chance! I want him to hear my voice and my thoughts! Please!"

said it.

I originally thought that I would never be able to say such words.

I used to be so timid and cowardly...why have I become so brave now?

After Gao Songdeng's brain fell into chaos, this one thought was so clear that she couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Is it true that after Qi left me, I knew I had no one to rely on, so I immediately became brave?

No...that's not the case at all.

I'm just afraid.

I’m afraid that if I can’t seize this opportunity, Qi may never come back.

The Crychic incident hurt Qi deeply, but I did nothing. I didn't even have the chance to apologize to him.

If I can't tell him in time, if Qi thinks that I'm still so cowardly, her "sun"... will never shine on her again.

Because he can't afford to lose, he becomes brave and fearless. This is the true portrayal of Gao Songdeng's inner heart today.

But in front of Takamatsu Tomo, Ai Ne, who still looked a little dazed, saw Takamatsu Tomo suddenly become so emotional, as if he had made a request of his life to her. After a brief short circuit in her brain, she quickly caught the key words in Takamatsu Tomo's words.

"...Brother? Who is that?"

For some reason, Aine's intuition was telling her that the truth behind this matter might be very important to her.

Chapter 17: Aine realizes the truth, Takamatsu Touma's psychological barriers

For some reason, the moment she heard the word “brother”, a familiar figure unconsciously appeared in Aine’s mind.

Especially when this word came from Takamatsu Touma's mouth, Aine felt that it was not a coincidence.

After all, when Aiyin and Takamatsu Deng met for the first time, she saw that familiar shadow in Deng's eyes, and now Deng suddenly mentioned that he had a brother, and Chen Qi also mentioned before that he had a sister.

It was all a bit too coincidental.

But Aiyin still didn't get angry at this point, nor did she immediately ask Gao Songdeng questions like "Is your brother's name Chen Qi?"

Aiyin still wanted to figure out all of this first, so as to avoid her preconceived thoughts leading her to make a wrong judgment.

Chen Qi is the only opposite-sex friend she knows, and he is also someone she respects like a brother from the bottom of her heart. She doesn't want to hurt Chen Qi because of a misunderstanding.

As for the other side...it's the problem of Takamatsu Deng.

Aiyin silently looked at Takamatsu Deng, whose figure could not be described as finely crafted, but was as cute as a small animal, enough to arouse anyone's desire to protect him. She swallowed the question that came to her lips silently.

For some reason, a subtle feeling of resistance arose deep in her heart.

She was somewhat reluctant to accept the fact that Gao Songdeng was the sister that Qi Ge mentioned.

So, Aine changed her approach and asked Takamatsu Deng tentatively:

"Takamatsu-san, the 'brother' you're talking about...is he your biological brother?"

"No, he was adopted by mom and dad."

As soon as she talked about her brother, Takamatsu Deng's originally gloomy expression quickly turned sunny. Her light-colored eyes sparkled with light at this moment. She immediately said in a tone that was even more excited than when she asked Aine about the penguin band-aid:

"But, but my brother is really a very good person. We have been getting along very well for more than ten years."

"My brother has always been very considerate of me and has always cared about my feelings. He was the core of the band at that time, but he always told me that I was the one that everyone cared about the most..."

"When I was little, my brother was always with me, whether I was collecting rocks, Band-Aids, or going to the planetarium, my brother was always with me."

"My brother is obviously not very interested in the stars, but he always accompanies me every time. He sometimes says that he doesn't quite understand my behavior, but he has never interfered in my world... My brother is very good to me."

"Hey... he's such a good brother."

However, when Takamatsu Deng was telling her story one by one about how good her brother was to her, she did not notice the increasingly subtle changes in Aine's expression beside her.

Now, Aine, who was listening to Takamatsu Touma's words, had only one thought in her mind -

It sounds like this is Brother Qi, isn't it? !

Although he had only been with Chen Qi for half a year, Gao Songdeng did not give any specific description of his brother's personality and appearance, and did not even mention his name.

But some feelings can transcend words.

Aiyin looked at Gao Songdeng's little smile of happiness that was hard to conceal as he recalled the past, but she felt that the image of the "brother" that Gao Songdeng mentioned was gradually overlapping with the Chen Qi that she knew...

Maybe I was just being overly suspicious? After all, Brother Qi was the only person of the opposite sex I had been in contact with for such a long time, besides my father.

Brother Qi and I have been together for half a year. If Brother Qi had not been so indulgent of my temper, I wouldn't have such a good relationship with him, right?

How could it be such a coincidence that he is Takamatsu Deng's brother...

Even so, Aine felt increasingly uneasy, but she didn’t even know why she felt so flustered.

This feeling... is like when I was in elementary school and my favorite toy was taken away by a classmate. It's very uncomfortable.

Aiyin also interrupted Gao Songdeng's recollection in time and asked the question that she was most curious about.

"Well, if I may ask, why did Takamatsu-san separate from your brother?"

"Does this incident have anything to do with the disbanding of your band?"

"……Yes."

Takamatsu Deng, who was brought back to reality by Aine's words, nodded after a moment of silence, and his tone suddenly changed from excitement to his usual heaviness of insecurity.

This also made Aiyin, who was standing by, feel a little guilty... She was really in a dilemma.

"What happened?"

"To be honest...I don't know either."

Gao Song Deng gently shook his head. Now, even though Deng kept flipping through the past, the memories alone hurt his soul, he had no idea why everyone's Crychic would fall apart in just one day.

Everything was so beautiful before and everyone got along so harmoniously, so why were there so many conflicts when the group finally disbanded?

I am in this band just like everyone else, so why am I the only one who knows nothing?

Takamatsu Deng had no clue at all and couldn't tell the root cause of the band's disbandment. Therefore, she could only tell Aine what happened on the day the band disbanded, and try her best to sort out some clues that ultimately led to this outcome.

“Maybe it’s because I didn’t do anything.”

"At that time, the atmosphere was very tense. I just remember that my brother was very sad... Lixi was very angry. I don't know why, but Lixi suddenly exploded. She is not like this in the band usually..."

"Everyone is busy, but every day is fulfilling. Everyone is working hard to achieve their goal of becoming a professional band."

“But in the end, there was nothing left…”

"The band disbanded, and my brother left, but when he left, I didn't say a word. I... didn't even try to keep him."

"Brother, you must be disappointed in me."

Although he was collecting the reasons for the band's disbandment, in the end, Takamatsu Deng still did not say anything bad about any other team members. Instead, he took all the responsibility on himself.

There was no way Takamatsu Deng could blame the responsibility on others. After all, she was the only one who did nothing when the band disbanded.

"My brother has always taken such good care of me, but I..."

"Takamatsu-san..."

Although she was a little confused, Aine still roughly understood what Takamatsu Deng wanted to express, as well as her cowardly self-blame for not saying a word to keep her brother when the band disbanded. Her originally uncomfortable heart couldn't help but waver a little.

There was no way, even though it was their first meeting, Aine couldn't turn a blind eye to Takamatsu's self-pity. She could see that Takamatsu was blaming himself and even hating himself, which was something Aine couldn't relate to, but she felt sorry for him even when she was watching.

In the end, on the inner scale, the weight of compassion slightly overwhelmed the emotion called possessiveness.

"So, if you find your brother, Takamatsu-san, what will you do?"

"Will you apologize to him? And take him home? How will you face him?"

If, if the brother that Gao Song-classmate was talking about was really Brother Qi.

Well, it shouldn't be a problem to let them meet, right?

Although the relationship between Takamatsu Deng and Chen Qi has not yet been confirmed, in Aine's heart, she has subconsciously begun to think about the worst-case scenario.

Let me make it clear first, Aiyin is not reluctant to let Chen Qi go, nor has she developed any extra feelings for Chen Qi during the six months they have been together.

It's just that you have finally gotten used to a person's presence, and that person suddenly wants to leave your life. It's normal to feel reluctant.

It takes half a year to develop feelings for a cat, let alone someone as considerate as Chen Qi?

But even though she was reluctant, facing the sad lights, Aine still suppressed her emotions and asked her questions tentatively.

But the next moment, facing Aine's question, Takamatsu Deng subconsciously raised her head, her mouth slightly opened, and her pupils burst into strong expectations that made Aine feel her heart tighten.

However, Gao Songdeng felt as if something was stuck in his throat. His cherry-colored lips trembled violently, but he made no sound...

Takamatsu Deng really wanted to tell Aiyin confidently that he would, he would apologize to Qi properly so that Qi would not have to bear all the suspicion alone.

He could also tell all of Qi's thoughts to his former friends, and let them know that his brother was not the kind of person they imagined.

However, perhaps it was because of the momentary trance in which Aine and Chen Qi’s faces overlapped that Gao Songdeng did not have the courage to say these words when facing Aine.

Don't look at me like that...

The look in her eyes, even though she was injured, never blamed me... I don't know what to do...

I don't even have the courage to say any words of apology when facing someone who only has the shadow of Qi.

If she were to face Chen Qi now, how well would she be able to perform?

"I don't have the courage to face my brother."

In the end, Takamatsu Deng realized his current situation and had to admit that he had no way to face his brother now. Even if he did, he would probably be overwhelmed by the strong sense of guilt and would not be able to utter the last word.

Hearing Takamatsu Deng say this, Aine felt regretful, but at the same time, she felt relieved for some reason.

“So, the only thing I can do is sing.”

"I can't say anything when facing my brother. Even if I say it, he will just comfort me... This will only make me feel worse."

Gao Songdeng was willing to bear all of his brother's emotions, except for gentle comfort.

Qi clearly took good care of herself, but she did nothing when Qi needed help the most. If Gao Songdeng was comforted by Chen Qi again, she might never forgive herself for the rest of her life.

"Only by singing, only by singing out my feelings, can I ensure that my thoughts can be conveyed to my brother."

"By then, even if my brother doesn't forgive me, at least I can..."

At least, I have an excuse to comfort myself.

Gao Songdeng couldn't say this. This was her most humble wish, and she thought it was the cruelest result.

Gao Songdeng knew that she might lose this "sun", but rather than watching the sun set, she chased it, longed for it, and tried her best to keep the sun by her side, even for a moment, even for just one step.

I can convince myself to face the darkness again.

"So, Chihaya-san, I—"

"Don't say any more, Takamatsu-san. I understand everything now."

However, this time, before Takamatsu Deng could speak, Chihaya Aine, who had already completely understood everything, interrupted Takamatsu Deng's words in time.