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

Of course, it's not just Xiangzi. Except for Deng Hemu who rarely expresses his opinions, everyone is aware of Chen Qi's competitive and even somewhat utilitarian character.

After all, Chen Qi's initial prerequisite for joining the band was that he hoped that everyone could become a "professional band." His strong character also made him play the role of the leader in the band, urging everyone to move forward.

But...as expected, in Chen Qi's heart, he still misses the past time, right?

It was as if he remembered Chen Qi's indifferent expression that hurt him more than once when the band disbanded...Now, when Xiangzi heard the feeling called "reminiscence" from Chen Qi's lyrics, the concern that had always existed in his heart seemed to have quietly improved a lot.

Chen Qi, who was at the center of the stage, couldn't help but widen the smile on his face when he looked at Xiangzi, who looked much more relaxed. The frequency of plucking the strings of his guitar also quietly increased, and his originally gentle and light singing voice finally became more emotional.

"I don't know why I can't say it anymore."

"Towards your word 'like'."

“Maybe I’ve already given up in my heart?”

"Even though I know it can never be undone."

The pitch gradually rose and the sound of the strings became more and more obvious, as if a storm was about to come. The long-suppressed emotions seemed to have accumulated to the extreme, and Chen Qi's originally gentle voice immediately made a 180-degree turn.

It was like a person who had been strong to the end, finally venting after all his disguises were broken. The tone and sound of the piano suddenly rose, and the overwhelming venting, coupled with Chen Qi's voice that rose to a shouting tone, suddenly came!

"Let's destroy the past of both of them!"

"Start to hate me."

"In that case, even now—"

"I can forget about you completely!"

After the overwhelming outburst, the sound of the strings became soothing again. Even before Xiangzi and the others could react, Chen Qi's outburst of emotions was restrained again, leaving no chance for anyone to savor it.

Afterwards, just like the end of a relationship and the beginning of a new journey, everything became relaxed again, with a touch of relief.

"My fondest memories are once again buried deep in my heart."

"Today I am walking alone, and I cannot see the road ahead..."

Is this what you really feel in your heart? Chen Qi, for you, are all the things you have experienced with us in the past really your best memories?

You were so indifferent when the band disbanded...but in your heart, are you also like me, still so resentful about the former band?

Xiangzi stared at the center of the stage with his eyes fixed on it, singing alone the song "Chen Qi" which represented his inner voice...

This was the first time she saw Chen Qi so engaged.

Being a genius, even creation used to be so easy for him, he could even complete his works under their gaze.

It seems that this is the most difficult part of being in a band, but it is just this for him.

But, he has always been describing other people's inner thoughts... When has he ever spoken out his own voice like he does now?

Unable to help but recall the past events in his mind, Xiangzi was shocked to discover that although Chen Qi was the absolute backbone of the band, in fact, no one, including himself, had ever heard Chen Qi express his inner thoughts.

He was always urging them forward.

It was as if their achievements were the only thing he cared about.

But, is Chen Qi really just a genius with a strong utilitarianism as they imagined?

What kind of experience did he have? Did they really understand him?

Thinking of this, Xiangzi's eyes began to soften, and his face couldn't help but waver as he looked at Chen Qi who was performing alone.

For a moment, for some reason, Xiangzi saw a shadow of his former partner "Takamatsu Deng" in Chen Qi, who was immersed in the song wholeheartedly...

They are all the same, feeling lonely and experiencing a world that only they can understand.

But Deng later waited for Chen Qi, who seemed to understand her world and add color to her thoughts. That's why Deng became more dependent on Chen Qi.

But who can understand Chen Qi’s feelings and his thoughts?

Hey... why do my eyes feel sore? My chest aches... what's going on?

Before Xiangzi could figure out the problem, the lyrics that seemed to be meant to verify her feelings were once again conveyed from Chen Qi's soft and gentle voice... Only this time, Xiangzi clearly felt the slight sadness and loneliness contained in Chen Qi's singing.

“I can’t believe anything anymore.”

"Although I still don't want to leave, I have to go."

"Knowing in time that there is no going back."

In mid-air, Chen Qi and Xiangzi's eyes met again. At this moment, facing Xiangzi, whose eyes were already filled with tears, Chen Qi's eyes were filled with tolerance enough to forgive everything.

He seemed to be telling her with his eyes that he had never blamed her for the band's breakup.

I have let it go of all this. Since they can never go back to the past, there is no need to dwell on the past.

He would tell her this not only with his eyes, but also with his singing.

"The past days of love, the familiar temperature."

"A night spent in each other's arms."

“Tell yourself that none of this is fake.”

"I just wanted to escape."

The faint sadness and endless helplessness, coupled with Chen Qi's suppressed crying voice, inadvertently hit the softest spot deep in Xiangzi's heart, making Xiangzi, who already had crystal tears brewing in his eyes, almost unable to hold back his tears.

But Xiangzi suppressed her emotions. She covered her mouth tightly to prevent herself from crying out loud in public.

Only now did Xiangzi completely understand that the lyrics... were about her! It was definitely about her!

If possible, she didn't want to separate from everyone. She really hoped that she could still be the innocent Toyokawa Shoko. She really wanted to form a band with everyone that was free of filth and money...

My final departure was all forced, but my feelings for Crychic... were never false.

The emotions in his heart were surging and almost uncontrollable. Facing Xiangzi who was in urgent need of an outlet, Chen Qi also had the same idea and wanted to help Xiangzi vent all his grievances, sadness, helplessness and heartbreak in one breath.

If Xiangzi were allowed to experience the feeling of "torture" in the original book here in advance, then there would probably be fewer disputes between her and the original members of Group C, right?

Maybe there will be a day in the future when they can shake hands and make peace, and they can continue to be friends, instead of ruining all their relationships with the people in the past because of Xiangzi's inner stubbornness.

Well, let’s all shout it out here!

"Let's destroy the past of both of them!"

"Start to hate me!"

"If that were the case, even now I could have completely forgotten you!"

"what--!!"

That last cry contained so many emotions that struck people's hearts... reluctance, grievance, regret, relief... all of these were enough to destroy anyone's tear glands, and in this cry of venting, they all burst out completely.

Finally, Xiangzi, whose soul was shaken, could no longer control her emotions. She covered her mouth and turned her head away, wanting to escape from this torturous scene.

However, Xiangzi had just turned around when the crowd behind her formed a human wall, which had already surrounded the place so tightly that Xiangzi, who had already broken down and was in tears, could not even find a way to escape the scene. She could only turn her back to Chen Qi in confusion, trying her best to avoid being seen by Chen Qi in this embarrassing state.

Beside Xiangzi, Mu had already witnessed Xiangzi's emotional fluctuations throughout the whole process... But after she only glanced at the collapsed Xiangzi, she silently refocused all her attention on Chen Qi, who was now the focus of everyone's attention and was at the center of the stage.

Until Mu noticed that there was a faint crystal tear in the corner of Chen Qi's eye when he slowly raised his head after shouting the high-pitched voice, her expression, which had always been indifferent, finally shook slightly, and her delicate body trembled as if it had been hit.

Just when Xiangzi was feeling ashamed, and just when Mu was at a loss because of Chen Qi's tear, the boy with tears in his eyes turned and revealed a gentle smile again.

He chose to look directly at the two girls in front of him, and softly sang his last lyrics, his last feelings...

"One last kiss to you..."

"Thank you so much for all the time."

"The overlapping memories of two people."

"It smells like tears."

Finally, the song ended... and after the last echo of the song slowly dissipated, the audience remained silent for a long time. Only when everyone finally returned to reality from the aftertaste of the song did thunderous applause begin to sound from the crowd who had come to their senses.

Gradually, word spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred... Of course, there were not necessarily a hundred audience members at the scene, but there was no doubt that everyone was impressed by Chen Qi's performance, and many people, like Chen Qi and Xiangzi, were immersed in the emotion of the song.

Facing the applause from the whole audience, especially when Chen Qi noticed that Mu was pulling Xiangzi, who was already in tears, to silently applaud him, he breathed a long sigh of relief and revealed a satisfied, heartfelt smile.

"It seems that at least there is nothing wrong with my vision... This song is very suitable for Xiangzi now, and perhaps it also fits her current state of mind."

"It's just that I didn't expect that my own mood swings would be affected, and it's so strong..."

Chen Qi, muttering to himself in his heart, wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye without leaving a trace, and then expressed his gratitude to every audience member. Gradually, the audience who had surrounded the place where Chen Qi was performing, left reluctantly.

After seeing off the audience, Chen Qi finally focused his attention on Xiangzi, who had wiped away her tears but still had a fragile look in her eyes. He smiled and approached her without any hesitation, saying:

"Xiangzi, long time no see, how have you been recently?"

"Chen Qi..."

However, it was Chen Qi's indifference to the past, and his appearance of having let it go, that made Xiangzi even more unsure of how to face him. In particular, Xiangzi realized from Chen Qi's song that his past actions seemed to have caused irreparable harm to Chen Qi...

He didn't have time to tell the truth about his departure, he never really understood anything about Chen Qi, and he destroyed the band that Chen Qi cherished even though he didn't say it explicitly... All of this made Xiangzi feel more and more ashamed.

However, Xiangzi had no idea that Chen Qi actually knew everything she thought she had hidden from him. Chen Qi knew much more about her current situation, her difficulties, the ending of the band... everything than they imagined.

Chapter 4: The subtle relationship between Mu, Xiangzi and Chen Qi

Chen Qi is certainly not a native of this world. Before coming to this world, he was just an ordinary Chinese college student.

Before traveling through time, his life could only be described as dull and ordinary.

Chen Qi's parents are still alive, but they divorced when Chen Qi was still young but old enough to distinguish right from wrong.

Chen Qi spent his childhood under the care of his grandparents.

This also made his personality and character largely influenced by the older generation, and he went through his rebellious adolescence prematurely.

After this, Chen Qi's father remarried, and Chen Qi had a half-sister.

So, with the parents' mutual compromise and the premise that his sister's academic performance was better than his own, Chen Qi, as a brother, was also very conscious. He took better care of his sister in all aspects of life and silently swallowed his own needs and ideas.

All these factors have made Chen Qi gentle, silent, never talk about his needs, and closed-minded.

This also meant that Chen Qi's good-looking face was of little use in his life. He was often depressed and not very likable.

In addition, he had no attractive characteristics since childhood, could not play any musical instrument and had no athletic talent. His grades were only good enough to get into a second-tier university, and his future after graduation was almost certain.

However, just when Chen Qi returned to bed, confused about his future life, when he woke up the next day, he found that everything around him had changed.

The room, which was originally small but still for one person, suddenly expanded several times in size. However, the area around him was filled with sleeping children ranging from seven to twelve years old.

It was as if he had suddenly arrived at the kindergarten dormitory from the bedroom. The sudden change completely disrupted Chen Qi's thoughts.

It was not until later, when the teacher-like person in this "kindergarten" began to urge the children to get up, that Chen Qi, who found that he had suddenly turned into a child without knowing when, was completely certain of one thing.

I am no longer in the original world.

And the place where he was in was not a kindergarten, but an orphanage in Japan in a parallel universe.

As an old 2D fan, even though he watches anime less and less now, as an adult, Chen Qi still has a certain understanding of the environment in Japan.

Japan has never been a gentle country. Here, class stratification, pressure to enter higher education, social contradictions... any one of these things can crush a person if they fall on him.

Traveling to a place like Japan, and starting out in an orphanage like him, is not much better than being born in a technical secondary school bathroom.

However, Chen Qi, who was still lamenting his yet another hellish start, still noticed the differences between this Japan and the one in his memory.

Although he had heard about the girl groups and idols in Japan before, it was not until he saw an idol group called "Muse" on TV announcing their official retirement and shedding tears that he finally realized the seriousness of the matter.

I...could this be a music anime?

I have to say that the two-dimensional music animation can be said to be one of the most gentle parallel worlds.

According to Chen Qi's judgment of the music anime he has appreciated, compared to other youth themes, the people in the music anime are not so deceitful, most of them are very gentle people, and the most important thing in this world is music!

Coincidentally, like the vast majority of online time travelers, he also carried with him the "golden finger" that could change his destiny when he traveled through time!

Although Chen Qi's cheat code is not as smart as most systems, he can still assign tasks to the protagonist to advance the plot, and even have a love-hate relationship with the protagonist. He does not seem like the type of person who can be picked up by girls.

It only provides Chen Qi with the most unpretentious, but most important role in the music show - song.

Simply put, what is needed to fulfill a song is a data similar to "reputation value", and the more popular the songs written by Chen Qi in this world are, the more "reputation value" he will gain.

The more reputation points Chen Qi has, the more and better songs he can produce.

Therefore, Chen Qi, who had been mediocre and indistinguishable in his previous life, also seized this opportunity to stand out.

During a performance held by the orphanage in various communities, Chen Qi volunteered for the first time in his life and served as the "arranger and lyricist" of the singing team.

The first song he used to obtain a credit loan from the system was called "Tuanzi Family".

This kind of orphanage's community tour performance is mostly watched by elderly people in the community, as well as some parents and children.