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

A sudden notification sound broke Su Shi's thoughts, and when she subconsciously raised her mobile phone, she found that it was a message from her mother.

[Su Shi, I'm sorry, it's supposed to be a day off, but I'm afraid mom won't be able to come back this week. ]

[You should also be careful when you are alone at home. If you feel lonely, you can always call me, your mother. Oh, it’s okay if you bring your band friends home~]

Mom...I can't come back this week.

Su Shi, who suddenly received such a notice, only felt a little disappointed, and then accepted this result as usual. However, his mother's suggestion made Su Shi's heart move slightly, and he raised his head and asked everyone in the band softly:

"Everyone? Practice is over, shall we go eat together? Or have a tea party or something?"

"Well, I'm sorry, Nagasaki-san, I have to teach Riki how to arrange music today, and I also need to make some changes to the new song. I'm really sorry that I can't keep the appointment."

Xiangzi was the first to express his apology upon hearing this. Su Shi concealed his regret and nodded, then turned his gaze to Chen Qi, Gao Songdeng, and He Mu.

However, the answer everyone gave her was not what she expected.

Mu: "...Today I have dance class and vocal class."

Deng: "Well, I, Qi and I have an appointment to go to the planetarium together. If you want to come with us, Su Shi..."

"...No, thank you, Deng-chan, but I'd better not disturb you and Aqi."

With a somewhat forced smile on his face, Su Shi, who ultimately didn't want to disturb everyone's pace of life because of himself, suppressed the loneliness in his heart and responded to everyone with a calm smile.

But what Su Shi didn't know was that his moment of loneliness had caught the attention of Chen Qi, who was packing up his manuscripts. He watched him put the bass back into the bag, and walked out of the recording studio without even saying hello, which was rare.

However, before Su Shi even had time to walk out of "RiNG", the notification sound of her mobile phone came again. When Su Shi took out her mobile phone to confirm again, she found that the person who sent the message was a little unexpected.

Chen Qi: [Su Shi, if you don't mind, after Deng and I come out of the planetarium and I send Deng home, can we go out for dinner together? ]

[I know a Chinese restaurant that tastes good and is quite authentic. I wonder if it suits your taste. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable, it’s okay to refuse me:)]

What an old-fashioned expression. Facing the message sent by Chen Qi, Su Shi's smile, which was about to collapse, recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Su Shi silently watched the message on the phone, and turned his head slightly inadvertently. After confirming that no one had left the recording studio, he typed with peace of mind:

[So, time and place? Don't keep me waiting too long, Aqi.]

……

Chen Qi wanted to watch the stars with Gao Songdeng in the planetarium, and he had to go a long way to send the lantern back home and then come out again. The round trip would take at least three hours, which Nagasaki Suyo also knew.

However, faced with such a long time, Su Shi just went home to put away his guitar bag, changed into a set of casual clothes, and sat at the door of the store early, quietly waiting for Chen Qi's arrival.

Rather than staying in that empty house, Su Shi would rather wait with anticipation for the only person in the band who truly cares about her to appear...

"Sushi, I'm sorry, have you been waiting for a long time?"

However, when the long-awaited voice gently echoed in her ears, Su Shi stood up slowly almost reflexively, and immediately locked her eyes on the big boy who was close to her. Seeing that he didn't even have time to change his clothes, the smile on Su Shi's face somehow became more gentle.

"No, I just arrived too. Ah Qi, you came at the perfect time."

Her voice was much sweeter than in the recording studio, and the moment Su Shi stood up, she launched an almost all-round "sweet offensive" towards Chen Qi. It was obvious that Su Shi was really looking forward to meeting Chen Qi this time, and she didn't want to ruin this night more than anyone else.

But unexpectedly, the moment Su Shi's sweet voice came out, Chen Qi, who was approaching, couldn't help but stop where he was.

The next moment, Su Shi was somewhat bewildered by the fact that Chen Qi in front of her seemed to have lost his sense of direction all of a sudden. He looked around as if he was lost, muttering to himself:

"This is so strange. I clearly saw Su Shi just now, why did he disappear all of a sudden?"

"I'm right in front of you, huh? Aqi?"

Su Shi, who had no idea what Chen Qi was doing, subconsciously walked forward and called out to him in a low voice.

At the moment when Su Shi lost his voice, the bewildered Chen Qi suddenly "discovered" Su Shi again, showing an exaggerated expression of "sudden enlightenment", and said to Su Shi with a chuckle:

"Su Shi, you are here. I couldn't find you just now. I seemed to hear a sweet voice like an elementary school girl calling her mother. It sounded quite similar to your voice. I was so scared that I didn't dare to call your name~"

Sweet, as sweet as an elementary school girl?!

When Su Shi heard Chen Qi's wonderful metaphor, his brain stopped working for a moment, but he felt a burning sense of shame coming over him. In an instant, even without a mirror, Su Shi felt that his face had turned red.

"Aqi!"

"Oh, this is the Su Shi I know. I don't want to meet my friends like I'm meeting an unfamiliar relative for the first time and have to put on a smile and pretend."

Facing Su Shi who was showing some signs of being angry, Chen Qi stopped playing dumb and took the initiative to pull Su Shi into the store, reminding him softly:

"By the way, if there's any food that Sushi doesn't like, you'd better tell me without hiding it."

"I didn't..." However, Su Shi, who had just realized that she had lost her composure, wanted to restore her dignity, but after hearing Chen Qi's words, she paused slightly, and her brows relaxed uncontrollably. Her voice also changed from soft at the beginning to clear and plain.

"No, I really don't like offal."

"Okay, then we won't eat the offal."

Chen Qi's answer came so spontaneously, and all his actions were just right, not making Su Shi feel that he was being too attentive, but also not making Su Shi feel that he was not considerate enough. Everything seemed like the most ordinary meeting between friends.

But the difference was that this time there was no one else around them. Although the Chinese restaurant seemed a bit noisy, Su Shi, who was face to face with Chen Qi, could feel that the time that was usually occupied by others, at least during this period of time, was all on her.

She could feel that he cared about her, at least at this moment.

"Su Shi, do you feel happy to form a band with everyone?"

"Yeah, I'm very happy." Facing Chen Qi's concerned inquiry, Su Shi, whose boring time had been filled at this moment, answered the question without hesitation and said with a smile:

“To me, everyone at Crychic is like a big family. I’m really happy to meet everyone.”

"A big family..."

After hearing this answer, Chen Qi seemed to have a bit more sorrow on his face under Su Shi's gaze. After keenly catching Chen Qi's emotional changes, Su Shi's heart almost subconsciously jumped slightly, and he asked with concern:

"Aki? What's wrong with you? Is there anything bothering you lately, Crychic?"

"No, Su Shi, that's not what I'm thinking about." At that time, Chen Qi gently shook his head, suppressing the bitterness in the corners of his mouth. After some hesitation, he whispered to Su Shi in front of him:

"I just want to say, if one day in the future... Crychic can no longer be maintained... then what will you do, Su Shi, who treats Crychic as another home?"

As he spoke, Chen Qi avoided Su Shi's slightly frightened look. His gaze was fixed on the night sky outside the window, but every word he said made Su Shi's heart tremble slightly.

"Su Shi, you didn't join the band because you love music, right?"

"I've also heard Xiangzi say before that the reason she asked you to join Crychic was because she witnessed the performance of the wind band and fell in love with you at first sight because you were the best performer in the band at that time. Everyone in the band also said that you are very hardworking and you are always the last one to go home."

"It's the same with Crychic. Even though the training intensity is the same and Li Xi loves music so much and wants to prove himself, he complains all the time, but you are the only one who doesn't."

"You've never complained, and you always stay the latest. You're the first one to arrive at every band reunion, and you're always the one who's reluctant to leave after every reunion."

"Aqi..."

However, when Chen Qi repeated these small details one by one, which even Su Shi herself had never noticed, Su Shi's eyes could not stop trembling. The hesitation in her heart also made Su Shi subconsciously pinch the corner of her clothes to hide the struggle deep in her heart.

Su Shi had never thought that the inner loneliness that she had been hiding and never revealed would be seen through so easily by Chen Qi... the big boy who she thought paid the least attention to her.

It turned out that my every move was under his watch.

It turns out that he really understands all my inner emotions and thoughts.

In his eyes, do I have no secrets?

Su Shi, it seems that only now I understand why Chen Qi could write the personal song "天ノ弱" for Mu.

Only now did she understand why Gao Songdeng, Xiao Mu... and so many other kids with weird personalities in the band were able to gather around him.

"Ah Qi, isn't it the same for you?"

Su Shi, whose secret was exposed, was only panicked for a moment, but soon she found that her mood was unexpectedly calm. Under Chen Qi's gentle gaze, Su Shi neither quibbled nor concealed anything. Instead, she smiled and said to Chen Qi in front of her:

"Compared to me, Aqi, you are the one who is really about to treat everyone in Crychic as your own family, aren't you?"

“Not only do I have to write individual songs for everyone in the band, but I also keep pushing everyone in the band to move forward.”

"Aqi, you're actually more afraid than I am that Crychic will disband, right? That's why you're so anxious to make the band professional, because you're afraid that everyone will go their separate ways after graduation and might not form a band together again, right?"

"……Yeah yeah."

However, facing Su Shi's question, Chen Qi's silence did not last long. Finally, with a long sigh, he repeated the word "yes" in a tone that was not sure whether it was helplessness or emotion.

"So, I've always been worried. What if Crychic can't survive? Then how will I end up?"

"Deng, Mu, Xiangzi, Li Xi... and Su Shi, how sad will everyone be? Can I really maintain Crychic by doing this?"

"That's why I wanted to say this to you, Su Shi... If possible, don't put too many emotions in Crychic, otherwise if something unexpected happens, it will be difficult to end all this... or something like that."

And Nagasaki Suyo just quietly watched this big boy who was omnipotent in the band but showed a bit of fragility in front of her. Listening to him worrying about the future of Crychic over and over again, Suyo's eyes couldn't help but become blurred.

For a moment, Nagasaki Suyo even felt as if she was watching a father who was working hard to maintain his large family.

A person works hard and tremblingly to keep this fragile family from being destroyed, and in his eyes, this small family may be everything to him.

Nagasaki Motoyo's memory of her father is a little vague, but she still remembers the warmth and reliability her father gave her before her parents divorced.

Although her family was ordinary at that time, young Nagasaki Suyo had never felt so lonely before her father left her.

But... Su Shi, who comes from a single-parent family, knows very well that how can a family supported by only one person be called a "family"?

"——Then let us work together to maintain Crychic."

Driven by her heart, Nagasaki Sushi finally told Chen Qi what she had always wanted to say. Sushi stared at Chen Qi with a sharp gaze, and her gentle smile was full of all-embracing beauty at this moment. She said word by word:

"If you're afraid of being shattered, then wouldn't it be better to just keep going like this?"

"Although I don't really understand why Aqi is worried about Crychic disbanding, but if you need my help, you can always tell me."

"In the future, I can urge everyone to practice on your behalf, I can also try to learn composing and writing lyrics, I can also take care of Deng-chan on your behalf, and next time if Li Xi wants to come to complain to 'Unspeakable', I will also persuade her."

"Anything that you find difficult or hard to handle, Aqi, you can ask me for help. But don't keep all your worries to yourself."

"Aqi and I, let's protect Crychic together and protect our 'home', okay?"

As she spoke, Nagasaki Sushi saw that the haze between Chen Qi's brows had not dissipated. She also suppressed her shyness in her heart, playing with her fingers while turning her eyes away as if nothing had happened, and said in a very light voice:

"If, Aqi, you feel tired, I can lend you my lap pillow to lean on~"

However, she didn't know whether Chen Qi heard Su Shi's last words.

However, when Su Shi saw that Chen Qi had finally suppressed his sorrow and regained his former composure in leading the band forward, he couldn't help but reveal a smile from the bottom of his heart.

“…Thank you, Sushi, thank you for telling me this.”

Protecting "our home" together...it's such a subtle feeling.

So, in the Crychic family, if Aqi was the "father" from the beginning, then I am now...

Under the light, the girl, who was full of thoughts, pretended to casually stroke her hair beside her ears. Her long chestnut hair fell down like a waterfall, covering up the shy pink behind the waterfall...

Aqi, everything you said before was correct. I am very lonely, but you were wrong about one thing.

Before you said this to me today... I actually always felt that I had not yet fully integrated into the Crychic family.

but now……

Su Shi silently gazed at the man in front of him, the first big boy in the band who cared about him so much and understood his every move. Su Shi smiled, as if he had finally found his own sense of belonging in this band.

Chapter 28: Memories of Nagasaki Suyo: Xiangzi, you are going too far

"Everyone, you've worked hard in practice. Let's stop here for today."

"Tomorrow is our first public live, everyone should maintain their form today and perform well tomorrow."

"Got it." X4

Before we knew it, another month had passed in a relatively stable manner, and now for everyone at Crychic, it can be said that it has reached the most critical moment.

Because they are about to have their first public live performance in a super large performance hall like "RiNG". This is a huge challenge for everyone in Crychic, and it is also the first and most crucial step towards professionalism.

However, on such an important and exciting day, Nagasaki Suyo seemed a little absent-minded.

When everyone had left, leaving only Chen Qi and Su Shi to clean up the recording studio, Chen Qi, who had already sensed that something was wrong with Su Shi today, finally found an opportunity to come to the side of Su Shi, who looked dazed, and asked softly:

"Su Shi, what happened today? Are you in a bad mood?"

"Hey." It was not until Chen Qi came to his side that Su Shi, who had been distracted, suddenly came back to his senses.

Just as Su Shi looked up and saw Chen Qi less than ten centimeters away from her, this gentle and dignified girl, who had said to Chen Qi "Let's protect Crychic together" a month ago, turned her face away almost reflexively the moment she saw Chen Qi approaching, and deliberately covered her face with her long chestnut hair.

"No, nothing. Aqi, are you worrying too much? I am no different today than usual."

"I even forgot to plug in the bass for the first song and you still say it makes no difference?"

However, Chen Qi was not so easily fooled. On the contrary, he saw that Su Shi had something to say to him, but he had been keeping it to himself. He promptly put down everything in his hands and asked Su Shi word by word:

"Su Shi, do you remember what you said when you advised me? Don't keep everything to yourself."

"So, if you have something on your mind that you can't get out, you can tell me now. Otherwise, we will be busy again after the live show tomorrow."