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

All of a sudden, the memories of the past that had been silent for a long time flooded into Su Shi's heart like a tide - this scene reminded her of Toyokawa Shoko.

Yes, to Su Shi, what Aine did... was exactly the same as what Xiangzi did back then!

Like Xiangzi, Aiyin has a high musical talent. Xiaoxiang used to be with Aqi every day. It was Aqi who arranged and wrote the music for the band. Xiaoxiang just modified Aqi's original work to make it suitable for everyone in the band.

What kind of band arranger is she!

And Aiyin must have benefited from Aqi's help, which was why she was able to perform so well during the band's first practice.

And what she did was the same as Xiaoxiang. Aiyin knew that everyone was looking for Aqi's whereabouts, but she deliberately concealed the fact that Aqi was right beside her...

It's like Nagasaki Suyo absolutely doesn't believe that Xiangzi couldn't see at the time that Aqi was important to everyone in Crychic.

But Xiaoxiang was so deaf at that time, and she monopolized all the tenderness of Aqi. In the band, she spent more time with Aqi than Deng, the younger sister who had been with her for more than ten years.

And Aiyin, she now has Akari all to herself... Could it be that her feelings for Akari are the same as Xiangzi's?

Yes, this is very likely. After all, it has been half a year. Although we don’t know when and why Akari started to interact with Aine, if we calculate based on the worst case scenario, Aine and Akari have been living under the same roof for half a year!

Half a year later, with Aqi's considerate and attentive character towards everyone, coupled with Aiyin's cheerful nature and various signs that proved that she had been in contact with Aqi a lot, Su Shi could guess what Aiyin thought of Chen Qi now.

"Ain, do you like Aqi now, just like Xiaoxiang?"

"Even what you did was the same as what Xiao Xiang did back then... You knew that we all wanted to talk to Aqi, but you remained indifferent."

Nagasaki Suyo whispered in a low voice, but she also said that, and the fingers holding the photo frame became more and more powerful. In the reflection of the frame, Nagasaki Suyo's originally proud and gentle face became somewhat hateful at this moment.

She bit her teeth lightly, as if suppressing the anger rising in her heart, and almost squeezed out a sentence from between her teeth:

"If it's just liking him... I can tolerate it. After all, I know Aqi's character. It's normal for someone to like him."

“But, monopolizing you is not allowed, Aine-san… Right now, you are simply…”

It’s just as hateful as Xiangzi.

Is this your wishful thinking? Aine-san. Regardless of whether our new band is successful or not, will Aqi be called back by Deng's singing in the end? As long as you keep Aqi's whereabouts a secret, you can get close to Aqi and get on well with her, and never be separated from her?

What a selfish thought...

But it's a pity that I have seen through your wishful thinking now. Now I will not let you get what you want.

Thinking of this, a gleam of light flashed in Nagasaki Suyo's eyes, and the framework of a plan began to become more and more complete in her mind...

Don't get me wrong, Sushi has no intention of kicking Aine out of the band.

Although Su Shi felt disgusted with Aiyin's behavior, he also knew that in the past six months, Aiyin must still have some weight in Chen Qi's heart... Su Shi didn't want to hurt the people Chen Qi cared about.

On the other hand, Su Shi was well aware of how much of a shock Xiangzi's withdrawal had been to Aqi.

She couldn't imagine what a huge shock it would be to Chen Qi, who had been helping Aiyin behind the scenes, if Aiyin also quit the band this time. Su Shi would never do such a thing as indirectly hurting Chen Qi because of dissatisfaction with Aiyin.

She just wanted to expose Aine's true face, and let Aqi step back from "behind the scenes" to the "front stage", and enter the vision of her, Deng, and Li Xi.

Only by letting Aqi get in touch with them again will they have the opportunity to convey their concerns to Aqi. Only in this way can they always pay attention to Aqi's future life and every move.

He must have had a very hard time in the past six months. He has no financial support from his parents and no familiar friends. He needs someone who can take care of him - at least, someone who understands the grievances in his heart.

Deng-chan... She should have come to her senses, otherwise she wouldn't have wanted to form a new band and sing her voice to Aqi.

But, Dengjiang would probably just take Aqi back to her home and reunite the family, right? Could she really convey her voice to Aqi through words?

Wouldn't it be possible that once Aqi returned home, the sense of security in his heart would return again, and he would just put this matter on hold? He chose to influence Aqi with deeper attachment and companionship.

As for Li Xi... forget about her. She should be the one who cares the least about Aqi's affairs. Su Shi even suspected that if she didn't want to make Deng not sad, she wouldn't even think of playing a live performance for Chen Qi.

Then, the only one in the band who can take care of Ah Qi all the time is...

"Ding dong."

Just when Su Shi thought of something and his cheeks turned slightly red, suddenly, a crisp doorbell rang slowly in the house again, immediately interrupting all of Su Shi's thoughts.

Soon, Mrs. Chihaya's voice from downstairs came clearly:

“Here you are~ Is it Aine and Koinori? You came back so early today~”

Aine-san, are Akari and I back? !

Su Shi, who had just heard Mrs. Chihaya's words, felt his heartbeat suddenly quicken when he heard the familiar name, and his cheeks began to turn red at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"No, calm down, calm down, Nagasaki Suyo, you have to be calm."

"It's been half a year since we met, so you have to act natural and don't let yourself get caught. Don't let Aqi see that you came here on purpose."

Su Shi also quickly shook her head and even patted her feverish cheeks with her hands. Only after her heart was forced to calm down did she gasp, reveal a beautiful smile from the bottom of her heart, and quickly ran downstairs with elegant but slightly hurried steps.

……

"Um... may I ask who you are?"

Mrs. Chihaya, who had already arrived at the gate of the courtyard, looked at the girl with long light green hair in front of her with some confusion, and asked in a low voice the second stranger who visited her today.

At the door, Mu looked at Mrs. Chihaya in front of him, and after sorting out his thoughts, he made up his mind and tried:

"…Nice to meet you. I'm Ruoye Mu, and I'm Chen Qi's friend."

"Excuse me, does Qi live here?"

Mrs. Chihaya: "Inari? Oh, is he Inari's friend? Yes, he is our tenant here."

Mrs. Chihaya was also a little surprised. Today was really a magical day. Not only had her good daughter entered the new school only two days ago, but she already had friends who were close enough to visit her, but even Chen Qi, who had rented here for half a year but had no other social life except for her daughter, actually had friends visiting him.

But... what a pretty girl. Mrs. Chihaya looked at Wakaba Mutsu, who looked like a doll, though her expression was indifferent. She couldn't help but feel a little fond of her. After all, a pretty child would naturally attract people's attention wherever she went.

Such a beautiful child, actually came to see Xiaoqi? I hope she is not Xiaoqi's girlfriend, otherwise my daughter will be very sad.

Just as Mrs. Chihaya was wondering whether she should ask about the relationship between Mu and Chen Qi, the door behind her opened again. Soon, the sweet voice from Su Shi sounded again:

"Welcome back, Aiyintong—eh? Xiaomu?"

Mu: "...Su Shi?"

In almost a second, Su Shi's originally sweet voice could not be maintained. Mu was also surprised that Su Shi would appear here, and showed a moment of confusion.

But soon, Mu seemed to understand Su Shi's behavior and returned to her usual calmness. But for some reason, her eyes seemed to be evasive and she didn't dare to look directly into the eyes of her good friend.

"Huh? Nagasaki-san and Wakaba-san are friends too? That's great~"

Mrs. Chihaya was obviously unaware of the two beautiful girls in front of her, and the grievances between Chen Qi and Aine who were now away. Instead, she quickly invited Mu into her home as a guest with a big smile on her face.

However, just when Mrs. Chihaya was about to get busy again, Su Shi, who had reacted, smiled calmly and stopped her:

"Well, Xiaomu and I have been friends for a long time. We are both students of Yuezhisen."

"Mrs. Chihaya, can you let Xiaomu chat for a while? Xiaomu and I have some private little girl talk to each other~"

Mu: “…”

Soon, Mu, who had been silent all the time, witnessed Su Shi coaxing Mrs. Chihaya into a daze with just a few words and sending her back to the house.

And just as the door was closed, Su Shi's gaze towards Mu no longer had the gentleness it once had before, but was instead filled with cold scrutiny and a hint of dissatisfaction.

Mu obviously knew why Su Shi showed such an expression to her. Her eyes were a little erratic, until Su Shi was standing in front of her, Mu had no choice but to look Su Shi in the eye.

"...Xiao Mu, it seems like you have been hiding this from me for such a long time."

Su Shi's eyes, filled with extremely strong dissatisfaction, were fixed on Mu in front of her. She pursed her lips, forcing herself not to confuse Mu's behavior with Toyokawa Shoko. She barely controlled her emotions and said with a forced smile:

"Why? Xiao Mu? Why are you unwilling to tell me even though you already know where Aqi is?"

"Aren't we good friends? Why are you doing this?"

Mu: "…Because I think that Qi being found back may not necessarily be a good thing."

Mu was very clear that he had no way to explain it now. He only knew that Chen Qi and Aiyin lived together because he accidentally saw Aiyin's wallpaper.

She also knew that Su Shi had guessed that she had been in contact with Chen Qi for the past six months. Mu also knew that it would be meaningless to keep it a secret, so she had to answer truthfully:

"Besides, Qi doesn't want to be found. He is not mentally prepared to face everyone."

"So, you just watched him bear all the suspicion and pain alone for the past six months, and he couldn't even hear the voice of someone apologizing to him. Are you struggling to live like this alone?"

Mu's words further stimulated Su Shi's desire to protect Chen Qi, so much so that Su Shi's tone became heavier at this moment, and he said to Mu indignantly:

"Mu, why didn't you tell us? At least tell me so that I could help Aqi get through this difficult six months. Is that difficult?"

"Why do you want to hide something like this? Can you save Aqi by yourself?"

Finally, as she spoke, Su Shi's words even had a hint of deep resentment and resentment. She gritted her teeth slightly, almost squeezing out the words from between her teeth, her tone full of suppressed bitterness, and said:

"Why did you do... the same thing as Xiao Xiang?"

"To monopolize Aqi by oneself... that's too cunning."

"..."

Facing Su Shi's repeated questioning, Mu remained silent. She had no excuses and no words to defend herself.

Because she knew that from Su Shi's perspective, everything she said was correct.

Even Mu herself knew that in the past six months, she had witnessed Chen Qi's growth day by day and accompanied him through hard training day by day. Wasn't there a trace of joy in her heart that she was the only one by his side?

...That is impossible. You can't deceive your own heart.

Mu had reflected on himself more than once. In the past six months, he had enjoyed every minute and second with Chen Qi. Chen Qi's life was so hard and difficult every day, but he was just accompanying him, yet he could get satisfaction and a hint of happiness from him...

What is the difference between me and Xiangzi back then?

I and Xiangzi were clearly each other's "half body" relationship, why did we end up like this? Wasn't it because I couldn't stand what Xiangzi did in the past?

You have asked for so much joy and happiness from him, why did you want to hurt him like this when you left him in the end? And shatter all that he had worked so hard to maintain?

Under Su Shi's gaze, Mu fell into a long silence as soon as he finished speaking. The puppet girl in front of him had a rare flash of loneliness and self-blame in her eyes, which he could understand.

"...I'm sorry, Xiaomu, I know this is not Xiaomu's fault."

After Su Shi caught Mu's sadness, her tone was slightly blocked, and she returned to her usual gentle feeling. The girl, who was more concerned about Chen Qi's life than anyone else, smiled at Mu again, as if to forgive all grudges with a smile, and said softly to Mu:

"Xiao Mu, although I don't know what happened between you and Aqi in the past six months, I think at least we should be able to reach a consensus."

"That is, we all hope that Aqi can live a good life, and we all hope to help Aqi, right?"

"...Yeah." After thinking for a moment, Mu nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's both help Aqi together, how about that?"

At this time, Su Shi finally revealed his inner thoughts to the cucumber girl in front of him. She smiled very sincerely and suggested to Mu word by word:

"Deng still lacks a little courage. As for Li Xi, she is not interested in Akari's affairs. Although Akari is renting in Aine's house now, Aine is not a former member of Cychic, so she probably won't feel as sorry for Akari as we do."

"Then, how about the two of us help Aqi and use our own way to lighten Aqi's burden a little?"

Mu: “…Got it.”

After a brief thought, Mu did not hear anything wrong in Su Shi's words. Su Shi's core idea was the same as his, which was to make Chen Qi feel a little more relaxed.

And now is the time when Chen Qi needs help the most. If Su Shi could help... maybe it would be better?

"…Then, let's shake hands and make peace?"

"Ah."

After reaching a consensus on the basic principles, Su Shi and Mu finally shook hands and recognized each other. After gaining Mu's trust, Su Shi noticed the bag in Mu's hand and asked:

"By the way, Xiaomu, what's the bag in your hand..."

"Vegetables for Qi."

Mu also raised the bag in his hand. Su Shi took a closer look and found that it was filled with various vegetables, some of which were even those that Mu had never planted in the school's gardening department.

“The new vegetables haven’t grown yet, so I bought some from the market.”

"Then leave it to me."

Su Shi also took the vegetables from Mu's hand. Looking at the wide variety of vegetables, she knew very well in her heart that this was definitely not the first time that Mu had helped Chen Qi in this way... It seems that in the past six months of no news, little Mu's progress has not slowed down at all, just like Aiyin.

But Xiaomu, do you know that Aqi has never been anyone's property?

Aqi doesn't belong to Aine, nor to Xiaoxiang, and certainly not to you.

Under Nagasaki Suyo's peaceful smile, the luster in her eyes became brighter and brighter. From the beginning to the end, Suyo actually had only one goal.

She wanted Chen Qi to come back to them, to the Cyrchic period without Xiangzi.

There will be no selfish people, no monopolists, and no second person to quit the band. Let Aqi's wish come true again and build a professional band that will never disband again!

After that, it was just like what Deng-chan said...we will never be separated again in our lives.