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

Gao Songdeng was a little afraid in his heart that his brother would answer him in the affirmative, even if it was ambiguous, Gao Songdeng didn't know how to face it.

After all, Shiina Riki was a completely unexpected existence for Deng.

If it is said that when Lixi quarreled with her brother at the beginning, she was actually improving her relationship with him... then Gao Songdeng couldn't imagine what the feelings of Lixi for her brother had reached in her heart now.

I didn't even notice it before? Should I say that Li Xi hid it too well?

"——Of course, it's for the lights, and for your new band."

However, at this moment, Chen Qi's unexpected answer made Deng's movements and even his thoughts pause for a moment. Chen Qi seemed to have noticed Deng's dullness behind him, and explained with a patient smile:

"After all, Li Xi made a lot of efforts in places we couldn't see in order to keep up with Xiangzi and me. Now that Xiangzi and I are gone, Li Xi is the one I chose. He is the most suitable person to replace Xiangzi and me and lead us forward."

"Deng, if you want to form a band for life, then I can tell you clearly that Lixi is the indispensable person. I am trying to get her back so that your wish can come true."

"So, Deng, cherish Lixi, okay? When I'm not in the band, Lixi might be the one who takes care of you in my place."

Gao Songdeng: "...I understand."

Form a band for life...?

Brother, please remember my wish.

However, after hearing what Chen Qi said, Gao Songdeng fell into a long silence. She silently applied medicine to Chen Qi, but her heart was in a mess and she seemed a little at a loss.

It is true that Takamatsu Deng did say such words to her brother. It was when Crychic was founded and her brother asked her, "Are you happy training with everyone in Crychic?" This was her answer.

"Yeah, it's very fun. If possible... I want to form a band with you all for life."

...Brother, maybe you didn't notice? What I said was, "Form a band with you for life."

The “everyone” here, brother, of course, includes you.

But now, Gao Songdeng had no way to tell Chen Qi these words... She was very afraid that if she said such words again, her brother would become even more wary of her.

However, it is precisely because of this constant "vigilance" that Gao Songdeng feels more and more tortured...

Why... even though I already know I was wrong, my brother and I can never go back to the way we were before?

Gao Songdeng did not tell Chen Qi that, in fact, before Chen Qi entered the room, Gao Songdeng was looking through her notebook because she was looking for songs suitable for singing in the Live performance.

In other words, it is a song that is suitable for me, so that even if I can't sing it well, it will not end up as a failure in the Live.

Ever since Takamatsu Tomori heard the conversation between his brother and Aine, and heard the news that if their Live was a great success, he could leave without worry, Takamatsu Tomori had panicked and planned to act like he had made no progress in the Live to express that he could not do without his brother's guidance.

But now, facing his brother who wanted to help him maintain the band even though he was injured... Takamatsu Deng felt heartbroken and gave up his plan all at once.

I must not destroy this band.

Brother, you would rather get hurt than help me keep this band going. I can't let you down again. Otherwise, I'm afraid you will really leave me forever.

But...if this Live performance is a big success, my brother will also leave...I can't leave my brother, I really hope to form a band with my brother for the rest of my life!

What should I do? What should I do in the live show a week later to ensure that my brother will not leave me and that this live show will not end in failure?

For a moment, Gao Songdeng fell into deep confusion... She was hesitant and faced with such a dilemma, and seemed to have no idea how to make a choice.

Chapter 68: The performance begins, Takamatsu Deng no longer hesitates!

A week passed quietly. When night fell, the brightly lit "RiNG" became more lively than the previous few days.

In the large livehouse "RiNG", even if it is just a small band, there are often hundreds of music lovers and fans coming here to watch the live performance. Therefore, performing in RiNG is a big challenge for any new band that is making its debut and lacks experience.

In the lounge backstage, Chihaya Aine was experiencing the torment of excitement and nervousness. This lively and cheerful girl was unusually restless, holding the guitar in her arms, and muttering to herself nervously:

“What, what should I do… There seem to be more people than I thought. This feels different from the school festival. They are all strangers. There is no friendly filter.”

"Especially since Brother Qi will be here too, I don't want to embarrass myself in front of him, so I have to perform well."

“That’s not necessary.” Beside Aine, Shiina Riki also closed his eyes and said to Aine in a relaxed tone:

"It's common to make mistakes on stage. It's your first time on stage, so you'll inevitably be a little nervous. As we hold more live shows, you'll slowly get used to it."

"Of course, there can be no more than three mistakes. We only have fifteen minutes in total, and we don't have time to replay several times."

Aine: "...I feel like your temper has improved a lot recently, Li Xi?"

However, Li Xi's kind reminder made Ai Yin, who had accumulated a lot of doubts in the week since Li Xi's return, finally couldn't help but ask this question that made her extremely curious.

Aiyin immediately directed her suspicious gaze towards Lixi who was beside her. Lixi obviously sensed this, but the sharp-tongued drummer showed a rare look of embarrassment and guilt when facing Aiyin's big and small eyes staring at him.

"...What's wrong? Is there something strange on my face?" Li Xi asked, pretending to be calm.

“Nothing.” Aiyin shook her head, a serious look appeared on her face, and she asked Lixi:

"I'm just curious, when Brother Qi visited Lixi that day, what did Brother Qi do to convince you, Lixi, to return to the band?"

Although during the week that Lixi returned to the band with a new song, he quickly brought everyone back on track and began to plan the band's training as the captain, which made Aiyin's opinion of Lixi change a little.

However, Aiyin also tasted something unusual from Lixi's changes... Especially the band training arranged by Lixi, Aiyin had only one feeling -

It was so familiar! It was exactly the same method that Brother Qi used to teach her guitar! It was just that Li Xi took into account the different levels of the band members and needed to cooperate, so he lowered the intensity a bit.

The rest, whether it was the heart-to-heart talks after training or giving everyone some time to complain and exchange feelings, was exactly the same as when Brother Qi taught himself guitar.

What made Aiyin even more suspicious was undoubtedly what Li Xi said, that Qi Ge asked her to be the captain of the band.

I heard Deng and Xiangzi mention it before, that Brother Qi and Lixi didn't have a very good relationship, right? I heard that they often quarreled, and even when the band disbanded, Lixi said bad things to Brother Qi.

With such a deep personal grudge, could it be that Brother Qi really doesn't care? Or is their relationship not as bad as everyone describes?

"What do you say this for?"

Shiina Riki, who was being stared at by Aine like this, didn’t know why he felt uncomfortable all over, so he deliberately turned away her gaze and answered nonchalantly:

"I just chatted with him for a few minutes. After all, he and I were teammates before. Now that he's here to visit me, I can't kick him out, right?"

"He just reminded me not to be too harsh on you... no, to be more precise, not to be too harsh on you. He was afraid that I would use the special training method he left behind and make you cry. That's all."

Aiyin: "Eh? Did Qi-nii say that again?"

Li Xi's answer was somewhat unexpected to Ain, but after blinking quickly, Ain felt that this was indeed what her brother Qi would say, and that there was no need for Li Xi to lie to her, so she regained her usual cheerful smile.

Li Xi breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing this... It seemed that this guy didn't know that he had bitten Chen Qi.

But, at the moment when Li Xi's heart just dropped, Ai Yin, who seemed to have no concern at all, did not even turn her head, but suddenly asked Li Xi in a relaxed and cheerful tone:

"Lixi, you won't interfere in the affairs between me and Brother Qi, right?"

Almost instantly, the air in the small lounge seemed to freeze for a moment. Li Xi was suffocated for a moment, and subconsciously glanced at Aiyin beside him, and found that she lowered her eyes slightly, with her signature sweet smile on her face, as if the words just now were not asked by her.

But Li Xi knew very well that she was not hallucinating, and she also knew the meaning of Chihaya Aine's questions.

After all... Li Xi was also aware of the closeness of the relationship between Aiyin and Chen Qi. The two could hug so naturally, and Chen Qi could even lend her his chest to cry. At least during the Crychic period, Li Xi remembered that only Xiangzi had enjoyed the same treatment.

That guy cares so much about Xiangzi, so Aine probably holds a similar position in his heart, right?

Then as expected, Aine is the same as Shoko, towards that guy...

Thinking of this, Li Xi's eyes unconsciously drooped a little. She didn't feel jealous, angry or bitter, but more of a lonely mood...

That guy now has a new favorite in his heart.

"——I won't do anything like that."

Li Xi's answer to these words was particularly calm. She didn't even get any response from Aiyin, as if the two of them had never talked about this topic at all.

After a short silence, Aiyin's nervous mood seemed to ease a little. She stroked the guitar in her hand and calmly tuned and checked it. After a long while, she asked Li Xi next to her again to ease the awkwardness:

"Speaking of which, Mu, why haven't Sushi and Tomorin come back yet?"

"Mu went to wait for Chen Qi. He seems to have brought a lot of friends with him." Li Xi also pretended to be indifferent and swiped his phone while answering softly:

"Su Shi and Deng went to the bathroom together. They should be back soon..."

For some reason, when Li Xi said this, she felt her heart beat faster for no reason. Especially considering Deng's absent-minded look in the past few days, a strong feeling of uneasiness came over her, making her more anxious.

Su Shi and Deng, why do I have a vague feeling that when these two people are together, something bad might happen?

……

At the same time, in the backstage bathroom, after washing her hands, Nagasaki Motoyo quickly wiped her palms with the handkerchief she carried with her. She loved cleanliness so much that she polished almost every nail until it was shiny before leaving with satisfaction.

But soon, Su Shi noticed the figure of Gao Song Deng who was sitting against the wall next to the restroom. Seeing that Gao Song Deng had been staring blankly at the notebook in his hand, he could not help but walk forward, bowed slightly and said to Deng:

"Light-chan?"

"Ah...Sushi."

When he saw Su Shi approaching, Deng quickly closed the book, stood up quickly and gave Su Shi a forced smile, which made Su Shi frown and asked softly with concern:

"Deng-chan, are you really okay? I've seen you look a little dazed lately. You were a little distracted during training this week, and your voice wasn't very relaxed."

"If you have any troubles, you can tell me. I might be able to give you some advice."

"No, no need..."

However, facing the gentle Su Shi, Takamatsu Deng still seemed a little restrained. Even though she had been with her teammate for such a long time, Deng still couldn't tell her all the doubts in her heart. The only person she trusted deep in her heart was her brother.

Although Su Shi was a little discouraged, she was still very clear about this. She looked at Gao Songdeng's back as he lowered his head and tried to leave, and said with a slightly more serious expression:

"Deng-chan, the live show will start soon. Aqi... no, your brother and the many friends he invited are looking at you from the audience."

"Deng-chan, you should understand, right? Your brother has high expectations for your performance. Do you really intend to perform like this?"

"Do you think you can sing well in your current state? Can you really convey your voice to your brother?"

Gao Songdeng: “…”

As Su Shi expected, Deng's steps stopped immediately after he said this. Su Shi took a few steps forward, gently stroked Deng's shoulders with both hands, and said to Deng in what he thought was the most friendly voice:

"Deng-chan, can you tell me now? Why have you been so distracted recently? Is there anything you are worried about in this Live?"

“…I heard a conversation between my brother and Aine-chan.”

Finally, after constant inner struggles, Takamatsu Deng, who had completely realized that he could not make up his mind on his own, had to reveal his worries under Su Shi's offensive in order to seek help from this teammate who should be the most sensible person in the band besides his brother.

Gao Songdeng slowly turned around. At that moment, in the dim backstage, Su Shi noticed that Gao Songdeng's eyes were already crystal clear. She stared at Su Shi blankly, her eyes full of helplessness and confusion, and said anxiously:

"My brother told Aine-chan...if our live performance can be perfectly coordinated this time, then he can leave without any worries..."

"Leave?" Su Shi couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat after hearing Deng's words. This girl, who hoped Chen Qi could return to the band, held Deng's arm with her backhand when her bottom line was touched, and asked anxiously:

"Deng-chan? What does this mean? Qi is leaving? Where is he going?"

"I don't know..." Gao Songdeng shook her head blankly. Her trembling voice was filled with anxiety and fear. Just by imagining that scene, she was already panicked and completely lost her mind. She could only hug herself silently and said tremblingly:

"I just know that if we succeed in this live performance, my brother will leave..."

"But if we fail, my brother will be very disappointed and sad... I, I don't know what to do."

"——Calm down, calm down, Deng-chan, you must not lose control now."

After hearing what Takamatsu Deng said, Su Shi's brain crashed for a short time. Then, he saw Takamatsu Deng's tears that were about to burst out, and he almost immediately regained his sanity and quickly drank Deng out of the whirlpool of confusion.

This could be said to be one of the few times in Nagasaki Suyo's 16 years of life that his tone was too harsh. It was enough to show how upset Suyo was when he heard the news, and he was not much better than Takamatsu Deng.

Ah Qi wants to leave? No, absolutely not!

But as Dengjiang said, ruining the performance because of this is absolutely not allowed. This will only make Aqi completely discouraged, and Su Shi cannot accept any behavior that hurts Chen Qi.

So what can we do? A way to make Ah Qi reluctant to leave, but not to become disheartened...

Nagasaki Suyo's brain was constantly sorting out her thoughts in the chaos. In just a few seconds, a sudden flash of inspiration seemed to have given Suyo a life-saving straw!

"Deng-chan? Isn't there another song in your notebook?"

"That song that Aqi wrote for you! It's your personal song! Didn't you say that it contained all of Aqi's love for you? You can sing that song!"

Yes, at this point, the only thing Su Shi could think of was to take advantage of Chen Qi's love and affection for Gao Song Deng. Among the current bands, only Deng could possibly touch Chen Qi's heart and change his mind.

However, Su Shi did not know the truth, but Gao Songdeng knew it very well. After hearing Su Shi's proposal, Gao Songdeng's cheeks turned pale instantly, and he replied tremblingly:

"But, but that song, I can't..."

"Deng-chan!" However, at this moment, Nagasaki Suyo was more determined than Takamatsu Deng. Seeing that Takamatsu Deng was still hesitating, she thought Deng still had no confidence in her, so she straightened her face and said what she thought was the most convincing words to Deng:

"Are you going to regret it after Aqi leaves us? Instead of just sitting there and waiting for death, why not do something?"

Gao Songdeng: “…”

Really... should we do this? Gao Songdeng's eyes trembled slightly, and she unconsciously cast her gaze towards the notebook in her hand... Of course, she had also flipped through that song and had once thought about using it to break the deadlock, but she rejected it.

It’s not that Gao Songdeng was not confident that she could sing well. On the contrary, she was afraid that she would sing the song too well... so that her uncontrollable emotions would flow out with her singing.

But now, I have no way out...