Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Su Shi seemed to realize that Deng was not in an stable mood and quickly proposed a new plan.

"By then, everyone would be very welcome to have Akiie-senpai come to help. Right, Deng-chan?"

Deng looked at Qiu Hui and then at Su Shi.

She didn't seem particularly satisfied with the plan proposed by Su Shi.

“Teng-chan, there’s nothing we can do about it.” Aine consoled him, “Senpai also has another band of her own, and being a full member of two bands at the same time… This is a bit too weird no matter how you think about it, right?”

“…Aine is right.” Touma nodded, but she was still in a very low mood.

Noticing the situation of Deng, Akie smiled and said, "Even if we don't continue to play in a band together, we are still friends. I won't suddenly disappear like Toyokawa-san and lose contact with everyone forever..."

Qiu Hui's smile quickly became a little forced.

After mentioning Toyokawa-san, Deng seemed to become even more depressed, and it almost felt like a cumulonimbus cloud that would erupt with heavy rain at any second.

Looking at Aine and Akie who were trying hard to comfort Deng, Su Shi said nothing and glanced at Akie vaguely.

She then turned her head and looked at the road ahead. After confirming that no one was paying attention to her, a shadow appeared on her gentle smile.

……

Inside the RiNG store.

"Finally you're here." Li Xi looked at the group of people who walked into the store with some dissatisfaction, "Let's not talk about the lights, what on earth did you go to do, Su Shi?"

"Sorry, Lixi, I have some things to take care of..." Su Shi smiled apologetically.

"Dealing with things..."

Li Xi picked up his phone and looked at the group message.

"...Going to Hanegaoka?"

There seemed to be a hint of dissatisfaction in the look she cast at Su Shi.

But in the end, she did not express her thoughts clearly. Instead, she stood up from her seat and walked in front of everyone.

“I brought the revised sheet music.” Riki patted his bag, “The guitar part has been specially simplified, so even Aine should be able to play it.”

“Thank you very much, Rikki.” Aine smiled proudly, “I have also practiced hard, I will definitely impress you!”

Li Xi frowned, was silent for a moment, and then sighed.

"...Then I'll just wait and see."

She then turned her head and looked at Qiu Hui.

"And the keyboard part too. After that, I made some adjustments according to Togawa-senpai's advice. I'll take a look at the results when we get to the recording studio... It should be fine, right?"

"I'll try my best." Qiu Hui nodded.

"Then, what about the other songs?" Su Shi asked.

"I have also prepared some other songs suitable for practice." Lixi replied.

Since they had made an appointment in advance, everyone went straight into the recording studio and began preparing for practice.

"...Oh, by the way, there is something I want to tell you all."

Li Xi suddenly spoke as if he was about to announce something.

"What's wrong?" Deng asked.

"I think it would be better to play two songs for the first performance, one original song and one cover song," Li Xi said. "I haven't decided what to cover yet, and as for the original song, I hope to write it after Deng has new lyrics inspiration."

“Huh? You’re already discussing the performance?” Aine was a little surprised.

"Didn't you say that yourself?" Li Xi sighed, "Performing is a short-term goal."

“Yeah… yeah, that’s right.” Aine nodded reluctantly, “Then… when is it?”

"My plan is to do it during the summer vacation... Of course, if you have any opinions, you can also give them."

Although he said "you can raise your opinion", Li Xi's expression made it difficult for him to raise his opinion smoothly.

"During the summer vacation, I think I'll have more time. I can concentrate on my preparations after the summer vacation starts... Hmm?"

Just as Qiu Hui was about to express her opinion, she suddenly noticed the sound of the recording studio door being opened.

"This..." Li Xi looked at the person who walked in from the door in surprise, "Wait, it's a 'stray cat'?"

Dragging his guitar case, Lenai walked into the recording studio very naturally.

It was as if this recording studio was booked by her.

Chapter 39: Lenai Attacks

"Um... classmate, this recording studio has already been booked..."

Sushi trotted over to Lena, gave her a polite smile, and explained.

But Le Nai turned a deaf ear to Su Shi beside him. He just put down the box, took out the musical instruments, and connected the wires of the equipment, as if he was preparing for a performance.

“What’s going on…wait, isn’t this kid the one who performed in the store before?”

Ai Ne, who seemed a little overwhelmed, reached out and tugged at the corner of Akie’s clothes.

"You've seen her last time, haven't you? She's... really good at playing the guitar, right?"

Aine asked anxiously.

"Indeed, but I don't know what she is here for yet..."

Before Qiu Hui could finish her words, she was interrupted by Le Na's words.

She tilted her head slightly and looked in the direction where everyone was.

"Won't you come play with us?"

Lenai had an indifferent yet slightly seductive look on her face, like a cat staring at someone in a corner of the campus.

"Play... well, what do you mean?" Su Shi asked with a forced smile.

"band."

After saying that, Lenai lifted up the guitar that had been connected to all the other equipment and looked like it had been worn out by time, and announced his purpose with a powerful chord that was as shocking as a bolt from the blue.

"You mean playing in a band..." Akie stepped forward and locked eyes with Ryuna, "...you want to join us?"

"Yeah." Lena looked at Akie and nodded, "That place is full, but there's still room over here."

“Well, that…”

Su Shi, who seemed to be confused for some reason, looked at Le Na and then at Akie.

"...There are still vacancies, what do you mean?" she asked the two of them in confusion.

Qiu Hui remained silent with some embarrassment.

And Le Nai ignored Su Shi's questions.

She just put down her guitar and walked to Lixi's side.

"…What's wrong?" Li Xi asked.

Lenai quickly answered Lixi's question with action.

She looked at the tablet that Lixi had placed on the shelf and pointed at the music score displayed on the screen.

"Music," she said. "I want to see it."

"I need to look at the music score..."

Shiina Riki reacted quickly.

"I see. You want to play, right?"

"Yeah." Lena nodded.

"Then, feel free to look at it."

Li Xi nodded and signaled Lenai to do as he pleased.

This attitude surprised Aine who was standing beside him: “Wait a minute! Why did you just let that kid join in?”

"Yes, yes..." Su Shi also agreed, "Obviously, no one knows each other yet..."

"This kid is a 'stray cat in Tokyo' and often hangs out at live houses everywhere," said Li Xi. "Although he doesn't look very old, his guitar playing skills are amazing."

She turned her head and looked at Lenai who was studying the music score.

"I don't know why, but if she's willing to come and play with us... I think it would be the best thing."

Such a highly skilled guitarist can undoubtedly bring more possibilities to music.

In this way, a band with stray cats in it will definitely be more worthy of the lights…

Thinking of this possibility in his mind, Li Xi smiled with satisfaction.

“Um, Aine…” Deng said timidly, “…Anyway, let’s give it a try first, shall we?”

Aine nodded with some embarrassment: “Well, it’s not impossible…”

"Wait a minute, um, I think it would be better to think about it again?"

Qiu Hui suddenly and unexpectedly raised an objection.

"Togawa-senpai?" Riki asked in surprise, "Why?"

"Uh, that, is..." Qiu Hui was a little anxious, but didn't know how to say it.

Akie has already fully experienced Lena's playing skills.

Asking Aine, who had just figured out what chords were, to play with her... This feeling was just like asking a student who had just broken 70 points in the -meter physical test to run side by side with a national long-distance runner.

However, if they kicked out the highly skilled Rakuna just because they wanted to take care of Aine, from the band’s perspective, it would be a bit...

Although Akie wanted to do so, she found it difficult to convince herself to favor Aine with such an obvious reason.

In the end, it was Aine who realized something and spoke up: “…It’s okay, Senpai. I want to play with her a little bit and try.”

As she spoke, she signaled with her eyes that Qiu Hui didn't need to say anything more.

“…Okay.” Akie sighed, “Since Aine said so.”

Having said that, she was still very worried.

Qiu Hui looked in the direction of Le Na, who was currently operating a tablet computer to turn pages and read the music score.

At this moment, Li Xi suddenly realized something and tried to stop Le Nai from reading the score: "Wait a minute, this is the score for the keyboard part, the guitar part is in..."

"No problem." Lena shook her head, "I think this is good."

She turned her head and continued reading the music.

After reading the last page, she swiped across the screen again and again to turn the sheet music back to the first page.

“Heh~heh~heh~heh~heh…”

She began to read it a second time while humming the melody of Haruhi Kage.

Su Shi on the side rubbed his fingers nervously and wanted to say something several times, but didn't know where to start.

“How amazing…” Aine exclaimed as she stared at Rakuna who seemed to have memorized the melody of Kasuga Kage into her mind.

"How should I put it? Your sight-singing skills are truly horrible," Akie also commented.

Lenai quickly finished reading it the second time.

Then, she picked up the guitar with confidence.

“Heh~heh~heh~heh~heh…”

This time, she no longer just hummed, but hummed and played at the same time.

The ethereal and gentle melody that was supposed to be played by the keyboard was now played by the restless guitar.

"Wait a minute..." Su Shi on the side suddenly spoke.

"That's amazing..." Li Xi nodded thoughtfully.

Qiu Hui recalled the performance that Lena had played in the cafe before, and couldn't help but say, "It feels completely different. She played so hard before, but now..."

It feels completely different from before. It seems that Le Nai understood the atmosphere and emotion contained in Kasuga Shadow's melody, and thus performed it with another instrument other than the keyboard, with a harmonious but different look and feel.