Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

“…Ritsuki, you’re really strict.” Suyo smiled helplessly, “I’m really worried about Aine-san.”

"If that guy can't stand it, it's okay for him to quit the band." Li Xi shook his head indifferently, "What do you think?"

She gave Su Shi a meaningful look.

Su Shi nodded in understanding.

“…That’s true.”

She gave a somewhat ambiguous smile.

"Come to think of it, there's also Togawa-senpai. I've also made an appointment with her to discuss the follow-up arrangements tomorrow," Lixi continued.

"Are you talking about Akie-senpai?" Suyo asked, "She's a support musician, so she shouldn't comment on the band's affairs, right?"

"Although she herself is unwilling, I would like to hear her opinion." Li Xi said, "Besides, if she hadn't helped to sort out the whole story, Deng wouldn't have been able to get out of the shadows so easily, and now our new band wouldn't be able to be established at all, right?"

"That's true. Akie-senpai has done a lot for our band..." Suyo nodded, "Although she's just a supporting musician."

"I'm surprised you care so much about this separation." Li Xi shook his head. "At this point, you still don't plan to make her a permanent employee?"

"That's not the case." Suyo smiled and shook her head. "Although I also hope that Akie-senpai can officially join us, she is already a formal member of another band. If I make a request, it will be troublesome for her, right?"

"..."

After a moment of silence, Li Xi said, "If you really think so, then... it couldn't be better."

She immediately stood up and returned to her work as a clerk.

Chapter 52 Future Arrangements

The next day, after school.

After putting away the textbooks on the table, Akihime picked up her schoolbag and walked to the classroom door to meet Aine and Touma who were already waiting there.

We are scheduled to discuss the band's future arrangements at RiNG today, including whether to agree to let Lenai join the band and whether to start preparing for the first performance.

“Good afternoon, Touma and Aine,” Akie greeted the two with a smile.

“Good afternoon, senpai!” Aine replied with a smile, and her attitude seemed to be no different from usual.

She seems to be in a good mood, Qiu Hui thought. Is she really in a good mood, or is she pretending to be like this?

If it's the former, that's great...but what if it's the latter?

Is this disguise directed at an unspecified majority of people, or just at me?

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui secretly pinched her upper arm.

I thought that my recent studies, publishing, and contract matters had been enough to occupy my energy, but I didn’t expect that I would still think about Aine accidentally...

"Akie-senpai." Deng looked over, "You have dark circles under your eyes. They seem to be quite serious."

"……Yeah?"

Qiu Hui turned on the front camera to confirm.

"It seems so. I've been a little busy lately due to various reasons..."

“Senior, please take a good rest.” Aine suddenly interrupted, “It will be worrying if you keep doing this, right?”

The tone of voice was as lively as ever, which made Qiu Hui's heart skip a beat involuntarily.

"I'll try my best to pay attention. Thank you for your concern."

Akie nodded. Aine looked very natural, was she really in a better mood?

The three of them continued walking and talking.

At this time, Aine took the initiative to bring up the topic: “Hey, what were we going to talk about today?”

"Didn't I say that in the group chat?" Akie responded.

"Yeah, that's right. I'll check it later then."

Qiu Hui frowned slightly. Such a meaningless conversation, and it always made people feel that it was a bit deliberate.

She looked at Aine who was walking with Deng. Although she wanted to confirm, she didn’t seem to have any intention of taking out her phone.

Does she really not know what to talk about today? I'm afraid that's not the case.

After a while, it was Deng who took the initiative to speak.

She turned her head and looked at Aine who was standing on the platform with her waiting for the train: "Aine, what do you think about Rakuna's matter?"

Qiu Hui was shocked by this straightforward statement.

Deng, what are you doing? If you mention Le Na directly...

"Is that the kid who plays guitar really well? He also said he wants to join our band. How should I put it? I'm actually quite looking forward to it, right?"

Aiyin smiled and said something that she wasn’t sure if it came from her heart or not.

"What do you mean by looking forward to it?" Qiu Hui asked.

After hearing Akie’s voice, Aine seemed to tremble slightly.

“…Ahahaha, how should I put it. Being able to play with such a great person, I will also become more noticeable, right?”

She said this with obvious disbelief.

As expected, Qiu Hui thought, he is not really in a good mood, he just deliberately wants to pretend that everything is normal in front of us, right?

"Incidentally" becoming a focus of attention? Normally, Aine would never describe herself in such a suspicious way.

It was terrible. It was like this, and I had no idea how to deal with it.

…Why did you become so unbelievable even though you consider yourself Aine’s friend?

"...Akira-senpai." Deng pulled on the corner of Akie's clothes, "It's time to get in the car."

"Get in the car? Huh?"

Only then did Akie notice the open train door in front of her. When did it appear there? She had no memory of "seeing the train slow down to enter the station".

Anyway, we should get in the car now...

So I took the train to Higashi-Ikebukuro and walked into the RiNG store.

"Su Shi said that it will be a while before she arrives. Everyone, please wait here."

Lixi did not go to work today, but sat in a booth in the cafe waiting for everyone.

Aine, Tomo, and Akie each found their own seats and sat down. Aine and Tomo sat across from Riki, while Akie sat at a nearby bar seat as usual.

"Where is she, Lenai?" asked Deng.

"How should I know?" Li Xi shook his head helplessly. "Although she said she wanted to join this band, I forgot to ask for her contact information before..."

She looked around, but didn't seem to see Lenai.

"...That guy doesn't seem to be here today." She sighed, "Then there's nothing we can do."

She tapped the table irritably.

Akie turned her gaze away from Riki and looked at the others.

The lights looked pretty much the same as usual, calm but a little melancholy and timid.

As for Aine, she remained silent after she sat down, her silence making people feel a little uneasy.

And Ryo. The guy sitting next to me had a weird look on his face and kept poking my shoulder with his hand...

...Wait, cool?

"Why are you here?" Akie exclaimed when she suddenly realized that Liang was sitting next to her.

"It's normal for me to be here."

After saying that, Liang picked up the free boiled water and took a sip.

"I have been here since you sat down just now." She continued, "It is a bit rude of you to notice me now."

Qiu Hui's scream made the three people in the booth aware of Liang's presence.

"Yamada-kun?" Deng looked in Ryo's direction.

“…” Aine also looked over along with the light but said nothing.

"Hello everyone."

Liang slid down from the high stool at the bar and greeted everyone.

When Li Xi saw Liang, she seemed very reserved for some reason. She quickly stood up and greeted her politely.

"Are you Togawa-senpai's friend?" she asked. "Nice to meet you."

"Shiina-san, you can be a little more casual." Akie said, "This person doesn't care about etiquette at all. Don't use the standards of civilized society to demand her."

"Oh, hello, Miss Drummer." Ryo greeted casually, "I'm just a bassist passing by. If you have anything to talk about, please just pretend I don't exist."

"Oh, um, so..." The other party's casual reply made Li Xi a little at a loss, "Ah, come to think of it, are you a member of Togawa-senpai's band?"

"No." Ryo shook his head, "Although Akie often comes to help us, she is not a member."

"I see..." Riki nodded, "It seems that Togawa-senpai is really enthusiastic."

"Not really." Qiu Hui shook her head, indicating that it was an exaggeration.

She then turned her head and looked in Ryo's direction.

"We do have something to discuss next. So, can you just pretend you don't exist?"

"I told you it's okay." Liang nodded, "To be honest, I am a little concerned about what's going on with you, Qiu Hui."

"…It's quite troublesome." Qiu Hui sighed.

Just then, the store door opened and Nagasaki Motoyo walked in, then trotted to the booth where everyone was.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting."

After Su Shi took his seat, he looked around at everyone and said with a smile, "So, are we ready to start?"

"The main reason I invited everyone here today is to discuss future arrangements..."

Chapter 53: Still Escape

After Su Shi sat down, he naturally took the lead in the conversation.

"Thank you all for coming today."

After she finished her opening remarks like this, she turned her gaze to Akihime who was sitting at the bar.

"Especially Akiie-senpai, thank you very much for your contribution to this band."

After saying that, she winked at Li Xi, indicating that she should sit closer to the side.

After Li Xi made room, Su Shi followed suit and vacated the seat next to him.

"I think everyone should care about Akie-senpai's opinion. If you just sit there, it will be a little inconvenient to participate in the discussion, right?"

"...You want me to sit over there?"

Qiu Hui then left the bar and sat in the empty seat next to Su Shi.

"Thank you." She bowed her head slightly.

As for Liang, the real bystander, he continued to stay at the bar, drinking free water and watching everyone's conversation with interest.

"That means we are all here."

After inviting Qiu Hui over, Su Shi no longer focused his attention on her, but went straight to the topic of today.

"Everyone happened to be here today, and I think this is a good opportunity for communication. Right now, the band is in a state of disarray, and I think we can't go on like this."

Su Shi said with great sorrow.

“So, I want to take this opportunity to let everyone have a good talk and exchange ideas with each other. Otherwise, this band might repeat the same mistakes.”