Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Qiu Hui was not surprised by this.

After all, they were just classmates who had just met for a short time and were not even in the same grade. If anything, there was not much to talk about.

After saying goodbye to the other party, Qiu Hui looked at the contact interface of the chat software thoughtfully.

Looking at the short list, she suddenly seemed to remember something and opened the category marked "junior high school".

The avatar and notes that came into view suddenly made her feel a little unfamiliar.

Who is "Kuramae"? Who is "Kousaka"?

Since they appear in this list, it means that they must be classmates in junior high school.

But now I have no recollection of it at all... It's like a paranormal event.

Clicking on their profile pictures, Qiu Hui discovered that most of their chat records seemed to have been lost in some data cleanup or something. The only one who survived was one, and the latest chat record was three and a half years ago.

After a conversation about drinks three and a half years ago, she and the last "survivor" never had any form of communication on the chat software again.

By now, Qiu Hui had almost completely forgotten the existence of this person.

"This is a common occurrence."

Noticing that the train was about to arrive at the station, she put away her phone and stood up.

Classmates are actually similar to passengers in the same carriage.

After the tram arrives at the station, the original connection no longer needs to exist.

But there's nothing wrong with this.

Togawa Aie got out of the car and walked alone on the street as night fell.

She came to a high-rise apartment building facing the street, walked into the lobby, and took the elevator to a floor that was neither high nor low.

Come out of the elevator, count to the third room on the right, take the key out of your pocket and open the door.

"I'm back."

Facing the empty room, Akie whispered in a tone that seemed to be deliberately emphasizing sarcasm.

The small suite consists of only a living room and a bathroom. The space is only enough to accommodate one person, but on the other hand, this size is also enough for one person.

The furniture in the living room includes a bed, a set of compact cabinets, a desk for a computer, a dining table with an electric rice cooker and an induction cooker, and a chair, which is enough to meet most of Qiu Hui's needs in this space.

I was too lazy to change my clothes, so I just put down my school bag and piano bag and fell on the bed in my school uniform.

Qiu Hui stared at the pale ceiling. There was nothing there except the fluorescent lights that hadn't been turned on yet.

——It doesn’t matter even if I’m alone.

Because, one person is enough.

No need for cooperation, no need for accommodation, no need for compromise, no need for compromise. As long as there is a brain that can think and hands that can input, most of the work can be done. Togawa Akiie chose the career of light novel writer, an industry that actually has little commercial prospects, in order to pursue such an ideal state.

"...How annoying." Akie closed her eyes.

Goto-san, you said before that I am a gentle person.

In fact, I should be the most cold-blooded and heartless guy among them.

At this moment, the phone suddenly rang loudly. Qiu Hui picked it up and saw that the caller ID was "Xia Shizi".

"Good evening."

"Good evening. You don't seem to be in high spirits over there?"

"Maybe. If you want to ask about the new work, I'll show you the outline of the first volume tomorrow."

"That would save a lot of trouble. But I have one more thing to ask you about the band."

“Ah, the people over there have already gathered…”

"I know. But what is your place in it?"

"Of course it's the keyboard player. It's only natural."

"Regarding this point, what the library actually meant was..." Kasumi Shiko on the other end of the phone paused for a moment and said, "You should be the lead singer."

"Huh? Why do you suddenly make such a request?" Qiu Hui was stunned.

"You ask why... This is only natural." Kasumi Shiko replied, "After all, the purpose of the library is to develop business operations centered on you. If you don't occupy the most important lead vocal position, then it will be meaningless, right?"

Kasumi Shiko's response made Akie excited for a moment.

"That's true. But I think if my schedule changes, I might have to quit. If I'm asked to be the lead singer in that case..."

"'Then'? What will happen if that happens?" Kasumi Shiko asked back.

"…If I, as the lead singer, have to quit the band for some reason, wouldn't the band have the possibility of falling apart?" Akie said excitedly.

"Rather than saying it's a possibility, it's better to say it should be this way."

But Kasumi Shiko's response made the excited Akie suddenly realize the problem.

"If the commercial operation plan is cancelled, then the meaning of the band is lost, isn't it?" Kasumi Shiko asked in confusion, "In this case, isn't it natural for you to quit? Whether the band disbands or not, it has nothing to do with you, right?"

……

That's true, Qiu Hui thought.

What does it have to do with me whether the band disbands after that?

I joined the band for the purpose of subsequent commercial operations. If this purpose changes, then it is only natural for me to quit.

"…Sorry, I was overthinking it." Akie answered on the phone.

It seems like I have once again done something inexplicable on my own.

He was just interfering because of work.

What’s even more ridiculous is that until just now, I actually thought...the band would disband for me?

I was so complacent to have such thoughts that it was ridiculous. I took myself too seriously.

"Let's not worry about that for now. Anyway, you should know what to do next, right?"

"I understand." Qiu Hui replied calmly, "I will try my best to perform on stage as the lead singer."

"That's good. I wish you good luck with the conception of your new work... Oh, by the way, are you planning to give the outline tomorrow? Isn't that a bit too nervous?" Kasumi Shiko asked with concern.

"I have no problem with that." Akie answered firmly, "I made this decision after fully considering my situation."

"Okay, come on. Bye."

"goodbye."

Hang up the phone and throw it aside.

Togawa Akie closed her eyes and sighed softly.

You want me to be the lead singer... How should I explain this to Kita-san?

It was me who invited her to join the band as a guitarist and lead singer...

Qiu Hui didn't know what to do for a moment.

"Forget it... It's okay if I don't care about the vocal position itself. As long as I can sing a song in the LIVE, it's enough. Let's work hard in this direction first."

"So, how can I convince everyone to write a song that suits me..."

Lying on the bed, Qiu Hui began to think about how to carry out her work smoothly.

Chapter 18 Workaholic Qiu Hui

Standing up from the bed and walking to the computer, Qiu Hui opened the word processing software and stared at the pile of settings she had written down impulsively before.

The band's affairs were not the most urgent matter at the moment. The most important thing was to finish the outline of the first volume as soon as possible.

Her job right now is not to continue to think about how the story should develop, but to choose one from the various existing ideas and then delete all the unnecessary parts.

Having said that, it is not easier to cut than to add, especially for such an important chapter as the first volume. Often, the character settings and the initial plot direction determined in the first volume are enough to determine whether a work will eventually succeed or fail, or whether it will be forced to be cut short due to unsustainable development.

Many novel settings that seem attractive at first glance actually lack room for further development. As the length of the book continues to expand and the plot continues to advance, they will gradually become stale and boring, and eventually become a boring stumbling block.

On the other hand, some seemingly clichéd arrangements can grow and expand as the story progresses because of their excellent scalability, becoming the driving force that supports the entire work to completion.

In many cases, so-called successful works start from an eye-catching innovation, and then as the plot develops, gradually lead to a conventional and legitimate development, and finally come to a conclusion.

But striking a balance between innovation and cliché is never easy.

"Um……"

Qiu Hui pondered over the hastily drawn sketch on the computer screen.

Before considering how many fancy elements to add, you must first determine the core direction of the entire story.

For example, the previous work of Akihime that won the Newcomer Award. After removing all the eye-catching decorations, it actually tells a cliché story of a heroine gradually getting out of her own knot and untying her self-enclosed heart.

Of course, relying solely on this conventional plot will not be enough to succeed in the fiercely competitive contemporary light novel market. Therefore, Akie tried to introduce the setting of "imaginary friends", trying to use the "contrast" and "same origin" of the protagonist and his imaginary friends as a burden to gradually get rid of in the text, so as to make the old-fashioned story have a more novel and relaxing feeling.

Of course, the protagonist and his fantasy alone cannot support the entire story. Therefore, starting from the second volume, she introduced two other main characters based on the editor's opinion. In terms of character design, she referred to the popular trends at the time and adopted the settings of "serious on the surface but soft-hearted in private" and "seemingly cool and casual electric wave characters but actually inferior and lacking love in the heart".

Add to that a large number of other characters who are only given a small part and exist simply as topics within a single volume or as providers of new cover illustrations, and it constitutes a complete light novel.

The so-called light novel is something that consists of character settings in a specific environment.

Togawa Aie continued typing on the computer screen.

Since I had decided in advance to write about a band, the core direction had to be somewhat related to the band... For example, the difference in musicality? The conflict between the pressure of the real world and the dream?

This is what I think from the perspective of the environment. So what about from the perspective of the characters? Qiu Hui racked her brains while typing on the keyboard.

It was planned that the band would disband and reunite. Then came the conflicts, reconciliations, reconciliations, meal replacements, one-sided arguments, and self-righteous misunderstandings between the old and new members...

At this moment, Qiu Hui suddenly remembered a sentence that editor Xia Shizi had mentioned in a previous chat.

"Even if a light novel author reaches a point where he really doesn't know what other topics to write, at least he still has the option of 'the protagonist is the light novel author'."

In other words, write about what happened to you and your thoughts and feelings at this moment.

If we start from this angle, perhaps things will be much easier.

"Let's set the protagonist as... a guitarist who parted ways with his old partner due to differences in musicality." Akie, who had found her groove, continued to input, "But unlike this development... this time the protagonist is the one who compromised for commercial interests. After all, the setting where the protagonist is the only one who insists on his dream is so old-fashioned that it seems like something from the Showa era."

"The protagonist left the original team with some members of the former band for the purpose of making money. Of course, the companions who followed the protagonist were not interested in making money. They just followed the protagonist..."

The sound of the keyboard echoed in the small room with only one person.

"...Anyway, if the whole band was united, there would be no need for the story to unfold. Everyone has different motives, so there can be dramatic conflict, right?"

"For example, the protagonist A, whose mind is now filled with money, B, whose mind is filled with only A, C and D, who are on opposite sides of the same camp but both want everyone to reconcile, and E, who originally joined the band because of her admiration for A but has now broken up with her for the sake of pure musicality..."

That completes the five characters... New characters will be added later. The first volume is enough to tell the stories of these five guys whose names haven't been decided yet.

"If you think about it, there are five main characters in the first volume, which is actually a bit too much for the current industry." Akie thought, "The specific arrangement of the roles is also a big problem... But I'll think about this tomorrow."

I glanced at the clock and then at the sky outside the window. Before I knew it, night had fallen.

Time passed unexpectedly quickly.

"I've used up all the brainpower I allocated for the novel today. What should I do instead?"

Qiu Hui stood up from the computer desk and looked at the electronic piano in her bag.

"...Let's practice a little bit."

She pulled up the curtains, took out the electronic piano, and barely made a space between the cupboard and the computer desk. Qiu Hui sat directly on the bed and reached out to touch the keyboard of the electronic piano.

Although there is still some foundation left from elementary school, even with this foundation, it still needs constant practice to be stimulated.

Right now, band activities are also part of my job, so I can't take it lightly.

"Electronic piano, beginners, exercises, search..."

Qiu Hui took out her cell phone and began searching for suitable music scores.

"...I found it. Let's use this one first."

Just as she was about to start practicing, she seemed to remember something and quickly turned the knob responsible for adjusting the volume.

"...If you turn up the volume too loud, the neighbors might complain. That's the downside of living in an apartment."

In the small suite, the girl continued to practice alone.