Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"...Yeah." Deng nodded slightly, as if agreeing with Su Shi's opinion.

At this time, Li Xi continued what Su Shi had said, "When it comes to the common goal of the band, it is of course to perform, right? So, I think we should work hard to hold a performance in the near future, that is, around the summer vacation."

After saying that, she looked at Deng with a slightly softer look: "... Deng, can you tell everyone what you think now?"

"I still... don't know." Deng shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Li Xi looked at the lamp gently, "If you can't decide right away, it's okay to think about it for a while longer."

Although Deng has not made a clear statement yet, the same is not true for Aine beside her.

“Sorry, um…”

Aine raised her hand unsurely and raised her objection as expected.

"...If we hold a performance now, wouldn't it be a bit... too early and too nervous? Look, everyone hasn't even had a few proper practices yet, right?"

"That's true." Akie also agreed, "Besides, if Rakuna joins, it will take time for her to get used to everyone. I think it's a bit too early to talk about public performances now?"

Akie instinctively felt that the performance plan might make Aine feel more stressed than Rakuna's existence.

Therefore, in order to prevent everyone from making arrangements for the performance, she subconsciously considered the issue as a prerequisite for accepting Lenai's joining.

Although the two raised their respective concerns, Li Xi did not seem to agree.

"If we don't even have a goal, how can we start to get used to each other?" Li Xi asked, "I know everyone still needs to practice. But if we don't decide on a goal now, even if we decide to practice, we won't be motivated, right?"

“Especially you, Aine.”

Li Xi pointed out the crux of the problem mercilessly.

"You're so depressed just because Rakuna is joining in... I can understand the feeling of being outdone by others, but this is not a reason for you to slack off, right?"

Aiyin didn't say anything, not even a word of defense, she just lowered her head, like a child who had made a mistake, and unilaterally accepted Li Xi's teachings.

“In fact, this is exactly why it is necessary to decide on the performance arrangements now.” Riki continued, “Aine… if you really think you are a member of this band, then you should be aware that your depression will cause trouble to everyone, right?”

“I…I know…”

Aiyin clenched her teeth and lowered her head, as if she wanted to explain something but couldn’t.

Qiu Hui had never seen her look like she was about to cry. This was the first time since she met her.

Just this expression alone made her unable to suppress the urge to say something.

"Shiina-san, I don't think you need to be so extreme, right?" Akie responded in a cold and as restrained a tone as possible.

What Shiina-san said was not wrong in a sense. Right now, Aine's fear of the gap in level must be overcome.

But even if it was the right thing to say, it shouldn't be said in such a hurtful way. Shouldn't you consider Aine's feelings?

Facing Akie's questioning reply, Riki just shook his head slightly and replied confidently, "Togawa-senpai is right. Isn't that too biased towards Aine?"

"I……"

Qiu Hui was speechless.

I am indeed... biased towards Aine.

No matter how much I try to defend myself, I know this clearly in my heart.

"If we keep pampering her like this and letting her ideas run wild, she will soon become unmotivated again, given her personality."

Li Xi said mercilessly.

"I know that exposing things like this will put a lot of pressure on her. But so what? If I try to escape now, what will I do if I encounter similar things in the future?"

As he was talking, Riki also became excited and said to Aine, "Aine... you promised Deng that you would form a band together, right? You also know that she wants to 'form a band for life', right?"

"Since you've already promised her, and she trusts you so much, then you should find a way to face the things that make you feel stressed instead of finding excuses to avoid them, right?"

Aine’s body trembled slightly.

"I... don't intend to escape."

Aine’s face showed a half-smiley expression. Rather than a smile, it was more like the function of controlling her expression had completely collapsed.

“Aine?” Sensing something was wrong, Touma looked over anxiously.

“Aine…” Akie also noticed Aine’s strange behavior, but she didn’t know what to say.

Yes. I shouldn't have been biased towards Aine. If I just let her turn a blind eye to the matter of Lena and the performance, it would not be good for her or the band at all.

I...I...

Looking at Aine's expression that was on the brink of collapse, Akie questioned herself in her heart.

I have always claimed that I don’t want anyone to get hurt.

But, thinking this way, who exactly am I protecting?

Aine's mood didn't improve at all despite my efforts...

...No. Come to think of it, she actually...didn't plan to come to see me at all, right?

That is to say...

At this moment, Aine's voice interrupted Akie's thoughts.

"I'm sorry... I've been causing trouble for everyone..."

Aine stood up from her seat unsteadily.

"But...I..."

“…I really didn’t run away!”

“Aine? Aine!”

……what?

Qiu Hui wiped her eyes.

"strangeness……"

When I reacted, there was no one in front of me.

Looking in the direction of the footsteps, Akie saw Aine running out of the store, and Touma chasing after her without a second thought.

Aine ran away.

And Deng chased after her because he was worried about her.

So what should I do?

Qiu Hui, who had stood up at some point, just stayed where she was, watching the two people chasing her disappear from her sight.

……

…It’s too late.

I don't have much confidence in sprinting.

Even if we chase them now, we won't be able to catch up with those two people.

So, Qiu Hui sat back in her original seat.

Then, as if collapsing, he collapsed powerlessly on the table, staring blankly at the spot where Aine had been before.

"... Togawa-senpai?"

Li Xi looked at Qiu Hui beside him at a loss, with a somewhat nervous expression.

"I'm sorry, did I say too much? I really didn't expect her to run away like this..."

"It's not Li Xi's fault." Su Shi shook his head, "Someone will always say those things to her."

She looked at the store entrance, wondering what she was thinking.

Chapter 54: One-fifth of Willfulness

After Aine ran away, today's meeting couldn't go on at all.

Aine and Tomo were not present, and Akie lay on the table without saying a word. Riki and Suyo looked at each other and sighed.

“I hope that Deng-chan can find Aine-san…” Suyo said helplessly, “We can continue then, okay?”

"That's all we can do." Li Xi shook his head. "Deng may know more about that guy than I do... I don't think it would be a bad idea to leave it to her."

She turned her head and looked at Qiu Hui who was lying on the table: "But Togawa-senpai, she..."

"Since things have turned out like this, let me handle Akie's affairs for the time being."

"what?"

Li Xi looked in the direction of the voice in surprise and noticed the figure with short dark blue hair who had been standing there at some point.

"Is it the bassist who passed by? When did he come here?"

Standing next to the table, Ryo reached out and gently rubbed Akie's head, saying calmly, "This guy has been here since he collapsed on the table."

"Yamada-san, I'm so sorry." Suyo stood up and bowed slightly to apologize to Ryo, "We ran into some trouble here, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, and..."

"There's no need to apologize to me." Liang shook his head. "Akiei is on my side. It's not good to always cause you trouble."

She lowered her head to look at Qiu Hui's listless appearance, and said half-jokingly: "To be honest, she looked listless when we were practicing yesterday, just like she was heartbroken. I didn't expect that I would actually see such a rare scene today..."

"...I'm not heartbroken, stop talking nonsense." Qiu Hui, who had been silent since a while ago, suddenly spoke up, a little coldly, "Also, stop scratching my head."

Hearing Qiu Hui ordering him to stop in such a cold tone, Liang smiled instead and grabbed even more vigorously, as if he was doing a scalp massage.

"After hearing my nonsense, you seem to feel a little relieved." Liang smiled, "So I won't stop."

Liang's evil claws made Qiu Huiben's hair, which she had not taken good care of, even more messy and unsightly.

After seemingly having enough fun, Liang took further action. She pulled Qiu Hui, who was lying on the table, up from her seat, almost as if she was helping an elderly person.

"…What are you doing?" Qiu Hui asked coldly.

"Are you going to just lie there on the table until closing time?" Liang asked. "Considering your mental health, I think we should go somewhere else and talk about something else so that you can get over the grief of your girlfriend running away with someone else."

"…What girlfriend?" Qiu Hui frowned.

"It's a figure of speech," Ryo responded seriously.

"That's enough. I'm not a disabled person." Qiu Hui broke away from Liang's support and stood up on her own.

After seeing Qiu Hui standing up, Liang turned his head and looked at Li Xi and Su Shi.

"Excuse me, you two." Liang said, "I'll take this child for now. See you later."

"What's your line?" Qiu Hui rolled her eyes at Liang, "Are you planning on playing the role of a thief from somewhere?"

"Well, see you later then." Sushi smiled, "Since something like that happened suddenly, I think it would be better for Akie-senpai to calm down a bit."

"...Thank you for your concern."

Qiu Hui nodded stiffly, then followed Liang and moved to another seat.

After the two of them sat down opposite each other, Liang said, "Do you feel a little relieved? How about buying me a drink as a thank you?"

"...You really make me angry." Qiu Hui shook her head helplessly.

"If you feel angry, you won't have time to feel sad, right?" Ryo asked back.

"...Indeed." Qiu Hui sighed, her eyes slightly red.

"Although I don't quite understand the full cause and effect, I think it can be summarized like this."

Liang picked up the cup of drinking water in front of him solemnly as if he were holding a goblet and took a sip.

"Akie, you're feeling depressed because you couldn't help your friend, right?"

Qiu Hui remained silent and said nothing.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take it as your consent." Liang put down the cup. "To be honest, I can understand it. She's obviously a friend, but I can only watch her suffer and I can't do anything about it. It's really frustrating..."

"...Did you think I would say that?"

Unexpectedly, Ryo shook his head jokingly.

Akie raised her head and looked at Liang with some curiosity, waiting for what she would say next.

"There is one thing I totally don't understand."