Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

……

“…In the end, I kept chatting with Aine after that. How should I put it? It felt a bit rude.”

On the way to the tram station, Qiu Hui said a little embarrassedly.

I chatted with Aine about many irrelevant topics, and time passed by unknowingly.

I was eating noodles while talking on the phone, and by the time I hung up, I had almost finished the noodles.

Akie felt a little sorry for ignoring Ryo because of this.

"I don't mind." Liang said, her expression really looked indifferent, "Besides, weren't you having a good time chatting?"

"Ahaha, if I were to say something happy..." Akie turned her face away embarrassedly.

After resolving each other's concerns, the two seemed to be in a much better mood to chat.

After what happened in the aquarium today, Aine seemed to be even more enthusiastic than before.

Although Qiu Hui was happy about this, she was also struggling with her previous reaction in a hurry.

At that time, I actually went up to him and grabbed his hand, and said something incomprehensible like "think about my business"...

...That's too rude. People will look at me strangely, right?

Fortunately, Aine herself didn’t seem to care that much. Otherwise…

"I'm talking to Akiie."

At this time, Liang suddenly asked. She continued to maintain her previous indifferent expression.

“What is your relationship with that Aine-san?”

Liang, with a very calm expression, asked this question as if it was a matter of course.

“Eh? Huh? Nothing…nothing. We’re just classmates in the same grade, friends, and support members of the same band…”

Although Qiu Hui's expression was not very clear under the dim street lights, her tone was obviously wavering.

"That's a very detailed analysis," Ryo exclaimed. "Generally speaking, 'friend' is enough to describe it, right?"

"Uh, well, actually, I think..."

Akie argued somewhat incoherently, but Ryo didn't seem to care much about what she said.

"Well, I think it wouldn't be strange if band members developed a relationship beyond friendship."

Liang suddenly made a very important statement with a calm expression.

"Take me as an example. In fact, in the band I was in before, there was a phenomenon that members developed romantic feelings for each other. The guitarist also tried to confess his feelings to me before, but I didn't think he was interested, so I rejected him, so he turned to pursue the drummer..."

“…Wait a minute! What do you mean by ‘I rejected it because I thought it wasn’t interesting’? Would you agree if you were interested? And what do you mean by ‘instead’? That’s too casual, isn’t it? Even though she’s a high school girl, is it really okay to be so casual… No, since she’s a high school girl, it’s better not to be so casual!”

Even in the dim light, one could clearly see Qiu Hui's red ears.

“…I was just kidding.”

Ryo said expressionlessly.

"Akie, why are you reacting so strongly?"

She then asked back as if nothing had happened.

Togawa Aie was almost petrified.

Then he almost shouted out loud.

“Ryo! You——!”

"Haha, this is really funny." Liang, whose evil intentions had succeeded, laughed in a very tasteless manner.

In a sense, this guy is like Ultraman, who will run out of energy after being serious for three minutes.

Chapter 62 Contract Issues

"That guy Ryo... I can't stand it. He actually made such a joke."

Lying on the bed in her own residence, Qiu Hui still felt a little dissatisfied.

What do you mean by "it's okay for band members to develop a relationship beyond friendship"? Aine and I are friends, but it's not that serious at all...

...No, in the end, why did I think of that? Aren't Aine and I both women?

If we hadn't agreed to discuss that topic in advance, normally we wouldn't have thought in that direction...

...It doesn't feel right. In fact, if I really didn't have that kind of thought, then I should have been unrestrained when joking about that.

What exactly is this matter about?

Qiu Hui frowned, the more she thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong.

When Liang mentioned those things, was my reaction a little... too intense?

It's like a subconscious stress response after a sore spot is touched.

My denial is, in a sense, just another form of approval.

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui subconsciously turned over and buried her head in the pillow, feeling just the right amount of difficulty in breathing.

...It's a bit too early to draw conclusions now.

Isn't there a survey that shows that intimate behavior is more common when both women are together? Although I can't remember where the survey was conducted, it seems to be true.

Moreover, this thought may be related to the job I am doing now.

After all, I wrote a novel with the theme of "portraying the sweet, complex and subtle relationships between high school girls". In plain words, it means that I have to swing back and forth between friendship and love, just like frying a steak, which cannot be too raw or too well-cooked.

After writing too much of this kind of stuff, the criteria for judging relationships in real life will probably be somewhat offset.

After all, the fun of this kind of story lies in reading out something that is not easy to see.

Then, as an author, one must be proficient in the technique of expressing such things in a tactful and ambiguous way.

In order to hone such skills, I constantly pondered and studied them in my mind, and then applied them to my writing again and again at work. In the long run, this will affect my views on other issues and my style of handling affairs. It is natural.

So Qiu Hui turned over again, seeming to be relieved that she had found a possible explanation.

That's about it. I don't really think that way, but I subconsciously tend to discuss issues in a biased way because of my daily work. In a sense, it's not wrong to say that it's an occupational disease.

Anyway, this is the conclusion. I am not happy or relieved about this, I just came to a conclusion like this.

So what is the significance of this conclusion? It is to stop thinking about interpersonal relationship problems in a rut.

This time, Aiyin's incident also made me understand a truth - it is problematic to dwell on interpersonal relationships. This is not academic research, so there is no need to get too hung up on the definition and distinction of concepts, nor is there any need to do quantitative analysis of relationships like chemical reagents.

If I define myself as a member of a certain group because of some subtle ideas or jokes, and then use the standards of this group to judge and analyze matters in my daily life, then according to my usual style, I will definitely bring more unnecessary trouble.

What happened recently is something I don’t want to happen again, at least in the foreseeable future.

So, don't get too hung up on legitimacy or anything like that. My current actions, thoughts, and reactions are completely within the scope of what a normal high school girl should do in social interactions...

At this moment, the sudden ringing of the cell phone interrupted Qiu Hui's thoughts and scared her badly.

“Wow! Who is it? At this time!”

Qiu Hui suddenly felt like she was caught doing something difficult to talk about by someone.

She quickly jumped up from the bed and grabbed the phone.

"…Edit? Why now?"

She answered the phone with some doubt.

"Hello editor, I didn't expect you're still at get off work..."

"Because there is something going on." Kasumi Shiko sounded a little tired on the other end of the line. "It has something to do with you, too. It's about the office."

"Office?" Akie became a little more serious.

The questions that were circling in my mind before were temporarily excluded from my mind at this moment, because the current topic was obviously more important.

I just talked to Liang about ending the band's future... I didn't expect to talk about the agency now.

"What exactly happened?" Qiu Hui asked.

Faced with this issue that could potentially end the band's future, all other distractions were temporarily put aside.

"First, let's talk about the contracting entity." Kasumi Shiko said, "The company that is collaborating with our library this time, 'Kanada Project', commonly known as 'Kanada', is a new agency that focuses on the niche market of high school student groups. Even so, they are not willing to sign with every high school student, can you understand that?"

"That's true." Qiu Hui nodded, "During the training, their requirements were quite strict."

During the previous training, she had met the staff sent from the Zou Society.

Although she barely met the standard, the other party's strictness still left a deep impression on her.

"Although your performance was good and they generally approved of it, the other people who ended the band... may not be sure."

Kasumi Shiko slowly told the heavy truth.

"Of course, the people over there also know that for a high school student group, this kind of 'originality' that grows naturally without any special arrangements is very important; therefore, they won't do such a boring thing as assigning you other teammates."

"So, the Sousha actually gave us, and you, two choices."

"First, they sign a contract with you alone. In this case, all resources and operations will be heavily biased towards you, and other members will be treated as dispensable accessories to a large extent. After all, if there is no contract, then wasting resources on them is completely against business logic."

"The second option is to sign a contract with the entire band. However, if that's the case, and if the other members of the band don't meet the standards set by the agency, then the pressure you face will probably be enormous... and they will be particularly active in exercising the right to interfere with the band's activities stipulated in the contract."

"The details will be discussed at the library meeting this Sunday. In addition, the Sousha hopes to conduct an audition of the final band on the same day. If there are no unexpected events, everyone should try to be there."

"I'm just here to tell you the news. I don't have the power to make a decision. But I still suggest that you find some time to discuss this matter seriously with your teammates."

"...Yes." Qiu Hui nodded, "I understand."

Chapter 63 Business Logic

"...I understand." Akie nodded.

Kasumi Shiko's words made her realize the seriousness of the situation.

Signing a contract means a serious business relationship, the exchange of real money, and the unification of legal rights and responsibilities.

If something goes wrong, it either means high penalties or being bound by heavy obligations.

I personally don't mind it...but for the other members who are leaving the band, it's not something that can be decided casually.

"The original plan of the library was just to promote the fact that you were playing in a band and enrich your image; but to be honest, that debut also left a deep impression on the people at the agency, especially the guitarist."

Kasumi Shiko also seemed quite impressed by Goto Ichiri's performance.

"To be honest, I still find it hard to believe that you met that kid when you were randomly looking for someone on the street..."

"I find it hard to believe it myself." Akie said honestly, "I even thought at the time that it might be arranged by the library."

"Anyway, judging from the results, the agency originally intended to sign only you; but considering the existence of that guitarist, they now plan to give the band a chance to end as well." Kasumi Shiko concluded.

"I understand. Come to think of it, you seem to know a lot about what's going on over there?" Qiu Huifa asked.

"Because Shenming Library and Kanade Production belong to the same parent company." Kasumi Shiko explained, "In fact, the relationship is like colleagues in different departments."

"I see." Akie felt that she could understand.

Without the same parent company to coordinate and arrange everything behind the scenes, such a cross-border cooperation plan would obviously be unlikely to be successful.

"But these are things that adults need to worry about." Kasumi Shiko said, "You just need to do your job well and coordinate well with your teammates..."

As she was talking, she suddenly paused and sighed.

"...I think you already understand some things, but it would be better to convey them to your teammates."

"High school students are actually very contradictory and self-willed. They like money, but they hate the business that can make money. When it comes to the latter, they adopt a stereotyped attitude as if they are avoiding an infectious disease, and they generalize us who are responsible for the behind-the-scenes work as running dogs of the rich..."

"…What's even more ironic is that the source of this attitude is probably closely related to the literary and artistic works created for commercial purposes. In order to cater to the preferences of the audience, we have created one after another unrealistic and otherworldly characters. Although they are the products of commercial logic, what they say is all nonsense that tramples on this logic."

"It is really sad that only people who express contempt for business can achieve commercial success."

Kasumi Shiko said with some melancholy on the other end of the phone.

"However, although the content audience can take these things seriously, if we shift to the position of the content provider, I am afraid we can no longer look at the problem in such a simple way. It doesn't matter how many words such as dreams, hard work, youth, rebellion, and personality are written in the lyrics, but in the world outside the lyrics, these things are probably not as powerful as they claim. I hope you can convey this to everyone."

"I understand." Qiu Hui nodded.

After this, and after continuing to talk about something else, she hung up and immediately sent a message in the end band group chat.