Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Even the night sky was blocked by the drawn curtains and had no chance to become her companion.

Chapter 19 Public Execution

When people are fully focused, their sense of time will be compressed.

Before I knew it, it was midnight, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

By the time Qiu Hui reacted, it seemed to be the afternoon of the next day.

"…Luckily I don't have to go to class today." Qiu Hui sighed as she looked at the time on her phone.

But getting up so late is not without its benefits. At least, breakfast and lunch can be combined into one meal, which can naturally save the money for a meal.

First, go to the convenience store downstairs to solve the problem of brunch. Then...

Qiu Hui actually didn't know what to do next.

The strong smell of waking up surrounded her, making her unable to muster the energy to do anything she should do.

"Let's go somewhere and relax after dinner."

Thinking of this, she opened the door and prepared to go downstairs without even changing her clothes.

I have been wearing Yuqiu's uniform since school ended yesterday, and I didn't even change it before going to bed.

Walking down the stairs, Qiu Hui suddenly thought, if she still lived at home, she would definitely be scolded by her parents for not changing clothes before going to bed, right?

But it turns out that there will be no consequences even if you don't do this kind of thing.

Parents are really the species in the world that loves to make a fuss the most.

Coming out of the lobby of the apartment, Qiu Hui took out her cell phone.

She noticed an unread message that she had ignored last night because she was busy practicing.

"…It's my sister."

There are two unread messages.

One was a video call request that was not approved, and the second one said:

"Please contact me again when Akie-chan is in the mood to chat with me."

"..."

Qiu Hui closed the chat interface with a bit of shame.

…I always feel a little sorry for her. Even though she is far away in Kyoto, she is always thinking about me.

But let’s be honest. What my sister wants to talk to me about now is nothing more than some boring conflicts between me and my family.

Qiu Hui quietly put away her phone.

There will be no compromise halfway.

It's either me or the parents.

This awkward situation will not end until one party completely gives up his or her point of view.

Even if my sister did nothing wrong...I won't let her achieve her goal.

The automatic door slowly slid open with the cheerful sound of someone entering the store. Qiu Hui put aside all distracting thoughts and stepped in with her head lowered.

"Welcome!" the waiter greeted lazily.

Is it because it's almost time for a nap? It seems that the waiter is as listless as I am, Qiu Hui thought.

She picked up a sandwich from the shelf. She didn't care about the taste at all, she just decided to buy it after seeing the price tag.

"...With the accompanying milk drink, the promotional price is only 300 yen? That's a steal!"

This way today’s breakfast and lunch are solved!

Arriving at the checkout counter, she slapped the two items on the counter.

"The total is ~300 yen." The waiter scanned the price tag slowly, "This promotion is very ~cost-effective! You really have a good eye!"

There was a subtle rhythm to the way the waiter spoke.

Qiu Hui took out three 100-yuan coins from her pocket and placed them in front of the waiter.

"300 yen. Would you like to heat up your drink?"

"No need." Qiu Hui nodded, "Thank you."

"Yes. Thank you for your patronage."

At this time, the waiter looked at Qiu Hui's chest and seemed to realize something.

"Are you a second-year student?"

"Second grade?" Qiu Hui was puzzled.

"Uniform." The waiter smiled and said, "It's the style for the second year students of Hanaoka~."

"I've been found out. I am indeed a student of Hanegaoka. Are you one too?"

"As for me, I'm in my third year, right?" The waiter smiled. "I'm about to graduate, but I saw a junior student from the same school at the store where I work part-time. I wanted to express my feelings a little bit."

"I see. I just happened to live nearby. I didn't expect to meet a classmate here..."

"It's the weekend, but you're still wearing your uniform~." The waiter looked at Qiu Hui meaningfully, "Why?"

"There's no particular reason." Akie responded, "Senior, I actually have something else to do, so I'll leave first?"

"Bye!" The waiter waved with a smile, "Since you live nearby, you can come and visit us next time, right?"

…A convenience store isn’t a place for fun, right?

The moment Qiu Hui stepped out of the store, the waiter's next words were also received by her eardrums.

"I don't know what's bothering you, but I think it's best to take things easy no matter what, okay?"

"..."

After leaving the convenience store, Qiu Hui walked aimlessly on the street.

"...What a relaxed attitude." She sighed.

Indeed, just feeling sorry for yourself will not help solve the problem.

"Then let's go to Akihabara for a stroll," she finally decided.

I can relax there and find inspiration for refining my outline in a store that sells books about home. It's like killing two birds with one stone.

Not long after, Akihabara.

Although it's the weekend, there are surprisingly few people on the street. Maybe it's because of the time of day.

Anyway, go to a bookstore and read if there are any books you can try. You may get some inspiration from them.

Starting from the station, Qiu Hui randomly chose the first bookstore she saw on the roadside.

Since it is a bookstore in Akihabara, its main business is naturally related to ACGN. The display cabinets at the entrance are filled with publications such as light novels, comics, and original art collections. There are billboards with exaggerated advertising slogans and life-size standees with character illustrations.

Qiu Hui walked over and picked up a trial copy from the middle shelf.

"A shocking finale! The winner of the 17th Shinmei Bunko Newcomer Award..."

"Genius's delicate brushwork...detailed portrayal of emotions..."

I took a quick look at the book jacket and saw all these exaggerated promotional slogans.

There were many comments following, and the names of the commentators were marked with dashes after the comments, as if to deliberately emphasize their identities as celebrities.

Although Qiu Hui didn't know any of these famous people.

"...Your choice of words is too strong and it's embarrassing. This is the industry now." Akihime sighed, "Let me see. The author is... the popular new writer 'Akirako'... No! Isn't this talking about me?"

The absent-minded Akie didn't realize something was wrong until she saw the author's pen name.

The overly exaggerated promotional slogan on the book jacket now hit her like a boomerang.

The final chapter of the previous work was released not long ago. I guess it is still at the stage where bookstores think it can be sold, so they haven't withdrawn the promotion channels yet.

"…Why are you exaggerating so much?"

Qiu Hui stared at the compliments on the book jacket with some resentment.

"…It's clearly just a mid-level work in terms of sales ranking in the library, and many of the holes that were supposed to be filled in have not been filled in yet, especially the final treatment of the third female character, which was simply written after a little bit of muddling at the end of a desperate attempt!"

Qiu Hui frowned, and her voice became higher and higher unconsciously.

"If you must say it, it's a complete failure!"

...And they insisted on using this kind of slogan, which seems like irony.

“No way!”

"Huh?" Qiu Hui was startled by the sudden sound coming from beside her.

She turned around and saw that the other person was a young woman who looked like a student.

However, sensing the gaze he was giving her, the other person's reaction seemed to be even more intense than his own.

"I'm sorry! Um, but..."

As if the few words just now had exhausted all the courage she had accumulated with great difficulty, she lowered her head and continued speaking hesitantly.

"…I don't think Akiho-sensei's work is a failure!"

Chapter 20 It's like this all my life

What's going on? Did I meet... a fan?

Qiu Hui was a little overwhelmed. What should she do at this time?

"I've always liked Mr. Aki's work..." The female student raised her head and mustered up the courage to continue to refute enthusiastically, "I was really moved by the relationship between Ms. Shiina and her imaginary friend 'M-chan' who supported each other all the way... Especially the part where the two of them finally 'complemented' each other after recognizing the nature of their relationship!"

"Ah, that's right... After all, the setting of imaginary friends will definitely be gradually eliminated as the plot develops, so this arrangement is a natural thing... By the way, have you read the finale?" Akie asked.

"I bought it and read it during the first week of its release... But when I passed by this store, I saw this display case and couldn't help but want to take a look... And!"

The female student pointed to the sign next to the pile of books.

"I've never seen the store bonuses here before, so I want to collect them."

"You want to collect all the store specials?" Qiu Hui almost jumped up in shock, "Really?"

Such a heavy love!

Even I have never liked the novels I wrote so much!

"I feel really sorry..." Akie played with her hair awkwardly, "So you like me so much... No, that's not right! My... uh, classmate wrote this... Yes, my classmate wrote this novel. I'd like to thank you on her behalf..."

I almost let my identity slip out. It would have been terrible if that had happened.

"Really? Senior and Teacher Qiu are classmates? In the same school... No, that's not right. Since they are classmates, then they must be... in the same grade? In the same class?" The female student asked questions excitedly.

"Uh, well, we are... in the same class. Ahaha." Qiu Hui was conflicted and could only smile and get by.

Faced with such sincere fans, she didn't want to reveal her identity as the author at all.

After all, my personal feelings towards novels are rather half-baked and mixed with various impure factors.

…But, did she say “senpai” just now?

What does it mean?

"We're actually in the same class!?"

The female student was overjoyed.

"I'm Takamatsu Touma, a first-year student at Hanegaoka! Please, senior, can you let me meet teacher Akihoko?"

"Ah?" Togawa Aie was almost petrified.

So you also read Yuqiu?

I see… Did they identify me through my uniform, which I haven’t changed since yesterday?

Having said that, Tokyo is clearly a huge city, so why does it feel so small now?