Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"Although there was a little noise, it's within acceptable limits," Shoko replied, "Akiei, don't worry."

"That's good." Qiu Hui nodded with satisfaction.

Xiangzi saw her expression of relief, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

It was just a small lie, Xiangzi thought with a smile.

If I tell her the truth about how Qiu Hui rolled around on the bed last night and mistook me for her "sister" in her dream, I wonder what her expression would be?

He will definitely be very flustered, and maybe he will keep apologizing? Anyway, there may be some very interesting reactions...

However, it was just a thought after all, and Xiangzi didn't plan to talk about it now.

Akiie, who only sees me as a classmate, must be troubled by what happened last night...or rather, early this morning.

Correspondingly, if Qiu Hui really regarded me as a friend for whom she needed to take responsibility, I might not be able to get along with her with such a clear conscience.

So, as long as we continue to maintain this kind of "classmate" relationship, it will be easier for both parties.

Xiangzi adjusted the hem of her school uniform skirt and made up her mind secretly.

Just as Akie said, I also have something that I must stick to no matter what.

So, I don't want to involve Akie too much in my own problems.

She looked in Qiu Hui's direction and found that she was dozing off on the back of a chair. She was the one who fell asleep earlier yesterday, but she was the one who was less energetic.

After confirming that the other party would not notice this side, Xiangzi took out his mobile phone and his expression became calm.

She opened the message interface and the first thing she saw was the bastard dad.

I sent him a message last night saying that I had something to do and wouldn't be back tonight, but he didn't even seem to read it, let alone reply.

Did he pass out after drinking too much... If that's the case, that would be fine. I guess he wouldn't mind it.

All the asshole dad needs to do is continue to act like this and not cause any trouble for others.

Xiangzi continued to flip through the pages, and the next one was Nagasaki Suyo.

Seeing the news that had not been confirmed before, she frowned slightly. What the hell is this guy doing?

From time to time, she would send some meaningless phrases like "Good evening" and "How are you doing recently", or she would just ask about my well-being. I have said many times that I don't want to have anything to do with her anymore, but I still refuse to accept the reality, Sushi.

How can I make her give up... Do I have to say something even more hurtful?

It had been a long time since Xiangzi paid attention to the messages sent by Su Shi, so this time he took quite some time to read through the backlog of messages and got to the end.

The last message was particularly long and was sent last night.

Xiangzi looked at the time and it should have been sent when she had just finished taking a shower last night.

"Xiao Xiang, although we don't know what difficulties you have encountered, please feel free to let us know if you need help. Everyone at CRYCHIC is worried about you and is looking forward to your return."

"Also, Xiao Deng has agreed to hold a performance in the near future, perhaps during the summer vacation. When we rehearse, we always reserve a place for the keyboard. Now we have temporary backup musicians helping, but if Xiao Xiang can come back, everyone will be happy to welcome you."

"I'm really sorry for all this. Maybe I misunderstood something before and didn't understand Xiaoxiang's current feelings. However, we are all Xiaoxiang's companions and we all hope to help Xiaoxiang. No matter what the problem is, I believe we can all work together to find a solution."

"So, Xiao Xiang..."

"..."

Xiangzi exited the message interface somewhat annoyed.

"...Idiot." She said in a low voice.

Are you all my companions? I hope you can help me?

Stupid Su Shi. She is so stupid. What on earth does she know? Why does she make it sound so easy?

To put it bluntly, it is only because of the family's wealth that he can speak with such ease. Isn't it?

Although it may be a bit too much to say this, but Su Shi is a fool and doesn't understand anything at all...

"Shoko-san?" Qiu Hui asked suddenly, "Why did you suddenly look so bad?"

"Ah, nothing." Xiangzi turned his head away as if nothing had happened. "The phone is just a little slow. It's really annoying. I want to change it, but I don't have the spare money."

"Is that so? There's really nothing we can do about it. This is the behavior of today's electronic products." Qiu Hui nodded in agreement.

After being interrupted by Qiu Hui, Xiangzi was in no mood to continue to confirm the news carefully.

She quickly glanced at the message preview on the screen and put the phone back into her pocket.

"..."

After a long silence, a somewhat crazy idea vaguely emerged in her mind.

"...Akie."

"Huh? What's wrong?" Qiu Hui looked over.

"What's the whole story about a band signing a contract?" Xiangzi asked.

At present, she has not taken the newly formed idea too seriously.

Rather, maybe it will never happen. I asked Qiu Hui that question just to give it a listen.

"Well, actually my situation is quite special, so it's hard to use it as a reference for general situations. But, to put it simply, my band is now..."

After the train arrived at the station, the two left the car while chatting about the business prospects of the high school band.

Afterwards, they walked towards Yugaoka together and happened to pass by a convenience store near the school on the way.

"...Of course, that's what the library said. I tried to verify it, but it's not too early to draw conclusions."

Qiu Hui talked a lot about the band and suddenly felt a little dry in the mouth.

"Speaking of which...ah, this convenience store."

After seeing the sign, Qiu Hui remembered something.

"Come to think of it, I think it was in this convenience store that I first met Xiangzi." She pointed at the advertising poster at the door with some emotion.

"Haha, that's true." Xiangzi laughed, "We were fighting for the same expiring sandwich..."

"We haven't had breakfast yet, have we?" Qiu Hui suggested, "Let's put the band thing aside for now and see if there's a suitable breakfast there."

So the two of them walked into the store and came to the shelf where breakfast was placed.

"This time it's a submarine sandwich... why is there still only one?" Qiu Hui frowned.

"This is a difficult situation..." Xiangzi looked at the price tag of the sandwich, "How about we each have half?"

"I don't mind, but half a sandwich won't fill you up... How about this?"

Qiu Hui picked up another full-priced sandwich.

"Including the one that's about to expire, buy two and each take half." Qiu Hui smiled, "That way you can be full."

"That's just what I want! Then, shall we pay the bill?"

The two smiled and headed to the cashier.

Chapter 76 Guilty Conscience

Lunch break.

The morning classes made Qiu Hui feel very irritated.

"Ah... I can't stand it." Akie lay on the table without any motivation. "I can't concentrate on the class at all."

The final exams were approaching, but she still felt unsure.

Although I tried to work a little harder before and after the previous study sessions, to be honest, I didn't see much effect because I have been busy with other things recently.

As a result, Qiu Hui still has little confidence in the final exam.

"Today I have to discuss the signing arrangements with everyone, and I also have to practice for the audition..."

And the fact that she had no time to focus on her schoolwork made her even more annoyed.

"There's also the polishing of the new work. It's almost finished, but there's still a little more to go..."

Qiu Hui muttered to herself in distress.

At this moment, she was suddenly hugged around the neck by hands reaching out from behind.

“Huh?”

Just as she exclaimed, she felt someone's chin pressing against her head, and was then surrounded by the scent of shampoo.

"Senior! What are you thinking about?"

Aine’s clear and sweet voice sounded beside her ears, or rather, it came from above her.

“Ai, Aine, um… noon… good…”

Frightened by the sudden attack, Qiu Hui couldn't remain calm.

"I haven't been to the Astronomy Club with you before. I was in a bad mood at that time, so I might have neglected you a little. I'm really sorry!"

Aine smiled and straightened up, then took Akie's arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Shall we go to the Astronomy Club today?" She smiled brightly and eagerly, "Deng is waiting outside too!"

“I, I understand…”

Akie picked up her lunch box and walked out of Class 2-C's classroom hand in hand with Aine, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Akiie-senpai." Deng smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go!” Aine also smiled and took Deng’s arm, and the three of them headed towards the astronomy club room together.

Akie, who was being held by Aine, blushed slightly and couldn't help but tighten her grip on Aine.

After yesterday's chaos, she realized that she should perhaps re-evaluate her attitude towards Aine.

How do I really view Aine?

Although I think it's probably not that kind of relationship, but... to say that we're just ordinary friends doesn't seem quite right.

Akie turned her head slightly and quietly paid attention to the conversation between Aine and Deng.

I care about Aine very much, I even said it myself yesterday.

How does Aine view this matter... Judging from her attitude today, maybe she doesn't care that much.

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had decided not to let her worries affect her actions, it was still something to be happy about that her worries had not come true.

"…What about you, senpai? What do you think?"

Aine suddenly changed the topic to Akie.

"Eh? What?"

In front of Aine's usual cheerful smile, Akie was completely confused. She was so focused on thinking about her own things that she didn't even notice what Aine and Deng were talking about.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something just now and didn't hear what you were talking about..." Qiu Hui lowered her head guiltily.

Aine didn’t care, instead she asked with interest, “What’s the matter? Are you worried about something? If you don’t mind, can you tell me about it?”

"…It's nothing serious." Akie shook her head.

It’s better not to mention the matter of ending the band when the lights are on.

"By the way, Deng, I have something to tell you."

In order to change the subject, Akie turned her head and looked at Deng through Aine.

"Akirako told me yesterday that the first volume of the new work is almost finished and is expected to be officially released in the first week of summer vacation."

"Really?" Deng's eyes lit up. "I saw the news on the official account yesterday, saying that it would be released soon. I didn't expect it to be so soon!"

The news on the official account... Qiu Hui recalled that it was probably a simple tweet I sent out yesterday at noon, "The new work is almost done."

Although it only has a few words, the data of likes, reposts, comments, etc. are much better than the long official speech before. Maybe this is the advantage brought by "realism"?

“It’s almost done, congratulations!” Aine snickered and glanced at Akie.

At this moment, she seemed to have suddenly thought of a good idea, and poked Qiu Hui's waist mischievously: "Hey, senior, can you help me ask Qiu Rongzi teacher? When the new work is released, will there be a signing event or other activities where she will appear in person?"

Deng was completely unaware of Aine's evil intentions, and only cast an eager and expectant look at Akie: "Will it happen? I also want to meet Akieko-sensei in person!"

"Ah, ahahaha, I guess there isn't one...right?" Akie turned her face away embarrassedly. "Even if there is...that guy probably wouldn't be very interested...in participating."

“Really? That’s such a pity!” Aine said with a wicked smile.