Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"Thank you so much, Miss Yazawa." Hongxia said with a smile.

"If I have to thank someone..." Yazawa Hitoshi sighed, "I'd rather thank your keyboard player who worked so hard. If it weren't for her resolute attitude, the agency wouldn't have considered spending more time to accommodate you."

She gave Togawa Akee a look that was a mixture of approval and blame.

"It's good to be serious about your work, but don't take it too seriously. Especially don't take it to the point of harming your health."

As she spoke, she sighed thoughtfully.

"...In this industry, people who take themselves too seriously end up in trouble."

Yazawa Hitoshi seemed to recall some past events that were too painful to look back on, and her expression became lost.

But she soon realized that it was inappropriate to say these things in front of the prospective artists who were scheduled to sign contracts with the agency, so she quickly dispelled the idea.

She paused for a moment and said, "Anyway, the next thing you have to do is audition. However, our company is very impressed by your first performance, so this audition is basically just a formality, so don't worry too much..."

After that, Yazawa began to explain the subsequent arrangements to everyone, including performances, account operations, new songs and other issues.

Qiu Hui wanted to respond as usual, but was pressed down on the chair by Hong Xia.

"Just have a good rest, Qiuhui. Leave the rest to us!" she said.

"...Yeah." Akie also nodded as if relieved.

With everyone's care, the obsessive-compulsive feeling of uneasiness has finally been alleviated a lot.

There is really no need to take everything on yourself.

Hongxia gently patted Qiuhui's shoulder and said, "Everyone has seen what Qiuhui has done for everyone. Can you let us share a little bit of the burden from time to time? After all, the band belongs to everyone after it ends, so what's the big deal?"

"...Thank you, Nijixia. I'll take a short rest then."

Qiu Hui gave Hongxia a grateful look.

"If anything happens later, remember to wake me up," she reminded.

"Well, just sleep peacefully!"

After receiving Hongxia's response, Qiu Hui gently closed her eyes and tried to empty her mind.

Forget about the current troubles for the moment and think about what will happen after signing the contract.

After the signing process is over today, there are final exams. After that, there is the publication of the new work...

Qiu Hui closed her eyes, smiled bitterly and shook her head. How could she sleep like this?

She let herself melt into the sofa chair in the cafe, feeling the soft touch around her body.

Under the influence of the expensive furniture in the hotel cafe, Qiu Hui's mind gradually became distracted.

Work, study, various chores. Forget about them for now.

Think about things that make you happy. For example...

...After the new game is released, the financial situation should be much better. Should I consider moving to a better place to live?

At least there should be enough space for a sofa...

……

Things went pretty smoothly after that.

Taking advantage of the break during dinner, Akihime, introduced by Kasumi Shiko, met with Kashiwagi Eri, who was in charge of the illustrations for the new work, and talked about some related matters.

After dinner, the band went to the recording studio owned by the club and performed a test performance there.

Ms. Yazawa had said long ago that this audition was probably just a formality, and in fact, nothing unexpected happened.

Although there were strangers around, Pochi didn't have any major problems. The lead singer Kita also performed very well, even better than in the first performance.

The drum and bass rhythm section... I don't have much impression. Akie herself... was just so-so. Anyway, there were no major problems.

To say it was a success... I guess it was a close call, after all, I managed to perform it smoothly.

After the audition, Qiu Hui used this as a topic to chat with the staff members who were present at the time and who looked familiar to her. They will often work together in the future, so it would not hurt to build good relationships.

After going through all this till quite late, when she returned home, Qiu Hui no longer wanted to do anything.

Even the energy for playing games or watching videos seems to have been exhausted.

"……call."

After struggling to wash and change clothes, Qiu Hui turned off the lights, got into bed, closed her eyes, and recalled what happened that day.

…I’m so tired. Today is supposed to be my day off, but I ended up doing a lot of tiring work.

I have to go to class tomorrow, the final exam is coming up, and I have just a little bit of finishing touches on my new work...

“It’s so uncomfortable…”

Although she used the afternoon to relieve some of her mental stress, Qiu Hui felt a little stomachache when she thought about the pile of things to come.

If I get seriously ill, my family might force me to go back home...

She covered her abdomen and curled up in the quilt, realizing that maybe she should find time to see a doctor or find some way to treat her condition.

But even so, there was at least one thing that comforted her.

"The signing is a done deal. Ending the band is also a step onto a new level," Qiu Hui thought.

After becoming a signed artist, the band might also become a second source of income for me.

In this way, my economic conditions can be further improved...

...But the more important point is that I took a new step together with everyone who ended the band.

The feeling of supporting each other and moving forward together gradually made her mood better.

So, Qiu Hui slowly closed her eyes and fell asleep.

……

Chapter 94: Old Dreams and New Chapters

at the same time.

The second hand of the clock passed zero.

Sitting on the bed, Miao Meng stared at the clock face silently, greeting the arrival of the new day without saying a word.

She rented a whole family-style apartment, with three bedrooms and one living room, which was a bit redundant for her living alone.

Excluding her own room and the studio specifically used for video recording, there is another room that is completely empty.

Although theoretically it can be used as a guest room, fashion blogger Miao Meng has no need to receive guests at home.

It's called a guest room, but in fact it's simply prepared for "someone".

"..."

After recording the video material to be released in a few days, she changed out of the clothes that showed off her figure, removed her makeup, and put on loose pajamas.

I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and washed my face in silence. The person reflected in the mirror didn't seem as perfect and radiant as the one in the camera.

There was sadness in her cherry-pink pupils. Her face after removing makeup was less charming, but more lively and entangled as a girl of this age should be.

After rinsing the foam out of her mouth and washing her face hastily with a towel, Meow Meng... or rather, "Yutenji Wakamugi", stared at the mirror and asked a question.

Did she recognize me?

Ruomai believes that the answer may be no.

The other party's cautious and businesslike attitude seemed very natural and did not seem to be deliberately pretended.

Moreover, after the growth period, my figure has changed a lot compared to that in junior high school, and my dressing style is completely different...

…If I put my current self in front of my junior high school self and told her “this person is your future self,” I’m afraid she would be confused.

Therefore, it was normal that she didn't recognize me. She must have really mistaken me for a business partner whom she had never met before.

This conclusion made Ruomai feel relieved, but at the same time it also made her feel a stabbing pain in her heart.

Togawa Akee doesn't know who "Nyanmu" is.

Even though the pronunciation is very similar when read in Japanese, she didn't seem to associate it in that direction.

But Ruomai knew the pen name "Akirako".

In fact, apart from Togawa Akeie herself...

...She may be the first person in the world to know this pen name.

After washing up, I walked back to my bedroom.

Ruomai sat down on the bed and took a photo frame from the bedside table.

There was actually nothing special about that photo. It was just an ordinary group photo stored in the phone.

It was after that incident that Ruomai printed it out, framed it and placed it on the bedside table.

She held up the photo frame in silence. She looked a little silly in the photo. Her hair had not been dyed at that time and was longer than it is now.

There was another person in the picture. She was hugged by his shoulders and lowered her head somewhat awkwardly.

If you look at it from the perspective of fashion blogger Miao Meng, both of them are extremely tacky.

Ruomai gently stroked the photo frame and silently stared at the face of the person next to him.

When I saw her today, she seemed no different from then...she still had no idea how to dress herself.

Moreover, from the perspective of fashion blogger Miao Meng, this photo is really too bad.

When she was in junior high school, Yutenji Wakamugi had no idea what a selfie was. She simply raised her phone, switched to the front camera, and pressed the shutter.

The angle is terrible, the composition is a mess, and it has not been processed at all...

Ruomai was getting angrier and angrier as he watched. It was clearly an important memory, but it was filmed like such a mess!

It's only been about two years since then, right? Could I have taken such a stupid photo two years ago?

Ruomai trembled slightly as she held the photo frame. She reached out her hand and gently wiped away the tears that had fallen on it.

"Xiao Qiu..."

She slammed the photo frame on the bedside table in despair, then turned over and buried her face in the pillow.

How long has it been since that incident? Have we had a good conversation like today?

Even if it was just a business conversation, even if it was just a cautious and polite smile...

…But the mere fact that she could talk normally was enough to make her go crazy with joy.

Ruomai stretched out his hands and hugged the pillow tightly, burying his head in it as if he wanted to suffocate himself.

After that incident, Xiaoqiu would rather sleep on the street alone than stay with me anymore.

At school, he just treated me as an ordinary classmate, and we had no contact after graduation.

It has been more than a year since I graduated...

...What does Xiaoqiu think of the person called "Yutenji Wakamugi" now?

Does she still hate me?

Or... has she almost forgotten me?

At that time, Qiu Hui, who had just run away from home, mistakenly thought that Ruomai, who took her in for the night, was acting according to her sister's instructions.

Ruomai knew it very well. Although the cause of everything might just be this misunderstanding...

But after such a long time, so many things, and such a long period of no contact with each other, all the impressions of me in her mind, whether good or bad, will probably become vague and difficult to recognize, leaving only one or two general words as a summary like an epitaph.

Even if "Yutenji Wakamugi" appeared in front of her again and tried to resolve those old misunderstandings, she would probably only receive a cold response.

Because the past that once belonged to the two of them is dead, and there is no point in fiddling with the remaining remains.

So, after graduation, Ruomai never tried to contact the other party again.

If she hadn't accidentally discovered a light novel published under that pen name on the market, she might not have known about Togawa Akee's current situation.