Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Let's just treat it as a thought experiment. Suppose, Pochi really did this to me...

...No, since this is a thought experiment, let's relax the conditions a little bit.

There is no need to specify who that person is, just imagine this situation: I don't have any feelings of love in that sense for the person who likes me in that sense.

So, how should I deal with this situation appropriately?

Qiu Hui tried to remove all conditions and completely sever the connection between this assumption and the current situation, so that she would not be implicated and her calm judgment would not be affected.

How should I put it... I feel like I should try to explain things to the other person as clearly as possible?

Explain clearly that I have no intention in this regard, and then what should I do... persuade the other party to give up?

Thinking of this, although she had decided in advance not to connect the assumption with the current situation, she still couldn't help but look in the direction of Goto Ichiri.

If I were to explain it to her clearly...

No! After all, this is just a hypothesis, right? Don't put the other person in your shoes beforehand!

Qiu Hui dispelled the distracting thoughts that came to her mind with some annoyance.

The fact that Pochi likes me is just Hongxia's guess. If I really consider the issue based on this, it always feels...not quite right.

Just like this, she desperately searched for reasons in her mind, trying to deny the possibility that "Pochi might like her".

Her resistance to this possibility might be stronger than she thought.

As a member of the ending band, I have a certain "responsibility" to Pochi, Akie thought.

By the standards of your average bandmate, this might seem a little strange.

But, as Hongxia said, she hopes that the band can become a harmonious collective, a family-like existence.

That's my view as well. In order to achieve that goal, I also have to take into account the psychological feelings of my teammates.

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui seemed to realize something.

She looked at Goto Ichiri beside her and seemed to have figured out something.

It is precisely because I have no such thoughts about Pochi that I subconsciously deny the possibility that she has such thoughts about me.

This way, I don't have to worry about how to respond.

What a selfish thought. Qiu Hui silently condemned herself in her heart.

What about the other way around? What if I was standing in Pochi's shoes, and the other party was Aine?

Would Aine also hope that... I wouldn't have any further thoughts about her?

Because then things will become "very troublesome"?

Looking at the depressed Pochi beside her, Akie felt a similar bitter mood.

"……sorry."

It was just something she was repeating silently in her heart, but somehow it came out of her mouth.

Akimoto realized that she had let the cat out of the bag and tried to cover it up, but Ichiri was keenly aware of her mumbling to herself.

She turned around a little frightened and asked in a slightly anxious tone, "Why... why are you apologizing all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong... No, that's not right! Did you do something wrong... It seems a bit strange to say that..."

Looking at Ichiri who was struggling with words, Qiu Hui smiled bitterly and shook her head: "Nothing, I was just talking to myself."

"Oh..." Yili lowered his head in disappointment.

But before long, she mustered up her courage, straightened her chest slightly, and asked as if she had made up her mind: "...Then, why do you talk to yourself like that? For example, if you have any troubles, can you try to talk to me? Although I may not be able to help...but...but..."

Yili's voice became smaller and smaller, as if one could see her hard-earned courage slipping away bit by bit.

Although Akie didn't know what Pochi meant, she quickly realized that something was wrong with him, so she had a bad feeling.

Before she could say anything, Goto Ichiri shouted out in self-destructiveness.

“Please! If I don’t even know what Akie is thinking, I…I will feel very miserable!”

Even she herself didn't know what was wrong with her. When Yili shouted, she felt dizzy as if she had been hit on the head.

"Pochi, you..."

Qiu Hui looked at Ichili, who seemed to be crying a little, and recalled her previous thoughts. A strong sense of guilt suddenly arose in her.

Although she probably didn't know what I was thinking just now, I did more or less regard Pochi as a "trouble" to be dealt with.

This is too much, so I have to take responsibility...

"Anyway, please calm down for a moment..."

Realizing that she might have done something wrong, Akie tried hard to calm the agitated Ichiri in front of her, but she soon realized that she actually didn't understand what to do.

No matter how many comforting words you say, it can only temporarily calm the current situation.

Moreover, Qiu Hui knew that she was not good at comforting others. In other words, she couldn't even handle the current situation...

"Pochi-chan, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

The first to arrive was Hongxia, followed closely by Kita.

Hongxia looked at Qiuhui with a little confusion, and the latter lowered her head apologetically.

Before this accident happened, everyone was actually divided into several groups according to their respective topics of interest.

Hongxia and Kita were concentrating on talking about the shooting schedule, while Ryo was mainly in charge of listening and looked quite casual.

Meowmeow and Aine who seemed to be getting along quite "harmoniously", and Deng who was following behind Aine and seemed to be thinking about something on her own.

However, Ichiri's sudden emotional outburst made everyone's attention focus on her and Akie.

"..."

Goto Ichiri said nothing.

She noticed the concerned or surprised looks from everyone, and even more so the anxious and helpless look of Qiu Hui beside her.

Hongxia was next to me, holding my arm, and seemed to be saying something... but I couldn't hear it clearly.

Yili felt as if he was launched into space by something. After the violent acceleration, all that was left was the feeling of floating in a zero-gravity zone.

What did I just do?

Qiu Hui has obviously put so much thought into me, but I caused her trouble because of my emotional outburst...

...It's really outrageous.

As someone like me...what qualifications do I have to ask Qiu Hui for anything else?

Yili felt a little weak under his feet, and only thanks to Hongxia's support did he manage to avoid falling.

And Nijika, Kita, Ryo, everyone who ended the band is the same, they are all worried about me.

I...why do I keep causing trouble for everyone?

If I become like this, how can you take promotional photos?

I’m afraid that other originally scheduled trips will also be cancelled because of this?

As expected, the value of my existence is only playing the guitar... Other than that, everything else is just a meaningless burden to others, right?

Chapter 126 It's all Xiaoqiu's fault

It can be said that the trip to shoot promotional photos was undoubtedly cancelled.

Goto Ichiri's sudden collapse made it obvious that she was unable to take normal photos with everyone.

Although Hongxia tried to ask the reason afterwards, for some reason, Ichiri remained silent and could only respond with nodding, shaking his head or short sounds like "hmm".

"If you are under too much mental stress, you may temporarily lose your voice." Meow Meng commented, casting a sympathetic look, "I think we should let Ichiriko have a good rest today, right?"

"As for promotional photos and the like, I guess we'll have to talk about it next time." Liang said with a straight face.

After saying that, she looked in the direction of Qiu Hui thoughtfully. The latter was standing quietly aside like a child who had made a mistake, with her head lowered as if waiting for punishment.

"Isn't it better to leave Pochi-chan alone for a while..." Hongxia sighed with disappointment, "Pochi-chan, what do you think?"

Ichiri, who seemed speechless, nodded slightly.

“Um, I…”

Qiu Hui wanted to say something, but was stopped by Liang.

"Especially you, Akie, you'd better stay away from Pochi for a while." Ryo lowered his voice so that only they could hear each other. "Although I don't know the exact situation, I guess that Pochi's becoming like this must have something to do with you."

"Yes." Akie nodded vigorously and answered in a low voice, "Then I'll leave Pochi in your hands."

She sighed softly, feeling the weariness rising within her.

……

At the same time, Aine and Deng also noticed this sudden situation.

However, since they, like Miao Meng, were outsiders who ended the band, they were unable to grasp the situation for a while.

“What’s going on?” Aine asked in confusion, completely at a loss, with wisdom glittering in her big eyes, “Why did Goto-san suddenly become like that?”

She instinctively wanted to go up and say something to comfort him, but was stopped by Miao Meng.

"Nyanmu, my instinct tells me that, Aine, you'd better stay away from Ichiriko right now." She showed a meaningful expression.

“…Why?” Although Aine was a little confused, she still followed Meowmu’s advice.

“Aine is an outsider after all, so it would be more appropriate to leave this matter to the members of the band.”

Although Miao Meng said this, she was hiding some resentment towards Aine in her heart.

It's obvious that Ichiriko became like that because she, like me, couldn't get the love she wanted from Xiaoqiu...

You, a guy who is suspected to be liked by Xiaoqiu but has no self-awareness, are taking the initiative to approach her. Isn't this just adding pressure on her?

“Really? But, I think sometimes, it’s more appropriate for outsiders to solve the problem.” Although Aine was a little shaken, she still had her own opinion, “For example, although Senpai is not a formal member of our band, he did help us a lot.”

"...Oh? Is that so?" Miao Meng's eyes became sharp.

The "senior" that Aiyin was referring to was Xiaoqiu, and Meowme became a little more serious immediately after realizing this.

The guy in front of her was different from Ichiriko... depending on how the situation developed, she might become the most difficult opponent to deal with, she thought.

After chatting with Ichiri in the store before, she quickly realized that Goto Ichiri posed no threat in the battle for Xiaoqiu.

After all, she was so passive that she was trembling with fear even when talking to Xiaoqiu, but Xiaoqiu preferred the other party to take the initiative...

She glanced at Aine vaguely from the corner of her eye.

This guy does seem to be very proactive. What exactly did he do to Xiaoqiu?

"Would you mind telling me about it?" Miao Meng asked with a smile. Her business skills as a video blogger allowed her to easily hide her true thoughts. "What did Akizo-sensei do in Aine's band?"

“Senpai was originally invited to be a supporting keyboard player, but she has always been very concerned about our affairs.” Aine said with a smile, “Not only did she work hard during practice, she also cared about everyone’s mental state, and spent a lot of time to ensure the smooth progress of the band.”

At this point, Aine recalled the scene in the aquarium and smiled happily.

“…Also, when I felt uneasy and wanted to escape, it was you who pulled me back.”

The happier Aiyin smiled, the stronger the resentment and desire to complain in Miaomeng's heart became.

What's with this ambiguous statement! Why does it feel like she and Xiao Qiu have secretly had a lot of key events?

What's with the "helped me"? This isn't a comic!

"You're really enthusiastic, Teacher Qiu Rongzi..." Meow Meng tried hard to curb her urge to complain, "By the way, she's so willing to help, does that mean you two really have a good relationship?"

“Yeah!” Aine nodded, “Senior and I are very good friends… in other words, we are relatives! Can we say that?”

"Oh, relatives and friends..." Miao Meng nodded slightly.

After the brief exchange just now, a plan quietly took shape in her mind.

It seems that Aiyin really doesn't have any thoughts like that towards Xiaoqiu.

If Xiaoqiu is interested in her, but not vice versa, then in Aine's opinion, Xiaoqiu's...love for her is probably a problem that needs to be solved.

Then, maybe I should try to build a good relationship with Aine first. After all, we already have a relationship as fans, and Aine seems to be a very easy-going person.

If our relationship gets better, Aine might be able to help me with Xiaoqiu's matter... who knows?

Although many subtle plans flashed through his mind, Miao Meng's face still maintained a very friendly expression for business.

Just then, Deng raised his head and looked at Miao Meng.