Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"Togawa-san is amazing..." Goto looked at Akie with some admiration, "You explained our attitude towards life in the dark corner very calmly..."

"But—"

Togawa Aie suddenly changed the subject.

"If it's in a band, it's a different story."

She folded her fingers together, leaned forward slightly, and looked into Goto Ichiri's eyes without reservation.

"When you treat strangers with caution, it is to carefully avoid causing discomfort to the other party. However, if the situation is the other way around, and the other party has clearly asked you to throw away this caution and treat each other with a more open attitude, then this inappropriate caution will become the source of discomfort to the other party."

"Since Nijixia has clearly stated that she wants us to call each other by our first names, then the correct choice is to follow her wishes. Ichiri, sometimes you can't make any mistakes just by doing nothing..."

Qiu Hui sighed.

"... In many cases, doing nothing is the worst thing to do. This is the scary part of socializing."

Goto Ichiri avoided eye contact and didn't dare to make direct contact with Akie in front of him.

“Um, I, I, I understand…”

Goto played with his fingers nervously.

“… Socializing is really scary.” She said in a tone as if she was talking to herself, “Because the things I do always make people feel confused or ridiculous, I thought that as long as I did nothing, it would be enough…”

"It's definitely not enough."

Qiu Hui smiled and shook her head.

"What's the difference between rejecting someone's kindness and directly conveying ill will to others?"

Goto nodded thoughtfully.

"I understand... but, as expected, there is still one thing..."

"Akiie-chan, don't be so harsh on Pochi!" Hongxia said helplessly, "Many things can't be changed just by saying so. As long as you find the right direction and work hard, everything will be fine. Don't you agree, Pochi-chan?"

"I'll try my best. Thank you..."

Goto Ichiri took a few deep breaths before uttering the last word.

"...Nijiya."

"Well! Let's start by calling you by your name!" Hong Xia encouraged with a smile.

Looking at the two people getting along gradually harmoniously, Qiu Hui nodded with satisfaction.

...Since I joined the band for commercial purposes, I also have the obligation to make the band relationships as harmonious and friendly as possible.

After all, if they want to go the idol route, then harmonious relationships within the team are naturally a prerequisite for a good image. It is hard to imagine that a band that quarrels every day can leave a good impression in the public's mind in the sense of idolization.

Looking at Pochi who still looked a little timid, Akie smiled and shook her head.

To be honest, the feeling of preaching to others is surprisingly not bad.

In a way, it's like light novel writing.

Even someone who has never spoken more than three sentences to a member of the opposite sex can write a touching love story by relying on rhetoric and reading. Sometimes, people who have had love experience may not be able to intuitively grasp the elements that move people because of the shackles of reality.

Even something that is "unreal" can be useful.

This is probably the charm of being a light novel author as a profession, Akie thought.

Chapter 26 Arrangement of original music

After chatting for a while in the restaurant, the three met Kita who walked into the restaurant while greeting them.

As a result, Liang was the only one among the five who had not arrived yet.

"This guy... is always the last one." Hong Xia looked out the window in dissatisfaction, "He has no sense of teamwork at all!"

"Senior should be here soon, right?" Kita smiled and sat down next to Akie.

Noticing the former's arrival, Qiu Hui felt that now was the perfect time to make her demands.

"It just so happens that Kita is here now. I have something I want to tell you all."

“What what?”

"If possible, I hope you can arrange some songs for me to sing in the future," said Akie.

"Akie, do you want to be the lead singer too?" Kita asked, "I don't know if there can be two lead singers."

"Not really. I just hope to sing a few lines on stage occasionally. After all, although my skills are limited, I am still a keyboard player in the end." Akihie replied.

"That's totally fine, as long as you're willing, Akihime." Nijixia agreed casually, "Things like this can be discussed... Oh, that's right!"

She seemed to suddenly remember something.

“Since we’re talking about songs, why don’t we decide on the assignment of original songs here?”

Hongxia's proposal immediately caused everyone to start a chattering discussion.

As expected, when talking about a band, there must be original songs.

It is doubtful whether a band that simply covers other people's songs can still be called a band.

We want to discuss the original song? This is a good opportunity, Qiu Hui thought.

It would be great if I could take this opportunity to help as much as possible.

"First of all, the composition and arrangement!" Hong Xia first proposed, "Since Liang hasn't come yet, I'll just assign this task to her without authorization."

Then, she looked in Akie's direction.

"Does Akiie know music theory?"

"I was forced to learn a little bit while learning the electronic organ..." Akie nodded, "Although I probably can't accomplish much on my own, but... I should be able to help Ryo-san to some extent."

I was reluctant to learn it at first, and now I have probably forgotten almost everything except some common sense.

Qiu Hui suddenly felt that her pressure had increased a lot. She had to pick up the forgotten things as soon as possible.

"Not bad, not bad, that's settled then." Hong Xia nodded with satisfaction, "The next step is writing the lyrics..."

"I can also try writing lyrics," Akie recommended herself.

After all, my main job is a light novel author, so maybe it’s okay for me to write some lyrics.

What's more, if he also serves as a lyricist, it might have an unexpected publicity effect.

"Wouldn't it be too stressful to do two things at the same time?" Hong Xia asked.

"I personally don't mind. But it wouldn't be a good idea for me to make all the decisions. How about appointing someone else to participate?" Akie suggested.

"In this case, both the lyrics and music composition will be done by two people. It's not impossible. I think I probably can't write lyrics... What about Kita and Pochi?"

The two people who were asked gave different responses.

"I'm not good at writing lyrics either. But!" Kita clapped his hands excitedly, "I've seen Goto-san... or Pochi-chan singing with his own lyrics at school before. I was really moved at that time!"

Goto, who was mentioned, suddenly became nervous. She seemed to be completely unable to accept Kita's praise of her.

"That really doesn't count as a word, it's just a collection of my personal black history! Please forget it quickly!" Goto Ichiri begged. His exaggerated look made people laugh.

Akie looked at the nervous Goto and said soothingly, "Goto... um, Pochi, actually, I should say that writing lyrics is surprisingly suitable for you."

This conclusion surprised the restless Yili.

"Why?" Goto Ichiri seemed to calm down a little.

She looked at Qiu Hui. The other person's expression and tone seemed to inexplicably bring her a strange sense of security.

"I feel like you, Pochi, often let your thoughts deviate in strange directions." Akie analyzed, "This may cause communication problems in daily communication; but when it comes to lyric writing, this strange train of thought will make the creation more valuable."

"Worth... me?"

Goto Ichiri lowered his head in uncertainty.

"...If I were to write lyrics, I'd definitely write something dark and negative." She was a little depressed, playing with her fingers unconsciously, "It's totally inappropriate for people like you who are cheerful and sunny, right?"

Akie laughed. "First of all, I don't think I'm a cheerful and sunny person. Secondly, there's no law that says cheerful and sunny people can't sing dark and negative lyrics, right?"

"In fact, it is better to say that there is no necessary connection between most singers and their lyrics. There is always a lot of room for interpretation between the creators, the works and the performers."

Goto lowered his head, as if he was thinking about something.

Hongxia nodded seriously: "That's amazing, it feels like Qiu Hui is giving a lecture."

She looked at Akie, then at Pochi, with obvious confusion on her face.

"Although both of you call yourselves yinjiao, it feels like... your styles are completely different!"

"You mean style? That's right. Pochi and I can probably be considered the result of the concept of 'yin angle' being extended in two different directions." Akie said with a smile.

"What direction?" Goto asked.

"For example..." Qiu Hui paused, "...Let me make it clear in advance. What I am about to say is the result of my subjective assumptions. If there is anything inappropriate, please forgive me."

"It's okay if you don't have to be so formal!"

Hongxia waved her hand and looked at Qiu Hui who was sitting upright, ready to make a comment.

The other party's performance seemed to give her some insights of her own.

"Hey, Akie-chan, before that, can I express my opinion?"

"Of course." Qiu Hui paused and waited for Hongxia to speak.

"Hmm... How should I put it? Let me give you an analogy. Pochi-chan and Akie are like two people who can't swim. Pochi-chan can't swim, so when he sees a body of water, he gets very scared and doesn't want to get close to it."

"That's indeed what I am saying..." Goto Ichiri nodded slightly.

"But Qiu Hui is a different case." Hong Xia thought, "Qi Hui... knew that she couldn't swim, so she prepared a full set of equipment including diving suits, oxygen tanks, swimming rings, etc. before going into the water."

"Though with these things, even if you enter the water, you won't sink."

"But in return, you can only float on the water forever. You can't see what's happening under the water anyway."

"..."

Qiu Hui smiled and shook her head.

"Hongxia has said almost everything I wanted to say."

She turned to look at Goto Ichiri who lowered his head.

"Pochi, you are different from me who has lost interest in 'underwater scenes'. I believe that deep down in your heart, you still long to 'go deep into the sea' one day."

“So, if I can use this as an opportunity to help you understand the ‘undersea’ more deeply, I think that’s something worth being happy about.”

Chapter 27 Short-term goals

"…I'll try my best." Goto Ichiri nodded slowly and heavily.

There was still an unavoidable uneasiness in my heart. After all, the habitual helplessness caused by past experiences was not something that could be easily overcome.

But, for some reason, in front of this peer whom she had never met not long ago, she felt an inexplicable sense of security.

She was pleasantly surprised by the enthusiasm of Hongxia and Kita, but she was more shocked than happy. Goto Ichiri, who had long been accustomed to being ignored by everyone, could not so easily and comfortably accept the kindness given by others.

However, Togawa Aie's actions made her feel somewhat reassured.

It was that calm attitude with a hint of subtle alienation that prevented her overly sensitive nerves from being too strongly shocked.

Since the other party did not approach me with too much emotion, even if I did something strange, it would not make the other party feel too uncomfortable. This kind of just right indifference, for Goto Ichiri, became a special source of security.

"That would be the best." Akie smiled restrainedly, "After all, it's rare for us to get together as a band. It's naturally the most ideal situation for everyone to work together and achieve higher goals together."

"Big, probably..." Goto agreed unsurely.

She suddenly felt that Hongxia's statement seemed quite appropriate.

Akiie-san's attitude... how should I put it? It gives people the feeling of a "practitioner".

He seemed to be following a procedure in a manual, and appeared quite steady.

Moreover, there is almost no detectable "enthusiasm" in it.