Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Aine looked at Akie, who called her name but said nothing, with some confusion.

Qiu Hui smiled and said, "I like you."

"Oh, so you like me..."

Aine’s expression suddenly froze as if the pause button had been pressed.

"Wait, senpai, what did you say?"

Beside Aine who was dumbfounded, Deng suddenly looked at her with great interest.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! What's going on? What's going on?"

For some reason, Meowmu seemed even more flustered than Aine herself.

As for Akie, she smiled as if she had succeeded in a prank.

“Aine, you should understand now. If what I just said was the truth…”

"...Can you really make a decision as easily and happily as you said just now?"

……

night.

Aki's residence.

She answered the video call request, and Aine’s face wearing glasses appeared on the screen.

"Senior, um..."

Aine’s expression was a little strange.

"Yeah, that's what you said on the Ferris wheel..."

"I was joking, right?" Akie smiled. "I used an analogy to make you realize the seriousness of confessing your feelings."

“Oh, um… I see.”

Aine showed a complicated and subtle expression.

Is she feeling regretful, disappointed, or fortunate?

Qiu Hui didn't want to make such speculation now.

If we want to eliminate the possibility of wishful misunderstanding...

Then don’t even try to “understand” it. This is the safest way.

“Hmm… I think I did understand a little bit.” Aine said, “At that moment, my mind went blank, and then… I didn’t know what to do. After all, Senpai suddenly said that, and I didn’t know what to do for a while…”

“…By the way, Aine, can I ask you something?”

"Of course you can. What's the matter?"

“It’s just an analogy, but I’m actually a little concerned. If I really confessed to you, Aine, would you agree?”

“Eh? Huh? This… I… I don’t know! I also…”

“…‘I don’t know’…?”

Maybe, unexpectedly, is a good answer.

"…If you really can't think of anything, forget it. It's just an analogy after all. Don't take it too seriously."

“That’s right. After all, it’s just… ah, by the way, I actually have something else to ask you, senior!”

"What's up?"

"It's about the band. Senior, you've signed the contract now, right? Then, can you still come and help us in the future?"

"If there was no other work, I would definitely come."

“That’s good.” Aine nodded happily, “I’m sure Deng will be very happy too, right?”

"To be honest, although the seniors have always been supporting members, this band has always had a deep relationship with the seniors since its inception."

"Senpai has helped me with Xiao Deng's inner struggles, my escape, and the problems I have encountered so far."

"If Senpai really can't come, how should I put it, it really feels like something is missing."

“So, I think it’s great that Senpai can still come and play in the band with everyone.”

Qiu Hui also smiled and said, "Am I so important?"

"It's very important! To be honest, I've thought about whether I should let Senior join in formally... But it's just a thought. Senior is almost too busy now, right?"

“I’m really busy.” Akie nodded, “But I’ll still try my best to come to Aine’s place to help.”

She tried her best to control her expression and avoid any drastic fluctuations.

“Because, I feel happy spending time with Aine.”

“…” Aine didn’t say anything. This was really rare.

"... Well, if there's nothing else, I'll hang up first. Good night!"

"Well, good night."

After hanging up the phone, Qiu Hui stared at the phone screen.

The call interface automatically exited and the window showing the message history appeared. I just stared at the text and spent some time in silence.

The result was the same as what happened in Yili. He said he wanted to make things clear, but he didn't do it at all.

"What should I do from now on..."

Volume: Volume 3 "Lost Star on a Summer Night"

Good morning, Meow Meow! Everyone, are you listening? Today we bring you a special summer program! Be prepared, eh? The content of this episode is quite... disturbing! So here's the revelation... Surprisingly, surprisingly! Today's theme is "Meow Dream's Junior High School Love Secret History SPECIAL"! Clang clang!

...Well, that's probably it. Before digging those memories out of my mind, I need to prepare myself mentally like this.

It's more like watching a variety show starring a guy who looks a lot like me than reminiscing about things that are related to me.

I would remind myself like this before playing that memory.

If I didn't treat it in such a frivolous manner and add a bystander's filter to the past, I think I probably wouldn't have the courage to look back on it today.

The series of events that happened at that time made me feel regretful and sad... Although that was the case, I still felt confused.

Until now I still don’t understand what I did wrong at that time.

...Before I begin, let me introduce myself.

My name is Yutenji Wakamugi.

This name... to be honest, it's a bit too weird to be a real name. But if you interpret it with the online name "Niao Meng" which has a similar pronunciation in Japanese, it will sound lively and cheerful.

Perhaps this means that my fate of becoming an internet celebrity was already determined when I was born...

...Just kidding.

Having said that, when I was in middle school, I never thought that one day I would become a fashion blogger appearing in person.

At that time, I actually hoped to be a virtual anchor in the future.

Although it is also a job that requires self-expression, it would be a little easier if I could hide behind a cartoon character.

I want to be liked by everyone, but I don’t have the courage to really expose myself in front of the camera and let everyone judge me.

So, a compromise like this one is chosen.

My style in junior high school is very different from my style now. I was much more gloomy then than I am now.

I don’t know how to put on makeup, and I’ve never studied dressing and grooming. I’m very quiet in front of strangers, and the only thing I can show off is… guess what it is?

Actually it’s about academic performance.

It's quite unexpected. My little Meow Mengqin in junior high school turned out to be a nerd! It's really unexpected, right?

Well, then everyone must be asking, Miao Meng, how did you transform from a nerd in junior high school to a fashion icon today?

Well... we have to start with... Xiaoqiu's story.

That noon...

It was during lunch break one day when I was in the third year of junior high school.

That day, while having lunch, we somehow ended up talking about our future plans.

That’s when I told her that maybe I wanted to become a cam girl.

At that time, she said to me...

……

"...If Mai becomes a virtual anchor, it always feels a bit... wasteful."

Togawa Akie lowered her head with a lost look.

This is also the expression that Ruomai sees on her face most often.

She occasionally thought about how many hours out of the 24 hours in a day Qiu Hui spent in this slightly lost state?

"Waste?" Ruomai didn't quite understand what the other party meant. "Is there anything wasteful?"

"Because Wakamai is pretty." Akie said as if it was a matter of course, "If she spends a little time dressing up, she will definitely become very attractive! Wouldn't it be better to appear directly on camera instead of being a virtual anchor?"

Ruomai's face turned red immediately: "That kind of thing is impossible!"

She shook her head vigorously out of shyness, and her plain black hair rose slightly.

"Xiao Qiu, you know this, right? I only appear a little more lively in front of Xiao Qiu." Ruomai whispered, "and..."

Besides, if we talk about prettier, it is obviously... Xiaoqiu who is prettier.

Thinking of this, Ruomai felt a little itchy in his heart for some reason and lowered his head guiltily.

Whether it's the shape of the face, the lines of the neck, the shape of the nose bridge, lips, earlobes, eyelashes, pupils...

Even if she wears rustic black-framed glasses... No, it would be better to say that Xiaoqiu should wear glasses!

People always think that wearing glasses will "seal your appearance" or something like that, but this is a completely unreasonable prejudice!

"…Wakamaki?"

Qiu Hui noticed that the other party seemed to be stunned and reminded him. She looked normal and had no idea what Ruomai was thinking at the moment.

“…Ah? No, nothing! Where were we talking about?”

Ruomai was so confused and flustered due to guilty conscience that he was in a panic for a while before he came back to normal.

“Anyway, anyway, I want to be a virtual anchor because I want to attract attention, but I’d be a little shy if I were to appear in front of a camera myself.”

Ruomai blushed and asked, "Xiaoqiu, why do you want to become a light novel writer?"

"Because..." Akie said thoughtfully, "If you become a successful light novel writer, you can express your ideas freely, resonate with readers, and earn considerable income in this way. The working hours are flexible and can be arranged relatively freely. In addition, there is no hard threshold except for the writing level itself. Even if you fail to enter college, you can still try to do it..."

"...Wait a minute!" Ruo Mai interrupted, "The tone of your excuses seems to be getting lower and lower! Is this okay?"

"That's true." Akie burst out laughing. "After all, when choosing a career, one should consider it from a practical perspective..."

A practical angle.

Hearing Qiu Hui's opinion, Ruomai nodded unconsciously.

practical……

My parents have said similar things.

Ruomai is very smart, so he needs to study hard and get into a good university so that he can find a job that pays well and is easy in the future.

Although the two people had such huge differences of opinion that they were on the verge of divorce, they were surprisingly consistent on this one point... It was really infuriating.

Looking at Qiu Hui's smiling face, Ruomai couldn't help but ask, "...Let's not worry about the practical issues for now, after all, I don't really understand it either."

She looked at Qiu Hui with a little more seriousness.