Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Page 166

She put her arm around Qiu Hui's shoulders and looked into her eyes, hoping to make her more aware of the fact that she was standing in front of her.

"..."

Although Qiu Hui still said nothing, the calm attitude she tried so hard to maintain seemed to be unsustainable.

Tears flickered faintly in her drooping eyebrows, and her thin shoulders rose and fell slightly. Ruomai in front of her only then noticed that Qiu Hui was pursing her lips tightly, her lips looked particularly soft but slightly pale, and her posture of pursing them tightly made people wonder if she would burst into tears in the next second.

But Qiu Hui didn't cry after all. She let out a long, low sigh like a broken fan, raised her slightly trembling hands and wiped away the tears.

She seemed to be trying her best to appear calm and decent, but the effort didn't seem to have much effect.

In Ruomai's opinion, Qiu Hui is now like a puppet whose joints are broken but she still dances on the stage as usual. The uncoordinated movements she is trying so hard to maintain are heartbreaking.

"...How should I put it? Actually, it's quite complicated... Sorry."

Akie whispered as if she was talking to herself.

"Right now... I may not be able to explain it clearly to Ruomai..."

"It's okay! Um...if you can't explain it, I'll explain it later! Now calm down, okay?"

Wakamai gently shook Akie's shoulders, trying to bring her back to her current dazed state.

"If you run away from home...well, doesn't that mean you won't be able to go home? So, Xiaoqiu, why don't you come to my house first? Once you get there, calm down a little and then explain the situation to me, how about that?" She made this suggestion in a hurry.

Qiu Hui glanced at Ruomai, then nodded mechanically.

"……Thank you."

She then bent down and tried to pick up her schoolbag which she had placed on the chair.

Ruomai quickly reached out and held Qiu Hui's arm. She had the illusion that if she didn't do this, Xiao Qiu might just fall to the ground.

Qiu Hui didn't seem to resist Ruomai's contact at all.

On the contrary, what made the former's heart beat wildly was that the latter even unconsciously moved a little closer to her.

"Thank you...really...thank you so much...without Wakamai, I...I don't know what to do..."

The faint whispering in Ruomai's ears was an even stronger stimulation to him.

In short, let’s go home now!

Worried about Aki's nearly collapsed state, yet delighted by her special closeness to him, Wakamai, surrounded by complicated emotions, took Aki out of the classroom as if supporting a wounded person, left the campus, and headed to the stop where Wakamai usually took the tram to go home.

...Speaking of which.

Maintaining a distance where they could almost hear each other's breathing, Ruomai suddenly remembered something.

Although Xiaoqiu and I have known each other for such a long time, but... it seems that we have never visited each other's homes even once.

Xiaoqiu only knew that I rented a house and lived alone, but had never been to my rented house.

On the other hand, I have never been to Xiaoqiu's home... No, in fact, I don't even know what the situation is at Xiaoqiu's home.

Xiaoqiu never talked to me about her family affairs...

...No, if I think about it carefully, it seems to have happened once before.

At that time, Xiaoqiu said that her whereabouts were "arranged by her family."

In other words, it was a family with strict discipline... That's why Xiaoqiu had a quarrel with them, ran away from home, and came to me.

While waiting for the train to arrive on the platform, Wakamaki felt that Akie's grip on his left hand seemed to be getting stronger and stronger.

At this moment, Ruomai suddenly realized something.

Although the current situation is completely accidental.

But... for me...

…This seemed like an “opportunity.”

The residence that Ruomai rented was a single room with a bathroom. Although it was fully equipped, the area was really small.

Apart from a desk, the only place suitable for two people to sit together seems to be the bed.

So Ruomai led Qiu Hui to the bed and they sat down on it together.

"Have you calmed down a bit?" Ruomai asked with concern, "If you feel that everything is fine, can you tell me the whole story?"

"……Um."

Qiu Hui finally calmed down at this moment. With her hands on her thighs and a slightly indifferent expression, she described her thoughts and plans at the moment in a calm tone, as if she were describing someone else's experience.

"…You want to make a living by doing odd jobs?" Ruomai was so shocked that he almost shouted, "Wait a minute! Xiaoqiu, are you serious?"

Because she herself had experience doing odd jobs to earn pocket money, she knew how unrealistic it was to rely entirely on that kind of work to support her daily life.

"How can you possibly do something like that? And what about tuition? What are you going to do with it? Are you going to just drop out of school?"

"...I can try to get a scholarship." Akie whispered, "Didn't Wakamugi tell you about the special student system in Haneda? If Wakamugi can do it, I can definitely..."

Ruomai could tell at a glance that Qiu Hui's words at this moment had no basis at all and she was just trying to show off.

"Besides, I told Ruomu before, right? I've thought about becoming a light novel writer..."

Qiu Hui whispered nervously, perhaps she herself knew how unreliable the future she described was.

That kind of thing is too unreliable, and the probability of success is too low...

Ruomai originally wanted to persuade the other party in this way to make her give up her unrealistic ideas.

However, Xiaoqiu herself must be very clear about what making this choice means and what difficulties she will face.

Perhaps there was something driving her to make this decision even though she knew the answer.

So, I...

Wakamai reached out and placed her hand on Akie's shoulder.

"I think I understand. Can you please listen to me for a moment?"

She smiled and comforted Qiu Hui.

…This is my chance.

"Before that, Xiaoqiu, have you ever thought about something more...immediate? For example, if you can't go home, where are you going to stay tonight?"

Qiu Hui was startled, as if she realized that she had not thought about this issue carefully.

"...convenience stores?" she said dully, "Or, a cubicle in a public restroom? Or a train station or airport?"

"Really detailed!" Ruomai was shocked. "Are these the options you came up with at the last minute?"

"Yeah." Qiu Hui nodded. "Before this, I saved some of my pocket money and saved it up. Now I have a little money. How should I put it? I plan to go to the outdoor goods store to buy a sleeping bag, and then I just need to find a suitable relatively closed space. This is the only way to make do until I come up with a new solution..."

She showed a serious expression and gave a clear plan of action.

Ruomai was shocked. She had thought Qiu Hui was only joking when she said this, and she had never intended to do this.

But, it turns out, she really seemed to think so.

"Don't take this seriously!"

Ruomai stood up anxiously, stood in front of Qiu Hui, stretched out his hands and pressed her shoulders tightly, as if she would run away in the next second if he didn't do so.

"The thought of a female high school student sleeping on the street is too dangerous!"

"...Otherwise, what else can we do?"

Qiu Hui sighed softly and lowered her head helplessly.

Looking at the depressed Qiu Hui, two parallel thoughts suddenly flashed through Ruomai's mind.

On the one hand, I have to stop Xiaoqiu from actually doing that kind of thing.

On the one hand... this seems like an... "opportunity" to me.

"We can't let you, Xiaoqiu, sleep on the streets!" Ruomai said righteously, "If you really have nowhere to go, then, then..."

For a moment, Ruomai felt a little guilty for his selfishness.

But this guilty conscience was soon covered up by a legitimate sense of responsibility.

So she spoke her mind without reservation.

"…Then stay at my place for now!"

Ruomai felt that his heartbeat seemed to be speeding up unreasonably.

As if she had just participated in a long-distance race at the school sports meet, she felt as if she was about to start panting with excitement.

Qiu Hui didn't have any special reaction to this suggestion, she just shook her head slightly: "I can't afford the rent..."

"I don't plan to collect rent!" Ruomai let go of her hand and sat next to Qiu Hui angrily.

“I really can’t stand you… We are good friends, right? This is just a mutual help between friends, there is no need to involve money!”

"That……"

After hearing what Ruomai said, Qiu Hui's eyes suddenly lit up.

"…Then what should I do?" She looked at Ruomai eagerly.

"Um……"

Ruomai originally wanted to say "Xiaoqiu doesn't have to do anything." But then she changed her mind and thought, Xiaoqiu, when I mentioned that I wanted to take her in, her first reaction was to ask her to pay rent!

What a wooden head!

It seems like there's absolutely no way she would agree to me taking her in unconditionally, right?

So, what should Xiao Qiu do?

She hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat troubled, but finally put forward her conditions in a serious manner.

"I'll take Xiaoqiu in to live here. In exchange, Xiaoqiu will help me... um..."

"What should I do?" Qiu Hui gave me an expectant look.

"Oh, right! How about you help me with some housework?" Ruomai suddenly had an idea. "Although this is a single room, cleaning is sometimes troublesome. Oh, and things like sending dirty clothes to the laundry... Anyway! In exchange, I will provide Xiaoqiu with a place to stay, and Xiaoqiu will help me..."

As she was speaking, Ruomai's face turned slightly red and she stopped talking.

Do housework.

It sounds just like... just like...

Yes, that's it.

Ruomai realized what he was thinking.

Although I may have proposed that plan mainly out of a sense of responsibility to my friend...

...But I also knew in my heart that this was an opportunity for me.

She smiled and looked at Qiu Hui beside her.

And after a brief silence, the other party hugged him without saying a word.

"……Thank you."

Feeling at ease, he held Qiu Hui in his arms and Ruomai smiled meaningfully.

This is my chance to make Xiao Qiu my "family"...