Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Chapter 20 Xiangzi is cleaning

After hastily finishing his dinner, Lixi quickly returned to his room.

Because, she had no way to interrupt the conversation between Miss Haruna and her sister. So, it would be better to focus on her own business.

Thinking back to the scene at the dinner table, she realized that even Miss Haruna seemed to realize this.

My sister wanted to talk about me several times with great interest, but she always took the initiative to change the subject.

Although I didn't say anything, she seemed to realize something.

The relationship between Haruna-san and Aki-e is not good. Or maybe it’s okay to say it’s very bad.”

Sitting in front of the computer desk, waiting for the computer to start up, Li Xi thought.

So... could it be that because she had experienced a very strained relationship with her sisters, she has become more considerate of the feelings of the "sister"?

For some reason, Li Xi felt a little uncomfortable.

Haruna said that she returned to Tokyo from Kyoto without telling Akie.

In other words, she didn't even want Qiu Hui to know that they were in the same city.

"..."

Even though he often felt pressure from his sister, Li Xi felt that he could hardly imagine it.

How bad does a sisterly relationship have to be for it to become like that?

The computer screen lights up and the desktop appears.

Lixi opened the composition software and prepared to start today's work.

Just then, a message alert sound suddenly rang from the phone.

“…Akie?”

She unlocked her phone and checked the message from Qiu Hui.

"I wanted to talk to you about composing music. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Li Xi was a little confused. She didn't expect that she would receive a message from Qiu Hui at this time.

How come she just appeared when I thought of her?

Her sister is now in the living room with my sister, and there is only a door between us...

While Li Xi was stunned, Qiu Hui sent follow-up messages one after another.

"I think Li Xi is just like me, and wants to finish preparing for the performance as soon as possible."

"My own band is also getting busy lately."

“So, I hope to be able to perform on stage with everyone soon before there are more events over there.”

"This way, I can be said to have fulfilled my responsibility as a supporting musician."

Take responsibility to the end? This statement made Li Xi feel a little uneasy.

Li Xi quickly replied: "Togawa-senpai, are you not going to continue to be a support musician?"

When she typed the words "supporting musicians", she felt an inexplicable sense of wrongness.

Although everyone was aware of Qiu Hui's identity as a supporting musician, Li Xi had actually already subconsciously regarded her as a member of the band.

"Yes," Qiu Hui replied, "I have always only come here to help out when I have time."

"Although I am very happy during this time of practicing with everyone, I can't keep going like this."

"At the end of the day, this band still needs a regular keyboard player."

Reading the text sent by Qiu Hui, Li Xi suddenly felt a sense of loss.

...That's right.

Togawa-senpai, I'm just here to help.

Although she helped Deng get over his emotional problems, so that we could form a band again, and persuaded the guy who wanted to escape to come back...

...But she never said she wanted to join us.

"I understand." Li Xi replied.

Even so, she didn't really understand. Qiu Hui's decision was not just because she couldn't spare the time, but there was another more important reason.

Li Xi was just thinking. If Togawa-senpai wanted to leave...

The first thing she thought of was the light.

With the help of senior Togawa, Deng resolved his worries and now wants to form a band for the rest of his life.

If Togawa-senpai comes and leaves, what should I do?

Li Xi subconsciously wanted to ask the other party this question, but she soon realized that now was not the time to think about these things.

If you are too persistent, Senior Togawa will also be troubled by it.

Thanks to the fact that one had to type and press the send button before sending a message, Li Xi didn't blurt out the answer.

"Well, I'll trouble Togawa-senpai this time," she finally typed.

Li Xi originally wanted to take care of all the work by himself.

But since Qiu Hui said so, she could only accept the other party's kindness.

"Okay, is it convenient for me to come to your place? I think it will be smoother to communicate face to face."

Li Xi saw the message sent by Qiu Hui.

She was about to say yes, but she suddenly realized that Qiu Hui's sister was right outside the door!

"Sorry, I'm a little inconvenient here." Li Xi replied, "Can I go to your place, Togawa-senpai?"

"Sorry, it's not very convenient for me here." Qiu Hui replied.

Qiu Hui's side is also not working? Li Xi was puzzled.

I have Miss Haruna on my side who doesn't want to see Akie, but is there anyone on Akie's side who doesn't want to see me?

……

"Akie, why are you looking at me suddenly?"

Xiangzi, who was mopping the floor, looked at Qiu Hui with some confusion.

"Ah, no, nothing." Qiu Hui replied somewhat guiltily.

Shiina-san actually suggested coming to my place... If that happens, won't she run into Shoko?

Li Xi's attitude towards Xiangzi seems to be quite bad, and Xiangzi doesn't want to have anything to do with his former teammates. If these two people meet, I really don't know what will happen.

"But, there is something I want to ask Xiangzi-san."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, I just want to confirm..." Qiu Hui asked, "...are you going to go home after cleaning, or do you want to continue doing something with me?"

If Xiangzi went home directly after cleaning, then she might ask Li Xi to come over to her place. This was Qiu Hui's idea, which was very simple.

But in Xiangzi's opinion, these words seemed to have other meanings.

"I...actually I have some things to do at home! So, I'll probably be getting ready to go home after I finish cleaning!"

Her ears turned slightly red and she replied nervously.

Qiu Hui likes girls, right?

Well, if she invited me to stay overnight, wouldn't that mean something like this?

This was a bit too exciting for Xiangzi.

However, Qiu Hui had no time to pay attention to Xiangzi's situation for the time being, because her mind was full of work.

"Okay, I know."

Qiu Hui then turned around and sent a message to Li Xi, telling her that she could come to her place after some time.

But Li Xi did not accept the proposal.

"It's too late now. My sister might not let me go out. How about we use voice to contact each other? I'll send you my thoughts later."

“…Alright, that’s fine.”

Qiu Hui took out the headphones from the drawer and prepared to connect them to the computer's audio interface.

Shiina-san doesn't know that I've met Xiangzi, but Xiangzi knows that I've met Shiina-san, so there shouldn't be any problem...

Chapter 21 A Plan

Qiu Hui is working. No matter what she is doing, it is better not to disturb her for the time being.

With his heart pounding as he thought of this, Xiangzi wrung out the rag and began to clean the cupboard where all kinds of things were kept.

On this simple cabinet, there were all kinds of things placed in no particular order: daily necessities, electronic products that Xiangzi couldn't figure out the purpose of, a few books, and some folders stacked together. He had no idea what was inside.

Xiangzi temporarily took down the things on top and piled them on the bed behind him within reach, so that it would be easier to wipe the open shelves.

As for the inside of the cupboard, she had no intention of touching it unless Qiu Hui asked.

Just as she herself has many secrets that she doesn't want others to know, Akie must also have many things that she doesn't want others to know.

She wet the rag, wrung it out neatly and spread it out, then wiped the surface with quick and powerful movements.

Even though she didn't know what a beverage machine was more than a year ago, she gradually adapted to her new role in the face of the demands of the real situation.

The work was quickly completed and Xiangzi took the things back from the bed, intending to put them back in their place.

However, when she picked up a book, her attention was attracted by the content on the cover.

It was a small paperback edition with a smiling heroine printed on the cover. The long title roughly indicated the content of the book: it was about the emotional entanglements between a group of girls playing in a band.

After seeing the pen name, Xiangzi realized who the author of the book was. The real person was sitting next to him, wearing headphones, typing on the keyboard, doing some work.

It's a book written by Qiu Hui. And the subject is... a band?

This made Xiangzi involuntarily open it.

She read quickly, instinctively trying to get the general idea of ​​the plot as quickly as possible before being discovered by Akie.

Xiangzi didn't know why she thought so, but she always felt that Qiu Hui didn't seem like the type who would enthusiastically share her works with others.

So, if the other person notices it, it might become very embarrassing.

With this in mind, she tried to speed up her reading, but the result was the opposite of what she had hoped for, and her speed slowed down little by little.

The protagonist chooses to break up with his original teammates in order to "make money", recruit new teammates, and open up a new path of his own.

This scene made Xiangzi feel as if he heard a buzzing in his head.

Did she write this based on my situation?

This was his first reaction, but Xiangzi soon realized that this was probably just wishful thinking.

The conception of this book must have taken a long time, and perhaps the theme had been finalized long before Qiu Hui met me.

Moreover, the protagonist and I have many differences. Not to mention the inner personality, even the most conspicuous hair color is different from mine...

Oh, hair color?

Xiangzi suddenly thought of the topic about broken love that they had talked about in the convenience store before.

Chihaya Aine. I've met that person before, and she actually invited me to join a band.

She is a lively and outgoing person, and I have a good impression of her.

However, Akie likes her, and she also has pink hair, just like the protagonist in the book.

So, does that mean the character's image was designed based on her appearance?

This is only natural. After all, Qiu Hui said that she likes her.

However, Xiangzi didn't know why, but he felt a little sour in his heart.

She suppressed the urge that came from nowhere and put the book back on the shelf.