Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Then she sat up suddenly, picked up her cell phone and called Togawa Akie.

“Aine, what’s going on?”

"Senior, you said you don't plan to continue being a support musician. This matter..."

"It's true. I was planning to tell everyone next time we practice. Did Riki tell you? Or was it Suyo?"

"..."

As for what she said to Akie after that, Aine didn't care and seemed to have a vague memory.

She just had an inexplicable feeling of suffocation.

Air is a key element that exists and is used all the time, but usually no one notices its existence.

But right now, Akie showed her willingness to remove herself from Aine's life.

Therefore, Aine began to feel a little short of oxygen.

"I……"

Aine stared at the phone screen blankly.

Perhaps, just as she rejected Qiu Hui's confession.

At this moment, Qiu Hui, consciously or unconsciously, made a corresponding counterattack.

Chapter 26 Empathy

the next day.

Qiu Hui's schedule today is also very full.

I just worked on composing music with Lixi last night, and today we finished the band’s practice.

Therefore, the time agreed with Su Shi yesterday could only be postponed to the evening. Fortunately, the other party did not seem to care too much.

According to the arrangement mentioned in the email she received last night, she had told everyone in the Ending Band group chat in advance: Since the contract has been officially signed, according to the arrangement of the club, the Ending Band’s future practice venue will be its own recording studio, not STARRY’s practice room.

The recording studio of the agency will naturally have more complete and professional equipment, and the agency will also have instructors as usual.

From a purely technical point of view, it would obviously be much more convenient than a small performance hall like STARRY. Therefore, there was no objection to ending the band.

As usual, Qiu Hui was the first to arrive at the recording studio. After arriving, she greeted the familiar staff members present and then found her manager, Ms. Yazawa.

"You're here so early." Miss Yazawa was a little surprised, "Where are the others?"

"They need to wait a moment," Akie said.

Today she did not continue to wear the outfit she wore when she signed the contract, but instead chose a new set of casual clothes that she had found time to buy earlier.

"Well, I think it's okay to tell you directly." Ms. Yazawa said, "The recent schedule is mainly to record music videos, and then prepare new songs. Although it's too early for you to release an album, the streaming platform is already on the agenda..."

While responding, Qiu Hui took out a small notebook and wrote down some information and arrangements that sounded important.

"There's also a second performance planned... By the way, speaking of performances, didn't you say before that you were going to fill in for your friend's band?" asked Yazawa.

"Yes." Akie nodded. "I remember that the contract should not prohibit it, but I think it's better to confirm it."

"It's indeed no problem." Yazawa nodded, "As long as you don't use the name 'Akirako' or end the band's name, it will be fine. The contracts of student groups are not that strict."

"If that's the case, I'm relieved." Qiu Hui's brows relaxed.

"By the way, you still have to prepare the second volume of the novel at the library, right?" Yazawa sighed, "You are really busy, even though it is a rare summer vacation."

"Thank you for your concern, Ms. Yazawa, but I'm almost used to it by now." Akie said with a smile.

"If you think it's okay..."

Yazawa shook his head slightly, and then continued to talk about the follow-up arrangements.

After the two continued to chat about work, the second member of the band arrived at the recording studio.

"That's about all the work." Ms. Yazawa said, "Akie will be in charge of conveying it. I just happen to have other things to do, so I won't bother you any more."

After saying goodbye to Miss Yazawa, Akie turned around and met the person who came in a hurry.

"Pochi." Akie's expression was a little unnatural, "...Good morning."

"..."

Goto Ichiri was still wearing the same sportswear as always, with his back slightly hunched and a look of trepidation on his face.

Her lips trembled slightly and she made a tiny murmur, as if she wanted to speak but didn't know how to start.

"You're here really early." Qiu Hui smiled and tried to act as if nothing had happened.

In fact, she knew, and perhaps Pochi knew that she knew.

After the previous incident, the relationship between the two fell into an indescribable delicate situation.

Although Goto Ichiri once said, "I will never give up"...

But in reality, after that, she didn't have the courage to put it into practice.

Yili did not take the initiative to contact Qiu Hui, and Qiu Hui, who was busy with various work, also did not take the initiative to contact the other party.

Even though they sometimes spoke together in the group chat of the ending band, they never talked about each other at that time.

"Pochi."

"...What?" Ichiri responded in a low voice.

"Come to think of it, uh, does everyone still not know?" Qiu Hui asked.

Ryo's advice was to "take the cold approach." But Akie did not follow this advice, and instead took the initiative to clarify the situation with Ichiri.

She had not told anyone about her actions, and she believed that Pochi would not have the courage to say such a thing.

"Yeah." Ichiri nodded slightly, "I... haven't told anyone yet."

"That's fine. There's no need to let our problems affect everyone else..."

As she spoke, Akie looked around and realized that the place was full of office staff, which was not a very friendly environment for Pochi.

The other members hadn't arrived yet, so she decided to make use of this time.

"Pochi, can you come with me?"

"What, what happened?"

"There are too many strangers here, Pochi will probably be nervous. So follow me, I want to talk to Pochi about something."

After saying that, Qiu Hui reached out her hand, grabbed Yili's wrist, and took her away from there amid her exclamations.

"Akie, where are you going...ah, the bathroom?"

"Yeah, the bathroom stall."

Qiu Hui opened the door and invited Yili to go in first.

"I always feel more at ease if I talk here."

After entering the door, she walked in by herself and pulled the bolt behind her.

Regardless of Qiu Hui's original intention, this imaginative behavior still frightened Yili and made her tremble slightly. However, it was hard to say whether she was nervous or secretly looking forward to it in some special way.

"There is one thing..." Akie began with a serious expression, "I think Pochi should know."

"What's the matter?" Ichiri asked quietly, "I feel like Akie is very scary today... I've had this weird feeling since a while ago."

"Really?" Qiu Hui was stunned, then smiled helplessly, "Sorry. Because my nature is unexpectedly quite bad."

"When I'm with everyone, I will try my best to think about what I should do to take everyone's thoughts into consideration as much as possible."

"But something happened yesterday that made me... a little unable to take care of this aspect."

Qiu Hui sighed and then continued.

"To put it simply, Pochi, I encountered a similar situation as you."

"Akie, you mean..." Ichiri opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Yeah." Qiu Hui showed a somewhat pale smile, "To put it simply, I was also rejected by others."

"Huh? Why? " Yili screamed.

Her eyes contained astonishment, sympathy, and deep doubt.

"...I don't care what her reasons are." Qiu Hui shook her head, "and I don't intend to hold anyone responsible."

"I think I should be able to accept this fact... But after experiencing the pain of being rejected, I feel..."

Qiu Hui took a deep breath and suppressed her nervousness.

She seemed to say something, but quickly shook her head.

"...No. I don't want to influence you, Pochi. So...I think it's better for you to make the request."

She stretched out her hands, placed them on Pochi's shoulders, and met his evasive eyes.

"This is not sympathy or compensation. This is a request from my own side based on my own needs."

"My request is: please make a request of me. As long as it's not too much, I will agree to it."

Chapter 27 Excessive Demands

As Togawa Aie herself said, her nature might have a pretty bad side.

If you act recklessly and without restraint, you will certainly not appear to be likable.

Precisely because she was vaguely aware of this, she chose to spend more energy than ordinary people to cover it up and eliminate its potential impact.

Always pay attention to etiquette and speaking style, and adhere to the value of "equal exchange".

Always put yourself in a relatively lower position to consider issues, try your best with your clumsy efforts, and maintain the relationship based on your own understanding, which may not be correct.

It is actually a very tiring job.

Therefore, Qiu Hui is now tired and wants to give up.

"...So, Pochi, I want you to... help me."

Holding Ichiri's shoulder, Qiu Hui felt a little dizzy.

But, the Goto Ichiri in front of him might be even more nervous than himself, much more nervous.

Her expression gave people the feeling that her facial features were about to fall apart, as if there was an extremely strong force trying to tear them apart.

Akie felt that she could understand the other person's feelings to some extent. If Aine stood in front of me like this, I would probably be at a loss as well, right?

"I... don't know what to do."

she whispered.

"I feel like I have to do something, but I'm afraid of making a mistake. Maybe it's because I was rejected by the other party, so I feel my mind has become a mess, and I often have random thoughts..."

Akie tried her best to make her tone sound calm and steady, but Goto Ichiri could see that her mood was far from as calm as she said.

"Well, Akie, calm down a bit..." Ichiri said softly, "We still have to practice today..."

I was here to practice today, why did you suddenly pull me into a place like the bathroom stall and tell me these weird things?

There are also things like "please make requests to me"... Don't use such expressions that can cause misunderstandings!

She secretly looked at Akie's face.

She looked tired and melancholy, yet still had the same intellectual and demure beauty as always, reminding me of those Greek marble sculptures...

Okay. I've never seen any Greek marble sculptures in my life. But, metaphorically, that's what it means, right?

"Calm down... Well, maybe I should try to calm down." Qiu Hui nodded slightly, "So, I thought of a somewhat malicious idea."

"I just asked you to make demands on me. In this way, I will be shifting all the responsibilities... onto you."

Qiu Hui lowered her head in embarrassment.

"This way, no matter what I do, I won't make any mistakes. Because I'm just following your instructions, Pochi."