Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

“…It might be a little different from Deng’s situation.” Aine shook her head dejectedly, “I just think that my current thoughts might not be very good.”

"Although Senpai has always helped me selflessly, if I were to ask her for something in return..."

Chihaya Aine was in a very low mood.

She is actually a very willful type. If she has a request, she will put it forward without hesitation and will also work hard to make the other party accept it.

However, Aiyin also knew that Akie's work would indeed become increasingly busy. If she was forced to ask her to stay with her, even if Akie was willing to accept, she herself was not sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"..."

Aine felt that she seemed to understand Akie's thoughts a little.

I am also hesitating because of self-doubt. I clearly want something, but I don't know what to do and want to escape.

My senior and I are partners in "escaping" together.

"It doesn't matter if you get lost, it doesn't matter if you want to escape, as long as you muster up the courage to face the fact that you want to escape..."

Although my senior once said so, is it really enough?

Aine unconsciously clenched her hands, feeling the slight sweat seeping out of the surface of her skin.

As long as you try to face the facts and bravely face the difficulties you want to avoid, you may find that those difficulties are just illusions you have made up to scare yourself.

But what if it's not?

Chihaya Aine fell into deeper confusion.

The situation this time is different from the last time.

My senior can no longer play in the band with me due to practical reasons such as busy work.

And me... Although I selfishly want my senior to continue to accompany me, I am not selfish enough to the point where I must try to tie my senior to my side.

I really don’t like seniors…

Chihaya Aine lowered her head, her face turned pale, and her lips moved slightly.

At this point, she could only think so.

Because if that weren't the case, her actions would be completely inconsistent with her thoughts.

The damage she caused to her predecessors and herself became like a meaningless joke.

“…No!” Aine yelled in her heart.

I'm not making excuses or looking for reasons, but I really don't like you...

Just then, the light touched Aine lightly.

“If Aine doesn’t know what to do, then why don’t you wait a little longer?” Deng said softly, giving her own advice.

Facing Aine who looked as hopeless as death, she continued, “Didn’t Aine say that she wanted to go to the beach for a training camp with everyone?”

“Hmm… Do you think, Deng-chan, that I should think about it a little more and wait until the training period before explaining it to senior?” Aine’s voice sounded a little weak.

"Yeah." Deng nodded gently, "Akiu-senpai, most of the time she thinks about things differently from me. But, I think she may also have a similar side to me."

"Under special circumstances, due to some inexplicable reasons... you may have different ideas."

“If Aine doesn’t know what to do, please don’t force yourself any more.”

Aine stared at the lamp thoughtfully for a while, then revealed a bitter smile.

"I'm a little surprised that Xiao Deng actually gave such serious advice."

She turned around and looked in Qiu Hui's direction.

"There is one thing... Xiao Deng, can you keep it a secret for me?"

Deng looked puzzled, but Aine soon revealed the answer.

“Do you remember…” Aine lowered her voice in embarrassment, “…what happened on the Ferris wheel before? At that time, Senpai played a joke on me?”

"Let's assume that I like you," Akie said at the time.

Deng nodded, indicating that she still remembered it clearly.

And Aine smiled bitterly and explained, “Actually, Senior, you weren’t joking at that time.”

Deng's eyes widened slightly when he heard the news.

“Aine, are you referring to… the kind of ‘like’ that Akiie-senpai herself thinks of?” She asked in an unexpected way.

Aine was stunned for a moment, then she realized, “…Right! We had all kinds of discussions about that matter, and Deng even said…everyone in the band liked it!”

She couldn't help laughing, but Deng didn't seem to understand what was so funny.

Wouldn't it be better if I could understand the meaning of the word "like" like Xiao Deng?

Looking at Deng who had a serious expression, Aine thought bitterly.

If that's the case, then there would be no problem even if I said "I like you, senpai", right?

“I understand.” Aine nodded, “I’ll try to calm down first.”

The conversation between the two came to a temporary halt.

Not long after, the other two members came to the practice room one after another.

The first person to come in was Nagasaki Suyo.

"Good morning, everyone!" As soon as she walked into the practice room, she greeted Qiu Hui and others with a smile on her face.

"Ah, Akie-senpai, you look really new today." She then expressed her surprise and admiration for Akie's new look in a polite and appropriate tone.

"…A friend helped me." Qiu Hui lowered her head embarrassedly. It seemed that she was not used to the feeling of receiving special attention because of her appearance.

"Friends? I see." Su Shi nodded in understanding. "I was wondering when Akihiro-senpai suddenly became interested in makeup and dressing up. This friend is really clever."

After a brief pause, she asked casually, as if she had just remembered something: "Come to think of it, it's still morning, right? Akie-senpai, did you put on your makeup right after you woke up?"

"Yeah." Qiu Hui nodded and said in a normal tone, "Because I stayed at my friend's house yesterday, I asked her to help me put on makeup when I got up this morning."

"I see!" Suyo said with a smile, "But why did Akiyo-senpai suddenly think of putting on makeup?"

"Well... it's not that I wanted to do it." Qiu Hui shook her head a little embarrassedly, "It was that friend who asked for it. She said she wanted to see me become more beautiful..."

"It's great that you two have such a good relationship!" Su Shi nodded with a smile.

She then turned her head and looked in the direction of Chihaya Aine.

“Aine?”

As if she noticed something, Su Shi took two steps forward and looked at Aine with some worry.

"Why do you look so bad? Are you worried about something?"

Chapter 46: Decision on the Training Camp

“…No, nothing.”

Aine, who looked pale, hugged her guitar and shook her head vigorously.

Facing Su Shi's approach, she forced a smile and responded perfunctorily.

Senior stayed at someone else's house last night...

Moreover, she said "friends" and didn't mention any names at all!

Aine's thoughts started racing. Who could this friend be? Another member of the band that had ended? Or someone else I didn't know?

...No! First of all, what does this have to do with me?

Isn't it normal for seniors to have other friends?

Rather...I should be happy!

Aiyin thought like this, but her expression was confused.

I am caring about things that I don't need to care about...

Aine is distraught, but Sushi doesn’t seem to notice.

"Is it really nothing?" She just asked worriedly, "Could it be that you are a little nervous again because the performance arrangement has been almost decided recently?"

“…That’s not true!” Aine shook her head vigorously, “I’ve been practicing hard recently! I can’t say I’m completely sure, but I’m still very confident!”

"I see." Su Shi said as if relieved, "We are all bandmates, so if there is anything bothering you, please tell me, okay?"

She smiled, looking as gentle and maternal as ever.

“I, I know. It’s really okay…” Aine smiled awkwardly.

My expression just now looked terrible, didn't it? That's why Suyo-san was worried.

At least Su Shi was relieved. Ai Yin subconsciously hugged her guitar tightly and stood there without saying a word.

Maybe Xiao Deng is right. I am too flustered to think about anything.

Just at this time, the door of the practice room opened again.

"Stray cat!" Li Xi shouted, "Finally here!"

"Coming." Lena nodded nonchalantly.

Chihaya Aine looked at Rakuna's eye-catching pair of heterochromatic eyes from afar, and couldn't help but feel a little envious.

Little Lena always does whatever she wants like this. It's so nice, this feeling of not having to worry about anything...

No, what’s more important is that everyone is here now!

“Everyone! Please listen to me!” Aine pulled herself together and shouted, “Actually, I have an idea that I want to tell you all!”

She told everyone in the band and Akie about her plan.

"...Training?"

Surprisingly, the first person to respond was Le Nai.

"So, aren't we going to do the performance?" Le Nai asked calmly.

Apart from the various matcha-flavored foods, the only thing she seemed to care about was the performance.

“Of course we can’t not do it!” Aine stressed, “But, training is also important! It can relieve the stress from preparations, and it can also improve the cohesion of our band!”

If she focused on the training, the inexplicable discomfort caused by her senior seemed to have temporarily subsided. Aine was quite satisfied with this.

"...Cohesion?" Lena tilted her head, as if thinking about the meaning of the word.

"Anyway, you probably want to be lazy again, right?" Li Xi sighed, "Although I understand, time is really tight right now. In order to get to the point where we can play as soon as possible, we should hurry up and practice!"

“You’re so strict, Rikki… And didn’t you agree to it before?” Aine asked back in dissatisfaction.

"What I agree to is arranging some rest time, but training is another matter! The time will be stretched out very long!" Li Xi retorted.

Qiu Hui looked at everyone arguing, and although she wanted to speak several times, she ended up saying nothing.

"Hmm... Well, what do you think, Suyo-san?" Aiyin turned to Suyo angrily, trying to seek approval from her.

Unexpectedly, even Su Shi seemed to agree with Li Xi's opinion: "Li Xi is right. We all hope that the performance can be held as soon as possible. After all..."

Suyo looked at the silent Akie and said, "...We need to make this performance a success before Akie-senpai gets too busy."

“…” Aine didn’t know how to respond.

After a brief silence, she also looked at Qiu Hui: "...So, what do you think, Senior?"

Aine looked dejected, which made Akie feel a little distressed.

“…I agree with Aine,” Akie said seriously.

“Really?” Aine opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Because I think that if you want to form a band that can last for a long time, cohesion is probably more important than simple practice itself." Akie stated her point of view truthfully.

Although she felt a little distressed about how Aine had just been, her decision was not made to favor Aine.

Qiu Hui looked around and smiled helplessly. This band that would quarrel at any time was really worrying.

"Deng, you think so too, right?" Qiu Hui turned to look at Deng, "In addition to practice, it is also important to enhance the connection between each other."

“Akiie-senpai is right.” Deng nodded in agreement. “It was the same before. Although I couldn’t practice properly before, everyone accompanied me and gave me courage... I cherish the time we spent together at that time.”