Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"Light..." Li Xi looked melancholy, as if he was blaming himself.

"For example... the time when everyone in CRYCHIC went to karaoke together?" Su Shi smiled, but a thin layer of sweat oozed from his forehead. "Yes, that was indeed the case!"

Her fingers were folded tightly together in front of her.

Deng's statement immediately changed the whole atmosphere.

"Since Deng has said so..." Li Xi sighed, "Well, I have no objection."

"Everyone has a point. When I think about it carefully, I also think that team cohesion is very important..." Su Shi excused herself.

The only one left is Lenai, a stray cat who is completely out of touch with the atmosphere.

"If we go to the training camp, will there be matcha parfait?" Lena asked, "Matcha ice cream, milkshake, or something else is also fine."

“There will definitely be all kinds of matcha flavored food at the resort!” Aine added with a delighted look on her face, “If you want to eat it, Ryunosuke, I can buy it for you!”

"I see." Lena smiled. "Training sounds interesting."

"You're just craving for food, right?" Li Xi complained with a dark face.

In this way, the matter of the joint training was settled.

Then, Aine came in front of Akie and grabbed Akie's wrist.

She was a little taller than Qiu Hui, so she had to lower her head slightly to meet Qiu Hui's eyes.

"Senior, you will definitely come, right?"

Looking at Aine's eager eyes, Akie thought for a moment and then nodded slightly.

"I'll try to make time."

Chapter 47: Long-term vegetarian diet

After the practice this morning, everyone left the practice room temporarily.

Since Lixi has booked all available time slots for today in advance, practice will continue in the afternoon.

Qiu Hui decided to stay near RiNG during her lunch break today to save herself from spending more commuting money and time.

And when she just walked out of the practice room, Aine followed her.

"……senior."

Feeling the touch on her wrist, Akie turned her head and looked at Aine.

Even without looking at her expression and just listening to her voice, one could tell that she seemed not as lively as usual at the moment.

"Is there anything wrong?" Qiu Hui asked.

“Stay with me for a while.” Aine said softly. The tone sounded like a request, but it also seemed to have a hint of temper.

Qiu Hui didn't say anything, but just looked in the direction of the coffee shop: "Well, let's go sit over there?"

"……Um."

The two of them came to the booth and sat opposite each other.

Akie looked at Aine who was clearly in an abnormal state and felt a little conflicted.

Although her main job is a light novel author, she does not think that she is a wooden person who has no emotional perception like the protagonist of the light novel.

Is she the way she is now because I decided not to be a support musician anymore?

Although she doesn't "like" me, she still doesn't want me to leave her.

Feelings are such a confusing thing, Qiu Hui thought helplessly.

Having said that, she didn’t know how to best face Aine.

Because, I am really busy with work, so I can't continue to appear here.

Even if Aine agreed to my request and we really became that kind of special relationship, I couldn't easily...

"senior."

"What's wrong?"

Akie's thoughts were interrupted by Aine's sudden words.

"Senpai, really... that's not right. I should ask this more accurately. Even if you don't plan to continue being a supporting musician..."

Akie realized that she had never seen Aine like this before.

Even when she was depressed because of the pressure from Le Nai, she never showed such an attitude.

"...Senior, you will continue to be my good friend, right?"

Akie nodded without hesitation: "Of course. I just left because of work."

In other words, it wasn't because I had any opinion about Aine, nor did it mean that Aine did anything wrong.

She felt that it was difficult to say such words out loud, so she could only convey them as subtext, wondering if Aine could understand.

"...You're really going to come for the training camp, right?"

Aine didn't respond to what Akie just said, but just asked the question again.

"I'll come." Qiu Hui nodded. "No matter how busy I am, I can definitely spare at least one day..."

Although she made a promise, Qiu Hui couldn't help but feel a little regretful as soon as she said it.

Because, Aine didn’t seem to be encouraged by this. The faint melancholy on her face seemed to be strengthened by this statement.

Just as Qiu Hui was wondering what she had said wrong, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

"Akie."

"……cold?"

Qiu Hui turned around and saw Liang's face with a subtle expression. There were two other people following her, one was Su Shi, and the other was someone Qiu Hui didn't know.

The dark-haired stranger was carrying a musical instrument bag and wearing a black leather jacket and a blood-red inner shirt that looked a little too mature for a high school student. He looked steady and capable.

Too mature, this is the standard for judging ordinary high school girls. But for the stranger in front of him, it seems to complement each other.

"I didn't expect to meet Yamada-san here!" Suyo said with a smile, "Akie-san happened to be here too, so I brought her along as well."

"Then I guess you are the Togawa Akie that Ryo mentioned just now. Nice to meet you." The stranger nodded slightly and said in a calm and cold voice, "I am Ryo's friend."

"Would you like to introduce yourself?" Ryo nudged the stranger with his elbow.

The stranger remained calm, not taking Ryo's somewhat rude behavior to heart: "Okay. I'm Hachiman Kairei, please give me your guidance."

Hai Ling quickly scanned the people present, and then she made a quick judgment in her mind.

"It seems that you all have topics to discuss that have nothing to do with me right now. Do you need me to step aside?" she said.

"...It's okay." Qiu Hui smiled, "It's nothing important anyway, just be as you please."

Is this Hachiman-san actually Ryo's friend?

Liang can actually make friends who look so serious... No, if you think about it carefully, maybe it's because Liang always likes to do some inexplicable things that he is more likely to attract serious people?

Qiu Hui didn't waste too much attention on these details, but quickly focused on Su Shi who seemed to want to say something.

"Akie-senpai, you're going to do a training camp with us, right?" Suyo said with a smile on her face. "Just at this time, I met Yamada-san who just finished her band, so I invited her over. If we can finalize the arrangement now, it will probably be more convenient for both of us."

Aiyin, who was sitting across the table, was stunned for a moment, then lowered her head, as if she didn't dare to look Liang in the eye.

“…Training together?” Ryo looked at Aine across the table with a meaningful look on his face, “Akie, why don’t you train with us but with other band members?”

"Uh...this..." Qiu Hui immediately lowered her head in embarrassment. This question was indeed difficult for her to explain.

As a complete outsider, Hachiman Kairei first observed Akie and Ryo, and then paid special attention to Suyo, whose smile seemed to have become even brighter for some reason.

"I'm sorry." Qiu Hui apologized sincerely, "Because, there are some very important things that need to be dealt with at this opportunity..."

"It's important." Liang nodded.

Then, she came to Aine, shocking the latter.

“Wow! Yamada-senpai…senpai, this…” Aine was a little nervous.

"...What a rare reaction." Ryo gave a faint smirk, "You're becoming like Pochi."

Without waiting for Aine to respond further, she immediately asked, “How long will the training session last?”

“Two to three days…” Aine answered uneasily, “B-but! It would be enough if Senpai can just come for one day!”

“Oh… Really?”

After Liang pondered for a moment, he finally came up with the answer.

She gave Qiu Hui a meaningful look and said, "Qiu Hui, how about I give you three days off?"

"real?"

Facing the somewhat stunned Qiu Hui, Liang shrugged: "You said you had something 'important' to deal with."

“Really?” Aine’s sadness turned into joy, she was overjoyed, “Thank you, Yamada-senpai!”

"If you really want to thank me, please don't call me such a cheesy name..." Liang frowned.

However, compared to Liang, there was another person whose expression suddenly became worse.

Nagasaki Suyo's loss of composure only lasted for a moment, and she quickly regained her smiling demeanor, confident that no one had noticed.

Chapter 48: The Unsettled World

Nagasaki Suyo vaguely felt that a kind of unsettling "air" was spreading around her.

Yamada Ryo, Chihaya Aine, Togawa Aki. The three of them seem to have a more complex and subtle relationship than simply "teammates" and "teammates' teammates".

The "air" created by the tacit understanding between the three of them excludes Su Shi in a subtle way.

The result of this rejection was that Su Shi, knowing nothing about the relationship between them, personally brought about a terrible consequence that was beyond her expectations.

It shouldn't be like this.

Akie-senpai was stopped by her teammates who had finished their band, and had to compromise after weighing the pros and cons. The time she spent with Aine and "our band" became very short...

This is how it should be. But why did Yamada-san let Akee-san get along with other band members?

Su Shi took two steps back in silence, hiding his inner uneasiness with the smile he was already accustomed to.

Senior Qiu Hui does not belong to this band. She focuses on her own work and no longer pays attention to things here. This should be the right choice.

She was a supporting member from the beginning to the end. She had never officially joined, so she had the right to quit at any time. Both she and I knew this very well, and there was no deception or concealment at all.

I can understand that Aine doesn't want Akiie-senpai to leave because of her own selfish reasons...

...But why did Yamada-san agree?

Nagasaki Suyo couldn't understand.

She wanted to speak and ask the question that was lingering in her mind.

But she soon realized that she shouldn't do that.

The "air" wouldn't allow her to do that.

Just as she believed that Akie "did not belong" to the band, she herself was not in a position to comment on the arrangements for ending the band.

If I questioned this arrangement, if Yamada-san asked me, "What does this have to do with you? Why do you care so much?" I would not be able to find a suitable reason.

The real reason cannot be stated. That's what socializing is all about.

Even if both parties are fully aware of each other's thoughts, they must maintain an unspoken understanding on the surface.

…Even in this “new band” consisting of Tomo, Riki, Aine, Ryunosuke, and myself, it’s the same.

Ryo, Aine, and Akie were chatting excitedly about the specific schedule, while Suyo, who had no way to get a word in, was left alone. Her nervousness drove her to make compulsive movements, so she reached out her hand and gently, meaninglessly, smoothed her side hair.

She repeated this pointless action out of stress until she felt a probing gaze from someone beside her.

"...Hachiman-san?"

"Are you interested in chatting?" Hachiman Kairei stated her purpose directly, "It seems that Ryo and the others will need some time."

After saying this, she looked at Su Shi with a polite but slightly majestic attitude, waiting for her reply.