Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

It all makes sense. Senior's frugal lifestyle, terrible food, and... always struggling with "balancing income and expenditure".

So, it is... like this?

Chapter 69: Only the mouth is hard

Although Aine had many things she wanted to ask, she didn't open her mouth yet.

She just continued to eat, using food to suppress her urge to ask questions.

The so-called "conflict with family members" and "paying rent by myself", she really wants to know what is going on.

However, she didn't want to raise this question in front of everyone.

Due to some inexplicable impulse, she hoped that she could talk about this with Akie in a place where no one else was around.

For this reason, she even silently hoped that others would stop asking questions so that Qiu Hui could keep these secrets until they were alone.

"I have conflicts with my family. Specifically, what does that mean..."

Li Xi asked, with a slightly worried look on his face.

Could it be possible that Rikki would also show such an expression? Aine thought.

...No! Compared to this, shouldn't I be more concerned about why Li Xi showed such an expression because of his senior?

Did something happen between them that I don't know about?

As soon as this thought came to her mind, Aine suppressed it immediately.

...That's not right! Even if something happened between them, it has nothing to do with me, right?

If I were to care about what happened between them, then, according to my seniors, wouldn't that be considered "exclusive"?

If that's really the case...

Recalling Meow Mengqin's brilliant smile in the previous video, and imagining Goto-san doing whatever he wanted to his senior in the Ferris wheel car, Aine felt that if she really had that kind of thought about her senior, then... then she almost wanted to slap herself twice.

What were you doing earlier?

Having said that, at this point, Aine had a strong urge to continue to be stubborn.

That rejection at the time has now resulted in huge sunk costs.

Although sunk costs are meaningless from the perspective of economic rationality, Aiyin is not the kind of person who thinks in this way.

Therefore, she can only continue to insist on the view that "I don't like my senior"... or at least she has to emphasize that "I never liked my senior before."

While Aine was struggling in vain, Akie responded to Riki's question.

"Looking back now, I think it was basically due to some minor misunderstandings," Akie said lightly. "But since it happened a long time ago, I think it doesn't make sense to dwell on it now."

"It really doesn't make any sense." Su Shi nodded with a smile, "The past is the past. The most important thing is to focus on the present and the future."

Li Xi glanced at Su Shi briefly, as if he disagreed with this view, or rather, he disagreed with Su Shi who put forward this view.

Su Shi didn't care about Li Xi's attitude, but continued to ask: "Qiu Hui was willing to come as a supporting musician before, and she also wanted to relieve the financial pressure, right? I'm very happy to help Qiu Hui."

"Well, I am indeed very grateful for that." Akie responded politely, "The sales of my works are still good, and the band's activities are gradually getting started. So my living conditions are gradually improving, and there is nothing to worry about at the moment."

There's nothing to worry about anymore, right?

Aine felt an inexplicable sense of loss.

She thought back to the time they had spent together in the astronomy club room, when she had offered her own food to Akihabara because she couldn't stand the meager food in her lunch box.

And there were also the situations when she had treated others to dinner several times before... At that time, she felt that Qiu Hui's gratitude was unexpectedly sincere.

"...Senior, was that a difficult time?"

Aine suddenly asked in a low voice.

She felt that she no longer wanted to endure until the time when they were alone.

"Painful? Not really." Qiu Hui shook her head, "I just became a little more frugal."

“Senior, you always make light of your own affairs and brush them aside.” Aine said, with a hint of complaint in her eyes.

Obviously, it's okay to rely on everyone a little more, and it's okay to rely on me a little.

"I'm not pretending to be strong to attract sympathy, I really feel that way." Qiu Hui smiled, "Anyway, the past is in the past, I think it would be better to focus more on the things in front of us."

Qiu Hui paused, then immediately changed the topic.

"For example, the street performance the day after tomorrow... or rather the 'beach performance', and the official performance after a while."

She looked at Li Xi and asked, "Have you agreed on a time?"

"...Yeah." Li Xi nodded. "Once the new song is almost finalized, I will look for a suitable time slot. The current schedule is one week after the end of the training session."

“Ah, isn’t that very close?” Aine suddenly became nervous.

Although she had been practicing as hard as she could recently, she still couldn't help but feel some fear when the deadline really came into view.

"That's why I thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of the beach performance to rehearse a bit," said Akie.

She then looked at the lights and gently reminded him again, "Don't put too much pressure on the performance the day after tomorrow. It doesn't matter if you mess up... or rather, try to mess up as little as possible so that you won't make the same mistake again when you go on stage."

"I will... try my best!" Deng nodded vigorously.

"Because everyone from the band is here."

"Although we have encountered various difficulties and stumbled along the way, we have finally come this far."

"Yeah." Li Xi nodded vigorously, "Everyone finally seems to be a little united..."

As he spoke, Li Xi secretly winked at Su Shi.

And Su Shi responded with a noncommittal smile.

"Also, after this performance, Akiie-senpai, you won't be a supporting keyboard player anymore, right?"

Deng looked at Qiu Hui with a sad expression.

“I… was able to re-form the band this time and create new memories with everyone again, all thanks to Akiie-senpai.”

“So, I will try my best to sing well!”

Qiu Hui nodded slightly: "I believe you. When I first heard the song "Haruhi Shadow", I liked the singing of Deng very much."

"I believe that although the people around you have changed a little, this time, you will definitely be able to sing out your ideas well."

"..."

Chihaya Aine stared at the two people across the table in silence.

I……

Chapter 70 Please Forget This

Late at night.

Although the lights in the hall had been turned off for a long time and everyone should have been asleep by now, Qiu Hui still kept her eyes open.

The current situation made it really difficult for her to fall asleep.

Although the band seemed to be thriving, the lighting looked good, and preparations for the show were going pretty well...

…However, the situation between Aine and I is still in a state of confusion and tangle.

What should I do?

Deng's suggestion might be reasonable in her worldview.

However, for someone like me who has the so-called "common sense of ordinary people", the thoughts that are taken for granted for Deng may not be suitable for me.

Ignorance is not a crime. Since Deng seemed to have no common sense about love in the general sense, she should not be condemned for having such thoughts.

But, for me...

She was struggling in her heart, and her body unconsciously turned sideways as her heart was shaken.

She turned to her side and saw clearly the condition of the bedding next to her.

The person sleeping on that bed was also looking at him.

With the moonlight shining in through the window behind her, Qiu Hui could still vaguely make out the other person's expression.

“Aine, you’re not asleep either?” Akie asked in a low voice.

Except for himself and Aine who was standing in front of him, everyone seemed to have fallen asleep peacefully.

“I can’t sleep.” Aine said with a bitter face, “Senior, do you want to guess who did this?”

"..." Akie was speechless.

The awkward silence between the two lasted for a long time.

But that didn't matter, because the night was long enough to accommodate a long period of silence.

"My senior said that we should not discuss 'that topic' any further until 'tonight'."

After a long silence, Aine spoke softly.

"It's probably almost the 'next day' now. So, should we..."

"It would be great if this matter could be resolved before I leave," Akie said bluntly.

“The word ‘solve’ sounds a bit unpleasant.” Aine said dissatisfiedly.

"I'm sorry, I just felt..."

Halfway through her speech, Qiu Hui sighed helplessly.

"...Sigh. If I think about it carefully, what is all this for?"

Her eyes became slightly unfocused.

"'Like' should be a wonderful thing."

"Why have things come to this point where we seem like a burden to each other, like a problem that needs to be solved?"

An indescribable melancholy gripped Qiu Hui's heart.

"Including what I told you about Ichiri, it's actually the same."

"I couldn't easily accept her feelings for various reasons... I thought I could find a way to make it up to her, but, in reality..."

Akie recalled the two times she kissed Ichiri before.

The first time, she was simply worried about Yili's mental state.

The second time, she was more worried about being discovered by passers-by.

"You remember, I used 'lip to lip contact' to describe the situation on the Ferris wheel before."

"Indeed, is that because you are shy, Senior?"

"That may be the reason. But I think it may also be because... it was just a simple contact of lips."

Akie answered thoughtfully.

"I didn't feel any love or excitement. It was like some weird natural phenomenon."

"This isn't normal," she concluded. "It shouldn't be like this."

Aine stared at Akie in front of her quietly.

Although she is a cheerful and outgoing girl with many friends, her self-confidence in love may not be much more than that of Qiu Hui in front of her.

but……

"senior."

She spoke in a low voice, her eyes becoming firm.

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

She reached out from under the covers and held out.

"But I will definitely find a way to help you, Senior."

Akie noticed Aine's movements. After a moment's hesitation, she also stretched out her hand, and the two intertwined their fingers.

"So...senpai..."