Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Mu turned his head and looked at Qiu Hui, with an expression on his little face that showed that he really wanted to listen.

"He also tried to teach me how to make tea. In addition to the need for etiquette, the more important thing is to cultivate sentiment... Isn't that what all parents like to say?" Qiu Hui said with a smile.

"Tea ceremony class... me too..." Mu nodded, as if they were in resonance.

Perhaps the four words "cultivate sentiment" made her feel the same way.

"Tea ceremony? Ah, Wakaba-san may have misunderstood. It's such a complicated thing, and my father himself probably doesn't understand it." Akie smiled and shook her head, "He only cares about how to choose tea leaves and how to make tea taste good. He doesn't care about other things. But Wakaba-san..."

Qiu Hui frowned and turned her head to look at Mu.

"...The tea ceremony you learned is that kind of serious etiquette class?"

What era is this? There are actually people who let their children learn that kind of thing?

Qiu Hui was interested in the identity of Wakaba. Could she be the daughter of the Prime Minister? Wait, what is the Prime Minister's last name?

"...Yeah." Mu nodded slightly.

"You must be very tired." Qiu Hui sighed.

She herself had not received much education in this area because of her poor performance, but she had heard a lot about her sister's personal experience in this area.

Etiquette classes naturally include but are not limited to things like tea ceremony. Walking, sitting, lying down, food, clothing, housing, and transportation, any aspect of life can be included.

The so-called etiquette, after all, is a study on how to stifle one's nature and then pretend to cater to the scrutiny of others. When Qiu Hui finally chose to run away from home, it was largely because she couldn't stand these things.

"Yes...very tired." Mu nodded even harder.

“That’s amazing.” Akie exclaimed, “Because I can’t stand this kind of thing myself, I respect everyone who can do this equally.”

...Of course, this includes my sister.

If only she wasn't so... that.

"..." Mu placed his little hands on the table, staring at the patterns on it, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

Just then, Su Shi walked towards the two of them with a teapot and teacups.

"Please use it."

She handed out teacups to everyone in a graceful but stern manner, then sat down opposite Qiu Hui.

Chapter 103: Covering Sorrow with Anger

The familiar aroma of Darjeeling calmed Nagasaki Suyo's spirit a little.

Sitting in her own chair, she showed more calmness than before.

She gambled everything, even at the cost of hurting everyone in the band, in order to fulfill her obsession with getting Shoko Toyokawa back... and then faced a tragic failure.

But this matter did not occupy a high priority in her mind at the moment.

From the moment she knelt on the ground, her heart was filled with despair.

Everything she stood for was torn to pieces by the only person she cared about, who stepped on her feet a few times and even sneered at her... This complete contempt that could hardly be called hostility made Su Shi lose the strength to even stand up.

Until Qiu Hui appeared.

She helped me...and said those nasty things.

Qiu Hui shouldn't be that kind of person. Su Shi picked up the teacup, frowned, and thought.

At least, she always knew how to behave and was very polite. Although she would occasionally lose control and talk to herself, she would quickly stop and apologize once she was reminded.

Why now?

Su Shi glared at Qiu Hui.

The latter remained calm and just drank his tea quietly.

"…Darjeeling?"

After taking a sip, she asked slowly.

"How do you know?"

"It's just a blind guess." Akie said calmly, "It's like saying it's Angus when you don't know what breed of beef it is."

This joke, which was neither big nor small, made Su Shi extremely angry at the moment.

"...Akie, why have you been talking in such an irritating way since just now?"

Su Shi finally couldn't bear it anymore, and she decided to take the initiative to ask clearly now.

"Because I wanted to piss you off."

Akie answered nonchalantly.

"…What kind of answer is that?" Su Shi asked angrily.

"Qiu Hui, why do you say that?" Mu seemed a little scared.

"Because you can hate me, but you can't hate Xiangzi-san."

Qiu Hui gave a somewhat helpless smile.

"...Huh?" Su Shi was stunned.

I...can't hate classmate Xiangzi?

"Shoko rejected you harshly and criticized your obsession from head to toe." Akie said thoughtfully, "You may not agree... or you know in your heart that she is right, but your emotions will always tell you: 'Shoko Toyokawa hurt you badly, you should hate her.'"

"I... No, I have always been..."

Su Shi, who was sitting across the table, was eager to excuse herself.

"I... just want to bring back the good times that belonged to everyone..." Su Shi seemed to be explaining to Qiu Hui, but it also seemed like she was talking to herself, "When CRYCHIC was still here, everyone was so happy..."

At this time, Mu shook his head slowly but firmly.

"...I've never had fun playing in a band."

She raised her head and looked Su Shi directly in the face, as if for some reason she had gained the courage to do so.

"Xiao Mu, you're saying that again." Su Shi's face was gloomy.

Mu nodded. This time, Su Shi's gloomy look did not scare her.

Perhaps because of the series of conversations with Akie just now, Mu Ye more or less realized that Su Shi’s anger... didn’t seem to have much lethality.

"Everyone, we have gathered together because of Xiang's intention."

"Everyone is being encouraged by Xiang and is acting according to Xiang's ideas."

Mu put his hands in front of him and spoke quietly.

"I don't find this kind of band interesting at all."

Mu's heart was pounding.

This was the first time she said this to Su Shi.

"Xiao Mu... is that what you think?"

Su Shi's eyes looked empty for a moment.

But soon, she put on the protective color of anger again.

"…It's all Xiaomu's fault." She said gritting her teeth.

If you allow anger to take over your heart, sadness will not be able to run rampant.

Unconsciously, Su Shi found that he had become accustomed to this somewhat ridiculous self-protection.

At this time, Qiu Hui spoke again: "The topic has strayed too far, please don't forget about me, okay?"

She smiled and continued, "Let's continue with the topic we were talking about. You and Xiangzi-san are too involved. It would be very harmful to both of you to let you two clash."

"But I'm different. I have nothing to do with Su Shi. Even if you're angry with me, I can just laugh it off."

"So, I think it's better to act a little bit annoying. If Su Shi can hate me and be angry with me, I'll probably feel better."

Su Shi heard these words, and her heart was moved.

Is that what Qiu Hui is thinking?

"Of course, don't think of me as a saint. I actually have some personal reasons for doing this."

Qiu Hui's smile also faded a little.

"I want to be rude to you, Sushi... because I do hate you a little bit right now."

"...Tell me your reasons?" Su Shi asked calmly.

"It's obvious." Akie said with a slightly gloomy face, "From the beginning, you didn't take the band with Aion-gumi seriously."

Su Shi was stunned for a moment, then smiled thinking he had figured it out.

"It's the same for us." She shook her head. "Do you really care about that band? To put it bluntly, it's just because you like Aiyin that you love the band as much as the people in it."

Qiu Hui blushed slightly and didn't know where to start.

This matter is indeed her weak spot, and she has no excuse for it.

Mu beside her widened his eyes at this.

“Aine… is that lousy guitarist…” Mutsu said in a low voice.

"Wakaba-san's focus is a little bit..." Akihie almost laughed out loud because of this.

Su Shi held his chin with one hand and placed the other hand in front of him, looking relaxed.

"Since Akie-senpai is so frank and has seen my most embarrassing side, I think now that things have come to a point, there is no need to pretend anymore and we can just speak frankly."

She said this in a tone that sounded both relieved and self-deprecating.

"...Since you, Akie, are no longer planning to be a support musician, my plan to revive CRYCHIC is now completely... hopeless."

"Then, our relationship should end here, and we shouldn't have any more encounters from now on, don't you think so?"

Su Shi folded his hands in front of him, leaned forward slightly, and looked at Qiu Hui in front of him.

"Of course I don't think so."

Akie responded with a very serious look.

Whether it is for Aine, for the band, for Xiangzi, or for Su Shi himself.

"At this point, I feel... I can no longer leave you alone."

Qiu Hui said seriously.

Chapter 104 I Won’t Go Back

"Do you really know what you are talking about?"

Su Shi’s eyes widened.

Akihime, how could you be such a person? You and Aine had already gone to that extent, yet...

"…Suyo, are you thinking about something weird and rude?"

Looking at Su Shi in front of her, Qiu Hui suddenly had a bad feeling.

Never mind, that kind of thing is not important. She decided to focus on the matter at hand.

"Anyway, I can't just leave you alone."

“You said I favor Aine… I admit that. At this point, even if it’s just to make her feel at ease, I have to let you continue to be your bassist.”

Qiu Hui stated her opinion without reservation.

"You are meddling too much." Su Shi sneered, "You don't have the right to interfere with my actions, right?"

"I really didn't." Qiu Hui shook her head. "All I can do is try to convince you. For this, maybe I should become friends with you first..."

"...Are you planning to become friends with me by relying on such terrible communication?" Su Shi said with a smile.

"From the results, we are now in your house, not in the open space in the park." Qiu Hui also smiled back, "From this point of view alone, our conversation may be quite pleasant."

The other party was just harsh in words, but actually didn't show much resistance to me.