Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

After hanging up the phone, Xiangzi put away his phone and stood up from the bench where he had been sitting for a long time.

As she walked towards the exit, she dialed another number in her address book with the mentality of giving it a try.

She knew very well what kind of person the owner of that number was, so she didn't have much hope of being able to get through.

But unexpectedly, it worked quickly this time.

"...Good evening, you bastard dad."

Xiangzi left the tram station. He walked slowly, but he was moving forward.

"...Okay, okay, I knew it. Just drink it, and don't throw the bottle around... What? A garbage bag? Oh, that's more like it."

Xiangzi walked and talked. Although he called him "bastard dad", his tone was like he was scolding a child.

The two chatted for a while, and the topic gradually got to the point.

"I have something to tell you." Xiangzi said calmly, "It's... good news. You don't have to pretend to find a job anymore, because I will do it for you."

“…What did you say? Don’t worry, this is a serious job…Oh my god, you bastard dad, is that the only thing on your mind besides alcohol?”

Talking intermittently, she moved closer to her current residence step by step.

"Yes, yes, debuting... I know that it requires resources, I will find a way to do that... Isn't it because you just stay in your room drinking all day that it turned out like this?"

Xiangzi looked annoyed and his tone was rather rude.

“…Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah, there are also contracts and stuff like that. I might even need your help to review it when the time comes.”

She walked through a residential area consisting of low-rise houses on the outskirts of the city and headed into an alley between a convenience store and a small clinic.

“… Uwaa, dad, why are you so excited all of a sudden? Huh? What do you mean I know nothing about legal affairs… Okay, okay, you know a lot. After all, even a rotten ship has some of that. So go on…”

The sounds of cicadas and frogs came to his ears, and Xiangzi was getting closer and closer to his destination.

"Okay, I understand. I'll be home soon... Let's talk about the rest in person."

Xiangzi showed an expression that was neither a smile nor a smile.

"...I'm telling you, this is the first time I've seen you so excited in a while."

“…Alright, alright, I get it. This is my business, so stop worrying about it, you idiot dad…”

I was in a surprisingly good mood, Xiangzi thought.

After chatting for a while, she hung up the phone and finally stood in front of her door.

It was a low bungalow that exuded the breath of time everywhere, and Xiangzi always wondered when it would suddenly collapse.

Compared to his former home, this place looked like a garbage dump.

But... thanks to the change in mentality, this place now doesn't seem so disgusting to Xiangzi.

If you make up your mind to face something, maybe things... are not as bad as you first imagined.

Xiangzi smiled for the first time in a long time. It was not a polite smile to deal with the situation, but a smile that came from the bottom of his heart, and he felt a little relieved.

As expected... I have to thank Akiie.

A warm feeling surged in Xiangzi's heart.

It's strange to say, but in fact, Qiu Hui has never really done anything important for me.

She just helped out with some small favors and I didn't really ask much from her.

There was no special reason for our meeting. We just happened to bump into each other when we were buying up expiring items at a convenience store.

But precisely because there is no special reason...so at this moment, Toyokawa Shoko feels that all this seems like a special gift from fate.

Perhaps Xiangzi was a little stronger than she thought. If she could just be given a little fulcrum, she could lift a much heavier burden than she had originally imagined.

And Qiu Hui is such a fulcrum, a sustenance, and the most vivid and living proof that "there may still be hope."

As long as Qiu Hui is still here, maybe things... won't get too bad?

With a calm joy and some anticipation for the future, Xiangzi opened the door of his home.

"I'm back……"

She glanced at the floor. Indeed, there were no bottles scattered around. Two black garbage bags were piled at the foot of the TV cabinet, which seemed to have been cleaned up.

"……Father."

Chapter 108: Do I need Qiu Hui?

not long ago.

Starting from the table, looking at the closed door of the guest bathroom, Nagasaki Suyo felt inexplicably unhappy for some reason.

It's just to answer a phone call, is it necessary to hide in that kind of place?

Or are they talking about things that are not convenient for outsiders to hear?

Su Shi's cheeks turned slightly red.

As I thought about this, the strange noises between Aki and Aine that I heard in the middle of the night during the training camp began to replay automatically in my mind.

Akie... you really care about these things. You just pretended to be caring about me, but in the end, your girlfriend's affairs are more important...

Thinking of this, Su Shi shook his head gently. I shouldn't think like this, I know it myself.

Qiu Hui is just concerned about me, she doesn't have any feelings towards me. She has the freedom to act.

Even if I wanted Qiu Hui to spend more time with me... I have no right to really ask her to do that.

No, to be honest, I didn't expect Qiu Hui to stay with me longer.

It’s not like I don’t have other friends…

Looking at the door of the guest bathroom, Su Shi thought silently in his heart.

If anything happened between her and Aine, it's not my concern.

After all, I had made up my mind. That new band no longer meant anything to me.

Therefore, there is no longer any relationship between Aine and me.

As for Qiu Hui, Qiu Hui only talked to me for so long just to persuade me to return to the band that Aine is in...

...To put it bluntly, she did it just for Aine.

Su Shi thought so with a bit of self-abandonment.

It's not for me...

Thinking this way, Su Shi gradually figured it out.

Today's small lights are no longer what they used to be.

She is no longer the Xiaodeng who had to rely on Xiaoxiang's encouragement to sing.

Li Xi is someone who is content with just the lights. Being able to play with the lights is enough for her.

As for Aine and Ryuna...

They were the ones I deceived. After they realize the truth, they will definitely not miss me at all.

As for the bass player, we can just find another one. We can always find one.

Anyway, CRYCHIC and the like are simply inappropriate things for them and are obstacles that should have been overcome long ago.

If they don't even need Xiaoxiang...

Then, you don't need me anymore.

Su Shi lowered his head.

Perhaps, she was still imitating Xiangzi's actions involuntarily.

Just as Xiangzi ended CRYCHIC with her own hands, she was also trying to cut out those memories that had nothing to do with her bit by bit and throw them into the trash can.

This is going to be a bit of a painful process.

But if you don't watch it...

"Sushi."

A voice suddenly came from beside me, it was Xiao Mu.

"……What's wrong?"

Su Shi turned his head and looked at Mu in front of him indifferently.

"Soyo...what are you going to do from now on?"

"It has nothing to do with Xiaomu anymore." Su Shi sighed.

Although his tone was relatively gentle, what he said was actually quite heartless.

"..."

Mu lowered his head without saying a word.

Unable to speak.

She is not like Akie, who can show reckless aggressiveness in appropriate situations.

Once she was rejected, she didn't know how to continue speaking.

but……

This time it seems a little different.

Perhaps because he had just witnessed the conversation between Qiu Hui and Su Shi, Mu also wanted to follow suit.

"Are you going to give up on that band?"

Even though he was told "It doesn't matter", Mu still decided to speak.

"...Hmm." Su Shi frowned and turned away, "I've said it before, this peace has nothing to do with it."

"It is related."

Mu clenched his fists lightly.

She stood up from the chair, mustered up her courage, and looked into Su Shi's eyes, who was still sitting.

That doll-like delicate face revealed a rare hint of emotion.

"I care about Sushi's affairs."

"If Sushi gets confused, I'll be worried too."

"So, it is related."

Faced with Mu's blunt remarks, Su Shi just frowned.

"Having said that, Xiao Mu has always been causing trouble for me."

"You never do what I want Xiaomu to do properly, and always do things I don't want you to do..."

“…Because I don’t want Suyo to become like that!”

Mu said in a normal tone. This was normal for ordinary people, but for Mu, it was like a completely different person.

This one sentence alone seemed to have exhausted the courage she had borrowed from someone.

She lowered her head again, revealing a doll-like expression.

After a long silence, Su Shi slowly spoke: "...I didn't expect Xiao Mu to say that."

Don't want me to become like that?

Do you think that the way I dwell on the past is too ugly?

Even if that is true...

...The only thing I don’t want to be said by Xiao Mu is this.

There was an awkward silence between the two.

Fortunately, this situation did not last long, because Qiu Hui quickly finished the call and returned to the two of them.

"Sorry, we just chatted for a while." Qiu Hui smiled.