Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

This powerful final blow finally made Qiu Hui unable to suppress the urge to scream out loud.

"Hey, Akie, what's wrong?" Goto Ichiri asked nervously.

"Ah... that's nothing..." Akihime gasped with a dazed look in her eyes, "It's just that your... elbow was pressing against my waist just now... so... haah... a little..."

“Wow! Really? I’m so sorry! This is all my fault, so…”

"...It's okay. Um, so, how many stops... is your house...?"

"There are only two more stops to go! Please hold on a little longer!"

Goto Ichiri quickly hugged his arms tightly across his chest and moved his elbows away from Akie's waist.

"Is this okay? Ying, it shouldn't hit me anymore, right?"

"…That's a great help. Thank you." Akie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, in this way, her right upper arm directly touched the left side of Goto Ichiri's body.

After all, it was the evening rush hour on the tram, and every inch of free space would be quickly occupied.

"…I feel like my right upper arm is pressing against the left side of your chest. Should I adjust it a little?"

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” Goto Ichiri responded hastily, “Well, it’s okay to push a little bit… After all, Akie, you’ve been holding it in for so long just now…”

"...I'd better put my hands somewhere else."

The subtle touch that was difficult to describe in detail made Qiu Hui feel that it would be better for her not to press on it.

Like Goto, she clasped her right hand across her chest.

This will certainly prevent the problem of your arms pushing back and forth, but the price is muscle soreness from maintaining an awkward posture.

In comparison, it’s not a bad choice.

The tram continued to run smoothly without any other accidents.

"…Perhaps it would be better if Goto-san and I stood up together?"

Togawa Aie reflected on her choice.

"Akie, the next stop is here, we can get off now..."

"Oh, that's really..."

Qiu Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"…This is great news."

Chapter 45: Goto Family's Breakout Operation

Finally got off the damn rush hour tram.

Akie calmed her wavering mind and looked in the direction of Goto.

"Is your home near here?"

"Well, we'll get there pretty quickly if we walk..."

Goto Ichiri walked in front with a guitar on her back. Akie noticed that she seemed to be unconsciously lowering her head and hunching her chest.

“Um, I’m really sorry about what happened just now…”

"Well, there's nothing to apologize for." Akie smiled, "It was my fault in the beginning. If I hadn't taken that seat, there wouldn't have been so many problems."

She walked around Goto's body, looked at her neck and said, "Speaking of which, Pochi, are you a little hunched over?"

"Ah? Really? Maybe it's because I often lower my head unconsciously..."

"It's not a good idea to be honest like this, right? Why don't you try leaning against the guitar bag behind you, with the back of your head and back pressed against it?"

“…Like this?”

"Yeah! That's good!"

Looking at Pochi who stood up straight, Akie nodded with satisfaction.

"Are we going to keep walking back like this? This feels so unnatural."

"After all, modern people probably have hunched backs to some extent, right? After all, we often need to look down at our phone screens and the like."

The two of them chatted about various topics and walked towards the Goto family's house.

Soon, they arrived at their destination.

"It's a single-family house..." Akie looked up at the multi-story house in front of her, "It's great, it feels like a home."

"Homey feeling?" Goto was a little confused. "I thought it was just an ordinary house..."

"It's okay. I often have some strange opinions. Just ignore them."

"Okay, then, I'll go ring the doorbell..."

Goto Ichiri stepped forward, opened the door with the key, and gently pushed it open.

Her hands were shaking slightly with excitement.

…I, I did it!

For the first time in my life, I had friends over to my house!

"Mother!"

Goto Ichiri, muster up the courage and shout out loud!

"I'm back! And, I brought a friend back today! She'll be here... uh..."

Goto turned around and asked, "Akie, are you planning to stay overnight tonight?"

"Stay overnight?" Qiu Hui thought for a moment and replied, "If it's convenient for you, I'll stay."

…There’s no point staying in that suite anyway.

"Eh? Don't you need to discuss this with your family?"

"I told you, they don't really care about me." Qiu Hui said with a smile.

"Oh, that... that! She's staying here today!"

While the two were discussing the issue of staying overnight, someone ran out of the house in a hurry.

He was a man who looked quite young to be honest, and should be Ichiri's father.

He looked at Yili, who was standing at the door with her chest puffed out and a proud look on her face, and then looked at Qiu Hui, who was carrying an electronic piano behind her.

Feeling the other person's gaze, Akie reacted reflexively.

"Hello, Mr. Goto." She bowed politely, "I'm Togawa Akee, a bandmate of Goto's. I'm here to discuss band matters. Please forgive me if I'm bothering you..."

Since the other person is an adult, it would be better to behave properly.

"Oh, it's Togawa-san. You just mentioned... a band? As expected, the thing you're carrying looks like an electronic keyboard, right? Are you a keyboard player?"

"Yes." Akie nodded.

As expected of a former band member, Mr. Goto’s focus is truly unique.

"Ahh... And judging by this school uniform, you're not Shuka's student, right? In other words, you're not from the same school as Ichiri?"

"Yes." Akie nodded, "I'm actually a student at Hanaoka Girls' College."

This answer seemed to have greatly shocked Mr. Goto in some sense.

"No way... am I dreaming?"

Mr. Goto looked quite excited.

"So, my son Ichiri not only successfully found a partner to form a band... but also found one outside of school?" Mr. Goto shouted excitedly, as if he would burst into tears of emotion in the next second.

"Don't be so exaggerated, Dad!" Goto Ichiri was at a loss, "It's probably not worth getting so excited about!"

"Um, Goto-san..."

Qiu Hui rubbed her fingers together in embarrassment.

Mr. Goto seemed to be so excited that he was about to cry...

How should I put it? As an adult, you are really emotional...

At the same time as Mr. Goto's emotional outburst, Mrs. Goto seemed to have arrived at the scene.

She looks quite similar to Yili, and her hair is tied up, exuding a mature charm.

"Ah, are you Koichi's friend? Nice to meet you."

Mrs. Goto walked forward with a smile, closed the door first, and then turned around to face Akie.

"Is this Togawa-san? It must be tiring to be friends with Ichiri of my family? Thank you very much..."

"... Actually, it's not that serious." Akie smiled politely, "Rather, because of Goto-san's excellent guitar playing skills, as a bandmate, I have to rely on her help to a great extent."

"Ahh... That's great!" Goto clenched his fists excitedly. "To have such a result means that all my hard work has not been in vain!"

"My dear, don't be so excited..." Mrs. Goto smiled bitterly and asked him to calm down. Then she turned to Akie and said, "Since you are here, why don't you come to the living room to rest and have something to drink?"

"Okay, sorry to bother you." Qiu Hui nodded and changed her shoes.

At this moment, Goto Ichiri suddenly remembered something and quickly said to Akie, "Oh, right! I still have to go upstairs to clean up the room... Um, please don't come up until I finish cleaning up, Akie! The state of that place is absolutely unbearable to be seen by others!"

"I see. I'll wait for you in the living room."

Akiie came to the living room of Goto's house, put down the electronic piano, and sat down at the coffee table quite stiffly.

“Woof woof!”

A pet puppy was running around the living room happily. Noticing the stranger Qiu Hui's appearance, it also ran over excitedly, circling around her and sniffing.

"It's great that you have a pet dog at home," Akie commented. "It's very cute."

"It's called 'Jimmyhen'. In a sense, it's a member of our family." Mrs. Goto smiled gently and brought the drink to Akie.

Qiu Hui thanked him and took the drink, putting it on the table. She looked in the direction of Jimmy Henry the dog and said, "Jimmy... I see. It's a really rock name."

"Does Togawa-san know this too?" Mr. Goto asked with great interest.

"Well, I just know his name... I don't know much about Jimi Hendrix." Akie replied, "To be honest, what impressed me most was his cover of Bob Dylan's song."

"Yes, yes! The guitar melody is very powerful, isn't it!" Goto nodded with satisfaction, "Nowadays high school girls are really amazing!"

"…After all, high school girls are a diverse group." Akie responded with a smile.

...It seems that Mr. Goto and Mrs. Goto are both easy-going people.

She sipped her drink while chatting with the Goto parents.

Chapter 46: The Goto Family

"Actually, Ichiri had already thought about forming a band when she was in middle school."

Mrs. Goto talked about Ichiri's past.

"It was just that I couldn't find a suitable partner, so I couldn't succeed. Now she has finally found a suitable partner, which is great."

Mr. Goto at the side asked, "By the way, are there any other members in Ichiri's band now? What schools are they from?"

"The lead singer is from the same school as her, but the drummer and bassist are both students of Shimokitazawa High School," Akie replied, "including me, there are five of us from three different schools."

“That’s amazing… For Ichiri, this is a really big step…”

Mr. Goto still couldn't hide his excitement.

At this moment, Qiu Hui suddenly heard a child's voice coming from the entrance of the living room.

"Ah, it's the sister I don't know!"

A little girl who was probably only a few years old walked in and looked straight at Qiu Hui.

"Goto-san, you have a younger sister."

Seeing her face that was very similar to Ichiri, Qiu Hui immediately made a judgment.

"Hello, sister I don't know! My sister is causing you trouble!"