Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Is it because she is afraid of being alone that she pays extra attention to everyone?

Thinking about questions like these, Su Shi waited quietly on the sofa.

Still no new news.

The programs on TV have changed, but there is still no movement on the phone.

Then let's wait a little longer. According to Qiu Hui's personality, she will definitely reply after seeing it.

Su Shi's heart was quite calm. Now she became very patient.

Her plan had failed, and the only thing left was time.

Fortunately, for her now, time is something she has plenty of.

……

“Senior, your phone seemed to have been ringing a lot.” Aine, who was sitting across the table, reminded, “Why don’t you check it?”

"I think it's okay to check it later." Akihime replied.

After saying that, she picked up the drink cup in front of her and took a sip of the fruit tea in the cup with the straw.

After walking aimlessly for a long time, Aine said she was a little thirsty, so she randomly found a drink shop nearby that she liked.

Originally, Akie was planning to buy one cup each, but Aine thought that one cup would be enough for the two of them, so in the end they only bought one cup.

As Akie drank her drink, Aine replied.

“I think it’s better to respond promptly. What if something happens at work?” Aine explained to Akie the necessity of checking messages promptly. “Besides, wasn’t it because you didn’t reply to my messages that I got into such a mess before?”

"I... I don't think that kind of thing will... happen a second time, right?" Qiu Hui was a little at a loss.

Even if it was Pochi, she wouldn't suddenly become like that!

“You probably didn’t expect that I would become like that, I didn’t expect it myself either.” Aine spread her hands, “No one can predict this kind of thing, stay alert!”

“I feel the same way. But, after all, I’m with Aine now. I hope I can… concentrate a little.”

Akie whispered her thoughts.

The feelings for Aine that she had almost suppressed, now lost their original obstacles due to a series of coincidences, and thus sprouted again and flourished.

Aine was stunned by this sudden statement, and then she blushed and chuckled: “…So corny, senpai.”

After saying that, she snatched the drink cup from Qiu Hui's hand.

“…Let me drink some too!”

After saying that, Aine took the habit that Akie had used before directly into her mouth without any hesitation.

Originally, Akie was going to use two straws. But the opening of the drink cup was only so big that it couldn't hold two straws, so Aine simply suggested that they just share the same straw.

“Wow, it smells like a senior!” Aine teased half-jokingly.

"I say, you're quite corny too, don't you think?" Qiu Hui also smiled bitterly and shook her head.

“This is called equal counterattack.” Aine said with a smile.

The two shared a cup of fruit tea and spent some time together.

“But.” Aine suddenly thought of something, “Although I think it’s meaningless to return to the band, I’m sure that Deng and the others won’t think so.”

Qiu Hui was startled: "Why are you talking about this suddenly?"

“Teng-chan definitely wants to continue forming a band.” Aine said seriously, “So… how should I put it? I hope I can help her.”

Aine looked serious.

She had been hit hard by the disintegration of the band before, but with Akie around and a series of coincidences, Aiyin had gotten out of her gloomy mood and was now able to care about others.

"You mean, help Deng rebuild the band?" Qiu Hui asked.

“Right.” Aine nodded. “As for the guitarist, Ryuna-chan is enough, right? As for the bassist… even if Suyo doesn’t want to go back, there’s still Hachiman-san who’s here to support us.”

At this point, Aine’s eyes suddenly lit up: “Yes, didn’t you just talk on the phone? Hachiman-san came to you specifically to inquire about the situation on behalf of Rikki. She seems to be really concerned about the band’s affairs!”

"Maybe that's the case." Akie nodded thoughtfully.

Hai Ling is a friend of Ryo, who is said to be very experienced with bass and has a close relationship with Riki.

From a purely technical point of view, it can indeed be used as a substitute for Sushi. But...

"... This is meaningless to Deng." Akie shook her head gently. "Deng hopes to form a band for life. But to her, the band itself is not that important. I think what she cherishes is probably the solid and reliable relationship between the members."

In other words, if you change band members at will, the band will lose its meaning to the lights.

It is precisely because of this realization that Qiu Hui actively participates in the action of persuading Su Shi.

“Actually, I may not understand what Xiao Deng is thinking.” Aine shook her head helplessly, “She said she wanted to form a band with all of us for life.”

"But, compared to CRYCHIC, we are already a new band with two old members replaced."

Aine stared at the table with a sad face. “If you say ‘for a lifetime’ and ‘cannot change’, then this condition couldn’t be met from the beginning.”

Qiu Hui nodded slightly.

She had to admit that Aine had some truth to her opinion.

Chapter 6: Think more about yourself

“That being said… this is also Light’s own business.”

Qiu Hui took a sip of her drink and stated her point of view.

Although Aine's opinion on forming a lifelong band has its own reasons, the person who is truly involved in this matter is Takamatsu herself.

Therefore, Qiu Hui thought it would be better to act cautiously.

"Neither you nor I consider ourselves to be part of that band anymore. I don't think it's appropriate to act on our own."

“So, Senior, do you think it’s better for us to do nothing? It’s a very Senior-style idea, but I think that sometimes being too cautious is not the best choice.” Aine said calmly.

"For example."

Aine held up a finger.

"You are a good example yourself. Remember what happened at the aquarium?"

When Aine said that, Akie knew what she wanted to say.

“I was worried about whether Aine was willing to accept my help, so I was struggling with it,” she said.

“Is that so? That’s why, sometimes thinking too much can lead to problems!” Aine emphasized again and again.

Qiu Hui could only respond with silence.

“…Let’s not talk about this for now.” She sighed, “Aine, can I confirm the news?”

“Sure.” Aine nodded, “In fact, why are you asking me about this?”

"Shouldn't I ask?" Qiu Hui was stunned.

“We are… ahem, we can say we are on a date, not a meeting!” Aine tapped the table. “It’s too weird if you have to ask me for permission before doing anything.”

The look Aine gave me was filled with a hint of anger.

"Will it be weird?" Qiu Hui lowered her head slightly with an apologetic look, as if reflecting on why her thoughts were so different from the other person's. "I'm sorry, maybe I think it's more important to take care of the other person's feelings."

"Um……"

Aine felt a little complicated as she looked at Akiie who looked really apologetic.

Aren’t some of the ideas of our predecessors too deeply rooted?

Although this is also the lovable side of Senpai... but I can't just leave it like this.

Because the other person is someone you value, you naturally hope that she can also value you.

"Think about it this way!"

Driven by some subtle sense of mission, Aine said seriously.

"If you're distracted by checking your phone and that makes me unhappy, how should I feel about it the other way around?"

"If I ask you to focus all your energy on me and you are unable to check the information, and it leads to various troubles, you will be unhappy, right?"

Aine asked gently, and Akie nodded: "Maybe."

"So! If you, Senpai, think that we should sacrifice our own unhappiness to eliminate the unhappiness of others, why can't I think the same way as you?"

"I'm not sure what the other party is thinking, so I think I should consider the problem from my own perspective." Qiu Hui said calmly.

“That is to say…” Aine sighed, “Senior always thinks that he is the one who deserves to be sacrificed.”

"this……"

Akie wanted to explain herself, but after a little thought, she felt that Aine’s statement was relatively appropriate.

"...Maybe, that's what I think." Qiu Hui nodded slightly.

“Then, why?” Aine asked softly.

"..."

Qiu Hui felt that she might know the answer.

Sacrifice yourself. To put it bluntly, what is the original meaning of the word "sacrifice"?

Offering cattle, sheep, food, wealth and even flesh and blood to certain noble beings in exchange for their recognition and blessings.

If you are the party whose interests are damaged, if you are the party that is hurt, if you are the party that considers yourself inferior, then you will be invincible in any form of trial.

It harmed herself but benefited others. Qiu Hui couldn't think of anything more "correct" than this.

But even if she had the answer in her heart, she didn't want to say it to Aine in front of her in this situation.

This answer contained too much arrogance, self-righteousness, and affectation, so I didn’t want Aine to know it.

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui couldn't help laughing.

Is this seemingly merciless self-evaluation itself also part of the "arrogance", "self-righteousness" and "affected show-off"?

"I don't know how to explain this either, let's change the subject... Oh, no."

Qiu Hui took out her cell phone.

"I need to confirm the message first," she said.

Aine laughed out loud: “You finally remembered!”

……

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Inside the penthouse suite of the Nagasaki family.

As long as you have time, you can have as much time as you want.

Rather than saying that there will definitely be results if you wait, it is better to say that it doesn’t matter even if there are no results.

With this mentality, Nagasaki Suyo dozed off on the sofa.

But even so, when she heard the message alert, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Did Qiu Hui finally reply to the message?

She opened her eyes and picked up her phone slowly. Even though there was no one else here except her, she didn't know why she shouldn't show too much anxiety.

I opened the chat window with Qiu Hui and saw the reply from there.

"What do you mean by things outside of the band?"

After this one, the next message came soon.

"If you want to chat with me, that's fine. I'm actually very happy about it."

"But I need to be busy preparing for the performance recently. If you are really interested, you can come to me after the performance."

Qiu Hui replied many sentences in succession as if she was an NPC issuing tasks, and then attached the performance schedule.

"The location is in RiNG. You should be familiar with that place."

It's almost as detailed as a tour guide.