Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Looking at the girl beside him, Mu had an indescribable feeling in his heart.

She had seen the innocent and energetic Shoko, and she had also seen the depressed and cynical Shoko. But at this moment, Toyokawa Shoko had a strange temperament that she didn't know how to describe.

"Akie." Mu looked towards the stage, "It looks like she's about to go on stage."

"……indeed."

Shoko stared at Aki E in a trance as she took off her glasses, put on a mask, and appeared on the stage as "Aki Yoko".

I almost didn't recognize him, she thought.

Amid the cheers from the audience, she began to think about a question.

Should I invite Qiu Hui to join in?

Chapter 13: Contestants Enter

Akie Togawa knew that her playing skills were not particularly outstanding, so she was quite satisfied with her role in the repertoire provided by the agency.

Although the track itself is a somewhat mediocre commercial piece, it was designed with the characteristics of a band ending in mind.

In front of her, Goto Ichiri's performance was worthy of being the only professional-level musician in the band. The arrangement of the entire song was almost designed around her skills.

Under the extremely prominent lead guitar, all other instruments are just a mere foil. Most of the music arranged for Qiu Hui in the score is consonants or sound effects, which interweave with the rhythm section and vocals to form a harmonious and substantial melody...

It should be so.

But Qiu Hui felt that something was wrong.

Her hands moved steadily on the keys according to her muscle memory. There were no mistakes, but it was not "correct" in any way.

Before the end, there is a guitar solo by Goto Ichiri, and while she is playing, Akie is able to temporarily stop what she is doing.

She recalled the first time she played it.

That wasn't a particularly long time ago, but looking back now, it seems like it happened in the last century.

Looking back on the time when the band was first formed, the mysterious feeling of going on stage to perform with passion and determination, and releasing myself with the power of music, seems so strange.

It was as if I was a stranger at that time and had nothing to do with myself now.

The solo ended at this point. The keyboard came in at the finale... half a beat late.

Fortunately, after this period of hard training, this small mistake did not bother Qiu Hui. She calmly adjusted the rhythm, rearranged the music, and easily followed the rhythm of everyone, as if she was troubleshooting accurately.

The musical phrases assigned to her were not outstanding to begin with, and thanks to her professional handling, almost no one noticed her abnormality.

The music ended before Qiu Hui realized it. Her movements also stopped at the perfect time with the music before she realized it.

Kita seemed to be shouting something, but I couldn't hear it clearly.

Then it was Hong Xia, but I couldn't hear her clearly either.

There must be people in the audience clapping and cheering...but since I'm not wearing glasses, I can't see clearly who they are.

Qiu Hui felt a strong trance, as if she was floating in the air, or locked in the center of a large ball of transparent, breathable, soft gel.

The song just now seemed to be... the last one.

The teammates around me have all started to leave the field, so it seems that this is indeed the case.

Qiu Hui waved awkwardly and greeted the audience.

Aine must be there, but I can't see clearly. The others must be there too... but I can't see clearly either.

I should have worn contact lenses earlier, but they were really uncomfortable.

…Then again. Now Deng also knows what Qiu Rangzi is all about.

Is there any need to continue this disguise?

Forget it, since it has become part of my character, then...

Qiu Hui was thinking about irrelevant issues, and she packed up her instruments as if sleepwalking, and left the stage with the rest of the band.

I'm in a bad state, she said to herself.

Fortunately, nothing seems to have gone wrong. Maybe this is what is called a low period? However, even if the situation is not good, it does not affect everyone, and perhaps this is enough.

"Today's guests are more than expected, RiNG is worthy of it!" Hongxia exclaimed, "Compared to my sister's venue, it's much bigger... It would be great if STARRY could become as spacious as this one day."

"This is probably not something that can be achieved just by playing in a band..." Liang said bluntly.

"Everyone's performance today was great! Especially Koichi!" Kita encouraged everyone with a smile on his face.

But when she looked at Qiu Hui, her expression became a little subtle.

"Although Aki'e's performance today was not bad...but, how should I put it, are you not in a good state?"

Facing Kita's question, which was somewhat caring, Akie had no intention of hiding anything, so she answered honestly, "Yes."

"It's actually true!" Kita was surprised by such a straightforward and direct answer, "It's really true..."

"Hmm..." Nijixia looked up and down at Aki'e's face, "...it seems that Aki always has this expression. I can't tell anything different."

"I'm really sorry." Qiu Hui smiled.

At this moment, Ichiri, who had been silent since a while ago, walked up and held Qiu Hui's wrist.

"...It seems that Akie is very tired." She said in a low voice.

"Very tired?" Qiu Hui was stunned.

Am I tired now?

Actually, it's fine. I just lost my focus a little bit.

"I do feel a little uncomfortable, but I guess... I can't say I'm tired, right?"

Akie paused for a moment and continued, "I feel fine now. I have to talk to Shoko about the band later. Does Ichiri still remember?"

"I remember..." Ichiri looked a little lonely, "...but why did Akie want to go?"

"Since you've been invited, just go." Qiu Hui was a little confused and didn't seem to know why this would be a problem.

In fact, besides Xiangzi, there is also Su Shi who needs to meet next...

……

Because there were various things to do later, Qiu Hui left the backstage early.

As they walked down the road, Akie kept thinking about what Ichiri had just said.

I look tired.

Is that so?

Qiu Hui actually didn't know how to describe her current state.

Is it fatigue, or something else?

However, she didn't seem to have time to think about it for too long.

Because she was soon blocked by someone.

"...Akie-senpai."

Nagasaki Suyo stood in front of her, giving her a somewhat nervous look.

I did make an appointment with Su Shi before to have a quick chat with her, but according to Su Shi herself, she didn't want to talk about anything related to the band, she just wanted to chat.

Therefore, the priority is relatively lower...

As soon as these thoughts flashed through her mind, Xiangzi and Hemu appeared beside her.

"Akie, you're finally here."

Xiangzi looked over with a smile, as if he had been waiting here for some time in advance.

"…Hatsuka-san has booked a place." Mu said in a low voice, "Xiang should have sent it to you just now."

"Oh, thank you." Qiu Hui took out her cell phone to confirm and found that it was indeed the case.

Su Shi on the side was originally planning to continue saying something, but because Xiangzi appeared too timely, she knew she was a little in the wrong and had to shut up reluctantly.

"Okay." Qiu Hui nodded, "Then let's..."

However, at this moment, another person joined the battlefield.

"Senior-senpai! Goto-san and the others said you came out alone, but I didn't expect you to be here!"

Aine suddenly appeared from somewhere and hugged Akie, rubbing her cheek with a smile.

"Ah, everyone is here, what a coincidence... er, what..."

Aine suddenly felt uneasy.

"...Why do you all look so grim?"

Chapter 14 Detective Aine

Something doesn't seem right.

A subtle atmosphere spread among the crowd. Aine was sensitive to the existence of this atmosphere, so she let go of Akie temporarily with a guilty conscience.

Su Shi ignored me before, but now he comes to me on his own initiative...

Although Aiyin no longer cares much about the band's affairs, Su Shi's behavior still makes her feel a little curious.

She looked at Su Shi with a little doubt, while Su Shi turned his face away guiltily.

She took two steps back in front of Aine, almost subconsciously.

Aine and Akie are in a relationship where they can do that kind of thing with each other. Suyo couldn't help but think of this.

She didn't know what their official relationship was like because she didn't dare to ask.

Whether asking Aine or Akie, it seemed...inappropriate.

But, for some things, even without asking, you can still guess roughly...

Just then, Aine interrupted her.

"Does Sushi need help from senior?"

She smoothed her hair awkwardly and asked with a smile.

"…I can't say what's going on."

Su Shi folded his arms and turned away with a gloomy look on his face.

"Akie seems to be very busy today... Let's talk about my affairs another day."

Then Su Shi took small and quick steps and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.

"...Some other day?" Qiu Hui looked at Su Shi's back in confusion.

Wasn't our appointment scheduled for today?

"He ran away... How strange."

Aiyin stared at Su Shi who was getting farther away, but the doubts in her heart were still not resolved.

Su Shi had been ignoring me since he entered the venue, and now after seeing me appear, he left without explaining anything.

If there is really something that needs to be done to trouble Qiu Hui, then as long as the senior agrees, you should finish what you want to say before leaving.

But if there is really nothing wrong, why would I come to see my senior like this?

Aiyin cleared her throat, glanced at Su Shi's slightly embarrassed back, and then looked at Xiangzi and Mutsu beside her with some confusion.

She realized that she had not seen Xiangzi very often. The last time they met was when they followed them out of RiNG.

"And the other two...do you have anything to do with me, Senior?"

As Aine said this, she distanced herself from Akie. It seemed a little inappropriate to act too close to my senior in this situation...

Shoko looked in the direction of Aine. She had seen everything that Aine and Akie had done just now.

"I'm here to ask Qiu Hui to do me a small favor as a friend." After careful consideration, she decided to use a relatively vague statement.

“…What’s going on?” Aine looked at Akie in confusion.

The latter replied in a businesslike tone: "Shoko-san has made up her mind to form a new, commercial band. She is currently in the process of negotiating with potential members. Shoko-san hopes that I can attend the negotiation meeting..."