Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Page 285

After saying that, Su Shi raised his head, no longer caring about the food on the plate.

"By the way, Akie said before that you had a conflict with your family, right?"

"I did say that." Akie nodded slightly.

"So……"

Su Shi folded her hands together again out of nervousness. Although she was not telling a lie, she couldn't help but rub her fingers together.

"Can you tell me the details?"

She looked at Qiu Hui in front of her with eager eyes.

She suddenly felt that Qiu Hui would probably ask herself "why".

"…Why do you want to know?"

Qiu Hui's expression didn't change at all, and she didn't even stop what she was doing. She just asked back in a routine tone.

"I……"

So, Su Shi once again thought of the question that she seemed to have been thinking about for some time.

Do I like Qiu Hui?

Is it because I like her that I want to know about her situation?

Su Shi was not very sure about this. Not to mention Akihime, she didn't even dare to say what her feelings were towards Toyokawa Shoko.

"I'm just...interested."

So, in the end, Su Shi chose to give a evasive answer.

"I'm curious why Akie would choose to separate from her family."

Hearing Su Shi's question, Qiu Hui paused for a moment while picking up the food.

"I don't really want to talk about this. It's all in the past. Thinking about it now will only make me feel worse."

"oh."

Having hit a snag, Su Shi shook his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, did I ask the wrong question?"

"There is no such thing as a question that should be asked or not. The only difference is whether the person being asked is willing to answer or not."

After saying that, Qiu Hui put down the cutlery in her hand and looked into the eyes of Su Shi in front of her.

She went to bed very late this morning. Even the light makeup could not hide the sleepiness hidden between her eyebrows.

But Su Shi could sense that Qiu Hui seemed to want to talk to her seriously about something.

"I came to see you because I was planning to invite you back to Aine's band, you know that."

Qiu Hui said so.

"Yeah." Su Shi nodded slightly, "But I won't go back to that band. You should know that, Akihime?"

Tit for tat.

That band means nothing to me anymore.

This is the only thing that can be confirmed.

"Don't get excited." Qiu Hui shook her head helplessly, "I'm not here to persuade you... Do you know why?"

Without waiting for Su Shi to answer, she gave her own answer: "Because now, even Aine herself doesn't want to go back."

“…Huh?”

Nagasaki Suyo was startled.

Why is it that even Aine...

……and many more.

Shocked by the news, Nagasaki Suyo suddenly realized something.

If you take "that incident" into consideration, it makes sense that things would turn out this way.

She blurted it out without much thought.

“…Akie, what is your relationship with Aine now?”

Chapter 23 Doomsday Clock

There are many questions in this world that are asked when we know the answers, or at least think we know the answers.

For example, at this moment, the moment Nagasaki Motoyo blurted out that question, she had actually already had... a certain guess about the relationship between the two.

Do I like Qiu Hui?

This speculation also drove Su Shi to constantly think about this question that always lingered in his mind.

She felt she had to come to a clear, and preferably negative, conclusion.

Otherwise, things could get really disturbing...

So Su Shi asked for some reason.

“What is your relationship with Aine?”

This sudden question caused Togawa Aie to cough violently due to nervousness and embarrassment.

“…Why did you suddenly mention Aine?” She asked, resting her hands on the table.

"Ah, well, I... I'm just curious..."

Nagasaki Motoyo's delicate face, which she had always taken good care of, now appeared red in color that could not be concealed by any foundation or concealer.

This feeling is different from the feeling when facing Xiangzi.

Xiaoxiang is really angry now. If she feels that what I say makes her uncomfortable, she will get angry directly and then accuse me mercilessly.

Su Shi is very clear about this, so when facing Xiangzi, she will feel uneasy and her heart will be moved by his every move.

But Qiu Hui is different.

Qiu Hui would never get angry. Or rather, even if she felt unhappy, she would only express it politely and in a way that was so serious that it was almost impossible to take it seriously.

She would not hold Su Shi responsible for his inappropriate expression, but because of this, Su Shi would be particularly concerned about his own inappropriate expression.

When getting along with Qiu Hui, Su Shi was not afraid of being blamed by her.

Therefore, she had enough time to free up the attention that was used for worrying and use it to blame herself.

This self-blame is reflected in emotional changes, resulting in the guilt and shame we feel now.

Should I not have said that? In the end, the reason I asked this question was because I secretly overheard that noise during the training camp that day!

Su Shi felt like her whole body was twisted into a ball of embarrassment and shame.

Akie actually asked me why I mentioned Aine all of a sudden... Should I tell her that I heard everything that night?

"Very... curious?"

Qiu Hui thought about it and her brows suddenly relaxed.

“…I see. You probably think that Aine doesn’t want to go back to the band just to be with me, so that’s why you’re interested in our relationship?”

Qiu Hui made her own guess. But rather than a guess, it was more like she was deliberately giving Su Shi a way out.

"Ah... That's right! I do have that thought..."

Su Shi nodded repeatedly, completely disregarding his image.

It’s so strange, why does it become like this when Akie and I are together... weird?

At this moment, Qiu Hui in front of her did not comment on Su Shi's gaffe.

Although the specific reason is not clear, Su Shi seems to be in a very nervous state now.

In that case, it is better not to touch on topics that will make her more nervous.

Qiu Hui made a judgment based on her simple social experience, so she continued with the previous topic.

"Okay. Then, maybe... it's okay to tell Sushi some things."

Qiu Hui nodded.

But just when he was about to speak, some words were swallowed back.

What kind of relationship do Aine and I have now?

If the relationship between the two is to be confirmed, then what should be done with Pochi?

She had been putting these issues aside for her own convenience.

But she also knew that this was only a temporary measure, and the fire could not be covered up even with paper.

This time, Su Shi's question became an opportunity to bring up this shelved issue again.

And such opportunities will continue to appear in the future.

"Qiu Hui?" Su Shi looked over with concern.

I probably kept silent for too long, so she was a little concerned.

“Nothing. The relationship between Aine and I is… a little, I don’t know how to describe it.”

Qiu Hui felt it was difficult to speak. She clenched her fists lightly, tapped the ground with her heels nervously, and finally made up her mind to face this inexplicable situation.

"Maybe we can be considered a couple, but... because of some things, it's not completely confirmed yet."

After saying this, she felt an inexplicable dizziness.

The matter with Pochi is giving me a headache.

Perhaps I am still too weak, Akie thought. I don't have the ability to be truly responsible for Pochi's feelings, nor do I have the courage to...truly reject her feelings.

Well, what if, I mean what if, besides Aine and Pochi... there are others?

Togawa Akee opened her eyes and saw Su Shi's delicate face, which was slightly flushed.

The other person's hand was unconsciously approaching him, but under the control of its owner, it stopped while still having a certain distance from him.

The current Qiu Hui is no longer the girl who had no sense of her own value when she just started to form the band.

There are some things that she can "perceive".

Although she would not take some unfounded speculations seriously, Qiu Hui sometimes would include some "more radical" "delusions" into her thinking plan.

For example, the world before our eyes.

For example, classmate Xiangzi.

For example, Miss Miao Meng, who concealed her real name...

Togawa Aie felt that the feeling of dizziness was becoming stronger and stronger.

I longed for everyone's recognition and love. For this, I gave my best and finally... I got what I wanted in return.

But now the rewards are becoming increasingly lucrative.

I need to be responsible somehow.

She became increasingly aware of this.

The responsibility of "acceptance".

Or, the responsibility of "rejection".

Some things cannot be put off forever.

There are some things that cannot be dealt with by tricks like "setting aside disputes".