Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Hachiman Kailing is still here.

"Aren't you planning to go back?" She looked at Hai Ling who was leaning against a low wall not far away.

The latter seemed to deliberately keep some distance from her, as if to avoid hearing the sound of Xiangzi making a phone call.

"I'm waiting for you." Hai Ling walked over and spoke frankly.

Before Xiangzi could ask further, she told him her plan: "I am also somewhat concerned about Togawa-san's situation. Xiangzi, are you going to deal with the situation over there next?"

"Ah, yes, I'll let you know if there's any result there..."

Xiangzi looked at Hailing with some confusion.

The doubt in her eyes was keenly caught by the other party.

"A friend of mine has something that needs to be solved by Togawa-san," Hailing said bluntly, "so there is a slight indirect connection."

The person she was referring to was naturally Li Xi, and the problem that needed to be solved was naturally the fragmented band.

"However, I am not very familiar with Togawa-san, so it may not be convenient for me to participate in the next situation. I'll leave this to Xiangzi. If there is any progress, please let me know."

"That's no problem. After all, if this matter isn't resolved, we won't be able to form a band."

After getting Xiangzi's approval, Hailing nodded and began to prepare to leave.

"...A band, in many cases, places more emphasis on relationships between people than simply playing music."

Before leaving, she suddenly said this somewhat abruptly.

"Hope everything goes well, on both sides. See you later."

……

It might not be appropriate to just go and kill them.

Especially considering that Qiu Hui has a roommate whose situation is unknown, disturbing her rashly might cause displeasure to her, right?

Xiangzi felt that perhaps the safer approach would be for everyone to try to get Qiu Hui out of her residence.

Therefore, the meeting place she agreed to meet was actually across the street from Qiu Hui's residence. There was an open space with a bench there, which was perfect for waiting.

Along the way, in addition to heading towards the agreed meeting place, Xiangzi did not give up trying to contact Qiu Hui.

In addition to Akie, there was also Ruomai. But for some reason, neither of them seemed willing to reply to the message.

Maybe something happened between them, Xiangzi judged.

Since she witnessed with her own eyes the scene where Akihime ran away immediately after she met Wakumaki, she thought that the cause of Akihime's collapse was probably Yutenji Wakumaki.

It's such a coincidence... Yutenji was the candidate I found myself, but how could he have had some unpleasant past with Akie?

If I had known this would happen, I would have not called Akihie.

Xiangzi shook his head.

There's no point in blaming yourself now.

Yutenji and I had only just met for a short while, and I knew nothing about her past with Akie.

If I can’t ask her in person, maybe I can only try asking Aine-san…

Along the way, Xiangzi used this time to think calmly, which was almost a luxury for her.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the agreed meeting place.

"Shoko-kun! Over here!"

She easily found Aine who had arrived in this area in advance, because the latter was waving her hands with a rather exaggerated amplitude at this moment.

There was another stranger beside her. The stranger also looked to be a high school student, with long pink hair similar to Aine's, and a yellow and blue hair accessory.

She was wearing a white top with a red ribbon on the upper body and a navy blue short skirt on the lower body. It should have been an outfit that emphasized her cuteness...but for some reason, the stranger who wore them had a gloomy face and looked nervous as if he was preparing to take an exam.

"Phew, Xiangzi-san is finally here."

Wearing her usual plaid skirt as always, Aine came forward very naturally and greeted him.

"Ichiri-chan, this is Toyokawa Shoko, and also Akee's...um, friend!"

After the greetings, she turned around and introduced the newcomers to everyone, like the host of a party.

"You are the guitarist of the band, right? Nice to meet you. Your playing is very powerful..."

Xiangzi stopped talking halfway, somewhat awkwardly.

After all, Goto Ichiri standing in front of him didn't look like a man of courage at all.

"By the way, there is something very important about Akie, maybe Shoko-san doesn't know about it yet?"

After the greetings, Aine spoke.

"Ichiri told me this, and I felt it necessary to pass it on..."

Aine glanced at Ichiri beside her, and it seemed that she was well aware of her stage fright, so it was natural for her to speak on her behalf.

However, Yili didn't seem to be willing to accept this favor.

“…It’s okay! I, I can just say it myself!”

She raised her head and forced her panicked expression to calm down.

Afterwards, she once again told Shoko the information she had previously told Aine.

"…Is that so?" Upon hearing the information, Toyokawa Shoko widened her eyes slightly.

To be honest, the amount of information is a bit too huge, and it doesn’t seem appropriate to organize it now...

"Although it's important, now may not be the time to worry about it."

She looked towards Qiu Hui's residence not far away.

"Anyway, let's go in first," she said.

The three men arrived at the door of the residence with great momentum.

Now, if you just press the doorbell, you will see Qiu Hui, who stays indoors and doesn't even reply to messages.

However, the three of them fell into a subtle silence at the same time.

“…I say.” Aine was the first to interrupt, “Do you feel…uh, nervous?”

Goto Ichiri seemed really nervous. She nodded repeatedly, as if she couldn't even speak.

"I'm also nervous, but there's nothing to be afraid of."

Xiangzi shook his head.

"If it was Akiie, she wouldn't blame us no matter what, right?"

“But Akie will blame herself!” Aine sighed, “Ahh, that’s exactly what’s weird!”

After a brief venting, she finally regained her courage.

"We've come this far, we can't back down, right?"

So she reached out and pressed the doorbell.

However, after a long time, no one opened the door.

"What's going on... he's not here?"

However, it is not.

Just when everyone was beginning to lose patience, the door opened.

The person who opened the door was not Qiu Hui, in other words, it must be Qiu Hui's roommate.

And when Aine saw the other person's face clearly...

"...Nyanmu-kun? Why are you here?"

In response to Aine's exclamation, Meowmu responded with an exhausted expression.

"Why? Of course it's because..."

She shook her head.

"…This is the house I rented."

Chapter 42: Emotional Debt

not long ago.

Before the three of them came to the door.

Yutenji Wakamugi held the steaming scented tea with an embarrassed look on his face.

Xiaoqiu doesn't like to drink anything too hot. But if I let it cool naturally, it would take too long...

In a hurry, she put the scented tea aside for the time being, stepped on her slippers, and hurried into the kitchen.

"Freezer...ah, got it, ice!"

She took out the ice box from the cupboard, brought it back to the teacup, and in a hurry, she dug out a few pieces of ice and put them into the teacup.

Estimating the temperature by using the touch of his hand on the cup, Ruomai felt that it should be about right now.

But when she put the ice cubes back in the refrigerator, she realized a new problem.

If you put ice cubes in like this, the taste of the tea will become weird...

“…Alas, there is nothing we can do about it. Is this the only way for now?”

Ruomai sighed and picked up the glass again.

The situation between Xiao Qiu and I was probably like this. It was full of dilemmas. This was not right, and that was not right either.

She picked up the teacup and knocked on Qiu Hui's door gently, feeling anxious.

"I'm coming in, huh?"

Then he opened the door.

"I made some tea... Well, according to the instructions, it should have a calming effect, right? I don't know if it will work, but anyway..."

The inner anxiety made Ruomai start to mutter unconsciously.

But when she saw the scene clearly, she immediately stopped muttering.

"Xiao Qiu? Shouldn't you be resting in bed?" Ruomai exclaimed.

"…I'm not sick." Togawa Aie answered in a stiff tone.

She was now sitting at her desk, facing the computer screen, which showed a blank document without a single word.

"That's true, but didn't you say you wanted to rest?"

Ruomai carefully placed the glass on the table.

Qiu Hui took it calmly.

"Thank you." She thanked him as usual.

If the person next to her at this moment was not Ruomai, who knew her situation well, but some unknown passerby, he would probably not be able to detect even the slightest abnormality in her.

And to her, the collapse just now seemed like just some kind of temporary illusion.

This is exactly what makes people feel uneasy, Ruo Mai thought.

No matter how hurt or painful I am, I will force myself to continue living each day as if nothing happened.

If she could really endure all this, it wouldn't be a bad thing.

But, Xiaoqiu...

Ruomai can still clearly recall what Qiu Hui looked like when she was in junior high school.

She is actually very fragile.

"...Now that it's like this, why don't you just stop thinking about work?"

Ruomai tried to persuade her. She still couldn't make up her mind.

Qiu Hui in front of him was like a machine that had been stretched to its limit. No one knew whether the next operation would cause fatal failures such as overheating, shutdown, or disintegration, so even Ruomai could only try to take it one step at a time.

"Perhaps you are right."