Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

I just think that they definitely won’t like me like this…

...It's okay, it's fine this way.

Qiu Hui comforted herself silently.

I just need the care and recognition of others to prove that what I do is legitimate.

Now that I have given up that pursuit, then, I...

Qiu Hui was unable to continue sinking deeper into such thoughts.

Because Ruomai opened the door and walked in, and just happened to see Qiu Hui half lying on the bed.

"Xiao Qiu, I... want to talk to everyone a little about you."

Qiu Hui closed her eyes and could not see Ruomai's expression at the moment, but she could more or less sense from her tone that she was asking for advice.

"Oh." Akie just responded, "Okay."

I don't care, she thought. But she didn't care so much that she didn't even want to say it.

Ruomai's footsteps rang in my ears, followed by a gentle question: "Why are you lying here? Are you tired?"

Qiu Hui said nothing and took it as a consent.

"If you're tired, why don't you take a nap?"

At this moment, Qiu Hui felt a lifting sensation on her back.

Ruomai seemed to be taking the trouble to lift her up from the bed, then reached his hand through the knees and lifted Qiuhui's legs, turned them 90 degrees and put them on the bed, then turned over the folded quilt next to him and covered Qiuhui with it, not forgetting to put a pillow on the back of her head.

After a series of operations, it was as if she was taking care of a patient. Even Qiu Hui herself couldn't sit still anymore, and quickly opened her eyes, hesitatingly saying, "...I can do it myself."

"If you are tired, take a good rest and stop thinking about random things."

Wakamai covered Qiu Hui with a quilt and looked at the face that peeked out from under the quilt with mixed feelings. The face was full of haggardness and disillusionment.

"Xiao Qiu, you always like to find solutions for others."

After saying that, in Akie's field of vision, Yutenji Wakamu's face gradually became bigger and bigger.

"Then this time, let us help you find a solution, right?"

Wakamai pecked Qiuhui lightly on the lips, then stood up and left the room before the capillaries on both of their faces could react.

Chapter 47: Strategy Information Exchange Meeting

There is a rather spacious restaurant in the house that Yutenji Wakamu rents.

Although she had not given much thought to the needs of meeting guests, she did not pay much attention to it because these things were brought by her when she rented the house.

And now, these arrangements really come in handy.

"Let's drink and chat."

Ruomai took out the Suntory bottled oolong tea that she had treasured for a long time from her freezer and filled cups one after another for everyone sitting around the table.

She set the table elegantly and neatly, and her every move unconsciously exuded the aura of a hostess.

I shouldn't have had such an interest. Was it because of Aine's presence that I was unconsciously competing with her?

This conclusion made Ruomai a little unhappy. She made a bitter face, sat down by herself, and looked in the direction of Chihaya Aine.

Aine looked calm as usual, and seemed completely unaware that Wakamai was competing with her...which made the latter even more unhappy.

Calm down, calm down, now is not the time to care about such things!

While Ruomai was trying to calm herself down, Aine was already actively moving.

"We are going to exchange information now, right?" She raised her hand eagerly. "Actually, the three of us have already discussed this before coming here, so if Ruomai has anything you want to know, you can just ask me..."

Before she finished speaking, she suddenly seemed to remember something and looked at Xiangzi in front of her.

"Oh, now that I think about it, I actually have something I want to ask Xiangzi-san."

"Ask me?"

“You know Senpai’s address, right?” Aine folded her fingers in front of her, her eyes sparkling, “Even I don’t know… Although that’s because I never asked. But I’m still a little curious, how did Shoko-san know it?”

"I...well, I once stayed at Akie's house for a night because I missed the last bus." Xiangzi answered calmly, "and once more after that. At that time, I had spent all my savings, but I couldn't find a suitable job, so Akie... hired me to do a lot of things, including transporting luggage when moving."

When she said these things, she looked very calm.

Although difficulties still exist, they are no longer as difficult for her to talk about as before.

Qiu Hui also lived in such a cramped and small room before, but she was not at all reluctant to show me her embarrassment.

And...from the information I got from Goto-san, Akie was originally the child of a big businessman.

She was not forced to leave the shelter of her family and face the challenges of life alone because of some unexpected events. On the contrary, she did these things completely according to her own will...

After learning about Akie's situation, Toyokawa Shoko became even more determined than before.

Because of this, a strong passion is burning in her heart now.

I want to help Qiu Hui, so it's only natural that I should tell her everything.

Just like when Akie helped me.

"I found out her current address when I was helping out at work. But I don't know who her roommate is..."

Having said that, Xiangzi couldn't help but look at Ruomai with some embarrassment.

If I had known this relationship existed...

Ruomai was stunned for a long time, until he noticed Xiangzi's gaze, then he reacted belatedly.

"Wait!" she exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Xiangzi was stunned, not knowing what the other party was doubting about.

"I say, Xiangzi, you actually..." Ruomai seemed to be very anxious for some reason, "...actually lived with Xiaoqiu before she moved in?"

And, and, and! If I remember correctly, Xiaoqiu used to live in a rental house where there was only one bed in the whole house, with no space left even for sleeping on the floor!

"Have you slept in the same bed with her?" Ruomai almost started screaming and scratching, but fortunately, her remaining rationality was enough to support her to maintain basic composure.

"...Indeed, I...can't deny it."

Xiangzi lowered his head with a red face, and felt his heart beating suddenly faster.

At that time, when I was honest with Qiu Hui and slept in the same bed... I didn't think so much about it.

Because, at that time, Xiangzi's thinking was almost completely kidnapped by the difficulties of reality, and she was a purely straight woman in her ideas, so she would not have any subtle thoughts of crossing the line.

But it’s different now!

I more or less understood my feelings for Qiu Hui, and my mental state gradually changed...

...Even Toyokawa Shoko now has the leisure to think about some pink thoughts.

Therefore, she was unwilling to struggle with this topic any longer.

“Ahem, coming back to the point…”

In order to change the topic away from the fact that he and Akihime had slept in the same bed, Xiangzi took the initiative to change the subject.

"...Actually, I heard something from Goto-san. Akie once told her that she ran away from home when she was in junior high school for some reason."

"During that time, she tried to seek help from a friend..."

Although the topic had changed, Ruomai's mood didn't seem to improve at all.

The topic raised by Xiangzi made her feel very uncomfortable.

However, although she was very unwilling, she still felt that she had to listen.

Of course, she knew that "friend" was herself. However, this time, she appeared in the content that Akie relayed to a third party.

What kind of image do I portray in this retelling?

Therefore, Ruomai, who cared a lot about this, did not continue to dwell on such trivial matters as "sleeping in the same bed", but continued to listen carefully.

"Akie thought her relationship with that friend was pretty good, but, in reality, it might not be that good."

As Xiangzi was talking, Aiyin beside him nodded thoughtfully.

"After entering high school, she didn't make many friends until she formed the band," she said. "If she has always been like this, then the friends she made when she ran away from home must be very important to her!"

"I think so too." Xiangzi nodded, "But this news was passed on by Goto-san."

"Well...Akie didn't tell me about that friend's situation." said Goto Ichiri.

She didn't seem to care about social anxiety anymore. Judging from her serious expression, she was completely immersed in the discussion.

"So." Xiangzi looked at Ruomai seriously, "Since we are going to exchange information now, I think it is necessary to ask Yutenji-san."

"How much do you know about that friend's situation? Has Akie discussed it with you in detail?"

After hearing this, Yutenji Wakamu felt like he had accidentally swallowed a fly.

"I know that guy very well," she said with a sullen face.

"Would you like to guess why?"

Although she said this, she didn't seem to intend to give everyone time to guess, and hurriedly announced the answer herself.

"...Because that guy is me."

Ruomai said somewhat unhappily.

Chapter 48 Alternative Plan No. 1

The atmosphere at the table became a little strange.

"That friend... turns out to be Yutenji-san?" Shoko covered her mouth in surprise.

Chihaya Aine was even more shocked: "Actually, it was Meow Mengqin! You and Senpai look like two completely different people..."

When my senior first met me, she was a complete eccentric. It was hard to imagine that she would hang out with a fashion blogger like Miao Mengqin... By the way, can they really find common topics? It's too...

"What are you talking about? Are you and Xiao Qiu the same kind of people?"

Ruomai asked back indifferently, with a slight annoyance on his face because of his competitive mentality.

"Oh, that's right."

Aiyin didn't pay attention to the thorn in Ruomai's words, and just nodded as if she suddenly understood something.

"and……"

Ruomai sighed and restrained the aggression in his tone. It seemed that there was no point in arguing at this time and in this place.

"…When I was in junior high school, I was a completely different person than I am now."

"Since you want to know about 'that friend'... then I will briefly describe what happened between Xiaoqiu and I."

Facing the three new friends of Xiaoqiu in front of him, Yutenji Wakamu felt a sense of inexplicable... no, a very clear sense of melancholy.

Come to think of it. When Xiao Qiu described me to others before, she thought I was... "a friend who thinks they are very close, but is not actually that close"?

Although she always emphasized over and over again that I was not wrong... Xiaoqiu must have been brooding over this matter.

"She kept stressing that I didn't make any mistakes at that time."

Ruomai picked up the paper cup of oolong tea and drank it all in one gulp, treating it as some kind of wine to relieve his sorrow.

“But she definitely cares about it.”

"You can't blame me for making a mistake... Then you can only think that our relationship is not good enough."

"Not good enough...to the point where I would do something wrong for her."

So, starting from the day Qiu Hui announced that she was going to run away from home, Ruomai began to sort out all the troubles that were buried deep in his heart, and revealed them to everyone in front of him bit by bit.

"... She originally wanted to earn her living expenses by doing odd jobs. However, she was clumsy at the time... so she was always fired from her part-time jobs."

"At that time, we..."

I don't know what to do. The living expenses my parents give me are enough for me, but it's really unaffordable for two people.

"I'm troubled, and she herself doesn't know what to do..."

"But, she always..."