Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

It's all my own fault that it turned out like this.

It was obviously me who hurt everyone, including Akiie, first, which led to us being in this situation now...

...Even I may not be able to forgive myself.

However, Senior Akiie will forgive me for this.

Maybe she just wanted me to go back to that band.

But, now all we can do is...

Su Shi decided not to think about it anymore.

She made up her mind and dialed Chihaya Aine's number.

Chapter 50: The Belated Sushi

"Sushi?"

Aiyin subconsciously said the name of the caller, and Xiangzi beside her also made a subconscious stress reaction.

She hadn't paid attention to this name for a while. But when Aine suddenly mentioned it, she subconsciously frowned.

"Um……"

Aine looked at Shoko, her expression slightly embarrassed.

"Someone is looking for me. Sorry, I have to answer the phone for a moment!"

"Su Shi...what is he planning again?" Xiangzi was puzzled.

Aiyin got up and left the table, temporarily went to the living room next door, sat down, and answered the phone.

"Good afternoon, Sushi..."

Aine first greeted as usual.

then……

Then she didn't know what to say.

In the period immediately after the performance, she tried many times to contact Su Shi.

Tried again and again, and then failed again and again.

Her passion and confidence in the band were gradually worn away by this continuous silence.

Until what happened in the practice room, and then Akie's efforts to save the situation, and then something happened, and then...

...It's been such a long time, and Su Shi finally contacted me.

Aiyin felt as if time had passed and things had changed. Because of this, she didn't know what to say to Su Shi now.

Fortunately, the call was from Su Shi.

It was she who had demands on Aine’s side, so the responsibility of breaking the deadlock naturally fell on her.

“Aine. I have something to ask of you.”

Su Shi on the other end of the phone went straight to the point.

“Oh, then, what is it?” Aine responded.

She actually had a lot to say, but at this point, it seemed like this was all she could say.

What have you been doing during this period of time? Why haven’t you contacted us?

Did you really form that band just for CRYCHIC and not take the time you spent together seriously?

He just showed up out of nowhere without any explanation, and then started making requests on his own. Isn't that a bit too much?

There are so many things to say, thousands of words.

but……

I always feel that if I say it this way, it will sound a bit too aggressive.

Moreover, after my relationship with my seniors got closer, my feelings towards the band seemed to have faded a bit...

It would feel weird to say these words at this time, so forget it.

Aiyin simply responded in a normal manner with a normal attitude.

Since you're asking me for help, at least ask me what it is about before deciding whether to agree or not.

However, although Aine was quite calm, Suyo on the other end of the line seemed quite surprised.

She was silent for a few seconds before she spoke up, "...I thought you would be even angrier."

"Why, Su Shi, do you want to be scolded by me? Let's talk about that later. First tell me what you want me to do for you."

Aine answered in a half-joking tone.

"Is this really... okay?" Su Shi's reaction was truly strange.

It was clearly her own choice to call Aine, but now she seemed to be questioning whether her actions were appropriate.

“You have to know what it is first, and then you can decide whether to accept it or not, right?” Aiyin said with a smile.

In fact, she doesn't have much resentment towards Su Shi now.

It’s not that she has forgiven Su Shi for what he did, she is just simply emotionless now.

Now her attention is basically focused on Qiu Hui's affairs, so when she thinks about the affairs of the Wuming Band, she can face it with a relatively calm and objective attitude, without being aroused by too strong emotions.

It's like reading a paper record in an archive. The events are still the same, but they are not as tangible.

"Thank you..." Su Shi said as if relieved.

Just by listening to the voice, Aine felt as if she could imagine the expression of Su Shi on the other end of the line.

“I want to ask, Akie… How is Senpai doing now? Can Aine contact her now? I tried to contact her before, but she said that because of something, ‘she might not be able to reply for a long time’. I don’t know what’s going on, so…”

Aiyin was stunned by Su Shi's request.

"Well, if you want to contact Senpai, that's no problem. I'm actually at her place right now. Xiangzi brought me there...ah."

Oops, did I let this slip?

Aine’s expression suddenly turned awkward.

Su Shi and Xiangzi were entangled in that situation before, and now she wants to contact her senior. I told her at this time that Xiangzi knew where her senior lived...

...Isn't this a bit too much information for Su Shi?

As expected. As soon as Aiyin finished speaking, Su Shi on the other end of the phone was silent for a long time, as if she had left temporarily for something.

"Well, anyway, Senior is in a bad state right now... because of some complicated reasons."

Aiyin thought that it would be better not to continue this awkward situation. She couldn't take back what she said, so she could only throw out more information and try to divert Su Shi's attention.

"She is resting at home now. It is not convenient for her to see people for the time being, and she does not have the time to contact others."

As expected, Su Shi's attention seemed to have clearly shifted away from the relationship between Shoko and Akie.

"How could this happen?" she exclaimed, "Is Qiu Hui sick?"

"Not really, at least not yet. But I wonder if it would be convenient for me to ask, what exactly did Sushiro-san want to do with you?"

When they first formed the band, Aine actually thought that Su Shi was probably a kind person with a gentle personality and caring about others.

And now, even though her emotions have faded a lot due to the combined effects of time and Akihime, she still can't convince herself to evaluate the current Nagasaki Suyo in the same way she originally evaluated Suyo.

Although it's generally a good thing that someone is willing to care about their seniors, but...how should I put it, I feel like "maybe I need to help her check a little bit."

In fact, Aine herself knew that her relationship with Akie, even now, seemed to be difficult to say was completely certain.

However, she could still confidently declare that she was now the one with the closest relationship to Akie.

Speaking of which, when they met in RiNG before, Su Shi's behavior seemed unnatural when she met her senior.

At that time, I thought...could it be that even she likes Senior a little bit?

"I……"

Facing Aine's question, Su Shi didn't seem particularly confident.

"I just want to talk to her about something."

“…Oh.” Aine nodded calmly.

I would answer like this...I'm afraid my guess is quite accurate, right?

Chapter 51: Xiangzi Volunteers

After the brief conversation, Aine returned to her seat.

"Was it Su Shi who was looking for you just now?" Xiangzi asked.

Her emotions seemed to have stabilized, and she did not have any further strong reaction because of Su Shi.

“Yes, that’s her.” Aine nodded, “She’s also concerned about Senpai’s situation.”

"Even Su Shi..." Xiangzi frowned, closed his eyes, and had an expression of slight disgust and helplessness on his face, as if he was walking on the road and stepped into a mud pit.

“Ah, that’s true, even Soyo.” Aine also sighed meaningfully.

Ruomai's face darkened as he tapped the table with his knuckles repeatedly and rapidly: "What does this mean? The number of contestants has increased again?"

"What 'player'?" Goto Ichiri asked stupidly. She didn't seem to understand some of the complicated metaphors Ruomei used.

"Idiot, the finger I'm talking about is..."

Before Ruomai could finish her words, she was interrupted by Aine.

“Let’s not worry about that for now. Anyway, I talked to Suyo about the current situation, and she seemed to want to join in and find a way to solve Senpai’s problem together.” Aine continued.

"Can she really come up with a solution?" Toyokawa Shoko asked back with a dark face, "I don't think she needs to get involved in the current situation."

It really couldn't be blamed on her for being mean. As the most direct witness of Su Shi's communication skills and planning abilities, she had an unquestionable priority in evaluating the latter's style and consciousness.

And...as the person involved, her actions towards Nagasaki Motoyo can hardly be described as anything good.

"Well, I can understand that Xiangzi-san might have some prejudice against Suze..."

Aine tried hard to suppress the urge to laugh out loud.

"...But I feel like if I leave Sushi alone, she'd be pretty pitiful."

After saying that, she shook her head gently, with a hint of melancholy in her eyes.

"…Poor?" Xiangzi was stunned.

“Of course it’s pitiful.” Aine nodded, “CRYCHIC couldn’t be saved, and the new band also disbanded. Since Suyo was able to do that for that band, I think she must be a person who values ​​friends very much, right?”

“She doesn’t take your new band seriously at all…” Shoko frowned, “Aine, you’re the victim too, right?”

“That’s true. So, I don’t understand what Su Shi is thinking. I always feel that her actions are a bit contradictory.” Aine answered.

She took a sip from the teacup and continued, "Anyway, I told her that I would tell her about Senior's situation in the future. But I didn't tell her the location of this residence..."

"... Well done." Ruomai nodded as if relieved. "It's really scary to spread my address without my permission, meow."

After speaking in a casual tone, she tapped the table lightly: "However, I think we should put the matter of the bassist aside for now. Can we focus back on the topic we just discussed?"

What Ruomai was referring to was, of course, how to improve Qiu Hui's mood.

“Indeed, this is the most crucial problem.” Aine sighed, “But to be honest, I don’t know what to do.”

She held her chin with both hands and stared at the table in front of her in distress.

"Senpai and I are completely different types of people. Sometimes I can't understand her way of thinking."

“So I think if I were to talk to her directly about how she feels right now, I probably wouldn’t be able to find the key point.”

As she spoke, Aine stretched out her fingers and gently rubbed her temples, as if to relieve stress.

"I think it would be better to find something relaxing and enjoyable for Senpai to do, so that she can relax physically and mentally. But... she doesn't seem to be interested in anything right now, so I don't know what to do. I can only ask everyone to come up with a solution together, right?"

At this point in the conversation, Goto Ichiri nodded as if he felt the same way.

"Actually...sometimes I don't know what Aki is thinking."

"She has been practicing very hard in the band. From the time it was first formed, to the time it decided to sign the contract, to now, she has always been willing to put her mind to ending the band."