Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

She was wearing a school uniform that Akihime didn't recognize. Even though it was just a school uniform, the workmanship of this uniform was incomparable to Yuqiu's uniform in terms of fabric and cut.

This person didn't seem to be stopping here just to look at the bulletin board. Akie noticed that her eyes were focused on Chihaya Aine.

She doesn't look like a student of Hanegaoka. Is she here to see Aine? If that's the case, should I avoid her first?

At this time, Aiyin, who was being watched, did not seem to notice the presence of the third person. She just operated her phone while saying to Akihime, "And more! Senior, can you send me the LINE QR code? I want to forward it to Xiao Deng!"

"It's possible..."

While Qiu Hui was sending a QR code business card with her mobile phone, she was keeping an eye on the person who suddenly appeared.

She has long, smooth and shiny chestnut hair, and her beautiful eyes beneath her forked bangs seem to contain deep meaning. Her lips are slightly pursed, and her expression is hard to read.

"..."

She seemed to notice Qiu Hui's gaze, so she turned around and met her eyes.

The moment their eyes met, it was as if a switch was touched, and her originally half-smiley expression instantly melted away and turned into a highly professional and gentle smile.

This smile made Qiu Hui frown slightly. She was surprisingly familiar with this kind of polite smile. Whenever her sister appeared in public, she would put on a similar expression.

This is a typical "young lady" fake smile.

However, compared to her sister, this guy in front of her doesn't seem to be proficient enough in this field, Qiu Hui thought.

Therefore, she instinctively realized that there must be something else hidden behind this false smile.

Feeling the pressure hidden behind this smile, Qiu Hui gritted her teeth and said, "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"

“Eh? Who are you talking to, senpai…Ah!”

Only then did Aine belatedly realize the existence of that person.

"It's the person from the Moon Forest I met earlier!" she exclaimed. "What a coincidence!"

“Ah, what a coincidence.” The woman called “The Person from the Moon Forest” also looked at Aine and said with a smile, “You are the one I met at the door that time…”

Qiu Hui subconsciously took two steps back.

What is "Moon Forest"? Is it the name of the school?

The female student from Tsuki no Mori before him, every detail from her manners to her appearance, was just like the name of this school, with a certain gorgeous and fantastic temperament.

But this guy's voice...how should I put it.

Although the voice is gentle and sweet, and the tone is very humble and polite...

But just like the half-hearted fake smile she had put on before, the way she spoke was too pretentious and artificial, which made Qiu Hui feel a little uncomfortable.

At this moment, she just recalled the experiences her sister had shared with her in etiquette class when she was a child.

"...Akie, you must remember this, okay? The easiest mistake beginners make in this regard is to overdo it. The essence of etiquette is to be 'natural' and 'appropriate'. Being too deliberate will only backfire, and the other party might even think it's a deliberate insult..."

…The person in front of me made the mistake of overdoing it, Qiu Hui thought.

"Hello, both of you. I haven't introduced myself yet, have I?"

The girl in the Tsuki no Mori school uniform saluted Aine and Akie.

"My name is Nagasaki Motoyo. I'm a first-year high school student at Tsuki no Mori Girls' Academy..."

Nagasaki Motoyo's eyes swept over the two people in front of her wearing the Yugaoka school uniforms one by one.

"The 'Light' you mentioned just now, are you referring to...Takamatsu Light-san?"

Chapter 53: Network of Relationships

The other party read out the full name, which naturally ruled out the possibility of misunderstanding.

"I'm Aine, Chihaya Aine! By the way, do you know Deng?" Aine asked in surprise.

"Rather than saying we know each other, it's better to say..."

Su Shi folded his hands in front of him.

"…I am her friend."

Akie felt her scalp tingle slightly. Something in the other person's smile made her instinct react strongly.

“Sorry to bother you. I’m Togawa Aie. Have you two met before?” Aie looked at Aine.

"I met Nagasaki-san before, when the three of us went to karaoke together last time!"

When the topic of "three of us going together" was mentioned, Su Shi's hands in front of him seemed to clench unconsciously.

Aine didn't notice her subtle movements at all, and just continued to explain the situation to Akie: "Didn't Xiao Deng run out of the private room directly? That reaction was even more intense than when she refused me to form a band before. I was really a little scared!"

“I was worried about her, so I ran out… I don’t think you know what happened next, senpai. I ran after the light for a long time, and then… yes, I happened to arrive at the door of this store!”

"That's when I met Nagasaki-san. I didn't have the chance to thank her for her concern..."

As she was talking, Aine's expression suddenly turned grim.

“…At that time, I was harassed by someone I didn’t know at the door! He was a stranger, but his attitude was really bad! He kept saying ‘you bastard’ and ‘huh?’ and even said things like ‘you suck’ for no apparent reason… It really made me angry!”

From her expression and tone, it can be seen that Aine is indeed quite angry.

Meanwhile, Su Shi at the side smiled helplessly: "...That 'unknown person' is actually my friend. She is working here now."

“Ah?” Aine’s expression froze, “Sorry… I’m sorry, did I say something bad about your friend just now?”

"It's okay." Su Shi shook his head generously, "After all, it was her who had the inappropriate attitude first."

She looked at Aine, then at Akie, and said, "It's not nice to always stand here. How about we all go to the cafe and have a couple of drinks? How about Togawa-san come too?"

"...I have no objection." Akie nodded. She felt a little uncomfortable being called "senpai".

This girl gave off an aura that made it hard for anyone to comfortably treat her as a junior.

“Okay, then let’s go together now?” Aine also agreed.

The group of three walked towards the cafe dining area in the store.

On the way, Akie looked at Aine and asked quietly, “…By the way, Aine, do you know what the ‘Moon Forest’ is? It seems to be a school?”

Aine also lowered her voice and replied, “Rather, Senior, don’t you know? Tsuki no Mori is a super famous school for young ladies! I heard that many children of politicians, celebrities, and big businessmen study there!”

“…So that’s the setting.” Akie nodded. “I don’t know much about this.”

I remember that my father seemed to dislike this so-called "girls' school". According to him, this kind of place only produces "pretentious but empty-headed people".

However, it now seems that my father's prejudice may have been a bit extreme.

Although Shigaraki-san may have overdone things in some places, he is generally a well-behaved and gentle person, not as bad as his father described...

The three of them came to the dining area of ​​the cafe and sat down around the same table.

"Shall we continue with the topic we were talking about?" Su Shi folded her fingers and smiled, "The topic about 'Takamatsu Touma'."

"Nagasaki-san is in Tsuki no Mori, right? But he said he's friends with Takamatsu-san." Akie asked, "So, they knew each other since junior high school?"

"Yes." Su Shi nodded with a smile, "Since we didn't go to the same high school, our contact gradually faded. As a result, I didn't expect to meet you two who just happened to know her. May I ask, what is your relationship with Deng?"

"Deng and I are in the same class!" Aine answered.

"I'm a second-year student at Hanaoka," Akie answered, "and I've only just met Takamatsu-san."

In fact, Takamatsu is also my reader, but there is no need to say this.

"I see..." Sushi nodded with a smile, "It seems that Deng has made friends in high school."

“Teng is actually very popular in our class!” Aine responded, “How should I put it, she’s like a mascot!”

"Really? That's great..."

Just then, the waiter who was responsible for taking orders came over.

"What would you like to order?"

Qiu Hui noticed that the person who came to take the order this time was the waiter who looked a little unhappy just now.

She has long, neat black hair, and the teardrop mole at the corner of her eye becomes a particularly prominent memory point.

"If you have chosen, please tell me..."

Before she finished speaking, she seemed to notice Aiyin who was sitting next to her.

"……whispering sound."

...Did she smack her lips just now? Qiu Hui thought.

What a terrible attitude for a waiter.

“…” Aine responded with an angry glare.

“…Could she be the one who quarreled with Aine?” Akie asked quietly.

“That’s her!” Aine replied softly, “The one I least want to meet has appeared!”

"Don't look at her like that..." Su Shi said with a wry smile, "I don't think Li Xi had any ill intentions at the time. I think she was just worried about the lights..."

The waiter called "Lixi" turned his gaze to Su Shi.

"Su Shi you..." She seemed a little unhappy, "...please order."

"Okay, then I'll order the same as usual." Su Shi smiled, "A cup of hot Earl Grey tea."

“It feels so good!” Aine clapped her hands, “I want the same!”

"...I've ordered." Akie pointed to the paper cup of lemonade on the table.

"Well, two cups of hot Earl Grey tea..."

After Li Xi finished placing the order, he glared at Su Shi before leaving.

Qiu Hui looked at her back and seemed to notice something.

After Nagasaki mentioned Takamatsu's name, Ms. Riki obviously reacted.

Nagasaki and Takamatsu are friends, and Nagasaki and Riki are also friends. Judging from Riki's reaction, she at least knows Takamatsu...

Nagasaki was just passing by, but after hearing Deng's name, he immediately stopped to talk to us, and even took us to a cafe so that they could chat over a drink.

She seems to be very concerned about Takamatsu-san's situation...

……and many more.

Did they know each other in junior high school?

But the problem is, it is unlikely that Nagasaki, who attends a prestigious school for young ladies, and Takamatsu, who attends an ordinary high school like Hanaoka, would attend the same junior high school, right?

Takamatsu-san's temperament has nothing to do with the word "young lady".

According to the style of this kind of prestigious schools, Tsukinomori should also be a school with a comprehensive junior high and high school system.

Therefore, it is unlikely that they will go to the same junior high school...

...In other words, they actually met through channels other than school?

Qiu Hui, who had originally just followed the crowd, now became very interested in the situation before her which was caused by a series of coincidences.

Chapter 54 Impure Motives

Akiie, who is worried about her new work, is like a predator hungry for prey; her intuition of "capturing materials" becomes particularly sensitive due to the urgent need.

She originally came to RiNG with the purpose of relaxing and strolling around; unexpectedly, by chance, she encountered such a wonderful situation.

Qiu Hui, whose interest was piqued, monitored every corner covered by this conversation with extra-special attention.

After finishing the order, Su Shi returned to the main topic.

"Chihaya-san, by the way, you were near the band recruitment notice board just now. Were you looking for suitable members?"

“That’s true.” Aine nodded, “I want to be the guitar vocalist… or if that’s not possible, just the vocalist is fine. But it seems like there’s no band that’s looking for a vocalist…”

"As for the lead singer, that's true. There are very few bands that would recruit a lead singer on their own." Su Shi nodded as if she felt the same way. "Because, generally speaking, even if they can't find a suitable candidate, one of the musicians who is good at singing can take on the role."

“Is that so?” Aine was a little disappointed, “I didn’t know this before…”

"Nagasaki-san, you seem to know a lot about bands," Akie asked. "Have you ever formed a band before?"

Su Shi admitted bluntly: "It happened before."

“Eh?” Aine suddenly perked up, “It existed before… so it’s gone now?”