Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

I seem to be feeling a little sleepy... I must seize the opportunity!

Qiu Hui turned around and went back to her own residence, changed into pajamas, and lay back on the bed.

This time, the god in charge of sleep seemed to be particularly merciful and gave her a little extra gift.

After closing her eyes, she quickly fell asleep - a boundless paradise of pure freedom where she no longer had to worry about any needs or constraints.

Chapter 59: Happy Practice Time

the next day.

"Ah, Qiuhui! You're here!" Hongxia waved to Qiuhui who walked into the store.

"Yeah." The latter replied briefly.

She went to the practice area, put down her gig bag, and assembled the stand.

Now, Qiu Hui has become quite proficient in this process.

"You've been sweating a lot." Liang came over and handed over a stack of bound printed paper. "This is the keyboard part of the cover."

"Thank you." Qiu Hui took the score and put it on the music stand, "Because the piano is quite heavy."

After flipping through the music score and reading the notes on the staff, Qiu Hui began to mobilize her music theory knowledge that she had abandoned for a long time.

Although Goto Ichiri had sent the written lyrics to Liang in the afternoon, the composition and arrangement work would still take some time to complete.

So, the main task of the band at the end of the day was to practice the cover songs that were scheduled to be performed.

At this time, Liang, who was standing beside her, handed the headphones to her: "This is a demo of the keyboard part. Most of them are the sections with heavier electronic elements in the original song."

"Thank you."

After taking the headphones and putting them on, Qiu Hui listened to the music and read the score at the same time. She felt that she had a general understanding of the part of this cover song that she was supposed to play.

Based on the cover score found by Kita and Nijika, Ryo made considerable adaptations to it.

“It feels like my part is very small, and most of it is just filler.” Akie said, “The technical requirements don’t seem to be too high... It’s really helpful.”

"Precisely because it's simple, you can't make any mistakes," Ryo commented. "Be prepared to feel the pressure."

"I am a little confident about this." Qiu Hui smiled.

She flipped through the sheet music a few more times and asked Liang to play the DEMO a few more times.

"Are you planning to let Goto-san be the lead vocalist?" Akie asked.

"It would be a shame if she doesn't have enough room to display her talent," Liang replied.

Qiu Hui nodded in agreement with this statement.

"Indeed. I am looking forward to Goto-san's performance. So..."

Qiu Hui returned the headphones to Liang and turned to the electronic piano.

"...I also have to do a good job of supporting and complementing you."

Looking at Qiu Hui who started to practice, Liang raised the corner of his mouth slightly and nodded slightly.

"Oh, you got into the mood so quickly!" Hong Xia exclaimed not far away, "You are very motivated!"

"Why don't we practice our parts first?" Liang walked towards Hongxia's position. "Before playing together, you need to understand your own part first."

"Yeah!" Hong Xia said with a smile, "Seeing everyone's expressions, I also want to work hard!"

The three people who came to STARRY first began a fulfilling and harmonious practice time.

"Senior! Have you started practicing yet?"

After a while, Kita, who came in first, greeted Ryo enthusiastically.

"...Hello, everyone." Goto Ichiri, who was following behind, kept his head down as usual.

Liang took out two more music books from his bag and handed them to the two of them. "Yudai, this is your part. Considering that you still have the work of singing the lead, I didn't arrange too many complicated passages for you."

"Thank you, senior! That's very considerate!" Kita took the sheet music with a smile, "But, just call me Kita-chan."

"Okay, Ikuyo." Ryo replied as if he was teasing her, and then handed another sheet of music to Goto, "As for Pochi, you are the lead singer. With your talent, it would be a waste to play that kind of simplified score. So I arranged some more technical parts."

"…I'll try my best!" Although he clearly felt the pressure, Goto still mustered up the courage to take the music score.

"I changed the rap section in the middle of the original song into a guitar solo part considering the tone of our band. I hope you can give full play to your potential, Pochi."

"Solo..." Goto Ichiri was a little unsure, "If that happens, I'll become the focus of the whole audience, right? Well, I don't know if I can adapt to that kind of situation..."

"We'll think about it later." Liang shook his head, "For now, just focus on the music."

"Senior, that's so cool!" Kita showed starry eyes of admiration, and it seemed that he no longer cared about being called Ikuyo.

Hong Xia, who was playing the drums nearby, also put down her drumsticks temporarily and said to everyone, "Let's practice on our own for a while. How about we try to play together before the end of today?"

"I have no objection." Liang nodded.

"If you have no objection, I have no objection either!" Kita nodded.

"If everyone has no objection...then I will too..." Goto agreed.

"Well! What do you think, Qiuhui?" Hongxia turned and looked at Qiuhui.

"..."

At this time, Qiu Hui was staring at the music score with a frown on her face, and her right hand was struggling with a long-span legato over and over again.

"Aki-e-chan?"

"...Ah? Oh." Akie responded belatedly, "I'm fine with it. It's up to you all to decide what's convenient for you."

After confirming that the other party had received her statement, she turned her attention back to the music score.

"This guy seems to have suddenly become more motivated?" Liang was a little confused.

"Being more motivated means you're having fun, right?" Hong Xia said with a smile, "That's a good thing."

"...For that guy, that's not necessarily the case." Ryo answered ambiguously.

Hong Xia asked back in confusion: "Not necessarily?"

Liang did not continue to answer the question: "Rather than that, it is better for us to focus on practice."

"It's rare to see Ryoya so motivated!" Nijiya exclaimed, "Well, since even Ryo is like this, I can't fall behind!"

The ending band, having clearly defined its goal, is now marching forward with the vigor of a newborn calf.

at the same time.

Ijichi Xingge was at the front desk, silently watching everyone's condition.

That Togawa Akee looked unexpectedly serious.

Although this seriousness should be a good thing for Hong Xia...but considering the weird family behind her, it still makes people a little worried.

Even so, Xingge still didn't know what she should do...

"Hey, onee-san."

"Hmm?" Xingge looked in the direction of the voice.

Standing in front of her was a guest who was a little too petite.

As always, she was dragging her instrument case, complete with wheels and a tow bar, which seemed almost as long as she was tall.

"Is there any this time? Matcha parfait."

"...We don't have that kind of thing on our menu." Xingge sighed helplessly, "You won't get it even if you come a few more times."

Every time this guy comes here, he persistently makes the same request.

Although he looks like a junior high school student, so I can't be too strict with him, but at least order according to the menu...

"Matcha parfait. Don't you have it?" The little customer's expression didn't change.

"I told you there's no more..." Xingge sighed, turned around and took out a pack of green-packaged drinks from the refrigerator behind him, poured a cup and placed it on the counter, "There's only matcha-flavored milk. Can you make do with it?"

After seeing the words on the package, the little guest's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Thank you, big sister." She quickly started to take money out of her pocket.

"...No need, this drink is on me. It's not on the menu anyway."

"Thank you." After hearing Xingge's words, she smiled for a moment and took the cup as if it was a matter of course. "Big sister, you are such a kind woman."

...a kind woman?

What kind of statement is this? It makes me angry!

Although he said so, Xingge had no intention of actually getting angry.

First, I can't bear to get angry at such a child...

Secondly, even if he got angry at this guy who came and went like a stray cat, it probably wouldn't have any effect on her.

Chapter 60 Interlude

Ichichi Hoshige didn't know the name of this "stray cat".

Since about two weeks ago, she has appeared here at STARRY from time to time.

Every time she appeared, she would drag the instrument case with her.

Judging from the shape, Xingge thought it was most likely a guitar.

"Um……"

The young guest holding his drink turned around and cast his gaze towards the ending band.

The first thing "Stray Cat" did when he arrived at the store was to try to order a matcha parfait that was not on the menu.

After being rejected, she would not react in any way, but would quietly find a place to stand or squat, observing the various people and bands in the LIVEHOUSE.

She usually came here at night before, but this time, for some reason, she found this place before the sun set.

It was not peak business hours, so there was no one else in the store except for the band that was taking the opportunity to practice.

But the "stray cat" didn't seem to care and just quietly observed the activities of the ending band.

This seems to be the first time she has met everyone who has ended the band, right? Xingge suddenly thought.

I wonder what everyone thinks of this unpredictable child...

……

at the same time.

Togawa Aie is trying her best to regain the electronic piano skills that she had lost for a long time.

However, things did not go as smoothly as she had imagined.

Here, I often accidentally hit the wrong note. The synthesizer sound is quite sharp, and any slight mistake will sound very inconsistent, which is absolutely unacceptable.

And here. Theoretically, it should be played quickly and clearly, with a crisp and dynamic feeling... but no matter how I play it, the final effect is like a mess.

This isn't a paragraph that places too much emphasis on technique, but I still messed it up...

Ah, this is terrible. After all, whether it was the piano or the electronic keyboard, I only learned it for a period of time because of my father's pressure, and I didn't develop a solid technical foundation at all...

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui suddenly recalled a memory from her childhood.

It was probably when I was upset in front of my father because I hated practicing the piano. I remember that my father looked at me with an annoying expression and said something like this:

"…Although you feel that I'm pushing you too hard now, one day, you'll regret that I'm not pushing you hard enough."

...Although she didn't want to admit it, Qiu Hui did feel that what her father said at the time did make some sense.

If I had been less rebellious and practiced more solidly, I wouldn't be so passive now...

“Um, Aki…”

"Hmm? Ah, Pochi. What's going on?"

Akie raised her head and found Goto Ichiri with his head lowered in front of her.

"I just tried to practice on my own," Goto said. "I think it should be no problem to play solo, but I'm a little unsure about coordinating with everyone."

"I see. Actually, I feel the same way about feeling unsure." Akie nodded. "How about we try playing together first?"