Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Page 38

"Yeah." Qiu Hui sighed, "I have already lowered my expectations as much as possible..."

After all, this is just a first attempt.

After all, they are just students who got together by chance to play in a band. They are not professional big-name musicians, nor are they the unreasonable geniuses that only appear in cartoons.

Oftentimes, in art-related fields, "high expectations but low skills" is the norm. Only a few strong people can match their technical level with their aesthetics. You know, even professional bands that sell tickets and release albums occasionally fail on stage.

While giving herself and Goto a shot of prevention, Akie gathered around Nijixia.

"How's everyone's practice going?" Hong Xia asked.

"Hmm... How should I put it..." Kita responded awkwardly, "The F chord is so hard to press..."

This guy doesn't know how to play guitar at all, Qiu Hui thought helplessly.

Liang said nothing, just nodded.

As for Goto, he lowered his head and said nothing.

"Why does Pochi-chan seem so depressed..." Hongxia asked with some concern.

"I'm not good at cooperating with others, so I can't show my full potential, and I'm worried about that." Akiie answered on behalf of Goto, and Goto agreed with this statement.

"I see. But I think that with more practice and a deeper understanding of each other, tacit understanding will come naturally." Hongxia looked at the problem with a positive attitude as always, "So, Pochi-chan, don't be so depressed, it's okay!"

Goto Ichiri didn't say anything, just nodded silently.

Looking at her listless appearance, Qiu Hui suddenly realized the problem.

For Ichiri Goto, her negative way of thinking is the result of more than ten years of life experiences.

For her, accepting other people's advice on "positive thinking" is tantamount to trying to challenge the irresistible instinct that has been formed over time.

This is no longer a matter of "good medicine tastes bitter"... For Goto Ichiri, it might be more appropriate to compare it to "rejection reaction caused by organ transplantation."

Her instinctive resistance would destroy her spirit like a runaway immune system.

But the kindness from her friend made her unable to refuse easily.

This kind of self-righteous encouragement may cause her more harm than simple blame.

"Pochi, I'm sorry." Thinking of this, Akie suddenly apologized for no reason.

"Huh?" Goto Ichiri asked in surprise, "Why are you apologizing?"

"Just now, I was trying to persuade you, Pochi, not to feel depressed about your poor performance." Akie replied, "For this, I want to express my apologies to you."

"Why?" This time it was Nijixia who was puzzled. "Could it be that Akie thinks that we shouldn't encourage Pochi-chan?"

Qiu Hui shook her head.

This time, she did not approve of Hong Xia's approach.

"For Pochi, just knowing 'what to do' is meaningless." She shook her head, "In fact, sometimes knowing 'what to do' can have the opposite effect."

"Counter-effect?" Hong Xia wondered.

"If you rely on others to teach you that your thoughts are wrong, but you can't correct them no matter what, then this 'contradiction between thoughts and actions' will only make you feel more depressed and helpless."

Goto Ichiri, who had his head lowered, suddenly raised his head and looked at Akie's profile.

At this moment, the other party turned around and met her eyes.

"?!"

The unexpected eye contact made Goto Ichiri turn his face away in reaction.

"…What, what's wrong?" she whispered shyly.

"Pochi. Although I don't know much about you, I think you must have your own reasons for always looking at things from a negative perspective."

"The advice we give from our perspective may not apply to your situation for these reasons."

"So I think it's better not to encourage you any further... or rather, I should respect your 'right to feel depressed'."

"..." Goto Ichiri said nothing.

Qiu Hui's words echoed in her ears again and again, causing her brain to almost stop functioning.

"Even if your negative thoughts will affect everyone in some way..."

Having said that, Qiu Hui suddenly realized that there was something inappropriate in her words.

"...No. I'm not qualified to express everyone's views. I should say this: Even if your negative emotions affect me, Pochi, I won't blame you for it, nor will I ask you to look at the problem from a positive perspective."

"I don't know what other people think. But at least I think it's okay for Pochi to continue to maintain Pochi's personality..."

After saying this, Togawa Aie suddenly felt a little ashamed.

She even felt like she didn't dare to look Goto Ichiri in the eye.

...Because it is completely my personal subjective judgment, when I said it, I subconsciously excluded everyone.

But, doesn't it seem like...

"Ah! Akiie is so cunning!" Nijixia said angrily, "What do you mean by 'at least you think'? It's almost like a confession! Doesn't this make us all bad people!"

Qiu Hui was stunned, and immediately bowed hastily to apologize: "I'm sorry! I, I didn't mean that..."

Seeing Qiu Hui actually starting to apologize seriously, Hongxia burst out laughing.

"Akiie actually apologized..." She said while laughing, "How cute!"

"How should I put it..." Kita clapped her hands with a smile, "In a way, the two of you are quite similar."

"Yeah! Akiie is the same. She always feels like she has done something wrong." Hongxia nodded. "But, as Akiie said just now, this is also part of her personality."

She looked at the members of the closing band surrounding her and smiled from the bottom of her heart.

"Everyone's personalities come together like this, and what is finally formed is the final band!"

"..."

Togawa Akie straightened up, but still didn't dare to look directly at Ijichi Kouka, who was as dazzling as the sun.

"I……"

The words came to his lips, but were swallowed back.

It's rare that the atmosphere is so good now...

"Like Akie-chan said, Pochi-chan should just continue to be Pochi-chan...Pochi?"

Hongxia looked at Pochi who was standing there in confusion.

At this moment, Goto Ichiri's face looked like shrimp paste thrown into a hot pot.

“——Confession, confession?”

"Oh my." Liangguai smiled and looked in Pochi's direction, "It seems that you are getting entangled in something weird."

Chapter 63: Home

After a noisy episode, before the end of today's practice time, everyone in the band still tried a five-person ensemble.

Of course, the results were, of course, terrible.

Ichiri and Akiie, who already had a hard time getting along, and Kita, who was unfamiliar with the guitar, really made the situation worse.

Although Liang and Hongxia have already reached a certain level of tacit understanding, the other half of the trio has never been able to keep up with the rhythm of the drums and bass. Coupled with the inherent internal conflicts, the final result is naturally terrible.

"Ahaha, I was prepared, but after hearing it myself, I still..." Hongxia scratched her hair a little embarrassedly, "I can understand Pochi-chan's depressed mood a little bit."

"It's definitely not going to pass the audio review at this level." Ryo shook his head. "Hongxia's sister is surprisingly strict."

"There's no other choice but to practice more, right?" Akie said.

"Especially me. I feel like I'm the worst at playing a musical instrument among you..."

Kita came to Goto's side while saying this.

"Please, Goto-san! Can you teach me guitar at school from now on?"

"Ah? Ah! Of course you can! Although I may not be good at teaching others, please be prepared..."

Goto Ichiri's reaction seemed a little slow. He might still be struggling with what happened before.

"Well...it looks like there's still some time left. How about we do it again?" Hongxia suggested.

No one has an opinion.

After the second attempt, although no one felt any improvement, today's practice still ended in a very pleasant atmosphere.

"Liang, you also need to work harder to prepare original songs!" Hong Xia warned before leaving.

"I know." Ryo nodded and looked in Akie's direction, "By the way, do you know how to arrange music?"

"I don't really understand..." Qiu Hui shook her head, "but I have used audio processing related software before."

"I understand. Then, I will give you the plan, and you will be responsible for the hard work related to the production. Is that okay?"

“…I have no objection.”

"Of course, if you have any ideas, such as what kind of melody should be arranged here, what kind of sound effects should be used, or even if you have some phrases that you want to put into the song, you can tell me."

"Understood." Akie agreed briefly.

"Okay. Are you free tonight?"

"I can always find some time."

"Since you said so, I will definitely not be polite. Be prepared to stay up all night with me."

"I have no objection. I can't seem to solve my insomnia problem lately anyway."

"Oh! Senior is so handsome!"

"..."

……call.

There's a lot of work to do tonight.

I haven't finished my English homework yet, workbook or something.

This is so troublesome. How about just finding a way to copy the answers?

After saying goodbye to everyone, Qiu Hui wandered the streets alone, looking for a nearby store that might be more appetizing.