Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"...I think I understand. But how does this relate to ending the band?"

"My joining the Ending Band was actually arranged by the library. The library intends to use the band's activities as part of its publicity and commercial operations. So, I will be performing on stage as 'Novelist Akiroko'."

"Oh! If I show my face, Xiao Deng will recognize me, is that what you mean?"

"Yes, because I think she would probably pay attention to Akihoko's activities in real life." Akihime said, "However, she only knows that I am playing in a band now, but she doesn't know that I am a member of the ending band..."

“…I see, I see! Senior wants me to hide the fact that Akiie is actually the band member Akiyoko from Deng, right?”

"That's it." Qiu Hui nodded.

Chihaya Aine on the other end of the phone finally understood the situation.

“I didn’t expect that Senpai is surprisingly aware of being a celebrity.” Aine said with a hint of teasing in her tone, “But, if it were me, I would show it off everywhere, right?”

“Aine, you do seem like someone who would do that… Anyway, I hope you can keep it a secret from Takamatsu-san.”

“Got it!” Aine responded, “I’ll keep it a secret!”

After hanging up the phone, Qiu Hui breathed a sigh of relief.

Although I feel a little sorry for Takamatsu-san, this is the only way now.

Okay, what should we do next?

When Qiu Hui thought of the subsidy she had received from the library before, she suddenly felt like straightening her back by three points.

The fact that she suddenly had more money on hand made her feel a little elated.

How should this money be used better?

Eat something delicious? It would be a bit of a waste if you just eat it.

Cosmetics? Even if I buy them, I don’t really know how to use them, and I might end up wasting money.

Game and comics peripherals and the like? That doesn’t seem appropriate either…

…Forget it. Qiu Hui made up her mind to use the money to buy some low-risk financial products.

Although the profit is better than nothing, but...something is better than nothing.

After all, light novels are an industry with a high probability of not making enough money for the next one. If the market performance of a new work flops, the situation will become very embarrassing.

Therefore, risk management must be done in advance.

Having said that, Akie's rumbling stomach continued to protest.

No choice. Let's go to a family restaurant and eat something...

After eating something quickly, Qiu Hui quickly took a taxi back to her residence.

After this period of hard work, the DEMO of the original song "Guitar, Loneliness and Blue Planet" has taken shape. As long as some additional work is completed, it will be enough for practice reference.

Although the direction was controlled by Liang, he mercilessly threw many simple but tiring operations to Qiu Hui. Therefore, she also faced a considerable amount of workload.

After hastily finishing her homework for today, she turned on her computer and wrote a small scene. After Liang sent her the work schedule for today, she turned her attention to the composition work.

“…I’m so tired.”

After an unknown amount of time, she looked out the window at the sky which had already turned dark for a long time, and shook her sore wrists.

Although she had a long-awaited enthusiasm today, the complicated and mechanical operations still made her feel very tired. She had no idea where the passion she had at the beginning had gone.

"As expected, I am always a person who gets excited after only three minutes..."

Qiu Hui sighed, took her hands off the table, stared out the window for a few minutes, and then returned to the work in front of her.

After all, no matter how I look at it, the work itself is always there, it will not increase or decrease.

What's more, the parts of composing and arranging that really require brain cells are actually completed by Liang. Even that guy hasn't complained about the hardship, so I'm just doing some physical work, so I should work harder, right?

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui continued to devote herself to her work.

After that, time continued to pass by on its own, and Qiu Hui didn't know how much time had passed.

It wasn't until her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ringing of the phone that she realized it was already past ten o'clock in the evening.

Taking out her cell phone, she noticed that the call was from Hongxia.

What do you want from me at this time?

"Hello?" Qiu Hui answered the phone.

"Hello! I'm Nijixia! What are you doing now, Akie-chan? Are you working?"

"That's a good guess."

"As expected... I knew it. Ryo was being lazy again and left a lot of things to you to do?"

"Not really. She does all the technical work herself. So, what's the matter?"

"It's nothing serious... I was chatting with Liang before, and I heard that you, Akie, seem to stay up late often." Hongxia said on the other end of the phone, "So I want to remind you to remember to go to bed early, and you can do work tomorrow."

...Why is she like my mom? Qiu Hui couldn't help laughing.

"I understand. I will try my best to overcome my insomnia and go to bed early."

"Eh? Insomnia? That's a bit troublesome! I heard that..."

Hongxia talked about various tricks to fall asleep quickly. Qiu Hui had already tried some of them, some of which she thought were just psychological effects, and some of which were too troublesome, so Qiu Hui had no intention of trying them at all.

But she still listened patiently and expressed her gratitude in a nice way.

...When I was a kid and listened to my real mother's nagging, I was not so patient, Qiu Hui thought.

"...That's great! Anyway, Akie-chan, remember to go to bed early, okay? I won't bother you anymore. Bye!"

Hongxia hung up the phone. Qiuhui smiled and put the phone aside.

Although I may not be able to fall asleep, I will try to go to bed early tonight.

Chapter 75: Shadows of the Past (Part 1)

The calendar turned page after page silently as preparations for the performance were underway.

After repeated practice and adjustment, the band finally mastered the songs they were going to cover. The original songs were also basically completed and ready to be practiced.

However, the first attempt to play an original song together still ended up being a mess.

Although they have gained a certain level of proficiency in cover songs, it is still difficult for the current closing band to transfer this proficiency to other songs.

The answer is to practice more - this was the preliminary conclusion we reached after discussion.

We still have a long way to go before our first performance.

At this moment, Togawa Akee was walking aimlessly in the courtyard of Yugaoka.

Today happens to be a day without team practice.

At the same time, it was the day that I had agreed with Nagasaki to gather at RiNG to discuss band matters.

Qiu Hui has a relatively casual attitude towards things over there.

She had repeatedly stressed the fact that she already had a band and had made a statement about the fact that she might be absent often. And Nagasaki's unusual enthusiasm for her also made her conclude that "this person's motives might be problematic."

In other words, Qiu Hui did not think she needed to be responsible for what happened over there.

Based on this premise, the reason why she got involved in Nagasaki Motoyo's actions, besides simply "watching the fun", was only because she cared about Chihaya Aine and Takamatsu Tomori.

Aiyin seemed to be completely unaware of the other party's suspicious behavior, and was just happy about finding a partner to form a band.

As for Takamatsu-san, it is very possible that Nagasaki-san’s real reason for inviting Aine and me to join the band.

Even if it's just for the sake of these two people, it's necessary to go to RiNG to check the situation.

After school.

"You arrived just in time."

After collecting her things and walking out of the classroom, Akihime happened to run into Aine who was waiting outside.

“Because I’m excited!” Aine’s eyes sparkled, “Today is the day I’m officially going to form a band with my senior!”

"...Have you forgotten that I'm a supporting musician?" Akie sighed, "I'll leave as soon as Nagasaki-san finds a permanent candidate."

“Even if that happens, you can still come and play with RiNG.” Aine smiled, “By the way, after the band is over, you can also try to perform there!”

"Maybe that day will come." Akie said noncommittally.

The two walked out of the school gate together and headed towards RiNG.

"Ms. Suyo told us to find a seat and wait, she will be here soon."

Aiyin led Akie to a seat and they sat down side by side.

"Hello, may I ask..."

The waiter, or rather Shiina Riki, came forward.

She gave Aine a look that… in any case, was totally inappropriate for a waiter’s face.

“If you keep making such a nasty face, I’ll go to the store manager and complain about you!” Aine threatened with her teeth bared.

"It's better not to do that." Akie tried to smooth things over. "It would be very troublesome if we get complained about."

"...What would you like to order?"

Li Xi glanced at Qiu Hui secretly, and there seemed to be a hint of apology in his tone.

"Lemon sparkling water is fine."

"I want a cup of hot Earl Grey tea!" Aiyin ordered in a strange tone.

"...a glass of lemon sparkling water and a cup of hot Earl Grey tea."

After completing the order, Lixi sighed and turned back to the front desk.

“I really can’t stand this guy.” Aine looked at Riki’s back, “I just wanted to invite the band, but he’s still holding a grudge against me for something like this…”

As she was talking, she suddenly thought of something.

"Ah, could it be that Xiao Deng and that guy had an unexpectedly good relationship before? Or that guy actually cared about Xiao Deng one-sidedly?"

"Don't talk about such an impolite topic so loudly... But, actually, I do think that there is probably a close connection between them," Akie commented.

Specifically, my guess is that this so-called "close connection" is the relationship of having formed a band together.

After chatting for a while at the seat, Aine suddenly stood up and waved towards the door.

"Moyo-kun!"

Akie looked over there and saw Nagasaki Suyo as expected.

She was walking in with a smile on her face, gently shaking her hand at Aine in response.

"What do you want to order? They've both ordered."

Li Xi turned back and asked Su Shi who was sitting down.

"Hmm... Then I'll have a Darjeeling, right? Hot."

"Darjeeling, hot, one cup." Lixi repeated emotionlessly.

After placing the order, Su Shi looked at the two people in front of him.

“Aine, and Akee-san. Thank you very much for coming this time.”

“No, no, no?” Aine smiled sheepishly, “I should be grateful to you for forming a band with me…”

"We are in the same grade, right?" Su Shi smiled gently, "So, it's okay not to use honorifics."

"Ah, I forgot about it without realizing it. Sorry, sorry. Because, how should I put it, I feel that Suyo has a kind of steady aura like a senior student."

"I'm probably not that great... Let's get back to the point. The main reason I invited you two here today is to discuss the composition of the instruments that make up the band."

Su Shi slowly stated his thoughts.

"Before deciding on the members, I think we should first finalize the instrumentation. I will be the bassist, and until we find a proper keyboardist, Akiie-senpai will take over temporarily."

Qiu Hui nodded: "I will try to make time."

“Thank you, senpai. From now on, the guitarist is Aine…”