Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

“…Actually, I want to be a guitar vocalist!” Aine urgently asked, “Not just a guitarist, but a guitar vocalist!”

Facing Aine's urgent request, Suyo unexpectedly smiled and shook her head: "Sorry. As for the lead singer, I already have a candidate in mind."

"Eh? Then, can you consider having two lead singers... or something like that?"

Aine, who was somewhat shocked by the accident, still proposed unyieldingly.

“We can discuss this in detail later…”

At this time, Lixi came over with a tray and placed the drinks that had been ordered in front of everyone one by one.

"Ah, it just so happens that Li Xi is here at this time." Su Shi turned to look at Li Xi, "Can I take up a little of your time?"

"……well."

Shiina Riki made a bitter face and sat next to Su Shi.

"We can discuss the vocal issue later. Let me introduce you to the drummer I have booked - Shiina Riki-san."

"…I'm Shiina Tatsuki. Please give me your guidance."

Li Xi bowed his head slightly towards the two people across the table and introduced himself.

Chapter 76: Shadows of the Past (Part 2)

"Huh? Why is it this guy!" Chihaya Aine was completely shocked by the unexpected arrangement, "Moyo-san, we don't need this person!"

“I’m sorry, after all, there were some misunderstandings before, so Aine-san has some opinions about Riki, right?” Su Shi smiled bitterly, “But, Riki actually has no ill intentions…”

In the blink of an eye, Shiina Riki went from being a waiter to being a member of the band's formation plan.

But Togawa Akee was not surprised at all. Rather, according to her guess, this was simply natural.

If Shiina-san and Nagasaki-san were in the same band before, then it would be a natural choice for them to continue to hold their previous positions in the newly reorganized band.

If my guess is correct, then the next person to be mentioned is Takamatsu-san...

…I’m afraid the position of lead singer is reserved for her.

“It’s hard to believe that you didn’t mean any harm!” Aine said unhappily, “I just invited the band, but I’ve been treated like that…”

"…'That's all'?" Li Xi barely managed to conceal the disgust in his eyes. "You claim to be Deng's friend, but how much do you know about her? You clearly don't know how much Deng has been hurt by the band's affairs, yet you can still say such big words without batting an eyelid!"

"Okay, okay, Riki, don't be so excited..." Su Shi tried to smooth things over, "I think Aine has no ill intentions."

“Deng did mention that he had failed in forming a band before… ah!”

Aine suddenly remembered something.

"What's going on?" Qiu Hui asked.

“… Actually, it’s like this.” Aine said to Akie, “I once read the lyrics of a song written by Deng in a notebook in the astronomy club’s office. It looked like a band song… and the names of the bassist and drummer were marked on it!”

"So, the bass and drummer are Nagasaki-san and Shiina-san respectively?" Akie responded.

"That's true, but why did you say it as if you knew it a long time ago?"

At this time, Riki, who was sitting across the table, seemed to be even more irritated by Aine’s remarks.

"Why did you take the liberty of reading the lyrics written by Deng?"

"Alright, alright, Li Xi!" Su Shi's smile seemed to be a little difficult to maintain, "We will all be partners in the same band soon, so don't always dwell on these little things, okay?"

"...Sigh." Li Xi forced himself to shut his mouth and turned his head away angrily.

At this time, Togawa Akie nodded slightly. She realized that her guess seemed to have been confirmed.

"So, Suyo-san. Can you explain a little bit?" She said slowly in a calm tone, "Takamatsu-san's previous band, Takamatsu-san's failed experience in forming a band, her "trauma", and your relationship with her. There are too many things that need to be explained."

Although I haven't spent a lot of time with Takamatsu-san so far, I can still feel that she is a person with overly rich and heavy emotions.

If she really thought the band she was in before was very important, then she is probably still living in the shadow of that "failure".

"Although I am just a temporary backup keyboard player, I may not be in a position to ask these questions in detail. But anyway, as a friend of Takamatsu-san, I still hope to understand clearly. And..."

Togawa Aie paused and stated her final unconfirmed guess.

"Motoyo-san. If I'm not mistaken, the person you mentioned as the 'lead singer' just now should be Takamatsu-san, right?"

"Huh?" Li Xi showed a surprised look, "...Why do you know this?"

Nagasaki Suyo just smiled and remained silent.

After a moment, she nodded gently: "It seems that it is necessary to explain what happened clearly."

She took out her phone and operated it while she said softly, "Me, Lixi, and Deng. When we were in junior high school, the three of us were actually in the same band."

"The name of the band was 'CRYCHIC'. It didn't last very long, but it left many nostalgic memories..."

She placed her phone on the table and pushed it over so that the two people opposite could see the screen clearly.

"This is the first... and last time that we've released a video of the rehearsal before the performance. Although the quality is a bit poor, it's still roughly visible."

Nagasaki Suyo showed a trace of loneliness and sentimentality.

"I think you two will probably understand after watching the video."

Aine and Akie came forward.

“Ah, this is Takumi-chan, right?” Aine pointed at the back of the figure on the left side of the screen, “She’s wearing her junior high school uniform!”

In the picture, Takamatsu Deng is standing in a room that looks like a recording studio.

The microphone, electronic keyboard and drum set were arranged according to their positions, and Lixi and Deng stood next to their respective instruments.

Akie started playing the video, focusing on the person who was walking in through the studio door.

"Everyone, are you ready?" she said in a cheerful and high-pitched voice.

The man stopped beside the electronic piano and seemed to be a keyboard player.

She was wearing a uniform similar to the Tsuki no Mori school uniform that Akie had seen before, and her long blue hair was tied into twin ponytails with a headband...

...Wait, why does this person look so familiar?

"Xiao Mu! I can't take a picture if I stand there, right?"

Su Shi's voice can be heard from outside the screen. She is probably adjusting the camera.

The camera moved to the left, and the girl who was originally standing in the corner with a guitar appeared in the picture.

"A little further to the left." The keyboard player, who looked very familiar to Aki, pulled the guitarist towards the center of the screen. "You have to try to stand in the center, okay?"

“Alright—that’s all!”

Su Shi's face appeared on the camera.

After the final adjustments, making sure that everyone except herself was photographed, she also ran to her position with her musical instrument.

She asked everyone one by one to confirm their condition.

"..." Qiu Hui frowned slightly and looked at the keyboard player who looked strangely familiar to her.

"Xiao Deng, how do you feel?" Su Shi asked.

"Ah? Hmm..." Although the expression couldn't be seen clearly due to the poor image quality, the tone of Deng's response made people feel timid.

"...Are you okay?" Li Xi on the other side of the screen responded impatiently.

Qiu Hui suddenly couldn't help laughing.

What's going on with Shiina-san? He was flickering the lights in front of us just now, but in the video it seems like he is on bad terms with the other person?

At this time, the familiar keyboard player spoke again: "Deng, would you like some water?"

She handed the mineral water to Deng as if to relieve his tension.

“Don’t worry about how well you sing, as long as you can convey your feelings.”

The keyboard player used gentle and considerate words to comfort the nervous lamp...

"Sorry, I need to pause for a moment."

Seeing this, Qiu Hui suddenly raised her hand to signal.

“Eh? What’s wrong?” Aine asked in confusion.

"There is something I want to confirm with Suyo-san."

Qiu Hui raised her head and looked at Su Shi.

"This keyboard player in the band," she asked, "seems to be wearing the Tsuki no Mori school uniform?"

"Yes." Su Shi nodded with a smile, "This is the style for junior high school."

"I see. Well, there is one thing I want to confirm with Motoyo-san."

"Huh? Is there any problem?" Su Shi's smile seemed to loosen slightly due to surprise.

"Excuse me, could you please confirm which high school this keyboard player went to after graduating from junior high school?" Qiu Hui asked seriously.

Chapter 77: Shadows of the Past (Part 2)

This keyboard player looks very familiar to me for some reason.

I must have seen her somewhere, and more than once.

After trying hard to recall, Qiu Hui came to a possible conclusion.

She is most likely the person I met in the convenience store earlier who was competing with me for expiring goods.

At the same time, it could also be the student named Yugaoka whom I met at the stairs when I returned to the classroom from the astronomy department room.

...Come to think of it, the guy who bought expired products was also a student of Yugaoka. She seemed to be wearing a school uniform at that time.

So these two people might actually be the same person?

Qiu Hui cares a lot about the identity of this keyboard player.

Because, since Su Shi wants to invite back the drummer and lead singer from his previous band, then there is a 90% chance that the so-called "unconfirmed" keyboard player will be the original CRYCHIC keyboardist.

Akie was very clear about the purpose of her participation in Nagasaki Suyo's plan: to sell the other party a favor that might be useful.

If this original keyboard player is indeed the one I met in Yugaoka, then if, and I mean if, I can somehow play a role in the original keyboard player's return...

…And if my guess is correct, then leaving aside Aine-san, Motoyo-san should be eager to kick out this simple “Takamatsu-san trap” of mine right now.

After all, a band may be able to have two guitarists, but it is rare to see a band with two keyboard players.

So, if I try to help the original keyboard player return to this new band, on the one hand I can help Su Shi achieve her goal, and on the other hand I can solve her problem neatly.

Even if we are no longer in the same band, she will probably be grateful for my help this time.

This way the matter was solved perfectly -

——The premise is that the original keyboard player is indeed the person I met in Yuqiu.

Although there is indeed a similarity in appearance, the school uniform of the keyboard player in the video does not support this conclusion.

It was outrageous enough that he attended a big lady's school for junior high school and inexplicably transferred to an ordinary high school for high school.

She was a little girl in junior high school, but when she entered high school, she started buying up expiring products... Generally speaking, how could such a thing be possible?

Therefore, it is necessary to confirm with Mr. Su Shi where the original keyboard player will go after graduation.

However, to Qiu Hui's surprise, Nagasaki Suyo's originally quiet and gentle smile suddenly collapsed after hearing this question.

“…Why are you asking this question?”

Although the voice remained the same as before, Qiu Hui was able to more or less sense the other party's hesitation.

"I met a student in Yugaoka a few days ago. That person looked very similar to the keyboard player in the video." She replied calmly.

"Similar? Hmm... ah! That's right!"

After hearing what Akie said, Aine also looked as if she had suddenly realized something.

"I remember now. Wasn't the keyboard player in the video the person who suddenly ran away when we met at the stairs... and the person I met in the music room before?"

"So you think so too?" Qiu Hui nodded, "It seems that I am not the only one who has this illusion."

"So, Motoyo-san...Motoyo-san?"