Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"I will try to help you persuade Takamatsu-san. But before that, I have one more question to ask."

Akie temporarily suppressed the emotions that had been aroused by Kasuga Kage, and asked from the attitude of a pure bystander: "Why did that band stop its activities? Is there anyone who should be held primarily responsible for this?"

"It must have turned out like this because of the misunderstanding between everyone." Su Shi shook his head vigorously, "It's not anyone's fault. No one should be held responsible for this..."

"Toyokawa Shoko." Shiina Tateki, who had been silent nearby, suddenly spoke.

"Lixi!"

Sushi shouted, but Li Xi remained unmoved.

"…That keyboard player in the video." Riki did not try to hide the disgust in her tone. "After watching the video, Togawa-senpai might think she is a gentle and friendly person, right? But that's not the case at all!"

"She didn't come to practice for several days in a row, which made everyone worried about her. Then she suddenly showed up and said something like 'I want to quit' and 'because of my own reasons', but she didn't even want to explain the specific reasons... Deng wanted to try to keep her, but she dared to give Deng a cold shoulder!"

Looking at the indignant Li Xi, Qiu Hui suddenly felt a little strange.

...Shiina-san, I don't think your attitude towards Takamatsu-san in that video was that good?

"After that guy stopped showing up, it wasn't long before Tomo stopped coming to practice. If it was just that guy who was gone, maybe there was some chance of saving the situation, but because of that guy, even Tomo, the lead singer, was... "

Li Xi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his excited emotions.

"...In short, she is definitely the culprit for CRYCHIC becoming like this," Li Xi concluded.

Su Shi didn't say anything else, but continued to put on a smiling face and remained silent.

But Qiu Hui could sense that she was obviously strongly opposed to Li Xi's views.

Looking at the two people who were almost quarreling, she felt that the situation became even more confusing.

In the video of the performance rehearsal, Toyokawa Shoko gently encouraged Takamatsu-san, while Shiina-san's attitude towards Takamatsu-san was not very good.

After that public performance, Toyokawa Shoko left the band and her attitude towards Takamatsu plummeted.

On the contrary, Shiina-san has become a loyal supporter like the "Knights" who is willing to quarrel with strangers he just met for Takamatsu-san.

What exactly happened before and after that performance?

Even more unpredictable is the keyboard player Toyokawa Shoko, who left the band and disappeared from the eyes of her teammates; and Nagasaki Motoyo, her classmate and bandmate, didn't even know which middle school she went to after graduation.

What exactly caused Toyokawa Shoko to become so heartless?

If her relationship with her old teammates is so bad...

...Is there any possibility of finding a formal candidate for the "band keyboardist" that Nagasaki Motoyo planned?

Qiu Hui sighed and shook her head helplessly.

The issues behind this are really too complicated. As a pure outsider, do I really need to get involved in their confusing family affairs?

How long will it take for me to finish being the "support keyboard player" that I promised to be?

However, while she was thinking about these questions, Aine spoke:

“…I don’t quite understand why, but I want to help Deng!”

Chihaya Aine's determined and innocent look made Akie doubt that she probably hadn't considered how big a mess was hidden behind the CRYCHIC incident.

“Well, in that case, I’ll send a message to Deng, okay?” Suyo seemed to have returned to her usual graceful and friendly demeanor, “I’ll mention Aine and Akiie-senpai in the message. Is that okay?”

"...No problem." Akie nodded.

…Aiya, Aine.

Although I am a complete outsider, but... it seems that she cares about Aine of Deng very much, and I can't just leave her alone.

If I must say, actually my relationship with Aine is not that close, and it is not a sufficient reason for me to be involved in this series of events.

But, rather than saying that I participated in this matter with the intention of helping out because of my relationship with Aine...

…Rather, I hope to deepen my relationship with Aine by participating in this matter.

Qiu Hui silently lamented the change in her mentality.

Perhaps it was because I tasted the taste of "friendship" for the first time in the band, so gradually, I became greedy for that kind of "feeling" that I had never had before.

When was the last time I was so eager to make friends? In middle school? Or elementary school?

Akie silently stared at Aine’s profile and pondered this question in her mind.

“Great!” Aine was delighted, “Then, I’ll just sit here for a while and wait for Xiao Deng’s reply!”

"Sure?" Su Shi smiled, "If you want to order a few more drinks, you can give them to me."

"Great! Thank you, Suyo-san!"

"...Idiot." Shiina Riki looked at the cheerful Aine and said softly in a voice so low that it was almost inaudible. Then he turned his head away, no longer caring about her business, but stood up and returned to his position as a waiter.

...These guys really are.

Feeling a tiredness different from that from work, Qiu Hui leaned back on the backrest and drank the lemonade in the glass.

She decided to simply close her eyes and use the time waiting for the light to come back on to rest and sort out the sudden ideas related to the novel that popped up in her mind.

However, although this was her original plan, before she knew it, her mind was filled with other things.

She suddenly opened her eyes and looked at Su Shi across the table.

"Haruhi Kage is a good song." She asked Sushi, "Did Deng write the lyrics himself?"

"Yes." Su Shi nodded, "The song was written by Xiao Xiang."

"Is it her?" Qiu Hui was surprised, "The keyboard player who suddenly disappeared?"

"Xiao Xiang must have had her own reasons for leaving. But I think she must be hurt by what happened back then, right? Because... 'CRYCHIC' was the band she founded."

"What did you say? She was the founder?"

"Yes. She likes Xiao Deng's lyrics very much. She said that those lyrics are 'Xiao Deng's inner cry'." Su Shi lowered her head slightly, "She composed a great song for Xiao Deng's lyrics and invited all of us to play together..."

...Then by "quitting", he burned all the good things he had built in Takamatsu's heart; without even explaining the reason, he abandoned her and left her alone. Akie thought.

How can I put it? Because I have never had such a close friend who I thought I could understand, so I didn't have to endure such cruel betrayal.

If you think about it this way, I'm pretty lucky.

Chapter 79: Melancholy of the Lamp

How should I put it? Since she has the same habit of writing as Deng, Akihime can more or less understand her thoughts.

The weight of what I write is unimaginable to me.

It is something that has been repeatedly pondered, pondered, chewed, and discarded, and has been tempered in the brain and passed through countless quality inspection processes before it can be put into writing. It is something that has been written with endurance of wrist pain and mental fatigue, and has gradually taken shape through bit by bit of effort, stroke by stroke.

Unlike speaking, most of the time speaking is just a natural reaction without thinking.

But for writers, writing is a cruel process like cutting off a piece of their inner self and handing it over to others to appreciate and comment on.

Therefore, since she was a child, Qiu Hui never wanted what she wrote to be seen by others, especially by those she was relatively close to.

If it was just a denial from a stranger, I could still pretend not to care.

But if you are faced with denial from someone close to you...

...Then no matter how much considerate compliments the other party gives, as long as even a hint of disgust is detected, those considerate words of comfort will instantly turn into ammunition for launching an attack.

I don’t want to put this kind of pressure on my close ones to be “fully positive”, so it’s better not to give them the opportunity to make comments from the beginning.

But correspondingly, if that kind of full affirmation is not out of consideration, but out of sincerity...

Akie imagined the situation that Takamatsu Tomo was facing.

Toyokawa Shoko recognized and even understood the lyrics of the song "Deng" so well; not only could she grasp her inner feelings from them, she could even compose such a touching song specifically for her.

What would it be like if it were me?

A loyal reader, my ardent fan, who is more familiar with my plot settings, emotional expressions, and character designs than his own name; and who personally adapted my novels into popular comics that remain popular even after being serialized for several years, and always rank at the top...

...I think it wouldn't be strange if I just gave myself to someone in a moment of excitement. If the other person doesn't despise me.

If Toyokawa Shoko is this kind of existence to Takamatsu-san...

…I feel chilled just thinking about how much harm her departure has caused to the latter.

At this moment, Su Shi suddenly shouted excitedly.

"Xiao Deng replied!"

“Really? Where is it?” Aine also came forward excitedly.

"She said she's in the planetarium now..."

“The planetarium in Ikebukuro should be that one, right?” Aine said confidently, “I remember what Deng told me before, how about we go outside and wait for her now?”

"Well, let's go there now... How about Togawa-senpai come with us?"

Facing Su Shi's suggestion, Qiu Hui nodded: "Since you mentioned me in the message, I can't not go, right?"

The three of them left RiNG and headed towards the planetarium.

“There’s an open space outside the planetarium. How about we wait for Xiao Deng on the steps over there?” Aine suggested.

"I won't stay with you guys for now." Su Shi shook his head, "Maybe it would be better for me to show up after you stabilize Xiao Deng first."

"Are you afraid that she will be scared away by you?" Qiu Hui didn't quite understand, "But didn't she reply to your message?"

"That's true, but if I show up with you guys... wouldn't it make Deng feel oppressed? It would be like I deliberately asked you two to come to her."

Objectively speaking, you are indeed ordering us around and using us as bargaining chips to meet with Takamatsu-san, Akie thought.

However, there was nothing that could be done about it. After experiencing Toyokawa Shoko's betrayal, Takamatsu's relationship with the band members was probably negative because of this incident. The closer the friends were, the harder it was to face them now.

As for Aine and I, we were complete outsiders when it came to the band.

Therefore, there are some things that only we can do.

"I don't quite understand, but if Sushi-san thinks so, how about I wait on the stairs with Senior while Sushi-san goes somewhere else to observe the situation?"

"Yes, thank you both for your help."

So the two of them separated from Su Shi and sat down on the steps outside the entrance of the planetarium.

At this moment, it was getting dark, and the sky was dyed with a ray of sunset glow that had just emerged.

"Takamatsu-san should be watching a show in the planetarium right now, right?" Akie asked. "I'm afraid it will take a while for him to come out. Are we here too early?"

“I think it’s better to come earlier.” Aine answered, “This way we can make sure that Xiao Deng can see us when she comes out. If not, she might change her mind.”

"Indeed. It would be a stupid move to keep the other party waiting in this situation." Akie nodded.

From the current perspective, having Takamatsu-san join the new band is undoubtedly part of Sushi's plan.

Qiu Hui also felt that this approach might be good for her.

After all, the person who caused her the most direct harm was not in the new band. As long as Toyokawa Shoko was not in the band, Takamatsu would surely be able to slowly reconcile with the other band members and gradually get over the trauma left behind.

But this brings up a new problem.

Originally, Qiu Hui thought that Su Shi’s plan was to gradually bring back all the CRYCHIC members, revive the former band, and regain the beauty of the past.

But, can Takamatsu really reconcile with Toyokawa Shoko?

Although Suyo insisted that "everything was a misunderstanding", Toyokawa Shoko made such a heartless move in public, and after that, she insisted on drawing a clear line with Suyo and others, even to the point of not letting them know which high school she went to...

...Even if the origin of all this is indeed some kind of misunderstanding, this so-called misunderstanding has probably become true by now due to this series of actions that add fuel to the fire, and has reached an irreversible point.

If Suyo wanted to heal Takamatsu's trauma and help her get out of the shadow, she shouldn't have introduced Toyokawa Shoko into the new band.

Was there something wrong with my previous speculation?

Could it be that what Su Shi said before, "the keyboard player has not been decided yet", was not a euphemism for "reserving a position for Toyokawa Shoko", but that the candidate has really not been decided yet?

If this is really the case... the burden of me as a "support keyboard player" will probably be much heavier than I originally imagined.

“Senior?” Aine patted Akie’s shoulder, “Why do you look so serious all of a sudden?”

"…Nothing." Akie shook her head, "Just thinking about some unimportant things to pass the time."

Chapter 80 Promise

The part of the sky dyed red by the sunset gradually became larger and larger.