Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

In short, life has to be lived as it should be.

She turned on her computer, planning to use the rest of the day to continue writing more.

The information she had learned about CRYCHIC in RiNG gave her a lot of creative inspiration.

Girl A is "Ayumi" and girl E...the tentative name is "Ena".

In short, this pair of characters is the source of the core conflict in the story.

Ayumi destroyed the original band for profit and betrayed Ena, who had admired her musicality very much; this caused great harm to the latter, so Ena was also planning a tragic and deep revenge.

Of course, if these two people really become mortal enemies, the story will be meaningless. Anyway, it is better for the two to maintain an inseparable relationship...

Qiu Hui typed quickly on the keyboard, watching the text on the screen increase line by line.

The tangled emotions and conflicts between these two people are the main topic that will last until the middle and late stages or even the very end.

The story content of the first volume should not focus too much on this aspect.

It would be better to give more roles to the less important characters in the original band, such as B, C, and D, or the new members in Ayumi's new band.

...Ah, there are so many names to think of. I hate naming.

Feeling a little irritated, Qiu Hui decided to put on headphones and play some music.

Amid the frenetic drumbeats that sounded like industrial noise, she continued to think about the plot arrangement for the first volume of her new work.

At this rate, it should be no problem to finish the first draft before the deadline...

……

"...Okay. Let's stop here for today."

After closing the word processing application, Qiu Hui glanced at the clock and saw that it was already time to get ready for bed.

Staying up one more hour at night may seem to extend the day by one hour; but in fact, staying up one more hour at night will turn two or three hours of the next day into exhausting waste time.

According to Qiu Hui's recent experience, overall, the net utility value is negative.

So, it’s better to go to bed early.

Even if you can't fall asleep for a while, you shouldn't do anything else that will make you alert.

After changing into pajamas and washing up, Qiu Hui lay down on the bed and closed her eyes.

Try to recall the content of today's math class and go to bed early...

Chapter 84: Passion for Music

The next day, after school.

Taking the train directly to STARRY after school has become Togawa Akee's daily routine now.

According to Aine, there is nothing wrong with Takamatsu-san right now.

I can leave her affairs to my classmate Aine. I also have my own affairs to attend to.

Walking down the stairs and into the store, she was surprised to find that she was the first one to arrive at the store today.

There was no one in the store at the moment. Apart from the store manager and the sound engineer, there was only a regular customer wearing sunglasses who had been appearing frequently for some reason.

"Akiuchi, you're here really early today." The store manager unexpectedly took the initiative to greet Akiuchi, "Hongxia said she had some things to deal with at school, so she'll be here a little late today."

"I see. Well then, Miss Manager, I'll go practice first..."

"Wait a moment."

Togawa Aie felt something was wrong when she was called.

"You guys are going to go on stage together, right? We'll have enough time to train once everyone is here." The store manager waved his hand calmly, "Would it be convenient for you to come over? Actually, I have something I want to talk to you about."

"Oh, okay..." Qiu Hui nodded nervously, "I'll be right there."

The store manager wants to talk to me alone? I have a bad feeling...

The store manager is Hoshika Ichichi, who is also the sister of band member Nijika.

If she came to talk to me as the store manager this time, there might not be any problem.

But if the identity she uses this time is "Hongxia's sister"... then it's hard to say.

Qiu Hui recalled the manager's reaction when they discussed the performance quota. Since then, her attitude towards me has always been a little strange. Although it can't be said to be bad, it seems that... there is a hint of "worry" or "fear".

I confessed my purpose of commercial operation and my identity as the author of the novel. Although the people who ended the band did not react much to this...but what about Hong Xia's sister?

As an adult with normal social experience, what would she think of my affairs?

Qiu Hui, feeling very nervous, came to Ichichi Hoshika.

"Hello. May I ask...what can I do for you?"

Qiu Hui tried her best to appear more decent and polite.

Xingge looked at the trembling Qiu Hui and couldn't help laughing: "It seems like you are very nervous."

"I'm very sorry." Qiu Hui didn't know how to explain, so she could only apologize first.

"There's no need to apologize. I just have a question." Although Xingge said "no need", he habitually changed his expression back to a serious one.

"But before I ask you any questions, I want to express my gratitude to you. You joined my sister's band and became friends with her. I want to express my gratitude to you for that."

"You're welcome. This is what I should do..."

Qiu Hui nodded and responded politely, but she was secretly nervous in her heart.

As expected, Hongxia’s matter was mentioned.

I joined the band with impure motives and introduced the unstable influence of Wenku, which objectively would disrupt Hongxia's original plan.

As expected, the store manager’s purpose this time was to warn me in this regard?

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui anxiously waited for Xingge's question.

"For you, Akiie, playing in a band..."

Halfway through his words, Xingge suddenly shook his head, as if he was dissatisfied with the statement and changed his tone.

"No, it's not just about playing in a band. Rather, what exactly does 'music' mean to you?"

This question seemed to completely confirm Qiu Hui's original concerns.

It turns out to be a problem in this area!

Joining a band just to advertise a novel, in the eyes of true musicians, this kind of thing is simply despicable and shameless, right?

"Well, um, actually... music... for me..."

Qiu Hui was sweating profusely as she searched for the right words.

"Actually, after joining the band, everyone's personalities and their music gradually made me feel the sparkling and exciting..."

Looking at Qiu Hui, who was a little incoherent due to anxiety, Xingge smiled helplessly.

"...You don't have to force yourself to make it up. You don't have to think about what I might like to hear, just say what you really think."

"Oh... I understand." Qiu Hui sighed helplessly in her heart.

For someone like the store manager, lying should be a more serious landmine, right?

Having already stepped on this landmine, if I do anything else unnecessary, I will only bring shame upon myself.

So, Qiu Hui decided to speak out her true opinion.

"…It's work."

She calmed down and answered in a tone without much emotion.

Although it can be specifically divided into two types: "work aimed at earning income" and "work aimed at enhancing relationships", it can generally be called "work".

"Really? I'm not surprised." Xingge nodded. "You really seem like the kind of kid who would answer like that."

"Unlike the other kids in the band, you have a much clearer and more realistic goal."

"…I'm sorry." Akie lowered her head.

"Did I tell you that you don't have to apologize?" Xingge sighed, not knowing how to respond.

She walked out from behind the front desk and came to Qiu Hui's side.

"Actually, you don't have to blame yourself for thinking that your motives are 'impure'." Xingge said, "The thoughts of high school students... rather than being 'pure', it would be more appropriate to say that they are 'casual'."

"Because we are simply relying on our mood or temporary preferences to carry out activities, if our preferences change or our mood gets bad, then it will be over. On the contrary, I feel more at ease with people like Akiie who have other reasons to support them."

Qiu Hui did not respond, but just listened quietly, waiting for what the manager would say next.

"However, the commercial factors involved behind you are another matter." Xingge said helplessly, "There is one thing I must make clear to you: I will not allow them to arbitrarily dictate to the band that Hongxia is in for some boring reasons."

"Yes, I understand." Akie nodded.

As expected, this is the conclusion.

"If there are some unpleasant conflicts in the future... there is nothing I can do to help you. After all, I also have my own position and principles."

Xingge turned around and left a piece of advice: "Qiu Hui, if one day you really encounter such a thing, I hope you can have enough passion for "music" to support you to continue your activities. That's all I have to say."

"I understand. Thank you for the guidance, manager." Togawa Aie bowed slightly.

Yes. Passion for music...

...All in all, I still need to work harder and take my role as a band member more seriously.

Although the purpose is indeed to do business, but we must not just have a business mentality...

With this in mind, Qiu Hui started her own practice before everyone arrived.

Looking at Togawa Akee who had started practicing, Ijichi Hoshika frowned slightly.

Did she really understand what I meant by "passion"?

Chapter 85 Task Assignment

After a while, other members of the band also came to the STARRY store one after another.

Surprisingly, the first to arrive this time were the Xiuhua duo consisting of Kita Ikuyo and Goto Ichiri.

"Hello, Akie-chan!" Kita greeted warmly, "Are the others not here?"

"Not here." Akie paused in her practice and shook her head. "It seems that Nijixia has something else to do and will be late. As for Ryo, he is probably taking this opportunity to slack off."

"Ryo-senpai, you actually do something like this?" Kita exclaimed, "This is really the leisure of a genius!"

"She's always been doing this." Qiu Hui nodded. "Also, isn't the direction of the evaluation a little off?"

"Akie, um, good morning..." Goto Ichiri, who was following behind Kita, greeted in his usual low voice.

"Hello." Qiu Hui nodded, "Although it is afternoon now."

Goto then realized that he seemed to have said the wrong thing: "Wow! Sorry!"

Generally speaking, since they are both guitarists, Kita would usually stay together with Goto Ichiri when practicing alone.

But this time, she walked straight up to Qiu Hui, which was quite rare.

"Kitao, is there something wrong?" Akie raised her head and looked away from the music score.

"Last afternoon, Senior Liang sent me a message saying that after arriving at the store in the afternoon, he would talk to you, Akiie, about the distribution of singing parts." Kita said.

Qiu Hui recalled that this was indeed the case. She had once asked to sing and had practiced for a while.

"Now, it's okay to be honest." Akie said honestly, "I mentioned before that I wanted to sing on stage because of the needs of commercial operations. The library hopes that I can be more eye-catching on stage."

"If you sing out loud, you will definitely become more noticeable." Kita nodded, "And conversely, if you become more noticeable on stage, Akie's followers will also become more concerned about ending the band, right? This is a win-win situation!"

"That does make sense." Qiu Hui nodded, "But to be honest, I'm not very confident in my singing ability, and my throat will hurt if I sing too much. For now, just give me some harmony parts or relatively minor passages."

If my vocal skills can be improved enough through the training arranged by Wenku, I will try to sing more parts then.

"No problem, no problem! Then, let's distribute it a little bit?"

After saying that, Kita turned around and looked at Goto Ichiri: "Please wait for a moment, Ichiri. Once I decide on the distribution of the singing parts, I will come to practice guitar together!"