Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"...Now that you mention it, my burden becomes heavier and heavier." Qiu Hui sighed.

She was a little hesitant to look directly into Gao Songdeng's sincere eyes.

"I'm sorry, but I have my own band to take care of now, so I may not be able to make any decent promises. But... as Takamatsu-san said, I will try my best to make time to pay attention to everyone. If the time comes when I can be useful, I will try my best to live up to everyone's expectations of me."

…Even if everything else is left aside, I should at least be responsible for the appearance fee that Motoyo-san and Aine paid for me. Akie thought half-jokingly.

"Yeah." Deng smiled and nodded, "That's good."

Although Qiu Hui expressed her opinion with some reservations, it seemed to be enough for her.

Come to think of it, Aine is actually the same. When faced with Tomo's request for "a lifetime", her response was just a makeshift solution of "until the next performance".

But, to be honest, for people like Aine and I who didn't have much contact with Takamatsu-san beforehand, making such a reserved statement is probably the limit of what we can do under the premise of "seriously considering it".

Maybe Takamatsu-san is also aware of this, and that’s why he feels satisfied, Akie thought.

"By the way, Akihime-senpai!" Deng seemed to have suddenly thought of something, "I heard that Akihiko-sensei seems to be planning to play in a band recently. Is this true?"

When Qiu Hui heard this question, her expression was a little complicated.

"…I'd like to ask you where you heard this rumor from," she replied, "but, it is true. That guy told me before that he plans to write about a band in his new work, so he plans to pick up his childhood experience of playing musical instruments and find a band to join and give it a try."

"It's really cool." Deng said with some admiration, "This feeling of doing it as soon as you say it!"

"...What do you mean by cool?" Akie shook her head helplessly. "Rather, that girl often does stupid things on a whim. For this reason, she often asks us friends to stop her when she gets carried away."

"Akiie-senpai, don't you plan to stop her this time?"

"When she told me about this, she had already contacted the agency. Apart from the official signing, she had basically done all the preparations... It had come to this point, how could I stop her?"

Akihime sighed vividly, as if there really was another person named Akihiko who had done the above deeds.

"And to be honest... at the moment, I don't think it's a bad thing for her to play in a band."

Although I joined the band due to work arrangements, at least now I don’t regret it.

Deng seemed quite satisfied to hear Qiu Hui's response.

"I also hope that Akiie-senpai can look at Akijoko-sensei," she said. "I think that to be able to write such words, Akijoko-sensei must be a very delicate and fragile person. I think someone as calm and steady as Akiie-senpai should be able to help her a lot."

"..." Qiu Hui didn't know how to respond.

After a moment of silence, she said, "...That girl doesn't have many friends. Even if Takamatsu-san doesn't mention it, I have to take good care of her."

"Well, thank you, Akiie-senpai... ah, there's one last thing."

"What?"

“Can you call me ‘Light’? Just like you call Aine.”

"...If you've asked me to do so, then I'll have no problem with that."

"Thank you." Deng smiled and nodded.

At this moment, Aine suddenly turned around and shouted to Akie and Deng, “Hey! What are you two talking about? You’re almost falling behind! Catch up!”

Only then did Qiu Hui notice that the distance between the front and back rows had unknowingly become much longer.

“Right here!” she shouted to Aine.

“Aine is hurrying us up. We should speed up a bit…Tou.”

"Yes, that's right, Akiie-senpai!"

The two of them quickened their pace and caught up, reuniting with everyone else and walking together again.

Chapter 103 Discussion on the Band's Direction

Su Shi brought everyone to a restaurant whose atmosphere was somewhat similar to that of a bar, but more elegant and calm than a bar.

As soon as he entered the door, a well-dressed waiter came forward and saluted Su Shi.

"Ms. Nagasaki." She bowed slightly, "The seat is ready for you."

"Thank you for your help." Sushi nodded, "Is it the usual one?"

After receiving a positive answer from the waiter, she smiled and said, "Then I won't bother you to lead the way. I can go there by myself."

"I understand. Have a nice day." The waiter bowed slightly again and quietly left everyone's sight.

Su Shi turned around and said, "Everyone, follow me?"

"It's really impressive." Akie said with emotion, "As expected of a young lady..."

"It's not that exaggerated. It's just that because I come here so often, I've gradually become familiar with the staff here." Su Shi shook his head.

Everyone walked in. The first thing that caught their eyes was the hall. Centered around the resident band, the large space was divided into several sections, maintaining a sense of openness while keeping the sounds that diners could hear at the same time within the limits of being lively but not noisy.

Just as Aine requested before, there was indeed a party-like atmosphere here, but it was not overly noisy like a real party venue, which made Akie feel quite comfortable.

"Although the requirements for dining etiquette here are not very strict, it is better for everyone not to make too much noise." Su Shi reminded.

This place seems to be much more upscale than the restaurant I went to with Aine last time, Aki thought. How should I put it, is this the person who can offer 3,000 yen an hour without blinking an eye?

Everyone was led to their seats by Su Shi, who confirmed the menu with the waiter and sat down in his seat.

After Aine sat down, Deng followed suit.

Riki then sat on the other side of the lamp, pushing Aine to the edge of the seat.

Seeing that there was no room left on that side, Su Shi sat on the other side.

Qiu Hui had no objection to the seating arrangement, so she sat next to Su Shi naturally.

“Okay!” Aine clapped her hands, and even though she was pushed to the side, she still acted like she was sitting in the main seat, “Everyone, let’s decide on the direction of the band from now on!”

She stood up and looked at everyone proudly: "First of all, it's a question of how to assign instruments and positions! I'll be the lead singer and guitarist..."

"The lead singer is Deng." Li Xi said coldly, "I think this should have been decided a long time ago."

"Ah, that's right...but..."

Aine hit a wall as soon as she opened her mouth but didn’t give up. She still insisted on proposing, “How about two lead singers?”

"Since you're a guitarist, why don't you just concentrate on playing the guitar?" Li Xi frowned. "I don't think a frivolous guy like you would have the luxury of singing and playing the guitar at the same time."

“Ritsuki, that’s too much!” Aine complained unconvinced.

“…Well, I think it’s not impossible for Aine to be the lead singer with guitar.” Deng suggested uncertainly, “After all, I think if I stand in the middle, it might be a little…”

“That’s right, that’s right!” Aine nodded repeatedly, “Because Deng is more introverted, it would be better for me, the guitar vocalist, to stand in the middle and receive the audience’s attention!”

Having said that, she looked at Qiu Hui expectantly.

"Hey, do you think this is better too, Senior?"

But Akie did not agree with Aine's opinion.

“I’m a supporting musician,” she simply said. “I don’t comment.”

Aine’s smile froze instantly.

She sat down somewhat frustrated: "Woo woo, how come even the seniors..."

"Because even Togawa-senpai can feel that you are too unreliable." Li Xi shook his head, "If you ask me, the only one standing in the center of the stage is Deng, because that is the position that can best convey Deng's singing voice to the audience."

After saying that, she looked at Akie and said, "Togawa-senpai thinks so too, right?"

"…Well, I'm not planning on supporting or opposing anyone." Akie was a little embarrassed, "I just really feel that I'm not suitable to express my opinion."

Seeing this, Su Shi smiled and said, "Since everyone wants to hear Akie-senpai's opinion, I think it's better to speak it out."

“Yeah!” Aine realized that Akie wasn’t against her, and hope was rekindled. “Please, senior! Tell everyone what you think?”

Facing Aine's eager eyes, Akie didn't know how to respond.

Aine wanted to be a guitar vocalist, which was something she had said from the beginning.

However, it is obvious that Deng should be the lead singer of the new band.

If we really want two lead singers...

“Well… Actually, from my own selfish point of view…” Akie expressed her opinion hesitantly, “I still hope that Aine-san can become the guitar vocalist as she wishes. However, objectively speaking, I think we should still consider the overall performance of the band…”

This is a completely vague statement, it's as good as saying nothing.

Neither Riki nor Aine seemed satisfied with this statement.

"Senior, do you support me being a guitar vocalist?" Aiyin said angrily.

"So, what is the conclusion after considering the overall performance?" Lixi also asked.

Noticing Qiu Hui's embarrassment, Su Shi said, "After all, Qiu Hui is an outsider, so she might still have some concerns. It would be better if everyone doesn't put so much pressure on her."

"...It's okay." Qiu Hui shook her head. "Since everyone asked me, it's my fault for not answering properly."

“Let me put it this way. I support Aine being the guitar lead singer, but playing and singing at the same time requires extra energy, and there are no other guitarists here at the moment. So, the premise is that Aine’s guitar level is good enough.”

Akie gives a relatively clear conclusion like this.

“So, Senpai does support me after all, right?” Aine said happily.

Li Xi shook his head: "You don't listen to the conditions at all? The premise is that your guitar level is good enough."

“There’s no problem with my guitar skills!” Aine said righteously, “When I was in junior high school, I participated in the student council’s band as the student council president and even performed at the school festival!”

"Who knows if you are still practicing well now?" Li Xi frowned, "At least, even when the lights were off, I have been practicing drums and never missed a beat!"

“Uh… um, I… have been practicing hard!” Aine said with a guilty conscience, “After I decided to play in a band, um, um…”

Judging from the look of it, she probably didn't practice well at all, Qiu Hui thought.

Come to think of it, Aine seemed to have said before that the main reason she played in a band was to "attract attention."

...Is it really okay for her to team up with people like Li Xi and others who are serious about playing in a band?

Chapter 104 Why does it feel like we’re going to break up again?

"... Let's talk about this later." Akie suggested, "After all, no one has a musical instrument right now, so we can't directly judge their level."

"That is to say...how about we talk about other aspects of the band first?" Su Shi also tried to reverse the current awkward atmosphere.

“Other aspects?” Aine immediately became excited, “Oh right! For example, the name of the band! The name is important, right?”

“Names are indeed important.” Motoyo nodded as if relieved, “Aine, do you have any ideas?”

“I have quite a few options! For example, ‘Unknown’, ‘Anonymous’, ‘あのね’…” Aine listed them all.

"Why are all your names on the list?" Li Xi retorted, "This isn't a band just for you...it's actually the other way around. You're the only outsider in this band, so why have you been acting so self-centered since just now?"

"Li Xi..." Su Shi struggled to smooth things over, "It's really hurtful to say that..."

Fortunately, Aine didn't really care about this, she just shook her head and said, "So Riki really cares about this, then, how about adding your name in there? But I don't know how 'Taki' and 'Anon' should go together... By the way, how does the name Taki look like when written in kanji?"

"…It's the hope of standing." Su Shi said.

"Why are you, Lian Su Shi, catering to this guy's weird interests!" Li Xi almost shouted out loud.

“Rikki… isn’t that ‘Rikki’?” Aine laughed, “Rikki! I like the way it’s pronounced. It feels a bit like… the cry of a Pokémon?”

"…Don't decide how to pronounce other people's names without permission!" Li Xi seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Even Akie couldn't bear to watch it anymore. She couldn't help but say with an embarrassed look on her face: "Shiina-san looks really troubled. Um, let's talk about something else..."

“Really?” Aine sighed, “Ritsuki is really difficult to deal with. So what do you think we should talk about, Senior?”

"I think... for a band, if you haven't seriously considered debuting or anything like that, then the name is fine, or even no name at all," said Akie.

She glanced at Lixi, who was on the verge of exploding with anger, and tried to guess what topic to talk about that would make him feel better.

"Well... I think that for a band, 'musicality' is still the most important thing," Akie suggested.

"I think we can even think about names and positions when we're preparing for the public performance. But once we decide on the music to play, the band activities can officially begin. So, how about deciding on the song to practice next?"

This choice seemed not bad, and Lixi's expression immediately eased.

"Finally, there's a guy with some common sense in the band..."

As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Li Xi realized that something was wrong.

“…No. Togawa-senpai is not a member of the band at all. Damn it, if only Togawa-senpai could switch places with that pink-haired guy.”