Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

Qiu Hui nodded: "If I can spare the time, that's fine."

"That's great. Thank you, Togawa-senpai."

Looking at Riki's delight, Qiu Hui felt a little uneasy.

After all, Kasuga Shadow is a song that carries the sincere feelings of Toyokawa-san and everyone in CRYCHIC.

Is it really okay for an outsider like me to give random opinions?

Although she thought so in her heart, she did not say these words out loud.

When Li Xi was discussing the "Adaptation of Kasuga Shadow", he didn't seem to care about Toyokawa at all.

Rather than saying she had no concerns, she seemed to be very excited about being able to work on Toyokawa-san's work, and was looking forward to showing off her skills.

If I tell you what I'm thinking now, it will probably make Shiina-san unhappy.

It is better to remain silent for now. However...

...Should I find a chance to tell Toyokawa about this? Akihime pondered.

Li Xi had no idea what was going on in Qiu Hui's mind at the moment. She just gathered everyone together according to her previous arrangement and asked them to start practicing.

"...Tomoe, how do you feel now?"

After arranging the other people, Li Xi approached Deng with a concerned look on his face and asked about his well-being.

"How are you feeling? Can you sing? If you have any concerns or discomfort, please tell me."

"It's okay." Deng shook his head and smiled, "I'm glad that Li Xi cares about me. Besides, the current atmosphere among us makes me feel the same as before."

"I'm so happy to be able to play in a band with everyone like this!"

"Deng..." Facing Deng's smile, Li Xi was almost moved to tears.

“…I feel like Rikki’s look is kind of disgusting.” Aiyin, who was taking out her guitar, complained mercilessly.

"It's none of your business!" Li Xi glared at her fiercely, "Practice well!"

However, her vicious look did not last long. Realizing that the light in front of her seemed to be showing signs of fading her smile again, she once again showed a look of bewilderment.

It's such a mess...

Qiu Hui smiled helplessly, took out her instrument and started practicing alone.

Chapter 10: Alas, discord within the team

Under Lixi's arrangement, everyone started their respective training for the time being.

Including Aiyin, who now began to demonstrate her guitar skills under the gaze of everyone.

"Hmm, how about that? C chord."

Aiyin, holding a guitar, strikes a cool pose with a very proud expression.

"So amazing..." The light at the side cast an admiring look.

"..."

Seeing this scene, Qiu Hui said nothing but frowned slightly.

Aiyin, I know your guitar skills aren't that great, but please don't take your basic skills like playing a single chord as a source of pride, okay...

Although Akihime herself can't play the guitar, she has a great appreciation for the music of the guitar. She has also been acting with Guitar Hero recently, so even with a filter on, it's hard to give Aine too high a rating.

"That's not all! There's also a G chord... and an F chord, too!"

Aiyin was eager to try, so she took a horizontal pressing position and pushed down hard...

The guitar made a dry and scattered sound. In short, the F chord was not played at all.

"Ah... this was an accident. Let's do it again..."

Aiyin tried several times but failed.

Deng looked at Aine worriedly, “Are you okay?”

Although Deng definitely wanted to comfort the other person sincerely, the current situation made this comfort seem somewhat like a mockery.

Aine also seemed a little embarrassed: “It’s okay, maybe I’m just not in a good mood today? Ahahaha…”

“…Oh my god, you are kidding me, right?”

Unlike Deng who tried hard to comfort Aine, Shiina Riki was now unwilling to even put in the appearance of comforting her.

"Although I thought I was mentally prepared, I still didn't expect your level to be so low! This is just the most basic chord!"

Facing Rikki's pressure, Aiyin, who felt somewhat guilty, could only say stubbornly, "...The guitar starts and ends with chords! I don't think Rikki, the drummer, would understand that, right?"

Having said that, her own tone seemed unconvincing.

"You play badly, even a drummer can tell that... No, what do you mean by 'even a drummer'?" Li Xi was a little annoyed. "Damn it, you fooled me!"

She paced back and forth, looking anxious and irritated.

“For a guitarist, chords are like walking, the most basic of the basics, right? How dare you invite Deng to form a band when you haven’t even figured out the chords? Ah, I really don’t understand you!”

Looking at the angry Riki and the guilty Aine, Akie suddenly had the urge to say something.

Although she herself didn't know what to say, she couldn't let the situation continue to develop like this.

“Shiina-san, um, actually…” Akie tried her best to organize her words, “Aine just transferred to Hanegaoka recently. She was busy with family matters before, so she didn’t play the guitar for a long time. I think she’s just like this because she’s not very familiar with it…”

Aine said nothing, but she cast a grateful look in Akie's direction.

"No matter how unfamiliar you are, you shouldn't have forgotten how to play a chord, right?"

Li Xi's tone was still very impolite; but after all, she was facing Qiu Hui, so she restrained herself a lot.

"The fact that she's in this state now only proves that her skills weren't that good before!"

Aki continued nervously, "That's true... but there's no doubt that Aine wants to play in a band seriously. She even cut her fingers when she was practicing at home..."

Akie selectively told Riki the truth. "I only practiced for half an hour because I cut my finger." This kind of thing cannot be said out loud...

Riki turned his head and looked in the direction of Aine. Hearing what Akie said, Aine also raised her hand in cooperation, and almost proudly showed Riki the penguin-patterned Band-Aid on her hand.

"Well……"

Noticing the wound on Aine's finger covered by a band-aid and the pattern on the band-aid, Riki's face looked as if she had eaten a fly. She turned her head away reluctantly, and stopped blaming Aine.

"...Well, you should be careful." She lowered her head and forced out a few words, seemingly not caring whether anyone could hear her.

Suyo who was standing beside her also agreed, "Aine-san should also pay attention to safety, okay? I don't think it's a big deal even if your level is a little bit bad. I think it would be better if you don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

"I understand. Thank you for your concern, Suyo-san..."

Aiyin lowered her head somewhat disappointedly, staring at the strings of the guitar in a trance.

Qiu Hui looked at the two people with a rather subtle atmosphere between them and shook her head helplessly.

I'm actually not very good at handling this kind of situation...

Lixi stepped aside and started playing the drum himself.

And Aine didn’t say anything else, she just continued to compete with the chord quietly.

Deng was doing voice exercises by himself while listening to the teaching video, but he seemed a little absent-minded.

Su Shi continued to practice the bass, nothing special.

The sound of everyone's instruments echoed in the recording studio, and the practice was carried out in a somewhat awkward silence.

after a while.

Qiu Hui, who was studying the tone switching, suddenly heard the whispering sound of the lamp beside her.

"Akie-senpai, could you come over here for a moment?"

The sound of the light was very low, as if it didn't want others to hear it.

"What's the matter?" Qiu Hui also answered in a low voice.

Deng looked at the other three people in the studio, especially Aine and Riki, and said, "Can we go out and talk?"

"That's fine with me."

Qiu Hui followed Deng and temporarily left the recording studio.

Li Xi raised his head and watched the two people leaving. He frowned in pain, then lowered his head again and beat the drum even harder.

Outside the recording room.

“What’s going on?” Akie asked, “I guess it’s probably related to Aine and Shiina-san?”

"...Yeah." Deng nodded, "I feel like there might be some misunderstanding between them."

The lamp, which looked nervous due to anxiety and worry, looked particularly pitiful at this moment.

"What do you think, Akiie-senpai?" she asked. "I'm a little worried about them now, but I don't know what to do."

"Well, to be honest, it's a headache for me to see them in this situation." Akie admitted, "But I think it's better for you, Deng, not to get involved in their affairs."

"Why?" Deng asked puzzledly.

“Because both Aine and Shiina-san care about Tomo,” Akie explained, “So, no matter which side Tomo leans towards, the other side will be unhappy.”

Turning her head to glance in the direction of the practice room, she continued to explain to Deng, "Especially for Shiina-san... Aine told me that when she first met Shiina-san, she was scolded for "inviting you to form a band."

"Yeah." Deng nodded, "I still remember."

“Although you may not understand the specific reason, I think that you are one of the reasons why Shiina-san treats Aine so badly… Ah, it’s not that you did anything wrong. It’s just… uh…”

Qiu Hui felt a little at a loss for words.

"...Anyway, I think it would be best if you try to remain neutral in this dispute between these two."

“I see. I see.” Deng nodded. “Then… can I trouble you, Akiie-senpai?”

"Eh? Me?"

Deng's question was somewhat unexpected to Qiu Hui.

But after hesitating for a moment, she nodded and said, "I'll try my best."

Deng's nervous expression relaxed at this moment because of Qiu Hui's promise.

"I'm sorry." She seemed a little embarrassed. "Akie-senpai was just a supporting musician..."

Halfway through the conversation, the lamp suddenly fell silent.

After a moment, she shook her head and said with a smile, "...No. Just like what Qiu Hui-senpai said, some things may be better handled by outsiders."

Akie chuckled and said, "Indeed. Deng is a little too involved with both of them. Although I am considered a friend of Aine, our relationship is not as close as Deng and her. As for Shiina-san, although we are not familiar with each other, perhaps because of our age difference, she still has a little respect for me."

"This kind of relationship that is more positive but not that close may be more suitable for dealing with this kind of problem."

Chapter 11: Torturing Aine

Since I've already promised Deng that I'll find a way to ease the conflict between Aine and Shiina-san, I should also think of some ways.

After returning to the recording studio with Deng, Qiu Hui practiced while thinking about possible solutions.

Let's start with Shiina-san first, she thought.

She felt that the conflict between the two of them seemed to be mainly caused by Shiina-san. Perhaps because of Deng, Shiina-san always treated Aine with a rather harsh attitude.

Although Aine did have some inappropriate aspects, I feel that the main responsibility lies with Shiina-san. She should be the main target of persuasion.

...Come to think of it this way, am I being biased towards my friend?

Thinking of this, Qiu Hui's cheeks suddenly turned slightly red.

Is this really okay? I should remain fair and objective.

Forget it, let’s not worry about this for now. Anyway, after the practice is over, I will go find Shiina-san…

...No. If I take the initiative to approach her, it might seem too aggressive. In her eyes, I should be considered Aine's friend. If she has a preconceived bias, then the effect of persuasion will be discounted.

It's better not to take the initiative... At least don't go to her just for this matter. Try to switch the topic to Aine inadvertently while talking about other topics?