Loneliness and Rock and Roll with Band Observer

"If you can't play such a simple score clearly, you don't deserve to be a guitarist." Li Xi said bluntly.

“Don’t be too hard on Aine.” Motoyo said with a smile, “Although you probably won’t just play simple songs like this during the official performance, it’s still a good start anyway!”

"That's right. I'm sure I'll continue to improve from now on!"

Aine seemed to be quite pleased with Suyo's encouragement.

However, from Akie's perspective, Suyo's behavior seemed quite strange, and it didn't seem like she was simply tolerating Aine.

But, she just had this idea, and when asked why, she couldn't explain it clearly.

Thinking of this, she sighed slightly.

Chapter 13: Aine-san cheers up

"Akie-senpai, what's wrong?"

"Soyo? Ah, I'm fine. I just thought about something insignificant."

Facing Su Shi who suddenly approached, Qiu Hui responded hastily.

She looked at the flaxen-haired girl in front of her. Her well-groomed beauty still exuded a friendly temperament.

"I think the performance that Akiie-senpai just gave was very good." Suyo praised with a smile, "Although I've already seen your level of solo performance in the studio before, I didn't expect the effect to be so amazing after cooperating with us."

"I don't deserve it, I don't deserve it." Qiu Hui responded modestly.

She did not use a simplified score, but rather the remaining part after removing the guitar and bass from the original score she found.

No matter how complicated the original song was, it was idol music for a wide range of casual listeners. For Aki, who still had some classical music background, it wasn't a big problem if she just played it.

"As a support keyboard player, she is quite competent," Suyo commented. "It seems that I can rely on her as much as possible until I find a permanent candidate."

The tone and wording of this sentence also made Qiu Hui instinctively feel a little strange.

Oh, and she just mentioned the so-called "official candidate"...

"Mr. Suyo, maybe I'm asking too much, but when will the so-called 'official candidate' be decided?" Akie asked, "After all, this is related to how long I can continue to receive my salary... so I am somewhat concerned."

“Oh, that…”

Su Shi nodded and explained with a smile, "Well, it's actually hard to decide on a specific time. After all, it will change due to various circumstances. But I don't think it will take too long, right?"

"I understand. Even if it's just for a short period of time, I will try my best..."

“I guess not that fast.”

Li Xi on the side suddenly joined the conversation abruptly.

She glanced at Su Shi, whose expression changed slightly, with a somewhat indifferent look, and continued, "I hope that Togawa-senpai can be prepared to work here for a long time. Because in my opinion, the so-called official candidate for the keyboard player may not be so easy to determine."

"...Oh, is that so? Well, anyway, I will do my best no matter what the situation is."

Qiu Hui said these polite words, but she vaguely guessed the answer in her heart.

"She will not join," Toyokawa herself has made it very clear before.

If the "official candidate" that Suyo mentioned really refers to Toyokawa-san...

...I'm afraid I have to continue being the so-called "support keyboard player".

Li Xi's abrupt statement seemed to cause some silent friction between her and Su Shi.

Akie frowned slightly as she witnessed all this.

If Suyo might be planning to invite Toyokawa-san back... then Shiina-san might be just the opposite. She seems to be quite repulsed by Toyokawa-san.

...In short, everyone in this new band seems to have different opinions on everything, big or small, Akie concluded in her mind.

Aine, who knows nothing and just throws herself into this vortex for random reasons like "fitting in" and "attracting attention", is really worrying, Akie thought.

In this somewhat creepy atmosphere, the practice continued.

When the sun set and everyone said goodbye and left, Akie went straight to Aine.

"Senior, what's the matter?"

Aine, who was walking with Takamatsu Touma, turned around and looked at Akie with a smile.

"Well, it's nothing, actually...it's just...I feel..."

Seeing the other person's smile and noticing the light next to her, Qiu Hui, who was originally a little worried about her, suddenly felt discouraged.

It seems to be in a good mood, and it is walking with the lights.

Considering her performance just now, maybe Aine doesn’t care that much about what happened just now.

Anyway, it's a good thing that she's in a better mood...

"...Nothing." Qiu Hui smiled bitterly and shook her head. "Just now I thought you might be under too much pressure because of the band's affairs, but now it seems that you seem to be quite..."

"That's not the case."

"Huh?" Qiu Hui was stunned.

The unexpected answer surprised her.

“I said it’s not true!” Aine laughed loudly, revealing her sharp little fangs at the corners of her mouth.

“Senior, do you think I’m in a good mood right now? That’s not the case! I’ve been scolded by Rikki so many times, and I’m in a really bad mood right now! If Xiao Deng hadn’t been comforting me just now, I would definitely have lost my temper!”

Although she said that she was in a very bad mood, there was no sense of that atmosphere from Aine at the moment.

"Hey, thank you very much for what you did just now, Senior."

Aine walked forward and closed the distance between her and Akie.

Qiu Hui then realized that although the other person was a junior, he seemed to be a few points taller than her.

She realized that she seemed to be being looked down upon by the other party, and she felt a little shaken.

"...No, nothing." Akie whispered, "I didn't do anything, actually."

“When Rikki blamed me, Senpai was always trying to excuse me. I know everything, right?” Aine said with a smile.

As she laughed, she seemed to think of a question and asked in a troubled tone, "But it's really strange. Why is it that even though we are all strangers, Rikki treats me so badly, but seems to have some respect for the seniors?"

"I... I think it's probably... because of Tomo." Akie stuttered a little because of nervousness. "After all, Shiina-san seems to be very... concerned about Tomo. And she's also quite serious about the band..."

“So that’s the reason.” Aine sighed, “Tomo-chan said the same thing. It seems like Rikki is such a troublesome person.”

"But I think I can understand her feelings now."

Chihaya Aine smiled calmly.

"After all, there has been an experience of bands disbanding and re-forming. I think that now Rikki must cherish Xiao Deng and the band she formed with Xiao Deng equally. As an outsider, I forced myself to join with impure goals such as "attracting attention", and my level is a bit poor... It's natural that she would hate me."

“Aine…”

Looking at Aine who seemed to have let go of her worries, Akie wanted to say something but didn't know how to start.

"But I think I can understand her now. Because, although I just wanted to form a band to fit in at the beginning, now I seem to understand what it means to form a band."

She and Qiu Hui looked into each other's eyes, as if she wanted to inject her thoughts into each other's minds through her gaze.

"After watching Akihoko's performance, I think I understand!"

"You mean Akira...eh? Wait, why are you suddenly..."

Aine grabbed Akie's hands, and the sudden physical contact made the latter panic.

"Since we have agreed to form a band together, I will definitely continue to work hard as a guitarist! As for skills, as long as you practice more, they will improve little by little!"

"Yes, it's a good idea to have this idea..." Akie responded nervously, "But if you've already thought about it, don't just give up on it for a few minutes. It's something that only counts if you stick with it!"

"Haha, it seems that this is indeed the truth..."

Aine smiled awkwardly.

"Even though you say nice things now, I'm afraid I'll lose motivation in a few days and become full of resentment, right?"

"It's better not to turn out like that..." Akie unconsciously turned her face away slightly.

"When that time comes, please take responsibility and help me vent my anger."

"I see... Wait, what? What's going on? Why are you suddenly bringing up this topic?"

"Because, didn't Senior call me and say some weird things before..."

Aine gave a playful smile.

"...Since I am willing to listen to your nonsense, then in exchange, you must listen to my complaints! That's fair, right?"

"Huh? Fair, what's fair..."

At this moment, Qiu Hui's cheeks were as red as a boiled crab.

"If you don't give a direct answer, I'll take it as your consent, okay?"

Aine smiled and let go of Akie's hand.

"Well, please give me your guidance in the future, Senior."

Chapter 14: Akihime longs for "friendship"

After nightfall.

In the rental house, Qiu Hui was typing quickly on the keyboard with both hands.

The writing of the first draft has reached the final stage. The idea has been basically finalized, and the only thing left to do is typing. So now she even has time to think about other problems while typing.

Although Aine seemed to have cheered up, she couldn’t just pretend that nothing happened.

How much of what she said before, "I can understand Li Xi's thoughts," was sincere, how much was an excuse for self-consolation, and how much was just to reassure me?

Qiu Hui sighed.

Socializing is such a painful thing.

It's like using limited conditions to try to solve math problems whose answers may not even be known by the person who set the questions.

Since I can’t be sure of Aine’s true thoughts, it’s better to follow my plan.

While typing, Akie was thinking about the negotiation plan with Shiina Tatsuki.

Although I can understand Shiina-san's motives to some extent, understanding does not mean support. Her attitude towards Aine is really too bad, and I can't just sit back and watch.

Even if we simply consider it from the perspective of maintaining harmony within the team, we should try to soften her attitude.

Not to mention the possible harm that bad attitude might cause to Aine...

……

Qiu Hui stopped typing helplessly.

When I think about Aine’s matter, I feel like I can’t calm down.

The scene at RiNG's door in the evening suddenly flashed back in my mind.

"So... we are already in a relationship where we can complain to each other?"

Qiu Hui looked up at the ceiling and realized that the corners of her mouth seemed to be rising unconsciously.

This is not good. This is really too rude, please restrain yourself!

Qiu Hui rubbed her cheeks with her hands to restore her expression to a relatively normal state.

Although she was the only one in the rental house and no one could see her, she still inexplicably felt that she "should not show that kind of expression."

She felt ashamed of herself for Aine's strange thoughts.

How should I put it... Is this what they often say over there: "When you're well fed and warm, you'll think about... that thing"?

Relying on the share of income from old works and the extra income from recent band activities, my life has gradually stabilized.

From the time I ran away from home until now, I have been working and living alone.

But now, I seem to no longer be satisfied with being alone...but begin to pursue something called "friendship".