A band simulator, but all girl-heavy!

Since the performance for today was over, Rakuna left without any regrets. You said goodbye to Tou and Riki, and decided to go to Chihaya's house to check on Aine who had left so abruptly.

However, just before you were about to leave, Sushi called you over and told you with a gentle smile that she wanted to go with you to visit Aine.

You readily agreed, and walked with Su Shi on the road to Chihaya's house. Just like that day, the sun had already sunk half below the horizon, and the last afterglow of the sunset was like a goddess's belt wrapped around the sky. The dim evening sunlight had completely melted into the night and was replaced by street lights.

As the two of you walked side by side, Su Shi was in a strangely cheerful mood, chatting with you about the band's roster. She seemed to want you to reconsider the band's composition. Since everyone had pledged to "stay together forever," they needed to be more rigorous in selecting the members. If anyone proved difficult to get along with, you could be ruthless and re-select them. She could recommend suitable candidates for the vacant positions.

In addition to this incident, she also commented on Li Xi's troubles. She believed that the band's former keyboardist Toyokawa Shoko was very good at composing music, and it would be much easier if Shoko was there.

When you heard about Xiangzi, you immediately thought of the elegant girl who shared her piano skills with you today, and you couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

①. Afterwards, ask Xiangzi why he wanted to quit the band.

②. Tell her that Xiangzi is in Yuqiu and ask her, a former teammate, to invite Xiangzi.

③. Choose to conceal it for Su Shi. 】

Aoi frowned slightly.

In this world line, I invited Xiangzi but was repeatedly rejected. Could it be because we are not familiar with each other?

Although I was rejected badly when I was in Group C, my former teammates are still more legitimate than the complete strangers in this world line. It would be better to let Su Shi come and help and see if I can drag Xiangzi into the water this time.

After all, Su Shi is the most reliable and considerate person in the original C group, and will definitely be able to help Xiangzi win back.

39: Declaration of Acceptance

Messed up.

It's fucked up, it's fucked up!

Aine threw herself onto her soft little bed, kicked off her slippers, and buried her face in the pillow, wailing.

Originally, I just wanted to play in a band happily and leisurely, but I didn't expect that a super guitar girl would suddenly appear with an old guitar and a lot of effects pedals. It turned out that Aoi, the one I am most familiar with, is also very good.

No wonder Aoi gently urged her to practice more last time. Was it because everyone else was already experienced and she was the only one who was half-baked?! What was she supposed to do when she actually had to perform? Should she just play a few basic chords for everyone to see?

She didn't want to embarrass herself in front of everyone, especially Aoi...

"Aine? Are you okay?"

She heard her mother calling out from downstairs, but before Aine could respond, she continued, "A friend is here to see you."

"Eh?! Wait, wait a minute~"

Aine sat up in a panic and patted her soft cheeks gently.

She knew who was coming without even thinking. Although she had made many friends in the past few days, Aoi was the only one who knew her home address.

Should I...refuse? Just say I'm sick? But if I get away with it this time, how will I explain it to them later? Besides, Aine really wants to continue to be happy in this band.

Of course, there is another point. She really wants to see Aoi now and complain about the increasing pressure in her heart!

"Mom, please call them to my room!"

Aiyin quickly sat up straight and took out the books from her bag, as if she had forgotten to deal with some homework.

She waited nervously and anxiously for an unknown amount of time until she heard footsteps gradually going up the stairs and approaching her room. Her heart was filled with a mountain of anticipation and anxiety.

However, she soon heard that there seemed to be more than one footsteps, and another person followed Aoi up the stairs...

Is that mom?

knock knock.

"Aine, are you there?"

Before Aiyin could come to a conclusion, there was a gentle knock on the door, and Aoi's soft and clear voice came from behind the door, "Since you rushed home today, we were a little worried and wanted to come and see you."

"Open the door now~!"

Aiyin responded quickly, put on her slippers, trotted over, and opened the door. She stood aside a little stiffly, a fake-calm smile on her face as she called out to the two people at the door, "Thank you for coming to see... me."

As previously judged, the person standing at the door was Xiaokui, who was carrying a violin case and had a gentle smile on her face. However, the other person was not her mother, but Nagasaki Suyo, who had the same smile as Xiaokui.

"Mr. Sushi is here too?"

Aine was a little surprised, but she hurried to greet the two people.

"Well, Sushi said she wanted to come see you too. Is Aine okay?"

Aoi held Aine's hands with concern, and looked her up and down carefully, as if she wanted to see if she was sick.

"Ah~ Well, thank you, thank you Sushi-san. Also, I'm fine, Xiaokui!"

Aiyin smiled sheepishly, "It's just that there was something urgent at school~ Ahahaha..."

At this point, she could no longer bring herself to say why she ran away because Lenai and Aoi were too skilled.

“I’m relieved to see that Aine-san is alright. We have practice tomorrow, so Aine-san should be able to be there on time then, right?”

Suyo smiled as she looked around the exquisite little room, but soon her eyes focused on Aine.

"Uh... practice~ This is a bit..."

Aine felt a bit resentful for backing off for a moment. She should have immediately told the two of them that 'practice is totally fine', so why was she now clearly backing down?

“Aine…”

Sure enough, there was a hint of worry in Aoi's expression when she looked at her, and a hint of guilt in her emerald green eyes, as if she was the one who messed up.

Then, she gently took Aine's hand and sat on the bed, saying in a gentle tone, "If you're angry because I suddenly brought Lenna in, it's my fault..."

"Eh? I'm not blaming Xiao Kui for this. Rather, how could it be because of this..."

"That is?"

"Actually, there's no problem~"

“Aine, you look like you’re lying…”

“Hey, hey hey…”

Aine’s smile gradually froze, but she still scratched her cheek awkwardly, as if trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I understand how Aine feels... If you're feeling pressured by Rakuna's skill level, then I'm going to have to talk to you."

Aoi frowned, and a rare look of seriousness and pretended anger appeared on her pretty and cute face.

“…Ah, eh?”

Aine, who was hit by the words all of a sudden, felt like she was hit by a bull’s eye. She could only laugh dryly, but she couldn’t say anything to refute. Her cheeks were burning like a boiling kettle.

Looking at her like this, Xiao Kui could only sigh helplessly.

"Aine, you know what? I told Lenai that the level of the band members is completely irrelevant. What matters is that they can work together, are willing to support each other, and almost treat each other as a 'second family' outside of their own family."

A gentle smile was concentrated in those emerald eyes, so crystal clear, so bright and beautiful. Although it was already night, it made people feel that there was sunshine embellishing them.

She stared into Aine's eyes and said seriously, "You can practice your instrument's skills, but you can't... Everyone is unique, Aine, you are irreplaceable."

Such words can be said to be as destructive as cheating for high school students who are still in adolescence, have immature minds, and are easily swayed by emotions.

She is so gentle, so beautiful, so kind, and so warm, and will tell you, 'You are unique' when you feel troubled and embarrassed.

She said, "Don't worry, I and we will always be with you in practice. After all, the band is a whole."

"...I seem to have caused trouble for Aoi."

After hearing this, Aine showed a bitter smile on her face and looked down at Xiaokui who was clenching her small hands.

"Not really."

Aoi smiled brightly like the sun. "It's just because I need Aine and Aine needs me. It's that simple."

[Hint: Chihaya Aine's favorability increases by 8, and her favorability is now 70.

Aine was obviously moved by your words. She held your hand tightly to express her gratitude and hoped that you would accompany her to practice guitar often in the future.

You chatted for a while longer, and since it was getting late, you left Chihaya’s house with Suyo.

Su Shi, who had been a little silent at Aine's house before, suddenly became talkative and cheerful. On the way home, he kept holding your hand tightly, mentioning the conversation at Aine's house intentionally or unintentionally, and asked you,

"Xiao Kui is really gentle~ Are all the people in the current band irreplaceable to you?"

Is there any need to ask? Forming a band is not just about picking instruments. This kind of group that requires intensive cooperation and solid relationships between people must have strong relationships as a bond.

To this question, Aoi gave an affirmative answer almost without hesitation.

After hearing your reply, Su Shi remained silent for a long moment, as if lost in thought. Then, she smiled cheerfully again and told you that she was planning to go to Yuqiu to see Xiangzi tomorrow. She also asked if you would like to stay at her house for the night, as it was getting late.

40: Shura Field Pre-Drill

Aoi's alertness only lasted for a brief moment, but she soon let it go.

Su Shi has always been positioned as the mother-like role in the band, gentle, reliable, and understanding. If you have to say her shortcoming, it is that she is actually afraid of being alone. In Aoi's eyes, she is like Nozomi Tojo in LoveLive.

She must have been very moved by my speech. Thinking that my mother would have to work overtime and come home late tonight and would feel very lonely, she wanted to invite me to her house to have a chat.

crychic has disbanded. Su Shi, who attached great importance to the band in the previous chapter, must be feeling bad. In addition, it is not certain that Xiangzi can be saved in this round, so it is still necessary to take care of Su Shi's mood.

[You readily agreed, and Su Shi was obviously very happy. She immediately took you to Nagasaki's house.

Unlike Aine's house, Su Shi's house seems much more spacious, but because it is too spacious, and because she is the only one at home, it seems particularly deserted. Only your arrival adds some lively vitality to the house.

Because you are a guest at home today, Su Shi decided to cook dinner for you. This is very novel for you, who has almost always had someone help comb your hair since childhood, so you took the initiative to ask to help, and began a clumsy but actually very interesting cooking process.

Finally, under Su Shi's guidance and chef's guidance, you made a vegetable pasta dinner. The two of you gathered in front of your own dishes to take a photo to celebrate 'Saotome Aoi's first time making a dish in her life'.

After that, you gathered in Su Shi's room and played tag for a while. You took out the dusty projector that Su Shi had bought earlier and watched a movie. You played until the early morning before finally deciding to rest.

Because it was a 'good friends' gathering', the two of you were lying on Su Shi's soft big bed in your pajamas. Although you didn't share the same blanket, Su Shi's breathing was still quite close to your ear, and you could hear her speaking to you in a soft voice like a whisper.

Can I have the chance to be alone with you like Aine?

You didn't seem to understand what she was saying, so Su Shi chuckled and explained that she wanted you to occasionally practice string ensemble with her, since she'd been a double bass player before she started practicing bass. Besides that, she also wanted to hang out with you more often.

Aoi frowned, feeling a strange sense of gravity...

Was it an illusion? It looked like she just wanted to spend some time with her friends, and Su Shi didn't seem like someone with such heavy emotions.

Moreover, Su Shi seems to be the character with the highest favorability in the simulator. Although I don’t know how it is calculated specifically, it is normal to want to monopolize the friend you particularly like after seeing that your good friend is very attentive to others.

After all, as mentioned before, friendship can also be jealous.

You agreed to this request.

Su Shi was ecstatic and kept muttering under his breath, "That's great."

Tip: Nagasaki Sushi's favorability increases by 5, and the favorability is now 86.

This is the first time in your life that you have spent the night at a friend's house, and the memory left is obviously a very pleasant one. After playing all night, you two soon became tired and gradually fell asleep.

The next day arrived quickly, and Su Shi informed you that she would go to the school gate to wait for Xiangzi after school tonight and have a good talk with her about the band, so she would go to the recording studio a little later.

After you parted ways, you immediately went to Hanegaoka Academy and spent another ordinary day on campus. After that, you, Aine, and Deng prepared to go to RING for the practice they had agreed to do today. However, before leaving, Aine found that she had left an important book in the classroom, so the three of you had to go back to the classroom.

By the time you finished getting Aine's things and were on your way out of school, there weren't many students left. You talked and laughed all the way, but just as you were leaving the school gate, you saw two acquaintances standing in a stalemate at the door.

That was exactly Nagasaki Motoyo and Toyokawa Shoko, but the atmosphere between them seemed very stiff, even to the point of being terrible.

"We have nothing to talk about. Please stop pestering me."

Xiangzi frowned with a cold expression, facing Su Shi as if he was facing a stranger he didn't want to meet.

"Wait a minute, Xiaoxiang! I've already found Lixi and Deng, and Xiaomu should be back soon... Xiaoxiang is the only one left in the band now. I think we should all sit down and have a good talk, talk about our concerns, solve the problems, and then go back to the way we were before..."

Su Shi spoke very sincerely, even a little too sincerely, and it sounded a bit like begging.

But even so, she did not gain any results, because Xiangzi just shook his head coldly, said, "It's your freedom to form a band, but I have already quit. Please don't bother me anymore!" Then he turned and left without leaving any room for negotiation.

After Xiangzi left, you finally walked over to Su Shi, who looked very lost.

Deng looked just as sad as she was. She wanted to comfort him but didn't know how to start, so she just stood there and grieved silently. Aiyin, on the other hand, was a little curious. Although she knew about crychic, after all, no one knew why Xiangzi left the band. From her perspective, the band's disbandment was Xiangzi's fault.

"Since that girl doesn't want to join, why not force her?"

This was Aine's original words, just a simple evaluation of a matter from a bystander, but it was obviously not accepted by Su Shi. The smile she had finally revealed quickly collapsed because of this sentence, which only told Aine that because she was not in the crychic of the past, she could not understand their affairs.

Things developed very quickly, and before you could react, sparks ignited from nowhere and inexplicably burst out between the two of them. Aine's rebuttal made Su Shi feel very unhappy, and Su Shi's words made Aine feel incomprehensible.

The two of them started arguing with each other, and Deng, standing by, could only helplessly grab your arm and watch the sudden friction. Fortunately, the argument did not escalate, and they were only arguing about who was right and who was wrong.

But unfortunately, the flames of war soon spread to you, because they all looked at you and asked you almost in unison, hoping that you could give approval to any one of them and let you be the judge of this small debate.