A band simulator, but all girl-heavy!

Hong Xia smiled and said, "Xiao Kui has a gentle personality. I'm sure she doesn't want us to worry about her."

They also need to do something for Aoi, but it definitely isn't to ask Aoi whether she has ever formed a band or whether she has ever been hurt by a former band.

They should create a warm band for Aoi and fulfill the promise she made back then to "continue playing in a band after graduation"...

"The rest area after the band is here."

When everyone was immersed in silence, the sound of footsteps reached their ears over the noisy voices not far away. A music festival staff member walked over, nodded slightly to them, and then turned and left.

Behind him stood a girl with short snow-white hair and eyes as bright and clear as stars. She was like a snow-white cat, looking at them warily from a certain distance.

Silence fell among them for who knows how long before Kita curiously jumped off the high chair and walked towards the strange girl, asking doubtfully.

"Hello~ What can I do for you?"

"not here."

The strange girl muttered something meaningless, staring straight into Kita's eyes, her delicate features barely changing.

"Um...? What's not here?"

Kita became more and more confused. But the girl did not answer her question, but turned around and walked away.

"What's going on with that kid?"

Completely ignored, Kita walked back to his seat in confusion, a look of bewilderment on his face.

But this puzzling and inexplicable development made Pochi, whose brain was always active, brighten up. His ahoge trembled several times, and he suddenly had an idea and came up with a wonderful guess.

"...I, I, I, I'm going to the bathroom too."

After saying that, she left the rest area where the band had finished performing without waiting for anyone else to respond, leaving her companions with bewildered expressions.

……

Today's performance was a great success.

Aoi had to admit that her originally confident and somewhat arrogant plan was a complete success. Until she stepped down from the stage, she felt that her limbs were still shaking and she couldn't stop. She was extremely excited.

But amidst this joy, there are some insignificant little episodes.

She was on the stage, and saw familiar faces in the audience...

Of course, this acquaintance was not her friend or family member in real life, but an acquaintance she had only met and had contact with in dreams.

Halfway through the performance, she clearly saw through the crowd a girl who turned around and pushed through the crowd to escape, a black-haired girl chasing after her, and a conspicuous touch of snow-white that remained in the crowd.

She would not fail to recognize who they were, as the images matched the Mygo band she had seen in the simulator, including Takamatsu Touma, Shiina Tatsuki, and Kaname Rakuna.

But how is that possible? Isn't this all just a simulator? Just a game inside my head, so why would characters from that game appear in real life?

Was she dazzled? With so many people on stage, and playing the violin until she was breathless, the possibility of hallucinations was very high. Normally, the best thing to do was to ignore it.

But Aoi couldn't do it. She could never convince herself that it was an illusion. After seeing those familiar people appear, every bit of her experience in the simulator came flooding back like a tide, lingering in her mind.

Could she be seeing things? She wasn't preoccupied with Mygo, so how could she suddenly be seeing Lenai and the others? And Aoi clearly saw the girl's signature heterochromatic eyes; there was no mistaking that feature.

What does that mean? Does that mean there are people in this world who ended both the band and the Mygo studio? And then there's this band called "After School Tea Party" in Kansai?

How is that possible? After thinking about it carefully, it is not impossible.

This thought kept turning around in her mind: Xiangzi, who insisted on leaving the band, Su Shi, who didn't want to play in the band without Xiangzi, Li Xi, who was always in a bad mood, and Gao Songdeng, the top radio-type animal...

If you say that she hates these people, that's not the case at all. In her heart, everyone is already a good friend. The reason she doesn't seem to care that much is simply because she thinks it's all just a game.

But if you tell her that it wasn't a simulation, it wasn't a game, then every simulation that had happened so far had changed and was completely different from the previous one.

She felt a little panicked for no apparent reason, though she didn't know why. Was it because she sang the song they all wrote together? Or was it because Su Shi secretly got up in the middle of the night and kissed her?

There's no reason for that, because it's just a simulation game, and they can't possibly see these memories. Aoi has no connection with those people in reality.

But she just couldn't let go.

Such contradictory emotions actually became the driving force behind her actions at this moment, guiding her to wander around in the spacious band lounge area, looking at the faces of each band that appeared.

If all this is fake, then she wants to prove it is fake.

If all this is true, then she needs to prove it is true.

74

Chapter 74 I cry because of her and laugh because of her.

Messed up.

All screwed up.

Chihaya Aine never considered herself a deserter, but at this moment, on the Jizo-dori shopping street, she really wanted to run away, even though she knew that running away would not change anything.

If he didn't run away, what would happen next? Would the band be in chaos because Aoi had joined someone else's band? Or would he have to go on stage in his current state and face the countless audiences at the music festival today?

No matter which one of them came, she felt very desperate, and even wanted to just sit there and not participate in the performance, and give up until it was all over.

However, she did not do so, nor did she run away.

At this point the band was already falling apart, like a ceramic plate dropped to the ground, shattered into pieces, leaving only fragments.

Su Shi seemed to be broken down from the beginning. After returning to the rest area, she just sat there, lying on the table in silence. No matter how people around her called her, she did not respond. She just pretended to be an ostrich, buried her head in her arms as if deceiving herself, and let out tiny sobs from time to time.

Deng and Su Shi were in a similar situation. They had originally just curled up in a chair, bearing the pressure and tension, but now they sat directly on the floor, burying their cheeks between their knees. Their exposed amber eyes seemed to have been painted by rain, clear and clean, and the rippling water light was filled with only brokenness and sadness.

Li Xi has been trying to comfort Deng since she came back, but all her efforts were in vain. She even sensed the despair and sadness coming from Deng and Su Shi. She had stopped speaking not long ago and just sat in her seat without saying a word. Her pretty facial features were so gloomy as if it was going to rain, and her hands on the table were shaking slightly uncontrollably.

As for Lenna, Aine couldn't find her since she left the band.

Today's band is like a sampan drifting in the deep ocean. After being in distress and drifting in the endless sun, they finally see a ship and think they are going to be rescued, but they find that the ship ignores them and goes straight away, disappearing in the distance on the horizon.

They are like soldiers who have been defeated in a battle, like prisoners who have learned that they are sentenced to death. They have not yet gone to the battlefield, and have not yet received the death notice, but they have been soaked in despair to the point that there is no trace of struggle in their bodies.

The band stood on the stage and sang loudly, performing the song "Light" with almost dazzling performance and strength, but it gave them only despair, a despair as dark and deep as coal ash that could not be wiped away once it was stained.

Aine didn't know what they were talking about as 'dreams of the past', but she could understand everyone's feelings at the moment.

After all, she was encouraged by Aoi to rush back from England. At that time, she was deeply trapped in anxiety and uneasiness in a foreign country, wandering in a vortex of self-doubt and pressure every day. It was Aoi in her dream who lit up the light for her and told her that there was still a way forward.

It was Aoi who made her believe that she was not running away, but was looking for a brighter and warmer path.

But when she finally returned from London and found her dream band mates, she found that the most important part was missing on this road: the genial sunshine and the warm spring breeze.

So why did she come back? For Aoi? But Aoi wasn't in the band.

Was it for everyone in the band right now? But each of them was deeply traumatized by Aoi's situation, and the feeling of failure had already permeated them, completely unable to be extinguished.

She had to do something, she had to do something for her comrades, who were now grieving and devastated. But what could she do? Even she herself was hurt by Aoi's situation. The original idea of ​​"developing the band well and waiting for Aoi to join" was no longer there. The path they had originally planned no longer existed. So where was the direction for this band? What was the purpose of moving forward?

After all, in the dream…this band was formed because of Aoi.

Aine clenched her fists slightly, and couldn't help but think of the smile that Aoi showed every time in her dream, and those warm and pleasant words.

She didn't understand. She didn't understand why, when everyone had memories, Aoi would join another band and be so happy in that band... Did she think that everything was just a dream?

However, this was no longer important. What was important was that Aiyin felt she had to do something. She had come back for the band, to prove that she hadn't run away. If she chose to escape again, then all this would be meaningless.

"Everyone! Cheer up, okay? The performance is about to start... We can't face the audience in this state!"

Aine gritted her teeth, jumped off her chair, and stood in the middle of the lounge area. She clapped her hands at the group and said seriously, "At least finish your performance...! We can deal with the rest after the performance!"

"Don't be ridiculous. The lights are in such a state that we can't perform anymore."

Li Xi turned away in annoyance. Although she said some harsh words, this time Ai Yin heard the self-abandonment in her voice and saw the anxiety and confusion in her eyes.

Aine frowned and glared back without showing any weakness.

"So are we just giving up like that? We've already signed up, but we're telling the planners, 'Sorry, we can't act!' Isn't that just running away?"

"This isn't running away!"

"So what are you doing? Everyone seems to have given up in advance! If Li Xi can't do it, then let me comfort Deng and Su Shi-san, and you can go find little Lenai!"

"What do you mean you can't do it? Also, why are you giving orders here now? Don't you understand what's going on?"

“I don’t understand!”

The atmosphere was extremely bad.

Aine was a little angry, but she was much calmer than usual. She could even tell that Riki was just getting very irritable due to the extreme pressure, and what she said was not what she meant.

None of them wanted to end it before it even started.

So, all we need to do is to restore everyone’s confidence.

But how to do that?

What should she do—?

"Um~ Excuse me, can I bother you for a moment?"

Dizangtong is very noisy today. The air in the distance is filled with the sounds of people coming and going, and even the wind is mixed with the crowdedness and liveliness that can only be found in a busy city.

But even in such a noisy environment, everyone present heard that familiar voice very clearly.

It is like the warm afternoon sunshine, like the orange sunset at the seaside on a summer evening, like a long and winding cloud in the blue sky on a clear spring day, like the waves in a dream, and the tinkling of wind chimes in memories.

The voice was clear and warm, without any impurities, as if it was an old photo album that was opened many years later, and the smell of memory almost hit me in the face.

Whether it was Aine and Riki, whether it was Su Shi who was completely isolated in herself or Deng who was already in despair, they all slowly raised their heads and looked in the direction where the voice came from.

The sun was shining brightly today, and the golden light shone on the girl's beige hair. The permed hair was almost snow-white, and her emerald eyes showed a hint of surprise and smile.

Because of her appearance, they were thrown into the abyss of despair.

Because of her appearance, their world seemed to be lit up again——

75

Chapter 75: Can’t Leave It Alone (Edited)

In fact, the sense of distance and reality are very magical things.

Before learning that the characters appearing in Band Simulator were all real people, Aoi only regarded them as characters in the animation or NPCs in the game.

Although one can empathize with the content of the story and feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness because of their experiences and many plots, there is ultimately an non-existent screen between Aoi and them, which is the furthest distance in the world. At this distance, any emotion will be weakened and anything can be forgiven.

However, once that transparent screen is broken, everything will change.

Laughing, crying and everything I did with those girls in the dream were no longer simple simulations, because behind them were no longer virtual programs and codes, but real people with flesh and blood.

So, when she actually saw those familiar figures in one of the band's rest areas, Aoi felt quite complicated.

On the one hand, she felt the excitement of a otaku who finally met her idols. She was thrilled and curious to see those girls who should have only existed in virtual stories appear in front of her. On the other hand, after experiencing so many things in the simulator, in her mind, the members of Crychic and Mygo had long been considered friends.

Now, looking at those friends who only appeared in the simulation sitting lifelessly in the rest area, and even having conflicts due to the huge pressure and tension, she felt anxious and worried.

Su Shi was no longer as gentle and intellectual as usual, just lying on the table in depression; Deng curled up beside the chair, like a small animal afraid of the light, trembling with despair and pessimism about the upcoming future; Li Xi and Ain were arguing about whether to participate in the performance, and there was no sign of the cohesion and unity that a band should have.

Looking left and right, she didn't see Lenai, but Lenai should be in the band because Aoi saw the small trailer and guitar case she placed in the corner.

It seems that the members of the Mygo band are just these five people. Even without Aoi's involvement, they will definitely be a good group. However, without Aoi, they don't seem to be as relaxed and happy as in the simulator. They will also be confused, get lost, and be afraid of the scenery ahead.

It's a pity that they probably have no memory of the simulator, otherwise Aoi's performance and some of her words in the simulation should have inspired them. How could they retreat in such a situation?

However, her own position made her hesitate.

Although no one knows her, she has experienced so much in the simulator. As a "non-existent friend", she has the need and obligation to help her friends solve their problems. She can't bear to see her friends fall into pain. This is her responsibility as Mygo's Saotome Aoi.

But precisely because no one knew her, she had no suitable reason to do anything. After all, she was now the violinist of the band and had nothing to do with the people in Mygo. She was just a stranger to everyone. Why should a stranger interfere in other people's private affairs?

She has confirmed that everyone in the simulator is real, so her mission is over, and what she needs to do is over, right?

She understood this, but she couldn't lift her feet. She couldn't just turn around and leave indifferently, going back as if she hadn't seen anything.

Because she saw the helpless lamp curled up in the corner of the rest area with its head buried between its knees like a fetus. She saw the eyes of the girl who was usually as cute as a little animal. There was no romance in those amber eyes anymore, but instead it was filled with despair and a broken heart.

For Aoi, everyone who appears in the simulator is a friend who once joined the same band as her. Children like Deng, Mu, and Lenai, who have prominent personalities and need special care, are the kind of friends she needs to protect.

But the lamp was now shedding tears, crying, and trembling helplessly.

At that moment, she thought she had made up her mind, because she knew herself very well and knew that she would never turn a blind eye to her friend's tears.

Therefore, when Aine and Riki paused in their argument for a moment, Aoi quietly walked to the door of the rest area and spoke to them in a tone as natural and gentle as possible.

"Um~ Excuse me, can I bother you for a moment?"

She didn't know what she could do specifically, or whether what she did would be effective, but she knew she had to do it. Even if it was just some cold words of comfort, it would be better than doing nothing.