Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 124

Chihaya Aine didn't know the whole story, but she could sense that Xu Douchi and Xiaodeng, who had just hugged, were actually calming down... The two of them were comforting each other and were about to calm down, so why did someone suddenly interfere and make things worse?

Sure enough, when she quickly turned around to check on Gao Songdeng's condition, the other party began to tremble slightly again.

"It's not like that...it's not like that..." she whispered weakly, as if she didn't even have the strength to shout, "If it weren't for me..."

Under the slightly sad gaze of Genjiro, and seeing Takamatsu Akari's timid and uneasy appearance, Shiina Tatsuki, whose resentment towards Toyokawa Shoko had been stirred up in his memories, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head, and his previous impatience and excitement vanished instantly.

She took a few steps forward, but her raised hand eventually fell limply to her sides, and she stood there blankly.

Yuan Xudou, unable to bear the unusual blank look on Shiina Ritsuki's face, gently beckoned to her with one hand. The girl immediately stepped forward as if granted a pardon, bowing to the two of them.

"I'm so sorry, Deng, I shouldn't have been so loud..."

She frantically tried to make up for the mistake she had made in her anger, but to little avail.

Takamatsu seemed not to be listening to her; her hazy amber eyes were half-open and listless, staring in a direction that did not exist.

"If...if it wasn't my fault..."

"If it's Xiangzi's fault, Xiaomu's fault... Xiaolixi's fault... Xiaosushi's fault..."

"...I...can't make it up to you...ah..."

If blaming everything on myself could undo all the mistakes... how wonderful that would be.

But what if it wasn't her who disappointed Xu Dou, but Toyokawa Shoko, Wakaba Mutsu, Shiina Tatsuki, or even Nagasaki Motoyo...? How could she possibly make up for all those mistakes?!

It's all Xiangzi's fault, it's all someone else's fault...! But thinking like that is pointless...!

All she wanted was for Xu Dou to come back; she didn't care about anything else, like who was right and who was wrong. They had all spent such happy and wonderful time together, so why did they have to blame and criticize each other at the end…

"It's all my fault... Is that wrong...?"

Exhausted, Takamatsu Akari tilted her head back, her eyes no longer filled with self-blame and pain. As if making a wish upon a star, she gazed at him pleadingly.

As long as... Xu Dou thinks it was my fault... we can work together to slowly correct those mistakes, just like before, and start over... wouldn't that be better...?

She willingly and unilaterally took on the responsibility for the band's disbandment, believing that as long as this was done, everyone would no longer have to be sad and upset, and everything would have a chance to start over.

She was also confused, unsure of how to find a way out after the band ended. So she resorted to the simplest method: blaming herself for all the problems, hoping to heal the abyss that had cracked in everyone's hearts once and for all.

For Gao Songdeng, it was too difficult and too powerless to think about the grudges and entanglements between people, and to understand the awkwardness and thoughts that followed, which were even denser than a spider web.

This was the only method she could think of.

Clumsy, stubborn, yet never letting go, they cling to the only person they can place their hopes on.

Even if it's a last resort and doesn't solve any immediate problems, I'm unwilling to do nothing.

From the very beginning... Takamatsu Akari was like this, a stubborn and gloomy girl. She would cling to what she believed in, refusing to let go even at the cost of her life, completely out of touch with the common sense of normal people.

Genjiro remained silent, holding the sobbing girl in his arms tighter. He neither agreed nor disagreed, but Chihaya Aine saw the struggle in his dark eyes.

On one side is her own painful past of failure, and on the other side is her friend who has high hopes for her... If she were in that position, just imagining that kind of tearing feeling made Chihaya Aine feel like she wanted to die.

Feeling the same way, she walked over and quietly tugged at his sleeve.

"Xu Douqin...how about letting Xiaodeng give it a try?" she asked cautiously.

At such times, applying even a little force to one side can completely disrupt the already precarious balance—or cause the ropes holding both sides to snap completely.

She didn't dare push Genji too hard anymore. Chihaya Aine clearly cared more about their relationship than forming a band… Kotori probably felt the same way, but her thinking was a bit too extreme…

Even if we can't form a band, we can still be friends, or even... well.

"...Aine, I have..."

He finally spoke, but his clear voice was tinged with a slight hoarseness, as if water had been forcibly squeezed out of a dry sponge.

Chihaya Aine took his hand in her own and gently held it with both of her own.

"I know, I know...we're not forming a band." She had never seen him so vulnerable before, and a hint of heartache showed in her gray eyes as she gently squeezed his fingertips. "Just perform on stage twice, so that Xiaodeng's wish can be fulfilled, okay?"

"Just like you and Xiao Le Nai often play guitar at RiNG's place—we don't give each other names or make it too formal, we just get together and play... Is that okay?"

"Now, Little Lamp should be satisfied."

As a girl and an outsider, she understood things a little better than Yuan Xudou. Tomorin's insistence on forming a band was ultimately related to Xudou. So, they just created a name for it, making Xudou feel that it wasn't a real band, thus satisfying Xiaodeng's anxieties, and everyone would be happy.

Heo Doo-chin has no resistance to performing itself, but he just doesn't want to join the band no matter what... Once he can get past that obstacle that he doesn't know how he'll destroy, the rest will be much simpler.

This is... the "Nameless Band" plan she just came up with after much thought.

Chapter Sixty-One Formal Standoff

After seeing off Xu Dou, who was about to take Xiao Deng home and then go home himself, Chihaya Aine lingered on the first floor of RiNG for a while. Eventually, she wandered over to the notice board she had examined for a long time when she first came here, which was used to recruit members.

Since she was already here, she figured the requirements for forming a band weren't bad. Chihaya Aine thought about it seriously for a while. Kotori was the lead vocalist, Xu Douchika was the guitarist, Rikki was the drummer... It seemed like all the positions she wanted to be—guitarist and vocalist—were already taken.

Moreover, judging from the lineup requirements of those bands, they are at least missing one rhythm position... and one bassist.

Although it's often said that the bass is the soul of a band, and the human soul is generally invisible, thus illustrating the bassist's weak presence during a performance, this low register is actually quite crucial. Without it, the entire performance will sound very high and strange—this is the conclusion she reached after intensively studying band-related knowledge recently.

Although nine out of ten comments about bassists are bass jokes, after you've laughed it off, you should still remember the last one.

Hmm... Although Hailing later said she could accept being hired by them to perform on stage, and that these two sessions would be free as a trial, it's still not good to keep doing it this way.

I still want to build a more stable relationship or something... Besides, Hailing's confident demeanor suggests she's done similar things many times before. She mentioned being a professional mercenary, so her fees must be high... If we have to pay to hire someone for every performance, I'm not confident we can break even every time... It's too much to expect everyone to pay for their own band...

Speaking of which, Kyorarin's expression was a little strange when the bassist was mentioned, and Rikki also frowned... Is there some hidden story she doesn't know about?

Chihaya Aine's exceptionally keen intuition in this setting allowed her to sense something unusual.

But anyway, it's probably just another story about entanglements with an "ex." Hmph, she's got those plots figured out by now, she can do it effortlessly…

"Excuse me, student."

A soft, gentle voice pulled Chihaya Aine, who was standing in front of the notice board with her gaze wandering, back to reality.

She turned her head in surprise. The girl behind her was wearing a clean Tsukimori school uniform, with flaxen hair that almost reached her waist. Her hands were politely crossed in front of her, her bright blue eyes were narrowed, and she had a smile on her face that... felt a little fake.

Is it because he spent so much time with Xu Douqin that he has picked up her observation skills, which is why he felt that her smile seemed a little fake...?

No, that's not right. Chihaya Aine suddenly became alert, as if facing a formidable enemy.

The reason she felt that smile was fake was because she had seen that face genuinely smiling in a video before, which is why she thought this deliberate smile was a bit awkward.

—She was a former band member of Heo Doo-chin!

—And it seems to be the one standing closest to Xu Douqin, besides the blue-haired girl, in his phone wallpaper photo!

Upon their first meeting, Nagasaki Motoyo, who immediately put Chihaya Aine on high alert, tilted her head and smiled in a seemingly harmless manner.

"Would it be convenient for us to chat?"

"It's not really appropriate to stand here and chat. How about we go upstairs and have a cup of tea together?"

...Huh? Why does their attitude seem quite friendly...?

The two "former teammates" she had encountered so far were Riki, who had a terrible temper from the start, and Kodama, who was also confused and difficult to communicate with. Now, she met Nagasaki Motoyo, who had come to her and seemed to be in a relatively good mood, leaving Chihaya Aine somewhat bewildered.

...Thinking about it carefully, a fake smile might be a sign of politeness; otherwise, it wouldn't be good to start off with a stern face.

Could it be that she was surprised by the other party?

It's not impossible. After all, Lixi and Xiaodeng actually both want to form a new band, so it wouldn't be surprising if another one joined... But how did she approach me?

Thinking this, Chihaya Aine nodded subconsciously and followed the other person upstairs to RiNG.

Could it be...

Her hazy thoughts scattered and coalesced, gradually becoming clearer in her mind, connecting to form a logically consistent line.

—She wanted to rebuild the band but had no opportunity. As a former bandmate, she couldn't win Heo Doo-chin back, so she could only keep an eye on his wishes from time to time. When she found a chance, she came to join him.

Brown hair...she seems to be...she seems to be...a bassist?

Feeling that she had uncovered the truth, Chihaya Aine's eyes lit up.

Yay, isn't this perfect? ​​I was just worrying about where to find a reliable bassist, and now a bassist has fallen from the sky!

Sure enough, good things happen after bad things. After failing to study abroad, she first met Xu Douqin, then Xiaodeng, and even Rikki's attitude towards her softened a lot. It was as if Lady Luck was on her side... No, no, this was what she deserved for working so hard for the band!

As Chihaya Aine was engrossed in her reasoning and couldn't help but smile in triumph, Nagasaki Motoyo, who was walking in front of her, subtly turned around and glanced at the girl.

After a brief moment, she withdrew her gaze, gently twirled her fingertips, and narrowed her azure eyes slightly.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Miss Rinrinko—I'd like a blueberry milkshake, please~"

"Okay, here we go."

"Hey? Isn't this Xiao Su Shi? It feels like ages since I've seen you. Would you like something?"

"Then, please give me a cup of hot Earl Grey tea."

"learn."

The drinks they requested were quickly served. Chihaya Aine was still wondering why Shiina Tatsuki hadn't come out to acknowledge her teammates this time when Nagasaki Motoyo elegantly picked up her teacup, took a sip, and the clinking sound of the porcelain breaking the tranquility of the wait.

"My name is Nagasaki Motoyo." She introduced herself with a small, delicate touch to her fingertips.

As expected of the young lady of Tsuki no Mori, her posture is so dignified...

But she couldn't afford to lose face at a time like this. Despite feeling some pressure, Chihaya Aine still put on her most serious and confident attitude.

"I am Chihaya Aine. It's nice to meet you, Nagasaki-kun."

"This side too." As she said this, her gaze seemed to inadvertently drift slightly under the table, not looking directly at the girl in front of her.

Chihaya Aine thought she was observing her own figure.

...Easy to bully!

On the surface, she seemed oblivious to Nagasaki Motoyo's behavior, showing no reaction whatsoever. But inwardly, the girl clenched her delicate fists, thinking resentfully.

So what if I'm big? I'm not even the youngest among my classmates!

Now it's clear that even if they are allies on other issues, they can obviously see the "threat" in their relationship with Xu Douqin, so we still can't let our guard down.

Especially his exaggerated figure, which is far beyond what his peers have, is simply dangerously dangerous... Fortunately, Xu Douqin is probably not a shallow guy who only cares about a girl's size.

In the past, she didn't really pay much attention to these kinds of topics, but now that she has a boy she likes, she naturally cares more about her charm as a girl.

...In terms of feelings, Nagasaki-kun is just a "former teammate" with whom we've parted ways, and I have the advantage now!

The two, each harboring their own ulterior motives, exchanged pleasantries for a while, talking about nothing of substance. From "envying Nagasaki Motoyo for being able to attend a prestigious school like Tsuki no Mori" to "how to find suitable teammates from the notice board," Chihaya Aine, whose face was almost stiff from smiling, finally decided to end this meaningless chatter.

—It's time to speak frankly and openly.

“Nagasaki-san,” she said, resting her arms on the table with a serious expression, “let’s get down to business.”

“…That’s true.”

Seeing this, Nagasaki Motoyo's polite smile gradually faded.

Before she could even realize something was wrong, Chihaya Aine blurted out, "You want to join..."

Before she could finish her planned invitation, the girl completely suppressed all her emotions, maintaining the gentleness of her voice, but her calm, almost indifferent tone ruthlessly cut her off.

"Chihaya-san."

She frowned slightly, her eyes, devoid of any emotion, so dark they were almost frightening, as she gazed at him silently.

"Could you please stop harassing Xu Doujun?"

Chapter Sixty-Two: Trust That Needs to Be Strengthened

Chihaya Aine.

After this period of subtle probing of Xu Doujun, coupled with the investigation she conducted while picking him up from time to time... she is undoubtedly the culprit who has caused Xu Doujun to be restless recently.

He's a guy who conspired with Li Xi and Deng Jiang, knows nothing, yet tries to revive [CryCHIC]...