Glacier sister, don't want to be a sandwich

"Then—let's do it again."

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Chapter 92. Finally, there is a performance by an orthodox band. Congratulations.

Chapter 93 Sunset Red

Facts have proved that the three-foot-thick ice did not form in a day, and the Great Wall was not built in a day.

Although everyone is full of enthusiasm, the reality is cruelly placed before them - playing in a band is much more difficult than practicing alone.

Among the four people present, except Yazi, Yuege and Hailing had just started learning musical instruments.

Although everyone has a certain foundation, it is obviously not something that can be achieved overnight to truly integrate into a band and coordinate with each other's rhythm and playing habits.

If they practiced alone, they might be able to play the entire piece smoothly, but once they joined an ensemble, problems began to emerge one after another.

Yue Ge’s chord changes occasionally fail to keep up with the rhythm, and her fingers are a little stiff on the fretboard, causing the melody to be discontinuous.

Although Hai Ling has solid basic skills in bass, she still lacks experience in grasping the sense of rhythm. Sometimes she accidentally presses too hard, and sometimes she lags behind slightly, making the entire bass part less coherent.

Although Yazi is an experienced drummer, her playing style is quite unrestrained and she always subconsciously wants to add some technical rhythm variations.

However, the overall coordination of the band was far from reaching this level, and as a result, every time she made such an attempt, the others became even more confused.

As for Xiao Deng, the lead singer, her problems were even more obvious. She lacked confidence in her own singing, and any mistakes made by anyone in the band would directly affect her singing performance.

Her ears are extremely sensitive to the accompaniment. Once there is a rhythmic deviation in a certain part, she will be involuntarily carried away, resulting in erratic pitch. She even forgot the lyrics for a while during several attempts.

Even though they tried twice, they still couldn't successfully play the song completely.

To be precise, they couldn't even play the chorus smoothly.

There are always various problems in the prelude and main part, either the rhythm is chaotic or the melody is broken.

Or someone may not be able to keep up with the rhythm of his teammates, causing the entire song to have to stop midway.

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Ichinose Motoyo looked at the people in front of her, still unwilling to give up and preparing to try again, and sighed softly, then spoke out to stop them: "Okay... Let's stop here for today. The security uncle will be here to clear out the staff soon."

Upon hearing this, Yue Ge paused on the strings, startled slightly. She subconsciously turned her head to look out the window, only then realizing that time had already quietly passed.

The sky outside the window has gradually changed from its original bright blue to a softer color, and the sky is dyed with a light golden orange. The afterglow of the setting sun falls on the roof of the teaching building, reflecting a warm and quiet halo.

Only then did I realize that without realizing it, the time had already come to this.

She exhaled lightly, raised her head and looked at Su Shi, with a helpless smile on her face: "Time flies..."

Xiao Deng followed her gaze out the window, blinked, and said with a hint of lingering regret, "It feels like we've only been practicing for a while..."

Ako reluctantly put away her drumsticks and muttered, "Ugh—I was going to give it another try! I'll definitely make it right next time!"

Hai Ling didn't say anything, but silently put the bass back into the guitar bag. Her movements were still calm and neat, but a hint of unwillingness could be seen through her slightly tightened fingers.

"Although we didn't succeed today, but..."

Yue Ge walked out of the classroom slowly, placed her hands naturally on the railing in front of her, leaned forward slightly, raised her head and looked into the distance.

The clouds in the west were painted into brilliant colors by the setting sun, from light gold to orange-red, and then to purple-blue in the distance, interweaving layers like an overturned paint palette.

A breeze blew by, lifting a few strands of hair and gently brushing Yue Ge's cheek. Her eyes seemed a little distant in the sunset, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“It was a nice view though.”

She whispered softly, her eyes reflecting the sky's fiery yet gradually tranquil colors.

Xiao Deng beside him nodded slightly, his eyes also attracted by the beautiful scenery. The glow of the sky was reflected in his eyes, and there was a hint of surprise in his voice: "It's beautiful."

"Yeah!" Udagawa Ako nodded excitedly after hearing Yuege's words. She placed her hands on the railing, squinted her eyes and looked into the distance. Her tone was full of excitement and joy. "Sister also said that the sunset is especially beautiful."

Ichinose Motoyo and Hachiman Kairin also leaned silently on the railing, without saying much, just looking into the distance quietly, as if feeling this short and gorgeous dusk in their own way.

until--

"Hey! Which class are you from? Why aren't you leaving yet?"

A low and majestic voice came from the stairs, instantly breaking the quiet atmosphere.

Everyone was startled and turned around, only to see the security guard standing at the stairs, frowning at them with a helpless and serious expression on his face. He was holding a bunch of keys in his hand, as if he was ready to lock the door.

"Oh no!" Yazi reacted the fastest. He stood up straight, grabbed his drumsticks, and shouted, "Run!"

Everyone looked at each other, then immediately packed up their things and hurriedly left the corridor with smiles and hurried steps.

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Yue Ge returned home and just stepped into the entrance hall, she saw Bingchuan Saye standing at the door with her arms folded across her chest, her eyes fixed on her, as if she had been waiting here for a long time.

"Sister Sayo!" Yue Ge was slightly startled, then gently raised her hand, took off the guitar bag on her back, and carefully handed it over, "This is your guitar."

Saya took the guitar, held the body of the guitar steadily in her palm, checked its weight, and then put it aside.

Her gaze returned to Yuege, her tone calm but concerned: "Yuege, how was today's rehearsal?"

Sayo never expected that the last of the three sisters to pick up guitar would be the first to try to form a band.

Hikawa Hina was sitting on the sofa playing with her cell phone. After hearing the sisters' conversation, she immediately came over like a curious kitten.

She looked at Yuege with great interest, her eyes gleaming with anticipation: "Hey! How's Yue-chan's practice going? Is forming a band a difficult thing?"

Facing the different gazes from her two sisters, Yue Ge paused for a moment, then thought back on today's practice and said, "Even though I didn't succeed once, it was really good!"

Saya looked at the smile on Yuege's face, and her slightly worried expression gradually softened. She sighed softly, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly, and her tone was gentle and relaxed: "Really? That's good."

As long as Yuege is truly happy, that is enough for Sayo.

However, Hina on the side frowned and blinked in confusion, obviously not understanding what Yuege meant.

She tilted her head, her eyes full of confusion. She came forward curiously and asked in confusion, "Eh? What's going on? Didn't it fail?"

She blinked her bright eyes, completely unable to understand the deep meaning of Yue Ge's words.

"Hey, I won't tell Hina-nee-san!"

Yuege blinked, a sly smile on her face, and quickly avoided Hina's questioning, walked around her lightly, and walked towards her room.

“Eh——!? Why didn’t you tell me!?” Hinata immediately chased after him unwillingly.

Sayo stood aside, helplessly watching her two younger sisters playing around at home.

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When you see the chapter title, do you think Afterglow is about to appear?

But actually, Afterglow still has a few chapters to go.

Chapter 94 A Different Night

Compared to the slightly chaotic but still laughter-filled practice of the four people on Tsukuge's side, the difficulties faced by Ichinose Suyo seemed to be heavier and more complicated.

In this plan, her task is not just to play or sing in chorus, but to secretly persuade her father to prepare to sing again.

This was not something that could be expressed directly, especially without letting his father know.

With a lot of thoughts in his mind, Su Shi returned home alone.

Pushing open the door to the entrance, a familiar and cold silence hits you.

There was no warm light, no aroma of food coming from the kitchen, only shadows in the room stretched by the dusk and the sound of footsteps echoing in the emptiness.

She took off her shoes and walked into the living room. It was so quiet that she could almost hear the echo of her heartbeat.

She subconsciously looked around, trying to find some traces, but the house was empty, even her father's coat that he usually put aside casually was not there.

“…No one.”

Su Shi stood there, silent for a few seconds, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the shoulder straps of his schoolbag.

I was still thinking about how to cleverly introduce the topic and how to make my father accept my advice calmly, but at this moment, these carefully conceived strategies suddenly seemed ridiculous and unnecessary.

She realized that her plan had been flawed from the very beginning.

Because... even the most important "conversation partner" is not here.

The clock in the living room ticked, reminding people that time was still passing, but Su Shi's thoughts seemed to be frozen at this moment.

She let out a long breath, casually placed her schoolbag on a corner of the sofa, walked to the window, opened it, and the night breeze blew across her cheeks with a little coolness.

I originally thought the difficulty lay in how to start speaking, but I didn’t expect that the real difficulty was that I couldn’t even get the chance to start speaking.

Ichinose Suyo stood quietly in front of the window. The sky outside the window was no longer the sunset she had just seen.

At this time, the orange, red and golden colors of the sky faded, leaving only a faint blue light with the residual warmth of the sunset, which could no longer give people a warm feeling.

Su Shi leaned against the windowsill, looking past the quiet street outside the window to the distant skyline where the light had faded.

She remembered standing in the school corridor with Yuege, Xiaodeng, Yazi and Hailing in the afternoon, watching the gorgeous sunset.

Even if the practice was a mess, everyone could still smile at each other and feel the subtle warmth and encouragement between each other.

And now, the solitary figure was reflected on the deserted floor, stretched out by the light, like some forgotten silhouette.

She slowly walked to the dining table, her fingertips sliding across the cold, smooth wooden surface, leaving no trace of warmth.

She instinctively opened the refrigerator, which was empty except for a few bottles of mineral water and some simple ingredients.

She casually picked up a bottle of water, then put it down, as if she suddenly lost the desire to drink water.

There was a faint sense of silence in the air, which was in stark contrast to the bustle of the afternoon.

There was no sound of musical instruments, no laughter of companions, only endless silence.

“…It’s so quiet.”

She murmured to herself, her voice so low that it was almost inaudible, as if she was talking to herself, or as if she was hoping the air would respond to her.

Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed her palms, her thoughts wandering between the failure of her plan and loneliness.

The empty feeling in my heart is heavier than any failed practice.

The warmth that the sunset can bring to people is ultimately short-lived, and the cold night after sunset is the unavoidable reality.

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In sharp contrast to the desolate and quiet atmosphere in Ichinose Suyo's house is the warm and energetic atmosphere that Hikawa Yuege is in at the moment.

In Bingchuan Shaye's room, night has fallen outside the window, but the lights inside are bright and warm, making every detail in the room clearly visible.

Yuege was sitting on a small stool in the middle of the room, holding Sayo's guitar in her arms, looking down at the fretboard intently.

Her brows were furrowed, the corners of her mouth were slightly pursed, and her fingertips pressed stiffly on the strings, trying to switch between chords.

However, each time I switched to the next chord, my fingers would unconsciously freeze, causing the melody to become stiff and broken.

Sayo stood aside, arms crossed over her chest, carefully observing Yuege's every move.

Suddenly, her brows furrowed slightly, and her tone was as calm and serious as ever: "Yue Ge! Your fingers are too stiff."

Yue Ge was slightly stunned, subconsciously stopped what he was doing, looked up at Saya, with some confusion and bewilderment in his eyes.

Saya walked over to Yuege, leaned down slightly, pointed at her stiff left fingers, and said seriously, "When you change chords, you use too much force, which makes your movements slow. You need to learn to relax and find the natural curvature of your fingers, so that the switching will be smoother."

As she spoke, Sayo leaned down slightly, stretched out her slender and white fingers, and gently brushed Yue Ge's left hand that was pressing on the strings.

The touch of Sayo's hands was a little cold, with thin calluses left by practicing guitar, and slightly rough.

She did not adjust immediately, but let her fingertips linger on the back of Yue Ge's hand for a brief moment, as if feeling something, and then slowly held her fingers.

Saya's fingertips slid down Yuege's finger bones, carefully adjusting the angle of each of her fingers, the curvature of the knuckles, the contact points between the fingertips and the strings, and even the tiny gaps between the fingers.

Occasionally, her fingertips inadvertently rubbed Yue Ge's soft skin. The subtle touch spread from her fingertips like a tiny electric current, so subtle that it could not be ignored.

Yuege subconsciously held her breath, feeling Saya's faint breathing brushing against her ear as she approached.

Her heartbeat inexplicably quickened, her fingertips stiffened slightly, but she was reluctant to pull them back.

Saya's face was very close, and her calm expression looked particularly three-dimensional under the soft light.

Her voice was low and gentle at this close distance, as if she had intentionally lowered the volume: "Relax, don't use too much force, feel the vibration of the strings... just like this."

Saya demonstrated it herself, her slender and nimble fingers sliding smoothly across the fretboard. The transitions between chords were as natural and clean as flowing water, without a single unnecessary pause.

Yuege sat aside, staring intently at Sayo's fingering, her eyes moving slightly along with her fingers.