Want to be human, but cube-like

She paused.

Before me stood the very same music store that Ai-yin had pushed me into that day.

"Let's try again...play the performance."

…………

Volume 1: Chapter 69 Will You Go on a Date with Me?

It's still that familiar piano, and that same page from "A Young Girl's Prayer".

This time, Alex, who was already quite familiar with the game, sat down at the piano, cleared her mind of all distractions, closed her eyes, and played until the piece ended.

She opened her eyes and let out a soft breath.

On a weekday afternoon, during working hours, there weren't many customers in the music store. Only one saleswoman stood by, smiling as she listened to her performance.

And as she withdrew her hands, he clapped softly.

After playing it once before, Alex was no longer able to play "The Maiden's Prayer" without looking at the sheet music.

There is only this one.

For other pieces, you still need to look at the sheet music once. As for improvisation, that would be completely making things difficult for Alex.

She gently stroked the piano keys before standing up.

The shop assistant next to her simply smiled and gave her a brief introduction to the piano in front of her, and then said nothing more.

Since Alex's skill level was that of a very proficient pianist, it was usually unnecessary to explain too much to customers who were not beginners, unless they mentioned their requests.

Alex simply nodded without saying a word.

She was still savoring the feeling from just now.

That feeling of emptying your mind, letting your body's instincts take over, and no longer thinking about which key to press next.

That feeling, like a puppet on strings, no longer being in control of oneself.

It was familiar, and something she missed.

But compared to the last time, it seems like something is missing this time.

Looking around, she saw that there were only two people in the music store, her and the shop assistant standing next to her. It was very quiet after the piano music stopped.

Right, it lacks that illusion of still being watched by your mother.

Is it because Alex can now clearly recognize that this body is still under her control?

The illusion became shallow, and even the senses felt more real.

She wasn't wrong; she had indeed come to enjoy the feeling of playing music. This way of releasing emotions allowed her to briefly escape from the suffocating confusion that felt like being submerged in the deep sea.

Xiangzi, was it because she felt something during her performance that she was not confused?

Alex guessed.

But she had no way of knowing.

Alex picked up the sheet music from the piano and started flipping through it.

Even Alex would get bored playing the same piece over and over.

Based on my previous feeling, I only need to look through all these scores and memorize them, and then I might not need to look at the scores to play them anymore.

Turning her head to look at the other instruments, Alex walked over and gently picked up a guitar.

Just like when she first touched the piano, knowledge about plucked string instruments related to the guitar gradually emerged in her mind.

Is it possible to release one's emotions when playing other instruments besides the piano?

With this question in mind, Alex glanced at the shop assistant beside her. After the assistant brought out a pick and said she could try playing it, she placed her left fingertips on the strings.

She first tried a few chords casually.

Then, she closed her eyes slightly, about to play, when she suddenly paused.

Piano sheet music cannot be used as guitar sheet music.

Without sheet music, Alex wouldn't know how to play.

Her hands hovered somewhat helplessly above the strings, the pick lightly touching them, producing a faint and chaotic murmur.

Just like Alex's current distracting thoughts.

She opened her eyes again in a daze, ignoring the puzzled look and concerned questions from the shop assistant next to her.

Taking a deep breath, Alex seriously recalled the sheet music she had just looked at for the first time.

The music theory knowledge she gained from the piano intertwined with her guitar playing knowledge. Following the piano score of "The Maiden's Prayer," Alex tried to slowly compose a guitar score of only one measure in her mind.

She closed her eyes again and began to try playing.

It's a bit messy and very flimsy.

But it was indeed the melody she wanted.

But it wasn't the performance she wanted.

At this moment, when her mind was not blank, Alex could not experience that sense of comfort and reassurance.

she was

Every strum of the strings was completely under his control.

The time was too short, and there wasn't enough time to feel whether the emotions were released; in fact, it's fair to say that they weren't.

The reason for this difference lies in the difference in purpose.

When she plays the piano, she empties her mind and lets her instincts take over.

When she plays the guitar, she focuses her mind and controls the strings with her fingertips.

She lowered her hands, looked down at the guitar in her hands, and then turned to look at the piano over there.

They are like two different ways to release emotions.

But in fact, no matter what kind of performance it was, it seemed to dispel some of the confusion in Alex's heart.

Moreover, it doesn't matter which instrument she chooses. If she chooses the guitar, she can find the sheet music to play; if she chooses the piano, she can play without looking at the sheet music.

Alex wants to buy a musical instrument.

So, should we choose one of the two?

No, she's always wanted it all.

Alex casually asked the shop assistant to recommend an electric guitar and a keyboard, and readily took out her phone to pay.

I gently swiped to unlock the screen, but only then did I notice two messages popping up in the status bar.

It wasn't Xiangzi's; the other party knew she wasn't used to checking messages on her phone yet, so they would usually call her directly if there was anything.

These two messages came from Chihaya Aine, who, quite coincidentally, shares the same name as her mother and has a very similar voice.

I opened the chat, and the two unread messages were immediately changed to read.

The first one is a bunny-shaped "goodnight" emoji.

This was sent late last night. A little earlier, there was a late-night chat between the two of them, consisting of only four or five short sentences.

She must have sent a goodnight message and gone to bed, falling into a deep sleep, so she naturally didn't notice Ai-yin's reply.

The second message was a photo of a lunchbox sent around noon, with the caption, "I really want to eat Ellie's burger~".

Looking at the time again, it was already 3:20.

Although she noticed it much later, Alex still gently typed a reply: "Aine can come to me anytime if she wants to eat."

In fact, Ai Yin had already chatted with her the night before last, the day after they met.

But at that time, Alex was protecting Xiangzi inside the witch's barrier. There was no signal inside the barrier, so naturally she couldn't receive any messages. Even if she could, Alex wouldn't have time to pay attention to them.

She spent another busy day on the island, and only after rescuing Xiangzi's father last night did she have time to check the news.

Therefore, there was always a long interval between their messages. Aine seemed to understand that Alex was busy and never asked her why it took her so long to reply.

Alex was still pondering where to go next.

She stared at the chat window, and after the message she had sent was marked as read, she suddenly realized something.

"How about we invite Aine to come out and join us?"

Alex muttered something under her breath and typed a few characters.

[Aiyin, are you free now?]

Yes, we just got out of school and are heading home.

What's the proper way to describe two people going out together?

Her fingertips paused slightly as she considered her words.

Oh, right.

Want to go on a date with me?

Alex smiled and clicked send.

…………

PS: After Alex used the knowledge he learned from Ai Yin on Xiao Xiang, he went back to use it on Ai Yin. So who was really better?

Volume 1: Chapter 70: Should we build a garden before having afternoon tea?

When the cute pink-haired girl came into view, Alex was standing at the entrance of the mall, carrying a piano case and a guitar bag.

Alex hadn't thought much about it when she bought the instruments, but as she walked out of the music store carrying two large boxes that were almost half her height, she realized that carrying both instruments together was quite troublesome.

When she paid, the shop assistant asked her if she needed the delivery made at another time, but considering that it would be difficult for Xiangzi to come downstairs to sign for it even if she had someone else deliver it, she refused.

It wasn't very convenient to put the instrument back in her backpack while she was out, but Alex had listened to Xiangzi's instructions and was now able to do her best not to show her abnormality.

Actually, this isn't so bad. Maybe it will help her integrate into this world better?

It's not heavy anyway, so I'll just take it.

Alex lifted the nearly 20-kilogram piano case with two fingers in one hand and looked at the pink-haired girl running towards her.

"Phew... Good afternoon, Ellie~!"

Slightly out of breath, Ai-yin slowed her pace and walked over from a distance.

"Have you been waiting for a long time?"

She wore a sweet smile, and the corners of her eyes curved into pretty crescent moons.

"No, I just came out."

Alex smiled faintly, using the same line she had learned from her mother and had already tried on Xiangzi.

"Aion looks great today too~"

"Hehehe~ Really? Thanks!"

Unlike Xiangzi before, this time Ai Yin's response to her was very positive, and she seemed very happy.

That laughter... it sounds just like my mother's...

Alex was momentarily dazed when this thought flashed through her mind.

"However, I was really startled when Ellie mentioned going on a date on Line just now."

The soothing voice of Ai Yin brought her back to reality.

"In Japan, the word 'date' is used only between couples."

Perhaps viewing Alex as a foreigner unfamiliar with the use of Japanese, Aine raised a slender, green index finger and spoke to her.

"So I just used it wrong?"

With a hint of surprise in her eyes, Alex asked in confusion.