Want to be human, but cube-like

Looking into her innocent and bewildered eyes, Aine pinched her nose, speechless.

"Alex, you don't need to know this yet."

Unable to bear it any longer, Xiangzi finally spoke up to interrupt their increasingly strange conversation. She stood up and said helplessly.

If we let them keep talking, who knows how absurd the topic will veer off course.

"Anyway, there's nothing wrong with the music, so I'll have to take my leave now."

After all, there are still customers in the store, and the counter can't be empty all the time.

Just as Xiangzi was about to turn and leave, an elegant melody suddenly began to play.

She stopped abruptly.

"Eh?"

Aine, who had just been captivated by Alex's beauty, looked up curiously.

Lena, who had picked up her guitar again at some point, was standing in front of the laptop, looking at an unfamiliar sheet music, and began to play.

Alex curiously leaned over to take a look. On the screen was a sheet music with lyrics, complete with five different staffs: lead keyboard, accompaniment guitar, drums, bass, and lead vocals.

She glanced at Le Nai, who was playing the piano melody on her guitar. Le Nai also looked at her with a smile, and the two of them instantly made eye contact.

Back at her keyboard, Alex, who had completely memorized the score, touched the keys and pressed the first note. At the same time, Lena smoothly switched her guitar from the main melody position to the accompaniment position.

Seeing this, Ai Yin quickly walked over and looked at the screen.

"Haruhikage?"

She looked at the title above and was puzzled.

Did Xiaolanai find these other compositions by Xiaoxiang when she was using the computer?

Turning her head, Xiangzi seemed somewhat surprised, but she didn't say a word. So Aine looked at the two people beside her. They had almost finished playing the intro and were about to get to the lead singer's section. At this moment, they all turned their attention to Aine.

"Ugh... I haven't even seen the sheet music properly yet, really! Okay, okay!"

Having played together for so many days, Aine had already developed a lot of tacit understanding with them. Of course, she knew that the two wanted her to join in, so she could only smile with a doting tone.

Fortunately, the music in this score only has one rhythm guitar, otherwise Ai Yin really wouldn't be able to play it. Now, she only needs to look at the lead singer's score.

"My heart is filled with sorrow, and my eyes tremble uncontrollably."

Although she was in a rush and couldn't quite get the pitch right, Ai Yin quickly got into the zone.

I am all alone in this world.

Even though the lack of drums and bass makes the whole song sound a bit thin, it doesn't detract from the beautiful and melodious tune.

"In this ever-fading spring~"

Fortunately, Ai Yin had specifically trained her sight-singing skills some time ago in order to be a good lead singer; otherwise, she would not have been able to sing the song while looking at the sheet music, since she had never heard it before.

"All I feel every year is cold."

However, Ai-yin, who was not familiar with the song, still couldn't quite get the pitch right in some parts and would stumble. Seeing this, Alex had a flash of inspiration. She quickly adjusted the keyboard settings, made a sound split, and used the keyboard to play a part of the lead vocal melody, bringing Ai-yin back on track.

This resulted in the music being almost entirely covered by the keyboard sounds, and Ai-yin began to unconsciously sing along with Alex's melody.

The melody of the entire song thus becomes softer and lighter, like a gentle keyboard, caring for and protecting the lead singer.

With the loss of drummers and bassists, the guitarist's presence has gradually diminished.

Only the keyboardist and lead singer's melody remained, becoming increasingly prominent.

It's different from the spring shadows of the past...

The bewildered lead singer, guided by the keyboard, experienced a scene so familiar that it seemed to conjure up some familiar visions in Xiangzi's mind.

Alex's unique emotions of confusion and helplessness, expressed in the melodies she played, drew Xiangzi into the story without him even realizing it.

Standing there in a daze, listening to that familiar song reappear in his ears in a completely unfamiliar form, Xiangzi's heart became heavy, a sense of suffocation arose spontaneously, and he suddenly felt a soreness in his nose.

“heartbreaking”

The heart is also lovable~

Alex and Lenore's soft, harmonizing voices began to play.

"I feel like I understand now~"

Surrounded by others, Ai Yin gradually found her rhythm.

"Happiness, however, can be both unsettling and intoxicating."

Following this gentle harmony.

"Shining upon me who cannot weep~! The gentle light carries me on its journey~!"

Ai Yin, who sang with too much force, began to blush slightly, and the panicked look on her face from not being able to keep up with the tune gradually faded.

"..."

Biting her lower lip, Xiangzi gently clenched her fist and pressed her knuckles against the tip of her nose, which was feeling a little uncomfortable. As if trying to hide her emotions, she tilted her head, lowered her eyelids, and her long eyelashes revealed her shimmering amber eyes, which were wet and sparkling.

I wanted to leave, but I couldn't take a step. My feet felt like they were made of lead, so heavy that I couldn't lift them.

Only when the singing stopped and the piano music faded did Xiangzi slowly come back to his senses.

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the emotions that had unconsciously surfaced within her.

"This song is so good!"

Ai Yin, who was a little out of breath, took a couple of light breaths to calm herself down, and then said excitedly.

"Hmph~!"

Lena smiled contentedly.

"Did you compose this piece yourself, Xiangzi? It's so well-made."

Alex put her hands down from the piano keys, came over and looked at the sheet music called "Spring Shadow" again, and asked curiously.

They had asked Xiangzi before if he had any songs with lyrics, but Xiangzi had clearly said no.

"Why...play the Spring Shadow?"

But after a moment of silence, Xiangzi only murmured something softly.

"Ok?"

Her voice was so soft that neither Aine nor Alex could hear what she said.

"Do not……"

After briefly closing her eyes to adjust her expression, Xiangzi opened them and shook her head, pretending that she hadn't said anything before.

It's not really their fault; they simply forgot to hide the song or delete it, and then just lent the laptop to Alex.

Besides, it's not like I'm taking the piece out for a public performance. If I'm just playing it in the practice room, there won't be any problems, so there's no need to ask for her opinion.

What they choose to play is their freedom.

"I'm going downstairs now..."

Leaving behind this casual remark, Xiangzi made no response to the song and left the second floor directly.

The three people inside the soundproof room could only look at each other in bewilderment.

…………

P.S. The lyrics are about 100 words, not much of the content. I've always felt that describing the performance scene in words is a very pale and thin approach. No matter how many fancy words and embellishments you use, it's hard for the audience to get immersed. Writing too many lyrics also risks padding the word count. I'll definitely be writing about the live performance later, and that's when I'll have a headache. Otherwise, I could just gloss over it, but since it's a band anime fanfic, it doesn't seem right not to go into detail.

Volume 1: Chapter 96 Food-grade Love Sound

Later, before the sun had set, the three finally finished their duet and came down from the second floor.

The afternoon tea time had just ended, and the peak dinner time hadn't started yet, which happened to be the time when the restaurant had the fewest customers.

Alex usually goes to replenish her food supplies around this time to prepare for dinner.

However, it might be a little later today.

Because they needed to practice the jingle for the burger joint's advertising campaign, they spent more time on the second floor than usual today.

"Ugh~ My fingers are all red from playing..."

Ai-yin, carrying her guitar and walking at the front, complained as she went down the stairs.

She raised her left hand, and you could see that the tips of her slender fingers were red, numb, and painful, which was very uncomfortable.

"Doesn't Xiaole Nai's finger hurt?"

As she spoke, she curiously turned her head and glanced at Le Nai, who was following her downstairs.

"Ok?"

Hearing this, Lena, who was carrying a guitar and had nothing in her hands, raised her hands and spread her ten fingers to show Aine.

"It looks... a bit hard?"

Ai Yin curiously raised her finger and poked it. There were no thick calluses on Le Nai's fingertips, but they felt slightly hard and the fingertips were a little rough.

"It will hurt at first."

Lena explained to Aine in a soft voice.

These marks are formed gradually after a lot of practice, when blisters repeatedly form and are worn away on the fingertips, until even the calluses are worn away and invisible.

"If it becomes like this, it won't hurt anymore."

She pursed her cat-like lips and smiled.

"Ugh... I don't know how much longer I'll need to practice before I can get to this level..."

Some of the girls who were advised to give up started to have second thoughts.

She started thinking that maybe she should just be the lead singer. After all, she was going to England in a little over a month, and practicing guitar so hard wouldn't be of any use.

Originally, Ai Yin joined Alex and the others simply because of social needs and their invitation; she herself had no ambition for her guitar skills.

"Are your fingers very sore?"

At this moment, Alex, who was walking at the back and carrying the effects pedal case for Renai with one hand, joined the conversation.

"Hehe~ It's actually not bad..."

Seeing Alex asking her so earnestly, Aine suddenly felt a little reluctant to show weakness in front of her.

For some reason, Aine always wanted to show Alex her strong and reliable side. Sometimes she would habitually put herself in the position of caregiver in the trio.

But aside from Rana, who seems to be a little immature, Alex often ends up taking care of her, which often annoys Aine.

As they spoke, the three of them reached the stairwell on the first floor and handed the box back to Lena. Watching her reattach the guitar and box to the cart, Alex thought for a moment and walked up to Aine.

"let me see?"

Having said that, before Ai-yin could even agree, he had already gently taken her little hand.

"That, that..."

With her hands held in Alex's hands, and Alex carefully examining her fingertips, Aine couldn't help but blush.

"Speaking of which, Ellie... your fingers seem to have always been very well maintained..."

Eager to find another topic to distract herself, Aine turned her gaze to Alex's hands, feeling the soft touch of Alex's fingertips against the back of her hands, and casually said.

"You clearly practice piano and guitar too."

But how come there are no signs of wear on his fingers?

Speaking of this, Ai suddenly remembered that a while ago, on the day Alex first invited her out, she saw Alex carrying a newly bought guitar and asked if she could play the guitar, and was told that she had only recently learned to play.

However, when Aine later saw Alex playing the guitar, she was even more skilled than Lenai, and it was obvious that she was not a beginner. This made Aine feel depressed for a long time.

I never expected that a seemingly innocent child like Ellie would make such a malicious joke.

"Hmm...because I have thick skin?"

Alex paused, unsure how to explain that she had never actually practiced an instrument before, so she simply gave a perfunctory answer.