bookbashuk Page 40
Page 40
……
Ai Yin lay on the sofa, scrolling through her phone. She hadn't practiced today. Practice was already tough enough as it was, so what was wrong with taking a Saturday off?
And... Taro and Touka aren't here, and I feel like I've lost all motivation to practice. She lay on her side on the sofa, looking at the news on her phone... Ah, there aren't any videos that interest me...
"So annoying!" Ai Yin rolled onto the ground in frustration, picked up the guitar beside her, and started playing.
[Wait a minute... what am I doing? Didn't I decide to take a good rest?]
Frustrated, she hugged the electric guitar, her fingers never leaving the guitar, her hand gripping the pick showing no sign of stopping.
Instead of following the sheet music Taro gave her, she played as she pleased, and the notes from the guitar were so hurried and confused.
What's wrong with me...?
She leaned back weakly against the sofa, her head resting on the cushions, her hand stroking the guitar's soundboard as if petting a cat's head.
[Ugh... What's wrong with me? I don't even feel like myself anymore.]
She slightly raised her neck to look at the guitar, her eyes filled with complex emotions. She hadn't actually liked music that much at first. Her purpose in playing music was clearly to fit in, to attract everyone's attention, and to become the talk of the class. That's why she played music.
I wanted to form a band because of my vanity, but once I actually joined, I not only lost my lead singer position, but I wasn't even the lead guitarist anymore. The daily practice was exhausting, and my fingers were often injured... I should have given up soon.
Every time I practice, I hear Taro saying things like "No, no, no," and he only ever praises me once. But why do I still want to be in the band...? Could it be that I've fallen for Taro?
"Ugh! I don't understand at all. Oh well, I've had a good rest. Let's practice!" Aine shook her head, her long, soft pink hair swaying in the air. She picked up her guitar and started practicing the chords she wasn't familiar with.
……
Before I knew it, it was evening. Lately, I've been practicing all day long, and I haven't had any proper entertainment except for meals. What's wrong with me... My fingers are already so tired, and I only skipped RiNG today because I wanted to avoid practicing.
But today, aside from pausing for a while during dinner and chatting with Miaomeng in the Dong Brothers group chat, I mostly played the guitar.
Come to think of it, I don't seem to know much about the members of the Dong Brothers group. Taro aside, that guy is surprisingly easy to understand... or rather, it's better to just ask him if there's anything you don't understand than to guess on your own.
Thinking about it on my own might lead to some really outrageous conclusions... Like the last time I came here alone for training, I came to a really ridiculous conclusion... I'm just glad I didn't say it out loud.
Miaomeng... is a very good person, although there's always a sense of mystery about her. She can't really know what kind of person she is...
Ms. Hachiman... I always felt she was a very cool person, but I've never talked to her directly.
Xiao Lenai... well, we've basically never really had a proper conversation.
Being a band member is really tough...
On the other side, just as Taro was about to ring Aine's doorbell, a mature woman's voice came from behind him: "Um, who are you? We subscribe to the newspaper, you know."
Taro turned around and saw a mature woman. Taro looked at her without changing his expression and said, "I'm here to see Aine."
"Eh? You're here to see Aine?" The woman looked Taro up and down, a satisfied expression on her face, and asked with a suggestive smile, "Sir, what's your name?"
"Momoi Taro!" Taro gave his name without hesitation.
"Taro, what's your relationship with our Aine?" the woman asked Taro, still with an ambiguous smile.
"No need to say more! Our relationship is that of servants..." Taro was about to answer the lady loudly without hesitation when the door was hurriedly pushed open, and Aine loudly took over the conversation!
"A bandmate!"
[Phew... thankfully I made it in time!]
Aine grabbed Taro's arm, using her physical advantage to separate Taro from her mother, and asked Taro in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Taro, don't you think so?"
"Well... you could say that." Taro thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement.
Aine finally breathed a sigh of relief—Taro must have meant to say that their relationship was that of servants, which would definitely have earned him a strange look from his mother.
Luckily, I heard the doorbell. I thought maybe Taro went to the practice room, realized I wasn't there, and rushed downstairs. Just then, my mother came back—it was a close call!
She quickly took Taro's arm and pulled him aside, asking in a low voice, "Why is Taro here?"
Completely unaware that her own mother, watching her back as she held Taro's arm, wore a doting smile.
"That's because you didn't come to RiNG practice! That's why I came to see you!" Taro replied in a very normal volume, responding confidently, "You didn't say why you weren't coming. If it was because you were sick, that would be bad, tomorrow is practice day."
"Seriously, I'm fine! I memorized everything during the practice too!! Taro, you're worrying too much!" Aine glared at Taro, who didn't say anything, but reached out his right hand, took Aine's left hand, and held it tightly, closing his eyes to confirm, "Ah, it seems like you're really fine."
Aine's mother, standing behind them, smiled even more broadly. Unfortunately, both of them had their backs to their mother and couldn't see her expression, so they were completely unaware of what was happening. Aine blushed and protested softly, "What is Taro doing?"
"I'm checking the condition of your fingers! Have you been practicing guitar properly?" Taro answered Aine's question very seriously: "If I feel it now, it's perfectly fine!"
Ah, I was such an idiot to have had expectations of him...
Aine covered her face in pain. Taro let go of her hand and said, "I'm relieved to see that you're practicing well. Well then, I'll be going now."
"Hey? Are you leaving already? Won't you stay for a meal?" Aine's mother warmly invited Taro, "How about it?"
"Mom! What are you saying!" Ai Yin quickly grabbed her mother's arm to stop her from talking nonsense.
"No, I have something to do later, sorry." Taro apologized and prepared to leave.
"Taro, what's wrong?" Aine was a little curious, so she asked directly, because figuring it out on her own would only lead to strange conclusions.
"I'm a little worried about what's going on with Goto, so I'm going to check on things at Fanxing." Taro waved his hand. "Anyway, see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow!" Aine waved goodbye to Taro.
Turning around, I saw my mother smiling... How should I put it? Although I feel bad for my mother thinking this, to be honest, her smile was really a bit disgusting!
"Aiyin, who was that just now?" Mom asked with a smile.
"?" Ai Yin looked at her mother with a puzzled expression, tilted her head and explained, "Didn't I just introduce him? He's one of our bandmates."
"Honestly, Mom isn't one of those old-fashioned, conservative people. If you have a boyfriend, just tell him honestly, right?" Mom poked Aine's waist with her elbow with a mischievous grin.
Aine's face flushed red instantly, and she angrily pushed her mother gently into the room: "Really! Taro and I aren't like that!"
"Hey~ Didn't you just ask someone to change their address?" Mom ruffled Aine's hair, smoothing down the strands that were sticking up from her irritation. "But it's so good to see you so energetic again."
Aine paused for a moment, then smiled. Her mother had been watching her all along. However, Taro's arrival had made something clear to her…
"Um, Mom..." She gripped her mother's hand tightly, took a deep breath, and said earnestly, "I'm sorry for making you worry, but I've been troubled by something all day..."
"Something?" Mom looked at Aine curiously, then her expression suddenly changed to one of realization: "Oh~ is that it?"
"Hmm... I really really do..." She composed herself, and her mother, seeing this, also became nervous. The two of them took a deep breath and said at the same time, "I like music/I like Taro!"
The two spoke at the same time, but each was talking about something else entirely. Ai Yin was slightly taken aback when she heard her mother's words, and then angrily slapped her mother's shoulder: "Mom, I'm only 16 years old! What are you thinking!"
"Huh? But Aine was speaking so seriously that I thought she was going to open up about her feelings." The mother said with a smile. After all, even though they had only met once, the frankness in the child's eyes was impossible to fake.
As adults, we are very happy to have this child. It's wonderful!
My own child has also found something they want to do... During the time they were just back from England, my child was really depressed! Now that they can cheer up again, it couldn't be better.
Ai Yin smiled, realizing that she had stopped pursuing her so-called vanity at some point... Ah, of course, she still cared a lot about it now, but she didn't know when it started, but she had truly come to love music.
Did it start with Taro's praise? Or with Akari's acceptance? Or perhaps the moment she heard Mutsu say her guitar could sing? She herself couldn't figure it out...
Before this, she found practice so boring and so annoying... However, she still couldn't understand what Taro meant by "eternal destiny" and "number one in Japan"... She couldn't understand it at all, but as long as she followed behind him, she couldn't go wrong! That's Momoi Taro, after all.
She flashed a bright smile and said, "Mom, I'm going to practice guitar now. Wake me up when it's time to eat!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she dashed from the entrance back to her room to practice her guitar.
Seeing Aiyin rushing around like this, her mother sighed helplessly, shook her head, and smiled, saying, "This child is always so impulsive."
Her words were filled with an indescribable sense of relief. Then she added, "I'll bring him home another day so Dad can see him too!"
"Mother!!"
Not far away, Taro stood behind a tree and silently observed the whole thing. He watched Aine's departing figure and smiled sincerely: "As expected of the core I chose, she has the ability to bring happiness to others."
Although Taro had high hopes for Aine, he still couldn't say he understood her personality very well. However, he felt that he understood Aine a little better now, so he turned and left with peace of mind, preparing to go to Shimokitazawa to check on Goto's current situation.
However, Taro wouldn't have told Aine what he just said if she hadn't asked.
After that, Taro simply met Pochi, who happened to be taking the train home, and casually took Pochi to his doorstep. Let's skip over that part.
Chapter Thirty-Nine, Recalling
"Hmph hmph hmph..." The white-haired girl with heterochromatic eyes hummed softly as she packed up her instruments and pulled her large suitcase forward.
"Lena, you seem to be in a good mood today," asked the dignified-looking old man with white hair and pink highlights.
"Mmm!" The cat nodded, humming a song as she changed her shoes.
"What happened?" Needless to say, the old woman was none other than Rana's grandmother—Tsuzuki Shifune.
Speaking of which, this Tuzhu Shichuan is also a figure. Many years ago, he was known as a legendary guitarist. I forgot the details, but in any case, he was definitely a figure.
"Yeah, the band!" Cat seemed a little excited.
"Oh~ Who did you form a band with? But since it was you who found them, I probably don't know them." Ms. Tsuzuki Shifune knows her granddaughter very well. If she were to form a band with someone she knows, she wouldn't have waited until now to form a band.
After all, her granddaughter was very proactive, although... she had had a headache about it many times.
"No." The cat tilted its head and said in a flat tone, "Grandma knows her too."
"Oh? If you don't mind, could you tell me?" Ms. Tsuzuki Shifune slowly walked to the door with her cane, watching her granddaughter's back as she walked away.
“Hmm, Momoi Taro.” The cat first spoke in a very flat tone, then smiled and showed its teeth, saying, “An interesting man.”
"Taro...can he finally set off?" Ms. Tsuzuki Shifune fell into reminiscence upon hearing this name.
Rana met Momoi Taro the year after Space closed. That spring, Rana, whose kotatsu was broken, lay on the bed, seemingly without any motivation, refusing to move.
Even when scolded, she refused to get out of bed, so Ms. Tsuzuki had no choice but to order a kotatsu from the website.
It was a cold day, with spring snow falling. The doorbell rang, followed by a somewhat familiar male voice: "Delivery! Please sign or stamp."
"The door isn't locked, come in," came the aged yet steady voice of Ms. Tsuzuki Shifune.
The deliveryman outside didn't waste any words and opened the door. The person who walked in was a handsome young man who left a very deep impression on Ms. Tsuzuki Shisen. The handsome young man smiled when he saw Ms. Tsuzuki Shisen: "Boss, we're destined to meet."
He walked over with a smile, put down the package he was carrying, took a pen from his pocket and placed it on the package: "Please sign or stamp."
Hearing the noise, Lena seemed to realize that a new kotatsu had arrived, so she crawled out of her nest and quietly watched the newcomer.
“It’s quite a coincidence.” Ms. Tsuzuki Shifune took the pen and calmly asked, “What is your name?”
"Momoi Taro!" Taro gave his name without hesitation.
Ms. Tsuzuki Shifune paused slightly while writing, then resumed writing and asked in a very relaxed tone, "Who is Momoi Jin to you?"