Girl Band, Gravity Capture

Page 110

Bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun, the person's appearance was somewhat dim, with only a general outline visible. However, this did not prevent the girl from identifying him as the prime suspect and sternly rebuking him as he approached:

"stop!"

"Hey! What are you doing? Why are you—"

However, after hearing her question, the man showed no sign of slowing down.

Shiina Tatsuki gritted his teeth, preparing to speak again to stop that guy's actions.

The next moment, a slightly cold, calm, yet penetrating voice, almost etched into the deepest part of her mind, rang in her ears in a way that defied reason.

"—Lixi, stop the light."

"...Xu...Xu Dou?"

Like software experiencing a fatal conflict in its operating logic, Shiina Ritsuki crashed instantly.

She couldn't understand at all what was happening in front of her.

Following Gen Xudou's unusual gaze, which seemed to reveal a hint of anger, the girl instinctively looked back, only to find that Takamatsu Akari, who should have been behind her, had already managed to regain her breathing and was moving her legs, as if she was about to leave.

"What...what is this—"

There was no more time for her to think. Faced with Gen Xudou, who was still running towards her, and Takamatsu Akari, who could escape from any place she could reach at any moment, Shiina Ritsuki knew she had to make a choice immediately.

Should he help Gao Songdeng block Yuan Xudou who was chasing after him, or should he listen to Yuan Xudou and stop Gao Songdeng from escaping?

As for the angry thoughts like "I will never let him go" and "I will make that person pay" that were just moments before, they were long ago forgotten the moment the pursuer's true face was revealed.

In terms of intimacy, no matter what, Gao Songdeng could not possibly rank higher than Yuan Xudou.

Because Xu Dou was chasing after the lantern to blame him?

...He must have his reasons for doing this.

In a flash, Shiina Ritsuki made a decision based on instinct.

Sure enough, based on past experience, Xu Dou's reliability is still higher than Deng's... This is not to say that I am biased towards one side, but simply to analyze it from an objective perspective.

'Sorry, light.'

A pang of guilt welled up in Shiina Ritsuki's heart. She had just promised to protect her, but now she had suddenly turned the tables—but this slight sense of guilt quickly vanished without a trace.

She was puzzled as to why Takamatsu Akari would avoid the boy who was once closest to her.

Shiina Riki still clearly remembers that in the past, Genjiro Tou consistently protected and cared for Takamatsu Akari. In terms of opening up to girls, he was the best among them, and his level of care was much stronger than hers now.

Similarly, Gao Songdeng's reliance on and trust in him are obvious to all, and the strong connection that has been established is unlikely to be easily broken.

There must be some misunderstanding here...

With the thought of favoring Genjiro taking the lead, Shiina Tatsuki only paused for a moment before gritting her teeth, quickly making way, and blocking the direction Takamatsu Akari was about to leave with her body.

"Light, is there some misunderstanding?"

Her straight, shiny black hair swung off her shoulders as she tilted her head. The girl, no longer the aloof person she usually was, looked away. She struggled to find the words she needed and stammered, "I think... it would be better if you two talked it over."

"After all, Xu Dou isn't a bad person... right?"

Seemingly feeling that she shouldn't be too biased, Shiina Tatsuki quickly added a sentence.

"I'll be watching from the side!"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Fear, or Dislike?

When Chihaya Aine arrived, panting, following the navigation on her phone, she found RiNG empty in front of the door.

She didn't even have time to complain that Yuan Xudou hadn't waited for her, and hurried up the stairs so as not to miss their next conversation.

As Chihaya Aine ascends the long spiral staircase of RiNG and arrives at the second-floor café, her gray eyes scan the surroundings with a lively light, and she quickly spots Takamatsu Akari and Genji Koto sitting opposite each other in the corner.

Oh, and there's Shiina Tatsuki, leaning against the counter, watching the commotion from afar, arms crossed, seemingly biting her lip.

She quickly weighed the options in her mind.

—Compared to Xu Douqin and Xiaodeng, whose atmosphere was so heavy and whose hands looked cold, Shiina Riki, who was just frowning, seemed kind and approachable.

Chihaya Aine quietly crept up to Shiina Tatsuki, covered her mouth with her hand, and cautiously spoke to her:

"Hey Rikki, what's going on over there?"

"...What a stupid name!" Before answering her question, Shiina Tatsuki clicked her tongue in obvious annoyance, complaining about Chihaya Aine's terrible name, and then said impatiently, "Instead of asking me, you're the one who's been following along all this way."

"Did you say something to Xu Dou and Deng?"

Her gaze suddenly turned somewhat unfriendly, and she turned to stare coldly at Chihaya Aine, who seemed to have no sense of distance.

Mentioning this, the girl couldn't help but think of the KTV room where she had paid money but only stayed for a dozen minutes, and she felt a little wronged.

"What does this have to do with me!" Her voice rose, then she quickly lowered it again, afraid the two people on the other end would notice. "I just asked Xiaodeng if she wanted to form a band..."

"You—" Shiina Riki suddenly interrupted her coldly, "saying you want to form a band in front of Xu Dou and Deng?"

Realizing she had said the wrong thing, Chihaya Aine's pupils twitched as she looked into the girl's purple eyes, but she still stubbornly stuck out her neck.

"Then, so what..."

“That’s really the lowest.” She made no attempt to hide her disgust and rejection of Chihaya Aine’s behavior.

"Huh?!" The girl's eyes widened.

Leaving aside the two who were clearly just bystanders but started arguing amongst themselves, let's turn our attention back to Takamatsu Akira and Genji Kōdō, who were silently "confronting" each other.

Of course, using a confrontational term like "standoff" is not quite appropriate. Compared to the two people next to them who were almost at the level of conflict, the atmosphere between Gen Xudou and Takamatsu Akira could only be described as somewhat stiff.

That wasn't even due to the two people's subjective feelings; it was simply a stagnation caused by the difficulty in communicating.

Ultimately, neither of them were usually talkative. Yuan Xudou was consistently taciturn, while Gao Songdeng was used to shrinking away like an insect when she was down, avoiding all external interference.

As before, he would proactively and gently initiate topics, taking on the task of guiding the conversation, and the girl, though not overly enthusiastic, would still respond positively...

As the illusion shattered, it all seemed so...unreal.

Like a burst bubble, refracting its last colorful patterns in the air before turning into useless water vapor and drifting away, no matter how much one reminisces, it cannot change the reality of its end.

...To spend a lifetime in a band is like trying to glue and piece together a completely shattered bubble.

Yuan Xudou was well aware of the chaotic thoughts in the mind of Gao Songdeng, who was silently bowing his head.

"……lamp."

He cannot deny the joy and beauty that came from his heart in the past.

Everyone is shouting out their own voice, to express their misunderstood inner feelings, and to seek common bonds with each other. CryCHIC, clumsily but firmly shouting to everyone, is undoubtedly the home they created together.

Even if it later suffered a devastating collapse, it could not tarnish the perfection of that moment.

...Therefore, he cannot, he cannot cling to it and pollute that pure memory with his twisted obsession.

No one can.

Yuan Xudou hoped more than anyone else that [CryCHIC] could have a dignified end. However, this hope seemed far from being realized.

Well, as a second-best option—at least, don't insult it.

He wouldn't blame Takamatsu for her obsession with the past. For a fragile girl who had finally found a place to belong, it was only natural that she would cling to it like a lifeline and not want to let go.

Perhaps it was a deep longing for the past, or perhaps it was an unavoidable path dependency, but Deng saw the band as the best way to solve the problem.

He should correct her, instead of... getting unnecessarily angry over an immature girl's momentary escapism.

"Give me your hand."

In a few breaths, the slight anger on Yuan Xudou's face disappeared from his brow as the warm yellow sunlight outside the window faded away.

He stood up, walked around the round table separating the two of them, and earnestly extended his hand.

With a powerful and large hand, it pressed Takamatsu Akari's small hands together with an undeniable sense of refusal, and then tightly enveloped them.

When dealing with a girl like Deng who rarely takes the initiative, he has to be the one to make the first move.

Faced with Gen Xudou's actions, Takamatsu Akari shrank back as if startled, a look of panic on her face.

Despite feigning a protective stance, she offered no real resistance and obediently allowed him to grasp her hand.

The familiar warmth seeped through my fingertips, like a round pebble warmed by the sun on a spring afternoon.

However, before Gao Songdeng could feel and reminisce more, Yuan Xudou bent down slightly and looked seriously into her eyes, even though she instinctively tried to avoid him.

His dark, warm eyes held a directness that cut to the chase, and he asked bluntly:

"Light, are you afraid of me?"

"why?"

It wasn't because of a feeling of being distrusted that I suffered inner trauma; it was simply a search for a solution to this situation.

Yuan Xudou wasn't completely oblivious to the reasons behind Gao Songdeng's subtle avoidance of him, but... rather than him confiding and analyzing on his own, as if performing a monologue, it would be more effective to change Gao Songdeng by letting her express her inner thoughts herself.

"...Light, do you hate me?"

His eyes dimmed slightly at the opportune moment, and his voice also lowered a few decibels.

This method, though somewhat...dishonorable, is undeniably effective in most cases, especially for those with simple minds.

Stimulated by his heavy and desolate words, Gao Songdeng's breathing became noticeably rapid. She suddenly looked up, her previously weak fingers gripping Yuan Xudou's palm tightly, so hard that red marks appeared in the indentation.

"...No!"

So anxious were her amber eyes that tears were almost welling up. The girl clenched her fists tightly, and her timid voice burst into a suppressed cry.

...Her reaction was even stronger than expected.

Chapter Forty: The Unalterable Past, and the Reshaping Future

"I don't hate Xu Dou...! It's just... it's just..."

"...Okay, okay."

Startled by the volume of her outburst, and listening to Takamatsu Akira's frantic and broken explanation, Gen Xudou's slightly furrowed brows softened.

Following the hand that the girl was holding tightly, he gently pulled her half-up.

Her free hand stroked Takamatsu Akari's short gray hair. The difference in size and posture between the standing boy and the girl sitting in the chair made her look like a fragile little animal being carefully held in someone's arms.

"It's all my fault...it's my fault..."

Her soft murmurs were indistinct and hard to hear. But in any case, after being held by Yuan Xudou, her trembling subsided considerably.

On the other side, Shiina Tatsuki and Chihaya Aine, whose attention had been drawn by Takamatsu Akari's shout, also stopped arguing.

"Xu Dou, the light..."

Her fists clenched involuntarily, Shiina Ritsuki bit her lower lip, and murmured softly, but she didn't have the courage to penetrate.

“Xu Douqin, Xiaodeng…” Chihaya Aine looked at him with equal concern.

At this moment, they were finally able to calm down briefly and were no longer controlled by their emotions.

"...Was it you who did this at the karaoke bar?"

The cold gaze did not shift, but Shiina Tatsuki's question was clearly directed at Chihaya Aine.

"I already said it wasn't—"

Even the most patient person would get angry if questioned like that, let alone a young girl who isn't one to tolerate being bullied.

She immediately replied irritably, "Although I said I would invite Xiaodeng to join the band, that's not why they ran away!"

"It was Xiaodeng who suddenly said 'I want to form a band with Xu Dou for life,' and then she inexplicably ran away..."

"...'Form a band for life'?" Shiina Tatsuki's body trembled, a hint of confusion appearing in her purple pupils. Her fair fingers involuntarily tightened, her nails almost digging into her flesh. "That was...what the light said?"

Chihaya Aine grinned defiantly, "So, it was me who said it?"

"I'm not that lacking in emotional intelligence! If I disagree, I disagree. Why blame me for asking?"

Ignoring her rambling, complaining chatter, Shiina Tatsuki remained silent for a long time.