Aspiring to be a girl in a band

Xiangzi's lips twitched, revealing a cold smile.

……

Arakawa Kirika stared at Shoko.

She could certainly see that Xiangzi was in a very bad situation.

But... for a long time, she has not been able to understand the suffering of others. She finds it difficult to empathize with the pain of others, so... she has no idea how much Xiangzi is suffering right now.

She only wanted to get revenge because Xiangzi had given her an unpleasant look today.

Yes... even at this point, she still didn't understand that she had driven Xiangzi to the brink of collapse.

"I want to eat an apple, peel it for me."

Arakawa Kirika hadn't actually figured out what reason she would use to call Shoko to her side, so she just made up an excuse.

What was she saying?

Xiangzi was incredulous. She looked at an apple and a fruit knife on the coffee table.

That bastard actually... tricked her into coming here with such a lame excuse.

If Xiangzi's anger could be described as a raging fire, then Arakawa Kirika's words were undoubtedly adding fuel to the fire.

She grabbed the fruit knife and glared at Arakawa Kirika, but unfortunately, her face was too haggard, so her anger didn't seem very effective.

"Do you know... how awful my day was..."

"I'm... almost at my limit, you know? I really want to sleep for a while... You sent me all this way with just one message, making me come all this way for nothing, just so I could peel an apple for you!"

Xiangzi felt like she was about to lose her grip on the fruit knife, because her fingertips were trembling.

She desperately wanted to stab the scumbag in front of her through the hole with this knife... but reason pulled her back from the brink of losing control.

Today, Xiangzi is undoubtedly suffering a great deal of physical and mental torment, and almost all of this pain is caused to her by the person in front of her.

She no longer had the energy to be alive; all she wanted was to get home quickly and rest for a while.

"..."

Arakawa Kirika lowered her head and fell into deep thought.

But she quickly raised her head again, her tone still icy.

"I'm sorry... I don't understand."

Although she said apologetic words, judging from Arakawa Kirika's expression, she showed absolutely no remorse.

"I've never been sick, so I don't know how much pain you're in, and it has nothing to do with me. I'm not going to be understanding, understand? I'm only asking you one question: cut it or not?"

Arakawa Kirika looked at Shoko coldly, without a trace of pity.

……

The oppressive atmosphere was so intense it felt like the air itself was freezing.

It was a long time before Xiangzi took any further action.

She reached out and picked up the red fruit from the table.

Then I started peeling the fruit with a fruit knife.

She handled the knife very carefully; she was terrified.

Because she noticed that the apple in her eyes was starting to appear double... so if she wasn't extremely careful, she could cut her finger.

Xiangzi placed the peeled apple in front of Arakawa Kirika, put the fruit knife back in its place, and then turned and left.

"Wait a minute, I didn't say you could leave..."

Arakawa Kirika frowned and shouted.

But Xiangzi had already slammed the door and left.

This infuriated Arakawa Kirika, and she instinctively wanted to call someone to have Toyokawa Shoko tied up and brought back to her...

But after taking out her phone... she stared blankly for a moment, then slowly put the phone down.

She knew she had caused Xiangzi immense harm, but she would not reflect on her actions.

She realized the instant she spoke that what she wanted to say was the exact opposite of what she actually said.

She doesn't know how to show weakness.

She never thinks she's wrong.

She is Arakawa Kirika, a born strong woman. She will not fail, nor will she make mistakes.

but……

Occasionally, she would have moments of regret.

Arakawa Kirika just huddled on the sofa, lost in thought for a long time.

She didn't come to her senses until the apple turned slightly black from oxidation. Then she took the apple in her hand and took a small bite.

"Not sweet at all..."

Volume 1: Chapter 75 Stepping Out of Hesitation

It's a brand new day.

The first to notice the anomaly was the lantern closest to Arakawa Kirika.

To everyone else, Arakawa Kirika seemed no different than usual today. But to Akari, who was most adept at sensing emotions, Arakawa Kirika's current state was clearly very strange.

During the class that just ended, Arakawa Kirika spaced out at least twice.

Moreover... Arakawa Kirika didn't tease her even once today.

The lamp was very curious about what had happened.

But she didn't know how to bring it up with Arakawa Kirika.

Deng instinctively wanted to seek Aine's help, but when their eyes met, Aine just tilted her head and blinked at her with some confusion.

It's like asking a question.

【What's wrong】

Didn't Aine notice?

Well... there's nothing we can do about it. After all, Aine's seat is behind the two of them, so she doesn't have as many opportunities to observe Arakawa Kirika.

The lamp, caught in a dilemma, finally took its lunch break.

Watching Arakawa Kirika's departing figure, Akari felt a pang of unease.

She didn't even have a chance to say a single word to Wuhua today.

Unable to bear it any longer, the light reached out and grabbed a corner of Arakawa Kirika.

Arakawa Kirika glanced back at the lantern casually.

She simply stared calmly at the lamp without speaking first.

Deng felt as if her heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, she didn't want to see Kirika like this. She would rather Kirika Arakawa continue to bully her with her sly smile... than endure this kind of indifferent gaze any longer.

Then the lamp spoke.

"Later...can I go to the Literature Club to hang out with Kirika...and Aine too?"

She looked up at Arakawa Kirika and expressed her feelings.

"Huh?"

Ai-yin, who was chatting with her classmates, suddenly heard Deng mention her name, so she turned her head with a bit of confusion.

But she immediately noticed that the current expression on the lamp was very serious, while Arakawa Kirika's face was expressionless.

In short... it doesn't seem like the right atmosphere to interrupt.

So Aine could only deal with her friends while keeping an eye on the two people in front of her out of the corner of her eye.

"up to you."

After a moment's thought, Arakawa Kirika uttered three words.

Although it was tantamount to acquiescing to the lamp's request, the lamp's mood worsened.

She wanted Arakawa Kirika to give a clear answer, even if it was just "no".

This ambiguous acquiescence only made Touka feel that she was getting further and further away from Arakawa Kirika.

……

In any case, Akari soon brought Aine to Arakawa Kirika's activity room.

As the light was about to knock, it was discovered that the activity room door was only ajar and not closed.

But... the lamp still knocked on the door obediently until Arakawa Kirika allowed them to enter, and only then did she push the door open.

He sat down in the activity room, but Deng hadn't really figured out how to start the conversation.

Instead, it was Arakawa Kirika who first asked the question to the lamp.

"Light, have you ever regretted it?"

Eh?

Akari first observed Arakawa Kirika's expression. For some reason, Akari felt that she could see a trace of sadness on Arakawa Kirika's expressionless face.

So she began to think.

In this short span of her life, there are so many things she regrets... that they are too numerous to count.

What she regrets most is obviously...

"Of course I have. Even now... I regret it a lot. If I had sung the song well back then, maybe Crychic wouldn't have disbanded."

As Deng spoke, his expression turned dejected.

Arakawa Kirika finally glanced at the lamp.

She was a little surprised. She didn't expect that even now, Deng still thought that it was because she didn't sing well that the band fell apart.