Sure, here is the translation:

Duanmu Huai wasn’t clear about what Takamatsu Akari was thinking, but for him, the best way to solve this kind of situation is... Isn’t it simply to speak directly and clarify things?

So he went to the office. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Hey... Fengchuan?"

Upon entering the office, Duanmu Huai saw Fukawa Shoko, who was immersed in handling some documents, and greeted her. Hearing Duanmu Huai’s greeting, Fukawa Shoko paused for a moment before hurriedly standing up.

"Yes, is there something I can help with?"

"I have something to discuss, come over here."

"Ah, okay..."

Although Fukawa Shoko didn’t know what Duanmu Huai wanted to discuss, she obediently left her seat and followed Duanmu Huai to the rooftop terrace of the office building.

Hmm, it’s more convenient to talk here.

Standing on the rooftop, surrounded by towering buildings, Duanmu Huai stretched lazily and turned to look at Fukawa Shoko. The latter stood there anxiously, somewhat at a loss — which is quite normal. After all, Duanmu Huai is the office’s star and also a national-level celebrity. Being called out by him for unclear reasons naturally made Fukawa Shoko feel a bit uneasy.

So Duanmu Huai didn’t bother with unnecessary words.

"Did you used to be in a band?"

"Huh?"

Facing Duanmu Huai’s straightforward question, Fukawa Shoko was somewhat surprised but nodded her head.

"Yes... that’s right..."

"What’s the band’s name?"

"...CRY...CHIC..."

Fukawa Shoko reluctantly revealed the band’s name, which seemed quite normal.

"Was there a girl named Takamatsu Akari in your band?"

"...Huh? How did you...?"

Hearing a name she knew from Duanmu Huai’s mouth indeed took Fukawa Shoko by surprise.

"I came across her due to some accident, and then yesterday when I was watching a LIVE with friends..."

Duanmu Huai didn’t bother with unnecessary words and directly recounted yesterday’s events to Fukawa Shoko, who listened, lowered her head, clenched her hands tightly, and remained silent.

"Actually, I’ve heard about your situation before. After all, you were just a child, facing such sudden issues, not being able to handle them well is quite normal."

Duanmu Huai could somewhat understand Fukawa Shoko. After all, she was just a teenage girl who suddenly faced a family upheaval, had many things to manage, so putting the band aside was reasonable.

"Well, now you seem to have settled down. Looking at you, it doesn’t appear that you’ve completely forgotten about your old band. Let me put it this way: the longer you drag these things out, the more troublesome it becomes. Didn’t you see how Takamatsu Akari looked, as if she will live in the shadows of that time for the rest of her life? We’re not exactly friends, but speaking from the perspective of a third party, I think you’d better find them and clear things up."

"I......"

"I understand, you young girls are always like this, prone to overthinking."

Duanmu Huai reached out, patting Fukawa Shoko’s head.

"But if you ask me, instead of overthinking, it’s better to face reality. Things are like this now, what else can you expect? Stay strong, what’s done is done, regretting or wishing now serves no purpose, what you need to do is give it a closure."

Indeed, in Duanmu Huai’s view, overthinking like Takamatsu Akari and Fukawa Shoko had no meaning; ultimately, it’s just a way to escape reality. Like before, when Takamatsu Akari told them, Shoko leaving the band was her fault, though Takamatsu Akari thought this way, deep down she might also have the thought "This is just my guess, what if it’s not the case?"

Just like Schrödinger’s cat, before the box is opened, whether the cat is dead or alive is uncertain. Even though there’s a high likelihood the cat is dead, there’s also a possibility that it isn’t.

But once the box is opened, possibilities vanish, leaving only the cold reality.

So, Takamatsu Akari’s belief that "Shoko hates her, so she left the band" is just an uncertain possibility, but if Shoko says before her "I left the band because I hated you," then it’s not a possibility, but an established fact that cannot be denied.

Actually, in Duanmu Huai’s view, this trivial matter resembles a morning drama in the golden time slot.

The matter itself is actually quite simple, speaking through it would only amount to this.

But because people refuse to speak or unwilling to speak, or are unable to speak, everyone overthinks and creates a bunch of unnecessary issues.

Simply put, it’s like writing a novel or drawing a manga, clearly, only one Chapter is enough to depict the protagonist defeating the BOSS and achieving victory, but insist on adding the protagonist’s memories, side characters’ memories, minor characters’ memories, BOSS’s memories, making it awkwardly into a lengthy series making people speechless.

In contrast, Duanmu Huai never cared about "how others think," he only looks at "how others act."

Listening to words and observing actions is partly Duanmu Huai’s inherent nature and partly due to his occupational hazard as a judge.

Conversely, saving humans is the same.

Duanmu Huai is not interested in the idea of saving them because "humans have love and hope," the greater the emotional investment in saving, the heavier the blow when betrayed.