Female Supremacy Integrated Anime: I Only See You All as Friends

Actually, Hongxia was already pretty good.

"Should she be in a better band?"

Hongxia's voice was a bit low, and a shadow dimmed her gaze.

"She won't go. She's staying with Bond Band from now on."

Luo Zhen said this—it was his arrangement—but he also knew Hitori would decide the same.

"For her, joining a band was already hard enough. She's finally gotten along well with you all."

"If she suddenly had to jump to another band, she'd probably 'die,' right?"

Luo Zhen made an explosion gesture with both hands; "die" was just an exaggeration.

No, for Hitori, it might actually be real death.

After thinking it over, only Bond Band was the best fit for Hitori.

Chapter 24: Hitori's Reward

"The band might not be mature yet, or even fully staffed, but I think growing together with the band is important too."

"A group of people going through all kinds of things together, moving forward side by side, becoming better together—that's really meaningful."

"You might have your shortcomings, but Hitori's flaws are huge too. Everyone needs to cooperate and look out for each other to be complete. That's what a band means."

"One person can run fast, but a group can run far. Take good care of Hitori from now on."

Luo Zhen fed Hongxia some chicken soup for the soul and reached out to ruffle her hair.

In that instant, the Golden Finger triggered, and he gained a Drumming Skill from her.

Naturally, his physique also strengthened. His whole aura became more fiery, and the girls would probably be even more captivated by him.

This change was incredibly powerful—it seemed the accumulation of quantity had reached its limit, starting to show a "qualitative shift."

He vaguely felt a layer of shackles break through. He knew his physique had become even more monstrous, even gaining some "new functions."

But he himself couldn't quite figure out what those functions were.

"Mom..."

Hongxia enjoyed the feeling of Luo Zhen patting her head, her face slightly flushed, and murmured softly.

"Huh?"

Wait, why are you suddenly calling me mom?

You're not about to say something nonsensical like "I'm going to block the bridge," are you?

"Little Zhen feels so gentle, just like a mom. I really wish Mom could wake up soon."

A hint of bitterness and sorrow crept into Hongxia's smile.

But hearing this, Luo Zhen felt something was off.

Because according to the original setting, her mother should have... passed away.

But maybe because this world was so bizarre, some incredible changes had occurred.

The female-dominated world had influenced the so-called plotline, letting her mother survive.

However, from what Hongxia said, she was alive but not awake—probably lying in a hospital bed, in a vegetative state.

He glanced at her, feeling that his relationship with Hongxia still lacked something.

He'd ask about the specifics later, once they knew each other better.

"By the way, to celebrate our first failed performance, let's go eat some barbecue."

Luo Zhen suggested it, planning to cheer everyone up.

"Celebrating failure? What's that about? Geez."

Hongxia pursed her lips, thinking the phrasing was off, but having dinner together was totally fine.

But Yamada Ryo silently raised her hand. No words needed—Miss Ryo Beg-for-Cash's intent was crystal clear.

"Haha, I'm treating, Senior Liang. No worries."

Luo Zhen was generous; his little stash had quite a bit saved up.

Even though his writing kept getting axed and flopping, he'd still accumulated a fair amount of money over time.

One meal wouldn't cost much, and his writing skill had already leveled up. Predictably, he'd have a big income coming in soon.

Nothing special happened during the meal.

Ryo swept through the table like a whirlwind, which genuinely stunned Luo Zhen.

"This... you're not eating? Hand it over."

Ryo pointed at the bowl in front of Luo Zhen. He was full and had planned to take it slow.

But since Ryo suggested it, Luo Zhen just handed the bowl over.

"If Senior Liang doesn't mind, I've got no problem with it."

The moment they brushed past each other, their fingers touched.

"Don't call me 'senpai,' it feels too distant. This meal should be split evenly—I'll pay you back later."

For an instant, Liang's pupils sharply contracted and trembled, her breathing unsteady.

But she suppressed that surge of emotion well enough, lowering her head to keep eating.

Hongxia was looking after Ichiri, because even now, Ichiri was still in a very abstract state.

It seemed this performance had shaken her heart badly.

"Little Bocchi, what do we do now? She still hasn't snapped out of it."

"Hey, Little Zhen, do you have any good ideas?"

Hongxia turned her head to look over—she hadn't seen the exchange between Luo Zhen and Liang in that moment.

"Leave it to me. I'm the one who understands Ichiri best."

Luo Zhen rinsed his mouth, walked over to Ichiri's side, hooked an arm around her neck, and cupped her face in both hands.

Without a hint of hesitation, Luo Zhen pressed his face directly against hers.

"Ah? This..."

Hongxia was stunned, eyes wide. These two were really intimate, actually kissing like that right out in the open.

Even if it was just lips touching, with no contact inside the mouth.

Still, doing something like this in public—Little Zhen was way too bold.

"Ah? Little Zhen?"

Ichiri finally snapped out of it, looking at Luo Zhen's face, savoring the taste of that touch.

Her face quickly flushed red. She was no longer twisted and abstract, but hung her head in embarrassment.

She'd switched to shy mode.

"Don't look down. You had a responsibility in today's performance."

"Playing on your own without regard for the two seniors in the band—no coordination at all."

"Don't you have something to say to them?"

Luo Zhen clenched his fist and tapped it on Ichiri's head.

"Sorry, Liang, Hongxia. I got too excited during the performance and didn't coordinate well."

Little Ichiri caved immediately. Yeah, she hadn't apologized yet.

"Wah, don't kick me out. Let me stay in Bond Band."

Even though they hadn't been together long, she'd already grown attached to the band.

"Haha, hilarious. There was no chemistry to begin with—we couldn't coordinate at all. We'll build it up slowly from now on."

"Your playing has a lot of personality. I like it."

Liang gave a thumbs-up, but her gaze secretly slid toward Luo Zhen, fixed on his lips.

Mm, that pure little vixen's mouth—I wonder what kissing it would feel like?

She really wanted him to grope her all over with his hands while kissing her at the same time.

Liang felt tonight's material was already in hand.

"We're not kicking you out. If anything, we want you, Guitar Immortal, to stay. Little Bocchi, you hid it too well—why didn't you ever say anything or show off your guitar skills?"

Hongxia had thought Ichiri was at most someone who'd practiced for two and a half years—had the basics to play but wasn't polished.

Now it turned out they'd directly recruited a master into the band.

"Let's call it a day. Everyone head home."

After eating their fill, it was time to go their separate ways. They said their goodbyes and left.

Luo Zhen naturally took Ichiri's hand.

"You did great today. Joining a band is more fun than you imagined, right?"

Luo Zhen smiled, then leaned close to Ichiri's ear.

"Did you like that reward just now? If it's not enough, we can continue when we get back."

Luo Zhen's voice trembled slightly, a faint huskiness that made Ichiri's soul quiver.

The warm breath made her ear itch—she was probably bright red all over by now.

She didn't speak, just pulled Luo Zhen into her arms, breathing heavily, her gaze laced with desire.

"Let's talk when we get back~"

Luo Zhen chuckled softly. Thank goodness—she'd finally taken a little initiative.

Chapter 25: Ichiri's Quick Resolution

Luo Zhen and Ichiri returned home. Futari had been hungry for a long time, sprawled on the sofa watching TV.

They brought back takeout, so Futari could just eat directly.

The little one wrapped her arms around Luo Zhen's leg, gently rubbing her head against his thigh like a kitten.

Hitori saw this and made a strange face.

Huh? She'd already spotted the "yellow-haired delinquent girl" and the "big-chested fatty" in the exhibition hall, and now here came a "little girl"?

Great, next thing she knew, she'd probably be seeing a gyaru with dark skin.

Hitori's soul nearly fled her body. She grabbed Futari at once.

"Eat properly!"

She put on her big-sister authority, but Futari just shrugged and spread her hands.

"Sis is so strict, but when you get mad, you're not scary at all—you're even kinda cute."

Futari didn't care in the slightest. She grabbed the packed food and started eating.

"Michiyo has to work overtime. She might not be back until late."

"You go shower first. I've got some things I need to try out."

Luo Zhen told Hitori to head to the bathroom and stop wasting time.

Futari ate slowly. Luo Zhen pulled out his laptop, tapped the keyboard, and tried to write a brand-new story.

Over the past while, the works he'd written hadn't sold very well. After all, he'd just thrown together some fairly ordinary ideas, and the stories were mostly just testing the waters to see how the market would react.

What he'd written were things like Otherworld Blade Draw and Urban Supernatural Ring.

The Golden Finger was the blade draw—the more he used it, the stronger it got. The supernatural ring was just a random setting.

With such a "plain" setup, it could still get published. Of course, because his writing skill really was a bit lacking, and he didn't have enough experience, the follow-up development couldn't keep up, and he couldn't manage the pacing well. So he had no choice but to cut them short.