Chapter 158

At that time.

"Um?!"

Bocchi looked up at Ishikawa Hayato.

Liang's face darkened.

Even Nijika and Kita, who were chatting in front, turned around immediately.

Meanwhile, the band on stage finally finished tuning their instruments.

They said.

"We are the Cute Girls Band, please listen to <Heartbreaker, Never Forgive>."

Despite the sweltering summer heat, Ishikawa Hayato felt as if he were in an Arctic blizzard, assaulted by cold air currents from all directions.

I should have shut her up completely just now!

132. Fantasy

Ishikawa Hayato shuddered.

At the same time, they complained about the original songs the band on stage was playing, wondering if it was intentional!

From here, you can see clearly ahead.

Nijika and Kita stopped chatting with the musicians and stared at him intently.

His face was expressionless.

The two, who are usually all smiles, now had no expression on their faces, looking as if they were seriously waiting for his answer, which was quite frightening.

Behind him, a heavy, oppressive gaze made him feel as if he were carrying a thousand pounds on his shoulders.

Dad shouldn't have laughed at you that day. You still need to be careful about things like a love triangle. It's really scary when girls are hostile towards you.

Ishikawa Hayato had been worried that Nijika and Kita be harassed because they were too cute, but now all four of them are looking at him together.

When did they develop this tacit understanding?

He swallowed hard and began to speak rapidly.

"What do you mean by 'take care'? I'm a very self-disciplined person and would never have too much contact with other girls."

Hiroi Kikuri, who was also intimidated by the group's display of force, hurriedly explained.

"Ah, um, it's just that Otsuki-chan doesn't really know how to get along with people, I'd like to ask you, young man..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Hiroi Kikuri instantly felt as if four holes had been pierced through her body by his gaze, and she hurriedly changed her words.

"Let's ask the Kessoku Band to help us out."

"Yeah, don't come to me with girls' stuff. I'm not good at communicating with girls."

Ishikawa Hayato has a very strong will to survive.

He wasn't good at it... None of the four believed him.

However, the terrifying atmosphere completely dissipated with his words.

Nijika and Kita exchanged a glance, Kita, they decided in a simple exchange of eyes who would be in charge of this matter.

Kita walked back from that side, and just as she was about to say something, Ishikawa Hayato stopped her.

He said it seriously to Hiroi Kikuri.

"Although I don't know how to communicate with girls, I do know how to interact with people. Forcing ourselves to become friends probably won't do any good, right?"

Hiroi Kikuri's expression froze.

"Yeah... that's true, but..."

Ishikawa Hayato interrupted her.

"However, I will try my best to create opportunities for them to get to know each other."

"Dude, your attitude is way too forceful..."

Hiroi Kikuri Ishikawa Hayato was no match for Ishikawa Jun in terms of presence, and even involuntarily shrank her neck.

"Only women with whom I have a special relationship can make me back down."

Ishikawa Hayato said with a smile, making his assertion.

Around noon, the five of them left Shinjuku Folt. Having already completed their audition, they no longer needed to wait inside and could go home to await news about the performance.

The group didn't want to stay any longer, as the performances by various bands in the store were incredibly distressing for them.

Some bands made mistakes due to nervousness, which reminded them of their last performance, and they kept encouraging them in their hearts, while some bands played quite well, which made them feel a sense of urgency.

Unable to bear their reaction any longer, Ishikawa Hayato pulled the four of them out of the store.

Outside the shop, under the gloomy sky, Ishikawa Hayato asked the group with a relaxed expression.

"It's getting late, how about we all go grab a bite to eat and celebrate the successful completion of the rehearsal?"

Despite the terrifying incident that had just occurred, Ishikawa Hayato's mood remained completely unaffected.

This also indirectly reveals many of their thoughts, which pleased him greatly.

The four of them seemed completely unconcerned about the commotion that had just occurred.

They walked to the side of the road and stood in a semi-circle. Except for Bocchi, who looked quite good-looking because of his bangs and clothes, the others were very pleasing to the eye.

Furthermore, the musical instruments they brought added a certain inexplicable charm to their appearance.

"Okay..." Nijika was about to agree immediately when she suddenly looked at him and Liang warily.

"You have to pay for your own share!"

She still remembered being tricked into treating them to a meal before the street performance. It wasn't that she didn't want to treat them, but she was very unwilling to be forced to, especially by those two scoundrels.

Ishikawa Hayato blinked, suppressing a laugh, and with his superb acting skills, asked in a somewhat incredulous and timid tone.

"Hey... shouldn't the team leader be treating us to something so festive?"

"People usually treat each other to a meal at this time."

Ryo, speaking from the perspective of an experienced band member, confirmed Ishikawa Hayato's words, stating that she would not hesitate to do something so convenient for the public.

Nijika stared dumbfounded at these two scoundrels. How could they force her to treat them like this?!

She hesitated for a moment, but this time Kita stepped in to help her.

She put her hands on her hips and said, slightly angrily.

"It's not right for Ijichi-senpai- senpai to always treat us, you two shouldn't bully her."

Kita!

Nijika's eyes were filled with tears; she felt that her Kita.

Ishikawa Hayato calmly turned to Ryo beside him and asked her to confirm.

"Not that many, right?"

"It's only once," Liang chimed in.

Seeing that the two of them were still relentlessly arguing back and forth, Nijika took out drumsticks from her backpack.

Although she's the youngest member of the band, Nijika is the drummer, and her power and sustained output are not to be underestimated.

It doesn't even take 5 minutes to mince the meat.

Ryo took a half step back, preparing to run away, but seeing that Ishikawa Hayato was standing obediently upright, he unceremoniously used him as a shield.

Seeing that the two had behaved, Nijika breathed a sigh of relief and greeted the group with a lovely, bright smile.

Let's go!

"Gentlemen, thank you all for your hard work today. To celebrate our partial victory, I'd like to raise a toast with tea instead of wine!"

Just as the group finished ordering, Ishikawa Hayato suddenly picked up a glass of water brought to him by the waiter, stood up, and loudly congratulated them in the small restaurant.

After a brief hesitation and glancing around, the group sighed, picked up their glasses, and raised them.

"Cheers..."

The five people placed their instruments in the corner against the wall.

The way they toasted each other with plain water gave them the air of impoverished musicians.

After the toasts, they quickly pressed Ishikawa Hayato into a chair to prevent him from going on another rampage.

"Speaking of which, isn't it water? Why are you using tea instead of wine...?"

Bocchi looked at Kita she spoke, and seeing that Kita's face was flushed as she held the cup, she realized that even a sunny girl like Kita could be shy. She found it inexplicably amusing and suppressed a smile.

"Hayato-kun, I don't want to say this, but there's a saying that celebrating too early is like popping champagne halfway through the party."

Like a teacher, Nijika meticulously instructed Falcon.

But Falcon seemed completely unconcerned, shrugging and exuding an arrogant air.

"We don't have opponents we're destined to lose to; it's just a matter of whether we can perform to our full potential."

Bocchi agreed with what Ishikawa Hayato said.

After watching other bands perform, she felt even more confident.

If most bands are at this level, then they might actually become the strongest band in this event and gain a lot of popularity, making a huge comeback from having to pay for their performances to being able to make money from them.

Even Bocchi started thinking about how to use the money he made.

First, regarding housing, we won't need to rent anymore. Let's just buy a house here with Hayabusa and live together.

Then we'll get married when we turn 18! We'll be together every day, from home to the shop, and even at performances.

By then, she can openly hold Falcon's hand and act together.

And I don't need to work anymore.

There's hope for the future.

Hehehe~

Bocchi's reverie continued for an unknown amount of time before a sudden sound interrupted her.

"Bocchi-chan, Bocchi-chan... your expression is terrible."

Across from them, Nijika woke Bocchi up. Bocchi paused for a moment before coming to his senses, and even subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth.

After finishing her Nijika turned to Ishikawa Hayato, who was standing to the side, and said to him.

"Also, Hayato-kun, it's not good for you to keep staring at Bocchi without reminding her."

Upon hearing this, Bocchi was startled. Had Falcon seen her in that state?

What should I do? What should I do?

"Because it's very interesting."

He said I'm funny! I'm so happy.

Ah, a response.

"Thank you..." Bocchi replied softly with a smug smile.

Nijika glanced at the group. Bocchi's face showed a mixture of timidity and carefree joy. Liang stared calmly at the chopsticks spinning in his hand. Kita looked at Ishikawa Hayato Kita disdain.

Ishikawa Hayato, on the other hand, looked delighted as if he had seen something interesting.

Honestly, are they even putting their minds to the band? It's such an important performance and they're all thinking about other things.

She sighed and said to Bocchi, "Bocchi-chan, you probably didn't hear what I just said, did you?"

Bocchi looked up in surprise, then immediately bowed his head and apologized.

"Ah, um... I'm sorry."

Nijika didn't mind at all; she patiently gave Bocchi a general summary of what they had just talked about.