Chapter 171

But Ishikawa Hayato knew that tonight was the only time he could be this intimate with her.

The two deliberately walked towards the station at a leisurely pace, as if they hadn't done anything, continuing their usual playful banter.

Until the station.

"Then, let's part ways."

Kita stood in front of the platform, her head bowed, her hands unusually clasped together.

Seeing her conflicted expression, Ishikawa Hayato teased her.

See you in Tokyo.

Kita was taken aback, then chuckled and scolded.

"They're not the male or female leads in a TV drama."

She turned and left after speaking, her light footsteps causing her white dress to flutter.

Seeing her running quickly towards the tram, Ishikawa Hayato turned and walked away.

He took a couple of steps before realizing there was no way back home from here, and it would be difficult to catch the last bus at the station a few kilometers away.

He paused, then walked without hesitation into the tram that Kita had just entered, and sat down next to her to Kita's surprise.

Inside the tram.

Kita sat in a chair, holding his guitar and watching him warily.

"Do what?!"

"Since we're going to miss the last bus anyway, I might as well escort my lovely girlfriend home."

"She's not my girlfriend anymore..."

Kita grumbled once at Ishikawa Hayato's nonsense but didn't say much more. She checked the time again and realized that she had indeed missed the last train, just as Ishikawa Hayato had said. She relaxed a little, but still said firmly.

Don't expect me to let you into my house!

No, no, no.

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and waved his hand.

Kita looked at him, lowered his guard, but still kept an eye on Ishikawa Hayato's movements.

After the tram swayed for a while, she noticed a smile gradually spreading across the face of the person next to her, and she asked, somewhat annoyed.

"What are you thinking about?"

Ishikawa Hayato turned and glanced at her with a smile.

"I'm wondering if, at this point, we'll run into some thugs on the way back, giving me a chance to show off my skills, and Kita after Kita sees me displaying my power, he'll excitedly shout, 'Let's get back together...'"

"No way!"

Kita, embarrassed and annoyed, slapped his leg, interrupting him.

The conversation between the two suddenly stopped again.

After a moment of silence, Ishikawa Hayato looked at Kita, Kita could no longer be called his girlfriend. Kita was quietly looking down, as if she was struggling with something.

Ishikawa Hayato called her name.

"Ikuyo."

"Um?"

She looked up, her somewhat gloomy face quickly transforming into a gentle gaze and a lovely smile; this rapid change was extremely endearing.

"It smells so good, I'll remember it very clearly."

Kita smiled.

"That's good."

After she finished speaking, she seemed to taste a few more traces of sweetness in her mouth.

Although Kita had said that before, when they arrived near her house, she told Ishikawa Hayato that they had arrived.

Watching Ishikawa Hayato turn and leave swiftly after saying goodbye, Kita a pang of reluctance.

Besides, it's so late, he can only stay in a hotel, which is not only expensive but also troublesome. It wouldn't hurt for her to secretly move some bedding to her room for him to sleep in.

But after much deliberation, she still didn't go to call Ishikawa Hayato.

After all...

Kita took out her key, opened the front door, went inside, and turned on the light. There she saw her mother, arms crossed, waiting quietly.

She sighed.

Meanwhile, even though it was late at night, Bocchi, lying in bed, kept his eyes wide open.

Her mind seemed to be tormenting her as she replayed Sato Aiko's passionate introduction from that evening over and over again.

I have over 1000 friends on LINE! My boyfriend is the ace of the basketball team, and he's incredibly popular and famous online!

Another embarrassing story!!

Thinking of this, Bocchi pounded his head hard on the pillow. After a while, he felt like a compass being disturbed by a magnetic field, spinning around on the bed.

She only stopped after completely confusing herself, and then lay sprawled out on the bedding.

Wearing a loose white shirt, she stared silently at the ceiling, and before long, two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks.

Why, why won't they let her go even after she's already deleted it?

But she quickly stopped crying and turned on her phone.

Inside is the LINE interface with Ishikawa Hayato, which is not turned off.

The light shone into her eyes, revealing the contents of the image.

"I don't think anyone cares much about Bocchi being Guitar Hero. After all, to everyone, Bocchi is just Bocchi. Go to bed early!"

"Yes... thank you."

This news came out a few hours ago.

Besides Ishikawa Hayato, others also sent their condolences.

But for Bocchi, Ishikawa Hayato's thoughts were the most important, and the thought that he had always been paying attention to him made Bocchi excitedly hug his phone to his chest and roll around on the bed happily.

After calming down, she turned off the screen that had been on countless times, put her phone aside, and stared quietly at the dark ceiling with her blue-green eyes.

She's grown a lot lately, hasn't she?

There probably is...

She was able to stand in front of the crowd and speak even in a livehouse packed with people.

Although she didn't do her best... but! She did try her best, and it's not enough to just find a direction and take action; she deserves it, right?

She had already decided to tell Falcon tonight while she was on stage, but because it was so sudden, she didn't have enough time to prepare herself, and the unexpected events that happened today interrupted her.

Tomorrow!

No, aren't we supposed to discuss the record company tomorrow...?

Just as Bocchi was about to back down, he suddenly shook his head.

"No, tomorrow."

The next day, when it was already broad daylight, Ishikawa Hayato slowly opened his eyes and sat up from the hotel bed.

He looked around, groggily scratched and rubbed his messy hair, and gradually came to his senses.

He has a hard time sleeping comfortably in completely unfamiliar places. Of course, if he had slept at Kita's house last night, he would have slept very soundly.

Even if I sleep on a Kita bed next to Kita's bed, it's fine!

Come to think of it, he's only Kita's room; he's already seen and visited everyone else's rooms.

Thinking about it this way, he suddenly felt that he was quite capable.

Because he couldn't concentrate, he got out of bed while thinking about random things, and groggily changed into the clothes he had had washed at the laundry room the day before.

Sitting at the table in the room, he felt like he had forgotten something.

After thinking for a moment, he remembered that he needed to discuss the future direction with everyone today. He thought about the whole thing and then sent out a few emails on his mobile phone.

After having breakfast, he checked out of his room and began to wander around Shimokitazawa, getting familiar with the area where he would be living.

This was his first time wandering around Shimokitazawa. He usually stayed near the Starry Sky area, only glancing around briefly when there were street performances or when taking photos.

He memorized a few convenience stores, found a few small parks, and confirmed a few morning running routes in the morning, but didn't find anything else.

I didn't run into any other acquaintances.

As noon approached, Ishikawa Hayato headed towards a restaurant, the same one Ryo had chosen last time.

Ishikawa Hayato doesn't think he has any special "food radar."

Moreover, unless he is taken to another restaurant and finds that the other restaurant is better, more affordable, and has better service, he doesn't like to change restaurants on his own.

After ordering steak, rice, and a vegetable salad, he sat by the window, looking at the gloomy sky outside, trying to clear his head.

After a while, the waiter brought the food up. He looked at the food in front of him and saw that it was as vibrant and delicious as last time, with perfect color, aroma, and taste.

But just as he clasped his hands together, ready to start, he sensed someone staring at him.

He looked around and spotted Liang, looking somewhat smug, on the side outside the window.

Ishikawa Hayato turned around and looked silently at the food in front of him.

He knew that if he lived in Shimokitazawa, this kind of thing would probably happen quite often.

But this suited him perfectly!

Ryo walked in from outside the store, but after seeing Ishikawa Hayato's clothes, she paused, a hint of suspicion in her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly, but she still walked over.

She sat down opposite Ishikawa Hayato.

Seeing that Ryo was wearing a long T-shirt that was different from yesterday, Ishikawa Hayato suddenly remembered something and looked down at his own clothes.

Band T-shirt, casual pants.

The casual pants aren't important; what matters is the band's T-shirt. They rarely wear it when they're not performing, and Ishikawa Hayato's outfit is exactly the same as yesterday's.

What this means, Liang probably already knew just now.

Instantly, Ishikawa Hayato broke out in a cold sweat. He looked at Ryo, who was calm but whose emotions were impossible to discern, and hurriedly tried to explain.

"Um, Liang, let me explain..."

Who is it?

Liang placed both hands on the table, looked at him, and asked softly.

"I missed the last bus home last night, so I slept alone in a hotel!"

"Ishikawa Hayato said quickly."

"Ikuyo?"

Liang asked with a half-smile.

Seeing that he couldn't get away with it by trickery, Ishikawa Hayato had no choice but to nod.

"Um..."

"Did you do it?"

"Without..."

"So weak..."

Just then, the waiter arrived. She seemed completely unconcerned about the strange things she had just said and quickly finished taking the order.

She had no doubt about the truthfulness of Ishikawa Hayato's words.

After the waiter left, Ishikawa Hayato sighed.

"How about Sister Ryo gives you some charity?"