Chapter 202

Hearing his assurance, Liang relaxed a little, hesitated for a moment, and then closed her eyes.

159. A Performance in the Rain (1)

After calming her breathing, Ryo sat on the bed and glanced at the door that hadn't been opened. With a sullen face, she awkwardly pulled up her trouser leg and sat on the bed, looking at Ishikawa Hayato with displeasure.

"I'm feeling very uncomfortable. Go buy me some underwear."

Ishikawa Hayato reluctantly wiped his hands with a piece of paper. Hearing Liang's words, he looked out the window. Although the rain had lessened a bit, it was still considered heavy rain.

But he still nodded with a bright smile.

"Um."

Even the heavy rain couldn't dampen his high spirits.

And since he's the one who made the mess, he'll definitely take responsibility.

Just as he turned to leave, Liang, seeing his unwavering determination, quickly stopped him.

"Never mind."

Ishikawa Hayato slowed his pace slightly but didn't stop, clearly still wanting to go, he explained to Ryo.

"I know there's one nearby..."

But before he could finish speaking, Liang stood up and raised his voice.

Don't go.

Ishikawa Hayato hesitated and stopped, turning back to look at Ryo, who seemed about to rush towards him.

"Would people think I'm faking it if I stopped to cool off now?"

"They're still arguing."

Liang felt uncomfortable with his clothes soaking wet, and even his speech became shorter, as if he was too lazy to say more.

"I'm going to the restroom, don't let them come out."

She spoke as she slowly walked towards Ishikawa Hayato.

"Um..."

Ishikawa Hayato nodded obediently, without saying anything more.

Since this was the first time such a situation had occurred, neither of them was prepared.

Even Ishikawa Hayato couldn't do anything about it for a while.

Seeing Ryo stop and walk away, Ishikawa Hayato quickly asked.

"Should I help you over there?"

"Need not."

The coolness quickened, but she only remembered something when she reached the door, and asked a question while walking down the corridor.

Which towel do you have?

"The brown one."

"Um."

Watching Ryo walk towards the washroom, Ishikawa Hayato began to recall when he had last washed his towel—it seemed to have been yesterday?

Looks like I can keep that towel.

At the same time, he abandoned his idea of asking Liang if he wanted to use his underwear and headed towards the rehearsal room.

Before opening the door, he couldn't help but recall the excitement and heart-pounding feeling he had just experienced.

Once he clearly realized how moist and soft the girl's body was under her clothes, he inexplicably felt as if some switches had been flipped in his mind.

The phrase "restless and distracted" best describes his current state of mind.

But he tried to regain his previous composure, adjusted his breathing, and then opened the door to the rehearsal room.

On the other side, Ryo simply rubbed her clothes, then took the towel that Ishikawa Hayato had used to wipe her body and threw it into the dryer to dry.

She sat on a small stool, arms crossed over her chest, elbows resting on her knees, staring intently at her tiny clothes and Ishikawa Hayato's towel in the dryer.

After a long silence, she finally sighed.

"I actually got messed up..."

As Ishikawa Hayato entered the rehearsal room, he turned around and saw three people sitting on the sofa. He quickly sat up straight and turned his head.

His perfectly synchronized movements made him chuckle.

"What's making you so happy?" Kita asked, displeased.

The three of them sat in front of the computer in the corner, looking at the computer that Ishikawa Hayato and Hitori occasionally used for recording and arranging music in the rehearsal room.

Ishikawa Hayato walked over and said with a smile.

"No, it just felt like you all suddenly sat up straight and turned around, like wary herbivores in the wild."

"Herbivores..." Nijika repeated helplessly, sighing.

"Does this mean that Hayato-kun is a carnivore?"

Ishikawa Hayato smiled without saying a word. He walked behind the sofa and looked at the computer. Seeing the software for making prototypes on it, and connecting it with the voice he had just heard, he knew how Hitori was stalling for time.

"Hitori updated his video today."

"Um..."

Hitori felt a sense of relief, as if she had accomplished her mission. After responding, she glanced at Ishikawa Hayato and vaguely sensed a change in his mood.

Nijika, who was standing next to her, noticed that Hitori was looking at Ishikawa Hayato with concern. She felt inexplicably sorry for Hitori, as her girlfriend had to cover up her boyfriend's infidelity.

Just Hitori, Yili tried very hard to keep them company and desperately tried to find topics to talk about with them. Seeing her timid yet desperate appearance, they were too embarrassed to leave.

The fact that Ishikawa Hayato returned after such a long time shattered Nijika's last glimmer of hope.

She tried to dismiss the things she was noticing as mere illusions, but now she couldn't convince herself otherwise.

She also understood that Ishikawa Hayato's current partners were Hitori and Ryo, and the one who couldn't accept him having a harem wasn't Ryo as she thought, but Kita.

She thought that Liang would be the one with such mature ideas.

This made her feel betrayed.

Hayato-kun is a boy, and while it's not ideal for him to want to date more girls, it's still somewhat normal.

All three of them are a year younger than her and Ryo. As the older sisters, they should keep an eye on him and help Hayato-kun learn to control himself and be a good boyfriend, instead of getting involved themselves.

She recalled Kita's Kita demeanor earlier, and guessed that Ishikawa Hayato could easily persuade her to go with him.

Thinking of this, Nijika felt a stone lodged in her heart.

They really do whatever they want.

Nijika then realized that everyone in the band except her was in a relationship, which made her feel even more irritable.

We have to teach Ishikawa Hayato a lesson.

Nijika looked up at Ishikawa Hayato behind the sofa and asked.

"What have Hayato-kun and Ryo been doing together for so long?"

Ishikawa Hayato placed his hands on the sofa, thought for a moment, and said, "To be honest."

"We mainly talked about some things, and Liang lectured me, which made her unhappy."

Three question marks appeared above the heads of the three girls.

What on earth are they doing?

Having spent more time with Ishikawa Hayato Kita knew that while he told the truth, he was definitely not telling the whole story.

She glanced at the two people beside her and asked with a terrifying smile.

"What about the others?"

Ishikawa Hayato paused, then smiled helplessly when he heard Ryo's footsteps coming out of the washroom.

"Isn't that a bit too much of a digging..."

Nijika frowned slightly, as if she had thought of something. Her expression changed, and she instantly became serious. She stood up from the sofa and walked towards the door.

Seeing her aggressive demeanor, Ishikawa Hayato realized something was wrong and quickly took two steps to catch up with her, grabbing her hand and making her stop.

"Nijika, where are you going?"

"I want to see what you've done."

Ishikawa Hayato could tell that Nijika was really angry.

"Nijika, calm down."

Nijika didn't turn around, and said in a suppressed voice.

"Hayato-kun, let go."

Ishikawa Hayato hesitated for a moment, but still didn't let go.

After waiting a short while, Nijika felt that Ishikawa Hayato's hand still showed no sign of letting go. She withdrew the dissatisfaction she was about to unleash and turned behind her.

Under the worried gazes of Hitori and Kita, Nijika turned around, looking as if she was about to cry in anger.

"Hayato-kun, what do you mean?"

Her eyes seemed to be misty with tears. She, who was usually reluctant to show her unease in front of others, didn't even bother to hide her feelings this time.

Ishikawa Hayato sighed, knowing her impulsiveness had returned, and said calmly.

"If Nijika feels this is not good, she can complain to me. She can scold me however she wants. In any case, I take primary responsibility for these matters."

"If you're going to look for Liang, please calm down first."

Nijika was not calmed down by his words. Instead, she tried to break free from Ishikawa Hayato's grip on her wrist. However, after Ishikawa Hayato said the next sentence, she paused and gradually calmed down.

Ishikawa Hayato released his grip.

Nijika looked at him, remained silent for a moment, and then lowered her head.

She didn't complain or get angry at Ishikawa Hayato as he had suggested. The few complaints she had made to him a few days ago had actually made her unwilling to be angry with him.

After calming down for a moment, Nijika quickly glanced at Hitori and Kita over on the sofa with her teary eyes, sniffed, wiped her eyes, and apologized to them dejectedly.

"I'm sorry, I lost my composure for a moment."

After Hitori and Kita expressed that they didn't care at all, she turned around and said to Ishikawa Hayato with a disappointed expression.

I'm going to the restroom.

"Um."

Ishikawa Hayato responded in a low voice, sounding somewhat apologetic.

Nijika left the rehearsal room dejectedly.

The atmosphere in the rehearsal room suddenly turned somber. Just as Ishikawa Hayato was pondering what to do, he heard Kita's voice.

"Hayato-kun... I'm sorry."

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the two people over there. Hitori looked at Kita with concern, while Kita looked guilty and lowered his head, too embarrassed to speak.

He couldn't help but smile; all the girls in his family had wonderful personalities.

"This isn't Kita's fault, it's just something that was bound to happen sooner or later."

Despite the two still looking at him with concern, Ishikawa Hayato feigned a relaxed expression and pointed at her casually.

"Dealing with this kind of thing is 'everyone's' boyfriend's job, so relax and happily wait here for me to come back after I've sorted things out."