Chapter 203

"What do you mean by 'big'..." Kita began softly, stopping mid-sentence as if he were too weak to continue.

"Only Hayato-kun can handle Ijichi-senpai's current troubles, right? Hurry up and go."

Hitori looked at him encouragingly.

Seeing that they were gradually relaxing, Ishikawa Hayato waved his hand casually and walked out of the rehearsal room.

160. A Performance in the Rain (2)

As soon as Ishikawa Hayato left the rehearsal room, he ran to the entrance of his house, but Nijika's shoes were no longer there.

But this is actually quite normal.

After all, Nijika's shoes were still in the dryer on the balcony, and she probably didn't know that yet.

After confirming that Nijika hadn't run away from his house, Ishikawa Hayato breathed a slight sigh of relief. It was still raining outside, and people in a bad mood were very likely to catch a bad cold if they got caught in the rain.

After he relaxed, he started to walk back, turning on the hallway lights as he did so.

The light dispelled the cold darkness, casting an unnatural white hue.

Just then, the bathroom doorknob made a turning sound, and then the door was slowly pushed open.

Nijika came out of the restroom; she seemed to have come out because she heard Ishikawa Hayato's noise.

She looked at Ishikawa Hayato after stepping into the corridor.

Her usually cute and lively face was now completely devoid of energy, and she looked extremely helpless.

The color in her red eyes seemed to have dimmed somewhat, and she asked Ishikawa Hayato with disappointment.

"Does Hayato-kun not trust me?"

Nijika was referring to the incident where she said she was only going to the restroom and didn't go to see Liang, but Ishikawa Hayato still chased after her.

Ishikawa Hayato shook his head and looked at her with concern.

"I'm only worried that Nijika might run away again. Apart from Nijika's safety, I'm not worried about anything else."

Nijika felt a little better, after all, she could tell from the footsteps earlier that Ishikawa Hayato wasn't just saying that to comfort her.

But she still complained.

"All you do is say nice things."

Seeing that Nijika had, as always, suppressed her anger and disappointment, and her mood had returned to the level of merely feeling a little resentful towards him, Ishikawa Hayato sighed inwardly.

She has such a soft heart.

Whether it was Kita's unexplained withdrawal and her concern for Kita, Ichiri's seemingly fussy personality at Hitori beginning, or Ryo's impoliteness, she could easily accept his recklessness.

Her exaggerated tolerance made Ishikawa Hayato worry about her true feelings.

He walked towards Nijika, but Nijika took a step back warily. However, Ishikawa Hayato continued to walk towards her, and she did not back down.

He walked up to Nijika and said with a gentle smile.

"Let's go check if Liang has gone to sleep obediently."

"I'm not going."

Nijika still looked angry. She pouted dejectedly, glanced at the ground, and said resentfully.

"Since you let me through, you definitely won't find anything."

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the blonde, red-eyed girl in front of him, her cheeks puffed out like a pufferfish, revealing her dissatisfaction.

She has such a good temper that she can't even stay angry for long; she can only express her displeasure through certain reactions.

Ishikawa Hayato thought for a moment and then said.

"Really? If Ryo and I had made a mess of the room behind your backs, it wouldn't be a place that can be cleaned up anytime soon."

"I can only use Nijika's mentality to get by, but what will Nijika think of that?"

He couldn't help but smile as he said something that might hurt Nijika.

As intended, Ishikawa Hayato's words stepped on a landmine in Nijika's heart.

Nijika looked up in astonishment, staring at him blankly with disbelief, her face expressionless.

A moment later, her face tightened with frustration, and she hesitated before taking a step toward the guest room, then stopped.

Although she didn't know why Ishikawa Hayato said that, she still felt that he hadn't done what he claimed.

Nijika turned to the side, looking down at the wall of the corridor, and said in a low voice.

"Hayato-kun, I can be sad too."

Nijika is easy to please. It's simple to make her happy on the surface, because she is Nijika.

She can quickly forget unpleasant things, and may even try to make others happy by pretending to be relaxed.

But Ishikawa Hayato didn't want her to appear happy on the surface. Even if it hurt her and made her show an expression that would pain him, he would still do it.

"I'm sorry, but I want to know why Nijika is sad."

He wanted to know the cause of her pain, only then could he prevent himself from hurting her again.

Nijika was resistant to Ishikawa Hayato's desire to understand her thoughts; she dared not let him know too much about her.

Even though Ishikawa Hayato knew nothing about her, he managed to make her feel attracted to him multiple times. If she knew him better, she felt she would be easily drawn into his web of love.

But at this point, she felt she couldn't remain silent any longer.

With effort, having been repeatedly provoked by Ishikawa Hayato, she managed to utter the words she had kept hidden in her heart for days.

"It's because we don't know what you and other people are doing in private!"

Her red eyes glared at him angrily, exuding a powerful aura.

But Ishikawa Hayato was stunned. Seeing his blank expression, Nijika gradually realized what she had said.

After pondering her words, Nijika was also stunned.

She didn't even realize she would say that. Shouldn't she be angry that Liang doesn't know how to respect himself or be mature in handling relationships?

Shouldn't she be angry that Ishikawa Hayato was behaving recklessly in the band?

Was she angry not because of their behavior, but because of jealousy?

Thinking about this, she felt more disbelief at her own feelings than anger.

She shouldn't be thinking like that!

"Feel sorry."

After regaining his composure, Ishikawa Hayato bowed his head and apologized.

When Nijika heard Ishikawa Hayato's response to her words, she felt a pang of panic.

"Wait! Why are you apologizing, Hayato-kun? What you do in private has nothing to do with me!"

Seeing Nijika's anxious expression, Ishikawa Hayato sighed.

It's impossible to guess what a girl in love is thinking, because she herself doesn't know what she's thinking.

Knowing that this was what Nijika had been keeping to herself, he felt a little relieved and even secretly smiled.

"I know."

He put on an expression of deep agreement and said.

Nijika was stunned for a moment, then felt like jumping up in anxiety.

"You don't know that, you idiot! You idiot!"

Seeing her screaming incessantly and her ahoge (cowlick) twitching wildly, Ishikawa Hayato finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

"Oh, it's not what you think."

Nijika became increasingly anxious as she spoke, and in the end, she helplessly clutched her head and wailed.

Ishikawa Hayato stopped teasing her and said seriously, his smile fading.

"The apology I'm giving is for the incident that upset Nijika. As for the rest, let's put it aside for now. I think Nijika needs some time to process her feelings."

"No!"

Nijika looked determined to explain herself, her hands clenched in front of her, her expression stubborn as she looked up at him.

"I'd feel bad if I didn't explain it clearly."

"Then I'll listen."

Ishikawa Hayato looked at her calmly.

Nijika met his gaze, preparing to explain things clearly, but she struggled to find the right words and thoughts to express at this moment.

I don't like you at all.

That's too harsh. No, and he didn't say anything about liking her just now. Isn't this just trying to cover something up?

"Your affairs have nothing to do with me."

Why was she angry for so long? And she'll probably just brush it off again.

"I'm only angry because you and others are messing around."

Isn't this just going back to square one?!

"It's all because you were seeing them behind my back!"

While this looks the same as the one above, doesn't it sound more like a girlfriend complaining about being neglected?

Watching Nijika gradually lose her stubbornness as she pondered, and then take on a troubled look.

Ishikawa Hayato patted her on the shoulder.

"Okay, I won't overthink it. Let's leave it at that for now. Nijika can tell me when she's thought things through."

Nijika hesitated for a moment, then slumped her shoulders and said...

That's fine.

Ishikawa Hayato walked to her side, bent down, and took her hand.

"Let's go. Although we've comforted them, after talking for so long, Kita and Hitori are probably worried again."

Nijika trembled slightly when her hand was grabbed, but after hesitating for a moment, she didn't break free.

Hearing that Ishikawa Hayato still managed to take care of everything under these circumstances, she muttered to herself as she followed in Ishikawa Hayato footsteps.

"Hayato-kun is a really good person as long as he's not a womanizer."

What's so great about him? He just provoked her like that.

That's what Ishikawa Hayato was thinking, but he responded softly with a smile to Nijika's response.

"Perhaps it's precisely because I'm so good that I should be a little fickle to prevent some regrets from arising."

Nijika stared at him dumbfounded, stopped in her tracks, and exclaimed in disbelief.

"Poor!"

Just as Ishikawa Hayato was about to respond, the door to the guest room at the end of the corridor opened, and Ryo walked out of the room with a sigh, as if he could no longer bear it.

"Isn't it over yet? I've had this noise for ages!"

When Nijika saw Ryo, she quickly pulled her hand away from Ishikawa Hayato's. She looked at Ryo, who had an indifferent expression as usual, and then glanced at Ishikawa Hayato's expression before walking over.

Nijika walked up to Liang and called out to her.

"Cold."

"Um?"

Liang, unconcerned, met her gaze.

After a moment, Nijika, who wanted to say something, erased what she wanted to say and sighed as she looked away.

She glanced casually at the room; apart from the slightly disheveled sheets, everything looked the same as before.

She also knew that if the two of them really did something, they could do it in a way that she wouldn't be able to detect.

"Liang, have some self-respect."