Chapter 204

Nijika gave Liang a gentle reminder, but Liang only nodded and didn't respond further.

Meanwhile, in the rehearsal room across the hall, whether Kita and Hitori were worried or had also heard the noise at the door, the door was opened.

Kita and Hitori sensed the subtle tension between Nijika and Ryo and showed worried expressions.

But Nijika didn't say anything more, and walked towards the two of them with a relaxed expression.

"Sorry, just now..."

Ryo glanced at the three of them, then at Ishikawa Hayato, who walked towards them without any sign of nervousness.

Ryo had been eavesdropping on Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika's conversation from the beginning, and she realized that Nijika basically understood their relationship.

The game of concealing the truth is now essentially over.

Moreover, after overhearing Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika's conversation, she knew that Ishikawa Hayato was planning to slowly, step by step, make Nijika like him more, and let them understand and get used to each other before starting a relationship.

To prevent Nijika from being "bullied" like this, and also to save her trouble in the future.

Ryo walked over to Ishikawa Hayato.

Amidst the three men's puzzled gazes, she walked to Ishikawa Hayato's side and took his arm.

In front of them, Ryo, in a demure manner that they couldn't quite believe was Ryo, clung to Ishikawa Hayato's arm and spoke to them.

"Although I'm only saying this now, Hayabusa and I have been dating for a while now."

Her response was Nijika's scream and Ishikawa Hayato's helpless smile.

161. A performance in the rain (3)

Even though she had guessed that Ryo and Ishikawa Hayato were dating, Nijika was still taken aback when Ryo revealed it himself.

She turned around and looked at Ryou, who was clinging to Ishikawa Hayato's arm, and her whole body gradually stiffened.

Liang's actions seemed devoid of any deliberate intimacy, merely a habitual hug, and it was precisely this habit and ordinariness that gave her the stronger impact.

She actually saw Ryo and Ishikawa Hayato together.

Nijika knew that Liang wouldn't lie to people in this way.

She glanced at Ishikawa Hayato, who was being held by Ryo. He looked somewhat helpless, but he didn't refuse. In fact, he was subtly leaning against Ryo, standing in front of her.

Nijika then glanced at Kita and Hitori.

They didn't seem surprised at all, and it seemed they all knew about Ishikawa Hayato and Ryo, and Hitori didn't seem to have the slightest dissatisfaction.

When Nijika noticed Kita and Hitori, they also looked at her. The two girls, who were younger than her, only showed concern for her next reaction.

Nijika was naturally unhappy. The annoyance and bitterness in her heart made her want to give Liang a good scolding.

But after talking with Ishikawa Hayato, she realized that she wasn't simply angry about their recklessness.

Thinking of this, Nijika kept her dissatisfaction to herself and only complained softly.

"Oh, I see."

She turned and walked into the rehearsal room. She didn't go in for any particular reason; she just wanted to find a place to hide and avoid embarrassment.

As she turned around, Ishikawa Hayato sighed softly and chuckled as he rubbed his cool hair.

It's like teasing her to make things difficult for herself.

After her hair was messed up, she turned her head to look at him calmly and raised her hand to tidy up her hair.

Her gaze remained fixed on his face, unmoving.

Ishikawa Hayato knew what she meant, and he suddenly Daigo and raised his voice.

"Oh right, I almost forgot, but I remember the videos should all be copied already. Time to get to work."

Ishikawa Hayato watched as Nijika walked to the rehearsal room door, but she hesitated, gripping the doorknob.

Seeing that he had succeeded in stopping her, he felt much more relaxed.

He chuckled, making a mock pinching motion with his index finger and thumb as he looked at the others.

"Although I already have a pretty good idea of what it looks like, there's still a little room for improvement..."

As the girls grew increasingly alert, Ishikawa Hayato felt a sense of smugness, yet also sighed.

"Sigh, editing is such a difficult task, balancing the amount of screen time for everyone. Of course, I certainly didn't mean for everyone to flatter me."

Seeing that Nijika was looking at him with a dark expression, Ishikawa Hayato lowered his hand and continued speaking.

"Well, that's just a tiny bit of the director's authority."

He shook his head helplessly and looked up at the sky.

"Society is really complex and realistic. I really don't know how those idol stars survive. Luckily, we're just a band, right?"

He was met with Nijika, Kita, and Ryo's deathly dark eyes.

Just as the girls were about to unite, they overlooked the fact that there was someone on the field who would stand by Ishikawa Hayato no matter what.

While Hitori wasn't interested in more shots—in fact, he preferred below average—he was very interested in what Ishikawa Hayato called "appeasement."

She glanced at the horrified looks from the others, but still spoke nervously and weakly.

"Hayabusa... is there anything I can help you with?"

In this situation, if everyone ignores it, Ishikawa Hayato's method is indeed not very effective; at most, it can only unite them in hatred for a short time.

That might lead to reconciliation, but it wouldn't be a perfect solution.

But if someone sneaks out, that's a different story.

Ishikawa Hayato grinned when he saw the surprised expressions on the other people's faces as they looked at Hitori.

"Shoulder... um..."

He rubbed his shoulders and rotated his arms. "The humidity is too high today, my shoulders feel a bit sore. Hitori you give me a massage while we're editing?"

Hitori nodded.

Ishikawa Hayato quickly glanced at Kita and Ryo, and seeing their slight hesitation, he became overly smug and said...

"Oh, right, adding a flashback in the intro would be nice. The timing would depend on the overall rhythm and length of the piece. Let's start with Hitori..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Nijika pull drumsticks out of her pocket as if they were magically appearing, and walk towards him.

Ishikawa Hayato immediately shut up and stood obediently.

Nijika walked up to him, tilting her head. She had a lively and lovely smile, her eyes crinkling with laughter. She tapped her two drumsticks together, making a crisp sound like solid sticks.

"What's wrong, Hayato-kun? Keep talking."

As soon as she finished speaking, the hallway light flickered.

When Ishikawa Hayato saw Kita and Hitori behind her, they looked terrified, as if they had seen a ghost, while even Ryo hid to the side.

He swallowed hard and called out hastily.

"There's nothing there! I'll start editing right now!"

Nijika looked at him and silently put away her drumsticks.

As if deliberately showing it to him, Nijika suppressed her smile and sighed softly in front of him, revealing a helpless smile that said, "I really can't do anything about you."

Ishikawa Hayato smiled slightly as he turned around.

As he walked toward the hall, Nijika remained where she was.

She was still savoring the smile that Ishikawa Hayato had given her.

The lights at the top of the corridor illuminated the boy's healthy skin, making it glow. The blurry light made his peaceful and gentle eyes look so bright and reassuring, and the relaxed smile on his lips gave the impression that nothing could defeat him.

Nijika, who had spent more than half a year with him, was certain that it wasn't a misperception.

He was able to quickly resolve even the most complex and awkward predicament that had just occurred, a situation that could have potentially split the band.

She could feel her heart skip a beat.

Watching his retreating figure, Nijika muttered something under her breath.

"Such a good person, and yet..."

She thought of what Ishikawa Hayato had said to her a while ago.

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

For a moment, her desires clashed with her long-held social beliefs, and she felt so conflicted that she was about to cry.

But not wanting to affect other people's moods, she put her thoughts aside for the time being and quickly followed Ishikawa Hayato toward the living room without saying goodbye.

A moment later, Ishikawa Hayato sat on the sofa in the living room with a laptop on his lap. The girls crowded around him, watching the screen with great vigilance.

After all, if Ishikawa Hayato dared to openly build a harem and engage in unspoken rules in front of them, he could very well be capable of secretly making agreements with someone or subtly adding scenes for them.

Moreover, although they didn't think that way, they all had a vague feeling that if someone managed to sneak away like that, it would be a huge win for them.

Therefore, they are particularly vigilant.

Such despicable behavior must never be allowed to occur within the band.

Ryo stared at Kita, Kita subtly observed Ryo, Nijika was eight parts wary of Ryo and two parts cautious of Kita.

As for Hitori, she's the official girlfriend, and a weak and adorable one at that, so she doesn't get involved in the struggle.

But their actions made Ishikawa Hayato extremely happy.

With every movement of an arm or leg, one could touch soft bodies, surrounded by the fragrance of young girls who had recently bathed, and their "gentle" gazes.

He even placed his mousepad on Hitori lap.

What is a "royal editor"? Night Raid, Group 69.49'36135!

The girls didn't pay much attention to these "ordinary" interactions, since everyone except Nijika had had more intimate contact with Ishikawa Hayato.

They are currently seated like this: Hitori is sitting to his right, Nijika is sitting to his left.

On the other side of Hitori Kita, Kita leaned against the back of the sofa, making room for Ichiri behind Hitori, and looked at Ishikawa Hayato. Ryo, despite Nijika's extremely disgusted expression, sat on her lap.

Clearly, Nijika didn't let Liang sit on her lap willingly; they even had a little struggle when they sat down.

At first, Nijika probably didn't want Ryo to sit next to Ishikawa Hayato, but after Hitori sat down next to Ishikawa Hayato, she took the other side.

But Liang didn't argue with Hitori. Instead, she walked up to Nijika and looked at Nijika for a while.

Their gazes met in mid-air, sparks flying, but after a moment, Ryo glanced at Ishikawa Hayato, then turned around and pinned Nijika down on her lap.

Nijika gave her a push, but seeing that Liang Yi didn't seem to be giving up, she reluctantly let her have her way.

On the other hand, Ishikawa Hayato went on a crazy spree to earn his girlfriends' praise.

The girls couldn't keep up with the windows he brought up using keyboard shortcuts and the rapidly moving mouse.

Even with a plan in place and having already completed part of it yesterday, it still took him some time to finish producing the music video.

Once the song, which they had recorded and modified by PA-san, is added, everything is complete.

Amidst his dazzling actions, the girls only realized what was happening when they saw an export progress bar appear on the screen...

"It's already finished?!"

Nijika exclaimed in disbelief.

"Hey, no... Hayato-kun, won't you let us see it first?"

Kita was also anxious. She had just temporarily kept a bunch of ideas for revisions in mind so as not to bother Ishikawa Hayato, but she didn't expect the editing to end like this.

Ryo recalled the editing by Ishikawa Hayato just now.

"I don't have enough footage."

Only Hitori blushed and said nothing. Even though there was a mousepad and a mouse between them, the feeling of Ishikawa Hayato moving the mouse was still quite exciting for her.

Listening to their complaints, Ishikawa Hayato wasn't worried at all. He was confident that his skills and his obsessive pursuit of art would definitely win them over.

He smugly stretched out his hand. "I've heard your opinions, but my perfect masterpiece needs no revision!"

"Hmm..."

Kita made a sullen sound from his throat, looking at Ishikawa Hayato with deep resentment in his eyes.