Chapter 213

She apologized very sincerely for her poor gaming skills, and judging from the way she held the end of the controller, she clearly didn't want to play anymore.

Ishikawa Hayato naturally withdrew his hand, and looking at Hitori's innocent appearance, he felt a little guilty but also a little excited.

He looked at the two women and made a suggestion to them.

"Let's rotate then, the loser takes their place."

Liang let out a soft breath before responding.

"Um."

Hearing that Ishikawa Hayato was joining in, Hitori got excited too. She didn't find it fun to be beaten up by Ryo in the game, but if it were Ishikawa Hayato, she would just say "good job beating him up."

Hitori: We're both being abused, but the feelings are different!

But how could Ishikawa Hayato, a psychopath, just start the game so easily?

He patted his thigh and said to Hitori.

"Loser's Class, Hitori away!"

The pervert understands his own desires very well. He did hesitate for a moment, but now he has regained his clarity of mind!

So what if they're having a party? Does he think these two will drain him dry, being a pervert?!

A person without boundless energy wouldn't be considered abnormal!

Moreover, he never considered having to hide from others when being intimate with one of them. This kind of thing needs to be done gradually, but it also needs to start before it can progress.

Hitori instinctively peeked at Ryo, but before she could see anything clearly, her trust in Ishikawa Hayato prompted her to answer.

"Good..."

She got up and sat on Ishikawa Hayato's lap, her body pressed against his chest.

Even though it wasn't the first time she'd sat like this, Hitori was incredibly nervous this time.

Just as she was thinking that Ishikawa Hayato was playing games with both hands and probably wouldn't do anything to her, she heard Ryo say something to Ishikawa Hayato.

"You can only play with one hand."

"Huh? Why?"

Liang started switching games as soon as she finished speaking.

"You can take on all four of us by yourself, you don't expect to fight me with your bare hands now, do you?"

Ryo picked a game that required complex controls, clearly intending to continue beating up Ishikawa Hayato.

"All right."

Ishikawa Hayato began to regret that he had revealed his strength too quickly and couldn't avenge Hitori.

Hitori's heart skipped a beat. Although she had spoken very boldly before, the thought of Ishikawa Hayato possibly doing something to her in front of others made her freeze instantly.

However, Ishikawa Hayato remained quite obedient.

He simply put one hand inside Hitori's clothes and used the other hand to hold the handle, successfully crushing Liang and allowing Liang to sit in the loser's special seat.

When Hitori and Ishikawa Hayato were playing together, Ryo wasn't as well-behaved as Hitori, letting him do whatever he wanted.

She pressed his hands down with both of hers, placing them on her lap to prevent him from moving.

While it may seem that only one person had a good time in this game, all three were actually quite engrossed in it.

Therefore... the three of them rushed to the stars, barely managing to meet up at the appointed time.

Nijika didn't wait inside the Starry Sky today. Whether it was based on a girl's intuition or something else, she chose to stand at the entrance of the Starry Sky and wait for the others.

When Kita arrived, seeing that Nijika had no intention of going down, she waited outside with Nijika.

The two, each lost in their own thoughts, began to chat in front of the sunken steps in front of the starry sky.

Even so, the two had a very pleasant conversation.

"I'm really looking forward to it! How many views has our music video gotten? My friends have been asking me since this morning if I'm in the MV. The MV is so beautiful!"

Kita spoke excitedly with a smile, her shoulder-length red hair subtly bobbing with her voice.

Nijika naturally wouldn't say that she had already seen it; her smile contained a hint of embarrassment.

"Hmm! I wonder how our pre-sales are going. I hope they sell very well."

Although Kita knew that the music video's circulation among her friends was partly due to her appearance in it, she still said with shining eyes.

"It's sure to be a huge hit. Next up is self-funding the album. It feels like we've suddenly become a famous band!"

The two chatted enthusiastically, but their eyes frequently drifted in the direction where Ishikawa Hayato would come from.

After quite some time, when the agreed time was almost over, the three people finally appeared in their sight.

They were having a lively conversation, but the other three didn't seem to be much different.

Seeing Ishikawa Hayato with his hand on Hitori's shoulder, talking to the two of them, with Hitori and Ryo frequently responding, Nijika sighed.

Kita looked at Ryo on the other side of Ishikawa Hayato with a mixture of Kita and admiration.

The fact that Liang could be so bold, ignoring the stares of those around her, and acting on her feelings so decisively, still held some of the same allure she had in the past.

But compared to the other one, he's far inferior.

But as Nijika saw the three people getting closer and closer, even though she had noticed them for quite a while, they still seemed oblivious and continued walking slowly. Nijika couldn't help but puff out her cheeks in anger.

Even when she could hear them discussing album tracks, they still acted as if they didn't see her.

Kita glanced worriedly at Nijika, who was getting increasingly angry, and hesitated for a moment before calling out to them.

"Hayato-kun, over here."

Ishikawa Hayato pretended to only just notice the two of them, temporarily setting aside Hitori and Ryo, and walked over quickly with a puzzled look in his eyes.

He walked up behind them, placed his hand on their shoulders, and asked with a smile.

"Do we have some important guests today? Why are you all waiting outside?"

His words made Nijika seem even angrier.

Kita reminded him with a hint of complaint.

"Hayato-kun... be serious now."

Seeing that his ex-girlfriend was kindly telling him how to handle the situation, Ishikawa Hayato gradually snapped out of his reverie and said seriously.

"Um, sorry, I'm late again today."

He said to Nijika.

Nijika glanced helplessly at Xiduo, who was clasping his hands together in a pleading Kita, then turned to the sunken staircase leading down to the starry sky and warned him in a deep voice.

"If you're late again because of something like this, I'll really be angry."

Sensing her mood, Ishikawa Hayato quickly recovered from his smugness at Ryo and Hitori for letting him do whatever he wanted.

He who travels a hundred miles is only halfway there at ninety; he still needs to take the rest seriously.

Ryo and Hitori trusted him to manage the relationships among the group, which is why they let him act recklessly.

He patted his cheeks and said.

There won't be a next time.

169. Choices Before the Semester (5)

"So, despite what happened, let's get back to the main topic."

Ishikawa Hayato's words set the stage for today's exchange.

Inside the starry sky, the five of them sat at the long table and chatted as always. It had become a habit. Sometimes when they were tired from practicing, they would gather here to chat with PA-san and Seika.

Sitting to the side, Ishikawa Hayato deliberately tilted his notebook so they couldn't see it, and looked around at them with a smile.

"Now let's see the results of our hard work over the past few days."

He spoke with excitement, but then suddenly added a sentence quickly.

"By the way, I don't think anyone secretly watched it, right?"

That day, they all vowed to find out the answer together, to share the joy, and to comfort each other if they failed.

Seeing Nijika lower her head, Kita's expression stiffened, and Ryo slightly shifted his gaze, Ishikawa Hayato felt like he was acting like an idiot for trying to be mysterious.

Only the most obedient Hitori didn't go to check.

"Why."

Without making any expression, he sighed and turned the laptop around to show the others.

The computer screen clearly displayed the number of times their music video had been played.

50,000.

Several of them knew this, but they still feigned surprise.

Kita exclaimed in exaggerated surprise, "Wow, there are actually 50,000!"

Nijika didn't seem very interested, but she still went along with it.

"Seriously! That's amazing, Hayato-kun's music video is fantastic!"

Liang said, "The music probably plays a part in this too."

Hitori glanced at Ryou without saying a word, and Ishikawa Hayato immediately read her thoughts.

"If that's the case... then it must also be related to songwriting..."

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at Nijika again, then at the other "hypocritical" girls. He pressed a key on the keyboard, switched windows, and displayed something else they didn't know.

He was really looking forward to seeing genuine surprise on their faces.

Upon seeing another image on the computer screen, the girls genuinely showed expressions of surprise.

"279 people? That's almost the same number of people we had at our performance that day."

Nijika covered her mouth as she looked at the numbers in the reservation system on the screen, and Kita, who didn't have a clear idea of the number of people before, suddenly understood the situation.

She still clearly remembers the huge crowd at the performance that day.

And in just one day, before they had even officially placed an order or started production, so many people had already pre-ordered the CDs.

She then gradually felt her heart racing and excitedly asked the others.

Are we famous now?

"Sickhack's last album sold about the same number of copies online on its first day."

Liang remained largely emotionless, but her subtly elevated tone and the genuineness in her words excited the others even more.

Although Hiroi Kikuri was quite poorly made, they had a pretty good idea of her band's level; after all, she was at a level that could open a music festival.

Even with their popularity at the music festival and their excellent music videos, they had indeed reached the threshold of becoming a popular band.

"What should we do? Has everyone prepared their signatures?"

Kita couldn't help but stand up, looking around at the group and asking questions.

Caught up in the excitement of the others, Hitori also chimed in with joy.

"We're ready!"

Hearing Hitori's voice, Nijika looked at her and smiled gently. Ignoring Ryo's plan to make another signed CD to sell, she turned her gaze to Ishikawa Hayato.

She knew very well that if it were the old her, she would have been too excited to contain herself by now.

For her, this was clearly another real and stable step on the ladder of her dreams, and it would allow her to see a bigger stage. She should be even happier than the others.

This is a dream she has wanted to realize since she was a child, and it is the most important thing to her.

But at this moment, she was overwhelmed by other things and couldn't feel happy; in fact, the happier the event, the more pronounced this feeling became.

Was it because after learning about their relationship yesterday, I thought about it and couldn't sleep well all night?

In her eyes, Ishikawa Hayato smiled slightly as he watched the others' happy expressions. After their initial excitement, the others approached him to chat.