Chapter 220

Ishikawa Hayato didn't call her out; instead, he replied to Hitori's message first.

"If you don't know what to do, then just get used to the current situation and try to deal with all the girls who are surrounding you?"

Hitori froze, then shook his head, looking terrified that he absolutely could not do it.

"No, I can't! Absolutely not!"

Ishikawa Hayato didn't think she couldn't do it, nor did he force or deny her; instead, he looked her over and said this.

"Hitori is so cute."

"Hmm..."

Hitori shy, muffled sound, and then, in Ishikawa Hayato's "it's all over" mood, she said...

"Then... we'll try again when we get back... I'm sure I can hold on until the end now, ah, I'm sorry, and there's also the promise to Ryosang... even after that's fine..."

She was feeling slightly down.

Ishikawa Hayato seemed to sense Kita's turbulent emotions around the corner, and he too resigned himself to his fate.

He walked Hitori away, put his arm around her slender waist, and met her raised gaze.

"After I get home, I'll first check if Hitori can complete the final step."

Hitori shyly made two "mmm" sounds.

After a while, they started chatting about more mundane things, and Kita casually walked out, greeted them with a smile, and then joined the group.

The three of them walked together towards the stars.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the Starry Sky Gate, Ishikawa Hayato suddenly remembered something and said to Hitori.

"Hitori, shall we tease Nijika and Liang together?"

"Ah, okay."

Hitori accepted Ishikawa Hayato's proposal without hesitation.

Kita sighed as she looked at the two of them, feeling sorry for Nijika and Ryo. Just when she thought it was none of her business, Ishikawa Hayato spoke to her.

"Kita, you come and help too."

"Huh?!"

Kita smile appeared on Kita's stunned face, but she hesitated for a moment before speaking.

How to play a prank?

Ishikawa Hayato smiled.

A few hours later, Nijika sighed and walked with Liang from the school towards the stars.

The thing people fear most is comparison. Just thinking about the night raid, the group of six nine.④⑨'③ six one three five. At Ishikawa Hayato's school, she only had to attend one morning class before resting, while they, who were also on the first day of school, had to attend another class in the afternoon before going home. She felt exhausted.

"Those three must have been at Starry Sky for quite some time now."

"You've already had lunch and started practicing again, haven't you?"

Liang said it very casually.

"That's great..." Nijika sighed again, but then she turned her attention back to the important matter at hand.

She turned to Liang, who seemed somewhat absent-minded, and said...

"Oh, right, Liang, we're all going to the store to pack up the CDs after school on Friday. Remember that, no running away!"

"Eh..."

Liang frowned slightly, seemingly reluctant, but after a moment's thought, she relaxed her brows and smiled.

"I'll leave my job to Hayabusa; he'll do it for me."

Nijika stared blankly at her and called out.

"Hello."

But seeing that Liang's expression hadn't changed at all, she complained.

"Honestly, I really don't know why Hayato-kun would date you."

Nijika's unintentional words revealed some of her thoughts, and Liang paused for a moment before asking.

"Are you planning to date him too?"

Nijika's expression froze, and she looked away.

"It has nothing to do with you."

Liang smiled smugly and put her hand on Nijika's shoulder.

"As your senior, you can ask me for help if you have any relationship problems in the future."

Nijika didn't respond to her; her face darkened, and she immediately started rummaging through her bag for drumsticks.

Just then, her phone rang. Without even reaching for her drumsticks, she took out her phone and answered the call.

She glanced at the caller; the phone displayed Kita's name.

As soon as the call connected, before she could even speak, she heard Kita's hurried voice.

"Ijichi-senpai, where are you now?"

Nijika immediately tensed up at her voice.

"What's wrong!"

She glanced at the steps leading to the entrance to the Starry Sky Gate, which she could already see in the distance, and said to Kita.

"I'll be at the store right now."

"Come quickly and check on Gotou-san!"

Hearing her rambling words, Nijika hurriedly asked, "What happened? Where's Hayato-kun?"

But after thinking for a moment, she spoke into her phone.

"You must be among the stars. I'll be there right away."

"Yes, but there's no need to rush..."

Upon hearing that Kita was definitely inside the Starry Sky, Nijika quickly hung up the phone and ran towards the Starry Sky.

Liang, looking thoughtfully at the starry staircase behind him, continued walking slowly as before.

Not knowing what had happened, Nijika walked quickly.

From the street, to the sunken staircase, and then to the entrance of the Starry Sky store, Nijika pushed open the door, rushed inside, and ran down the steps to look into the store.

At the bar, her sister looked dazed and confused. After realizing that things weren't as serious as she had thought, Nijika breathed a sigh of relief and turned her gaze to their usual spot.

At the edge of the long table.

Ishikawa Hayato sat next to Hitori, who had long pink hair and was wearing a tracksuit top. Hitori had her head down and was lying on the table. Seeing this, she was no longer in a hurry and quickly went over.

She asked as she walked over there.

"What's wrong with Bocchi-chan?"

Seeing that Hitori remained silent, she then asked Ishikawa Hayato.

"Hayato-kun, what happened?"

After she spoke, Ishikawa Hayato, who had been sitting with his back to her, slowly turned to the side.

He looked somewhat apologetic for teasing the honest woman, but still smiled and pointed behind her.

When Nijika saw Ishikawa Hayato's expression, she knew she had been tricked.

She was somewhat helpless; how could Hayato-kun make such a pointless joke? She didn't know how to respond for a moment.

And Kita, Kita-chan and Bocchi-chan also cooperated with him, but that's not surprising...

She turned around, bracing herself for Kita's scare.

What she saw was not shock, but a pink-haired girl who looked incredibly familiar yet felt completely foreign to her.

Nijika was taken aback for a moment, then subconsciously called out to her.

"Bocchi-chan?"

But upon closer inspection, one could see the other person's stunningly beautiful face, graceful figure, upright posture, and the way she was trying to maintain a smile while wearing a school uniform.

Nijika subconsciously denied her feelings.

"I'm sorry, you are..."

But looking at the person in front of her, she felt that he was Hitori, and she was completely confused. Finally, she tentatively asked again.

Is that Bocchi-chan?

"Um."

Hitori nodded.

"Huh?!!"

Nijika's scream echoed through the stars.

As soon as Liang entered, Nijika, unable to contain her surprise, excitedly pulled him down to introduce him to the brand-new image of Hitori.

"Liang, this is Bocchi-chan! Look!"

As she excitedly pulled him along, Hitori almost lost the expression that Ishikawa Hayato and Kita crafted for him.

But Hitori still greeted Liang.

"Liang Sang."

"Eh..."

Ryo watched for a Hitori, then exclaimed in amazement and turned to look at Ishikawa Hayato, who was sitting at the table watching the show.

Then, as usual, he calmly sat down in his seat.

Nijika felt that she was acting strangely, but before she could think about it further, Kita pulled her aside and told her about her excitement.

Because none of her other friends knew Hitori, she had been holding back all day, and now she finally had someone to share her excitement with.

Kita: "Ijichi-senpai was startled too, wasn't he? I thought Hayato-kun had cheated on me this morning!"

Nijika: "Yeah! I knew Bocchi-chan was cute, but I didn't expect her to be this cute."

Kita: "I noticed it while swimming. If Hitori were willing to go to an idol agency now, they would definitely be fighting over me!"

The cool indifference contrasted sharply with the excitement of the two people.

Seeing Ryo's reaction, Ishikawa Hayato revealed a helpless smile, realizing he hadn't escaped this predicament after all.

Hitori looked at the two people talking with a panic, and then glanced uneasily at Ishikawa Hayato and Ryo.

Before the two could say more, Ishikawa Hayato clapped his hands to stop them.

"You two over there, let's get down to business first."

Urged on by him, Nijika and Kita gradually calmed down and walked over. Hitori also breathed a sigh of relief and followed behind the two.

She had only taken two steps when Nijika remembered being teased by Ishikawa Hayato earlier, and she walked up to him with dissatisfaction.

"Hayato-kun, it was your idea to call and tease me just now, wasn't it!" she said, turning around and pointing at Kita.

"And Kita- chan, you even wore a wig and Bocchi-chan's coat to help Hayato-kun trick me!"

Kita embarrassed after being criticized by Nijika, Kita clasped his hands together in apology.

"Sorry!"

Seeing Nijika 'Kita apologetic expression, Nijika was at a loss. After all, she knew Kita wouldn't do such a thing on his own, but if Ishikawa Hayato brought them together, there was a good chance Kita would end up hanging out with Ishikawa Hayato.

This means they'll do it again next time.