Chapter 237

At this moment, her face was expressionless, her calm golden eyes holding an unfathomable glint.

Ryo didn't respond to Ishikawa Hayato's words about arriving home, but instead looked him over and said...

"Now, take it off and show it to me right now."

"Eh."

Ishikawa Hayato was stunned.

179. Preface

Sunday is the shift for Hitori.

This afternoon, she took the tram for more than an hour to Shimokitazawa's Starry Night.

During the group practice, as expected, she heard Nijika complaining about the two people skipping two days of practice. She didn't know how to smooth things over at this time, but fortunately, Nijika didn't say much.

Then she worked at Starry Night until night.

Around the time she was supposed to finish work, Ishikawa Hayato sent her a message saying he couldn't come pick her up, and Hitori said she understood.

However, you can still call him if anything happens, and he will come immediately.

Hearing him say that, Hitori actually felt a bit of anticipation for the unexpected to happen. Although it might be scary to encounter something terrifying, the thought of Ishikawa Hayato coming turned her fear into anticipation.

But nothing unexpected happened, Hitori walked home uneventfully.

When I arrived at my door, Hitori opened the door and went inside.

"I'm back."

But what greeted her at the front was the heavy, stuffy atmosphere of the house and the smell of air freshener. She froze for a moment, feeling a little disappointed but gradually rekindling her anticipation.

Welcome back...

Inside the living room, Ishikawa Hayato lazily responded to her greeting, his voice carrying far into the entryway.

Hitori looked delighted and smiled as she took off her shoes and put on her slippers. But when she got the slippers, she noticed two drops of half-dried liquid on the shoe rack.

She thought about it and realized that it shouldn't have rained in Shimokitazawa.

However, she didn't pay much attention to it. After changing into slippers, she went into the house. In the living room, she saw Ishikawa Hayato lying on the sofa with a listless but comfortable expression.

Ishikawa Hayato had a great time these past two days, except for feeling a bit chilly on Saturday morning, after which she said she was fine in the afternoon.

He played with Liang from evening until the early hours of this morning, and then from almost noon until half an hour ago.

Afterwards, Ishikawa Hayato spent half an hour tidying up the room and organizing the house, and only lay down for a short while.

He said to Hitori somewhat lazily.

"Ah, Hitori, the bathwater is ready. You can bathe first; I'll rest for a while."

"Um..."

Hitori watched him respond softly and slowly stepped towards the bathroom.

Upon seeing Ichiri's appearance, Ishikawa Hayato thought for Hitori and said jokingly.

"Want to come over here and let me pat your head?"

The gloomy mood in Hitori's heart vanished instantly, and she strode over without hesitation, her eyes gleaming as she peered out at Ishikawa Hayato.

The day after that was Monday, a school day.

After taking a shower after his morning run, Ishikawa Hayato went to the living room and saw that Hitori's breakfast was almost ready and still warm.

He said to Hitori.

"I'll go call Liang."

"Um."

Hitori response, Ishikawa Hayato walked toward Ryo's room.

The two, who had initially enjoyed the experience, did not do anything last night. One did not want to provoke Hitori, and the other, while having the same thought, did not want to be seen in an embarrassing state.

He knocked twice, and Liang responded.

"Um."

Ishikawa Hayato was a little helpless. His older sister, who had been so affectionate and obedient just two days ago, was now putting on airs again.

He pushed open the door and saw Ryo lying on the bed. When she saw Ishikawa Hayato come in, she simply turned to her side on the bed, tilted her head back, and raised her chin to look at him.

She was half asleep, a faint smile on her face, her movements casual and unsteady.

Is this considered being tsundere? She spoke calmly at the door, but as soon as she came in, she turned around and acted coquettishly towards him.

Ishikawa Hayato walked over, hugged Ryo, and whispered something to her as he rested his head against hers.

"Time to get up."

"I'm still very tired today, so I took the day off," Liang replied lazily, leaning close to his ear.

"... Do you want me to come with you?"

Ishikawa Hayato turned his head and met Ryo's gaze, which turned almost at the same time.

Her golden eyes held a look of helplessness.

Why do I need to take leave?

As she spoke, she pulled down her collar, revealing a red mark that stretched from her neck to her collarbone.

Fortunately, the already faint mark had almost completely healed in just over a day, but she was still clearly bothered by it.

"Ha ha..."

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled dryly. Although Ryo had left a mark on his shoulder without any hesitation, he had already recovered.

"Then I'll keep breakfast warm. Remember to come and eat it after you get up."

"Perfect, lunch is sorted out."

After she finished speaking, she stretched, pulled up the sheet, and calmly looked at Ishikawa Hayato.

This is a way of reminding him that he's leaving, but not wanting to say it directly.

Ishikawa Hayato playfully rubbed her face, then got up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Not long after, Nijika's phone rang while she was having breakfast at home.

She answered the phone and heard a cool, indifferent voice.

"Nijika ~ Please ask for leave for me, I sprained my ankle."

"I see."

Nijika, who usually asks more questions, didn't say anything today.

"Um."

Liang responded and then hung up the phone.

Nijika glanced quietly at the ended call screen and sighed.

At the dining table, Seika, who was sitting opposite her, saw this scene and asked...

"A weird phone call?"

No, it's cold.

Upon hearing Nijika's words, Seika immediately withdrew his gaze, losing interest.

But she had no idea what Nijika was thinking.

Nijika had anticipated Liang's request for leave today, after all, she wasn't completely unaware of those matters.

No matter what, those two skipped team practice together, and Liang inexplicably posted a photo of her neck the day before yesterday, showing some red marks. Nijika knew what they had done.

She was frustrated but also relieved; at least Ishikawa Hayato hadn't been having fun with others while she was agonizing over the situation, but only after things were resolved.

After finishing her breakfast, she headed to school to begin her day of learning.

But with the person she usually had to call out to absent, she felt a little uneasy about the quiet around her.

During her lunch break, perhaps because things were too mundane, she sent a message to Ishikawa Hayato on Line.

"You... slept with Ryo the day before yesterday, right...?"

She had long accepted Ishikawa Hayato's relationship with the others and didn't want to say more about it, but for some reason, she felt restless.

"... Hmm, did Liang say that?"

Although she couldn't see Ishikawa Hayato's expression, looking at his message, Nijika could almost see his weak and obedient appearance in her mind's eye.

She smiled and quickly let him go.

"Yeah! Really, Liang even sent me a picture of her neck."

"I'm sorry! My other girlfriends have terrible personalities. I'll make her do her homework when I get back!"

Nijika was taken aback, then smiled as she recalled how the usually unruly Ryo was punished by Ishikawa Hayato by making him do his homework.

She typed quickly.

Is it possible?

"As long as there's a legitimate reason, that's fine."

"That's good. Then please, Hayato-kun, take into account the fact that I was bullied and help her get her grades back up."

"I'll definitely agree to my girlfriend's request, but..."

"How?"

"Sweet pervert~please."

Seeing the blank expression on Nijika's face, she turned around, looked around, picked up her phone, left her seat, and walked into the nearly deserted corridor.

After a while, she saw that her voice message on Line had been read, and shortly after, she received a voice reply from Ishikawa Hayato.

She opened it after confirming that no one was nearby.

"I love it~ and it's so much sweeter than last time, Nijika is so nice."

Nijika smiled, put away her phone, and returned to the classroom.

As lunch break was drawing to a close, she realized that she had initially intended to confront him, so how did she end up being teased instead?

180. String Twist

In the afternoon, it was time for the five of them to meet as usual.

Nijika left school alone with her backpack. She was thinking about what to do since there were few people around today, and resentful of her childhood friend's incredibly fast progress, as she gradually arrived at Fanxing.

Here, she saw Ryo, whom she thought she would never see. Ishikawa Hayato Jun as always, but today Nijika felt that they seemed to be sitting much closer together.

But she only glanced at it twice before looking at the table, where the four of them were having a very lively conversation.

Nijika walked over with a blank expression.

"Ah, Nijika is here."

As soon as she stepped down the stairs, Ishikawa Hayato, who was chatting happily with the three of them, immediately noticed her and raised his hand to greet her.

Nijika smiled, walked down the stairs, put down her schoolbag, went to the long table, pulled out her reserved seat, sat down, and looked at the others.

What are you talking about?

"We're thinking about whether to hold a celebration party for the make-up exam."

Kita looked at Nijika with a big smile and said.

The bizarre chat content stunned Nijika. As a good student, she obviously didn't expect that even a makeup exam would require a celebration party.

How did they get to this topic?

Ryo and Bocchi-chan probably aren't interested in this, so why are they chatting so happily?

But after thinking for a moment, she looked at the person next to Ishikawa Hayato with even more disdain.