Chapter 246

Ishikawa Hayato waved his hands anxiously, indicating that they would talk about it later, clearly also feeling that it was excessive.

But beneath this merriment lay the girl's dual thoughts, unnoticed even by Ishikawa Hayato.

That night, an argument broke out at the Kita. Strictly speaking, it was a one-sided lecture, and in the end, Ikuyo objected for a couple of minutes before retreating to her room when she realized she couldn't get through to them.

The next day.

As usual, Ishikawa Hayato went for his morning run and grocery shopping in Shimokitazawa, but he didn't run into Nijika on the street today.

When he got home, he noticed an extra pair of shoes when he took them off in the entryway, but when he got his slippers, he found that a pair of slippers was missing from the shoe cabinet.

He couldn't help but smile, sensing that his home was about to become more and more lively.

He entered the hall from the entrance and saw Nijika coming out of the corridor. In the cold light of the morning sun, she walked out of the corridor with a strange expression.

But to Ishikawa Hayato, there was a better description for that expression than just "strange."

She looked puzzled, like an adult concerned about whether their child was sleeping peacefully, after looking into their child's room and discovering something strange.

Seeing Nijika at this time, and not recognizing that she had opened the door before, coupled with Nijika's expression, made Ishikawa Hayato feel quite novel.

It feels like Nijika was refreshed in his house.

However, considering that Nijika also had their family's access card, and that he had invited her to come over for dinner together yesterday, he happily accepted the situation.

"What's wrong?"

He walked towards the kitchen, asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Nijika only then noticed his presence, and her eyes widened in panic.

There's nothing there!

After she finished speaking hastily, she paused, then abruptly changed the subject and apologized to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Ah, Hayato-kun, I'm sorry I waited so long without a response before barging in."

"It's alright, the key card was given to Nijika so Nijika can come in freely."

As Ishikawa Hayato put the groceries he had bought into the refrigerator, he casually said something after Nijika breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, if we did anything wrong, we'll clean it up tonight."

Nijika jumped in fright, her blank stare fixed on Ishikawa Hayato.

After regaining her senses, she hurriedly spoke.

"Hayato-kun is saying... sigh..." she said, then sighed again.

Seeing her like that, Ishikawa Hayato smiled and walked over, "You don't do it every day, do you?"

Nijika stared at him blankly, and after realizing the meaning behind his words, a look of helplessness appeared on her face.

Ishikawa Hayato crouched down slightly, his gaze level with hers, and said with a smile.

"Nijika would be interested in this too, so... how about... staying tonight?"

"I'm not staying! It's too early to be doing that kind of thing."

Nijika objected angrily.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't press her, and smiled as he patted her head.

"Okay, let's take it slow then."

Relatively speaking, Nijika is quite honest; she's not as willful and reckless as the other three.

Ishikawa Hayato is good at judging people and playing dirty tricks.

In the past, Ishikawa Hayato would go straight to take a shower after returning home, but today Nijika was here, so he planned to wait until Hitori got up and the two of them started preparing breakfast before taking a shower.

Nijika realized this as Ishikawa Hayato pulled her to sit on the sofa.

"Aren't you going to take a bath, Hayato-kun?"

"Hmm... does it smell like sweat...?"

As he spoke, Ishikawa Hayato looked troubled and pulled up his clothes to smell them.

"Don't change the subject, really..."

Nijika looked at him helplessly, but still replied, "I can't smell any sweat, but isn't it uncomfortable for you, Hayato-kun?"

"I'd feel terrible if I left Nijika I'd finally managed to win over, aside."

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and asked again, "Are we having dinner together today?"

"Uh-huh."

Nijika hesitated for a moment before nodding.

"Damn it, why am I sweating even though I'm a pervert? Otherwise, I'd be hugging cute Nijika right now."

"I'm older than you!"

"There's a mirror here, let's look in it and see who looks bigger."

"This is for calculating age!"

The two joked and teased each other for a while, then laughed and put the topic aside.

Then Ishikawa Hayato let out a long sigh for no apparent reason, Nijika looked at him strangely and asked.

"What's wrong with Hayato-kun?"

"I think I was a bit stingy back then, buying such a small place. I should have rented a bigger one."

"Ishikawa Hayato said, head bowed, very annoyed."

Nijika was taken aback, because she had so much to complain about that she didn't know where to begin.

She sighed, then her expression hardened. She rose slightly from the sofa, turned to face Ishikawa Hayato, and sat down again. The force of the movement caused the sofa to bounce slightly.

"Hayato-kun! Listen to me honestly."

"Yes!"

Seeing her petite yet strong appearance, Ishikawa Hayato obediently cooperated.

"Even if you make money quickly, you should still control your spending. Besides, everyone has their own home. It's not good for them to separate from their families and live with you so early. This place is big enough for occasional stays; there's no need to waste money."

"Hmm..." Ishikawa Hayato thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "That's true."

In this area, only Hitori has actually obtained her parents' permission to live together, and Liang probably hasn't even told her family.

"But what if everyone stays at my place overnight? How should the rooms be arranged?"

Ishikawa Hayato asked Nijika with a mischievous grin.

"No way..." Nijika was about to deny it, but after realizing that it wasn't impossible, she lowered her head and thought for a moment.

"I'll just sleep in the rehearsal room."

"My bed is really comfortable," Ishikawa Hayato whispered enticingly.

Nijika turned her head and stared at him blankly.

Ishikawa Hayato smiled, then changed the subject with a more serious expression.

"Hmm... But if that's the case, then everything is stable now, and we just need to proceed step by step."

"Yes, as long as Hayato-kun doesn't cause any more trouble, that's fine."

Nijika was eager for him to be serious, and she changed her attitude in conversation with him. After recalling the commotion, she let out a long sigh.

Although the future is not very clear, we can vaguely see what it will be like.

Ishikawa Hayato glanced at Nijika, who was deep in thought, and was about to speak when he said, "Nijika, Ikuyo..."

Before he could finish speaking, he heard footsteps approaching but then stopping from the other end of the corridor.

Since it wasn't an important topic, Ishikawa Hayato simply abandoned his idea of explaining the current situation to Nijika.

Under Nijika's questioning gaze, he turned and called out towards the other side of the corridor.

"Hitori, no need to make special room for it."

"Huh!" Yili, who was on the Hitori of the corridor, jumped in surprise.

Nijika looked over there, Hitori walked out of the passageway hesitantly.

Hitori looked at the two people carefully and said.

"I'm so sorry... I disturbed you."

Since Ishikawa Hayato and Ryo don't usually have such lively conversations, Hitori didn't really feel like she was disturbing them.

However, when she was talking to Nijika, she could clearly feel the atmosphere and worried that she might be disturbing their conversation.

Nijika sighed.

"Bocchi-chan, this is your and Hayato-kun's home. If anyone's bothering you, it's me."

Ishikawa Hayato stood up and walked Hitori away.

He gently patted her head.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. I'm going to take a shower. I'll leave Nijika Hitori Yili's care."

"Eh... eh..." Nijika in Hitori panic.

Nijika also stood up, walked over with a smile, and said something in response.

"Bocchi-chan, I'll help you out."

Her attitude was almost the complete opposite of that of a certain scumbag sister when she first arrived.

Compared to the older sister in the Ijichi Family, who was eating her warm breakfast alone with tears in her eyes, the Ishikawa family's place was much more lively.

"Hmm... there's still so much time before school starts, I can take a nap after dinner."

Liang couldn't help but yawn as he ate his beef sandwich.

Nijika quickly put down the milk, leaving some white milk residue around her mouth due to her hasty action.

"Hey, we're about to have another performance. Hayato-kun has a rehearsal room at home, so we should be practicing, right?"

"The lead singer isn't here either..." Ishikawa Hayato hadn't finished speaking when Nijika glared at him.

"Hayato-kun, this isn't funny."

She said seriously.

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled twice, but then turned to Hitori and asked.

"Hitori, do you think we should practice?"

"Ah..." Hitori having trouble making a decision, I still start with an "Ah."

"I think practicing is fine too..."

She expressed it tactfully.

"Eh..." Liang said, dissatisfied.

Hitori hearing this, Ichiri shrank back, while Ishikawa Hayato patted her shoulder encouragingly and spoke to the three of them.

"Then let's practice for a little while before going to school today."

185. Departure

There wasn't much time for practice in the morning, so the group cherished every moment.

In this rehearsal room, which originally only had two people practicing, Ryo joined, and now Nijika has joined as well, so they can finally start practicing as a nearly complete band.