Chapter 265

Of course, he still had to buy the clothes himself.

The most troublesome thing about dating Liang is that if you can't figure out what she's thinking, you'll miss a lot of opportunities.

Ryo is actually very generous and caring, but she hides it so well that even Nijika, who has been playing with her since childhood and has excellent observation skills, didn't notice.

Nearby, not Hitori someone's sneaking away, they naively thought they were talking about her.

"Ah... well, eh..."

She stiffened, hesitated for a moment, then, very shyly closing her eyes, mustered her courage and said, "If Falcon wants to see, I can wear it for you alone..."

"Sure, anytime is fine. I love surprises."

Ishikawa Hayato was much more doting on Hitori, speaking to her in a gentle tone.

"Isn't Kita- chan completely right...? How dare Hayato-kun say this is slander?"

Nijika looked at Ishikawa Hayato and complained.

Ishikawa Hayato was not refuted by her and remained righteous.

"I was just responding to everyone's invitation!"

The five of them chatted and laughed as they walked forward.

As they walked, the number of otaku advertisements on the storefronts around them gradually increased. However, otaku culture in Japan has permeated every corner, and the group had become quite accustomed to it. At this moment...

"Kessoku Band?"

Hearing the sound, the five people who were chatting looked over there.

"Oh, Otsuki-san, it's been a long time."

Nijika called out the person's name. Despite not seeing her for a long time, she felt no embarrassment and greeted her naturally.

About ten meters away, Otsuki Yuyuko, dressed in casual clothes that were different from her stage costumes, was carrying shopping bags and looked at the group of five in surprise.

Japan is small, and Tokyo alone is even smaller, so the chances of running into someone you know while shopping are quite high.

"Hmm... long time no see."

Compared to Nijika's cheerful voice, Otsuki Yuyuko's voice was much deeper. She stared at the five people with a stubborn expression and a hint of retreat.

Compared to Nijika, Ishikawa Hayato was much less polite.

He glanced around at Otsuki Yuyuko's vicinity and, seeing that none of the people passing by were heading towards her, quickly understood the situation. He then smugly moved closer to his girl and said...

"Hey, isn't this Otsuki? Why are you all alone? Don't you come out to play with the others?"

As we all know, teasing a proud and arrogant person is one of the most interesting forms of entertainment among humankind.

With just one sentence, Ishikawa Hayato hit Otsuki Yuyuko's sore spot and what she envied.

Otsuki Yuyuko was already envious of the Kessoku Band who had clearly gone out together, and then Ishikawa Hayato mocked her like that. She glared at Ishikawa Hayato and gritted her teeth.

"You guys can have fun now. Your smugness is temporary. Our band has already started preparing for the Uncertain Riot. Just wait and see if we become the strongest band of the younger generation!"

Compared to Nijika, who is completely invulnerable, Ishikawa Hayato is more likely to provoke her hatred.

"Uncertain Riot?"

Even now, Ikuyo's understanding of band-related matters is limited to stage performances, venues, and instrumental skills; as for music festivals, he only knows a few particularly famous ones.

"It's a music festival that only musicians between the ages of ten and twenty can participate in; it's a competition among musicians of the same age, and quite a few bands have officially debuted from there."

Ishikawa Hayato withdrew his usual sarcastic tone and explained to Ikuyo in his normal manner.

At the same time, Nijika asked Otsuki in surprise.

"Otsuki-san, have you decided to participate in the Uncertain Riot?"

Nijika's surprised yet gentle tone froze Otsuki, who was looking angry. As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face, and it was difficult for Otsuki to maintain her anger in the face of Nijika's still gentle attitude after she had said those words.

"Ah, um, yes."

She stiffly withdrew her angry expression and responded awkwardly.

"That's wonderful..."

Nijika spoke, she turned her gaze to Ishikawa Hayato, exchanged a glance with him, and then spoke to Otsuki Yuyuko.

"What is Otsuki-san doing here?"

"Shopping..."

Otsuki Yuyuko's momentum was subtly and repeatedly eroded by Nijika.

As expected, the maternal system counters arrogance.

Otsuki Yuyuko had just been arrogant in front of Ishikawa Hayato, was completely outmaneuvered by Nijika.

Nijika noticed Otsuki's discomfort and, with a gentle smile, earnestly began to discuss the important matter.

"I see... Well, if there's a chance, let's have a competition on that stage, just like we agreed before."

"Yes, you absolutely have to come! The stage wouldn't be the same without you guys."

Feeling completely deflated, Otsuki Yuyuko said one last defiant sentence before turning away as if she had something to do.

"That's settled then, I'll be going now."

See you again sometime.

Nijika said goodbye properly and watched Otsuki Yuyuko walk away. Only after her figure disappeared did Nijika turn around and complain to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Hayato-kun has gone too far in bullying Otsuki-san."

Her voice suddenly softened as she murmured, "Although it's good not to have much contact with other girls..."

"No, I think Nijika bullies Otsuki more."

Ishikawa Hayato noticed that Nijika could be quite clueless at times.

Nijika looked up, blinked blankly, and then looked to the others for confirmation.

Liang: "What a freak!"

Hitori nodded as well.

Both of them clearly understood Otsuki's discomfort, while Ikuyo, like Nijika, looked completely bewildered.

Realizing that even though they had become close, there were still things they couldn't understand, the group didn't delve too deeply into the topic and continued walking towards the drum kit store.

People came and went along the roadside, but the five people were only focused on their conversation inside.

"What are your thoughts on the Uncertain Riot?"

Following the huge success of the last music festival, Nijika has even higher expectations for such a large-scale music festival.

Her gaze swept over the group, finally settling on Ishikawa Hayato.

At that moment, Ishikawa Hayato held up his phone, checked the detailed schedule of the music festival, and read it aloud.

"First comes the demo review, then online voting, and finally the live performance review to determine the final bands to perform on the big stage."

He checked the procedures and then looked at the event time.

"The demo review won't finish until April next year, and the official performance won't be until the summer vacation. I think it's more appropriate for us to decide whether to participate after the New Year and start working on it. We shouldn't let things that are too far in the future disrupt our plans."

His gaze swept over the three who had no objections, then fell upon the hesitant Nijika, and he added.

"Of course, we will continue our daily practice and new songs as always. We are no longer the fledgling band we used to be; steady progress is more important than anything else."

"Hmm... since Hayato-kun has said so, alright."

Nijika accepted it this time.

Finally, the five of them went to a drum kit store. After browsing around, Nijika still couldn't find what she wanted to buy. Ishikawa Hayato then suggested buying an electric drum kit, which could reduce the damage to the ears to some extent and would also be convenient for practice.

After hesitating for a while because of the price, Nijika finally accepted his offer.

After buying the musical instruments, the group excitedly rushed home, eager to try out their new instruments.

Just as they were walking home from the train station in Shimokitazawa, Ishikawa Hayato's cell phone rang.

He glanced at his phone; it was an unfamiliar number.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't pay much attention, thinking it was probably just some spam call or advertisement, and casually told the four of them.

"I need to take this call."

"Um."

The girls responded.

Ishikawa Hayato didn't leave either, and answered the phone right in front of them.

As soon as the call connected, the other party immediately asked questions.

"Is that Hayato-kun?"

Ishikawa Hayato was slightly surprised; there weren't many people who would address him so intimately and whose phone numbers he didn't have saved.

"It's me... May I ask who you are...?"

He had barely finished speaking when the person on the other end started crying.

"I'm Liang's mother. Liang has been away for several weeks now. Apart from occasionally letting us know she's safe, we haven't heard from her at all. Do you know where she is?"

Ishikawa Hayato froze, then turned to look at Ryo.

Liang met his gaze with a mixture of calm and doubt.

Ishikawa Hayato was completely won over by Ryo; she said she wouldn't tell her family, and she really meant it.

This guy is really something. Ishikawa Hayato always felt that if he said he wanted to take her to travel the world, she would probably just briefly consider it and pack her bags to go with him.

After a moment's thought, he spoke weakly into the phone.

"Sorry, Ryo is here with me right now..."

A relaxed sigh came from the other end of the phone, followed by a heavier question.

"You've been here for almost half a month?"

"Um..."

"Then it seems we don't need to ask how far things have progressed... In that case, Hayato-kun, could you bring Ryo home tonight?"

"I'll have to ask Liang about that. Also, I'm sorry, it's been so long since I said hello."

"No, no... I think it's because Ryo doesn't want to talk about it..."

After offering a brief word of comfort, Ishikawa Hayato hung up the phone.

Ryo had already recognized the identity of the person who dialed Ishikawa Hayato's phone.

Is that my mother?

Ishikawa Hayato didn't mind that there were other people present and spoke directly.

"Yes, she told us to go home tonight."

Ryo heard Ishikawa Hayato say, "I need to ask Ryo about that," and she immediately realized that he was confirming with her whether she was going home.

She thought for a moment and then threw the question back at Ishikawa Hayato.

"Where's the falcon?"

"I'm fine."

Ishikawa Hayato was well-prepared for this day.

Besides, since Ryo has already chosen to be with him, there's nothing to worry about anymore. Ryo is the kind of person who doesn't look back once she's made a decision.

"Then let's go back tonight."

Liang said it casually.

"Hmm." Ishikawa Hayato chuckled easily.

Since this was Liang's family matter, the other three did not interfere.

Although they were somewhat uneasy because the topic of family had suddenly shifted to a heavy one, their unease quickly dissipated when they saw Ishikawa Hayato's confident, even calm, demeanor as he faced the challenge head-on.

Having witnessed this scene before, Nijika looked at the group and smiled.