Chapter 299
But Liang glanced at Hitori, who hadn't spoken yet, and said, quite disheartened.
Let's all go home for now.
Nijika laughed, seemingly understanding everything.
"That's true."
As the two were talking, Ishikawa Hayato glanced at Hitori. Her face showed a troubled expression, as if she wanted to stop them but didn't want to speak.
He walked over, pressed down on Hitori's shoulder, and leaned against her.
Before he could speak, Ikuyo suddenly realized something, smiled apologetically, and hurriedly said...
"Oh, right, I haven't been home for two days, and my parents are getting angry."
After saying that, Ikuyo used her skills to leave.
"We're going back too."
Liang walked in another direction, and Nijika waved to the two of them before following.
Suddenly, only Ishikawa Hayato and Hitori remained on the street.
The lukewarm sunset, accompanied by the autumn wind, brushed past the two of them.
Hitori touched his arm. "Um..."
She started to speak, but then realized she didn't know what to say next, and Ishikawa Hayato sighed.
Everyone has gone home for now.
After hesitating for Hitori, realizing the meaning of "temporarily," her fair ears gradually turned red, and she softly leaned into Ishikawa Hayato's arms.
Ishikawa Hayato, worried she might fall, put his arm around her waist, and the two walked silently home in the sunset, carrying various musical instruments on their backs.
But when Ishikawa Hayato got home, changed his shoes, and walked into the house, Hitori was still standing at the entrance.
Ishikawa Hayato looked back, puzzled.
Hitori, who had already placed her instrument aside, bowed slightly, her face serious yet shy, and spoke in a steady voice.
"I am a mediocre woman, please take good care of me."
209. Jealousy and rivalry
"Thank you for your hard work, the performance was fantastic, please come and perform here again next time."
"It definitely will."
Ishikawa Hayato accepted the envelope handed to him by the store manager, finished speaking with a polite smile, and then turned and walked out with Nijika beside him.
As they passed the three people chatting while carrying musical instruments, Ishikawa Hayato waved, and the others followed.
But Ikuyo didn't stop the conversation; instead, she broadened the topic and asked the two who had just returned.
Christmas is coming soon, is there anything everyone is going to do?
"Hmm... Nijika, you guys will be on holiday in three days, right? Where should we go together?"
After a moment's thought, Ishikawa Hayato asked Nijika and Ryo, and then naturally handed over the performance fee he had just received to Nijika.
Shuhua High School has a relatively relaxed academic atmosphere, and they were already on holiday yesterday.
Nijika accepted it very naturally and put it in her bag. She was still in charge of the band's funds, but the position of leader had been subtly changed to Ishikawa Hayato.
She hesitated.
"Um... Christmas is my sister's birthday, and I want to do something for her."
"Celebrating your birthday on a big holiday like Christmas is such a clever idea."
He spoke bluntly and without restraint.
"Then... what do we need to do..."
Hitori they could finish speaking, the five of them reached the door, their eyes drawn to the night view outside.
What they saw was Tokyo as it entered late December.
Under a gray sky where it wouldn't be surprising if it snowed at any moment, the streets were filled with the festive atmosphere of Christmas, with beautiful lights hanging from the bushes and various other places, and all sorts of cute ornaments displayed.
From the life-sized disco balls in the commercial center to the balloons and garlands that shops decorate themselves at their entrances, and the signs with various Christmas-related designs placed by the door.
On the bustling streets, women dressed in red and white Christmas costumes stood handing out flyers with beaming smiles.
The lively and bright atmosphere made one forget the cold of a winter night.
The only signs of coolness could be glimpsed from the distant, gloomy sky, the occasional howling wind, the desolate mountains, and the apartment buildings.
But the distant cold noticed the five people walking on the street and immediately flew over, waking them up as they came out of the bustling livehouse.
Ikuyo had originally wanted to say something while looking at the brightly lit street, but the cold wind made her wrap herself tighter in her trench coat and stomp her feet frantically.
"It's so cold! So cold! So cold!"
She cried out, and despite Ryo's disdainful expression, she pounced on the giant heater beside her— Ishikawa Hayato.
Ishikawa Hayato was being held by her with unusually strong movements, and he looked down at her bare legs and sighed.
"Hey Ikuyo, even at a time like this, you're still not wearing pantyhose?"
"This is the best-looking combination!"
Ikuyo's desperate shouts conveyed the joyful atmosphere of a holiday, but that was because she was too cold to speak normally and could only use shouting to relieve the chill.
Wearing thick clothes, Liang looked at her with disdain, clearly despising this behavior of prioritizing style over warmth.
"It's this kind of mentality that's why so many women in Japan suffer from knee osteoarthritis."
Ryo and Ikuyo's relationship has become much more normal and better now, and they can tease each other more freely.
Seeing how cold Ikuyo was, Ishikawa Hayato wanted her to simply wrap her legs around him, since she often did that at home anyway. However, considering that she was wearing a short skirt even though she was freezing for the sake of looking good, he knew she definitely wouldn't agree.
Ishikawa Hayato had no choice but to withdraw his hand and take off his trench coat, which he had just put on and was still warm, and drape it over the man's shoulders.
"How can anyone look good when it's this cold?"
His abnormal physique has reached the point where he is immune to both heat and cold; he only wears clothes that are slightly more in line with the season so as not to appear too out of place.
Ikuyo put on her trench coat and smiled, but at the same time she saw the displeased expressions on the faces of the other three, like sly cats snooping on past love, and she shrank back in embarrassment.
But without much hesitation, he continued to communicate with Ishikawa Hayato.
"A girl's youth only comes once! Even if it's cold, she has to show it off."
Now that Ishikawa Hayato understood, he nodded and looked at Nijika, mainly at her legs.
"But won't my legs get frostbite like that? Wouldn't it be better to do it like Nijika did?"
Nijika shrank her legs shyly.
"Don't look!"
Nijika was wearing sheer tights, which made her legs look a little fleshy, and they didn't look as good as Ikuyo's style of showing her legs directly, which is why she didn't want Ishikawa Hayato to see them.
Otherwise, let alone looking at it, Ishikawa Hayato could touch it freely.
Ishikawa Hayato chuckled and turned to Hitori. Seeing that she had nothing to say, he pretended to rub his arms.
"It's so cold, let's go home first."
Led by Ishikawa Hayato, the five of them huddled together to ward off the cold wind as they hurried toward Shibuya Station.
After the school festival, they followed their plan and performed at other livehouses once a month.
However, since they are still students and their holidays are not that long, there are not many places they can go, and for the time being, they can only perform within the Tokyo area.
But the effect was great; after the surge in fans during the school festival, their band's fan base continued to grow.
It has already surpassed the number of fans of Guitar Hero, and some people have even speculated that Hitori is Guitar Hero.
After much Hitori, Yili directly announced the news on his Guitar Hero account.
This led to a further increase in their fan base, and the five members began to earn income from the band's performances. This prompted them to quit their part-time jobs at Starry Night and dedicate themselves more fully to their band career.
Of course, their main venue is still Starry Night.
They took the train to Shimokitazawa, then rushed home in the cold wind. When they entered Ishikawa Hayato's house, which had the heater on, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"Home is still the most comfortable place."
As Liang entered the house, she began to take off her scarf and coat.
Hitori and Ikuyo also switched to home mode, just like her.
As for Nijika, she continued her conversation with Ishikawa Hayato in the elevator.
"Hayato-kun Zepp, you've already asked him?"
"Um."
Ishikawa Hayato led Nijika to the living room at a leisurely pace, explaining as he watched the girls unwrap their scarves.
"The people in charge there seemed very hesitant. They had no problem with our abilities, but they felt that a 'young' independent band like ours wasn't very reliable."
They looked adorable wrapped in scarves. The thick scarves encircled their slender necks, making them look soft and fluffy, and also made their hair look voluminous, which seemed incredibly cute.
By the way, after Hitori changed into her scarf, he had already rubbed it once. She looked pitiful and cute when she was bullied.
"Is that so..." Nijika looked thoughtful. "If we were affiliated with that record company, we could give it a try."
Ikuyo had been listening to their conversation the whole time, and when Nijika fell into thought, she turned back and asked.
"That's a livehouse that can hold almost three thousand people, right? Can we really handle it?"
"It's just a fraction of our fan base."
As Ishikawa Hayato spoke, he reached out and tapped Nijika on the head. "Don't think about that for now. Zepp Tokyo is practically a top-tier henchman of the Four Heavenly Kings. You've had such a tough performance today, so relax."
"Hmm... that's true."
After Nijika finished speaking, she was mentally prepared to relax, but when she looked around the hall, which still seemed to have the atmosphere of a battlefield, she frowned again.
She put on a serious face and asked Ishikawa Hayato, "What kind of relaxation is it, Hayato-kun?"
"It's normal, it's normal."
Ishikawa Hayato waved his hand sheepishly.
It's normal for Nijika to react this way, because she saw the four of them "sleeping" together this morning, which made her very unhappy all day.
However, unlike her previous angry outbursts of "You shameless bunch!", her current reaction to anger was somewhat weak and sullen.
When she arrived in the morning, Ishikawa Hayato had considered it and felt that she might not mind as much now, so he didn't stop her and let her into the room.
As for the minor matter of the other three "sleeping" with him, Ishikawa Hayato asked them at an opportune moment, and they agreed.
In the end, he had already met all the prerequisites, and by saying nice things to the three of them when they were in a good mood, they accepted.
And then it just spiraled out of control.
Perhaps the ability to take turns resting reduces the pressure, and someone can fill in when things get too tough. Maybe they're also trying to squeeze every last drop out of Ishikawa Hayato.
Because it was quite cold and a bit late, the five of them took a shower and rested for a while before going to Ishikawa Hayato's room together.
There is no TV in Ishikawa Hayato's room, but there is a projector. The projection effect is very good, and if only a small light is turned on, it does not affect the projected image at all.
The five of them sat on the bed, enjoying each other's company, covered with blankets in the warmth of the heater, watching the movie Liang had chosen.
But it had only just begun when Nijika cried out in fear.
"Why is it a horror movie?!"
"New movie, haven't seen it."
Liang simply and naturally explained the reason.
This is how the five of them are lying in bed tonight.
Ikuyo, wearing pajamas and a coat, sat on the side of the bed with her legs stretched out—don't ask her where her legs were.
She smiled as she looked at her phone, glancing at the television every now and then.
Hitori sat quietly next to Ishikawa Hayato, watching a movie.
On the other side of Ishikawa Hayato is Ryo, and then Nijika.