Chapter 301

She actually dared to think of having Hiroi Kikuri vouch for them?!

Nijika then realized what was happening and gave an awkward laugh.

On the other side, Ishikawa Hayato left the apartment, looked at the empty, brightly lit street, and let out a sigh of relief.

The heat instantly turned into white mist with his exhale. Thinking of his warm bed at home and his sweet, soft girlfriend, Ishikawa Hayato quickly took a step forward.

After Ishikawa Hayato left, the four of them quieted down and focused on watching the movie.

Aside from Nijika, she is completely unable to accept anything terrifying.

When things quieted down, hearing the loud and chaotic scenes from horror movies, she began to miss the embrace of Ishikawa Hayato just moments before.

She looked away from the horror movie and glanced at the three people on either side.

To be honest, even with Ishikawa Hayato's help, she still felt a sense of distance and incongruity over the past two weeks.

It's as if the three of them have inexplicably begun to mature.

That kind of maturity isn't about heavy makeup or physical changes, although Kita- chan and Ryo do seem to have developed a bit.

It felt like I was more open and at peace with myself.

There's only one reason for this change...

Nijika hesitated for a long time before finally sighing.

But you can't just say "I think it's okay" the first time, can you...?

Upon arriving at the location given by Hiroi Kikuri, Ishikawa Hayato searched and looked around for a while, and soon spotted Hiroi Kikuri lying on the ground in a corner, dressed in thin clothes, reeking of alcohol and seemingly with vomit around her mouth.

With a headache, Ishikawa Hayato walked over and nudged her.

"Hiroi, is he still alive?"

"Alright... haha..."

She waved her hand and uttered drunken ramblings.

Ishikawa Hayato quickly asked again.

Where do you live?

She mumbled something and turned over, without uttering a clear word.

Seeing Hiroi Kikuri's state, Ishikawa Hayato sighed softly, having no choice but to resort to the wicked plan he had devised on the way, a plan that would kill two birds with one stone.

He gave a sinister smile.

About half an hour later, Nijika covered her ears and hid under the covers pretending to be asleep, Hitori and Liang watched the horror movie with great interest, and Ikuyo, who was part of the atmosphere group, both loved watching it and was easily scared.

She leaned against Hitori, and every scream startled Nijika, and even Hitori.

Even horror movies aren't as scary as her screams.

"Ikuyo-chan, if you're scared, don't watch!"

Unable to pretend to be asleep Nijika helplessly told Ikuyo, but Ikuyo, who looked scared, shouted happily.

"But it's very interesting!"

Liang sighed and glanced at Ikuyo.

Just then, the bedroom door opened, and the four looked towards the doorway in surprise, only to see Ishikawa Hayato walk in with a smug expression, as if he had done something good.

Nijika glanced at the closed bedroom door and asked, puzzled.

Where is Hiroi-san?

When Ishikawa Hayato went out, they all thought that there would probably be no peace and quiet tonight, but it seemed that only Ishikawa Hayato came back, which surprised them a little.

Ishikawa Hayato climbed onto the bed and said with a smile.

"I sent it to a very lonely person."

While the three of them were filled with questions, Nijika sensed something was wrong.

The following afternoon.

"That's great... Hayato-kun and the others are already on vacation."

On her way home from school, Nijika sighed as she looked at Ikuyo's Instagram post.

In the morning, she posted photos of the three of them practicing together. At noon, she posted photos of a beautifully colored lunch, with the background being her home.

In the afternoon, she posted photos of a group of people singing at a karaoke bar; they were all girls, and they all looked like her friends.

Liang glanced at Nijika's phone a few times, looking at the photos. She felt that the three people weren't so honest, and she decided to go back and check how much more food they had lost.

She thought this to herself, but said it casually, with a tone of disdain.

"Two more days of study? Might as well drop out."

"Huh?"

Nijika immediately looked at Ryo in shock, and because she often saw Ishikawa Hayato expose Ryo's casual mask, she could guess some of Ryo's thoughts.

"Could it be that you want to focus on composing music?"

Liang looked away, which only confirmed the correctness of Nijika's guess.

Nijika sighed and offered some words of comfort.

"Even with Hayato-kun around, you should still think about the future for yourself."

"I've thought it over. Leave the troublesome stuff to Hayabusa, I'll just focus on making music." Ryo said, turning his gaze to Nijika, his unfathomable golden eyes looking at her as he asked.

"... On the contrary, Nijika, you haven't even thought through the immediate problem."

"What are you talking about...?"

Nijika stopped abruptly halfway through her question, a look of hesitation on her face.

As they talked, the two did not stop walking and continued towards the stars.

Although they no longer work there, they still habitually go there to hang out, and Nijika occasionally helps Seika out.

When the two arrived at the Starry Sky, it was bustling with noise.

Seika: "You bastard, you knocked on my door in the middle of the night last night and then dumped this drunkard here?!"

Ishikawa Hayato: "I was just worried you'd be lonely, sister."

Seika: "You know I'm lonely, so give Nijika back! Who wants this drunkard?!"

Hiroi Kikuri: "Waaaaah, I'm unwanted now."

Hearing the hellish chatter below, Nijika and Ryo hesitated. They knew how Ishikawa Hayato had dealt with Hiroi Kikuri last night.

After understanding the situation, Liang revealed an expression of amusement, as if to say, "This guy really knows how to have fun," and walked downstairs.

Nijika sighed and followed.

"Hmm... It's gotten so lively since Hayato-kun arrived."

Ikuyo followed behind Ishikawa Hayato with an expression of utter incomprehension.

They ran into Ikuyo's friends while they were playing on the street, so they went to a karaoke bar together.

With Ishikawa Hayato around, the atmosphere was incredibly lively, Ikuyo almost couldn't stop people from asking for Ishikawa Hayato contact information.

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled, shook his hand Hitori, and asked her.

"Hitori, what time is it?"

Hitori chuckled lightly, shifting his gaze from the uneasy Ikuyo, glancing at his phone, and asking Ishikawa Hayato a question.

"It's 3:36 PM, have you gone to Fanxing yet?"

Despite her calm and composed smile now, she was just like before in the karaoke room, shrinking into a corner and immediately hiding behind Ishikawa Hayato at the slightest sound.

At that moment, seeing that someone else was more nervous than her made her feel incredibly relaxed, happy, and smiling.

Ishikawa Hayato thought for a moment and then nodded, realizing that Nijika and Ryo would be arriving around the same time as them when they reached Fanxing.

"Um."

If Nijika isn't around, no one will be able to stop Seika when he goes berserk.

Sure enough, upon arriving at Fanxing, the store was bustling with an excessive amount of noise.

Seika grew angrier as she spoke, and began to recall the horrific scenes from the previous night.

"She reeked of alcohol, and as soon as I opened the door, she threw up all over me. I had to take care of her all night, give her water, and listen to her raving. I didn't sleep a wink all night!"

Upon hearing this tragic story, Ishikawa Hayato felt a pang of sympathy, though he secretly rejoiced.

Sending Hiroi Kikuri Seika was absolutely the right thing to do. We'll do it again next time.

He smiled and patted Seika on the shoulder.

"It's okay. We watched horror movies at home until very late last night and were so scared that we couldn't fall asleep until very late. Everyone's the same."

On one side, they were happily watching a horror movie, while on the other side, she was exhausted from dealing with the drunkard. Seika was furious.

"Go to hell!"

Ishikawa Hayato's sarcastic remarks had already made Nijika abandon her plan to smooth things over.

While the two were chasing each other, she abandoned Yudai and Ikuyo, Hitori watching the play with Ichiri, and went to the bar.

Standing inside were three new employees, who, like the previous ones, were also part-time workers practicing in the new band.

The band's name is "Snow Cat Love".

Each of the three characters is taken from the name of one of the members.

Amamiya Yuki, Hinata Etsuko, and Oyama Nekoneko.

Incidentally, all three are junior high school students, and you can tell from their names that they are all female. They even came here to work and formed a band because they love the music of five people.

Upon learning that all the attendees were women, Ishikawa Hayato complained that he was surrounded by too many women. Aside from his classroom, he was practically always mingling with women.

"Yuki-chan, how's today?"

211. What is the relationship?

I don't know if it's really history repeating itself, or just a simple coincidence.

There's another member in the Snow Cat Love Band who's just as timid and not good at talking Hitori, but not to the Hitori degree, nor as fantastical.

"... No... no problem."

Amamiya Yuki shifted her gaze from the bustling arena to Nijika, a slightly timid expression on her face.

Her gentle, quiet voice ended with a noise so loud it was indescribable.

"That's right! We're perfectly fine, Gentle Senior. What brings you today?"

The name "Oyama Nekoneko" reflects her personality, but she's not the kind of cat that moves gently; rather, she's a tiger that roars loudly and charges recklessly at any moment.

Nijika wanted to take better care of Amamiya Yuki, so she moved closer, which startled Amamiya Yuki and made her squeeze to the side.

This scene looks familiar.

Nijika recalled that it should be Ikuyo and Hitori plus upgraded versions, but their positions were different.

Amamiya Yuki is a drummer. She said she tried playing the drums and found it very stress-relieving, which is why she chose to become a drummer.

To be honest, she's quiet and elegant, but she's quite terrifying when she plays the drums. If Hitori puts her dissatisfaction with social interactions into her lyrics, then she vents that dissatisfaction on the drum kit.

Oyama Nekoneko is a guitarist; she simply chose to play because she's cool. Hinata Etsuko is a bassist; it seems she chose bass because she admires Ryo, not because she mistakenly bought a bass.

"Could it be that she's going to give Anjing some private lessons on the secrets of drumming?!" Oyama Nekoneko's words flowed non-stop with her thoughts, and before Nijika could even speak, she continued.

And immediately convinced himself that his guess was correct, he cried out with a look of unwillingness.