Chapter 314

With Ishikawa Hayato not around, Otsuki Yuyuko became much more relaxed, and her attitude softened considerably.

After sitting down next to Hiroi Kikuri with the four of them, Otsuki Yuyuko, having been comforted by Nijika and Hiroi Kikuri, looked at the four people she rarely got along with and honestly shared her feelings.

I don't know if what you're saying is good or bad, but I certainly didn't sense that he wanted to build a good relationship with me.

Nijika looked enlightened.

She didn't know anything about the relationship between the two before, but after hearing what Otsuki Yuyuko said, she immediately understood.

"There are other reasons for this."

Unlike the tactful Nijika, Liang was much more direct. "That person just finds things troublesome, ignore him."

Otsuki Yuyuko was slightly puzzled, but she wasn't really interested in delving into it. Instead, she asked about the band and spoke to Nijika.

"You guys seem to be really energetic lately. Have you decided to go to the Unconfirmed Riot?"

"Ah... this." Nijika hesitated, glancing at the others, and then said calmly after seeing that none of them had made any special comments.

We plan to decide after the New Year.

"Ha?"

Otsuki Yuyuko leaned forward, pressing her hand on the table, and complained, her face showing a look of dissatisfaction that seemed to say, "What are you guys doing?"

But Ikuyo seemed to have anticipated her reaction, and smiled as soon as she finished speaking.

"As long as you prepare for the performances adequately on a regular basis, there's no need for any special preparations. Just perform as scheduled. That's the decision made by our agent."

Otsuki Yuyuko's attitude could only scare Hitori, and some of the four either didn't argue or completely ignored her seemingly nasty attitude.

The other three merely glanced at Ikuyo, who had never explicitly confirmed her identity as the manager, without offering any objections.

Seeing that they weren't completely underestimating the music festival, Otsuki Yuyuko relaxed and, like Ryo across from her, rested her chin on her hand on the table.

"In that case, wouldn't you be practicing all the time? Wouldn't that be tiring?"

"No, I haven't been doing much housework lately, and I've moved in with... ah..." Nijika stopped mid-sentence, realizing her mistake.

Ikuyo helped cover it up.

"We've been living together lately, it's practically like a group camp."

Liang held her phone without looking up.

"Yes, and now that we're on holiday, we can practice from afternoon to evening."

Unlike the two people above who earnestly explained things to Otsuki Yuyuko, Ryo was there to watch the fun and also wanted to complain a bit, so he specifically reminded Otsuki Yuyuko of the amount of practice they were doing.

As expected, Otsuki Yuyuko was shocked, not only because of these top-ranking players, but also because of Ikuyo's words.

"What? Not only do they live together, but they practice every day?"

The four were puzzled by her words; it seemed she envied them more for living together.

Otsuki Yuyuko realized her tone was off and softened it a bit.

"Don't you feel tired or stressed from practicing for so long?"

"Hard work?" Ikuyo and Nijika both looked puzzled.

"Why are you feeling repressed?" Hitori asked, surprised.

"What does 'long-term practice' mean?" Liang thought of something funny, looked up from her phone, her expression unchanged but her voice tinged with laughter as she asked.

After being questioned three times in a row, Otsuki Yuyuko was stunned, feeling as if she had suddenly entered a strange realm.

While many musicians treat music as a game, or a way of life to enjoy, very few would spend all day doing nothing but hiding in the rehearsal room.

She turned to Hiroi Kikuri for help, only to find that Hiroi Kikuri had disappeared sometime earlier.

Otsuki Yuyuko quickly turned around and looked around. A few tables away, she spotted Hiroi Kikuri.

Wow, this guy is amazing!

Hiroi Kikuri said casually, raising the bottle and taking a sip of her drink.

At the same time, her tone contrasted with that of another excited bassist.

"It's too strong! Big brother, beat it up!"

The two men flanked Ishikawa Hayato, one standing and the other squatting, watching him play games.

The game console that was originally in the bassist's hand had already been handed to Ishikawa Hayato, but he still looked very excited.

When the lead singer of the band heard what the bassist said, he got really fired up.

"Alright! Let me show you my true strength..."

"Who called you? Don't let my older brother misunderstand."

The young man on bass immediately corrected him and carefully patted Ishikawa Hayato on the shoulder, saying, "That's my older brother!"

"A wise man submits to circumstances, alright, since you've called me that, you'd better show us something amazing." Ishikawa Hayato said, while calmly pressing the control buttons with both hands.

Then, a chorus of exclamations rang out from the other end: "What? Impossible!" "How could a human do that?" "Big brother, teach me!"

Even Hiroi Kikuri rarely plays games, exclaimed with slight surprise, "You're really good at games, bro!"

Ishikawa Hayato said in a proud tone, as if it were no big deal.

"Just playing around occasionally."

Hearing the exclamations from the other side, Otsuki Yuyuko was very curious, but because Ishikawa Hayato was there, she couldn't go over, so she could only say sourly.

"Boys are such idiots, it's just a game..."

After she finished speaking and looked away, she saw that Nijika and Hitori were also looking in that direction.

Hitori seemed to keep her gaze fixed on Ishikawa Hayato, while Nijika wore a gentle smile, appearing happy to see Ishikawa Hayato having fun.

However, after Otsuki Yuyuko spoke, they all looked away.

Seeing the complicated look in Otsuki Yuyuko, Nijika chuckled and said, "Playing games is a great way to relax."

"Um..."

Otsuki Yuyuko wasn't too surprised that Nijika would side with Nijika Ishikawa Hayato.

But she noticed something in Nijika and Hitori's eyes just now, and a thought suddenly came to her mind.

Although she didn't know what that idea was, she still tentatively asked, with a hint that it shouldn't be possible.

"By the way, the four of you live together, so he's not here with you either, is he?"

Aside from Liang, all three were taken aback. Nijika, regaining her senses, hurriedly waved her hand and said...

"How could this be? How could this be!"

Ikuyo opened her mouth, intending to speak the truth, but seeing that Nijika had already expressed her opinion, she followed suit.

"Even if they're in the same band, Hayato-kun is still a man, it's impossible for them to be together, why is Otsuki-san asking that?"

Otsuki glanced at Yoshida Ginjiro, the store manager, who was walking towards them from backstage, and stood up, remembering that rehearsals were about to begin.

"I just overheard Hiroi-nee mentioning that you guys are all dating him, and it suddenly came to mind."

As she walked past the group, heading backstage, she said, "It's probably just Hiroi-nee's drunken ramblings."

The four looked at each other, and after a slight hesitation...

An opening appears within Hitori.

"No... it's not nonsense."

"Huh?" Otsuki Yuyuko stopped in surprise and turned around to look at the four people.

The rehearsal at the performance venue was really just a sound check, not a rehearsal.

After all, whether someone has the ability to perform on this stage is usually determined by the store manager before the performance is arranged.

As for the musicians' condition... the tickets have already been sold. In a small venue like a concert hall, unless it's to the point of being unable to operate, there's no reason to reclaim the tickets.

Even if something happens, all you can do is exclaim, "That's real rock and roll!"

However, the group of people who joined the band after Hitori Kessoku Band their careers, and under the guidance of Ishikawa Hayato, maintained a healthy lifestyle. It can be said that they are highly skilled and in good health.

Moreover, nothing happened that affected his mindset when he was on a stage he was already used to.

The sound check was incredibly easy. The five of them offered a few minor suggestions about the sound, which the sound engineer adjusted. After playing a short passage to confirm that everything was fine, they came off the stage.

However, as he passed by the next SIDEROS auditioning, Ishikawa Hayato felt like he was being glared at by Otsuki Yuyuko.

Ishikawa Hayato was completely unconcerned about being glared at, but he was a little curious.

Did he scare this arrogant girl and make her angry? But it doesn't seem like it.

Returning to the arena with the same four equally bewildered individuals, Ishikawa Hayato saw Hiroi Kikuri, unusually not so drunk, standing in the back area, hands in her pockets, eyes half-closed, watching the stands.

Hearing the commotion, she looked at Ishikawa Hayato, smiled, raised her hand to signal them to come this way, and said...

"Everyone's rehearsal was amazing! They've improved so much since the last time we watched it."

When greeted by their closest friend in the room, Ishikawa Hayato walked over without hesitation, and the girls followed him.

He said it without any modesty.

"In various games, movies, and other scripts, the protagonist's team may not be the strongest, but their leveling speed is definitely the fastest."

Nijika walked to his side and tugged at him, saying...

"The protagonist's team, that's going too far!"

"That guy is right, the band members really had the feel of a hero's squad Kessoku Band." Hiroi Kikuri agreed, then paused, her smile fading slightly, before adding...

"Otsuki-chan seemed really angry just now, saying 'They must have been tricked by that guy,' which made it sound like she was talking about the guy."

Nijika was startled when she saw Ishikawa Hayato standing next to him, but Ishikawa Hayato just smiled and waved his hand dismissively.

After hearing what Otsuki said, and recalling the conversation he had just overheard among the five people, he immediately understood the situation.

"Let her think it is up to her. Otsuki isn't the type to cause trouble for others, so let her be."

"Hey, isn't that a bad idea?"

Ikuyo immediately objected.

While most of the other people were on their phones watching videos, Ryo noticed Otsuki Yuyuko staring at Ishikawa Hayato as she watched the SIDEROS band rehearsing on stage.

"Let me explain."

"Hmm... I don't want Hayabusa to be misunderstood either."

Hitori also agreed with Ryo's idea.

Faced with unanimous opposition from his girlfriends, Ishikawa Hayato said to them helplessly.

"It's just a misunderstanding that won't cause any trouble..." He hadn't finished speaking when they all glared at him, making him stop talking.

If it hadn't caused much of a stir before, it would have now; getting them all to oppose it is quite a big deal.

"Okay, okay," he immediately changed his mind.

Seeing that Ishikawa Hayato agreed, Nijika breathed a sigh of relief.

"However, I know Hayato-kun is worried, so all I need to do is explain it clearly."

"No, I wasn't worried about what you said..."

Ishikawa Hayato was well aware that his thoughts differed from Nijika's. As he spoke, he noticed that the gazes on him had suddenly become much heavier, but he didn't panic.

"I believe the best way to prevent something is to never get infected in the first place."

However, after the audition, when the SIDEROS band came out from backstage Otsuki Yuyuko was nowhere to be seen.

But it's nothing serious; the other members said she went to the restroom.

It's just stage presence syndrome.

According to other members, she gets so nervous before going on stage that her whole body stiffens.

Hitori nodded in deep agreement, which made Ishikawa Hayato curiously pinch her arm.

It's not stiff at all; on the contrary, it's soft and very elastic.