Chapter 316

Ishikawa Hayato looked on with amusement at Ryou, who would only hug him like this when she was learning how to be a person, and how to be a decent human being.

After learning what the forbidden words were for Nijika, he quickly tried to "reassur" Nijika.

"After all, he's a drummer; people who sit for long periods of time have issues with their lower body..."

"Hayato-kun."

Nijika tapped her hand with the spiked club again, calling out softly in a gentle voice.

In an instant, Ishikawa Hayato seemed to see the girl standing on the small boat by the river, and he became completely still.

"Yes!"

Ishikawa Hayato covered his mouth, which was still cold.

Beside him, Hitori, who was also startled, squeezed next to Ishikawa Hayato and covered his mouth as well.

"Really..." Nijika quickly recovered from her rage and sighed as she looked at the three of them.

"Isn't it inappropriate to point out someone's shortcomings in public?"

"It didn't happen in public," Ishikawa Hayato said, feigning surprise as he looked around. "These are all our own people."

As Nijika paused, the door to the lounge opened.

Ikuyo ran in, making a ruckus.

"I'm back~!"

"Welcome back," Ishikawa Hayato greeted, while Ryo resumed his relaxed, lounging posture.

Ikuyo looked at him as soon as she came in, but when she saw Liang's legs pressing down on his, and then saw that the other side was occupied by Hitori, she walked over and sat down next to Nijika.

What are you talking about?

"About the morning runs," Ishikawa Hayato said, getting a cold shoulder, before adding, "And also about everyone gaining weight."

Ikuyo looked around at the group in shock, her expression blank, as if to say, "Is this a topic I can discuss with Ishikawa Hayato?"

"I haven't gained weight!" she quickly added, snapping out of her daze. "I've just gained a little..."

"That's true..."

Nijika very naturally reached out to Liang's belly, as if to check the weight of the pig she was raising, and pinched her waist.

"I actually think I've lost a little weight."

Ryo didn't resist, but just stared fixedly at Ishikawa Hayato, as if to say, "I'm being bullied, aren't you going to stop it?"

Ishikawa Hayato chuckled to himself, deciding to remain neutral.

Then, the five of them chatted for a long time about fat, morning exercise, and the gradual progression to puberty.

Outside, the performance continued.

After the Kessoku Band's performance, SIDEROS will perform, and finally, today's main attraction, SICK HACK, will perform.

Unlike the Kessoku Band just a guest, Hiroi Kikuyo Qun Lu Jiu, as one of the main characters tonight, had a lot to deal with, otherwise she would have been arguing with the others in the lounge.

It's fortunate she wasn't there, otherwise the five of them wouldn't have been able to chat as freely as usual.

One hour later.

"How about we try some metal music too?" Ikuyo asked.

She was sitting on the table in front of Ishikawa Hayato, with her legs less than a hand's width apart from Ishikawa Hayato.

Sitting on the table, swinging her legs, she had a very youthful JK (high school girl) vibe, which is exactly what she is.

"Ah, this seems pretty good." Hitori's eyes lit up with interest.

"Generally speaking, suddenly trying a different style is a sign that the band is about to break up," Liang said casually, playing with his phone.

The two girls were startled by her words and immediately looked at Ishikawa Hayato.

That's true.

Ishikawa Hayato agreed, "But it depends on the person. Hitori and Ikuyo probably just want to try out different styles. Playing together is more important than musicality."

Hitori and Ikuyo nodded in agreement.

"Hmm... I'll think about it." Liang continued playing on her phone.

The four of them changed the subject again; heaven knows how they managed to chat for an hour.

Despite having known each other for a long time and even living together, they seemed to have endless topics to discuss.

As for Nijika, who didn't have much energy, she had fallen asleep on the sofa, covered with a blanket.

The four of them then talked about musicality, and as Hitori explained various music genres to Ikuyo, the door to the lounge opened again.

Ishikawa Hayato looked towards the doorway, where Otsuki Yuyuko was standing.

He wasn't surprised at all, after all, an hour had passed.

Otsuki Yuyuko wore a satisfied smile, seemingly delighted by the great success of tonight's performance.

Upon seeing the situation in the lounge, one could see the three people surrounding Ishikawa Hayato, all of them practically huddled together.

She remembered the things she had temporarily put aside, her brows furrowed, and her expression gradually darkened.

"Ishikawa, come out here for a moment."

Ishikawa Hayato smiled helplessly; trouble had come after all.

The three people surrounding him made way without saying a word.

As he walked past Liang, Liang, without taking her eyes off her phone, gave him a word of advice.

"I didn't give you permission to cheat."

"Even Christmas Eve has made me start to worry about everything, how could I dare?" Ishikawa Hayato chuckled, but continued walking outside without stopping.

Emerging from the lounge, Ishikawa Hayato saw that Otsuki Yuyuko was already standing at the end of the corridor, which led deeper into the store, probably to some kind of storage room.

Ishikawa Hayato, naturally unafraid, followed him inside.

He neither believed that Otsuki Yuyuko could harm him, nor that she would fall in love with him, so he had absolutely nothing to fear.

He walked forward along the corridor where he could clearly hear the bass guitar, and at the corner at the end, he saw Otsuki Yuyuko frowning and staring at him fiercely.

"Did you threaten them?"

Ishikawa Hayato suddenly had a sense of déjà vu; this scene looked very familiar. If he hadn't wanted to avoid any complications, he probably would have turned his back and started pretending to be the final boss.

Forget it, I'm happier being with my girlfriend.

He sighed.

"Yes, I threatened them. I threatened them that if they couldn't accept dating other people with me, they couldn't date me."

Ishikawa Hayato didn't intend to waste any more words.

When dealing with people you don't need to care about, many things can be explained in a single sentence, without any need for dragging things out.

Follow their line of thinking and break through from the inside.

Otsuki Yuyuko heard the first few words, she had prepared threatening and intimidating words, but when she heard what followed, she was stunned and blinked in disbelief.

"You..."

Everything was different from what she had imagined. She had thought that Ishikawa Hayato had some kind of leverage over the four women and wanted them to date him.

However, Ishikawa Hayato did the opposite, claiming that what she thought was a request to "date him" was a threat to blackmail them, which left her stunned for a while.

"Otsuki, you're a nice person, but you're so worried that you'd do so much for a friend you're not even that close to." Ishikawa Hayato turned away, not intending to say anything more.

"If you think I'm lying to you, you can directly ask them to confirm. Of course, if you don't believe anything, then there's nothing to talk about."

He took control of the conversation and gave the other party two choices, but in reality, both choices were the easiest for Ishikawa Hayato.

And everything unfolded exactly as Ishikawa Hayato had planned.

Rather than saying "there's nothing to talk about," Otsuki still wanted to get involved. With an angry expression that suggested she had nowhere to vent her frustration, she strode towards the lounge.

Ishikawa Hayato followed behind her at a leisurely pace.

Soon, Otsuki Yuyuko entered the lounge, where conversations could be heard.

Even though it was a bit noisy inside the performance hall, Ishikawa Hayato could still hear the conversations inside clearly because the door wasn't closed.

"Um, I have a question. Did you really start dating Ishikawa because you liked him?"

"Yes."

"Um."

"Besides this, what other reason could there be?"

"You guys... aren't you being a bit too casual?"

Then, in addition to the original four voices, Nijika's voice rang out.

"We've considered many things, and we're very happy with things as they are now. We feel there's no problem with being together like this."

"Um... Otsuki-chan, thank you for your concern."

Then, there was silence inside.

Even without seeing it, Ishikawa Hayato could imagine Otsuki Yuyuko's stunned expression as she was countered.

"Weren't you being blackmailed by him because being with him meant you could achieve great things...?"

"That's a bit much, Otsuki-san."

"Otsuki-chan..."

Before Nijika could finish speaking, Otsuki's angry high-pitched voice rang out.

"Then I don't care anymore!"

Before she could finish speaking, Ishikawa Hayato saw her storm out as if fleeing in anger.

Ishikawa Hayato watched her leave before heading back into his room.

If Ishikawa Hayato hadn't witnessed their bold confessions at the school festival, he wouldn't have dared to let them directly confront Otsuki Yuyuko.

But now...

As soon as Ishikawa Hayato appeared in the lounge, he heard Liang's deep voice, which was quite rude.

"They've pushed the responsibility onto us, huh?"

He smiled weakly.

"We believe you, and the victim's testimony is more useful."

Nijika was a little annoyed by what Otsuki Yuyuko had just said, but after hearing the two of them talk like this, she felt that this was the best solution.

She let out her pent-up frustration and smiled.

Ultimately, it's because we didn't hide it well enough.

"Yes, I'm sorry..."

Hitori immediately showed an uneasy expression; it was her impulsive act at that time that led to the current situation.

Ishikawa Hayato waved his hand dismissively and walked in.

"Hitori just doesn't want our relationship to be rejected."

Hitori looked like she wanted to nod but was too embarrassed.

Ikuyo looked around at the group of people seriously.

"I also think Ichiri-chan did the right thing. Even if we don't say it now, they'll find out sooner or later."

After hesitating for a moment, Nijika nodded and then spoke to Hitori, who was still feeling guilty.

"It's not Bocchi-chan's fault, so don't take it to heart."

"Whose fault is that?"

Ryo asked the question deliberately, and while the other three were thinking, he looked at Ishikawa Hayato.

Her gaze drew the attention of the others to Ishikawa Hayato.