Chapter 361

"I'd say I'm a mother who, like many others, has had her daughter bullied by a... teenager."

"Really?" Liang's mother smiled even more brightly, but that smile made Ikuyo and Ikuyo's father tremble with fear.

She said, "My daughter wasn't bullied; it's just that she had a few more suitors. If some of them were willing to step aside, she would definitely be happier."

Ikuyo's mother's eyes narrowed suddenly, and the displeasure she had been suppressing exploded outwards.

"Huh? What do you mean?!"

Does this mean Ikuyo is in the way and hindering her daughter's happiness?

Even if you don't like her, why should Ikuyo another girl?

As soon as Ikuyo's mother finished speaking, Ikuyo and Ikuyo father moved away as if by lightning, staring in horror at the two 40-year-old mothers.

Liang's mother smiled dismissively.

Seeing this Ikuyo's mother put her hands on her hips, as if she was about to intervene, and said, "That's right, how could my daughter be bullied? Look how happy she is now."

Ikuyo's mother pointed at Ikuyo, and Ikuyo immediately put on a smile that was mixed with fear.

When Ikuyo's father saw that Ikuyo's mother was looking over, he smiled and tried to smooth things over.

"Alright, alright, Kuruyo, let's go in first."

"It hasn't started yet!"

Ikuyo's mother's sharp voice made Ikuyo's father tremble.

"Yes, it hasn't started yet," Ryo's mother said with a smile.

Ikuyo's mother glared at her.

The terrifying aura of the two mothers united against a common enemy caused Nijika, who had originally wanted to smooth things over, to shrink behind Ishikawa Hayato.

However, at that moment, Ishikawa Hayato made a move.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, he strode forward with heroic steps, reaching the very center of the battlefield amidst their awe-inspiring gazes. He then grabbed the sleeves of two men and said...

"Mom! I'm sorry, I will make your daughter happy."

In the distance, Ishikawa Jinpei, who had also arrived nearby, looked at Ishikawa Hayato's retreating figure with awe.

This is a battleground fought by a 40-year-old mother for her daughter! It's not some little girl's squabble!

Ikuyo's mother coldly shook off his hand.

"Who would believe you can bring happiness to Ikuyo!"

"Yeah?"

Ikuyo's mother naturally accepted Ryo's mother's objections. She tried to grab Ishikawa Hayato's other hand, but saw that Ikuyo's mother had shaken off Ishikawa Hayato's hand, so she grabbed it again.

But she still turned to the side, grabbed Ishikawa Hayato's arm, and said to Ikuyo's mother with a smile.

"I can't make Ikuyo happy, but I can make my Liang happy, so please go back."

At this moment, although Ryo's mother was holding Ishikawa Hayato's hands, the distance between them was slightly close and ambiguous, and the fragrance of a mature woman wafted over.

But Ishikawa Hayato remained cautiously vigilant, trying to prevent them from actually fighting.

Liang watched with great interest from behind, completely unconcerned that her mother, boyfriend, and friend's mother would get into a fight.

They even expressed their admiration.

"No wonder he's a pervert."

She left the rest of her sentence unfinished. "They even dared to go on that."

As she said this, she took out her phone and tapped on Seika's number.

Nijika noticed her actions, her eyes widening in disbelief. She snatched the phone from her, deleted the number, and locked the phone.

On the other side, Ishikawa Hayato's Ishikawa Hayato gradually entered the interrogation phase.

Despite the immense pressure, Ishikawa Hayato remained fearless and relentlessly pursued the attack.

"Whose daughter would you choose!"

"I've already chosen both."

"Whose daughter is the best?"

"They each have their own unique advantages!"

After being pestered by Ishikawa Hayato for a while, the two mothers gradually felt tired. Moreover, they were still on the street, and their fighting spirit gradually dissipated in front of their daughter.

Pulled between Ryo and Ikuyo's father, they ended the struggle.

When Ryo's mother left and Ikuyo's mother went to queue with Ikuyo's father, Ishikawa Hayato finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ishikawa Jinpei, who had also enjoyed the show from a distance, walked over with a smile, patted him on the shoulder, and said...

"You don't need to invite me to your wedding ceremony from now on."

He felt that if he went over to these two families, they would tear him apart. He didn't even want to think about it if all four families were gathered together.

Ishikawa Hayato patted him on the shoulder, but didn't let go, pressing down firmly, and said with a smile.

"I will definitely let you come!"

Beside him, Liang couldn't help but chuckle.

Ishikawa Jinpei's expression fell, but he smiled again within two seconds.

"Go on, there's still a lot to do today."

Ishikawa Hayato nodded.

There's definitely a lot we need to work harder on in the future.

In a normal relationship, infatuation is just a spark that can easily ignite at the right time, but love requires long-term nurturing.

Otherwise, even a forest fire would eventually burn down all the vegetation and be extinguished by rain.

After finishing his Ishikawa Jinpei also left and joined the queue.

In the end, only five people remained by the roadside.

Ishikawa Hayato smiled and looked at the girls around him, then suddenly clenched his fist and shouted.

"We won!"

"We didn't win!" Nijika immediately retorted.

But Liang clapped and exclaimed, "Brilliant!"

Seeing Ishikawa Hayato's cheerful and relaxed appearance, Ikuyo breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that Ishikawa Hayato might be under too much pressure.

"I'm sorry, Hayato-kun, my mother is a bit stubborn."

"It's alright. I'm also very stubborn when it comes to being a pervert, and besides, it's Ikuyo who's with me." Having overcome the ordeal, Ishikawa Hayato's expression became more relaxed. He said this with a sudden realization, and then put his arm around Ikuyo.

"And I have hostages too."

Ikuyo couldn't do anything with him, so she smiled and nudged him.

"Really."

Ishikawa Hayato then left and led the way ahead.

Let's go!

"Um."

The five people, who didn't need to queue, walked straight into the performance hall, but Ishikawa Hayato saw that Hitori's family was at the front of the queue on the side of the road.

As he greeted them, he secretly rejoiced that they hadn't run into each other earlier, otherwise things would have been much more troublesome today.

But after thinking about it, he realized it was a trivial matter, just as he had just said.

The hostages are all in our hands.

Let him deal with these things later.

What matters now is a successful performance and the result he gives them.

247. Tighten the ranks and march towards the world.

From the entrance of the performance hall where there was a queue, to the inside of the hall, the scenery the five people saw was not much different.

The performance hall, which can accommodate about 500 people, was already packed with people.

Unlike the outside, the atmosphere inside was quite somber. Young people carrying musical instruments and dressed in unique outfits, and adults in suits and casual clothes, were clearly divided into two groups in the venue.

They either huddled together to talk or leaned against the edge waiting for the show to begin.

Nijika looked around the arena. Because she often worked at Fanxing, she was quite sensitive to the number of people in a certain area. She looked at the scene and said unconsciously.

"It feels like there are over a hundred people here."

After she finished speaking, she turned to Ishikawa Hayato and asked for confirmation, "Hayato-kun, those should be people from the record company, right?"

"Hmm." Ishikawa Hayato nodded. He looked at the adults in suits, noticing that several of them were holding cigarettes, Qun Lu Jiu wanting to smoke, but unable to act. He said:

"This music festival is different from the last one, which was co-organized with a performance venue. This time it's organized by a record company, so it's more professional."

He saw more and understood more. Although the musicians and record companies were chatting peacefully at the moment, tensions were already starting to rise.

Unlike the last time when we collaborated on managing a stage, this time all the bands present were rivals.

But the girls around him either didn't realize this or weren't worried about it, and the questions they asked were unrelated to this.

Ikuyo looked at the middle-aged men in suits, then glanced at Ishikawa Hayato with a hint of worry and asked:

"Hey, if we win, do we have to join that record company?"

She was terrified after the record company manager broke up the band last time, and besides, they were no longer just a band; they had developed a deeper relationship, so naturally she didn't want to separate.

"Who would participate in such a predatory contract?"

Liang complained, looking around before saying to the four of them, "All the chairs here are full. Let's go to the back lounge or waiting room."

"Ishikawa Hayato said with a smile."

"Yes, we also need to make some contact with the local bullies."

"Stop bullying Otsuki-san all the time," Nijika said with a helpless smile.

But just as the five were about to head backstage at the performance venue, a familiar face greeted them with a smile.

"Ishikawa-san, it's been a long time." Jiang Chengyangren walked over with a warm and friendly smile.

Nijika became slightly wary and whispered the other person's identity, "J-Sketch's manager."

Last time, it was his attempt to break up the team that left a very bad impression on Nijika.

Jiang Chengyangren didn't hear Nijika's low voice because of the various noisy conversations in the room.

"Yes, it's been almost a year."

Even as Ishikawa Hayato was speaking, he heard Nijika's voice. He took a step forward without making a sound, shook her hand, and said with a smile:

"Since you're here, does this music festival have anything to do with your company?"

"I only put in a little effort."

Jiang Chengyangren humbly said that he didn't really consider Ishikawa Hayato to be a young man, and the calm and reliable aura emanating from Ishikawa Hayato made it impossible for people to regard him as a young man.

But after he finished speaking, he noticed that Liang, looking annoyed, walked to the side.

Although the girl walked slowly, her implied urging was very clear. Jiang Chengyangren knew he hadn't made a good impression on them, so he quickened his pace and got straight to the point.

"I misjudged you last time. I didn't expect that it wasn't just you and that Guitar Hero who were outstanding. All of you have improved a lot in terms of playing and composing this year. I wonder if you would be interested in discussing this with us as the whole band this time?"

Ishikawa Hayato, observing Jiang Chengyangren's commanding body language, did not immediately reply but instead glanced back at the girls.

Seeing their wary yet very interested expressions, he couldn't help but smile.

But when he turned around, he put on a business-like, friendly smile and said...

"Of course I'm interested, but I think such discussions should be conducted after this music festival, once you've confirmed our actual performance details, and then use that as the evaluation criterion, right?"

Jiang Chengyangren felt that he was not facing a teenager.

This concise and sophisticated way of ending the conversation is very effective.