Chapter 96

"Wait, wait, that's something we can't talk about!"

Hibiki's expression changed instantly. He bypassed Kita and rushed to Ishikawa Hayato, covering his mouth as if to completely rob him of his ability to speak, and held him down.

She only let go of Ishikawa Hayato's handkerchief after he held it up.

She then realized that she had been impolite in front of the guests, and bowed apologetically.

"I'm so sorry, I was too flustered just now, I was rude."

"It's alright, it's alright, don't worry about it."

"The siblings have such a good relationship."

Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief, her mood dropping for a moment before she smiled again.

Ishikawa Hayato was already used to Hibiki's skillful and charming demeanor in front of outsiders.

At that moment, Ryo handed over a chocolate bar to Hibiki.

"Want some?"

"Thank you!" Hibiki accepted it with a smile, not caring at all that it was his own.

"Hello!"

Nijika stared blankly at Liang, who was using her position to offer his own benefit.

84. Hitomi

Then, the tea party began, and for a moment, everyone forgot why they had come.

They chatted casually.

Apart from Ryo, the other three seemed to welcome Hibiki very much, and even Bocchi asked Hibiki a question or two out of curiosity.

Indeed, Hibiki is very cute when she dresses up, and she doesn't look as silly as usual. She also sweetly calls out "older sister" all the time.

"I heard Hayato-kun say that Hibiki plays the piano?"

"Yes, in my spare time I help out by teaching at my mom's friend's place."

"Teaching!?" / "That's amazing!"

"But I still can't compare to my brother. He's a freak; he played quite well in just one week."

"I understand. I really don't know what Ishikawa-kun is thinking. It's terrifying."

"Hey, don't stare at my head when you say that, it's giving me the creeps!"

"Hahaha~!"

The tea party lasted for quite a while, and seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Xiang stood up to clear the plates.

Tell me when it's done.

"Then please make yourselves at home, ladies. I won't bother you any longer."

Seeing that Hibiki had left because he was worried about disturbing them, the group wanted to say they didn't mind, but they didn't want to ask him to stay, so they looked to Ishikawa Hayato for help.

Ishikawa Hayato hesitated for a moment, then spoke to Hibiki, who hadn't left the house yet.

"Everyone's almost finished designing, how about we play for a bit? Want to join us, Xiang?"

"Is it okay?" Hibiki turned around in surprise.

"Of course! You'd be very welcome." / "Please stay!"

"Wait a moment, I'll go tidy up."

Xiang said this, then ran off laughing, carrying the plate.

Watching Hibiki leave, Nijika turned back with a smile and said to Ishikawa Hayato.

"Wow~ Hayato-kun's little sister is so cute, I wish I could be her older sister."

"I don't mind."

After Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking, he tilted his head back and slightly opened his arms, as if waiting for Nijika to rush into his embrace.

Nijika's eyes immediately lost their color, and she said coldly.

"It has nothing to do with Hayato-kun!"

Kita considered the situation from the perspective of someone who had been persecuted by Ishikawa Hayato for a long time.

"By the way, Ishikawa-kun, you wouldn't bully Hibiki like you did to us, would you?"

Faced with her question, Ishikawa Hayato was taken aback, he said.

How could this be!?

Just as they were breathing a sigh of relief, he spoke.

"My sister is meant to be bullied, how could she possibly be only as bad as you guys?"

"That's terrible!!"

His words made Nijika, who was also his younger sister, scream in anger.

After the group finished tidying up the things on the square table, Xiang ran up and poked his head out from the doorway.

"The downstairs area is all tidied up, everyone please come down."

The five people walked from the second floor to the lobby on the first floor.

Ishikawa Hayato noticed that there seemed to be no one else on the first floor, and asked Hibiki.

Where are Mom and Dad?

Xiang answered with a smile.

"I had to go out temporarily."

Ishikawa Hayato was taken aback. Judging from his parents' previous demeanor, they clearly had no plans to go out.

His sister actually managed to kick them both out of their group; it seems we need to reassess her position in the family.

The four of them seemed much more relaxed since Ishikawa Hayato's parents weren't there.

Xiang walked to the coffee table, took out several board game boxes, displayed them on the table, and asked the five people a question.

"So, what should we play next? Sugoroku, Twisted Fate, Monopoly, or Joker?"

Ishikawa Hayato had been keeping an eye on Bocchi.

With each game she heard about, her expression worsened, and when she heard about drawing the Joker, her eyes instantly lost their color, and she stared blankly at the ground.

It's likely that drawing the Joker card reminded her of the clown, someone no one needs and who is all alone, which directly caused her emotional distress.

She was probably thinking.

Draw the Joker card.

This is a terrifying game that should be cursed.

It is an insult to the lonely by the majority!

In the player's hand, all other cards can be paired up by everyone, and then sent away with laughter.

Only one Joker card was carelessly left in the hand of the person who considered themselves unlucky, and it kept circulating.

In every game, it carries a curse from beginning to end. No one expects it, no one needs it, and with only one card, it can never find one that matches itself, no matter how hard it tries.

That's terrifying...

While the others were pondering, Ishikawa Hayato subtly glanced at the clothes of the girls around him and said...

"Let's play King's Game and Twister."

Upon hearing what Ishikawa Hayato said, the three people other than Bocchi thought about it cautiously.

Leaving aside the King's Game, which was already rife with malice.

Twister...

Although Ryo and Bocchi were wearing trousers, Nijika and Kita were wearing skirts, and even Hibiki was wearing a short skirt. They glanced at their own clothes and their eyes immediately sharpened.

They conveyed their message angrily through their eyes.

"Hibiki's here too, watch your step!" / "Don't be a pervert at a time like this!"

Xiang realized the problem and quietly put away the twisty toy.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at the twisty toy that had been put away.

What a pity, he thought.

At this moment, Liang walked over, looked at the box containing the Sugoroku game, picked it up, and said to the group.

"Then, how about Shuanglu?"

"Not bad."

Although everyone agreed, once the chessboard was set up, they discovered that the game had many traps.

For example, you can confess your feelings to the player in the nearest square, tell them a love story, or be punished if you can't, such as making eye contact with any random player of the opposite sex for 30 seconds.

Of course, these are only a few examples; most of the time, it's just minor punishments like adding a "meow" sound when speaking in the game, or drinking a glass of water in one go.

Seeing Hibiki casually laying out the map and setting up the chess pieces, Nijika and the others felt too embarrassed to refuse.

It just felt like I'd fallen into some kind of trap.

The game didn't have any unacceptable traps at the beginning, and they got through the first round smoothly. Everyone didn't care about the minor punishments and just laughed and joked around.

There was a sense of harmony.

But in the second round...

"Then it's my turn."

Seeing that there were no dangerous penalties in the subsequent squares, Kita casually tossed the tile away without any worry.

She counted the squares, placed the chess piece, and glanced at the penalty.

"Huh, they're actually dancing?"

She sighed upon seeing this, but her gaze lingered on the others before she quickly stood up as if she had made up her mind.

"Then I'll jump a short section."

As she spoke, she took out her phone, turned on some music, played an electronic song to accompany herself, and walked towards the open space in front of her.

The group looked at Kita with curiosity and a Kita of anticipation, and applauded her.

Ishikawa Hayato and Nijika even cheered for Kita by shouting, "Kita- chan, do your best!"

Xiang noticed his brother's expression and clapped in anticipation.

Kita calmly accepted the encouragement from the group, waiting with a smile.

As the intro began, she prepared her movements, and then, with a look of admiration on Bocchi's face, she gracefully began to move to the rhythm.

The dance was in the K-POP style, with clean and energetic movements, and a confident and sunny expression, just like a professional dancer.

According to Ishikawa Hayato, the dancers were incredibly cute and their movements were mature and graceful, creating a strangely alluring effect.

Just as I was about to enjoy the music a little longer, Kita suddenly stopped, turned it off, and said with a smile.

"I'm a little embarrassed."

"It's okay! Keep going Kita ~ Give me some more, I love watching!"

"Ishikawa Hayato said with a big smile."

Kita rolled her eyes at him, then returned to her seat with a faint smile.

At this moment, Ryo glanced at Bocchi, Bocchi looked at Kita with admiration.

As soon as Kita sat down, Hibiki sensed that the atmosphere of the game had suddenly changed; it seemed that Kita's thoughtless actions had made some people in the room take it seriously.

After Kita ended, it was Ishikawa Hayato.

He clearly sensed something was wrong and decided to wait and see.