Chapter 133

"And then..." Ichiji Nijika thought for a moment, then scratched her head in frustration, "Hehe~ Because we're not very familiar with each other yet, I have absolutely no idea what to talk about~"

"Um," Gotou Hitori Kokoro raised her hand, "Aren't there four people? There seem to be only three here, is that alright?"

"Ah, you mean Rakuna!" Ichiji Nijika and Yamada Ryo exchanged glances, their brows furrowed in exasperation. "We thought about it too, but that child's behavior is... quite free."

"She can come whenever she wants, so we can't accurately track her whereabouts."

"Since we hadn't gathered all the members yet, we didn't force her to come every day except for rehearsals and performances."

"Ah, I see..." Gotou Hitori understood a little, but still asked doubtfully, "But what about the performance?"

"Hmm? It's a performance in a livehouse, right here in the Starry." Ichiji Nijika pointed to the stage in the distance. "Even though there were only three of us before, I still asked my sister to let us go on stage a few times."

"But as expected, even three people have their limits. The effect can't compare to other bands, especially without the lead singer!"

"I see... Eh? Who is Nijika- chan's older sister?" After hearing her words, Gotou Hitori looked up at her.

"Didn't I say that?" Without answering directly, she first looked at Yamada Ryo, who shook her head. "Oh, I thought I said that yesterday."

"My older sister is the manager here. You should have met her yesterday, right?"

"Manager?" Gotou Hitori's eyes widened as he recalled the mature beauty Sakurakoji Talent had introduced yesterday—a woman with blonde hair and red eyes, and a calm voice, just like Ichiji Nijika.

Her gaze met that of Ichiji Nijika, drawn to the triangular, potato-chip-like hair on her head, which then overlapped with the hair of the person in her mind—

"Ah, red bean..."

"Right? We do look quite alike, don't we?" Ichiji Nijika proudly gave a peace sign, struck a pose, and then twisted her body and gave a wry smile.

"Well, although I can get to power early thanks to this connection, I still have to pay the fees I'm owed!"

"Thanks to this, most of our wages from working here have been spent on Quota Tickets," Yamada Ryo said, pretending to wipe away tears.

"Haha, well, it's great that I even got to go on stage. It's all thanks to Rakuna's superb skills and Mr. Talent's professional guidance!" She touched her chest, her face still showing lingering fear. "I almost didn't pass my sister's audition, that was a close call!"

"Quota Tickets?" Another new term appeared, Gotou Hitori's arched eyebrows twitched upwards.

"Ah, let me explain." Ichiji Nijika"Starry somewhere and showed them to her: "Our performances here are Quota Ticket Performance, and all bands need to contribute a certain number of tickets to perform."

"As the name suggests, in order to ensure attendance, livehouses require bands to sell some tickets themselves. This is necessary to keep the livehouse running."

"Sales exceeding the target will be split between the livehouse and the band, but if they don't even sell the target amount, they'll have to pay for it themselves."

Yamada Ryo, standing to the side, seemed to have lost his entire appearance, as if reminiscing about his vanished wages. The bass voice summed it up. "It's just that bands are very expensive before they become famous and able to make money."

"That's such a brief summary!" Gotou Hitori remarked.

"Well, that's how it is. Although I had my friends help me buy it at first, I can't keep bothering them." Ichiji Nijika put her Hands behind her head and leaned back in her chair.

"Furthermore, Ryo and Rakuna don't have any friends, so we can't rely on them to help sell tickets. Therefore, we'll have to pay for everything ourselves in the end."

"As for Hitori -chan..."

Upon receiving her probing gaze, Gotou Hitori immediately looked away, her eyes losing their luster and becoming lifeless.

"Oh, sorry! It's okay, so don't look at me like that!" She hurriedly waved her hand, telling her not to worry about it.

Gotou Hitori stared lifelessly at the table and began his little drama.

'I have a lot of virtual friends in my mind~'

Guitar-kun: The best in Hitori!

Microphone-kun: Wow! A national treasure-level guitar master!

'...'

Just as she was about to become so engrossed in her own world that she couldn't escape, a key point from the conversation she had just heard popped into her memory.

"Huh?! Ryou-san and the other member don't have any friends?!" She looked up in shock.

Doesn't this mean that they are all just like me, lonely people without friends?

Her eyes sparkled, and she looked at Yamada Ryo with a warm, flower-filled aura.

So, Ryosang, we're the same kind of person!

My heart is fluttering!!

"Yes, I only have one friend, Nijika." Yamada Ryo's words further confirmed her thoughts.

"On her days off, she would go exploring ruins alone, or browse secondhand clothing stores," Ichiji Nijika explained.

'No, that's not right!' Gotou Hitori's happy fantasies came to an abrupt halt, as if he had been thrown onto a deserted island on lava. His pupils widened to their maximum, and he looked at Yamada Ryo as if he were a traitor.

'Ryosang is the type who likes to do things she enjoys on her own! I'm Social Anxiety Disorder anxious to go to clothing stores alone, she's completely different from me!'

There's an insurmountable chasm between liking to be alone and being truly lonely!

I almost stepped on a landmine that I thought was someone like me!

Her body trembled, and she looked tense and disappointed.

"Hitori -chan, relax while we chat~"

No, wait! There's another one, she might...

"What about the other member?" she prayed as she looked at Ichiji Nijika.

"Her," Ichiji Nijika said thoughtfully, tapping her Rakuna, "Is the type who likes to run around by herself. I heard she often skips school to climb trees and goes to her grandmother's shop to play the guitar in front of everyone without permission."

"I'm so sorry for putting myself on the same level as you..." She lost her last shred of hope, curled up, and stared at the ground around her.

A truly Social Anxiety Disorder wouldn't even dare to skip class, let alone play guitar in front of a crowd!

"Ah~ Ah~ Don't die, Hitori- chan!!" Ichiji Nijika shook her body violently.

Taking advantage of the situation, Yamada Ryo poked at her slumped body and chuckled, "Little Hitori is really interesting."

"Hitori, all alone, Bocchi... I'll call you Bocchi-chan from now on."

"Don't give people nicknames so casually, Liang!"

Ichiji Nijika put her hands on her hips and condemned her behavior, but upon hearing this Gotou Hitori immediately sat up, touched and delighted, and grasped Yamada Ryo's hand.

"Bocchi... um! From now on, I'm Bocchi-chan! Thank you!"

"No, is this something to be grateful for?" Ichiji Nijika asked, puzzled.

"Bocchi... wait, has Hitori- chan never been called by a nickname before?"

"I have used things like 'Hey you' and 'Hey' before."

"This can be called a nickname?!" she exclaimed in astonishment.

"Ah, I... I haven't gotten to know anyone well enough to call each other by nicknames!" Gotou Hitori eyes tightly shut.

"Uh, it feels a bit tear-jerking..." Nijika covered her forehead and chuckled dryly, avoiding touching this sensitive area.

"In short, each performance costs tens of thousands of yen in the short term. Let's work hard to earn the fees for the performance, equipment, and other expenses."

"Hmm..." Gotou Hitori was still basking in the joy of receiving her new nickname when she realized what was happening and shouted, "Part-time job?!?"

"That was the loudest sound we'd heard all day," Nijika complained.

'Absolutely not! I don't want to work!'

'It's so scary outside! Society is so scary!'

Gotou Hitori's eyes turned into round eyes, her willow-leaf eyebrows drooped into a V-shape, her mouth became soft and wavy, and her face turned ashen.

After a while, she took out a ceramic piggy bank, from which coins were making a clinking sound.

"Hmm? Little pig?"

"This... this is the money Mom saved for my wedding~" Her eyes were brimming with tears, her voice trembling with a cute sob, "I'll give you all of this, just please spare me the part-time job!"

"Are we really that devilish?!"

"Thank you, I will accept it with gratitude..."

Pfft Ichiji Nijika slapped away Yamada Ryo's outstretched hand, her eyes filled with disdain.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

But to her surprise, another voice rang out at the same time as Yamada Ryo's, and a fair, slender, and crystal-clear hand took the white piggy bank that Gotou Hitori was holding in Hands.

Turning their gaze to the newcomer, they were surprised to see it was none other Sakurakoji Talent.

"Mr. Talent!" Ichiji Nijika exclaimed, then stared at the piggy bank in his hand. "What are you doing? Hurry up and give the piggy bank back to Bocchi-chan!"

"Bocchi-chan?"

"Oh no, that nickname just came out because it's so catchy!" She covered her mouth to hide her mistake and coughed twice.

"Well, isn't this nickname pretty good? I think it suits Hitori very well." Sakurakoji Talent weighed the ceramic jar in his hand, guessing roughly how much it cost.

If they're all 500 yen, that's quite a lot; if they're 100 or 50 yen...

Image: "Bocchi's Swimsuit", Location: "Images/1760536955-100446961-113974056. jpg"

Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 173 Someone Who Disappeared for Over a Hundred Chapters

"Hehe~ Hehe~ It's not that good." Gotou Hitori scratched the back of his head and chuckled foolishly.

"I don't think he was complimenting you," the blonde captain continued, playing her role as the sarcastic commentator.

"By the way, Mr. Talent, what brings you here?"

"It's nothing, I just came over to check since everything was ready and I had nothing else to do. What were you guys talking about?"

"When we talked about working part-time for the performance, Bocchi-chan seemed quite resistant."

"You still choose to call her Bocchi-chan?" Sakurakoji Talent glanced at her, not intending to offer an opinion.

The group's gazes fell on Gotou Hitori, making her tremble with fear.

'Because, if I go out to work, I'll definitely be disliked for neglecting the customers.'

'Then it was filmed and posted online, becoming a laughing stock—and then, he was sentenced to death!!'

'...'

"Bocchi-chan, Bocchi-chan ~" Ichiji Nijika brought her back to her senses, "Seriously, didn't you hear what I just said?"

Gotou Hitori and apologized in a low voice, "Ah, sorry! Um, what's up?"

"How about Bocchi-chan works here sometime too?"

"Ryo and I are here too, don't worry!"

"This is a comfortable, relaxed, and free workplace, so don't be afraid."

"The service is just simple things like serving Drinks and cleaning, how about that?"

The two men's faces seemed like towering demons to her, plunging her into an icy abyss, her thoughts spiraling into a vortex, and her facial expressions continuing to crumble.

'I don't want to work! I don't want to work!'

'I want to refuse! I want to refuse!'

'I want to refuse!'

"..."

"I will submit to your power..." she bit her tongue, uttering a desperate, hoarse voice.

'I'm sorry, myself.'

'If I had the courage to refuse, I wouldn't be Social Anxiety Disorder...'

Meanwhile, Yamada Ryo and Ichiji Nijika warmly welcomed and applauded from the sidelines.

"Really?! Thank you!"

"Working together will definitely be fun and exciting!"

Let's applaud our bright future and happiness!

"Smack! S..."

"..."