Chapter 349

What's going on here? Creating a ready-made attacking opportunity for themselves?

This kid really knows how to keep surprising me.

The question is, given that she's practically paralyzed and unresponsive to teasing, should he continue to flirt with her?

"..."

This is tricky.

That said, her fashion sense is absolutely terrible. She wears the same pink tracksuit all year round, which really ruins what was originally a pretty good look!

And then there's the smell on her body. Aside from the scent of laundry detergent, facial cleanser, and shampoo, there's no other cosmetic smell. She's so casual—among girls of this age in Japan, she's practically a rare breed.

I must correct her properly if I have the chance in the future!

At that moment, after a click of a switch, muffled voices came from outside:

"Oh dear~ Aren't Mr. Talent and Bocchi-chan here?"

"Where did they both go? They disappeared halfway through the movie. I thought they came up. Did the movie I brought not suit their taste?"

"I don't know, I think it looks pretty good, although maybe it doesn't suit Bocchi-chan's style..."

Haha~ Maybe!

"..."

Perhaps startled by their voices, Gotou Hitori's eyes gradually regained focus.

Shh~ Sakurakoji Talent continued to gesture in front of her, making her understand her current situation.

With nowhere to hide, the immense impact of staring at him at close range almost made Gotou Hitori lose her senses again, leaving her only able to nod subconsciously.

Sakurakoji Talent's eyes narrowed mischievously, a smirk playing on his lips; he seemed to be getting excited again.

He lowered his head and buried his face in her neck, taking advantage of her introverted nature that prevented her from screaming and revealing her true feelings, his lips, softer than the petals of a lily, sliding and rubbing against it...

"!!!"

An unprecedented electric current made Gotou Hitori's body go limp as she leaned against the wall. She tried to push him away, but in such a narrow space, it was clearly impossible to break free from his grasp.

Her eyes gradually lost focus, the breath he was using to cover her mouth and nose grew stronger, and her body temperature rose higher and higher...

"Speaking of which, where did Mr. Talent and Bocchi-chan go? Ah, Ryo messaged me..."

"Ryo-senpai?! What did she say?"

"Asking me if I want curry or sushi tonight... Let me decide for myself!"

"Haa~ Curry is better~"

"Don't take her reply so seriously!"

"..."

The conversation outside continued.

After a while, he increased the intensity, not only engaging in further "bullying" above, but also deciding not to let his remaining hand be idle.

He grasped one of her small feet in one hand, startling the bewildered Gotou Hitori into letting out a soft "Ah~".

"Hmm? Is there some kind of sound?"

"Is there?"

"It sounds like Bocchi-chan's voice~"

"How could that be? Senior, you must have misheard me!"

"..."

The conversation between the two people outside startled Gotou Hitori, who instinctively covered his face with his Hands and pressed his own hands down.

Sakurakoji Talent watched her teasingly, making the shy and bewildered girl feel awkward, while increasing the intensity of his "harassment" on her arches.

If it were someone else, they might cleverly beg for mercy with their eyes—though that wouldn't do much good, but with her meager life experience, she could only close her eyes and pretend to be asleep.

But those trembling, long eyelashes were so obvious that even a kindergarten child could see through her terrible acting at a glance.

Not content with merely scratching an itch through her socks, he simply helped her take them off. With half of her face hidden by her bangs, and a look of shock and unease in her eyes, he continued this rather interesting task...

Compared to the cotton feel of before, this smooth, apple-like texture, this soft, bread-like feel... is the reality hidden behind the illusion.

"Ah, uh, ahh..."

The sound, after passing through two or three layers of palms, was already quite faint, and the muffled sound in the throat made it impossible to discern whose voice it was.

Outside the cabinet.

"Well, never mind, let's go downstairs. Let's not worry our aunt and uncle."

"Yeah! That's true! It wouldn't be good if they came looking for us again later. Talent-senpai and the others should be back soon!"

Just as Gotou Hitori relaxed and began to unwind, a sudden attack on her right earlobe made her gasp again.

"Hmm? I think I heard something again..."

"I... I think I heard it too!"

"Huh? Could it be that this room really contains... a ghost...?"

"Ah! Stop talking, Ijichi- senpai! Let's go down quickly!"

"Ah, ah! Hmm!"

Knock knock knock!

After a burst of hurried footsteps, the wooden planks of the corridor and stairs returned to silence.

Gotou Hitori's room fell silent again, except for some kind of "ah-woo" or "buzzing" sound that seemed to come from nowhere.

Three minutes later, in the cupboard.

Gotou Hitori was panting heavily, glancing furtively at the person in front of her with a mixture of confusion and disbelief—she still dared not, or rather, dared not meet his gaze.

Why?

She asked weakly, her voice so soft he could barely hear her.

It's obvious without asking that she wanted to know why he did that.

Years of Social Anxiety Disorder have made her afraid to even speak loudly when rebuking someone; she can only utter statements that are neither clear-cut questions nor condemnations.

Sakurakoji Talent, seemingly without any remorse, simply straightened his chest—bang, his head hit the ceiling, causing him to reflexively bend over and clutch his chest...

Gotou Hitori wanted to laugh, but she wasn't quite sure she dared...

He Kokoro maintained his distance, coughed lightly, and said matter-of-factly, "It's for training you!"

"Train me?"

Gotou Hitori stared at him blankly, unable to understand.

"Of course!"

He explained seriously, "Didn't you say you wanted to debut professionally with Nijika and the others? But without overcoming your current Social Anxiety Disorder, that's impossible."

"Although Yukino Shita has been giving you some training recently, the results don't seem to be very satisfactory."

"So, I came up with another idea!"

"As long as you can maintain a calm mindset while playing the guitar even when I'm interfering, you should be fine when facing the audience below, right?"

Although it was just an excuse he came up with on the spot, upon closer reflection, it might not be entirely ineffective?

As for how effective it will be... we'll only know in the future.

"..."

Gotou Hitori remained silent. Would this method really work?

'And that method was so embarrassing! Oysters!'

'Could it be that Mr. Talent is actually taking advantage of me...? No, no, no! How could that be! Such a thought is far too arrogant. How could someone as perfect as Mr. Talent have feelings for me...?'

'I'm just a speck of dust in a closet, far inferior to ordinary girls; I simply don't have that kind of status.'

'Even if I told Nijika and the others about this, they would just think it was my delusion... Huh? Could it really be true?'

"Let's continue with our previous topic,"

He tapped on the cabinet panel to get her attention. "I'll have other training for Nijika and the others. If you want to debut, the most important thing right now is to overcome your Social Anxiety Disorder anxiety."

"Only by accomplishing this will you have a chance."

"Ah, but... but this has always been my personality since I was little..."

She held her head in her hands, pleading in anguish.

"Then repent; people always have to grow."

He placed a hand on her forehead, his gaze filled with compassion.

Hey... how much bullying does this kid have to endure before they think of refusing and fighting back? They clearly like those tasteless death metal songs.

He had reason to believe that even if he had acted more aggressively just now, she would still have remained the same.

Chapter 369 Training of Different Band Members

After some time had passed.

Having probably finished watching the movie, Ichiji Nijika and Kita Ikuyo, along with Kanau, returned to the room and saw the two sitting at the Small Table.

"Mr. Talent! Where did you and Bocchi-chan go? We didn't see you at all."

"So-so~ Senior~ Does that mean the movie I brought isn't good?"

He glanced at Gotou Hitori, who was lost in his own fantasy again, muttering incomprehensible things like "Chunxin movie, in..." and then turned to the three people who were seated.

"I briefly discussed ways to overcome Bocchi-chan's Social Anxiety Disorder with her, right, Bocchi-chan?"

He nudged her shoulder.

"Ah, hi..."

Before she could even hear what the question was, she passively agreed.

"I see! Gotoh-san's personality definitely affects his performance. Have you figured out a solution yet?"

Kita Ikuyo cradled her small face and leaned a little closer.

"I'm very interested too!"

"Hmph~ Of course,"

He crossed his arms, head held high—but then instinctively flinched, uttering a completely different solution from the one he'd told Gotou Hitori: "Just change your clothes!"

"Um?"

"What's the meaning?"

The three people, including the cat, all looked at each other with confusion.

He stood up, went behind Gotou Hitori, squatted down, placed his hand on her shoulder, and asked the others, "What was your first thought when you saw her?"

"Hmm... normal?"

Ichiji Nijika speculated.

"No quality?"

Added by Kita Ikuyo.

The two of them couldn't find a better way to describe her pink tracksuit, from her hair to her clothes, from her shirt to her pants.

Gotou Hitori trembled upon hearing this and lowered his head in dejection.

'As expected, in Nijika and Kita- chan's eyes, I'm just an ordinary, tasteless high school girl...!'

"Yes! That's it!"

Sakurakoji Talent snapped his fingers, inwardly complaining.

You useless Second Miss, I gave you a chance but you failed. It seems I have to take matters into my own hands.

These past few days, Yukino Shita Yukino has tried many methods, but none of them have worked for her deeply ingrained and extreme Social Anxiety Disorder; instead, they have only made her feel more hurt.

After all, she's the kind of "teacher" who likes to teach motivated people, and this is probably the first time she's encountered someone who's fundamentally unmotivated.