Chapter 62
"Eh? Maji?" Anwa Subaru were surprised again, not expecting such a coincidence, then looked at Kawaragi Momoka teasingly. "Looks like we're a little safer now."
"I'll beat you up." Kawaragi Momoka's face trembled as she clenched her fists.
"Ah, then you can just call me Subaru." Ignoring her outburst, Anwa Subaru leaned forward, completely reverting to their sunny and cheerful demeanor.
"Okay, 486." Sakurakoji Talent raised the corner of his mouth with a strange expression. "I am indeed a fan of Miss Momoka."
"... Isn't your pronunciation a little strange?"
Don't mind it, please take it as a term of endearment I use for you.
"Oh, whatever you want then." Although she was still a little upset, she didn't dwell on it.
"But it's still hard to imagine that Talent is a fan of MMK or something."
"Hmph, you're just envious and jealous." Kawaragi Momoka raised her head arrogantly and gave her a disdainful smile.
"Of course! Who wouldn't want a wealthy fan?" she readily admitted.
"Well, I honestly never thought of that before."
The three people, who were not Social Anxiety Disorder at all and were good at reading people's expressions, quickly got into a lively conversation. Time flew by and evening soon arrived.
During this time, Sakurakoji Talent almost found out the color of their underwear for the day, and of course, the two of them were almost the same.
"It's almost time. We should ask Nina if she's coming tonight." He looked at Kawaragi Momoka.
"Me? Sure, that's fine." Kawaragi Momoka first pointed at herself in surprise, then naturally took out her phone with the cracked screen and turned it on. "But I haven't contacted her much these past few days, I only went to see her last time."
Don't worry, I'm about the same.
"You two are really awful... Are you really friends with her?" Anwa Subaru couldn't help but complain from the side.
Kawaragi Momoka found Inoseri Nina's account and sent a message.
Inoseri Nina's apartment,
As dusk approached outside, little light could penetrate the glass in the dim light. Inside the pitch-black room, she didn't even turn on the lamp, staring blankly at her motionless phone, her face gradually becoming numb.
She didn't speak to anyone during the week, and spent her days either attending classes at the preparatory school or studying in the study room.
In an unfamiliar place, naturally no one would take the initiative to talk to her, especially in a big city where people are particularly indifferent. Moreover, she didn't have the courage to take the initiative to make friends with others.
In her daily life, she encountered setbacks at every turn, constantly making mistakes in small matters, which made her deeply aware of her powerlessness and uselessness.
In just one week, she understood the hardships and harshness of life, and her heart gradually grew cold.
Drip~
A text message notification sounded, and she looked up sharply, only to find it was just a weather forecast reminder.
"Ha~~~"
She sighed and slumped down on the low, round wooden table, feeling utterly powerless.
"I should study." Just as I was about to start studying, my phone vibrated again.
"It's for Miss Momoka!" She quickly opened it to check.
Kawaragi Momoka: [Did you buy the lamp? I received one that someone else didn't want today, do you want it?]
Kawaragi Momoka: [Also, Talent came from Tokyo today. We're going out for dinner tonight, do you want to come?]
"Mr. Talent is here too?" Inoseri Nina's mind cleared, and she was pleasantly surprised before quickly replying.
Inoseri Nina: [Thank you so much! I'll take it!]
Inoseri Nina: [I'm coming right now!]
Not knowing which one she wanted, she immediately stood up from her kneeling position, went to the door to change her shoes, and then skipped out of the room. After greeting the neighboring family who happened to be coming out of the next room, she left with great enthusiasm.
Trying hard to recall the address of the villa she had visited last time, she looked at her phone map and identified the buildings and road signs along the way, making her way there at a leisurely pace.
"Hey, it should be around here."
Seeing some similar buildings along the roadside, she walked to the familiar building, pushed open the unlocked door, and went inside.
Standing in front of the entryway door, she called out, "Excuse me!"
Hearing the familiar voice, Kawaragi Momoka came out of the living room. "Oh, you came quickly."
After receiving a response and realizing she hadn't gone to the wrong place, Inoseri Nina spoke again, "Excuse me."
She then opened the smooth door and went inside. For some reason, she remembered the rusty door of the house that Kawaragi Momoka had previously rented.
At that moment, Sakurakoji Talent also came out, raised his hand and greeted her, "Yo, Nina, long time no see."
"Mr. Talent! Miss Momoka!" A touch of emotion welled up inside her, and after realizing who it was, she bowed to them. "I'm sorry to have bothered you today."
"Don't be so reserved, come in quickly, Miss Momoka is going to treat us soon!"
"Hey, I'll treat you, you don't need to emphasize it like that, do you?" Kawaragi Momoka with a hint of helplessness.
"Hmph, I bet you've saved up a lot of money from your part-time job lately. I'm going to squeeze you dry tonight!"
"I just found a part-time job a couple of days ago. Although I've saved on rent and the money you gave me for buying DVDs last time, I do have quite a bit of money in my pocket now." Kawaragi Momoka's eyes narrowed into slits as she scratched her cheek with her finger.
"Haha." Inoseri Nina found their interaction amusing, raised her hand and chuckled, finally feeling a warmth rise in her heart, sweeping away the gloom of the past few days.
"How are you? Are you getting used to living alone any better?" Kawaragi Momoka asked.
"Well... I don't know either." She lowered her head slightly.
"Well, you'll get used to it after another month. It's always like this at first; there will always be various inconveniences." Seeing her embarrassment, Sakurakoji Talent offered words of encouragement.
"Is this child Nina?"
At that moment, another voice came from the room, followed by Anwa Subaru's heads peeking out.
"Yes," Kawaragi Momoka nodded, then looked at Inoseri Nina and introduced her, "This is Anwa, my new drummer, and the one who brought the lantern."
"I'm Anwa Subaru! Nice to meet you!" She made a peace sign and winked to show her friendliness.
Inoseri Nina's expression tightened; she hadn't expected there to be a third person here. She said awkwardly, "I'm Jingqin..."
"Subaru, why don't you join us? It's my treat today." Kawaragi Momoka crossed her arms and looked at Anwa Subaru.
"Huh? Is it okay?" Anwa Subaru blinked hard, looking at her with eyes full of starlight.
"It's okay, I happen to have plenty of money in my pocket right now, but I might not be able to next time."
Anwa Subaru were about to happily agree, but when they caught a glimpse of the embarrassed Inoseri Nina, they suddenly stopped.
"Hmm~ I'm happy, but I guess I can't."
"Come on, Nina just arrived in Tokyo. Subaru and Nina are the same age."
Anwa Subaru smiled and met the gaze of Inoseri Nina. Inoseri Nina awkwardly forced a smile, feeling like she was about to break out in a cold sweat.
I can see that this is She Niu Yangjiao, a person completely opposite to myself!
Sakurakoji Talent stood to the side, watching the whole scene unfold, secretly chuckling to himself. He made no move to intervene or chime in; he simply wanted to enjoy the spectacle.
If we go up there to ease the tension so early, how can the rest of the show proceed?
Half an hour later, the four of them arrived at a restaurant inside a shopping mall that Kawaragi Momoka was familiar with.
"This is more like hot pot than shabu-shabu," Kawaragi Momoka complained at the table, then took a big gulp of beer.
"Vegetables will taste bad if left out for too long." Anwa Subaru picked up some cooked vegetables and meat, put them in a bowl, and handed it to Inoseri Nina: "Here, don't be shy."
Inoseri Nina was taken aback. Looking at the ingratiating smile on the other person's face, she felt immense pressure and accepted the gift. "Thank you."
Image: "Huh?", Location: "Images/1757171421-100446961-113819125. jpg"
Volume 1: The Daily Life of Attracting Bees and Butterflies: Chapter 92 I'm Just Here to Watch the Show
At the four-person dining table, Kawaragi Momoka and Anwa Subaru sat side by side, while Inoseri Nina and Sakurakoji Talent sat in another row.
"Speaking of which, what kind of music does Nina like?" Anwa Subaru tried to start a conversation.
"Huh?" Inoseri Nina exclaimed in surprise.
"Favorite bands, singers, etc." Anwa Subaru added.
"Influenced by your grandmother, you like singers from the Showa era, right?" Kawaragi Momoka knew her somewhat, and after taking a bite of her food, she answered for her.
"Hey~ that's great, that's great too, I listen to it sometimes." Anwa Subaru nodded in agreement, "Who do you like?"
"No, rather than saying I like it..." Inoseri Nina spoke slowly and softly.
Sakurakoji Talent, whose talent was unspoken, didn't join their conversation, but instead focused on picking up food and cooking. He said he was going to drain Kawaragi Momoka's wallet dry tonight, and he meant it. The other three hadn't eaten much yet, but he had already started his second bowl.
He rushed over from Tokyo this afternoon and invited Inoseri Nina until now; he's been starving.
At this point, the background music in the store changed.
Before she could finish speaking, Anwa Subaru exclaimed in surprise, "Oh! This piece is by GrayRuch, isn't it?"
"Really? You listen to GrayRuch's songs?" Kawaragi Momoka, somewhat surprised.
"I've been to one concert and one music festival."
"Was the music festival in Chiba last year?" Kawaragi Momoka asked curiously.
"So, the scene was quite brutal--"
Was it tragic?
"No wonder they haven't been invited to any events." Recalling the exaggerated scene back then, Anwa Subaru sighed, "They haven't held a proper concert since then, have they?"
"Hmm - I haven't been paying much attention, but that might be true."
Seeing the two of them chatting happily, Inoseri Nina, who had no idea what they were talking about, couldn't get a word in edgewise and could only hold her bowl of vegetables and watch them silently.
Unpleasant memories of school gradually surfaced in my mind, and my eyes slowly died.
Sakurakoji Talent secretly glanced at her, observing her reaction. Judging from her current mood, he figured she wasn't about to explode here, so he picked up another piece of beef, dipped it in the sauce, and put it in his mouth with a satisfied expression.
"They were pretty good when they debuted," Anwa Subaru concluded, glancing at Inoseri Nina, seemingly sensing her lack of interest, and then changing the subject. "Nina, aren't you going to the concert?"
"I haven't been there much..."
Without any hint of a turn of events, upon hearing this, Anwa Subaru immediately switched gears. "Oh, I see. The pot's almost boiling. Shall we put the meat in?"
"..."
Don't you like eating meat?
"..."
"Nina?"
"Excuse me... excuse me for a moment." Overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, a cold sweat appeared on Inoseri Nina's forced smile. She said this softly and Kokoro left her seat to go to the restroom.
"..."
"..."
Watching her retreating figure, the two people opposite Sakurakoji Talent exchanged glances. They were both academic high-achieving students with high emotional intelligence who could get into prestigious universities, so how could they not see her situation?
"... Did I say something wrong?" Anwa Subaru asked Kawaragi Momoka hesitantly.
"No, she's just a little shy, don't worry about it," Kawaragi Momoka comforted her, then closed her eyes slightly and looked at Sakurakoji Talent: "But you, why are you still able to eat so intently?"
"Well, it's not a big deal anyway, we'll get used to it after a few more times," Sakurakoji Talent replied with a nonchalant smile.
"The reason I became acquainted with her so quickly was because I happened to help her when I first met her. As for Miss Momoka, it's probably because she's a fan of yours, otherwise, it would probably be the same, right?"
"That's true, that's how it is, don't worry about it." Kawaragi Momoka looked back at Anwa Subaru.
"Ah, that's good." Anwa Subaru sighed.
"You'll be fine after meeting a few more times, but I suggest you find an opportunity to be honest with her. After all, in her eyes, Subaru is probably the type she can't handle the most," he offered his advice.
"Someone as outgoing as you, radiating an aura of 'I'm doing this for your own good,' might have touched a raw nerve with her, touching on painful memories and her fragile ego."
"How nice~ to be so kind to someone as unpopular as me, radiating an aura of 'I'm thinking of you' -- or something like that."
"She's really awkward and insignificant," Kawaragi Momoka couldn't help but sigh. "How did she develop such a troublesome personality?"
"Isn't it great? How boring would the world be if everyone compromised with reality? We've found a rare treasure, we should cherish it." Sakurakoji Talent chewed on the crisp bamboo shoot in his mouth, his voice slightly muffled.