Come to think of it, the system had told him that Takamatsu Tomo seemed to be in a band, too.
After handing the diary back to Takamatsu Tomo, Bai Qiu asked,
"Did Tomo write this?"
"Is it lyrics?"
"Mm, they're... lyrics."
Takamatsu Tomo answered softly. They were both lyrics and her diary.
"Tomo's lyrics are amazing."
Bai Qiu asked again.
"Are you in a band, Tomo?"
Takamatsu Tomo fell silent for a moment, but she didn't want to lie to her friend.
"I was before, but... the band..."
"Already broke up..."
Bai Qiu: "..."
This time, Bai Qiu felt it firsthand: a sad, despondent mood radiated from Takamatsu Tomo and seemed to envelop everything around her.
It was like some invisible pressure was about to swallow him up, too.
He was a little curious about why the band had broken up.
But Bai Qiu figured that asking any more would definitely hit a nerve.
He'd only just managed to get through the trouble from earlier. Better to make it through the day in one piece!
"I see..."
Change the subject, change the subject.
What should he say? Bai Qiu's mind raced.
"Is there a seventh set of these?"
Bai Qiu pulled out the marine-life Band-aid he'd gotten earlier.
Takamatsu Tomo looked up and thought for a moment.
"The seventh set won't come out until next month... Do you want one, Qiu? I'll buy it then!"
"Please get one for me!"
Bai Qiu replied happily, relieved.
Tomo still looked a little down, but at least that invisible pressure had disappeared.
After their chase, they'd ended up at the sports field.
Neither of them planned on going back to the Astronomy Club.
Bai Qiu and Takamatsu Tomo headed for the school gate together, ready to leave.
Once they were outside, Bai Qiu suggested,
"Want to go to the dessert shop nearby?"
Bai Qiu explained,
"Think of it as an apology for chasing you earlier and making you fall."
But Takamatsu Tomo shook her head vigorously, insisting again and again that she'd fallen on her own and it had nothing to do with Bai Qiu.
Bai Qiu also said he wanted to thank Tomo for giving him so many fun Band-aids.
He asked her to give him a chance.
In the end, Takamatsu Tomo finally stopped refusing.
Bai Qiu figured this would be a good chance to cheer her up a little.
They arrived at the dessert shop.
Takamatsu Tomo ordered a hot mocha, and Bai Qiu got her a slice of cake, too.
Bai Qiu ordered iced grass jelly and fries for himself.
They chatted for a while and finished their food.
Then they got ready to leave.
Before heading out, Bai Qiu also got some fried chicken to take home as a side dish for dinner.
They reached a fork in the road.
Bai Qiu was just about to wave goodbye to Tomo.
A figure behind Tomo caught his attention first.
The figure was watching the two of them.
Bai Qiu called out in surprise,
Yamada Ryo was crouched in the bushes behind Takamatsu Tomo.
Takamatsu Tomo turned around, looking a little puzzled.
When she saw someone in the bushes,
she wasn't startled. She was curious.
Was this person collecting little stones, like she was?
Yamada Ryo looked at Bai Qiu first and replied indifferently,
"Yeah, what a coincidence."
Then Ryo's gaze shifted to Takamatsu Tomo beside him.
To Tomo, the voice sounded cold.
The expression was blank, the gaze as calm as still water.
And the person was holding some unknown book and a bunch of weeds?
Why the question mark? Because Takamatsu Tomo was confused.
But it was obvious to her that the other person's interests were different from hers.
Takamatsu Tomo felt inexplicably nervous, because this reminded her of one of her former bandmates in CRYCHIC.
She didn't know what to say, but the other person was Qiu's friend.
So Takamatsu Tomo still gathered her courage and politely nodded to Yamada Ryo.
"Hello, I'm Takamatsu Tomo. Please be kind to me."
"Mm, Yamada Ryo. Just call me Ryo."
Takamatsu Tomo was a little surprised.
But that didn't stop the conversation from coming to an abrupt end.
So Takamatsu Tomo looked at Bai Qiu.
"Well then, Aki-kun, I'll be going."
"Okay, see you tomorrow."
Bai Qiu nodded.
Takamatsu Tomo jogged away, unable to help feeling a little melancholy.
It felt like she'd dredged up too many memories of CRYCHIC today.
Yamada Ryo glanced at Takamatsu Tomo as she left.
A hint of confusion showed in Ryo's eyes. Why did it feel like the other person was a little afraid of her?
But it didn't matter. Didn't that make her seem like she had a strong personality?
Thinking that, Yamada Ryo's lips curled into a smile.
Then she looked back at Bai Qiu.
More precisely, she was looking at the food in Bai Qiu's hands.
Yamada Ryo had watched him come out of the dessert shop.
Bai Qiu looked at Yamada Ryo with interest, too.
Tomo didn't know what the book in Yamada Ryo's hands was, but Bai Qiu did.
Illustrated Guide to Edible Plants.
Yamada Ryo looked straight into Bai Qiu's eyes. The hand holding the weeds reached over and rubbed her stomach.
It was as if she were hinting at something.
The two of them stood motionless, staring at each other for a while.
Yamada Ryo, running a little low on energy, couldn't hold out any longer. Weren't you supposed to ask what I was doing?
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"I'm waiting for you to eat grass."
Yamada Ryo's pupils contracted slightly, and she put on a pitiful look.
"I've been eating weeds for days. I'm so hungry now."
"Then hurry up and eat some grass."
Bai Qiu smiled politely. Compared to watching anime, he wanted to watch this happen live.
Yamada Ryo's gaze sharpened. Did this guy have no sympathy?
"Little Qiu, we're teammates, right?"
"So it's only right to help a teammate in need, isn't it?"
"Mm... You have a point."
Bai Qiu nodded thoughtfully, then lifted the bag in his hand.
"Ryo, this is fried chicken."
Yamada Ryo's eyes lit up. What she needed right now was meat packed with energy.
But Bai Qiu's next words dashed her hopes.
"But I'm sorry, Ryo."
"I can't give it to you."
"This is my dinner."
"If I give it to you, I'll have to eat Instant Noodles with no nutrition tonight."
"You wouldn't want to see me eating something like that, would you?"
After he said that, Bai Qiu suddenly felt the last sentence might have been unnecessary.
Yamada Ryo fell silent. I don't care whether you eat Instant Noodles or not.
No, I care a lot.
Because she didn't even have Instant Noodles.
"So, Ryo, are you still going to eat grass?"
Yamada Ryo lowered her head, pretending she was disappointed in him and didn't want to talk to him anymore.
"Well... I'll get going, then?"
Bai Qiu asked tentatively. There was no reply.
"Goodbye, Ryo."
Bai Qiu turned and left without another word.
Before you continue