Both Bands' 11 Members Gather!

Hachiman Mairin clenched her fists and whispered, "I'm scared."

She turned to look at Riki and smiled, "Want to know why I like giving scores?"

"Rikki and I are childhood friends, but we weren't always together. When I was in junior high, I went to study in Osaka. The school there had a strong music scene, and I formed a band with my friends there. At that time, the school often held music competitions, and we often won. The teachers and the dean of students would put up the rankings on the school's bulletin board and give us extra points. The band with the highest score each semester would receive praise from the whole school."

"In first grade, my bandmates and I got the highest score in the whole school. We were all very happy when the teacher praised us. We were really happy... But in second grade, everyone's level improved, and our band could no longer get any rankings. Our scores kept dropping until we were in the middle or lower part of the list."

"Everyone was disappointed when we didn't get any points in the second year. In the third year, we had a fight. I can still remember my friend crying and telling me, 'It's all Hailing's fault for playing the bass so badly, that's why we didn't get any points.' Indeed, I was still basking in the joy of getting first place in the first year, so I didn't practice properly for the next two years. It was all my fault."

"So I have to do the right thing. Doing the right thing earns points, and doing the wrong thing deducts points. That's... my thinking."

At Riki's home.

Riki looked quietly at Hachiman Mairin.

Hachiman Mairin leaned back on the sofa and spoke, her face was filled with reminiscence. When she talked about getting first place in first grade, her face showed joy; when she talked about not getting anything in second grade, her face showed distress and unease; and when she talked about third grade, her face showed sadness.

She looked up at Riki, tilted her head, and said softly, "I'm not the Hachiman Mairin you imagined, am I? I'm not someone who's fearless. It's precisely because I'm afraid—afraid that my bass skills won't keep up with my friends, afraid that getting too close will make people run away—that's why I give myself a score."

"This is my score for all three years of junior high school."

Hachiman Mairin turned her phone screen towards Riki, where points were being deducted in full red text.

No practice that day, -1.

I didn't notice Momono-chan's opinion, -1.

I failed my performance in front of the teacher, -10.

Total score over three years of junior high school: -326.

"I'm afraid of failure, whether in friendship or love, so... I won't do anything that would hurt my chances," Hachiman Mairin said to Riki.

Therefore, after learning that her childhood friend liked Riki, she never brought up Riki to Shiina Riki again.

At the same time, she didn't mention... that she had fallen for Riki the first time they met.

That bet was no joke.

It's true.

Hachiman Mairin looked at Riki and smiled gently, "Now you understand, right?"

Now you understand why I secretly kissed you.

This is the boldest move that Hachiman Mairin appears confident but is actually timid, could make.

Hachiman Mairin got up and went back to her room, looking at Riki in the living room with her eyes slightly lowered.

That's fine.

Even if Riki builds a harem, it has nothing to do with me. I'm only good at bass, so I'll just focus on doing what I'm good at.

Love and romance are none of her business.

In the afternoon, while watching Mygo anime on Riki's laptop, Hachiman Mairin saw the news that Riki's band had won again, bringing them one step closer to the finals.

As expected, Riki is different from me; she's someone who was born with exceptional abilities.

Hachiman Mairin was thinking, she suddenly noticed a related news article about Riki. She used her browser's translation function to convert the text and paused for a moment after seeing the image above.

Would Riki also show such an expression?

Before the competition results were announced, Riki sat in the audience, next to the boy who had spoken to Riki at the breakfast shop that morning. Both of them, along with the band members next to them, had solemn expressions, even showing unease and trepidation.

Hachiman Mairin read the news, she realized this was Riki's band's first time participating in a competition.

Would Riki be this nervous before the competition results were announced?

Or perhaps he's always actually nervous, but he just hides it beneath his feigned composure.

Just then Hachiman Mairin heard Riki's voice at the door.

"Coach, I'm home. Don't worry, I'm completely loyal to Haicheng and have absolutely no intention of fixing the match!" Riki said on the phone. "What do you mean I was so nervous when the results came out today that I peed my pants? My kidneys are perfectly fine."

Riki hung up the phone, pushed open the door, and walked in. She saw Hachiman Mairin, who stared blankly at Riki, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"Will Riki be nervous too?" Hachiman Mairin couldn't help but laugh.

"It's normal to be nervous and scared; courage is the true hymn of humanity." Riki blushed; Hailing had now caught her red-handed.

A very thick and long handle.

"Hailing, let's go out and enjoy the scenery after dinner..." Riki said.

Hachiman Mairin nodded. "Mm."

There are many mountains on the outskirts of Haicheng, and Riki knew of a place with beautiful scenery and a stream. Such places are not common. After all, where there is water, there are fishermen. Riki kept this place hidden for a long time so that no one else would know about it.

Riki, riding his electric scooter with Hachiman Mairin on the back, called out loudly, "Speaking of which, did you do the homework I gave you today?"

Even after returning to Haicheng, they couldn't slack off on their studies. Riki found some junior high school problems online for Hailing to try.

Although you can only choose one between rock music and high school enrollment, Hailing, as a beautiful girl from the anime/manga series "Banban," you can have both.

"I did it." Hachiman Mairin hesitated, "But the answer I got was that there were 0.5 people left on the bus that was full of passengers."

Riki almost spat out her drink, but to encourage him, she quickly said, "Maybe those 2.5 people are with the teacher. No rush, what about the next multiple-choice question?"

"I calculated it to be 12, but the four answers are 25, 14, 24, 54... I think it's 14, that number is closer," Hachiman Mairin shouted back, the night wind making her ears ring.

Riki was speechless for a moment, Hachiman Mairin hesitated, "Am I too stupid?"

Riki quickly replied, "Not at all! Someone in our area solved a physics problem during the college entrance exam that overturned Newton's second law!"

"Is it that amazing?" Hachiman Mairin exclaimed in surprise.

"Right?"

What the hell am I saying?

Lord Niu, I'm offering you a toast, don't come out of your coffin.

Riki parked the car with Hachiman Mairin in the car. The Milky Way streaked across the night sky, a sight never seen in the city, and Hachiman Mairin was mesmerized.

Although she's a cool girl, she's also a beautiful girl who naturally loves pretty things.

The view before her made her completely relax.

"Whenever I was in high school and things weren't going well in my studies, I would run here. Here, no one could know how disappointed and sad I was, and I could shout and scream as much as I wanted," Riki said.

It startled a high school student from out of town who was passing by. Now that I think about it, that person looks a bit like Rokko.

Hachiman Mairin looked at Riki and chuckled, "I can't believe you'd give up on yourself like this."

"That's because you didn't see what I looked like when I couldn't reach the Gold rank." Riki sighed, looking up at Hachiman Mairin was admiring the beautiful scenery.

"So...you don't need to be so afraid," Riki said softly. "It's normal to worry and be afraid, but if you give up because of it, wouldn't that be a waste of your life?"

Hachiman Mairin turned to look at Riki, listening quietly. Fireflies flew around them, dancing in the air under the Milky Way, their twinkling lights like a dream.

"Why are you telling me? I have nothing to do with Riki, there's no need for you to go to so much trouble for me." Hachiman Mairin said, looking at Riki.

"Because Hailing likes me." Riki looked at Hachiman Mairin, "As long as my score is still positive, I won't give up on Hailing. Isn't that the score standard you set?"

Hachiman Mairin looked at Riki with a helpless smile, pointed at Riki with her finger and said seriously, "Then I'm going to deduct zero from your score."

Riki looked quietly at Hachiman Mairin.

"Deduct one billion points." Hachiman Mairin looked at Riki and smiled gently.

Hachiman Mairin looked up at the beautiful scenery around her and said softly, "Riki, don't worry about me. This is a rule I set for myself. Even if you like me, what about Rikki? Even if Rikki agrees, there's still Sakiko. Even if they all agree, a harem won't be accepted by the public. I'm very scared... The only thing I can hold onto is bass."

Hailing's affection is worth a billion points.

Riki walked over and, to Hachiman Mairin's surprise, pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips.

"Wait, I'll tell you everything..." Hachiman Mairin hurriedly pushed Riki with all her might.

Even after she said all that, how could Riki still not understand?

"You're afraid I won't like you, then I'll like you." Riki looked at Hachiman Mairin and said, "You're afraid Rikki won't agree, then I'll persuade her. What else are you afraid of? I'll help you. So... if you have anything to say, just say it."

Hachiman Mairin looked at Riki, her lips pursed, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

"Can you love me for the rest of your life?" Hachiman Mairin asked Riki.

"I would say yes, but if you're afraid I won't like you, you can try for a lifetime," Riki said.

Hachiman Mairin was stunned for a moment, then looked at Riki and smiled helplessly, "Isn't this the same thing?"

She walked under the Milky Way with her hands behind her back, then suddenly turned to look at Riki and said softly, "A lifetime is too long, ten years... I'll try for ten years first. In these ten years, I will like Riki, just like when we first met."

Riki looked at Hailing.

He'd have to stretch that timeframe to a lifetime.

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Chapter 222 The Two Teams Gather! (11 members in total!)

Hachiman Mairin put on the brown autumn school uniform of Hanasakigawa. Although it was long-sleeved, surprisingly, the skirt was only two centimeters longer than the summer uniform, ending exactly two inches above the knee, revealing her incredibly long, fair legs at a glance.

It's reasonable to speculate that Principal Hanasakigawa must have been tormented by the school rule that school skirts should be below the knee in the past. Because she had been caught in the rain, she wanted to hold an umbrella for Riki. Otherwise, how could she have seen Rikki and Hailing's short school skirts?

"Let's go then," said Hachiman Mairin, casually taking Riki's hand.

Shiina Riki stared in surprise.

"What's wrong? Are you jealous?" Hachiman Mairin teased. "I've saved the other side for you."

"Huh? How could that be?" Shiina Riki said irritably. "You'd better let go of my hand. I won't be responsible if the students see us and we're caught dating."

"Does Hanasakigawa still crack down on early relationships?" Riki asked curiously.

"Because the principal never dated anyone in high school," said Hachiman Mairin.

"Hey, don't talk bad about the principal!" Shiina Riki said, arms crossed.

Rikki seems to respect her principal quite a bit. Although she looks like a pressure monster, and actually is, it's because of her straightforward personality. At heart, she's a classic, long-haired, beautiful girl with black hair who respects her teachers.

Simply put, it's a white piece.

As for Kuroko, Riki reasonably speculates that she is the principal of Tsukinomori.

"But why did you have to bring Riki along?" Shiina Riki glanced at Riki, then looked at Hailing was still holding Riki's hand, without paying any attention, and continued looking straight ahead at the street.

"He's my tutor, so I need to let him know my exam results as soon as possible," Hachiman Mairin said with a gentle smile.

"If Rikki has any academic pressure, she can ask me for help," Riki said with a smile.

We're practically family.

A true, life-or-death friendship.

If you miscalculate the safe period, you'll be killed instantly.

"No need. I manage my time well, and getting into a good university won't be a problem," Shiina Riki said calmly. She had long, straight black hair that reached her waist, a fair and beautiful face, and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye that gave her a seductive look. Her eyes held a strong presence, making her a top-tier, spirited and beautiful young woman. Underneath her skirt, her legs were incredibly long, as if they could crush someone.

Riki was indeed pulled out.

Riki suddenly realized that Heavy Woman were quite hungry.

Could it be... that I'm the challenger?

Riki turned to look at Rikki, only to see Rikki looking at him. She immediately turned her head away again.

"Ring ring ring--"