Rock Girl Descends Upon My Side!

Riki, with a blush still on his cheeks, led Shiina Riki and said, "I didn't expect our names to be engraved on them. Oh well, let's just consider them exclusive rewards for tackling the haunted house game dungeon together. One for each of us."

Riki handed one ring to Shiina Riki.

"Ah... okay." Shiina Riki stiffly nodded, instinctively reaching to put it on her finger, but then realizing her mistake, she quickly hid it in her pocket.

Riki didn't think much of it. Just as he was thinking about continuing to explore the school festival, his phone vibrated. He saw Shiina Riki also take out her phone.

Nagasaki Sose had sent a message in the group chat.

Nagasaki Sose: [Everyone, the performance is starting soon. Let's practice again at Ring tomorrow.]

********

A plea for tickets.

Chapter 43: Hatsuka: Riki, come to my concert next time.

Looking at Nagasaki Sose's message, Riki felt that this pure and wicked woman was up to something. Just as he was about to send her a message, he received another one from her two seconds later.

Nagasaki Sose: [I have something to tell you. Come find me later.]

Hoho~, not choosing to flee, but to approach me?

Nagasaki Sose, I admit you possess the bloodline of Nagasaki.

Nagasaki once withstood an atomic bomb, and yet you dare to face me, a nuclear friend.

"Practice tomorrow? I should be fine with Tomoe," Shiina Riki said. "I just don't know if that Wild Cat will show up. Riki, you'll be coming too, right?"

Shiina Riki looked at Riki.

"I'll go, but why are you paying so much attention to me? It's the five of you who will be on stage," Riki replied.

"Uh..." Shiina Riki froze and quickly waved her hands. "Well, you're usually there during practice, so it feels a bit awkward when you're not. Yes, that's it!"

As a master in the music field, Riki was simply too far above the level of these high school girls. It was like Fei Ke going to play in the LDL; it couldn't be called a stomp, only a slight advantage.

Riki, being a freshman who cared for his people like Lei Feng, did good deeds as a matter of course. Besides, helping them was also helping Sakiko, and it was helping his future. If Sakiko was happy, then it wouldn't be far from making her his wife.

But speaking of which, why are you blushing, Riki?

Riki glanced at the time on his phone and suddenly realized it was indeed the fifth round... it was noon. Time to rest. Other students at the school festival had also temporarily left their stalls to wander around.

"Are there any good food options at your school?" Riki asked.

Shiina Riki hesitated. "Good food? Yakisoba pan is delicious, but it's probably all sold out by now. And... the principal?!"

Your school principal can be eaten?

Why can't ours at Haicheng University? Are the Japanese blocking our Haicheng University's technology?

Seeing Shiina Riki's expression change drastically, Riki followed her gaze and saw a middle-aged woman with severe menopause, wearing flat-rimmed glasses and looking like a stern dean, approaching with an icy expression.

Riki understood that look very well. It was the deepest fear in every student's heart. Being glanced at like that would surely cause a heart attack and make them confess all the bad things they had done since childhood.

Most obviously, Shiina Riki's legs had gone weak.

"Our school doesn't allow dating. If the principal sees me walking with you, she'll definitely take me away to write a self-criticism, and I won't be able to practice tomorrow," Shiina Riki said in a panic.

We're not dating, why are you panicking?

No, wait, your school doesn't allow dating, so why are they giving out couple rings as prizes?

Riki looked back and saw that the student, a Sakura girl, had changed the name of the prize at lightning speed to "Friendship Ring."

Good, that's exactly what students would do, secretly doing bad things behind the teachers' backs.

However, I'd like to make a slight modification. Why not change it to a friendship badge?

Riki's eyes swept over. Before the principal completely reached the stairs, he pushed Shiina Riki into an empty classroom nearby.

Principal Komiro Keiko's gaze was sharp, and everyone she looked at wore sheepish smiles.

She frowned slightly. She seemed to have just seen a boy push a student from Hanasakigawa into a nearby classroom.

As the principal, she absolutely could not allow such improper interactions, especially with the principal of Sakurazaki present; she couldn't let people make a spectacle of them.

Komiro Keiko's legs moved with a sharp wind as she pushed open the empty classroom door. As expected, she saw two people inside, but... they were playing the piano?

"Principal... Teacher!" Shiina Riki was so stiff she didn't know where to put her hands.

"Hello," Riki said, sitting at the piano.

"You're Shiina Riki, aren't you?" Komiro Keiko, a daughter of the Showa era, had memorized all her students' names on her first day. Her glasses seemed to flash a deadly light as she stared at the trembling Shiina Riki. "And who is this boy next to you?"

"My name is Riki. I'm Shiina Riki's cousin from China. I came to see her during the school festival today and to teach her a bit of music," Riki said with a straight face.

Komiro Keiko had seen countless couples use the excuse of being relatives. She motioned her finger to adjust her glasses, looking through Riki with piercing eyes, but Riki merely offered a friendly smile.

Riki's handsome appearance and gentle demeanor made Komiro Keiko's attitude soften slightly as she nodded.

But she still had her doubts.

"Do you know music?" Komiro Keiko asked.

Those delinquents with no skills liked to watch videos for an hour to learn an instrument and then go chase girls. In front of real professional players, they were like clowns dancing shamanistically. Komiro Keiko suspected Riki was that kind of person.

After all, handsome guys were always associated with being good at picking up girls.

Komiro Keiko noticed the faint smile on Principal Sakisaki's lips and her face darkened.

Plastic school friends, naturally, the two principals were plastic besties too.

"I know a little," Riki said modestly, and under their questioning gazes, he performed a showy piece, "Flight of the Bumblebee." The piano music was astonishingly fast, and the sound attracted students outside to watch, but they dared not approach under the pressure of the two monster BOSS principals, fearing they'd draw aggro.

But they were also very curious about who had just initiated a match with these two top BOSSes. What gear did they bring?

Komiro Keiko's eyes suddenly lit up. She played the piano beautifully. As a woman born in the Showa era, she had always been a pragmatist. Seeing how skilled Riki was, she felt it was fine for him to have a girlfriend from Hanasakigawa.

If this were any other time... but with Principal Sakisaki here, she absolutely couldn't allow such a thing to happen.

But he really played well.

Riki's heart tightened. How could this female principal be looking at him with such intensity?

I really don't know the flower language of steel wool.

Just then, a beautiful girl with light blonde hair walked in from the crowd outside. Hatsuka, an excellent student, had appeared, and Komiro Keiko's expression immediately softened considerably.

"Principal, Teacher, our band was short a member earlier, and Riki stepped in to help us win against Sakisaki's band," Hatsuka said with a smile.

Komiro Keiko's eyes lit up instantly, while Principal Sakisaki's face darkened.

Fine, fine, fine, I knew this handsome boy was destined for our Hanasakigawa.

"You're Riki-chan's cousin, right? Next time, remember to tell a teacher before you come. After all, our school doesn't allow relationships," Komiro Keiko said sternly, smiling as she continued to stroll with Principal Sakisaki.

Principal, the smile on your lips is harder to suppress than an AK.

Riki then looked at Hatsuka. "Thank you for your help."

"No need, no need. Your piano playing earlier made a lot of students curious. Do you play many instruments?" Hatsuka asked Riki curiously.

Miss Hatsuka, please move that magnificent face of yours away from me.

I'm going to stand up.

I mean I'm going to stand up. You're too close, and I can't stand properly. I can't even push my chair back.

"Oh, sorry, am I standing too close?" Hatsuka suddenly realized and said apologetically.

You can hear my pure, true, and beautiful inner thoughts too, can't you?

I like Sakiko, I like Sakiko, I like Sakiko. Sakiko likes me, we got married...

Hmm, it seems there really isn't anything like inner thoughts.

"Speaking of which, you know Sakiko?" Hatsuka blinked at Riki. Sakiko had also said Riki was her good friend, making Hatsuka even more curious about what kind of person Riki was.

Sakiko... Shiina Riki, standing nearby, heard this and immediately looked at Riki.

Come to think of it, he knows Sakiko too, and they're quite close.

Shiina Riki's mood couldn't help but sink a little.

"Next time, do you want to come to my concert?" Hatsuka smiled at Riki.

Chapter 44: Nagasaki Sose's Family, Riki?

Riki held the ticket to Sumimi's concert in his hand. Hatsuka had given it to him earlier. The ticket featured Hatsuka and another brown-haired member, Ms. Junta Mana, who loved donuts.

Sumimi was a band currently popular in Tokyo, and tickets were quite valuable. Not to mention, Hatsuka had given him a ticket close to the stage, worth at least five thousand yen.

Riki marveled that she was such an approachable superstar.

Hatsuka is great, no need for further explanation.

He spent the afternoon playing with Shiina Riki at the school festival before leaving Hanasakigawa Academy.

"He looked so focused from behind. Should we text him and call him back?" Hachiman Mairin suddenly said to Shiina Riki.

"No way! And when did you get his contact information?!" Shiina Riki said indignantly.

"I got it after the performance this morning. Are you jealous?"

"No way!"

Shiina Riki looked at Riki's retreating figure speechlessly.

It's not jealousy.

It's just that when he's around, it seems like I have more fun.

And besides, we'll see each other tomorrow, right? By then...

"You have such a happy expression. Thinking of something good?" Hachiman Mairin said again.

"Huh? Why are you always staring at me!" Shiina Riki's face turned completely red.

Riki walked along the same path as this morning. After a while, he saw the tall tower standing in Tokyo, a luxury apartment building where only Celestial Dragons could live. It had 24-hour surveillance at the entrance and a zero-crime record so far. Conan would say to check the surveillance.

Riki wasn't here to commit a crime and eat the smallest peanuts. Nagasaki Sose had messaged him on his phone asking him to come over.

Riki: [I'm here, can you open the downstairs door for me?]

Nagasaki Sose: [Wait a moment, I'm taking a shower.]

No, you think I'm a simp, right?

Wait, no, the simp would be the one saying "I'm going to take a shower now."

Sigh, this question is so difficult.

I'll just video call her now.

Riki naturally didn't do anything so cringe. He put away his phone and waited by the door for five minutes. After a while, he saw the door open. When he got into the elevator and walked into Nagasaki Sose's apartment, he noticed her hair was still warm, clearly she had just finished showering.

"Do all girls shower this early?" Riki sat down and said to Nagasaki Sose, "You enthusiastically said in the group chat that we're practicing tomorrow. I don't know what you're thinking, but are you still thinking about reforming Crychic?"

Nagasaki Sose frowned. "I said I don't want to discuss this. However, we do need to talk about related matters. Your relationship with Sakiko is very... good. Since you want to help Anon form a band, I'm happy to be a member too."

Nagasaki Sose narrowed her eyes as she sipped her black tea.

Her plan hadn't changed, but the method had. Originally, she wanted to kick out Ai and Runa, who she deemed unnecessary. But that was no longer needed—she had found a more suitable candidate: Riki.

Although she didn't want to admit it, Riki's relationship with Sakiko was better than hers. So, as long as she could tie Riki to the band she formed with Anon and Rikki, perhaps she could attract Sakiko.

And then... she could bring Mutsuki over too, and the new Crychic would be complete.

Nagasaki Sose fiddled with her fingers, a faint smile appearing. The key was to make sure Riki wouldn't leave Mygo.

Tie him down here, so he can never go to another band.

Afterward, she'd have Anon and Rikki improve their relationship with Riki. Those two might not be too familiar with Riki yet, at least not as familiar as I am.