Chapter 335

They hadn't let go of each other's hands yet.

Shiina Riki watched as Riki took her hand.

It wouldn't be good if we got separated, so let's hold hands for now.

She thought about it.

"The parade is so spectacular!" Chihaya Anon's eyes sparkled. She loved things that drew everyone's attention, just like she loved beautiful fireworks.

Suddenly, she glanced down, tilted her head, squinted at the distance, and asked curiously, "Is that... Rikki?"

Nagasaki Sose, standing nearby, said calmly, "Rikki- chan said she had something to do, so why is she here...?"

"It really is Rikki, and she's even holding hands with a boy!" Chihaya Anon recognized her and exclaimed in surprise, her eyes wide.

"How is that possible?!"

Nagasaki Sose and Takamatsu Akari followed the direction Chihaya Anon was pointing and, sure enough, saw Shiina Riki and Riki standing hand in hand in front of the crowd of spectators next to the Mikoshi parade.

"It's really true." Nagasaki Sose murmured in surprise.

She thought Rikki would be the slowest to find a boyfriend, but she never expected that Rikki would already have one.

Is this world really not a fake?

It's too far away to see clearly...

Nagasaki Sose quickly bought a pair of binoculars for children from a nearby stall. She could barely see Riki and Shiina Riki below. The two were chatting and laughing and looked very happy. Most importantly, they were holding hands.

"Rikki- chan is smiling so happily." Nagasaki Sose murmured. The only time she had ever seen Rikki smile like that was during the Crychic arc.

This made her feel like Shiina Riki was about to be snatched away by Riki.

Nagasaki Sose slammed her binoculars against the railing, her face darkening. "Everyone, let's go! Rikki- chan has definitely been deceived by a man. Let's go find Rikki and take the shortcut down the mountain!"

Nagasaki Sose, holding the hands of Chihaya Anon and Takamatsu Akari, was about to descend the mountain when they suddenly saw a familiar figure ahead.

"Isn't this Rikki's friend?" Hachiman Mairin tilted her head and smiled. "There's road construction here, let's take another route down."

"OK, thanks."

Hachiman Mairin watched Nagasaki Sose and the other two leave, she leaned against the railing and looked down at Shiina Riki, who was laughing happily. Her eyes also crinkled into crescent moons with laughter.

It's been so long since I've seen Rikki so happy.

They still won't admit they're in a relationship.

When Nagasaki Sose ran downstairs, they found that the crowd had dispersed and they couldn't find anyone.

"How could this happen..." Nagasaki Sose sighed helplessly, looking up at the sky.

Shiina Riki was biting into an apple candy; the red sugar residue shone brightly under the warm lights of the festival, making her lips look vividly red.

"The moon in Japan isn't as round as the one in Haicheng. The candied apples from my hometown are even tastier; they're locally grown," Riki said, munching on a candied apple.

"If you don't like it, give it back to me. I paid for it myself," Shiina Riki said irritably.

"Can I buy you the apple candy you've only eaten half of?" Riki asked.

"Of course not, you pervert!"

Shiina Riki was already used to Riki's words, and casually said that she was going to finish the candy apple in her hand. When she noticed that Riki was staring at her, Rikki quickly covered her mouth with her hand and frowned, saying, "Do I have candy residue on my mouth?"

"Yes, but her lips are very beautiful," Riki couldn't help but say.

He looked at Shiina Riki under the orange-yellow lamplight and was captivated by her Shiina Riki.

"... I see." Shiina Riki said, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief, her lips becoming even redder afterward.

The two walked into Hie Shrine intending to pay their respects, when suddenly Shiina Riki paused, realizing she saw a familiar face at the shrine entrance—blue hair, a familiar face—it was Toyokawa Sakiko.

"Good evening, Rikki- kun." Toyokawa Sakiko turned around, paused for a moment, and smiled. Her gaze fell on Riki next to Shiina Riki, lingered for a moment, and then she looked at him with some curiosity before taking a step forward...

"Is there something you need?" Shiina Riki stood in front of Riki, blocking his way, and looked at Toyokawa Sakiko.

"No, I was just curious. This must be Rikki's boyfriend. I wish you happiness," Toyokawa Sakiko said with a gentle smile, then turned and left gracefully.

Such powerful pressure.

Riki watched Toyokawa Sakiko's slender figure from behind.

Just by looking at the way she walks, you can tell she's incredibly strong.

She's Teacher Da Xiang! This is the first time I've met her in the Bang Bang world...

The sense of White Moonlight is indeed very strong.

"What are you still looking at after everyone's gone?" Shiina Riki said expressionlessly.

"I was looking at the rounder moon over Japan," Riki quickly replied.

Shiina Riki snorted, and the two finished their pilgrimage and walked down the mountain.

Shiina Riki glanced at Riki. She hadn't expected to run into Sakiko here. Sakiko... was definitely much prettier than her, and much better at talking.

If Riki had met Sakiko first, I wouldn't have stood a chance, right?

But... I feel a little unwilling.

"Riki, are you happy today?" Shiina Riki couldn't help but ask.

"Certainly!"

"Really? I'm happy too. It's rare for someone to go out with me, so... consider this payment!" Shiina Riki grabbed Riki's collar, stood on tiptoe, and gave Riki a hard kiss on the lips.

I could still faintly taste the sweet and sour flavor of the candied apple from earlier.

Shiina Riki landed on her heels.

They glanced at each other, both a little shy, but continued walking forward hand in hand.

Nagasaki Sose, who was standing at the shrine entrance, was stunned. Her hand, which had been about to wave, froze in mid-air.

"He really is my boyfriend," Chihaya Anon nodded, arms crossed, and commented.

"Indeed," Takamatsu Akari replied.

Nagasaki Sose's face was stiff.

"You got this panda by having a kid shoot an air gun for you?" Shiina Riki said, somewhat speechless, while holding the panda plushie.

"It's not that I'm not good at it, it's just that everyone has their own expertise, and it's more convenient to leave it to Brother Kid," Riki said.

"I see..." Shiina Riki said, glancing at Riki and saying softly, "I'm good at it, you can leave the festivals to me from now on."

"Then I'll leave everything to you from now on. You have to help me for the rest of your life, okay?" Riki said casually.

"...Okay," Shiina Riki said softly.

She hugged the panda tightly, a gentle smile on her face.

Shiina Riki returned home and lay on her bed, reminiscing about her experience with Riki during the festival. A smile appeared on her face, but it slowly disappeared when she thought of Sakiko appearing.

If there were a rival like Sakiko, Riki would probably still be snatched away.

So, should we make the first move?

Shiina Riki sat up, covering her burning face; she was thinking about things she shouldn't have...

But she wanted to do it!

Side Story: Rikki's Route 03

Shiina Riki, wearing a Ring Cafe apron, carefully wiped the glasses, the sparkling clean glasses reflecting her light and cheerful smile.

Yesterday's festival was pretty perfect, except for the fact that Sakiko suddenly appeared at the end and startled her, everything was just like the date she had imagined.

So... I guess you could call it a date?

If Riki doesn't think that counts, I'll punch him in the stomach and kill him.

Shiina Riki was in a good mood, humming a song. She looked up and saw Mygo and the others walk in. Just as she was about to greet them, she noticed that they were looking at her with strange eyes, as if they were seeing her for the first time in their lives.

Shiina Riki put down her cup. "I can understand Chihaya Anon, but why are Souyo and Akari looking at me like that?"

"It's not open for business yet, and we have class later, right?" Shiina Riki asked.

"I can scout out the school, even though the dreaded headmaster will be watching me, but I have something more important to do right now!" Nagasaki Sose said earnestly as she walked quickly to Rikki. Takamatsu Akari and Chihaya Anon beside her also stared intently at Shiina Riki.

"Huh?" Shiina Riki.

Nagasaki Sose carefully considered her words, looked Shiina Riki up and down, and said seriously, "Rikki- chan may be a first-year high school student, but she's quite cute, and her figure is even better than that of a college student. It's possible that some perverts are eyeing Rikki- chan!"

"The cute thing is the lamp, isn't it?" Shiina Riki frowned and crossed her arms. "Besides, I don't even consider ordinary perverts a threat."

Shiina Riki trains regularly, and by junior high school, her Taekwondo skills were already superb. She could easily take down anyone weighing less than 120 pounds. As for those weighing over 120 pounds, she wasn't stupid; she would simply injure them in the groin and run away quickly before calling the police. She didn't have the honor of a samurai and insisted on fighting with people.

Nagasaki Sose thought for a moment, then stood on tiptoe and gestured in the air with her palm at a height of about 1.8 meters, saying, "If a boy this tall and big were to make a move on you, you should be careful."

Shiina Riki watched Nagasaki Sose's gestures, and her face gradually turned red as she saw the serious expressions on the faces of the three people in front of her.

"You saw me and Riki at the festival?!" Shiina Riki couldn't help but exclaim.

"His name is Riki, you can tell it's a bad guy's name just by hearing it!" Nagasaki Sose glared, wishing she could vaporize the absent Riki with a heat ray, and then quickly said, "Rikki- chan, it's too early to be in a relationship now, he's definitely just after Rikki because you're pretty."

Shiina Riki hesitated.

That's true.

Riki often secretly looked at her, his face, breasts and buttocks were frequently scanned by him, and his thighs were the most frequently scanned area.

But...

"Don't worry, he's not as bad as you think," Shiina Riki defended Riki.

"I also think he doesn't look like a bad person," Takamatsu Akari said.

Nagasaki Sose pursed her lips, put her hands on her hips, and said, "We'll only know after we meet him. Rikki- chan, could you ask him to come here after school? It's normal for Rikki- chan's friend to meet him, right?!"

"Okay... then."

Shiina Riki sent a message to Riki and quickly received an 'OK' gesture from him.

"Replying instantly? He must be a useless guy who's been playing on his phone all day. And he probably replied so quickly because he's trying to win over Rikki- chan with his 'sincere' persona. Don't fall for it!" Nagasaki Sose was very hostile towards Riki, the person who stole her friend. Her stereotypes were already swinging up to smash Riki's head, and she crossed her arms and snorted.

"No, he was talking to his advisor about the final exams recently, and he probably just happened to catch them chatting, which is why he replied so quickly," Shiina Riki couldn't help but say. "Besides, he usually takes half a minute or a minute or two to reply, it's not that sincere, after all, I'm about the same."

Nagasaki Sose's face darkened.

She paused for a moment and asked curiously, "How did you know, Rikki- chan?"

"I have Professor Riki's contact information. Riki said I can bother him about the things he doesn't know how to teach," Shiina Riki said.

However, she mostly asked Riki's tutor about Riki's embarrassing moments, her daily life at school, and... whether she interacted with other girls.

Currently, no girls have been found to be close to Riki. Riki gets along best with his bandmates. If there's any girl he's close to, it seems to be his rival, the female captain of the Beijing team.

Nagasaki Sose stood with her arms crossed and expressionless.

It's only been less than two months, how come it feels like Rikki has made such a fast progress without them knowing?

Riki, what an enemy!

After school, Hanasakigawa Shiina Riki up her schoolbag and walked out of the classroom. At the school gate, she saw Riki waiting for her. The female classmates around her whispered among themselves as they looked at the handsome Riki, and then chuckled as they looked at the expressionless Shiina Riki.

"Rikki already had a boyfriend, no wonder she didn't talk to us about relationships."

"What a surprise, but it's not surprising that Rikki is so beautiful."

"They look so close, could they be childhood sweethearts?"

"This is so sweet! A cool, aloof beauty and a sunny, warm guy."

"..."

Riki looked at the Japanese girls who were staring at him.