Airi Sakura's Debut Song. / The Debut Song Is Chosen: It's Titled "Light."

"You can do that?"

"I know the shop owner well, so helping out shouldn't be a problem."

Shiina Hiyori seemed confident, but when she picked up her phone, she looked somewhat hesitant.

"What's wrong, Shiina?"

"I don't know what reason to give, after all, it's not normal for Classmate Hashiba and me to be hiding here, so how can I explain our relationship?"

Although Shiina Hiyori had her doubts, she knew this was a good opportunity to test the other party's thoughts.

"Shiina said..."

Hashiba Hikaru scrutinized Shiina Hiyori's pretty face, her tone turning slightly somber, "Just tell the truth and pin all the blame on me."

Is this okay?

"It's alright. I never regret the decisions I've made. The most important thing now is to get Honami and the others away."

Hashiba Hikaru said decisively, "Please Shiina send the message."

"Good."

Shiina Hiyori pursed her lips, a strange light flashing in her beautiful eyes. She quickly composed a text message and sent it to the bookstore owner she knew well.

About three minutes later, Hashiba Hikaru heard new noises outside, seemingly the shop owner announcing something.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our store is closing early today because I have some important business to attend to. Please, customers who have bought or are reading books, please pay your bills as soon as possible. I am truly sorry."

Then came the sound of different footsteps, indicating that the people who remained in the bookstore were leaving one by one.

After waiting for five or six minutes by leaning against the door, an elegant female voice came from outside.

"Alright, Shiina, you can come out now."

"Miss Toyama, could you wait a moment? I have some things to take care of."

Shiina Hiyori responded softly.

"Whatever you want, I'm going back to reading."

After the sound of high heels faded into the distance, Hashiba Hikaru asked with some confusion, "Is there anything else, Shiina?"

"Regarding this... doesn't Classmate Hashiba have any feelings about it?"

When Shiina Hiyori heard the shop owner kicking people out, she silently mustered her courage. There was nothing shameful about liking someone, and the girl decided to tell him her feelings, even if Hashiba Hikaru didn't accept her.

"How does it feel?"

Shiina Hiyori pressed herself against the boy's back, wrapped her arms around his waist, and her voice trembled slightly.

"Don't you feel anything yet?"

"..."

Hashiba Hikaru sighed. He wasn't stupid. Logically speaking, Shiina Hiyori's stock price should have already risen to 100. Although this number was subtle, he could now clearly understand the other party's meaning.

"That's not fair to you, Shiina. I'm actually not a... good person."

"Why?"

Hearing him say that only fueled Shiina Hiyori's curiosity.

"Heh, doesn't today's incident already prove it? He already has a girlfriend, but he still lies to meet you. A person like that doesn't deserve Shiina's sincere feelings."

"You can't judge whether it's worth it or not like that."

After hearing Hashiba Hikaru's explanation, Shiina Hiyori's resolve only grew stronger. She rested her head on Hashiba Hikaru's back and said with a touch of melancholy.

"Actually, I've always felt that I appeared too late in life. If I had met Classmate Hashiba earlier, would things have turned out differently?"

These are things that cannot be changed; no one can predict the future.

Hashiba Hikaru remained with her back to the girl behind her, her tone gentle.

"But it's really great to have met Shiina, at least we both like reading mystery novels."

"Yes... but just being a fellow book lover might not be enough for me."

Shiina Hiyori smiled slightly, her voice light and airy.

"Mystery novels are my favorite, but I've also read a lot of love stories. Classmate Hashiba, would you like to know my views on love?"

"How so?"

"I'm actually a very stubborn person; once I've made up my mind, I won't easily change it."

Shiina Hiyori's tone suddenly became a little coquettish. She pressed her pretty face against Hashiba Hikaru and said, "For someone I like, I must convey my feelings to them, otherwise I will regret it."

"But if that's the case..."

"No buts. I'm just saying what I've always wanted to say. I know Classmate Hashiba have a lot of thoughts, but that doesn't matter. I just wanted you to know how I feel."

"I don't expect you to reciprocate my feelings; I just want us to maintain this kind of relationship in the future."

"..."

"Oh dear, after saying so much, let's go out first. Miss Toyama must have been waiting for a long time; we should go thank her."

Click.

The bathroom door opened, and Hashiba Hikaru and Shiina Hiyori walked out one after the other.

Let's keep what we just said a secret between us.

The gray-haired girl stood beside Hashiba Hikaru, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

"Detective Hashiba, your assistant will always be by your side."

~~~~~

338

Chapter 338 Sakura Airi's debut song.

When Hashiba Hikaru and Shiina Hiyori and arrived at the entrance of the bookstore, Ms. Toyama, who was sitting at the counter, put down her book and began to examine the boy's face.

It must be said that even though she had seen many handsome men with outstanding looks, when Hashiba Hikaru's face came into Toyama Ayako's eyes, she was clearly amazed.

However amazing he may be, he's just a kid to her. After looking the boy up and down a few times, the long-haired female shop owner asked in a somewhat unfriendly tone.

"You're Shiina's friend?"

"Yes, I'm Hashiba Hikaru. Thank you for your help."

Hashiba Hikaru was very polite, after all, the other party had just helped him solve a problem.

"What exactly is your relationship with Shiina? I'm not satisfied with her answer, and I'd like to hear what you have to say."

Toyama Ayako stared into the boy's eyes, her tone firm.

As a young lady from an extravagantly wealthy family, opening a bookstore at this school is simply one of her ways of enjoying life. She doesn't need to worry about making money at all. Although she is usually quiet and gentle, when it's time to show her power, her aura as a woman is by no means weak.

"What's my relationship with Shiina?"

Hashiba Hikaru glanced at the somewhat nervous Shiina Hiyori beside her and said gently, "Shiina and I are good friends. She fulfills some of my capricious requests, which is why what just happened occurred."

"A capricious request?"

"Yes, Shiina has a good personality, which is why she agreed with my idea. I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you just now."

Upon hearing the other party's reply, Toyama Ayako first glanced at Shiina Hiyori, whose expression was somewhat helpless, and then burst into laughter. "You're such a funny person, no wonder little Shiina cares about you so much."

You flatter me.

"Whether it's an overstatement or not, you know in your heart. I only have one request."

"Please speak."

"No matter what, please don't make Shiina sad."

A gentle expression appeared on Toyama Ayako's pretty face, which belied her true age. She looked at the gray-haired girl standing beside her and said softly, "Otherwise, I'll be very angry."

"I see."

Hashiba Hikaru was quite respectful to the store manager, after all, the manager had just offered to help. Although her tone was a bit strange, there was no need to argue with her.

"That's good. Do you want to continue reading now?"

"Let Shiina make the decision."

Hashiba Hikaru still left the decision-making to the other person. Although there was a small hiccup in the middle, the boy hadn't finished reading the book yet, and he was still quite looking forward to finding out the final truth.

"Then let's continue solving the case."

Shiina Hiyori smiled, understanding what the other person meant, and thus proposed this solution.

"Good."

Just as the two returned to where they had been reading, the female shop owner sitting behind the counter stared at their backs with a somewhat serious expression.

She had finally met a younger person she really liked, and she really didn't want this child to get involved in a complicated romance.

But then she thought about it again. She had done something like this before, like a moth drawn to a flame. As long as the other person was someone she could entrust her life to, she would let her go.

On the long road of life, if you encounter someone who is too amazing, you don't know whether it's a blessing or a curse.

--

Before lunch, Hashiba Hikaru Shiina Hiyori spent the whole time reading in the bookstore. Since the owner had already put up the closing sign, the store was very quiet, allowing the two to better discuss the plot and ultimately catch the real culprit in "The Crime of Doctor Watson".

After solving the case, the boy and Shiina Hiyori left together, staying until they finished lunch before disbanding.

After Hashiba Hikaru returned to his dormitory, he planned to use the time left to do something else important—writing songs.

Since mentioning becoming a singer to Sakura Airi, the boy knows that the girl has been practicing hard. In addition to running to improve her lung capacity, she has also recorded many cover demos, showing that she takes this very seriously.

Since the other party is so proactive, Hashiba Hikaru certainly can't delay any longer. It would be best to choose her debut song as soon as possible. As long as she can successfully accumulate fans, this would be a great start.

"What style would be best for our debut song?"

Hashiba Hikaru touched her chin. After mastering [Songwriting Master], the boy had also taught herself many music editing software programs, which allowed her to better compose music.

"In this day and age, what kind of style can immediately capture people's attention? The healing style, or the lyrical style?"

Hashiba Hikaru stared at the popular section of the music website, which featured a variety of songs. He was seriously considering what kind of style would suit someone Sakura Airi, who had previously worked as an idol and model.

Soon, a song caught the boy's attention, and after listening to it, he fell into deep thought once again.

"Song... song..."

Hashiba Hikaru gently tapped his fingers on the table, finally forming a rough outline in his mind. He began to think about the lyrics and melody. About an hour later, the boy slowly opened his eyes.

"This is it."

With the skill of [Songwriting Master], Hashiba Hikaru has a unique understanding of the sensitivity to songs. After figuring out the emotions expressed in the song, he is convinced that it will be an excellent debut song.

So, the boy wrote down all the lyrics he had in mind and planned to use software to transcribe the melody. This was the most basic step; there might be further modifications later.

"That's really great..."

For the rest of the time, Hashiba Hikaru was busy with this. When people are fully immersed in something, it's easy to lose track of time. When he took off his headphones, the boy glanced at the time and realized that it was almost dinner time.

"Let's go eat first, and continue later tonight."

The boy stood up, stretched, and loosened his joints, which were a little sore from sitting for so long.

But just then, the sound of a card being swiped to open the door rang out, and the next moment, Ichinose Honami appeared in front of Hashiba Hikaru.

"Hikaru, good afternoon! Have you eaten yet?"

The pink-haired girl was carrying two large bags, her face beaming with joy.

"No, I was just hungry. Honami, what a perfect time!"

"Hehehe, let's make dinner then."

"Good."

339

Chapter 339 Debut Song Confirmed, Named "Light"

After carefully preparing her original song, Hashiba Hikaru came to Sakura Airi's room one evening.