Chapter 154: Noise (Part 1)
His time with Ryo rarely had many ups and downs, but it was very quiet and comfortable.
They mostly listened to various types of music on their own, occasionally discussing the instrument arrangements in songs and some ideas for new music.
After visiting a second-hand store and eating yakiniku at Jojoen, the next step was to go to STARRY for work.
Ishikawa Hayato was paying at the counter, while Ryo stood by the shop door, waiting for him.
Outside, the number of pedestrians was gradually increasing.
Although the sunlight at past four o’clock was still strong, it could no longer hold back the tourists eager to come out and play.
After paying, Ishikawa Hayato walked over to Ryo, looked at the world outside bleached by the sun, and asked.
“Shall we go to STARRY together?”
“No.”
Ryo pushed the door open and left, leaving Ishikawa Hayato full of questions, but he quickly caught up.
Reaching the end of the street, at a fork in the road, Ryo suddenly stopped, leaving words of farewell.
“Well, that’s it then.”
After she spoke, she didn’t immediately turn and leave, but paused in place.
Ishikawa Hayato looked at the fork in the road and understood her thoughts.
She also didn’t want to directly announce their relationship in front of the other three.
And by stopping at this moment, she wanted to hear if he had any unfinished words from this sudden and brief date.
“Ryo.”
Ishikawa Hayato spoke, and Ryo, as if prepared, slowly let out a sound.
“Hmm.”
He said to the girl who was quietly waiting for him, with a mix of apology and happiness.
“You are the first person to date me knowing that I will date others.”
“I didn’t say anything like that, did I?”
Ryo was referring to the first half of Ishikawa Hayato’s sentence.
“Eh…”
Ishikawa Hayato was dumbfounded.
“Only the other members of the band, and no more additions are allowed.”
Ryo corrected him with a faint smile after seeing his stunned expression.
She was showing a truly relieved expression.
Ishikawa Hayato then breathed a sigh of relief, but he immediately beamed with joy, taking out the book he had bought separately earlier and handing it to Ryo.
“I just saw the debut interview of the Stone Pond Band, which Ryo found the first time she came, at the secondhand bookstore. I didn’t expect it hadn’t been sold yet.”
Ryo took the book, flipped through it, and quickly said.
“It’s not the same one.”
Ishikawa Hayato was surprised.
He didn’t know how she recognized it.
But as Ryo finished speaking, she looked up at him and said, “It’s different now.”
He smiled.
Yes, it was different.
Their relationship had begun to change.
“Then can I tell everyone that the peerlessly beautiful Ryo-neechan is my girlfriend?”
“You can only say it when you start dating them.”
Seeing that she had finished speaking, she turned and walked in the other direction at a slower pace than usual.
Ishikawa Hayato watched her retreating figure, and she neither looked back nor stopped.
The sight of her back gave the impression that she had completely reined in her emotions and locked them away inside her heart.
All that remained was a beautiful silhouette that caught the attention of passersby and a strong sense of her own individuality.
...
Time quickly moved to the next day.
On the clattering train, Nijika grumbled angrily about the only absent member.
“Seriously, she was late for work yesterday, and today she overslept for rehearsal. That guy is really a handful!”
“That’s just how Ryo-senpai is.”
Nijika heard the words beside her, turned her head, and sighed when she saw Kita, cheerfully indifferent.
She hadn’t expected Kita to tolerate Ryo to this extent.
But looking at her happy expression, it seemed it wasn’t just because of Ryo, but also because they could now perform on bigger stages.
However, Nijika felt that the person next to Kita definitely didn’t feel that way.
On Kita’s other side, Hitori’s eyes had dimmed.
Her hands were on her knees, and she was trembling incessantly, her gaze fixed on the ground.
She was still muttering something under her breath.
Nijika looked at the person furthest from her in their group.
Seeing him sitting next to Hitori but not comforting her, Nijika couldn’t help but pull out her phone and send a Line message.
“Why aren’t you comforting Bocchi-chan!”
Nijika herself didn’t know why she didn’t speak directly but instead choosing to converse with Ishikawa Hayato via Line.
Soon, Ishikawa Hayato replied to her via Line.
“If I comfort her now, she’ll just get nervous again later. You have to save your big moves for important moments.”
Nijika put away her phone and sighed.
This guy was never serious for a day, yet he was frighteningly cunning.
However, thinking that there was still someone in the band who could be reliable once or twice, she felt much more at ease.
Putting aside the anxiety from their last failed performance, she waited for the train to take them to Shinjuku.
...
Shinjuku was not an unfamiliar place for those who had grown up in Tokyo since childhood, with Hitori being the exception, of course.
But this time, getting off the train, they suddenly felt that this place gave them a different impression.
Just looking around, they saw many people carrying musical instruments, walking in twos and threes.
Kita unnaturally tugged at her guitar case, saying to the three with a slight tension.
“It seems like there are many bands this year coming to perform.”
“Ah, mm.”
Her emotions also reached Nijika, who was standing beside her.
Nijika also found it hard to tell her that there would be more people coming to see them.
Even these two were nervous, not to mention Hitori, who was already trembling like a sieve.
At this moment, Ishikawa Hayato clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the three.
Seeing their puzzled gazes, Ishikawa Hayato stood with his hands on his hips, a proud look on his face.
“It’s okay, no need to worry. There will definitely be no one handsomer than me in the venue, so you all don’t have to fear falling for someone else.”
Nijika and Kita looked at him with indifferent expressions, and for a moment, the urge to retort overshadowed their nervousness.
But they didn't bother to retort to him.
Nijika turned around and reminded Kita.
“Let’s go! To Shinjuku FOLT!”
“Yes, let’s go!”
The two echoed each other, stepping forward.
However, Nijika was half a step behind Kita and looked back at Ishikawa Hayato.
Her slightly smiling face and gentle gaze were very cute.
After seeing that Ishikawa Hayato was pulling Hitori along to catch up, she withdrew her gaze.
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