Chapter 56: From

After walking for a while, Hitori gradually recovered. She looked at her grabbed wrist, and a different feeling suddenly arose in her heart.

Unaccustomed to this emotion, she gently moved her hand, and Ishikawa Hayato let go.

Immediately, a feeling of loss welled up in her heart.

She remembered Kita's misunderstanding just now, turned her head, looked past Ishikawa Hayato's shoulder, and saw that dazzling, shoulder-length red hair.

She didn't consider the timing and simply explained to Kita.

"Um... Kita-san, Hayato and I are not... not a couple."

Kita was greatly shocked by Hitori's words.

'The distance between the two of you, the tone of your voices, and the way you hid in the corner to eat lunch together at noon—and you're telling me you're not a couple?'

"Then... what are you?"

Kita cautiously asked.

Hitori glanced at Ishikawa Hayato, thought for a moment, and replied in a low voice.

"A pet-owner relationship..."

Hearing her earth-shattering words, Ishikawa Hayato and Kita both froze in place as if turned to stone.

The air between the three of them was terrifyingly cold.

A very bad image appeared in Kita's imagination, and she immediately felt physically uncomfortable.

In less than half a second, she quickly put on a fake smile, glanced at Ishikawa Hayato's hand on her arm, raised her head, and said in a voice that was one hundred percent sweet.

"Ishikawa-kun, please let go, or I'll call the police."

"Wait! It's a misunderstanding."

Ishikawa Hayato hurriedly explained to Kita.

"I promised Bocchi that if she ever had difficulties in the future, I would support her for life."

Kita was stunned for a moment; she remembered their conversation when Ishikawa Hayato took Hitori's piggy bank.

Was it at that time?

She looked at the two of them. At this moment, she finally noticed the strangeness in their relationship.

They indeed didn't seem like a couple, lacking that sticky ambiguity.

It was as if they had bypassed that stage and taken a different path.

And... although Hitori didn't seem to notice.

But Kita could feel that there was a hint of affection in her gaze towards Ishikawa Hayato.

It was as if their romance had just begun to sprout, but another kind of relationship had already gone a long way.

Kita took a gentle but deep breath, and after exhaling, she looked at the two with a smile.

"Is that right, Gotou-san?"

"Mm."

Hitori nodded lightly.

Seeing Hitori's reaction, Kita understood in her heart.

Sure enough, she was always so nervous when Ishikawa Hayato wasn't around before, but now that he was by her side, she appeared much more at ease.

She felt that seeing them like this, it would be too mean to compete with Hitori.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at Kita, who seemed much more resolute, and understood something.

He asked.

"Kita, do you still need my help?"

Kita, as if relieved, stepped forward lightly, and after two steps, turned around.

Facing the two of them, as if shedding all burdens, she resumed her usual natural smile.

"No, it's fine. I already know what to do."

Her fluffy, shoulder-length red hair swayed slightly in the night, the various neon lights merged into one in her cheerful expression, and her short skirt fluttered with her energetic kicks.

She faced the two, her eyes curved in a happy smile.

This was Kita Ikuyo.

A clumsy yet pure and direct girl.

Ishikawa Hayato paused, as if he knew what she would do next.

He seemed to ignore the girl's cuteness and leisurely offered her advice.

"There's no need to rush. I believe Kita will handle it well. However, strong initiative is both Kita's strength and weakness, so you should be careful."

After Ishikawa Hayato said that, Kita felt the atmosphere she had created was ruined. She pouted her head back, complaining softly.

"Honestly, Ishikawa-kun really doesn't understand girls."

As she said this, her greenish-yellow eyes seemed to sparkle like stars.

They were stars closer and brighter than the distant ones in the night sky.

Kita seemed very satisfied with this departure. She smiled and waved at the two, then quickly left the group before they reached their usual parting spot.

Like a moving blaze, she swiftly advanced, passing through the crowd, and soon disappeared without a trace.

After she left, the two continued towards the station.

However, Hitori kept her head down, as if regretting her strange, awkward remark earlier.

After a few steps, she slightly raised her head to look at Ishikawa Hayato, opening her mouth as if to say something.

But Ishikawa Hayato seemed not to notice, leisurely taking in the scenery before him.

After a little while longer, Hitori, worried that she wouldn't be able to clarify things before they parted, finally mustered the courage to speak.

"Um! Hayato, I'm sorry, I said something strange just now."

Ishikawa Hayato turned his head, satisfied, and in Hitori's uneasy gaze, he patted her head.

"Amazing, you said what you wanted to say."

Hitori smiled softly at the compliment, but immediately recovered, realizing that Ishikawa Hayato hadn't given her an answer.

"Hayato..."

She tried to ask again.

"It's okay, I actually found it quite interesting."

Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking and leaned forward slightly, looking at Hitori, who was still looking down.

He saw her sigh in relief, yet still looking troubled.

Hitori quickly noticed Ishikawa Hayato watching her, immediately stopped, her expression flustered, her eyes darting nervously from side to side.

Ishikawa Hayato looked at her, thought quickly, then smiled slyly before walking in front of Hitori, who was at a loss.

He put on a confident, arrogant expression, holding Hitori's shoulders, and stared straight into her eyes.

"You woman, you always manage to surprise me. You really are..."

He leaned down, gazing into Hitori's eyes, his face moving closer to hers.

Hitori saw Ishikawa Hayato approaching, and suddenly thought of something. A blush quickly spread across her face, and her azure eyes widened to their fullest.

As he got closer and closer, his eyes becoming clearer and clearer, Hitori could even see the irises in his eyes.

Her gaze shyly darted away, and at the same time, she inadvertently glanced down at his thin lips.

Then she let out a very cute whimper, her gaze quickly darting away only to immediately return nervously.

Her gaze was like that of an uneasy fawn.

"You really are cute."

But Ishikawa Hayato stopped when their noses were almost touching, then returned to his usual self, smiling as he patted Hitori's head firmly, stood up straight, and said to her.

"Then we're even."

Although he said this, seeing Hitori's face flushed and her clear eyes misty, he felt he had teased her too much.

He guiltily became a bit more serious, changing the subject with a stern voice.

"Let's make a deal. Hitori only needs to apologize to me in two situations."

Although Hitori was still in emotional turmoil, she turned her head and listened carefully to Ishikawa Hayato's words.

"One is when you intentionally break a rule I've set, and the other is when you hurt my friends."

After Ishikawa Hayato finished speaking, he saw the blush on Hitori's face fade considerably and smiled easily.

"But I trust Bocchi a lot. Even if Bocchi accidentally does something bad, I won't get angry, so Bocchi should also trust me a little."

Hitori nodded gently like a fawn.

After Ishikawa Hayato stood up straight and walked to her side, he could only see her pink bangs covering half her face, while below, her creamy cheeks were flushed from within. Her lips, which looked like they had no lipstick and were a very ordinary pale red, were slightly pressed together as if in a gentle pout, and her lips were trembling slightly.

Her face looked soft and tempting.

And in the glow of the various lights, her excessively pale skin reflected an even softer color, appearing particularly mysterious.

Ishikawa Hayato kept feeling that the atmosphere was still on the verge of being off.

It was definitely not his fault, but Hitori's.

He was sure that the girl next to him was definitely thinking some strange things.

Ishikawa Hayato even felt as if the sultry sound of a saxophone was playing around him, but the next moment, he pressed down on the saxophone's bell with a look of disgust.

The illusory saxophone sound immediately stopped.

He said to Hitori.

"Speaking of which, Bocchi worked very hard today. I was watching, you know."

Hitori blinked, emerging from her slightly odd emotions from earlier.

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato's words, she remembered that he hadn't seen her successfully hand a drink to a customer later on.

She hesitated for a moment, then finally mustered the courage to say.

"Hayato, in the end... in the end, I was able to hand drinks to customers too."

Ishikawa Hayato was surprised for a moment, then pressed her shoulder, as if also very happy, applying a little force.

"Amazing, amazing! Bocchi has improved!"

Hearing Ishikawa Hayato's congratulatory voice, Hitori smiled faintly.

At the same time, joy surged within her, making her purse her lips even harder, with the result that her entire lips seemed to quiver with awkwardness.

Just then, Ishikawa Hayato looked down at her and suddenly said, "Oh, right, if Bocchi feels too tired lately, there's no rush with the lyrics..."

"Lyrics!!"

Hitori suddenly cried out, freezing in place as if her whole body had turned to stone.

Then, realizing she had exposed herself, Hitori nervously turned to look at Ishikawa Hayato.

"You forgot, huh?"

Ishikawa Hayato smiled helplessly.

Hitori weakly nodded.

Then, as she quickly hunched down, about to kneel, Ishikawa Hayato grabbed her arm.

"I told you it's fine."

Ishikawa Hayato sighed, holding her arm to keep her from kneeling.

"Th-that..." Hitori's gaze flickered, then she suddenly remembered, "I have to apologize to Nijika-chan!"

Saying this, she fumbled in her pocket for her phone.

As she clumsily opened Line to send an apology to Nijika, Ishikawa Hayato interrupted her again.

He delivered a swift hand chop directly to her head.

Ishikawa Hayato said weakly, "If you suddenly send a message like that, Nijika will be at a loss."

"Th-th-then what should I do?" Hitori clutched her phone, looking around frantically.

Ishikawa Hayato thought for a moment and immediately had a good idea.

"This is when we should ask the other composer about her progress."

He took out his phone, quickly found Ryo's number, and dialed it, all while Hitori stared blankly.

Ishikawa Hayato: "Ryo~"

Ryo: "What do you want?"

Ishikawa Hayato: "Just checking how your song composition is coming along?"

Ryo: "That's all you're asking?"

Ishikawa Hayato: "That's all."

Ryo: "Nothing yet."

*Beep, beep, beep*

Ishikawa Hayato had Ryo on speakerphone, and Hitori next to him heard everything clearly.

When he smiled at Hitori and said, "See, there's absolutely no rush,"

Hitori was thinking,

'As expected of Ryo-san, she's amazing...'