They all have hidden attributes!

"That makes sense. And maybe he was also tempted by her lewd figure?" Uesugi Maya sneered disdainfully.

"To say there isn't would be a lie."

Seeing Takahashi Makoto frankly admit it, she suddenly stopped and looked down at the shadows of the two of them cast by the streetlights.

"Sincerity".

"Ok?"

Makoto Takahashi turned around and gazed at her tall, slender figure.

"Hoo." Uesugi Maya took a deep breath, walked over quickly, and forcefully pressed his back against the wall on the side of the residential street.

Is he about to be pinned against a wall? Makoto Takahashi blinked.

As if making a firm decision, Uesugi Maya slowly raised her delicate face, her beautiful caramel-colored eyes looking directly into his eyes:

"From today onwards, I will use any means necessary to win you over."

"Using any means necessary is simply unacceptable—"

Before Makoto Takahashi could finish speaking, her soft hand covered his mouth.

A gentle night breeze blew, and under the dim streetlights, Hell Girl's vision lost its sharpness, becoming veiled in a hazy light.

"I will raise you into a useless person who can't live without me."

"No matter what happens, I will never give up on you until we achieve final victory."

She finished speaking with a cold face, stuffed the hardcover book into Takahashi Makoto's arms, and immediately turned around and ran back the way she came towards the apartment.

"Aren't you going to eat dinner?" Makoto Takahashi asked, raising his voice.

There was no response. It was clear that Uesugi Maya had been monitoring the apartment building entrance from upstairs all day, which was why she was coming downstairs in sportswear.

He glanced down at the book in his hands, *The Little Prince*.

Opening the cover, the title page was pristine white, with a few words written in delicate handwriting.

You are always responsible for what you tame.

You are responsible for your rose.

The time you spend on your roses makes them so important.

What is truly essential is invisible to the eye.

It looks a bit like Haki Nights's "[Breathing Declaration]", I feel like I'm going to be breathing on all the time from now on.

With these thoughts in mind, Makoto Takahashi closed the book in his hand, turned around and continued walking towards Ikebukuro, intending to find a dessert shop that was still open.

If we curry favor with Uesugi Maya now, we can avoid making things too complicated in the future, right?

And then there's the band; they have to take care of everyone's feelings.

But then again, it seems like girls tend to like sweets more?

The next day, Takahashi Makoto was smarter and didn't mention the previous night's events to Uesugi Maya during breakfast, quietly offering his tribute instead.

—Cream puffs, lemon cream wheel puffs, and French cream puffs.

Of all desserts, Hagiwara particularly loves cream puffs and hates chocolate the most. Also, she doesn't drink carbonated beverages.

Having escaped the fate of being insulted, he and Uesugi Maya sat facing each other at the dining table to enjoy their breakfast.

— Boiled fish, cold dishes, fried eggs, miso soup, and steaming hot rice.

"It's not cold dishes today."

Makoto Takahashi took a sip of miso soup, the aroma of which spread in his mouth: "Oh, I remember now, I wasn't home last night."

Normally, breakfast consists only of cold dishes. When making dinner, Maya Uesugi would boil some simple food and put it in the refrigerator to save time in the morning.

"Tachikami told me that from now on, Kashima-senpai will be in charge of lunch and cleaning."

Uesugi Maya casually picked up a piece of boiled fish with her chopsticks, placed it on her plate, and carefully removed the bones from the fish: "From now on, I'll give you hot dishes for breakfast and dinner. I'll give the spare key to Kashima today."

"Isn't that unnecessary? We can just prepare a new key."

Makoto Takahashi snatched a cream puff from in front of her, threw it into his mouth, and said while eating, "Kashima-senpai doesn't come every day. If I forget my keys one day, it'll be a hassle to ask her to bring them."

"Tsk, scum."

Uesugi Maya slightly raised her eyes, giving the insect a glare with her sclera-filled gaze.

"Then I'll hide the key, like the office key."

"It's not safe."

"Then put it with the manager... Ouch—why did you step on me?" Takahashi Makoto asked with a completely innocent and feignedly confused tone.

"Tsk, pest." Uesugi Maya glanced at him, picked up a piece of fish and put it in her mouth, then looked out the window.

Chapter 100: Daily Life Before the First Live Performance

[Tatsumi: (Photo)]

[Tatsumi: Reiko has been making borscht for breakfast every day lately]

[Tatsumi: Makoto, wouldn't it be better if you moved in with us?]

[Takahashi: (Photo)]

[Takahashi: I'm in Tsurumizawa, just got off the train]

[Takahashi: Didn't you sleep well last night?]

[Takahashi: I ate breakfast much later than usual]

[Tatsumi: Just woke up, haven't changed out of my pajamas yet]

[Tatsumi: I got a little too excited, so I'm taking a break today.]

[Tatsumi: Want to come visit me?]

[Takahashi: Tomorrow night is the band's first live performance, Maya won't let me off the hook]

[Tatsumi: Don't you want to know what we're playing?]

[Takahashi: I'll Play Go with You]

[Tatsumi: ...You guessed right, boring.]

[Takahashi: Are you coming to the show tomorrow night?]

[Tatsumi: I'm not going. I'll prepare a celebration party.]

[Takahashi: Thank you for your hard work]

While chatting with Tatsumi Yuki, Takahashi Makoto walked through the gates of Tsurumizawa Academy, stepping on the shadows cast by the cedar trees in the courtyard, and headed towards the special building.

Walking beside her, Maya Uesugi would occasionally frown slightly, casting a disdainful glance at him, her eyes filled with disgust for the sour smell of romance.

In mid-August in Tokyo, a little after 8 a.m., the sky was so clear that it put one in a good mood.

As the summer sun gradually warmed the air and the cicadas chirped noisily, Makoto Takahashi put away his phone and looked up to see the various plants shimmering with dazzling green in the flowerbeds on both sides of the special building's entrance. For a moment, he felt a sense of unreality.

“When I was in Yamanashi Prefecture, I never imagined I would live like this now. It always felt a bit unreal,” he suddenly said.

"What is it?" Uesugi Maya asked in a calm voice.

"I have my first friend to play with, people who respect, understand and support me, bandmates, and now I have a girlfriend. At last night's charity gala, I met a bunch of people who only appear in the news."

"I'm asking you about Yamanashi Prefecture."

"No parents, no friends, no interests, and no goals for the future."

Makoto Takahashi stopped in the slightly cooler shade of the trees, looked back at the playground, and saw Hanakawa Kaori running towards him in the distance, her sweat-dampened hair shimmering with a light purple hue in the sunlight.

“I had nothing except my family’s insurance money. My best friend at the time was a bicycle,” he continued.

"Senior, wait for me~"

Hanakawa Kaori's voice drifted over, but Uesugi Maya ignored it and strode towards the stairs: "I'm going to the club office to make coffee."

Even though the band members have a harmonious and friendly atmosphere now, she still prefers to be alone.

"I want a drink too." Takahashi Makoto covered his mouth and yawned.

He got back to his apartment very late last night, and then went to Ikebukuro in the middle of the night to buy cream puffs for Uesugi Maya. He also woke up suddenly this morning for no reason, and he's a little sleepy now.

As the sound of loafers clattering on the steps faded into the distance, Makoto Takahashi turned his gaze to the hydrangeas blooming in the shade of the trees.

A few minutes later, Hanakawa Kaori, panting heavily, stopped beside him and rested her hands on her knees: "S-Senpai, I've decided that starting tomorrow, I'll start running with my violin bag on my back."

Hearing her slightly hoarse voice, Makoto Takahashi walked to the vending machine, took out his wallet from his pocket, and bought a bottle of electrolyte water: "As the lead singer, you also need to drink more water to protect your voice."

With a "clunk," the cold beverage fell into the dispensing chute.

"Thank you, senior." Hanakawa Kaori took the drink he offered, unscrewed the cap, and tilted her head back to take a small sip.

Under the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, the delicate hair of a young girl swayed gently, revealing a fine layer of sweat on her neck through the neckline of her T-shirt, giving her a charmingly adorable appearance.

"call."

She let out a long sigh, made a sound that was hard to understand, and puffed out her cheeks to say, "Senior, Hina-nee seems to be a bit thick-skinned."

"Is that so?" Makoto Takahashi thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Hina Nekoya was indeed a beautiful but silly girl.

"Sure enough, Chun Ke has never realized that she has feelings for you."

"He is indeed a bit oblivious."

"Does Makoto-senpai like Junko-nee? Or does he like Uesugi-senpai?" Hanakawa Kaori asked gossipily.

Her way of addressing Shiraishi Junka has gradually evolved from "senpai" to the more affectionate "sister".

"How's it going with you and Hina?" Makoto Takahashi asked in return.

"Ah, well, how should I put it, anyway, it's over."

Hanakawa Kaori looked down at her toes, her sneakers rubbing against the ground: "On the night of the thunderstorm, Tsurumi Sawa had a power outage, and I could only hide under the covers, shivering. In the end, it was Hina-nee who came to keep me company."

When the topic of her fear of thunder came up, she scratched her cheek with her finger in embarrassment.

"Yin Cai said she's going to move into the dorm to stay with me. It'll probably be cheaper than living outside, but she seems to have quit her part-time job, I wonder..."