Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

"Ah...that's it..."

Then, in Ijichi Hongka's eyes, she saw the complex emotions on Iruma Hibiki's face.

It's not a happy mood at all, but rather a bit sad.

This made Ijichi Hongxia even more worried.

But at this moment, she didn't know what she could do. Should she talk about something happy to change the subject?

For example, how about a sentence like [The weather is so hot today]?

It's too abrupt.

"But Iruma, how do you arrange your band's rehearsal schedule?"

So Ijichi Hongxia didn't know what kind of mentality she had when asking such a question. Maybe she had some expectations and was reluctant to leave the training camp at the end of the summer vacation.

"Our band practices four times a week: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday."

"Four times!"

Ijichi Hongxia said in surprise.

although--

There was no Saturday in Crychic's plan, but facing the fact that "it's very hard" and such a frequency, she finally gave up the invitation that Ijichi Hongxia had just thought of.

"Yeah, four times. It seems that Toyokawa-san set her goal very high, and... Suyo and the others also wanted to rehearse more often, so that's how it happened."

Iruma Hibiki explained briefly.

"what happened?"

Afterwards, he actually understood why Ichichi Hongxia asked this, so he asked back.

"I just wanted to hear what you had to say about the band. You see, sometimes, sharing your troubles with others can be very helpful. At least for me, after sharing my troubles with you, Iruma, I always feel relaxed, relaxed."

Ijichi Nikka smiled gently at Iruma Hibiki.

"Yeah, me too. It's a pleasure talking to you, Ichichi."

For the average male high school student in Tokyo, such words are too direct and not subtle enough.

But that's what Hibiki Iruma is like.

Ijichi Hongxia has long been accustomed to it, so such cheesy words no longer make her blush or her heart beat faster. At most, she will feel shy for a moment.

Instead, the remaining joy became the main theme.

After all, being told "It's a pleasure to be with you" is always a happy thing, no matter when.

"Speaking of which, Iruma, what would you do if your friend suddenly did something that bothered you one day?"

Ijichi Hongka suddenly asked Iruma Hibiki just before class started.

This kind of question actually quickly reminded Iruma Hibiki of Yamada Ryo who had walked into the class with a baseball bat in a menacing manner.

[Are you asking this for Yamada-senpai? ]

Iruma Hibiki quickly confirmed this idea.

"As for me, I probably won't care too much."

Then he responded seriously.

"Because being able to cause trouble to each other and bother each other is also part of friendship."

Facing Ijichi Nikka, Iruma Hibiki expressed his true feelings.

And when it comes down to it, the existence of "troubling things" was actually a luxury that Iruma Hibiki could never achieve in the past.

After all, not long ago, he was alone without a single friend.

The only person I could see beside me was Goto Ichiri.

"And actually, I'm not good at cutting off close relationships. If an important friend breaks up with me, I'll definitely cyberbully him."

"Eh?!"

Ijichi Hongka was shocked by Iruma Hibiki's words.

"Kidding."

"Ah! Seriously! You can't take this as a joke!"

"Sorry sorry."

"Do you really know you're wrong?"

Ijichi Hongka puffed up her face and stared at Iruma Hibiki.

"Yes, yes, I have completely reflected on this and will never say such things so casually again."

Iruma Hibiki apologized with a smile.

And Ijichi Hongxia probably laughed at this moment.

"Ichichi."

Then, Iruma Hibiki became serious again.

"I think that causing trouble for each other is actually quite blissful. And if it's you, Ichichi, I think you can just do whatever you want without any worries. There's definitely no one who would hate you or find it troublesome."

Then he spoke firmly.

And such an answer actually meant to Ijichi Hongxia—

She felt relieved a lot.

Although she could probably guess from the beginning that Iruma Hibiki would answer like this, he was just that kind of guy and that was why he became like that during the incident with Nagasaki Soyo.

But after getting confirmation from the person himself, Ijichi Hongxia finally felt that perhaps, as Yamada Ryo had suggested before, she should also give it a try without hesitation...

【Work hard without hesitation】

In fact, when this thought came to her mind, Ijichi Hongxia herself was shocked.

Did she actually hope that Iruma Hibiki would come back?

The first class has begun.

After 20 minutes, Iruma Hibiki fell asleep on the table. When Ijichi Hongka occasionally looked back, she could only see Iruma Hibiki's sleeping face.

After all, she actually—

Ijichi Hongka, who was taking notes seriously, drew a doodle on the book during the five minutes of distraction during class. Her painting skills were very poor and her aesthetic taste was only at the average level.

But you can vaguely make out that there are four people holding hands in the painting.

15 The Avoided Hand and Tamagoyaki

Hibiki Iruma had a strange dream.

In his dream, a fortune teller told him, "If you make friends before the age of 17, you're bound to fall out with them, fight, and end up parting on bad terms." Then, several figures flashed before Hibiki Iruma's eyes. The first was Nagasaki Suyo, who gave him a cold expression. The second was Toyokawa Shoko, who gave him a look of disappointment. The third was Goto Ichiri, who hesitated for a long time and ran away from him into a white mist.

The last one is Ichichi Hongka.

In front of Iruma Hibiki, Ijichi Nikka smiled at him, then the smile slowly disappeared and she turned her head away.

Then, Iruma Hibiki woke up from his dream.

He was gasping for breath, his whole body soaked as if he had just been pulled out of the water.

It was only the second class in the morning, and it hadn't been long since he fell asleep.

A soft rustling sound was heard in front of Hibiki Iruma, and then Hibiki Iruma saw a small piece of paper. On it was written "Is it okay?" in cute, round handwriting by Nikka Ijichi.

Hibiki Iruma came back to his senses from the nightmare.

After all—

This nightmare is entirely self-inflicted.

After a slight self-deprecating laugh, Iruma Hibiki wrote on a piece of paper, "It's okay, I just had a nightmare. I dreamed that Ichichi and you hated me." Then he handed it back to Ichichi Nikka.

Of course, such a small action is not particularly eye-catching in a classroom with poor air conditioning, it is just a small episode.

【Dreams are usually the opposite of reality.】

Ijichi Hongxia's reply came back again.

This time, the small piece of paper from Ichichi Hongxia's notebook only had enough space to write the last sentence.

Iruma Hibiki pondered for a moment, preparing to kill the game.

「That’s true, but──if it’s the exact opposite, does that mean Ichi knows that you like me? 」

puff-

Iruma Hibiki seemed to be able to hear the sound of steam from boiling water before the old Stirling steam engine started. Ijichi Hongxia was obviously overwhelmed by his reply.

Iruma Hibiki smiled faintly, feeling a lot more relaxed, and then focused seriously on today's lesson.

【I’m ignoring you! 】

Until, when Yiji Chihongxia's little note came again.

Anyway, during the break of the second period, Ijichi Hongka was angry with Iruma Hibiki and didn't talk to him, but by the third period she couldn't hold it back anymore and their relationship returned to normal.

She was angry for less than an hour, which was very cute.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have made such a joke before."

Of course, Iruma Hibiki also apologized for his previous joke.

"Really, Iruma, you can't just make jokes like that. It would be terrible if the other person took it seriously!"

"makes sense."

Imagining that scene, Iruma Hibiki shrank his neck.

After all, if he suddenly had another lover, he would definitely not be able to handle it.

Between the band, schoolwork, and the writing that he could ignore now but was bound to face soon, Hibiki Iruma felt he had no time to worry about love.

only--

When Iruma Hibiki thought of this, he hesitated slightly.

He may actually still be not without desire for love.

If he could put everything aside, he would definitely type dozens of "I want to fall in love" messages in the chat, like a vengeful spirit.

but--

"Yes, now is not the time to be in a relationship. The band's affairs are more important."

Iruma Hibiki said this to himself in his heart.

"stop!"

Just when Hibiki Iruma wanted to say something to Nikka Ijichi, Nikka Ijichi abruptly stopped Hibiki Iruma, then puffed up her cheeks slightly and stared at Hibiki Iruma with a suspicious look.

"Iruma, you're not going to play a prank on me again, are you?"

"Huh? No, that's not what I meant at all. But, what did you think of Ichichi?"

Hibiki Iruma asked curiously.

Then he saw Ijichi Hongxia's face turn red.

"Nothing! I misunderstood."

"Eh? Tell me, I, Lu Mingyang Er (San) Si Ba Ba Temple, am very curious."

Iruma Hibiki laughed and continued to question, acting like a loser with no emotional intelligence, with his signature smirk on his face.

"Nothing at all!"

Ijichi Hongxia dodged again.

"Okay, okay, then there's nothing."

Finally, Iruma Hibiki ended the topic before the class bell rang.

In reality, Ijichi Nijika probably thought that Iruma Hibiki would continue to say something like, "Ijichi, are you serious?" After all, Ijichi Nijika had no trust in Iruma Hibiki except when it came to pranks.