Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

[Sorry, Xiang, I have plans at home today.]

Such news came from Wakaba Mutsu early in the morning, which made Toyokawa Shoko a little disappointed.

[It's okay, Xiao Mu, let's schedule today's rehearsal for the evening.]

【Um. 】

Wakaba Mu's reply was as concise as ever, without any unnecessary words.

【Xiang's confession, was it successful?】

but--

What Toyokawa Shoko didn't expect was that today Wakaba Mutsu actually took the initiative to ask her questions, which was a bit strange.

[Yes, now Hibiki and I are already in a relationship.]

……

Then there was silence for a long time on Ruoye Mu's side.

【Recently, things have changed quite a bit.】

Five minutes later, she sent another message.

Faced with such news, a smile appeared on Toyokawa Shoko's face.

Yes, she is now completely different from her before. If Ye Mu said that, it would be a compliment to her no matter how you look at it. At least that’s what Toyokawa Shoko thought at the moment, and she even revealed a faint smile.

【Xiao Mu hasn't changed at all.】

So she replied with some concern for Ruoye Mu.

In fact, Toyokawa Shoko sometimes thinks that it would be great if Wakaba Mutsuya could make decisions for herself like her and really liked Crychic.

Yes, that's what Shoko Toyokawa thought.

She hopes that Ruoye Mu can devote himself to Crychic wholeheartedly.

then--

That's when she would ask Hibiki Iruma to confirm Wakaba Mu's feelings.

【How is Hibiki doing? 】

Thinking of this, Toyokawa Shoko was a little concerned about the progress of Iruma Hibiki at this moment. She returned to the room and sat on the bed, lying slightly on her side, then holding the mobile phone and quietly waiting for Iruma Hibiki's response.

A few minutes later, Shoko Toyokawa turned over.

Ten minutes later, Shoko Toyokawa turned over again.

The waiting time seemed a bit long, so Toyokawa Shoko switched off to watch a recent girl band performance for a while. Then, halfway through, it was just a prelude, so she immediately switched off to check Iruma Hibiki's chat box. Seeing that there was no reply, she simply went to search Iruma Hibiki's space.

After this repeated process, Wuchuan Xiangzi received a letter from Iruma Hibiki:

Good afternoon, Xiangzi. I just woke up.

On Hibiki Iruma's side.

The words "I like you too" stayed in his chat box.

But in the end, shyness prevented him from uttering these five simple words.

Of course, at this moment, he must be feeling more than just shyness, there is something more complicated going on.

【Greetings, ring.】

At this moment, Shoko Toyokawa sat up straight on the bed with an obviously happy smile on her face.

However, at this moment, Iruma Hibiki felt subtly at a loss.

Maybe it's because of the fusion of relationships.

Now that he and Toyokawa Shoko were lovers, and that they needed to interact like lovers, Iruma Hibiki was a little... totally at a loss as to what to do...

To the point that he couldn't even talk to Toyokawa Shoko as usual.

Faced with such a strange emotion, Iruma Hibiki felt a slight stagnation, and an indescribable sense of distress began to make him feel helpless.

but--

He had already agreed to the confession, so he couldn't go back on his word no matter how he thought about it. Besides, no matter how he looked at it, he should be happy and flattered about dating Toyokawa Shoko.

This is what Hibiki Iruma thought.

Of course, after that, he also had some minor surprises -

[Would someone like Xiangzi really fall in love with someone like me?]

The complex emotions, the feeling of being at a loss and the subtle inferiority made it particularly difficult for Iruma Hibiki to respond to Toyokawa Shoko's expectations while looking at the phone.

Things only got a little better when the topic turned to Wakaba Mutsu.

[There haven't been many good opportunities to chat recently... I'll give it a try today.]

Iruma Hibiki then replied to Toyokawa Shoko.

49 Autumn Boys Summer Smoothies That Can’t Fit in the Refrigerator

[Shoko] Toyokawa Shoko entered these characters in the search bar and then added another keyword [Toyokawa-san].

After a few seconds, the chat history in the Crychic group was filtered down to only a few hundred messages. Then, after Shoko Toyokawa filtered down to only the messages from [Iruma Hibiki], she looked at the words that Iruma Hibiki had said when he mentioned her in the group seriously and with a hint of joy.

This kind of thing is actually a little bit...

Perhaps Toyokawa Shoko also knew the strangeness of such behavior.

But she wanted to do it at this moment.

As for the reason.

Probably because I was ignored.

If a cat that is being ignored rubs against someone's trouser legs and still doesn't get a response, it will naturally look cold and strong and quickly walk away.

Even if he occasionally looks back, there will probably be a hint of disdain on his face.

Of course, this is not really being cold or strong, but rather, looking forward to telling the other person "I'm lonely" and "Please stay with me" by leaving and hurting yourself.

If humans do not react at this time, the cat will probably become furious.

The originally slow pace will suddenly increase and become faster.

Until you reach the corner - whether it is a room, a road or life, it will not always be a flat and straight road.

It meows. If humans remain indifferent at this time, even the most affectionate cat will get angry. It will turn to a corner where humans cannot be seen, and then pace angrily for a few minutes.

At this moment, my mind is probably filled with resentment like "Why don't you come to me?"

Resentment turned to hatred, and hatred turned to a strange rage.

【Don’t you like me anymore? 】

Then these words came out of my mouth.

Of course, Toyokawa Shoko would not be so inconsiderate. Her confession was too sudden. Iruma Hibiki needed some time, and Toyokawa Shoko was considerate.

But maybe it would be better without this consideration.

Why do you say that?

Because although Shoko Toyokawa is considerate, she lacks the patience to be considerate.

Just like Hibiki Iruma at this moment, he has a girlfriend but is not ready to be in love.

My anxious heart seemed to have returned to the worst months of the scorching summer not long ago, just like hearing the volcanic eruption in Kagoshima, the mobile phone buzzing with earthquake alarms, Kasai District starting to warn of a tsunami in Tokyo Bay, and Rinkai Park putting up a yellow no-entry cordon, and then a typhoon suddenly arrived, blowing the windows of the room rustling.

Then the next moment, the rain suddenly stopped and the sky cleared up, but so what?

After a brief moment of joy, I wondered if the bad times before could continue, which would be nice. After all—

When it comes to love, there is nothing beautiful about the sunny day after the rain, and taking pictures of the water droplets on the leaves and happily sharing them with your lover will not be as happy as you imagine.

If the object of the moonlight is truly beautiful only responds with one sound—

【Um. 】

Or in other words:

I'm going to take a shower.

Then I'm afraid that tender love will be shattered into pieces in an instant.

The beauty is not actually that the sky clears after the rain, but that they still pretend to be raining while holding an umbrella, as if the part of their body exposed outside the umbrella will be attacked by the most ferocious monster in the world. The two of them squeezed and grumbled and turned this winding 10-minute road into 10 hours.

You probably won't regret it until you collapse on the ground like a fool.

but--

When the rain stops and the sky clears, I am alone.

Just like at this moment, Iruma Hibiki didn't know what to do, and Toyokawa Shoko laughed out loud while watching the past conversation.

This can't go on!

Naturally, at the end of hesitation and entanglement, no matter what the reason, there will always be such a moment.

If you are a decisive guy.

Iruma Hibiki is going to describe his words here.

He will definitely write -

The man stood up, determined to tell the girl what he was thinking. If she was sad, he would kiss her face and wipe away her tears. If she considerately said, "It's okay, it's natural for you to feel conflicted," and "It would be strange if you could just break up with your ex and be with me," then he would kiss the girl on the face and say, "I'm sorry, it's my fault."

but--

Iruma Hibiki is not such a decisive guy.

He probably has some regrets in his heart.

He had experienced this kind of regret countless times.

For example, when I was young, I secretly caught a watermelon worm and kept it in the pen tube. Because I was worried that my teacher and parents would find out, I could only play with it for a while and then quietly throw it away.

Then, in boring classes, I would think about it every free moment, until the guilt of abandoning it finally attracted the devil of escape.

Or, sometimes, you have a great time communicating with others, and everyone is saying, "Wow! You are awesome!" or "You are so nice!"

When people say things like this, they get carried away, their noses stick up in the air, and they start to chase after everyone's flattery and feel proud of themselves.

Then——

It's natural that I realized at some point that everyone's likes and praises were just polite words, but their disgust for my recent complacency was real.

So I began to regret and feel annoyed.

I regretted my own lack of humanity and my impulsiveness, and then fell into trouble and entanglement, wishing I could escape.

Turn on your phone.

Watching videos like [Walking on National Highway 381], I feel longing, as if I can escape hardship and get salvation by going there. But in fact, let alone going to such a far place, even walking only 10 kilometers will make me, a weak person, breathless.

There is no strength to move forward, and even less courage to set off.

I just curled up in the quilt, regretting my momentary impulse. I wanted to make amends, but I was very aware that I probably couldn't turn back.

Comfort yourself with words like "I will start over."

But I know better than anyone that such words are just consolation.

Standing still means losing sight of the direction.

It was not until the moment came when he had to face it that he responded with two useless words like a true coward.

It would be better if a rainstorm came suddenly, and you and I were hiding together in the doorway of a shop with yellow light, with a narrow eaves above our heads and you at my hand.

Then I thought like this.

Iruma Hibiki closed his eyes.

Some people give up on themselves.

Then the nap began.

[I'll sleep until Crychic rehearsals start, then take care of Xiaomu's issues. Will Sushi come today? What will happen to her? We'll see then. As for Xiangzi—]

The emotions that come with thinking include not only regret for a momentary impulse, but also a hint of guilt.