Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

"I see……"

With a hint of relaxation in his tone, Shiina Riki finally lowered his head and walked out of the rehearsal room with quick steps as if he was running away.

"Shiina-san..."

Behind Iruma Hibiki, Takamatsu Teru tried to persuade him to stay with a hint of worry, but her voice was too soft, and there was some hesitation and fear, so this attempt to persuade him to stay had no effect and could not reach the heart of the person involved.

"It's okay, Deng. Shiina will be back soon. Leave it to me."

Iruma Hibiki smiled at Takamatsu Touma, then forced herself to face Shiina Riki's question.

"Hibiki, when you order food later, please order one for Shiina-san as well."

"Ah."

It was not until Nagasaki Suyo came to his side that Iruma Hibiki felt relieved.

"Does Xiaomu have any dietary restrictions? Cucumber is Xiaomu's favorite food, right?"

The only four people left gathered in the rehearsal room on a rainy day and began to prepare dinner. In Ring's bathroom, Shiina Riki leaned over the basin, slightly tightened her palm into a fist, and punched the wall fiercely until the pain felt like the roots of a tree, spreading from all directions to her forearm. Only then did a rare look of relaxation appear on her face.

"Lixi? Matcha Buffy."

"What's the number today?"

It was not until she subconsciously and almost habitually responded to Kaname Rakuna behind her that Shiina Riki turned around again with some embarrassment.

Under the yellow light of the bathroom, Shiina Riki showed an ugly expression, while in front of her, Kaname Rakuna had a smile on her face as always.

"do not know."

"If you don't know, I won't let you eat it. If we agree, it's a maximum of 7 per day."

“Not even three.”

"Let's go."

After saying this, Shiina Riki sighed, then took Kaname Rakuna and walked towards the counter.

"Hand, is it okay?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Did you have a fight with Hibiki?"

"No."

The two continued to ask and answer questions along the way until they reached the hall, where they stopped for a while.

"Does Hibiki know what Shiina-san likes to eat?"

"This panda-shaped snack, Shiina will definitely like it."

"Well, then order one."

At this moment, in the rehearsal room, dinner orders are still being taken.

Thanks to this stagnation, everyone's mood, which was originally shaky, was slightly restored.

67 Toyokawa Shoko is the white moonlight and Nagasaki Suyo is always

[Xiang, did everyone's rehearsal go well today? ]

Ten minutes ago, Toyokawa Shoko sent this message to Iruma Hibiki.

At that time, Hibiki Iruma was still rehearsing and didn't see it, but even if he saw it now, he didn't know how to respond. He looked up at the rehearsal room.

Nagasaki Suyo seemed to be paying attention to the progress of the delivery, her fingers constantly sliding on her mobile phone.

Takamatsu Deng and Wakaba Mutsu were like extremely weak little penguins that needed care, and they gathered around him and Nagasaki Motoyo.

Shiina Riki did not come back.

Takamatsu Touma and Wakaba Mutsuya fell silent for a moment, and the only people trying to start a conversation were Nagasaki Motoyo and Iruma Hibiki.

"Hibiki's been sighing a lot today."

Nagasaki Suyo's voice sounded very close to Iruma Hibiki. When Iruma Hibiki looked up from his seat, he almost touched the hem of Nagasaki Suyo's skirt.

"Anything you're worried about?"

"Um--"

Hibiki Iruma subconsciously turned off the chat with Shoko Toyokawa and turned off the screen of his phone. He wanted to say it was nothing, but at this moment he couldn't say anything.

"It would be better if you could speak out. I'm also worried about Xiang and Xiangzi..."

It was at this moment that even Gao Songdeng spoke bravely.

Faced with such a situation, Iruma Hibiki's bravado became somewhat meaningless.

"Nothing special, it's just that things have been a bit busy lately. The band's affairs have ended, and there are things in the editorial department. Xiangzi's affairs are also a bit worrying, so -"

Iruma Hibiki sighed again.

But he soon smiled again.

"I'll take care of these things as soon as possible."

He spoke reassuring words to Wakaba Mutsu and Takamatsu Touma.

At this time, Ruo Ye Mu seemed to want to say something, but she didn't open her mouth in the end, but just remained silent for a long time.

"Where's the band and the editorial office?"

Nagasaki Suyo asked Iruma Hibiki curiously.

"Well, about Kita's situation, and actually, it's almost time for me to prepare a new book. Originally, I wanted to talk about it with Xiangzi and everyone else today. After Kasugakage's performance, I might be busy with the novel for a while."

"but……"

Iruma Hibiki fell silent for a moment.

"Hibiki's work is really interesting! The heroine looks a lot like Shigaraki-san! I love it!"

Takamatsu Deng suddenly said excitedly that ever since she met Hibiki Iruma, she has read Hibiki Iruma's novels, and Hibiki Iruma's first work is the one that resonated most with Takamatsu Deng.

In fact, she had also experienced walking aimlessly on the street alone, and she had also experienced thinking alone when she was confused. In the same way -

It was love at first sight for Crychic.

So Gao Songdeng read the work many times.

Then she realized that every detail, every expression, every micro-movement, and even almost the appearance and setting of the heroine in Iruma Hibiki's work were exactly the same as Nagasaki Motoyo.

It can even be said that it is Nagasaki Suyo herself.

only--

At this moment, her words caused the atmosphere to fall into silence. After a few seconds, Takamatsu Deng began to doubt whether he had said the wrong thing. The courage he had originally had to talk to her turned into restraint, and then into fear.

Before things could get any worse, Hibiki Iruma spoke first:

"Thank you for liking my work, I'm very happy."

When saying this, Iruma Hibiki felt mixed emotions. After all, at this moment, his heroine, the original heroine Nagasaki Motoyo, was actually right next to him.

And at this moment, he is the fulcrum of the band, working hard and difficult to maintain the current situation in the absence of Toyokawa Shoko.

A subtle and bitter emotion began to spread throughout Iruma Xiang's body, as if he had drunk a bitter but good Chinese medicine. The body's rejection and warmth went hand in hand, making people feel at a loss. At the same time, he felt like crying, not sure whether it was pain or warmth.

"Because it's such an amazing work! Hibiki's new work! I'm looking forward to it too! I'll definitely buy it!"

Takamatsu Deng continued his topic excitedly.

"but……"

But it was also easy to understand. She lowered her head slightly and looked at Iruma Hibiki cautiously.

"I'll try my best not to disrupt the band's rehearsals, but I definitely won't be able to do it as often in the future."

……

"Xiang's novel...is the deadline so strict?"

But when Takamatsu Deng nodded happily, the smile on Nagasaki Suyo's face beside her disappeared a lot.

in short.

If Takamatsu's current expectation is that Hibiki Iruma can find a balance between his work and the band, then Nagasaki Soyo's demand is completely inclined towards the other extreme.

"Well, yes, and actually I've stood my editor up for a long time. But ultimately, I still have to discuss these things with Xiangzi before making any decisions. If the band's schedule is very busy and important, then I will discuss with the editor to delay the update of the next work. After all, publishing two books in half a year is already considered diligent."

Iruma Hibiki responded easily, and after hearing the answer she wanted to hear, Nagasaki Motoyo breathed a sigh of relief.

"ring."

Until, Wakaba Mutsu, who had not spoken much from the beginning, suddenly interrupted the conversation.

"Mu?"

There was a subtle pause, and Xiang also muttered Wakaba Mu's name.

Just when the pause was so long that Iruma Hibiki thought this conversation was some kind of joke, Wakaba Mutsu would say something like "I just wanted to call Hibiki's name" with a cute expressionless face.

Wakaba Mutsu spoke:

"It would be better if Hibiki thought more about herself."

"Ok?"

In fact, Iruma Hibiki didn't react at first.

When he reacted and realized what Ruoye Mu said, he showed a slightly surprised expression. He wanted to say something, but his voice became mute in his throat.

Wakaba Mu turned his head away.

In front of Hibiki Iruma.

A look of pity and regret appeared on her face.

This was the first time that Hibiki Iruma saw such a complicated expression on Wakaba Mutsu's face.

"What do you mean, Xiaomu?"

Then——

The one who responded faster than Iruma Hibiki was Nagasaki Soyo's sweet and a little too sweet voice.

Wakaba Mutsu naturally did not respond to Nagasaki Suyo, whose expression had become extremely terrifying. When the atmosphere was slightly quiet again, Iruma Xiang's cell phone suddenly rang. He subconsciously took out his cell phone, thinking that he would see a name like "Toyokawa Shoko".

but--

The person on the phone was Mr. Iruma, his father.

"Sorry, my family is calling. I'll go answer it."

Iruma Hibiki apologized, then quickly walked out the door and stopped at the corner of the corridor to answer the phone.

"Father?"

"Hibiki, where are you?"

"I'm in Ikebukuro."

……

The male voice on the other end of the phone was silent for a while.

"We are going to your grandma's house in Kyoto together tonight."

"..."

Hibiki Iruma remained silent.

"I know you're a little resistant to family matters, but this time, don't be willful. Your grandma is dying. The hospital has issued a critical illness notice. The flight is at 9 pm. If you can't make it home in time, you can go directly to Narita Airport."

……

The person on the other end of the line hung up without waiting for Iruma's response.

"ring?"

Just at this moment, Nagasaki Suyo's voice sounded behind Iruma Hibiki. When Iruma Hibiki turned around, he saw Nagasaki Suyo staring at him with a worried look on her face.

That face was filled with genuine concern for him.

[Xiang, why didn't you reply? Are you busy with rehearsals? Can you tell me about everyone's situation? I really care about you. I'm sorry, I can't come today—]