Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

[Yes, that's right.]

[Xiang is surprised?]

[Well, I always thought that you, Su Shi, were the kind of person who would travel to many places.]

The conversation between Hibiki Iruma and Motoyo Nagasaki continues.

Now, while the sky is still dark, all they have is each other.

Most of the others are still in their dreams at this moment, preparing for tomorrow's life, either worried or happy.

Unlike them, tomorrow will be almost over after the sunrise tomorrow morning. Therefore, naturally, the night time has an obsession that cannot be wasted.

[Aside from family trips as a child, I haven't left Tokyo since my parents divorced. Honestly, I'm a bit of a homebody. Just now, I was still worrying about whether the lights were on properly or whether I got on the wrong bus...]

[The scenery outside the window has become unfamiliar. I'll take a picture for you.]

After waiting for a while, a photo was sent from Nagasaki Suyo.

In the photo, Hibiki Iruma saw the dark night scene outside the window, which was also unfamiliar to him. Occasionally, a few lights scattered on the dark ground made the bus feel like it was traveling under the starry sky.

The car window reflected Nagasaki Soyo's appearance. She looked a little tired, her hair was a little messy, but she had a beautiful and gentle smile on her face, like the heroine in the TV series that Iruma Hibiki had watched, who finally got married after going through a lot of tedious things.

Then, Iruma Hibiki noticed that in front of Nagasaki Motoyo, there was a slightly bulging paper bag filled with garbage. On the edge of the paper bag, in the corner of the car window glass, there was a small lettering with his name.

And that note—

Iruma Hibiki felt a sense of familiarity, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it. The font was slightly different from the notes of Nagasaki Motoyo in his memory.

On the contrary, it feels a bit round and cute.

But it was obvious that this word was written by Nagasaki Suyo, and that was why Iruma Hibiki felt a little strange.

What will Kyoto be like?

After Iruma Hibiki closed the picture, she saw the follow-up message sent by Nagasaki Motoyo.

He also felt Nagasaki Suyo's anxiety and expectation.

He kept the words "Why did Su Shi come to find me" deep in his heart. He wanted to ask and seemed to know the answer, but he couldn't ask it and didn't want to know the answer.

Complex emotions are accumulating, but no matter what——

"I don't know either, but it's raining heavily in Kyoto right now, and the autumn leaves season is almost here. It's very cold tonight. If you only have a scarf, you might catch a cold. Did you bring an umbrella and a raincoat?"

[No... Because I was so eager to see Hibiki, so... I left without thinking about that at all.]

Iruma Hibiki sighed softly.

The faint roar of motorcycles from the streets of Kyoto could be heard even from the 7th floor.

Hibiki Iruma looked up at the equally dim night view outside and leaned on the windowsill.

If he could smoke, he would be in a corner where smoking is allowed. He would definitely be smoking one cigarette after another until dawn, right?

With such a strange thought, Hibiki Iruma turned his attention back to the screen.

Where will Sushi get off? I'll pick you up in the morning. Have you booked a place to stay? Are there any plans for breakfast?

[None.]

Nagasaki Suyo's answer was somewhat natural.

But it is true that for high school students who have never traveled long distances alone, all kinds of mistakes will always occur on their first trip in their lives.

Can I check the bus routes of Sushi Bus online?

In the end, Iruma Kyouya could not leave Nagasaki Soyo alone, trapped in the heavy rain and cold on a strange street in Kyoto in the early morning.

【I'll look for it.】

[Sound, 30 minutes have passed.]

Following Su Shi's reminder, Iruma Hibiki put down his mobile phone and began his routine inspection.

Then everything was fine.

No surprises.

When Iruma Hibiki opened his phone again, he saw a long string of pictures sent by Nagasaki Motoyo.

The only useful thing in these pictures is probably the road map.

But Hibiki Iruma still looked at all of them one by one.

The first one is probably a screenshot of Nagasaki Suyo's website. Her search was [How to travel to Kyoto].

The second one is also a screenshot, which shows a long list of methods on how to take night buses in various places in Tokyo. It even has a prefix like "Step-by-step guide that even an idiot can understand".

The next few pictures are still guides. It is obvious that Nagasaki Suyo did not understand the step-by-step guide provided by that idiot. In the subsequent screenshots, she carefully highlighted the important parts with a red brush.

Then next is the ticket to Nagasaki Suyo.

Tickets to the night bus station lounge and night bus rides.

Next up is that useful roadmap.

After the route map, there are some photos that Nagasaki Suyo took after she got on the bus. She was a little nervous and took pictures of the road signs at every intersection she passed.

The starting point is [Nishi-Ginza] and then passed [Yurakucho]...

Iruma Hibiki could see some of Nagasaki Soyo's figure in almost every photo. He still remembered that when he first met her, this idiot didn't notice his own figure in pajamas reflected in the glass in the photos he shared.

Perhaps at that moment, he...

Iruma er mausoleum scar (five) ⊙ wine 衤〨 Sanliu pulled Xiang took a deep breath.

What is your current position?

He then sent a message to Nagasaki Suyo.

【here. 】

After a while, Nagasaki Suyo directly sent her location sharing. Iruma Hibiki hesitated for a while before clicking to agree. Then he saw Nagasaki Suyo running towards him on the map.

"I guess I'm on the right bus, right? It seems like it's getting closer and closer!"

[Well, I don't think so. It looks like it should be around 7am. You can arrive on time. I'll be waiting for you at the bus stop. Does Sushi know how to book a hotel?]

I don’t know. I haven’t tried it.

……

【Let me help Sushi place the order. 】

【Can you help me book a place closer to Xiang? 】

……

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a moment as he read the news about Nagasaki Motoyo.

[Yes, yes. 】

Later he agreed to Nagasaki Suyo.

When preparing to turn off location sharing, Iruma Hibiki hesitated. No, it couldn't be said that he hesitated for a long time.

He was waiting for Nagasaki Suyo to turn off first.

But Nagasaki Suyo didn't seem to have any intention of stopping for a long time.

In the end, Hibiki Iruma gave up.

Just keep driving.

He thought so.

Afterwards, during the occasional breaks in chatting, he would always open the map and stare blankly at the avatar representing Nagasaki Motoyo gradually approaching him on the map.

05 Iruma Hibiki's Cyber Xiang

"Xiang, hello."

At 6 o'clock in the morning, just as Hibiki Iruma was about to leave the hospital wearing the coat brought by his father, Shoko Toyokawa called him via video.

As soon as Hibiki Iruma answered the phone, he saw the familiar piano room and Shoko Toyokawa standing in front of the camera.

"Good morning, Xiangzi."

The moment he saw Toyokawa Shoko, Iruma Hibiki felt a little weird.

It’s definitely not that I don’t want to see it.

On the contrary, since last night, Iruma 〆靈梦泣,Oba 吴思刘（八）柒琪翔 has been slightly worried about Toyokawa Shoko's situation.

This worry lasted until this morning, when I saw Ling Meng⑺「児叄? 磷⒋?《诌废珊肆丰川翔子》on the other end of the video call, looking energetic and as usual, I felt a little relieved.

"Is Xiang on the street?"

"Yeah, I just got out of the hospital."

Iruma Hibiki responded, then turned the camera around awkwardly. It was his first time making a video call with anyone, so he was actually a little uncomfortable.

"Is the family okay?"

"Well, the surgery will be arranged today, and then I'll be waiting for the surgery. My condition is relatively stable right now. At least the doctor said, 'It's a blessing in disguise.'"

Hibiki Iruma responded to Shoko Toyokawa tiredly.

Staying awake all night eventually had some impact on him. Even though he was good at staying up late, he was still inevitably tired after the night.

So actually, just now, Iruma Hibiki was planning to buy a bottle of coffee before going to see Nagasaki Soyo, but he was interrupted by a call from Toyokawa Shoko.

"Where's Xiangzi? Have you dealt with the troublesome matter?"

Iruma Hibiki asked Toyokawa Shoko back.

Video calls were a little inconvenient, so Iruma Xiang simply found a quiet and deserted corner on the side of the road and stood there.

"Um……"

Toyokawa Shoko's response was not very clear, and it seemed like she was hiding something. Her eyes were slightly turned away, revealing a cute look.

Looking at Toyokawa Shoko like this, Hibiki Iruma secretly smiled bitterly.

Then he composed himself.

"Xiangzi, what made you want to video call me?"

He started chatting.

It's still early, so I have some spare time. As long as I change from the bus to a taxi, I can save a lot of time on the road.

For Hibiki Iruma at this moment, chatting with Shoko Toyokawa is as important as meeting Soyo Nagasaki, and he cannot let go of either.

"Because I wanted to see Hibiki, did I cause any trouble for him?"

"No, I want to see you, Xiangzi, too."

Iruma Hibiki shook his head. It was actually a bit troublesome.

But it's Toyokawa Shoko so it's okay.

"If Hibiki says it's going to cause trouble, I'll get angry. We're lovers, right? So I should be able to say something capricious like 'Get used to it! I just want to see Hibiki!' to her, right?"

A cute and confident smile appeared on Shoko Toyokawa's face.

Seeing Toyokawa Shoko like this, Iruma Hibiki felt much less worried.

"Well, of course you can say that... Xiangzi, I like you."

"Me too, Hibiki."

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki's confession was echoing in his heart, echoing continuously. On the other end of the phone, Toyokawa Shoko's smiling face was about to occupy the screen. Iruma Hibiki subconsciously pressed the volume button and the power button at the same time, and then took a screenshot to save Toyokawa Shoko at this moment.

Then he laughed quietly.

"What is Hibiki laughing at?"

And this smile was soon noticed by Toyokawa Shoko.

"nothing?"

"Liar, I care, tell me!"

Toyokawa Shoko continued to ask.