Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Do not accept separation.

Don't accept regrets.

This was her fantasy and desire for love, even though she had never told Hibiki Iruma about it, even though—

From the very beginning, it seemed that this relationship was not perfect, with cracks and things that made her care too much.

But for Shoko Toyokawa, her heart always beats fast when she faces Hibiki Iruma, just like when she first saw Romeo saying sweet words to Juliet in the audience of a stage play.

"Yeah, I know, Su Shi came to see me."

As Iruma Hibiki said this, he dodged slightly in front of Toyokawa Shoko for a moment, then looked at Toyokawa Shoko seriously.

In just this brief moment, Shoko Toyokawa could no longer maintain her smile.

It turned into a somewhat angry expression.

With a frown and a look of grievance, he is very cute, but also very pitiful.

"ring……"

Shoko Toyokawa wanted to say something, but faced with Hibiki Iruma's frankness, she couldn't say anything.

Accusation?

What could she blame Hibiki Iruma for now? After all, it was Nagasaki Suyo's decision to go to Kyoto, and Hibiki Iruma would definitely refuse. In the end, it must have been Nagasaki Suyo who pestered her to go back and cause trouble for Hibiki Iruma. So, what could she blame Hibiki Iruma for?

Angry?

Toyokawa Shoko would never do anything unreasonable.

Since I can't do any of that, how should I deal with the strange emotions deep in my heart?

Shoko Toyokawa, who had turned into a pressure cooker, couldn't find the knob to vent the air. The pressure inside was getting greater and greater. She just looked at Hibiki Iruma, as if waiting for Hibiki Iruma to say something to her.

"Xiangzi."

When Iruma Hibiki called her name, Toyokawa Shoko turned her head away knowingly.

Sudden--

Hibiki Iruma heard some noise that seemed to come from outside the house.

There was a sound like something falling to the ground, which obviously scared Toyokawa Shoko.

In the flash of the camera, Iruma Hibiki saw Wakaba Mutsu sitting in the distance with his back to Xiangzi, with a pink seven-string guitar on his legs.

"Sorry, Hibiki, I need to leave for a moment."

Then he heard Toyokawa Shoko crying.

"Wait, Xiangzi——"

Then, without waiting for Iruma Hibiki's questions, concerns, or response, Toyokawa Shoko hung up the phone anxiously.

Facing the pitch-black screen, Hibiki Iruma felt anxious. The screen, which usually switched quickly, was stretched out in front of Hibiki Iruma's eyes for a moment, as if he had approached a black hole and dived into the invisible boundary. The perceived time was extended to eternity.

He tapped the screen quickly, and when the chat interface reappeared, he couldn't wait to send a message to Toyokawa Shoko:

[Xiangzi? What happened?]

……

There was no response from the other side for a long time.

[That was a loud noise just now. Did something happen? [Likely a mistranslation or a translation error.]

Then he asked further questions.

The so-called "long time" was only about ten seconds. There was not even a time display between the two messages, but they were connected together.

【Xiangzi?】

Once again, Iruma Hibiki anxiously called out Toyokawa Shoko's name.

Anxiously, he called again, but it was obvious that Shoko Toyokawa immediately hung up the phone the next second.

Seeing the call being hung up, Iruma Hibiki was stunned.

[Beep, half an hour is up.]

Just at this moment, Nagasaki Suyo's reminder came.

The alarm on his cell phone also rang.

Slightly clenching his teeth, Iruma Hibiki could only suppress the worries in his heart and quickly deal with his grandmother's affairs.

【ring?】

As usual, there was no response from Iruma Hibiki. Nagasaki Suyo pulled the straps of her nightgown, sat up in bed, and became nervous.

After waiting for a few more minutes——

[Yes, no problem. I'll just have to ask the nurse to change the water in a while.]

Only after seeing the message from Iruma Hibiki did Nagasaki Suyo lie back down with peace of mind.

She felt a little lonely.

It was obvious that the time when the two stopped chatting was actually very short, only about ten minutes.

After all, today's chat probably exceeded all their previous ones combined.

However, no matter how many chat records there were, Nagasaki Suyo always had an empty feeling in her heart. She wanted to ask for more from Iruma Hibiki, something that she herself did not understand, something that she lacked.

[Hibiki, is your chat with Toyokawa-san over?]

Nagasaki Suyo asked.

【Su Shi, I...】

[Sound? I'll change my clothes now and come to your side.]

Just noticing a hint of uneasiness in Iruma Hibiki, Nagasaki Suyo nervously sat up from the bed.

[Sushi, it's a deal. This time of willfulness will end by the end of next week. You must return to Tokyo at the weekend. Also, remember to contact me every day to let me know you're safe. Finally—I don't object to you falling in love, Sushi, but you must open your eyes and see clearly who the other person is. I don't want Sushi to be hurt by a bad man.]

Her mother's response also came at this time.

Nagasaki Suyo breathed a sigh of relief. After all, she had her mother's support and approval of this matter, which made her feel a lot more at ease.

She didn't want her mother to be sad or hurt by her willfulness.

She wanted to help her mother.

At least that's what Nagasaki Suyo thought.

I understand, Mom.

bang——

With a loud noise, Nagasaki Suyo, who was writing a letter in her skirt, lost her balance and fell to the ground.

The pain made Nagasaki Suyo's eyes go dark for a moment.

This blow was not very heavy, but it was not too light either.

Especially the chest that was hit, at this moment I felt a little suffocated.

It wasn't until a few seconds later that this tragic situation stopped.

The culprit is——

The buttons of her skirt were torn off because of the action just now.

13 Nagasaki Suyo's Request

Xiangzi suddenly hung up the phone. Before the call ended, I heard a strange noise coming from her end. I'm a little worried. She hasn't replied yet.

Naturally, Iruma Hibiki shared his anxiety with Nagasaki Motoyo.

There was no reason, no perfect timing.

It was just as if it was a habit that she had developed in the past few days. Iruma Hibiki chose to share her anxiety with Nagasaki Suyo without reservation and asked for help from Nagasaki Suyo.

[Xiang, don't worry. Xiangzi might just have encountered an emergency. Should we contact Xiaomu to check on her? Xiaomu seems to know a lot about Xiangzi's situation.]

After seeing the news about Nagasaki Suyo, Iruma Hibiki finally calmed down. He thought of the figure of Wakaba Mutsuki he had just seen.

Yes, he was too concerned and confused.

Worrying too much.

Ignore the part that should be answered as a matter of course.

and--

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki was feeling a little uneasy. After all, Toyokawa Shoko's behavior of hanging up the phone at that time was...

Perhaps that sound was the reason.

However, it is possible that Toyokawa Shoko was angry because of the current situation between him and Nagasaki Suyo.

[Mu, is Xiangzi okay? Xiangzi just hung up the phone abruptly, and I'm a little worried.]

Iruma Hibiki didn't hesitate and quickly contacted Wakaba Mutsu.

【Xiang is fine.】

Soon, Wakaba Mu replied, almost instantly, and this answer made Iruma Hibiki feel relieved.

[Xiao Mu was there when we spoke just now, right? Can you tell me what happened to Xiangzi?]

Iruma Hibiki asked.

Then he realized that he was a little anxious.

Such questioning would embarrass Ruoye Mu no matter how he looked at it, and he planned to add something like, "Of course, if it's a secret, it doesn't matter if Mu doesn't tell it."

But when he was halfway through, Ruoye Mu's reply came:

【Xiang won't let me talk to Xiang.】

【I see. 】

Iruma Hibiki responded, then breathed a sigh of relief.

At least Toyokawa Shoko was not angry about Nagasaki Soyo. Indeed, now that Iruma Hibiki was thinking about it carefully, it was unlikely that Toyokawa Shoko would be so angry about Nagasaki Soyo that she would just hang up the phone.

Although her attitude towards this matter was also very awkward, she wanted to give him some leeway while at the same time being jealous.

After all, this is what makes Shoko Toyokawa so lovable.

However, Toyokawa Shoko hung up the phone because of something he could not touch.

I'm afraid the only ones who know what happened are his father and Xiangzi himself at this moment.

[Xiang, Sushi is over there. I was the one who told Xiangzi about this. I'm sorry.]

"Ah, it's okay, because I never intended to hide it from Xiangzi. I was just too focused on our conversation before and didn't think about it."

Iruma Hibiki quickly replied to Wakaba Mutsu.

[It's fun chatting with Xiangzi. I always forget all the complicated and annoying things.]

【Um. 】

Wakaba Mutsu continued to respond to Iruma Hibiki's message.

Mu and Xiangzi have a good relationship, right? Mu probably feels the same way. Xiangzi is really a cute and interesting person.

Perhaps in order to make up for the impoliteness he had shown in his previous questioning, Iruma Hibiki chatted a little longer with Wakaba Mutsu.

He also didn't want Ye Mu to misunderstand that he was a utilitarian guy who would only go to her when something happened.

【…】

A string of ellipsis came from Wakaba Mu.

At this moment, Iruma Hibiki froze in place.

【Lately, I don’t feel happy being with Xiang.】

【why? 】

In response to Wakaba Mu's somewhat scary words, Iruma Hibiki quickly asked further questions.