Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

The expression on his face became more gentle.

【Actually, I really want to meet Nagasaki-san too. 】

He typed these characters into the chat box, and then sent it out after hesitating for a moment, and added an emoticon package to cover up his somewhat turbulent emotions.

[It's just that the use of mobile phones is prohibited during class, so I can't reply to you on time, sorry.]

"That's not something I need to apologize for, there's nothing I can do about it, right? Besides, Iruma-san, if you just reply to my messages, I'll be very happy."

……

Unfortunately for Nagasaki Motoyo, this is the truth.

36 The Name and the Strong Chihaya Aine

This year's school festivals were generally scheduled after Golden Week in all major schools. Of course, this arrangement was definitely not to wait for a certain male prodigy. A high school student met a blonde vampire on a street corner, and then began his own eventful harem life.

It's just natural that there are too many things going on in April, and so many activities cannot be squeezed into the end of April. In addition, high school students suffering from May syndrome really need some grand activities and festivals to rekindle the passion of youth.

For the Tsukinomori performance club, performing at the school festival is a routine activity, and therefore, practice for this began in mid-April. By this year, Nagasaki Suyo has become a senior in the third year of junior high school, guiding the first-year students in their performances.

The music club of Tsuki no Mori, including the new students recruited this year, has about 30 people. Among them, the string section, which is where Nagasaki Motoyo is responsible for, has 15 members. Nagasaki Motoyo is responsible for the bass cello. In this rehearsal room which is about the size of two lower high school classrooms, all the members of the music club are present today.

Everyone greeted each other politely, exchanged a few words, and then began practicing.

Nagasaki Suyo is definitely not an isolated person, or rather, she has a good relationship with everyone here, but having a good relationship does not mean that she will not feel lonely in her school life.

In fact, ever since she entered Tsukinomori, Nagasaki Suyo has never felt that studying at Tsukinomori is a happy thing.

But this is what her mother expected.

Her mother's needs.

Her mother's thoughts.

So Nagasaki Suyo felt that she could do it and it was okay, so she accepted the idea of coming to the Moon Forest.

[The school festival at Tsuki no Mori looks really interesting. Is it open this year?]

【right. 】

It looks great.

[Can I invite you, Iruma-san, to come and see my performance? ]

Nagasaki Suyo stared at the screen of her mobile phone, and then quickly responded to Iruma Hibiki. She stayed in the crowd and became the only person in the rehearsal room whose eyes were completely focused on the mobile phone in front of her.

Such behavior is not out of place, but for Nagasaki Suyo, it makes her feel lonely in the crowd. However, in Tokyo, most lonely guys are lonely in the crowd.

"Yes, no problem. Tsuki no Mori's open day should be different from Shimogao's. If Shimogao is still in school that day, I'll take a day off and come."

【If I ask for leave, I will...】

Nagasaki Suyo still had a bit of hesitation about causing trouble for Iruma Hibiki, so she subconsciously wanted to refuse here.

Just like the push and pull when paying the bill after a meal, hypocritical etiquette is always necessary.

【it does not matter. 】

I don't want to miss Nagasaki's performance, and my attendance rate is still pretty good, even though I was a week late at the beginning.

Looking at the message on the mobile phone, Nagasaki Suyo began to rub her fingernails gently again.

She had no intention of practicing or performing in the music club today.

Instead, he was immersed in the gentle atmosphere, unable to extricate himself.

【What are your plans after school today, Iruma-san? 】

Nagasaki Suyo planned to continue the conversation between the two, but the news from Iruma Hibiki was a few minutes late, and these few minutes were a little torturous for Nagasaki Suyo.

In just a few minutes, she typed a lot of words but deleted them, with a hint of worry and panic on her face.

She was worried that her excessive involvement would cause Hibiki Iruma to leave, but——

She wanted to know everything about Hibiki Iruma.

Because if that's the case, Ruyi will never leave her, right?

As long as she knew everything about him, she could control everything and keep him when he planned to leave, such as the things between her mother and father. Over the years, she always wondered, if she had cared more about her father and mother at that time, would the things that happened before have not happened?

Of course, this is just an assumption. But for Nagasaki Suyo today, she must use this method to obtain that precious sense of security.

She needs someone who will never leave her and whom she can confide in.

Need companionship and love.

A love that will never fade away.

I'm a member of the Homecoming Club. I'll probably go home to practice guitar and work on my new novel. Hmm... I might chat with my editor today, confirm the schedule for the upcoming book signing, and submit a book signing information sheet. I'll go to bed early today, as I stayed up too late the past two days.

It was not until Iruma Hibiki sent a long message that Nagasaki Suyo's uneasiness was slightly suppressed.

【I'm participating in the performance club's rehearsal. 】

【Keep going, Nagasaki-san.】

【From now on, how about just calling me Sushi? 】

Nagasaki Motoyo's left hand let go of the cello bow. Although it had been rubbed with rosin, she had not played it until today.

"Then in exchange, Nagasaki-san, please just call me Hibiki."

【Where's Nagasaki-san?】

【Sorry, Sushi.】

"Hehe, I don't mean to blame you, but it's a bit embarrassing to call each other by name directly, so let's just do this in private for now."

【no problem. 】

After the chat, Nagasaki Suyo's face was filled with an irrepressible smile.

【Keep rehearsing for the performance.】

Nagasaki Motoyo didn't put down her phone until long after Iruma Hibiki ended the conversation between them. She just stared blankly at the screen.

On the other hand, Hibiki Iruma seemed to have almost planned the subject matter of his next book and planned to discuss it with Sonoko Machida tonight.

Including things about the book signing event.

It is not Hibiki Iruma's habit to delay all troubles until the deadline. To be honest, he is the kind of person who will make excessive preparations in advance.

But things did not go as planned. Today, when Hibiki Iruma returned home, he returned to his room as usual and prepared to start doing some of his own things.

The friend request he sent a few days ago was approved.

[Hello, my name is Chihaya Aine. I'm currently the student council president at school. Since I'm interested in bands and guitar, I'm planning to try my hand at becoming a "guitar singer."]

【Please give me more guidance in the days ahead. 】

Chihaya Aine, who had the lotus avatar, sent a message after being accepted as a friend, and Iruma Hibiki also thought for a while and also gave a brief self-introduction.

The meeting is scheduled for Saturday, right? What's the name of our band? Have you decided on it?

After his self-introduction, Chihaya Aine couldn't wait to ask.

……

Looking at the message sent by the other party, Iruma Hibiki also began to understand Chihaya Aine's personality.

Should we say she was worthy of being the student council president? Chihaya Aine gave him the impression that she was too strong and confident to handle.

Sorry, we haven't actually made any plans for this yet. Since most of the members in our band are new, our first rehearsal is just basic practice. We're far from being able to perform and decide on a band name yet. If this bothers you, Chihaya-san, and you think it's necessary, we can discuss the band name together on Saturday.

After typing his reply, Hibiki Iruma read it again carefully.

I chose to send it only after I was sure that I had not been rude or made any mistakes.

And that day, until 9 o'clock in the evening, Chihaya Aine sent a message:

[Okay, then let's discuss this together when we meet on Saturday.]

37 Goto Ichiri's High School Life

In just a blink of an eye, the week suddenly came to an end, and for Hibiki Iruma, the first week of his high school career officially ended in the middle of the week.

In fact, many people have said that the first week of high school often determines the tone of your entire high school career. If you make a lot of friends quickly, it will be difficult for you to be excluded in the future. If you don’t make friends, it is likely that you will not be excluded in the future.

In other words, those who hang out in groups are worried about being left behind or not being able to fit into other people's circles, while the already formed circles also exclude newcomers for the sake of so-called "stability of interpersonal relationships."

And for Hibiki Iruma, how was his first week of high school?

When thinking about this question, Iruma Hibiki's answer could only be exhaustion and fantasy.

On the other side, Goto Ichiri is actually half as good as Iruma Hibiki.

From the beginning of school until now, Goto Ichiri has lived an ordinary life.

Eating alone in a dark corner where no one can find me.

Occasionally, he would take out the Christmas bear hug given by Iruma Hibiki from his bag and restore his energy.

It was natural that he was alone in his medical practice and that he had no friends.

But it doesn’t matter, right?

At this moment, Goto Ichiri even felt that his current loneliness was essentially a suffering for the sake of future happiness. After all, in all heroic stories, it is impossible for the brave men who obtain honor, treasure, and love to have a smooth journey.

So naturally, as long as Goto Ichiri thought of the Christmas promise made by Suzu Moezaki Ryobagu, she felt that she could overcome any difficulties.

In other words, this time, in her high school career, she had some decisive differences—

She no longer planned to try to make friends at school or attract other people's attention.

For her, having Iruma-san by her side is enough.

A girl's laughter could be heard from outside the dim stairwell.

Goto Ichiri curled up a little in fear and didn't dare to move, praying that the other party would leave quickly instead of kicking him away like she did the wild snake on the roadside that disturbed her interest.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, the laughter outside gradually faded away, and Goto Ichiri also breathed a sigh of relief.

She opened her phone and went to Iruma Hibiki's personal blog and Iruma Rengen's author blog.

In fact, Iruma Hibiki rarely updates his blog and doesn't really share his daily life.

After all, in the past decade or so, he was more anxious, sad and resentful in his heart, so naturally there was nothing he could happily share online.

But just today, Goto Ichiri saw a new tweet.

The updated address is actually the empty private account of Ruma Xiang, which has no content and no followers.

[I'm dating a girl I fell in love with at first sight, and we'll be working together in a band in the future. What a hilarious fate.]

Ling! Dream% first + release...

Probably when Goto Ichiri read this tweet, his brain was completely unable to think, as if his brain neurons had been soaked in alcohol, and all the cells in them had become inactivated and turned into specimens.

It took some time for Goto Ichiri to understand the meaning of the tweet.

"Hahaha……"

She laughed softly twice.

"Iruma-san is just like me. I can only get through Valentine's Day and every holiday without a date by fantasizing about being in a relationship."

As she muttered this, Goto Ichiri opened the dialog box and wanted to comment something below, but after thinking for a long time and typing for a long time, she finally deleted everything and gave up.

People with social anxiety can't even comment on other people's tweets.

Later, even faster than Goto Ichiri, Iruma Hibiki's tweet received a like and comment from one person:

[I am here, I am Xiang's lover, please give me your guidance in the future. ]

……

Nagasaki Suyo's account is actually very different from Iruma Hibiki's.

It was an account that was carefully updated and filled with many girlish elements that were almost impossible to fake. Especially in recent years, after her parents divorced, Nagasaki Suyo would post something on her account almost every day.

Because it was around that time that she began to live more online.

Of course, none of this matters.