Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

[When Xiangzi's moving work is finished, can I come visit you?]

Trying to use a gentle tone, Iruma Hibiki typed this message into the chat box.

But after entering it, he quickly deleted it.

And Toyokawa Shoko actually remained silent during this process and said nothing.

Of course, if Hibiki Iruma was next to Shoko Toyokawa at this moment, he would definitely see—

Toyokawa Shoko herself was in a very miserable state at this moment.

49 Two Lives

After thinking for a while, Iruma Hibiki responded again:

[When we have the chance next time, let's go on a trip together and go somewhere farther away.]

[Yes! I'll plan the route then.]

【Actually, there are many places I want to go and am curious about. 】

It was Shoko Toyokawa's final response that made Hibiki Iruma feel a little relieved.

Yes, this is what Toyokawa Shoko really looks like.

……

After feeling slightly relieved, Iruma Hibiki was ready to face the current situation.

Yes--

Let’s enjoy the trip now and have fun together. As for Shoko Toyokawa, let’s look forward to Tuesday.

Iruma Hibiki made this decision.

And on the other side.

Shoko Toyokawa was standing on the side of the road, blowing her hair, staring at her cell phone screen with red eyes. There was a red mark on her hand from being scratched by a plastic bag.

After resting for a while, she picked up the bag again, turned two corners, and then stopped in front of an old house and opened the dusty and creaking sliding door.

As the sliding door opened, the drunk father of Toyokawa Shoko fell on the entrance. He seemed to be leaning against the door from the beginning. Then, the noise of cans triggered a chain reaction, and more than a dozen beer cans piled at the door rolled everywhere.

In fact, for Toyokawa Shoko, she still has no real feeling about her current life...

In other words, the gap between them and the reality was too huge and too unfamiliar for her to accept.

Even though there were signs before.

It actually took several days to make preparations in all aspects.

She was there when we decided on this house.

but--

Shoko Toyokawa still finds it hard to accept her current life.

For example, when I sleep at night, I subconsciously think that it is my old room in the pitch black, but in fact——

But it was just a dark little room filled with the stench of alcohol.

Wasn't it that someone noticed when you were at school on Friday?

She's terrible, dishonorable...

To make ends meet, the remaining pocket money was almost gone, and her father still looked like he would die if he didn't have alcohol...

Can't cheer up.

But every time when she got angry, Shoko Toyokawa would think of how her father was in the past, and she couldn't say the cruel words.

"I am back."

With a gloomy face, Toyokawa Shoko spoke softly.

She dragged her father back to the room from the entrance with difficulty.

I placed the wine I had just bought next to him.

Then she curled up in her room at that moment - a small, old corner that was dirty no matter how she cleaned it.

Toyokawa Shoko wanted to cry.

But tears are the most useless thing at this moment.

Her reason made her realize that this was the time to be strong and make changes.

otherwise--

Do you have to wait until you become a mess and in a miserable state before accepting charity from others?

When she thought of this possibility, Shoko Toyokawa gritted her teeth and found it unacceptable.

If that's the case, then it's better not to—

The sad idea and the reality that was so close at hand ultimately made Shoko Toyokawa choose to escape at this moment.

[Ms. Fengchuan, I'm very sorry. Although I don't know why you chose to apply for a job at our company, please forgive us. The recruitment notice for this position is actually outdated. The suitable candidate for this position was recruited a month ago. Please allow me to apologize.]

-

The part-time job is not going well either.

How many companies have rejected her for various reasons?

Living expenses are reaching rock bottom.

……

Perhaps the tight financial situation wasn't completely unbearable for Toyokawa Shoko, but...

【When is the next payment for my mobile phone bill? 】

When this problem, which she had never considered in the past, arose, Shoko Toyokawa felt a sense of powerlessness eroding her limbs.

She wanted to ask someone for help.

but--

Who could she talk to?

Will you accept Wakaba Mu's condescending charity?

Or should I ask for help from my old friends, or maybe classmates from Yue Zhisen?

For Shoko Toyokawa, this was a most unlikely situation that required extraordinary courage.

"vomit--"

Suddenly, there was a noise coming from the inner room.

When Toyokawa Shoko woke up, her father seemed to have vomited all over the floor because he was drunk...

Rather, it was natural for him to be so drunk, and the even worse smell spread throughout the room...

Toyokawa Shoko became somewhat expressionless.

He handled the current situation like a machine.

Until the afternoon, when the sun sets.

Another reply letter arrived, politely declining her interview.

Shoko Toyokawa curled up in the room where she hadn't even had time to buy a bed and a quilt, and turned on her cell phone.

Probably at this moment, she had the urge to contact Hibiki Iruma.

but--

She pays special attention to Crychic's official account.

Nagasaki Suyo updated the photo on her official account.

The picture in the photo is——

In the middle of the crowd, there was Hibiki Iruma smiling brightly.

as well as--

It seems that Disneyland is preparing a special event for the wedding. Nagasaki Suyo and Wakaba Mutsu are wearing wedding dresses...

Exquisite lunch.

Several people went to the beach together to get the ticket stubs.

Drink coffee in the cafe while watching the sunset.

In a beautiful-looking theme hotel, several people gathered around a big bed and played the Capo board game.

……

It seems that Hibiki Iruma lost miserably.

Several small pieces of paper were stuck on his face.

One of them reads:

【Big Fool】

Another one reads:

【Light novel male protagonist】

……

They even took a group photo in front of the hotel's luxurious piano. Nagasaki Suyo, who couldn't play the piano, sat in the main seat, pressing the keys in an obviously awkward manner, with the accompanying text:

【My first attempt at piano, I made a fool of myself.】

【But I was very happy to complete the prelude of Kasuga Shadow with Hibiki. 】

……

Is this something that can be posted on the official account?

Shoko Toyokawa threw away her cell phone which was running out of battery. She could no longer bear to watch it.

I have no intention of blaming anyone.

At this moment, she just wanted everything to be over.

That's all...

In the darkness, Shoko Toyokawa curled up her body.

The blue light from the phone illuminated the side of her face.

She just lay there alone, never looking at the content above, and the light in her eyes gradually faded.

(6) It’s time for dinner at the Linmeng.

Her stomach growled.

But Shoko Toyokawa had no desire to get up at all.

until--

Her cell phone rang.

It was a special song she wrote, titled "First Love".

This was probably a song she wrote for Hibiki Iruma, and also for their relationship.

Yes, it's Hibiki Iruma's unique ringtone.

In the hotel corridor, Iruma Hibiki closed the door of his room. He was having a lot of fun inside, so he came out for a while, secretly went outside the hotel, and called Toyokawa Shoko.

50 Taking Out Anger

"Isn't Xiang playing with everyone? Why are you calling at this time?"

The moment the phone was connected, Iruma Hibiki had just finished saying "Good evening" when a cold and emotionless voice came from Toyokawa Shoko.

No matter how you listen, you sound angry.

No matter how you listen to it, it sounds unhappy.

Iruma Hibiki stood there in a daze.