Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Iruma responded with a laugh.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

Perhaps, interpersonal relationships are just so wonderful.

Yes, no one can live without anyone else. Sometimes, separation is the best choice, just like the dispute between him and Shoko Toyokawa.

but--

Tokyo is like a forest.

Those who are lost are lost, and those who meet will meet again.

10 A call from Triangle Chuhua

If there was anyone that Hibiki Iruma had a harder time dealing with, it would probably be the call from Mikado Hatsuka this morning.

Sankaku Hatsuka seemed to be unaware of what was happening now and still maintained the original agreement between her and Iruma Hibiki.

What was your first impression of Hibiki Iruma?

【What a beautiful person. 】

Or so I thought.

After all, when the two met, Sanjiao Chuhua was indeed cute and capable to a point of being a bit too much, which made people a little confused.

Then came——

Dangerous Elements

After all, Sanjiao Chuhua's behavior is really too terrible in some cases.

But no matter what, Sankaku Hatsuka cares about Toyokawa Shoko very much. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that that feeling is one of longing, right?

That's about it.

After all, the concern she expressed was a little too scary. Calling her a yandere might be a bit of an exaggeration, but saying that she was full of gravity was not an exaggeration at all.

And this is what makes it difficult to face.

Iruma Hibiki answered the phone.

"Good morning, Iruma-san."

The voice of Sankaku Hatsuka came from the other end of the phone. Iruma Hibiki sighed delicately. Behind him, Goto Ichiri opened his mouth slightly, opened his eyes in a daze, and then hugged Iruma Hibiki's waist again in a daze.

The two of them are like Erling⒏(5) and Liu Jiuqun's current life, which is a little bit beyond the limit.

Iruma Hibiki also knew it.

After all, no matter what they say, they are still some distance away from the age to get married.

But for Goto Ichiri, whose ideal was to become a full-time housewife after graduating from high school, this kind of life was natural and she had no hesitation.

Of course, there is still a lot of shyness among young girls.

But when it comes to taking the initiative, Goto Ichiri is a little too proactive.

Some universal norms do not exist for socially anxious girls.

Her world is small.

Just having some is enough.

"Good morning."

Iruma Hibiki responded to the other side.

"I saw the preview of your new book. Congratulations. I will also help promote it for you during my future performances with Mana."

Sanjiao Chuhua said in a friendly manner.

"Won't this kind of behavior cause trouble for you? It's hard to say to your agent, right?"

Iruma Hibiki replied skillfully, but his subtext was actually that he wanted to refuse.

"Don't worry, Mana and I still have a lot of say, so don't worry about this matter."

Sanjiao Chuhua also responded quickly.

"By the way, Xiang, about Xiangzi's matter—"

coming.

Facing Sankaku Hatsuka, Iruma Hibiki didn't want to hide anything, nor did he want to talk about other things, so he quickly interrupted Sankaku Hatsuka.

"Sanjiao, Xiangzi and I have broken up. I don't know anything about her recent situation... Actually, I'm in Shanghai now."

"That's it..."

Surprisingly, there was no violent reaction from the other end.

As if it were natural.

But there was a hint of a sigh in his tone.

"Iruma, you too..."

"Eh?"

Sankaku Hatsuka's reaction was somewhat beyond Iruma Hibiki's expectations.

On the other side, in the dressing room, Sankaku Hatsuka was staring at the poster from the Fuzugawa Bunko in her hand in a daze, and she kept putting a bottle of concealer up and down. Not far away, Junda Mana was preparing for the performance with full energy, like a fool who would never be sad.

If you use magic in front of her, she will definitely be charged with a serious crime since she is a beginner.

"Xiangzi was like this when she said goodbye to me. She said that once you decide to leave, it's hard to come back."

"..."

Hibiki Iruma remained silent.

He already knew about the childhood of Sankaku Hatsuka and Toyokawa Shoko.

The two had once vacationed together on the island of the Sanjiao family, but after they separated, they had no contact again. It was probably at that time that their friendship was born.

But later on, Shoko Toyokawa never contacted Sankaku Hatsuka again.

Just routine greetings.

"When will you be back, Iruma?"

"Probably in a few days."

"Would you like to have dinner together? I want to talk to you about Xiangzi."

"what……"

"Relax."

A somewhat joking voice came from the other end of the phone.

Of course, there is less joking and more maturity in her voice.

"I just want to talk to you about some things in the past. I won't ask about the parts that are inconvenient to talk about."

"If that's all, no problem."

"Don't be so vigilant."

Sanjiao Chuhua smiled faintly.

“We are the same.”

Then she said this to Iruma Hibiki.

……

The phone was hung up, but Iruma Hibiki was still a little bothered by the last sentence.

Maybe I feel like something is wrong, something is strange, but I can't tell where it is.

Sankaku Hatsuka probably came to ask about this because he was worried about Toyokawa Shoko, right?

Iruma Hibiki thought so.

"Something about Xiangzi?"

Goto Ichiri also woke up at this time and asked behind Iruma Hibiki.

"um, yes."

Hibiki Iruma admitted.

Then a subtle look appeared on his face.

"Ichiri, do you want to go out and play around? It's a rare opportunity to go out and play."

"Eh?"

Goto Ichiri didn't react.

By today, the sun was shining brightly outside, and the remaining snow was just a few traces on the grass.

"OK, all right."

Despite saying this, Goto Ichiri still stared at Iruma Hibiki.

As if trying to find something from his face.

There was something strange about Hibiki Iruma at this moment.

At least from Goto Ichiri's perspective, when the incident with Toyokawa Shoko was mentioned, Iruma Hibiki wouldn't be like he is today...

"Yili, I'm a little worried about Xiangzi."

Hibiki Iruma suddenly said this.

"Ah."

And Goto Ichiri also nodded.

After hearing about Toyokawa Shoko's situation, she felt very sad. She didn't dare to imagine what would happen if she were in such a situation.

"Didn't you tell me before, Yili, that Hongxia said that if I wanted, I could go back and end the band?"

Hibiki Iruma suddenly remembered what Ichiri Goto had told him not long ago.

"Uh, yeah, Hibiki, are you coming back?"

Goto Ichiri asked with a hint of anticipation.

"Ichiri, do you want me to go back?"

Iruma Hibiki asked back.

Goto Ichiri was silent for a moment.

"I kind of want to, but...if Xiang decides to write a good book, then that's fine."

Her reply was still very much in her style.

"my words……"

Iruma Hibiki thought for a moment.

Finally he smiled and faced the morning light in the distance.

"I think I found the answer."

He said this suddenly.

"I want to fulfill the promise we made to each other."

"Eh?"

Goto Ichiri didn't know what decision Iruma Hibiki had made at this moment, nor did he understand what the so-called contract meant.

But she knew that after Mikado Hatsuka's call, Iruma Hibiki seemed to have made some decision.

She didn't ask.

He just stayed quietly by Hibiki Iruma's side.

Maybe she is just such a disappointing girl.