Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Sankaku Hatsuka said to Iruma Hibiki with a miserable smile.

Indeed, what she said was not a warning at all.

But my own personal experience.

That made her a little sad, and even now she still can't get over the experience.

12 The coincidence of meeting

"When I first heard that someone could form a band with Xiangzi, I was very envious."

“I’m so envious.”

"What's the name of the girl next to Xiangzi? She's the child of the Wakaba family."

"Mu?"

Iruma Hibiki knew without hesitation that the person was Wakaba Mutsu.

"Sometimes I envy her because she can always be with Xiangzi. Unlike me, when I was little, I thought we had a very good relationship."

"We can become lifelong friends."

"But we lost contact for many years and became complete strangers."

"Thinking that we have a good relationship is completely my one-sided opinion."

……

Iruma Hibiki wanted to say something to comfort Sankaku Hatsuka.

But because they are not familiar with each other, they are worried that they might say something wrong and make the other person even more sad.

But anyway, the conversation stopped here, and he had to make some decent response:

"Is it true that Xiangzi has never contacted you?"

"I haven't posted anything yet. I only sent me a congratulatory message when Sumi debuted."

"I take it out and read it every time I feel tired lately."

Sanjiao Chuhua smiled.

And Iruma Hibiki felt a hint of——

terror.

For some reason, the Sanjiao Hatsuhua in front of him gave him a feeling of Kita.

Kita seemed to have said something similar.

It was during the days after the band disbanded and when Hibiki Iruma was fulfilling his contract, Kita once again got too excited and said:

"I'm going to keep the strings that my senior gave me as a gift, and take them out to look at them every day!"

In this case.

Of course, the opportunity at that time was that Iruma Hibiki was playing string bending on Kita's zither. It turned out that Kita's strings had already been used for some time. In addition, because Iruma Hibiki was playing a seven-stringed zither, he subconsciously used more force, so he bent the thinnest string.

It was a cold day, and the air conditioning in Fanxing was as warm as the coffee shop at that moment, and the store had run out of spare strings.

So in order to continue practicing, Hibiki Iruma found one of his own strings and gave it to Kita.

"Kidding."

Suddenly Sanjiao Chuhua said this.

"It's weird to read a piece of news for a whole year anyway."

She laughed as if she had just told a strange joke.

Of course--

Whether this is a joke or not, I'm afraid only Sanjiao Chuhua himself knows.

"It's not that strange actually."

Hibiki Iruma spoke tactfully.

He did not follow Sanjiao Chuhua's words on this matter and said:

"Oh, it's a joke. I was wondering, how could anyone read a piece of news for a whole year?"

In this case.

It's really unemotional to say such things.

What's more, in Iruma Hibiki's eyes, it's not surprising that a guy who would hang around someone else's house late at night would do such a thing.

"Iruma, can you tell me something about what happened between you and Xiangzi?"

"It's okay if you don't tell me the confidential part."

Finally, Sanjiao Chuhua told her the purpose of meeting her today.

She actually wants to know what happened in the past.

And the future——

Xiangzi's plan.

After all, Xiangzi is a very worrying person now, but she does not allow others to worry about her. Anyone who wants to care about her is treated coldly by her.

Sanjiao Chuhua heard about this from some friends.

So she has actually been suppressing her inner concern for Toyokawa Shoko.

After all—

Shoko Toyokawa wants to hide her past and start over with strength.

However, the changes and earthquakes in the Toyokawa family had already been known to everyone in their circle.

Shoko Toyokawa's disguise, strength and escape at this moment.

This is probably her last bit of dignity.

Sanjiao Chuhua didn't think it was the right choice to reveal this part now.

"Um, okay."

Iruma Hibiki nodded.

No rejection.

Then they talked about what happened when they first met.

If you think about it carefully, it was just a coincidence that he knew Toyokawa Shoko, and later on -

Soon, the time for the two to meet was up.

While Iruma Hibiki was telling the story, Sankaku Hatsuka also said a lot.

But naturally she couldn't come up with a comparable story to share.

To put it bluntly, she was actually someone who was not considered a friend by Toyokawa Shoko at all.

So no matter how you think about it, there is no way such a story could happen.

However, due to her good upbringing and adherence to Tokyo's social norms, Sankaku Hatsuka felt embarrassed to let Iruma Hibiki continue talking, and she also shared with him some of the things that happened when Sumimi was first formed.

And Hibiki Iruma also began to show some interest in Sumimi.

because--

Sumimi is a girl band consisting of only two people, and they became popular just by relying on the two of them.

Something was taking root deep in Hibiki Iruma's heart.

It was as if he had decided to keep his original promise.

"Wouldn't it be hard for the band with just two people?"

After finishing his own story, naturally, Iruma Hibiki asked about the part that he cared about the most.

"It was a little bit at the beginning, and Mana also liked to put everything on me."

"Maybe it's because of Triangle that you're really reliable."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Dad Shanling (9) O Qichuwu Bake Reimu thank you."

Sankaku Hatsuka laughed, and Iruma Hibiki also smiled to ease the atmosphere a little.

After all, talking about the past still put some pressure on him.

It was obvious that he returned to Tokyo with the intention of doing something and changing something.

But at this moment, facing the pressure of interpersonal relationships, he suddenly felt a little hesitant.

Wouldn't it be better to stay there a little longer?

He thought so.

There was no such anticipation as the day I left, when I couldn't wait to return to Tokyo.

"Sorry, Iruma, my time is almost up. How about we meet again later?"

"no problem."

"By the way, today I was the one asking about things I care about. I won't be like that next time."

"Also, just call me Chuhua. I'll call you Xiang from now on. Tomorrow, remember to come and see Sumimi's performance."

"If I return to Tokyo late, I won't be able to get a ticket for the live show."

Iruma Hibiki laughed and joked.

Just when he was about to say, "I'll support you on the live broadcast," Sanjiao Chuhua took out a ticket from his small bag.

"I thought of it. Here, an internal ticket."

"Goodbye then."

When Hibiki Iruma got the ticket, he realized why Mikaku Hatsuka asked him out so early.

"What a nice person..."

After Sanjiao Chuhua left for a while, Iruma Xiang held the ticket and muttered softly.

He was also more curious about why Sanjiao Chuhua's relationship with Toyokawa Shoko became gradually colder after the childhood experience she remembered.

Is it because of the distance?

It is obvious that the answer to such a problem cannot be obtained just by thinking about it.

And on the other side.

After finishing her part-time job, Shoko Toyokawa returned home tired.

She checked her phone as usual.

Tomorrow is Sumi's performance. Although she doesn't have the money to go to the show, she still plans to go and see it.

After all, her old acquaintance Sanjiao Chuhua is among them.

13 The Habit of Lying

The afterglow of the New Year in Tokyo passed quickly.

Iruma Hibiki remembered that if they were in the countryside of Kyoto, the New Year atmosphere would always last for a long time.

Even on this day in previous years, the streets were still decorated with lights and everyone was still immersed in a joyful atmosphere. Perhaps it was because winter is indeed the slack season for farmers and there was nothing to be busy about.

During dinner in the evening, Iruma Hibiki heard his father say that his grandmother had asked someone to look after her fields. This year, there was a heavy snowfall in Kyoto, and several greenhouses were collapsed.

This made Iruma Hibiki slightly miss his childhood experiences.

That's how people are.

If you don’t cherish the present when you are in it, you will miss it immensely after it becomes the past.

This is the case with Hibiki Iruma.