Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

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……

There was silence on the other end of the line.

Goto Ichiri wanted to say something, but he didn't open his mouth.

She didn't know about Hibiki Iruma's decision in this regard. Hibiki Iruma hadn't told anyone, but that day, Goto Ichiri vaguely remembered what decision Hibiki Iruma had made before he finally chose to return to Tokyo.

What kind of decision was that?

With a hint of curiosity and worry, Goto Ichiri wanted to continue the call, but she was a little unable to speak.

All I could do after racking my brains was to add a few more pleasantries.

As for Iruma Hibiki, he also felt the emotions of Goto Ichiri.

He composed himself a little.

"Yili, after finishing the band, are you planning on performing?"

Asked first.

"Hongxia said that if possible, she plans to perform once at the end of the holiday."

……

"I'll be there to cheer you all on."

Iruma Hibiki spoke softly.

Some silence.

Such a reply not only answers this question, but also something more.

For Goto Ichiri, she didn't realize this at first.

It wasn't until more than ten minutes after the call was hung up that she suddenly exclaimed, realizing the meaning of Iruma Hibiki's answer.

"Liang, I think I said something wrong."

Probably one day.

One afternoon, Ijichi Hongka suddenly spoke so leisurely, with a slightly sad look on her face. The sun was not very bright that day, but it was still somewhat warm, shining on the cold gray road in snowless Tokyo.

"What did you say wrong?"

As always, Yamada Ryo put on a serious expression when faced with serious matters.

"I said before, if Xiang wants to come back, then..."

Yamada Ryo took a sip of his drink and showed a somewhat strange expression.

"That's not the wrong thing to say."

Yamada Ryo responded and looked at Ijichi Nikka with a hint of seriousness.

"Eh?"

Ijichi Hongka was slightly surprised by Yamada Ryo's response.

"I'm hungry."

Until Yamada Ryo suddenly said these words seriously.

"It was my treat the last time and the time before that as well."

"is it?"

"Yes!"

Faced with Yamada Ryo's pretending to be stupid, Ijichi Hongxia sighed helplessly.

"Liang, what do you want to eat today?"

"I want to eat……"

"No."

Yamada Ryo, whose delusion was interrupted by Ijichi Nikka, shut up. She looked at Ijichi Nikka who was going to order food, as if she was thinking about something.

But no matter what, after this interruption, Ijichi Hongxia's mood was a little better.

As for what Ijichi Hongxia just mentioned—

Yes.

Even for Goto Ichiri, she knew what Ijichi Nikka was planning after learning that the Iruma Hibiki band had ended.

17 Alienation

The so-called plan of Ijichi Hongxia may not have changed much from the beginning.

It was probably on a sunny afternoon that she lay quietly on the windowsill. The bright sunlight outside the window illuminated everything in the house, and a gentle breeze blew in through the open window.

My sister called a few minutes ago.

She said that Fanxing’s afternoon affairs were not that busy, so she could stay at home and not come over.

Ijichi Hongxia, who suddenly had some free time, had nothing else to do. Scattered on her bed were drumsticks she had just played with and supermarket magazines tied together with tape.

The sound insulation in Ijichi's house is not very good, so this is the only way to practice drums. Today, Ijichi Hongxia has been playing for a long time and practicing many times. The magazines that were tied together are a little tattered, and even have some damage on the surface, and some are scattered.

Ijichi Hongxia should have cleaned up the mess, but she was not in the mood to do so at the moment.

[Hongxia, the artificial snow this Christmas was so beautiful.]

Someone told her this.

Ijichi Nikka also remembered that on Christmas Day, after she, Yamada Ryo and Kita heard the story of Iruma Hibiki and Goto Ichiri, she became Goto Ichiri's strategist and helped her with her outfit and dress for the meeting that day.

Kita is very attentive, but occasionally, Ijichi Hongka can see some envy in Kita's eyes.

【It’s really nice, the relationship between Goto-san and his seniors. 】

Kita said this at that time.

Probably for Kita.

The life of modern people always lacks some of the romance of otakus, just like the joke:

[Anyone who can write such a beautiful love story must be a virgin among virgins, because only virgins would still hold such unrealistic fantasies.]

But when such stories become reality.

Even the most popular ones would feel envious.

【Christmas Bear and Salmon】

Whenever Kita thought about this, her first reaction was, should she also make an agreement with Iruma Hibiki?

Think so.

But Kita didn't take any action.

I would only occasionally hint at Hibiki Iruma during daily practice.

But such innuendo is very, very restrained.

Because Iruma Hibiki has been acting weird lately.

Kita actually wanted to say:

[If you can't help it, the practice agreement can be postponed.]

But seeing Iruma Hibiki's insistent attitude, she didn't say much, but just tried her best to make the atmosphere happier and more lively when Iruma Hibiki fulfilled his promise to teach her.

But no matter what, there was only so much she could do.

Hibiki Iruma has been a little listless lately, and his whole personality has changed a lot.

The breakup was not a secret, and Kita also heard from Iruma Hibiki that the band had disbanded.

It's very simple:

"Well, it's disbanded."

This is what Hibiki Iruma said at that time.

It was as if he was describing a trivial matter that had nothing to do with it.

His tone was calm, without a trace of sadness, and it was impossible to tell what he was going to do next. He was just so quiet.

Ijichi Hongxia made a surprised sound.

The performance that day was actually very exciting and successful. Some people even looked forward to the future of Crychic. However, those who knew Ijichi Hongxia's thoughts were actually a little worried.

Until Ichichi Hongxia said:

"Xiang succeeded, we should also work hard."

Only when I heard this did I feel a little relieved.

Ijichi Hongxia's attitude and thoughts are not particularly secret.

"Should we invite Hibiki back?"

Ijichi Hongxia also suddenly muttered to herself in the afternoon of that day.

Then——

She told this to Hibiki Iruma who was there at that time.

When saying this, Ijichi Hongxia probably didn't think much about it.

I just wanted to do it, so I said it.

I just feel that some important things shouldn't end here.

I just feel that Hibiki Iruma has changed a lot recently, which is definitely sad, so I want to say: