Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

Just like yesterday.

She had a smile on her face.

"Did Lixi see Xiang yesterday?"

"Ah, yes."

Shiina Riki responded.

Of course, she naturally felt a little strange. After all, it seemed that she had not told anyone that she had met Iruma Hibiki.

Even my family members don’t know.

The only person who might know is Wildcat.

But wild cats won't talk nonsense or leak secrets.

Six Bar Jiu|Wu Ba c) Mio + ⒋ Cage Witch? L And——

Perhaps by accident, Shiina Riki overheard Kaname Rakuna's comments about Nagasaki Suyo:

[That person smells weird, I don't like it.]

Very straightforward and annoying.

Or maybe it was simply because Kaname didn't like the scent of lavender that Nagasaki Suyo liked.

But anyway, if Lenai said that, there would be a high probability that she would not contact the other party. She is such a direct person.

So it was Hibiki Iruma who told her?

When he realized this, Shiina Riki's emotions were slightly complicated.

Especially after experiencing those things in the past, in fact, the ill-fated relationship between Iruma Hibiki and Nagasaki Soyo, although the most important part is still unknown to anyone, everyone has already guessed the rest.

"How's Hibiki?"

Nagasaki Suyo asked.

There was a hint of gloom in his tone.

"Didn't Hibiki tell you?"

Shiina Riki asked back, probably to confirm how far he could go.

"No, Xiang, you haven't contacted me in a long time."

"Eh?"

Shiina Riki frankly expressed his doubts.

She is not a detective by any means, but she still retains some of the sensitivity of a Tokyo high school girl when it comes to interpersonal communication.

"We had a big fight at Christmas."

Nagasaki Suyo frowned and looked embarrassed.

"Right now, I'm trying to reconcile, but Xiang is still refusing."

Then Nagasaki Suyo added.

……

[It's a lie. 宭一,０翼齐寺五%氿罒（九）ba]

This was Shiina Riki's first reaction.

She couldn't imagine Hibiki Iruma getting angry and breaking up with someone.

She didn't know why Hibiki Iruma gave her this feeling. Unlike many people, the people around him were actually very important to Hibiki Iruma.

He really relies on a lot of people in his interpersonal relationships.

Shiina Riki knew this.

It was because she knew this that she felt so at ease in their relationship.

But at the moment, she couldn't just expose the lie.

Because the person opposite her is Nagasaki Suyo.

Even if you don't say anything.

An ex-girlfriend probably understands Hibiki Iruma better than a friend.

Shiina Riki found an excuse deep down for herself, perhaps because she had never seen the part about Iruma Hibiki, so she didn't ask any further questions about this part.

Nagasaki Suyo was not asked to explain.

Just asking silently:

"Is this the reason you called us out today?"

"Not entirely. I haven't seen Lixi and Deng for a long time. I missed you a little, so I planned to contact you."

Nagasaki Suyo smiled.

For some reason, seeing such a smile, Shiina Riki had a feeling that she was planning something.

What does Nagasaki Suyo plan to do?

"Lixi, I'm going to give it a try. I'm going to have a good chat with Xiangzi, and then we can all re-form Crychic together."

"Xiaoxiang has his own difficulties, but..."

"That is impossible."

"Eh?"

Facing Shiina Riki's response with his head lowered, Nagasaki Suyo showed a surprised expression, but the person who actually spoke was actually——

Next to Shiina Riki, Takamatsu Deng showed a hopeful expression in a moment, but immediately became disappointed the next moment.

It was not until this moment that Gao Songdeng realized that she had just roasted herself over the fire, and the scorching atmosphere almost scorched her skin.

"..."

Want to say something.

But the words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat.

【Xiang said, Crychic is over.】

Shiina Riki couldn't say such words.

She lowered her head and gritted her teeth.

"Lixi..."

Takamatsu Deng said with a glimmer of hope, perhaps hoping that Shiina Riki would change his answer at this moment:

I just said it wrong.

not like this.

"enough……"

Finally, Shiina Riki became a little angry and embarrassed under the pressure.

She raised her head and said with a hint of complicated emotions:

"I originally joined the band because I was looking for a reliable band to surpass my sister. Now, even if Crychic is resurrected, it won't be able to move forward so smoothly."

"Besides, Xiangzi wants this, what else can we do?"

"..."

After saying this, Shiina Riki fell silent again.

He just sat there, as if all his strength had been drained away, and slumped down in the chair.

23 Kita Kita

Hibiki Iruma leaned against the window, looking at the scenery outside. Perhaps because he was a little tired from the trip to Shanghai, he didn't have much idea about traveling. He had no desire to go to the Seaside Park where he usually relaxed.

Goto Ichiri called a few minutes ago.

Mostly about greetings and arrangements for tomorrow.

The person who was most excited about the reunion was Xiduo.

It was only at this time that Hibiki Iruma began to understand the significance of his previous story creation.

In the previous life.

He once tried to participate in a writing competition held by Taijiao, which was probably the starting point of his ideal of writing a novel.

At that time, a senior once said to him:

"No-Brain and Unhappy are the best story character combination, because Unhappy knows everything and just needs a No-Brain to balance things out."

And at this moment, Kita looks like such a character.

There is no burden, only the joy of reunion.

For a moment, Iruma Xiang was a little dazed.

"Welcome home, Senior!"

Kita's pleasant and excited voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Well, I'm back."

Iruma Hibiki teased with a laugh.

If he were the old him, he would definitely say something teasing at this moment, but he didn't do that now.

As he said this, Iruma Hibiki held his waist and sat up. He felt some pain all over his body, so much so that he even felt dizzy the moment he stood up.

At this time, Kita continued:

"Where do you want to go tomorrow, Senior?"

"Didn't we say we'd meet at the Starry Sky Temple?"

"That being said, it would be a bit of a shame to just hang out at the stars all day. How about we go shopping together? I've found a few really interesting shops lately!"

"What kind of store is it?"

The chat continued.

Hibiki Iruma didn't seem annoyed by this.

It would be better to say that the cheerful Kita has become somewhat of a salvation for Iruma Hibiki at this moment, just like her previous meeting with Mikado Hatsuka.

People always say that life is a train, with people always coming and going.

But sometimes.

It is not a pity when someone gets off the bus, but a matter of gratitude and joy.

Only those who cannot learn to distinguish will fall into the deepest pain and be pulled by the vortex of gravity.

It's like a silly guy who doesn't want to restrict his companions. He has been traveling for almost 30 years and still has a - ratio with newcomers, but he and his companions may have both gained happiness.

For Hibiki Iruma, there was no way he could become such a fool.

However, at this moment, he still relies heavily on this comfortable atmosphere.

Just like when he first decided to take the first step.

When we were still children and everything in the world was still new, everything was shining brightly.

"what……"

Kita suddenly fell silent.

"Um, I'm so sorry, Senior!"

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Seeing Kita start to apologize, Iruma Hibiki had a faint smile on his face.

"I was just thinking about my own business! I'm not sure if you'll like the shop I recently discovered, Senior!"

For Kita, she would definitely not care about such things on a normal day.