Iruma-san wants to win the Akutagawa Prize

But then she immediately turned her head away.

After all, her courage had actually disappeared since she came here.

but--

[Do I like Iruma-san? ]

A week in a dark closet with "Godknows..."

Goto Ichiri actually...

"Yes, I do like Iruma-san. Even though I smell musty, am unattractive, have a hunchback, have terrible taste in clothes and only wear sweatshirts, and look terrible in every way, I like Iruma-san!"

She had already figured this problem out.

Therefore, she took the train to Akihabara early in the morning and appeared here.

The same message was posted on the website last night.

The Guitar Hero account actually has over 4 followers at this point.

The popularity of that video is still rising.

In the past, Goto Ichiri would definitely be happy and excited to the point of being unable to control himself.

But now, she didn't care at all about what was so important to her in the past.

After who knows how many circles——

Goto Ichiri stomped his feet hard.

The sound was quite loud, and even Iruma Hibiki, who was sitting at his seat, heard it.

Afterwards, Goto Ichiri walked towards the exhibition hall for the book signing event, but her nostrils were quickly filled with the scent of citrus.

"Eh?"

Then, before she could react, Goto Ichiri was bumped.

She was already trembling with fear and was pushed directly against the door, thus giving up the passage from the corridor to the exhibition hall.

Then——

A chestnut-haired voice passed before her eyes.

The long hair floating in the air reflects the shape of the sunlight at this moment.

Iruma Hibiki stood up.

"Su Shi?"

Just when he vaguely realized that something bad was going to happen, it was already too late -

because of him.

Nagasaki Suyo, who had been here the night before, hugged him tightly.

Then came the kiss...

89 Choose one of the two options for the first week

Goto Ichiri stood there for a long time without moving.

【If you want to play dodgeball, just touch my finger.】

Just like her distant memory, while waiting, everyone unknowingly started playing games in groups of two or three, and she was naturally forgotten in the corner of the kindergarten.

The red ball in his hand at the beginning slowly bounced three or four times and rolled into the corner because there was nothing he could hit it at.

She naturally became the forgotten child.

The kiss between Hibiki Iruma and Suyo Nagasaki is right in front of me.

Goto Ichiri actually had no feelings about such scenes.

Or rather——

For her, this result might have been expected from the beginning. Now, she was actually causing trouble for Hibiki Iruma. Hibiki Iruma already had a girlfriend, and her confession was just—

She was alone, and because she was moved by the song given by Iruma Hibiki, she shouted out without any consideration.

As she thought this, Goto Ichiri shrank into the corner and took two steps back.

She could feel the gazes of the people around her at this moment.

Finally, Goto Ichiri turned around, slowly left the book signing event, and walked towards the elevator.

She didn't run away.

Because at this moment her mind was blank and she couldn't think of anything.

Leaving was just a natural and subconscious action.

And on Iruma Hibiki's side——

When he came to his senses and separated from Nagasaki Suyo, he looked around.

Machida Sonoko stood there in a daze, slightly shocked by the scene in front of her.

Nagasaki Suyo gently held up one side of her chestnut hair, revealing her ears and the back of her neck. There was obvious fatigue and worry on her face, and there seemed to be a hint of disgust in her furrowed brows.

When he saw that expression, Hibiki Iruma trembled all over.

The shocking sensation just now made him forget the current situation for a moment.

"what……"

The moment he opened his mouth, his voice was almost hoarse.

"Cough cough..."

It was not until this moment that he realized that the kiss just now made him so nervous that he forgot to breathe. He gasped desperately to fill his lungs, which were now burning and shrunken like plastic bags.

With the influx of cool air, Iruma Hibiki woke up a little.

A pink figure flashed past the exhibition hall window.

In a moment, Iruma Hibiki saw Goto Ichiri, with a dull expression on his face, walk through the crowd that had made way for him, and then seemed to want to leave.

So he entered the room and moved his feet slightly.

"Hibiki, are you going to go find Goto-san?"

At this moment, Nagasaki Suyo grabbed Iruma Hibiki's wrist.

Machida Sonoko on the side seemed to want to say something to help Iruma Hibiki, but in the end she stayed where she was. The staff of Fuzugawa Bunko began to properly deal with the aftermath. Fortunately, the time period of the incident was not fatal, and no real readers were affected except for the guys who came to watch the fun.

Iruma Hibiki stopped where he was.

Actually, thinking at this moment is a bit of a luxury for him, but he still——

"Su Shi."

After softly calling Nagasaki Suyo's name, Iruma Hibiki lowered her head.

He was afraid of Nagasaki Suyo's expression at that moment.

Because that expression did not contain the usual smile and gentleness, nor did it contain the Nagasaki Soyo that Iruma Hibiki was familiar with.

At this moment, her face was filled with disgust, suspicion and confusion.

Iruma Hibiki didn't dare to look at that face.

He took a deep breath.

"I will personally reject Gotou-san's confession. I'm sorry if it makes you feel uneasy, but—doing this in front of Gotou-san is actually a bit too much. This is not something the Suyo I know would do."

Iruma Hibiki was silent for a while, but his eyes were actually looking at Machida Sonoko.

"The first half of the book signing event is over. You have one hour, Iruma-sensei."

At this moment, Machida Sonoko also issued a pass to Iruma Hibiki.

Now that he has obtained permission, he no longer has any worries.

"I know this might make me look unfit as a boyfriend, but... Goto-kun is my junior high classmate! A close friend I absolutely refuse to part with! Sushi, I love you, and you're my lover, but please allow me, right now, to salvage a friendship that's so important to me."

Iruma Hibiki's voice wasn't very loud, but it was surprisingly firm and extremely persuasive.

That's just who he is, after all.

At this moment, at the entrance of the exhibition hall, Chihaya Aine and Ijichi Kouka, who were sitting at the tea table in the thoughtfully prepared waiting area, also heard Iruma Hibiki's voice.

They saw the whole thing that just happened.

Compared to Ijichi Kouka, Chihaya Aine stood up faster, came in front of Goto Ichiri, and covered the elevator button.

Goto Ichiri, who was completely unaware of Chihaya Aion's presence, poked Chihaya Aion's palm with her finger when she tried to press the downstairs button. Then she looked up and met Chihaya Aion's eyes.

"Did Goto-san hear what Iruma-san just said?"

"Eh?"

In fact, Goto Ichiri didn't hear anything at all.

She was still a little unresponsive, and she didn't even know where she was.

"Hey, you just had a secretly filmed video, right? If you hand it over and delete it later, we won't hold you responsible."

Chihaya Aine turned her head and pointed her finger at the man on the other side who had been secretly filming the video from the beginning. Then she reached out and took the phone that the man handed over with some trembling hands.

Afterwards, Goto Ichiri heard what Iruma Hibiki had just said from the other party's mobile phone, as well as the expression on Iruma Hibiki's face when he said those words.

It was probably at this moment that tears welled up in Goto Ichiri's eyes.

She couldn't bear it any longer.

After all, the few minutes she was unconscious just now could be considered as a way of protecting herself to some extent.

Because for her, Iruma Hibiki—

For that poor girl who was alone, not good at socializing, and didn't dare to talk to anyone.

Is the savior.

The only one who would stay in her corner.

If there is no Iruma-hibiki.

No one would treat her gently.

From kindergarten to elementary school and high school, Goto Ichiri spent his entire life without Hibiki Iruma alone.

And for her——

Being liked is her luxury.

It’s okay if you don’t get a response.

But if we can't continue to be friends...

"Iruma-san must be feeling very conflicted right now, but I can understand Nagasaki-san's feelings. So, if it's okay, Goto-san, why don't you wait a little longer? I think the gentle Iruma-san will definitely respond to you."

Chihaya Aine continued.

"Right, Goto-kun, after all, we had a lot of fun practicing together that day, but I'm sorry if it seemed a bit forced..."

At this time, Ijichi Hongxia also came forward.

She was actually frowning at the moment, and was extremely worried about Iruma Hibiki and Nagasaki Soyo, so she looked back frequently, with anxiety written all over her face.

"Well, I see..."

Goto Ichiri retracted her hands, then clenched her fists and placed them in front of her chest. She lowered her head, unable to see her toes, so she focused her attention on the dark gaps between the floor tiles. Then she murmured softly:

"I, I'll wait..."

After saying that, Goto Ichiri just stood there. Chihaya Aine was like a guide dog, helping Goto Ichiri sit at the corner of the dining table where she and Ijichi Kouka had sat before.

"I'm going to check on Iruma-san."

Seeing that the matter here was over, Ijichi Hongxia was about to go in to see what was happening over there with Iruma Hibiki, but then——

She bumped into Hibiki Iruma who was running out.

In the back, Nagasaki Suyo opened her hands slightly and looked at Iruma Hibiki's back with an expression of disbelief on her face.

Iruma Hibiki stopped when he saw Ijichi Nikka.