My love game with them that will lead to certain death

In the family restaurant, Ming Hai looked at Yamada Ryo who was eating steak attentively with a playful smile.

"You look so bad, why didn't you agree to let me go to the hospital just now?"

Yamada simply ignored his teasing, and even ignored the slightly sarcastic tone in the boy's voice.

However, Ming Hai had long been accustomed to it. The sarcasm and malicious remarks that were usually effective on others would be ignored by her when directed at Yamada, as powerless as a punch on cotton.

"I won't cheat you out of your medical expenses... Well, of course if you let me know about this loophole, I will definitely take advantage of it."

"Drilling any hole will only hurt you."

And her focus is always weird. Of course, Toru Narumi is the least qualified person to say that about her.

"I don't want to go to the hospital. It would just be a waste of time."

Ming Hai rolled his eyes at Yamada without hiding his intention, while rummaging in his pockets - only to remember that he couldn't smoke here and stop looking for a cigarette.

Yamada, who was standing by, saw his movements and was lost in thought for a moment, then he seemed to understand something -

He picked up the vegetables in front of him with his fork and stuffed them into Minghai's mouth.

"........."

Ming Hai stared at Yamada who suddenly did this in silence, and ate the vegetables slowly without saying a word.

How should I put it? He could predict what actions most people in this simulation would take next, including the fact that he was deserted by Hayama and Hikigaya, which were actually scenarios he had preset that might happen.

Only Yamada Ryo could not figure out the logic behind this woman's behavior.

"When you want to smoke, just eat more grass. You smokers eat a lot of tobacco anyway."

She smiled with a confident look that said, "This pun of mine must be funny," but of course this only made Ming Hai question why the air conditioning in the store was set so low.

"Why don't you just treat me to a pork chop dinner?"

Ming Hai also ignored the cold joke thrown by Yamada and suddenly said this.

"Why are you thinking about my wallet for no reason?"

Yamada, who was happily eating steak the previous second, immediately protected his trouser pockets as if facing a great enemy.

"What I mean is that in TV dramas, the police always try to use pork chop rice to get the criminals to talk - if I need to explain it myself, it won't work."

"Oh~ I see."

"Don't show up in such a weird place, you guy."

Ms. Yamada put down the knife and fork in her hand, and after she had eaten and drunk her fill, she slowly spoke while wiping the corners of her mouth with a tissue.

"I can't help it. If you die like this, Xiao Hai, I will be very troubled."

She called out the name that was exclusive to "Yamada Ryo" in reality. Although this made the pale-faced Ming Hai a little dazed for a moment, he quickly calmed down.

Originally, Yamada just called him Xiao Hai because he suddenly felt like it, so it makes sense that the simulated Yamada Ryo would do so.

"Not to mention dying with your current reputation, that would be a bad omen."

After finishing the steak, Yamada Ryo started working on the dessert beside him. He gently picked up a piece of tiramisu and put it into his mouth, his calm eyes directed at the curly-haired boy sitting in front of him.

"Whether it's the audience who likes to come to underground performances or the organizers who provide the venues, they don't have a good opinion of you. Didn't you say before that you wanted to perform on stage with Pochi?"

Yamada didn't say much, but her intentions were clear.

If you really want to fulfill your promise, then take care of your body and avoid doing things that will damage your reputation.

"Yamada, you care about me so much. Why is that?"

Ming Hai, who ordered an alcoholic drink, took a sip and did not directly answer the question - it would be better to say that he responded to the question with a question.

"Um……"

Ms. Yamada made no secret of the fact that she was thinking, and after pondering for a long time, she only gave an unclear and ambiguous answer.

"Why? I'm also curious about why I think this way. How about you help me think about it."

No, this person must be sick.

"Thank you for your concern, but I'm afraid I can't keep that promise."

Ming Hai rolled his eyes, endured the churning feeling in his stomach, and drank the alcoholic beverage he had just ordered.

"The caterpillar didn't keep his promise to me anyway, so it's only fair that I break it once."

"Oh, so you are the one, you are so tired."

"You are."

"Very well, then prove to me that you are not tired of rubbing your hands."

"I will not fall into this kind of clumsy self-justification trap."

Ming Hai sighed, but no matter what, after a chat with Yamada, his emotions were indeed much more stable than before.

It is still a bit difficult to always play a role that is very different from your own personality, even if this person is very likely yourself in another parallel world.

"I know, you just want little Pochi to hate you."

Yamada Ryo came to this conclusion without hesitation.

"But I still don't understand why you would do this. It's obviously a very harmful thing, and it won't do any good to your band's performance at all... Hmm."

She paused as if she suddenly thought of something, and her eyes, which had always been calm, suddenly narrowed.

She noticed something was wrong.

"...But our performances...seem to be getting more and more popular."

Rumors are scary and easy to spread, but if you are the weak one being bullied in these rumors, then the pressure of public opinion will actually lift you to the moral high ground.

"There is a very bad bassist in the underground band circle of Shimokitazawa. His skills are not very good, his performances are extremely mediocre, and he always likes to ridicule and slander the guitarist of another band in public." If we start the story from the perspective of the victim, it would be -

There is a low-key guitarist in the band who has been repeatedly provoked and teased by a third-rate bassist. Although his performance skills are superb, he is always shy and makes a few mistakes. He often locks himself in a cardboard box because he is ashamed to see people. Even though he has been humiliated so many times, he has never really gotten angry.

People who were not originally fans of the band would go to support them because they had "long heard of them". There were also many people who were impressed by their performances and became true fans. There were also many people cheering for the bullied Pochi-chan.

If bullying Pochi wasn't the boy's intention, then this was it.

"I have something to ask of you, Yamada."

Even after being exposed to this extent, Ming Hai's expression remained calm.

This was the first time that Yamada Ryo looked directly into the curly-haired boy's lake blue eyes. The depth that appeared in these eyes at this moment was not like the expression that could be revealed by the arrogant and domineering third-rate bassist "Murakami Toru", but more like the look of the guy who would drive away gangsters at the front desk with a smile.

"No one else can do it, I can only rely on you."

For a moment, she fell in love with those lake-blue eyes that seemed to have planned everything.

Chapter 31 My Dear Accomplice

If you are in a completely different world, a completely different life, and a friend who was once very familiar to you suddenly no longer remembers you - would you still choose to be friends with him?

Or do you still feel that they are the same person?

Yamada Ryo was accidentally distracted while playing the bass, and she didn't realize it until she made a mistake on a syllable.

"You're wrong again, Ryo-senpai."

When Kita Ikuyo looked over here worriedly to express her concern, Yamada Ryo remembered that he was rehearsing.

In a while, the largest festival celebration in Shimokitazawa will be held at the venue of the boss of Ijichi, and many underground bands active in Shimokitazawa will participate.

At the same time, that day was also the date that Narumi had agreed to perform with Pochi.

"Listen up, Pochi-chan. When our performance reaches this point, some audience members may start to react. You must stay calm at this time. Don't get scared and play the wrong string! Otherwise, that mean guy will catch you and make fun of you again."

Ichichi Kouka, who was sitting in front of the drum set, gave these instructions earnestly, while Pochi, who was standing next to her holding a guitar and nodding occasionally, forced a smile.

"It's alright, Ijichi-senpai... And I think Narumi-kun might not be such an extreme person. Maybe he has some unspeakable secret..."

"Why is Pochi still speaking for that guy at this time... Don't let him get too deep into your mind. Even if you have known each other since childhood, people will change!"

"Eh... So that arrogant guy, did you know Pochi-chan when you were little?"

Kita Yuyo also joined the conversation with some surprise. Feeling inexplicably upset, Yamada Ryo put down the bass in her hand - she would not touch her precious bass if there was a possibility of playing it wrong.

"It may sound weird, but this kind of person is not uncommon in the music industry, especially in underground rock bands."

Ijichi Hoshika, who came to observe their rehearsal, leaned against the door, comforting the disturbed Pochi-chan with the attitude of a reliable adult woman.

"Rock is fun, but don't think your fellow fans are so great, little ones. Niche fans who pretend to be cool just because they know a few obscure bands are actually pretty good, and it's not uncommon to see people who take advantage of being in a band and attack their fans - not to mention those who slander you just because they don't like you."

"But w-why…"

Pochi lowered her head in confusion. She was really helpless in the face of such groundless malice and didn't know what to do.

"Talent? Age? More likable? Who knows? Sometimes you don't need that many reasons to dislike someone."

Boss Ijichi shrugged. She had seen too many strange people to have a place in Shimokitazawa's underground performance circle.

"Besides, the overall strength of your band is indeed much better than that group of half-baked people. This is obvious to all. Maybe they are just jealous of your ability and that so many people like you."

"envy…?"

Pochi, who had always believed that Ming Hai did so many excessive things just to get closer to her, felt a little confused for the first time.

If it is really as Ijichi Hoshige said, then it can only mean that Ming Hai did not have good intentions but used the wrong way of expression, but that he is just a bad guy who is good at playing with other people's feelings.

"Don't always think the best of him, Pochi-chan. Is there any reason why he has to bully others?"

Hongxia tried to persuade her earnestly. Upon hearing this, Yamada's fingers on the bass strings moved, but she still couldn't say what she wanted to say.

"If you think about it carefully, if she was really tired, why would she be so arrogant all the time? She would only be so coquettish when she was about to drive Pochi-chan to collapse."

"Of course he can't suddenly become a tsundere. He just can't express his true thoughts. He's not really a tsundere."

She had just heard Ming Hai's request yesterday and knew the reason. She wanted to say something to refute it, but she found that she couldn't even control her self-awareness.

"Yeah, so after all, he's just a simple low-level PUA man. You don't have to take it too seriously, Pochi. Just think of him as someone who's been possessed by a mental illness."

The Ijichi sisters speculated in this way, and although these inferences were very reasonable from their perspective, uncontrollable emotions still surged into Yamada's heart.

It's a bit annoying.

She had always enjoyed the leisurely life in this "parallel world". Even though she couldn't do whatever she wanted, she always took the opportunity to make the best of it.

But when what she really wanted to do was right in front of her, she couldn't even make a sound.

Yamada Ryo rarely felt the emotion filling his chest.

That was an unhappiness that could never be justified for Ming Hai.

The last time Ming Hai asked her, he hoped that she could go to his house to meet him after the performance, and he would tell Yamada all the reasons at that time.

Even though Toru Narumi in this "world" doesn't seem to remember her, there's still a voice in her head that recognizes him as her "friend".

Therefore, Ryo Yamada, who felt such a close relationship with him, chose to believe what Ming Hai said.

If possible, she also wanted to tell her companions to wait patiently until the end of the performance, when the truth would be revealed.

But at the same time, there seems to be an obstacle in this world that has been preventing her from expressing her ideas to others.

What made her even more annoyed was the feeling that she was just an outsider who could not influence the direction of the story.

Yamada Ryo put down his bass with boredom, and left the rehearsal room without saying a word while everyone else was busy trying to calm Pochi down.

Suddenly there was a feeling that this place wasn't real.

They say life is like a play. Maybe coming to this "parallel world" for no apparent reason is just a part of God's play.

“………It’s boring.”

Miss Yamada Ryo showed her displeasure, which was rare.

It’s better to end this boring game as soon as possible.

She walked out of the underground venue and came to the vending machine, intending to buy a can of drink to refresh herself.

But in front of the vending machine, he saw a curly-haired boy who had just taken out a can of coffee, leaning against the wall and about to return to the venue.

His face looked terrible, as if he had stayed up all night again and immersed himself in cigarettes and alcohol, looking listless. There was no trace of youthful vigor in him at all.

"Yo."

But despite this, the boy still forced himself to greet her.

"...You are also a guy who talks to himself."