My love game with them that will lead to certain death

"?"

Hongxia patted Pochi's shoulder and walked back to the lounge, while Minghai stopped and turned to look at Yamada, whose steps were gradually slowing down.

"What's wrong, Yamada? Are you envious of my social circle? If you want, social circles can also be spread through monetary transactions. You don't need 888 or 648, just 188 will do--"

"nothing."

Yamada refuted surprisingly calmly, and this made Minghai give up his playful mentality and calm down.

"It just feels a little weird."

The blue-haired girl stopped and stood still, looking at the boy with an extremely calm gaze - but it seemed to contain some undercurrents.

"...Forget it, it's nothing."

"What? What do you want to say?"

"Nothing, I just feel a little weird."

"Even if you repeat yourself three times, I will still ask you what's going on, so it's better for you to explain it to me as soon as possible."

Ming Hai declared this with confidence, and Yamada, who had been planning to get away with it, curled her lips. She also realized that her subtle emotional fluctuations could not escape Ming Hai's eyes.

"You'd find it weird if I told you, so I don't want to tell you."

Her tone was still very flat, as if she was just narrating a trivial matter.

"If you don't tell me now I'll think you're weird."

The curly-haired boy leaned to one side, intending to listen carefully to what Yamada had to say - but the two people who had lagged behind for too long were caught by Hongxia.

"Don't be lazy here, you two. Or are you guys hiding something from us?"

"Hong Xia, guess what—"

The current topic obviously could not be started when a third person was present, so Ming Hai simply gave up the idea of ​​getting Yamada to talk and left quickly.

Yamada originally wanted to follow silently, but was stopped by Hongxia who had an intriguing smile.

"What's wrong, Ryo? You obviously look like you're worried."

After saying this, Hongxia smiled but said nothing, quietly waiting for Yamada's reply. After a long silence, the latter gave the answer without changing his expression.

"I just think it's a little unfair. Even when I try to concentrate, I'm always thinking about Xiao Hai."

"...?"

Hong Xia, who had been smiling teasingly, froze her smile - she realized that she seemed to have discovered something incredible.

Chapter 75: Love is wanting to touch and then taking it back

When I came to my senses, I had already escaped from the underground livehouse venue.

If you ask the reason, Eriri Sawamura herself doesn't understand why she did this.

"Did Eriri check the clue that mom provided? How was it? Is it the person you were looking for?"

When Sayuri expressed her concern and asked about her well-being, Eriri could only roll her eyes and try to evade the question.

"Ah, um... it's my friend."

"That's great - Mom can help! Hehe~"

"Yes, yes...If it weren't for mom, I probably wouldn't have been able to find him at all."

After casually dealing with it to satisfy her mother's self-esteem, Eriri finished her dinner with mixed feelings, and then returned to her bedroom as usual.

Sayuri is a very competent parent in every aspect. Even if the person her daughter is looking for is a person of the opposite sex she has never met before, she will not chase her daughter and ask her questions as if she is facing a great enemy. Instead, she leaves her enough personal space and never asks about the reasons.

This did allow Eriri to process her own emotions, but the problems that followed had to be solved by her alone.

"That person must be Toru. I recognized him at a glance."

After returning to the bedroom, Eriri lay on the soft big bed, covering her head with a pillow, and muttered to herself.

"but………"

Now that the person has been found, what should we do next?

"…That guy seems to be a student working part-time at an underground performance venue. How should I greet him?"

Should I just go up to him and say that I am his long-lost sister? I feel like I will be sent to a mental hospital to have my brain checked out in the next second. Should I stay still and approach him slowly as a stranger, then test him and report back? Eriri is not confident that she can keep her composure like that.

And the most important thing is.

"He is definitely Toru...but does he still remember anything about me?"

Eriri doesn't think about questions that are too in-depth, such as "Is Toru who doesn't have this memory still the Toru she knows?" - she believes that even if a person doesn't have a certain memory, it will not change who he is.

It is true that an experience can shape a person's character, but Eriri feels that what is truly important is the unshakable things hidden deep in the soul, which are difficult to change easily over time.

All of this is a bit off topic - anyway, the dilemma facing Eriri right now is that she finds it difficult to face that possibility.

The possibility that my brother didn't remember me and treated me like a stranger.

This is even more painful than being angry with her and ignoring her.

"And no matter how you look at it... he seems to have his own social circle."

Eriri was a little depressed, but she was not completely unable to read the air. Naturally, she knew that the prerequisite for the curly-haired boy to appear on the stage and perform with a group of girls was that they had established an extraordinary trust between them.

"Is he really in a band? Although he does seem to be quite interested in music, it turns out he has really found a group of like-minded friends to play music together..."

It's definitely not the case that she feels lost or depressed because her brother also has a group of friends that she is not familiar with - Eriri would never admit this.

Admittedly, the brother she knew was a competent brother who valued her more than all other interpersonal relationships. Now that she suddenly discovered that he had a relationship in real life that she didn't even understand, it was understandable that Eriri would feel a little lost.

But this does not mean that she should watch her brother continue to stay in that unattainable social circle like a loser with resentment, without even trying the slightest bit of effort.

Of course, "I am the one who has been with him for more than ten years, but those guys who just met by chance can stay by his side so naturally" - this emotion that perhaps can be called "jealousy" that surges in my heart is hard to ignore.

What's more, there is that person next to him, the girl with short blue hair who is playing the bass in a relaxed manner and enjoying the performance.

"That person's name should be Yamada if I remember correctly... He became friends with Toru for no apparent reason before, how come they are still sticking together in real life?"

When this was mentioned, Eriri became even angrier. Yamada, who showed up out of nowhere, was able to become her brother's teammate so nonchalantly, while she could only hide at home like this and think about how to get closer to him - this was too unfair.

"Narumi…Tetsu."

This is my brother's name in real life.

If I remember correctly, in the "dream", Yamada once called Toru "Kokai" very intimately. At that time, Eriri was a little confused as to why. Now thinking about it, this wonderful coincidence is a little too unbelievable.

"Ah, never mind. There will definitely be a way to solve this kind of troublesome matter later."

Having perfectly learned the open-minded attitude of "everything will sink when the time comes" from her brother, Eriri simply put this difficult problem aside for the time being, got up from the bed, jumped to the computer desk with extra lightness, and took out her own drawing tablet.

"I have to turn my grief and anger into strength - this kind of distressed emotion is the best source of inspiration for creation!"

In the past, when Eriri encountered setbacks, she would probably curl up in a safe corner and shiver like a hedgehog, licking her wounds and completely giving up - but things are different now.

After some training in future simulations (mainly with the encouragement and support of her brother), Eriri has mastered some ways to deal with this dilemma.

After all, if you haven't made any progress after experiencing such extraordinary things, it would be a bit too hopeless.

Eriri vented all her melancholy on the drawing paper, controlling the direction of the tentacles with her wild imagination, and using her exquisite painting skills to sketch out one after another tantalizing scenes of young girls gradually succumbing to the tyranny of the tentacles...

Teacher Eri Kashiwagi was in an excellent creative atmosphere and completely forgot that she had another way to relieve her sorrow - and if she chose this way, she would have the chance to run into the "brother" she had been thinking about.

In another corner of the same city, Ming Hai, sitting in front of the computer, looked at [Childhood Sweetheart Great Victory] who was offline in the friend list of rr14, and waited with a subtle mood to talk to her again.

If the blonde figure I accidentally caught a glimpse of at the venue was Eriri, perhaps I could hint at some information through the game.

However, Ming Hai, who focused all his attention on Eriri, did not notice something, which was the gradually subtle emotions in the heart of the girl named Yamada Ryo.

Chapter 76: Hongxia's mother's speech therapy service

Ijichi Kouka and Yamada Ryo are close friends who understand each other perfectly. They can understand each other without having to confirm with each other.

Although the two people with different personalities always have some minor frictions in their daily interactions, it does not affect their feelings for each other at all. The two people who know each other's likes and dislikes can master this delicate balance and walk hand in hand in a friendly and intimate manner - at least before the boy named Ming Hai Tetsu appeared, such a relationship was limited to the two of them.

"To be honest, I was a little jealous when you and Narumi-kun got closer and closer, Ryo... but I felt that it was a bit lame, so I didn't want to show it. Besides, it would only embarrass you."

Brilliant neon lights lit up in the city shrouded in darkness, and there were still endless streams of people coming and going on the streets of the metropolis in the evening - Ijichi Hongxia withdrew her gaze from the transparent window, with a somewhat intriguing smile on her face.

"But now it seems that the situation is not that simple" - Hongxia was very tactful and did not elaborate on this sentence.

The blue-haired girl sitting opposite her with a straw in her mouth looked up and tilted her head nonchalantly while enjoying her low-sugar milk tea.

"What's the problem? Xiao Hai is special, but Hong Xia, you are special to me too."

Yamada Ryo shook the glass in his hand and used extremely sincere yet powerful words to calm the uneasiness expressed by Hongxia.

"The reason why Xiao Hai and I have a good relationship is because he occasionally treats me to meals and drinks like you, Hong Xia. Thank you very much for your friendly sponsorship of Miss Yamada."

"Basically, more than half of the time, we are forced to treat, including me and Narumi-kun."

Hongxia knew very well that this guy was hinting that he wanted to get something for free, so she didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She knew Yamada too well and didn't care about it anymore.

"But, I always feel a little bit like that - um."

Ms. Hongxia took a sip of her tea and started to be mysterious. Ms. Yamada couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in confusion. If she was an NPC in the game world, she would have a big question mark on her forehead.

"Hongxia, what do you want to say? Riddler, get out of Shimokitazawa. Hmm, I'm a genius for this unintentional single bet."

"Okay Ryo, you are indeed a genius, but listen to me carefully."

If she kept the topic in suspense any longer, the current topic would definitely be diverted by Yamada's mysterious train of thought, so Hongxia simply stopped beating around the bush and stated her thoughts straight away.

"Just now, Ryo, you said that both Narumi-kun and I are special to you..."

"Why, Hongxia, do you doubt the true extent of my feelings for you? I'm so sad."

Ms. Yamada took out a hand towel that appeared from nowhere and wiped away the non-existent tears from the corners of her eyes.

"I have no doubt. I believe that the friendship between Ryo and I is real. But... do you think you and Narumi-kun are the same as us?"

Hong Xia blinked and finally asked the question that she had always been concerned about.

"?"

But Yamada tilted his head in confusion, as if he didn't understand what she meant.

"In other words, are the "special" between me and Narumi-kun to you... "special" in the same sense?"

Hongxia thought she had hinted it very clearly - no, it could be said that she had made it explicit.

"Hongxia's words are so obscure and hard to understand."

"Because if this "special" doesn't have the same meaning, I won't be jealous of Narumi-kun at all."

"...?"

Ryo Yamada is a maverick. She is not afraid of socializing, but she can't say she likes it either. Therefore, her social circle is unexpectedly small.

For a long time, Ichichi Kouka felt that she was "the one" for Ryo - in every way.

The only best friend, the only partner, the only person who understands each other.

Therefore, when Hongxia found out that she had been getting closer and closer to the curly-haired boy who was working at the venue, she was actually a little disappointed.

If Ryo and Narumi had become close because they had developed feelings for each other, Hongxia could still let it go. Although she hated the idea that "there must be something fishy going on when a man and a woman get too close", she would be more accepting if that was the case.

Hongxia looked at the confused Yamada, and even though she still didn't seem to understand what she meant, her eyes were still gentle and peaceful.

"Ryo, you are surprisingly slow in a place like this."

"What do you mean? I really don't know."

Miss Liang frowned and racked her brains but couldn't figure out the reason - seeing this, Hong Xia just smiled softly.

"I know, Mingming Liang, you always have a unique way of taking care of other people's emotions, but you always ignore your own true feelings."

From this point of view, it was normal for her to not be able to sense any feelings for the boy.

"Have you never thought of another possibility? The fact that you get along so well with Narumi-kun may not be the same as when you get along with me - what if it's not out of friendship?"

"Ah, I know that. Xiao Hai and I always debate on who is the father of whom."

"It's not about the process where friendship suddenly turns into family affection..."

Hongxia's mother held her forehead with her hand in a troubled look. She found that her friend was really nascent in terms of feelings.

"How about this... Let me ask you this in another way. How does Ryo feel when he's with Narumi-kun? How does he feel when he's with me?"