Tokyo: Idol Girls have absolutely no bad intentions!

Her lips were pressed into a tight line, and she exuded a silent yet extremely oppressive low pressure.

She stood there quietly, watching Ito, without angry questions or aggrieved complaints, simply locking onto him with her cold, purple eyes.

"Senior, look at you like this..."

Chapter 187 The Bassist's Unfortunate Curse

"Is it true that as long as Asada-senpai isn't around, everyone else is just a dispensable background figure to you?! You can't even be bothered to give them a perfunctory response?!"

She took a step forward, like an enraged Persian cat.

"On the way here, did you even listen to a single word I said? I talked about Fujikawa-senpai's embarrassing moments, I talked about Tanaka's recent situation, I talked about the student council president's strange behavior... Did you hear me? Your eyes, your thoughts, weren't on me at all!"

"Do you think I really care about those things?" Mori's voice was unusually calm, as calm as a sponge before a storm.

But this calm lasted only a fleeting moment. Then, the tranquil ice surface shattered abruptly, and her voice suddenly rose:

"You even bring other women on dates? Senior, do you have some kind of weird and disgusting sense of humor?!"

What? Faced with Mori's question, Ito stood there stunned.

Mori suddenly turned around, and without the slightest hesitation, reached out his hand with lightning speed towards the dimly lit street corner behind him.

"Tap, tap!" Two very faint, hurried footsteps came from around the corner, as if someone was trying to run away.

"Come out here!" Mori's voice was cold and commanding, leaving no room for argument.

Her movements were incredibly fast; she pulled hard with her arm, her actions even bordering on the violent.

A figure staggered out of the shadows around the corner, exposed to the twilight and Ito's shocked gaze.

The person who was dragged out by the wrist, as if caught red-handed as a criminal, was none other than—Iketani Rin!

The bassist, with her wildly dyed wolf-tail hair, showed no embarrassment at being caught red-handed. Instead, she acted like the queen, staring blankly at Ito in front of Mori.

"Skillful!" She waved and nodded to Ito.

This is not a coincidence at all; don't try to get away with it.

He squinted at Ikeya Rin. Now that he had caught her red-handed, things would be much easier from here on out.

"Senior, now, please, give me, an, explanation!"

Mori spoke slowly and deliberately, even though it should have been Ito's time to apologize and atone for his sins, yet he was flirting with her right in front of her.

They really think of her as a pushover like Asada Sakura!

The light cast long shadows of the three of them. Mori wanted to continue speaking, but Ito suddenly took his hand.

"Mori, let's find a place first." Ito observed the crowd around them. "We can explain everything slowly."

“After all…” Ito paused, “you’re my girlfriend, can you… trust me?”

boom--!

The moment the words left his mouth, Mori's mind went completely blank.

All the anger, resentment, and pain of being ignored were shattered at this moment by this "girlfriend declaration"!

Since that's what they've said, what else can I do?

“Well, well… alright then,” Mori lowered his head, “I’ll listen to your excuses a little.”

His ability to think seemed to be gradually fading. Mori glanced smugly at Iketani Rin and raised his eyebrows provocatively.

She had already released Ikeya Rin's wrist, letting Ito hold it tightly.

Meanwhile, Rin Iketani, who was left standing aside, didn't show much emotion when she heard the word "girlfriend".

On the contrary, Mori's provocation caused a very subtle crack to appear in her expression.

The three arrived at a relatively quiet family restaurant in front of the station, while the dessert shop that Ito had mentioned earlier already had a long queue.

It's incredibly popular and has a high rating on Google, which is why Ito knew about it.

I've seen related content not only on Twitter, but also on some Instagram influencers.

Asada... he'd definitely like a place like this, right?

Ito's gaze was unconsciously drawn to the long queue, and the image of the other person being unable to resist desserts flashed through his mind.

“If you have time next time,” Mori followed Ito’s gaze and immediately caught his thought, deliberately moving closer to Ito, “I can go eat with you, senpai.”

"Or... could we stay until late, and go after everyone has left?"

Her words were full of implications and possessiveness.

Ito turned his gaze away from the window, gave a soft "hmm," and tapped the table with the back of his fingers.

“Now we can talk, Ikeya-kun.”

Rin Iketani, who was sipping her sparkling water with tiny, hamster-like mouths, looked up at the sound of the voice, then quickly and almost habitually lowered her eyes again to stare at the rising and bursting bubbles in the glass.

That's very impolite.

"Rin Iketani, explain yourself. Why have you been following us ever since we came out of the activity room? And what were you doing hiding around the corner earlier?"

Ito tried to make his tone sound gentle.

The expected silence.

Rin Iketani pursed her lips even tighter, her gaze still fixed on the glass, as if the bubbles contained the truth of the universe.

Just as Mori's face began to show impatience and she was about to put pressure on him, she very naturally pushed the sparkling water glass aside and then reached out her hand to Mori.

After all, having to listen to someone utter each word one by one and then guess like a riddle solver is too torturous.

So people discovered a way to tame wild Iketani Rin: give her a mobile phone that can type.

As for why she didn't use her own, there was absolutely no way to get an answer.

Rin Iketani took the phone and her fingers began to tap rapidly on the cold screen. Her head was slightly lowered, wispy bangs and the ends of her wolf-tail hair falling across her forehead, obscuring most of her expression; only the faint light from the screen reflected in her focused pupils. Her movements were fluid and graceful, as if she had rehearsed them a thousand times.

The only sound in the corner of the restaurant was the crisp, rhythmic tapping of her fingers on the screen. The sound seemed particularly jarring in the slightly stagnant air, filled with a breathtaking suspense—what would she actually say?

Ito and Mori involuntarily held their breath, their eyes fixed on the screen in her hands.

Mori even unconsciously tightened his grip on Ito's hand, a mixture of curiosity and barely perceptible tension. Ito, meanwhile, was completely focused, waiting for Iketani Rin to unravel the mystery of the stalking with her words.

Finally, the knocking stopped.

Rin Iketani looked up, her face still expressionless, but turned her phone screen toward Ito and Mori, her movements swift and decisive, as if submitting irrefutable evidence.

On the screen, a line of clear text was displayed.

"It's not stalking. It's observation. Observing you."

The text is very brief.

This didn't surprise Ito. Given Ikeya Rin's personality, she certainly didn't seem like the type to do something as sneaky as "stalking."

But "observation"?

This is just a slightly more palatable way of saying it; it's still just as unsettling.

"So why are you observing me?" Ito asked in a calm voice. "What's your purpose?"

Silence, long silence.

It's like an old, worn-out machine suddenly malfunctioning and going on strike; the other person's slender fingers rest on the phone, hesitant to make any further move.

Just then, the waiter at the family restaurant brought out the extra-large portion of fries that Mori always orders.

The golden potato fries were piled up like a small mountain, emitting the irresistible aroma unique to fried food, and served with a dish of bright red ketchup.

Potatoes with tomato sauce—Morikami firmly believes this is one of humanity's greatest inventions.

This allowed Mori to temporarily forget all his troubles.

"I can't say that, is that right?" Ito noticed Ikeya Rin's long silence and changed his question.

Rin Iketani nodded very slightly.

"Then..." Ito pressed on, trying to pry open a crack in the door, "Did someone arrange for you to come? You can tell me that now, right?"

Silence reigned as Iketani Rin stared intently at the fries placed in front of Ito and his companion.

Ito noticed this action and tentatively picked up one of the more intact and slender pieces, slowly putting it into his mouth.

They're no different from regular fries, and even worse than other brands.

No salt and pepper, just the original flavor.

The moment he chewed, Iketani Rin's fingers seemed to be released from their seal, rapidly tapping on the phone screen.

She quickly turned the screen towards Ito, where it clearly displayed:

"Can I eat this?"

If you want to eat it yourself, you can do it yourself. This super-sized portion of fries is meant to be shared by everyone, and the cost can be split equally at the end.

What really struck Ito as odd was the way and the timing of her question.

So what is the other party worried about? Because they are too well-mannered and need to ask for others' opinions before doing anything.

A person capable of "observation" is unlikely to be that well-mannered.

Therefore, only one possibility remains...

The moment this thought entered Ito's mind, it even frightened him.

"You..." Ito's expression turned more serious than ever before, "Could it be that you're out of money?!"

He "mercifully" agreed to pay for the butterfly bass, which cost 230 million yen, in installments.

But if you can't even sustain a twelve-month installment plan... then you shouldn't have made that risky deal in the first place!

It's too early to draw conclusions now.

Maybe...maybe she just wanted to eat fries? But that reason seemed so weak and unconvincing to Rin Iketani.

Ito stared intently at Ikeya Rin, trying to find a trace of confirmation or rebuttal in her perpetually unchanging poker face.

Under Ito's intense gaze, Rin Iketani's fingers hovered above the phone screen once more, seemingly engaged in some silent struggle. A few seconds later, she lowered her head, her fingertips typing out new words heavily at a much slower pace than before.

This time, she didn't turn the screen around immediately. She stared at the words she had typed, as if they were some unspeakable verdict.