Can Lixi look at me alone?

The drummer, who hadn't seen her all day, patted her on the back to help her catch her breath. The leisurely time without having to think about trivial matters made the atmosphere between the two of them somewhat warm.

"Um... I went to help my parents with some things."

She told a little lie without batting an eye.

"Oh, I see. By the way, we're going to karaoke to sing for Akari during the next practice session. Crychic's first live performance is coming up soon too. Yuzuki needs to keep up with the practice too..."

Although I feel that the ones who need the most practice are the lantern and the so-called Souse, I'll still talk to Yuzuki about it.

"Got it, Lixi-chan, keep it up!"

She secretly touched the beauty mark with her finger.

"No sneak attacks!"

Li Xi-chan is really...so cute...

How much longer until I can be with Riki-chan? I want it to be soon... much sooner...

She tentatively reached out and took Lixi's hand, but he didn't react.

She wanted to take it a step further and hold hands with him on the street, but Lixi shook off her hand as if she had been electrocuted.

The girl's bright red earlobes revealed her panicked state of mind, but this simple and crude action was like a bucket of cold water poured over Yuzuki's head.

It's okay... It's okay, it's just that Riki-chan can't accept it yet. Although the relationship is developing slowly, it's very solid...!

That's enough, Yuzuki... Be patient. One day, Riki-chan will see it...

After struggling to convince herself to believe Ritsuki-chan, Yuzuki gave up the idea of ​​continuing to hold Ritsuki's hand. She followed the drummer's increasingly rapid footsteps with some difficulty…

"...Ah, we've arrived. Yuzuki..."

Lixi blushed slightly and patted the security door, signaling Jieyue to come up and open it.

"I won't stay a while longer today; I need to start preparing for my first live performance. Xiangzi and I are composing the music together, and the lyrics for 'The Lamp' are ready..."

Lixi-chan talks a lot about bands like this.

But, isn't the band taking up a bit of my and Lixi's time together?

"Hmm... Does Riki-chan not need my help with cooking today?"

Yuzuki, wanting to try again, was rejected and had no choice but to say goodbye before retreating alone to her little sanctuary...

If Riki-chan stopped playing in the band, would she be able to spend more time with me?

A somewhat dangerous idea popped into her head, but she quickly dismissed it.

If Riki-chan leaves like this, there's no point in me staying any longer... But won't Xiaodeng, Xiaomu, and Soyo be sad? You really need to explain things clearly before leaving the group... but even explaining things clearly can be...

She shook her head, letting reason regain control of her intellect.

It's okay, anyway, Lixi-chan hasn't said she wants to leave the team yet, so let's put these things aside for now.

Ah… Little Lantern's konpeito! It'll take another five or six days to be ready, or else…

Should I buy some new ones? Or lie and say I made them myself?

But she really wanted Lixi to try the candy she'd been making for a week, and it would be such a waste to just throw it away...

After adding some more water, Yuzuki left the kitchen with peace of mind.

She had lyrics and a request to compose music from Xiangzi on her phone, but she knew nothing about it.

"Since Yuzuki can play the keyboard, she should also be able to compose music, so I'll have to trouble Yuzuki with that!"

Because I know it, I assume everyone else does too.

can you?

How arrogant...

"Yes, I'll try my best. But Xiao Xiang, have you thought of a name for this song yet?"

Faced with Xiangzi's invitation, her only way to refuse was to leave it unread, but now it's too late...

"How about calling it Haruhi Kage?"

Even if you said that Toyokawa Shoko was a big idiot, I wouldn't have a problem with it.

"What a lovely name! Let's call it that!"

Xiangzi rolled over on the soft bed.

"I always feel happy chatting with Yuzuki! Yuzuki probably feels the same way, right? Me, Mutsu, Soyo, Kodama, Yuzuki, and Riki all feel that playing in a band is fun, so that means..."

Playing in a band for a lifetime!

lifetime!

Now I can properly respond to Xiaodeng's request...

……

"Mu, when was the last practice session? I need to make things clear with them and draw a clear line."

Xiangzi lay on her small bed, looking at her phone wearily, waiting for Qingmei to tell her the information.

"There's no more practice."

Mu's way of speaking is really...

"I know everyone will be unhappy without me. But I..."

"It's over. The band is gone."

Third place with 10,000 units per day!

Volume 1 Crychic! Chapter 30: Shiina Tatsuki, the Yakuza Heiress

Yuzuki scooped up a spoonful of crystallized sugar granules, following the instructions on how to make them... Next, she needed to add the sugar syrup that the lamp had made herself, while waiting for them to gradually grow larger.

It just doesn't look colorful enough for some reason, and can't compare to the packaged candies bought in supermarkets.

Between adding food coloring and buying some other colored konpeito to mix in, she chose the latter.

After all, I've never used food coloring before...

As Yuzuki poured sugar water into the automatic drip once more, she awkwardly discovered that the small amount of liquid from the lamp was simply not enough…

"...This is really troublesome."

She personally boiled the rock sugar to speed up the production process.

……

When I get up in the morning, I check if there's enough sugar water. If not, I make more. I also check it before going to bed at night.

Lixi-chan won't let me stay up late... so I guess I'll leave the music arrangement to Xiaoxiang. What about the bento boxes? If Lixi-chan doesn't allow me to make bento boxes either...

I still have to stay up late tonight...

"Yukatsuki, what are you thinking about!"

Lixi patted her head. Jieyue, whose dark circles were no longer visible, seemed even more dazed than before. Lixi didn't understand why she always stared at her blankly, but she was happy that at least…

Yuzuki won't rely on coffee to stay up all night to make bento boxes for her by harming her own body.

"Sorry, Riki-chan... I'm thinking about what to make for everyone's bento boxes tonight..."

After a moment of silence, Lixi opened her lunchbox.

"No need, they should go home for dinner tonight. We'll just make enough for the two of us..."

Enough for the two of us…

Lixi-chan treats me like one of her own!

I made a little progress again today...

Is this what they call making progress day by day, even if it's just a small step?

Jieyue got up from the table and stretched to relieve her aches and pains.

She doesn't need to practice these past few days, giving her plenty of time to enjoy sweet moments with Riki-chan.

Oh, I also need to make konpeito for Kodama.

She took a sip of the miso soup that Lixi had made, somewhat annoyed...

Hmm... this is a bit bad.

This wasn't her usual large lunchbox; this one was only enough for one person... Looking at the half-full bowl of soup left, she put the lunchbox down.

"I'm done eating. Thank you for your treat, Lixi-chan!"

Lixi stood up, swallowed the food in her mouth, and pulled Jieyue back from washing the dishes.

"Tell me honestly, why are you eating so little? Did you sneak into the kitchen again? You start acting up as soon as I leave?"

With her arms crossed, Miss Drummer began her interrogation.

"Forehead…"

Yuzuki didn't understand the deeper meaning behind Ritsuki's question, but the answer certainly wasn't, "Ritsuki, you made too little. I'm afraid you won't have enough to eat."

How should I answer that...?

"Jieyue, come with me to buy some things."

Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and an unfamiliar voice sounded behind her.

Who would call me that?

Hachiman Kairin waved her hand in front of her eyes, and when she realized that she had come to her senses, she immediately gave her a wink.

"I'll go wait for you outside, hurry up!"

It's the one from yesterday...

Are you going out with... her?

Lixi loosened his grip, quickly turned around, and asked her with his back to her.

So that person really is Yuzuki's friend?

So you only ate this much because you're going out to eat with her later, right?

But this should be Jieyue's freedom; I have no reason to supervise her...

Suppressing her strange emotions, Li Xi forced a smile and reached out to tap the head of the bewildered girl.

"Hurry up and go, don't keep your friend waiting for so long."

In any case, I'm still grateful to this classmate for getting me out of that predicament... otherwise, she really wouldn't know how to answer Lixi's test.

The pink-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief and left the classroom, following Hailing's footsteps.

"Excuse me... what's your name? Do we know each other?"

What was her name again? Li Xi-chan should have mentioned it, but her mind wasn't on that at all... so she forgot.

Hai Ling winked her left eye and naturally walked alongside her.

"It's Hachiman Kairin from the next class, and Chika Yuzuki-san. I'm sorry I called you by your name directly earlier."

Didn't that girl who didn't seem very approachable tell Chika her name? There seems to be a bit of awkwardness between them...

"Hmm, Hachiman-kun. It's nice to meet you..."

I almost got hated by Riki-chan... all thanks to her help...

"I overheard Shiina and Chika having a disagreement when I was passing by, so I did this on my own. I hope it didn't cause Chika any trouble?"

Hai Ling simply dropped the "classmate" suffix, and in contrast... Jie Yue also dropped the suffix.

"...There's no contradiction. Riki-chan is just a little concerned about me..."

The tea-green eyes blinked at her curiously.

"Chika and Shiina are really good friends."

Are those rumors true? Is Chika Yuzuki being bullied, threatened, and mistreated by the daughter of a yakuza gangster?