People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

Given Aine's high need for social interaction, she naturally wouldn't like a small club like the Astronomy Club, which only has one...two people.

She would definitely prefer someone who is more active and can interact with many people.

The reason I joined the Astronomy Club was because of President Light's unrestricted "freedom of attendance" agreement and the absolutely quiet environment...

He was about to type out the Astronomy Department's "advantages" when Ai-yin's next message popped up quickly, her tone seemingly having adjusted herself:

Well... since she's in the same club as Akari, that seems pretty good, right? At least Mayu seems to get along with her quite well? (￣ω￣;)

[So, so! Is there even more hope for recruiting Deng to join the team?! (★ω★)]

Things have come full circle again. Ishikawa Mayu lamented inwardly that she was about to be manipulated by Aine again, but hiding the truth was not her style.

[Actually... I almost made Akari cry just now, and I only agreed to let her join the Astronomy Club as an apology, so things might be going badly for the band.]

【ha?】

Mayu Ishikawa could almost picture Chihaya Aine staring wide-eyed at the screen, her face a picture of shock that seemed to say, "Say that again?"

[Deng used to be in a band, but it disbanded for some reason. This affected her a lot; she gets very down whenever I mention bands.]

[As you know, someone like me with a darker side is completely incapable of comforting girls... It's definitely someone like you, Aine-sama, with a more positive outlook, who can be relied upon and attract teammates.]

【I see, I thought you'd done something bad, Mayu-san!】Aine's reply carried a sense of sudden realization and sympathy, but her tone immediately brightened. 【At times like these, she needs a sunny and cheerful girl like me to heal her! Don't worry about her, Mayu-san! (?o?o)??】

Ishikawa Mayu could almost picture Aine standing tall with a smug look on her face, as if she had "I've got this covered."

He was about to reply with "Don't push yourself too hard" when Ai Yin's next message came through, her tone filled with undisguised joy at being relied upon and a touch of boastfulness:

[And also~ the reason Mayu-kun specifically came to tell me all this is because she thinks I'm better at handling these kinds of things, right? Hmph, finally realizing my importance? ?(????)]

【Yes, yes, I really can't leave Aine-sama!】Ishikawa Mayu practically rolled her eyes as she sent this message, her fingers moving with a hint of self-abandonment.

On the other side of the screen, Chihaya Aine looked at this straightforward declaration of "surrender" and narrowed her eyes in satisfaction.

【Hehehe (★ω★)】She sent a string of satisfied laughs, then immediately changed the subject, 【Dealing with someone like Deng, brute force definitely won't work! We need to be strategic!】

How to say it?

[Anyway, building a good relationship with her first is definitely the right thing to do! Make her feel that we are trustworthy friends! Golden Week is the perfect opportunity! We can ask her out! (?ω?)]

"Go out and play?" Ishikawa Mayu repeated subconsciously, trying to imagine the scene.

He himself, plus the overly energetic Chihaya Aine, and then dragging along Takamatsu Akari, who's likely to be so nervous she'll curl up in a ball...

"Yeah! Let's go out and have some fun!" Aine, completely oblivious to his worries, enthusiastically began planning. "How about going to the zoo? Doesn't Akari like things related to nature? It'll definitely be perfect! The atmosphere will be relaxed, maybe we can even start chatting!"

[Aine, I mentioned this to you before,] Ishikawa Mayu looked at Aine's enthusiastic plan on the screen and had to cool her overheated mind down. [I have a personal project to finish recently, so I can't go out during Golden Week.]

After sending the message, he could almost immediately picture Ai Yin's face crumble and the possible sobs of disappointment she might utter.

He touched the back of his neck somewhat apologetically, but the progress of the video could not be delayed.

Sure enough, Ai-yin's reply came a few beats late, and her words conveyed an obvious sense of disappointment:

【How could this happen... (；一_一)】

"[Mayu-kun is such a busy person...]" she muttered under her breath, but quickly recovered, her tone becoming light and slightly indulgent, "[Well, whatever! I just can't do anything with you~]"

[It seems that the important and glorious task of inviting Deng to travel during the Golden Week holiday will require my personal intervention!]

【So, so!】 Her message popped up with an undeniable air of authority: 【Quickly give me Takamatsu's LINE contact! I'll contact her personally to schedule a time! ?(>?)

Ishikawa Mayu subconsciously swiped through her phone's contacts, then suddenly stopped.

and many more……

LINE?

He suddenly recalled everything that happened in the Astronomy Club this afternoon—from looking at the rocks, to being invited to join the club, to walking home with Akari… Throughout the whole process, he seemed, perhaps, probably… never thought about exchanging LINE accounts with Akari Takamatsu!

【…】

He silently typed out a string of ellipses.

Aiyin, on the other end of the screen, seemed to sense something and sent a tilted-head emoji with a question mark.

Ishikawa Mayu took a deep breath, and with an almost tragic feeling, typed out her reply:

[...I forgot to ask her for her LINE.]

The chat interface fell into a deathly silence the moment the message was successfully sent.

A few seconds later, as if preparing for a volcanic eruption, a series of messages exploded and instantly filled Ishikawa Mayu's entire screen.

【Eh——————————？！？！(?Д?≡?Д?)！！！！】

[You didn't add her on LINE?! You spent the whole afternoon with Deng! You even joined the same club! And you didn't even add her on LINE?!?!]

Ishikawa Mayu, are you a caveman?! Did you just come out of the deepest mountains and forests?! (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻！！！！】

Ishikawa Mayu shrank her shoulders, even seeming a little hesitant to look at her phone.

"...In that situation, the atmosphere was so heavy, I was so focused on how to comfort her and stop her from crying that I exhausted all my energy, I didn't have time to think about anything else..."

[I absolutely refuse to accept this excuse! (〃＞目＜)! You idiot, Mayu! You're hopeless!]

"Hey, is there any way to salvage this situation now?" Ishikawa Mayu asked weakly, trying to make a last-ditch effort.

【There's no other way!】Aine's rejection was crisp and decisive. 【Golden Week has already started, we can't just rush to her house now to ask for her LINE! We don't even know where she lives, let's wait until after the holiday!】

This was followed by an emoji of an angry rabbit slamming a door shut, which completely ended the conversation.

The chat interface finally fell completely silent.

"I've been rejected by Aine," Ishikawa Mayu sighed.

Just as he was about to put his phone away and go home feeling frustrated, the screen suddenly lit up again.

Unless—! (￢?￢)

A cat emoji with a sly smile jumped out first, instantly dispelling the previous dull atmosphere.

The following line of text instantly changed the tone from "resolute" to one tinged with a hint of expectation:

[...Would you be willing to tell me right now what instrument you've chosen so mysteriously, that's a 'more reliable choice' than a bassist?]

Otherwise, I'll just have to spend this Golden Week holiday with this longing for my teammates and resentment towards that certain unhelpful classmate, okay? (。o︿o。)

Upon seeing the message, Ishikawa Mayu was almost immediately amused by the unexpected turn of events, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up.

The slight annoyance I felt earlier vanished instantly, replaced by a wry smile of "I knew it would be like this" and a subtle sense of happiness at being remembered.

He deliberately lingered for a few seconds, whetting the other person's appetite, before slowly typing a reply.

Oh? You really want to know?

【I just can't do anything with you, it's a violin~】

Chapter Twenty: A Maternal Outburst

The word "violin" was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a tidal wave on Chihaya Aine's side.

The LINE notification sounds were almost a continuous stream, and various exclamation marks, emoticons, and excited follow-up questions flashed across the screen at high speed.

As expected, it turned out this way.

Ishikawa Mayu leaned against the motorcycle, feeling a sudden headache coming on.

That's why I didn't want to tell her before...

The reaction from these fervent fans, like at a meet-and-greet, was something I simply couldn't handle.

As the sun began to set and the sky gradually darkened, Chihaya Aine's barrage of questions subsided slightly, and the topic finally veered away from "one hundred possibilities for the violin."

"Speaking of which," she said, as if she had just remembered, her tone becoming much more normal, "we were chatting so much that I forgot to ask if you got home yet."

Ishikawa Mayu looked at this belated message of concern and tapped the screen with a hint of resentment:

Thanks to you, I'm still in the school parking lot. I rode my motorcycle home, so I can't chat with you the whole way on the tram like you could, hands free.

The message was marked as read, followed by a brief silence.

【Mayu-kun, you actually ride a motorcycle to school?! Wow, that's amazing!】

【Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't know! I didn't mean to delay your journey home! (;'Д`)】

A cartoon hamster emoji with its hands clasped together, tears welling up in its eyes, desperately apologizing, quickly followed, fully expressing the other party's apology and a little bit of panic.

"It's not a big problem." He reassured her first, then added casually, "..."

Anyway... if I don't want to chat, I'll just read your message and not reply.

However, it's getting late, so I'll log off now.

He turned off the screen, climbed onto the motorcycle, and muttered to himself.

Chatting with this guy, I always feel like there's never enough time.

He shook his head helplessly and twisted the accelerator a little deeper.

The engine roared, and the evening breeze brushed past my ears, but it couldn't dispel the image of that guy chattering in my mind.

It was almost 6:30 when I got home.

Pushing open her own front door, Ishikawa Mayu casually tossed her schoolbag into the entryway and looked into the house with a bitter expression.

For others, going home is the start of a wonderful holiday, but for him, it means the beginning of painful overtime work—the project file for the anniversary video is still on his computer waiting for him to render and export it.

However, before diving into the endless render bars and audio tracks, you should treat yourself first, because you can't keep up with the computer on an empty stomach!

My fingers had just touched the refrigerator door handle when I suddenly stopped.

A thought popped into my head without warning—

Nagasaki Motoyo downstairs, have you eaten dinner yet?

That young lady was still quite ill yesterday. Although her fever has subsided today, given her ability to turn a minor illness into a severe cold, and with her mother not home, could she have just brushed it off again, or perhaps even forgotten to eat dinner?

"Have you eaten?" he sent succinctly, feeling like he was checking up on someone.

The message was marked as read almost instantly.

【not yet】

Nagasaki Motoyo replied to the message very quickly.

Ishikawa Mayu wasn't too surprised; it seemed she'd have to step in again. But the fever had subsided, so she could eat something nice again.

"Then you wait here, I'll get some food."

However, before he could send his message, Su Shi's new message popped up first, and the content was completely unexpected.

【Um... if Ishikawa-kun doesn't mind,

Want to come down and eat together?

I just... cooked some dishes, but haven't started eating yet.

Eh?

Did you cook some dishes? And not just for one person? Should I invite him down to eat with us?

Isn't this a bit of an over-the-top development?

Yesterday she was so ashamed and indignant because he saw her sleeping face and bare feet, but today she actually took the initiative to invite him to dinner?

He glanced subconsciously at the completely dark sky outside the window, then looked down at the tentative invitation on the screen. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind—from "Could it be some kind of weird dish that wants me to be its guinea pig?" to "Could it be that my fever hasn't completely subsided yet?"

But in the end, all these wild guesses were overshadowed by an even stronger curiosity.

I deleted the phrase "wait" from the input box and retyped it.

[Looking forward to it very much]

My fingertips paused for a moment, feeling that these dry words seemed to be missing something.

Remembering the fancy expressions a certain pink-haired guy used when he bombarded him, he casually picked out a less exaggerated cartoon bear emoji with its hands clasped in gratitude and added it to the collection.

As soon as he stepped down the last step, he saw Nagasaki Motoyo already standing gracefully in front of the door, seemingly waiting for him.

At this moment, she was wearing a soft, off-white knit dress that accentuated her slender figure. Her long hair was draped smoothly over her shoulders, and she wore a gentle and dignified smile. Under the warm light of the corridor, she inexplicably exuded a sense of virtuousness.

Ishikawa Mayu was taken aback by the overly warm welcome and felt a little uncomfortable for a moment.

"Good evening, Ishikawa-kun, please come in." Su Shi stepped aside to let him into the house.