People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

As he watched Chihaya Aine's retreating figure disappear into the distance, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind: back at school, this girl had confidently declared, "Believe it or not, I'll race you right now, and you still won't be able to catch me!"

Okay (╯▽╰) Yuuki Superman, you win.

His previously hurried pace involuntarily slowed, even becoming somewhat leisurely. Oh well, with Aine's superhuman athleticism and determination, she'd definitely catch up with Takamatsu Akira; there was no need for him to waste his time.

As I strolled leisurely out of the karaoke bar, a cool evening breeze brushed against my face.

Ishikawa Mayu raised her eyes, and just after crossing the zebra crossing, Aine had successfully grabbed Takamatsu Akari's wrist.

With Chihaya Aine around, I don't have to worry about these chase scenes at all.

However, before the thought could even finish, the two seemed to exchange a few brief words, and Takamatsu Akari actually bowed deeply to Aine.

Immediately afterwards, as if emerging from the shadows in an instant, a girl with long, straight black hair suddenly inserted herself between the two, her movements incredibly fast.

She shielded Takamatsu behind her, separating her from Aine. Her profile was taut, and her posture clearly conveyed both protection and hostility.

Ishikawa Mayu frowned slightly and subconsciously quickened her pace.

At that moment, Aine and the girl were facing off. The next moment, Takamatsu Akari suddenly turned around and ran away without looking back.

The black-haired girl immediately tried to chase after her, but Aine, realizing what was happening, instinctively grabbed her arm.

"You were chasing after the light just now, weren't you?"

Shiina Tatsuki crossed her arms and looked at Chihaya Aine with displeasure.

"I only chased after her because she ran away; I just invited her to form a band."

"You invited the Light Group band?" Shiina Riki's attitude grew even colder.

Chihaya Aine was also a little confused, but seeing how rude this guy was, she immediately retorted.

"So what? How can you talk like that..."

"It's rotten to the core..."

"what happened?"

Ishikawa Mayu stepped steadily into the slightly tense space between the two, just enough to stop the girl from pressing towards Chihaya Aine.

The girl didn't say anything more, but just glanced coldly at Ishikawa Mayu and Chihaya Aine before turning and leaving.

"Don't go! We haven't explained things clearly yet!" Chihaya Aine wanted to chase after her to argue.

"Do you still want to keep arguing with others?" Ishikawa Mayu said helplessly, gently pressing Chihaya Aine's shoulder to stop her impulsive actions.

Just then, a gentle and familiar voice came from the side: "What happened?"

Ishikawa Mayu and Chihaya Aine turned their heads at the same time, only to see Nagasaki Motoyo standing not far away, her face showing a mixture of concern and doubt.

Her gaze shifted between Ishikawa Mayu and the retreating figure of the black-haired girl who stormed off, before finally settling on Chihaya Aine.

"Ah! No, it's nothing serious!" Chihaya Aine immediately put on a smile, waved her hand hastily, and subconsciously tried to slip away, realizing that such an embarrassing scene had been seen by a passerby.

"Well, we have something to do, so we'll head back now..."

Before she could finish speaking, she noticed that Ishikawa Mayu didn't join her in smoothing things over and leaving. Instead, she stood there and greeted Nagasaki Motoyo, "Motoyo-san, what a coincidence..."

Nagasaki Motoyo nodded slightly to Ishikawa Mayu, her tone familiar: "So... you went out to play too."

Chihaya Aine then belatedly realized that this gentle and suddenly appearing female classmate had just asked, "What happened?"

It seemed the question wasn't directed at him, but at Ishikawa Mayu. He'd actually interrupted her and tried to brush it off… How embarrassing!

She subconsciously lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her hair, trying to hide her slight embarrassment.

However, her intense curiosity quickly overcame her embarrassment.

Who is this girl who seems to know Ishikawa Mayu quite well? What is their relationship? Mayu greeted her so naturally, as if they were old friends…

Ultimately, her gossip-loving spirit prevailed over the urge to run away. Chihaya Aine decided to stay put and observe the situation.

She quietly moved half a step behind Ishikawa Mayu, tidying her hair which had been messed up while running. At the same time, she pricked up her ears, and her silver-gray eyes couldn't help but curiously look back and forth between Ishikawa Mayu and the strange girl.

Don't stir up trouble.jpg

Chapter Thirty: The Meeting of Ai Yin and Su Shi

"I was going to tell you this, but you sent it to me on Line first..."

For some reason, Ishikawa Mayu was sweating profusely. Even though Su Shi's face still had the same gentle smile as always, he vaguely sensed a strange killing intent.

Anyway, let's introduce ourselves first.

"Aine, let me introduce you. This is my downstairs neighbor, Nagasaki Motoyo."

"Honorable..."

Nagasaki Motoyo looked at Chihaya Aine and greeted her very politely.

Of course, Ishikawa Mayu wouldn't be so thoughtless as to tell her to stop using the consonant.

"Suyo-kun, this is my classmate and friend, Chihaya Aine."

"Hello, Momo-san (*'▽｀)ノノ" Chihaya Aine jumped out energetically. She had just noticed the school badge on Nagasaki Momo-san's body. "Excuse me, are you a student at Tsuki no Mori? That girls' school?"

“Yes,” Nagasaki Motoyo nodded politely, but her mind was clearly not on Chihaya Aine at the moment. Noticing that Aine seemed to want to continue asking questions, she immediately interrupted, “Chihaya-san, did you... make plans to hang out today?”

Ishikawa Mayu lowered his head, somewhat hesitant to speak, as if he could feel the sharp gaze from Nagasaki Motoyo.

"Mmm, just call me Aine," Chihaya Aine replied energetically, completely oblivious to the subtle shift in the atmosphere.

"Mayu and I are forming a band. Today, to recruit new members, we went to karaoke with another classmate. Unfortunately, that classmate left halfway through..."

She spoke with a slightly downcast expression, her lips pursed slightly.

Mayu-kun...? Forming a band...?

Nagasaki Motoyo's smile remained flawless, but her fingers, gripping the bag strap, tightened and turned slightly white.

Have their relationship gotten so close that they can call each other by their first names? And they're even planning to form a band...?

But he still only called him Ishikawa-kun...

Nagasaki Motoyo took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice gentle, as if it were just a casual remark.

"Aine and... Mayu-kun have a really good relationship."

Eh?

Ishikawa Mayu hesitated and raised her head. This seemed to be the first time that Suze had called her name.

"Hehe, Zhenyu and I were classmates for three years in junior high school. I never thought we would sit together in Haneoka."

Chihaya Aine smiled foolishly, completely forgetting the horror she felt when she first transferred in and saw an old classmate in the class.

Actually, we weren't familiar with each other at all during the three years of junior high.

Seeing her cheerful expression, Ishikawa Mayu couldn't help but pour cold water on her enthusiasm.

A voice from the depths of his being told that if he didn't pour cold water on himself, he would be doomed.

"It's really too much for you to say that, Mayu-san! I at least came to you when I was collecting the homework!" Chihaya Aine crossed her arms and turned her head away, clearly a little dissatisfied.

"Besides, if we hadn't been classmates in junior high, our relationship wouldn't be like this now~"

That's true.

If it weren't for the fact that he had leverage over her studying abroad, Ishikawa Mayu would probably still be that vampire hiding in a corner, unable to see the sunlight.

Given Chihaya Aine's personality, she most likely won't approach him.

"Oh, right."

Nagasaki Motoyo glanced at the darkening sky, then changed the subject with a smile, as if the previous conversation had been nothing more than casual small talk.

"It's already this late, you haven't had dinner yet, have you..."

“Hmm,” Chihaya Aine touched her stomach and nodded honestly, “I was too busy finding people and singing.”

"When I received your message before, I thought you were cooking at home now." Nagasaki Motoyo turned to look at Ishikawa Mayu, her tone casual.

Ishikawa Mayu smiled awkwardly, realizing she was in the wrong.

If you were to put yourself in Nagasaki Motoyo's shoes, you'd probably think that you never intended to prepare dinner for her today, and that going out with such a pretty girl was definitely a case of being blinded by beauty.

"Eh, really?!" Chihaya Aine looked at Ishikawa Mayu in surprise as if she had discovered something new. "Mayu-kun can cook? Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Ha...haha...I guess so." Ishikawa Mayu chuckled dryly, feeling sweat welling up on his forehead.

Nagasaki Motoyo seemed oblivious to his embarrassment, and continued in her gentle yet unyielding tone...

"I was planning to eat with some friends, but it looks like that plan is off." She sighed softly, with just the right amount of helplessness. "Since you haven't eaten yet, how about we stick to the 'same old way'?"

What could Ishikawa Mayu say? She could only nod reluctantly and say, "...Okay."

"The usual?" Chihaya Aine blinked curiously, her gaze sweeping between the two of them as if she were hiding something. "What do you mean by 'the usual'?"

Nagasaki Motoyo then seemed to just remember to explain, turning her head slightly to look at Chihaya Aine, her tone indifferent, as if she were talking about something trivial.

“Mr. Zhenyu and I usually take turns cooking dinner, and today it just so happens to be his turn.”

Chihaya Aine's smile instantly stiffened, no longer as bright and natural as before.

So their relationship has gotten so good that they can share their daily meals so naturally?

An inexplicable sense of loss crept into her heart, making her feel a little depressed. This feeling, which she had never experienced before, was so strange.

Hate.

“I see…” she replied softly, trying to maintain her smile, but it sounded somewhat forced. “It sounds… really good.”

She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her hair, and remained silent for a few seconds, as if she were quickly thinking about something.

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she abruptly raised her head, forcing a smile back onto her face: "Ah! Right! I suddenly remembered, my mom said that dinner would be prepared at home for me to eat when I get back! It's getting late, I have to hurry back!"

Ishikawa Mayu reached out her hand, wanting to stop her, but looking at her back, she could only utter the word "goodbye" in a low voice.

The streets suddenly fell silent, with only the sound of the evening wind and the traffic noise remaining.

Nagasaki Motoyo stood quietly to the side, taking in the slightly disappointed look on Ishikawa Mayu's face, a complex emotion flashing across her blue eyes.

Ishikawa Mayu turned around and met Su Shi's gaze.

Seemingly to dispel the lingering awkwardness and inexplicable melancholy, he forced a slightly casual smile, half-jokingly.

"Speaking of which, this is the first time that Su Shi has called me 'Makoto-kun'? I was really startled just now."

Nagasaki Motoyo turned her head slightly, looking a little embarrassed.

"Rather than that, it was too formal of me to keep calling you 'Ishikawa-kun' all this time. After all... we're already so close."

Ishikawa Mayu smiled but didn't reply, which was taken as tacit agreement.

Su Shi's attitude was subtly different today, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

Seeing that he didn't object, Nagasaki Motoyo felt much better and softly suggested, "It's getting late, let's go back together?"

Ishikawa Mayu shook her head and pointed to the parking area not far away.

"My motorcycle is still parked there, I need to ride it back first. I might be a little faster here, Su Shi, why don't you take the tram back first? Be careful on the road."

Although the car could carry two people, Ishikawa Mayu subconsciously ignored this, since it would be too impolite to be too close, and Suze would most likely refuse.

Nagasaki Motoyo glanced at the black motorcycle in the direction he pointed, paused slightly, and a fleeting, almost imperceptible emotion flashed in her eyes, but was quickly replaced by a polite understanding.

"I understand. Then be careful on your way and stay safe."

"Ah, you too."

The two briefly parted ways at the store entrance.

Nagasaki Motoyo turned and walked towards the tram stop, her steps graceful, her silhouette appearing exceptionally slender in the deepening twilight. Ishikawa Mayu, on the other hand, walked to her motorcycle, the roar of its engine soon filling the air as she merged into the traffic.

They headed in the same direction, but chose different paths to leave.

Chapter 31: Ai Yin’s Resentment

Chihaya Aine practically stumbled home.

After exchanging a perfunctory greeting with her mother, she rushed into her room, tossed her schoolbag onto the carpet, and sprawled out on the bed in a spread-eagle position.

"Well……"