People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

"Alright, alright, I didn't say it was your fault."

She smiled and offered a brief defense of her friend, "Lixi... she might be in a bad mood lately, or there might be some misunderstanding. She's not the type to easily lose her temper with strangers, so she probably... didn't mean any harm."

"I never imagined the world was so small, I even ran into your friend here..." Ishikawa Mayu ate a few mouthfuls of rice in silence, and mumbled, "Next time we meet, I'll talk to her properly."

Nagasaki Motoyo smiled, knowing that the topic had been temporarily put aside.

However, another thing that truly concerned her surfaced at this moment.

She gently stirred the soup in the bowl with a spoon, casually bringing it up: "Speaking of which... I heard from Ai Yin this afternoon that you guys are forming a band?"

"Hmm?" Ishikawa Mayu looked up and swallowed the food in her mouth. "Oh, that. It's pretty popular to form bands here in Haneoka, you know. It feels like you're not fitting in if you don't join one. Aine just happened to transfer here and was looking for members, so I joined to make up the numbers."

"However, the biggest problem right now is the lack of players; reliable team members are hard to find."

Ishikawa Mayu rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. The girl she'd finally set her sights on, Takamatsu Akari, had PTSD about forming a band…

Nagasaki Motoyo listened quietly, her fingertips lightly tracing the rim of the bowl.

She did have just a tiny bit of jealousy, really just a tiny bit.

That pink-haired guy could form a band with Ishikawa Mayu, and if that's possible, I could too...

However, this idea was quickly suppressed by another, more persistent desire—crychic.

She still wants to rebuild that community of shared destiny!

Nagasaki Motoyo's gaze returned to Ishikawa Mayu, who was frowning and looking troubled.

She still didn't like this look; a pang of sadness swept through her heart...

"Actually, I've had a little bit of experience with bands before. Maybe... I can help you guys take a look?"

Nagasaki Motoyo looked at Ishikawa Mayu, a gentle smile spreading across her lips.

Ishikawa Mayu's eyes widened slightly, looking somewhat surprised.

"How about tomorrow? How about we meet up with Aine and find a coffee shop to have a good chat? I know a nice place." Nagasaki Motoyo paused, a sly glint in her eyes. "However, in exchange for helping me, Mayu-kun needs to grant me a request."

"No problem."

Ishikawa Mayu nodded almost without hesitation, agreeing readily and decisively.

Seeing his unwavering demeanor, Nagasaki Motoyo's voice carried a hint of coquettishness that she herself was unaware of.

"Aren't you even going to ask what the demands are? What if I'm being unreasonable?"

"I certainly won't make things difficult for Suze-kun's request." Ishikawa Mayu placed a piece of saury into Nagasaki Suze's bowl.

Although he doesn't really like eating fish and always finds picking out the bones too troublesome, Su Shi seems to really like it, so he specially went to learn how to cook it.

"How's the heat today?"

Looking at the fragrant fish in the bowl, and then at his expectant face, Nagasaki Motoyo suddenly felt something gently bump into her heart.

"Shinba-kun...that's too cunning."

First, soften her heart with unreserved trust, then move her with this unintentional thoughtfulness. This makes any subsequent "requests" she makes seem like you're pushing your luck.

Ishikawa Mayu simply smiled and didn't reply.

Nagasaki Motoyo lowered her head, gently stirring the fish in her bowl with her chopsticks. Her voice became softer, yet it reached his ears clearly: "My request is... that when I can't sleep in the future, can Shin-kun play the violin for me again?"

She looked up at him, her gaze gentle. "Just like that night... okay?"

Chapter Thirty-Three: Should I Touch It?

5 month 8 number

Ishikawa Mayu entered the classroom with her schoolbag slung over her shoulder and habitually looked at the person in front of her—after all, she was only familiar with these two in the class, and Aine had arrived even later than her.

Takamatsu was sitting quietly in his seat, head down, fiddling with something in his hands as usual.

Ishikawa Mayu breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Although things didn't go so well yesterday because of the band formation, now that we've returned to our familiar ways, it seems like no one really took it to heart and it won't affect our relationships.

He perked up, stepped forward, and greeted them: "Good morning."

no respond.

However, Ishikawa Mayu didn't care, since he was already used to it—once Akari focused, the sounds from the outside world would be almost completely blocked out.

After putting down his schoolbag, he curiously approached the desk, expecting to see the familiar collection of various small stones. However, this time, what lay on the desk were many Band-Aids.

"They're all penguins."

"Ugh!"

Takamatsu Akari finally snapped out of her little world and looked up to see Ishikawa Mayu standing beside her, curiously staring at her small collection spread out on the table.

She shrank back like a startled animal, her cheeks flushed red, and she explained in a low voice, somewhat embarrassed.

"Because...Aine said...she likes penguins..."

Ishikawa Mayu recalled that yesterday in the Astronomy Club, Aine had indeed said this with a smile when she was choosing band-aids, and Akari had actually remembered it so seriously.

This guy's way of expressing affection is so simple and direct, it's adorably cute.

It seems I don't need to worry; Deng won't hold a grudge about what happened yesterday.

Just as he was feeling a bit sentimental, Gao Songdeng suddenly lowered his head, rummaged through the small box on the table that was used to store bandages for a few seconds, and pinched out a bandage of a different color from his fingertips.

It was a starry sky pattern with a deep blue background and scattered stars.

She carefully extended her hand and whispered:

"This... is for you."

Ishikawa Mayu looked at the starry sky bandage handed to her, paused for a moment, and then a knowing smile flashed in her eyes.

This guy is really...

"Thank you," his voice was softer than usual, "It's a beautiful starry sky, just like your stone."

When Gao Songdeng heard him mention the stone, his cheeks flushed slightly, but his eyes shone with a bright light of understanding, and he nodded gently.

Just then, a series of light footsteps and greetings came from the classroom door.

"Good morning!"

Chihaya Aine walked into the classroom with a bright smile, responding familiarly to the greetings of several classmates as she walked to her seat. Her gaze naturally fell on Ishikawa Mayu, and she also noticed that he seemed to be holding something small between his fingers.

"Huh? A band-aid? Shin-chan, where did you get injured? Are you alright?"

Chihaya Aine darted over in a few steps, tilting her head curiously. Seeing that Ishikawa Mayu was unharmed, the worry in her eyes was quickly replaced by a sly smile. "Could it be that you didn't notice and cut your hand while cooking yesterday?"

Upon hearing this, Ishikawa Mayu's lips twitched; he knew perfectly well what she was thinking. Although yesterday's events had been explained, this guy clearly still remembered.

"Don't curse me. My skills are excellent, you don't need to worry about me... As for this band-aid, it was a gift from the lamp."

After explaining the origin of the band-aid, Ishikawa Mayu then turned her attention to Chihaya Aine's knees and scraped hands.

"But what about you? How's your injury from yesterday's fall?"

"Oh? You care about me that much? You passed." Chihaya Aine looked at Ishikawa Mayu's concerned expression, a little smug, and offered him her hand, which had been scraped yesterday, her fingertips twitching playfully. "Actually, I wasn't really hurt, but thanks to the band-aid Akari gave me, there's not a trace left—"

As she spoke, she turned to Takamatsu Akari, who was listening quietly beside her, and said, "Thank you, Akari-kun!" In return, the other party gave her a shy shake of the head.

Immediately afterwards, Aine changed the subject, her eyes curving into crescents, and suddenly leaned closer to Ishikawa Mayu, lowering her voice and saying in a whisper with a distinctly mischievous smile, "It's recovered to be super smooth, do you want to touch it to confirm?"

Why don't you touch it and see?.jpg

The warm breath and the overly direct teasing made Ishikawa Mayu's cheeks flush slightly. He turned his head away somewhat awkwardly, coughed lightly to avoid her bright gaze, and said in a forced calm tone, "...No need! It's fine as long as it's alright."

He quickly turned his gaze to Gao Songdeng's desk, gestured, and tried to change the subject: "Look, all the band-aids here, Deng, are penguins, which you like."

Chihaya Aine looked at his slightly reddened ear tips and somewhat hurried movements, and smiled secretly with satisfaction, finally letting him off the hook for the time being.

She refocused her attention entirely on the band-aids covering the table, bent down to examine them closely, and exclaimed sincerely, "Wow, they really are all penguins!"

Takamatsu responded softly, carefully pointing to one of the cards: "Bearded Penguin..."

"So cute!" Chihaya Aine's eyes sparkled as she looked up at the lamp, her tone light and cheerful. "You said yesterday that these are all from the same series, right?"

Takamatsu Akari smiled slightly, nodded vigorously, and then carefully picked up the penguin band-aid with both hands and handed it to Aine.

"This is for you."

"Huh? But... I haven't finished using the ones you gave me yesterday..."

Chihaya Aine was stunned for a moment.

Takamatsu's hand holding the band-aid paused slightly, the light in his eyes dimmed a little, and the smile on his lips faded, revealing a hint of barely perceptible disappointment.

"Good morning, Aine-chan! Good morning, Ishikawa-kun! Little Arata!"

The sudden greeting made Ishikawa Mayu turn her head instinctively, and she saw that it was Mai, Kana and Eri smiling and greeting them.

This sudden collective greeting surprised him somewhat—a month ago, he, a nobody in the corner, would never have been greeted so warmly. It seemed that being continuously enveloped by the radiance of Chihaya Aine, this "little sun," had also brought him, his seatmate, into the category of "those who need to be greeted."

Taking advantage of the brief moment, Chihaya Aine quickly realized what was happening. She gently took the band-aid from the lamp's hand, giving him a warm smile: "I'll take it, thank you."

Takamatsu's eyes immediately lit up again, and a relieved smile spread across his face.

Chapter Thirty-Four (Combined 5000 words) Torture

The lunch break bell had just rung, and the atmosphere in the classroom immediately relaxed. Students began to leave their seats. Gao Songdeng quietly and carefully gathered the penguin band-aids that were spread on the table and put them back in the small box.

Clutching her band-aid box and carrying her handbag, she stood up, hesitated for a moment, then turned around and said softly to Ishikawa Mayu, as if afraid of disturbing something, "Um... Ishikawa-san, I... I went to the Astronomy Club. Are you... coming today?"

Ishikawa Mayu looked up, and the expectation in her eyes was still very obvious.

Normally, he might have indifferently gone to that overly quiet department to do some homework or something.

Today, however, he still needs to go talk to Aiyin about the band.

Furthermore, it's necessary to avoid Deng as much as possible, since Deng seems particularly sensitive to topics related to the band, and it wouldn't be good if she accidentally touched a sore spot again.

"I won't be going today." He tried to make his tone sound casual, with a touch of nonchalant apology. "I have something else to take care of."

Takamatsu's eyelashes trembled slightly, her fingers tightened around her schoolbag, and a faint trace of regret crossed her face.

However, she quickly remembered the privileges she had given to Mayu when she invited him to join the club, so she didn't insist and simply nodded: "Hmm... I understand."

After saying that, she turned around, lowered her head, and walked out of the classroom alone, her back view looking somewhat lonely.

Ishikawa Mayu sighed, then thought for a moment and followed after him to comfort him: "After that... how about tomorrow? I'll go to the Astronomy Club with you tomorrow, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Takamatsu was slightly taken aback, blinked, and his previously unfocused gaze seemed to refocus a little.

She nodded vigorously.

"Ok!"

After watching the light disappear from his sight, Ishikawa Mayu turned his head and turned his gaze to another corner of the classroom.

At this moment, Chihaya Aine was chatting enthusiastically with Mai, Kana, Eri, and a few other girls, her smiles radiant. She had clearly successfully integrated into this small circle and become one of the core members.

He was a little embarrassed.

He felt it wouldn't be appropriate to just walk over and interrupt the girls' conversation. Just as he was hesitating whether to wait a little longer or send a message, Chihaya Aine suddenly turned around as if she had eyes in the back of her head, accurately catching him standing there somewhat awkwardly.

She was taken aback at first, then a beautiful smile curved her lips. This look on Mayu's face was quite amusing.

"Excuse me, I'll be back in a minute!"

Chihaya Aine gave Mai and the others a slightly apologetic smile.

Mai and the others were taken aback for a moment, but following Aine's gaze, they immediately saw Ishikawa Mayu standing awkwardly at the back, and a knowing yet mischievous "auntie smile" appeared on their faces.

Then she waved her hand and said in a light tone, "Go quickly, don't keep Ishikawa waiting!"

Chihaya Aine felt a little embarrassed by their laughter, her cheeks flushed, and she scolded them playfully, "What are you talking about!"

Wu immediately put on an innocent expression, blinked, smiled without saying a word, and simply gestured for her to come over quickly.

Kana and Eri were also covering their mouths and chuckling, clearly enjoying the show.

Chihaya Aine felt a little embarrassed by their laughter, her cheeks flushed, and she ignored her best friends' teasing, turning around and walking quickly towards Ishikawa Mayu.

As soon as she stood in front of him, she couldn't help but lightly punch his shoulder and complain in a low voice, "It's all your fault! You made me the laughingstock of them!"

"what?"