People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

She lowered her head, her shoulders slightly hunched.

"But I think I feel the same way as Aine."

Ishikawa Mayu turned her head and glanced at Chihaya Aine, who was watching them intently.

Ai Yin nodded vigorously, as if to encourage him.

“We all want to spend many unforgettable moments with Akari.” Ishikawa Mayu’s gaze returned to Akari, her tone gentle yet firm. “We want to see Akari stand on the stage again, as dazzling as she did in that performance.”

"So, I think that instead of a vow that sounds heavy but may be far away... perhaps, it would be a more practical way to slowly prove our feelings for each other through every day, every practice session, and every joint effort we make in the future. What do you think?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Chihaya Aine immediately understood and chimed in, leaning to the other side of the lamp with a bright smile and a light tone:

"That's right! Mayu-kun is right! We can set a small goal first! Like... let's work hard together for a week? Or... a month?"

Takamatsu looked up, glancing at Mayu, then at Aine, a hint of hesitation flashing in her eyes. She cautiously and tentatively asked in a soft voice, "...Could it... be longer?"

What she ultimately longed for was a longer-lasting connection.

Chihaya Aine was momentarily speechless at the question. She scratched her pink hair, a troubled look on her face, and secretly glanced at Ishikawa Mayu, pleading for help with her eyes.

Ishikawa Mayu nodded slightly, indicating that she should speak according to her own thoughts.

Ai Yin took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, clenched her fists and placed them in front of her chest, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the lamp.

"Then... then let's make a promise, at least until... our first official performance, okay?"

Takamatsu Takashi's body stiffened for a moment. Wasn't it after their first performance that Crychic fell apart?

But then she remembered the expectation in Ishikawa Mayu's calm eyes as he looked at her, and his clear words, "I like it very much."

That feeling of being affirmed and needed was like a glimmer of light, dispelling some of the gloom.

She didn't want to go back to that corner filled with self-blame and darkness.

She wanted to seize this opportunity and reach out to those who reached out to her.

She pressed her lips together forcefully, as if using all her strength, before raising her wet eyes to look at Chihaya Aine and Ishikawa Mayu. Her voice was weak, yet carried a desperate determination:

"Then... we absolutely cannot break the contract before the first performance."

Chihaya Aine looked at the light and finally accepted the relatively "short-term" agreement, letting out a sigh of relief, but still muttered a complaint under her breath: "Don't always make things so serious..."

A sharp gaze immediately pierced through like a knife.

"Huh?" Shiina Ritsuki frowned, staring at her with unfriendly eyes. "What did you just say?"

"N-nothing! I was just kidding!" Aine was startled and quickly clasped her hands together, forcing a fawning smile. "I'll do my best! Really! I promise!"

Ishikawa Mayu felt a throbbing pain in her temples again. She had just calmed down the mental exhaustion caused by the light, and now Riki and Aine were at each other's throats again.

Shiina Tatsuki snorted coldly, turned around, and propped her cheek with her hand.

"Hmph... If you've said it your whole life, you have to do it. Are you really going to let this kind of flippant guy join us?"

Although she didn't name names, everyone could see Shiina Tatsuki's prejudice against Aine, and she clearly had great doubts about whether Aine could persevere.

Ishikawa Mayu was about to speak up to smooth things over when she heard Riki's dismissive remark, "What a frivolous fellow."

A surge of anger welled up within him. He took a deep breath, raised his head, looked intently at Shiina Tatsuki, and said clearly, word by word:

“First of all,” his voice wasn’t loud, but it was like a stone thrown into a noisy pond, instantly drawing everyone’s attention, “her name is Chihaya Aine, not ‘this guy’.”

He paused, making sure Shiina Tatsuki heard every word he said, and then continued, his tone more explicit:

"Also, it's not that Aine is 'joining' you. Rather, it's that you, Su Shi, Deng, and I are joining the band that Aine initiated and formed. I hope everyone understands this."

Chihaya Aine was stunned. She hadn't expected Ishikawa Mayu to defend her so directly and firmly, and even in this chaotic situation, to so clearly emphasize her role as the "initiator" of the band.

An indescribable warm current surged into her heart, dispelling the grievance and unhappiness she felt from being looked down upon by Li hope. Her heart felt as if it were filled with warm honey water, so sweet that she couldn't help but smile and her cheeks flushed slightly.

She subconsciously looked at Ishikawa Mayu's weary yet still upright profile, so broad and reliable.

Then a small voice inside me excitedly began to correct me:

"Wait a minute, Mayu-kun..."

"--It's not a 'band formed by Ai Yin'."

She emphasized it quietly, stubbornly, and with a hint of sweetness in her heart.

"It's you and me, the band we formed together."

…………

The same words may be sweet to some, but to others they may be a poison called resentment.

Ishikawa Mayu's protection was like a warm current flowing into Chihaya Aine's heart, making her cheeks blush and her heart leap with joy.

The same scene, when seen by Nagasaki Motoyo, felt like fine needles pricking her heart with sharp pain.

She watched as Aine's undisguised gaze, filled with dependence and joy, clung to Mayu, and watched Mayu, though exhausted, still stand up for Aine and clear her name.

The hand hidden under the table unconsciously tightened, the neatly trimmed nails digging deep into the soft palm, bringing a sharp pain, but far less than the bitterness in my heart.

On the other hand, Shiina Tatsuki, who was directly confronted and "corrected" by Ishikawa Mayu, instantly became like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, and completely lost her temper.

"Huh?! What do you mean?!" She suddenly stood up, slamming her hands on the table with a "thud," leaning forward, almost reaching over the table to glare at Ishikawa Mayu, her voice rising with anger, "Does it matter who formed the band?! What matters is Touka! As long as I can be with Touka, I don't care who else is in the band!"

Ishikawa Mayu frowned, about to respond to Riki's reckless remarks, when she felt her sleeve being gently tugged.

He turned his head to meet Chisato Ayane's gaze.

There was no resentment in those silver-gray eyes, only a clear concern for him.

She mouthed to him silently, "Don't argue."

Chihaya Aine didn't want to see Ishikawa Mayu get into a more intense conflict with others in order to protect herself.

In her heart, his unwavering protection and his unhesitating stance in front of her were enough to warm her heart and make her forget the unpleasantness of being slighted earlier. She didn't want to make the situation even more uncontrollable because of herself.

Chapter 57 Still Jealous

Ishikawa Mayu understood what Aine meant. She took a deep breath, swallowed the rebuttal that was on the tip of her tongue, and simply nodded to Aine to indicate that she understood.

However, Shiina Tatsuki's anger was clearly not appeased. Seeing that Ishikawa Mayu was not responding, he became even more furious, and his attacks were about to turn to Chihaya Aine again.

"Li hope!"

Nagasaki Sosei suppressed the surging bitterness in her heart and interrupted Shiina Tatsuki.

We can't let the conflict between Riki and Shin'ya escalate any further, otherwise the atmosphere that has just eased will be completely ruined.

She reached out and gently tugged at Shiina Tatsuki's sleeve, trying to get her to sit down.

"The important thing is that we can all come together now and work towards a common goal, isn't it?"

"Mayu-kun was just stating the facts and didn't mean any harm. Aine-kun has indeed put in a lot of effort to form the band, and Mayu and I have both seen it all."

“And look,” Nagasaki Motoyo’s gaze shifted to Takamatsu Akari, who was becoming increasingly uneasy due to the renewed conflict, her tone softening, “Akari looks very anxious. We finally managed to get her to try again tonight, let’s not complicate things further, okay?”

She seized upon Lixi's most vulnerable spot.

Shiina Riki followed Suze's gaze and saw Takamatsu Akari with her head down, her fingers nervously twisted together.

Nagasaki Motoyo's gentle words, combined with Takamatsu Akari's uneasy and pleading gaze, finally extinguished Shiina Tatsuki's burning anger.

She gave a heavy "humph," which was a reluctant acceptance of the statement, but her posture of sitting back with her arms crossed was still full of displeasure, though she no longer vented her frustration on any specific person.

"call……"

Seeing that Shiina Tatsuki had finally backed down, Chihaya Aine patted her chest, let out a long sigh of relief, and her face instantly blossomed into a bright smile again, as if the tense atmosphere just moments before was merely an illusion.

"Su Shi! Thank you so much! You got Li hope under your thumb in just a few words, that's amazing!"

Shiina Tatsuki glanced at the pink-haired girl, feeling annoyed. However, the comforting light was more important, so she ignored Aine.

Ishikawa Mayu nodded inwardly.

At least in terms of reconciling conflicts, Motoyo Nagasaki has an exceptional talent and skill.

As expected of Su Shi.

…………

Under the influence of Chihaya Aine's seemingly inexhaustible lively aura, the heavy and oppressive atmosphere around the booth was finally dispelled quite a bit.

Although the process was full of twists and turns, the final result was at least not bad overall—the lamp was willing to try again, and everyone reached a short-term agreement to move forward together.

It was about time to leave, so Ishikawa Mayu stood up and walked to the front desk to pay the bill.

Before she had taken more than a few steps, Chihaya Aine followed naturally like a little tail.

She leaned closer to him, nudged him gently with her elbow, tilted her head back, and lowered her voice:

"Mayu-kun was right, today really was hell! Akari is so persistent, and Riki-kun is really scary..."

Ishikawa Mayu glanced at her, and seeing her vivid expression of "surviving a disaster," he couldn't help but smile with a hint of helplessness and indulgence, without saying a word.

Chihaya Aine didn't seem to care and continued talking to herself, even waving her little fist, her silver-gray eyes sparkling:

"But my intuition was right! As long as Mayu is here, there will always be a way!"

Ishikawa Mayu staggered slightly, and even her ears felt hot.

He looked away somewhat awkwardly and mumbled a reply, "...It's not that exaggerated."

"The matcha parfait is finished."

A flat voice broke into the subtle atmosphere.

Kaname had already stood beside them at some point, her heterochromatic eyes sweeping over Takamatsu Akari, who was being escorted out by Shiina Ritsuki, before landing on Ishikawa Mayu, as if she were completing a farewell ceremony.

She licked her lips, as if savoring the memory, then leisurely dragged her suitcase away, uttering two words in a very low voice:

"interesting."

"Huh? What's interesting?" Chihaya Aine was immediately drawn to the kitten, blinking curiously at Ryuna's departing figure, but the kitten had already disappeared through the door without looking back.

She had no choice but to turn back and look at Ishikawa Mayu with a puzzled expression: "Mayu-san, did you hear what she said? Was she talking about us?"

Seeing Aine's bewildered expression, Ishikawa Mayu smiled helplessly: "Probably."

He walked to the front desk to pay the bill.

"Ah! Wait!" Ai Yin seemed to suddenly remember something, and jogged to catch up with him, pulling her wallet out of her pocket. "I'll share the burden today too! After all, I'm the one who gathered everyone here!"

Ishikawa Mayu didn't refuse and nodded, "Okay, let's go together then."

After paying the bill, the two walked out of RiNG's entrance and saw Nagasaki Motoyo waiting quietly.

The evening breeze ruffled her long hair, and the streetlights cast a soft glow on her.

"Zhenyu-kun..."

Seeing the two emerge, Nagasaki Motoyo's face broke into a gentle smile. Her gaze naturally swept over Aine before finally settling on Ishikawa Mayu. She tilted her head slightly and asked softly:

"It's my turn to cook now. What would you like to eat tonight?"

Ishikawa Mayu hesitated for a moment. Although Su Shi in front of her had exquisite makeup and a proper smile, her heart softened when she thought of Su Shi's vulnerable, helpless, and tearful appearance at the school gate that evening. She subconsciously said, "You must be tired today, why don't I do it..."

“No need.” Nagasaki Motoyo gently shook her head, interrupting him. Her tone was gentle but carried an undeniable firmness. Her blue eyes gazed at him quietly. “I want to do it.”

Seeing her stubborn expression, Ishikawa Mayu was slightly taken aback, then seemed to understand something and couldn't help but chuckle softly: "Alright, I'll listen to you."

He suppressed his smile, thought about it seriously for a moment, and replied, "Then... cabbage rolls will do. The ones you made last time were delicious."

Upon hearing his answer, Nagasaki Motoyo's smile became even more gentle and charming, like ripples spreading across spring water.

She nodded slightly in satisfaction: "Yes, I understand."

Chihaya Aine stood awkwardly to the side, watching the two of them talk casually and without a care in the world, especially Ishikawa Mayu's natural ordering of food and Nagasaki Motoyo's intimate response...

She knew several days ago that Zhenyu and Su Shi would take turns cooking, but even now...

She still felt a pang of jealousy.

Chapter Fifty-Eight Household Account Book

The streets were quiet and deserted late at night, with only the occasional passing vehicle creating a brief gust of wind.

Exhausted, Toyokawa Shoko walked step by step toward the apartment that was more of a temporary shelter than a home.