Does gravity make me stronger?

"Hmph, after all, I'm going to be a stay-at-home dad. If I can't understand women's psychology, how will I survive in a difficult environment in the future?"

"Oh, this."

Originally, she only meant to make a joke, but who would have thought she would hear such a reason? Aine covered her face, clearly impressed by Hachiman's shamelessness.

A moment later, she crossed her arms and nodded repeatedly.

"It seems so. Speaking of which, Soyo really wanted to form a band from the beginning, but in the end she asked to leave. Also, she acted very strangely that day and inexplicably got angry at Tomorin."

In Aine's heart, the seed of doubt had already taken root and sprouted. Hachiman pressed his advantage and expressionlessly took out a photograph.

"Do you know about this?"

"what?"

Ai Yin looked over, and instantly, her eyes widened, and her moist lips trembled slightly.

The photo shows a group picture of five girls, four of whom Aine knows.

"Hachiman, where did you get this?"

"An account run by a band called Crychic."

Ai Yin held up the photo, staring intently at it as if trying to etch the people in it into her mind: "So, they used to be in the same band, so why..."

"..."

Hachiman remained silent without answering Aine's question.

If he were even more ruthless, he could have revealed everything.

However, on the one hand, there was concern that Aine might not be able to accept the fact that Nagasaki Motoyo was just using her as a tool, and on the other hand, there was also respect for Aine's own wishes.

If you have an idea, you can quickly discover the connections behind everything by following the photos.

The truth will eventually come out, but the truth is often not that important; what matters is what to do afterward.

[Damn, I didn't realize it until now, Hachiman-kun, you're playing with fire!]

Oh, really?

no.

He was just an innocent bystander, at most a catalyst.

Aren't you afraid the band will completely explode by doing this?

It exploded?

It would be better if it exploded.

Hachiman thought to himself expressionlessly.

A festering wound will never heal unless you have the courage to puncture the abscess. Similarly, to save this band on the verge of collapse, you must dismantle it completely.

Of course, this process will inevitably be accompanied by tremendous growing pains.

Hopefully, they can pull through...

A few minutes later, Takamatsu Akari also arrived at the classroom. Hachiman said a few words to comfort Aine, and then immediately went over to ask her what was wrong.

"How are things going with the others?"

Takamatsu put down her schoolbag, dejectedly took out her phone: "Tachibana and Rina-chan are both fine, but Suze hasn't answered me yet."

She unlocked her screen and showed the chat history on Line. Hachiman glanced at it and his brows furrowed immediately.

This is not just a lack of reply, it's completely unread.

However, Line messages can be viewed through the pop-up chat box at the top of the phone, and they will still show as unread unless you switch to the Line app.

Whether she didn't even look at it or looked but didn't reply, it's impossible to confirm at the moment, but either way, it shows that Nagasaki Motoyo is currently keeping everyone at arm's length.

What should I do if someone is acting like a withdrawn, reclusive turtle?

It's alright, we'll break her shell sooner or later.

In the afternoon, after the school bell rang, Hachiman went straight to the record store without stopping.

At the entrance, Hachiman and Shoko, who arrived almost simultaneously, nearly bumped into each other.

"Good afternoon, Hachiman. You seem to be in a hurry today?"

"Yes, I'm eager to see you."

"Oh, really?" Xiangzi asked with delighted surprise, her beautiful eyes sparkling. "Is there something you need from me?"

"Let's go inside first and talk about it then."

The two entered the department office one after the other, found a chair and sat down. Hachiman then asked, "How's the record project going?"

"It's almost done. Minister Sawamura will produce the song into a record in the next few days."

What about the vocals?

"I asked a childhood friend of mine for help." Xiangzi paused, then added, "She's a really, really good girl. I feel so bad for causing her so much trouble."

Perhaps sensing that Xiangzi was blaming him, Hachiman apologized frankly: "Really? I'm sorry, I left all the record-related matters to you, and I was just slacking off."

No.

Xiangzi just shook his head; after all, the inspiration for this song came from Hachiman.

"Ahem." He coughed lightly and said hesitantly, "There's something I need to ask of you. You can refuse if you don't want to."

"what's up?"

"Could you spare 20 minutes to spend with me tomorrow afternoon... no, 10 minutes will be enough."

To put Xiangzi at ease, Hachiman deliberately used this excuse, and the other party agreed to his request without hesitation.

"Of course, but where do we want to go?"

"Performance hall".

"Hmm, so Hachiman is starting to show interest in music?"

Xiangzi smiled and said that he did not feel any rejection; on the contrary, he was very happy.

Once her band is on track, she plans to bring Hachiman into the fold, so it would be beneficial for him to learn more about bands.

"Pretty much. Oh, and Akari will also be performing at that theater. If we're unlucky, Nagasaki Motoyo will be there too..."

The temperature in the room dropped instantly after those words were spoken.

On Xiangzi's head, the originally very low single-digit gravity value rose to about fifteen.

Hachiman must have thought that Shoko's change in mood stemmed from him mentioning Nagasaki Motoyo's name, but that was not the case.

Why does Hachiman call the lighthouse by its first name?

'I always thought Su Shi was the threatening girl, but I didn't expect that Deng was too?'

'No, we can't jump to conclusions so quickly; we need to confirm it again.'

[You let it slip, didn't you? You're so guilty, my dear Hachiman-kun]

Mine, I was careless, it didn't flash.

but.

What is Xiangzi's attitude towards Nagasaki Motoyo now? Has he completely become indifferent?

After a long silence, Xiangzi finally spoke, somewhat dejectedly.

"Was it her who invited you?"

"No, it was I who invited Nagasaki-kun."

"I was referring to the lamp..."

Xiangzi puffed out his cheeks unhappily, like a little pufferfish.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry, I misunderstood." Hachiman continued to play dumb.

"Toyokawa-kun, you should understand why Nagasaki-kun has such a strong obsession with you. I want to help their band, but at the same time, I don't want to force you to go back, so I plan to help them in another way."

"Really?" Xiangzi stared blankly at the boy. "How did you know about my relationship with Su Shi?"

“During the last performance, you mentioned some things about the previous band,” Hachiman said calmly.

Xiangzi was startled again.

Yes, she did reveal Crychic's past to Hachiman, but not much. He must have done a lot of research to be able to see this far.

Xiangzi understood that Hachiman was a very perceptive person, so it was not surprising that he could now perceive the entanglement between her and Su Shi.

In fact, this is better. Crychic's past has been a long-standing source of distress for her, and she desperately wants to talk about it and share it with others.

Thinking this way, she felt relieved, and her furrowed brows immediately relaxed.

"Back then, I had to leave Crychic because of family reasons. Looking back now, I was too naive and didn't pay attention to everyone's feelings."

Because of his pride, Xiangzi did not tell the Crychic members the reason for his departure, which led to the collapse of Crychic.

It was her fault, and Nagasaki Motoyo's continued entanglement was also her own doing.

but.

This does not mean that she fully agrees with Nagasaki Motoyo's approach.

Especially after talking with Nagasaki Motoyo over the weekend and learning that she actually planned to kick out that girl from Class C in order to win her back, Shoko felt furious at the thought.

This is one of the reasons why Shoko couldn't tolerate Nagasaki Motoyo and had a complete falling out with her.

"But no matter what, Takamatsu and the others are innocent."

Noticing that Xiangzi's thoughts were wavering, Hachiman seized the opportunity to interject.

"I know my request is a bit unreasonable, but I hope you can put aside your prejudice against Nagasaki-san for now and help me this time. I believe that after tomorrow, Nagasaki-san will stop bothering you."

You really won't bother me anymore, after all, Motoyo has already fallen for you, Hikigaya-kun.

Xiangzi closed his eyes and pondered quietly.

She had to admit that Hachiman's words made a lot of sense. While Nagasaki Motoyo certainly had her problems, no one else had done anything wrong. Besides, she did have her shortcomings as well.

Since he wanted to protect his self-esteem from being hurt, he should do something to make it up to Deng and the others. So, Xiangzi sighed and asked in a low voice.

What do I need to do?

Upon hearing this, Hachiman smiled slightly: "Just come tomorrow, and you won't have to do anything."

"Don't we need to say anything to the lamps?"

"Takamatsu is a strong girl."

"Shouldn't you call her Lamp?"

"..."

Seeing Xiangzi's mischievous smile, Hachiman guiltily turned his head away.

"Pfft, I'm a little envious that Hachiman gets along so well with other girls, but I'm not the kind of person who likes to be jealous, right, Hachiman?"

You're clearly just incredibly jealous, okay?

However, Xiangzi had the moral high ground at this point, and Hachiman was in need of his help, so he could only be brutally humiliated.

"Hey, can you stop teasing me about my name?"

"Then tomorrow, will you come pick me up from the classroom?" Xiangzi tilted his head and took the opportunity to make the request, staring straight into Hachiman's eyes.

His amber eyes, seemingly capable of stealing one's soul, reflected Hachiman's figure. For a moment, he was captivated, and before he knew it, he had already agreed without thinking.

"Ok."

"Great! I'll wait for you at the classroom door tomorrow."

"Oh, um."

---Cut line---

There will be another update this afternoon.

Chapter 124, Section 122: Substitute Player Master Yamada Ryo

Starlight Performance Hall.