Does gravity make me stronger?

If Hachiman was only half-doubting before, now he is absolutely certain that this girl has ulterior motives.

However, meddling in other people's affairs is not his style, so he could only remind Takamatsu in this way: "Takamatsu-kun, is this your former bandmate?"

"Ah, um."

"You said before that your last band experience wasn't a happy one, so even so, do you still want to start a new relationship before you've sorted out the past?"

Upon hearing this, a look of sadness flashed across Takamatsu Akari's face, while Nagasaki Motoyo bit her lip tightly.

broken!

A moment later, she stood up from her seat: "Excuse me, Aine-chan, Suze-chan, Riki-chan, could you give me some more time to think about the band thing?"

IF :

Chapter 300: The Light Chapter - Takamatsu Toki's Eternal Yearning for the Past (Part Two)

After Gao Songdeng politely declined, the atmosphere of this otherwise harmonious gathering instantly became somewhat awkward.

but.

It seemed that no one, including Chihaya Aine, had given up on recruiting Takamatsu. After Hachiman left, it took them another half hour of persuasion to finally change her mind.

"Let me think about it some more. Can I tell everyone next week?" Takamatsu Akari said weakly, pressing her hand to her chest uncertainly.

Seeing this, Aine didn't say anything more: "Tomorin, it's agreed that we need to make a decision next week~"

For her, being in a band is a way to integrate into the campus and an important means of increasing her popularity on campus, so she doesn't want to give up so soon.

However, even if Takamatsu Akari really refuses, Aine will find another band.

But the other two were different.

"lamp!"

Shiina Riki gritted her teeth, mentally beating up that boy several times over. If that guy hadn't suddenly appeared, Tou would have already agreed!

"Alright, alright, Lixi-chan, you should give Deng-chan some time to think about it."

Although she was saying comforting words, Nagasaki Motoyo was not happy at all.

If the lamp doesn't join, how can she rebuild Crychic? She's furious about this, but she's good at keeping her temper in check and doesn't show it on her face like Shiina Riki does.

"That's all for today. It's getting late, everyone should head home. I've created a group chat, why don't you all join?"

Although Deng hasn't fully agreed yet, as long as we gradually build a relationship, given Deng's personality, she will eventually be moved.

Nagasaki Motoyo was very confident in her methods, but the only variable was that boy, so she had to find a way to make him give up interfering in the matter.

Upon hearing this, everyone took out their phones and joined the newly created chat group.

...

Meanwhile, on the train back home, Hachiman received a call notification from an unknown number. After a moment's thought, he remembered that it was Takamatsu Akari's phone number.

"Hello, is this Hachiman Hikigaya?"

"Hmm." Leaning against the railing, Hachiman said lazily, "Is there something you need?"

"Hachiman, my work here is finished. As for tomorrow's internship..."

"Oh, it's an internship. Can we still go at the original time tomorrow?"

"OK."

The two were not actually familiar with each other, so after finishing their business, an unbearable silence ensued.

After a moment, Takamatsu Akari spoke up, "Why did Hachiman say that just now?"

"Why what?"

"It's about joining the band, Hachiman, don't you want me to do that?"

The tremor in his voice surprised Hachiman, and he became more serious: "Whether I like it or not is not important at all. The important thing is what you think, right? Besides, I'm also a little interested in that girl from the Moon Forest."

Hachiman checked the school of Fukujin, and the girl with chestnut-yellow hair was wearing the school uniform of Tsuki no Mori.

"Su-Shi-chan?" Takamatsu Akari asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Ah, um." After a pause, Hachiman continued, "I'm sorry, this is clearly a private matter between you two. If you mind, I won't say anything more."

"It's okay, I'm glad that Hikigaya-kun cares about me."

"No, ah..."

Hachiman responded somewhat awkwardly to Takamatsu Akari's praise.

"See you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow."

The internship continued the following day.

With nothing to do, Hachiman was forced to chat with his colleagues, from which he learned about Takamatsu Akari's childhood experiences.

I heard.

As a child, Takamatsu Akari was reprimanded by her teachers several times for her unusual hobbies, such as collecting insects. As a result, she spent her childhood in solitude.

As she grew a little older, Takamatsu learned to hide her hobby of collecting insects and instead began collecting round objects, such as pebbles.

But by then it was too late.

Because she was isolated from a young age, Takamatsu Akari is very introverted. Although she is rarely bullied because of her cute appearance and low profile, she has never been able to make friends.

These days seemed to continue until high school.

"No matter what, kid, you'd better watch the lamp carefully."

After telling the story of the past, Hachiman's superior patted him on the shoulder earnestly, his eyes full of the expectations of an elder.

Hachiman was also stunned for a moment, and for a split second he actually forgot to explain that he and Takamatsu Akari were not in a romantic relationship.

"Um, there's nothing between me and Takamatsu."

"Well, even if we don't end up together in the future, I hope you can be my friend."

The boss lit a cigarette and smoked it by the window. This time, Hachiman didn't argue. Instead, he silently put his hands in his pockets and returned to his work station.

After a day's work, the two prepared to write their internship reports to submit to the school.

Because Takamatsu Akari's academic performance was mediocre and her papermaking skills were even worse, Hachiman basically took over the writing of the report, which made Takamatsu Akari feel very guilty.

"Hachiman, let me go buy you a drink. How about red bean soup?" Takamatsu suggested at their temporary workstation.

"Ah, no need... never mind, can you get MAX coffee?"

"Hmm, only black coffee."

The company's vending machines only sell black coffee, and MAX coffee, known for its sweetened condensed milk flavor, doesn't quite suit everyone's taste.

Tsk, that's why office workers are really something!

Hachiman silently complained, then changed his mind and said, "Then let's have red bean soup."

While drinking the red bean soup that Takamatsu had bought, Hachiman wrote furiously. Since he wasn't aiming for a high score, his writing was very messy, and he finished the report around six o'clock.

Before leaving the company, his colleagues in the office all greeted Hachiman with smiles.

"Hachiman, even though it's only been two days, you've done a pretty good job. Why don't you come work for our company in the future?"

Hachiman resolutely refused: "No, I want to be a stay-at-home dad in the future."

After he finished speaking, everyone was silent for a second, and then burst into laughter.

"Haha, Xiaodeng, your boyfriend said he'll have to rely on you to make money in the future, so you'd better work hard!"

Under the teasing of her elders, Gao Songdeng lowered her head, clutching the hem of her clothes, her pretty face gradually turning red.

"First published on 705u.com - Book Club"

"I...I will try my best."

No, what are you trying to achieve?

Hachiman glanced at the shy Takamatsu Akari, sighed, and left the company.

Time passed little by little, and soon it was next week. Before school ended, Chihaya Aine took the initiative to find Hachiman for the first time.

"Hachiman, are you free later? Would you like to meet up and chat?"

When Hachiman realized that the most popular girl in his class had asked him to chat, he admitted that he was somewhat tempted, but when he thought about what had happened a few days ago, he immediately dismissed the thought.

"Can't we say this here?"

"Oh dear, it's a bit inconvenient here." Her gaze unconsciously swept over Takamatsu Akari, and noticing this, Hachiman reluctantly got up and walked out of the classroom.

Reaching a corner outside the classroom, Aine coughed and cleared her throat: "Hachiman-kun, regarding the matter of Tomorin... you know, the light thing, could you please not get involved?"

"I have no intention of getting involved. If you're looking for me, then there's no need for you to do so."

Hachiman casually remarked that he was about to leave.

"Does Hachiman know what happened to the Tomorin band in the past?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't we go ask Riki together? Ah, that's the Riki-chan from back then."

No, I don't know Li hope either!

"I don't think I need to go, and I'm not interested in band stuff."

"Dame, together!" Aine's expression was exceptionally firm.

At Aine's insistence, Hachiman came to RiNG with her, while Shiina Tatsuki was working as a waitress at the front desk.

Seeing the boy she had met a few days ago walking towards Aine, Shiina Tatsuki couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Why are you here? What brings you here?"

"rikki, can you tell me about your band in the past?"

When the band from the past was mentioned, Shiina Tatsuki's expression immediately tensed up: "What good would it do to tell you? Besides, this has nothing to do with you guys."

Shiina Tatsuki's tone piqued Hachiman's curiosity. If it were true, as Shiina Tatsuki said, that they had nothing to do with each other, then Aine wouldn't have brought her here.

Furthermore, Takamatsu's attitude suggests that something rather serious must have happened in the past.

But the key question is, is he sure he wants to get involved in this mess?

Hachiman wasn't interested in the band, and his relationship with Takamatsu Akari was just that of classmates. So why did he come over because of Aine's few words?

Thinking about this, Hachiman suddenly realized that he seemed to have become too concerned about Takamatsu Akari.

"Riki, please!"

Aine clasped her hands together in pleading, but Shiina Tatsuki remained unmoved. Hachiman then spoke up, "If we can resolve the past issues, perhaps Takamatsu's attitude towards joining the band will soften."

"Whose side are you on anyway?"

Shiina Tatsuki shuddered, raised his head and stared at Hachiman: "And what do you know? You're just an ordinary classmate."

"No matter what, my current classmates are better than you, my former teammate, right?" Hachiman retorted.

Shiina Tatsuki was speechless, and there were signs that she was about to get angry, but she managed to suppress her anger and said coldly, "What good would it do to say anything? You can't solve it anyway."

How would you know if I didn't tell you?

Unbeknownst to him, Hachiman had already taken on the role of the resolver.

Finally, Shiina Tatsuki told the two what had happened in the past. After learning everything, Hachiman's expression became very solemn.

"So, the girl named Toyokawa Shoko inexplicably left the band, and that became the beginning of the band's collapse?"

It is well known that high school bands are very fragile; if someone leaves, the whole band will fall apart.

It's normal that the girl's departure became the catalyst for the band's downfall, but if it were just a departure, it shouldn't have caused such a huge shadow; something else must have happened.

Under Hachiman's continued questioning, Shiina Tatsuki recounted all the details of that day.

Although her memory has become somewhat hazy, Shiina Tatsuki remembers the events of that day very clearly.

"I have never felt happy playing in a band"—this sentence left a deep impression on Hachiman. While the other people's words were objective descriptions, only this sentence reflected the current state of the band members.

For a lonely girl like Takamatsu Akari, who craved recognition, these words were like a bolt from the blue.

Aine rested her chin on her hand and said, "So the main focus is on Toyokawa and Wakaba, right? As long as Tomorin doesn't care about them, it'll be fine?"