Does gravity make me stronger?

Page 173

Starlight Performance Hall.

The moment he opened the door, Hachiman finally realized what he had forgotten, and his expression instantly became unreadable.

At the beverage counter, a girl with short white hair was eating senbei (rice crackers) obediently. When she saw Hachiman coming in from outside, she stretched out her small, lotus-root-like hand to greet him.

Welcome back.

Yoro Nai's languid yet slightly sweet voice is very pleasant to listen to.

only...

"Those stupid girls actually left their teammates in the performance hall."

Hachiman sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

With a senbei dangling from her mouth, Rakuna's beautiful heterochromatic eyes pierced through Hachiman, looking at the air behind him. She tilted her head and asked, "Where are Aine and the others?"

Would you be sad if I told you they've forgotten you?

The cat won't be sad; the cat just wants food.

After swallowing the last bite of senbei, Rakuna opened her cherry-like mouth and drawled, "Hachiman, I want more~"

Open your mouth, I'll feed you.

what?

"Um, I don't have any left."

"You don't have any left?"

Kaoru frowned, her pretty brows furrowed, and suddenly stood up from her seat, slowly walking over.

Then, he sniffed and, as expected, couldn't smell any senbei on Hachiman, so he lowered his head in frustration.

"No food, no practice, so boring..."

Lena grumbled on, completely unaware that she had been forgotten by her teammates.

"I'll find you something to eat. You can sit here for a while."

Hachiman hurriedly went into the practice room, asked Nijika for some snacks, and while comforting Rakuna, he also sent a message to Aine.

A moment later, Ai Yin appeared awkwardly at the door.

"Rakuna-chan!"

"eat--!"

The moment Rakuna saw Aine, she immediately asked for food. Luckily, Aine always carried candy with her, and Rakuna happily savored the candy, gradually calming down.

"Hachiman, we won't bother you anymore."

"Goodbye."

Aine led Rakuna away from the performance hall, and Hachiman finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The monotonous workdays continued.

Nothing happened in the performance hall until around three or four in the afternoon.

As the first performance of the afternoon ended and Hachiman was preparing to clean up the venue, a timid voice came from behind him.

"Hello, Hikigaya-kun, good afternoon!"

"—?"

Hachiman looked back and saw Goto Ichiri, who wasn't supposed to be on today's schedule, leaning shyly against the corner of the wall.

"Good afternoon, Goto-san, what brings you here today?"

Goto Ichiri looked around, hesitated for a moment, and awkwardly fiddled with his fingers: "Um, Nijika said we can come and practice together."

Without realizing it, she had told another lie, and a wave of guilt washed over her.

In fact, Hongxia did not invite her to practice together.

The reason why Goto Ichiri appeared here at this time was simply because she was bored at home with nothing to do and had nowhere to go outside. She thought that at least she would have friends to talk to in the performance hall, so she took a two-hour train ride here.

But how could I possibly say something like that out loud?

She nervously adjusted the guitar case on her back, desperately hoping that Hachiman wouldn't expose her lie.

If people found out I didn't go out to play during the Golden Week holiday, I'd definitely be laughed at...

For some reason, this image popped into Ichiri Goto's little mind—

Kita & Yamada Ryo & Nijika: Pochi-chan, it's so pitiful that no one asked you to go out during Golden Week!

Yo-me-lo!

Hachiman didn't pay any attention and just continued to sweep the floor.

"Really? You guys are really hardworking."

These words further fueled Goto Ichiri's sense of guilt.

Waaaaah, I'm a child nobody wants...

Goto Ichiri put down his violin case with a dejected expression, sat down in his seat, and looked utterly hopeless.

25-> 30

Yu Guangzhong inadvertently noticed the fluctuation in gravity, and Hachiman suddenly turned his head.

Are you feeling unwell?

"Hey, hey, no, that's not it."

Judging from Goto Ichiri's hesitant expression, she probably has something on her mind.

Goto Ichiri is a very simple person. Based on her behavior just now, Hachiman thought about it for a moment and roughly guessed the reason for her emotional fluctuation.

Is this child here at the performance hall because he's afraid of being alone?

Perhaps reminded of his own situation during middle school, Hachiman's heart softened immediately.

He temporarily put down his work, made two glasses of iced cola, and plopped down next to Goto Ichiri: "Want a drink?"

As an employee of the store, free drinks and free performances are among the few perks we get.

"Thank you." Goto Ichiri carefully took it, took a sip, and showed a happy expression.

Then, he looked around anxiously: "Won't the manager find out that Hachiman is slacking off like this?"

"Don't worry, there aren't many customers at this time anyway." Hachiman murmured, then continued, "Since we're just killing time, want to chat for a bit?"

"Why!?"

Goto Ichiri looked over in disbelief, tears welling up in her azure eyes.

Waaaaah, Hachiman is so kind! She's just so dazzling compared to a self-absorbed girl like me...

wrong.

Hikigaya is concerned about me, and I can't waste his kindness.

"Um, the weather is so nice today."

Goto Ichiri tried hard to start a conversation, but for someone with social anxiety, it was still too difficult to take the initiative to open up.

Although Hachiman wasn't good at chatting, seeing Goto Ichiri's flustered look, he took the initiative and said, "Yes, the weather is nice today. By the way, have you encountered any trouble lately?"

trouble...

In fact, there are.

Goto Ichiri shifted uncomfortably, her long bangs obscuring her beautiful eyes, and she spoke very softly.

"There are some."

"What is it? I might be able to help you."

"Um, the tickets aren't selling..."

"ticket?"

Hachiman hesitated for a moment, then clapped his hands and said "Oh." "These are the tickets for the next performance, right? I remember the manager said that each person should sell at least five tickets. How many more do you need?"

Based on Hachiman's assessment of Goto Ichiri's social anxiety, selling three copies would be quite good; the worst-case scenario was selling only two.

And most of them were sold to her parents.

Upon hearing this, Goto Ichiri deflated like a punctured balloon, turning her face away in despair and making a "one" gesture.

"There's only one left, so it'll be sold out soon, won't it?"

Goto Ichiri shook his head.

Hachiman's heart skipped a beat.

"So, only one was sold?"

Not a single one was sold...

Then what are you even comparing?!

Hachiman was speechless.

"Hachiman, what do we do?!"

Goto Ichiri transformed into a koala, clinging tightly to Hachiman's waist, giving off a strong Aqua vibe, and loudly complained, "The performance is about to start, if we don't sell any tickets, will we get kicked out of the group by Nijika-chan and the others?"

What to do? Just wait to die.

Hachiman couldn't bear to push Goto Ichiri away, so he could only try to stay as far away from the girl's sensitive areas as possible.

But you wouldn't know unless you met her; Goto Ichiri's measurements might be second only to Nagasaki Motoyo.

The soft parts rubbed haphazardly against Hachiman's hips and waist. Even though Hachiman was calm, his second brother defied Lao Da's orders and became aroused on his own.

"Hachiman, do you have any stones in your pocket?"

Looking into Goto Ichiri's watery eyes with a questioning gaze, Hachiman felt his face burning and quickly said, "Wait a minute, move aside a little."

[Where did these Jiangdong scoundrels come from? Don't retreat, push forward!]

I'll fuck you!

It took Hachiman a lot of effort to break free from Goto Ichiri's embrace.

The latter, however, was holding back her tears, gazing at him with a pitiful expression.

"...sorry."

Hachiman observed Goto Ichiri's expression with a hint of lingering fear.

This child looks so thin, but I never expected him to be so well-built...

"You don't need to apologize. By the way, aren't your parents coming?"

Although Hachiman didn't know much about the Goto family's situation, based on his two encounters, her parents seemed to be quite open-minded and wouldn't put too much pressure on Goto Ichiri.

If Goto Ichiri were to extend an invitation, they would likely come to the performance hall to support their daughter.

So, is something the matter?

"Mom and Dad, something came up."

Goto Ichiri murmured, sounding aggrieved, "Um, Jimmy Heng can come!"

"Jimmy Heng? That Shiba Inu... I just don't think it'll work, do I?"

Hachiman fully understands Goto Ichiri's predicament.

A lonely child can only call upon family; as for friends, well, what are they?

If they are friends in one's imagination, then there are many.

If we were back in middle school, if Shichi faced the same situation, Hachiman might have reluctantly spent the money to buy those five tickets.

"Oh no, what should I do, what should I do..."

Goto Ichiri was so anxious that he kept stamping his feet. On the other side, Nijika, who came out of the practice room, saw Goto Ichiri in the store and ran over excitedly.

"Pochi-chan, what brings you here?"

"Um, um..."