harleyscars Page 55
Page 55
"Kun no hand はどうしてこんなにも热かいの?"
(Why are your hands so warm?)
"ねぇお愿い"
(Please)
"どうかこのまま里さないでいて"
(Please never let go again)
"ずっとずっと里さないでいて"
Never, ever let go again.
Unlike her debut performance, which was filled with suppressed heaviness and weeping sobs, pouring out her inner pain to others, this performance simply showcased the hope and satisfaction she had gained, allowing everyone to see the joy in which her pent-up loneliness was dispelled by the light.
No longer suppressed, no longer screaming, yet even more touching.
Compared to the sorrow of grief, the radiance of happiness is more likely to evoke empathy.
Almost the instant the performance ended, a thunderous applause spontaneously erupted from the audience. Every audience member whose face could be seen smiled, offering their sincerest recognition.
However, the girls had no time to pay attention to the applause that symbolized the successful end of the performance.
The moment they stopped playing, their gazes drifted in the same direction.
Subsequently, they all remained in place.
There, a boy, more dazzling than the scorching sun and more beautiful than the crescent moon, revealed a smile that completely overturned their previous imaginations of "his smile".
Only at this moment did they clearly recognize the limitations and inferiority of human imagination.
Like a fairy dancing in a dense forest, an angel emerging from the clouds—it is a transcendent beauty that is blessed by the word "perfection," a beauty that cannot be described by any language, a miracle that cannot be reproduced... Even if his appearance were entered into a computer, it would be impossible to simulate such an expression.
Gentle, subtle, flawless, brimming with joy and delight, it naturally unfolds, transforming into an unparalleled masterpiece.
Perhaps after a few more glances, the initial emotion and awe will fade as familiarity sets in, just like the person who was initially stunned by Yuan Xudou's appearance upon first seeing him. It only takes time to adjust, and eventually it becomes just another ordinary sight.
But now, that contrasting beauty has truly captured their hearts.
—Compared to the reactions from the audience…this seems to be the best affirmation of the girls’ hard work.
Chapter 78 Daily Life After the Curtain Falls (Bonus Chapter 2/17)
"Oh my god, let me see Heo Doo-jun's smile one more time, I'll do anything—"
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"If I can't see Xu Doujun's smile, then...!"
"Su Shi, you really have Xu Dou on your mind all the time."
Toyokawa Shoko looked at Nagasaki Motoyo, who was gripping Minamoto no Koto's right hand tightly, refusing to let go even when the other showed a slightly troubled expression, and looked determined to achieve her goal. Her delicate and cute eyebrows furrowed, and she reprimanded her for the trouble she was causing the boy in a haughty voice.
Then, Toyokawa Shoko shook her left hand, which she was holding tightly with her fingers intertwined with Minamoto Kōtō's.
"There's no other way, Xu Dou, just smile for her."
The feigned decorum vanished the moment the words left her mouth, revealing the girl's true intentions. She stared intently at him, not missing a single change in his expression.
When he was on stage just now, the distance was a bit far... This time, she's determined to get a closer look and see exactly how he manages to smile so beautifully!
In particular, they were so captivated that they almost forgot to give their closing remarks. If it weren't for Yuan Xudou noticing that something was off about the girls' behavior and reverting to his usual expressionless demeanor, signaling with his eyes that they were still on stage, this performance, which should have been perfect, would have been ruined by this absurd reason.
Even so, the girls, who were trying to suppress their excitement, only managed to get through the short time before the curtain fell—fortunately, the audience took the blush on their faces as simply due to their excitement during the performance.
As soon as the show ended, taking advantage of the chaos and the fact that no one was paying attention, Toyokawa Shoko and Nagasaki Motoko rushed over from backstage and dragged Genji Kōdō, who was also about to leave, into the dressing room.
It wasn't that the other three didn't want to come over—it's just that Wakaba Mutsumi, who was sitting quietly in the corner with steam rising from his head, Takamatsu Akari, whose thoughts were almost disconnected, and Shiina Tatsuki, who needed to be supported by Akari's weak legs to prevent her from falling, didn't have the same mobility as the other two.
Therefore, the two of them naturally occupied the boy's left and right sides, resulting in the current situation.
"Hey, Heo Doo-jun (Heo Doo), give me a smile—"
"Oh!"
Standing to the side, Shiina Tatsuki, unable to bear it any longer, slammed his hand on the table. The drummer's arm strength immediately produced a dull thud, and even the table legs slid slightly.
With resentment in her deep purple eyes, the girl glared at the three people whose attention had been drawn by the sounds of her movements. She ground her silver teeth together, letting out a low, questioning voice.
"That's enough, you two aren't pretending anymore, are you!"
Back when we were in the band, we were at least a little more mindful of our image. Anyone who wasn't blind could see that there was something beyond the bond between Toyokawa Shoko, who was always holding hands with Genjiro, and Nagasaki Motoyo, who was always around him and doted on him. But this was the first time they'd ever been so blatantly close together!
"And...you've taken up both sides of him, I...I mean, the lamp, yes, where's the lamp, who's clearly the biggest contributor, going to sit? On Xu Dou's lap?"
With this in mind, Shiina Tatsuki couldn't help but utter her indignant words.
"Well……"
"Ok?"
Upon hearing this, Nagasaki Motoyo toned down her demeanor slightly, abandoning her strange act that suggested she would kneel and beg Minamoto no Koto if he didn't agree, and sat back down in her chair normally. Toyokawa Shoko, on the other hand, tilted her head and blinked her bright golden eyes, which now shimmered with a less-than-pure light.
The two looked at Shiina Tatsuki with confusion, surprise, and questions, but not with the shame and anger that one would expect when reprimanded for realizing their behavior was abnormal.
"Say such high-sounding words, Li Xi, you..."
"Lixi-chan, isn't it a bit inappropriate to be saying these things now?"
One was tactful, the other direct; the two simultaneously uttered words that made Shiina Tatsuki's blood rush to her head, her temples throb, and she wished she could grab a drumstick and give each of them a good whack.
She finally understood—these two guys appeared to be clear-headed and spoke logically, but in reality, they were so excited that their brains were practically burning up and their minds were a complete mess!
While gritting her teeth and feeling saddened that she was now the only normal person left in the band, the girl was overwhelmed with regret.
'Damn it... why didn't I see it clearly...'
Because the drummer was in the last row, her view was almost completely blocked by the four people in front of her. Even if she craned her neck to look, she could only see some vague outlines... Although that was enough to make her heart race and she couldn't calm down at all.
If only she could be like them, abandoning reason and joining in this brief, joyful celebration—unfortunately, despite having such thoughts, Shiina Tatsuki's remaining sense of shame prevented her from acting.
Just then, she inadvertently noticed that Yuan Xudou's once calm and indifferent black eyes were now looking at her with a helpless expression, carrying a hint of pleading.
For once, the boy was also helpless in the face of the situation—he couldn't shake off the two girls who were holding him, and they wouldn't listen to him in their current state. He could only hope that Shiina Ritsuki, an outsider, would help him out of the predicament.
However, Shiina Ritsuki, having understood the boy's meaning, hesitated for a moment, then turned his head away with a slightly flushed face.
She avoided Yuan Xudou's pleading gaze, but her eyes never left his face.
"...I didn't say I wouldn't watch it."
The girl muttered to herself, gathering her long, straight, black hair to cover her burning earlobes.
The last normal person was swept up by the atmosphere and his own desires and surrendered, leaving the boy completely cornered.
Noticing the commotion, Wakaba Mutsumi moved a chair over and sat down. Her delicate, fair face, still flushed, remained cool as she stared at him intently, like a doll that never blinks. Takamatsu Akari, whose mind had been wandering, slowly recovered. Her amber eyes, which had been swaying like melting ice, gradually regained focus.
"Xu Dou, once more."
"Xu, Xu Dou..."
The five people's gazes, like spotlights, swept over the boy's handsome face.
Regardless of their impression of his smile, they could at least agree on one thing—that one moment wasn't enough. And the changes made specifically for them in private felt much more meaningful than those in public.
"Alright, Xu Dou, stop struggling...it's pointless..."
Just as Toyokawa Shoko was about to raise her hand, taking advantage of the boy's lack of room for resistance and his inclination to indulge their behavior, she tried to poke the other's cheek to see how it felt. Her fair and soft little hand suddenly froze halfway up, and her slightly teasing words also stopped as if stuck.
Because, on Yuan Xudou's face, a helpless yet gentle smile appeared.
Unlike his genuine, heartfelt joy for them offstage, his bright and dazzling smile was different now. His smile was light and restrained, with a clear distinction between light and dark. His naturally perfect eyebrows and eyes were covered with a sense of helplessness, yet they were still as gentle and clear as the moonlight.
The sound of the camera snapping the photograph out of their reverie, which had been momentarily captivated by the beauty of the scene, and also caused the boy to suppress his smile.
They instinctively looked towards the source of the sound—
Wakaba Mutsumi secretly put her phone into a pocket hidden inside her clothes.
"Su Shi, Xiang Zi, can you let go of my hand now?"
As the only one who didn't care much about this matter, Yuan Xudou gently shook the hands of the two people who had been awakened from their usual thinking by his different smile, and their hands that were clasped together with his.
"...Mu, hand over the photos!"
"This is a shared asset of the band members; it cannot be kept all by itself!"
Upon regaining her senses, Toyokawa Shoko immediately jumped up from her seat and ran towards her best friend with feigned bravado. However, the blush peeking through the gaps in her long, sky-blue hair as she ran subtly revealed the shyness the girl was trying to conceal.
On the other side, Nagasaki Motoyo subconsciously let go, her expression becoming somewhat tense. But after a while, she showed no intention of distancing herself, remaining close to the boy's shoulder.
From what he understood—this was probably because Su Shi, knowing she had been completely exposed, simply gave up and acted entirely according to her current thoughts, without considering any consequences.
And then there's Shiina Riki... well, she seems a bit out of it right now. Takamatsu Akari, who's cowering beside her, is blocking her way, preventing the girl, whose long hair is obscuring her forehead and whose expression is dark, from doing anything strange.
"...It's such a mess."
With neat and orderly steps, yet not slow at all, there was Wakaba Mutsumi, and Toyokawa Shoko, who was chasing after her but clearly not using her full strength; Shiina Tatsuki, exuding a resentful aura, staring at him and muttering, "What was the first time like?"; Takamatsu Akari, who wanted to comfort him but didn't know how; and Nagasaki Motoyo, who usually gently adjusted the atmosphere among the team members, but at this moment just watched from the sidelines and didn't want to pay any attention to anyone else.
Because of his slight change, 【CryCHIC】 has become a pot of boiling porridge, so chaotic that it is completely unrecognizable as the tranquility and style that the six people once created together.
...But that's what makes it feel more like home.
No need to worry about how you appear in each other's eyes, no need to fret about being judged by others for your actions, just freely and casually show your unique side...
Perhaps influenced by this chaotic atmosphere, he couldn't help but feel a bit playful.
—Since you care so much, let's do it a few more times so you can get used to it faster.
Seeing this upside-down scene, the boy couldn't help but smile, which triggered a new round of chaos.
Chapter Seventy-Nine: Compensation, Acknowledgment, and True Love (Two-in-One)
After a period of playful banter, the six of them gradually calmed down and began to deal with the aftermath of the performance.
For today's performance, apart from Yuan Xudou, who has little social life and is all alone, everyone invited their family and friends to attend. Now that it's time to leave, they should at least say goodbye to those who came to cheer them on.
Originally, the boy who had no one to deal with planned to go to Tsuzuki Shisen to discuss the agreed-upon arrangement of helping the old man take care of his granddaughter. However, it was clear that the other girls were not satisfied with this arrangement.
The final result of the discussion was that Gen Xudou agreed to accompany one of them to visit relatives and friends first, while Nagasaki Motoyo, through luck and a little cunning, successfully won the top prize in the lottery.
"Goodbye then, everyone—I'll come back to see you all after Xu Doujun and I meet our parents."
With a victor's smile, Nagasaki Motoyo gently twirled the bamboo skewer in her hand with her delicate fingers and sweetly declared her victory.
Those light blue eyes, always brimming with gentleness and tolerance, were now rippling with joy, like a lake stirred by the wind.
Just as Shiina Tatsuki said—as the shackles on the boy's cheeks were removed and a genuine smile was revealed, the members of the band also seemed to shed the shackles they usually held back and began to "stop pretending".
As if they were certain that no matter what they did, it would no longer be possible to break the bond between the six members or threaten the band's survival, some previously sensitive topics could now be openly discussed.
Unless one day Won Heo-do really announces his relationship with one of the band members, leaving the other girls aside, they'll probably just turn a blind eye to each other's behavior forever, since they're all pretty much the same and none of them are exactly innocent.
Just like now, even though Nagasaki Motoyo has openly shown her possessiveness, Shiina Tatsuki, who has the most normal values, is only a little annoyed by the smug look on her face, and does not question her words such as "You're not his girlfriend, so why are you talking about meeting his parents?"
A strange consensus about him seemed to have spontaneously formed without anyone noticing.
"Alright, everyone, go and do your own thing."
Seeing that the girls had finally decided the winner, the boy, whose hands were now free, took out his phone to check the time and made a decision.