After the training, due to the visit of Keyakizaka members, the Nogizaka members went back nearly half an hour later than before. Everyone packed up their things in a hurry and left. I don’t know who will go out together to relax during the day off tomorrow.

Shiraishi asked Fukawa and Eto to go back first, while she called Hashimoto to stop. After the members left, the two sat on a rectangular wooden bench in the dressing room and were silent to each other for two or three minutes.

In the end, it was Shiraishi who started the conversation first.

"Those kids in Keyakizaka are quite cute."

"Um."

"Looking at them, won't they think of what happened when we first joined the group?"

"……Um."

"At that time... I was nervous and afraid of strangers. Apart from Sheng Luo who was in the same dormitory, Mai Mai and Nana Min were the first to contact me. I was actually very happy, but I just didn't know how to express it, so I had to keep a straight face.

, pretending to be very cold."

Hashimoto looked down at the hand on his thigh, clenching and unclenching his fingers.

"Mai Mai saw it," she said softly. "She said, Mai, if you really like yourself, you won't look in the direction of other people frequently when eating."

"...Maimai has been thoughtful since a long time ago and can detect the changes in the mood of many members. She is also very easy to get along with the second-generation juniors, so everyone likes to discuss things with her."

Shiraishi turned his head and looked at Hashimoto who was silent, "Nanamin, have you ever thought about why Mai Mai is so aggressive and unwilling to let go?"

Hashimoto's heart tightened and she became inexplicably panicked. She raised her hand and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and breathed out, "Mai, I...it's time to go back."

"Want to escape?"

"Whatever you say..."

Hashimoto stood up. In order to hide the uncontrollable change in her facial expression, she gritted her teeth, picked up the bag next to her, and refrained from looking at Shiraishi.

"tomorrow!"

Hashimoto stopped and did not look back, "Tomorrow...what?"

"Tomorrow, do you want to go out together? Me, Misa, Mai, you, and Mai Mai."

"...I'm sorry, I want to rest at home tomorrow," Hashimoto shook his head and tightened the strap of the bag in his hand, "I'm too tired during this period, and so are you, Mai. Please rest at home more—"

"That's enough, Nanamin."

Shiraishi's sudden scolding made Hashimoto tremble all over.

This small locker room seemed to be squeezed into an even narrower space. Hashimoto was short of breath and slightly hypoxic.

"What's enough..." She suppressed the little flame of reluctance in her heart, and realized more and more deeply how difficult it was to stick to her stubbornness under the influence of various external torrents.

"Don't you understand? Mai Mai has a docile personality and rarely uses a strong attitude to oppress others. The few times he does it are just warnings at work. If Nanamin, you are really in a state of confusion and elusiveness.

Maybe, Mai Mai won’t force herself to do something like this.”

"Haha..." Hashimoto smiled instead, "So it's all my fault?" A wave of anger mixed with unwillingness to feel like he had been seen through, welled up in his throat.

"Is it my fault that Mai Mai fell in love with me? She ruined the relationship and made it difficult for everyone to get along with her. She pushed me into the corner again and again to ask for an explanation, but it was me who forced herself to make things difficult?"

"Nanamin, I'm not..."

"Are you here to be a lobbyist for McDonald's?" Hashimoto interrupted her rudely. Are you angry that Shiraishi, who understands most of the facts, is standing on Fukagawa's side? Or are you just afraid that if she continues to talk, he will

The position is no longer tenable and can only fall precariously into the abyss.

"Ma Yiyan, maybe you think it's funny that I stick to the 'no love' prohibition. To be honest, I think so too. But even if I put all this aside, I'm still angry with Mai Mai. Everything happened so suddenly. She had

Have you thought carefully about the aftermath?"

"There's nothing wrong with who you like, and I don't have an opinion on the matter itself. It just depends on the occasion and the other person's attitude. What's the difference between acting impulsively like this and a frivolous man who kneels down to woo a girl at a crossroads and is moved by himself? It's just that

It will only cause trouble to others."

Hashimoto didn't want to look back, fearing that she wouldn't be able to say these words completely when she looked back and saw Shiraishi's face.

"The same goes for the relationship between Shi Xiao and Na Jiang. Frankly speaking, I quite sympathize with her. Indeed, Shi Xiao Jiang's problems are not small, and I don't blame Na Jiang for being angry, but as for the breakup? Na Jiang thinks too much about everything.

Ideally, love is not the sublimation of two people, it is clearly the running-in of two people. Is there any problem in getting along? Why is it that once it reaches love, there is no room for a grain of sand between each other?"

"Na-chan feels that she has made enough compromises, doesn't Shixiao-chan? How much has Shixiao-chan changed from the early days to now? We all see this. Na-chan is just like Mai-Mai, she is usually docile and gentle,

Once they identify something, they will stubbornly get stuck in their own emotions and will never give up until they achieve their goals. Do they realize how much trouble this will cause to us and the people around us?"

"Nanamin..."

Shiraishi looked at Hashimoto with a complicated expression. Perhaps Hashimoto was in an emotional state and didn't realize that her words were full of inconsistencies and errors.

She believed that the team members were working in the name of justice and resisted Fukawa's questioning. However, she gradually softened her attitude when it came to Wu Geng and Nishino. From her tone, she didn't seem to think that breaking up was the right choice.

But according to what Hashimoto said before, this is the right approach and the only corrective measure to make up for the situation.

Even though the current relationship between Wu Geng and Nishino is always alienated, which causes people around them to worry a lot, considering the turmoil after being discovered and reported, it can be regarded as a loss of strength for a strong man.

Shiraishi has gradually confirmed that after experiencing the repeated Shura field incidents not long ago, something has emerged from the chaotic fog.

To Shiraishi, there is a huge and unknowable existence.

Hashimoto should like Fukawa, maybe she had this intention before, but it was always hidden in a corner that she couldn't detect, mixed with other emotions. If Fukawa hadn't taken the initiative to confess, she might never have known it in her life.

To think about this problem carefully, to be troubled, to be anxious, and then the cognitive transformation will be earth-shaking.

——Everything starts from that first step.

Confession on the Fukagawa subway platform.

Nishino's stolen kiss early on Valentine's Day.

Taking this step may change the trajectory of life and lead to a future that no one has ever imagined.

Will Wu Geng and Nishino be together?

Will Hashimoto and Fukawa get together?

Will all the challengers and adventurers in the world who have the courage to step out of their comfort zones get the ending they expect?

Shiraishi was a little scared for a moment, and she suddenly thought of many things.

Fukawa took the initiative to talk to her for the first time, and Hashimoto, who was following behind, looked at her calmly.

At Christmas, under the huge Christmas tree in the shopping street, neon lights flashed. Hashimoto leaned on her and laughed at her for forgetting the exchange of gifts at Eto's house.

During the recording of the program at the Island Paradise, they were laughing and playing around. I wonder if the snapshot of Shiraishi with a stiff smile is still in Hashimoto’s cell phone.

…

In the senior group, Shiraishi thought she had the best relationship with Hashimoto, but now she realizes that this is not the case.

There is always a relationship above friends.

However, Hashimoto's sorrow, concern, and brooding during this period were all directed towards Fukawa and had little to do with her.

"Then do you want to come with me..."

Shiraishi covered his mouth, widened his eyes, and his heart began to beat fast.

No, it's not like that, she said to herself.

I'm just jealous, like a child whose favorite toy is about to be taken away, I hold on tightly and don't want to let go.

"Mai-like?"

"...Nanamin, if you don't want to go, forget it. I will talk to Maimai..."

Hashimoto didn't hesitate much. She also wanted to escape from the constraints of this space as soon as possible. She nodded silently, opened the door and left.

Shiraishi put down the hand that was covering his mouth as if he was out of strength, and sat quietly for a long time before he came back to his senses.

Then do you want to go out with me tomorrow?

In the past, this was just an ordinary invitation, but now it has become meaningful and full of metaphors.
Chapter completed!