nucmednet Chapter 29 Bells
Chapter 29 Bells
"Huh?"
Yumiko, who was happily watching the fireworks with Rito, suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder. She instinctively thought it was Rito who did it, smiled helplessly, and was about to tell him to stop fooling around.
"It wasn't me."
Rito looked aggrieved, raised his hands to his sides, and then gestured to the side with his eyes.
Yumiko looked in that direction and was startled to see a face she had just seen so close to her. However, when she realized that she had mistaken the person for someone else, Shirama reacted just as strongly, exclaiming in surprise and withdrawing her hand.
"Sorry, sorry, I mistook you for someone else. Suzuki? Suzuki?"
Mai Shiraishi hurriedly withdrew her hand, her cheeks instantly turning bright red. At this point, she was still in the early, timid stage, showing no trace of the aura she would later possess as the top member of the Purple Group. She subconsciously took half a step back, bowing her head and repeatedly apologizing. Her long, black hair fell down with the movement, covering most of her face, revealing only a section of her slender, fair neck.
"It's okay, it's okay." Yumiko wasn't exactly a social butterfly, and the more panicked Shirama seemed, the more reserved Yumiko became. She waved her hand to indicate that it wasn't a problem, and asked with concern, "Did you get separated from your friends?"
"Hmm..." Mai Shiraishi looked up and glanced around. "Strange, she was just here a moment ago."
As she was speaking, she suddenly remembered that she still had her phone. She quickly took it out of her pocket, only to find that the screen had gone black at some point, and there were still some water stains from the melted ice cream on the screen, making her look a bit disheveled. She glanced at the obviously distinguished couple in front of her, and suddenly a strong sense of shame welled up in her heart. She immediately put the phone back in her pocket.
Feigning composure, Bai Ma smoothed her long hair, trying to project an air of complete in control. She casually explained, "It's alright, they'll come back for me."
Rito watched Shiramasa's performance, who is still the top female singer in Gunma, in its entirety. He suddenly felt like laughing, but managed to suppress the urge. He took out his phone and handed it over, saying, "Hey, can I borrow yours for a bit?"
Seeing that her poor acting had been seen through, Mai Shiraishi blushed slightly. Instead of pretending to be something she'd never done, she whispered a thank you and quickly took the phone with both hands. Her fingertips accidentally touched Rito's fingertips, and she quickly pulled them back as if she'd been electrocuted. Then she quickly dialed her classmate's number.
The call connected quickly, and a cacophony of voices came from the other end. Mai Shiraishi spoke a few words into the phone, her expression gradually shifting from anxiety to helplessness. Finally, she gave a soft "hmm" and hung up.
"What's wrong?" Yumiko asked with concern.
"They were already near the exit, but said there were too many people and they couldn't come back to find me, so they told me to go home first and they took the train directly." Mai Shiraishi sighed, handed the phone back to Rito, bowed again to thank him, and said, "Then I'll go home too, thank you."
"It's nothing." Rito took the phone, his gaze sweeping across her face with an air of utter nonchalance.
Although it's still a juvenile, it's already incredibly beautiful, unlike a certain Osaka pigeon that still needs a bit of time's magic.
Thinking this, Rito sighed with some regret.
Yumiko, who had been observing Rito's expression, nudged him with her elbow and then smiled at Mai Shiraishi, saying, "Is this your first time at Disneyland? You don't seem like a local from Tokyo."
"Yes, I'm from Gunma and I study in Saitama. This is my first time at Disneyland." Mai Shiraishi smiled shyly, revealing a row of neat teeth.
"High school student?" Rito asked thoughtfully.
"No, it's a music academy." Bai Ma wasn't afraid that the two were bad people and honestly introduced herself.
"A music college? You want to be a singer?" Yumiko blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected her to be a music student. She was so beautiful, and if she could sing, she would be so blessed by God.
"No, it's just that I vaguely learned about this school when I was about to graduate from high school, so I studied here." Mai Shiraishi scratched her head embarrassedly, looking even more naive.
After hearing this, Li Ren thought that since things had already come to this point, there was no need for him to be reserved anymore. So he decisively took out a business card holder from his pocket, took out a card, and handed it to the girl who was still grinning foolishly.
"Huh? Nani? Huh?"
She started with a classic Japanese girl's battle cry, and Shirama stared wide-eyed at the name Kubo Rito on the business card, looking somewhat confused.
"Nogizaka46, have you heard of them?" Rito didn't expect her to know the name of his company, so he just said it casually.
"I know, I know, everyone at school has been talking about them lately."
"I am their president. Nogizaka46 will hold another audition at the end of this year. If you are interested, call me anytime and I will let you directly enter the final audition."
Rito glanced at the watch, too lazy to waste time with pleasantries, and went straight to the point, stating his purpose.
"Huh? But... why?" Shiroma hadn't recovered from the shock yet, and timidly glanced at him before asking in a low voice.
Tilting her head and thinking for a moment, Rito suddenly smiled, turned on the front camera of her iPhone 4S, and placed it in front of her. It took Bai Ma two or three seconds to belatedly realize what was going on. She wanted to laugh, but also felt a little shy. A blush slowly crept onto her pretty face, and she was at a loss for what to do.
"Got it? I won't say much more. You can contact me before the end of the year, but it's better to do it sooner so that some things can be arranged earlier."
After playing all day, Rito was really tired. After saying this, he waved to Yumiko and prepared to leave.
Yumiko noticed his exhaustion and nodded, but before leaving, she didn't forget to ask Shiraishi-san, "Did you bring any money, Shiraishi-san? Do you need me to lend you some?"
"No, no, I have my own money, thank you." Mai Shiraishi subconsciously took out her wallet and waved it, then bowed deeply to the two of them. "Then I'll be going too, Kubo-san. Thank you for the invitation, I'll think about it carefully."
"Be careful on the road." Yumiko waved with a smile.
Mai Shiraishi nodded, glanced at Rito again, and then turned and disappeared into the bustling crowd. Her figure appeared and disappeared in the crowd, and she looked back after a few steps, but Rito and Yumiko had already left. She sighed meaningfully, then quickened her pace and disappeared into the night.
Ding, ding, ding
The iconic clock tower of Tokyo Disneyland's "It's a Small World" rings out, and the crowds who had finished watching the fireworks gradually disperse, leaving only the warm, sticky summer breeze blowing against the solitary tower.