bookbashuk Chapter 645 Don’t let them bully you anymore, Ying Lili!
Chapter 645 Don’t let them bully you anymore, Ying Lili!
Chapter 645 Don’t let them bully you anymore, Ying Lili!
2F, ENCHANT French Restaurant
Hojo Ichiro raised his wrist to check the time. He had done this many times in the past half hour, but he always forgot that he was wearing a kimono and not a watch.
It wasn't that he was so nervous that his head was in a mess, but every time he looked at his watch, he could still tell the time, so he was scolded.
Well, every time they saw Ichiro Hojo raise his wrist to look at the time, Mr. Yamauchi, Mr. Miyamizu, Mr. Spencer and others sitting next to him would subconsciously look at the time, so he would know the time.
This is what it means to have a watch in your heart without a watch on your hand, right? he thought.
"It's half past four."
Mr. Yamauchi said in a deep voice that among all the fathers present, he might be in the best mood. After all, he was the only one who got some promises from Hojo, and...
Even if my daughter really...really can't marry Kyousuke...
Kyosuke is still his half-son.
The relationship between the Yamanouchi family and the Hojo family has long gone beyond the scope of neighbors.
Before that, the unreliable daughter said something that made the couple sad for a long time -
"Dad, you don't have to worry about no one inheriting the inheritance. Kyousuke can spend all the money he has!"
Along with these words, what came to mind were those elf-like amber eyes.
Yes, if the daughter really did... the only name that would appear on the Yamanouchi couple's will would be Hojo Kyosuke.
Every time Hojo Ichiro raised his hand to look at the watch, Mr. Yamauchi would laugh at him and say something like, "You're so old, but still as impatient as a young man," "Are cattle farmers in Hokkaido so impatient?", "...", and then tell the time.
As nervous as Mr. Yamauchi was Miyamizu Toshiki. Although he was definitely among the top three in terms of conflict and hostility towards Hojo Kyousuke, his bond with Hojo Kyousuke was actually very deep. Although the relevant memories had disappeared, the bond was formed under the watchful eyes of the gods, and the knot would not break easily.
After hearing his daughter's stories about Itomori, Miyamizu Toshiki could feel the complex emotions deep in his heart every time he saw Hojo Kyosuke.
"If they were friends, they would be close brothers. If they were father-in-law and son-in-law, they would be mortal enemies who hated each other."
This sentence is a true portrayal of the two people, so the old father couldn't help but ask Kenzo Chino several times during the previous chat. For this, Hojo Kyosuke was teased by the chairman several times, saying that soft rice is really delicious.
However, Kenzo Chikano was no longer in the restaurant. Although there were many important figures here, many well-known people in the literary world had come to the hotel. Every literary award ceremony was a grand banquet, with countless information and favors flowing. As the president, he certainly couldn't be idle.
Fortunately, he was not here, otherwise he would definitely ask for information. But it is possible that he escaped in advance because he foresaw this.
Although the time taken for the final selection was not fixed, it was always about the same length of time, so as time went by, the laughter in the restaurant gradually disappeared, and even the talking was at a normal volume.
The slightly dull atmosphere made Yamauchi Sakura nervous. The girl tried to pull Hojo Kyosuke away several times, but the latter couldn't move at all because Eriri's nails had deeply dug into his palm under the tablecloth. This guy was so nervous that he was about to tremble.
Oh, no, I'm already shaking.
"No, no, don't be so nervous! How could you possibly not win the prize without my help?"
The girl with golden twin ponytails spoke with force. She obviously noticed that her voice was trembling, so a blush appeared on her fair face halfway through her words. Her own nervousness made her quite angry, so she gritted her teeth and spoke more forcefully.
Fortunately, no one cared about it at this moment. Even Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't have time to make fun of her. She just lowered her head and kept looking at her phone.
This made Hojo Mikiko very busy. Looking at the nervous daughters-in-law, she fed them and forced Naoko to be sweet. She also told the story of her son and Sakura when they were young, and made Eriri raise her chin and say that she still had 104 years to live, and that childhood sweethearts were completely insignificant. She also announced her grand dream of living to be 120 years old.
"But Eriri, aren't you already seventeen years old?" Glass asked curiously.
Upon hearing this, Eriri grunted and said nothing, but just looked at Hojo Kyosuke with a vague look.
Humph, I am seventeen years old, but Joey is only sixteen. Even if I die, he will still miss me, so it is like I have lived one more year!
If we convert the numbers, it means that I lived to be 121 years old, while the errand boy only lived to be 120 years old. So, I loved him for one more year!
Nitro-chan is such an idiot that he can't even solve such a simple math problem!
After some rapid calculations in her mind, Eriri realized that she had a crushing IQ over Nozomi, and she became even more proud.
People like Kato Megumi and Yukino Momoka, who still looked calm, just silently looked at the phone that Hojo Kyosuke placed on the table, waiting for the moment it lit up.
Suddenly, the black screen lit up. First, it showed the lock screen of Hojo Kyousuke, and then the incoming call screen.
The phone number was unmarked. Ying Lili, who was sitting next to him, suddenly straightened up, so stiff that she couldn't even move her neck.
The fathers also turned around when they heard the sound.
Hojo Kyosuke was not so anxious. He even touched Eriri's hand quietly to calm her down before picking up the phone with his left hand.
"... Mr. Hojo... is the Neon Mystery Association Award Selection Committee... We..."
“…Yes, thank you…”
After a few brief words, Hojo Kyosuke hung up the phone.
The phone was placed back on the table and the screen fell dark again.
Eriri felt like it took her a lifetime to finally tame her stiff neck so that she could see Hojo Kyosuke's face clearly.
Not only Eriri, Nozomi, Naoka, Kasumigaoka Utaha, Kato Megumi, Yukinoshita Yukino, Haruno... and their mothers, everyone at the long table was staring at Hojo Kyosuke nervously, and Okudera Miki even swallowed nervously.
Only Yamauchi Sakura was different. She just blinked her bright, big amber eyes and looked at Hojo Kyosuke with a beautiful smile.
If it were any other time, Eriri would have blushed and retracted her hand that was holding Hojo Kyosuke's, but this time she was stiff and motionless.
Xiao Jiashizi still couldn't understand what was happening, but she knew why the beautiful sisters were staring at Onii-chan. Because he was the brother, the sisters liked Onii-chan so they looked at him, what was so strange about that?
She knew it, but it didn't stop the little girl from being jealous. She had to open her eyes and look at Onii-chan more, and not lose to others!
Hojo Kyosuke looked around, his eyes falling on everyone's face. His smile was warm and gentle, and he tried his best to respond to these people who cared about him the most in the world.
Finally, he opened his mouth to reveal a big smile and said loudly:
"It's the selection committee calling."
The air suddenly became quiet, as if it had suddenly sunk into the deep sea, and then the girls suddenly opened their eyes wide.
"Ooooh!" Sakura made a strange sound.
As if she had suddenly lost her strength, Naoko leaned back against the chair. Yukino's big black eyes, as bright as the Milky Way, suddenly "smiled", and then she let out a long breath. Before, the two of them were the calmest, and even Yukinoshita Yukino could see the tension on her serious face.
Ah? Hui? Still as calm as before~~
"Ah? Didn't you win the prize?" Ying Lili asked blankly.
She grabbed her ponytails with both hands and felt a little short of breathing.
Kyosuke didn't mention the award. He just said that the caller was from the award committee. Didn't Kyosuke win the award? Was Kyosuke too sad to tell the bad news directly? Is Kyosuke forcing a smile now? Kyosuke...
What did I just say? Why did I ask that? Wouldn't it make Kyousuke even sadder if I said that? What should I do now? How can I comfort Kyousuke? I...
The words "Kyosuke" and "I" kept ringing in the girl's heart. Her eyes, as pure as sapphires, suddenly lost their luster and she became extremely lost.
"It's okay, Kyousuke, it's not your fault."
She held Kyousuke's hand even tighter, the difference was that before it was because she was nervous and wanted to get strength from him, but now she wanted to lend her own strength to the chores.
"It's all because I didn't draw a poster for you before. It would be better if I could help you make the cover."
Eriri said this in a self-blaming tone, her voice extremely low. This was not simply a consolation, but she really thought so. After all, she only drew a few posters for odd jobs this time, and the new book caused such a sensation. If she could spend a week, no, a month, no, half a year... If she could draw fewer books and use all her time to help Kyousuke, would he have won the award?
Her cheek suddenly felt itchy, and Eriri felt annoyed. It was her golden hair that was as brilliant as the sun.
Okay, you're giving me trouble even for a ponytail? I'll cut it off for you later!
The girl took her anger out on innocent people without noticing that the people around her were looking at her in increasingly strange ways.
In the end, it was Yukinoshita Yukino who spoke softly:
"Sawamura-kun, Hojo has won the prize."
Actually, Yukinoshita didn't like to do anything out of the ordinary in such a situation, but Eriri was one of the few people she was close to. They had played together on weekends, eaten together, played games together, and slept in the same house together... For Yukinoshita, such a person could definitely help guarantee the loan.
Well, with Yukinoshita's calmness and rationality, she certainly knew the direction of being a guarantor. She was not afraid to speculate on human nature with the worst malice. So to translate it, Yukinoshita was even willing to empty her wallet to help Eriri.
"what?"
Eriri raised her head, and Yukinoshita realized that her deep blue eyes were filled with tears.
That little face was already heartbroken, which made Yukinoshita look at the others at the table speechlessly. As expected, she saw Yamauchi Sakura who was grinning, and Naoko and Yukino who were covering their mouths, and Kasumigaoka Utaha who looked satisfied, and finally...
Hojo Kyosuke with a gentle face.
Yukinoshita was shocked. Are you guys still human? So you really take pleasure in Eriri's pain, right?
And this guy Hojo, you are so gentle... Yukinoshita tried hard to restrain the urge to curse in her heart. It was not because she was a person who practiced what she knew. If she wanted to curse someone, she would definitely say it out loud, not just think about it in her heart.
This is the bondage of the righteous superman!
"The Mystery Writers Association Awards will not announce the winners before the press conference, nor will they inform the candidates of the final selection results."
Yukinoshita explained that she had heard the conversation between Eriri and the others before, so she couldn't understand why Eriri, who had helped to draw the new book poster and actively contacted the committee directors, didn't know such basic information.
“This is the association’s rule. It is not known whether it is to prevent the heat of the press conference from fading or to prevent non-winning candidates from attending. However, candidates can know whether they have won the award through one detail.
If the person who calls to notify you after the final selection claims to be from the "Neon Mystery Writers Association", then you have not won the award. If the call comes from the "Neon Mystery Writers Association Award Selection Committee", then you have won the award."
After finishing the popular science lecture in one breath, Yukinoshita felt refreshed.
Now you know, everyone around you knows about this, and they are just teasing you. Look at Kasumigaoka Utaha, look at Yamauchi Sakura!
Yukinoshita is not a troublemaker, but she is willing to be Eriri's ally and help her teach those pranksters a lesson.
But the scene she saw the next moment made her grit her teeth.
The tears in Eriri's eyes finally burst out after she stubbornly persisted for a long time, and the girl threw herself into Hojo Kyosuke's arms.
"Great! Great! Kyousuke won the prize! He won the prize——"
The crying voice continued to ring out, and the girl didn't even have a second to get angry. There was only one sentence in her head -
"Great, Kyousuke won the prize!"
The girl who was crying and burying her head in Hojo Kyousuke's arms suddenly laughed out loud.
Her golden twin ponytails swung violently, and Eriri straightened up, raised her pointed little chin and said in a crisp voice:
"I've already told you that with me here, there's no way Kyosuke won't win the award!"
Even though her face was still covered with tears, it did not affect her pride like a princess at this moment.
After being stunned for a second, Yukinoshita Yukino showed a smile similar to Hojo Kyosuke's on her face.
Looking at the helplessness on Kasumigaoka's face and the faint smile on Nozomi's face, she probably understood why Sakura said that Eriri was the number one happy person in Ruyi Dormitory.
After Eriri, applause and cheers finally broke out from the long table.
"Hoo—smelly boy."
Hojo Ichiro cursed with a laugh. He didn't know there was such a thing as making a phone call.
Thanks to the big guys for their monthly tickets, recommendation tickets and reward support, thank you
(End of this chapter)