156: Establishing the Relationship

He told her not to worry and just leave it to him.

Looking at Chisato's gentle and warm smile, Hitori felt an immense sense of relief.

Hitori had a habit that was hard to define as good or bad. 

Most of the time, her feelings were clearly displayed on her face, making it easy to understand her current mood.

At the moment, with her beaming smile, there was no doubt she was in a great mood.

Chisato couldn't resist. 

He pulled her close, guiding the flustered Hitori to spread her legs apart and sit on his lap in a duck-like posture, her little bottom resting on his thigh beneath her pleated skirt.

This sudden action made Hitori extremely shy.

Although she had experienced this many times from a first-person perspective in her dreams and had visited such scenarios frequently, she was still a genuine, untouched maiden in reality.

Not to mention it was her first time; if it weren't for Chisato's initiative, she would have still kept her first kiss intact.

"It feels pretty lucky to have met such a cute girl like you," Chisato said, holding her waist.

Hitori felt happy but was too shy to respond properly. She could only give a similarly patterned reply.

"You're also… very handsome, Chisato-kun."

"Why did you suddenly decide to change clothes today?"

"I-It's really strange, isn't it?"

"No, it's cute. I'm just curious about the reason for your change in habits."

Hitori let out a sigh of relief.

"… My mom bought this for me. This morning, as I was leaving, I suddenly thought that dressing like this might catch Chisato-kun's eye."

"I see. So it's to attract me."

"Eh! That… no, not at all…"

Hitori grabbed Chisato's shirt with both hands, her face pressing against his. In the end, she couldn't deny it and slightly nodded.

Chisato sighed.

"You're quite the schemer, aren't you?"

With her head bowed, Hitori couldn't see his expression.

Oh no, he's going to dislike me.

At that moment, Hitori's shyness and joy transformed into disappointment and unease.

"But…"

Chisato held Hitori's hand, gently lifting her chin with the other hand, revealing a close-up smile.

"I actually like it."

Hitori's mood instantly soared from a low point to a peak, like riding a roller coaster!

She felt as if her mouth was filled with honey, savoring the sweet and wonderful taste.

Chisato gently patted the pink-haired kitten's head and leaned in to whisper in her ear,

"Shall we continue with what we didn't finish earlier?"

"N-no, unfinished business…"

Hitori shivered, her bangs standing on end.

"Yes, close your eyes."

Chisato's tone was very gentle, and Hitori, who was both shaken and eager, obediently complied.

The next moment, his palm moved to her back, slowly exploring downward.

…

The manager of the STARRY, Ijichi Seika, yawned as she walked down from her apartment.

Under normal circumstances, she'd be starting work around ten in the morning. It was now nearing eleven.

However, due to a special situation yesterday with a band performance and the positive audience response, she had communicated with the band and extended the performance time.

But even if she was late, it didn't matter. As the boss, she had the luxury of not being reprimanded for laziness.

Nijika mentioned that Chisato was in the store, and asked him to help tidy up the place and move the delivered beverages into the store.

A young high school boy was strong and healthy, so why not make use of him? She would just pay him normally later.

With this thought, Seika arrived at the store but didn't see Chisato. She headed straight for the recording studio and pushed the door open.

"Hey, Suzumiya, since you're free now, help…"

Eh… eh!!!

Seika's face turned crimson as she saw the two on the sofa embracing and shamelessly engaging in intimate contact. 

She didn't finish her sentence, immediately closing the door and turning to leave.

Two minutes later, Chisato, with a calm demeanor, walked out of the recording studio and greeted the manager.

"Good afternoon, Seika."

"Good afternoon, my foot!"

Seika grabbed an empty drink bottle from the counter and threw it at Chisato, who easily dodged it.

"You're going too far, doing that kind of thing with someone of unknown origins in my recording studio! Do you want it to smell like squid in there? Huh?!"

She approached, her right hand moving in a dangerous, gangster-like gesture.

"… Calm down, Seika. It's not someone of unknown origins; it's Hitori."

As soon as Chisato finished speaking, the recording studio door opened again. Hitori, with a "citrus" paper box on her head, bent over and quietly tried to slip away.

But as she passed by Seika, she was grabbed and the box was taken off and thrown aside.

"Um… that…"

Hitori had never seen such a scary expression from the manager and could only bow repeatedly in apology.

Seika sighed.

"… Never mind. You can go find Nijika and the others."

Hitori breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at Chisato, who was smiling and waving at her, and then quickly ran off.

Seika watched Chisato, her earlier anger having vanished. She gestured for him to sit by the counter.

She opened a can of beer for herself and handed him a drink, setting the stage for a heart-to-heart talk.

"When you brought that little Bocchi to the store, I had a vague feeling something was off with the way she looked at you." 

"So you two are indeed in a romantic relationship."

Chisato didn't intend to hide anything. He didn't explain the small details clearly, so he simply nodded in acknowledgment.

"That's nice, a campus romance. You should treat her well." 

"Although she seems a bit naïve and absent-minded, people with that kind of personality often do surprising things when they're sad or disappointed."

Chisato agreed wholeheartedly.

"You're absolutely right, Manager."

"Hehe, it seems like you've already been through something. I heard from Nijika that you prepared a song for them."

"It was just a melody and lyrics I came up with casually, and I hummed it for them, hoping it would be helpful."

"Last night, before I closed the store, I saw your lyrics. They didn't seem like something you wrote casually." 

"I also heard the melody through Nijika's humming. I think you have a talent for it. Even though you don't know much about music theory, you're still young." 

"If you want to learn, there will always be opportunities. Have you considered it? Playing music with someone you like is quite cool."

Chisato was silent for a moment.

"Manager, is this what you wanted to do when you were young?"

This question stirred up a hornet's nest.

Seika's forehead was covered in question marks. She started making a hand-chopping gesture.

"Grit your teeth, you rascal!"

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