It was already past seven o'clock in the evening when I got home at the fifth watch. All preparations for the hot pot conference were in place, just waiting for him, the organizer, to announce the start.

In the middle, Nishino asked about the practice, and Oh Geng told her frankly that it was Nakamoto who was guiding her training. Ikoma interrupted and said that there seemed to be something wrong between Ikuta and Nakamoto, and Oh Geng responded on the spot and took charge of the misunderstanding between the two.

After playing the role of the resolver, Ikuta's mood gradually improved, and he said, "I'll leave everything to you, Shiyao-chan!" Then he ate so much that all his sadness and anger turned into appetite, and one-third of the food was eaten.

Her belly.

After seeing off the four people, I finished washing up and lay down on the bed with my tired body.

"Wugeng-sang, please look at me carefully... I'm afraid it's hard to be in this state again."

I closed my eyes at midnight, and the image of Zhongyuan dancing in the training room in the morning came to mind.

To be fair, Wu Geng doesn't think Zhongyuan's dancing level is above his own.

When practicing dance, Wu Geng usually stands in the front row. She can check her movements, accuracy and aesthetics through the mirror. It is through self-observation that she corrects it bit by bit. She rarely looks at other members.

Dance movements, because I think they will be affected.

She has always been used to being alone. Before entering Nogizaka, she was an outlier in the class.

With a handsome face, excellent grades, and a serious smile, perhaps in the eyes of other students, Wu Gen is like a flower on a high mountain, awe-inspiring and inviolable.

Wu Geng is also happy to maintain this status quo.

When dealing with any problem, she prefers to solve it independently and rarely communicates and discusses with others. This has not changed even now. Her belief has always been that as long as she is herself.

When dancing, all her thoughts were on herself. She rarely paid attention to the movements of other members. She thought that as long as she was herself, she would not cause trouble to others.

Therefore, there is no room for her presence in the all-out dance at the fifth watch.

Because she is essentially a lone wolf.

If Teacher Ueno hadn't awakened her, she might have continued in this state without knowing it.

In Zhongyuan's dance, Wu Geng saw something unusual. Maybe that was the "key thing" that Teacher Ueno said she lacked.

Wu Geng didn't think her dancing was weaker than Zhong Yuan's, but when she watched Zhong Yuan dance, she was indeed moved by something.

Different from Wu Geng's radical dance style that emphasizes impact, Zhong Yuan's dance focuses more on a repetitive and progressive emotional state, and then fits the melody of the music. In the most intense part,

All the emotions are released in one breath.

(ex){}&/Zhongyuan sees all this.

"Wugeng Sang." In the locker room, Zhongyuan called to Wu Geng who was about to leave.

"If you have nothing to do later, can you stay with me for a while?" she asked.

A long period of training without any progress has gradually evolved into a torturous punishment, and the accumulated anxiety is likely to overwhelm Wu Geng.

Zhongyuan saw this and decided to take Wu Geng out to relax. This was the right and reasonable thing to do. Zhongyuan would not admit that he had selfish motives anyway.

"..."

"Please," Zhongyuan begged with his hands clasped together, "I've been practicing in the practice room for two consecutive days. It's really boring. Wu Gengsang, please go out with me for a walk."

After these two days of getting along, Zhongyuan can roughly tell that Wu Geng is the type who is not good at rejecting others.

Sure enough, although she looked slightly troubled, she couldn't bear to refuse.

"...Well, if it doesn't take too long..." I still agreed.

Zhongyuan quickly changed his clothes and walked out of the building with Wu Geng. The two walked slowly along the street side by side.

Night has fallen outside, and there is a cold breeze blowing on the streets of Tokyo. Office workers who have worked overtime until now drag their sleepy souls on their way home one by one.

Groups of middle-aged uncles, disheveled and slightly drunk, with ties casually wrapped around their heads, came out of the roadside izakaya arm in arm, uttering meaningless laments, and some fell down directly on the road.

side.

This city, which is bustling during the day, finally shows a hint of fatigue at night.

Wu Geng and Zhong Yuan chatted word by word, and she was probably listening to the other person's speech. Fortunately, Zhong Yuan was quite talkative, so the two of them didn't get cold feet.

Along the way, there are various signboards and neon lights that are brighter than the street lights. Walking through such streets, I miss the cool and quiet street atmosphere of Hokkaido.

In the practice room, Wu Geng was obsessed with that short piece of dance, as if her whole life was limited to it, and if she didn't cross it, there would never be a way out in the future. After a little relaxation, she felt much more relaxed. Before, she was too stubborn.

No matter how complete the dance is in the future, she will not stay at this point and will continue to do so in the future.

They walked for nearly thirty minutes. Keeping on the road like this was not an option. They couldn't walk all the way home.

At this time, Zhongyuan pointed to a baseball stadium by the road and suggested:
Chapter completed!