When Asakura arrived at the station landmark, the meeting point, more than ten minutes early, he didn't see Gotō Hitori.
Just as he took out his phone, intending to send her a message to ask where she was, he heard a timid voice from behind him: "Th-that… Good morning."
Startled, Asakura turned around and found the pink-haired girl, wearing sunglasses and a mask, standing behind him like a ghost.
"Hitori? When did you arrive?"
Asakura asked in surprise, "I don't think I saw you just now…"
"I, I just arrived too…"
The girl said softly, then awkwardly distorted her body: "There are too many people here, so I just hid in that corner over there."
Asakura looked at the corner she pointed out; it was the kind of dark place that few people would notice even in a busy station, to use a more vivid analogy, it was the kind of place where slugs would appear.
"Sorry, did I make you wait long?"
Asakura said.
"No, I didn't wait long. There's an ant nest over there, watching the ants was quite interesting…"
The girl said nonchalantly: "I only counted to four thousand three hundred and ninety-two ants when Asakura-kun arrived."
Asakura: "…"
So how early did you arrive…?
Asakura rubbed his forehead, deciding not to dwell on these small matters: "Let's go, we'll head to the shopping street first. They say there are many good and affordable small shops near this station's shopping street."
"Okay, okay!"
Gotō Hitori followed closely behind Asakura, her small face lowered, lost in thought.
Based on Asakura's understanding of the girl, her mind was probably completely blank right now, already a chaotic mess due to panic.
So he took the initiative to ask: "Has anyone contacted you these past two days?"
"Yes, yes…"
Gotō Hitori was startled for a moment, then nodded vigorously.
"And how did you reply?"
Asakura asked curiously.
Although he had already instructed the girl beforehand, considering that Gotō Hitori was a super-introverted and reclusive person who found it hard to even say no, Asakura was quite interested in how she responded to others' persuasions.
"I, I pretended to be Chinese and couldn't understand what they were saying…"
The girl said softly.
"…Alright."
Whenever Asakura thought he understood Gotō Hitori, she always managed to surprise him with something amusing.
After all, those who could actually dig up the girl's phone number and call her had most likely already done their background check on her. How could they not know that Gotō Hitori was a native islander and had no East Asian blood?
However, in their eyes, Gotō Hitori was using such a clumsy method to fool them—she couldn't even say "Thank you, xiaolongbao, goodbye, eggplant" while pretending to be Chinese—it was practically screaming that she didn't want any contact with them. Continuing to pester her would likely only be self-humiliating, so they all gave up on persuading Gotō Hitori.
After all, the people responsible for recruitment and persuasion were not the same ones who had personally heard the girl's 'song', and at the time, there was almost no footage left in the auditorium because Amakusa Shino had explicitly forbidden recording. Therefore, Gotō Hitori's situation did not spread widely, only by word of mouth among a small group of people.
Furthermore, while there was no video footage in the auditorium, don't forget that there were performance videos preserved from STARRY. However, the reviews these videos received, even to put it politely, were 'not particularly outstanding.' This led to the talent scouts responsible for persuasion not actually valuing Gotō Hitori that much.
In a sense, it indeed achieved the effect the girl initially desired…
"Do you want to eat crepes?"
On the way to the shopping street, Asakura saw a crepe food truck in business and asked the girl.
"I, I'll go buy it!"
Gotō Hitori looked at the food truck with a queue, not knowing what she remembered (it was actually the guide she saw last night), her expression tragic, saying with a look of resignation: "What flavor does Asakura-kun want?"
"Chocolate is fine… Are you sure I don't need to go buy it?"
Asakura couldn't help but ask.
A momentary flicker of desire clearly crossed the girl's face, but then she shook her head: "L-leave it to me!"
What was meant to be a serious and solemn declaration of her resolve, ended up with her biting her tongue, and the girl's face instantly turned red.
She ran towards the food truck as if fleeing, or like Don Quixote charging at windmills.
Asakura watched her retreating figure with concern.
About ten minutes later, Gotō Hitori finally dragged her weary body back to Asakura, with an expression of accomplishment and lingering fear, as if she had returned alive from Normandy, and handed the chocolate crepe in her hand to Asakura.
What kind of nonsense is it to get yourself so tired when the date has just begun…
Asakura suppressed a sigh and took a bite of the crepe.
It must be said that the crepe food truck that attracted so many people to queue had some skill. The crepe was soft and fragrant, the cream inside was of very high quality, silky smooth and sweet without being overly cloying. The banana slices and chocolate sauce inside complemented each other perfectly, giving it a unique flavor reminiscent of chocolate bananas often seen at festivals. It was the best crepe Asakura had ever eaten—before this, Asakura had always considered crepes to be like macarons, a typical example of appearance over taste.
However, after this, Asakura looked up, somewhat puzzled, at the girl with empty hands, and asked: "Where's yours?"
The girl froze for a few seconds, then her body trembled slightly.
With a long face, she looked at the food truck where the queue had grown significantly, and softly said in a voice on the verge of tears: "I forgot…"
Asakura sighed helplessly, handed the chocolate crepe to the girl, "Is strawberry cream okay?"
"Huh?"
The girl was startled.
At this moment, Asakura had already quickly walked over, rejoining the queue beside the crepe food truck.
Feeling that she had messed up again, the girl looked at Asakura's broad back with frustration, then hung her head. Her gaze was then drawn to the crepe in her hand; on the crepe, which had a small piece missing, Asakura's tooth marks were surprisingly clear.
Gotō Hitori, like a cat stealing a fish, nervously looked up at Asakura, who was still queuing not far away, then looked around to make sure no one was watching her. Only then did she lower her face and take a small bite of the crepe, her cheeks puffing out like a hamster's.
"…Ah, so sweet."