184 You can definitely do it

　　Ichika wipes her face with a tissue and looks at him suspiciously.

　　"This..."

　　"Think of it as a procedure. Just this once, if you don't want to sway him, just say so, and we can pay the bill and leave." Shinichi shrugged and smiled lightly.

　　Ichika maintained a surprised expression, moving her finger, but didn't immediately extend it.

　　"May I ask a question first... Why do you have to cheer me on?"

　　Complicated emotions appeared in her eyes, she looked into his eyes earnestly, as if she wanted to see through his thoughts.

　　"Why... There are so many people in this world who like to ask why."

　　Sighing, Shinichi and Ichika looked at each other, then touched his ear with the other hand, pretending to be calm.

　　"Not to mention the friendship that I don't feel at all, after all, you are also an important member of my committee… No, I can't say it's important… After all, you are also an indispensable member of the committee, and I heard you complain again. ... There are so many things, how is it possible to ignore the expression on your face."

　　Simply put, Shinichi wanted to cheer her up.

　　But in this world, humans cannot live "simplely". If the ways of speaking were more complicated, the embarrassment would torment less.

　　Sensing the awkward atmosphere around him, Shinichi said.

　　"Ahh! I'll say it straight, it's just as hard for me to come clean about other people as it was for me to stop being so brave!"

　　"I don't want to know why you don't want to audition now, and I don't want to know about any other tricky stuff, let me throw up my hands and let you, I just-"

　　Before Shinichi finished speaking, a soft and cold hand landed on his palm lightly, and there was a burst of refreshing touch like a ripple spreading.

　　Just like an invitation to dance at a banquet, revealing white arms, Ichika stretched out her hand and calmly accepted his invitation.

　　"I love acting, I don't want to give up my dream, this audition is very important to me... Even so, so what?"

　　Ichika asked with a chuckle, for some reason, Shinichi could hear the helplessness and loneliness in her voice.

　　For this, Shinichi smiled reassuringly.

　　"That's good."

　　Her thumb firmly pressed against her four slender fingers, making him impossible for him to tug at will.

　　Then, under Ichika's puzzled look, the other hand slowly lifted up, then swung down vigorously!

　　snap!

　　There was a high five, and the customers watched curiously as the man held the girl's palm between his hands, a satisfied expression on his face.

　　Ichika's eyes suddenly widened, and she witnessed the scene of Shinichi slapping the back of her hand in disbelief. She felt a slight heat and numbness, which almost made her want to reflexively put down her hand. When she pulled it back, Shinichi held her palm and remained motionless.

　　Ichika didn't know why, but her heartbeat quickened this time, gradually dyeing her neck like the glow of a sunset red.

　　"Holding" his hand, replaying Yotsuba's appearance in his mind, Shinichi ignored the strange eyes, and said loudly.

　　"Everything will be fine!"

　　"This is something someone pushed on me once, and it might not apply to you, so I'll change it—"

　　"If I say it, it will definitely work!"

　　Ichika slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.

　　Shinichi's voice was transmitted straight to the bottom of her heart, and every word and every word touched her heart.

　　"Even if your acting skills are terrible and your smile is very fake, you can do it, believe in yourself!"

　　"Regardless of the final success or failure, I believe that you in the past have never been lazy, worked hard, and never relaxed for a moment, as long as you think about such things!"

　　"You don't need a reason to believe in yourself."

　　"You don't need a reason to stick to your dreams."

　　Although a little pale and weak for someone who didn't have a dream to say this, but from the bottom of his heart, Shinichi thought so.

　　"Don't think about such complicated things, tell me, now, what are you going to do?"

Shinichi pointed at the bearded uncle approaching outside the glass window, through the rain, and called out to them.

　　Ichika followed his gaze and said softly.

　　"I… Will be auditioning now."

　　"Flustered?"

　　"Flustered..."

　　*✊🏻*

　　"Flustered?"

　　Ichika tapped him with her other hand and with an unscrupulous smile on her face, she said, "No!"

　　"Then what do you think, will you succeed or fail the audition later?"

　　"It must fail..."

　　*✊🏻*

　　"Yes, that will work..." Ichika was really about to cry, Shinichi didn't hold back when he hit her, it hurt so bad!

　　"I don't believe you, and no one else expects you. Remember how you feel now, Ichika." Shinichi smiled and let go of his hand.

　　Ichika hastily hid her hand to prevent him from touching it again. While stroking the back of her red hand, she said angrily.

　　"How painful... How can there be any way to cheer up! And what's the use of lying to myself, my acting skills won't get any better, and let me remember the feeling of being bullied by you… Shinichi-kun, you idiot!"

　　"Are you the stupid one? I already did this, but I didn't even notice…"

　　Shinichi spread his arms helplessly.

　　"If you can't fool yourself, how can you fool the audience?"

　　"The so-called acting ability, don't you think?"

　　Deceiving yourself, deceiving others.

　　If you can't convey your sincerity, then put on the most sophisticated mask that resembles your sincerity, as long as you believe in sincerity…

　　Then, lies can become truth, and hypocrisy can become truth.

　　"Go, Ichika. Show them the highest level of your fake smile!"

　　Shinichi showed a very fake bright smile.

　　"I've said this by receiving a lot of strange looks. You'd better give me the expected positive reaction, or I'll be sure to give you little shoes to wear."

Shinichi held back his embarrassment.

　　Ichika couldn't help but laugh, she quickly covered her mouth.

　　"Hey, Shinichi-kun, why can't you seriously cheer me on to the end?"

　　"Because there's no need." And this is the tradition of the Asada family.

　　"Why isn't that necessary?" Ichika continued to ask curiously, and Shinichi pouted, and pushed her shoulder halfway towards the door with force.

　　"You really have a lot of questions, I prefer not to answer them. Look, the manager is waving at you, why don't you leave immediately?"

　　"Okay, okay, don't push me~" Ichika giggled, opened the glass door of the tavern, and stopped in front of the door.

　　Turning around, she looked at Shinichi.

　　"To be honest, I haven't been entertained, and I don't know if I can enjoy a birthday party with my sister as happily as usual after failing the audition."

　　Shinichi raised his palm, slapped the back of his hand hard.

　　Ichika could barely maintain the expression on her face but she still played on her acting skills in time and kept on laughing.

　　"However, you told me a lot of things, which made me feel a little easier... No, that was a lot easier."

　　She raised she hand and touched her cheek.

　　The pure white mask just now should have changed, right? Changing into the smiling mask she wears the most.

　　"So thank you~ Another day I'll treat you to dinner, a movie and afternoon tea in return. Now Ichika will complete the first step towards realizing her dream!"

　　She took a deep breath.

　　Of course, Ichika is just an ordinary girl, her passion is acting, and she loves acting.

　　However, her acting skills weren't great, she could only fake a smile...

　　Efforts are in vain, and the audition faces failure...

　　What else could such a self do now?

　　(Use shallow acting skills to take the role.)

　　(Using a more perfect smile than anyone else, so the judges would recognize my acting skills.)

　　(As long as I can touch my own heart, I can touch everyone's heart...)

　　Like Shinichi told herself, just go to the auditions... Don't think about the rest, believe that she can do the simplest thing.

　　So, the current Ichika decides to face her dream again, and uses a fake smile on her face to try to see if she can reach this end of the road.

　　...

　　"That's right, Shinichi-kun."

　　Under the bearded uncle's umbrella, Ichika opened the car door suddenly turned around and stopped Shinichi who was about to return to the cafe.

　　"Hah? What is it?"

　　Under the rainy night, Shinichi couldn't see her face clearly, he could only faintly see her smile.

　　"I… Seems to like you a little!"

　　Shinichi's expression froze, "Ha...? Why are you suddenly joking…"

　　"Is this a joke~" Ichika smiled happily and got into the car, leaving only one sentence.

　　"The so-called acting skills, don't you think~"

　　The car sped away, Shinichi maintained his stiff posture.

　　Know that ...

　　The interaction between the two just now was too eye-catching, and Ichika's uncontrollable volume sounded throughout the cafe because the shop door was open, so now all the customers inside were looking at the coffee shop standing by the door with strange and surprised eyes.

　　Not long after, applause of blessing sounded one after another.

　　The warmth of the gathered gaze seemed to be able to dispel even the cold of a rainy night.

　　At the same time it can also make Shinichi's embarrassment explode instantly.