"Haaah~" Hiko yawned a long yawn as he watched the performers take the stage, a wave of drowsiness washing over him.
Ai heard Hiko's yawn, turned to see his wide-mouthed, sleepy expression, and asked, "Hiko-kun, is it your bedtime already?"
"Not at all. Usually, I sleep after ten o'clock. I'm sleepy now because I stayed up late last night making plans and didn't go to bed until past two o'clock this morning... Haaah~" Hiko finished speaking and yawned again, his eyes misting over.
"You only slept at two o'clock? And you arrived at the company so early this morning?"
Ai was surprised by this. When she arrived at the company this morning, it was only around seven o'clock, and she had already seen Hiko there.
That meant he had only slept for a little over three hours.
Thinking of this, Ai said to Hiko, "Since you're sleepy, why don't you get some rest? It's just a musical performance anyway."
"Wouldn't that be a bit inappropriate?" Hiko thought that if he fell asleep, he wouldn't know when he would wake up, and if it was too late, it wouldn't be good.
"You don't have to worry about oversleeping; I'll wake you up when the performance ends," Ai seemed to see Hiko's concern and comforted him. "Besides, isn't the purpose of this trip just an on-site inspection? We've already seen the venue, so it's fine if we don't watch the performance."
"Since you've said so, I'll get some rest then. When we go back..." Hiko felt very sleepy and agreed with Ai, then almost blurted out his intention to continue staying up late tonight to work on the project.
Although if he forced himself, he could last until he got home.
But now he was already a bit disoriented.
Since she's advised me to rest, I'll rest for a bit.
"Then I apologize... I'll just sleep for a bit..." Hiko finished speaking, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair.
"You said when we go back, what are you going to do..." Ai heard Hiko's words and pressed him.
"I originally planned to go home and sleep," Hiko said, closing his eyes perfunctorily to Ai.
After hearing this answer, Ai didn't think much of it and said to Hiko, "I see... Then hurry up and sleep, otherwise, once the performance starts, you'll find it hard to fall asleep."
"Mmm..." Hiko placed his hands on the armrests, relaxed his body, and began to fall asleep.
After half a minute, Ai noticed that Hiko had already fallen asleep.
Indeed, only sleeping for a little over three hours and still holding on until now was very difficult.
When he said he stayed up late making plans, he must have meant the morning running and exercise schedule, right?
But if it was just that much planning, shouldn't it have been completed in about an hour?
Ai started to ponder Hiko's words.
However, she didn't think for long before she heard the singing from the stage.
"Ta la la la..."
"...Who can stop us, who has begun to shine?"
"Who can stop us?"
...Ai's attention was drawn by the sound of the performance on stage.
It was then that she saw only one woman on stage holding a microphone and singing, performing dance moves from time to time as she sang.
Ai's gaze was also drawn to her, watching intently the dazzling woman radiating light in the center of the stage.
Song after song was performed, and time flowed by.
Another song ended, and Ai glanced at Hiko beside her.
Just as she was about to turn her gaze back to the stage, she saw Hiko's body swaying, looking as if he could tip over to either side at any moment.
If he fell, he would surely be startled awake, right?
Considering how hard Hiko works and how often he looks out for me, I'll let him rest well.
Ai reached out and supported Hiko's tottering body, leaning him slightly towards herself.
At the same time, she also leaned her body closer to Hiko, allowing him to rest against her and continue sleeping.
After Ai dealt with this minor incident, her gaze returned to the stage.
'Her skill is so good... I can't compare at all...'
Hoshino Ai silently made a comparison in her heart.
"Thank you all for your support..." The woman on stage thanked the audience after singing the last song on her setlist.
"Hiko, wake up."
Ai heard the announcement that the concert had ended and gently shook Hiko, trying to rouse him.
"Huh?"
Hiko was continuously shaken, his sleeping consciousness gradually clearing.
"The concert is over." Ai saw Hiko wake up, then withdrew her hand and moved her body back to the center of her seat.
"Oh, oh..." Hiko was a bit dazed after just waking up, staring blankly ahead, recalling his situation.
"Let's go~" Seeing Hiko still in a daze, Ai stood up, extended her hand to him, and said.
Hiko looked blankly at Ai and took her hand.
"Are you always this silly when you wake up?" Ai pulled Hiko up from his seat with force, then let go, but she was unexpectedly grabbed back by Hiko, failing to release her hand.
"I'm not silly," Hiko said, holding Ai's hand and assessing his physical condition. "Time really flies. I feel like I just closed my eyes, and then I heard your call. But I'm not sleepy now... it's just that my eyes feel a bit dry."
"Your dry eyes are because your routine is irregular; even catching up on sleep won't help," Ai replied.
She suddenly remembered how she had just voluntarily let him lean on her shoulder to sleep, and her cheeks immediately flushed. She quickly pulled her hand away from Hiko's grip with force and said, "So, you must rest well in the future and don't stay up late. Staying up late will not only make you feel unwell the next day but also lower your body's immunity, leading to illness."
"Feeling unwell the next day is a fact, but lowering immunity? I'm not so sure about that," Hiko had only heard about sudden death, but staying up late and getting sick? He hadn't heard of it.
However, he didn't stay up until two or three in the morning every day and wake up before six or seven, so sudden death or anything like that was impossible for him.
Just a little dark circles, it's really nothing serious.
Hiko was silent for a moment and said, "But since you've said so, I'll try my best."
"Staying up late will cause dark circles, and dark circles are a warning signal from your body, telling you that you should rest." Ai didn't remember where she had heard this information, and also noticed some dark marks appearing under Hiko's eyes. "Not 'try your best,' but you absolutely must rest! Don't die young from sudden death due to years of staying up late."
Hiko thought about how he used to stay up until one or two every night and wake up at six or seven in the morning for a long time, and he was fine, so he said indifferently, "Sudden death or anything like that is absolutely impossible."
"Hiko-kun, that way of thinking is very dangerous."
Ai felt that Hiko hadn't taken her words to heart at all, and seeing that his complexion wasn't very good, she said, "Your current physical condition is very bad!"