Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

"Let me make it clear in advance that I won't play 'Kasuga Shadow'... and I won't play the songs written specifically for me either." Seeing that the matter was finalized, Nagasaki Suyo, who didn't want to be stabbed in the back by Yarona again, spoke decisively.

"Su Shi is so stingy..."

"Shut up."

"Oh."

Ignoring the pink-haired girl who was being scolded, Shiina Riki, lost in thought, quickly realized the problem they were facing: "So what song should we sing when we perform that day?"

"Can't you just play the piece we've been practicing?"

Shiina Riki glanced at Chihaya Aine unhappily, and was about to scold her when Naruse Ritsu reminded her, "That song has no lyrics. We can't just let Deng stand there and do nothing, right?"

"Oh... I'm sorry." Looking at Takamatsu Deng with an apologetic look, Chihaya Aine scratched her cheek awkwardly, "Then, can't we sing the song we performed in the live before?"

"Of course I can, but is one song really enough?" Looking at Ritsu Naruse, Shiina Riki waited for the other party to give an answer.

"Probably not."

At this point, Naruse Ritsu remembered that this event was different from the warm-up at the previous live. And even as a warm-up, they had only played two songs back then.

It might be possible to have them perform the song that he had commissioned Toyokawa Shoko to write, but considering the attitudes of Nagasaki Suyo and Shiina Riki...

Haha, I will send it.

42. Toyokawa Shoko is absent-minded

When the bell rang, the teacher, who had just finished the lesson plan, did not continue the class but directly announced the end of the get out of class.

Shoko Toyokawa quickly packed her schoolbag and prepared to get up and leave the classroom.

Because she had promised Ritsu Narose to compose music for him, she did not go to the orchestra club's activity room to practice piano as usual, but went directly to the recording studio that Ritsu Narose had booked for her.

But just after taking two steps, Toyokawa Shoko heard someone calling her from behind: "Toyokawa-san—"

When she turned around, she realized that the person who called her was the class monitor.

Just like the class monitor in most people's memories, the class monitor of Toyokawa Shoko's class was a typical good student who could serve as a representative of the students.

"Um, Toyokawa-san..."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Ah—no," the class monitor said, looking a little unsure how to approach this student who usually acted alone. "I just wanted to ask if you're free later. We're all having activities this weekend, so if you don't mind..."

"Sorry, I don't have time on the weekend."

He knew in his heart why the other party invited him - it was simply because he saw that "Toyokawa-san" was always alone and seemed to be isolated from the class.

Shoko Toyokawa did not dislike such kind people, so she did not treat the classmate in front of her with the same attitude as she would treat an ignorant young girl.

Resolutely rejecting her kindness, Toyokawa Shoko left the classroom alone under her regretful and distressed gaze.

In fact, it was not just the monitor. Yesterday, the teacher also tried to communicate with her in the name of "chatting".

"You've seemed absent-minded lately. Is there something bothering you, Toyokawa-san? If you'd like, you can talk to me. Don't worry about me telling anyone else."

What's on your mind?

Everyone has worries.

Toyokawa Shoko did not comment on this. She just talked to her elders with the same attitude of an excellent student that she had shown in the past.

It seems that I didn't completely convince the teacher yesterday.

but……

Are you absent-minded?

As she walked down the stairs with her head down, Shoko Toyokawa's thoughts suddenly became a little confused.

She believes that she never gets distracted during class and always maintains enough energy to balance studying and working.

But why do they say they are absent-minded?

After leaving school and taking the tram, Shoko Toyokawa came to the recording studio where she was alone.

The space that was used to having two people present now seemed particularly empty and lonely.

She took out her phone and put it away several times before she hesitantly opened the chat app and asked Ritsu Narose if he was too busy to bring his lyrics today.

Very good, this shouldn't cause him to misunderstand.

After sending the message, Shoko Toyokawa didn't realize how strange it was that she was struggling with the wording just now.

After a few minutes, the message on the chat bar remained in the "unread" state. After more than ten minutes, it still did not change.

Nothing will happen to Ritsu Narose, right?

It was he who clearly agreed to meet here today, but he has yet to show up - this is not like him at all.

Shoko Toyokawa was a little hesitant, wondering whether to continue staying here or risk meeting a certain brown-haired guy and go to RING to inquire about Ritsu Narose's news.

Fortunately, she didn't have to test herself on whether she was more worried about Naruse Ritsu or less interested in meeting Nagasaki Suyo.

Hearing the message alert tone coming from the mobile phone, Shoko Toyokawa hurriedly looked at the message sent by Ritsu Narose.

Then she was stunned.

What does it mean to "run into a drunk you know and start rambling to him about the first half of your life, and the tavern owner gets so annoyed by the noise that he demands to wrestle with him and finally tells the loser to get out of the tavern"?

Yeah, what's going on?

Walking on the side of the road carrying a drunk and unreliable adult, Ritsu Narose deeply regretted believing the rumors on the Internet.

It is said that "you can hear many strange stories in the tavern", but when Ritsu Narose came to the tavern called Valhalla to collect materials for his lyrics, he only saw a middle-aged man, whom he had met once before, sitting alone at the counter.

The lyrics prepared for Toyokawa Shoko had naturally been written long ago, and he was thinking about the songs for the band's future performances.

Although the task of writing the lyrics was undertaken solely by Takamatsu Deng, it was not appropriate to put all the pressure on him. With this in mind, he set aside some time in his daily schedule to think about writing lyrics.

If nothing unexpected happened, today's collection trip should have ended on time.

But if nothing unexpected happens, it often means that an accident is about to happen.

First, the decadent man who called himself "Toyotomi" started talking nonsense after drinking a large glass of wine called "Abdominal Shock" - criticizing current social ills, men's XP... He kept throwing out endless topics, from Britain's Cod War to the lizards that were brutally invaded in India, all of which emerged one after another in his talk.

If things ended here, Ritsu Narose could be considered satisfied - after all, the other party had broadened his horizons.

Ritsu Naruse had never heard that there were humans in this world who tried to have sex with lizards.

But unfortunately, the bartender deliberately added more alcohol to his drink and he forgot that his mouth had a "closing" function, and his noise finally caused the displeasure of the tavern owner.

As the only person in the tavern who chatted with the man, Ritsu Narose was naturally classified as his friend by the thick-skinned owner and had to participate in her wrestling duel on the man's behalf.

Naturally, Ritsu Narose would not lose, but in order to save face for the boss who was lying on the ground with his butt in the air, he could only drag the man out of the tavern first.

Of course, everyone still pays for their own drinks.

Ritsu Narose wasn't enthusiastic enough to send a drunk man home.

He had long felt the phone in his pocket vibrating, but he was too busy wrestling to pay attention to it in order to "control himself from killing anyone."

It was not until now that he had time to reply to Toyokawa Shoko's message.

The reason for being late was really a bit outrageous, but he couldn't find a more suitable excuse to lie.

After sending a brief summary of the whole process to the other party, Ritsu Narose prepared to set off for the studio where Shoko Toyokawa was waiting for him.

However, what Mingse Ritsu did not expect was that the man next to him, who was originally drunk and could not even stand steadily, suddenly sobered up as if he had been slapped in the face after glancing at his mobile phone screen.

No, it's not like.

Accompanied by a crisp slap sound in the air, the man who regained his consciousness was first shocked, then confused, then suspicious, and finally looked at Ritsu Narose with an expression as wary of a wild boar breaking into the vegetable field.

43. Despair is like a wolf, devouring thoughts (two in one)

After sobering up, he didn't expect that when he neglected his family education, his daughter would be targeted by a gangster who frequented bars.

The Tower of Babel in my heart was destroyed by the judgment of God. I felt that in the past year or so of living a life of drunkenness and dreams, I was being wantonly ravaged and toyed with by reality.

I forgot in the middle.

I forgot about it later.

In short, I fell into deep despair.

……

The shocking truth brought the man's alcohol-numbed brain circuits back to normal.

He was like an outdoor stone statue eroded by wind and rain, staring motionlessly at the young man beside him, his whole body shrouded in an atmosphere of dejection and pessimism.

"It's like a gambler who has staked everything on the table, only to regret it when he realizes he has nothing left, not even his sweetheart. He starts to think about taking apart his remaining clothes, twisting them into a rope, and then hanging himself to death after getting drunk on a stormy night."

Hearing that this young man had made up such a story about him, the man, whose real identity was Toyokawa Shoko's biological father, looked at the wild boar with hatred, and in his heart, he had already raised his dangerousness level to the peak.

Naruse Ritsu had no idea what was going on in the drunk's mind. He thought he was still in a daze, and wouldn't even react if a stray dog ​​on the side of the road peed at him.

While reading and writing, he saved this hard-earned material in the memo of his mobile phone.

After handling this matter, Narushe Ritsu walked towards the station. But when he turned at the intersection for the third time, he found that the sneaky middle-aged man was still following him.

After a little thought, he used his identity as a foreign friend to contact the police and sent the suspicious drunkard behind him to receive re-education from the police.

The small ripples subsided, but when Ritsu Narose arrived at the livehouse, he saw Shoko Toyokawa holding her forehead and sighing, her face filled with helpless anger.

Seeing Naruse Ritsu arrive, Toyokawa Boxo suppressed the anger on his face and apologized, "Sorry, I have something urgent to do. Can you please put the composing work on hold for today?"

"Are you having any trouble? If you don't mind, I can help. Maybe there's something I can do for you."

"No need."

When she thought about going to the police station to take away her father who was being scolded by the police officer, Toyokawa Shoko had the urge to jump into the river to wash away the embarrassment and shame.

Walking into that place in public, and leaving with her father in disgrace—every step was a test of her thick skin.

"Asking for help isn't something to be ashamed of; it's actually a sign of progress from youth to maturity." Seeing Toyokawa Shoko's resistance, Naruse Ritsu gently advised, "'Taking on everything alone' sounds cool, but it can also easily lead to exhaustion."

Faced with these sincere words, Toyokawa Shoko's bottom line, which she had always adhered to, finally loosened.

"Let me explain first, the place we are going to is..."

Students who have not yet fully entered society naturally have a fear of places like police stations. Toyokawa Shoko opened her mouth and finally forced herself to speak.

Facts have proved that the surprised look from Ritsu Narose alone is enough to make her feel uneasy.

"That place... I just happened to stop by when I came here. If you don't mind, let me lead the way, okay?"

"Eh? Is everything okay?"

"It's okay. In fact, you'll get familiar with places like that if you go there a few times."

Hearing Naruse Ritsu's words of advice, Toyokawa Shoko's expression couldn't help but become a little subtle. The strange feeling in her heart reached its peak after she saw him chatting with a police officer.

Seeing that Naruse Ritsu looked very familiar with the place, Toyokawa Shoko asked curiously, "You... come here often?"

"Not really," after explaining his purpose to the police officer, Naruse Ritsu took Toyokawa Shoko to a room to pick someone up, "I just happened to come here today."

"You happened to come here?"

"Yes, I was picked up by a drunk while I was out collecting materials. Concerned about his safety, I contacted the police to deal with him."

"This is the room the police officer mentioned." Standing at the door of a room, Naruse Ritsu looked at Toyokawa Shoko, "Do you want me to step aside for a while?"

"...No need."

Not one to just walk away after helping someone, Toyokawa Shoko thanked Ritsu Naruse again for his help, then took a deep breath and walked into the room with a stern look that Ritsu Naruse had never seen before.

Following behind Toyokawa Shoko, Naruse Ritsu entered the room together.

There was another policeman in the room - an old policeman with slightly gray hair who was explaining the pros and cons. He looked so heartbroken as if he saw a well-known unfilial son standing in front of him.

The middle-aged man who was chatting in the pub could only nod his head repeatedly, as if he realized how sad what he had done was.

Seeing Ritsu Naruse and Shoko Toyokawa walk into the room, the old policeman seemed to have become a Cybertron that had obtained fire, a guest in the Velvet Room who had awakened his persona, and a protagonist of a novel who was reborn with a system - the experience that had accumulated in his belly for decades was vividly expressed by him, and he seemed to have become the new-age incarnation of a great monk from the Tang Dynasty in the East.

After satisfying his craving, he waved to the two people standing stupidly at the door.

"Work hard and start a new life!" The old policeman shouted with full energy and patted the middle-aged man's shoulder hard, making him grimace in pain.

The original smell of alcohol had long since dissipated, and the middle-aged man nodded hurriedly. But when he turned around, he saw the culprit who had sent him to the police station.

"It's you, kid—"