Comet Dragon, breaking into the gravity field

After saying that, Ritsu Narose looked at the store environment through the glass again, then adjusted his expression and tried his best to make himself look like just an ordinary customer.

When he walked into the store, he found that there was no one at the cash register at the door.

However, the reminder sound when entering the door still sounded at the right time, and a petite figure soon appeared behind the counter.

Just like a working emperor who knows the art of working, the blue-haired girl has a smile on her face that all workers must have, completely unlike a certain cashier with the same blue hair who gives customers a sour face all day long.

Although she was wearing the store's work uniform, the temperament she exuded in her every move and her gentle and polite tone proved that she had received a good family education - this was definitely not something that could be accumulated through time in a working life.

Although he was sure that this was the target he was looking for, Ritsu Narose was not in a hurry to reveal his purpose.

Pretending to be a first-time customer, he walked to another counter under the pretext of "buying skin care products for his girlfriend" and stood behind it, while taking out his mobile phone to record the clues he now had.

While he was typing silently, Ritsu Narose saw Shoko Toyokawa, who was arranging shelves in the store, suddenly walk to the door with an ugly look on her face and look outside.

No way……

The feeling of foreboding grew stronger, and it reached its peak when he saw Toyokawa Shoko walk out of the store. Soon after, the girl in the Tsuki no Mori school uniform who had been standing across the street followed Toyokawa Shoko into the store.

Isn’t this all exposed?

Seeing Wakaba Mu's gaze seeking companions, Mingse Ritsu could only leave behind the shelf in disappointment, still holding a pack of LIHAW facial masks in her hand to try to prove that she was really here to buy skin care products.

When she saw him, Toyokawa Shoko finally understood something. The friendly attitude she had shown before had disappeared without a trace. She frowned, like a small animal with its fur standing on end and growling in anger.

Ignoring this customer with ulterior motives, Toyokawa Shoko asked Wakaba Mutsu, "Didn't I tell you not to come to me at this time?"

"Because there was no reply to the message I sent before..."

Hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko took out her phone and opened the chat interface.

Above the message from Wakaba Mu today, the message that she had temporarily put aside yesterday and completely forgot to reply to was prominently displayed there.

Forced to suppress her anger, Toyokawa Shoko turned to mention the other person standing in the store at the moment: "Then why did you bring this person..."

Before she could finish her words, she saw the facial mask in Ritsu Narose's hand, and suddenly remembered what Ritsu Narose said after entering the store.

"Could it be that you and he—"

Her shocked gaze wandered between Ritsu Narose and Mutsu Wakaba, and Shoko Toyokawa suddenly didn't know what to say.

After being stunned for several seconds, she seemed to barely understand the current situation and looked at Ruoye Mu with a serious attitude: "Does your family know about this?"

"do not know."

She had never thought that Wakaba Mu would be so bold in this matter. Toyokawa Shoko took a deep breath and reorganized her words: "Mu..."

"Excuse me--"

Finally, Ritsu Narose, who was standing aside, couldn't help it anymore.

One was a simple inquiry, the other a mixture of suspicion and disgust. Facing the suspicious gazes of Wakaba Mutsu and Toyokawa Ei VII, Narose Ritsu calmly explained, "I don't think you're talking about the same thing."

"Mu, aren't you and him in that kind of relationship?" After a few seconds of silence, Toyokawa Shoko hurriedly looked at the silent girl beside her, rarely revealing her inner anxiety.

"…What's the relationship?"

Faced with this ignorant gaze, Toyokawa Shoko finally breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head to indicate that it was just a misunderstanding.

Seeing that the conversation, which had been off-center, was finally back on track, Narose Ritsu waved the mask in her hand and asked tentatively, "Um, could you please settle the bill?"

It can be seen that Shoko Toyokawa's vigilance towards him has decreased a little, but at best it is only to the extent of replacing the "large capacity" Lay's potato chips with ordinary packaging.

Even though she was unhappy, Shoko Toyokawa still maintained the minimum etiquette as a worker and served the customer Ritsu Naruse.

While Ritsu Narose was paying the bill, Wakaba Mutsu seemed to have finally figured out what the "misunderstanding" that Xiangzi had just mentioned was.

She tilted her head to glance at Naruse Ritsu, then whispered to Toyokawa Shoko behind the cash register, "He and I are not in a relationship."

"He Sushi is..."

Thinking of what Naruse Ritsu had said before, Wakaba Mu felt that what she said was not appropriate. But when she wanted to change her words, she saw Toyokawa Shoko's expression, as if she had eaten a large mouthful of wasabi.

The expression on Ritsu Narose's face was no less striking.

"I think……"

"Sir, if you continue to harass me, I will consider calling the police and other measures."

The already cold tone instantly dropped to freezing point. Seeing Toyokawa Shoko like this, Naruse Ritsu just wanted to call Nagasaki Suyo immediately to ask what she had done to make the other party so disgusted.

120. First Contact

Although her financial situation was extremely difficult, Toyokawa Shoko knew that her physical condition was not enough to support her long working hours. If she neglected her health in order to work and became ill, it would only lead to unnecessary expenses.

It was already late when she finished her part-time job, and she changed back into her regular clothes and went to the reserved location to meet Ritsu Narose and the others.

The meeting place was a nearby family restaurant. From the outside, it looked a bit old - just like the Akabane area, which gives people the feeling of rusty scrap metal.

Toyokawa Shoko had never been to such a place before.

It would have been impossible for her to dine here in the past, and now she doesn't have the money to sit here.

Pushing open the door, the warm light shone on her. Looking around, there weren't many customers in the restaurant.

Most of the few guests were sitting with their families, and there were also a few couples who looked like middle school students sitting on the same sofa doing homework together.

Shoko Toyokawa soon saw Ritsu Narose sitting in the corner.

"Where's Wakaba Mu?"

"she's back."

Naruse Ritsu and Wakaba Mutsu had arrived in Akabane at 4 p.m., and it was already past 8 p.m. Two hours earlier, Wakaba Mutsu's family had called to ask why she hadn't returned home yet.

He believed that Toyokawa Shoko knew about Wakaba Mu's situation - that's why she offered to wait until she finished her part-time job to discuss it in detail.

After sending Wakaba Mutsu to the station, Naruse Ritsu waited there alone in silence.

After the girl opposite him sat down, he slid the menu on the table in front of her, and while she was looking down at the menu, he secretly observed this girl whose name he had "long heard of".

A small amount of hair on both sides of her head was tied into two symmetrical ponytails with black hairbands. Her beautiful and smooth blue hair was draped behind her, with only the slightly curved spiral hair on the front side falling on the edge of her round cheek.

This is Shoko Toyokawa, the keyboardist of CRYCHIC. She was the one who pushed the band to form, but she was also the first to leave.

Seeing her push the menu back in front of him, Naruse Ritsu said, "Let me treat you tonight. Just consider it my apology for disturbing Toyokawa-san's work this afternoon."

"If you're nervous, you can order a hot drink first. Is there anything you'd like, Toyokawa-san?"

Ritsu Narose hit the nail on the head about her inner uneasiness. Toyokawa Shoko was about to habitually raise her spikes to protect herself, but the warm light above her head silently reminded her that this was just a family restaurant for people to relax.

"Black tea will do."

Is it the same habit as Su Shi... But Ritsu Narose doesn't like to step on landmines in front of others, he just silently mutters in his heart.

In Toyokawa Shoko's eyes, she was also surprised that Narose Ritsu's behavior was different from Nagasaki Suyo's.

Although there were some misunderstandings before, after she thought about it calmly, she found that Naruse Ritsu was safer than he looked:

Unlike his superficial appearance, he has an almost intuitive sensitivity to the psychological safety distance between women and men.

Even in this situation, Ritsu Narose did not do anything that would cross the line and cause disgust and rejection, but always maintained a safe and comfortable distance from her.

If Nagasaki Suyo could learn even a little bit of her boyfriend's sensitivity to distance, she wouldn't have to worry about the figure from Tsuki no Mori appearing at the school gate after school.

Thinking of this, Shoko Toyokawa couldn't help but sigh.

She shifted her gaze from the table and suddenly saw Naruse Ritsu staring at her. Just as she was about to frown to express her dissatisfaction, she was stunned by the words coming from the other side.

——"If you are tired, Toyokawa-san, we can discuss the details tomorrow."

"No, let's just deal with it tonight."

After all, tomorrow is Saturday, which is her working time.

Without saying the last sentence, Toyokawa Shoko just waited quietly for Naruse Ritsu to speak again.

——"Hmm... the food here is quite affordable."

She had never expected that the other party's attention was actually on the menu, so she had no choice but to wait for him to take the initiative to get to the point.

In fact, she had already learned part of the specific situation through Wakaba Mutsu, so Toyokawa Shoko knew very well that she was the weaker party who needed the reward more - rather than Narose Ritsu who seemed to be anxious to find someone to compose music for him.

Her work experience taught her that there was nothing wrong with lowering her posture at times like this.

Looking at the reddish-brown wooden tabletop, a menu was suddenly pushed in front of her from out of sight.

Looking up at the other person, Toyokawa Shoko did not refuse again. Instead, she silently picked up the menu under the gaze of Naruse Ritsu, making sure that she looked at the menu carefully in the other person's eyes before putting it down.

"A potato and vegetable salad."

"……Gone?"

Looking at the girl in front of him who was about 1.5 meters tall, Ritsu Narose really wanted to persuade her to eat more to ensure her health.

But thinking that they were not that familiar with each other, he had to put aside verbal suggestions for the time being and choose to take practical actions that the other party would find difficult to refuse.

After calling the waiter, Ritsu Narose told him the dishes he had decided on.

"One vegetable salad, one shrimp tempura, two cups of tea, and two pasta dishes. One with black pepper meat sauce, and the other... what flavor would you like, Toyokawa-san?"

"……tomato."

Knowing that she had no choice but to accept the client's kindness, Shoko Toyokawa could only accept the client's kindness.

While the kitchen was preparing the dishes, Ritsu Narose repeated the conditions he had previously stated to Mutsu Wakaba.

Looking at the blue-haired girl sitting quietly on the sofa, seemingly lost in thought, he suddenly said, "If Toyokawa-san is worried, we can also sign a personal contract—but I don't know much about this, so I'll need to consult a lawyer for details."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have the time or energy to find a lawyer."

And there is no money.

After making a self-deprecating remark in her heart, Toyokawa Shoko looked at Naruse Ritsu calmly and said, "Let's exchange emails first, and then we can contact each other by phone."

He did not refuse the request, but when Ritsu Narose saw the long list of avatars and users in his contact list, he couldn't help but wonder if his social circle was wrong.

It seems like they are all girls...

……

As Mingse Ritsu, who had been actively looking for topics to talk about, fell silent, the atmosphere between the two of them also became quiet.

To be more precise, the family restaurant was completely silent at this time. Just looking out the window at the road lit only by streetlights brought a strange sense of security to my heart.

Soon, the waiter placed the black tea on the table. Shoko Toyokawa took a sip from the teacup, and the warm current flowed from her mouth into her abdomen, bringing waves of warmth.

The hourly wage for a pharmacy job is around 1200 yen, and her working hours are limited to after school and in the evening. On the other hand, customer service jobs, while seemingly more formal, don't pay much either.

Calculating her living expenses silently in her heart, Toyokawa Shoko knew that the income from this composition would be very considerable.

But the problem still exists.

When Shoko Toyokawa thought about the relationship between the person in front of her and Nagasaki Suyo, she had a very bad premonition.

Of course, this premonition only applies to Nagasaki Suyo.

121. Today’s winner is——

Sometimes the right decision isn't always the best decision—and vice versa.

Ritsu Narose cannot guarantee that his contact with Shoko Toyokawa will lead to a better outcome, nor can he be sure whether his actions will make the situation that Suyo Nagasaki has to face worse.

After he met Toyokawa Shoko, he was convinced that she had an unfriendly attitude towards Nagasaki Suyo, but her upbringing made it difficult for her to express her dissatisfaction through more intense words.

In Ritsu Narose's opinion, Shoko Toyokawa is the most self-respecting person he has ever met.

Most people at this age are sensitive and impulsive. Once the emotional fuse is ignited, they can easily explode - and also hurt people nearby.

Shoko Toyokawa is specialized in this aspect. Her self-esteem forces her to face the gap brought by her family and makes her bear it all with tenacity; at the same time, it makes it difficult for her to accept the kindness offered by others, especially close friends.

Naruse Ritsu learned from Nagasaki Suyo that Wakaba Mutsu and Toyokawa Shoko seemed to have known each other since childhood. But when Wakaba Mutsu entered her "territory", she would also protest against him.

He does not judge or care about Toyokawa Shoko's behavior, but it is a different matter for Nagasaki Suyo, who is obsessed with resurrecting [CRYCHIC] every day.

Thinking of this, Ming Lai Lu couldn't help but sigh.

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, he forced himself not to pay attention to the girls sitting on the other two sides, but instead concentrated on recording his understanding of Toyokawa Shoko in his notebook.

However, reality is not always what he wants.

Pick up your vibrating phone and you can see the messages constantly refreshing on Line.

Secretly glancing at Aine and Suyo who were sitting on either side, Ritsu Narose couldn't understand why they were doing this.