People are in animation, but they can connect to reality

Asagi and Aine seemed a little overwhelmed. The news of Toyokawa Shoko's absence obviously hit them hard.

"Thank you."

After thanking the classmates in front of them, Asagi and Aine turned around and left in disappointment.

"Wait a moment."

Suddenly, a voice called out to them from behind.

Asagi and Aine turned around and saw that it was another girl in the class who was talking to them.

The girl looked a little nervous and uneasy. She said hesitantly,

"If it's not too much trouble, you can go to the music room and take a look. Maybe Toyokawa-san will be there."

After saying that, she waved her hands in panic again.

"What I said is all nonsense. You don't have to believe me. It's okay if you don't believe me. I'm sorry."

She blushed again and lowered her head.

Asagi and Aine looked at each other and whispered, "Thank you."

After Asagi and Aine left, the girl felt relieved and collapsed on her seat, with steam rising from her head.

"Komachi suddenly became very brave today. She even dared to talk about Toyokawa-san with outsiders. She's really amazing."

Her best friend came over and hugged the shy girl.

"It's just that Toyokawa-san doesn't care about us at all. She doesn't understand Komachi's feelings."

"No," the girl named Komachi retorted in a soft voice, so soft that it was almost inaudible.

Shoko Toyokawa sat at the piano in the music room, practicing her usual routine. She didn't have much time to practice each day. She usually practiced for a little over an hour during lunch break, when clubs were mostly closed. After school, most clubs held activities, and the performance club, one of the largest clubs at school, held daily activities.

Toyokawa Shoko took advantage of the time when the music club had not yet come to the music room to practice secretly. She didn't have much time left, because soon most of the members of the music club would come to the music room to practice ensemble, and then she would have to leave.

Shoko Toyokawa's fingers moved quickly on the keys like a nimble shuttle, and a light and beautiful melody soon rang out in the music room.

Asagi and Chihaya Aine made their way to the music room. This was Asagi's first time there. He and Toyokawa Shoko weren't in the same section, so he'd rarely been there. Plus, Asagi wasn't exactly a social butterfly, so it was impossible for him to just wander around for no reason.

They walked into the music room and saw Toyokawa Shoko sitting at the piano playing a classical piece. They stood aside and waited for Toyokawa Shoko to finish playing. When Toyokawa Shoko noticed them, she gently pressed her fingers on the keys and stopped playing.

Toyokawa Shoko's face was sullen, and she put on an indifferent attitude. She stood up and ignored Asagi and Aine, intending to leave. In this school, no one knew Toyokawa Shoko, which was what she pursued and what this girl hoped for.

Friendship, love, school memories? Toyokawa Shoko threw them all away.

She clasped her hands together and walked out of the classroom without saying a word. Asagi and Aine followed Toyokawa Shoko out. This was the music room, the classroom for the performance club. The members of the performance club would be arriving soon, so this wasn't the right place for conversation.

"Toyokawa-san, please wait a moment."

"We have something we'd like you to help us with."

At the corner of the stairs in the teaching building, when there were no other students around, Chihaya Aine called out to Toyokawa Shoko. Toyokawa Shoko stopped, but did not look back, leaving them with a very indifferent and ruthless back.

They couldn't see Toyokawa Shoko's face. Chihaya Aine looked at Toyokawa Shoko nervously, fearing that Toyokawa Shoko would refuse.

Toyokawa Shoko bit her lip and said in a low voice, "I remember you promised me that you would stay away from me."

Chihaya Aine was slightly stunned and couldn't understand what Toyokawa Shoko said because these words were directed at Asagi.

"I'm sorry, I need Toyokawa-san's help with something important." Asagi apologized.

"Xiao Deng encountered some difficulties and was unable to come to school. We are very worried about her and want to visit her. However, we don't know where Xiao Deng lives, so we can only come to find Fengchuan." Asagi clasped his hands together and asked.

Aside, Chihaya Aine nodded repeatedly, supporting Asagi's words. Hearing that Takamatsu Deng was in trouble, Toyokawa Shoko unconsciously tightened her grip on the railing, and her pupils contracted sharply.

"This has nothing to do with me, don't bother me."

The cold voice came out of Toyokawa Shoko's mouth again, leaving no chance for conversation. She started moving again, slowly walking down the stairs, and her figure gradually disappeared. Aiyin looked at Toyokawa Shoko's back with disbelief in her eyes, and she wanted to rush over and grab Toyokawa Shoko.

Facing Aine's possible violent behavior, Asagi grabbed her.

"What are you doing? She's leaving." Aine angrily shook off Asagi's hand.

"So what do you want to do? Use violence to force her to stay?"

"I, I didn't think so." Aine felt a little guilty. She might not have thought so, but she showed signs of doing so. At the time, she was too impatient and just wanted to rush through without thinking much about the rest.

Aiyin bit her lip, her expression looking somewhat painful.

"But are we just going to leave her like this? Xiao Deng helped me before. When I had a conflict with the band, it was Xiao Deng who brought me back. Now that Deng is in trouble, how can I just abandon her like this?"

She stared into Asagi's eyes and questioned him. At this moment, there was an emotion called anger in Aine's eyes.

"There will be a way, believe me." Asagi soothed Aine's emotions.

"Ms. Fengchuan is very kind. It's just that there were some misunderstandings between her, Su Shi, and Deng, which led to the current situation."

"Huh?" Aine said in disbelief. She looked at Asagi with a suspicious look. Faced with Aine's doubt, Asagi could only eat it herself.

"Even if you had forced Toyokawa-san to stay, could you have forced her to speak?" Asagi asked, while Aine lowered her head. It was obvious that she didn't have such confidence.

"This will only make things worse. If a classmate passes by, it might appear as if we're bullying Fengchuan-san. You know, school legends are students' favorite things. Once something becomes a legend, no one cares about its truth, and instead, they just exaggerate and spread the rumor. That would be really troublesome, and we might even get called in by the school."

Aine's expression began to shrink as she agreed with Asagi's statement.

Shoko Toyokawa went down the stairs, suppressing her sadness. She found that Asagi and the others had not caught up with her, so she breathed a sigh of relief. She took out a notebook from her schoolbag, tore off a small piece of paper, and scribbled something on it with a pen.

After making sure no one was around, she placed the paper on the stairs below. After completing everything, Toyokawa Shoko walked down the stairs to the first floor and left the school. She paused for a moment in front of the school gate. During this moment, Toyokawa Shoko looked back at the school or somewhere else.

Chapter 284 Sickness

Asagi and Aine walked down the stairs. Their attempt to find Shoko had failed, and Aine felt a little dejected. Asagi, however, disagreed. He thought he could have a private chat with Shoko Toyokawa and, with a touch of cheek, forcefully demand Takamatsu Tomo's address.

Anyway, I have tried it many times and succeeded every time, but I paid a price every time.

Asagi tilted his head in thought, but Chihaya Aine screamed in surprise, and he was awakened by Aine's cry. He saw Aine bending down to pick up something, and Asagi looked at Aine's hand and found that it was a piece of paper.

However, it was strange that Aiyin, who was clearly a nearsighted child, discovered that thing before him.

"This looks like an address," Aiyin looked around while holding the note, but there was no one around.

"Was it left by Fengchuan?" she said hesitantly.

"Yes, there is no one else except her, otherwise it would be too coincidental. Let's go to this address." Asagi looked at the stairs below, and Toyokawa Shoko's figure had disappeared.

The two of them took the train to the address on the note and groped their way to the place written on it. They were now standing in front of a single-family house with the words "Takamatsu" written on the wall outside. This was undoubtedly Xiao Deng's home.

The two stood outside looking in for a while, and Asagi decided to knock on the door.

He walked in, stood outside the entrance, and knocked. Soon, a middle-aged woman's voice came from the house. Asagi heard footsteps in the house, and the sound was getting closer and closer.

When the door opened, a woman in her 30s came out. Asagi took a look at her and thought she should be Xiaodeng's mother.

"Excuse me. I'm Inoue Asagi, and the person next to me is Chihaya Aine. We're classmates of Deng, and we heard that Deng didn't come to school, so we came to visit her."

The woman was very surprised by the appearance of Asagi and Aine. She hurriedly shouted towards the house,

"Deng, Deng, some classmates are here to visit you."

Then, the woman immediately invited Asagi and Aine in, looked at them happily, and said politely, "Deng has almost no friends. I've always been worried that the child would not be able to make friends."

As she spoke, the woman took out two cups from the refrigerator and started to make tea. As she made tea, she said,

"In the past, a very beautiful girl came to visit our home. However, soon that girl stopped coming. So, I'm very worried that Deng might never have any friends in his life."

After the water boiled, she poured it in and brought it over. During this time, she kept looking at Asagi and Aine, but her eyes were mostly on Asagi.

Asagi quickly took it and said politely thank you. But Deng's mother stared at Asagi for a long time, and Asagi felt uneasy. Deng's mother whispered, "That child has a strange personality. Please be more tolerant."

After saying this, Deng's mother suddenly took a few steps back and bowed to Asagi and Aine. Asagi and Aine were startled and stood up instantly, then turned to Deng's mother and bowed back. This was no joke; an elder bowing to a younger person was not something to be taken lightly.

Asagi and Aine returned the greeting obediently with their heads lowered, and only after Deng's mother finished did they dare to raise their heads.

"Deng is upstairs, you can go up." Deng's mother smiled.

Asagi and Aine nodded and walked up the stairs to Deng's room. The door to the room was ajar, and Asagi and Aine pushed it open and walked in. Deng woke up, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Asagi and Aine, her eyes wide and round, her face full of shock.

"You, you, why are you here? This is my room, right?" Deng said in surprise.

At this moment, Asagi looked at Deng. She didn't look as dejected as Aine had imagined. Instead, she had a towel draped over her head and ice cubes on the table beside her. It was obvious that she was ill.

Just as Aine was about to speak, she was stopped by Asagi. Aine glared at Asagi in dissatisfaction.

"I heard from Aine that you didn't come to school, so I was a little worried. So Aine and I came to visit you. Are you sick?" Asagi asked.

Deng nodded, a little embarrassed, "I'm a little weak and accidentally caught a cold. I'm sorry for making you worry."

"Are you cold? I thought you were sick because... wuwu, wuwu," Chihaya Ain was halfway through her words when Asagi covered her mouth. Asagi pulled Ain outside and whispered,

"The lamp seems to be in good condition now. Don't mention those unhappy things to her. Don't you think things are troublesome enough now?"

Chihaya Aine thought about it, then nodded and agreed.

She slapped Asagi's hand away and looked over at Takamatsu Deng secretly. Deng seemed to be stable now, so in order not to worry Deng, Aine did not mention the message again.

On the way back, the worry on Aine's face disappeared and she became relaxed instead.

"The lamp is just sick, how lucky."

Asagi shook his head, and Aine beside him gave him a strange look.

"Deng has already noticed. I saw wrinkled books on the bookshelf in Deng's room, and torn pages in the trash can nearby." Asagi recalled the abnormalities he found in Deng Takamatsu's room. "Deng doesn't have violent tendencies. The things that appeared in her room only show that she feels guilty and a little angry. She just happened to be sick again, so she took a leave of absence."

"Xiao Deng isn't the type to lose her temper or shift the blame onto her teammates. Whenever the band encounters difficulties, she only feels responsible, wondering if she didn't do her job well enough, or if she's offended someone. So, Deng doesn't get angry at others, only at herself, and then wallows in self-blame and guilt."

"Don't be fooled by the fact that the lights are in good condition now and it looks like nothing has happened. In fact, she might be blaming herself deeply. In general, let's take another look at the situation."

"Huh? How did you find out? Why didn't I see anything?" Chihaya Aine was skeptical.

"That's because you're stupid."

In fact, Chihaya Aine is not stupid. She is an excellent student after all. She was the student council president in junior high school and went to study in London because of her excellent grades. Such a student can't be described as stupid in any way.

"If you do this again, I will be really angry." Chihaya Aine picked up her schoolbag and wanted to hit Asagi, but Asagi dodged it nimbly.

After Asagi and Chihaya Aine left, Takamatsu Deng's room seemed empty. The mother downstairs looked at her daughter's room upstairs with concern, her hands unconsciously placed on her chest.

Chapter 285 Prelude to Release

After returning home, Asagi opened the CRYCHIC band's homepage and found the malicious message.

Asagi looked at the message, feeling very strange.

The new CRYCHIC band has received very little attention. Even when MMK brought them to a joint live performance, there were very few audiences due to the venue. Currently, the number of fans of the CRYCHIC band is only around 200.

Afterwards, the edited video of "Gurenge" did not seem to be uploaded to the Internet, so CRYCHIC did not receive much attention.

There were very few comments on the new band's page. Aside from this person's malicious message, most of the others were encouraging and caring. Asagi clicked on the message from the person who left the message, but didn't get anything useful.

That person's public profile contains no trace of CRYCHIC, only malicious comments about it. Isn't that even more bizarre? It's as if the account's mission is to attack CRYCHIC.

Of course, it's possible that this person is a newly registered internet user. Currently, Asagi doesn't have much information, so he can only put that aspect of the investigation aside for now and focus on Takamatsu Deng's mental state.

The next day after school, Asagi also skipped the club activities. This time, Aine seemed to be forced to stay behind by a senior, so he went to visit Deng at Takamatsu's house alone.

"Hello, excuse me." Asagi took off his shoes and walked into the house.

Takamatsu Tomo's mother seemed very happy that Asagi came to visit Takamatsu Tomo again.

"Xiao Deng's condition has improved a lot and he will be able to go to school soon," said Deng's mother.

"However, I'm still a little worried about the child, so I plan to let Xiao Deng rest for a few more days." Deng's mother secretly glanced at the expression on Asagi's face. She then said, "Could you please ask Asagi to come visit Xiao Deng tomorrow? The child doesn't have many friends. If Asagi could come, Deng would definitely be very happy."

Deng's mother clasped her hands together and begged Asagi for help. In Japan, being called by one's name is a strange thing, but since Deng's mother is an adult, it didn't seem strange for her to call Asagi by her name.

"Okay, I understand." Asagi agreed.

"Thank you so much." Deng's mother smiled, as excited as a child. "I'll prepare some food for you. Please stay a little longer."

Asagi walked up the stairs to Deng's room on the second floor. He gently pushed the door open. Inside, Deng Takamatsu lay on the bed, his head twisted to look at him. Deng's eyes blinked, a clear, dull look on his face.

"I'm sorry to bother you to come and see me again, Asagi." Takamatsu Deng showed an apologetic expression and looked behind Asagi again.

Asagi knew what Takamatsu Deng was looking at, so he explained, "Aine has something to do and can't come. I'm alone today."

"Do we need to tell Riki and Sushi?" Asagi asked again.

Deng shook his head, "I don't want Su Shi and Li Xi to worry."

"Well, I see."