Congratulations, Sushi, you have been optimized by me.

"Wait, Su Shi..."

"..."

Su Shi originally planned to pretend that she didn't see anyone walking past Li Xi, because until now she still didn't know what Chihiro and Li Xi had said yesterday afternoon.

Originally, she was told that she could get information in exchange for wearing a maid outfit, but she ended up being fooled by that Chihiro for the entire night. She was either hiding under the quilt and playing ambiguously or concentrating on practicing singing.

In the end, she even forgot about Li Xi.

But now that she was stopped by Li Xi, Su Shi knew that she could not escape. The only thing she could do now was to trust Chihiro's operation.

But the question is... for someone who just said she wanted to break the contract, did she really do it?

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. I think there are some things I should explain to you face to face..."

"Yes, yes."

"Chihiro told me everything yesterday."

"Eh? Wait... yesterday Chihiro?"

What does that mean? Didn't Chihiro disguise herself as me yesterday? Could it be that her identity was already exposed then?

This is not surprising, because such disguise is really hasty, and anyone with good observation skills will find something wrong. Moreover, Li Xi is not a stranger, so he can naturally see the few strands of red hair that cannot be covered under the brim of Chihiro's hat.

So is it because of this reason?

"You've found out everything..." Su Shi lowered her head, not knowing how to face Li Xi. "How much did Chihiro tell you? The agreement between her and me...did she tell you everything?"

"Ah."

Li Xi nodded, then turned to look at the other side of the street, "How about we go sit in a nearby coffee shop?"

"……it is good."

There is indeed a coffee shop near the school. After all, students are a group of consumers that cannot be easily ignored anywhere. After Su Shi and Li Xi placed their orders and found an empty seat to sit down, today's conversation officially began.

The first person to speak was Tatsuki Shiina, who had just done something "he shouldn't have done".

"Su Shi, although you may think I'm meddling, I hope... you can give up your so-called plan to resurrect Crychic."

"How could she do this..."

"what?"

"..."

Although Nagasaki Suyo was a little angry, she did not go all the way to the end this time. Instead, she immediately thought that there might be some misunderstanding.

Su Shi believed that Chihiro would never betray her. Otherwise, if Chihiro really sold herself out, the other party would not be able to continue teasing her with such a clear conscience.

"Xiangzi came to see you just now."

"what?!"

"But after I scolded her, she got really angry... and then she just turned around and left."

"Is that so?"

"Aren't you angry?" Shiina Riki was a little surprised, because in her opinion, Suyo should care about Xiangzi very much.

Before they formed the band, during the time when Su Shi approached her in RiNG under the pretext of drinking coffee, she had been asking about things related to Xiangzi.

But now, after hearing that Xiangzi was angry, the other party's reaction was not as intense as she had imagined.

But it's true, Su Shi is no longer the same Su Shi as before. If he didn't really care about everyone, how could he do this?

Of course, in this case, your dreams will need to be interpreted in another way.

"Can I... be angry?"

"Ah?" Li Xi didn't quite understand what Su Shi meant, but she didn't care. "Anyway, I think this is unfair to both you and Chihiro. I know you want Chihiro to replace you..."

"Let her replace me?! Don't even think about it! She is she and I am me!!!"

When she heard the word "replace", Nagasaki Suyo became excited like a cat panting.

Her excitement also made Li Xi a little dazed. Li Xi, who was unaware of Su Shi's nightmare, had no idea what he had said wrong.

Oh... Li Xi suddenly understood.

Su Shi doesn't want Chihiro to become anyone's substitute. She really wants to be recognized by Chihiro instead of treating her as a substitute.

After all, now that things have been talked about, Chihiro and Su Shi's plan is no longer a secret. If she still treats Chihiro as an outsider... then how can Su Shi be happy when she wants to withdraw and let Chihiro fill the gap?

If that's the case... what else can she say? Anyway, Li Xi's idea is to wait until the time is right to let Su Shi and Chihiro stay in the band. What's wrong with following Su Shi's words now?

Although I had a big prejudice against Chihiro before, but when I think about it carefully, I know that Chihiro is actually the most pitiful person in this plan.

She doesn't even have her own identity. She has to use someone else's face and identity to carry out band activities. Seeing everyone treat her as Su Shi instead of Tsuzuki Chihiro... that soft and sweet girl must be very sad.

After all, Li Xi could see that Chihiro was really trying hard to get along with everyone during those days, and it was definitely not perfunctory.

Otherwise... I wouldn't have changed because of Chihiro.

As Chihiro's best friend, Su Shi must have thought the same, which is why she was so excited and angry when she heard such irresponsible words from herself.

"No, Sushi...I'm not asking her to replace you."

Li Xi held Su Shi's arm and said in the calmest tone possible: "Chihiro is actually very good. She is also a very gentle and kind person. Everyone in the band likes her very much."

"W-what?"

"I'm not lying. If you don't believe me, you can ask them." Li Xi thought Su Shi was doubting him, and hurriedly explained, "Really, although she has been pretending to be you, everyone should be able to feel that she is different from you.

You are you, and Chihiro is Chihiro. I was so stupid before... that I thought you two were the same person."

Li Xi didn't notice the look of astonishment on Su Shi's face, and continued to speak to himself, "Don't worry, Su Shi... I won't treat her as your replacement, because you are both irreplaceable."

"Haha... Is that what you think? Very good, very good."

"Yes, everyone thinks so."

Su Shi smiled. That was great... She, Shiina Riki, had finally done something great.

Chapter 175 Aine really deserves a beating (2/2)

"Chuhua, long time no see."

At the exit of the planetarium, Shoko Toyokawa had been waiting for a long time.

After she left Moon Forest, the more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt. She felt that there was no one around her who she could rely on.

I originally thought that Chihiro, who I thought could understand me and had a fateful encounter with me, now seems to be just helping others get closer to me.

Whether to help his grandfather or to help Su Shi who is full of lies...it doesn't matter anymore.

Everything was fake anyway, so she didn't need to verify how much truth there was in these lies.

There's no need to do that, and it would make her look too embarrassed.

The weak her in the past is gone...Now Toyokawa Shoko can only trust herself. She has only one way to go, and that is to give it one last try.

"Xiaoxiang, it's been a long time since we last met~"

Sanjiao Chuhua was wearing a black baseball cap, a white short-sleeved top and a beige pencil skirt, a brown mini backpack on her back, and holding the sunglasses she had just taken off in her hand. After all, it was definitely impolite to wear sunglasses in front of friends.

Of course... this "good friend" and herself haven't seen each other for a long time. At first, when Chuhua knew Xiaoxiang was coming to see her, she was a little nervous.

I was worried that after meeting Xiaoxiang, I might have nothing to say, or that I might have too much to say and not be able to finish it all at once.

Memories always beautify people from the past, but Chuhua feels... Xiaoxiang standing in front of her is still the same as in her memory, and will always be her good friend Toyokawa Shoko.

"Chuhua, you still like looking at the stars so much."

"You look the same as before."

"……Yeah."

Xiangzi's smile was a bit forced, but she didn't explain anything on this topic. She pointed in the direction of the upstairs, and Chuhua in front of her nodded in tacit understanding, agreeing to this impromptu invitation.

"The last time we met was about a year ago, right? Thank you for calling me.

I was surprised but also very happy when I suddenly received a call from Xiaoxiang.

"No need to thank me for this."

"Every time I see your message, I gain courage, like the one you sent me when I first debuted."

"You actually still remember it?"

Sanjiao Chuhua smiled slightly and said, "Of course, I read it often."

"Work... is going well?"

This was actually Xiangzi's main purpose today. Of course, she couldn't have called her old friends just to find comfort.

Although Sister Kujo had persuaded her for a long time about the job at Sunkei, she felt embarrassed to stay after knowing that the job was obtained through family connections and Chihiro's help.

Even if she could admit with a clear conscience that she was indeed suitable for this job, the fact that she had been causing accidents during working hours over the past few days was enough for her to take the blame.

But life had to go on, and she had to find a new job. But this time, in addition to looking for a part-time job outside of school, Xiangzi also wanted to do something that she had not decided to do before.

"Just make progress little by little."

Sanjiao Chuhua walked slowly on the bridge. Although this place was closer to the sky, it also gave people the feeling of walking in the countryside.

"Xiaoxiang, what about you?" Chu Hua asked as they walked, "I think you were in a band before? I think it was called Cry..."

"There's no need to mention that anymore."

Toyokawa Shoko interrupted her, "crychic is a thing of the past... I came to you today for something very important."

"what?"

"I'm planning to... form a band. I'm well aware of your abilities, and I hope you can help me."

"Forming a new band..."

"I know Chuhua you still have Sumimi, but I can guarantee that your activities at Sumimi will not be delayed. This project is actually also in cooperation with your agency, this point..."

This was an opportunity she had fought for from her grandfather.

Unexpectedly, in the end she still had to rely on the help of her family. In a sense, she had actually lost, but in the end, she still wanted to prove to her grandfather that her parents' decision to support her in playing music was never a boring joke.

Whether it is the father in the past or the mother who grew up with me in my memory, their love is not a lie, and the memories of them and me along the way are not fictional.

For herself and her family, she hopes that the home that belongs to her, Toyokawa Shoko, can come back again.

That... home that is not so utilitarian and embraces her with sincere love and expectations can be picked up again by her through her efforts.

If her father could see that his daughter could fulfill the promise she made with her parents in the past and insist on following the path she loves, perhaps he would come to his senses, right?

This is what Toyokawa Shoko thought, so even though she had already accepted some help from her grandfather, she still wanted to be strong and make one last effort.

"I promise you."

"Eh? Chuhua, don't you want to think about it anymore?"

Xiangzi was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect that this most difficult negotiation would be so easy. After all, she hadn't seen her good friend for a year, and the other party already had his own band.

At this moment, she felt like crying.

"Xiao Xiang has helped me a lot in the past. This time... I hope I can help you in return."

"...Thank you, Chuhua."

"In that case, will you walk with me for a while longer?"

.........

"Chihiro, why don't you accompany me..."

In her bedroom, Chihaya Aine sat on the bed with her legs spread apart in a duck-like position.

She looked at Chihiro, who didn't even look back at her thoughts, but just worked on her laptop with her head down. The pink-haired girl pouted with a look of dissatisfaction on her face.

She is suffering from the problem of having a sister complex.

Aine originally thought that she could control herself, but when she finally pulled Chihiro back home, she saw that she was just looking at the computer and making music, and the girl suddenly became dissatisfied.

She even tried to do a lot of weird moves on the bed to attract Chihiro Tsuzuki's attention, such as rolling back and forth, or lying on the bed and patting the sheets with her feet.

But the only thing that seemed to attract Chihiro's attention was picking up the guitar and deliberately making chaotic noises.

Of course, the consequence of doing so was that she was turned over by the angry Chihiro with brute force, and then her butt was spanked several times.