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This girl is definitely your girlfriend!

If you don't admit it, then I will find a way to make you admit it!

"How about this, if you, Shirakawa-kun, admit that Miss Xiangzi is your girlfriend, I'll give you two of the best outfits in my store. How about that?" The store manager was a man who never shied away from getting involved, and he didn't believe that Shirakawa Haru wouldn't agree. "Those two outfits could fetch a whopping 500,000 yen on an auction site."

Although the store manager didn't think that Shirakawa Haru would be short of the 500,000 yen, this situation where the concubine has feelings but the husband is not interested can really make people anxious and scratch their heads. Anyway, he wanted to give it a try. If he succeeded, it would be a good thing. If Shirakawa Haru really disagreed, then just treat it as a joke.

After all, he is now a middle-aged man and doesn't quite understand the thoughts of young people. If they like to play a long-term relationship, then let them play.

"Then she is my girlfriend now. Manager, please don't break your promise." Shirakawa Haru said this expressionlessly, then immediately put on a smiling face, "Also, don't let Xiangzi know this."

"Okay!" The store manager patted Shirakawa Haru's shoulder, and with a happy smile went to pack the two sets of clothes into the box.

After the store manager left, Shirakawa Haru looked around the store carefully. He found that the store manager's craftsmanship was really great, and was not inferior to those luxury brands of big brands, or even better.

As soon as Xiangzi entered the store, he noticed that her eyes were fixed on the decorations inside the clothing store. First, she looked at the ceramic wind chime at the door, then at the various artworks displayed on the counter, especially the clothes on display. Xiangzi looked at them for a long time.

Considering that Xiangzi seems to have not bought new clothes for a long time, she should be very happy if I can give her two new clothes.

Only she and the store manager know about this matter. The store manager will definitely not say anything nonsense. As for the reputation issues caused by this, Shirakawa Haru will explain it to her herself.

Shirakawa Haru sat in his seat and stared at the wind chimes in front of the door for a long time, but what he was thinking about was how he would explain to Xiangzi later.

Of course, he knew how proud Xiangzi was. If he had only bought one popsicle for Xiangzi today and not bought one for himself, he guessed that Xiangzi would either refuse it or take out his wallet to give him money.

Thinking of this, Shirakawa Haru began to wonder if it was a bit unnecessary for her to admit such a thing just for two pieces of clothing.

The main reason why he did this was for Toyokawa Shoko, but given Shoko's stubborn and strong character, she might not accept these two clothes. If she didn't accept them, then what he did would be a complete loss-making business.

Rarely, Shirakawa Haru began to doubt his own behavior.

But since I've done it, I'll just tell Xiangzi on the way and see how she reacts.

Not long after, the store manager returned to normal, holding two woven bags with the two sets of clothes inside.

"Mr. Shirakawa, please come up! Ms. Toyokawa has changed her clothes!"

Shirakawa Haru looked up and heard the voice of the store manager's wife coming from the second floor.

Chapter 46: Limited Date Part 3

Shirakawa Haru was taken to the second floor by the store manager. The store manager first let Shirakawa Haru go into the studio on the second floor. Then, when he was about to go in, he was stopped by his wife and kicked out.

The store manager's wife said that the girl changed clothes for her boyfriend to see, so it was none of your business. Also, have you finished repairing the doll I asked you to repair? If you keep moving around like this, you won't be able to sleep with me at night.

Then the store manager's wife pulled Shirakawa Haru into the studio and told him that his girlfriend would prepare a surprise for him later.

Shirakawa Haru said that Xiangzi is not his girlfriend.

The store manager’s wife said it didn’t matter, just wait for the surprise.

As soon as Shirakawa Haru entered the studio, the store manager's wife pushed Shoko, who was standing motionless on the balcony, over to him. He could see that after being dressed up by the store manager's wife, Shoko was still in a state of ignorance. Even her eyes were not as bright as before, but hazy, as if she had just woken up. Shoko's original two shoulder-length ponytails were let down and tied into a low single bun. Moreover, Shirakawa Haru looked at Shoko from the front and could clearly see that the hair on both sides of Shoko's head was braided and gathered at the back of his head, like a garland.

He turned his head to look in the direction of the store manager's wife and found that she was trimming the wig in her hands with scissors on her workbench. The hair scattered on the ground was of various colors, most of which were black, and there were also many gradient colors. But when it came to the most dazzling color, it was undoubtedly the azure blue that looked like the clear sky.

It turns out that this studio is not only a place for the store manager and his wife to make dolls and display their own fabric art. Sometimes the store manager's wife also works part-time as a hairdresser here, trimming wigs for cosplay.

Judging from the pile of hair piled up in the corner, it was obvious that the store manager's wife was very good at trimming hair.

She saw that Toyokawa Shoko's hair was a little messy, and thinking that she had to dress her up beautifully anyway, she might as well help Shoko get a new hairstyle.

The shop manager's wife's aesthetic taste is as good as her beauty. After trimming Xiangzi's hair, she gave him a hairstyle of her own creation. This hairstyle was inspired by the hairstyle of a woman named Murase who won the International Chopin Piano Competition. It not only has the charm of an adult lady, but also has the unique youthfulness of a young girl.

She thought this hairstyle was very suitable for Xiangzi, so she took the trouble to make one for her. After she finished doing her hair, even she, who was knowledgeable, had to admire Xiangzi's beauty and how well this hairstyle suited her.

"How do you like this hairstyle? I spent a lot of effort recreating it on Miss Xiangzi. Although it may seem like it took me a while to do it, it was actually super tiring."

"By the way, Mr. Shirakawa, what do you think of the makeup I put on Miss Toyokawa?" The store manager's wife took out many bottles and jars from the dressing table. Between every two fingers of her hands, there was at least one kind of cosmetic: eyebrow pencil, lipstick, primer, eye shadow, mascara, blush powder...

"From a seasonal perspective, I think Ms. Toyokawa is a winter type of girl, so the makeup should make her look more queenly, showing off her pride. Regarding the specific makeup, I chose a retro look, similar to the one used by the heroines in Roman Holiday and Rebecca. But I also mixed in some Rococo elements for her face. So, don't you think Ms. Xiangzi's face is as beautiful as an oil painting?"

Shirakawa Haru knows the characteristics of these two styles. The former is characterized by eyebrows that are close-fitting and even a little thick, matte eyeshadow, and retro red lips. The latter is a style exclusive to white, rich and beautiful women, delicate, beautiful, precise and light.

These two styles perfectly showcase Xiangzi's beauty. If it were just the retro style, Shirakawa Haru would not be impressed at first glance, but after a closer look, he would still be moved by Xiangzi many years later. The store manager's wife added a Rococo element. The impact of the European aesthetic elements, dreamy colors and retro style directly struck his heart, making it beat wildly.

Although he has not seen "Rebecca", he has seen "Roman Holiday".

In one scene, Princess Anne, played by Audrey Hepburn, escapes with Joe, who has fought a plainclothes guard for her, taking advantage of the chaos. Perhaps in Joe's eyes, Anne, running freely with him through Rome, was no princess of some kingdom, but an ordinary girl. The two strolled through the intricate city of Rome, watching the plainclothes guard being dejectedly arrested by the police and watching the pigeons at the park's fountain. They smiled so happily, unaware that they would be separated in just 24 hours. Perhaps it was these brief 24 hours that forged an eternal princess and an eternal gentleman. As they parted, Joe handed Anne a photograph.

At this moment, Xiangzi was as beautiful as the eternal Princess Anne smiling in the photo.

"It looks good, doesn't it?" The store manager's wife turned her head and asked Shirakawa Haru, quite proudly. She turned her head to look at Xiangzi and found that Xiangzi was also looking forward to what kind of evaluation Shirakawa Haru would make.

"Yeah." Baichuan Qing took a deep breath and then walked towards Xiangzi. "It's not very good-looking, but very, very good-looking!"

"..." After hearing Shirakawa Haru's speech, Xiangzi's body trembled noticeably. She suddenly looked at the store manager's wife, as if she would feel uncomfortable if she didn't do something.

"President, what do you think of me now?" Xiangzi asked Shirakawa Haru shyly. In fact, she wanted to say "Shirakawa" or "Shirakawa-kun" because Shirakawa Haru had said on the way that although we were working, it was still a holiday and we could call each other by our first names. But she didn't have the courage to say it yet.

So she had to work on her tone. Although the way she spoke was still the same as before, one could tell at a glance that she was trying her best to make her tone gentler.

Shirakawa Haru noticed that Xiangzi's eyes were well decorated by the store manager's wife. Originally, Xiangzi's eyes were slanted, which made her look particularly smart and capable, but the slanted eyes also made others think she was strict and cold.

The store manager's wife noticed this characteristic very well. In order to make Xiangzi have the temperament of the performer she saw at the International Chopin Piano Competition, she specially trimmed Xiangzi's eyebrows carefully and then drew her eye lines to make them round and full.

"How about the dress Miss Toyokawa is wearing?" The store manager's wife asked Baichuan. She still hadn't forgotten that she had asked Shirakawa Haru and Shoko to come here to try on her clothes.

The clothes Xiangzi is wearing are generally dark in color. If we classify them by broad categories, they are dresses, but if we look at them in more detail, it would be more appropriate to describe them as tube top dresses.

Xiangzi wore this dress like an evening gown, revealing her thin shoulders, and the curved part of her chest was tightly wrapped by the tube top dress. Perhaps because the store manager's wife also felt that the chest was not Xiangzi's advantageous area, she prepared a collar for Xiangzi, and then lowered a black gauze cloud from the collar to his chest to cover Xiangzi's collarbone.

"You're just like a pianist!" the store manager's wife exclaimed beside Xiangzi. At this moment, Xiangzi was her crowning achievement. "We have a lot of clothes here. Would you please try them on?"

You guys? Shirakawa Haru captures the point beautifully.

"Yes, yes!" the store manager's wife said, covering her lips. "It looked so beautiful in it, but Miss Toyokawa refused to wear it at first. It was only when I told her there was a men's version of the dress that she thought you might be able to wear it, Mr. Shirakawa, that she finally agreed to wear it."

"So please, Mr. Shirakawa. Although I said that to Ms. Toyokawa without your prior consent," the store manager's wife said to Shirakawa Haru, closing one eye and blinking the other, "Please help me."

"We don't have much time." Baichuan Qing sighed. The manager's wife made such a request, and it was difficult for him to refuse.

"Thank you so much!" The manager's wife clasped her hands together and thanked Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko, then went to the door of the studio and called the manager up, asking him to take Shirakawa Haru to another studio to change clothes.

"Oh, she's such a boss!" the store manager said glumly, but his face was full of smiles. "Shirakawa-kun, don't ever find a wife like me. She loves bossing people around, and her head is full of wild and imaginative designs. Most people probably wouldn't be able to stand her."

"But didn't the uncle still like her so much and even married her in the end?"

Shirakawa Haru was in the store manager's studio with his arms outstretched. The store manager was busy beside him, either helping him change into a suit or putting a tattoo on his chest, and even spraying perfume on him to create a certain atmosphere.

"There's nothing I can do. After all, I like her so much. It's hard to explain what you like. Let me ask you a question. If a person can control whether he likes others, do you think he can meet someone he truly likes?" When the store manager was fixing Shirakawa Haru's hair, he suddenly asked him this question.

"I'm afraid not. If someone could control whether or not they liked someone, then they probably wouldn't be able to find someone they truly liked. I think it's questionable whether such a person would still have the ability to 'like' or 'love' someone in the end."

Shirakawa Haru answered the store manager's words very seriously. He felt that it would be terrible if such people really existed in the world.

"Right?" The store manager patted Shirakawa Haru on the back, then carefully smoothed out every wrinkle on his clothes. He treated the hero like his own work, just like his wife treated Xiangzi. "Liking this kind of thing is so unreasonable. It's like a sudden, uninvited guest. You're showering in your own bathroom, and it wants to kick the door open and run naked down the street with you, naked and even with foam all over your head."

"The manager seems to understand a lot. Could it be that his wife has done something like that before?" Shirakawa Haru smiled and pointed at the wall next door. "If you keep plotting against her like that, be careful she might kick down the door."

"Of course she hasn't done that, but with her crazy energy, is there anything she can't do?" The manager had a beautiful expression on his face. Although there was a hint of regret sometimes, there were always more happy moments.

"I don't have any other intention in saying these things. I simply wanted to say them, so I said them. You should also understand that sometimes your thoughts are completely beyond your control. Maybe some nerves in your brain are accidentally touched. Well, it's like liking and love, which come uninvited but arrive as expected."

"I know this feeling." Shirakawa Haru said that he understood.

"That's good. Let's go and meet your girl!" The manager opened the door and then went with Shirakawa Haru to the studio where his wife was. "You should also praise her more."

Baichuan Qingxin said to himself, "I've already praised Xiangzi enough on a daily basis. She's my vice president, so why don't I know how great she is?" He usually thought his way of thinking was not much different from those middle-aged people who had been polished by the ups and downs of the human society, but from what happened today, it seemed that he and this uncle really had a communication gap.

Others would chat with students who had come to their clothing stores to draft and sign contracts, occasionally enjoying some romantic time with their wives as a break from the heat. But he could only follow the chairman's orders and drag his vice-chairman through the streets of Tokyo on this scorching summer day.

Pushing open the door, Shirakawa Haru walked in.

Shoko Toyokawa was still wearing the same tube-top dress as before, but her expression was less reserved. She was now walking around the room under the instructions of the store manager's wife.

She was clearly only walking in a room no larger than 80 square meters, but her expression was as haughty as if she were walking on a runway, as if she were surrounded not by the student council president and a couple working at a clothing store, but by a fleet of Hasselblad cameras, Leica telephoto lenses, and other gadgets. Perhaps after her catwalk walk, she would immediately work overtime to catch a flight to a world-class piano competition somewhere in the world.

She saw Baichuan Qing walk in, pursed her lips, walked over and stood next to Baichuan Qing.

"The store manager's wife asked me to stand with you and take a photo. She was a little too enthusiastic, and I couldn't refuse." Xiangzi lowered his head, and his long eyelashes drooped along her line of sight.

"Well, this is what I agreed to before."

Afterwards, the two were dragged by the store manager and his wife to take photos. The same set of clothes could not withstand the tossing of the store manager and his wife. Shirakawa Haru and Xiangzi ran back and forth between the two studios, putting on and taking off the clothes they were wearing one by one.

By the time they had completely changed into the clothes the store manager had requested, it was already noon.

The store manager then asked Shirakawa Haru and Shoko to stay for lunch before leaving, but they refused.

Shirakawa Haru and Shoko agreed in the sweet shop to quickly finalize the contracts with the two sponsors today and go out for a nice meal together in the evening, but they were caught by the shop manager and his wife and were photographed many times, so they had much less time.

"Should we take a taxi? It seems a bit far from the station." Shirakawa Haru asked Toyokawa Shoko beside him while walking on the road.

But Xiangzi didn't answer whether he wanted to take a taxi or walk.

She is looking at photos.

Chapter 47: Limited Date Part 4

Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko didn't have a very good lunch.

The two of them randomly found a decent sushi restaurant on the street, each ordered a bowl of eel rice and some tempura, and quickly solved their lunch problem.

Then they rushed to the station without stopping, bought tickets at the door and boarded the tram to Chiba Prefecture.

The music store called "ECHO" is located in the commercial center of Chiba Prefecture and is said to be very famous locally.

The piano store is fully equipped with various facilities. In addition to selling Steinway pianos, the second floor is a recording studio, and the basement is a place where some small bands often linger and can rent the venue at a very cheap price.

Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko were sitting on the tram, both doing their own things in silence.

Shirakawa Haru was constantly looking through the information and conditions offered by several sponsors, while Toyokawa Shoko was wearing headphones and her fingers were constantly swiping on the screen.

After a few minutes, Shirakawa Haru raised his eyes from the documents, turned his shoulders to relax his arms, and then his eyes suddenly drifted to Xiangzi next door.

He looked at Xiangzi, who was sitting upright, and thought she looked incredibly beautiful. She hadn't let down her hair, tied back into her old, shoulder-length ponytails, and was wearing a retro, Rococo-style makeup. Although she had changed out of her tube-top dress and put back on her wrinkled, washed-out dress, her appearance was a little less impressive than it had been in the clothing store, she still looked radiant.

Besides, the feeling that Shoko Toyokawa gave to Shirakawa Haru was different when she was sitting on the tram than when she was in the clothing store. Some people use two completely different faces in life and work. Sometimes they appear sharp and aggressive, and sometimes they retract their fangs and claws, like cats in a cat cafe waiting for customers to feed them.

Now Toyokawa Shoko gave Shirakawa Haru this feeling. He remembered that when he first met Shoko on the cheapest tram, she was just like now, idly scrolling through her phone with a meaningless smile on her face. Her expression was pitiful and tired, making people want to talk to her.

But this is not the case with Xiangzi in Hinomori Academy. She has a cold expression, a graceful personality, extraordinary talents and noble birth. The distance between her and ordinary people is like two stars at the two ends of the Milky Way looking at each other and wanting to hug each other.

In short, the Xiangzi sitting on the tram now is different from the Xiangzi wearing a tube top dress in the studio on the second floor of the clothing store.

"Toyokawa-san?" Shirakawa Haru had just boarded the train and was still some distance from Chiba Prefecture, so he wanted to kill some time. It suddenly occurred to him that he had worked with Toyokawa Shoko for so long, yet he still didn't have a full understanding of what kind of person Shoko was. So, he decided to take this opportunity to distance himself from Shoko. "What song is Toyokawa-san listening to right now?"

"Ah, President." Toyokawa Shoko took off her headphones and tucked the strands of hair that fell on the side of her face behind her ears, revealing her small, precise ears. She wondered why Shirakawa Haru suddenly asked her such a question, and then realized that he might be trying to get to know her indirectly. "The first movement of Beethoven's 'Moonlight'."

It doesn't matter if this kind of thing is said out loud. Anyway, Shirakawa Haru knows that he likes Beethoven's "Moonlight" very much. When he was practicing in the piano room, he must have listened to these three movements of "Moonlight" enough, right?

But there are some things that cannot be said, they are one's own secrets.

She said to Shirakawa Haru in her heart, "You would never have guessed that I wasn't watching a video with canned laughter as the soundtrack or some meaningless jokes, but was looking over and over again at the photo the store manager's wife took of the two of us, right?"

Shoko Toyokawa looked at Shirakawa Haru's clean and sunny face. Obviously there was no change, but for some reason she felt that this face, which occasionally showed a gentle smile like a golden retriever, looked a little silly at this moment.

Perhaps it was because Shirakawa Haru had no idea what he was thinking. No matter how shrewd, smart and capable he was, even if he could fly to the sky and pick a star for a girl, he would never have thought that a girl would listen to the first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight" and look back and forth at the photo of him and that girl.

Shirakawa Haru, you are such a complete idiot.

Xiangzi suddenly laughed and said to Shirakawa Haru:

Beethoven's 'Moonlight' is very famous, but the name 'Moonlight' did not come from Beethoven himself. Five years after his death, German critic Ludwig Rellstab described the first movement as reminiscent of moonlight on Lake Lucerne, hence the name. The work is in the extremely rare key of C-sharp minor – Haydn used it only once, Mozart never used it, and Beethoven used it twice, in 'Moonlight' and in his String Quartet Op. 131.

"The three movements can be seen as Beethoven's own recollection of a relationship. The first movement is passionate and unrestrained, with tenderness, foreboding, and meditation, even mixed with some dark thoughts arising from passionate love."

"The second movement is a melancholic intermezzo, which Liszt famously described as a 'flower between two abysses'."

"The third movement was Beethoven's most intense work to that point, surpassed only by the finale of the Appassionata Sonata in 1805."

Shoko Toyokawa spoke at an ever-increasing pace, unleashing a flurry of words on Shirakawa Haru, including her own and the world's reflections on the three movements of Beethoven's "Moonlight," as if this were the only way to even out her excitement. As she introduced "Moonlight" to Shirakawa Haru, she secretly glanced into his eyes, noticing his intense interest before continuing with such a frantic pace.

She suddenly saw herself as a ghostly grand piano, constantly producing sound even without anyone playing. Shirakawa Haru, beside her, was her sole audience. The black and white keys were her flesh and bones, played by a wordless ghost, creating a continuous, moving melody. It was the first movement of the "Moonlight Sonata."

But it wasn't just the "Moonlight Sonata", she clearly sensed the momentum of the "Appassionata Sonata" mixed in with the music, otherwise her tone would definitely not be so intense.

In fact, she also wanted Shirakawa Haru to understand her better, just as she wanted to understand Shirakawa Haru. When she finished speaking, she found that with herself as the center, almost everyone in this small carriage was looking at her.

Xiangzi's face was as red as the burning clouds in the sky at dusk, with gold and pink echoing in her eyes, and a touch of the coquettish shyness of a water lotus rose on her face.

"Sorry, sorry, I disturbed everyone." Shirakawa Haru was also accompanying Toyokawa Shoko to apologize to the passengers in the carriage with a smile, "I'm so sorry."

But perhaps it was only one or two o'clock in the afternoon, and those middle-aged office workers who were so resentful that they could eat Kayako and Sadako alive basically didn't hang out at this time, so after seeing Shirakawa Haru and Shoko apologize, the passengers lowered their heads again.