You are Toyokawa Shoko, then who am I?

You see, you were impulsive, weren't you?

Toyokawa Sho teased with his eyes.

I want you to take care of it!

Li Xi glared back in dissatisfaction.

"Uncle, what Lixi said is exactly what I wanted to say. Deng is a very serious person who is willing to consider our interests. Although Deng is not very good at getting along with others, she has an advantage that many people don't have. That is, even when facing something she is afraid of, she will not run away. If it is for us, she will even do her best to do it."

"Lixi and I both like this aspect of Deng. When we're together, Deng also cares about us a lot."

Toyokawa Sho smiled and said to Takamatsu Yuji, "I think it must be because you and auntie are both extremely competent parents. You have been taking good care of Deng since he was a child, so you can raise such an outstanding person like Deng. You two are both worthy of admiration!"

This kid is really good at talking!?!

Takamatsu Yuji was defeated by Toyokawa Sho's anti-parent Noble Phantasm, and his affection for Toyokawa Sho soared. The more he looked at the other person, the more he liked him. How could such a good child exist in this world?

However, what Takamatsu Yuji didn't know was that someone had said similar words to another girl's parents a few days ago.

It’s always a classic practice to first praise the daughter for her good personality.

Then praise the parents for their high education.

When you say a set of sweet words and even the punctuation marks are used to praise people, it is natural that it will work every time and will be successful.

An old scumbag.

"Oh... I feel a little embarrassed after hearing what you said."

Takamatsu Yuji touched the back of his head, and in his heart he had already listed Toyokawa Sho and Shiina Riki as SSS-level guests of the Takamatsu family.

"But I'm relieved when you say that. Honestly, I actually wondered if Deng asked you to come here to act. You see, there's a service called "rent a friend" or something like that."

Takamatsu Yuji made a joke.

However, the joke fell flat.

He was keenly aware that the black-haired girl was staring at him silently.

Those eyes seemed to be saying, how could a father think like this about his child? Deng would never do such a thing.

"So this is how Uncle sees us. What a shame! In that case, let's take our leave..."

Fortunately, Toyokawa Sho was a righteous man. He noticed that the atmosphere was getting dull, so he cleverly took over the topic.

Toyokawa-kun!

You are such a good kid...!!

Takamatsu Yuji was touched again. He quickly followed up and said, "No, no, I was just joking. Have you eaten yet? My wife will be back soon. She's a great cook. There's some fried chicken and beef in the fridge. If you don't mind, let's have dinner together tonight."

"Does Uncle usually eat so late?"

Toyokawa Sho calmly held down Riki who was about to stand at attention again.

"Well..."

Takamatsu Yuji sighed. "On the one hand, my wife works the night shift, and when the family wants to eat together, they wait for her to come back. On the other hand, Deng has been getting more and more depressed lately. She even took sick leave from school a few days ago. My wife and I are very worried about her, but Deng doesn't want to tell us what's going on, and she rarely comes out of her room..."

"Ah, after all that talk, I forgot to refill your tea. Sorry, sorry, just leave the bags here. Don't bring gifts next time, okay? You're so polite. I'll turn on the lights for you later."

Done.

Takamatsu Yuji turned and went to the kitchen.

Toyokawa Sho and Riki stayed in the living room, sitting together on the black leather sofa, watching the TV playing Hanzawa Naoki. There were some freshly washed cherries on the plain wooden table.

"call……"

Li Xi breathed a sigh of relief, crossed his legs and leaned back. It was still too uncomfortable to visit someone in person. It turned out to be more comfortable to stay in the store.

When she saw Takamatsu Yuji coming over with some tea and snacks, she quickly resumed her sitting posture like a good student.

"There's plenty of refreshments. Just call me when you're done. Don't be shy. Just treat this place like home."

Takamatsu Yuji said with a smile.

"Ah...yes..."

Li Xi nodded uncomfortably.

Her eyes turned to Toyokawa Sho who started eating snacks naturally and gracefully, then turned back to the snacks in front of her. After hesitating for a while, she chose to do the same as Toyokawa Sho, picked up a piece of biscuit with her fingers and tried to take a few bites.

It’s quite delicious…

Seeing that the two seemed very satisfied with the snacks, Takamatsu Yuji felt relieved. He was worried that the two children might not be used to eating the things that he, a middle-aged man, liked to eat.

nice! You love it.

nice! You love it.

Then, it's time to call for the lights.

Takamatsu Yushi walked to his daughter's door, knocked gently a few times, and then said in a gentle voice, "Deng, there is a guest at home. It's your friend who came to see you."

Ding--

no respond.

Takamatsu Yuji's smile froze on his face for a moment, and then his expression changed drastically in the next second. Cold sweat ran down his cheeks, and even his heart began to beat wildly in his chest.

What should I do if the light doesn’t come out?

These two kids came to our house specially, carrying fruits and gifts in their hands. I just glanced at it and saw a penguin encyclopedia from Asahiyama Zoo among them. It was obviously a gift for Deng...!

They attach so much importance to lights.

But if Deng can’t even come out to see them, will they think Deng is impolite and then hate him...?

No, don’t do that…!!

Don't do this kind of thing...!!

If a good boy like Toyokawa-kun doesn't contact me in the future, I won't be able to rest in peace even in my dreams!

Ancestors of the Takamatsu family, please let the lights out quickly, please let the lights out quickly...!

Ah!

The door is open!

Takamatsu Yuji was overjoyed, and the stone in his heart finally fell to the ground. He wiped the sweat from his forehead due to nervousness, and said to his daughter who had only pushed the door open a little bit.

"Deng, your two friends are here to see you."

"friend……?"

A delicate sound came faintly from the crack in the door, like the lingering sound of thin porcelain cups colliding, or like a young elk hanging tremblingly in the morning mist, clear and clean, and just listening to it made people want to protect it.

"Yeah, friends!"

Takamatsu Yuji said it very gently. It was obvious that he was the kind of parent who would still call his children "baby" even if the children were in their twenties or thirties.

“Um, who are they…?”

"Ah, one's surnamed Shiina, and the other's surnamed Toyokawa, both are very nice—"

Takamatsu Yuji hadn't finished speaking yet.

There was a loud bang and the door hit the wall with a loud noise.

Under his surprised gaze, Gao Songdeng suddenly rushed out of the room.

He had never seen this child so anxious before, and he had never thought that she would be so anxious that she couldn't even run steadily. Her little feet slipped, and her white knees hit the ground.

However, none of these could stop Takamatsu Deng's pace. She supported her body with her hands, and then shouted with all her strength in a voice that was a little unclear and even a little hoarse, as if if she spoke a second later, she would never see the other person again.

"Xiao Xiang...! I--!"

Ever since Crychic disbanded.

Gao Songdeng locked himself in the room.

I tossed and turned at night, and even my nightmares were about Toyokawa Shoko's words, "Lamp, you are the one that needs the most practice." Every day when I woke up from bed, I would curl up in the quilt and cry silently for a while, then go to school alone with red eyes.

She had thought about why Crychic disbanded, but no matter what the answer was, it seemed to be of no use and there was no way to save the reality that the band had already fallen apart.

But are we just going to give up like this?

Gao Songdeng didn't want this to happen.

She didn't know whether she liked the band or not, but one thing she could be sure of was that she didn't hate the feeling of being with everyone.

Even though it was a very brief memory, she couldn't even recall singing when she was standing on the stage, but seeing how happy everyone was, she seemed to feel confused.

...That's good.

That being the case.

Then make the effort.

Lack of practice is what causes a band to break up.

So she practiced and sang hard.

She didn't know whether she sang well or not, but this was the only thing she could do. She would try her best to do it well and pour everything into it.

Cover yourself with the quilt and sing.

Singing alone on the way home from school.

It doesn’t matter even if you sing your voice hoarse.

If only I could bring you back...!

Gao Songdeng raised his head and looked forward with hope.

But the person who came over and helped her up was not the girl in her memory who tucked her blue hair behind her ears and brought her to a warm world like the distant moon in the sky.

Quite the opposite.

It's another person.

One never seen before.

But someone who can miraculously call out names.

"Xiang...?"

97

Chapter 97 Enhanced version of White Moonlight Gao Songdeng.

Strange girl.

This was Toyokawa Sho's first impression of Takamatsu Tomo.

Unlike Toyokawa Shoko, he first met Takamatsu Touma on his way to school by special bus.

The light was red at that time, and the car stopped on the side of the road, quietly waiting for the countdown of dozens of seconds on the indicator light to return to zero.

In his hand he held a copy of "The Football Team of 1911" by Kenzaburo Oe, and his eyes moved across the paper. What caught his eye was not Nedoro Takashi who rushed into the forest wearing a red helmet and ended all conflicts with his death, but Hikigaya Hachiman who discovered that it was Yukinoshita Yukino's private car that hit him and sent him to the hospital that day.

That's right.

Because light novels are not as thick and heavy as long classics, Toyokawa Sho occasionally sneaks in works he is interested in between the classics to take a break.

When he saw the car stop, the scene where Xue Paopao hit the Great Teacher while riding in a car flashed through his mind.

So I looked forward and found that it was just a red light, so I breathed a sigh of relief and turned my head to look out the window. I saw pairs of students walking together.

Because the windows were rolled down and the car was parked on the side of the road, he could clearly hear the topics the students were talking about, whether it was last night's variety show or the latest popular drama.

Toyokawa Sho was somewhat envious of this kind of life where he could freely share interesting things with people around him.

Ever since my mother became seriously ill and was admitted to the hospital, the atmosphere at home has become heavier day by day. It seems that if we do something wrong in the slightest, it will cause anger and detonate this bomb that has already reached its limit.

Toyokawa Sho could feel that a storm was coming, but he was powerless to do anything about it. At that time, the corridor of life was not fully developed and could only serve to enhance memory. Even Wakaba Mu was stopped at home and could not come to accompany him.

Looking at the scumbag who was becoming more and more anxious, and those relatives who were ready to make a move, he felt very tired. Every day, he could only rely on the little free time he had in the evening when he video-called Ruoye Mu to soothe his fearful and uneasy heart.

Toyokawa Sho hopes to go back to the past, at least to the time when he could go find Wakaba Mutsu and empty his mind.

But the reality does not allow him to be relaxed, and he also understands that this is wishful thinking on his part, so he has become very silent during this period of time, and feels a little lost when he sees his peers singing praises of youth.

This is also the time.