Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

"Hmm. Can I have something cold?" Aine said embarrassedly.

She definitely couldn't drink hot tea in this weather. But she was also worried that she had just had lunch and had come all this way to get here, and the heat was making her a little nauseous. Now that the ice drink was suddenly down her throat, she might have to say goodbye to that delicious lunch.

"Of course. Wait a moment."

If a customer wants cold tea, generally speaking, he can only put ice cubes in and wait for a while before taking the ice out. However, Blood Star Superman is naturally not restricted by common sense when opening a shop - heat is energy, and absorbing energy is what the Star-Eating Monster is best at.

Soon, the herbal tea that Aine had ordered was served.

No extra ice water melts into the tea, preserving the best flavor.

Chihaya Aine didn't think too much about it. She picked up the cup, carefully checked the temperature with the tip of her tongue, and then drank it in big gulps. After drinking about half a cup, she put the cup down with a "Ha--" sound, looked up, and smiled brightly, revealing her little canine teeth:

"It's delicious! Even the black tea here is so delicious?"

"Yeah. My girlfriend likes this flavor of black tea, so I researched it a bit."

Aine’s eyes lit up immediately, “Girlfriend?…Hmm.” But she quickly suppressed her interested expression the next moment.

Although he and Baodeng Zheli have had a "spiritual connection" for a long time, and once wanted to punch him in the face for smiling, so much so that they now speak directly in normal language... in reality, the two of them are still strangers.

Apart from their names, they knew nothing about each other.

She quickly stopped talking, but Zhe Li took the initiative to pick up the topic: "Why, are you interested?"

"To say I wasn't interested... would be a lie."

Aine scratched her face and spoke hesitantly:

"Well, I go to an all-girls school, and my friends say that when they have boyfriends, they're usually guys from outside the school. I've also heard from friends that some people bring their college boyfriends to parties—it's so embarrassing just thinking about it! What on earth are people like that thinking?"

At the end of her speech, she became indignant again.

Zhe Li shook his head, "Boyfriends and girlfriends aren't something to show off."

A relationship is a connection that both parties must work hard to maintain. It is not something to be displayed as a personal achievement.

"Oh……"

Chihaya Aine glanced at Zheli with a hint of surprise. To be frank: based on her impression of this man, she'd assumed he was the type who would be a playboy, changing girlfriends faster than he changed clothes... or even if it wasn't that extreme, he didn't seem like the type to say something like that.

However, she seemed to have some preconceived ideas.

Bao Deng Zheli not only has a girlfriend, but also cares about her very much.

"Yeah, luckily I don't have friends like that." Aine shook the cup and stared at the broken reflection in it. "If I had a boyfriend, I would definitely—"

She suddenly paused.

She couldn't imagine herself swallowing her grievances when she encountered someone she wasn't happy with.

So it is even more difficult to imagine myself avoiding talking about this beautiful relationship.

Given her personality, if she met a great lover, she would probably want to tell the world and inform all her friends... So, it seems like I am "that kind of person"?

"..."

Thinking of this, she suddenly felt as if she couldn't raise her head.

Fortunately, her mumbling didn't seem to be heard by the store manager. Seeing her silence, Bao Deng Zheli simply glanced up at her and asked casually, "Anything else to eat? There's dessert on the next page of the menu."

“No thanks.” Aine shook her head. She had eaten lunch before leaving.

She put down her teacup and looked around again, her eyes resting on the open mic area.

"Huh? Will there be any bands performing here?"

"If you must say so, it is indeed true."

Although only "Lost Band" will be on stage... oh, if you include CRYCHIC, there will be two bands in total.

Ever since CRYCHIC started to practice regularly in Nascita's recording studio, Zheli made some modifications to the original simple open-mic to make it easier for Lenai to use, and it can now be said to be a small stage.

But logically speaking, this restaurant is so small, and with the stage expanded, the guest seating area should be severely compressed...

Forget it. Even the magical thing of the store door connecting to another world happened, and the interior space automatically adjusted in size, so it didn't seem that surprising.

Aine opened her mouth, "...Wow."

When the other party had just jokingly said, "Business isn't that great," she had been a little worried about the store's performance. She hadn't expected it to even have a band perform. It was like one of those foreign bars with performers coming on stage from time to time.

"When will the performance be?"

Zhe Li tilted his head, "If you ask me this question, I can't answer it."

During group practice, CRYCHIC often uses the backroom recording studio. Zheli didn't have in-ear monitors, and while the store isn't large, it's not a dedicated concert hall. Playing on an open stage would affect their practice efficiency, so they rarely use them.

The last time CRYCHIC used the stage was back in the very beginning of the band.

Aine’s eyes widened. “Ehhh—? Aren’t you the store manager?”

"At the same time, he is also the only conductor of the orchestra who performs on stage," said Zhe Li.

"……what?"

Zhe Li smiled at the surprised girl, "So when the performance will be held depends on my mood and the mood of my band members."

Just so I can play the piano anytime, I installed a stage in the store...?

Chihaya Aine was greatly shocked.

She suddenly felt that it was not so outrageous that her students would temporarily invite a group of people who had never learned a musical instrument to perform on stage.

Chapter 26 of the Box: Autumn Frost and Falling Maple Leaves, Snow Clears and the Plum Blossoms Appear: Chapter : Camera

but.

Chihaya Aine looked at the open stage from afar and said, "It's great~"

"what's good?"

"Opening my own coffee shop and playing in a band in my free time..." Aiyin lay on the table, her eyes sparkling, as if filled with longing: "I also want to live a life like this in the future."

Zhe Li couldn't help but laugh out loud: "So this is a life worth envying?"

Baodeng Zheli's "present" was obtained in exchange for "everything".

Family and friends, past achievements, and even his identity as a human being... He never felt that these sacrifices were inevitable, and it was for this reason that he chose to sacrifice himself: at least, if everything was weighed, peace could be gained at the cost of "just one person", which was indeed worth it.

We stay away because we cherish, and we burn out because we expect it to continue.

He admired being a hero, and in the end, he arbitrarily became a hero among heroes - because heroes have to die, and he didn't want to see real heroes sacrifice their precious lives for people like him.

Although, the reason why he admired heroes was that he hoped someone would sacrifice something precious for him.

Such contradictory thoughts might be evidence that he was once human.

...Ah, but it would be a lie to say that there are absolutely no benefits.

Going alone to another world. Although lonely, but destined to be free from ties.

"Yeah." Aine didn't notice his self-deprecating expression as she continued to stare at the brand-new stage equipment. "Most people enter the workplace after graduation. Some even start working right after high school... It might be too far off to think about it now, but I just don't think I'll ever be that free."

"Freedom, ah."

Zhe Li chewed over this word.

“I don’t think it’s something too difficult.”

——As long as you can let go of all the existing shackles and open up a future of "just one person".

"Oh, it's difficult for me." Chihaya Aine waved her hands and suddenly felt a little depressed.

Chihaya Aine was born into a happy family. She didn't deny it, and she was deeply grateful for it. However, her parents' "love" was sometimes an unbearable burden: the more lenient they were with her, the more they tolerated her willfulness, the more she felt she needed to become someone who lived up to their investment.

Therefore, she couldn't just think about living in peace in a corner——

“I don’t want to be an ordinary person when I grow up.”

Zhe Li paused for a moment, then looked up and took in the girl's serious expression.

He raised the corner of his mouth and said, "It's not too late to work hard from now on."

...No. It's never too late to start working hard.

Even if your life "up to now" cannot be changed, your life "from now on" is still under your control; maybe there will be a limit to your future growth, and maybe you may not be "successful" even if you work hard to the end, but at least you can "say goodbye to yourself who gives up moving forward."

Then, it wouldn't be meaningless.

"I've already figured out how to work hard," Chihaya Aine said.

"Oh?" Zhe Li simply put down the cup he had been wiping for a long time and showed an interested look on his face: "I'd like to hear more about it."

Aiyin hummed a few times and gave him a V sign. "I'm going to study in England."

It was precisely because of this that Aiyin insisted on finding Baodō Zeri.

As long as they stayed in the same city, maybe they would meet again someday. But if she followed her life plan and went abroad, the last meeting might be a farewell forever.

"Going to study in England?" Zhe Li was a little surprised. "You're a junior high school student now, right? You're quite brave."

The UK's academic system, like Japan's, consists of three semesters, but the first semester begins in September. Therefore, Japanese students planning to study in the UK are best advised to wait until the end of their first semester of high school (July) before applying for A-levels (Advanced Level School), which is equivalent to high school education in Japan, but lasts only two years.

For those who go abroad before graduating from junior high school like Aiyin, they must first transfer to a secondary school to complete compulsory education, and then go on to A-level school - this obviously requires more adaptation and effort.

Compared to the vast majority of mediocre mortals, this girl is already very impressive just for being able to make decisions.

Thinking of this, he also smiled and said, "May your future be smooth."

The pink-haired girl blinked, then grinned widely.

"Hey, thanks for your kind words~!"

……

"oops."

Baodeng Zheli looked down at the banknotes left on the counter by Chihaya Aine and smiled helplessly.

When it was time to check out, the girl shouted, "The extra money is for this bracelet." She showed him the bracelet on her wrist, or rather, the sports bracelet that looked like a bracelet.

That was the gift that Baodeng Zheli had given to Chihaya Aine during their last offline transaction with Reoulei, under the pretext of a "zero-yuan starting bid." He had thought this would allay Chihaya Aine's concerns and eliminate any debts, but it had instead become the beginning of her obsession.

But now it seems that it was precisely because of this stubbornness that the girl was able to find the courage from deep within her heart to explore the unknown.

"————."

The midsummer sun is still shining brightly, and that abrupt color is fading away in the heat.

Sometimes he would think that perhaps his time had completely stopped at a certain moment.

Mingming's eyes were still recording everything meticulously, and he was still experiencing encounters with everyone from CRYCHIC, but he realized very early on: If Su Shi had not reached out to him, he might have been like this coffee shop, like a rootless duckweed, gradually being separated from the city.

————Café Nascita, its name means "birth".

Bao Dengzhe was affiliated with two different "nascita" and was reborn twice.

If this third life really has value and meaning, it must be to watch over and remember the new "birth".

This was the case with Nagasaki Suyo, Takamatsu Tomo, and Toyokawa Shoko. Now, it seems that Chihaya Aine can be added to the list.

In the future, there may be more and more...

A man held up his cheeks and looked at the bright sunshine outside the window with a smile.

In that distant sky, there are floating clouds and the sun, the blue sky like a canvas, and the wind and birds.

The orbits of the stars are located above the celestial sphere, while the footsteps of mortals measure every inch of dreams and wishes.

Whether in Tokyo, Inazuma's outlying islands, or somewhere else, as long as human beings are still human beings, their lives are destined to be equally exciting.

...What new encounters and new "births" will there be on the other side of the door?

He wanted to be here to witness the last moment until the bell stopped ringing.

Chapter of the Box, Act 27, Autumn frost and falling maple leaves, snowy sky and blooming cypress trees: Chapter Xiangzi-chan’s eyes became sharp!

"It's almost time to prepare a new song."

One day ago, Toyokawa Shoko said this.

"Isn't the last time enough?" Shiina Riki was clearly sitting, but he glanced at Xiangzi condescendingly.

The "last time" Lixi was referring to was their second CRYCHIC LIVE—the impromptu song they'd played after hauling Toyokawa Shoko up from the audience. Shoko, carried away by the atmosphere, hurriedly followed the beat, her expression dazed and goofy throughout, nearly making Lixi burst out laughing several times: "Ha! You have this day too?"