Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

When he looked up, he saw the girl staring at him with her clear blue eyes.

Can this person really read minds?

"...Mr. Sushi, you're worrying too much. I can still afford to buy a piece of clothing."

The reason she came to work in Zheli was not because she was in poverty.

However, as a child, the amount she could save wasn't large. If she planned to pay for future tuition and household expenses independently of Toyokawa's resources, she needed to start saving now. Her salary at Nascita was already providing a significant financial boost, and if she considered buying clothes an investment in the band, it was still within her means.

"Oh, is that so?" Su Shi pretended to be surprised.

What a shame. I was hoping to see her pick out a dress she couldn't afford and then open her wallet in silence.

It seems that after experiencing "commoner life" for a period of time, Shoko Toyokawa has now learned to understand prices.

Chapter 52 of the Box: Autumn Frost and Falling Maple Leaves, Snow Clears and Meets the Plum Tree: Chapter : Strolling

The last time CRYCHIC went out to play like this was back in the spring.

They sang together, drank coffee, and even went shopping in Ikebukuro's shopping district after school. LINE group chats evolved from a communication tool for scheduling practice times and locations to a bulletin board for discussing recent events, and then to a casual chat room for casual conversations. These changes were gentle, gradual, yet profoundly meaningful, and they made Nagasaki Suyo feel like everyone was drawing closer.

Until the summer when Shoko Toyokawa started to be absent without reason.

"Deng! The pattern of this dress suits you very well."

"I, I'm not very good at wearing such, uh, bright clothes..."

"Haha, who was so confident just now? Look at me, the lamp, this one——"

"I already have the same style at home and want to exchange it for another one... Well, thank you, Xiao Lixi."

“——…….”

Su Shi glanced at the girls who were discussing something not far away and couldn't help but smile.

Everything seemed to have changed, yet nothing had changed. It was like experiencing a Doraemon movie; they had been sad, angry, but now everything had returned to normal life.

"Su Shi?"

His girlfriend stopped rummaging through clothes for a long time, and Baodeng Zheli turned his head to look over.

Seeing Su Shi smiling but not saying anything, the man followed her gaze: they were all in the women's clothing floor of the mall, and it was very lively. At such a short distance, the noise drowned out their voices. It seemed that Su Shi could not hear the conversation, and just smiled mysteriously at everyone who was discussing something.

"Why are you laughing all of a sudden?"

"Oh." Su Shi blinked and said to Zhe Li, "Don't you think they are cute like this?"

"Cute...?" Zheli looked at Xiangzi and others again in confusion.

Perhaps it's because they live in the anime world, but everyone on CRYCHIC is undoubtedly a beautiful girl, no doubt about it. But, "cute"? While it's not wrong to describe them as such, how can I suddenly feel "they're so cute" just by looking at them from afar?

Su Shi occasionally has some strange emotions, which makes Zhe Li feel a little puzzled.

"If you ask me, it's closer to 'pretty' than 'cute'."

It goes without saying that Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu, who had been pampered since childhood, hadn't seen their past accumulations vanish all of a sudden, even if Shoko's quality of life had plummeted recently. Mutsu, on the other hand, was born into a celebrity family and was occasionally recognized on the street. So, at Sushi's suggestion, he wore a pair of large sunglasses, covering most of his face.

But even so, her clothes and carefully maintained light green hair still attracted a lot of attention.

Then there's Tatsuki Shiina, whose clothes are supposed to be very fashionable, but whose taste in clothes is completely terrible, whose hairstyle is not very good, and who is not even very good at speaking. However, he can become the mascot of the class just by having a great face.

Finally, there is Nagasaki Suyo, which specializes in fragrance and hair care.

If you didn’t tell me you were a band, I would have thought CRYCHIC was some kind of modeling group.

"Hmm..." Zheli's serious comment made Su Shi's eyes widen in surprise.

She stood there for a long time holding the clothes she had just chosen, and whispered, "Zhe Li thinks everyone is beautiful?"

Then the man smiled kindly: "A little in front, a little in the middle, of course you are the most beautiful."

"...Why are you so skilled?"

Zhe Li smiled somewhat helplessly: "Of course, all this is thanks to Miss Su Shi."

Perhaps because she had developed a knack for reading in the Moon Forest, Su Shi was now adept at grasping the hidden meanings of words. Intentionally or unintentionally, she would always find little traps in words, either actively stepping into them or tricking Zhe Li into falling into them...

This is also the main reason why Xiangzi secretly complained that Su Shi was a "troublesome woman".

"Mr. Suyo was born to be one of 'us,'" Toyokawa Shoko once commented.

It was obvious that just because her mother made a lot of money, she sent this child, who was not rich once, to an aristocratic school. This did not mean anything, but Su Shi grew up strong in such an environment - so she was destined to change because of this.

However, this is just a habit at best.

A completely different environment forces a child to adapt to the lifestyle of the people around her, to learn, guess and imitate their every word and every action, and then she happens to have talent, and the result is that before she can fully understand herself, she creates "another self".

Recently, this situation has been slightly alleviated.

"Oh, what's wrong with me?" Su Shi asked back with a smile.

"Xiao Su Shi is so dazzling that I only have eyes for you."

Su Shi couldn't help but curl her lips after hearing this, "Huh, you're just being sarcastic. Instead of talking about that, how about taking a look at this dress?"

Sigh. This is already the third option.

"You look good in anything you wear." Zhe Li raised his hands in surrender.

Su Shi uttered an "oh" and suddenly raised the corner of her mouth. She asked with a smile, "What if you don't wear it?"

"………………I have no idea."

Could you please not ask questions like these that shouldn't appear in works for all ages?

"Hmph, stop giving me the cold shoulder..." Seeing Zheli trying to keep a straight face, Sushi turned up her nose and smirked, as if she'd won a point. The next moment, she put on a serious face again, picked up the previous yukatas and threw them in front of Zheli. "Hurry up, pick one. I'll pick one for you later..."

●

While they were arguing here, there was also a commotion over there.

Wakaba Mu glanced at the two foolish women presenting their options to Takamatsu Deng, then distractedly glanced at Su Shi, who was almost pressing her body against Zhe Li. Hmm. Aren't these two a little too close? After all, this was a public place...

Never mind. It’s none of my business anyway.

Fortunately, the lenses of her sunglasses were wide enough to perfectly cover her sharp eyes.

She had picked out her outfit long beforehand. While her family also had kimonos for important gatherings, she'd secretly observed people's clothing during her previous trip to the "other world." The styles she had at home were still too conspicuous for Inazuma. This time, she deliberately chose something more traditional, common, or, simply put, inexpensive.

Humph. Even though Xiao Mu isn't very good at speaking, he's pretty good at reading people's expressions.

For example...ah. Su Shi was already preparing to take Zhe Li away.

She quickly stepped forward and touched Xiangzi, who was busy picking out clothes, "Xiang."

"Hmm? What's up, Mu? I'm just trying to choose the right style for the lamp."

I'd like to take this opportunity to test Deng's preferences, so I can have a reference for designing team uniforms. Fortunately, there's a classmate named Li Xi who can help her a little...

Mu looked at Xiangzi with drooping eyes. He had no unusual expression on his face, and then she opened her red lips slightly.

"Su Shi, left."

"Eh? Wow! Seriously? Suyo-kun, wait a moment!"

Didn’t you promise to lend me some money?

Chapter 53 of the Box: Autumn Frost and Falling Maple Leaves, Snow Clears and Meets the Plum Tree: Chapter : Strolling

"how?"

Bao Dengzheri tightened his legs, opened his arms, and struck a pose like Kamen Rider W after activating the Double Drive, showing everyone the look of his new clothes.

It was a pity that the air conditioning in the mall wasn't strong enough to disturb his cloak, not to mention that he wasn't wearing a cloak.

"It's very beautiful." Nagasaki Suyo clapped with a smile.

Shiina Riki watched coldly, "Nonsense. This is your choice."

"I think it's very suitable!" Gao Songdeng nodded continuously, looking very attentive.

"In Inazuma terms, this would be considered formal attire," Toyokawa Shoko muttered, her finger resting on her chin. She was thinking ahead. She studied Oeri for a moment, then nodded and smiled. "However, given the relationship between Oeri-san and China-san, it's only fitting that they dress a bit more formally."

As far as she knew, Inazuma didn't have a "Sword Hunting Order": perhaps it was because the destructive power of the God's Eye wielder was far greater than that of a cold weapon. If they didn't restrict the God's Eye, why would they restrict swords? It was a bit far-fetched.

Given his remarkable height and build, coupled with a yukata made of high-quality cotton, refined with modern tastes and craftsmanship, he would be a real eye-catcher simply walking down the street with his hands folded. If only he had worn a beautifully scabbarded wakizashi at his waist, and if it weren't for his dazzling blond hair, one might mistake him for a noble samurai.

"Ah, Toyokawa-san has a point," Oreki suddenly realized. Even if he was just a guest official, he still belonged to the Hiiragi family. "When the time comes, I'll also be representing the Kanjo Bugyo, so I can't just wear anything casually."

Zheli has never cared about what kind of clothes he wears.

In the world where he was born, he didn't care much about his appearance. So even though he inherited the fine bloodline of the Baoden family, he had an ordinary face and he didn't think he had any major flaws in his character, but he was not very popular with the opposite sex.

In the world of Kamen Rider Build, he seldom attends social occasions as he accompanies Kiryu Battle Rabbit in hiding. He is also always dirty because he often helps Battle Rabbit with experiments.

It was not until he traveled to the world of Bang Dream! that he could be said to have reached the peak of his appearance, thanks to the perfect body mimicked by the Blood Star Slime, and no longer needing to do any meticulous care.

However, he kept changing two or three sets of clothes every day, and now Su Shi, who was always watching him, finally couldn't bear it anymore.

The child had muttered about buying him clothes more than once, only to give up when she couldn't find the chance. This time, Suze had her chance: even though she was buying a yukata, she even planned to "incidentally" prepare a kimono for Hatsumori, choosing a couple's outfit for herself and Ori!

There are still several months until the New Year!

Putting aside that excessive forward planning, Zhe Li could find no fault with Su Shi's taste in choosing clothes.

This yukata has a black base, with the cuffs decorated with golden "Kanze Water" patterns, and the whole set is covered with light golden bamboo branch patterns, reflecting luxury in a low-key manner; I don't know if Su Shi had some concerns, and happened to choose the one without the Tomoe pattern printed on it - otherwise, it would be a bit disrespectful to directly print the "Three-strand Tomoe pattern", the national emblem of Inazuma, on the clothes.

Just because he wasn't used to dressing up didn't mean he didn't have his own aesthetic sense. For example, his knight armor was designed by himself. He looked in the full-length mirror and saw, as Xiangzi had said, that it was an outfit perfectly suited for a Kanjo Bugyo.

He smiled at little Su Shi and said, "Thank you, Su Shi. You've been a great help."

Su Shi pursed her lips, as if she was thinking about how to respond. But she didn't think for long, and soon she smiled sweetly.

No matter when or how many times, she liked every compliment he gave her.

The group then paid the bill.

As soon as they stepped out of the mall, the scorching sun outside made them exclaim "uh" at the same time.

Carrying their shopping bags, the girls hurried to their next destination: the ice cream shop.

Zheli, like a patriarch, followed them with a cheerful smile. Tokyo was bustling and noisy year-round, but during summer vacation, the female students chattered and carved out their own little world amidst the usually heavy and oppressive crowds.

A memory called youth.

"Red beans, matcha..." "It would be better if you added some honey?" "I, I really want chocolate." "..."

Looking at Su Shi's backs as they discussed the taste of shaved ice and walked towards the counter together, Zhe Li, who only ordered a cup of iced black tea, did not join in the fun. He sat upright in his seat and watched them go away with a smile.

Ruoye Mu, who also ordered a glass of iced mango juice, stayed quietly in his seat like him.

"Wakaba-san has been quiet today, too. Is there something bothering you?"

Mu paused for a moment and tilted his head to look at Zheli's smile.

She seemed to wait until she was sure the other party was talking to her before slowly shaking her head and saying softly, "Just like usual."

"Is that so?" Zhe Li looked carefully at her ethereal light golden eyes.

His intuition told him that since her visit to Inazuma with Crychik, this girl, who had always been extremely calm, composed, and even too quiet, had indeed changed. However, judging from her appearance, he couldn't quite tell whether it was for the better or for the worse.

"If you have any worries, it would be better to discuss them with everyone." Zhe Li spread his hands and gestured towards Su Shi and the others. "At your age, you should learn to rely on your friends."

If you choose to go forward alone when you most need to seek help, then when the day comes when you really have to fight alone, you will collapse under tremendous difficulties because you lack the motivation to get through the difficulties.

Why should I endure all this hardship if I have to fight alone from beginning to end?

Is it just to meet greater challenges?

"...Hmm." I felt like he was thinking of something tragic.

Ruoye Mu's gaze lightly touched Zhe Li's slightly emotional expression.

Like Xiangzi, she was once quite wary of this store manager whose identity and background were unclear and who was suspiciously rich.

Of course, her doubts have been dispelled now - but not because she knows the secret hidden behind it, but simply because "there is no need": for such an incredibly generous and frank person, she feels that thinking about it for even one more second would be a humiliation to herself.

The suspicion vanished and turned into pure curiosity.

A café that seemed to appear out of nowhere. A door that led to another world. And then, a strange person who didn't seem to truly exist in this world.

If these encounters are dreams, then who makes these dreams come true?

As long as I stay here, I will be able to discover the secret one day.