Heavy girl? I feel worse than Black Hole Trigger!

Li Xi smiled faintly after hearing this and said, "It's okay. It's more important to rest your throat first."

Deng nodded quickly again, "Yeah, yeah! I'll do my best. Thank you, Lixi."

While the two of them were talking, Su Shi locked the zipper of her violin case. Then she looked up and smiled at the door. "We're about to finish practicing. Why are Xiao Deng and Xiao Lenai here?"

“We—” “Music, aren’t you going to play anymore?”

Deng was about to explain when Lenai's question interrupted her.

The silver-haired girl's cat-like heterochromatic eyes showed no emotion, so Su Shi couldn't figure out the purpose of her question. Su Shi could only answer honestly:

"Because it's almost time. And Xiao Deng has a sore throat right now, so it's better for her to go home and rest early."

“Hmm…”

Lenai blinked at Su Shi, not knowing whether he was interpreting Su Shi's words or thinking about something else.

In the end, Su Shi did not wait for Lenai's response. She just averted her gaze, pulled her small trailer to the speaker, and plugged in the wires - lying next to the speaker was Lenai's exclusive effects pedal.

“Zizi—…”

Li Xi had just checked her schoolbag to make sure nothing was left in the recording studio when she frowned at the electrical noise generated when she flipped the switch.

She looked at Lenai with empty eyes. The girl was squatting on the ground adjusting the effects pedal.

"Stray cat, what are you doing?"

Without even turning around, Lenai said lightly, "Play the guitar."

"...Huh?" Li Xi was confused.

And Su Shi smiled and said, "Because we said it's over, so Lenai, get ready to continue."

"Hmm." Lenai made a shallow sound, agreeing with Su Shi's explanation.

Li Xi put his hands on his hips and looked at Lenai, who was adjusting the effects pedal with her head down. He shook his head and said, "Mu Ke hasn't finished yet."

Ruoye Mu paused for a moment because of Le Nai's sudden arrival. But when it was Li Xi's turn to speak, she quietly moved closer to Le Nai, unplugged the wires from her own pedal, and slowly reeled them up.

Li Xi watched for a long time, feeling a surge of anger that he couldn't quite get out, but he didn't know what to say. He scratched his head, shut up, and walked around to the other side of the drum kit, preparing to put the music stand away in the corner of the studio.

Suddenly I felt a breath around me.

"Hmm?" Li Xi tilted his head to look.

It turned out that Le Nai had unknowingly run to her side and was looking at the "Haruhi Shadow" on the music stand.

Li Xi's hand, which was about to close the music sheet, paused in the air for a moment, "What are you doing now?"

This was the drum sheet music that Toyokawa Shoko had prepared for her, and you could still see Shoko's handwriting on it. It wasn't that she cared about CRYCHIC's sheet music being seen by others, but why would a guitarist like Lenai want to see the drum sheet music?

"Well."

Lenai blinked, looked for two or three seconds, then turned away as if he had lost interest, and walked away with light steps.

...What is this guy doing?

Li Xi glanced at her back and couldn't help but feel curious: What kind of magic did Bao Deng Zheli cast to make this eccentric girl obediently attend practice and even concerts? I always felt that this guy was the type who would come in and play a few pieces, then get bored and leave without permission.

Never mind. It has nothing to do with me anyway.

Li Xi shook his head and turned back to put the sheet music away.

“——————.”

"..."

A melody that was both familiar and unfamiliar made her stop.

Lost Star Chapter 88 Summer Time Record: Chapter Guitar

"Hehe~hehe, hehehe~..."

"..."

Shiina Riki turned around hesitantly.

Kaname's back was facing away from her.

Through the dance mirror, you can see the girl holding the old guitar in her hand.

The slender fingers held the pick and danced lightly on the strings.

Li Xi had thought that Le Nai would always have that indifferent look, just like Wakaba Mu, with no way of guessing what was going on inside. He even sometimes harbored malicious suspicions, wondering if all guitar players would have deadpan expressions. But now, Le Nai had a cheerful smile on his face that could perhaps be described as a sign of dedication.

This girl, whom I had met several times but didn't know at all, was playing "Spring Shadow", a song belonging to CRYCHIC.

Completely different from the piano melody we are used to hearing, she used the beautiful sound of the guitar to interpret another version of "Spring Shadow".

...It's as if the song has been injected with "soul".

Li Xi thought about this and turned to look at Nagasaki Suyo.

Su Shi was watching Le Na playing with a smile on her face. When she noticed Li Xi's gaze from the corner of her eye, she turned her head and gave her a questioning look.

Li Xi just uttered one word: "New arrangement."

Looking back, the creation of "Hōto Orikiri" also stemmed from Kaname Rakuna's improvisations. Perhaps they should look beyond the surface and ask Rakuna to help re-arrange the piece with guitar as the lead instead of piano... proving to Toyokawa Shoko that CRYCHIC can continue without her!

"...Hehe." Su Shi couldn't help but laugh after hearing this.

She remembered how Zheli was fooled by Lenai before.

If I ask him for help, the situation will probably happen again.

However, in the end, she did not speak to Lenai, but just listened to Lenai's performance quietly, until she finally pulled herself away from the music and turned around to show them a confused expression.

The girl looked back and forth at Su Shi and Li Xi, and said, "Aren't you going to play?"

Lixi paused, "Huh?"

Su Shi felt that she could guess Le Nai's subtext: Do you still want to play? Otherwise, why don't you leave?

So, Su Shi said a compliment:

"Little Lenai's improvisation was so amazing that I couldn't help but listen to the whole thing."

This made Lenai snort and turn up her nose as if in pride.

Su Shi looked at her expressionless face, yet he could vaguely see her excitement. He smiled and said, "I'll go ask Zheli to come. Little Lenai also wants to practice with Zheli, right?"

Lenai was obviously perked up, and after a pause, he said, "They said they still need to open for business."

"It's okay, I'll just watch the store for him for a while. Lenai, wait here for a moment."

"Yeah." Le Nai nodded and lowered her head to brush the strings again. Listening to the passionate melody, she seemed very happy.

Seeing that Lenian was able to settle down with just a few simple words, Su Shi first chuckled a few times with his hands covering his mouth in joy, then quickly collected himself and turned to his teammates:

"Okay, let's go too, Xiao Lixi and Xiao Mu."

"......" Ruoye Mu, who was looking down as if thinking, raised his eyes and glanced at Su Shi.

The brown-haired girl happened to look at her with a smile on her face. Mu suddenly realized that even this seemingly ordinary smile had dimmed in her memory, to the point that she even had an illusion of nostalgia.

She just carried the piano on her back and walked towards the door.

Silent as usual.

●

Just as Nagasaki Suyo expected——

After hearing Su Shi say that he wanted to watch the store for him, Zhe Li quickly went into the recording studio.

He thought that as long as he acted like he cared about business, he could look like a store manager. However, Su Shi always knew that he never had even the slightest passion for coffee or coffee shops: his cherishment of Nascita seemed to be based only on the fact that it was his home.

So, rather than changing the flow of traffic in the kitchen to improve work efficiency, he would rather think about what paintings to hang on the wall. Rather than promoting the cafe, he would rather think about how many speakers to install in the open mic space.

Whether it's a cafe, a restaurant, or something else, it's the same.

Rather than guarding a deserted store, it is better to retreat to a small room to play the piano or invent something.

So why do you insist on running this store?

...Su Shi believed that he would understand it one day.

"Then I'll go back first." Li Xi said goodbye first.

When Li Xi heard Zhe Li say that he would help them to make a new version of "Spring Shadow" as soon as possible, she immediately felt relieved: although she didn't say anything, Su Shi could see the joy in her as if the low pressure on her body had been swept away.

Shiina Riki has always felt as if something is chasing him closely, like a taut rope.

The tension had eased a little on the day the concert ended, but it gradually tightened again since Xiangzi's absence without reason, and reached its peak when Xiangzi announced his withdrawal... No matter what Su Shi said or did, the tension always lingered around her, forcing her to perform desperately like Takamatsu Deng.

It was as if she wanted to achieve something more than anyone else, to prove her worth.

But that was essentially just worrying about who she was dragging down. As long as everything went smoothly, she could probably relax a little.

Come to think of it, she's no different from Xiao Deng: both keep their worries to themselves and try to dispel their anxieties through action. Perhaps this is why she likes Deng's lyrics and his voice.

After Su Shi said goodbye to Li Xi, she turned around and smiled at Gao Songdeng.

"Xiao Deng, go home quickly and have a good rest."

…That being said, I’m no different.

She had clearly secretly disliked Takamatsu Deng from the very beginning, and had clearly been silently jealous of this girl from the moment they first met, but it wasn't until her jealousy was completely seen through by that man, and until her willfulness was truly accepted, that she awkwardly and unwillingly expressed it.

Maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was the guidance of "fate" as Xiangzi said -

They are crychilic, every one of them is a taciturn person who likes to keep his thoughts deep in his heart and never say them out.

"..."

While thinking about this, Nagasaki Suyo watched Takamatsu Deng's back as he walked away.

Not until the girl's back disappeared around the corner of the alley, and the smile on her face faded in the silence, did she slowly turn her head and stare at the girl who was standing still in the corner, as if forgotten by everyone.

It was as if time had stopped for her. Only when Su Shi glanced at her did she finally step towards the door.

——Wakaba Mu raised his head and looked at the girl at the door.

The setting sun is still bright. Midsummer has delayed the arrival of dusk, and the overly brilliant sun colors everything equally.

The girl named Nagasaki Suyo raised her hand and gently stroked her long hair in the backlight, with a smile that seemed to be erased by the light.

Then,

"I'm sorry, Xiao Mu."

Say it softly.

Lost Star Chapter 1 Summer Time Record: Chapter 89 Prisoner

Wakaba Mu's footsteps stopped.

It stopped so abruptly, just like the rain in June.

The girl stood in the light.

"Haha. You look surprised."

Nagasaki Suyo smiled and tapped the corner of her mouth with her finger.

Her narrowed eyes resembled the moon, high in the sky; her gaze was like moonlight, and beneath the radiance of those eyes, not even a shadow could be hidden. That smile, seemingly fading in the light, was faint, yet so intense, as if it could imprint this moment searingly upon her eyes.

"It's rare to see Xiao Mu so surprised. It seems I'm pretty amazing too."

“…” Mu lowered his eyes, as if trying to escape from that almost insolent gaze.

Ta-da. The carefully maintained little leather shoes made a crisp sound on the floor of the cafe.

Su Shi put her hands behind her back. Although her steps were light, the sound was as heavy as the countdown bell.

The graceful figure came to Mu one step away without him noticing.

And she still smiled in the light.

……

What kind of person is Nagasaki Suyo?

Even if he turned his memories into a photo album and counted the past photos one by one, Ruo Yemu still found it difficult to accurately describe this person.