Guitar Hero also wants to play Kasuga Shadow!

Concerts, video recordings, aren't those all work? Why can't I feel tired at all? But I still clicked into the chat,

"I'm also very happy to sing with Mana~"

Then it immediately becomes read and I receive a reply.

"Eh~ Really? I'm so happy."

"Really? Mana is super cute." Sankaku Hatsuka said casually, but news came again from the other side.

"Then let's go out for dinner and relax after the next event. I know a delicious dessert shop."

Tsk...that's a bit troublesome.

Mikado Hatsuka doesn't enjoy her idol career like Mana does, or rather, she just treats it as a job.

An acting career is indeed something I have longed for, but this dream was originally given to me by others.

"Chuhua, you look like you're perfect for being an idol."

"Eh~ Why?"

On an island on a summer night, two young girls lay on the grass, looking at the starry sky that was not polluted by city lights, and imagining what their future would be like.

"Because Chuhua is very beautiful."

"Hey~ Wouldn't the prettier Xiangzi be more suitable to be an idol?"

"Me? I can't do that. If I were to go on stage, I wouldn't be able to say a word..."

Little Xiangzi thought of the rhinoceros beetle that Chuhua caught during the day, but he didn't even dare to touch it.

"Hehe~ Then there's still me."

Little Chu Hua wiped his nose and made what he thought was a very cool gesture, "Let's form a band together then!"

...

"Ding Dong"

"Why aren't you talking, Xiaochu? Are you too sleepy?"

The message on the phone screen brought him back to reality from his fond memories - his current partner was not Xiangzi...

"It's a bit... I actually fell asleep with my phone in my hand."

I was about to end the topic with Mana's words.

"Are you actually that sleepy? I'm so sorry I didn't realize it."

"Then Xiaochu, take a rest first. Please take care of yourself~"

"Yeah, goodnight."

"Good night, Xiaochu."

The topic ended, and Sanjiao Chuhua couldn't wait to switch to the chat with another person, and the chat history had been stuck for more than a year.

Looking at it, I seem to have the motivation to move forward.

...

"Morning...Morning."

Pochi greets Xiangzi, unable to connect her with the person who broke up that wonderful band.

"Gui... Good morning, Pochi." Toyokawa Shoko had hardly greeted others since transferring to the new school, and she almost said "Gui'an" out of habit.

But...why does Pochi look so weird?

"Is there something on my face?" It can't be the dark circles that can't be covered...

“Ah no…no…”

Pochi hurried to his seat, lowered his head and leaned his guitar against the side, afraid that Xiangzi would notice something. Then he thought of the video he saw in the coffee shop yesterday. Xiangzi's smile was so sweet then, completely different from now.

Then he secretly looked up and noticed the hidden fatigue on her face.

"What's wrong, Pochi-chan?"

"Xiangzi... looks very tired."

"Hmm..." How could Pochi see that? "I just didn't sleep well last night."

This is a lie... Even Pochi, who has rarely interacted with others, can see it.

Looking at Xiangzi more carefully again, the dark circles under his eyes did not look like they could have formed in a day or two, and his face also had the color of malnutrition.

Even Boqi felt that Xiangzi's arms were thinner than his. Although it might be the result of not exercising for a long time, Xiangzi was still too thin.

"Xiangzi...did you eat well?" At this point, Pochi couldn't help but start to doubt whether Xiangzi had really gone to the cafeteria since he shared his lunch box with Xiangzi that day?

Or has lunch this semester always been just bread from a vending machine?

"Of course."

"Really?"

"Ah."

"Well, how about we have lunch together at noon?" Pochi said, seeing Xiangzi's evasive eyes, "Although... although I brought a lunch box, I also want to try the food in the cafeteria..."

"Eh?!" Toyokawa Shoko hadn't expected Pochi to go to the cafeteria. "Doesn't Pochi dislike crowded places like the cafeteria?"

"As long as Xiangzi is here, it's okay."

"Gu..."

What...what should I do? Although the money I have is enough to go to the cafeteria once, I don’t have enough money to buy bread tomorrow.

No, after all, I can't let Pochi know that I'm broke. It's just a matter of going hungry tomorrow...

At this point, I, who am no longer weak, have already...

"Is it tasty?"

"Um..."

It was the same bench next to the vending machine as last time, and Shoko Toyokawa once again enjoyed someone else's lunch box.

Although he had already made plans to go hungry for the whole day tomorrow, when he saw Pochi's slightly worried yet particularly innocent eyes, he told the truth - he had always eaten bread.

"Xiangzi... why do you only eat bread every day?" Pochi kept glancing at Xiangzi who was eating in small bites, and after thinking for a long time, he slowly asked out the question in his heart.

"Hmm..." Xiangzi put down his chopsticks and frowned. He always lacked the courage to speak out things he had never mentioned to others. "No..."

"Ah! No, no, no, it's okay. I was just asking casually! If it's something inconvenient to talk about, it's okay if you don't tell me."

"..."

Before Toyokawa Shoko could finish her words, she was interrupted by Pochi's incoherent chatter and gesticulations. Now she looked at the pink-haired girl next to her who was closing her eyes as if ready to be scolded.

What kind of courage did it take for her to ask that question? The me who is no longer weak now doesn't know, and the me who was weak in the past also didn't know.

I always seem to overlook the distance between me and others. The first time I met Deng came to my mind.

It was clearly the first time we met, why did you think Deng was upset?

It's clearly just a notebook, why do you think it's lyrics?

How arrogant! Shoko Toyokawa...

So much so that later on, I arrogantly thought that crychic could continue normally without me...

"Xiang...Xiangzi?" Pochi secretly looked at her eyes which were gradually turning red, and felt that he had said something wrong!

Then Xiangzi reacted and rubbed his eyes, then reached out to Pochi.

"Gu! They're going to be blown apart..." Pochi thought, closing his eyes and holding his head in his hands.

But the hand just touched the head gently and rubbed it.

"Pochi... you're so gentle..."

Chapter 16: Long time no see

Pochi sat alone on the bench, holding his lunch box, thinking about the previous conversation.

"Pochi... you're so gentle..."

“No…no.”

"Not most people can help others like this." Shoko Toyokawa said as she ruffled Pochi's pink hair again.

"Hehehe..." Although I don't understand why, I feel very happy when I am praised.

"If... I could be like you, would there be a different ending?"

"Ok?"

Xiangzi's whispered words did not reach Pochi's ears clearly.

"It's okay," he said, handing the lunch box to Pochi, "I'm full, Pochi, eat more."

"Huh? But..." There wasn't much less food in the box.

"I'm full," Xiangzi said, standing up. "I'm going back to the classroom now. Pochi still has to go to the astronomy department."

"Eh? Um..."

"Get along well with the lights~"

After saying that, Shoko Toyokawa turned and left, leaving Pochi staring at the lunch box in his arms in a daze.

Forget it, let’s finish the lunch box first.

...

Takamatsu Deng stayed alone in the astronomy club, with his notebook open to the page of "Haruhi Kage".

I ran away again yesterday. Everyone was so kind, but I still didn't have the courage. Just like...

Just like I was avoiding everyone after Xiaoxiang left.

"That...that..."

The door of the Astronomy Department was suddenly opened, startling Deng who was immersed in memories. He subconsciously wanted to hide the notebook behind him, but when he stood up, he bumped into a chair and the notebook fell to the ground.

"Eh?" Didn't I come at the wrong time?

Pochi was still in a daze at the door. Deng had already picked up the notebook and placed it on the table. "Just thinking about something..."

Thinking about something? Thinking about how she ran away outside the planetarium yesterday. Sure enough, finding her yesterday must have troubled her. But seeing her with her head down, in a daze, I still had to say something.

"Well, I think Kasuga Kage's performance was great!"

"If it was great, then why did the band end like this..."

"Eh?!" Did I step on a landmine? "I, I, I think some things are better spoken out than kept inside~"

You can't do it yourself, but you still use these words to comfort others...

"Xiangzi...is she okay?" Gao Songdeng asked with his head down. "Just now, I saw Pochi and Xiangzi together."

"Eh?" The topic suddenly changed, leaving Pochi stunned for a moment, "She's... okay, no, not okay... not right..." What should I say, Xiangzi specifically told me not to tell anyone about our meal together.

"Really... Then why are you hiding from me?"

What to do, she looked even more depressed.

"Xiangzi...maybe something happened to her that she can't tell anyone about."

"Pochi doesn't know either?"

"Ah."

"Then...Pochi has to take good care of Xiangzi." Takamatsu Deng looked at the lunch box in Pochi's hand, and the scene of them sharing the lunch box just now came to his mind.

"Eh? I...I take care of Xiangzi?" Xiangzi has never done such a thing before, and he is so independent?

"Well, please, Pochi."

“I…I understand.”

I don't know where this inexplicable sense of responsibility comes from, but... can I do it well? Taking care of people...

...