Can Lixi look at me alone?

"Should Xiaoyue cook more food? After all, that kid named Deng can't cook, can he?"

Mr. Refrigerator offered his suggestion, but it was rejected by Yuzuki.

"Lixi-chan... doesn't want me to cook."

She's worried about me... But why does she have to care about me at a time like this? I need care at other times too, don't I?

'Lixi-chan' rolled around twice on the bed.

"Little Yuzuki, come and hold me and sleep for a while, okay? Don't I smell a lot like Ritsuki-chan? Just treat me as a substitute for Ritsuki-chan, right? You've always done that, haven't you?"

Upon hearing those few words, Yuzuki paused for a moment before slowly speaking.

"It's different... Your scent, touch, and body temperature are all so different from Riki-chan's. If you've ever hugged Riki-chan, you'll understand."

The pink-haired girl stared blankly at herself in the mirror.

Her soft pink hair reached her waist, her beautiful blue eyes were crystal clear, and her pale skin was flawless...

Why, why...why?!

"Why do you like lamps... Why do you like lamps?!"

In an instant, Yuzuki's emotions collapsed, and several tears rolled down her cheeks and fell to the floor with a crisp patter.

Jieyue couldn't understand it. She was richer than Deng, prettier than Deng... gentler in personality than Deng, better at taking care of Lixi than Deng, better at cooking than Deng, better at responding to Lixi's love than Deng, and better than Deng...

She is nowhere worse than the light.

Besides… singing.

Having finally found a breakthrough, Yuzuki took out her phone and watched the stage recordings, listening to every word the lights sang.

I tried to imitate her, learn from her, and surpass her time and time again.

But she could never do it, because her voice was something she was born with.

After a night of trying, Yuzuki had to accept the reality.

She simply cannot replace Deng when it comes to singing.

Her voice lacked power, and even sounded somewhat weak...

It's okay...it's okay, it's just that I'm not good at singing.

Singing doesn't determine anything, but food, companionship, and care can!

The decision of who Riki-chan will choose...

"what……"

My voice is hoarse, so I need to buy some medicine so that Lixi-chan won't find out.

My eyes are a little red and swollen. Is it from crying or from staying up all night looking at my phone?

She went into her usual pharmacy, and the saleswoman, as usual, provided her with some medication. However, she asked a slightly worried question when she paid the bill.

"Excuse me, Ms. Chika, are you heartbroken?"

The pink-haired girl who usually greeted her with a smile when she came in to buy medicine had red and swollen eyes today, and her voice was hoarse, which made her feel a little sorry for her.

For young girls, this kind of thing usually means heartbreak or something similar, right?

Heartbroken...?

Yuzuki's somewhat sluggish brain processed this word, which was usually quite distant from her.

Does heartbreak mean losing your lover?

But I didn't lose Riki-chan...

No…

When someone shows concern for you, you should say thank you.

Yuzuki reached out and took the medicine. The shopping bag, which was usually very light, felt somewhat heavy at this moment.

"thank you."

After exchanging greetings, Jieyue returned home, took some medicine, and went back to bed.

I want to sleep.

But sleeping means I can't go to school today, and I won't see Riki-chan...

But if she goes to school now... Riki-chan will get angry at her for staying up all night... and dislike her even more...

Choosing... is so difficult...

……

Lixi, who was at school, glanced at the empty seat next to her.

Yuzuki will probably be here a while; she always arrives around noon anyway…

The drummer, who was used to being late for the night, opened her phone. She didn't know how to face the lights…

Deng's singing at yesterday's live performance was absolutely amazing!

However, simply performing well wouldn't make Lixi fall in love with her like this.

Lixi sensed the loneliness and inspiration of his kind in the song of the lamp.

"The light shines upon me, who cannot weep, gently embracing me..."

Unable to cry... No sense of belonging, no idea of ​​the meaning of life...

Lixi saw herself in the song of the lamp.

Sister, no matter where

She always surpasses me in everything; my sister is truly outstanding… just too outstanding…!

Lixi gripped the ballpoint pen tightly in his hand.

Nothing she could do could compare to her sister's. And yet, her sister loved her very much…

She couldn't say anything to the person who had always loved her.

But she also couldn't face the fact that others saw her as just an accessory to her sister.

I want to be better than my older sister, even if it's just in one aspect...

But she never succeeded.

"Passing through layers of clouds, it becomes sparkling..."

But yesterday… to the song of the lights, she found herself shining just like her companions.

She found where she was better than her sister, and she succeeded, even if only for a moment, even if it was only temporary, even if it was only a little bit...

But she succeeded.

Under the light of the song, she found meaning in living as Shiina Tatsuki, not Shiina Maki's sister.

Yuzuki never considered these things; Yuzuki never knew what Riki truly needed.

All she knew, all she cared about, and all she cared about was giving her all her heartfelt intentions, "for Lixi-chan's good."

To gain inner satisfaction.

"Look, I gave everything, all my love, to Riki-chan... She will respond to me, she definitely will..."

She believed that if she did this, her worst fears would not come true.

Li Xi-chan...you won't keep pretending you didn't see me, will you? You won't keep...ignoring me, will you?

Yuzuki is very selfish.

The lunch break bell rang.

That guy still hasn't come.

Lixi opened the bento box and ate the bento, which tasted several levels better after being taught by Yuzuki. She even left half of it for Yuzuki, who might be late.

Looking towards the back, Hai Ling noticed that Jie Yue wasn't there. She then saw Li Xi, and after exchanging a glance, Hai Ling sat down in Jie Yue's seat.

"Shiina-kun...is Yuzuki not here?"

Why are you asking me what I'm doing?

Lixi swallowed the food in her mouth and shook her head at her.

"You can send her a message on Line."

and so…

After Shiina noticed Yuzuki wasn't there, she didn't even send a Line message? Didn't she even show Yuzuki that much concern?

But that's normal, Hai Ling was actually backstage yesterday too.

Upon discovering Yuzuki and Riki, I refrained from greeting them to avoid causing Yuzuki any trouble.

Therefore...

She saw Riki gently wiping away Yuzuki's sweat, and she also saw Yuzuki gently coaxing the lamp to sing.

It seems Shiina-san isn't so bad after all...

Until the end of the performance.

Give me some votes! Give me some votes!

Volume 1 Crychic! : Chapter 56 A Touching Movie

They are indeed a very excellent band.

Hai Ling, who played the bass in support, gave her objective evaluation.

Everyone here is just a junior high school student, but Crychic's guitarist and two keyboardists are incredibly talented. The lead vocalist and drummer also have a lot of potential... the bassist is a little weaker but still quite good.

They are a very powerful band.

If things continue like this, they'll probably become a famous band by the time they get to high school.

Hai Ling congratulated Jie Yue on her performance in her heart and silently apologized to Li Xi.

I'm sorry, Shiina. I shouldn't have believed the rumors and thought you were bullying Yuzuki. Please forgive me…

She didn't apologize because she felt that Lixi was probably completely unaware of the rumors circulating at school, and telling her now would only cause her trouble.

If I just clear things up for her at school later...?!

She watched as Lixi suddenly hugged the lead singer, and then she saw the almost collapsing expression on Jieyue's face.

Although it was a rare opportunity to see Yuzuki make such an expression, Hailing never even considered taking a picture to commemorate it or recording it for repeated viewing...

The nascent goodwill towards Lixi is rapidly fading.

She didn't think Yuzuki would be the kind of girl who would cling to someone. All she could think of was that Riki hadn't explicitly rejected Yuzuki, which meant that Yuzuki was still silently giving without knowing it.

Yuzuki thought Riki would like her, but Riki liked the lead singer.

There's nothing wrong with that, but the problem lies in... why doesn't Riki tell Yuzuki, and why does Yuzuki keep giving to Riki only to receive this in return?

Hai Ling kept her distance and remained silent, afraid that Jie Yue would find out, but she soon realized that such thoughts were completely unnecessary.

Since none of the band members noticed Jieyue's unusual behavior, they were even less likely to notice Hailing, who was not far from her.

Hailing, who was about to pull Yuzuki aside to comfort her, breathed a sigh of relief after seeing the guitarist also comforting Yuzuki. She felt that Yuzuki was about to break down.

However, she didn't have Jieyue's contact information... so she had no way to contact Jieyue at any time.

Thinking that she would have a good chat with her today, Hailing sat down in her seat.

"I wonder what Shiina-san thinks of Yuzuki?"

She took the bread she had just bought, unpacked it, and then took out the chocolate milk she had prepared for Jieyue and inserted a straw.

He posed a strange question to Lixi, who was having a meal.

What do you think of Yuzuki...?

She blinked, asking in confusion.