We agreed to be in a band for life, what the heck is Dragon Raja?

She wanted to say something, but seeing that the two of them were looking down at the tree, her curiosity was piqued, and she leaned down to look down as well.

What comes into view is soil, which is damp and a bit humid. The soil is dark grayish-black, and the surrounding area is covered with a layer of pebbles.

At one corner, some pebbles were missing, while a small stone was sticking its head out at an angle.

"This is……"

Toyokawa Shoko hadn't figured out what they were looking at yet, but she was certainly curious about what was going through their minds at that moment.

So, she first glanced into Nan Yunyuyue's eyes, and then followed his gaze to that spot.

Still nothing.

The only thing that seemed special was the rock we had just seen.

The problem is that this stone is very ordinary; you can find it everywhere on the road.

It was stuck between the tree roots and the soil, grayish-brown, and would hardly be noticed if the sunlight hadn't happened to shine through the leaves onto it.

"Could it be a pill bug crawling on top?"

Shoko Toyokawa suddenly thought of this, but then shook her head and banished the thought from her mind.

How could they possibly be looking at pill bugs? That's way too childish for middle school students.

At this moment, she was still holding the notebook that Gao Songdeng had just handed her.

Just as Toyokawa Shoko was about to gently pat Takamatsu Akari, she turned her head away.

"what……"

Toyokawa Shoko paused for a moment,

"Gao Song, your lyrics are really good."

Her golden eyes shone brightly, her expression was filled with surprise, and her smile was radiant.

"Would you be interested in coming to my house?"

"Ah..." Takamatsu Akari paused for a moment, her arm drooping slightly involuntarily.

Another voice sounded from the side:

"What."

These words were spoken by Nan Yun Yuyue. He had just turned around when he heard Toyokawa Shoko's words.

His surprise was no less than Gao Songdeng's; he hadn't yet realized what had happened.

"Nagamo-kun, you should come too."

Toyokawa Shoko looked at him and smiled back.

…………

…………

Unexpectedly, Nanon Ugetsu walked back from the tram stop with Toyokawa Shoko.

However, unlike when she came with Wakaba Mutsu, this time the girl beside her was Takamatsu Akari.

Gao Songdeng's steps were somewhat hurried.

Normally, because her home is close to the school, she walks to and from school.

Even on weekends and holidays, she is reluctant to go out much and spends most of her time at home or in a place not far from home.

She hadn't been to places that required taking a tram to get to... in a long time.

and,

Takamatsu Akari tilted her head back and forth for a moment, while Nagumo Ugetsu and Toyokawa Shoko stood on either side of her.

For some reason... as the three of them walked, although the other two unconsciously sandwiched her in the middle, she inexplicably felt that they were afraid she would run away.

But seeing Toyokawa Shoko next to her wearing the Tsukimori school uniform with a bright smile on her face, and hearing her say, "Takamatsu-san has a lot of literary talent," she put aside her doubts.

It seems... they must be someone my age.

The surprise that had just occurred to Nan Yun Yuyue had not yet subsided.

Although he generally knew the location of the Toyokawa family, he had never been there before.

Unexpectedly, when inviting Gao Songdeng to join the band today, Toyokawa Shoko offered to take her and Gao Songdeng to her home.

"The Western-style villa in the former Koga Garden of Toritsu."

The designer of this villa is a master in the Japanese architectural world, and it also has historical connections.

In a metropolis like Tokyo, the fact that the Toyokawa Group owns such a property speaks volumes about its financial resources.

As Nanon Ugetsu thought this to herself, the three of them arrived at the tram stop.

Swah——

Not long after, the tram arrived.

"Let's go."

Toyokawa Shoko turned around and glanced at Nagumo Ugetsu and Takamatsu Akari before stepping onto the tram.

Gao Songdeng looked up and glanced at Nan Yunyuyue, as if waiting for him to go up first.

Nan Yun Yuyue did not refuse. Seeing that Toyokawa Shoko had already boarded the train, she quickly stepped into the carriage as well.

He had barely steadied himself when he felt a force coming from behind, a soft, bouncy sensation acting on his back.

Nan Yun Yu Yue looked back.

It turned out that Takamatsu saw that the tram seemed to be about to start and got a little anxious, so she jumped onto the tram, but unexpectedly fell onto his back.

Since it was late spring, the temperature had already begun to rise, and the clothes we wore were naturally not as warm as those in winter, and were somewhat thin.

In addition, Takamatsu Akari was already shorter than Nagumo Ugetsu, so she accidentally bumped into him.

"sorry."

Seeing Nan Yun Yuyue turn around, Gao Songdeng hurriedly apologized.

"it's okay no problem."

Nanon Ugetsu gently tugged at her to steady herself on the moving tram, then turned her gaze to the back, searching for Toyokawa Shoko's figure.

"here."

Toyokawa Shoko waved to the two of them.

Because a passenger not far from her seat blocked her view, she did not see what had just happened.

This spot is in the last row of this tram, a row of four or five seats together.

Because many of the seats in the front were not full, the last row was also completely empty.

Since there were three of them on this trip, Nanon Ugetsu and Takamatsu Akari, holding onto their chairs, slowly walked over and sat down next to Toyokawa Shoko.

The tram continued its journey.

Takamatsu Akari sat between the two, seemingly a little uncomfortable. She looked to the window to her left and saw Nanon Ugetsu's face. To her right, she saw Toyokawa Shoko looking out the window in the sunlight.

Gao Songdeng hadn't felt this way in a long time; she was used to being alone most of the time.

She didn't have many friends at school, and collecting pebbles and notebooks that interested her was much more interesting to her than doing other things.

But for some reason, this time, after hearing Nanon Ugetsu tell her about forming a band at home, she thought about it for a long time and finally agreed.

She sent a message to Nan Yun Yuyue saying:

"I want to give it a try."

So today she met a girl named Toyokawa Shoko, and Nagumo Ugetsu, whom she had just met yesterday.

The tram passed station after station, and the boy next to me leaned closer to the back of the seat.

Takamatsu turned his head to the side, and he could now see right outside the window.

Outside the window was a view she had never seen before: a grove of trees planted beside the tram tracks, row upon row, stretching into the distance.

As the tram passed another station, the scenery suddenly changed. Countless residential buildings rose up, their windows gleaming in the sunlight, as if it were another world altogether.

She paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting that the distance between stations could cause such a dramatic change in the scenery.

Gao Songdeng recalled that he seemed to have been here before, but that was a long, long time ago. Seeing it again now, he felt a little dazed.

Back then, this place wasn't called by this name... There weren't any residential buildings around then, the trees were denser, and many birds nested here.

Her gaze shifted slightly, landing on Nan Yun Yuyue.

He was also looking out the window, the sunlight streaming through the car window and falling on his eyelashes, each one so clearly visible.

Takamatsu's mind suddenly calmed down.

The scenery outside the window was still flashing past at a leisurely pace, but she had already turned around and was looking at the front of the carriage.

the other side,

Toyokawa Shoko was also looking out the window.

Just now, she glanced at the chat again.

Almost a day has passed, but Shiina Maki-senpai still hasn't replied.

"Could it be because she's still busy..."

Toyokawa Shoko pondered, but did not rush to urge him.

"Let's wait a bit."

The tram moved smoothly forward, with a soft "clang, clang" vibration coming from between the wheels and the rails. Before long, it arrived at the place where we got off.

Toyokawa Shoko looked to her side:

"Nagamo-kun, Takamatsu-kun, we've arrived at our stop."

The two then snapped out of their daze outside the window and stood up.

Nan Yun Yuyue glanced at Gao Songdeng beside her. It seemed that Gao Songdeng had been watching her until she was about to get off the bus.

"A girl who can forge the Philosopher's Stone...?"

He thought to himself, looking at Takamatsu Akari's hands that were gently hanging down.

His hands were clean and white, without any trace of calluses, and he didn't look like the kind of scientist who would be immersed in alchemical potions.

"There will be plenty of time later..."

"Once the band is formed... we can finally investigate her secrets."

The three then got out of the car.

Led by Toyokawa Shoko, they walked together toward her house.

Along the way, to avoid the quiet atmosphere of the tram, Toyokawa Shoko took the initiative to start describing the surrounding scenery:

"There's a park not far from here..."

"Asukayama Park?" Nanon Ugetsu asked casually.

"Yes, that's it. Has Nagumo-kun been here before?"

"I've heard of it before, but I've never had the chance to visit it. I plan to come and see it when I have the time."

“Okay.” Toyokawa Shoko nodded. “The cherry blossoms at Asuka Mountain are beautiful. I can be your tour guide then.”

"it is good."

The journey to the old Furukawa Garden didn't seem too long, and amidst the chatter, we soon arrived at the Toyokawa residence.

"Here we are."

Toyokawa Shoko stopped in her tracks.

Nangumo Ugetsu and Takamatsu Tou both looked at the villa in front of them.

As the most prosperous metropolitan area in Japan, the Tokyo metropolitan area naturally has many villas.

Most villas feature small courtyards and are typically in traditional Japanese or modern styles.

The old Guhe Garden before us is far superior to ordinary gardens in terms of its overall quality.