They are in the music show, but I am a stranger to them

I don’t know what I should do to repay you for everything you have done for me.

But at least...

In this performance, I will let you see not only your mother, I also want you to see our beginning without any regrets.

With such thoughts and awareness, on the stage, when everyone was on stage for the first time and almost couldn't adapt to the fact that Chen Qi was not by their side and were feeling uneasy, Toyokawa Shoko became the first person on the stage to pluck the piano keys and break the silence.

The first song that Xiangzi played was "Spring Shadow", which symbolized her first meeting with him and linked their destinies together.

"When my cheeks came back to their senses, they were also shining."

"Hot tears wet my face."

"Why are your hands so warm?"

"Hey, please"

"Please never let go from now on..."

Xiangzi still remembers that the moment she first met the lead singer Gao Songdeng, she could taste the emotions hidden in this beautiful song. The countless memories and thoughts hidden in it were the most beautiful scenery outlined by this song.

But it was not until this moment that I felt the empathy from the bottom of my heart for this song, and for the first time I shed my own tears for this song that I had rehearsed countless times.

Although she had shed tears for this warm song in the past, she only now realized that her tears were only because she yearned for and was moved by the feelings described in the song.

Now, after going through so many hardships, Xiangzi finally realized the true feelings in the song written by Chen Qi, and the simplest and most pristine love described in the lyrics.

Mom, Chen Qi.

If all this is really possible——

"Never, ever - never let go~"

Finally, as Takamatsu Deng's powerful voice gradually faded away, it was announced that Crychic's first performance was a perfect success.

On the stage, Xiangzi, who at this moment had already completely resonated with this warm song as never before, was like a heart that was filled with water and then pierced, begging for mercy. All the pressure that had been suppressed for a long time could no longer be suppressed under the catalysis of this song "Spring Shadow".

Xiangzi himself had already burst into tears.

For the first time, Xiangzi, whose emotional dam quietly collapsed, covered his face in order to hide his embarrassment. Under the confused gazes of everyone in Crychic, he was the first to leave the stage and ran all the way towards the backstage.

But at this moment, when Xiangzi, with tears in her eyes, stepped into the backstage, she found the figure of Chen Qi, who had just put away his mobile phone and had been waiting for their return here. Her emotions, which had long been uncontrollable, drove her body to move towards him uncontrollably.

The next second, under the gaze of the four girls who had arrived late behind him, Xiangzi, who felt helpless, sad, and completely emotionally broken, chose to hug tightly the person in front of him, the one he could keep and who could finally give him comfort.

Ah...so that's how it is.

It was at that moment when she hugged Chen Qi that Toyokawa Shoko, who was crying, realized belatedly how she felt about the boy she was hugging.

Be it love or trust, she just understood one thing completely.

Perhaps she has become inseparable from this boy who has been by her side, taking care of her and protecting her all the time.

She couldn't imagine how she would face the rest of her life if he wasn't by her side... The only reason she could still stand here and hug the person she wanted to hug was that there was still one person in this world who could tolerate her weak side.

As long as he is still here, I don't need to force myself to pretend to be strong. In this world, there is still someone who can pity me and is worthy of my tears, and can wipe away the sorrow in her heart.

This is enough for Xiangzi.

"Thank you... Chen Qi... I really can't think of any other words except thank you."

"Thank you for everything you have done. I... I really don't know what I can do to thank you for everything you have done."

"——As long as you are well, Xiangzi, and remain as beautiful and innocent as before, this is the most precious treasure to me."

At that time, Chen Qi, who was also hugging her gently, also felt the emotions she released, and his tone was filled with a touch of relief and comfort from the bottom of his heart. In Xiangzi's ear, he expressed his wish word by word:

⒉ "I think this is what your mother wants to see the most... Don't let everyone worry about you anymore, okay? Xiangzi."

Can you please stop making everyone worry?

4 Is this enough for me to repay you for everything you have given me? Chen Qi, your wish is so selfless that I can't think of any reason to refuse it.

Lin: What's the difference between this and everything I have done before... No, what's the difference between this and the fact that I did nothing before and still got your wholehearted care and attention?

⑷You can ask for more...

3. You have left a deep mark in my life that I will never forget... Don't I also hope that I can leave a similar mark in your heart?

Five "I will never...let go."

6 This is obviously the case.

⒋But why does this world always make me the one who breaks my promise after I make a promise that I think I can fulfill?

Why is it that I am the only one who can never fulfill my promise to you? Chen Qi.

"Ding dong."

That day, Toyokawa Shoko, who was rarely alone in the ward taking care of her comatose mother, suddenly received a call from the Toyokawa family. The word "Grandpa" on the note made Shoko's heart skip a beat.

After all, as the elder with the highest say in the family, grandpa left a very deep impression on Xiangzi. And when grandpa called her, it was obvious that he had something very important to tell her.

Xiangzi herself was well aware that in recent days, her grandfather had almost reached the point of losing his patience with her father, who had fallen into endless self-degradation.

So Xiangzi was very worried that his grandfather would say something bad about his father when he suddenly called him. In order to prevent his mother from hearing the bad news, Xiangzi moved outside the ward and dared to answer the call.

"…Hello, Grandpa?"

"Xiangzi." An old but dignified voice came clearly from the other end of the line, but Xiangzi also noticed that his grandfather seemed to be deliberately lowering his voice and asked Xiangzi dully:

"Is your mom with you? Is she okay?"

"Mom just fell asleep. I'm outside the ward..." Xiangzi had a bad feeling in his heart, and because of this, he couldn't help but widen his restraint a little bit. He asked his grandfather on the other end of the phone carefully:

"Grandpa...is it my dad who has upset you again?"

"——Xiangzi." However, when Xiangzi just asked this question, his grandfather's response was even more tough. Although there was a little hesitation in his words, he quickly conveyed his meaning to his granddaughter.

"Xiangzi, please come home now. We need to discuss the proposal to remove your father from the Toyokawa family."

"Why?!" For a moment, Xiangzi, who was frightened by this sudden news, couldn't help but raise his voice and asked his grandfather urgently:

"Grandpa, even though Dad has been a bit depressed recently, he is after all—"

"——Your father is addicted to drugs, Xiangzi. Whether from the perspective of family or law, we cannot continue to accept a scum like him."

"!"

For a moment, accompanied by a dizzying feeling, the mobile phone in Xiangzi's hand fell to the ground unconsciously. With a crisp sound, Xiangzi's pretty face turned pale in an instant, and her pupils shrank slightly, all showing the impact of this incident on her.

At that moment, it was as if a mountain fell from the sky, pressing down on the girl's back, which had already become tough, and she could no longer lift it up at all...

PS: Something happened at home and I haven’t slept since yesterday... I may adjust my schedule at night, and the updates will probably be concentrated in the evening.

Volume 146: Chapter 145 Chapter : Memories of Toyokawa Shoko: Let Me Be Forgotten

Toyokawa Shoko was so shocked by the sudden and heavy news that he didn’t even know how he dragged his body back to the Toyokawa family’s main home. In the living room, as soon as Shoko entered the door, he saw his grandfather with gray hair and undiminished majesty.

And...the father who was kneeling in front of grandpa, looking at his wits' end like a walking corpse.

"So…is this true, Dad?"

However, when Xiangzi's distracted eyes stared at her extremely decadent father, she couldn't help but approach him, but because of the strong resistance and estrangement in her heart, she stood more than one meter away from her father.

"Tell me, Dad, did you really do that? Carrying your sick mother on your back, have you... fallen to this point?"

"..."

However, in response to Xiangzi's question, which still contained a trace of begging in her trembling voice, what she got in response was the desperate silence of the man who was kneeling on the ground and could no longer raise his head.

It was this silence that completely crushed the last bit of fantasy in Xiangzi's heart, and made the light in Xiangzi's eyes, which originally contained the last glimmer of hope, completely dim.

At that moment, Toyokawa Shoko was not angry, nor did she show any resentment. On the contrary, she was so calm that it was frightening.

Xiangzi didn't know how to describe his feelings when he witnessed this scene. When he saw his father, whom he once respected so much and who had always doted on him and his mother, showing such an ugly side, Xiangzi even wanted to laugh for a moment.

⒐Xiangzi knew that he probably had nothing left in this family now.

⒋ She once held on to the last glimmer of hope, hoping that her father could recover from her mother's serious illness. In that way, even if she doted on her mother the most, at least she still had a home and a place that could be called a shelter.

⒏But now, she has lost all of this.

⒉This home that once gave her shelter and allowed her to enjoy fifteen years of life was completely shattered from this moment on.

⒋She could no longer get even a bit of warmth from this home.

⒊…But, can she abandon this family forever? Can she leave this family completely and decisively?

⒊For a moment, Xiangzi’s mind, filled with sadness, reappeared the face of his mother who was still suffering from the disease in the ward... and the past that he recalled now, and he couldn’t help but feel comforted in his heart.

0 Could she say that all the beauty she had experienced, all the happiness and contentment that had protected her for the past fifteen years, were all false?

⒌ So, Toyokawa Shoko, who had already made the decision in her heart at this moment, with her heart almost numb and her expression completely cold, she silently came to her father's side, knelt down in the direction of her grandfather in the most proper manner.

The next moment, the girl bowed deeply to her grandfather and announced her decision:

"Grandpa, I understand everything. My father did something wrong, so we will bear the consequences ourselves."

"Grandpa, don't worry about anything. Please follow the family rules and remove my father and I from the family."

Grandpa: "...Xiangzi, you don't have to take the blame for your father."

The head of the Toyokawa family looked at his son-in-law, whom he had disliked from the beginning and who had now fallen into depravity, and then turned his head to look at Xiangzi, the granddaughter who should have been as happy as his seriously ill daughter, and sighed unconsciously:

"You can't shoulder this heavy responsibility. None of this is your fault. Isn't it better to let him fend for himself?"

However, Xiangzi couldn't help but smile bitterly, and answered his grandfather's question in a calm tone:

"...Grandpa, if I could really be so cruel, would you still recognize me as a member of the Toyokawa family like you do now?"

Xiangzi's answer made this venerable old man at a loss for words for a moment. He remained silent for a long time, still maintaining his dignity as the head of the family. However, his cloudy eyes also flashed with a look of pity, and he asked calmly:

"You are just a student. Can you afford to take responsibility for other people's lives?"

"...I know, Grandpa, but I can't just give up everything like this, especially...my mother, she is still alive."

"No matter what, he is my father. My mother loves him very much, and he has given me so much love. If I give up on my father like this... Mom, I will not want to see such a thing happen."

"Even if it's not to repay the kindness of raising me, just for my mother, I have to take on all this."

"...The family will not help you, Xiangzi. We will not let a penny fall into the hands of drug addicts, even if it is just possible." After a period of silence, old Mr. Toyokawa gradually understood Xiangzi's determination and made a final attempt to save his granddaughter who was destined to suffer.

"Moreover, we will ask your father to pay back all the money he spent at the Fengchuan family to show that we have drawn a clear line between us. You understand this, right?"

Xiangzi: "I understand. I...will take responsibility for it."

"You have to think it over, Xiangzi. Do you think he looks like someone who can turn over a new leaf through perseverance?"

“…Even so, I’m going to give it a try.”

However, even though Xiangzi knew that this was almost impossible, and was also aware that once he was addicted to these things, the possibility of quitting by relying on his own willpower was almost zero, after some hesitation, Xiangzi still chose to take on this difficult task.

Anyway, grandpa also said that it is impossible for the family to provide them with assistance.

My father looked decadent again. After my mother left, she was the only one left in the family who could earn money. He was penniless and could not find any way to get involved in these evil things again.

In such an environment, even if my father continues to be decadent, I believe he will have to give up those things as time goes by... probably. ⑵

Well, there is still room for maneuver... everything has not yet developed in the worst direction.

I can still bear it.

"Grandpa, I have only one request."

"At least, while mom is still alive, can you please not tell her about this?"⑷

"I... don't want my mother to leave with regret and sadness..."

"...Okay." Facing his granddaughter's last request, Mr. Fengchuan sighed deeply but still couldn't bear to refuse. He said, "During this period of time, you should accompany your mother well and let her not worry about you anymore."⑤

"Here, we will keep an eye on him for you, just rest assured and handle your affairs." Liu

Up to now, Xiangzi has not been crushed by the overwhelming pressure. Although the fragmentation of his family and the countdown to the departure of his family, where he has lived for fifteen years, are enough to make an adult unable to withstand such a blow, Xiangzi, whose heart is already broken, still endures it.

The excuse she used to comfort herself was that she could at least enjoy the last carefree time, and she could still pretend that she knew nothing and cherish the last few days of tenderness.

However, Xiangzi never thought that all this would end so quickly...

In just one week, just when Xiangzi had just gotten over the shadow of her father's self-indulgent behavior, her mother's condition suddenly worsened, catching her off guard again.

"Everyone... please give me and my daughter... a little space, okay? I want to say a few words to Xiangzi."

In the ward, Mrs. Fengchuan seemed to have anticipated that she would not have much time left. Before she died, she persuaded everyone in the ward, including Chen Qi and Mu, to leave the ward, and then told her last wishes to her beloved daughter.

"Xiangzi... I have already told Chen Qi everything."

"You...are very lucky. He really is willing to...take care of you for your whole life."