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

"Huh?! Why!" Li Xi gritted his teeth slightly and continued to ask relentlessly.

As for Li Xi's sharp attitude again, Chen Qi shook his head bitterly and replied in a gentle and irrefutable manner:

"Because this matter, one is about the secret of the lamp, and the other is about Xiangzi's secret."

"Although I know the truth, they don't want this secret to be made public, so I have to keep it for them. If they don't confess on their own initiative, then my disclosure will cause irreversible harm to them."

"So, I don't want you or anyone else to ask about this secret. Even to them themselves, it's best not to ask too much."

"Just think of this as me breaking my promise so that I can stop relying on you and become a human being."

"you……"

However, facing Chen Qi's ambiguous attitude again, Li Xi tried to fool him, but she gritted her teeth unwillingly. But after some struggle, she didn't ask any more questions.

However, from her unwilling expression and the way she glared at Chen Qi, Chen Qi knew that his favorability in Li Xi's heart had probably dropped to zero.

...But, forget it. Anyway, I have no plans to join MYGO, let alone reorganize Crychic. The current configuration is the best result.

At that moment, all the doubts in the girls' hearts were resolved one by one by Chen Qi. Nagasaki Sushi looked at Gao Songdeng who was still sleeping beside Chen Qi, and asked Chen Qi in a low voice:

"So, Aqi? What should we do with Xiao Deng? Do you need me to help you carry her home?"

"...No, let the lamp live with me tonight."

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Qi gently rejected Su Shi's proposal and whispered:

"Everyone, are you all tired today? Let's go back first. I will take care of the lights here."

“And Aine, you should go home too. I’ll take care of the lights here, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Aine: “…Okay.”

When she heard that Chen Qi was going to take care of Gao Songdeng alone, Aiyin beside her trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated, as if she really wanted to say something to Chen Qi...

But in the end, looking at Deng who was clinging to Chen Qi like a child, and Chen Qi's indulgent attitude, Aiyin finally said nothing and chose to agree helplessly.

After all... they were just brother and sister, right? And they had been in a brother-sister relationship for more than ten years. There was no need for me to be jealous of Brother Qi's sister, right?

"Then we'll take our leave."

"Well, everyone, thank you for your hard work."

At Chen Qi's signal, all the girls gradually left the hut. Soon, the hut returned to peace, with only the brother and sister who reunited after half a year left.

"Brother... don't leave me..."

In the quiet room, the sleeping Gao Songdeng was also mumbling a few words. Her eyebrows were slightly wrinkled, as if she had dreamed of some disturbing scene, but she soon relaxed again under Chen Qi's comfort...

This night will be the most peaceful night for Gao Songdeng, but it will also be a sleepless night for Chen Qi.

The brother just quietly looked at the peaceful sleeping face of the girl in front of him, as if he was looking at the most precious gem in the world.

Chapter 43: Gao Songdeng's Memory: My Brother, My Light, My World

There are always people saying that the world is colorful.

But for Takamatsu Deng, in her impression, the color of this world was dim at the beginning.

That was the first time Takamatsu Deng noticed that he was different from other people.

That year, Gao Songdeng was only five years old.

Gao Songdeng knew that her lifestyle seemed to be a little different from everyone else's... Ever since she could remember, the color of the world in her eyes seemed to be a little darker than that of other people.

"Look, the light is blue. The sky is blue."

"And this is white. This is the color of white clouds. Do you understand?"

As far as she could remember, her parents had noticed her uniqueness early on, but compared to Deng's initial indifference, her parents seemed to be more nervous... They were very worried that their daughter would be treated differently from others because she was different.

So, in front of Deng Takamatsu, her parents began to explain to her the colors of the world. They would pick up a crayon of a different color and draw with Deng everything that corresponded to these colors.

At that time, facing the parents who loved her and helped her understand the world, Gao Songdeng wanted to say... it was not that she could not distinguish colors, and there was not only black and white in front of her eyes.

But the world in her eyes always seems not as sparkling as everyone describes.

However, facing the parents who have always loved and cared about him and tried their best to pull him back from the deviated track, Deng was reluctant to speak out the true voice in his heart.

Looking at the worried and anxious eyes of his parents, Deng wanted to behave like an "ordinary" person for the first time.

Only in this way will mom and dad stop worrying about you, right?

It's not like Deng didn't try hard, but it all seemed more difficult than she imagined...

Deng didn't know why, but she was different from everyone else, so as long as she tried to take the initiative to talk, she could make a lot of friends. Everyone was willing to talk to her, even if she answered slowly and needed a while to understand what everyone said, but everyone was willing to wait for her.

But the light still feels a little different.

Although he was talking to everyone, Deng still felt like he was alone.

I don't understand anything they talk about, and I'm not interested in it...

What Deng is more curious about are those things that cannot be discussed and things that people usually don’t pay attention to.

Why does this stone grow like this? Is it unique in the world?

Is there a stone that is exactly the same as it? If stones have life, then they probably also hope that someone can understand them better, right? Then collect more.

It's really pitiful to leave it alone.

Such unknown and even incomprehensible thoughts echoed in Gao Songdeng's mind again and again...

At first it was just stones, then withered leaves, then watermelon worms, and she even thought about collecting everyone's tears of different emotions...

She collected more and more things, and as a result, her parents became more and more worried about her differences, or quirks.

Yes, even though everyone was very gentle to him and no one had ever described him like this in front of him, Deng could feel that everyone did not understand his behavior.

Until one day, when Gao Songdeng came home after picking up a lot of stones, she found her father who was always busy and her mother who worked the night shift every day sitting in the living room waiting for her. As soon as she entered the door, her mother couldn't wait to say to her:

"Deng, do you want to go out with me? There seems to be a performance in the community today. I heard your kindergarten teacher mentioned it. She also went to watch the performance. I heard that there were many children about your age who sang a particularly warm song. You might be interested."

Deng: “…I understand.”

Songs? It seems like something I have never paid attention to, nor tried to "collect".

With such thoughts and a little hope in mind, Takamatsu Deng followed her parents to the performance hall, and it was here that she heard the song that her mother called "warm", "The Big Family of Dumplings".

Gao Songdeng also saw the boy who led all the children of similar age to stand at the front of the stage, closed his eyes, and sang this simple and warm song emotionally.

But… for some reason, even though mom and dad said that it was a warm song, the other uncles, aunts, grandparents at the scene also smiled because of this song.

However, Gao Songdeng heard a different flavor in the boy's singing.

This song is indeed very warm, but Gao Songdeng always feels that there is more than just warmth behind this song. There seems to be a hint of sadness, helplessness, and even depression and helplessness... It's like a complete life.

However, those who know this story, even if they have experienced so much sadness, can still face the world with a smile, and with this heartwarming song, with a touch of relief and reluctance.

And the boy on the stage, the boy who closed his eyes and sang the song wholeheartedly, seemed to be the only one who understood all the stories behind this song.

Although his eyes were closed, his singing was full of stories.

This boy...seems to be just like himself, different from others.

That was the first time in Gao Songdeng's life that she paid so much attention to someone. Her eyes, which were twinkling like the starry sky, seemed to have found her "kindred spirit" at that moment.

Gao Songdeng didn't know that his first focused gaze on the boy had been seen by his father beside him...

Gao Songdeng didn't even know that his own destiny had undergone a greater "shift" from then on.

The next day, Takamatsu Deng, who was at home writing down the lyrics of "Dumpling Family" word by word in his notebook, discovered a familiar figure following his parents closely when he was about to go home to welcome them.

"Deng, this is Xiaoqi. From now on, we are a family."

"Xiao Qi is three years older than you. He is your older brother. Mom and Dad are very busy at work and can't be with you all the time. So from now on, let Xiao Qi take care of you when we can't take care of Deng."

"I believe that with Xiaoqi here, you won't feel lonely anymore, right?"

elder brother?

The words of her parents made the somewhat bewildered Deng inadvertently cast her eyes on the boy, the "brother" who had appeared in front of her without any warning and would live with her in the future...

To be honest, Gao Songdeng's first reaction was not relief... but a slight discomfort.

Deng had already felt alienated by everything in the outside world. Home could be said to be the only harbor in his heart. But now, a stranger had arrived at his home. For a moment, Deng felt that a small gap had been forced into his inner world...

But even so, when she thought that this was her parents, the brother they had found for her, and she didn't want her parents to worry about her anymore, she still suppressed her uncomfortable feeling and timidly said to her brother in front of her:

"Nice to meet you... I'm Takamatsu Deng... Brother..."

No, I can't show my friendliness at all... If I do this, my parents will be disappointed, right? And my new brother will feel that I am unfriendly...

As expected, I still can't become an "ordinary" person.

For a moment, the silent Takamatsu Deng and the boy who did not speak immediately made the atmosphere a little awkward. Just at this moment, when the Takamatsu couple were about to break the awkwardness and explain something, the boy chose to speak first.

As soon as he opened his mouth, there was no trace of the discomfort that Gao Songdeng had felt before, but instead, it was as warm as spring.

"Don't force yourself, Deng. If you're not used to calling me 'brother', it's okay to just call me 'Qi'."

"Don't worry. As your brother, let me protect you from now on. I will do my best to make sure you don't feel lonely anymore."

That day, the boy named Chen Qi took the initiative to extend his hand to the girl as a symbol of friendship.

Gao Songdeng, who had been lowering his head, looked at the boy's hand that appeared in his field of vision, but in silence, he did not choose to put his hand on it...

However, her slightly moving hands seemed to indicate that her closed heart was touched for the first time...

……

Gao Songdeng always felt that his brother was very strange, perhaps even more different than himself.

Although he was her brother, he never forced her to call him "brother".

He was not enjoying the lonely world like himself. His communication with everyone was so smooth and unhurried. Every time he traveled with his brother, to outsiders they did not seem like siblings, but more like unrelated people.

He was not like himself, interested in a series of things such as stones, fallen leaves, flowers, starry sky, etc.

But why did he always stay by my side like this, never getting tired of it? Why did he always stay by my side like this, "accompanying" me?

Gao Songdeng didn't understand. A year had passed, and although she and her brother lived under the same roof, their conversations were limited to just a few sentences, such as "Good morning", "Time to eat", and "I'll take you to school".

Apart from this, Deng had very few conversations with his brother during this year.

Deng still hadn't gotten used to her brother's presence, but she couldn't ignore his presence.

No matter where she went, he followed her silently, always looking at her with a concerned and calm gaze. He never took the initiative to talk to her and never disturbed her.

Under the scorching sun, Deng was collecting pebbles under the shade of a tree. He kept watching her under the shade of the tree regardless of the scorching summer heat, and never disturbed her even when night fell.

The cold winter is approaching, and Gao Songdeng is curiously collecting snowflakes falling from the sky, witnessing the snowflakes melting in his hands. He is just accompanying her under the snow, and when she comes to her senses, the snow on his body makes him look like a little snowman.

Day after day, season after season... He was always by her side, as if she was the only one in his world.

What completely changed Takamatsu Deng's distance from his brother was that on a rainy day, Takamatsu Deng was walking home from school with his brother, holding the same umbrella. However, he was attracted by a small mushroom growing in the lawn.

So, in the pouring rain, Gao Songdeng, who was attracted by the attention, came to the lawn unconsciously. She squatted down and quietly watched the life born in the rain, and she couldn't help but be fascinated...

I don’t know how much time had passed, until the heavy rain gradually stopped, and Gao Songdeng finally returned to reality from his own world.

And she soon realized that something was wrong.

It rained heavily just now, why didn’t my clothes get much wet?

In a daze, Gao Songdeng realized something and turned around slightly.

Behind her, Chen Qi, who had been holding an umbrella for her, covered her with most of the umbrella, but he himself was drenched by the heavy rain, and there was no place on his body that was not soaked.

The heavy rain was accompanied by gusts of wind. Even with an umbrella as a shelter, it was impossible to protect herself from getting soaked. So, her brother turned his body into a small wall to block the strong wind and most of the oncoming rain for her, ensuring that nothing from the outside world would disturb her.

Looking at Chen Qi who had been soaked in the rain for who knows how long, Gao Songdeng felt a touch of emotion in his heart for the first time in reality.

"Why……"

"Huh?" Chen Qi, whose lips were frozen white, seemed a little surprised that the lamp would talk to him. He reacted belatedly.

"Qi, why do you protect me like this?" Deng's trembling pupils were full of puzzlement and confusion. She slowly stood up and subconsciously used a handkerchief to wipe the wet cheek of her brother in front of her. However, what role could a small handkerchief play?

However, this was the first time in the past year that Gao Songdeng took the initiative to get close to this brother who had always been silently by his side, paying attention to him and accompanying him.

And Chen Qi, facing his sister who had been accompanying him for a year, was finally touched. He felt her handkerchief wiping away the rain water for him bit by bit. He finally got a response and finally had the chance to say the words that he had never had the chance to say before, or that he thought he was not qualified to say.

"Because... I want to know what the world in the light's eyes looks like."

“——Plop.”