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

What made Chen Qi feel even more relieved was that Xiangzi finally took off his strong disguise in front of him. He also felt that the familiar Xiangzi Toyokawa seemed to have returned.

...At least in his eyes, the Xiangzi of the past was back.

"Cry, it's okay. There are no strangers here. You don't have to pretend to be yourself anymore."

Chen Qi also patted Xiangzi on the back, using words as a catalyst to allow Xiangzi to take this opportunity to release some of his negative emotions, and comforted him softly:

"Just think of it as a short break, Xiangzi. At least here, you can be yourself."

Mu, Chuhua: "..."

On the other hand, Chuhua and Mu, both of Xiangzi's childhood sweethearts, looked at each other and greeted each other like friends who had not seen each other for a long time.

But soon, their eyes were refocused on Chen Qi and Xiangzi who were hugging each other. For a moment, the two girls felt mixed emotions.

As expected, the person Xiangzi cares more about is his senior, and these two people really like each other.

Seeing such a heartwarming scene, Chuhua's face was filled with a sincere smile. Although Chuhua felt a little disappointed because her feelings could not compare with the two, but now that she saw Xiangzi was willing to show up and take off his disguise in front of them, she knew that she had made the right bet this time.

Chen Qi really helped me and opened the door to Xiaoxiang's heart with this song. If it weren't for my predecessor, it would have been very difficult for me to get Xiaoxiang to open his heart to me.

Compared to Chuhua, Mu's expression has been very calm since the moment Chen Qi and Xiangzi hugged each other. Her calm eyes stared at the two people hugging each other quietly, without a trace of emotion.

...In fact, she had anticipated this situation since Mu decided to drag Xiangzi to find Chen Qi.

Mu knew clearly that Xiangzi was on the verge of collapse. As long as Chen Qi gave him a slight blow, all of Xiangzi's disguise in front of him would be shattered.

But Mu also knew clearly that if this happened, Xiangzi and Chen Qi would be implicated again, and his efforts over the past six months to help Chen Qi break free from the past would basically be in vain.

...No, it would be better to say that my idea had been declared bankrupt since the day Xiang met Qi again, right?

At this moment, a bitter smile emerged on Mu's face. She quietly gazed at Chen Qi and Xiangzi hugging each other, extinguished the last bit of fantasy in her heart, and chose to accept this "second ending" that was acceptable to her.

At least, by doing this, I can help Xiang and also relieve Qi's worries.

And the only "punishment" is that when the two of them get together again, there will be absolutely no possibility for me to interfere anymore.

...However, Mu can pretend that it doesn't matter.

Just like now, putting on a fake smile was a skill she had learned from her parents in the past two weeks after she anticipated this outcome.

When Ruoye Mu returned to reality, just as he had thought in his heart, he turned to the two people hugging each other and showed a false smile, as if to express his relief and joy.

But Mu was alone, and she just controlled her facial muscles and made such a movement... This was not her true intention.

"--elder brother?"

But suddenly, a fragile but clear voice coming from the side interrupted Mu's thoughts.

For a moment, Mu, Chuhua, as well as Chen Qi and Xiangzi who were still hugging each other, subconsciously stopped all their movements the moment they heard the familiar voice, and cast their gazes towards the girls who had approached them without them knowing when.

Not far away, Gao Songdeng, Li Xi, Su Shi and Ai Yin also fell into a long silence the moment they noticed Xiangzi in Chen Qi's arms...

Yes, silence, but no one found this scene unbelievable. On the contrary, it was precisely because each of them knew Toyokawa Shoko in Chen Qi's arms that they faced all this in silence.

Because they didn't have anything to say to Xiangzi.

The first person to break the silence was Gao Songdeng, whose voice was trembling. However, she looked at her brother and Xiangzi hugging each other, but after calling her brother, her trembling lips were unable to utter the second word.

He seemed to be worried, or was suppressing some emotion, as if he was afraid that if he opened his mouth again, something horrible would happen.

But the one who finally took over Takamatsu Deng's right to speak was Chihaya Aine, who was the first to step forward.

Although this girl had a harmonious smile on her face, her hands were unconsciously clenched into fists. She was also trying hard to hold back her emotions and warned Xiangzi in Chen Qi's arms word by word:

"Toyokawa-san, could you please not be so close to my brother Qi?"

Otherwise, I might have to help you recall what you said to me two weeks ago, Toyokawa Shoko.

You said that, didn't you? You gave up, didn't you?

Chapter 60: Xiangzi's confession, misunderstanding resolved? But it is a bigger misunderstanding!

"Aine, do you know Shoko too?"

Of course, Chen Qi didn't know what happened in Yuqiu Girls' College. He was just surprised that Aiyin and Xiangzi, who didn't have much social interaction in the original novel, now seemed to be more familiar with each other than in the original novel.

However, judging from Aine's address of "Toyokawa-san", they just knew each other and their relationship didn't seem to be very close.

So, in order to dispel the doubts of the neighbor girl who had been a little jealous recently, and to help Xiangzi out, Chen Qi calmly explained to Aiyin:

"Don't be too nervous, Aine. Xiangzi is a member of my former band. We have known each other for a long time, just as long as Su Shi, Li Xi and Mu."

A former member of a band? And then? Brother Qi, are you deliberately hiding this from me? Toyokawa Shoko is your ex-girlfriend!

Now my ex-girlfriend has already cried in your arms! How can I not be nervous?

That was originally my position!

Aiyin, who had once cried in Chen Qi's arms, could hardly contain her jealousy when she saw that Xiangzi, her ex-girlfriend, had taken the position that should have belonged to her.

She even had the urge to say to Xiangzi directly, "Didn't you say you had given up pursuing Brother Qi?" But Aiyin knew that if she said this, Brother Qi would definitely ask about what she and Xiangzi had discussed before.

Aiyin didn't want to leak her private conversation with Xiangzi to Chen Qi. She didn't want Chen Qi to think that she was someone who would use other people's weakness to coerce them.

Really, I was clearly planning to use Toyokawa's promise to prevent him from getting too close to Brother Qi, but now Brother Qi is also here and he's being restricted instead!

And just when Aiyin was secretly dissatisfied, Toyokawa Shoko, who was in Chen Qi's arms, also realized what Aiyin wanted to express. After some ideological struggle, she tacitly chose not to reveal the secret between them.

After all, Xiangzi just now had a secret that he didn't want Chen Qi to know.

But under the gaze of the other girls, Xiangzi loosened her arms that were hugging Chen Qi, gradually distanced herself from Chen Qi again, and chose to turn her gaze to Crychic's former teammates who were approaching from the side.

Xiangzi: “Everyone…”

"Why are you back?" However, Shiina Rita didn't even have the slightest sympathy for Xiangzi, who hadn't even wiped away his tears. She couldn't even hide the strong aggressiveness in her tone, and asked Xiangzi coldly:

"When you said you were going to quit the band, didn't you shed a single tear?"

"What happened to you today? You cried in this guy's arms again, and you cried so hard during the show. You've already quit the band, right? Haven't you cut off contact with us?"

"Lixi."

However, just when Shiina Riki was about to continue verbally attacking the silent Xiangzi, he was stopped in time by Chen Qi who had approached. Chen Qi's words were not serious, but he stroked Riki's fur in the most gentle manner and said:

"Don't blame Xiangzi too much for his decision. Even though Crychic is gone, we are still friends. There is no need to hold grudges over things in the past."

"I...you..."

However, facing the fact that Chen Qi, who should have been the most hurt by Xiangzi's original decision, has now become the first person to forgive Xiangzi, Shiina Riki almost couldn't catch his breath. He pointed at Chen Qi for a long time but couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Fortunately, at this time, Nagasaki Motoyo, who was also very curious about this matter, stood up and rescued her good friend.

"So, what's going on? Aqi? Xiaoxiang?"

Su Shi's eyes inadvertently swept over the silent Xiangzi. When she thought of the scene a minute ago when Xiangzi was still greedily demanding warmth from Aqi as before, even she couldn't control her expression.

But in the end, Su Shi forced himself to suppress all his dissatisfaction with Xiangzi, turned his gaze to Chen Qi, and asked with a forced smile:

"Aqi, your performance today, and this song, if I'm not mistaken, you wrote it specifically for Xiaoxiang, right?"

"And you specifically asked Xiaomu to hold Xiaoxiang back so that he could listen to the whole song...right?"

"And he called us all over, obviously he wants us to get together!" On the other side, Aiyin also reacted. It seemed that the only purpose of all the actions of her brother Qi was to gather everyone together so that everyone could meet and talk things out.

Obviously, the person who wanted to speak was not Chen Qi, but Xiangzi who was now silent.

"Xiangzi?" Chen Qi looked at Toyokawa Xiangzi beside him, and in order to encourage her to temporarily put aside her sharp self-esteem in front of her trustworthy friends, he took the initiative to hold one of Xiangzi's hands.

However, this small action of Chen Qi was silently noticed by Gao Songdeng, who had remained silent.

But this time, Deng did not make any movement. She did not even show a trace of jealousy. Instead, her eyes quickly locked onto her brother, and with a slight tremor in her heart, she expected her brother to say something negative.

Even though Deng himself knew very well that the possibility of this happening was too low...

Especially combined with what her brother and Chuhua had said on the stage before, she knew even more clearly that this song was a gift from her brother to Xiangzi. It was already the second song. The other one was a personal song her brother composed for Xiangzi.

Before the brother ran away from home, he had only composed four songs for his sister, including his own songs...

Although Takamatsu Deng believes that she still holds a very high position in her brother's heart, as a younger sister, as long as she does not cross the line between siblings, her brother will not abandon her for the second time.

Even if... Deng's bottom line is just to stay with her brother as a younger sister. As for whether Xiangzi will take away the time her brother spends with her, she can force herself to not care.

But, can I really not care at all?

Of course not. If Deng really had a chance to take her brother back from Xiangzi, she would certainly do her utmost to do it. If possible, Deng even didn't want anyone around to spy on her brother.

Even though they are siblings for life, Deng hopes that she will always be the number one in her brother's eyes.

but now……

"Su Shi, Ai Yin, you guessed it right, this song is indeed written for Xiangzi, and Xiangzi was also specially asked by Miss Chuhua this time to invite Xiangzi to the scene."

Chen Qi, who had not done anything wrong, naturally would not hide what he had done. Now Xiangzi was by his side, and this was the moment when the "wall of his heart" was the weakest. If he did not seize the opportunity to resolve all the misunderstandings, his performance would be really meaningless.

She has been shouldering the blame for Xiangzi's withdrawal from the group for long enough, and Chen Qi doesn't want Xiangzi to bear such a psychological burden anymore.

"I'd be very happy if you could tell us the details yourself, Xiangzi."

Xiangzi: “…Yeah.”

However, after experiencing all this, Xiangzi's psychological defenses had completely collapsed, and almost all the negative emotions in his heart were completely eliminated because of his crying and the embrace given by Chen Qi. He nodded tiredly, took the initiative to let go of Chen Qi's hand, and came in front of everyone.

But the next moment, she did something that shocked everyone who was familiar with her character.

"Everyone, I'm very sorry for keeping this a secret from you all."

"Xiangzi?!"

Except for Chen Qi, when everyone saw Xiangzi bowing deeply to everyone, no matter what they liked or disliked about Xiangzi before, they were all shocked.

After all, they all knew Xiangzi's proud character, and this level of apology was indeed the first time in history.

"No, please accept my apology. If it weren't for Chen Qi, I would have kept this a secret from you all my life."

Xiangzi, who had temporarily let down his guard, briefly returned to the calmness and innocence he had before he quit Crychic. Facing these friends who had been hurt by him, or even hated by him, Xiangzi, who only remembered the good memories in his mind, smiled and said to everyone:

"Everyone, I didn't explain to you the reason why I quit Crychic... Now, I'll tell you everything while I can still say it."

"In fact, the reason why I wanted to quit was because my family was in turmoil... Now, I have been kicked out of the Toyokawa family."

"Huh?! Kicked out?!"

However, the moment Xiangzi spoke out such a cruel fact in such a calm tone, everyone subconsciously shouted out and fell into a long trance.

After all, none of them had ever thought that the reason why Xiangzi quit the band was so cruel. These high school girls who had never felt the "pressure of life" would never think of such a possibility.

"Although technically, I wanted to leave on my own, I am definitely not the young lady I used to be."

Xiangzi's face was also somewhat bitter, and he patiently explained to his former friends:

"I live with my father now, and my mother has passed away... In short, my situation at that time no longer allowed me to play in a band happily with everyone."

"I'm sorry, I've been keeping this a secret from everyone, but I really didn't know how to tell you all about this before. All of this is caused by me, please forgive me..."

As he said this, Xiangzi couldn't help but bow deeply to his friends again, showing all the sincerity he could show at the moment.

"Wait! Wait a moment!"

However, at this moment, Shiina Riki, who was the one who was most upset about the disbandment of Crychic, also walked out of the crowd. She stared at Xiangzi and Chen Qi, and after glancing back and forth between the two, she immediately asked:

"Xiangzi, you can't play in the band anymore because of problems at home. I understand if you can't say it!"

"But why didn't you ask a single question? Xiangzi wanted to quit the band, but you were totally indifferent!"

As he spoke, Li Xi, who was pointing at Chen Qi, seemed to understand something in a trance. His lips trembled slightly, and he asked Chen Qi in an extremely unbelievable tone:

"Could it be that you, you started——"

"...Yes, I guessed it from the beginning."

Facing Li Xi's repeated questioning, Chen Qi had no choice but to admit it in front of everyone. Little did he know that his calm answer only made the girls feel even more depressed...

"As expected." However, Xiangzi, who had already had the answer in his heart, sighed silently after Chen Qi admitted this. He suddenly rolled his eyes at Chen Qi behind him, and his tone was hard to tell whether it was complaining or coquettish. He said calmly:

"At first I was wondering why you didn't stop me... Now it seems that this is the only answer."

"There's no other way. If you didn't want to confess at that time, Xiangzi, and I said these things on your behalf, you might collapse all of a sudden." But Chen Qi shrugged his shoulders. Now recalling the farce half a year ago, Chen Qi's face was full of bitterness. At that time, he really had too many unspeakable secrets.

If we could have talked it out at the beginning, we wouldn't have been angry with each other for half a year, but it became so complicated because of self-esteem, favoritism and other emotions...

However, the truth of all this can finally be revealed now, and Chen Qi's preparations for the past six months have not been in vain.

"…So that means, Aqi, you clearly knew the reason why Xiaoxiang quit the team, but in order to protect Xiaoxiang's dignity, you kept it secret for her for so long?"

However, after knowing the truth of all this, Nagasaki Suyo's face did not show the slightest bit of relief. On the contrary, she said to Chen Qi with a forced smile, full of bitterness: