Who says meal replacements can’t be eaten as meals?

Hirashima Ryoko, the first-year history teacher and head teacher of Class B in Hanegaoka, was also slacking off in the school office today. She wore a beige dress with a light yellow sweater and her burgundy short hair was carefully combed. A high school history teacher only has a few classes a week, not to mention that half of the first week's classes were taken up by the opening ceremony. As for the other half, of course, it was the students' favorite test!

The test at the beginning of the school year is a difficult but formidable challenge for high school students who have been free from their thoughts for more than two months. In a short 40-minute class, the active thinking ability of high school students can start from the Big Bang and think about what to do if the second dimension invades reality? Then they recall the band MV they didn’t finish listening to last night and the clothes hanging on the balcony that have not been collected for three days. But even with such advanced jumping thinking, they can’t remember what they learned in junior high school. After thinking for a long time, they reluctantly wrote the name of the yellow-skinned rat on the name of the current Japanese emperor.

Of course, marking these test papers is not an easy task for the examiners.

The difficulty mainly lies in controlling physiological emotional regulation, coordination of the nervous system and inhibition of facial muscles.

The etymological definition of the Emperor comes from [not sleeping at night] religion, which has a history of about 1400 years.

The main cause of the Honnoji Rebellion was the political dispute between [Oda Nobunaga] and [Kinoshita Hideyoshi].

The emperor who carried out a series of reforms after World War II and promoted Japan's political, social and economic reconstruction was [MacArthur].

As a young educator, Ryoko's thinking is not as old-fashioned as that of the old lecturer who has been in office for many years. In high school, she also formed a dark fantasy style death rock band. The high school girls filled out the test papers randomly, which made me laugh and feel nostalgic. I was not so lucky at that time. I just wrote that the sum of the three triangles is equal to 270 and was scolded by the teacher.

He wrote and drew with a red pen, making red circles and short ticks on the test paper, and the piled-up test paper sandwich was steadily being eliminated.

When she was correcting the third to last test paper, Hirashima Ryoko was a little surprised to see the perfect test paper that suddenly appeared in her hand. On the upper right corner of the white paper was written Toyokawa Shoko's name. Recalling the blue-haired girl's perfunctory but socially polite self-introduction on the first day of class, Teacher Ryoko smacked her lips in shame.

Geniuses are common, but this is the first time that Ryoko Hirashima has seen such a little genius who is only in high school.

This child will probably have a hard time in the future.

But it has nothing to do with a boring adult like me who has long been crushed by reality and can only hang out in school to earn some money for drinking.

I moved the corrected test paper to the right hand side and glanced at the header of the next one. It was written in beautiful black marker - "Ichinose Sakuya".

The last name Ichinose sounds familiar.

Come to think of it, this kid did transfer from Uji, and he exudes a sense of freedom that comes from Morino.

Maybe I had passed her by when she was in elementary school when I was in high school.

After finishing the co-branded coffee, which was said to be made with royal sake, with the boldness of showing off beer, Ryoko Hirashima lamented that she had been cheated while continuing her work of grading papers.

------

In the heart of Miss Ichinose Sakuya, getting along with Shoko was undoubtedly a relaxing and enjoyable process, especially after experiencing the direct bombardment of Deng, a classmate from the next class, without any sense of distance.

Xiangzi looks cold and hard to talk to, but he can handle it easily by following the "Special Matters for Xiangzi Toyokawa" that he has figured out.

First of all: never talk about the past.

After the hard work of Ms. Sakuya, the minesweeper, she has discovered several keywords recently, such as Nagasaki Suyo, Tsuki no Mori, Deng-san, bands with many Cs in their names, and Nagasaki Suyo.

Unless she touches these induction mines, Miss Xiangzi generally won't activate her reactive armor, so it's no problem even if she pinches her cheek or touches her at close range.

Article 2: Don’t discuss topics related to high consumption.

The great detective Miss Sakuya, who guessed Xiangzi's current situation through deduction, would naturally not say such a stupid thing as "The new pancake cake from Yamabuki Bakery is delicious, let's go eat it together~". Xiangzi's daily life seems like a survival challenge. It's better not to let her know that I secretly ate Swiss rolls with Xiao Deng in the astronomy department room without her knowing...

Article 3: Do not force feed.

Miss Sakuya has been trying to feed Shoko but has never succeeded. All the boxed juice she refreshes at noon goes into her stomach.

As long as he follows the formula to solve the problems and acts a little cute, the cricket Toyokawa Shoko can be manipulated by me.

Miss Sakuya, who was in a very good mood, apparently overlooked a problem.

Objective scientific laws tell us that all formulas used to solve problems can only be used under the premise of satisfying assumptions. Applying formulas to everything will only result in results that are completely different from reality.

At the beginning, Xiangzi was seriously reviewing his history test paper. His handsome eyebrows became more and more furrowed as time went by.

Sakuya spoke up with a slightly bad feeling. "What's the problem, Shoko?"

"It's a big problem." Xiangzi replied.

"It's just a test...it's nothing..." Sakuya's eyes were vague.

"Anyone who scores 35 points in the placement test has no right to say this." Xiangzi glanced coldly at someone who was about to escape.

"Ahaha... I suddenly remembered that I didn't make the quilt when I got up today, so see you tomorrow~ Xiangzi." (?ω<)★Someone said while making a scissors hand gesture, winked, and turned to leave.

"return."

Someone paused slightly, but still took another tentative step forward.

"Come back." Xiangzi repeated.

"Hmph! I'm going back!" Ichinose Sakuya returned to her loyal seat, which was in the second to last row and next to the window.

"Finish correcting the test paper before you leave. If you have any questions, you can ask me." Xiangzi, a student in the third row from the bottom, gave the task instructions ruthlessly and turned to open the exercise book.

“Eh? Doesn’t that mean I have to rewrite everything?” QAQ, Sakuya asked pitifully while lying on the table.

"Then rewrite it." Xiangzi, who had already entered the working state, finished the few remaining homework at a fairly steady pace. "After all... I don't think a normal high school student would write Pikachu as the answer on the name of the Prime Minister of Japan."

Her face turned red as Sakuya shyly took out a little whale blue pencil case and a brand new history textbook.

Behind him came the intermittent sound of pen strokes, which sounded like someone was diligently correcting the test paper. Toyokawa Shoko looked up at the ticking clock and reluctantly postponed her work plan for half an hour.

It's really helpless.

Chapter 16 The bus is shaking

Buses are definitely a peculiarity of Japan, known for their sparse availability and completely random departure times.

With Tokyo's huge and somewhat bloated railway transportation network, bus companies with meager budgets are eager to make the most of their money. And they did just that. The same bus number is divided into two different lines according to different platforms.

Sakuya-san is currently looking at the platform timetable and pretending to think.

He confidently dragged Xiangzi to the bus stop, but almost stepped on the bus of the same name at platform A. If Xiangzi hadn't stopped him, he might have headed straight for Shimokitazawa.

After opening the navigation and confirming that the destination was correct, Shoko Toyokawa leaned over with some curiosity.

"You should at least tell me where you're going, right?"

The side of her face felt a little itchy from the long blue hair, and she turned around and explained to Xiangzi with a smile:

"It's a charity supermarket I saw online before. There are many strange little items there, so I want to go and see it."

"Charity supermarket?" Xiangzi's face looked a little strange, and then he remembered that it was time for the club's activities, so he asked tentatively: "Is the light over there all right?"

The flaxen-haired girl paused visibly for a moment, and her mind unconsciously recalled the little animal's unreasonable straight ball attack and the pitiful look of expectation yesterday.

We are just friends, don't look at me like that.

The lights are... a little tricky.

We still need to control the time we spend together with such delicate and love-deprived children.

After all...I just want to be good friends with Deng.

Before figuring out how to face Xiao Deng, let’s maintain the current tacit understanding.

She stood up again, put her hands that were playing with her hair back to her side, and spoke cheerfully:

"I told Xiao Deng in advance yesterday that I am Miss Xiangzi's special playmate today."

"What a weird statement that is."

After some fun, the No. 18 bus finally arrived at Station B. I got on the bus from the back door, found a seat by the window, sat down naturally on the inside, and turned to look at Xiangzi with shining eyes. I patted the cushion beside me, and my face was full of "come here quickly".

Whose big brown dog is this?

Suppressing the strange thoughts that arose in his mind, Xiangzi sat next to the big dog without hesitation.

The bus was bumping along the road. The girl next to me smelled a pleasant floral scent, but before I could savor it, a white and tender hand holding an earphone swayed in front of me.

"What kind of music does Xiangzi like?"

Sakuya was putting on her own headphones with her head slightly tilted.

The long flaxen hair is gathered behind the ears, revealing the white neck, and the beautiful profile is full of youth.

Xiangzi moved his eyes away from the girl's exposed neck and took the somewhat unusual wired headphones with a thoughtful look on his face.

"When I was in junior high school, I often listened to the songs of Morfonica, a band formed by senior students."

I put on my headphones and thought carefully that it seems that I haven't had the leisure to listen to music for a long time.

"But I haven't heard it in a while, Sakuya, just pick the one you like."

Morfonica?

I tried searching on the music software, but only some irrelevant recommendations popped up.

"No... Just listen casually. There's still about half an hour left."

Miss Sakuya casually clicked on an album of a band that was very popular in Japan. She was in a very good mood and sang softly along with the rhythm coming from her headphones.

The bus passed through the shade of trees, and the sun shone through the gaps and fell on the two of them. As it drove, it was like a thickly painted art scroll.

Xiangzi's tense heart couldn't help but relax a little.

The girl's humming came to my ears along with the music. It was not a skill at all. Even in my previous class, I would definitely be criticized by the teacher.

Sakuya's humming was interrupted by Shoko's laughter. Sakuya, who was closing her eyes and immersed in her top-notch performance, glared at Miss Shoko who was not following the audience rules.

The two looked at each other through the headphone wires, unable to explain why, but they both chuckled.

"Come to think of it, why is Sakuya still using wired headphones? Nowadays, everyone should choose Bluetooth or headphone jacks. After all, it is neither as convenient as wireless headphones nor as good as headphone jacks." Shoko Toyokawa asked first.

"If I were to ask why, it's probably a habit." Ichinose Sakuya nodded thoughtfully. "I've been using this headset for a long time, and I can't even remember when I bought it. It's just that it's very convenient to wear and doesn't need to be charged. And most importantly, even if I forget to put it in the washing machine and wash it several times, it's totally fine!"

"This kind of thing is totally not worth bragging about." Looking at the familiar face in front of her with a smug look on her face, Toyokawa Shoko felt that she had complained more in the few days she spent with Sakuya than she had in the past six months.

"Eh? But look, it still works perfectly. Even if it ends up in my hands, the sound quality won't change at all. It would cost a lot of money to replace it."

"It sounds really unfortunate." Toyokawa Shoko said simply.

Looking at the girl in front of him who looked exactly like Su Shi, Xiangzi once again lamented the two sisters' completely different attitudes towards life and asked with some curiosity.

"Sakuya, why did you suddenly come to Tokyo to study?"

"Well," Sakuya snorted, "of course it's because I easily passed the entrance exam that Hanegaoka claims only one in three people pass, and my mom and sister just happen to live near the school."

"It's really not easy for someone who only scored 35 points in the preliminary examination to pass it easily." Xiangzi teased.

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

"You're so annoying! History isn't included in the entrance exam..." Miss Sakuya, feeling humiliated and angry, raised her fist and lightly hit the shoulder of the person next to her.

Then, as if to change the subject, she continued to smack her lips.

"I lived in Uji during junior high school and childhood. When I was in elementary school...my parents divorced because of work. After that, my sister went to Tokyo with my mother, and I stayed in my hometown with my father. We only contacted each other on Line occasionally, so...I was actually very happy to go to Tokyo for high school."

“I see…” The smile on Xiangzi’s face disappeared, and after a pause, he had a complicated expression that Sakuya couldn’t understand.

"Did Sakuya also live with her father before?"

"Yeah, even though Dad is very busy at work, he still makes time to rush home before dinner every day. Even though I don't know how to comb my hair at all, he still confidently said he would braid my hair. As a result, I wore my hair in a ponytail for a whole semester." Sakuya responded to Xiangzi's inquiry with a happy face, somewhat missing her father's complaints.

"Sakuya, your relationship with your father is really enviable." After pressing the stop button on the left armrest, Xiangzi turned his head and muttered to himself.

Chapter 17 When Friendship Knocks on the Door

Ichinose Sakuya has always been a child who can read the air.

He collected the pile of coins that the bus spit out with a bitter look on his face, and pushed Xiangzi out of the bus through the front door.

"It's still about ten minutes away, shall we walk slowly over there?" Sakuya asked tentatively.

"Well, let's go." Xiangzi's tone sounded normal.

An An was quietly navigating with her phone in front of her, and a busy little shop soon appeared across the street.

A dense stream of people poured in and out of the store's door. There were so many rice balls and vegetables that they couldn't be placed in the box, which piled up in front of the store, making the already crowded street even more crowded. The yellow and white one looked a bit like a ball, with an icon reminiscent of a circus flag on top and a slogan "Hello Happy World!" on the glass windows on both sides. The store was playing a girl's cheerful singing. I don't know if it was the music or the prices that were really satisfactory, but most of the customers had smiles on their faces.

"Even though the location is so remote, there are still a lot of customers." Xiangzi still maintained his usual calmness. After all, no matter how much the price was, he had no plans to spend any money today.

"Right, I heard that most of the things in this store are only around a hundred yuan."

Toyokawa Shoko's steps forward paused.

"How many?"

"One hundred yuan. Hairpins, laundry detergent, a pound of soba noodles and the like seem to be around this price. Small items like candies and rice balls are around twenty yuan, and I heard that vegetables and the like are given away for free when it's almost time to get off work." Sakuya seemed a little excited as he counted the news he had researched online yesterday. When the green light came on, he pushed Shoko into the crowd.

"It's a bit like a 100-yen store, right? But the things there are really incredibly cheap."

Xiangzi was distracted, and his eyes were unconsciously attracted by the goods piled at the door of the store. Outside the shelf of boxes of food, there was indeed a piece of cardboard that had been removed from some packaging box, with a big "20/piece" written on it in black marker.

Take a deep breath and try not to pay attention to the price tag in front of you that is comparable to a clearance sale price.