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

The latest masterpiece of Mr. Conch

Chapter 45: When was the family portrait taken?

Japan's cultural heritage is always full of obvious contradictions. Some extreme moral codes and social etiquette have forced international Internet companies to make concessions. Blacklisting cannot be called blacklisting, but it should be separated into a seemingly blocking function. Both parties in the conversation know it well, but it also leaves a thought for those who are unwilling to give up.

Whether it is Line or Instagram, once you raise your hand and click the red block button, the chat interface between the other party and you will never be updated. Even if you change the avatar and wallpaper to a bright and beautiful daily one, the other party can only stare at the dimmed gray avatar, sending words in vain that only you can see.

As for why I wrote this popular science article, it can only be attributed to "I have a friend".

After glancing at the notes with a slightly strange look, Nagasaki Motoyo also closed her eyes and leaned against Sakuya.

Although the Hope is very fast, it is not the invincible Iron Man after all.

There was still plenty of time left, so I decided to take a nap. My flaxen hair was soon intertwined with the morning sunlight, just like many years ago.

======

After sleeping on the train and taking photos when getting off, the rejuvenated Ms. Sakuya casually took a photo of the huge matcha jar mailbox in front of the station. In addition to the small red mouth of the mailbox in the middle, the entire box is a matcha color with a clay texture, showing off its chubby body and announcing to the passengers: "Welcome to the hometown of matcha."

It seemed to be to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the station's construction or something, I can't remember exactly, anyway, since I was a child, this silly matcha can has been standing here, and every New Year's Day, the staff will replace it with a brand new dark green sealing rope. The original one has long faded and loosened. All things in the world always try desperately to return to their original appearance, and now most of them are lying in the museum's display cabinet to enjoy their old age.

Ichinose Sakuya was walking out of the station with her sister.

Nagasaki Suyo raised her hand to block the direct sunlight. In the distance, she could see the surrounding mountains and the Kamo River flowing under the bridge. The cultural relics full of historical sedimentation should be the facade of the city, but here, the modern buildings with full lines have become a foil. The corridor of the platform is directly connected to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. After a few steps, you can see the famous Thousand Torii Gates. Hundreds of vermilion torii gates form the mountain road leading to the top of the mountain. The old and faded dark red portals and the dazzling vermilion archways are densely intertwined. When the sun is shining directly, if you choose the right angle, you can see the most shocking scenery.

Su Shi couldn't help but feel a little dazed. The sense of time became quite vague in Uji. One second she was a modern high school student going home for vacation, and the next second she stepped into the Heian stage of "The Tale of Genji".

The familiar voice of Ichinose Sakuya came from a distance, as if he was showing off his identity as the human form of the Iron-hearted Train Man to the children who had just got off the train. Looking at his own sister who was cosplaying as a train with her hands raised forward, Su Shi's somewhat detached thoughts finally returned to him.

Without the sense of history brought by the culture, Uji is ultimately just a place where people live. Perhaps it is quite suitable for white-haired cats who like matcha?

"This is a rare opportunity. Do you want to go to the shrine to see the torii gate?" Miss Sushi, who was carrying a suitcase, spoke to her sister who had walked around and came back.

"Eh? A thousand torii gates? There's nothing to see there." Ichinose Sakuya didn't care. "It's not like I haven't been there before. I feel like it's not as good as a caterpillar."

"Caterpillar?" Su Shi was puzzled.

"It's the big caterpillar tunnel in the nursery. My sister and I crawled through it when we were little." Sakuya turned around and made circles with his hands to illustrate to Suyo.

In Miss Sakuya's mind, the orange-red tunnel formed by the torii may indeed be inferior to that of the caterpillar. At least after the sunlight shines through, each section of the caterpillar's body shines with a different luster.

"Have you regressed from an elementary school student to a kindergartener..." Nagasaki Suyo held her forehead helplessly.

"Didn't my sister fall asleep too? You're also an elementary school student!" Miss Sakuya, who is in kindergarten, retorted.

"Okay, okay, let's go home first." Su Shi stopped at the taxi waiting area.

"Well, welcome back, sis." Sakuya stood next to her, speaking in a cheerful tone.

======

The Ichinose family home is a standard single-family house. The two-story building has a space that is neither too big nor too small, just perfect for a family to live in.

Taking out the key to the front door that had not been used for a long time from the compartment of her schoolbag, Ichinose Sakuya skillfully aligned it and after twisting it three quarters of a turn, the door that had been dormant for more than a month finally opened again, making an unpleasant friction sound.

There was a thin layer of dust on the floor. Sakuya opened the shoe cabinet naturally and held a pair of family-style slippers in each hand, one pair with a panda and the other with a rabbit.

"Sister, you just wear my slippers. I'll wear dad's." Sakuya put on the slightly large panda slippers in two clicks and placed the little rabbit at her sister's feet.

"Thank you. I never thought that I would have the chance to come back." Su Shi's voice sounded a little nostalgic.

"I haven't thought about that either." After taking two steps towards home, Sakuya suddenly stopped again. "I was very happy to see my sister the first time I opened the door. I also wondered if I would never see my sister again in this life... Well, I'll go turn on the power, and we'll go out to buy groceries together later, sister."

The red panda hugged the girl's slender ankles and quickly disappeared around the corner.

Su Shi put on light blue bunny slippers while thinking, her hands subconsciously touched each other, and then quickly separated.

Before...was it the time when Sakuya went home with her mother?

The little feet wrapped in black stockings just fit through the toes of the shoes. After closing the door to let it continue to sleep, Miss Su Shi looked around at the strange scene that she had seen many times before.

The layout of the house has changed a lot, but there are still many familiar objects. The TV and the dining table are covered with the cartoon sheets from my elementary school days. The curtains are still the same style, unable to block out the light. The slightly dim light permeates the woven fibers and reflects into the not-so-large living room. The benches under the wooden table have been replaced with new ones, and they don't seem to have been used much. Perhaps their owners didn't expect them to be put aside for so long before they could be used.

Finally, her eyes fell back on the solid wood style warm yellow storage cabinet, which held a small photo frame. The color was dull, but the edges were well preserved. In the photo frame was a family portrait of four people. She was lying on the coffee table with a helpless look on her face, and Sakuya was lying on top of her, with her father and mother also lying on top of her behind them.

At that time, I was still wearing a headband, my hair was gathered behind my head, revealing my smooth forehead. It wasn't because I liked it, but simply because Sakuya liked hair accessories, I chose a simple hairstyle as the older sister so that my parents could distinguish them easily.

"Really, after all these years, it hasn't changed at all." Nagasaki Motoyo, who could no longer remember when the photo was taken, murmured to herself.

Chapter 46: It’s still not too late for treatment

Mio Akiyama, 15 years old, lives in Uji and is currently studying in Class , Grade , Sakuragaoka Girls' High School. Her usual job is to drink tea, listen to music, and caress the head of her childhood sweetheart, Ritsu Tainaka, in the light music club. She also serves as the bassist of the light music club.

She has a kind personality and good bass skills. With her mature looks and waist-length straight black hair, she is known as the "Kaguya-hime of the Music Club". She is also the only normal person in the Sakuragaoka Light Music Club.

She is also a bassist, has a kind personality, and also lives in Uji. They were desk mates in junior high school, and they even sent each other Line messages this morning. Ms. Mio has successfully gained the highest status in Ms. Sakuya's heart, second only to her sister, and is truly a close friend.

Ever since being dragged by Lu Qiang to join the light music club, Akiyama Mio has been spending her days in the music room drinking tea and chatting, enjoying campus life. Although she vaguely feels that there is something wrong with the name of the club, when she thinks of the fourth new member who has just joined the club, she can't help but smile with fulfillment and satisfaction.

Life is like a flower field waiting to be cultivated. The variety and color of flowers are up to you to enrich. It is the youth, and we should embrace every day of the ordinary.

Today is the first day of the holiday. Akiyama Mio declined Ritsu's invitation to go shopping. In the pink room full of girlish style, she slowly brewed a cup of black tea and planned to finish her homework by doing exercises, improve her knowledge, strive for full marks in the midterm, set a new small goal, and also to urge herself to practice bass more this semester. First, she had to play the Eagles' "I can't tell you why" well.

The light pink phone screen with shells shimmers

'You received a Line message.'

'? '

Since the album cover had not been opened yet, Ms. Mio was not in a hurry and picked up her phone with her slender hands. She made up her mind to turn on the airplane mode after replying to avoid being distracted and extinguishing her burning heart for bass.

[Soya]: "I'm in Uji~[Chubby Matcha Mailbox.jpg]"

Inspired by the phone, Ms. Mio's slender fingers seemed to have thoughts of their own. She typed out a series of replies briskly and even wanted to go out to the station to pick someone up.

[Soya]: “I came back with my sister today, and I brought a gift for Mio. It’s the bass strap you said you wanted on SNS last time. I bought the same one.”

[Mature and steady bassist]: "Thank you, Soya~, in return, would you like to have dinner together tonight?"

[Soya]: "I'll probably eat with my sister today, how about tomorrow?"

[Mature and steady bassist]: "Soya's sister is the one from the Moon Forest I mentioned before?"

[Soya]: "Yeah, sis is amazing. I don't know what Tsuki no Mori is about, but I heard they are all big ladies."

[Mature and steady bassist]: "Hey, that must be amazing. Tomorrow I'm going to the shopping street with Ritsu and everyone in the light music club to buy guitars for the new members. Do you want to come with Soya..."

Miss Mio had been chatting for more than ten minutes without realizing it. Now the revelation in her seemed to spread throughout her body. Her body left her study seat without her brain's control, turned over and lay on her back on the soft bed. She turned over and pressed the pillow under her body, and habitually connected the mobile phone charging cable to get the best experience.

By the way, I also opened SNS.

======

The fulfilling day passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye it was evening, and the residential area of ​​Uji was filled with more people. An old man came out for a walk after dinner, holding his short-legged dog with a wagging tail, and he followed wherever the dog ran. The lights of the clustered single-family houses were turned on, and the power switch of Ichinose's house was turned off.

After cleaning up all day, she went to the market to buy some vegetables and meat to fill the empty refrigerator. After a busy day, Ichinose Sakuya leaned lazily on the sofa, watching the sunset, holding a matcha popsicle between two fingers. Miss Sakuya didn't come here specifically to appreciate the sunset, she just felt that eating like this made her more like a poet.

"The meal will be ready soon, and you're still here eating popsicles." Su Shi's somewhat dissatisfied voice came from the kitchen.

The kitchen of the Ichinose family is not as spacious as that of the Nagasaki family, but it is also fully equipped. All kinds of strange and almost new kitchen utensils that have only been used once or twice can be found in the cupboard.

"What's wrong with that? The thing to do in Uji in the summer is to eat matcha ice cream." Sakuya responded while lying down.

"It's still spring now." Su Shi complained while serving the tamagoyaki on a plate with a spatula.

“Eh? But judging from how tired I am, I should have been in school for three months. That’s strange.” Ms. Sakuya fell into thought.

"Come here and serve the dishes." Nagasaki Suyo took off her apron and tied her long flaxen hair behind her ears into a familiar ponytail with the cat hair accessory that Sakuya had casually given her.

"Here I come~ Here I come~" Sakuya walked into the kitchen, stepping on the red panda that was two sizes bigger.

Chef Su Shi, who had just finished preparing three dishes and a soup, left her loyal kitchen. The little rabbits heard the crisp doorbell from the entrance before they reached the living room.

Is he Sakuya's friend who came at this time?

Nagasaki Suyo took a step forward, smoothed her long hair tied into a ponytail with one hand, leaned forward, and opened the door.

"coming."

A tall black-haired girl was standing in the porch outside the door. The sky was just setting with afterglow at this time. Her long black hair brushed across her smiling face. She was wearing a common long-sleeved sportswear, looking relaxed as if she was taking a walk after dinner. Her gracefulness carried a youthful and girlish feeling.

The handsome and mature Miss Mio smiled and opened her arms to welcome her long-lost friend. She happily hugged the flaxen-haired girl in front of her, and found that the headdress was the same cat-shaped one she bought with her before, so she couldn't help but hug her tighter.

"Soya, long time no see."

The fragrant breeze filled her arms, and Su Shi's body was a little stiff for a moment. Miss Su Shi, who had not been in close contact with anyone other than her sister for a long time, blushed a little. Relying on the standard etiquette she had honed for a long time, she gently patted the black-haired girl on the back and explained:

"Um...I'm sorry, but you may have the wrong person."

"?"

Akiyama Mio's black eyes revealed the same clarity as that of a little country girl, and she tilted her head in confusion.

"Sister, and Mio? What are you doing?"

Ms. Sakuya, who was holding a bowl of tamagoyaki, heard the noise and half of her body with her little head popped out from the corner, her long flaxen hair tied with a hair accessory hanging down naturally.

Akiyama Mio looked at Sakuya's little head, then looked up at the 'Sakuya' she was holding. Fortunately, the symptoms were not serious, and she quickly realized who she was holding. She blushed, her eyes were full of circles, and there seemed to be a little steam coming out of her forehead.

"Eh? I'm sorry! I'm so-so sorry!"

Akiyama Mio——I can’t get back up.

Chapter 47 Don’t Care

The Ichinose family's dinner today was very good, with three dishes and a soup, all simple home-cooked dishes, but fortunately there was no vegetable macaroni.

The tamagoyaki is mixed with small pieces of carrots and onions, the roasted spinach is sprinkled with lemon juice and sesame paste, and the main course is fried chicken cut into small pieces, fried with green onions and garlic, and then topped with a layer of yuzu pepper sauce.

She picked up a piece of cut kelp with the long wooden chopsticks in her right hand, picked up the ceramic bowl with blue patterns, and leisurely swallowed the tofu cubes floating in the bowl together with the green onions. When the warm current surged into her chest again, Ichinose Sakuya felt a sense of satisfaction that the day was finally over.

Miss Mio usually looks mature and steady, but she is actually very delicate and timid. She doesn't dare to talk to strangers and is afraid of ghosts, spirits and other things that scare children.

so...

The extremely youthful behavior of close friends hugging each other and expressing their feelings after a long separation suddenly turned into hugging and embracing strangers they met for the first time and saying things that were completely incomprehensible.

The shocking fact that she had unconsciously behaved like a social terrorist blew away all the color from Akiyama Mio's body, leaving only snow-white ash.

When Ms. Sakuya rushed to the entrance, on her left was her elder sister, with her hair tied up, eyes narrowed, a stiff smile on her face, and one hand on the door handle. On her right was Ms. Mio, who had hugged her knees with both hands and turned herself into a watermelon worm and could only repeat "I'm sorry" in a dull tone.

"It's okay, it's okay, Mio, I'm here." Slowing down her tone, Ms. Sakuya stuffed the tamagoyaki into her sister's idle right hand, squatted down, and skillfully ran her hand through the soft black hair that felt nice to the touch.

"I'm an idiot who mistook my friend for her sister. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." Miss Mio regained some color, but it seemed like she would need to wait for some time.

"Sister, you should also say a few words of comfort. How can you scare me like this when we just met? Although Xiao Mio is very shy." Miss Sakuya, who was squatting at the door of the house, condemned righteously. It must be that the sister's fake smile that looked very dark was too scary!

"I'm really sorry..."

Miss Sushi looked at the plate that was inexplicably stuffed into her hand, and then looked at the leaky cotton jacket with elbows bent outward, and the ceremonial smile on her face was about to break. After deciding in her heart that dinner for the next few days would be vegetable macaroni, Nagasaki Sushi slowly opened her squinted eyes and looked at Akiyama Mio who was immersed in her own world.

"Mio-chan?" "She's probably just a good friend, and she's a cute kid."

"No, it's my fault for not checking it carefully. I'm sorry." The mature and steady bassist lady came to her senses at this time and bowed slightly to apologize.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Akiyama Mio, Sakuya's classmate in junior high school." Akiyama Mio said politely with some warmth still on her face.

"It's okay~ Akiyama-san and our Sakuya have a really good relationship. Do you want to have dinner together?" Miss Motoyo always speaks in a choked voice when facing strangers.

The black-haired girl in front of him was neat and well-mannered, but Su Shi felt a little unhappy for some reason.

"Ah, no thanks. I came here after dinner. I saw the lights so I tried to ring the doorbell, but I didn't expect..." The girl lowered her head in embarrassment and continued. "I received a lot of help from Sakuya in junior high school, and Sakuya often made some stupid moves that always made people worry... Ah, sorry, that's not what I meant... Sakuya!?"

The explanation was interrupted because Ms. Sakuya had already hugged Akiyama Mio from behind.

"It's okay. I like Xiao Mio's too." Sniffing the familiar scent, the little village girl suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu. Xiao Deng seemed to have said something similar to her. So, she added, "The kind between friends."

"It can be seen that the relationship is really good. Would you like to come to my house for a cup of tea?" Su Shi smiled.

======

Looking at Ichinose Sakuya who put down his bowl and sighed with satisfaction, Nagasaki Motoyo stood up and cleared the table.

The classmate named Akiyama was too embarrassed to enter the room, so he said goodbye to Sakuya shyly and went home.

The plates were stacked up from bottom to top, and Su Shi casually asked, "Don't you need to take Akiyama home?"

"Hey, it's okay. Mio's house is only three minutes away from us. We'll be there after turning two corners." Miss Sakuya also helped pick up the spoon and chopsticks.

"So, Sakuya and Ms. Akiyama are just classmates?" Su Shi's tone rose slightly.

"Well... probably. Other than that, we practice bass together often. Mio didn't dare to sign up for the bass class alone, so I dragged her along!" Ms. Sakuya said with pride.