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

Seeing the pitiful appearance of 'Suyo' covering her mouth while making a cute cry, a strange sense of disharmony finally came over her. Feeling a little uneasy, Toyokawa Shoko looked at the brand new student ID card with a half-length photo of the girl in her wallet. And the name written in italics on it——Ichinose Soya.

"Classmate... at least, please leave me some money for the train ride home."

Her brain was working rapidly, and cold sweat oozed from her forehead. At this moment, Toyokawa Shoko realized:

Damn, they arrested the wrong guy.

"This is troublesome."

Chapter 5 This is a secret between the two of us

Today was a terrible day.

Even though the head teacher with short burgundy hair was standing on the podium exuding a quiet attitude, Toyokawa Shoko could still hear the whispers of her classmates around her.

After all, on the first day of school, he forcibly dragged someone out of the class, and then brought the student back to the classroom with red eyes. This kind of emotional entanglement that seemed to involve taboos was a bit too exciting among the curious female high school students.

Taking a deep breath, ignoring everyone's scrutinizing or curious looks, Xiangzi waited until the students in the front seat finished introducing themselves, then stood up with impeccable elegance, placed his hands on his abdomen, and spoke loudly:

"I am Toyokawa Shoko, and I am honored to be your classmate and make progress together with you in the next three years."

Toyokawa-san is really cool and looks like a young lady.

Taking his eyes off the blue hair falling in front of his eyes, Ichinose Sakuya unconsciously recalled Toyokawa Shoko's somewhat panicked bow and apology just now.

I always feel that it looks like the little hedgehog I saw in my hometown.

If threatened, it will display its spikes menacingly, but if you pinch its head and turn it over, you can see its soft belly.

Kind of cute.

After Toyokawa Shoko finished her brief self-introduction, Ichinose Sakuya, who had already adjusted herself, stood up and said:

"Hello everyone, I'm Sakuya Ichinose from Uji, Kyoto. Because of my parents' job changes, I came to study in Haneda. My favorite things are cute headwear, and my hobby is playing the bass. I hope to become good friends with everyone in the future."

On the podium, the young female teacher who looked full of intellectual beauty had a slightly twisted expression that was obviously relieved by Toyokawa Shoko's perfunctory self-introduction. She looked at the country girl from Uji with interest and announced that the last student should stand up and give a brief self-introduction.

After successfully completing the school's target for today, the teacher casually picked up the chalk, raised his hand and wrote the big word "self-study" on the blackboard.

The high school girls, who had a lot to talk about, soon began to chatter. People of this age are not short of curiosity.

"Ichinose-san, are you okay?" A concerned voice came from behind.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" Sakuya guessed the reason and turned sideways. It hadn't been long since I introduced myself, and I vaguely remembered that the classmate behind me seemed to be named Kanzaki?

The black-haired girl had a simple pigtail and wore a pair of black-framed glasses. "Just now, you and Toyokawa went out. Did something happen?"

As expected, if this matter were to spread, both myself and Toyokawa-san would be in a bad situation.

"Ahaha, it's nothing. It's just that Toyokawa-san was in a hurry to go to the bathroom, and was a little shy, so he dragged me along."

Behind me came the sound of a forehead hitting a book.

I'm sorry, Toyokawa-san, but I really can't think of a good reason. After silently mourning for the image of the blue-haired girl for a second, Sakuya continued to smile awkwardly to deal with the increasingly eager gazes of her classmates.

"So, Ichinose-san knew Toyokawa-san before?" Kanzaki rolled his glasses and spoke faster unconsciously.

"It's a bit of bad fate..."

The teacher's quiet cough interrupted the whisper. Sakuya breathed a sigh of relief and forced himself to look at the unfamiliar math examples and calculation formulas again.

Because she had cried not long ago, her eyes, which were still a little moist, were unconsciously attracted by the blue twin ponytails swaying slightly in front of her.

My thoughts immediately wandered.

What is the relationship between Toyokawa Shoko and her sister?

Whether it's the tone of her voice or her actions, Toyokawa-san looks like a grown-up lady.

A closer look reveals that even the thin black laces on the head are embroidered with delicate patterns. Although the lace attached to it looks a little wrinkled, perhaps it has been used for a long time.

However, Toyokawa-san is indeed a young lady who mistakenly entered a civilian academy!

Ichinose Sakuya just felt that she was possessed by Sherlock Holmes and MacDonald at this moment, it was simply Agatha Christie in the world!

She nodded proudly, and her ponytail shook as well.

Toyokawa-san was so angry just now, he must have thought I was his elder sister.

He also said things like 'our relationship is over' and 'stop bothering me'.

The eldest daughter, emotional disputes, two girls, and transferring schools.

The shattered pieces of information were re-archived in Sakuya's mind.

It was as if she saw a load-bearing wooden door suddenly open before her eyes, and an idea flashed through Sakuya's little head.

In this way, the conclusion is obvious!

Thinking she knew everything, Sakuya cautiously poked Shoko's shoulder with her finger and asked in a gossipy tone like a paparazzi:

"Toyokawa-san, you and my sister are really... ex-girlfriends, right?"

======

Not to mention the previous nonsense, from the beginning, Xiangzi had been hearing "hmm ah ah" sounds coming from behind him, as if a math puzzle had been solved.

Feeling the light poke on his shoulder, Xiangzi, who had not yet figured out how to respond, turned around helplessly and looked at the beautiful face behind him, which was exactly the same as Nagasaki Suyo.

The girl, who seemed to have no idea of ​​privacy distance, came straight to his face. Smelling the fragrance of flowers, Xiangzi heard a thunderous whisper before he could say no:

"Toyokawa-san, you and my sister are really... ex-girlfriends, right?"

That's totally wrong!

Xiangzi, with a face full of black lines, looked at the girl in front of him, whose eyes were still full of red marks, and finally softened his heart and didn't want to blame her harshly.

He simply replied, "No," and wanted to turn around and ignore it.

Sakuya, who received a negative answer, continued to talk to herself:

"Eh? Really? Could it be that my sister is the one who cheated on me and then abandoned me?"

"Ichinose-san's little brain is really full of wild thoughts!"

Toyokawa Shoko, whose facial expression was a little out of control, managed to force a smile and returned to

"Hey, don't praise me."

I don't mean to praise you at all!

With a feeling of despair in his heart, he turned around. When Shoko thought about having to be in the same class with Ichinose Sakuya for another three years, his heart ached.

It feels more tiring than dealing with difficult customers at work.

The sticky scent of the flowers that had just been touched penetrated into her nostrils. She sniffed unconsciously and made up her mind. She had to find a time to talk to her clearly, especially since Ichinose and Nagasaki Motoyo were sisters.

The future is dark (despair).

======

The cafeteria at Yuqiu Academy isn't very big.

Thanks to Japan's unique bento culture, students often gather in groups of three or four during lunch breaks. They find a table, spread out the food they brought from home, and chat while eating.

Even if some food is occasionally left behind, most students would just buy a piece of bread to deal with it.

This meant that Ichinose Sakuya could slowly order a bowl of udon and then pick out two affordable juices from the vending machine.

Looking at the cute blue-haired girl sitting opposite him, who was still keeping her composure, Ichinose Sakuya's slender fingers unconsciously stroked the hair that fell beside her ears.

Toyokawa-san is really easy to deal with.

It seems that he is the type who responds to soft words and not hard ones. If you do something stupid, he will come to help with a helpless look on his face.

Kind of cute.

"What flavor does Toyokawa like? Apple or grape?" Pointing to the boxed drinks placed side by side on the table, Sakuya said with some ease.

"I don't need it. But Ichinose-san, thank you for coming to the cafeteria to talk to me." Shoko responded in a social tone, carefully putting away the subsidized meal card.

"Is that so... I'll have two boxes then." Sakuya opened the disposable bamboo chopsticks and looked at the meatballs floating in the udon noodles. She was touched. "After all, the bento at home is a bit too plain and not very tasty."

Choked again by the playful reply from the girl in front of him, Xiangzi focused his attention on the pork chop rice in front of him.

Although it is covered with thick starch, it is a real pork chop after all. The portion is at least 300g. Add a little soy sauce and you can survive today.

Pork chop rice, so good.

Holding back the saliva that was about to flow out of her mouth, Toyokawa Shoko spoke solemnly to Sakuya who had already started slurping his noodles:

"Ichinose-san, I want to ask you a favor."

"Please don't tell Nagasaki Suyo, or your sister, anything that happened today."

Chapter 6 Am I the only one left behind?

Toyokawa Shoko's serious tone made Sakuya pause as she was about to pick up the meatball.

He put down his chopsticks, sat upright, and looked into Xiangzi's charming golden eyes.

Toyokawa-san doesn't want his sister to know what happened today?

Did she not want to leave a bad impression on her sister? Or...did she not want her sister to know that she was in Yugaoka?

"Well, I won't tell my sister." Sakuya twisted her fingers in her flaxen hair and asked:

"But may I ask why?"

Toyokawa Shoko was silent for a while.

reason?

Don’t want your former companions to see you in such a miserable state?

Guilt for the disbandment of Crychic?

Or is it simply because he is annoyed by Nagasaki Suyo's constant bombardment of information?

neither.

Ever since he was kicked out of the Toyokawa family along with his father, his previous pampered life has become an obstacle to his survival now.

Toyokawa's life ended the day he finished his live performance at Crychic.

In fact, as long as I lower my head and give up my worthless dignity, whether I ask my mother, Mu, or other people I met before... even Nagasaki Suyo, I can get rid of the quagmire of money.

No need to listen to customer complaints for hours every day after school, no need to miss the last bus home for a special lunch box, and no need to face cheap beer cans and asshole fathers filling up the rental house when you get home.

But, I got through it.

They were cheated of their money, suffered from poverty and hunger, and endured exploitation by unscrupulous capital.

No matter how difficult or hard the days were, I managed to get through them.

Now, the only thing that belongs to Xiangzi is his dignity.

Yes, I don't want my remaining dignity to be trampled upon by ignorant people.

After taking a deep breath, Xiangzi said softly:

"It's my own fault."

"Your sister and I used to be friends in a band, but now... I don't want to have anything to do with her anymore."

======

The fingers that Sakuya was stroking her hair had already been placed obediently on her voluptuous thighs when Shoko was silent.

It always feels... so heavy.

Sister, how did you end up offending this woman who seems to be carrying a blood feud?

Although the questions in my mind were piled up like a book of a hundred thousand whys, I looked at Toyokawa Shoko's eyes full of awareness and the firm aura emanating from her body.

Ichinose Sakuya backed off.

After blinking twice, Sakuya turned his attention back to the lunch in front of him.

"Yeah, I understand, Toyokawa-san... But if I help you keep the secret, can you also agree to one condition of mine?"

"Of course, anything is fine as long as I can achieve it." Xiangzi said without hesitation, which was a bit bad for a high school girl.

“Ahaha, no matter what…” Sakuya shifted his eyes away from the meatball that was between the chopsticks in his hand.