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

Toyokawa Shoko held the handle of the rubber hammer with both hands in surprise. Every time the cartoon-style plastic hamsters were hit by Sakuya, they would cooperate by making small cries of surprise. After dubbing the hamsters for a while, I finally understood roughly how to play this game. "Hey, hey, hey," they shouted softly and smashed the hammer randomly. The main thing was to participate.

The three-minute game time passed quickly. The two chose the highest difficulty whack-a-mole challenge. The movements of exploring holes and retracting heads were very fast. Fortunately, one of them had enough physical strength, so even if he made a mistake, he would still have time to swing the hammer again and forcibly pocket the points.

"So you still need to leave your name after playing in the arcade?" It was Shoko Toyokawa's first time visiting such a popular entertainment venue and everything was new to her. After asking, she didn't put down her weapon. Even though poor Mr. Mole had finished his work, she still gently knocked on him twice with a hammer.

"It just shows that we are really good. We made it into the top 100 list of this machine." Ms. Sakuya put her hands on her hips complacently, turned around and gave a look to Sankaku Hatsuka who was watching the two of them, seeking praise.

"Very impressive." Chu Hua put down the lemonade in his hand with some amusement and applauded in a professional manner.

"That's right, unity is strength." Ms. Sakuya raised her head proudly, making the label next to the machine, which read "suitable for children over 6 years old", stand out.

"Are you going to try other projects next?" Sanjiao Chuhua had a standard smile on his face, with a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

"This whack-a-mole game is very interesting. How about playing it a few more times?" Miss Xiangzi is not ambitious and only wants to replicate the same victory.

"There are many more interesting things to do here. How about trying the pirate ship?" Ms. Sakuya suggested while quickly typing the S&S username before the countdown ended.

"But I don't know how to sail a boat..." Xiangzi hesitated.

"Pfft, Chuhua and I don't know how to drive either. Games are only fun if you've never played them before. Chuhua, why don't you come join us?" Sakuya took one of the wrists with his left and right hands and led the two of them towards the exclusive area for racing games.

"As for me..." Miss Chuhua was struggling with whether to break free of Sakuya's hand. If it was just the two of them, or during the band rehearsal of [NyaAki], she would not care too much about such intimate physical contact, but today Xiaoxiang was still watching, if there was a misunderstanding...

The light purple eyes raised slightly, looked at the pure golden pupils of the blue-haired lady, and then closed quickly in surprise.

Maybe it was her illusion, Xiaoxiang's eyes seemed to be focused on the wrist that he and Sakuya were holding.

"Little Chuhua, come along too. Your rare rest plan has been disrupted by me, so you must have fun..." Miss Sakuya took the initiative to let go of Chuhua's right hand in front of the game cabin, while the one on the left hesitated, not knowing what to do.

This doesn't count as holding hands...

"Now that you're here, just relax and enjoy yourself. This is what Chuhua told me not long ago, right?" Toyokawa Shoko looked up at her childhood playmate whom she hadn't seen for a long time, and said encouragingly, while her right hand hung down without moving, lightly touching the girl's healthy and rosy forearm.

She wanted to see the cute expression of someone who was in trouble and didn't know what to do.

"I've been thinking too much." With a bright smile again, Miss Chuhua lifted the curtain thoughtfully and sat on the far right side of the cabin.

Just now, Xiaoxiang looked at me very seriously... Was it because I was clinging to Sakuya?

...

"Let go." Taking advantage of the gap before the game officially started, Ms. Sakuya lowered her head a little embarrassedly and mouthed the words to the little blue-haired hedgehog who had suddenly made trouble.

Xiangzi naturally understood Sakuya's lip language, looked up and looked back, and responded silently. "No."

“We’ll be discovered…” Sakuya muttered in a low voice.

"So what?" Toyokawa Shoko said confidently. If she did something impolite in front of her senior, she might feel shy. But her relationship with Chuhua could be described as childhood sweethearts. Even if she was really misunderstood, she could explain it clearly.

"What's wrong?" Miss Idol's voice came from behind the curtain with a hint of doubt.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'll be there right away." Ms. Sakuya gritted her teeth and simply grabbed the white and tender hand with her backhand, wrapping it with her five fingers to prevent anyone from pulling away.

If she didn’t want to loosen up, then she would just see who between her and Xiangzi would become so shy that he couldn’t raise his head first.

"There's progress." Feeling the warm squeezing sensation coming from the palm of her hand, Toyokawa Shoko sighed softly. Although Sakuya is not good at using her brain, she can often inflict critical strikes on herself with her pure nature.

"Hehe." Sakuya hummed in satisfaction, intending to hold the hand like this until the end of the fun.

"But it's not enough." The tip of her ear turned light pink, and Toyokawa Shoko's free little hand touched the other soft hand of the little village girl, and then they looked into each other's eyes while their hands were pressed together and she was completely lost in thought.

"You can't move now." Xiangzi chuckled.

"You are cheating..." Miss Sakuya, whose hands were controlled, felt aggrieved.

"It's better not to let Chuhua wait anxiously." Toyokawa Shoko took a step and turned around. Appreciating the embarrassed expression, she decided to stop while she was ahead. She let go and gently pushed the person into the game cabin that looked like a car compartment.

The cabin, designed with reference to the back seats of a small car, is not very spacious, but it is more than enough to squeeze in three not-too-tall female high school students.

Chuhua and Xiangzi on both sides are responsible for shooting targets and repelling the enemies, while I am in the middle responsible for controlling the direction, which also has some gaming experience.

The project I chose should be good...

The pixels that lit up on the LCD screen formed a turbulent flow of water and the edge of the wooden boat. The game cabin began to sway slightly back and forth. Suddenly, Miss Sakuya found herself in the middle of a sandwich and had an inexplicably strange feeling of being in a strange situation.

It’s obvious that Xiangzi and Xiao Chuhua’s sides are still quite empty... Is it necessary to put your shoulders so close and squeeze me in the middle?

Chapter 168 Sandwich

Perhaps in order to let Miss Toyokawa, who was experiencing arcade games for the first time, appreciate the fun, the popular idol and the country girl both chose the highly tolerant simple mode that can be easily played by children.

The game cabin began to shake as the plot was introduced. Shoko Toyokawa held the toy turret that served as a shooting point with both hands, exclaimed softly, but quickly closed her mouth feeling a little embarrassed, and focused on familiarizing herself with the operation step by step following the novice tutorial.

“It feels like a train, only smaller and with a screen.”

"For a newcomer who is playing this kind of game for the first time, you are already very good." Sanjiao Chuhua comforted him softly from a distance of one person. His hands kept moving, quickly making up for the enemies that Xiangzi missed, and he also left some that were easy to knock down to help Xiaoxiang build up his confidence.

Ichinose Sakuya manipulated the rudder in the middle, dodging the incoming reefs and cargo ship debris with great grace. She completed a series of QTEs perfectly and looked at the two people who were cheering as they focused their crosshairs and worked together to smash the first BOSS, with a hint of curiosity.

"Did Xiangzi and Xiao Chuhua often play together when they were young? They seemed to have a good understanding of each other."

"Actually, we haven't spent too much time together. In the past, Xiaoxiang would come to my island to escape the heat for about a month in the summer. We have maintained this relationship on and off for many years, so I was surprised to meet by chance today." Sanjiao Chuhua explained in a low voice with a nostalgic look on his face.

"I still remember that Chuhua took me to the woods to catch rhinoceros beetles. It was indeed a very interesting memory." Toyokawa Shoko did not have many relationships left in the past, and her friendship with Chuhua can truly be regarded as rediscovering a lost treasure.

Miss Sakuya, who was sandwiched between the two men, originally wanted to sigh and agree with them, but the sudden appearance of key words in Xiangzi's words made the little village girl, who had an instinctive fear of arthropods, stiffen for a moment.

"Rhinoceros beetles are insects, and they're so big. Although they're better than spiders, they're still scary."

"Most insects in daily life won't bite, so there's no need to be so scared." Sankaku Hatsuhua controlled the character with one hand to open the treasure chest that contained the reward for passing a level. His left hand gently covered Sakuya's little head, which was shivering a little due to fear, and he spoke softly to comfort her.

The gentleness in her light purple eyes is genuine. If the two were alone, she would undoubtedly comfort Sakuya like she is now. Apart from some heavy feelings towards Toyokawa Shoko, she is indeed a sunny and gentle person.

The light blue twin ponytails drew a clear trajectory in the air. The corner of her eye could not allow her to see Xiaoxiang's current expression, but there was no doubt that when she expressed her affection for Sakuya, Xiaoxiang would cast his gaze on her attentively and attentively.

"Fear is fear. It's instinct. It's the fear that has been passed down from our ancestors many, many years ago and is engraved in our DNA!" Ms. Sakuya felt much better after receiving the comfort. She also put the blame on the DNA, which didn't quite understand, and answered with confidence.

"Rhinoceros beetles are quite cute. Even though they have a pair of strong and powerful jaws, they basically only survive on sucking tree sap. Unless you actively put your fingers to the side of their mouths, they usually won't..." Miss Xiangzi said halfway, and suddenly looked at the silly little country girl beside her with a caring look. Based on her understanding of Sakuya, she might have really done something similar.

"Why are you looking at me?" Miss Sakuya turned her head and looked at the pity in Xiangzi's eyes, and asked in confusion.

"You look pretty." Toyokawa Shoko said half-jokingly, but her eyes met Chuhua's gaze quietly through the flaxen hair.

Chuhua, could it be that... you have some feelings for Sakuya?

After thinking for a while, Miss Xiangzi shook her head gently to deny it. It should be just the concern between friends. There are not so many girls in the world who like girls. She is already weird enough...

It was definitely because Sakuya did things that caused people to misunderstand her every day that she ended up like this.

"It's time to move on to the next level. Remember to sit tight." After getting the answer, Sanjiao Chuhua looked at the screen again with a guilty conscience. The group was coming to the edge of a waterfall flowing downstream. As expected, the game cabin would also shake violently.

Xiangzi's love for Sakuya can be said to be undisguised. If things continue to develop normally and cultivate good feelings, can she really catch up with Sakuya's progress? She is willing to wait for Xiangzi for ten or twenty years, but that is under the premise that all preparations have been made and all strategies and means cannot be changed...

Something must have happened to Xiangzi. She didn't want to discuss the band, insisted on paying for herself in the cafe, and transferred to the key girls' school, Yugaoka School, without knowing the reasons for all this.

Up to now, the only intersection between him and Xiangzi was with Ichinose Sakuya, whom he deliberately befriended because he wanted to take advantage of her.

It's ridiculous that I was played by fate...

After thinking for a while, Sanjiao Chuhua moved his seat and leaned towards someone in the middle.

My behavior might make Sakuya feel bad, and it might also affect the good relationship between Xiaoxiang and me, but...

She still didn't want to give up easily.

"The shaking feeling is quite intense." Toyokawa Shoko casually commented on the performance of the game cabin, and moved closer to Sakuya until their shoulders were touching.

"Why are you two... so close to each other?" Miss Sakuya, who was in the middle of the sandwich, felt a little uneasy. Shoko probably had some feelings for her, so she could understand him as being coquettish or doing something naughty, but what was going on with Xiao Chuhua?

"It's a little shaky." Toyokawa Shoko said calmly in a normal tone.

"Me too." Sanjiao Chuhua said in a similar tone, with a hint of smile.

"Are you two heading the same direction?" Ms. Sakuya, who was at the helm, turned her head curiously and looked at the little blue-haired hedgehog on the left, then at the big golden-haired dog on the right.

Both of them had the same normal look on their faces, with serious expressions as they focused on playing.

So this distance where the chest can be touched with just the slightest movement of the hands is actually just the normal social distance between good friends?

"What's wrong?" Miss Chuhua met his gaze and asked with a smile.

"Nothing..." Sakuya responded softly, her voice unconsciously trembling with shyness. Their arms were symmetrically placed on the edge of awkward parts, and they could accidentally touch each other if the car swayed slightly. It still looked strange even with two layers of clothes between them.

"It's just a little hot." Ms. Sakuya explained with a blushing face.

Next time, I will definitely not make the sandwich filling myself!

Chapter 169 What to Eat in the Evening

As the sun sets in the west, the city is bustling with traffic. The orange light of dusk flows on the outer shells of trams and the windows of buildings. Under the glittering sunset, people are walking slowly side by side. The tiles on the sidewalk have clear patterns. A calico cat is lying on the wall and yawning. Its blue vertical eyes are looking down at the girls walking side by side. Nyanya's soft voice makes a lovely greeting.

"Today is a really good day." Sanjiao Chuhua looked at the stray cat with its furry head sticking out from the wall and suddenly spoke, then put on his sunglasses and bowed his head to say goodbye to the two of them. "Then I'll leave first. You had a lot of fun."

"Aren't you going to have dinner together?" Ichinose Sakuya was slightly stunned, and then looked at her phone. It seemed that it was just after six o'clock. "It's dinner time now."

"I have to go to the recording studio in a while to record the special album that will be released next month. If I rush over now, it will be just in time. Staff will also heat up the convenience store lunch for me in advance, so don't worry too much." Miss Chuhua explained to prevent someone from thinking that she didn't eat well again.

"The work of a professional idol is really hard. Let's go out for dinner together after the next rehearsal of [NyaAki]." Miss Sakuya felt a little regretful. Thinking about it carefully, she even forgot to prepare a gift for Xiao Chuhua when she was at the aquarium. She really shouldn't have done that because she was so gentle and kind to her.

"Okay, then I'll look forward to it." Sanjiao Chuhua said with a smile, turned around and winked at Xiaoxiang, as a final farewell before leaving.

"It's still the same as before." Toyokawa Shoko sighed softly as she looked at the light purple eyes that had never changed in front of her. This was how Chuhua said goodbye to her through the car window at the end of her previous summer vacation trip.

On the morning of their separation, they still retained the same innocence, but when they met again, they were unable to open their hearts and talk for a whole night.

"Xiaoxiang has never changed in my eyes." Sanjiao Chuhua said the sincere words in a cheerful tone, turned around and left, walking quickly towards the subway entrance.

"Even though Chuhua is just a high school student and the same age as me, it seems like she has had such a hard time." Miss Sakuya sighed in a low voice as she looked at the figure that was gradually disappearing.

"Chuhua has determination and perseverance. She can devote her precious youth to her career without hesitation. The continuous accumulation day after day is really a remarkable thing." Toyokawa Shoko nodded in praise. "She must have found a goal to work hard for her whole life. She is much better than me."

"Eh? It's rare to see Xiangzi praising someone. Is this the freedom that childhood sweethearts can have?" Sakuya teased and took two steps back to avoid a possible attack from the little hedgehog.

"I obviously praise Sakuya often too." Miss Xiangzi rolled her beautiful eyes and said helplessly.

"Have you praised me today?" Sakuya scratched his head.

"Yes." Xiangzi said confidently, taking graceful steps and walking towards the shopping street.

"I don't remember, so Xiangzi, please praise me again." Miss Sakuya jumped and followed, saying coquettishly.

"Allow me to refuse." Xiangzi replied quickly. It was not easy for the conscienceless little country girl who had not come back to school to see him for a week to praise him.

"I feel that I still have many advantages, such as good health, early to bed and early to rise, practicing bass every day, and even the amount of vegetables I eat is in line with the dietary standards." Miss Sakuya reluctantly stretched out her hand to count the aspects that she thought were great, and walked side by side to Xiangzi.

Toyokawa Shoko listened to the elementary school students bragging about themselves, and smiled unconsciously, saying softly, "Is there anything missing?"

"For example, he keeps his promises, has an empty head, is a playboy, and when he doesn't know what to do, he will turn to the person he trusts for help?"

"Apart from keeping promises, nothing else exists!" Miss Sakuya protested angrily, taking Shoko's slender arm.

"Indeed, he just made a frivolous promise to Chuhua that they would have dinner together next time, and now he is clearly planning to have dinner with another girl." Miss Xiangzi spoke in a normal tone, but her words were full of power. Just these two sentences were enough to make someone sweat on his forehead.

"What would you like to eat tonight, Xiangzi?" Miss Sakuya let go of his hand guiltily, looked at the blue-eyed cat still following her on the roadside fence, and changed the subject.

"Anything is fine, I'm not a picky eater." Xiangzi replied. Chuhua's appearance did bring him a sense of urgency, but not too much, there was still a lot of time, and she was very close.

The train tracks were lowered and the safety bells kept ringing.

Boys and girls of the same age, carrying backpacks for musical instruments and holding drumsticks and sheet music, discussed the latest singles on the Billboard Hot List. Employees who were off work loosened their neat ties tied to their collars and considered whether to go to the common roadside stalls for dinner. There were also housewives carrying vegetable baskets and wearing yellow hats, laughing and discussing tonight's menu with their babies who had just entered kindergarten.

The two of them also blended into the evening crowd, helplessly staying close to each other.

Red light flashing.

The green tram rumbled past, shattering the soft light and shadow of the sunset, and bravely moving forward with the gusts of wind. The hair was briefly intertwined for a moment, and then it was not noticeably blended into the real and clear shadow of the evening.

The green light comes on.

They followed the flow of people across the crossing, meeting and passing by people across the street. The atmosphere at this moment was peaceful and lively. Neon street lights took over the morning light, burning silently and slowly merged into an out-of-focus ocean of light.

Ichinose Sakuya and Toyokawa Shoko were about two steps apart from each other. They were not as intimate as they usually were when they walked on the street, but their hearts were very close.

"How about a hamburger?" the flaxen-haired girl suddenly suggested.

"I don't really like fast food." Shoko Toyokawa shook her head.

"Then what do you want to eat?" Ms. Sakuya asked again.

"This kind of thing should be decided by the employer, right?" Xiangzi chuckled, and as expected, he saw someone's resentful expression.

Sakuya stared at Xiangzi who was deliberately teasing her for a few seconds, then took two steps forward, held her hand, and spoke in a tone that could not be refused. "Come with me."

Toyokawa Shoko was a little surprised. The sudden stiffness of the little village girl in front of her made her feel safe and secure in leaving everything to her. If she hadn't seen her red earlobes through her hair, she might have been frightened by her nonchalant attitude.