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

The heavy breath hitting her chest, the girl's whispering and the tingling sensation suddenly came, and Miss Sakuya, who had half woken up, quickly separated herself from herself half a minute ago. She slightly distanced herself and asked the girl in her arms dryly, "Are you awake?"

Wakaba Mutsu's condition was not much better than that of Miss Sakuya who had just woken up. He just shook his head left and right, and was once again attracted by the unknown gravity and fell into two well-developed breasts.

"Get up quickly when you're awake, sister." Nagasaki Suyo, who was watching coldly, organized her words for a long time, and in the end she could only pinch the pink-haired girl's palm and said with gritted teeth.

"It hurts." Chihaya Aine, who was shot for no reason, spoke innocently and pitifully, but when she met Su Shi's cold gray-blue eyes, she immediately surrendered and obediently acted as a silent punching bag.

Miss Sakuya, who vaguely heard the voices of her sister and Xiao Aiyin, turned around in confusion and looked at the two familiar people opposite her. She first scratched her head and sorted out the situation, then turned around again, closed her eyes, and opened her legs to clamp Xiao Mu a little tighter.

My elder sister and Aine are leaning on a bed, holding hands. It seems like a dream. But it is so comfortable to hug little Xiaomu. He is cool and soft. It would be even better if he had a little more flesh.

The room fell eerily quiet. Her sister's angry threats echoed in her ears. The pillow in her arms seemed to be getting hotter and hotter. It wasn't until Aine-chan gently poked her shoulder that the satisfaction in Sakuya-san's eyes gradually turned into fear. She gradually understood the current situation.

Now it seems, maybe, probably, there is a certain possibility that I am not dreaming.

Miss Sakuya turned her head again and met her sister's familiar dark face. Her Rakshasa face was fully revealed without any concealment. She was so angry that she wanted to press her down on the sofa and spank her.

"......Su Shi." Wakaba Mu, who had just woken up and was locked by Sakuya, felt a little uncomfortable. He gently pushed the softness in front of him with his small hands, barely propped up his head and spoke. "I can't breathe."

The slightly chaotic scene ended quickly, except that Sakuya let go and sat obediently on the bed. Wakaba Mutsu, who was only wearing a shirt with the first two buttons undone, was still lying behind the girl reluctantly, perhaps reminiscing about the past or not fully awake yet, so he closed his eyes to catch up on his sleep.

"My dear elder sister, you seem to be quite relaxed today. You even have the mood to sleep with Xiaomu in his clothes. As your younger sister, I have suffered a lot and ran 1600 meters for you." Miss Su Shi fumbled with the index and middle fingers of her right hand and spoke slowly, just like an executioner sharpening his knife before executing a criminal while assuring the criminal that he would be more efficient.

"Didn't the physical education teacher say that it's... okay?" After worrying about her sister's physical condition for a few seconds, Miss Sakuya shrank back inwardly. She also thought that the unlucky person who ran on the field for her was most likely her own sister who looked exactly like her.

Ruoye Mu, who was lying on the girl's back, also moved along with the shaking. His two small hands actively wrapped around her for support, but he was still sleeping in a daze.

"And Xiaomu, now that she's awake, it's time to let go, right?" Nagasaki Motoyo looked at the light green fluffy ball on Sakuya's shoulder, pursed her lips slightly, and reminded her unhappily.

"..." Ruoye Mu quietly opened half of her light golden eyes, met Su Shi's eyes, and then closed them tightly again, hiding her head behind Sakuya. She felt that she had not woken up yet, and she needed to hug her for a while longer.

"It's okay, it's my fault. I accidentally fell asleep with Xiaomu. But we just slept together, that's all." Miss Sakuya covered her cheek, turned her eyes away, and explained to her sister in an unconvincing manner.

"Sister and Xiaomu's relationship isn't good enough for them to sleep together or hug each other, right?" Su Shi was depressed, but she really didn't have the energy to argue at this moment, so she could only give a gentle reminder.

"..." Miss Sakuya stopped talking and pulled the hair on her head bit by bit with her thumb and index finger. Instead, Wakaba Mutsuhan who was behind her poked his head out from under her shoulder.

"...Su Shi said that she is very happy with me." Miss Mu looked into the gray-blue eyes opposite her with the half of her head sticking out, and said confidently.

"I...my sister didn't say that, did she?" Su Shi frowned, feeling that the development of the situation was slightly beyond her expectations. Xiao Mu and her silly sister should just be friends who like each other. Could it be that Sakuya said something misleading again?

"...Su Shi said that before." Wakaba Mutsuhiro put his ear close to Sakuya's ear, which was always being bullied recently, and continued to whisper in a firm tone.

"Oh! Ah... yes, I did say that." Ms. Sakuya placed her hands on her knees, blushed, lowered her head and looked at the fair little hands around her and her not-so-tidy scarf and skirt. She felt that she could no longer treat Xiaomu like a child and easily make him happy.

"Being happy is not a reason to stay close together." Su Shi held her forehead helplessly. It was indeed Sakuya's fault. Seeing the two of them close together really annoyed her, but when she thought about it carefully, they were just sleeping with their clothes on. The main reason was that these two idiots had no common sense at all. It seemed necessary to educate them on the sense of distance between girls.

"...Isn't it possible?" Ruo Yemu blinked in sudden realization, and his little hand loosened reluctantly for a moment, then hugged tighter again.

"It's probably okay to do it once or twice between friends..." Ms. Sakuya said uncertainly, then turned her head and added in a low voice, "But it's better not to do it in front of everyone, it will cause misunderstandings."

"I'm still here!" Su Shi was furious and immediately turned into a stupid mother who was worried about her adolescent daughter. With a blushing face, she taught the two people basic common sense.

The noise gradually faded away, and Chihaya Aine, who was also a listener, curled her lips in disapproval. It was obvious that Suyo-san herself did not follow what she said at all.

Chapter 219: So What If We Are Friends?

Hachiman Kairin found Ichinose Sakuya at the McDonald's in Ikebukuro.

The student holiday called sports day was still going on. Just after noon, RiNG was crowded with people. The pink-haired waitress had been frying French fries all morning and smelled of potatoes and salt. She was now cleaning and getting ready to change clothes to attend the recording activity in the afternoon.

Everywhere there were hurried office workers wearing work badges and ties, and band girls carrying gig bags discussing music. Groups of stray cats squatted outside the restaurant like robbers, collecting tolls and selling their charming bellies in exchange for food from the girls.

Hai Ling originally thought that most of the country girls would be part of them, for example, she missed the gathering time because of a meowing competition with cats, and found out when she arrived at the rehearsal location that she didn't bring any connecting cables or something.

But when she took a closer look, she saw that Miss Sakuya had a sad face, her hair was disheveled, and her posture was very classic, similar to August the Thinker. If the exercise book spread out next to her had not been the one she had done recently, Hailing would have thought that Sakuya was thinking about some eternal problem like the four-color conjecture.

He is a model student who has not finished his homework at all and makes use of every spare moment to fill in the gaps.

Miss Sakuya, who was struggling with the study notes left by Yu Xiangzi, looked up at the professional band member dressed in black, and pushed the half-opened French fries on the table to ask her if she wanted to eat.

"This is really rare. Sakuya, who is smart and always cram before exams, actually took the initiative to study." Hachiman Kailing accepted everything offered, picked up a lukewarm French fry and ate it in two bites, then said playfully in a praising tone.

"I can't help it." The smart and wise Ms. Sakuya pulled her hair, making her slightly frizzy hairstyle look more avant-garde. "I spent the whole morning tutoring and found that the knowledge points I missed are almost covering the whole table. There is also a band live before the final exam. If I don't study hard now, people will definitely nag me for the whole summer."

"Oh." Hailing understood, pulled out the armchair that was pushed into the center of the table, sat opposite Sakuya, and asked curiously, "You're still willing to accompany me as a support musician even though you haven't finished reviewing?"

"I had vegetable minestrone soup again this morning, and on the way to school I saw a poor cat selling its body to satisfy high school girls. It reminded me of my recent experiences, and I suddenly wanted to find someone to play with. There was a McDonald's halfway on the way, so I came here just in time to organize my thoughts and replenish my nutrition." Ms. Sakuya was unusually embarrassed, and explained with a wandering look in her eyes.

"That's quite a coincidence." Hai Ling smiled noncommittally, and without further ado, she asked directly, "Are you worried about anything recently?"

"Although it is true, how did Hailing know about it?" Miss Sakuya took a sip of Coke and looked at Hailing with a questioning look.

"No normal person would imagine themselves as a cat being rubbed by others." Hachiman Kailing complained calmly.

"Okay, that's a bit stupid." Sakuya took a rare moment to reflect on himself. He put away the exercises and the notes that Xiangzi had given him, and finished the few remaining French fries.

"So, what's the matter?" Hai Ling also stood up, picked up the light blue bass bag naturally, looked at the cute cat wiping its mouth and asked.

"Hai Ling, answer me a question first." Miss Sakuya, who had suffered losses twice, learned her lesson this time and decided to define the relationship first.

"Hmm." Hachiman Kailing raised her eyebrows slightly, which was considered as agreement.

The pedestrian street was quite busy, and the sunlight was a little dazzling. The two of them walked side by side on the way to RiNG as usual, but this time Ichinose Sakuya kept a slight distance.

"Is Hailing's liking for me the kind between friends, or..." After thinking for a long time, Ms. Sakuya chose to express her true feelings to Hailing. After all, she was such a straightforward minimalist.

"The latter." Hachiman Kailing replied without any thought.

"I haven't told you what it is yet?" Sakuya was stunned for a moment, pursing her lips as she met the light green eyes.

"I like you, the kind of person you like a lover." Miss Hailing confessed without any preparation, just like chatting. "You act cute, work hard, and are very charming. There is no reason not to like you, right?"

"Oh, thank you... No!" Miss Sakuya reacted in time and retreated like a cat, moving two steps away from Hailing. "How can you confess to a girl in the street without considering the atmosphere?"

"Sakuya asked me that." Hailing rested her chin on her hand innocently, as if thinking about something. "So it's a question about love?"

"That's not the point..." Sakuya was speechless. He wanted to escape but glanced at GB-4 who had been taken hostage by someone. He could only reluctantly follow the girl about one or two meters away.

"Don't mind the confession, just reject it directly." Looking at the little village girl's suddenly distant behavior and distance, Hachiman Kailing slowed down her pace and spoke in a flat tone with no ups and downs.

"But this means we can't even be friends anymore, right?" Sakuya was bewildered, not understanding why the black-haired girl in front of him could say such a thing with such a nonchalant tone.

"We are still friends now, aren't we?" Hai Ling smiled and stuck close to the girl nonchalantly.

"Does Hailing still like me? The kind of lover..." Miss Sakuya put her index fingers together, half raised her head, and asked in a coy voice.

"Of course." Hachiman Kailing paused, then continued. "No matter what the feelings between us are, at least now, you are walking with me on the way to the recording studio. We will play music as we like, wait for the milk jelly to fall from the vending machine, and then go to the family restaurant together to eat the children's meal you have always wanted to try."

"And the days like this will continue to repeat themselves, and I will express my feelings directly if I can accept them, and simply reject confessions that I don't want to accept. I won't feel frustrated or stop liking Sakuya because of this. Liking someone is a very subjective thing, and as long as Sakuya is willing, I can stay by your side as a friend until you are willing to acknowledge me."

Her emerald eyes were filled with pure determination and appreciation. Hachiman Kailing maintained her signature calm tone and finished the long confession in a declarative tone. She did not need the girl's reply, or ask for any promises or guarantees. The most effective and direct way to pursue her was to remain sincere, respect her wishes, accompany her silently, and give her some insignificant little surprises.

Ichinose Sakuya will eventually fall in love with her, Hachiman Kailing thought confidently.

Chapter 220: Miss Cat Selling Her Appearance

"Let's keep going?"

A gust of wind blew, and the heavy clouds slowly drifted away, and the sunlight scattered down. Hachiman Kailing raised his arms, which were originally crossed over his chest, and with one hand resting on his chin, he stared at the girl with a smile on his face.

The May wind came suddenly and fiercely, the emerald green leaves of the sycamore tree turned over one by one, and the mottled light and shadows cast on the equally perfect face of the black-haired beauty. Ichinose Sakuya realized belatedly that such sharp beauty and personality were hidden under the intimate relationship, and her domineering attitude was accompanied by indispensable politeness, which made people nervous but it was really hard to hate her.

Reaching out to smooth her bangs that were messed up by the wind, Ms. Sakuya took a long time to calm herself down, and continued to walk towards RiNG with Hailing two or three steps away.

"Hailing is so unreasonable." Sakuya muttered quietly, the lingering emotion on his face still there, but he felt a rare sense of security. He didn't have to think too much and could walk side by side with everyone casually like when he first met them.

"I'm obviously very reasonable." Hailing shrugged and walked slowly. When they reached the corner, she switched positions with Sakuya, blocking out the honking of cars before asking with a tone of 80% certainty. "Is Sakuya dating another girl?"

"Why did you assume she was a girl first..." Shocked by Kailing's nonchalant attitude and straightforward confession, Miss Sakuya no longer had the energy to complain and let Kailing close the distance again.

"Guessed it." Hai Ling smiled and moved closer to make it easier to hold hands.

"That's true..." Sakuya looked away and continued awkwardly, "So I'm sorry, I still just want to be friends with Hailing."

"What a pity! It seems I'm a step late." Hachiman Kailing accepted her friend's positioning quite calmly. She raised her hand and rubbed the girl's head which drooped in insecurity. She then combed the frizzy hair bit by bit. When her fingers touched the black cat hair accessory behind her neck, she smiled and withdrew her hand.

"Don't you want to ask who it is?" Miss Sakuya, who had actively rejected Hai Ling, felt embarrassed. It was really embarrassing for her to be given a nice guy card and still need others to comfort her.

"Because I don't care." Holding hands and avoiding the junior high school students riding bicycles on the sidewalk, Hailing-san turned her head and winked at the village girl. "Of course, if Sakuya wants to talk, it's fine."

"Cunning." Miss Sakuya, who had never won the staring game against Hai Ling, sneered and turned her head away, shyly pulling her hand. "Is this what friends should do?"

"Thank you for the compliment." Hai Ling flipped her wrist slightly, held the other hand that was playing the bass and lifted it up, rubbing the red palms with a little callus one by one. "My fingers are very stiff, I can't play the bass well like this."

"You...you..." Miss Sakuya's face flushed red. She stuttered for a long time and couldn't think of a suitable and non-offensive word. After a long time, she said angrily. "You have no sense of shame."

"This is just my concern for my friend and the simple teaching of Beth." Hailing said this without changing her expression, and loosened her gently clenched palm, looking into her gray-blue eyes and speaking word by word. "Or do you think that holding hands has exceeded the boundaries of friendship? If you don't want to, you can pull your hand away at any time."

"It's just holding hands. Who are you looking down on? It's not like we haven't held hands before." Miss Sakuya, feeling inexplicably ashamed and angry, maintained a deft look and glared at the shameless black-haired girl before she angrily held the girl's hand, quickly turned her head, and took the initiative to walk in front.

"Sakuya, you're very shy." Looking at the cute pink earlobes, Miss Hailing stated the reality in a calm tone.

"I'm just the type of person who can be easily controlled. Is that okay?" Sakuya said confidently without even turning her head.

"Now that you have a girlfriend, you should be more careful." Miss Hailing gave advice earnestly.

"How can someone who was just flirting with someone else's girlfriend have the right to say this?" Sakuya let go, turned smoothly, lightly tapped Hailing, and then stood side by side at the intersection waiting for the somewhat long red light.

"That makes sense." Miss Hailing learned her lesson and did not intend to correct it. Her eyes naturally fell on the black cat hair accessories with white gloves. "Today's hair accessories are very cute."

"What an old-fashioned way of picking up girls. I won't be fooled." Sakuya had already become extremely suspicious of the 'friends' around her. Although she believed that Hailing would never do anything too intimate without her consent, this ambiguous interaction made her feel a little overwhelmed.

Before it was explicitly stated, it could be explained as normal behavior between friends. But now that Kailing has taken the initiative to cut off the fig leaf, Miss Sakuya feels that Hachiman Kailing is the kind of super carnivorous person that she can't deal with.

"But you are wearing the hair tie I gave you today." Hai Ling explained, suddenly moving closer and attacking the girl's slightly trembling ears. "I'm so happy."

Even though she had put up a wall of kindness and made 100% preparations in advance, the poor country girl was still thrown into chaos by this unreasonable surprise attack. Her palms, which had been on the defensive, naturally opened up, allowing someone to take advantage of the opportunity, and this time their fingers were intertwined.

"It really fits." Hai Ling smiled softly, holding the girl beside her who had not yet recovered from her shock and walked towards the zebra crossing where the street light turned green. "Your fingers are finally relaxed, and now you can play more easily."

“...Let go.” Ms. Sakuya’s face was as red as the sunset at five or six o’clock. She suppressed the shy feeling that almost made her faint and whispered in an inaudible voice.

"Yes, sir." Hai Ling obediently released her bound hands without any greed. She always respected Sakuya's wishes.

Pushing Hailing away with a bit of disgust, Miss Sakuya covered her cheek and lay on the bench in the RiNG hall for a long time before she gradually calmed down. She and Hailing were just friends, and their contact was not overly close, but her heart just couldn't stop beating.

After taking the milk jelly off her head, Ms. Sakuya looked back at Hachiman Kailing who had returned with a bit of disappointment, and tried to put on a straight face and said seriously, "Kailing-san, I'm already someone else's girlfriend, you can't tease a girl like this."

"Holding hands between friends shouldn't be considered too extreme, right?" Hai Ling asked slowly while sipping on her orange-flavored milk jelly. "Or, Sakuya, are you attracted to me?"

"I... didn't!" Ms. Sakuya said firmly with her eyes closed.

"Besides, even if I don't do it, someone else will take action against Sakuya." Miss Hailing admired the increasingly lovely girl, moved Bess away, sat down close to her, and whispered.

"Is that right? Miss Cat who sells her looks."

Chapter 221 Practice

The unknown drummer from the Lyric band was shivering in the corner.

As one of Starry's resident band members, she believes that her drumming skills are probably worth the 20,000 yen per night shift fee, but at this moment her head is drooping as if it is about to pierce the snare drum in front of her, and her expression switches to a lifeless and immersed rock mode, making her a typical office worker who works overtime.

In fact, with Yawata Kailing's rich experience as a senior mercenary, he could see the drummer's difficulties. However, it seemed that a certain country girl was really angry, and the kind that was difficult to appease.

The music rehearsed today was not complex, and the bass did not require two basses to play together, but Ichinose Sakuya could not resist his improvisation, and took the initiative to find Hailing to initiate a rhythm confrontation, starting with a high-pitched attack, followed by melody, chords and rhythm.

Hachiman Kailin was able to defend herself with the wide range of her six-string bass, but the drummer, who was sandwiched between the two bassists, was in a miserable state. She was forced to control the two bassists for two or three songs before she was finally freed. She looked at the quarreling couple with resentful eyes. If they wanted to fight, they could just open a recording studio...

"Satisfied?" Miss Hailing held the bass steady, without showing any emotion on her face, but her fingers were already starting to feel sore, and she almost couldn't keep up with the continuous and long slaps before.

"Hmm..." Miss Sakuya, who had been leading the rhythm and soloing throughout the whole performance, now had no strength left. She sat on the floor in a very ungraceful manner, half leaning against the floor-length mirror, turning her head away from Hailing's gaze. "It was fun playing bass together, but I haven't forgiven you yet."

"Oh, it seems to be my fault." Hai Ling was helpless, half squatting down and tentatively straightening the girl's hair. It seems that the teasing today was indeed a bit too much, although the puffy country girl like a little pufferfish also has a different flavor.

"I see you have no intention of changing for the better." Ms. Sakuya slapped her hands away in dissatisfaction, still pouting and accusing angrily.

"Because I like you from the bottom of my heart, right?" Hai Ling calmly withdrew her hand, tilted her head and said thoughtfully.

"Then don't like me anymore." Sakuya sighed and tried to get up, but his arms had no strength. After hesitating for a moment, he put his hand into the hand that Hailing extended.

"It's a little unfair to me." Hai Ling pulled the girl to stand up together, frowning slightly in embarrassment, and when she saw the entanglement on the girl's face, she added lightly, "As compensation, do you want to go to the cafe for a drink together?"

"If I agree, will Hailing really stop liking me?" Miss Sakuya thought about it seriously and asked.

"That's fake. I just wanted to buy you coffee." Hai Ling took two steps back, dodged someone's small fist, and said with a chuckle.

After some frolicking, Hailing, who was hit two or three times by her weak little fists, pulled Sakuya away in a very elegant posture, leaving the heartbroken drummer and the guitarist who had passed away to comfort each other. Of course, the money was not included in the support.

Before she knew it, it was four o'clock in the afternoon. It was too early to eat, and she was too tired to continue performing. In the end, Ms. Sakuya made another phone call and accompanied the unreliable bass mercenary back to the cafe on the second floor to sit down.

She really wanted to have a good talk with Hai Ling, not only about their relationship, but also about Chu Hua and Mu, whom she couldn't bear to reject...