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

Chapter 233: Caught

Preaching is always ranked third on the list of things students hate, and it is usually impossible for them to accept long lectures from teachers and parents with gratitude.

However, after hearing the earnest complaints from her peers that the game was more meaningful than educational, even the outgoing Sakuya Ichinose had to admit that it was wrong to lie on the sofa and slack off.

"How long are you going to be lazy? You said you came to accompany me to compose music, but you have been lying down since you entered the room?" Shiina Riki, who borrowed the composing room, frowned slightly. Although she knew it was wrong, as a hard-working person who was strict with herself and others, Ms. Riki still asked out loud with dissatisfaction.

"I was...caught on the sofa." After putting down the light blue mobile phone with a small shark shell, Ms. Sakuya turned around, hugged the pillow tightly and pretended to struggle.

Ms. Sakuya had only intended to send [Customer Service S] an invitation for tomorrow, but ended up chatting for another ten minutes without realizing it. It was all because the little blue hedgehog was too charming that she was caught off guard and fell into the gentle trap of the sofa bed. Now, even if she wanted to get up immediately, she would have to pass three consecutive will tests.

"Really, if you have nothing to do, just go down and practice with everyone. You're not much help here." Shiina Riki looked helplessly at the flaxen-haired girl who was slumped on the sofa like a salted fish. She looked the same as Su Shi, but their behavior patterns were so different.

“Here I come.” Sakuya-san stood up with difficulty, stretched out her toes wrapped in Tsuki no Mori stockings, fumbled to put on her brown leather shoes, and sighed with some fear. “The sofa is actually scary.”

"It's obviously Sakuya's own fault." Li Xi muttered, and opened Logic skillfully, intending to save and close the song file left by the previous customer first. He moved the mouse to the right, but it paused. From the remaining score, the composition method was very familiar, but after a closer look, he was sure that it was a song he had never heard before.

"I don't want to lie down either..." Sakuya hopped to the computer desk with her hands behind her back, spread out her homework, and skillfully passed the blame to the sofa-sitter who wouldn't argue. "...The sofa started it first."

Li Xi squinted, and the slight displeasure quickly turned into a look of pity as if looking at a child. Although it doesn't look very smart, I have to admit that the way Sakuya said this is really cute...

"Sakuya, can you compose music?" Lixi said as she turned the display screen. The blue and green audio tracks were intertwined. She only took a quick glance and knew that the protagonists of this song were definitely the bass and keyboard.

"To be honest, I did make a big contribution to the completion of this song." Ms. Sakuya suddenly became proud, puffed out her chest and raised her head, and twirled the pen. Although she failed, her powerful momentum really made Ms. Lixi believe it for a moment.

"Can you use Logic?" Ms. Lich asked.

"No." Sakuya shook her head. She only learned the final output from Xiangzi, as well as the six-line score and the arrangement, which she couldn't understand.

"Then you provided the original sound?" Li Xi asked again, frowning slightly.

“I should be...responsible for providing emotional value?” Ms. Sakuya said, pulling her hair.

It was only at this moment that Miss Gong realized that her girlfriend might be a little too eager. Since they started dating, every time they were alone in a room, she would tease him for a while before she would stop and let him concentrate on dealing with other things.

It can't be my fault for provoking him, right?

"I can't stand you..." Riki shook his head. He felt that Sakuya was more outgoing than usual. He used to be more reserved, but now that they were alone, he seemed to be liberated. "Next time you compose music on a public computer, remember to delete the history, otherwise it might be stolen by others."

"Thank you. Even if we were seen, it shouldn't be a big deal, right?" Ms. Sakuya nodded, agreed, and continued to fight with the question which she could not quite understand.

After taking another look at the drummer's track that seemed familiar yet different, Miss Lixi clicked the mouse and closed the "Whisper of Love" with a sigh. She didn't ask who composed the music. The most important thing now was to complete Deng's new song.

Create a new project and enter the song title. Shiina Tachibana plans to start with the drum beats he is most familiar with.

She didn't wear headphones because the people around her were so quiet that it was a little strange. They seemed to be used to it. They tried their best not to make any noise and just quietly dealt with their school work bit by bit.

"So... why does Sakuya want to sit next to me to do homework?" After choosing the music track, Shiina Riki couldn't help but ask. Having such a big brown-haired dog next to her still made Miss Riki, who always squatted on the computer chair to compose music, feel a little uncomfortable.

"Are you used to it?" Ms. Sakuya turned her wrist and changed the position of her fingers. She rested the pen cap on her chin and said intently. "Usually... when my friends are composing music, I will sit in this little corner, do my homework or chat with my junior high school classmates on Line. Apart from the bass, I only know a little about the drums, and I can't give too much advice, but at least I can make others who are working hard feel that someone is with them."

Shiina Riki pursed her lips, said no more, and silently opened the sound library. She was a little envious of Sakuya's friend.

"I'm sorry, as expected, Li Xi is the type who prefers to be alone." The black pen slid, writing the final answer to the question, and Ms. Sakuya took off the pen cap and clicked it shut, closing the half-finished math homework with a bit of embarrassment. "Then I'll go down first, and call Li Xi when it's time for dinner?"

Shiina Riki hit the spacebar very hard, his face still focused on the screen, but his words softened uncharacteristically, and he spoke in a tone that was not his own. "I quite like the feeling of having someone by my side..."

Miss Sakuya was still reacting, blinking her eyes and looking curiously at the black-haired beauty who had suddenly softened.

"...Don't get me wrong, I just think that with someone supervising, it can be completed faster." Miss Lixi tilted her head when she was stared at, a few blushes quietly crept up on her cheeks, and she hurriedly explained.

Miss Sakuya sat back down but still didn't speak. She just covered her mouth and looked at Miss Lixi with amusement, who had taken the initiative to move her seat further away. But she hadn't said anything yet.

"Why are you looking at me? Sakuya, don't you still have homework to finish?" Ms. Lixi finally glared back, overwhelmed. If she hadn't heard something she shouldn't have heard in the cafe before, would she have been so cautious?

"It's nothing, I just suddenly found that Li Xi is quite cute." Ms. Sakuya said with a smile and turned around to continue the second round of battle with the remaining homework.

She just suddenly understood why Hai Ling sometimes said Li Xi was cute.

Chapter 234 I Like Tofu

The composing studio that RiNG rents out is the same as the recording studio, where eating and drinking are not allowed.

Although a certain innocent mascot lady would occasionally secretly carry some small snacks such as biscuits and candies, Ms. Lixi, who was a RiNG worker, was obviously a good employee who abided by the customer code. She simply refused to feed them, only drank some bottled water and continued to work for another three or four hours. Only when Ms. Sakuya came back after finishing her meal did she reluctantly look away from the LCD screen for a short while.

"Everyone brought food for Li Xi. It's almost time to rest today. Even if we are in a hurry, it is impossible to finish the song in one day." Ichinose Sakuya walked around behind the black-haired lady who was concentrating on composing music, put his hands under her armpits, and pulled someone up like pulling a carrot.

"How do you know you can't do it if you don't try?" Miss Lixi tried to shrink in the chair, her hands struggling against the gentle force coming from behind, and she struggled to hit the next drum beat.

"It's not right to starve yourself even if you can, and it's almost time for RiNG to get off work. Li Xi has to go home at night, right?" Miss Sakuya pulled it again, only to find that this Li Xi brand white radish was indeed very stubborn. She reluctantly withdrew her two small hands and placed them on the other's shoulders, squeezing them lightly from time to time.

"I'm not hungry." Li Xi said firmly without turning her head. Perhaps it was because of the new composing environment, today's progress was much better than she expected. If she maintained this speed and stayed up for two consecutive nights, she would probably be able to come up with a preliminary version that was enough for everyone to practice before next Monday.

"I heard your stomach growling." Sakuya used a little strength, stood on tiptoes, and used gravity to attack the drummer's deltoid muscle.

"Um..." Miss Lixi was indeed interrupted this time, and cried out in pain, saving the audio track unhappily. She still had no way to deal with the lively girl who kept pestering her. "If I say hello to Manager Rin Rinko, I should still be able to stay overnight at RiNG."

"That's too lonely. It's just like a college student who has no time to finish homework and has to stay up late at school." Ms. Sakuya complained as she stepped back to give the other person space to get up. "Besides, my parents will be worried too."

"They never disciplined me." With a bit of anger, Shiina Riki pressed the shutdown button on the computer and said simply. She didn't understand why she said this to Sakuya. Maybe she just kept it to herself for too long and there was no friend around to talk to. "They don't care about my grades or my thoughts. In their eyes, I'm just a gift from their sister."

Ms. Sakuya hesitated for a second before finally saying with certainty, "Even though Li Xi's parents are very busy with work, they definitely love her. In fact, it's good enough to have the opportunity and conditions to communicate with each other. Li Xi can also try to talk more with her parents..."

Shiina Riki glanced at the girl who showed concern for him without knowing anything, and wanted to retort before realizing how much he had said. Sakuya and Suyo don't even have the same last name...

"Sorry, I may be a little nosy... Come to think of it, I don't know what Lixi likes to eat. The packed food might not be to her taste." The atmosphere was silent for a while. Miss Sakuya scratched her head, adjusted her mood familiarly, and asked again with a smile.

"I am the one who should say sorry..." Shiina Riki is a straightforward and caring person, so he naturally would not accept other people's active retreat with peace of mind. He said this in a not very confident manner and then tightened the shoulder straps of his backpack with hesitation, looking like a big dog who realized that he had caused trouble and didn't know how to make up for it.

"Riki is indeed very cute," Ms. Sakuya said suddenly, and now she was laughing sincerely.

"Don't make fun of me." Riki complained, still standing beside the girl with uncertainty, and asked carefully. "When Sakuya is talked about this topic, doesn't she feel offended...or something?"

"You're still a little sad, right?" Ms. Sakuya said with a normal expression, tilting her head slightly. "But I'm usually very happy, and Riki's expression just now was very cute, so please don't take it to heart."

"...I remember that you, Sakuya, are not like this." Li Xi was speechless and could only condemn in a low voice in the end.

"Maybe it was Hailing who got it?" Ms. Sakuya chuckled and pushed the self-blaming Shiina Riki from behind, closed the door and handed the room card to her. "I asked Ms. Rinrinko to get an extra room card. I was delayed in tomorrow's rehearsal, so I can only ask Riki to work hard on her own."

"Well, I shouldn't have asked Sakuya to accompany me." Shiina Riki took a moment to react and remembered the request from the person sitting behind him. His eyes wandered and he asked casually. "By the way, has Sakuya encountered any troubles recently?"

"No, I'm happy every day." Miss Sakuya hopped her legs apart, then put them together again, and walked through the corridor in a hopscotch pace. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because someone offered me a box of panda milk jelly and told me that Sakuya wanted a simple friend, so she hoped that I would pay more attention to you during rehearsals." Ms. Li Xi said bluntly, betraying a certain philandering black-haired bassist without hesitation.

Miss Sakuya's mind flashed to a certain shameless friend, and she felt a little relieved, but she quickly came back to her senses and turned around and said playfully, "Oh, then Li Xi must take time to accompany me occasionally, Xiao Deng will not be jealous."

"Deng won't be jealous!" After shouting, Ms. Lixi was stunned for two or three seconds before realizing that she was teased by Sakuya. Her expression was wonderful, with disbelief mixed with great shame. Her pupils tilted to the side, and her cheeks were stained with a rare light red because of excitement.

"Lixi really likes Xiao Deng." Miss Sakuya looked at the confused Miss Lixi with amusement and took advantage of the situation to pursue her.

Shiina Riki didn't care at all at this moment, and stared into Sakuya's eyes with a self-deprecating look as he asked back, "Am I not accompanying Sakuya now? We were the only two people in the composition room for the entire afternoon!"

"Ah... well... it is true." Miss Sakuya, who was caught off guard by the sudden attack, was obviously embarrassed. She turned to look at the floor display at the elevator entrance and spoke hesitantly.

Shiina Riki was no better. After he finished speaking, he fell into continuous regret. Why did he say something that could easily be misunderstood?

"Sakuya." Ms. Lixi coughed lightly and then tentatively called out the girl's name in a low voice.

"Uh-huh?"

“Actually I like tofu…”

Miss Sakuya didn't realize what was going on until the elevator door opened, and she laughed mercilessly. "Isn't Li Xi's reaction arc too long?"

Chapter 235 Friends are delicious

"What's wrong? You look so serious. Doesn't Rikki like to take advantage of others?" Ichinose Sakuya was browsing her phone in the cafe. She was a little surprised to see Rikki's twitching expression, as if she had been working for an hour and then pressed the save button only to find that the mouse started spinning. "Could it be that Rikki likes rice? I specially chose the non-spicy pork bone soup base. Let's try it first."

"It's not that reason... I don't really care what I eat. The ingredients used in this soup are not that bad. I just can't accept mushrooms and konjac shreds." Lixi scratched her head. Although she shouldn't be picky about eating warm food at this point, Miss Lixi still had a strange feeling of being teased.

"Ah, I understand. Some people don't like the taste of mushrooms, right? Little Lenai seems to be quite picky about food. I just threw all the mushrooms to everyone." Sakuya-san responded kindly after rubbing the sleepy white-haired cat. She glanced at her sister and little Aine outside the cafe and then retracted her eyes, letting the two of them have a good chat.

"I really like... shiitake mushrooms. After dicing them, you can make soup with sea fish, or add them to miso soup. The taste of the mountains and the taste of the sea collide with each other, which feels magical." It is rare that Takamatsu Deng did not go home early, but accompanied everyone to practice until now. She still dares not sing in front of the audience, but facing her bandmates, she will try her best to do it.

"Then I like eating mushrooms, too!" Miss Lixi swallowed the mushrooms that she didn't like very much without hesitation. She turned her head and looked at Gao Songdeng who was sitting next to her with anticipation, and the words "asking for praise" were almost written on her face.

"Lixi..." The little gray-haired animal was a little surprised and subconsciously raised his hand to block it.

The simple rejection seemed to have caused a lot of harm to Miss Lixi, who had a flexible attitude. The black-haired composer became distraught again in an instant and picked up the konjac shreds with disposable chopsticks without any anger.

"Little Lixi, don't talk to Deng in such an excited tone." Miss Sakuya gave quite direct advice. The way Ms. Lixi looked at Xiao Deng just now made her unconsciously think of a domestic cat with shining eyes looking at premium dried fish.

"Rikki, that's too lame." Miss Lenai suddenly shook her head for some reason, then lay down on the coffee table again and hummed like a cat.

"It's not your turn to speak." Miss Lixi glanced at the stray cat that she couldn't tame with displeasure. After hesitating for a long time, she finally put the konjac noodles that had absorbed enough juice into her mouth.

"Why doesn't Li Xi like shiitake mushrooms and konjac noodles?" Sakuya-san resisted the urge to join Ronai in dozing off, and changed the subject by maintaining her ladylike image. "They are all very common ingredients."

"It's not that I don't like it, but I've been teased because of this name before. After all, my name is Shiina Taki, so it's normal to feel a little uncomfortable eating Shirataki, right?" Ms. Taki mashed up the ingredients with the same pronunciation in a few strokes and began to explain.

"How about Catalana cream?" Miss Lenai, who was on the same radio wave, suddenly looked up in a daze and asked stupidly.

"Hmm? Dessert? I can't say whether I like it or not... Why are you asking this suddenly?" Miss Lixi, who had finally taken advantage of the situation, looked up in confusion and asked curiously at the motionless white-haired cat.

"I think Lenai is just worried that Lixi doesn't like foods with the same names as people?" Takamatsu Deng, who was like a human radar, leaned against his little hand and said uncertainly in translation.

“Hey—what about green beans (Sayaingen)? They’ll be delicious if you stir-fry them with the pork belly.” Sakuya-san also happily joined in, cooperating with the cat to persecute the drummer-san who couldn’t even eat her rice properly.

"Ah, I... I quite like it, although I didn't eat much." Ms. Lixi did not hide her feelings. She answered awkwardly without listening to Sakuya's specific response. She lowered her head and ate her meal. Finally, she got to eat the thick-cut tofu she had been longing for.

"That's such a forced answer. I think they're all delicious," Sakuya sighed, and also rested her head on the coffee table along with the cat, staring at the little grey-haired animal opposite without blinking, wondering what kind of food would be more suitable for Xiao Deng.

"I... there's actually no food that's related to my name." As if sensing Ms. Sakuya's troubled and thoughtful attitude, Takamatsu Deng smiled, met her watery gray-blue eyes, and took the initiative to speak.

"Hehe, smart little Sakuya has already thought of it." Miss Sakuya showed the smug look of a kindergarten kid who had completed a paper-cutting assignment alone. "For the light, thick-cut tofu (Torori Tofu) is perfect, right?"

"Hey! Don't say that suddenly when others are eating!" Shiina Riki's reaction was probably the most intense. He looked at the tofu block he was half eating, but he didn't dare to continue biting it. After all, this is a food that sounds the same as "light". Why didn't he think of it before?

"What's wrong? You can eat green beans, but you can't eat thick-cut tofu? Rikki, you're so lame." Miss Sakuya imitated Rakuna's cold tone and said while trying not to laugh.

"That's not the case, is it? After all, this is just ordinary tofu..."

Faced with Miss Sakuya's repeated provocations, Ms. Li Xi naturally couldn't bear it. Besides, the thickness of the slices was not considered thick at all, and she had a healthy diet and would eat anything that was suitable. It was not until Takamatsu Deng beside her couldn't bear it anymore and reached out to touch Li Xi's head to comfort her that the black-haired drummer was completely overloaded and lowered her head facing the table, motionless.

"What are you guys talking about? You seem so happy." Chihaya Aine came back with a cheerful face. Although Suzuki usually pokes and stabs her, she actually took the initiative to take her to have high-end afternoon tea. She must have been impressed by my extraordinary charm~

"No matter what you were talking about, it's time to go home. It's already late today. Sakuya, do you have plans for tomorrow?" Nagasaki Suyo felt subtly regretful. Going to attend afternoon tea with Aine in disguise just to avoid being conspicuous might backfire.

"Chihayacha." Kaname Rakuna suddenly spoke to a big pink-haired dog.

Aine was puzzled, Suyo tilted her head, Shiina Riki was still grinning foolishly, and only Ichinose Sakuya was quite cooperative and chimed in to give the last member of the band a name of food as well.

"If it's my sister's turn, Nagasaki Cake!"

Looking at Sakuya and Rakuna who were high-fiving each other in celebration, looking at Aine and Soyo who were confused, and Riki who was still happy beside him, Takamatsu Deng suddenly felt warm. The wind was blowing and the sun was shining. Even though it had already fallen, there was still a touch of caring tenderness in the summer night breeze.

Can I live my whole life like this?

Gao Songdeng wasn't sure, but she sincerely hoped so.

Chapter 236 Please Explain

"What does Sakuya like?"

After lazily finishing her lunch in the family restaurant, Toyokawa Shoko closed her exercise book and suddenly asked the girl opposite her.

Ichinose Sakuya, who was still struggling with her wrong history questions, pulled her hair and looked up with confusion to meet the light golden eyes.

"Hair accessories, and Shoko." Ms. Sakuya thought for a moment and answered calmly without disguising anything.

Toyokawa Shoko, who originally wanted to use this opportunity to tease the country girl, was hit unconsciously. She lowered her head in embarrassment and picked up the black tea beside her to cover up her gaffe.

"Why are you asking this suddenly?" Miss Sakuya also took a sip of the peach-flavored soda beside her. The fruit pulp had a nice texture, but the taste was indeed not that great. It would be better to save some for afternoon tea later.

"Because we're going to have afternoon tea later, I wanted to know in advance about Sakuya's preference for desserts." Shoko lowered her eyes and replied in a casual manner, hiding the excitement and love in her eyes very well. She knew that someone had been longing to see her showing a shy look.

"Oh~ I see." Sakuya covered her mouth, but her smile was already conveyed through her curved eyebrows. "Shoko, are you shy? Absolutely. You wanted to tease me, so you deliberately didn't ask 'What kind of dessert do you like?'"

"I've never thought about it that way." Miss Xiangzi raised her eyebrows and smiled pleasantly, her light blue hair swaying in the wind, with an expression of doting on her face, as if a young lady was looking at a silly maid.

"Of course there are." Sakuya pursed her lips, feeling sorry for missing another good chance to turn things around, but she still answered honestly. "Well... for afternoon tea snacks, I prefer matcha daifuku, sakura mochi, and baumkuchen, which are also very good. Ah, Xiangzi, have you ever tried sakura mochi? It's not sweet, but a very salty sakura mochi with a sense of variety."

"It's true that I haven't eaten it. I thought Sakuya's taste would be more British." Miss Xiangzi's face showed a few black lines. She had to pretend that the country girl did not understand that afternoon tea and drinking tea and eating snacks in the afternoon are not the same thing. But Sakuya, who spoke with a Kansai accent, was really cute, and it was not easy to directly break the little country girl's fantasy.

"Sister will probably like it more, right? I grew up with my dad in Uji, and most of the snacks I remember were flavored with matcha." Ms. Sakuya tilted her head and kicked the blue-haired lady sitting opposite her with her feet under the table. She asked curiously, "Shoko should often have afternoon tea. His favorite desserts are crepes, strawberry cakes, pancakes, etc., right?"

"What do you think of me having afternoon tea..." Xiangzi chuckled in silence. Did the country girl put all the desserts she could think of on the table?

"The more common ones are tea fruit and cream cookies, followed by fruit tarts and scones. By the way, my favorite should be Earl Grey tea cake?"