Teacher Daxiang, please teach me how to play Kasuga Shadow!

Xiangzi finally breathed a sigh of relief, but just as she was about to give her bad student a little reward from the teacher, there was a knock on the door outside the toilet.

"Ayano, is Xiaoxiang okay? Does she need to see a doctor?"

When Xiangzi heard Nanako's voice outside the door, he was scared out of his wits. His cute little face, which was originally rosy, now lost its color.

"It's okay, she just feels like vomiting, she'll be fine once she vomits."

"You want to vomit?" Nanako outside the door also said something shocking. The next sentence made Xiaoxiang beside Ayano blush, "Are you pregnant?"

".....What are you thinking, old woman? It's just my period, okay?"

"I'm not on my period!" Xiaoxiang on the side retorted in a low voice, as if it was a very serious matter to have Ayano mistakenly misjudge his period.

"So you have it?"

"...It's my period."

"What are you guys whispering about in there? Are you saying something about how the old woman is really down?"

"No." Ayano pushed open the door and smiled at her mother, who was looking at her with a teasing look, as if she was saying she was cheating again. She explained casually, "I was just saying that your sense of humor is really great, mom."

"Humph~"

Nanako proudly brushed her hair. Although she was in her 40s, she looked like a very young girl.

"Since Xiaoxiang isn't feeling well, your dad and I won't bother you anymore. You can handle the bowls and other things yourselves. Remember to put the soup in the refrigerator and put it in the lower shelf. Also, make sure it's cooled down before putting it in.

The scrambled eggs on the table must be eaten tonight. Don't eat them for more than 24 hours. Xiaoxiang is feeling unwell and prone to diarrhea."

"Yes, yes, you're already so long-winded at this point. I was just about to compliment you on your youth when you turned into an old lady in an instant."

"No matter how much of an old woman I am, I am still your mother." Nanako poked Ayano's forehead with her finger, then turned around and shouted to Mizushima Goro to change his shoes and go out.

The two men came quickly and left even faster. Before Xiaoxiang could figure out how to say goodbye to Ayano's father, the other party had already smiled and said a simple hello to her and left.

With a bang, the door closed, and Ayano was leaning on the door and secretly observing through the peephole to see if the two people had really left.

"Ayano?"

"Go back to the house."

".......ah?"

"Discussing music, practicing instruments, what are you thinking about?"

Xiangzi was stunned for a moment, then nodded blankly.

But she soon regretted her decision. She really didn't expect that the "instrument" Ayano was talking about was actually her!

Chapter 234: Breaking up with Ayano? Mom disagrees! (15 more)

Nagasaki Rina took a few people, excluding Aine, to a nice restaurant for a meal. After the meal, Rina looked at Suyo sitting in the passenger seat of the car and said helplessly:

"So you're returning the gift Xiaomu gave you?"

"……Um."

"You shouldn't do that." Nagasaki Rina sighed, but she didn't dare to say anything harsh. After all, her daughter's current personality was related to her.

But she was thinking too cautiously. In fact, Su Shi no longer had any complaints about her mother. As life slowly changed, she no longer cared about the past.

On the contrary, after hearing that her mother did not approve of her approach, Su Shi chose to ask further questions:

"Shouldn't I... do that?"

"Yes, you can't forget Xiao Mu's demands just because she is introverted and never expresses her demands."

"I……"

Su Shi was speechless. At this moment, she suddenly realized that she seemed to have done something wrong.

"I don't know how you feel about Xiaoxiang and Ayano, and whether your refusal to accept the gift is related to them, but Xiaomu spent a long time thinking about this gift before deciding on it.

She doesn't know what is suitable to give you, because she has never thought about it and never would do it.

And according to Ayano, the only thing that Xiao Mu truly owns is the cucumber that you and I planted together."

"..."

Seeing her daughter's flustered expression, Nagasaki Rina sighed again.

"Although my mother is also such a person, she is often afraid of loss. She is afraid of losing the trust of her colleagues at work, losing the opportunity to climb the ladder, and losing the chance to let you enjoy a better life.

But I never thought that many of the things I lost did not belong to me in the first place, and some things... were actually destined to pass me by.

But I neglected the precious things I already had."

Speaking of this, Rina looked a little ashamed. Although she was educating her daughter, she was actually expressing her guilt for her previous neglect of Su Shi.

Su Shi always thinks about the things that cannot be recovered, but ignores the people who have always been by her side and hope that she can become a better person.

The same is true for me...

What a ridiculous fate.

"Mother."

"Hmm?" Rina looked at Su Shi, whose expression suddenly became a little determined, and asked with some confusion, "What's wrong, my dear daughter?"

"Mom, you should know where Xiaomu's home is, right?"

"I know, I know... but no, you're not planning on chasing after him now, are you?"

Rina looked speechlessly at the girl of this age who always had an inexplicable sense of youthful passion. As a middle-aged person who just wanted to go home and have a good rest, she really couldn't stand it.

"Su Shi, please spare my mother. Your Xiao Mu is an important person, and so am I, your mother. I'm exhausted all day today, please give me a chance to lie down and die, woo woo woo."

"……Eh?"

Seeing the cute expression on Su Shi’s face, Rina also stepped up and continued to explain: “Look, Xiao Mu won’t run away, and you are classmates in the same class.

"Doesn't school start tomorrow? If you say a few nice words to her tomorrow morning and apologize, won't this matter be over?"

"Okay... okay."

Although Su Shi still felt a little guilty, this was all she could do.

And after being criticized by her mother, she did understand a lot of things. Sometimes she would really ignore what she originally had because of some things that she should have given up and let go.

An untitled poem recitation + impromptu performance did remind her of something that has become more important to her than the past in recent times, and it was precisely because she couldn't let go that she chose to stay.

But because Xiao Mu was so silent, Su Shi, who was used to this, never considered that the girl who always silently stayed by his side was actually a normal person with joys and sorrows.

She...is not a doll.

What her mother said did give Su Shi a deeper understanding of her current situation, just like her mother chose to be demoted, gave up the opportunity to leap into senior management, and chose to cherish herself under the guidance of the unknown aunt.

She... should actually cherish everything she has now.

Whether it is Xiaomu or the new band formed by Xiaodeng Ain and others, it is enough and she should not be greedy too much.

"Mom, I figured it out."

"What? Tell me?" Rina smiled and asked curiously while turning the steering wheel and driving the car into the parking lot.

"Xiaoxiang has already had her own life. I can't bring her back. This is... something I can't undo.

I should stop crowding every moment of my life with this incident and making it the purpose of my efforts, but instead let go of the past.

Because... cherishing what you already have is the most important thing."

"Yeah, that's right. I did talk to Xiaoxiang about this. Although some of the details are different from what you think, I didn't want to discourage you before, but now that you've figured it out... I'm relieved.

Of course, you can still chat about your recent life occasionally, and it’s okay to be friends~”

"I understand." Su Shi smiled, although the smile was still a bit forced at the moment. After all, some things still need some time to accept. "And there is Ayano."

"...Ayano?" Hearing this, Rina suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Well, I've thought about it... Ayano has completely broken up with me, and the best outcome for her and me... might be what it is now.

Maybe one day she will forgive me, but until she does, I think it’s better not to contact her anymore.

Actually, I have thought about Li Xi's thoughts. I did fantasize about Ayano coming back before, but now that I think about it... this is the best ending.

Ayano has her choice, so..."

"No, you can't think like that!"

"……Eh?"

"Uh." Rina was a little embarrassed, because her words made her look hypocritical.

But the problem was, her own daughter was actually planning to let go of a good girl like Ayano?! Such a good friend, such a rare person, hard to find even with a lantern, and her own daughter was actually planning to become a stranger from now on?!

Can this be tolerated? !

"Ayano...she can still fight for it."

"……mom."

"Um

"Rina scratched her face awkwardly, not daring to look into her daughter's eyes.

"Why do I feel like... you seem to be a little biased against Xiaoxiang, or conversely... maybe you seem to be a little too partial to Ayano?"

Chapter 235: Putting others before oneself, self-sacrifice... That's Ayano (1/2)

Nagasaki Rina felt that she was really anxious.

She felt like she had really shot herself in the foot, but the problem was...she really had to say what she had just said.

Oh no, this doesn't make sense now. My precious daughter is going to think I'm a hypocritical and bad mother.

"Well... Mommy certainly doesn't have any prejudice against Xiaoxiang. Xiaoxiang is also a very good child. I admire her quite a lot, actually."

"Then why did mom insist on telling me alone not to give up Ayano?"

Su Shi followed her mother from the elevator in the parking lot to the 45th floor. Along the way, she kept asking this question because she had a vague premonition that her mother seemed to be hiding something from her.

And...this matter itself seems to be related to Mizushima Ayano.

Speaking of which, why is her mother so close to Ayano and the others?

Was it simply because her and Ayano's parents knew each other? It felt like that alone wasn't enough, after all, there was a significant age gap between her mother, Ayano, and Xiaoxiang.

Even though my mother is a very easy-going person, it is not easy to find common topics with her.

In Su Shi's heart, the topic her mother talked about most in front of outsiders was work, and for girls of their age, the adult workplace was naturally an unfamiliar area.

But if that's the case, why does her mother have such a good relationship with Ayano?

On the other side of Su Shi, seeing her daughter looking at her with such suspicion, Nagasaki Rina also felt something was wrong.

She felt...she seemed unable to hide it anymore.

And it's not just a question of whether she can keep it secret or not. Based on her understanding of her daughter's character, if she continues like this, Su Shi might really carry out what she just said, and then regret it after knowing the truth.

No, she had to do something.

Telling her daughter the truth about everything is naturally the most direct and effective way, but Nagasaki Rina is not prepared to do so.

Firstly, she felt that some things had to be discovered by Su Shi herself, and while slowly uncovering the truth, she would have enough time to think about how she should face Ayano.

Telling all the facts directly might make Su Shi feel extremely guilty all of a sudden, which might prevent her daughter from making the right decision in a short period of time.

Secondly, if I tell my daughter directly about this, if Ayano finds out, she will be unhappy.

If she gets angry and gives me the cold shoulder, she will still be a little troubled.

But even if she doesn't tell him directly, Rina has a more natural and appropriate way than telling him directly.

"Su Shi."

"Ok?"

Su Shi, who was helping to wash the ingredients out of the refrigerator, looked at her mother in the kitchen who was wearing an apron and looked like she wanted to say something to her. There was a hint of confusion and expectation on her face.

"I once thought about whether I should let you know about the details of my work, because I was afraid that you would feel stressed.

But now I think about it, this is actually your right to know. You know more about what your mother is doing, so you might feel less pressure. After all, people are always curious about the unknown, right? "

"Um... what do you want to say, Mom?"

"Tomorrow afternoon after school, why don't you come to Mom's company and take a look around, see what everyone does for work, and see how I work.

What do you think? The choice is yours."