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

But Aine felt that as she was teaching, she began to feel sweat on her back.

I don't know if it's because Ayano's fingers are so slender, but the death barre that she has always found difficult to do was done effortlessly by Ayano.

But after all, they were a pair of hands that had not practiced guitar much, and as expected, their delicate fingers were left with red marks from the torture of the guitar strings.

"Come on, come on, this is when you have to put on a Band-Aid."

"It's not like the skin is broken, right?"

"Why not?" Aine rolled her eyes at Ayano in annoyance, and while rummaging through the bedside to find a few ordinary Band-Aids, she grabbed Ayano's hand and patiently put it on, "Even though there's no scratch or bleeding, it will hurt if you keep practicing like this without the protection of a Band-Aid.

And you see I’ve posted it, wouldn’t it be a bit out of place if you didn’t post it?”

"...What kind of perverse logic is this?"

Ayano smiled but said nothing. As she touched the Band-Aid-covered fingers of her left hand with her other hand, a smile spread across her lips.

"Aren't you afraid that if I master it, I'll take your place?"

“…Can’t you say something nice, like pushing Lena out of her position?” Aine rolled her eyes and muttered, “But Lena is really amazing. I don’t know when I can reach her level.”

"If you hadn't been lazy and messed up, you would have gotten it long ago."

"How can this be called slacking off?" Aine blushed slightly, but she retorted, "Ayano, it's a rare occasion for you to come to my house. If I ignore your feelings and leave you to practice alone, how can I feel at ease?

Am I that kind of person? Ignoring you for my own advancement, Ayano-chan, you make me so sad. "

"...Why are you so shameless all of a sudden?"

"I learn it from you."

"..."

Looking at Ayano, who was rarely left speechless and looked helpless, Aine felt a sense of self-satisfaction as if she had won the first battle.

After carefully putting away the guitar that Ayano handed her, she lay quietly beside Ayano. After a period of silence, she suddenly asked curiously:

"Ayano-chan, I saw my third dark history at your house last time.

Although I can't be sure how many pieces of my dark history you've found, if there are three, then there should be one and two, right? "

"Why, you want to ask this?"

"This problem has been bothering me for a long time, so..."

"No comment."

“Eh? Come on…” Aine dragged out her words and turned to look at Ayano with a pleading look, “I don’t mind you keeping my dark history to yourself, but why can’t you ask me what it is exactly?”

"...What do you think is dark history?"

Ayano thought about it and did not directly answer Aine's question. Instead, she asked a rhetorical question, which made Aine fall into a brief period of contemplation.

"Dark history, isn't it just the shameful things I don't want to talk about?"

"Really?" Ayano turned around and looked face to face at Aine's eyes, who was very close to her. "In my opinion, there is black and there is white. For you, Aine, you want to be seen as

Those highlights that you remember are what you call "white history".

The difficulties and challenges that accompany you in life, make you sad and cry, but later make you understand that as long as you get over that hurdle, looking back, all the troubles are actually not important. This is what I think is the so-called "black history".

It's like your shadow. When people walk under the light, they will definitely leave a shadow.

The shadow is a part of you, proof that you are walking towards the light, and it is also the afterglow that can cover up your inner fear, anxiety and many other negative emotions. "

"...Ayano, I think you're suited to be a speaker."

"The orator who waxed eloquent about the price of bread in the tavern, eh?"

"Ah? No... Never mind."

Aine was really annoyed by Ayano, but to be honest, Ayano's words just now did make her feel a little touched.

So, had she just been avoiding it out of habit all along? Those dark histories Ayano spoke of weren't actually derogatory terms at all, but rather represented beautiful memories that a person couldn't let go of, memories that must stay with them for the rest of their lives, even if they couldn't be faced temporarily?

But as a result, Aine became interested in Ayano's dark history.

"Ayano."

"Ok?"

"Can you tell me what your dark past is? You must answer! It can't be that only you know mine and I don't know yours, right? And it has to be the biggest, most unforgettable dark past, the kind you can't get rid of for the rest of your life!"

"Oh?"

Ayano smiled and looked at Aine with an expression that said, "As expected," "Are you sure you really want me to tell you?"

"Of course you have to tell me, you're not scared, are you?"

“It’s Aine.”

"……Eh?"

"My biggest dark history is Chihaya Aine."

Chapter 48 I, Mizushima Ayano, send money (1/2)

"I'm back~"

Taking out the key and opening the door, Xiangzi casually shouted into the empty house. After she finished shouting, she realized that there seemed to be something wrong with what she said.

Forget it, why do I have to think so much?

What Ayano said was absolutely right. She didn't pay to invite him to her house just to be bullied. Besides, when facing Ayano, Xiangzi couldn't get angry except for feeling a little helpless occasionally.

The first thing she did when she returned home was to perform her basic duties as a domestic worker.

Xiangzi cleaned out all the trash cans in the kitchen, living room and bedroom. Because they had been sorted in advance, she didn't have to wear gloves to pick up the trash one by one.

The community where Ayano lives also has a special public garbage collection point, which is very close to it, so it doesn't take Xiangzi long to deal with the garbage problem and return to the door with several large bags.

Just when she was about to open the door and go in, the door next to her suddenly opened, and a couple walked out. The man holding a large cardboard box was the one who had come up to knock on the door and curse.

Xiangzi trembled a little when she saw this face. After all, the man was several heads taller than her. If a conflict really happened, she would be alone now and would not even have the chance to ask Ayano for help.

But what surprised her was that the man who had just walked out did call her after seeing her, but the tone of his voice... seemed a little friendly?

"Hello, I'm so sorry about what happened yesterday."

"Ah...I should be the one to apologize to you."

"No, no, no, you really don't need to. In fact, I should be thanking you." The man waved his hands repeatedly, looking flattered, completely different from the ferocious man he was last time. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Hiraoka Eijiro. Mr. Mizushima... I guess he's your father, right?"

"……what?"

Xiangzi was stunned for a moment, but he quickly reacted and waved his hands to explain, "No, I'm not his daughter. I'm just living here temporarily."

"I understand. A tall tree attracts the wind."

The man smiled, told his wife to quickly pick up the child, and gave Xiangzi a look that said "I understand everything." "Anyway, Mr. Mizushima is willing to let us move to a larger room at half the current rent. I am indeed very grateful to you.

They even compensated us for mental damage, although I think this compensation is indeed a bit too much. We are all neighbors, right?

Actually, I shouldn't have been so impulsive yesterday. Maybe it was because I had just moved here not long ago and didn't know you as my neighbor very well, so I couldn't control my emotions.

To be honest, your piano playing is really beautiful, but... time is a bit of a problem for me. But there really is no other way to learn music. I can only say that we are still lacking some communication. "

"I'm really not... The Mizushima you're talking about should be my friend who lives with me."

"Really? Is she home now? I want to thank her in person."

“…She’s usually not here at this time.”

"Alright, alright. I know you rich people keep a low profile, and I'm not really an unreasonable person. Anyway... I'm very grateful to you and that friend you mentioned."

After saying this, the man nodded and smiled at Xiangzi for the last time, then turned around and left with his wife who also nodded in agreement.

Only Xiangzi was left, unable to make sense, angry and amused.

He stood there in a daze.

However, Xiangzi returned to the room and told Ayano the truth:

[Ayano, I can go back to school as normal these days. The uncle next door has moved somewhere else.]

But before she could think about how to explain to Ayano the behind-the-scenes manipulation of Mizushima's father, Xiangzi saw a message that made her vomit blood.

[Hiss... You mean Tokyo Bay by "other places"? Um... I didn't do anything wrong, you're just being a little scary.]

Who is scaring whom?!

Since Ayano was talking nonsense, Xiangzi didn't care about anything else. He just sat on the sofa in a bad mood and typed quickly:

[Your thoughts are a bit dangerous, and... I'm not a young lady, at least not now.

The uncle next door just moved to another house because your father promised them that they could live in a bigger house with less money and not be disturbed by us. They really had no reason to refuse.

After sending this message, Xiangzi was quite curious about how Miss Mizushima, who was rich but unaware of her wealth, would react after knowing the truth.

Will she naively think she's joking like before, or will she exclaim in surprise that she's actually the daughter of a wealthy family?

But no matter what, Xiangzi is looking forward to the other party's reply.

This is the only person and thing that can arouse her interest in her ordinary life.

A ding sound was heard, indicating that a reply had been received.

Xiangzi opened her phone without hesitation, and when she saw the words on the screen, she didn't know how to react.

[Sorry, I teased you and called you a young lady because I wanted to see you make a fool of yourself in life, but now it seems that you really think differently from me.

Xiangzi is Xiangzi. The light shining in you should not be defined by your family and background, because you yourself are the brightest and most dazzling flame tonight.

So if possible, I actually want to cancel the agreement between us, because I want to understand the whole you.

"..."

A gleam of light flashed in Xiangzi's eyes, but his hand only typed out a sentence that had nothing to do with the previous text:

【When will you be home tonight? 】

This time Ayano's response was faster.

[I'm not going home tonight. I'm staying at Aine's house. You can just cook your own meal.]

"……what?"

No, so the fundamental reason you said I was the brightest flame tonight is because you, who are burning the biggest flame, are not at home today, right?

----------

"Ayano...who are you texting?"

In fact, Aiyin's voice now could be said to be as soft as a mosquito. She had just been teased but not succeeded, and before she could even react how to hide the blush on her face, Ayano covered both of them with the quilt.

This way, no one would notice the change on her face, but wouldn't the atmosphere be even weirder?!

But what made Aine speechless the most was that when Ayano was holding her and resting silently, she suddenly turned around to pick up her phone to reply to someone else's message.

I also deliberately avoided letting myself see...

Oh no, this is not really an affair, is it?

“With my piano teacher.”

"Piano teacher?"

Before Aine could say anything, Ayano, who had already modified the note, placed the phone screen in front of Aine.

Looking at the messages going back and forth, and the closeness between the two parties when they were talking, Aine breathed a sigh of relief silently.

Of course, the most important thing is that the piano teacher herself mentioned, "I am not a young lady."

Doesn't that prove that this isn't Ayano's boyfriend? Having a girl teach Ayano made Aine feel a lot more at ease.

After all, Ayano-chan is so beautiful. If a man came to teach her, she would worry that her good friend would be bullied by the evil teacher and cry.

"Wait, Ayano, is your dad so powerful?"

After hearing this, Ayano lowered her head slightly as if in deep thought.

Xiangzi is not the type to like joking around, so...

Thinking of this, Ayano opened her father's chat window again and sent a message to the other side:

【I, Mizushima Ayano, send money. 】

Chapter 49 Sorry, I'm going to start playing the piano (2/2)