Teacher Daxiang, let’s form a lifelong band!

【"good."】

"I understand. I'll wait for you. When you truly fall in love with me, we can be together again." Lu Li said to you.

【However......】

"Lu Li, can you date Xiangzi?"

[Under Lu Li's gaze, you said something that completely stunned him.]

"Soyo, what did you say?"

Lu Li was stunned. He couldn't believe you would actually make such a request. He likes you, so how could he possibly date Toyokawa Shoko?

"Lu Li, haven't we broken up now?"

Looking at the expression on Lu Li's face, you felt extremely guilty. You knew you shouldn't have asked Lu Li to do this. You'd already broken up, and you had no right to ask him to do anything. But for crychic's sake, you still said it.

"Xiangzi-chan really likes you. Just to give it a try, can you date her?"

【“…”】

【Lu Li stared at you for a long, long time. 】

"Soyo, are you serious? Do you really want me to date Toyokawa Shoko?"

Lu Li asked this question very seriously. Looking at his expression, you couldn't give him a definite answer for a moment, but after hesitating for a few minutes, you finally gave your answer.

【"Um......"】-

[Under the sunlight, you see Lu Li's gentle and handsome face gradually become distorted and sad, but in the end, his expression returns to calmness.]

Walking up to you, Lu Li reached out and hugged you. The hug was brief, lasting only a few seconds. At the moment your bodies separated, you felt as if you were about to lose something permanently. But looking around, you saw nothing.

[“I promise you.”]

"I'll try dating Toyokawa Shoko."

"Soyo, as long as it's your request, I'll agree to anything..."

Volume 1: Chapter 63: Nagasaki Sushi, Never Regret

[You never dreamed that the person you like not only proposed to break up with you, but also asked you to date her friends.]

[The moment she made the request, you were completely stunned.]

You looked at Nagasaki Suyo and repeatedly asked her if she was joking, but the result was always the same.

[Nagasaki Suyo is not joking, she really wants you to date Toyokawa Shoko.]

[You are silent. 】

You saw panic, guilt, and even self-blame on Nagasaki Suyo's face, but you didn't see her love for you.

[At this moment, you finally understand that she doesn't love you, or rather, she doesn't love you as much as you love her. She may be unique to you, but you are not irreplaceable to her.]

"I understand. I will date Toyokawa Shoko. For you..." You replied to Nagasaki Suyo.

[Hearing you agree to this almost bizarre request, Nagasaki Motoyo's face showed a look of relief.]

"Lu Li, you won't blame me, will you?" Noticing something was off about your expression, Nagasaki Suyo asked cautiously.

"No, of course not." You laughed.

What will happen? Nothing will happen.

[It's just that someone who couldn't get what they wanted gave up on themselves. It's not a big deal, at least not for the person who let go.]

[Of course, the same is true for the person who was released.]

[“Soyo, the sun is setting, let’s go home.”]

[At the last moment of separation, you glanced at the girl in front of you. You knew you would see each other again after today, but you said goodbye to Nagasaki Suyo earnestly.]

【This goodbye is not only for her, but also for yourself. 】

【Nagasaki Soyo】

[May your path be filled with flowers, and may your future be smooth sailing...]

"Soyo, are you selling out your buddy?"

"But it's normal."

Seeing this plot development, Lu Li was not surprised at all. This was not the first time he had played the so-called perfect simulation.

The so-called perfection given by this stupid dog system is definitely not the perfection that everyone understands. Rather than being a perfect plot, it is better to say that wishes are reflected in a distorted way.

It's just like in Shoko Toyokawa's perfect simulation, where everyone really gets what they want and it's perfect in name only, but anyone who participates knows it has nothing to do with perfection.

"Go on, go on. I'd like to see how perfection will be presented this time."

After parting ways with Nagasaki Suyo, she hasn't left your world. You'll meet again in the future, but you won't greet each other with a smile like before. When you meet again, you'll keep your distance, like two ordinary friends who know each other but aren't familiar with each other.

[Toyokawa Shoko's light novel water talent is not high, she needs your help, and you help her as before. ]

【A week later, Toyokawa Shoko confessed her love to you.】

【While confessing her feelings, Toyokawa Shoko confessed everything to you. 】

"Lu Li, I'm responsible for your breakup with Soyo."

【"Yeah?"】

【"Um."】

Toyokawa Shoko didn't hide anything from you. She told you everything she had said to Nagasaki Suyo that night, word for word. She didn't deliberately hide her thoughts, nor did she deliberately embellish her actions.

【Actually, from an outsider's perspective, she was deliberately trying to separate you and Nagasaki Suyo. If it weren't for her, you and Nagasaki Suyo wouldn't have broken up so easily. 】

"I see..."

[When you heard what Toyokawa Shoko said, you didn't show any particular surprise on your face, because you knew Nagasaki Suyo too well. You had actually guessed most of what Toyokawa Shoko knew before she confessed to you.]

"Lu Li, I'm sorry."

【Toyokawa Shoko sincerely apologizes to you.】

"I like you, so I don't want to see Soyo continue to use his feelings to bind and exploit you. I also know that you will probably blame me after telling you everything, but even if we can't be together, I don't want the person I like to be controlled by someone else in that way."

Toyokawa Shoko's words were full of sincerity. She chose to tell you everything, so even if you hated her for it, it was better than continuing to be deceived by Nagasaki Suyo.

"Lu Li, I know I can't compare to Soyo in your heart, but can you please give me a chance? I will definitely, definitely do better than Soyo!"

"Can you please date me? Can you please try to like me? Not because of crychic or Nagasaki Suyo, but because you're truly willing to accept me."

Toyokawa Shoko has sincerely confessed her feelings to you. She also made it clear to you that even if you don't accept, she will guarantee the existence of crychic. She forced Nagasaki Suyo to break up with you just to give you freedom. She said that she is different from Nagasaki Suyo and she will not use any means to restrain you.

【"good."】

[Looking at Toyokawa Shoko in front of you, you nodded heavily...]

......

【You and Lu Li have officially broken up.】

[Toyokawa Xiangzi kept her promise. After you and Lu Li broke up, she did her best to maintain Crychic. This time, Crychic has no problems, and the five of you are happily forming a band.]

[Of course, as you know, Toyokawa Shoko and Lu Li are together as a matter of course.]

[However, even though they were dating, you and Lu Li actually saw each other less often. This was because Lu Li usually didn't interrupt Crychic's practice, and the only information you could get about Lu Li was through Shoko Toyokawa's occasional verbal messages during training.]

[However, unlike you, Toyokawa Xiangzi set a special ringtone reminder for Lu Li. Whenever Lu Li sent her a message, Toyokawa Xiangzi would smile, apologize to you, interrupt practice, and reply to Lu Li.]

[And at this moment, you will stare blankly at Toyokawa Shoko, you see the happy smile on her face, you see her tell you that she has a date this Saturday and therefore will not be attending your dinner.]

[Your heart aches. The pain isn't intense, but it's deep...]

[At this moment, you begin to reflect on whether you were wrong. If you had the chance again, would you accept Toyokawa Shoko's conditions?]

【Will do. 】

[You know you will. No matter how many times you have to do it, you will probably accept Toyokawa Shoko's conditions.]

【So, while enduring the stinging pain, you tell yourself. 】

【"Nagasaki Suyo, never regret it!"】

Volume 1: Chapter 64: Invitation

You won't regret it.

You warned yourself that even if you lost Lu Li, as long as crychic still existed, you wouldn't be afraid of anything.

[But is this really the case? ]

【Time is a good catalyst. The answers to all questions can be found in the future.】

[You feel like you don't care, you are still you, it's just that the person who used to be by your side has disappeared.]

[It's just that the person who once stayed by your side has left. There are so many couples in the world who break up, and there is no shortage of couples like you.]

[However, after finishing rehearsal, you no longer have anyone to accompany you like before. Now you can only walk back home from the ring alone.]

[It's okay, crychic is still here, everyone is still here, it's no big deal without Lu Li.]

You comfort yourself like this, but in the blink of an eye, you see your ex-boyfriend walking hand in hand with your good friend Toyokawa Shoko.

"Lu Li, I want to eat that."

As you watched, you saw Toyokawa Shoko give Lu Li a smile you had never seen before. She pointed to a stall selling potato pancakes. After she said that, you saw Lu Li, with a doting look on his face, holding Toyokawa Shoko's hand as they walked to the stall and bought a potato pancake.

"It will be hot. Wait."

You saw Lu Li blow on the potato pancakes he had bought to cool them down. After they were no longer hot, he handed them to Toyokawa Shoko.

You saw Toyokawa Shoko smile, and that smile was the sweetest you had ever seen.

She cut the potato pancake in half and fed it to Lu Li. The two of them ate the potato pancake together, chatting and laughing.

[Seeing this scene, you don't know why you feel a needle-like pain in your heart.]

After the two of them walked away, you also came to the potato pancake stand and bought a potato pancake.

You put the slightly hot potato pancake into your mouth. The taste of the potato pancake is the same as you have tasted before, not particularly delicious, but not particularly unpalatable either.

Is the delicious potato pancake or something else?

You sat blankly on a roadside bench, pulling out your phone. You looked at a profile picture you had pinned to the top of your chat app after the breakup. The last message between you was one-way, and the content was simple: just four words.

【I'll pick you up.】

【“…”】

[Memories of the past surfaced before your eyes. Recalling every moment you and Lu Li had spent together, tears welled up in the corners of your eyes.]

[There are so many beautiful things that once belonged to you, but you gave them all up.]

【It's fine. 】

[And crychic. As long as crychic is still here, you haven't lost miserably...]

However, nothing is permanent, not even the crychic that Toyokawa Shoko promised you. As time goes by, you age, and so do everyone in crychic.

You have graduated from high school.

After graduation, you all went to different universities. Because of your agreement with Toyokawa Shoko, Toyokawa Shoko still tried her best to maintain the existence of crychic, but even so, it could not change the fact that crychic gradually separated from each other.

As crychic's activities gradually decreased, your already empty heart became even emptier.

[You know, crychic is not a professional band. This band is just a dream created by five girls by chance, and this dream will eventually wake up with time.]

“No, no!”

[You have already lost the person you love, you can't lose crychic again. ]

"Xiangzi, Xiangzi, please help me. I want Crychic to exist forever. Let's turn Crychic into a professional band. As long as Crychic becomes professional, we can all be together forever!" You found Toyokawa Xiangzi and told her your request.

After hearing your request, Toyokawa Shoko, now a university student, looked at you with a sarcastic look.

"Professionalism? Do you know how much it takes for a band to be professional? Even if I'm willing, what about others?"