The social phobia substitute will not dream of the band girl

The father and daughter embraced each other affectionately in the sunset. What a beautiful picture...

Oh, why is there so much sand in the wind today?

"Lan, that's great!"

"Well, that's really great... Today is the best day ever!"

"That's great... (crying)"

"Ran~ Let's work hard together from now on~"

"Yeah...yeah! Really, really...thank you all...really!"

Afterglow's four childhood friends surrounded Lan and hugged her together. They will continue to walk together from now on.

In the setting sun, Mei Zhumei looked at the five people, smiled, and then left.

"...Are you really leaving?"

Ping Xin, who was standing aside, asked. No one knew the escape route better than him. It was a good gamble to come and block the enemy in advance.

"As a disqualified father, how can I have the nerve to attend that kid's celebration party? After all, I didn't help him at all from the beginning to the end—"

Mei Zhumei gazed at the setting sun. Sure enough, this crimson was too dazzling for him. It was dazzling, just like she had been back then... Ever since his wife's death, he had never been as willful as before, completely burying his former self and his late wife in the past. Looking back now, hadn't he made the right choice?

"I really can't stand you nagging people... Anyway, I'm going to say it!"

Ping Xin spread his hands and said what he had wanted to say for a long time -

"What kind of father is he if he doesn't personally accompany his child as he grows up?! If you're a father, then bear witness to it to the end! You missed her childhood, and now you want to miss another important moment in her life? Is the solution after making a mistake to make the same mistake again? That's just pure avoidance!"

If you dare to say no again today, I will take you there even if I have to beat you down—!"

"Wait, brother...Ping Xin brother, this is too-"

"Girls are not allowed to interrupt. Just watch quietly from the side!"

In the glow of the setting sun, the boy's eyes seemed to have a severely wounded and dying lion roaring at the world -

At this moment, he seemed to be "possessed" by a soul from a distant place, and even tears that did not belong to him flowed from his eyes... This is what Ping Xin wanted to say, but it is not what he wanted to say. All this is just the whisper of the "ghosts" of the past.

"...I understand. I'll go."

After hearing this, Ping Xin finally let go of his collar.

"Feel sorry--"

After leaving these words, he walked slowly back home alone.

In the setting sun, his shadow was very long.

"...Then let's go home too, Father."

"Well, let's go... Lan, I'm sorry—"

"Father, what are you talking about... Everyone makes mistakes, doesn't he?"

On the way home, the father and daughter held each other tightly, even though they were just walking on the flat asphalt road. At this moment, they were like holding on to something precious that they had once lost and never wanted to let go.

In the setting sun, the two people's long shadows intertwined.

There are pictures here, which can be viewed after the updated version

I'm so tired, so alone

Chapter 4000: Celebration Banquet ()

In the evening, there was a celebration party for Afterglow’s first independent live performance at Qianlong Pavilion.

"Well...everyone, just eat and drink as much as you want—"

After greeting the acquaintances, strangers, and vague acquaintances who were sitting in the hall eating and who came to have a free meal, Pingxin returned to the private room upstairs, which was the "main venue" for the day.

Qianlong Pavilion, a high-end restaurant located on a busy street in the center of Tokyo, is loved by countless gourmets.

The restaurant boasts numerous private rooms of varying sizes, each designed in a different style from different countries, but its greatest fame lies in its chefs. Dragon worship has been practiced in both the East and the West since ancient times. While dragons vary in species and appearance, the shared values ​​of worship and power, along with the desire for a peaceful and prosperous life, remain.

The unknown and mysterious boss hired chefs from all over the world. Each of them has unique skills, fighting spirit and patience are amazing, and each of them can bring countless surprises to diners.

It is said that the name of Qianlong Pavilion comes from these chefs. The boss compares each top chef to a dragon guarding priceless treasures, and the chef of the day can even enjoy the title of Dragon King!

When the Dragon King appears, who dares to disobey?!

But even such a top-class restaurant was completely booked tonight——

"The Dragon King sprays water... No, the Dragon King adds a dish!"

"Okay, right away!"

The chef from Dayan heard Pingxin's call and quickly called his apprentice over to take a look and added a few dishes, then showed an expression of "old man on the subway cell phone".

Ah this... I'm obviously a Yan Country chef, why do I always have to make steaks, salads, pasta and the like? After finally seeing someone order authentic Yan Country food, today's "Dragon King" finally smiled.

Wow, you're quite good at eating. Looks like I have to show off my skills today!

After handing over the orders of steaks, salads, pasta and the like, which he considered to be of no value, to the apprentices and kitchen helpers with sad faces, the chef rolled up his sleeves and began to prepare today's main course.

Upstairs, the main venue——

"Guests not on the invitation please enjoy the buffet in the lobby downstairs. The dishes are the same."

Ping Xin frowned because he really didn't have an invitation letter. After all, which host would write an invitation letter to himself?

"I'm an acquaintance of theirs."

"Please go to a small private room nearby."

"...What about the kids' table I want to sit at?"

“We can also provide child seats.”

"I'm paying for tonight."

"Then please take the main seat."

Well, the Soviet joke never gets old part, this one was pretty good but a bit awful. Ping Xin pushed the door open and walked in. In a blink of an eye, several beautiful girls with unique characteristics in the room looked at him -

“So slow—!”

"Hey, he's finally here! Our hero behind the scenes~!"

"Brother Pingxin, we are all waiting for you!"

"Brother Pingxin is here, and good days (referring to good juice and good food) are here!"

"Hey~ Great hero~ Have you decided where you want to sit tonight~?"

Following Aoba Moka's gaze, Hirashin saw the trio of Ichinose Asuna, Kadodate Karin, and Murokasa Akane sitting at the big table on the other side, clearly separated from the female heroes of the shopping street.

Sorry, I choose dog leash——

Ping Xin returned along the same path as if the video was rewound, closed the door and walked out.

"...What are you doing?"

"Oh, it's okay... just my legs are a little weak. Maybe it's just my age, haha... I suddenly think it's nice to sit on the adult side... go do your thing."

After dismissing the young waiter, Ping Xin began to doubt his life.

Is my social circle not a social circle, but a lesbian circle? Why isn't there a single young man at this huge dinner party?! This is incredibly difficult to handle in every sense... But ultimately, it's because they weren't born, right? How can I blame Hirayuma himself for this?!

Thinking of this, his legs stopped shaking again. It was all "forced" anyway, so what was there to worry about?

After pushing the door open for the second time, Hirashin walked forward, smiling and waving, like a leader coming to inspect... and sat down at the child's table (actually, Asuna's table) -

It turns out that people should never forget their roots!

In this Shura field (original meaning) full of dangers, it is still necessary to play safe - just like playing mahjong, you can not win but you must never make a mistake. In a nutshell, you have to live like a hardcore slave!

"Good evening, Azi... Is this your friend? Why haven't I seen him before—"

That's right, the so-called safe bet is to use children to open the situation. This is the dark secret that Ping Xin learned from the dinner parties he attended in his previous life. Because "children's words are innocent," no matter what the children say, adults can just laugh it off and ease the atmosphere. It can be said that this trick always works!

"Brother Pingxin, this is Shirogane Rinko. The last time we played NFO (Neo Fantasy Online) together, the wizard in the team with the ID [RinRin] was her. Don't you remember her?" After hearing Pingxin's question, the innocent and cute energetic girl answered with a smile, revealing her cute little fangs.

This cute girl with purple twintails and red eyes is Ako Udagawa, a second-year junior high student at Hanegaoka Girls' Academy. Her second year of junior high school and her personality are all about the "second year" of junior high school, as can be seen from her NFO (Neo Fantasy Online) game ID: "Fallen Angel Ako-hime." It's worth noting that Ako is the younger sister of Tomoe Udagawa, the drummer for Afterglow, though her appearance wouldn't reveal it at all.

What exactly are the laws of inheritance in this world?! It always feels like there's something incredibly free about them...

But [RinRin] - since all the communication in the game is text, Pingxin's impression of her is that she is a super hardcore player who types very fast and uses emoticons very well when playing online games. And judging from the time she is online, she is a stay-at-home mom like him before. In addition, she is suspected to be a girl of the same age as him and two years older than Yazi. However, this is the first time he has actually seen her in real life.

When I heard that [RinRin] resisted voice calls and only deleted words, Ping Xin thought "she" was a transsexual account that specialized in deceiving little girls (Ako) and innocent virgins (Ping Xin)... I didn't expect that Ako actually met her in person in secret. Fortunately, she wasn't some weird middle-aged bald uncle.

*Shemale account: refers to a man using a female account; Face-to-face meeting: refers to meeting online friends offline

Looking closely, isn't this a very beautiful girl? Although the concentration of beautiful girls around me has been a bit high recently, the word "beautiful girl" seems to have lost its value...but even if you look at her appearance alone, Shirogane Rinko is a beautiful girl of the highest level.

Her smooth black hair was combed straight and neatly, and her skin was fair and moist. Her hairstyle and quiet demeanor gave her the air of a young lady from a traditional Japanese family. Her gray-purple eyes were like enchanting violets, captivating you. Her slightly evasive gaze gave off a sense of weakness, making you want to approach her, protect her, and even bully her.

As for losing fashion value again, Pingxin is already used to it...

The plain, thin sweater and black tights, with the simplest of outfits, show the purest beauty. Paired with a figure that far exceeds that of her peers, this outfit can only be described in four words: virgin killer!

"...Nice to meet you. I'm Asuka Maheishin, whose ID is [DIO] (changed earlier)."

Ping Xin tried to act like a sunny and cheerful older brother, but he still couldn't say anything. He could only smile and extend his right hand to Shirogane Rinko, asking for interaction, but was glaringly ignored.

"..."

After some thought, Pingxin decided to part ways amicably. What should he say... Oh, right, how about "Be careful when you walk home at night?" After all, a young woman dressed so beautifully should be careful out at night. Let's just say that later!

"...That——" x2

Huh? Why did she start with an ellipsis? Could it be...

A stay-at-home gaming expert, he's incredibly good at typing in online games but never uses a microphone, he looks quiet offline, he dresses very simply, as if he hasn't been meticulously groomed, he doesn't initiate conversation with anyone other than Yazi, and he's timid and looks around when approached by strangers or the opposite sex...

Adding the surname "Platinum"——

Masaka (could it be) a stand of the same type as me?!

"...You don't need to say more, Ms. Shirogane Rinko."

"I already know your ambitions, I understand your ambitions! From now on, let's work together as socially awkward partners!" Ping Xin shouted in his heart.

After being forced to shake hands with Hira Nobu, who was very excited about meeting his "companion," Shirogane Rinko fell silent again. This time, no one approached her to speak. As expected, in a strange place, only the lovely Ako beside her could give her a sense of security!

Thinking of this, Shirogane Rinko moved her chair a little towards Ueda Ayako.

"Arisaki, you're here too? I thought you were going to stay home today... Since you have a lot of free time anyway, why don't you consider creating an account and join us in NFO (Neo Fantasy Online) to fight and save the world?" Hirashin spoke to the other lone girl with twintails.

"Hmph—so annoying."

The girl with twintails called Arisaki turned her head away, indicating that she didn't want to talk to you.

At least Ako brought a close friend to chat and play games with. But the granddaughter of the Ryuseido Pawn Shop, the young owner, Ichigaya Yusaki, just kept playing with her phone.

Dark gold spiral twintails, amber eyes, over-the-knee socks, and a ladylike look. At first glance, she's a fashion icon—though true fans can also see that this is a classic, sharp-tongued, and tsundere twintail look.

In a nutshell, she's a gifted top student who doesn't like school but has excellent grades, so she doesn't have to attend classes. Incidentally, she's physically weak because she stays at home all year round. She's particularly unique in her various sitting and sleeping positions (Hirashin often sees her slacking off at the counter or even dozing off when he visits the store).

Recently, it seems that because Ping Xin, who is also a stay-at-home top student, left the "team" without permission, she has some resentment towards him. It's probably like a good friend who agreed to be single for the rest of his life suddenly got married.

In short, compared with the other table, the atmosphere at Pingxin's table seemed much colder.

After all, this is a middle school girl and her socially anxious best friends (Ako + Rinko), a blonde tsundere who is not good at communicating with others (Arisaki), Hiranobu (who can't switch to private self-entertainment mode with Rinko Shirogane present), and the trio of Asuna, Karin and Akane who are not familiar with the others and know Hiranobu.

On the other side is the center of tonight. In addition to the five members of Afterglow who just held their first independent live (also known as a transition performance), there are also other friends from the shopping street, such as:

The only daughter of Yamabuki Bakery, the bread saint Yamabuki Saya, who appeared in the previous article; the only daughter of Kitazawa Butcher Shop, the energetic idiot Kitazawa Ikumi, who once delivered croquettes to Hirayuki, who appeared in the previous article; and the model girl who returned from overseas and worked at Yuzawa Cafe, the ruthless Bushido repeater Wakamiya Eve, who also appeared in the previous article.

They see each other every day for many years, and they are all girls of the same age, so their relationship is very good, even very good.

The reason why Ako, the younger sister of the close Udagawa sisters, is not there is probably because she wants to accompany her friend Shirogane Rinko. What a good child she is -

Ichigaya Yusaki, like Hirayobu, likely arrived just in time, and seeing Ako, who had arrived earlier, sat down there, she followed suit. After all, while everyone knew each other, Ichigaya Yusaki, a homebody, wasn't very social, and clearly a completely different type from the other group. They were mostly just nodding acquaintances, akin to her relationship with Hirayobu.

"Everyone, the ordered dishes are here, please enjoy them slowly—"

For some reason, Asuka Matoki appeared among the waiters wearing a maid outfit.

Wait, if you look closely, aren't the waiters serving the food all his "shadows" from back home?!

"Before the celebration banquet officially begins, I would like to invite my brother, Asukana Hiranobu, who is also the organizer of today's party, to say a few words—"