They all have special skills

Shimizukawa raised his hand to wipe it away, but Toyokawa Shoko took a half step back, her expression stern, her face slightly red, and she didn't say a word.

Qingshuichuan sighed in frustration and put his hands in his pockets: "Go back and rest early, I won't go in for tea."

"I didn't think of inviting you up..." Toyokawa Shoko glanced to the side and muttered in a very low voice.

"Now we're even, and I've told you everything about my past. But let me make this clear: I don't know how you feel about this, but I won't let you go."

"Is it because of Ai and Akane?"

"It's because of you."

"..."

The air was quiet again, with only the gentle night breeze and the croaking of frogs and the chirping of cicadas.

"gone."

After saying this, Qingshuichuan turned around and left without any reluctance.

Shoko Toyokawa watched his back slowly disappearing around the corner of the street, and felt that his image became clearer and clearer in her mind.

When I got home, my father was sleeping soundly in the living room, no different from usual.

She came to her study table and carefully took out a small piece of blood-stained, now brown cloth from her pocket. She looked at it carefully for a while and carefully put it in her notebook.

Qingshuichuan returned home in the evening, said a few words to his two daughters, took a shower and wanted to rest, but he looked at the big hole on his bed sheet and fell into deep thought.

…………

Volume 1: Chapter 116 The matter comes to an end

The next day when he went to work in the store again, Qingshuichuan really wanted to ask Xiangzi why she cut her own sheets.

But when the words came to his lips, he swallowed them back.

He also vaguely realized that it was probably a ritual means for the former eldest lady to feel nostalgic for the first time in her life.

Although Xiangzi usually behaves like a lady from a noble family and has done everything with him, it seems that their relationship has become close, to the point where they can talk about anything.

But that’s not actually the case.

It was obvious that there was an inexplicable barrier between them, like a thick wall that could not be crossed. Only at certain specific times could they open their hearts to each other.

On the way to send her back last night, Qingshuichuan told her about his situation without reservation, just like during a blind date.

And after that... I can only say that Shimizukawa couldn't really tell what Toyokawa Shoko was thinking.

She came to work normally, greeted him normally, ate lunch with him in the staff room normally, accepted the milk he offered her after thanking him, and showed a familiar and enthusiastic expression to his younger and older daughters who had simply disguised themselves to see him.

It's very common.

So Qingshuichuan couldn't tell whether she had accepted him now.

He wanted to find another opportunity to talk to her, but there was no good opportunity at the moment because there were more urgent things.

In the afternoon, in front of Shimizu River and Toyokawa Shoko, Shimizu Ai's body became extremely mysterious and translucent for a moment.

Both of them were terrified, but Qing Shuiqian remained calm and chuckled as she explained, "Come to think of it, it's almost time for my sister to go back."

Both sisters came from the future and could not live in the past forever. They had to return to their own timeline.

Both Shimizukawa and Toyokawa Shoko knew this... but even though they knew it, they still felt a little reluctant.

That night, the two of them agreed to Qingshui Ai's coquettish request and let her parents sleep with her together.

Thinking about the fact that they didn't know when they would meet again after this separation, Toyokawa Shoko naturally had no way of refusing her, and the same was true for Shimizukawa.

It was also on that night that they saw their eldest daughter sleeping happily with them surrounding her, and they both realized that although both of their parents had taken her out to play happily since she came to this world, they had never been together as a family like this before.

Knowing that she is leaving, at least don't let her have any regrets.

So the next day they both asked for leave from the store and went straight to the aquarium early the next morning.

Of course, Shimizu Ai was very happy during the trip, and Shimizu Akane, who followed her, was also smiling all the way.

But there was still a farewell after all, just like the feeling she had when she came here a week ago. After Qingshui Ai felt the changes in her body, she quickly pulled everyone to a corner.

She hugged her sister and whispered something in her mother's ear. When it was Qingshuichuan's turn, she lowered her voice and said, "Apologize to Shiyu's mother and Eriri's mother for not saying goodbye to them properly."

Qingshuichuan nodded in agreement. Qingshui Ai smiled, and then she disappeared into thin air in Qingshuichuan's arms. The touch of the little arm that was originally around her also disappeared.

Both Shimizukawa and Toyokawa Shoko felt a little lost, as if they were in another world, and the lively atmosphere of the family reunion disappeared in an instant.

Seeing her parents like this, Qing Shuiqian smiled and put her hands on their shoulders, one on each side. "It's not a life-and-death separation, don't look so serious. Show more love and affection. Maybe you'll be able to see her again in ten months or so."

If I had said this at any other time a few days ago, I would probably have been punished by Toyokawa Shoko with a blushing face and a slap on the head.

But now... she really wasn't in the mood.

"You're all so sad that my sister is gone. I'm really curious about how you, Mom and Dad, would react if I were gone."

Akane Shimizu's deliberate act of being calm did improve the depressed mood of Shimizu Kawa and Toyokawa Shoko somewhat.

Yes, after Ai left, Qian would be leaving soon, according to the chronological order.

"Is there anything you want to do?" asked Shimizukawa. Toyokawa Shoko seemed to have the same idea as her and looked at her with great concern.

"I do have some small requests." Akane Shimizu smiled and took Toyokawa Shoko's hand: "Mom, will you agree to it?"

"Of course, anything I can do."

"Don't worry, Mom, you can definitely do it."

----

Two days later, in the middle of the night in Shimizu River's apartment, Akane Shimizu's body slowly faded as the two of them watched. She looked at her parents' indescribable sadness, and perhaps to liven up the atmosphere, she said, "Don't look at me like that anymore. At worst, my sister and I will come back to see you next time."

Shimizukawa and Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but smile.

"Be happy, Mom and Dad." Akane Shimizu waved her hand, and after saying this she disappeared completely, not knowing whether she saw her parents' response.

The apartment suddenly became quiet.

It's clearly just a single apartment, not very big, but for some reason it seems too empty at this moment.

At first, when his two daughters appeared beside him, he seemed extremely anxious and just wanted to end this unusual situation as soon as possible. But now that the time has come, Qingshuichuan is not happy at all.

They don't belong to the present and will eventually return to the future where they are. Didn't you know that from the beginning?

On the system page, a reminder pops up that the system is being updated. Based on its unreliable past style, it is unknown when the update will be completed.

Qingshuichuan looked at Toyokawa Shoko, who had lowered her eyes. Now it was just the two of them, in the dead of night...

It’s not that he has any other thoughts, he just doesn’t have the interest to do that right now, he just feels that there are some things between them that really need to be made clear.

"Xiangzi..."

"Akira has been staying by my side these past two days and has told me a lot of things in private."

Her words were interrupted. It was a good thing that she took the initiative to say these things, so Qingshuichuan shut up and listened to her quietly.

Toyokawa Shoko looked over quietly. "She told me that of all the things that will happen to us in the future, the one that I care about most is... your relationship with the opposite sex."

“…” Qingshuichuan raised his eyebrows.

"I actually found it hard to believe at first, but after Qian told me that you would be very successful in the future, with both wealth and power, I roughly understood. Under such circumstances, it's not surprising that such a thing happened."

Qingshuichuan sighed: "Really? Qian never told me these."

"Xia is a smart child with her own ideas. She probably knows better than you and I do what we should do to bring us together."

"Judging from your reaction now, it seems that her efforts were in vain."

Qing Shuichuan's probing was not met by Toyokawa Xiangzi. She took the initiative to ask, "Now you think that you can't let go of those light novel writers..."

"Yes, to be honest, before I met you, I already felt that they were the only ones I could have in my life."

Emotionality tells Qing Shuichuan not to respond directly. No matter what, making Xiangzi feel better first might be the right choice. However, reason slaps emotion in the face, claiming that this will only make things more complicated.

Qingshuichuan chose the latter. He was neither a hipster nor a moron, and he knew what the correct choice was in the current situation.

Now that he was completely honest in front of Toyokawa Shoko, things became a lot simpler, but the atmosphere also became more depressing.

Shoko Toyokawa fell silent again, and this time she didn't speak again for a long time.

Finally, it was Qingshuichuan who stood up and said, "Let me take you home."

Toyokawa Shoko didn't move, and said slowly: "Actually, I haven't been able to figure it out since that day..."

This nonsensical sentence puzzled Qing Shuichuan: "What?"

"I don't know how naturally we get along now...how much of it is because we're simply attracted to each other, rather than because of our two daughters? I can't tell. Can you?"

Shimizukawa was silent for a while, and Toyokawa Shoko suddenly raised the topic to a higher level. He had no answer to this question at the moment.

"I don't know." Facing Toyokawa Shoko's gaze, Shimizukawa shook his head frankly: "But I know there is a saying that may be useful in our current situation."

"What?"

"Practice is the only criterion for testing truth."

"..."

Unlike Shimizukawa who answered with a serious expression, Toyokawa Shoko tilted her head and looked at him thoughtfully.

This action reminded Qingshuichuan of his little daughter who had just left. It can only be said that they are worthy of being mother and daughter, and there are indeed many similarities between the two.

"Practice... How do you think we should practice it?" After a moment's silence, Xiangzi maintained a calm expression, but the faint blush on her cheeks betrayed her current mood.

Qing Shuichuan finally realized what he had just said, and it seemed that she had misunderstood him. He quickly explained, "What I meant was... there's a lot of time to come. You don't need to worry about it now. Let's just... continue to interact like this. As time goes by, maybe the doubts you just had will naturally be answered."

At first glance, Toyokawa Shoko thought what he said made sense, but after careful consideration, she suddenly realized that something was wrong. If this were the case, wouldn't the situation still be moving in the direction he expected...

After all, there is a long way to go. Can it be sublimated into love over time to some extent?

But I clearly care about the relationship between him and other women, but I don't want to reject him...

Ah!

What a hassle! Why is this kind of thing so troublesome?

Clearly, I broke with my family right away and didn't dwell on it to this extent!

"How about... you stay here tonight..." Qingshuichuan looked out the window at the night scene. Facing Toyokawa Xiangzi's suspicious eyes and subconscious chest-crossing movements, he hurriedly explained: "Don't get me wrong, I just think it's getting late, so I want to invite you to stay and rest. I don't have any other ideas at all."

It would have been fine if he hadn't explained it, but this explanation made it seem like Shimizukawa was trying to cover up something even more, and Toyokawa Shoko became even more alert.

The next moment she stood up: "I'm going back."

It was hard to call her first experience a good one. Although the alcohol helped soothe her nerves and allowed her to quickly get into the state after only experiencing the initial pain, she felt like she was floating in the clouds, which was quite comfortable and relaxing. But afterwards... she really didn't want to experience that sour feeling again, and she had no choice but to be cautious now.

"Then I'll take you there." Shimizukawa was helpless and felt that he needed to resolve Toyokawa Shoko's misunderstanding of him as a non-human being in the future.

"No, I can go back by myself. I used to go home by myself too."

"Then was then, and the present is now."

Qingshuichuan didn't give her a chance to refuse and went to the entrance to change his shoes first.

The two of them went out together.

After getting on the train, she glanced sideways at the Kiyomizu River and then said something else: "I will go to the store tomorrow and resign from the store manager."

Qingshuichuan is not a surprise. Xiangzi's background destined her to not be a waitress forever. She has her own goals and pursuits.

The youngest daughter also explained the situation to her privately yesterday, and she gave her mother the money she won from horse racing with appropriate reasons.

Now that the conditions are ripe and Shoko Toyokawa doesn't have to worry about her living expenses for the time being, she definitely wants to do what she wants to do as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Qingshuichuan nodded slightly: "It's faster than I thought."

"You don't seem surprised."

"After all, you are Toyokawa Shoko."

This was an ambiguous statement, and Xiangzi was not satisfied: "Aren't you worried?"

"worry about what?"

“…” Xiangzi didn’t want to continue talking to him and turned his head to the other side in a huff.

Qing Shuichuan was amused by what he saw. After thinking for a moment, he leaned over and gently touched her shoulder: "You should still go and form a band as usual... Is that traitor that Akane mentioned okay?"

This is more like...

Xiangzi was satisfied, but remained calm: "Qing told me the general situation of the original timeline. Now that we all know the reasons for the problems in the original timeline, I will definitely not fall into the same trap again..."