Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 151 Rin Shiraishi's Farewell
Upon hearing what Shimada Rieko said, Akizuki Makoto also remembered that his first encounter with Shiraishi Rin was when she was being harassed by several men, and he stepped in to help drive them away.

Looking back now, it really was a wonderful coincidence.

Looking at the embarrassed Shiraishi Rin, Akizuki Makoto said meaningfully, "You've changed a lot since we first met, Shiraishi."

Upon hearing this, Rieko Shimada showed no surprise or panic, calmly continuing to eat her ramen.

Shiraishi Rin's change was so obvious that it would be strange if Akizuki Makoto didn't notice it.

But no matter how much Akizuki Makoto thought about it, he probably couldn't have imagined that the current Shiraishi Rin was a different Shiraishi Rin, not the one he first met.
As long as the clone Shiraishi Rin hasn't revealed this secret, no one in the world will think in this direction.

After all, this is too unbelievable, subverting common sense and human values.

"Yes, yes..."

Unlike Shimada Rieko, Shiraishi Rin was not shocked. When Akizuki Makoto pointed out that she had changed a lot, a look of panic appeared on her face. She didn't know how to answer Akizuki Makoto's words.

"Mr. Qiuyue, please don't make a move against my young lady just because her personality has changed, okay?"

Rieko Shimada spoke up at the right moment, taking over the conversation from Makoto Akizuki and easing Rin Shiraishi's embarrassment.

"Don't worry about that."

Akizuki Makoto smiled slightly. If he were to attack Shiraishi Rin, he might as well attack Hime Yuki or Shiina Maki.

Although he no longer disliked Shiraishi Rin, he definitely didn't like her, and he didn't even have the thought of getting close to her, so how could he possibly make a move against her?
After that, they didn't talk anymore and silently ate their ramen.

"Then let's go first. Goodbye."

After Fuyuko finished her ramen and rested for a while, Akizuki Makoto said goodbye to Shiraishi Rin and Shimada Rieko, and left with Fuyuko in his hand.

"call……"

After the Akizuki siblings lifted the curtain and left the ramen shop, Shiraishi Rin patted his thin chest and breathed a long sigh of relief.

Ever since Akizuki Makoto suddenly pointed out that she had changed a lot, her heart had been pounding and she was extremely nervous.

Looking at the shop entrance, she asked with worry, "Ms. Shimada, won't I be exposed?"

Rieko Shimada comforted her, "Don't worry, as long as you don't tell anyone, no one will know."

It's just a change in personality; any excuse or reason can easily cover it up.

The Shiraishi Rin sitting here is a one-to-one replica of Shiraishi Rin. Even if you asked her to do a DNA test or use various modern medical methods to test her, there would be no problem.

"Seriously, this ramen is so spicy! My mouth is already numb..."

Rieko Shimada looked at the half-eaten ramen and felt a wave of despair.

Afterwards, she and Shiraishi Rin finished their ramen with a bittersweet feeling, their mouths feeling numb as if they had been electrocuted.

Goodbye, contact me if you need anything.

After driving Rieko Shimada back to her single apartment in Shinjuku, they said goodbye to each other downstairs.

She leaned against the car and watched Shiraishi Rin enter the apartment building. Then she saw the white lights on in the apartment on Shiraishi Rin's floor, and she couldn't help but sigh deeply.

Perhaps this is the last time she will see Shiraishi Rin as she is now.

"That's... cruel."

……

After returning home, Shiraishi Rin took a shower first, then went back to her small bedroom, sat down at her desk, and began writing in her diary.

Today, she wrote for an exceptionally long time because there was just so much to write about.

As she savored the happiness, joy, sadness, and reluctance of the day, she wrote furiously, quickly filling several pages with notes.

She specifically mentioned the light music club, performances, the sweet cakes in the cafe, the bitter yet rich and fragrant coffee, as well as Tokyo Tower and ramen.

Halfway through writing, she felt her eyes start to sting, and her heart was swallowed by boundless sorrow and fear.

Within seconds, tears welled up in her eyes and uncontrollably streamed down her cheeks, falling drop by drop.

Several drops fell onto the notebook pages, wetting them and blurring the text.

"I don't want to...die."

Shiraishi Rin pressed her lips together and wiped away her tears, but her tear ducts seemed to break down, and tears kept flowing out.

The thought of today's happiness and joy, and then of how it would all disappear tomorrow, made her body tremble uncontrollably. Her strong will to survive nearly drove her to the brink of collapse.

She even began to think that if she hadn't been so happy and joyful, death might have been a relief for her.

If she has never seen the light, then she can certainly endure the darkness.

Shiraishi Rin, who had always coveted the happiness of others and longed to attain it, gained a friend who vowed to form a band for life in just one week, as well as unforgettable, youthful, and cherished memories.

For the first time, I had a close friend; for the first time, I had the will to live.

The two events overlapped, and it should have been a blissful, dreamlike time...

But why... why could she only live for a short week?

Wouldn't such happy times become cruel?
"Ah...ah..."

Thinking of this, Shiraishi Rin couldn't hold back her breakdown and burst into loud sobs.

"No...no!"

"Someone...someone save me..."

"I still want... I still want to live..."

Shiraishi Rin sobbed and mumbled incoherently, large tears soaking the pages of her notebook.

The words that recorded her happy moments became blurred and indistinct under the stain of her tears.

At that moment, her small, unique happiness seemed to vanish from her heart as well.

All that remained was excruciating pain, which continued to erode her and drive her to the brink of collapse.

She didn't know how long she cried, until all her tears had dried up and not a single drop could come out, until she was exhausted from crying and couldn't help but lie down on her desk and fall into a deep sleep.

"How cruel..."

"This kind of thing...is so cruel...so unreasonable..."

Even when she was asleep, her expression was filled with sadness and despair, and she murmured in her sleep.

……

……

Sunday, 9 PM. Everyone in the K-On! club received a private message from Rin Shiraishi.

The messages they received varied, but without exception, they were all very emotional, as if they were saying goodbye forever.

"Akizuki-kun, thank you for your care this week. I've been happy every day since I joined the Light Music Club. I'm really grateful for your encouragement and support back then. Otherwise, I might not have had the courage to participate. I also appreciate your continued care. I did some very bad things to you in the past, and I sincerely apologize to you. Please forgive me."

After taking a shower, Akizuki Makoto looked at the message and scratched his head, unsure how to reply to Shiraishi Rin.

I thanked him so formally and apologized to him, which made him feel embarrassed.

"It feels like saying goodbye..."

Qiuyue Cheng muttered to himself, and after hesitating for a long time, he briefly edited a message and sent it over.

"It's okay, those things are all in the past, you don't need to hold a grudge anymore. I'm also very grateful that you joined the Light Music Club, which solved the manpower problem for me and the president."

His reply was brief, but concise and to the point. Shiraishi Rin should understand that he really doesn't care about the past anymore.

Ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to get angry at Shiraishi Rin now, or blame her for her past actions.

To ask why...

He always felt that the current Shiraishi Rin was not the same Shiraishi Rin as before, so he couldn't hate the current Shiraishi Rin.

……

……

"Shiina-chan, thank you for being willing to be my friend. Even though I treated you so badly before, you forgave me without holding a grudge and became my friend. That really makes me so happy. Thank you for taking care of me this week. Shiina-chan's singing is so beautiful, I want to listen to it forever, and I want to keep listening to it too. I want to form a band with everyone for life, and I want to stand on a bigger stage with everyone, singing our own original songs. That would definitely make me very happy and joyful..."

Rin Shiraishi sent a very long private message to Maki Shiina, which took Maki Shiina ten minutes to read carefully.

After reading it, she suddenly felt a little sad because Shiraishi Rin's choice of words and the meaning he wanted to express were like a farewell.

For some reason, she felt inexplicably flustered, as if Shiraishi Rin would leave her if she didn't do something now.

Even so, she had finally managed to make friends. Shiraishi Rin and Niijima Rie were truly the only friends she could call herself, besides the Akizuki siblings.

"Shiraishi-chan, what's wrong? Why are you suddenly saying these things? I'm happy too. I understand why you did those things before, so I don't mind. Shiraishi-chan and I have the same idea: to form a band for life, to stand on a bigger stage, to sing our original songs, and to go eat dessert together again..."

Shiina Maki's reply was also very serious. She typed away on her phone for more than ten minutes, editing a short essay of nearly a thousand words before sending it over.

After sending the message, she held her phone to her chest, seemingly trying to suppress the inexplicable panic and palpitations in her heart.

……

……

Minato Ward, Himeya's residence.

Ji Yexue, who was enjoying tea and playing chess with her mother, suddenly heard a LINE message notification sound from her phone, which was placed on the table, and subconsciously glanced at it.

Upon seeing that the message was from Shiraishi Rin, her gaze sharpened, and she picked up her phone.

"Sent by Qiuyue-kun?"

Mrs. Hime laughed and joked, "My daughter only checks messages from Akizuki Makoto right away."

"No... it was sent by Shiraishi, the one I wanted to investigate."

As Ji Yexue spoke, she unlocked her screen and opened the chat window with Shiraishi Rin.

"I'm very sorry to bother President Himeya with a message so late at night. I want to thank you for letting me join the Light Music Club, which gave me a happy, joyful, and unforgettable time and memories, and also allowed me to gain invaluable friendships..."

What came into view was a long, solemn expression of gratitude, which left Ji Yexue stunned.

"what's the situation?"

She blinked, feeling utterly bewildered. What was Shiraishi Rin trying to do or express by suddenly sending such a message out of the blue?
She couldn't understand, so she immediately switched to the chat window and told Akizuki Makoto that Shiraishi Rin had suddenly written a long message thanking her.

After the message was sent, it quickly showed that it had been read, and Akizuki Makoto also indicated that he had received Shiraishi Rin's message.

This means that the others also received a message from Shiraishi Rin.

This made Ji Yexue even more confused. She couldn't understand what Shiraishi Rin was trying to do, sending such sentimental messages to everyone in the Light Music Club, making it seem like a life-or-death separation.

"You're not not coming tomorrow, are you?"

Just to be on the safe side, she asked Shiraishi Rin this question.

Even though Shiraishi Rin sent such a sentimental essay, she was worried that Shiraishi Rin wouldn't come to the Light Music Club, which seemed heartless and cold, but that was really the only thing she cared about.

"We'll be back! We're going to be in a band for life!"

After seeing Shiraishi Rin's reply, Ji Yexue felt relieved and then considered how to respond to the short essay she had sent.

But after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure out how to reply.

Ultimately, she wasn't good at handling these emotional scenes and found it strange, so she couldn't reply to Shiraishi Rin in the end.

In her opinion, Shiraishi Rin had just suddenly gone mad, and it didn't matter.

……

……

"Niijima-chan, thank you so much for this week! Thank you for being my friend. It was great to be in a band with you. Let's continue like this, and be a band for life! It's a promise!"

When Rie Niijima saw the message from Rin Shiraishi, it was already half an hour later, after she had come out of the bathroom and returned to her bedroom.

Upon seeing this message, Rie Niijima was both confused and deeply moved.

Instead of replying with text, she made a voice call to Shiraishi Rin, wanting to talk to her directly rather than using cold, emotionless text.

"Eh……?"

When the call connected, the first thing that came through was Shiraishi Rin's slightly confused voice, as if she was wondering why Niijima Rie had suddenly called.

"Shiraishi-chan~~~"

Rie Niijima immediately called out to Rin Shiraishi, and then said, "Have you been lonely because you haven't seen me all day, so you've become sentimental? I know, I also really want to see Shiraishi-chan and Shiina-chan."

The three of them have formed a small group, and they address each other by adding "酱" after their names to show their affection.

"No, it's not because I'm lonely, I just suddenly wanted to express my gratitude."

Shiraishi Rin's voice sounded somewhat embarrassed and awkward, after all, she knew just how shameful the message she had sent was.

But the thought that she would disappear in a few hours made her want to express her gratitude to everyone as a way of saying goodbye.

Although they might find it inexplicable and strange, this is her last act of willfulness, so it can be forgiven, right?
(End of this chapter)