In music anime, band girls won't be alone.

"I'm fine."

"thanks for your concern."

Shirakawa nodded, then sat on the other stool and began eating the rice ball in his hand.

He knew that given their current level of interaction, the other party wouldn't easily communicate with him, so he didn't ask any further questions.

After eating a rice ball, Shirakawa Sawa turned to look at Toyokawa Shoko.

"Are you also resting here after finishing your part-time job?"

Toyokawa Shoko glanced at Shirakawa Sawa with some surprise, wondering if he was one of her kind.

It turns out everyone is struggling to make a living, worrying about basic necessities like food and fuel...

Thinking about this made her feel a little better, and she softly hummed in response.

"Cuckoo~"

Her stomach suddenly growled twice, reminding her that her friend hadn't eaten a single grain of rice since noon and it was time for him to eat something.

Because the surrounding environment was very quiet at the time, the two rumbling sounds from the stomach seemed particularly loud.

Shoko Toyokawa was both shy and embarrassed, but she managed to keep a straight face on the surface.

She glanced at Shirakawa Ze without making a sound and noticed that he was eating rice balls while looking into the distance, seemingly unaware of the growling in his stomach.

Shoko Toyokawa felt a little relieved and looked at the sandwich in her hand, which had been squeezed into a slightly deformed shape.

She bought the sandwich at a convenience store on her way home from get off work, intending it as her dinner for tonight.

After buying the sandwiches, she walked into the old two-story building, climbed the creaky stairs to the second floor, and pushed open the door. A pungent smell of alcohol hit her. Several more empty bottles were on the floor. Her father, already drunk, lay in bed, snoring loudly.

Having long been accustomed to this scene, Toyokawa Shoko's face showed a numb indifference.

She went into the room, closed the door, then bent down to pick up the newly added bottles, intending to put them together with the previous ones and sell them together tomorrow.

But as she picked up the bottle, she noticed by the moonlight that it was different from the bottles she had used before.

She doesn't know much about wine and doesn't know exactly how much this kind of wine costs.

But she knew that the old type of liquor was the cheapest kind available in stores, and if it was different from the previous one, it would only be more expensive, not cheaper.

But the money she was given before leaving home in the morning could only buy a few bottles of the cheapest wine...

Toyokawa Shoko suddenly realized something, immediately got up and went to her desk, taking out a thick sheet music.

Sure enough, after opening the sheet music, some of the money inside was missing.

"why?"

Shoko Toyokawa looked at the remaining banknotes in disbelief, not understanding why her father would do such a thing.

Now that the two of them have fallen to this point, shouldn't they understand and support each other even more?

It's one thing to drink all day, but why did he also steal her dream fund?!

Shoko Toyokawa slammed the sheet music shut and walked to her father's sleeping mat, wanting to get to the bottom of things.

However, the room was dark and she didn't notice the small steel balls scattered around the edge of the bedding.

Because she was walking in a bit of a hurry, she stepped on a bunch of small steel balls, slipped, and fell to the ground.

The burning pain from her knee hitting the floor shattered her mental defenses, and an overwhelming flood of grievances overwhelmed her. She could no longer hold back her emotions, and tears streamed down her face.

At that moment, she desperately wanted to escape, to escape far away, and never return to this so-called home.

She grabbed the sandwich, rushed out the door, and the wind blew her tears down her face, which lingered briefly in the air before falling to the ground.

When she reached the vicinity of the park, she felt a little tired and had vented a lot of her emotions, so she went into the park, sat down, and prepared to rest for a while before eating her sandwich.

I had just rested for a while when I heard Shirakawa Ze's voice.

At first, Toyokawa Shoko was a little uneasy when she heard a man talking to her. She only felt a little relieved after she turned her head and saw that it was Shirakawa Sawa, whom she had met at school, and that he was keeping a certain distance from her.

She still had a deep impression of Shirakawa Ze, after all, he was able to accurately sense the emotions in her piano playing.

Moreover, the other person maintained a polite sense of boundaries with her, which made her feel very comfortable.

She opened the package and took a bite of the now-cold sandwich.

After Toyokawa Shoko finished her sandwich, Shirakawa Sawa received a system notification in his mind.

"Congratulations, host, for completing today's task and fulfilling the additional conditions. The reward has been multiplied tenfold, granting you a total of 10 points and 100 million yen!"

Shirakawa Ze couldn't help but think to himself, "Wow!"

"In the public park, she was sitting on that bench eating a sandwich, and I was sitting on this bench eating a rice ball. Can that be considered having dinner together?"

"System, you really do have a bit of a twisted sense of humor."

As a new author with a new book, I am deeply moved to receive support from so many influential figures, and I really want to write more to repay them.

However, due to limited personal ability and no drafts, in order to increase my motivation, I would like to take the liberty of inserting a [bonus chapter rule].

If you tip 1000 cat cookies (equivalent to 10 RMB) or 10 razor blades on the same day, an extra chapter will be added that night. If the paid items arrive too late, an extra chapter will be added the next day.

Daily limit of 1 chapter

If any generous supporters want to help me, I will automatically add more chapters once the conditions are met. No need to vote more, thank you!

Volume 1: Chapter 25 I Can Eat Two Servings

The park was very quiet at night; you could even hear the slight swaying of the branches and the rustling of the leaves.

After finishing his rice ball, Shirakawa Sawa didn't plan to linger any longer.

Given their current state, sitting near Toyokawa Shoko won't earn them any goodwill.

After throwing the rice ball wrapper into the nearby trash can, Shirakawa turned to look at the other person and made a gesture of encouragement.

"Excuse me, I'm leaving now."

"Keep up the good work tomorrow!"

Toyokawa Shoko looked up at the smiling boy and nodded slightly.

"come on."

Shirakawa Sawa showed a dissatisfied expression.

"Why are you so spineless? When facing this CD-like life, you should fight back with full force!"

"Tell me again, keep going!"

Although the other person's words were vulgar, for some reason, Toyokawa Shoko felt no aversion at all, and even found them quite amusing.

She took a deep breath and shouted loudly,

"come on!"

Shirakawa Sawa: "Not enough! Keep going!"

Toyokawa Shoko mustered her courage again and shouted with all her might,

"come on--"

As if some pent-up emotions had been released, she felt much better after shouting it out.

Shirakawa nodded, deliberately making an exaggerated expression of satisfaction, and even gave a thumbs up.

"That's right, that's how it should be."

"When facing this CD-like life, you have to maintain your momentum and then give it a good punch!"

Upon hearing these vulgar words again, Toyokawa Shoko, who had relaxed somewhat, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Perhaps because I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time, I laughed especially happily this time.

Seeing Toyokawa Shoko's beaming smile, Shirakawa Sawa understood everything in that instant.

"Deng Jiang, Chu Hua, it's really not your fault for being bewitched by Bai Xiang. Even I, who have lived two lives, am finding it hard to resist."

Although Toyokawa Shoko was in a good mood, it wasn't really appropriate to continue the conversation, so Shirakawa Sawa didn't say anything more, gave another thumbs-up, and left.

Toyokawa Shoko watched the boy's figure disappear into the distance, then looked at the sky, let out a long sigh, and left as well.

After the two had left, a bush in a corner of the park suddenly moved, and a white cat jumped out, then sat on the ground and began licking its paws and grooming its slightly messy fur.

Immediately afterward, a silver-haired girl with heterochromatic eyes jumped out of the bushes, picked up the white cat, looked in the direction Shirakawa had left, and whispered something.

"Interesting man."

"Meow~"

The white cat in her arms meowed, as if in agreement with her words.

……

Back at his lodgings, Shirakawa picked up his guitar, practiced the scales and strings for a while, then opened the sheet music for "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on his computer and began practicing.

More than an hour later, feeling that he had practiced quite well, Shirakawa played it again, recorded it on his phone, and then sent the recording to Yamada Ryo.

"Senior Liang, could you listen to see if there's anything wrong?"

A while later, Yamada Ryo replied with a message.

"The pitch and rhythm are both fine."

Then the other party sent another message.

"Do you have time tomorrow?"

Shirakawa Sawa replied,

"Have time."

Ryo Yamada: "Then let's meet at the STARRY entrance at 8 a.m. tomorrow. Bring your guitar."

Shirakawa Sawa replied with a simple "okay".

The next morning, Shirakawa arrived at the STARRY store with two McDonald's breakfasts.

Around eight o'clock, Yamada Ryo and Ijichi Nijika appeared. The latter was still wearing her pajamas, yawning, and looked like she hadn't woken up yet.