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

Feeling a bit better, she looked up at Shirakawa Ze and smiled.

"Thank you, Ze-jun."

"I just thought about it and realized that there are indeed some things I haven't considered properly."

"I probably need to think things through before taking any action."

Shirakawa nodded, looking into the girl's eyes, sensing that behind that smiling face lay an extremely weary soul.

He knew that not all of the other person's thoughts and actions were correct, but in some ways, he could still understand the other person's feelings.

They also knew how much effort the other person was actually putting into maintaining that forced smile.

He patted the other person's hand in a gesture of comfort.

"Su Shi, thank you for all your hard work all this time."

"Sometimes, it's okay to relax a little."

Then he looked away, stood up, and walked towards the refrigerator.

"You probably haven't had dinner yet, so why don't you stay and eat here?"

"It's only fair to reciprocate, so try my cooking this time too."

However, there was no response from the other party.

He turned around curiously and saw that the other person was wiping away tears with their head down.

Shirakawa was startled, not knowing what was going on. He quickly walked over to her, pulled out a tissue and handed it to her, while half-squatting down, looking at her with concern in his voice.

"Su Shi, what's wrong with you?"

Nagasaki Motoyo's tears flowed more and more as she wiped them away. After a while, she could no longer control her emotions and buried her face in Shirakawa Sawa's arms, her voice trembling with sobs.

Why say things like "You've worked hard"?

"Why……"

She felt that the wall she had built around her heart over such a long time collapsed after hearing those words, "Thank you for your hard work."

From a very young age, she knew how to hide her emotions in front of her constantly arguing parents.

After her parents divorced, she became even more hesitant to express her true feelings in the face of the strange looks from those around her.

Later, after her mother became successful, she transferred to Tsukinomori Academy, a prestigious school frequented by the children of celebrities, and from then on, she wore a mask on her face.

Over the years, gentleness, kindness, and appreciation have become her subconscious reactions, and she can effortlessly switch to the state she wants.

In the eyes of her elders, she is mature, sensible, and well-behaved; in the eyes of her peers, she is gentle, kind, and reliable.

But that's just an image I've worked hard to maintain.

The real her has long forgotten what she was originally like.

All she knew was that the mask she wore was becoming increasingly heavy.

so tired……

It's so tiring...

I really want to relax...

As I get older, these thoughts occur less frequently, but each time they do, the emotions they carry become more intense.

However, she has always kept these things very well hidden.

Even in her most relaxed CRYCHIC, no one could discern her true feelings in this regard.

But she was very happy at that time, and even the mask on her face felt lighter.

But since the band broke up, that feeling has returned, and it's even stronger now.

It was something she often found hard to bear.

She felt that her performance had been perfect all along, and that no one should notice her disguise.

But to his surprise, the young man in front of him easily saw through his disguise.

This caused her to instantly let down all her defenses, and the emotions and grievances she had suppressed for so many years burst forth.

Her face pressed tightly against Shirakawa Ze's chest, and her hands slowly tightened around him.

The feeling was like a lone survivor adrift at sea, clinging tightly to the only piece of driftwood in front of them...

Volume 1: Chapter 71 The Weak Xiao Xiang Prepares to Step Forward

With the release of her emotions, Nagasaki Motoyo's long-suppressed mental exhaustion gradually dissipated.

Before she knew it, she was overcome by sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep.

He saw the girl in his arms slowly stop crying, her breathing gradually become steady, and she even uttered a few muttered words.

Shirakawa Sawa started sweating.

No, buddy?

Falling asleep now?

With a sigh in his heart, Shirakawa carefully carried her to the bed in the bedroom, only to find that she was holding him a little too tightly, and he had to slowly move her hands away.

"If only you had been this enthusiastic when you were pursuing Xiao Xiang."

After mentally complaining, Shirakawa covered her with the blanket, then left the bedroom and closed the door.

Although the walls and doors of the room had some soundproofing, it was very limited. If he cooked, he would definitely wake the other person up, so he decided to go out to buy food.

After changing out of his tear-stained shirt, Shirakawa went out to a nearby small restaurant, ordered a set meal, and sat down.

It was already past nine o'clock at night, and there were hardly any people around in this ordinary residential area. Including him, there were only two customers in the shop.

Another customer was sitting directly in front of him, so he could only see his back.

Judging from the back view alone, he should be a tall, middle-aged man.

His body blocked the view, so you couldn't see what he was eating, but there were quite a few beer cans on the table.

Judging from the shopkeeper's occasional glances, it's highly likely that he hasn't paid yet.

"Guest, your meal has arrived. Please enjoy."

As the owner's voice rang out, the set meal that Shirakawa Sawa had ordered was placed in front of him.

He nodded and thanked him, then took out the money for the meal and handed it over.

The food was decent, but not particularly remarkable. Shirakawa ate it without a ripple, just as usual.

"Um... you've ordered two servings of eel rice and eight cans of beer, which totals 3600 yuan."

"You only have 600 yuan... you still need 3000..."

The boss's polite voice reached Shirakawa Sawa's ears.

Clearly, this is a difficult customer.

However, he did not look up.

I don't care if it doesn't concern me, as long as it doesn't affect my meals.

"That's all I have... Do you want some love, love, love!"

He heard a voice he had never heard before, slurred and drunk, clearly someone who had been drinking too much.

The boss's voice remained polite.

"Sir, please understand, it's not easy for us to run this small shop, and we have two children at home..."

The drunkard interrupted him directly.

"Child, child?"

"I have kids too, damn it!"

"Yes! I fucking have kids too!"

As if he had just thought of something, the drunkard's voice was filled with excitement.

"I'll call her now!"

Half a minute later, the drunkard's voice rang out again.

"My phone bill is overdue."

"Let me use your phone!"

As if sensing something, Shirakawa looked up and met the drunkard's gaze.

The drunkard had already made the call, but instead of responding to the questioning "Hello?" on the other end, he glared at Shirakawa and shouted,

"Hey kid, what are you looking at?!"

"You brat, what are you looking at!"

Shirakawa Ze felt a little dizzy. Dude, it would be a crime to even look up at you.

However, he couldn't be bothered to argue with this drunkard and continued eating with his head down.

Seeing that he was being ignored, the drunkard immediately grabbed a stool and smashed it at Shirakawa.

"Clang!"

With a loud crash, the stool slammed onto the table, then bounced to the ground and rolled a few times.

Having already created some distance, Shirakawa Sawa saw that the food he had just eaten was now smashed, and a surge of anger rose within him. His gaze locked onto the drunkard.

"This set meal costs 800 yen. If you buy me another one, I can let it go."