When I’m in a music show, I just want to make music seriously!

But by the bed, Shoko Toyokawa couldn't calm down at all when she heard this song.

The level of detail in the score, the corrections made to it, the adjustments made according to the skills of each member, all of these kept telling her how much thought Sakagami Taku had put into it.

She even felt her hands shaking when she put them at the end of the bed.

She tried her best to look no different than usual, but she found that she couldn't calm down at all at the moment.

If she hadn't quit the group, if so many things hadn't happened, CRYCHIC would have used this song in their second Live.

With just one glance, Shoko Toyokawa could tell the quality of the song. Even though she had been working for a long time and had not played any musical instruments, she was still clear about the quality of the song.

Even if she had been able to hold on for a while and let this song appear, the current ending might have been completely different...

Shoko Toyokawa pursed her lips, feeling furious.

CRYCHIC is over, no matter what, there is no need to be nostalgic about it.

What's more, even if they continue, with their strength, it will take time for them to become a commercial band.

But, but even so...

From the day the band ended, when Sakagami Taku chased me out and patiently asked me what happened, to the various ways he helped me with my work now...

Shoko Toyokawa pinched her arm and used the pain to bring herself back to reality.

She suppressed the throbbing in her heart and just wanted to finish dinner quickly and leave.

Now every second in Sakagami Taku's little house seemed to be a torment for her.

She wanted to escape from here.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes to cook noodles. Taku Sakagami finished in just five minutes.

Put some soy sauce and chopped green onions in a bowl.

He always eats like this. If he has money today, he will splurge and add two sausages and an egg. However, his current wallet does not allow him to do so.

Moreover, the house is very small and not suitable for cooking. Cooking noodles does not produce much smoke and is very convenient.

The hot noodles came out of the pot. Sakagami Taku prepared chopsticks for Toyokawa Shoko and placed them in front of her: "My conditions are limited. This is all I have. You know I don't have much money."

In fact, the cost of this bowl may be less than 50 yen, but what's wrong with making some money for me!

You even used my Band-Aid, gauze and alcohol.

"Ah."

Shoko Toyokawa nodded obediently. She didn't dare to say more, for fear that she would regret something again. She was even more afraid of Sakagami Taku treating her gently.

Charging her money will make her feel better, because at least both parties have a beneficial relationship.

That's good. She'll find a way to repay the money and the favor later. Then, maybe this will be the end...

She took the chopsticks and was about to eat the noodles when she heard Sakagami Taku sitting across from her put his hands together and said, "I'm starting."

These ordinary things that Taku Sakagami did made Shoko Toyokawa feel a tremor in her heart. She looked at Taku Sakagami with tears in her eyes.

That silent heart seemed to begin to beat faintly.

It had been a long time since she had a normal meal like this since she started taking care of her father.

I help my father clean up every day, and when it’s time to eat, I find a quiet corner to eat by myself.

No one cares, no one cares.

When I got home and said, "I'm back," my father didn't even bother to say, "Welcome back."

Only when she was working did she feel as if she were alive.

When Shoko Toyokawa's hand touched the edge of the bowl, she could feel the temperature of the noodles.

Until this moment, Sakagami Taku's words "I'm starting", finally broke down her inner defenses completely. From the time Sakagami Taku helped her until now when she sat here, the tears she had been holding back could no longer be suppressed.

In my mind, the events of the past few months seemed to pass by like flowing water.

From the death of her mother, to her father's decadence, the founding of CRYCHIC, to the day he quit CRYCHIC, the words that Taku Sakagami said to her when he chased her out, and then her father's daily self-abandonment and Taku Sakagami's help at work.

Finally, the picture stayed on the music scores just seen on the table and the guitar that Taku Sakagami bought.

The fragments of memory combined together, impacting her mind over and over again, making her heart, which had been silent, beat again.

These things form a sharp contrast.

Looking at Sakagami Taku eating noodles.

Tears slid down Toyokawa Shoko's cheeks. She touched it subconsciously and found that the tears were flowing uncontrollably.

Huh? Why? Why are you crying...

I don't know, it's inexplicable. She has been trying not to cry, and has been trying not to think about these things, including when she saw the music score just now, she also tried not to ask about these things.

But why, why am I crying now...

In that case, wouldn't it be completely useless for her to hold back her tears since she came in?

Shoko Toyokawa bit her lip and tried to make a final struggle, but in the end, she found that she couldn't do it at all.

Tears kept falling, and she couldn't wipe them away with one hand, so she started wiping them with her sleeves.

Taku Sakagami, who was eating, didn't notice her movement until he took a sip and heard some crying. He looked up and found Toyokawa Shoko sobbing and wiping her tears with her hands.

What the hell are you doing?

No, I divided the noodles equally, and I didn’t give you much less.

"what happened?"

Did you get burned?

Taku Sakagami wanted to help her check on her hand to see if it was more serious because of the previous injury and the burn.

He took the tissue and wanted to hand it to the other person to wipe it.

However, Toyokawa Shoko didn't take it at all. Her hands kept pushing Sakagami Taku, but she didn't use much strength. Her voice was choked and pitiful: "No, don't care about me... Wuuuuu... Don't come over..."

Tears blurred my eyes and could not be stopped even if I wiped them away with my hands.

She wanted Sakagami Taku to leave and not see her like this, but she no longer had the strength to push him away.

This time, Sakagami Taku didn't say anything else. He patted Toyokawa Shoko on the back and said, "I don't know what happened, but everything will pass."

These calm words and the gentle hand on her back finally and completely broke down all the defenses in Toyokawa Shoko's heart.

She had been having a really hard time these past few months.

She gave up her favorite band, left her favorite friends, and chose to take care of her father, but life left her with nothing.

She rejected everyone's kindness and didn't want to involve anyone. When she looked back on it all, she found that her father, whom she wanted to encourage, had fallen into despair, and her former teammates had gone their separate ways.

But today, these ordinary things in life made her feel a long-lost sense of peace.

At this moment, all the grievances and negative emotions were completely released. Shoko Toyokawa burst into tears, and while crying, she apologized to Taku Sakagami incoherently.

"I'm sorry, wuwuwu, I'm sorry... I said those harsh words to you before... I actually, actually want the band to continue... wuwuwu... I, I don't want this to end..."

Upon hearing this, Taku Sakagami remained silent. He didn't know what had happened to make Shoko Toyokawa suddenly feel so painful, but now, it didn't matter anymore.

He comforted Toyokawa Shoko, who could no longer bear it and buried her head in Sakagami Taku's chest to vent the grievances she had felt over the past few months.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry, wuwuwuwu... I've caused you so much trouble, wuwuwuwu..."

This is how the world is. Life is always full of surprises, but no matter what, we have to keep going.

But now, Sakagami Taku cares about one thing more.

Toyokawa Shoko, you can cry and shout as much as you want, but just don't get your snot and saliva on my clothes.

43. Shoko Toyokawa completely fell

Toyokawa Shoko's crying lasted for more than ten minutes, and the noodles on the table had become cakes due to the cold weather.

Taku Sakagami handed some paper to Shoko Toyokawa and asked her to wipe her red cheeks. Although the latter still had some tears, it was obvious that she had released a lot of emotions and now she only sobbed from time to time.

Once the emotions were released, things would be much easier to resolve, although he didn't understand why cooking noodles for her made her cry.

"Better?"

"......Um."

Sakagami Taku didn't take this opportunity to ask any further questions, as he knew that the other party still needed to take some time.

Fortunately, although Shoko Toyokawa cried inconsolably, she did not snot or drool.

Taku Sakagami stood up and planned to go back to his little stool to continue eating.

Obviously, after getting up, Toyokawa Shoko was the first to notice the tear marks on Sakagami Taku's clothes. Because she was nervous, she touched Sakagami Taku's clothes and subconsciously wanted to take them off for him: "I, I will help you wash them later, I'm sorry."

"What are you doing!?" Taku Sakagami grabbed Shoko Toyokawa's little hand that was scratching at his body.

The latter seemed to realize at this moment that her behavior was a little strange. She reacted and her face flushed: "No, no, I just..."

"I know what you want to say, but don't worry." Sakagami Taku didn't mention what happened just now for the time being: "Let's eat first to calm down. Tears are nothing serious. They will be fine after they dry up."

The main reason was that he had no spare clothes at all. To wash them, he had to go to Hongxia's house to borrow the dryer, which was too troublesome.

Besides, tears are no big deal.

"Ah."

But when Sakagami Taku returned to his seat, he planned to eat his rice first and then talk after finishing his noodles.

Looking at the soup in the bowl dried up and the noodles frozen into a lump, Sakagami Taku almost broke down and cried along with Toyokawa Shoko.

Fuck you, my noodles, woooo!

A few minutes later, Sakagami Taku once again boiled a pot of hot water and poured it over the noodles: "Just eat it as it is, there's nothing good here."

"......Um."

This time, Shoko Toyokawa finished her meal quietly.

The two of them finished this simple dinner in silence. Afterwards, Shoko Toyokawa wanted to take the initiative to help Taku Sakagami wash the dishes, but he refused.

"You still have wounds on your hands, and it's still winter. You don't know how to use the faucet in my house."

Toyokawa Shoko didn't quite understand what 'can't use' meant. She said, "I just turn the water on and off. I can do it."

Even though she didn't know how to use the automatic beverage machines when she first went to karaoke, it doesn't mean that she is so spoiled that she can't even use the faucet.

Upon hearing this, Sakagami Takumi made room for him and said, "How about giving it a try?"

Shoko Toyokawa nodded and walked cautiously to Taku Sakagami's side.

The bathroom was too small, and two people standing there were almost touching each other.

Shoko Toyokawa tried to boil water with her uninjured hand, but found the water was ice-cold. She adjusted the temperature to hot, and soon, steaming hot water flowed out as if it had boiled.

Seeing that she was about to burn her hand, Sakagami Taku quickly grabbed her hand and moved it away.

Sakagami Takumichi: "Look, I told you, I'm the only one who knows how to use the things here."

"But, but I clearly adjusted the hot water very carefully..."

Shoko Toyokawa didn't understand why boiling water came out even though she had only adjusted the temperature to the middle of the hot water.

“It recognizes people.”

Toyokawa Shoko obviously didn't believe it as foolishly as before: "Is it the water heater that's the problem?"

"Yeah, it's an old style. It happens occasionally. I'm used to it."

Sakagami Taku washed them quickly with cold water and put the pots and pans away.

Shoko Toyokawa watched Taku Sakagami's skillful movements from the side and felt a little distressed.

After a long silence, Toyokawa Shoko asked softly, "Why do you live here..."

With the hourly wage she had previously paid Sakagami Takumi, plus the money Sakagami earned from his own part-time job, they wouldn't have been able to live in such a crowded place. The entire house only had enough space for one bed.