Zongman: There are a few beautiful girls who like me

Beichuan You secretly shook his head in his heart, and then said to her: "I am not your Odou-san, let alone your Oga-san, so don't lower your head when you speak, speak louder and raise your head. Besides, I am a boy, okay, I can take these things by myself~"

"Oh...I-I understand."

Tsukimi Eiko agreed obediently, then she thought about it for a while, and finally plucked up the courage to look up at Kitagawa Yu.

After seeing that Kitagawa You was not looking at her, she felt a little disappointed, but also relaxed a little. Then she hurriedly followed and went to the living room with Kitagawa You.

As a senior otaku living alone, Kitagawa Yu obviously has no use for things like sofas, coffee tables, and televisions.

So apart from a small dining table and two chairs next to the kitchen island that are just big enough for two people to sit opposite each other, the entire living room has only a Yamaha GENOS68 arranger keyboard priced at 2 yen, a Roland Fantom EX synthesizer workstation priced at 55 yen, a laptop connected to the synthesizer workstation, and an electric guitar against the wall, plus eight speakers of different sizes to match these expensive equipment.

It looks almost the same as a professional music studio.

In addition, he has an acoustic guitar hanging in the bedroom. Since he usually plays an electric guitar, it has become a decoration since he moved in.

Chapter 17 A Contract Between Two People

"By the way, have you packed all your things?"

"Yeah, it's all packed."

I casually put the shopping bag containing the lunch on the kitchen island.

Kitagawa You first went back to the room to put down his schoolbag, and took a few minutes to change into comfortable home clothes. Then he went back to the living room and took out a kelp and tofu soup dumpling from the shopping bag.

"I...let me help you make dinner?" Tsukimi Eiko said in a low voice, a little stiffly.

"No need, I bought a discounted bento from the supermarket~" Beichuan You smiled at her, then took out a bowl and hot water to make some food.

To be honest, although this instant miso soup pack is very cheap, only 14 yen per pack, it tastes really good.

As the hot water brewed, the rich aroma of kelp quickly spread throughout the small living room.

Even Yue Jianyingzi who was standing by couldn't help swallowing.

Then... the familiar alarm sounded again, causing Kitagawa You to pause and subconsciously turn his head to look at Tsukimi Eiko, with a strange look on his face.

"Have you not had dinner yet?" Kitagawa Yu asked tentatively.

Upon hearing this, Yue Jianyingzi's cheeks flushed again. She lowered her head habitually, clasped her fingers, and explained in a low voice: "I was busy packing my things first, and accidentally forgot the hotel's dinner time..."

Beichuan You was speechless for a moment, turned his head to look at the two bento boxes in the shopping bag, and said helplessly: "I just bought two bento boxes, I'll give you one~"

"Eh? Really? Is that true?" Tsukimi Eiko suddenly raised her head, her eyes widened, with a look of surprise and expectation on her face.

Just now when Kitagawa You went back to the room to change clothes, she looked through the opening of the shopping bag and accidentally saw the lunch box inside.

The fried pork chop, which was golden and crispy and twice bigger than her palm, was so tempting to her who hadn't eaten since noon!

"Of course it's true~" Beichuan You looked at her reaction, which was like a little rabbit that had been hungry for three days and suddenly broke into a carrot garden, and felt a smile in his heart.

But then he changed the subject and pretended to be serious and continued: "But there is no free lunch in this world... um... no free dinner either, you know?"

"Huh?" Tsukimi Eiko was stunned and nodded subconsciously, but in fact she didn't understand what Kitagawa Yu meant by this.

In fact, Kitagawa Yu said this just to "blackmail" her with rent and food expenses to make her join his group.

However, Tsukimi Eiko suddenly remembered the "Tokyo Survival Guide for High School Girls" that she had overheard a few girls in her class talking about when they were in school. They were talking about how they should survive in Tokyo after graduating from high school if they had no money and could not find a job.

Then, just like Kitagawa Yu in the afternoon, the four words "God's Servant Girl" suddenly popped up in her mind. Her cheeks, which had not yet cooled down, instantly turned red and hot again, and her gray-blue eyes could not help but show a shy light.

"I...I know..."

She only hesitated and struggled for a moment, and before Kitagawa Yu even brought the slightly hot miso soup to the table, Tsukimi Eiko had already made a decision.

With his heart pounding, he reached out and took off the dark red sweatpants that looked like the school gymnastics uniform, revealing the pure white and tender panties underneath, which stunned Kitagawa Yu.

"I'll go! What's going on!?"

It was not until Yue Jianyingzi continued to reach out to take off her gray sweatshirt, vaguely revealing the snow-white devil fruit, that he finally came to his senses. He ignored the miso soup and burned his fingers. He quickly put down the bowl and said, "Stop, stop, stop, that's not what I meant, okay!"

"Eh?"

Tsukimi Eiko, who had already taken off her sweatshirt, was stunned again, with a confused expression that didn't seem very smart, and her cute blushing face... It really made people want to bully her.

Fortunately, with the help of Okita Sayaka, Kitagawa Yu's resistance to charm in this life has improved a lot. He just took a deep breath and suppressed the impulse in his heart.

"Idiot! I asked you to pledge your loyalty to me... No, I asked you to form a band with me!"

"To put it simply, you work for me, I let you live here for free, and I pay for your daily meals. At the same time, I will give you a portion of the money earned in the name of the band as salary."

"I didn't ask you to sleep with me, okay~!"

One second, two seconds, three seconds... After several seconds, Tsukimi Eiko's dysfunctional brain finally reacted. Then she let out a cry, squatted on the ground, and curled up into a ball holding her sweatshirt.

Her fair cheeks became redder and she couldn't help but let tears well up in her eyes.

Of course, this time she cried because of her own stupidity.

If there was a crack in the floor, she would definitely crawl into it immediately and would never come out until Kitagawa Yu left.

Unfortunately, Kitagawa You won’t leave until the meal is over.

"Okay, put on your clothes quickly, wash your hands and get ready for dinner~"

"Oh......"

Although Tsukimi Eiko refused in her heart (?), her body still habitually obeyed Kitagawa Yu's instructions.

Then, until she sat down at the dining table, Beichuan You saw that she was still looking silly, and couldn't help but pick up a piece of fried pork chop and feed it into her mouth. The delicious taste of the pork chop, which was crispy and oily on the outside and salty and juicy on the inside, finally awakened her dizzy brain and made her come back to her senses.

"I-I-itadaki Masu!"

Tsukimi Eiko said with puffy cheeks, then swallowed the fried pork chop in her mouth reluctantly, with a hesitant look on her face.

"Ah...forming a band...I don't know how to do anything..."

Perhaps it was out of a long-standing habit, or perhaps she was worried that she would be driven away by Kitagawa Yu, Tsukimi Eiko's voice was so soft that even though Kitagawa Yu listened very carefully, he almost didn't hear it clearly.

"If you don't know how, just learn it. I'll teach you~"

In order to pull her out of that dark world of timidity and inferiority, Beichuan You deliberately used a relaxed tone and joked: "With a genius like me teaching you, you will definitely learn it quickly. But as a price, the contract between us will last until I get tired of you and choose to terminate it, or you get tired of this world and decide to embrace death! After all, as a genius, my time is very precious~"

In Kitagawa Yu's opinion, most girls, upon hearing his childish remarks, would either burst out laughing and find it funny, or look at him as if he were a fool.

Anyway, no matter which one it is, it is a success in Kitagawa Yu's opinion.

However...Tsukimi Eiko is obviously not an ordinary girl.

So after hearing what he said, Yue Jianyingzi was just like Lu Xiaobu who had wandered for half his life and finally found his adoptive father... No, it should be Kong Ming who had worked hard in Nanyang and finally met Liu Huangshu. She looked at him as if she had seen her master, and said in a very serious manner: "I, I understand. Unless Beichuan Jun gets tired of me, I will always follow Beichuan Jun, even if there is no salary!"

Well, as long as they provide food and accommodation, that's enough!

Chapter 18 Sunflower

"..."

"What should I do if I feel a little touched?"

This time it was Beichuan Youqing's turn to open his mouth involuntarily, and he was stunned for several seconds.

When he came to his senses, Beichuan You couldn't help but smile bitterly.

If idiots can also be classified into levels, Himemiya Karen would probably be at most level three. As for this girl Tsukimi Eiko... I gave her level nine because I deducted one level because we were afraid she would become proud!

Fortunately, simple and kind girls usually don’t have bad luck in the world of romantic comedies.

Otherwise, it was the IQ of this girl named Yue Jianzi that was such that if there was just a slight deviation in the original trajectory of her fate, she would not have been able to meet Kong Ming.

Even if she didn't commit suicide today, she would most likely be cheated and have to help others count money in the future.

"Remember, don't trust others easily in the future, and don't just do what others tell you to do, okay? You have to learn to say no! Do you understand what it means to say no?" Kitagawa Yu, who had come back to his senses, warned seriously.

"I understand." Yuejian Yingzi nodded obediently.

Maybe it's because she has 'recognized her master', at this moment, she no longer looks as anxious as before, and seems much more relaxed.

Seeing this, Beichuan You didn't know what to say, so he could only joke: "Of course, except for my words, I won't hurt you anyway~"

"Well, I believe in the master!"

Tsukimi Eiko's sweet smile, coupled with her unintentional head tilt and the word 'master', made her even more lethal than when she was wearing panties just now.

"Ahem... Just call me You... You should be one year older than me."

As Kitagawa You spoke, he lowered his head, picked up a piece of teriyaki chicken and put it into his mouth, so as to avoid Tsukimi Eiko's pure gaze that made his heart seem to skip a beat.

"Oh...Yuu..."

Yue Jianyingzi was stunned at first, and then she kept repeating the name "Yu" in her heart.

A warmth and security that was buried deep in her memory, which she had only felt when she was with her father as a child, enveloped her whole body, so warm that she couldn't help but feel a sour sensation in her nose.

Although, at this moment, she has not heard the music that moved her and has not experienced the charm of music, but at this moment, she no longer wants to commit suicide.

Master? Friend? Or maybe something else that he secretly hoped for.

In short, the warmth and peace of mind that Kitagawa Yu brought her allowed her to re-establish her bond with this wonderful world.

"Although it's a little different from the original plan, let me take you to experience the charm of music next~"

After dinner, Kitagawa Yu casually threw two clean lunch boxes into the trash can next to the dining table, then grabbed Tsukimi Eiko who wanted to wash the dishes, and took her to the Roland Fantom EX synthesizer workstation.

To be honest, the appearance of the arranger keyboard and synthesizer workstation is quite similar.

There are also a lot of overlaps in functions, so many high school band players may not be able to tell the difference between the two.

However, the reason why Kitagawa Yu chose the synthesizer workstation at this time was purely because the black and white keys of the synthesizer workstation felt more like a piano, while the keys of the arranger keyboard felt more like an electronic keyboard.

The song he was going to play next had a slow tempo and a not very complicated melody, and did not require fast arpeggios, so he naturally had to choose a synthesizer workstation that felt more like a piano, after all, he had learned piano before.

"Sit down and listen carefully. This is one of my favorite songs of A...."

"Oh......"

Tsukimi Eiko first quickly glanced at her wrist which was held by Kitagawa Yu, and then, suppressing her shyness and restlessness, she sat down obediently on the piano stool, and then looked at him with curiosity and expectation.

To be honest, this is not an illusion that arises for some reason.

She was clearly wearing loose home clothes, but the moment Kitagawa Yu turned on the synthesizer workstation and speakers and sat down next to her, her whole demeanor changed instantly.

It was a feeling of relaxation and freedom that was different from the previous gentleness and casualness.

The stupid Tsukimi Eiko didn't know how to describe it in words, but in short, she couldn't bear to take her eyes off Kitagawa Yu for even a moment.

Especially when the warm singing and melody sounded, she, who had never drunk alcohol before, suddenly felt drunk.

“I like it but I always say ‘not bad’”

"When I couldn't express my joy, you looked at the summer sea, smiled and said to me, 'It's good like this.'"

"Even if the sun is too bright, and even when my tears run dry, you are still there to support me."

"Blooming like a sunflower..."

"Sunflower", the theme song of the Japanese drama "18/40 ~Dreams and Love of Two People~" sung by Ado.

Although it did not rank very well on the Oricon TOP100, the number of views on Ado's personal YouTube channel was 'only' million, less than one-tenth of "So Annoying" and "Dance", and it was not even in the top ten among all her works.

But it is Kitagawa Yu's favorite work of Ado, no doubt about it.

Although the warm singing voice and melody could not be restored to even 30% of its original state when he sang it, it still pulled Tsukimi Eiko into the world created by the singing.

It was as if two people were holding hands, fingers tightly clasped, lying lazily among the sunflowers embracing the sunshine under the blue sky.

Their eyes met each other inadvertently, and their heartbeats seemed to overlap.

At this moment, Tsukimi Eiko looked at Kitagawa Yuu infatuatedly, and suddenly she understood why her father was so persistent in pursuing his musical dream.

At the same time, she finally felt the 'charm of music' and made up her mind at this moment.

No matter how difficult it is to study, she will try her best.

Because she had always been trapped in a dark world in the past, she finally had something she wanted to pursue desperately and hold on to tightly.

However, it seems that the gods also want the power of this song to warm more people.

The gentle evening breeze, along with the gap in the window that Tsukimi Eiko had opened earlier, brought a hint of freshness into the living room, and also brought the warm singing voice like a sunflower to the silent night sky.

"Huh? Is this...someone singing?"

In another apartment just across the wall, Shiina Mahiru, who had already finished her homework for tomorrow, was holding her favorite teddy bear doll as usual, staring blankly at the only family photo in her hand, lost in thought.

Even the bright light above her head could not bring her any warmth, but instead made her involuntarily wrap herself tightly in her pajamas.