Their restricted abilities are refreshed every week.

He was right. Adopting small animals was a serious matter. They were not matcha parfaits that would melt in the sun for more than ten minutes. They were living beings with joys, sorrows, anger and happiness just like oneself. They would get sick and die.

In fact, at this time, Lenai had already come up with the answer in his heart.

Grandma wouldn't let herself keep so many cats. Maybe Ji and Taxue could be kept, and at most Yueliang could be added, but she definitely wouldn't let the Big Cat family live with her.

There were simply too many cats. She was still a junior in middle school, and although she didn't have much time in class, she definitely couldn't take care of all the cats at home. Grandma had her own things to do, and taking care of Yaoji and Taxue was already taking all her energy.

"Lenai, don't you have anything to do tonight?" Shirakawa Haru looked at Lenai, her face full of confusion. Like the glow before dawn, it was constantly changing. "Since you're not sure if your family will let you take them in, at least do what you can."

"Hmm...hmm!" Lenai picked up her guitar and played a demo. For Lenai, playing guitar was the only thing she could do. "I'll go to the commercial street and play guitar to make some money. I won't let Yaoji and the others continue to wander. I hate wandering. Just like I want a place to stay, I also want to provide a place for Yaoji and the others."

At this time, Le Na fell down and assumed the same position as before, with her head resting on Shirakawa Haru's thighs, and she stretched out her hand, trying to hook Shirakawa Haru's neck.

But her figure was much smaller and thinner than Shirakawa Haru's, even with her golden proportions. So she could only let Shirakawa Haru lower his head, then suddenly hugged his neck with all her strength.

There is no doubt that this is Lenai's way of acting coquettishly. She acts as willfully as a cat and doesn't care at all how bad her current appearance may appear in the eyes of others.

Even though she was dressed maturely and had a charming face, it was obvious that her face had not fully grown yet and she looked like a child.

"I'm luckier than Yaoji and the others. They met someone who was irresponsible before. The one I met wasn't like that. He's very responsible and he likes me very much. He didn't say it explicitly, but I can feel it. Some things don't necessarily need to be said."

Shirakawa Haru raised his head, and Le Nai's body floated slightly in the air, and then completely pressed against Shirakawa Haru's chest. Feeling the big boy's vigorous beating heart, Le Nai remembered the bell sound he had heard before.

It was winter. Lenai, alone, climbed over a wall into a garden whose name she didn't know. Inside stood a church. Her footsteps were the sole traces of pigeons and crows on the snow, and she could hear them clearly, like the sound of an organ. The north wind blew up a fine snowflake in the still winter light, like sand and mist, shimmering and hazy. The shadow of the church spire stretched out across the snow toward her again, like a bridge, like a lonely road. She walked in, slowly entering the shadow and slowly exiting, feeling a sense of nostalgia for the distant, solemn toll of the bells of yesteryear.

Although the bell sounds we hear now are not as grand and deafening as they were then, they still seem ethereal.

The bell's sound, though faint, was still moving. It reverberated in the empty pavilion, hitting the winding, upright, and twisting wooden beams, running back and forth, permeating the cold night, and drifting away into the vast, deep sky...

"Lower your head." Lenai said, pursing his lips and moving closer.

He placed a kiss on the side of Baichuan Qing's cheek.

How to describe this feeling.

There is a peach tree, two pear trees, and three crabapple trees. In spring, listening to the prelude of spring, white and pink petals fill the sky, and bright crimson petals fall all over the ground.

Warm breezes blew, whirling petals from the ground, the sky, and the trees. Beside the crabapple tree, a ditch flowed clean, freshly melted snow. The wind died, and the petals began to fall. Among these fragrant blossoms, a few petals were bound to fall first, landing in the ditch, in the clear, bubbling water. That tiny ripple made the water shimmer.

What was hidden between the time when the ripples arose and the time when they disappeared was the kiss.

"Reward." Lenai blinked, let go of Shirakawa Haru's neck, and struggled to get up from Shirakawa Haru's body.

"Reward?" Bai Chuanqing wondered what kind of reward this was. How could she be kissed by someone without any preparation? After the past few days, Bai Chuanqing's most intuitive feeling was that no matter who it was, it seemed that they could kiss her at will.

"Yeah. Qing likes me, so I like Qing too. It's okay to do this." Lenai said. Thank you for telling me everything about responsibility and thank you for giving me a place to stay. "Dad, Mom, and Grandma don't know."

"Don't kiss me casually anymore."

"It's not casual."

"Then don't kiss me."

"why?"

"No reason."

"Qing, don't you like being kissed by me? Do you like it or do you hate it?"

"No... I don't hate it..." Looking at Le Na's trembling eyes, Shirakawa Haru didn't know how to answer Le Na's question. How could a girl who looked underage ask such a question?

"Hmph." Lenai chuckled, and the crisp chimes of bells echoed in the wind. "So that means you like me?"

Shirakawa Haru saw a bird flying over the pavilion.

"Anyway, you are still too young. It is not appropriate for you to be exposed to these things."

"People always grow up without realizing it." Lenai put the guitar into its case and slung it on his back. A girl becomes an adult at sixteen, so a fifteen-year-old girl isn't an adult yet. So when do girls become adults? Where is the line that separates the grown-up from the not-grown-up? "Qing, you're not that old either."

At which moment?

"Would you feel lonely going to the commercial street to play guitar alone? I'll go with you." Shirakawa Haru said after thinking for a while.

"Is Qing coming too? Let's play music together?"

"I brought my bass guitar, but I didn't have any sound output."

"I have it here," Lenai said, referring to her portable speaker.

"Well, we can have a guitar and bass duet then." Shirakawa Haru placed the untied bass case on the stone table. "Lena, you might not know, but I've found a bass teacher these days. She said I've made rapid progress and am already surpassing the average bass player."

"No matter what it is, as long as it's Qing, I can definitely do it." Lenai didn't think this was particularly worth talking about, she just thought it was natural.

Taxue and the cats came over. Perhaps because Shirakawa Haru and Kaname Lenai had been talking for too long, or perhaps because they were impatient waiting, they all came over and meowed around them. Lenai reached out to comfort them, took out a few sausages from his pocket, peeled off the plastic film and fed them.

"I'll let you live in a new home after a while." Lenai promised the cats following her, and the cats' meows one after another were a response to her promise.

Yao Ji yawned loudly.

Ask Lenai to take Shirakawa Haru to the bustling commercial street nearby.

Under the huge buildings, the street lights are extremely bright, and the layers of deep blue night are illuminated by the lights of street lights and urban billboards.

The city of Tokyo only truly comes alive at night.

"Qing, let's do it here." Lenai put down his guitar and audio equipment in a more conspicuous place, plugged in the speaker's power cord, and connected the audio cables of the guitar and bass. "I grabbed this spot."

"Snatched it?" Baichuan Qing looked around and instantly understood what Lenai meant by "snatched it".

In addition to them, there are many music groups holding guitars or basses and sitting behind drum sets.

There is a lot of traffic here, and a good location means more listeners.

The first-come, first-served rule is not accepted by these music lovers. What should latecomers do if they want to occupy the good seats? It's simple. Use music to make a competition. If you win, the good seats are yours. If you lose, you will squat in the corner.

Lenai is one of those people who grabbed the best roadshow position in the entire block from all the other people.

"What song should we play for the first song?" Lenai held the electric guitar and performed the final tuning work without fear of the gazes coming towards her from all directions.

"How about Sumimi's 'Here, the world!'" Shirakawa Haru plucked the bass, feeling the gentle vibrations of the strings. "I've really liked this song for a while. Can Lena play it?"

"Yeah." Lenai nodded and took a sip of water. "I haven't actively learned it, but I've heard it a few times on the way home from school and I've memorized it."

"That's pretty impressive." Shirakawa Haru was surprised by Lenai's talent.

"Hehe..." Lenai was obviously very happy to be praised by Shirakawa Haru.

Shirakawa Haru and Kaname Rana agreed to a five-second countdown, and within five seconds, the guitar and bass music rushed into the beat. In the hands of Shirakawa Haru and Kaname Rana, the sweet song "Here, the world!" was given new life and style.

Here, "Here, the world!", youth, restlessness, muffled sounds, and shaking.

He could no longer see how the strings in his hand were vibrating. Shirakawa Haru looked at the crowd gathering in front of him and the people around him who had stopped playing and were staring at him and Lenai in amazement. His fiery emotions were released from the bass.

He feels that he can release everything in music.

Before the music starts, it is people who drive the music, and after the music starts, it is music that drives people.

Each song lasts just five minutes, during which Shirakawa Haru and Kaname Rakuna are both friends and enemies, loving and loathing each other. The bass and guitar play in counterpoint, tightening the rhythm of the song, the high and low notes supporting each other.

The life of the song is in the hands of the performers. Shirakawa Haru plucks the five strings in his hand, and Lenai makes the four strings of the guitar in his hand vibrate. The duet between the two ends in perfect chords.

"Qing, that's amazing." Lenai squatted down, picked up the mineral water on the ground and took a sip, "So fast."

"I'm sorry, because this was my first road show, and I was playing with others, so I couldn't control my emotions and rhythm."

"I'm very satisfied." Lenai's face flushed a little. This is what real music performance should be like.

"Well, what song should we choose next?" Shirakawa Haru asked, "'Per la musica', living for music, how about this song? Lenai will choose the next song."

"Let me take a look at the sheet music before I play." Lenai pulled out her phone and began noting it down on the spot. Her face suddenly flushed as she walked over to Shirakawa Haru and handed him her phone. "Haru, help me find the sheet music. I'm not very good at using a phone yet. Next song, I want to play 'Running Up That Hill.'"

Is Lena still not very good at using a phone? Shirakawa Haru took the phone and decided to find time to teach her how to use it later.

After just a few glances at the music sheet, Le Nai completely memorized it. Like Shirakawa Haru, she possessed an exceptional memory, though this ability was limited to musical aspects.

"Vivo per lei, la musica!" Shirakawa Haru shouted, and passersby who were about to leave immediately ran back. "I live for music!"

Shirakawa Haru silently retreated into the darkness, and the area in front illuminated by the light was occupied only by Lenai.

Just as Shirakawa Haru said just now, at this moment he seemed to really live only for music. He didn't breathe, didn't speak, and no one could see him.

Lenai's guitar dominates the main melody of the song, but no one can fail to notice the bass that is dedicating itself to the main melody.

The audience can only know that Shirakawa Haru is still alive by the constantly vibrating bass strings. They know that he lives for music!

Another song ended, and the combination of Shirakawa Haru and Raku Na easily brought tears to people's eyes.

They kept rushing onto the next song, and the next, as if there was no end.

The sound of coins colliding gradually began to be heard from the guitar case in front of Lenai.

……

"That's amazing! You can actually play Sumimi's 'Here, the world!' like that!" A blonde woman, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses, her entire face covered up, applauded. "Can you tell me how you adapted this song?"

She stood in the dense crowd, yet remained independent.

Chapter 4.5: Triangle Begins (k)

"Yeah." Lenai raised her face and let Shirakawa Haru wipe her sweat with a towel like a real cat. "Rub my hair. My head is a little itchy... well, it feels good." She glanced at the blonde girl's face, then closed her eyelids nonchalantly.

"Sorry, that's just the way our guitarist is." Shirakawa Haru covered Lenai's head with a towel and helped Lenai explain to the girl in front of them, "Excuse me..."

In addition to sunglasses and a baseball cap, she also wore a mask, leaving almost no skin on her face exposed to the sight of passers-by. Her short golden hair was loose and she was wearing a low-necked white short-sleeved shirt.

The short-sleeved shirt wasn't plain white; it was adorned with two bright red hearts on the upper left side of her chest. The hem of the short-sleeved shirt covered a portion of her casual beige dress. The girl's legs were very long, standing out from the crowd, gleaming like a meteor, dazzling and eye-catching.

Shirakawa Haru guessed that the girl was a model because her body proportions were too perfect.

Although most of the women he knew had impressive figures, each with a golden ratio, their temperaments and impressions varied, and their perfect forms, when presented to him, were always veiled by a sari or silk, appearing hazy and indistinct, like a photograph taken with a Meyer Trioplan lens. The portraits were crystal clear, while the blurred backgrounds were punctuated by a series of colorful points of light, which deflected the sunlight and refocused it on the portraits, casting a fleeting shadow over their beauty.

But the girl before him was different; she covered her face and eyes. Shirakawa Haru didn't know her beforehand, so there was no filter, so he could more directly assess her revealed characteristics.

Shirakawa Haru's gaze was calm, without any extra emotion.

He simply glanced quickly at the blonde girl.

Facing Shirakawa Haru's polite gaze, the blonde girl showed herself openly, even taking a few steps forward and standing gracefully.

"I was just passing by and was drawn to the song you were playing," the blonde girl said. "I was surprised to hear someone play Sumimi's 'Here, the World!' on a roadshow. Half the structure of the song is in the lyrics written by the lead singer. I was surprised that even without a lead singer, it could have such a high level of expressiveness. Even with the drastic reworking, the main melody remains unchanged. I can tell that right away."

"Since you like listening to it, can you give me a little more money?" Lenai opened her eyes, pressed the towel on Shirakawa Haru's face and wiped it roughly, looking straight at the blonde girl, she said, "Give me money."

"Eh? Okay." A crisp voice sounded from the violin case, and the blonde girl put a few coins into the case.

"Okay, thank you for giving me the money." Lenai held the guitar and performed a one-minute guitar solo, "Yaoji and the others will be very happy." After she finished playing, she ran to the flower bed behind her and played with Yaoji who followed her.

What a wonderful girl! The blonde thought to herself as she watched Lenai's back. As the sound waves shook, she saw the silver-haired girl's trembling, heterochromic eyes.

People who are talented in the art field tend to have somewhat special personalities.

"I'm sorry, she means no harm." Baichuan Qing wiped her face with a towel, and suddenly found that this was the towel that Lenai had used just now. She moved her nose and could smell a faint fragrance like snow plum mixed with milk.

"I see." The blonde girl smiled.

"The 'Yaoji' she mentioned is the name of an Angora cat, the one over there," Shirakawa Haru said, pointing at Yaoji next to Lenai. "This girl has picked up a lot of stray cats. She's doing a roadshow tonight to prepare for the adoption of stray cats."

"Really? You're such a good kid." The blonde girl put a banknote into the guitar case. "Come to think of it, I'd also like to help adopt Kaname and the others."

This is a "Swallow Flower" banknote. The back of the flower features a portrait of the female writer Higuchi Ichiyo. The note has a face value of 5,000 yen, a considerable sum for students and minors.

"Aren't you afraid that what I said is a lie?" Bai Chuanqing asked, "Is it possible that I said all this to make money and deceive you?"

"Even liars wouldn't talk like you. They'd remind me not to get scammed." The short-haired girl chuckled again. Her eyes couldn't be clearly seen through her sunglasses, but Shirakawa Haru thought they must be very beautiful.

"Excuse me, is that girl of yours a duo?" The blonde girl then asked Shirakawa Haru, "I have a request... Could you please tell me how you adapted Sumimi's song 'Here, the world!'?"

"No, it's just that we happened to have the opportunity to go on a joint roadshow today." Shirakawa Haru shook his head. He had probably already guessed the girl's identity. "As for how we adapted the song 'Here, the World!', I can tell you my thoughts. But I need to ask our guitarist, Lenai, about that. We just improvised and adapted it, and it hasn't been too long now. She and I should be able to write down the score and copy it for you."

What kind of profession requires wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap and a mask when strolling on the streets at night to cover one's face so that no one can see it?

Her soft blond hair gleamed in the lights of the billboards that lit up continuously along the street.

Looking back, Shirakawa Haru felt a sense of familiarity with her curvy figure and her soft, sweet voice. Furthermore, she was also very fond of the song "Here, the world!" by the popular girl group Sumimi.

Her identity is about to be revealed.

The blonde girl in front of him was Chuhua, the third member of the popular girl group Sumimi.

"Can you even write down the music score for me? It's too expensive... I can pay for it." The blonde girl looked a little surprised. She didn't expect that such a gorgeous bass and guitar duet could be performed just by improvisation.

"No need. If you really want to buy music from us, you would have already paid for it." Shirakawa Haru pointed to the Swallow Flower banknote in the guitar case.

"Thank you." The blonde girl laughed again. It was obvious that she was born to love laughing. Her laugh was so gentle that anyone who heard it would feel like facing the sea and enjoying the warmth of spring.

"I'm very happy to be able to help Sumimi, Miss Sankaku. I have been very fond of your "Here, the world!" for a while." Shirakawa Haru said, looking into the eyes of the blonde girl.