Their restricted abilities are refreshed every week.

Yeah…there are no mistakes at all, that’s the point.

"Yes, I was not wrong at all."

In the face of Takamatsu Deng's astonishment, Shirakawa Haru effortlessly agreed to Deng's excuse. Now, it was his turn to excuse Deng, or rather, to break the cage that held her captive.

"——But what's wrong with you, Deng?"

The lamp was silent, as if she herself had realized why she was apologizing? What kind of emotions were behind those words of "I'm sorry"?

The setting sun still lingered in the sky, only growing dimmer. The afterglow formed a splendid scene, the golden and pink clouds still burning, but their light would eventually fade.

Gao Songdeng thought that it was time to think about this problem carefully.

The girl tried to say something, like a fish that had come ashore and was gasping for air due to lack of oxygen.

Finally, her voice was no longer faint.

Chapter 37: Sad Penguins Can Sing

"it's all my fault……"

Gao Songdeng didn't know how long it took him to prepare himself mentally.

When she said this out loud, she turned her head and happened to meet the gaze of Shirakawa Haru who was looking directly into her eyes. She couldn't see what was in that gaze, but she knew that she might have disappointed him again.

"Um... Shirakawa-kun, I'm sorry!"

Takamatsu Deng's courage melted away in Shirakawa Deng's sight. She stared at each other and found that the flaming setting sun fell on Shirakawa Haru's face, which made the light in his eyes seem to be burning.

Shirakawa-kun must think that people like me are beyond help.

She put a band-aid on my wound, gave me courage, and stayed by my side to watch the penguins in the aquarium with me, but I failed to reciprocate her feelings.

Again - my fault.

My fault.

wrong.

I'm sorry, Shirakawa-kun...

Gao Songdeng lowered her head. At this time, the sun that was about to set still had the last ray of light covering Gao Songdeng's face, but because she lowered her head, the hair in front of her forehead fell softly, leaving half of her cheek in shadow.

Run away!

escape!

Once such an idea came into being, it soon became a persistent thought, and then it expanded uncontrollably, oppressing Gao Songdeng's mind and making her a slave to her emotions.

So she ran away, without any dignity.

What do I look like in the eyes of Shirakawa-kun?

I dare not think about it, and I don’t want to think about it. If I continue to think about it, I’m afraid I might faint here.

I’m sorry, Shirakawa-kun! ...…

But Gao Songdeng's action was interrupted. She had just stood up, and before the emotions brewing in her eyes turned into something tangible and dripped down, her slender arm was captured by a warm palm.

"what……"

"No, no, think about it again. What you said is not something I don't want to hear. Why can't you just talk to me? You clearly have the truth in your heart, but why can't you speak it out, even if it doesn't matter because you have become strangers from your former friendship?"

Shirakawa Haru grabbed Takamatsu Deng's arm and gently pulled her over. However, due to some strange emotions in Takamatsu Deng's heart, she could not control herself even with such a huge force and fell on Shirakawa Haru.

Eh...so now I'm falling on Shirakawa-kun!

Takamatsu Deng's face immediately turned red when he realized that he was now lying on Shirakawa Haru.

This has nothing to do with love between men and women, it's just that the fact that she fell on Shirakawa-kun now seems to be a little over the line for them as a "friend" relationship.

Deng looked at Baichuan Qing's face and found that he didn't have much expression on his face. He probably didn't care. She struggled to get up, but as soon as she wanted to run away, Baichuan Jun would grab her arm.

"Have you ever heard the saying, 'Because you're so deeply immersed in a dream, the dream overflows the realm of reality and floods everywhere?' It's the same with inner melancholy. If you don't resolve it, sooner or later your chest will burst open, and the melancholy will surge out."

Baichuan Qing said softly, then stood up and stood in front of Deng, tore off a window sticker with a penguin pattern, and stuck it on Deng's arm.

There were no wounds on Deng's arm.

"Shirakawa-kun?"

Shirakawa Haru's behavior made Deng a little confused. There was obviously no wound on his arm, but Shirakawa-kun put a Band-Aid on his arm.

"Many people are cruel and ruthless to sea turtles because even after they're cut open and killed, their hearts can still beat for hours." Shirakawa Haru didn't answer the lamp, but continued on his own. "A sea turtle's heart won't stop beating, no matter how badly it's wounded or how painfully it's tortured. But even so, it will eventually tire."

He put a Band-Aid on the other arm of the lamp.

"Deng, do you know anything about sea turtles?" Shirakawa Haru asked Deng.

Deng quickly introduced sea turtles to Shirakawa Haru: "Sea turtles are a general term for marine turtles of the families Dermatochelidae and Cheloniidae of the order Testudinata..."

"Stop, I'm talking to Tingting."

Shirakawa Haru placed one hand palm down and raised a finger with the other hand, making a stop gesture:

"I mean, you're like a turtle... You've suffered so much damage just because you have a heart that beats forever. Isn't that pitiful? It's a blessing you were born with, but it feels like a curse."

"Eh……"

Takamatsu Deng didn't seem to have thought that Shirakawa Haru would express his attitude to her from this angle, and was attracted by Shirakawa Haru's words for a moment.

"A beautiful girl has a delicate and beautiful heart, but because this heart is too smart, she has a unique perspective on the world early on. Therefore, this girl with a beautiful heart is often criticized for her personality and softness..."

"That's Deng... What those who are overly concerned about something earnestly hope for is for others to be equally responsible and emotionally engaged. Ultimately, Deng, you just want someone who can accept you unconditionally, regardless of whether that person is a man or a woman, a former member of the C Band or a member of a band you've reunited for various reasons."

"Right?"

Shirakawa Haru was no longer prepared to slowly guide Takamatsu Deng. He would drive his words like a wedge into Deng's mind! Just go for it!

"Deng, you've always been the one seeking promises from others. This time, I, the other person, will be the one seeking promises from you. Deng, can you be my lifelong friend?"

At the same time, Shirakawa Haru took out all the band-aids that he had originally planned to give to Deng, then tore off the protective film one by one and covered Deng's arms with the band-aids.

He wanted to mend all the wounds in Deng's heart one by one.

When Baichuan Qing's words reached Deng's ears, her mood was like a storm sweeping over the waves. Deng knew very well that she couldn't think at the moment, because her mind was full of the word "a lifetime".

In Baichuan Qing's eyes, the entry "A Lifetime" on the lamp was flashing wildly! The introduction "Every short moment accumulated together is a long lifetime" was so dazzling that he couldn't look directly at it!

"Shirakawa-kun, do you want to be my friend for life? Really? For life?" At this moment, Deng, who was both inferior and self-doubting, quickly fired out three questions.

I'm afraid that even the shooters known as "Rattlesnakes" in the western part of the gun country cannot draw their guns as fast as the lights at this moment.

"For a lifetime, this is my promise, and it's Shirakawa Haru's promise."

At least now he has to deal with the troubles of these problem girls. Even if he "has to" quit the band in the future, the promise of "lifelong friends" will still be valid.

"Okay, for life! Shirakawa-kun!"

At the end of his words, Deng smiled and said, "Then Shirakawa-kun, I will accept your apology."

She thought to herself, this was the first time someone asked for a promise, and the first time she received a true apology that was made purely for her own benefit without any other emotions... Both of her firsts were given to Shirakawa-kun.

She looked up and found that there was a new penguin wandering around the injured penguin. Was it a new friend?

Deng watched the two penguins swimming in the display cabinet, then coming to the shore, shaking off the water droplets on their bodies and singing loudly - she also felt like singing.

Shirakawa Haru looked at the lights that were almost touching the display cabinet for viewing penguins and was about to breathe a sigh of relief.

But the phone call that followed broke the relaxed atmosphere.

Chapter 38 I Want to Be Your First Lifetime

The setting sun was now completely dissolved into the clear blue sky. Tokyo shouldn't have such clear skies, but somehow, tonight was just that clear. At this point, all the lights in the Sunrise Aquarium were on, illuminating the interior with a soft, warm yellow.

The penguins that were swimming in the water returned to the shore and stepped on the solid ground. As they shook their bodies, large amounts of water splashed out. The penguins that were close to each other were cleaning each other's bodies.

"Ah..." Gao Songdeng let out a relaxed hum, and the satisfaction revealed in it successfully blocked the spring of sadness in her chest.

The penguins also seemed relaxed around their friends, playing and frolicking, while the more affectionate ones cuddled up and slept.

Baichuan Qing glanced at Deng who was in a daze and found that she didn't notice that her cell phone had a call, so she immediately slipped into a corner and answered the call.

"Yuki, is everything okay over there? Shigaraki-san and Riki aren't impulsive people. As long as they don't talk about things with certain elements, they're actually quite calm."

There was concern in Shirakawa Haru's voice, but he was not worried about Yuki. After all, he knew what her sister was capable of. Instead, he was worried that the wonderful chemical reaction would continue to occur among the girls after he left.

He had just comforted one person, and if another person with an abnormal mental state came, he really wouldn't be able to hold it in.

He finally managed to appease the autistic girl. Although it was just a phone call, if something happened on the phone that caused her to become autistic again, then he would be the one who became autistic.

"Done, done, those JKs are causing a fuss. They've all gone home now. I'm going to starve to death if they keep fooling around outside... Haven't you found that little one who turned off the lights yet?"

Yuki's signature tone of voice, which was mischievous and slightly teasing, came from the phone. Since childhood, Shirakawa Haru has felt that her sister Yuki might actually be an apprentice devil from hell, otherwise why would she be so good at playing pranks on people? But she is just an "apprentice" devil, otherwise she would not be so cute.

"Keep your voice down, I found Deng. And from today on, Deng and I will be friends for life." Baichuan Qing wanted to rub his temples, but he thought that he was just friends with Deng, and even if the contract was for a lifetime, it wouldn't be a particularly troublesome thing.

"Hahaha~ For a lifetime? She actually talked to you about such a heavy matter. I can't believe that little Bi Deng could actually make you make such a promise, brother. It's not easy, it's not easy... I've decided, from now on I will stop calling her 'Little Bi Deng'!"

Yuki's strange screams were transmitted to Shirakawa Haru's ears through the mobile phone. He was about to sweat because the light was not far away from him. It would be bad if it triggered some keywords.

"Shirakawa-kun, who are you talking to on the phone? I just heard someone calling me... and they were talking about something like 'a lifetime'. Ah... I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It's not a good thing to secretly eavesdrop on other people's phone calls, but I really am a little concerned..."

Deng spoke weakly. Although she tried hard to raise her voice, the words that came out still sounded a little small.

But for her, it was the first time that she could raise her voice with a clear conscience after doing something bad.

It was another first experience, and Takamatsu Deng had a premonition that she would have more first experiences with Shirakawa-kun, who took the initiative to invite her to be friends for life.

It’s broken. The light’s detection of keywords is too strong, right?

Shirakawa-kun felt a chill in his heart. He and Yuki hadn't said a few words, and he could even lower his voice, but it seemed that as long as he said the keyword "for a lifetime", the light would immediately sense it and come to his side.

"It's okay. I was just talking to Yuki, asking her about Nagasaki and Riki." Shirakawa Haru waved at Deng, indicating that he accepted Deng's apology, and then prepared to walk with Deng to the place where the lights gathered and walked towards the outside of the Sunrise Aquarium.

"Ah... Lixi and Sushi, are they okay?" Deng touched the band-aid with a whale pattern on his arm with a satisfied smile on his face.

The smiling lamp was very charming. Her short hair, which had grown slightly longer, fell lightly over her earlobes, the soft ends of the hair emphasizing the delicate outlines of her ears. Under the light, if someone could observe carefully, they would have noticed the tiny transparent hairs on her delicate skin. Her slightly larger breasts were confined by the top that was designed to enhance her body curves, and the bulge was impossible to hide.

Shirakawa Haru looked at the lamp beside him and sighed.

"Have you... forgotten me?" Yuki snorted coldly from the phone in Shirakawa Haru's pocket. "That's great, lifelong friends. Deng, can I call you that? Actually, the Shirakawa-kun next to you and I are also in a lifelong relationship~"

Perhaps because she was ignored by Shirakawa Haru, or perhaps for some other reasons, Yuki put her head close to the light and opened the phone to Shirakawa Haru's face. After saying this, she didn't give the two of them any chance to chat and hung up the phone immediately.

It's not Yuki, why are you still here?

According to the plot, shouldn't a character like you who is responsible for pushing the story forward leave quietly after issuing a task or giving a message?

When Shirakawa Haru realized that he had forgotten to hang up the phone with Yuki and walked out of the aquarium side by side with Deng, he was suddenly shocked and immediately shouted in his heart: "Yuki, no! We will be enslaved by the powerful gravity of Takamatsu Deng!"

"Eh...um...are Shirakawa-kun and Yuki also in a lifelong relationship? In fact, she is the first one to have a lifelong relationship with Shirakawa-kun? As expected, I came later..." Deng lowered her head, lifted a corner of the Band-Aid on her arm, and kept rubbing it with her beautiful nails.

Sure enough, Deng once again accurately captured the key words.

"Actually, Yuki is my sister. Based on your question, yes. Because she is my most important family member." When saying this, Shirakawa Haru was so nervous that he was sweating, because he suddenly found that the gravity value of the lamp was constantly expanding at this moment, and even the surrounding lights were distorted!

"That's great... Actually, I also want to be Shirakawa-kun's first 'lifetime'. It's a pity that I no longer have the chance."

Deng looked at Shirakawa Haru with a smile.

Chapter 39: Whales Sing in the Neon City

Looking at Takamatsu Deng, whose face was clearly filled with smiles but still evoked sadness, Shirakawa Haru's heart sank. He knew this was the final step in Deng's "psychological treatment" for the day. Deng wasn't actually ill to begin with; she simply lacked love, a love that understood her and stood by her unconditionally.

Now that the fountain of sadness has been blocked, all he has to do is release the sorrow and melancholy that has accumulated in the lamp.

"Actually, Deng, you are also my first 'lifelong friend'. Apart from you, I have never made a 'lifelong' commitment to anyone else. If you agree to my promise, then you are my first lifelong friend."

When I walked out of the Sunrise Aquarium, Shirakawa Haru didn't press the elevator button to the first floor, but got out of the elevator some distance above the ground.

The breeze blowing towards them touched the faces of Deng and Shirakawa Haru, making their hair flutter.

Shirakawa Haru's words fell into the ears of Deng, who was following behind him, and made her feel inexplicably sweet. Deng didn't know what this feeling was, because she had never felt this way before when interacting with the band members. She found her ears a little hot and her body trembled slightly. She felt a little scared because she didn't know what was happening to her body, but she immediately changed her mind and thought that this feeling was not too bad.

Deng wanted to do something else to divert her attention, so she took a quick look around and found that this was a floor specially used for sightseeing, and there was a long corridor leading to the building opposite.

When I came here before, I didn’t realize there was such a long skywalk. Is it because I was too focused on the penguins?

"Although I've never been here, I imagine the scenery here must be quite nice," Shirakawa Haru suddenly smiled at Deng, just like Deng would suddenly smile when he saw the penguins in the Sunrise Aquarium. "As a friend, I want to share this scenery with you."

Tokyo at night is so vibrant and beautiful. Neon lights rise one after another along the streets, like the sun under the night sky, or some kind of elusive flame. The streets beneath the buildings are bustling with traffic, but in the eyes of the lights, they move as slowly as ants, while those slower still are like gleaming stones. The car windows are mirrors, faithfully depicting the city's desires.