Their restricted abilities are refreshed every week.

Shirakawa Haru could see that in the band he had put together, Chihaya Aine had the lowest personal qualities as a band member. If she wanted to catch up with her teammates, she would probably have to pay a considerable price.

So now the only choice he has is Toyokawa Shoko.

"Mr. Toyokawa, are you free today?" If you want something, just do it. Shirakawa Haru took out his cell phone and called Toyokawa Shoko.

It was a bit strange that Xiangzi didn't answer his call immediately, but sent him a question mark on Line. However, because Shirakawa Haru didn't reply to her message but bombarded her with calls tirelessly, she finally answered the call.

"President, what can I do for you?" Toyokawa Shoko's cold voice echoed from the other end of the line, like the gurgling sound of a spring, or the crisp sound of pearls falling on a jade plate. However, her voice was trembling as she tried her best to remain quiet, as if she were keeping a secret. Toyokawa Shoko didn't know why Shirakawa Haru called her on the weekend. She wondered if Shirakawa Haru had noticed something, because she knew that Shirakawa Haru had extraordinary insight and would never call her outside of work hours. At most, he would use Line to chat with her about trivial matters. Since he took the initiative to let her shatter her impression of him today, something must be going on.

Life is like chocolate, you never know what the next one will taste like. But for Shoko Toyokawa now, what is about to happen is not chocolate, but a bomb, a deadly bomb that can completely destroy the life she has carefully embellished.

She had told Shirakawa Haru that she was making a living as a telephone customer service representative, which was already very embarrassing for her, so she didn't dare and didn't want to let him know what kind of life she was living.

She didn't know what to think now. Maybe Baichuan Qing really discovered her secret at this moment. She felt a little at a loss when she thought about it, but she immediately realized that her life could not get worse now. After all, she had fallen to the bottom and anyone could step on her.

Moreover, she had some inexplicable thoughts in her heart, and she herself didn't even know why they came into being. She actually wanted Baichuan Qing to know what kind of life she was living now.

This way of thinking frightened her because she didn't believe she could form thoughts and actions without logical thought.

She believed that any of her thoughts and actions would be based on a set of mature logical tests, but now that she had an idea, she didn't know what logic was used to come up with it.

But there was no point in thinking too much now, so she should just concentrate on handling the call from Shirakawa Haru, Toyokawa Shoko thought. So she took off her customer service headset and microphone, and carefully said to Shirakawa Haru at her workstation:

"President, it should be the weekend now, right? Based on your previous behavior, the president shouldn't be calling me now, let alone making any invitations. Isn't it enough to exploit others within the school? Does the president also want to continue exploiting others outside of the school?"

During the call, Toyokawa Shoko addressed Shirakawa Haru as "President" instead of a private name, which made her feel that she was still working with Shirakawa Haru on campus rather than engaging in some kind of personal interaction. She was subconsciously protecting herself, believing that her secrets must not be known to anyone else in the world.

"Yes, but this is an emergency."

Faced with Toyokawa Shoko's answer that was almost an interrogation, Shirakawa Haru admitted it frankly.

He remembered that Xiangzi had spoken to him in the same tone once. She said, "President, don't think that you have the final say in the student union." Then he told her, "So, Toyokawa Xiangzi, I'm talking to you." Shirakawa Haru thought of the conversation at that time. Obviously, Xiangzi was carrying a very heavy emotion at that time, but for some reason, he just wanted to laugh. So Shirakawa Haru laughed out loud and said to her, "So, Toyokawa Xiangzi, I'm talking to you."

"..." When Shirakawa Haru's words fell into Toyokawa Shoko's ears, she fell silent. It was obvious that she also remembered the conversation at that time. At this moment, it was just like that moment. She suddenly felt that these words were very clear to her. Obviously, she didn't care about anything except money and quality of life. "So, President, do you have something to talk to me about?"

"Yes, the chairman found me some work, but I didn't want to do it alone, so I had to come to you. Let me be clear, you're the first student council member I approached. I didn't invite Aine." Shirakawa Haru said that in his eyes, Xiangzi was his first priority. "Take a few days off from your work. I'll make up for the deducted salary."

"Okay, when do we meet?" After hearing what Shirakawa Haru said, Toyokawa Shoko left her workstation.

Bai Chuanqing had already told her that, so how could she refuse? She had wanted to say that she didn't want the salary you gave her, that she could still afford this little money herself, but before she could even say it, she could already see Bai Chuanqing smiling and saying to her, "What's wrong? Have you forgotten what I told you again? Money is just money. Don't tie it to anything else."

After staying in the company's employee lounge for a while, Xiangzi took off her work clothes and put on her only Western-style dress.

This suit has now become a little white from being washed, and there are wrinkles all over it. High-end clothes are all disposable daily because they were never designed with secondary use in mind.

But now this dress is the only decent piece of clothing that Toyokawa Shoko has besides her school uniform. She has no other clothes to wear. Now no matter where she goes, she will wear this dress, as if looking at this dress can turn her back into the eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family.

After washing her face in front of the sink in the bathroom, Shoko Toyokawa looked in the mirror at herself, looking a little haggard but trying to be calm, and pursed her lips.

The two met at a sweets shop near Hinomori Academy. Before Toyokawa Shoko arrived, Shirakawa Haru had thoughtfully ordered black tea and Black Forest cake for Shoko, and also ordered a pudding for himself.

Anyway, the chairman said that he would pay for the upgrade, and he didn't need Shirakawa Haru's phone.

When Toyokawa Shoko rushed to the dessert shop, Shirakawa Haru had been sitting there for a while. However, because the shop had air conditioning and Shirakawa Haru was willing to wait, she was not too late and the Black Forest cake had not melted yet.

"This is for you." Shirakawa Haru pointed to the cake and black tea on the plate.

Today, Shoko Toyokawa wore a beautiful blue and white dress with piping on the fitted cuffs. The knitted patterns on both sides of the shoulders slid down from the collarbone like flying birds and finally gathered at the chest. However, the most eye-catching design was its skirt. The lace was piled up layer by layer like a banquet cake, and from a distance it looked like a blooming rose.

Shirakawa Haru glanced at Toyokawa Shoko's face and found that she had put on very light makeup today. Although her makeup had some flaws due to the poor quality of the cosmetics, he knew that Shoko must have spent a long time putting on makeup for this trip.

"Eat slowly. The chairman can reimburse you for all this." Shirakawa Haru looked at Xiangzi who was eating the cake and found that although she tried her best to restrain herself, her movements still seemed a bit "rough". "Since I called you out on a non-working day, there must be enough fodder."

After hearing what Shirakawa Haru said, Toyokawa Shoko looked at Shirakawa Haru with all her charm. Perhaps she didn't know that her look was so charming, just because every girl who dressed herself up carefully should be the most beautiful girl in the world.

Shirakawa Haru ordered two more sabayons from the waiter, then slowly began to explain today's itinerary to Toyokawa Shoko:

"Specifically, it's student union work. They just called you out on the weekend."

Shirakawa Haru gave Xiangzi a paper list, which was full of sponsors' companies and offline stores. Several of the sponsors and stores were crossed out by Shirakawa Haru with a red pen, which meant that they would meet with these sponsors today and sign contracts with them.

Toyokawa Shoko held the cup handle with one hand and the documents with the other, her gaze slowly sweeping over them. Her movements were quite graceful, and her every gesture revealed the aura of a noble Chinese family that could not be concealed.

Some people once said that aristocrats were nothing more than nouveau riche under certain historical conditions. However, this is not actually the case. Families that can be called aristocrats must have their own unique background. Among these backgrounds, the most obvious and the one that can best reflect a person's foundation is temperament.

Shoko Toyokawa has a very good temperament.

Today she and Shirakawa Haru are going to meet two sponsors. One is a little-known local clothing and props store, and the other is a piano store that is far away from Hinode Forest but has a very good reputation.

The reason why the costume and prop store came to Hinomori was because Hinomori's students were planning to rent a large number of props and costumes in the near future, and the store owner felt that now was a good opportunity to make a name for himself.

The reason why the music store came to cooperate with the school was that the musical atmosphere in Hinode was very strong. If any wealthy family bought a few Steinway pianos for themselves, the owner of the music store would have a good turnover for the year.

After finishing her last sip of black tea, Shoko Toyokawa picked up the stack of paper documents and walked straight out of the store without waiting for Haru Shirakawa.

She listened to the sound of footsteps behind her, felt the sunlight shining through the swaying shadows of the trees and hitting her body, and suddenly an idea that surprised her popped up in her mind.

She wondered if this was a date.

Toyokawa Shoko was shocked by her own thoughts. She wondered why such a thought suddenly occurred to her. Her relationship with Shirakawa Haru was perfectly healthy; it was simply the relationship between the student council president and the vice-president. She knew she admired Shirakawa Haru, but admiration was different from liking or falling in love. Admiration was admiration, and liking was liking.

Her current feelings for Shirakawa Haru can't even be considered love.

At most, they wanted to invite him to join their band, although he explicitly refused.

Forget it, don’t think about things that you can’t figure out.

Toyokawa Shoko thought that there was still some time before the summer was completely over, and by that time, she would probably be able to figure out why such thoughts suddenly came into her head.

Chapter 5000 Limited Date Part ()

Tokyo's September weather is like a woman's face, changing at a moment's notice. It was still a bit cool this morning, but by noon the sun was so bright it was hard to open my eyes.

The pedestrians on the street are in a hurry, as if they will be left behind by the pace of the city if they slow down, but the dogs walking with their owners on the street look lazy, lying motionless in front of the air-conditioned shop.

Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko were walking, each holding a popsicle in their hands.

If they didn't eat something to cool down in such hot weather, they might have collapsed from the heat on the road before they even met their sponsor.

In terms of physical fitness, Shirakawa Haru is certainly not that fragile, but Xiangzi's body is not so healthy due to the high-intensity work.

Now the two of them were walking on the road, clearly feeling very hot. Taxis with cool breezes were passing by them one after another, and they could even feel the air conditioning blowing out from the cars at close range occasionally, but neither of them was ready to stop a taxi.

Originally, Shirakawa Haru said that although the costume prop store was not far from Hinomori, it was still summer. Although the weather was pleasant in the morning, the temperature might rise immediately at noon, so he suggested taking a taxi.

However, Shoko Toyokawa objected, saying that she liked the feeling of strolling on the streets of Tokyo and that she should forget about taking a taxi. She had taken a day off from work today and had plenty of time, so she might as well just walk directly from the sweet shop.

Shirakawa Haru vaguely felt that Xiangzi wanted to save money on taking a taxi.

Taxis in Tokyo are very expensive. Although Shirakawa Haru said that all expenses today would be paid for by the chairman, he could see that Xiangzi did not want to accept this favor.

She was like a fallen aristocrat, trying her best to maintain her dignity and authority, even at the cost of fabricating lies to do so.

But since she wants to suffer, let her suffer. Anyway, Baichuan Qing feels that she can endure any hot weather. It's nothing more than taking a shower when she gets home at night.

Seeing that Shirakawa Haru did not object to her opinion, Xiangzi also followed Shirakawa Haru and walked on her own. At first, she behaved well and walked calmly, but not long after, as the sun rose, her originally cold expression became difficult to maintain.

After a while, when Shirakawa Haru turned her head to look at Xiangzi's current condition, she found that a thin layer of sweat had already seeped out of her forehead, and her lips were a little chapped because she did not moisturize them well.

Xiangzi noticed Shirakawa Haru's gaze. She was wiping the sweat from both sides of her nose with a small handkerchief she carried with her. Her clove-like tongue was sticking out a little and licking the corners of her mouth unconsciously.

Perhaps because she didn't expect Shirakawa Haru to suddenly turn her head and look at her, Xiangzi looked a little cute with a dull expression when she looked at Shirakawa Haru, but she quickly reacted. Although she was still wiping the sweat with a handkerchief, the action was much gentler and could be described as "wiping".

Shirakawa Haru knew that Xiangzi was very hot, so he kindly asked Xiangzi if she wanted to take a taxi. The taxi fare would be paid by him instead of the chairman. This was sternly rejected by Xiangzi. She said that since she asked to walk there, she must firmly carry out her will to the end. In order to show her strong determination, Xiangzi even walked quickly in front of Shirakawa Haru.

What a stubborn person.

He realized that if he didn't find a way to cool Xiangzi down, she might really faint from the heat on the road, so he found a business and bought two popsicles.

In fact, Baichuan Qing originally only wanted to buy one, but he was afraid that Xiaoxiang would think that he was taking care of her and would not accept it, so he bought two to slightly conceal his purpose. Although Xiangzi was smart enough to see it at a glance, he at least concealed it.

"Hold on, we're almost there." Shirakawa Haru took out his phone and glanced at the map. He realized that as long as he went around the next intersection, he would reach the costume shop. "That shop has air conditioning, and there's a cold drink shop next to it."

Shirakawa Haru saw Xiangzi nod and took it as a reply. Now Xiangzi was licking the popsicle with full concentration.

She grabbed the popsicle with one hand, her nails lightly polished, and licked wherever the popsicle melted and the syrup was about to drip out with her tongue.

Only now does Shoko Toyokawa not look like someone who makes a living as a telephone customer service representative.

On a scorching Tokyo summer day, Toyokawa Shoko strolled along the sidewalk with the student council president, whom she both admired and loathed. There was no one around except them. Despite the damp air, the cheap popsicles she ate, her hands smeared with melted sugar, her wrinkled dress, and her makeup threatening to melt from the sweat, she surprisingly felt relaxed, even content.

She suddenly remembered that someone had said that Tokyo is a fast-paced city. If you don't try to find ways to go faster, you will soon be left far behind by this city.

When Xiangzi worked as a customer service representative, she deeply understood this statement, because her job was the perfect embodiment of it. She was constantly thinking about how many calls she answered each day, whether her tone was gentle enough, whether she had solved the customer's problem, and how high her ratings were.

She originally thought that her life was like riding on a high-speed train that would speed up forever, but unexpectedly, after slowing down, she found a sense of security. She thought that maybe she really liked taking walks, and felt that proper relaxation would help improve work efficiency.

Xiangzi walked blankly on the sidewalk following behind Shirakawa Haru, letting the popsicle melt bit by bit in her mouth. Suddenly, she felt that she had bitten into something hard, and the taste of wood appeared on her tongue. Only then did she realize that she had finished eating the popsicle.

Shirakawa Haru stopped in front of her. Xiangzi subconsciously looked up and found that they had arrived at the clothing prop store.

She pulled the wood of the popsicle out of her mouth, her eyes slid down, and she found the words "Congratulations on winning, have another one" engraved on the wood.

This is a little surprise in life, a little happiness in life. Although this popsicle is indeed very cheap, the joy that winning the prize brings to Shoko Toyokawa is enough for her to chew on for a long time.

So she took out a tissue from her handbag, carefully wiped the stick clean, and then put it in her bag.

What good luck, Toyokawa Shoko thought.

"Xiangzi, we have arrived at our destination." Shirakawa Haru reminded Xiangzi.

Then he pushed the door open and walked in, and soon after, Toyokawa Shoko followed him. As they entered, the bell on the door rang, making a crisp ding-ding sound.

This bell is a Japanese wind chime, commonly found on the doors of cafes and izakayas. It's used to alert the owner of incoming guests, hence the name "welcome bell." Japanese wind chimes come in a variety of patterns and materials, including glass, metal, and even seashells. While local izakayas and cafes often use metal and glass wind chimes, this shop's wind chimes are unique—they're made of ceramic.

This ceramic wind chime is a specialty of Aichi Seto, so it is called Aichi Seto Wind Chime. The owner of this store does not use common glass wind chimes or metal wind chimes, perhaps because the owner is from Aichi Seto.

Baichuan Qing thought that he could remember this point, maybe he could use it when signing a contract with his boss later.

Toyokawa Shoko, however, thought the style of the wind chime was very tasteful, and the ukiyo-e paintings on the ceramic surface were also very beautiful. When she paid off her debts and had more money, she wanted to buy one and hang it outside her house. She imagined that when she made enough money and rented a big house, she would tear down everything in the room and leave only a tatami mat, then hang the Aichi Seto wind chime above the room. When the wind blew, the whole room would be filled with the gentle breeze.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even hear Baichuan Qing calling her over. In the end, it was the owner coming out of a room with a half-covered cotton curtain hanging at the door that brought her back to her senses.

"Is this Mr. Shirakawa from Hinomori? Ah... there's also a pretty young girl here." The store manager of the costume and props store was an older man. Although he was a bit burly, he unexpectedly had a pair of slender and skillful hands, and he was a very kind person.

The store manager brought stools to Shirakawa Haru and Shoko, and then made two cups of white tea.

Shoko Toyokawa sat upright next to Haru Shirakawa, watching him communicate with the store manager.

During their conversation with the store manager, Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko learned that the store manager had been interested in fabrics and dolls since he was a child, and therefore dreamed of opening his own clothing store in Tokyo. However, after he realized his dream, he found that there were not many people in Tokyo who liked fabrics and dolls.

They are either too busy with work or have no interest in it at all.

The store manager learned from the official Line account of Hinomori Academy that there was a school festival coming up soon, so he thought that he could take advantage of the school festival to use the help of Hinomori students to promote his own clothing and props store and craftsmanship.

Because the store manager is not short of money at all, he keeps the prices of individual items very low in the contracts for renting and purchasing clothing, which can basically be said to be free.

This made the many arguments and communication skills that Shirakawa Haru had prepared useless, and they quickly signed the contract.

Logically speaking, Shirakawa Haru should have rushed to the next sponsor immediately after signing the contract, but as a thank you to the store manager for lowering the price so much, he and Toyokawa Shoko listened to the store manager talk about a lot of clothing knowledge.

The store manager kept talking until a mature and plump woman in cosplay clothes came down from the second floor of the clothing store. Then he realized that he had said too much.

Shirakawa Haru glanced at the woman coming down from upstairs and found that the clothes she was wearing had quite a lot of two-dimensional elements.

Judging from the outline of this dress, its prototype should be a British maid uniform. The patterns and various accessories dotted in many places dilute the "service" attribute of this dress. The meaningless holes in many places make the use of this dress ambiguous, and even make people feel a little interesting.

Baichuan Qing took a look at the store manager's expression and probably knew that this mature and plump woman was the store manager's wife. Then he saw the woman grab the store manager's ear and pinch it hard. The store manager's eyes were filled with tears and he dared not resist.

He was just about to say "Excuse me" and take Xiangzi away when the store manager's wife stopped them.

"Mr. Shirakawa and Ms. Toyokawa, please try on our new clothing items before you leave," the store manager's wife said. "We happen to have several new items stored upstairs that haven't been released yet. I'd like you to try them on. If possible, taking photos would be even better. I've seen this dress, Ms. Toyokawa, in Vogue magazine before."

Shirakawa Haru thought of the discount offered by the store manager, so he did not refuse the invitation of the store manager's wife. However, the reason why he made the choice was actually because Xiangzi was very interested in this.

Although he didn't know much about clothes, he could tell that Xiangzi had worn this Western-style suit for a long time, so long that the wrinkles on it could be seen as a unique design.

He guessed that the old Western-style suit Xiangzi was wearing was the best clothes she had on now.

After getting Shirakawa Haru's consent, Toyokawa Shoko followed the store manager's wife upstairs.

"What a beautiful girl! Mr. Shirakawa, you're so lucky to have a girlfriend like her." The store manager fished out an old doll and needle and thread from under the counter and began to sew. "I think Toyokawa is from a prominent local family. His girlfriend is rich and beautiful, and her personality is top-notch, too. I'm really envious."

"Manager, aren't you afraid the boss lady will kill you for saying something like that?" Bai Chuanqing said in a joking tone. Although he and the manager had just met today, they were both attracted by each other's humorous and witty conversation, so they spoke freely. "Besides, that's not my girlfriend. We are in the same student union and are colleagues."

"Is she a colleague or a girlfriend? How can a middle-aged man with a wife like me not tell?" The store manager winked at Baichuan Qing.

"Really not." Baichuan Qing continued to deny.

"Then I'll talk to you about it." The store manager put down the work in his hands and gave Baichuan Qing a careful analysis. He could see that the rhythm of the conversation was still very relaxed, so as long as they didn't say too much, it could be treated as a joke.

"This girl is obviously a strong-willed person. When I was discussing the contract with you just now, she tried to join in the conversation several times, but in the end, she kept silent and just stared at you. I can tell from her temperament that she's both proud and stubborn, but she's willing to remain silent for you, keeping her thoughts to herself. Isn't that just putting you first? Besides, it's noon in Tokyo in September. If you weren't in a relationship, what girl would be willing to accompany you on such a sunny day?"

"Even if you, Shirakawa-kun, don't like Miss Xiangzi, but Miss Xiangzi definitely likes you! Can't you see the affectionate eyes of this young and beautiful girl?"

The store manager chattered on and on about all sorts of thoughts, whether they made sense or not, but these thoughts only meant to explain one thing.