Their restricted abilities are refreshed every week.

"There's no such thing as lucky or unlucky. It's just that she asked me for help at that time. As long as someone asks me for help, I will lend a helping hand." Baichuan Qing smiled calmly.

That's who he is.

"Then it's about dreams," Manager Matsuo said quietly. "This situation is very common. Usually, something happened to her family, which prevented her from performing live. If Mr. Shirakawa observes carefully enough, he should be able to see it easily."

Yes, about dreams, Shirakawa Haru thought to himself.

The live performance on the stage was finally coming to an end. As Shoko Toyokawa and the guitarist played the high notes of the music through the sky, a few dull accents fell, and the girls in the band all slowed down their rhythm, and the melodious ending finally flowed out slowly.

Shirakawa Haru is still looking at me now, Toyokawa Shoko touched her forehead with her hand and found that her hands were full of sweat. She wondered how long it had been since she had vented her emotions as freely as she did now?

Shoko Toyokawa is like a top racing driver driving a supercar. She is fearless while racing. She wants to compete with any obstacles and opponents on the road. She has the confidence to overcome them. The roaring violent engine beneath her gives her such confidence. However, when the roar of the engine ends and her heart that is about to burn cools down, she begins to wonder if there is anything wrong with her behavior in the eyes of Shirakawa Haru.

Would he think he was a rather "crazy" girl?

Her hair, which had been casually tied into a single ponytail, was now a mess, with many strands hanging down on both sides of her cheeks, and some were stuck to her face by the sweat on her face. Her face felt a little sticky, and Toyokawa Shoko kept using her hands to tuck the hair behind her ears.

She cares a lot about her image in Shirakawa Haru's eyes.

She hoped that in Shirakawa Haru's eyes, she was a person with good family education, stable personality, who did not like to drink and had graceful manners. As for those dark colors, she hoped that Shirakawa Haru would forget them all.

The girls in the band began to unplug their audio cables and put away their instruments, and she was about to leave the stage. She composed herself, smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes, and followed the three girls to the backstage.

Shirakawa Haru noticed that Toyokawa Shoko's eyes changed in an instant after the live ended. Her eyes no longer sparkled with the brilliance that even he found dazzling, and her energetic movements began to become stiff, as if a giant was forcibly stuffed into the body of an elf the size of a thumb.

He wanted to continue to see Toyokawa Shoko's eyes full of life,

So now he finally understood that this was exactly what dreams looked like when they took possession of reality.

On the live stage, Xiangzi sometimes strokes the keyboard gently with his hands, and sometimes smashes the keys with his hands. He has a dream that cannot be betrayed.

"Mr. Matsuo, I want to redraft the contract." Shirakawa Haru looked at Toyokawa Shoko's back and suddenly said to the store manager Matsuo.

"Mr. Shirakawa, what do you mean by this?" Manager Matsuo frowned. He looked at Shirakawa Haru's sparkling eyes, then suddenly relaxed his brows and said jokingly, "It's going to be very expensive."

"This is exactly the job the chairman assigned to me." Baichuan Qing smiled indifferently.

"How big a thing do you want to buy?" Matsuo straightened his back. This was his livelihood and he had to take it seriously. If he and Shirakawa Haru were just chatting as friends just now, now they were enemies in the business world.

He wants Shirakawa Haru to buy more expensive things, and Shirakawa Haru will do his best to lower the price.

The range of value fluctuation is the benefits he estimates he will gain from cooperating with Hinodemori Academy.

Yes, he now runs the ECHO Music Store. Although he often helps those who love music and even builds underground live stages specifically for small bands, he is still a businessman at heart.

As a businessman, you have to make money.

"The most expensive one in your store." Shirakawa Haru said lightly, as if he had just said he wanted to buy a cheap salt water popsicle instead of a piano. "And a Roland VR-730. I'll pay for that myself."

"That will be very expensive." Manager Matsuo looked at Shirakawa Haru expressionlessly, his tone becoming increasingly volatile. "Such an expensive item is probably beyond the reach of a student like you."

"Money is something that will always be just money if it is not spent. It is not a swan that lays golden eggs, nor is it a magic bean that can grow into a towering vine. Its true value is revealed only when it is used." Baichuan Qing thought that his life might be a little tight in the future, but as long as he continued to participate in swordsmanship competitions, everything would be fine.

"Okay, since you insist on doing so, I will definitely not refuse." Manager Matsuo waved his hand, thinking that today was really his lucky day. Not only did he see such a wonderful live performance, but he even sold the lobby manager of his store.

"But can I ask, why do you suddenly want to modify the contract?" He was really curious. According to Shirakawa Haru, when he first saw the contract he drafted, he was obviously very satisfied with it, but why did he suddenly want to modify it?

Manager Matsuo followed Shirakawa Haru's gaze and saw Toyokawa Shoko's back. She was walking backstage with the girls in the band, preparing to change her clothes.

He suddenly understood why Shirakawa Haru did this.

I'm afraid it's because of Miss Toyokawa.

Suddenly, he thought of what he had just said to Shirakawa Haru. He said this was a topic about dreams, and Shirakawa Haru agreed.

I'm afraid he thinks so too.

Mr. Shirakawa wants to see the radiant Ms. Toyokawa again, so he doesn't want her to lose her dream. But dreams can't bring Ms. Toyokawa anything on a material level. If she can't maintain her dreams, they will sooner or later be betrayed by reality.

"It's just like what you're thinking. I want to see her pick up her dream and use it to soar into the sky." Baichuan Qing said, "But it's also possible that I'm just being sentimental."

If you don’t even have wings, how can you fly? He wanted to give Xiangzi, who had fallen to the ground, a pair of wings, and wanted to see her shining on the stage again.

First of all, Xiangzi needs a good piano.

The piano in the piano room of Hinodemori Academy is a bit old. The previous student association didn't pay much attention to students' interests and hobbies, so the piano lacked maintenance.

After repairing it at his own expense, the piano could barely make sound, but only a pianist like Xiangzi could make it produce such beautiful sound.

She also needed a job that was enough to support herself without having to travel back and forth, but he had no idea about this.

This is not to say that such jobs are difficult to find.

It was not difficult to find Xiangzi a job as a piano teacher or jazz pianist with his connections. The real important question was whether Xiangzi was willing to accept his blatant help.

Baichuan Qing knew how proud this girl was, and the courage and determination in her character.

Toyokawa Shoko can stand on the live stage, let down her carefully styled hair, and then casually tie it up into a high ponytail. If someone is easily stage-frightened or indecisive, they simply don't have the courage to show such a graceful side of themselves in front of the audience.

If the person who made this move was the sharp-tongued Li Xi, Shirakawa Haru wouldn't be so surprised.

Therefore, if he wanted Toyokawa Shoko to accept his help, or even to ask him for help, he had to establish a good relationship with Shoko.

Just having a relationship in the student union is not enough, and just having a relationship between friends is not enough. Nagasaki Motoyo once formed a band with Toyokawa Shoko, but even she would block Shoko at the school gate every day after school, acting like a dog who can't get my love.

So friendship is not enough, he needs to take a step closer.

But what kind of relationship is needed for Xiangzi to be willing to accept his help?

Shirakawa Haru is a little confused about the boundary between them.

But no matter what, it’s definitely a good idea to build good relationships first.

As for managing relationship boundaries, just stay away from the relationship before it becomes troublesome.

Shirakawa Haru looked at his phone for a while, then suddenly asked the store manager, Matsuo, "Are there any interesting events in Chiba Prefecture tonight?"

"I heard there's an event similar to the Summer Festival tonight. You should be able to find the information on your phone."

Shirakawa Haru thought that after dinner today, she would take Xiangzi to the summer festival to relax.

He was vaguely looking forward to the evening's activities.

Chapter 7200: Toyokawa Shoko's summer ends today ()

The flames gradually cooled down, and Shirakawa Haru stood in front of the sign of Cultural Street with a bag in his hand. Cultural Street was bustling at dusk, with many people wearing kimonos and holding lanterns in their hands.

He was accompanied by a blue-haired girl with amber eyes.

In the afternoon, after Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko signed the contract, they went to a famous local restaurant in Chiba Prefecture for a big meal. King salmon belly, Blue Flag potbellied French oysters, and Russian sweet shrimp were all on the table.

Because the chairman promised to reimburse Shirakawa Haru's expenses for today, he had no intention of considering the cost-effectiveness at all.

Even after leaving the restaurant, they took a few bottles of chilled milk to take away.

"President, is it okay for us to spend so much? Will the chairman say anything?" Toyokawa Shoko was carrying a huge paper bag filled with snacks that Shirakawa Haru had bought for her when they passed by a snack stand. "After all, our expenses seem a bit high."

"What's the deal?" Shirakawa Haru waved his hand, indicating that all expenses for today would be paid for by the chairman's son. "We negotiated a good price with the sponsor when we signed the contract. This savings is the travel expenses we can actually reimburse."

Shirakawa Haru seriously told Toyokawa Shoko that many things are not allowed in principle but are feasible in practice.

For example, the school rules of Hinomori School state that parents are not allowed to drive cars into the school when school starts, but as long as the security guard explains the special reasons, the security guard will open the door and let the parents drive in.

As long as these things have a legitimate reason and are not too blatant, people in high positions will turn a blind eye to many things.

"Besides, even if the sky falls, there are still tall people to hold it up," Shirakawa Haru smiled and took Toyokawa Shoko across the steps of Cultural Street. "If the chairman blames me, I will kill this old man alone."

Chiba Prefecture's cultural streets have a quaint, rustic feel. Nearly everything within sight is meticulously constructed wooden buildings, with lanterns hanging in front and carved beams and painted rafters, a testament to the government's meticulous attention to detail. The bricks paving the floor are stained with the marks of weathering and weathering, and moss still grows on them.

"Blue bricks are particularly suitable for this kind of culturally rich building complex," said Shirakawa Haru, pointing at the blue bricks. "Just be careful when you walk. Don't run too fast, or you'll easily fall."

"President, I understand." Toyokawa Shoko nodded, her eyes fixed on the shadows beneath her feet. She had eaten the most when the two of them were dining in the restaurant just now.

The way he wolfed down the food even stunned the chef who served them. He said he didn't expect that the chef had such high cooking skills. Meeting Miss Toyokawa was like meeting a soulmate. He immediately called himself a seafood fairy and told her to eat more, as he was the head chef here and she could add more if it was not enough.

Shirakawa Haru just watched her eat, and only after he was half full did he begin to enjoy the food slowly.

In other words, he saw all of my indecent behavior just now!

But there was nothing that could be done about it. After all, it was such a high-end restaurant, and many middle-class families probably hadn't eaten there many times. She still remembered the envious looks of the people around her when Shirakawa Haru pushed the door open and brought her in.

Moreover, because we need to pay off debts, we are, in a sense, a completely "proletarian" family. In recent years, we can't even afford a lunch box without a discount.

If I had the opportunity to have dinner in a restaurant of this level, I would definitely eat until I died of stuffing!

Toyokawa Shoko was wondering how to explain to Shirakawa Haru her behavior in the restaurant, which looked like she was possessed by a starving ghost. Should she tell Shirakawa Haru that she actually had a second personality, or should she say that it was her own ghost that showed up, and soon a Titled Golden Knight with a skull ring would come and kill her?

She thought about it and decided that the second method would be better. Although she didn't have much experience in dating boys, most boys preferred handsome knights.

"It hurts!" Shoko Toyokawa was walking when she was suddenly bumped. She stroked her nose and looked forward.

It turned out that Shirakawa Haru in front of her suddenly stopped at some point, and she didn't notice it because she was thinking too deeply, so her nose hit Shirakawa Haru's solid back.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Toyokawa-san, are you okay?" Shirakawa Haru turned his head to look at Toyokawa Shoko, thinking that something seemed to be wrong with her now. Not only was she a little absent-minded, but she was also avoiding his gaze.

"It's okay, President."

Why did you stop so suddenly? It really hurt when my nose was hit. She noticed that there was a goldfish scooping stall in front of Shirakawa Haru.

Goldfish scooping involves scooping goldfish from a pond using a paper net. Typically, the net is made of rice paper. Because rice paper is very fragile and easily tears and melts in water, it's important to be careful not to tear the net from the goldfish's struggles and to avoid leaving it in the water for too long.

Trying to catch goldfish with a rice paper net is an activity that tests one's concentration and skills. It requires players to be quick-eyed and focused, otherwise it is easy to fail.

Those who are not good at this goldfish scooping game may not be able to catch a single goldfish even if they play the entire summer festival.

"Toyokawa-san, would you like to try this?" Shirakawa Haru said to Toyokawa Shoko. "Since it's a rare opportunity to work for the chairman, it would be a shame if we didn't make the most of this trip." He handed a few coins to the shopkeeper, took two paper nets from the shopkeeper, and then handed them to Toyokawa Shoko. "Toyokawa-san, would you like to try this?"

"Oh...oh." Shoko Toyokawa took the net bag from Haru Shirakawa's hand blankly, and then put it directly into the water. A fat goldfish swam by and easily avoided Shoko Toyokawa's net bag. Its movements were so agile that it didn't seem like a fish.

Because it was soaked in water for too long, the rice paper net bag in Toyokawa Shoko's hand quickly melted in the water.

"President, I didn't catch any," Toyokawa Shoko said, feeling somewhat frustrated. She saw the plump goldfish flicking its tail in the pond and thought it was mocking her. But it was understandable; Toyokawa Shoko had never caught a goldfish in the cultural streets of the summer festival. She always practiced piano alone in her room, believing it was everything to her.

"Then try again." Bai Chuanqing checked his phone and found that it was only 5:30 in the evening, so it was still early. It was the transition period from summer to autumn, and it was getting dark very quickly.

He handed another net bag to Toyokawa Shoko.

Shoko Toyokawa looked at the net bag in her hand and wondered why not try it again?

So she scooped the net into the pond again, and this time she observed the fat goldfish for a long time, making sure that there was no risk before she dared to take action. She thought she would definitely get something this time, but just as she scooped the goldfish out, the net could not support the weight of the goldfish and broke in the middle, and it fell back into the water.

She failed again.

Shirakawa Haru looked at Toyokawa Shoko's expression and found that she was a little drunk.

The game of scooping goldfish is actually like using a claw machine to grab dolls. The more you play, the more you want to play. If you always have coins, you have to grab one no matter what. Otherwise, if you spend a lot of coins but don’t grab a doll, you will definitely be so aggrieved that you can’t sleep that day.

He took out a banknote and bought a lot of net bags from the stall owner. The stall owner was so happy to find that big business had come to him that he couldn't stop smiling. He generously gave Baichuan Qing a few more net bags.

"Then try again," said Shirakawa Haru. "Don't be afraid of failure when playing goldfish scooping. The more you worry about not being able to catch a goldfish, the less likely you are to catch one. The most important thing about goldfish scooping is that you have to have fun."

"This guy is right. If this is your first time playing this, don't worry too much about whether you can catch the goldfish. If you treat the game as a competition, it won't be fun."

The stall owner, beaming, remarked that Shirakawa Haru was right. He explained to Toyokawa Shoko that this was exactly how the game worked. Many skilled goldfish scoopers could scoop up multiple fish with just one net. They didn't take the fish away with them, but returned them to the pond. The most important thing about goldfish scooping was the enjoyment of playing and having fun with friends at the summer festival.

Besides, it doesn't matter if you try more, that way you can make a little more money. His frankness and kind smile convinced Toyokawa Shoko, her impatience was soothed, and her originally unrestrained movements became gentle. She gave up the goldfish that looked difficult to catch, and chose a slightly smaller one, then quickly reached into the net bag.

Until the goldfish fell into the small porcelain bowl in her hand, Toyokawa Shoko could hardly believe that she had actually caught the goldfish.

"Well, it's not as difficult as you thought, right?" Shirakawa Haru said in a teasing tone, and then he handed a piece of takoyaki to Toyokawa Shoko.

He had just bought this from a nearby cart. That stall was particularly crowded with people buying takoyaki, and the reason was that they were generous with their ingredients, including salted egg yolk, scallion and ginger sauce, minced fish, and even the thick layer of bonito flakes and seaweed that covered the takoyaki balls.

After tasting it, he found it delicious, so he bought one for Toyokawa Shoko. Although he didn't know whether she could eat now, it at least showed that he was always thinking about her.

“Well, very interesting!”

The face that looked like Toyokawa Shoko suddenly looked up. From this angle, Shirakawa Haru could see the excitement flashing in her amber pupils. Her fair and flawless face was now flushed red, and she was as excited as a child.

She was just a child.

Toyokawa Shoko put down her net and took the takoyaki from Shirakawa Haru's hands. It was piping hot from the oven, fragrant with spices and salted egg yolk. From the aroma, she could tell that the octopus in it was very large.

Sure enough, after picking it up with a bamboo skewer and putting it in my mouth, I just took a light bite and my mouth was filled with the sweet taste of octopus and spices.

"How's it, Toyokawa-san? Does it taste good?" Shirakawa Haru looked at her eyes, which had narrowed with happiness, and said with a smile, "Now you can also catch goldfish, how about we have a competition?"

"What are you competing for?" Toyokawa Shoko paused, took out a tissue from her lady's bag and elegantly wiped away the traces of food from the corners of her mouth. She quietly widened her eyes a little to confirm whether Shirakawa Haru had seen her actions.

She thought that if Shirakawa Haru saw her elegantly wiping the corners of her mouth with a tissue, he would definitely forget how she wolfed down her food in the restaurant!

When she thought of this, Toyokawa Shoko's already rosy face turned even redder, and even her ears felt slightly hot.

"Let's have a goldfish scooping competition," Shirakawa Haru said. "Want to have a contest?" He asked the stall owner to bring him a stool and a small porcelain bowl, as if he was certain that Toyokawa Shoko would be willing to compete with him. "The loser of our competition has to agree to a reasonable condition for the winner. What do you think, Toyokawa-san?"

"It's okay if the atmosphere at the summer festival is a bit lively. Little girl, if you are usually introverted, you might as well make your personality a little rougher and more insensitive during this summer festival." The stall owner assisted at this time. He smiled and began to imagine the relationship between the two people. He felt that they were like a couple who had not yet established a relationship.