You are Toyokawa Shoko, then who am I?

"Wouldn't it be nice to sit quietly for a while?"

Fengchuan Xiang responded, "Even when discussing business at the dinner table, one should know to make some pleasantries first and then get to the point after three rounds of drinks. One cannot reveal one's true intentions right away."

"I hate drinking."

Shoko Toyokawa gritted her teeth. Because of Toyokawa Kiyoshi's poor performance over the past month, she had an almost ingrained aversion to drinking.

"I hate it, too."

A man who crowned himself a bar immortal was lying shamelessly.

"...Whose coat is this? It seems...it has a smell."

Shoko Toyokawa's slender fingers pulled at the clothes draped over her body.

"your dad."

Toyokawa Sho gave a brief answer.

"I'm not cold, I'll put it on for you."

Shoko Toyokawa took it off without any hesitation and stuffed it into Sho Toyokawa's arms.

"Do you dislike Mr. Qing Gao so much? He will be sad."

Toyokawa Sho said this, but his hands were pushing his clothes back.

"You too!"

Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth.

"Let's put it this way. This dress is filled with Mr. Qing Gao's deep love. Didn't you call him 'Father' before? I'll give it to you."

"Before, that was before...! I won't forgive that bastard dad until he completely snaps out of it!"

The two people were in a stalemate for a while, and finally put the clothes and umbrella aside.

Then there was another brief silence.

No one spoke, they just sat together, watching the rain gradually subside and the dark clouds retreat from the sky, revealing the original clear blue color.

Simple chatting and playing are like a ray of light breaking the eternal night.

The conflict that I thought would be as hot and painful as a sea of fire turned out not to be as tense as I had imagined. Even the extremely stiff atmosphere was unknowingly pieced together with a few relaxing pieces of the puzzle.

Some things can actually be discussed after you calm down...

Shoko Toyokawa's fingers were clasped tightly in her palms. This was the first time she felt the age gap between her and Shoko Toyokawa.

In her expectation, this meeting between her and Toyokawa Sho was bound to be bloody, turning all the previous illnesses and scars into shells that hit their flesh and blood one after another, escalating the contradictions played by fate to an irreconcilable level.

But she never thought that the situation could develop like this, and she could calm down and solve it peacefully...

Is this what adults do?

Shoko Toyokawa bit her thin lower lip tightly. She knew that Sho Toyokawa was giving her a choice, to choose a gentle and stable path, and to put the matter to an end lightly.

But she didn't want this ending.

Rather than shaking hands and making peace, she wanted to speak out the voice buried deep in her heart without reservation.

She said it, and Toyokawa Sho also said it, even if it would lead to a big quarrel, it would be better this way.

This is how it shows that this relationship is so unforgettable. Isn't it the most important thing for each other?

The injury will heal only after the blood clots are released.

Only by moving towards destruction can we usher in new life.

Shoko Toyokawa took a deep breath, made a decision in her heart, and then she asked resolutely.

"...You coming here means you already know what happened."

"Ah."

Toyokawa Sho nodded slightly.

"I saw your memory."

Shoko Toyokawa buried her face in her thighs.

"Did you see it all?"

Toyokawa Sho was not surprised.

"Why is your reaction so indifferent...!"

Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but emphasize her tone, "I saw it all...! Your life, your pain, all the things that weighed on you, I saw it all! Why can you speak so calmly? Why did you go out of your way to follow me?"

"Don't you think I'm an eyesore...?"

Toyokawa Shoko clenched her fists, and the heavy and suppressed voice seemed to be completely released.

"I'm not in debt, I haven't lost my mother, and even if I just admit my mistakes, I can return to my grandfather and become his daughter. Everything I have now is my own choice. It's a game I chose to save face. I'm completely different from you, completely different...!"

"I'm ready to fight fate with you. Every time I think of you, I smugly feel like I'm special... because I have someone who truly shares my fate, someone who truly shares my glory and disgrace, someone I can face life with... As someone who has crossed over from another world, I feel that our meeting is a miracle."

Toyokawa Shoko burst into tears.

"But how can there be another self? How can someone with a different fate be considered another self?... I clearly value you so much, so... so much I consider you my support, but why am I different from you? Why are we different? To you, my existence is nothing more than a fake...!"

Toyokawa Sho listened to Toyokawa Shoko's crying quietly without saying a word, then reached out and touched the girl's blue hair that was wet and stuck together by the rain.

Shoko Toyokawa shook her body in resistance, trying to shake off Sho Toyokawa's hand, but she couldn't get rid of it no matter what she did.

So she raised her cheek and wanted to slap the other person away with her hand, but in this brief gap, Toyokawa Sho accurately seized the opportunity and hugged the collapsed girl tightly in his arms.

"You're not an imposter."

Toyokawa Sho whispered softly in Toyokawa Shoko's ear.

He patted Toyokawa Shoko gently like stroking a kitten, feeling her petite body trembling slightly in his arms, and her firm and soft breasts pressed tightly against him.

"You are Toyokawa Shoko, the daughter of Toyokawa Kiyoshi, the founder of Crychic, and another [me] who has a lot in common with me, similar yet different."

After being hugged so tightly, Shoko Toyokawa's momentum softened in an instant, like a paper tiger that would burst at the slightest poke.

Perhaps because she had just vented her inner voice, or perhaps because she was really tired after running all the way here, she sobbed, rested her head on the other person's shoulder, and hugged the other person tightly with her hands.

"It's too much..."

Blurred by tears.

Shoko Toyokawa felt that the weakness in her heart was growing infinitely.

She hugged Toyokawa Sho even tighter, tighter than a drowning person grabbing the last piece of driftwood.

"At least... vent something to me... blame me, push me away, deny me... Please, Xiang, at least let me... let me make it up to you... I never meant to hurt you, never meant to hurt you..."

"I just want to be with you..."

87

Chapter 87: Look carefully, this is how Teacher Xiang should output.

On the steps leading to the shrine.

The girl's intermittent sobs seemed to suppress the sound of raindrops hitting the ground and splashing on the flowers.

In the silence of the heart, everything slowed down, only her heartfelt cry echoed clearly in her ears.

Toyokawa Sho was slightly surprised to hear Toyokawa Shoko say such words almost in a pleading tone in front of him with such a disdain.

This was the second time that Toyokawa Shoko gave up her self-esteem and showed him her tenderness and tears that she had never shown to others.

Words like wanting to be together wouldn't feel out of place even if used as a confession of love. Before she knew it, the girl's feelings had sprouted and grown to this point.

Even if I have to overcome my insincere nature, even if I have to abandon the sense of superiority that comes with past wealth, I still want to keep the most important person in my hands.

It can be said.

Toyokawa Shoko has already revealed her cards.

If you break down her sobs with a tearful tone and read them separately, you will find that every word is expressing her inner self-blame and guilt, and the emotion contained in every line is the girl's young but innocent love.

Because it’s the person I like.

That's why they cry bitterly because they hurt others unconsciously.

It’s because he’s the person I like.

That's why she's nestled in her arms like this, clutching my back tightly, speaking incoherently, abandoning her pride and wanting to stay by her side.

She really sees me as another version of herself.

Toyokawa Sho sighed softly in his heart, there would be no other person in this world who knew better than him how difficult it was for Toyokawa Shoko to say these words to him.

In essence, Toyokawa Shoko is a young lady who is ignorant of the ways of the world and whose character has not been successfully tempered.

Her past wealth naturally shaped her self-awareness of being superior to others, so she would resist anything that would damage her self-esteem. Even though she is now living in the dirt and no longer rich, she still regards herself as a white swan that endures humiliation, rather than an ugly duckling like others.

She is obsessed with wanting to live in the world she wants, and for this she can put on a mature mask to deal with everything. But in the end, when she faces things that are beyond her control and beyond her expectations, her immature side will be exposed.

After all.

She said these words now because she wanted to pretend to be another self again, but faced with different memories and different destinies, she felt that she was not qualified to do so.

The behavior of crying like a child and holding on to clothes tightly is also a regret for why he is not worthy and why he has placed so much emotion on it, but the result is like this.

Seeing Toyokawa Shoko's expression of pain that made her unable to breathe, just like when he first found out that they were different, Toyokawa Sho pursed his lips.

He couldn't say it out loud, and he knew it wasn't appropriate to think that way, but he still wanted to say that when he saw Shoko Toyokawa's face covered in tears, he actually felt a subtle sense of relief in his heart.

It’s like seeing a good brother fall into the same pit as you, and words of mockery will involuntarily emerge in your heart.

Look.

Now you know why I lost my defense that day.

Toyokawa Sho bit his tongue with his teeth, trying his best to control the corners of his mouth so as not to laugh inappropriately at this time. He stroked Toyokawa Shoko's long and thick blue hair and said affirmatively.

"I won't blame you, nor will I push you away."

When Shoko Toyokawa in his arms heard what Toyokawa Sho said, she made some weak sounds in her throat and buried her cheeks deeper.

"You said it so nicely, saying you wanted to make it up to me, but if I really vented my anger on you and pushed you away from me, you would definitely get angry and have a big fight with me."

Toyokawa Sho changed the subject and pointed out someone's true face.

"...I won't do that! Where did you get the evidence to think I would do that?"

Shoko Toyokawa angrily hit Sho Toyokawa's chin with her head.

"How about myself? Am I authoritative enough?"

Toyokawa Sho laughed.

“How can you…!”

Shoko Toyokawa retorted subconsciously, but she soon realized the meaning of Toyokawa Sho's words.

She slowly raised her face from his embrace, and her eyes, which were filled with tears, seemed to have a ray of light moving along the trajectory of her pupils. Her thin little mouth, which was a little dry and flaky, was slightly opened, and her weak breathing and the small sounds of surprise could be heard.

What Toyokawa Sho meant was that he judged based on his own experience that she would do so.

In other words.

He said this as another of himself.

"...Why...are you so accommodating to me? Because you've lived ten years longer than me and are already an adult, so you don't want to argue with a child?"

Toyokawa Shoko knitted her long brows tightly together, her misty eyes revealing a look of reluctance. "...Don't say such self-deprecating words."

"Are you pitying me?"

Toyokawa Sho changed his tone, and his manner of speaking returned to the feeling he had ten years ago, "You are so high and mighty."

"I'm not—!"

Toyokawa Shoko's expression tensed instantly. She usually said this to others, but when she heard someone close to her say this, she realized how deeply these two short sentences caused others to feel distressed.

She clenched her fists tightly, lowered her face, and the tears that could no longer be controlled flowed down her cheeks. The voice that she had finally managed to steady began to tremble again.

"I just... I just don't want you to feel wronged. I don't mean to pity you. I'm afraid that I will hurt you again, afraid that it will be like last time, because of me, you will show such a painful expression again, and see you leave me again... In fact, I also want to tell you not to leave me, I also want to give up my dignity in the end in exchange for you to come back, because it is you, because it is another me, because in this world only you can make me do this, because I will only cry in front of [me], so you are the only one I would rather lower myself to hold, you are the only one I want to be with for the rest of my life no matter what...! But after hearing what Chu Hua said, and witnessing so many of your memories with my own eyes, I can't do this again, I can't do it...!"

Toyokawa Shoko raised her head with a choked voice, her delicate nose was sore and even her mouth was trembling.