You are Toyokawa Shoko, then who am I?

Amid the sound of rain, the tears flowing from those crystal eyes, even though colorless and lightless, were enough to cover up all the scenery in this small world.

"I can't do that. I can't be so shameless to tell you that you are another me..."

Shoko Toyokawa wiped her tears with her palms, and she wanted to nestle in the other person's arms and be soft and tender like she had just done.

But reason quickly threw this idea into the trash can, and also restrained the hands that wanted to hug the other person tightly.

At this time, his hands seemed to be welded into a mask.

No matter what, I won't take it off my cheek.

So, she followed this mask and turned her truest thoughts into lines of a drama as the finale of this rain curtain.

“…I, like you…”

Tick.

Tick.

The rain seemed to have actually subsided a bit.

The dark clouds covering the sky also revealed a few gaps, revealing a bright light.

It landed squarely on the shrine, on the steps.

And the girl's delicate heart.

"You don't need to care too much about those differences."

After a long silence, Toyokawa Sho slowly spoke.

"I did want to save myself, who was in the same situation as me. When I first came into this world, I almost regarded this as the only meaning, because only in this way could I comfort myself and accept that I had lost my life. So when I found out that our scripts were different, I was indeed disappointed and confused."

"But that doesn't mean I've given up on you, Xiangzi."

Toyokawa Sho did not hug Toyokawa Shoko again, but looked at Toyokawa Kiyoshi who was walking anxiously around the shrine entrance and making some meaningless prayer gestures from time to time.

"In fact, I still intend to treat you as another 'me'. Even though this time will definitely not be as easy as when we first met, I still have this plan."

Toyokawa Sho put his hands behind his back and said with a smile.

"But, to be honest, your life is so good that it makes me a little angry. I'm also thinking, why do you still want me to come here when you are living such a good life? It's a waste of my feelings."

“I haven’t had a very good time…”

Toyokawa Shoko said in a muffled voice.

"The worst possible outcome for you is nothing more than your heart being shattered and you returning home to inherit a fortune worth hundreds of billions. Isn't that good enough?"

Toyokawa Sho turned around and said with a smile.

"..."

Toyokawa Shoko stopped talking.

Her grandfather is in charge of the family. As long as her mother's condition improves and she regains her spirits, even if there are many factions among the other relatives in the family, the position of heir will eventually be hers, and Toyokawa Kiyoshi will then return to the Toyokawa family to take over the work.

Compared to Toyokawa Sho, who had no way out and had to sell his dignity in exchange for investment in the end.

Her life is indeed a hundred times happier.

"That's why I said, my mere existence is a denial of you..."

Toyokawa Shoko said in a low voice.

"I've already told you that you don't need to worry too much about the differences."

Toyokawa Sho reached out and touched Toyokawa Shoko's head, saying comfortingly.

"Even if it's exactly the same, so what? Going through those scorching days once is enough. Don't listen to my nice words about trying to save my past self. I'm not sure I could handle it if I had to go through it again."

"...That's a lie. If I were really exactly like you, you would have already considered me your only purpose and would be so happy..."

Toyokawa Shoko emphasized the word "only" and said, "And even so, how are you going to deal with your father's affairs?"

Toyokawa Shoko's tone was filled with worry.

She already knew that family was the most difficult hurdle for Toyokawa Sho to face, but her family was the most perfect. Even if Toyokawa Sho could accept her, he might not be able to accept her family.

Father too.

Mother, too.

If she were in Toyokawa Sho's position, she would absolutely not be able to face it.

"It depends on your efforts."

"My efforts?"

Toyokawa Shoko was puzzled.

"The showdown will come in a few days,"

Toyokawa Sho said, "Didn't we agree that if you can beat me, I will wear the ribbon again? In this way, even if I still don't want to face Mr. Qing Gao, for your sake, I will try to accept him slowly."

"…But what if I can't win?"

Toyokawa Shoko said softly.

"Didn't you say last time that you would definitely win? Where's your confidence?"

Toyokawa Sho was helpless.

"I……!"

Toyokawa Shoko was so angry that she almost took her hands away from her face, but she suppressed the urge and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito, "I can't be so confident now..."

"why?"

Toyokawa Sho was curious.

"…Because you are so important."

Toyokawa Shoko murmured in a very low voice, almost indistinctly.

"Then let me give you a shot of insurance."

Toyokawa Sho reached out and took away the two small hands that were covering Toyokawa Shoko's face. The two pairs of amber eyes looked at each other at a close distance, and each could see his or her own reflection in each other's pupils.

"It doesn't matter if you lose. As long as you can put your band together again, stand on the stage with your chest held high, and give the audience a wonderful performance with all your might, I'll count you as the winner."

Toyokawa Sho said with a smile.

"Take your life, which has lost its way, and turn everything you want to express into song. Draw the courage to live from music, and find the hope that supports you in facing tomorrow from the band. Then, turn this courage and hope into a song that defies fate... This is us, Toyokawa Shoko, and Toyokawa Sho, isn't it?"

Toyokawa Shoko blinked her big beautiful eyes, the tears in her eyes looked crystal clear under the light, and her fair cheeks with a faint blush seemed to be in a daze.

All I could see was his bright smile.

other……

Nothing can be seen.

"...If I win, we can go home together."

For some unknown reason, Shoko Toyokawa couldn't help but say this sentence.

"Going back to the Toyokawa family?"

Toyokawa Sho frowned.

"...No, I'm going home."

Shoko Toyokawa's cheeks were red. She had originally wanted to treat the previous sentence as a slip of the tongue, but now that Sho Toyokawa had taken over, she had no choice but to say it shamelessly.

"I'll make that asshole dad shut up. Or, we can rent a house... or something, and then go to high school together, and then go to college together... By that time, you will definitely have completely accepted me, so when that time comes, let's go back to the Toyokawa family together."

“…Why do I feel like you’re making life plans?”

Toyokawa Sho wondered, "And why do we have to go back to the Toyokawa family? I don't like that place."

"It's normal to make plans early. We've been taught to plan for a rainy day since we were little, haven't we?"

Toyokawa Shoko explained in a somewhat flustered manner. With the distance between them so close and her hands being held by the other person, she could only avoid his sight and force herself to face it.

"Then... it's about my family. I really don't like that place. The education was always strict and harsh. Aside from my grandfather, my relatives were all beasts in human skin. They forced my bastard father away and took advantage of my mother's serious illness to unite and put pressure on my grandfather. It's really not a place with many good memories."

So mother is here too?

Toyokawa Sho was a little dazed, but he still suppressed his emotions and listened quietly to Toyokawa Shoko.

"But like you said, I will definitely return to my family in the end. That's where I make my living and where I stand. No matter how much I don't want to admit it, I am still a member of that family. I will eventually take on responsibilities and do things that I don't like to do."

"We have a lot of family businesses, including construction and healthcare. I'm not entirely sure about the details, but judging by how exhausted Mom and Dad are, it must be incredibly busy... I definitely can't handle it all on my own."

"So I hope you can go back with me."

Shoko Toyokawa endured the heat rising on her cheeks, grabbed Toyokawa Sho's hand as if to escape, put her pink face on his hand, hid it in his palm, and then said with a little shyness and a very warm smile.

"You came into this world alone, with no past or future, only the ever-connected present. Perhaps you'll think I'm arrogant... but I truly want to do this. I want to connect your life with mine, to make up for your regrets in my own way, to possess even greater power so I can introduce you to this strange world."

"Until the end, I can have it written on my tombstone that we shared the same life."

"..."

Toyokawa Sho's expression seemed to be imprinted on his face.

This was the first time he was truly surprised by Toyokawa Shoko.

"...Stop talking big after you win."

He withdrew his hand, stood up from the steps, picked up the clothes beside him, and opened the umbrella. "Let's go. Your father is still waiting for you downstairs."

"Xiang, it seems like the sky has cleared up."

"is it?"

Toyokawa Sho put away his umbrella and looked at the distant blue sky with white clouds. He was a little surprised. A few birds flew over the trees and glided beside the rainbow bridge. The foothills outside the gray city were endless. Standing at this height, it seemed that he could see the whole of Tokyo.

The girl behind him stood up from the stairs. Perhaps because the tense atmosphere had finally passed, she hugged her body and couldn't help sneezing. Then, naturally, or perhaps with some purpose, she held his hand.

Toyokawa Sho turned around.

Looking at Toyokawa Shoko, he clenched his fists and coughed a few times, looking a little embarrassed.

"Did you catch a cold? I bought some medicine at home, remember to take it when you get home."

"Where is it?"

"It's on the cabinet against the wall in the living room. If you can't find it, ask Mr. Qinggao to help you look for it."

"I have hands and feet, so I don't need to trouble him."

"Indeed, even after we resume our relationship, you'd better not call him 'Father'. It makes me sick to hear it."

"Trust only once. I won't call him that affectionately anymore, even without you telling me."

The two of them chatted about each other.

The steps under my feet are getting closer and closer to the road.

Toyokawa Sho walked in front, thinking about what Toyokawa Shoko had just said to him, and then quickly put this thought into the distant future.

Gazing into the distance.

What I see is a clear sky and clear clouds.

Black History is right.

It’s indeed sunny now.

88

Chapter 88 I want to be a family hero.

Toyokawa Kiyoshi paced back and forth beside the taxi for a long time. He looked anxious and his cheeks, which were in a very bad state due to long-term alcoholism, were filled with melancholy.

But when he saw Toyokawa Sho coming down with Toyokawa Shoko, the sadness on his face immediately disappeared, replaced by a feeling of being moved by the dawn of hope.

My son.

You two finally made it.

If the driver keeps using the meter, my wallet will really be unable to bear it...

Fengchuan Qinggao looked at the meter on the driver's side with a painful look on his face.