You are Toyokawa Shoko, then who am I?

"As you said, the fireworks display I saw on my way home from get off work that day with my colleagues..."

"I asked someone to organize it."

The old man gave the answer frankly.

He was young once, so how could he not know when and what kind of assists are suitable?

Toyokawa Sho's expression gradually became strange.

"Then the shrine where Xiangzi and I went out to relax in the middle of the night—"

"It was under my control before."

"...Could the ladder above be the same?"

"I ordered them to be released."

Toyokawa Sho was getting a little restless. How come he didn't know that his cheap grandfather also had a habit of watching young people being naughty?

"So, the reason why the video of 'The Old Man and the Sea' on my Twitter and the photos that were forwarded like crazy were so popular..."

"It's just adding fuel to the fire. It's not worth mentioning."

So you did all this?!

Toyokawa Sho's filter for the old man in front of him was shattered.

Where is there such a thing as a lion, the king of beasts, who is awe-inspiring even without being angry?

He only saw a doting old man who seemed to be doing everything he could to ensure his grandson's future success.

"You think that what I'm doing doesn't fit my image?"

The old man saw what Toyokawa Sho was thinking, and a rare smile appeared on his old face, which always looked stern.

"...It's indeed a bit unexpected, but for someone as powerful as you, whatever you do is right and justified. Even if you're just wearing an ordinary shirt, it will be the most dazzling piece of clothing at the banquet."

"I didn't realize you were so eloquent. No wonder you have so many girls around you. Even Xiangzi likes you now."

The old man seemed to be joking, but his stern tone always sounded like a reprimand. He slowly stood up from the sofa and spoke to Toyokawa Sho.

"Just walk with me for a while."

Seeing this, Toyokawa Sho naturally agreed and skillfully lifted the old man's arm. He had been living with Tsuzuki Shifune for the past few days and had already mastered the little tricks of taking care of the elderly.

But just as he put his hand on it, he realized that the old man had an unusually strong body, and the muscles of his forearms hidden under his suit were very thick, as if he was not supporting a criminal capitalist, but an old martial artist who had retired and returned home.

Vaguely.

Toyokawa Sho felt as if he understood why Toyokawa Kiyoshi in this world was so harmless.

Even ten Toyokawa Kiyoshige wouldn't be able to withstand this punch.

He couldn't help muttering in his heart.

There's absolutely no need for support... You might even get told something like, "Do you think I'm so old I can't even walk?"

But he saw that the old man did not slap his hand away as he remembered. It seemed that he even slowed down his pace intentionally, as if he was acknowledging that he needed his support to walk together.

Toyokawa Sho blinked, then thought to himself with relief.

Also.

Even the scumbag looks gentle here.

What's more, you, Grandfather.

Recalling the old face in his memory that always seemed to be in bad condition and needed to be slowly recuperated, Toyokawa Sho sighed softly and helped the old man to a courtyard full of flower fields.

The custom-made leather shoes polished to a shiny shine and a pair of ordinary sneakers stepped on the slightly cracked bluestone slabs, as if disturbing the elves sleeping on the sepals of the flower buds.

For a moment, they anxiously turned into flowing lights, stumbling across the flower tips. Their agile figures were recorded in the clear water droplets by the dewdrops hanging on the lily of the valley, but with a sound of dripping, they fell on the rich and fertile soil, engraving their memories and their entire lives on the earth.

Toyokawa Sho remembers this place.

When he was a child, he would always bring Ruoye Mu here to play together.

Or play tag together.

Or bring her a handmade wreath.

Or I would lie on her legs with my hair ruffled by the gentle breeze, enjoying a short dream. When I woke up, I found my hair was full of hair ties, hairpins and rubber bands, and even my face was heavily made up with lipstick and eyeliner.

But later after leaving the Toyokawa family.

Never came again.

"I heard from Xiangzi that your name is Xiang."

The old man next to him looked at the flower field in the hazy moonlight, and his stern tone rarely faded a little.

"When I found out Ruihui was pregnant, I told her that if it was a girl, we should name her Xiangzi, which means happiness and peace. I hope she will have a healthy life. If it was a boy, we should name him Xiang, which means spreading wings and soaring, like a kite hooked on a little finger, or a bird freed from a cage, flying high until it touches the blue sky."

Having said this, the old man paused, then slowly turned his head to look at Toyokawa Sho.

"When I first learned about you, I thought I'd made a stupid mistake, not even realizing I had such a big illegitimate child. But then I discovered there was no trace of you in this world at all, as if you had appeared out of thin air. Later, I had someone test your DNA and discovered that you, like Xiangzi, are Ruihui's children."

"In other words, you are also my grandson."

The old man stretched out his big hand and patted Toyokawa Sho on the shoulder.

"Look at those eyes, that nose, and those eyebrows... Compared to Mizuho, you look more like my younger self. If I didn't know I wasn't dreaming, I would have thought my younger self had crossed the corridor of time and come to see me."

"...You don't doubt me?"

Toyokawa Sho was a little surprised.

"Why doubt?"

The old man laughed heartily and said, "I've lived to this age and I've even found a grandson for free. Is there anything more exciting than this in the world?"

Also.

In the Toyokawa family with its dark history, it seems that she is the only legitimate heir.

Unlike my side, there are all kinds of uncles and aunts putting pressure on me, so it is not my turn to be the heir.

And wait until the black history grows up.

She will also find a husband to marry into her family like her mother did.

At that time, the Toyokawa family’s property will be put to the test again.

What if the new wife is also like Mr. Qinggao?

Then the foundation that my grandfather had worked hard for most of his life would be gone.

That's why I say there's no need to doubt it.

My mere presence is a godsend to Grandfather.

Toyokawa Sho silently sorted out the logic in his mind, and looking at the old man in front of him who was in a particularly happy mood, he immediately understood that the other party must be planning to include him in the list of candidates for heirs.

Let the person who wiped out the Toyokawa family be the next in line to succeed the Toyokawa family?

It feels like a bit of a hell of a joke.

"Don't you want to ask me anything?"

Fengchuan Xiang looked at the old man, revealing a rare awkward expression. "For example... uh, who am I? Where do I come from? What do I think of this family? Do I have the ability to take on such a large family business? Do I have any goals for my future life?"

"You leave me at home without asking me anything. That's... well, aren't you being a little too confident? What if I'm just a pretty face, a bunch of good talk? What if I can't do anything, a useless piece of shit? As you can see, there are so many unknowns about me."

"It's very likely... I'm not as good as you think."

Hear the young people complaining.

The old man did not scold the other party for being nagging as he did to his own son-in-law. Instead, he adopted a gentle attitude and slowly forced a smile on his wrinkled face.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s not good.”

His voice was deafening in the quiet courtyard.

"All I know is that you are my grandson, and that's reason enough for me to take responsibility for you."

When Toyokawa Sho heard this, a brief moment of confusion flashed across his face, and his nose suddenly felt hot. He opened his mouth to say something, but found that it was okay even if he didn't say anything.

In his memory, his grandfather is a very vague image.

If there were no Corridor of Life, he might not even be able to remember what the other person looked like.

All I know is that he is a very strict person, his health has not been good for many years, and I have hardly ever been close to him since I was a child. He has his own set of ideas in education, and he is almost pathologically obsessed with these ideas.

It was probably under such distorted education that the mother gradually developed a dark character. She was indifferent to her child's growth and only cared about whether he had achieved the goals she set.

For example, a national piano award, or better academic performance than other brothers and sisters, only these can make you see a rare smile on each other's face.

I still remember that time when the school said it was organizing a sports meeting. All the students in the class, regardless of their height, had their parents standing next to them. Only next to him stood a butler wearing a butler's uniform. He was very tall and looked very prestigious.

The butler's lake blue suit was like a dazzling mirror, absorbing all the tiny exclamations of admiration from the surroundings.

It should have been summer then.

But for some reason, the classroom felt unbearably cold.

Especially when the sports meeting started, I felt even colder.

On the playground, two figures, one big and one small, were tied together to compete in the three-legged race. Some children rode crooked, old bicycles that could break down at any time, and asked the men behind them to hold the back of the bicycle to see who could ride the bicycle to the finish line intact.

When everyone's faces turned red and they started tug-of-war, the parents formed a circle of enthusiastic spectators.

After a while, he shouted, "Push harder, push harder!"

After a while, the camera kept making clicking sounds, recording the youthful and beautiful side of the children.

He was also pretending to enjoy himself, feeling upset that his class didn't win. He smiled and said that it was a good thing his parents didn't come, otherwise if they saw him looking like this, he would definitely get a scolding when he got home.

Everyone believed it.

After all, his acting has always been very good.

But in the end, I still couldn't deceive myself.

A man was secretly wiping his tears on the stairs.

Until he was pulled up by Ruoye Mu, who had been looking for him for a long time.

Listen to her.

Don't cry, I'm with you.

As the light of memory slowly flickers.

Time soon passed and the day came when my mother passed away.

That was the last time he saw his grandfather properly in his memory. His grandfather's eyes fell on him, and that was also the first time he saw the man look tired and confused.

Grandfather asked him like a child who had done something wrong.

Was my education wrong from the beginning?

I just hope that my child can become stronger and better than anyone else. Even if they don't need the company of their family, even if they are hurt by everyone around them, they can still persevere through the ups and downs of the times on their own. That's how I got through it back then...

Before he could finish his words, his grandfather fell silent again.

He seemed to finally understand his problem and scolded himself for using his own experience to seek happiness for his children and grandchildren.

So shortly after the scum was kicked out of the family.

My grandfather also passed away.

Toyokawa Sho came out of his memories and looked at the old man in front of him who seemed to be in his prime and strong. He felt that the colors were clearly different, like the characters in two different stories.

Just like when he faced Toyokawa Kiyosuke, he didn't have much feeling in his heart.

But perhaps the old man's warmth really reached his heart.

It’s so nice to see the old man living so healthily.

Toyokawa Sho felt that his emotional framework seemed to loosen a little, and the tip of his nose seemed to feel a little sore.

He thought about it and felt that it must be an illusion.

However, although he didn't feel much, he was sincerely happy that the old man had such a possibility.

"It seems to be getting a little cold. Let me help you go back."

Toyokawa Sho reached out and held the old man's arm again, saying with some concern.