Alone, she felt the cold air and the noisy streets outside. But the commotion outside didn't matter, and the chill in the room couldn't penetrate her heart, because the gloom that enveloped Toyokawa Shoko's heart at this moment was death.

The silence of the small room was broken by the ringing of the telephone.

Toyokawa Shoko didn't want to move for a moment, or rather, she felt that the phone call was completely irrelevant. But she still reached out, simply because she couldn't sleep.

"Chu Hua...?"

Toyokawa Shoko frowned, a growing sense that things weren't so simple. Mikasa Hatsuka knew her schedule; for her to call at this hour...

Although it was only a little past ten o'clock, it was actually quite late.

Is there anything urgent?

She opened her mouth and coughed lightly twice. Her voice was a little hoarse when she was murmuring earlier, probably because she had been crying.

Toyokawa Shoko tried to answer in her usual cool and aloof voice.

"What is it, Chu Hua?"

"..."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and then someone seemed to pick it up. The moment the voice rang out, Toyokawa Shoko felt a little dazed.

Maple's voice... am I hallucinating?

Just as Toyokawa Shoko was wondering what was going on, Narusawa Kaede's voice came through the phone again.

Mingze Feng asked, "Have you been crying? What happened?"

These sweet words were both unexpected and yet expected.

Toyokawa Shoko covered her mouth, unsure whether she was happy or sad.

So, Narusawa Kaede finally made his move on Hatsuka? And Hatsuka Misaki, really, why didn't she tell her beforehand? If she needed help or anything...

He casually brushed off the hoarseness, saying it was just because of the wind in the afternoon. Toyokawa Shoko then turned to teasing Narusawa Kaede, who was blushing with anger while holding the Mitsubo Hatsuka phone.

As for the content of the subsequent call...

Toyokawa Shoko was getting sleepy.

After all, what was there to apologize for? As soon as those words came out, Toyokawa Shoko almost thought they were breaking up, and for a moment, she felt murderous intent towards both Mikasa and Narusawa Kaede.

It turns out that the scumbag just relapsed passively.

After listening to Narusawa Kaede's attempt to give a complete account, and then selectively listening to Mikazuki Hatsuka's embellishments, Toyokawa Shoko was yawning repeatedly.

At first, Toyokawa Shoko was still enjoying it, but later all that remained was a feeling of drowsiness and weariness.

Toyokawa Shoko treated the stories about what he had done as mere tales, stories she had heard many times before.

As for Mitsuka's special hobbies...

Why are you telling me about the things you and she do together?

"She is related to you by blood."

“...Huh?” Toyokawa Shoko was stunned.

Her first thought was that Mingze Feng had been deceived by someone, but then she remembered that her father was indeed not a good person, and it was normal for him to seek out other men after her mother's death.

But then Toyokawa Shoko realized something was wrong.

"Wait, that's not right. My father only left the Toyokawa family a few months ago, and even if we're related by blood, my sister hasn't been born yet..."

She is your aunt.

"Ugh?"

Shoko Toyokawa sat up in bed in shock. She pinched her face to make sure it wasn't a dream.

So first, we need to define what a "little aunt" is. As we all know, a mother's sister is called a "big aunt" or a "little aunt." So, this means that not only is Sanjiao Chuhua not her father's child, but she is also of the same generation as her father.

"This speed is impossible!"

"...Xiang, I'm sorry. I received a request from... to investigate the relationship between you and Mingze Feng. I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry—"

Because the phone was being held a bit far away, Toyokawa Shoko couldn't really hear what Misumi Hatsuka was saying, but she could sense the intense emotions swirling within her.

Even the phone call was temporarily disconnected. Just before it ended, I heard Naruzawa Kaede's voice suppressing Mikasa Hatsuka. It seemed Mikasa Hatsuka was about to smash her phone.

Toyokawa Shoko stared at her phone, which was off.

She even considered calling her grandfather and dialed her father's number.

But Toyokawa Shoko did not make the call.

As the dawn breaks in the east, the gloomy clouds disperse, revealing rays of golden light.

Toyokawa Shoko got out of bed. Having not slept all night, her emotions were surprisingly calm.

For some reason, I even felt a sense of relief.

In that case, someone will definitely be able to accompany him in the future.

That night, Toyokawa Shoko thought most about her own father. The father she remembered as calm, steady, and deeply loving towards her mother, his breakdown after her mother's death...

To be honest, Toyokawa Shoko couldn't imagine what Narusawa Kaede would do. But at least, no matter what he did, someone would try to stop him.

Toyokawa Shoko thought to herself.

She felt much more at ease.

Even though I felt relieved, I still couldn't sleep all night.

But even after a rare sleepless night, life must go on.

Toyokawa Shoko tidied herself up and went out to SW Company.

Besides the MUJICA project, she also temporarily took on the role of composing music for the company's artists. However, since the company only had two projects, mujica and sumimi, and Junda Mana and Misumi Hatsuka had their own composing and songwriting skills, this job for Toyokawa Shoko was simply writing lyrics and composing music for mujica.

"what..."

Shoko Toyokawa suddenly understood. It wasn't that she needed this job to take on the role; rather, this job appeared when she first arrived at the company and needed a job to settle down.

Looking back now, perhaps it wasn't that this company only had two projects and no trainees. Rather, it was that one of the individuals in those two teams came into being first, which led to the company's existence and the creation of those two projects.

Some things have the same answer. For example, why is it that when she wanted to hold a concert, all that remained in Tokyo was 'Hello, Happy World!'?

The best members of other popular girl bands were packaged up and sent to London.

"I see......"

Toyokawa Shoko is not a fool.

Previously, there were just some things she hadn't noticed, but after Narusawa Kaede pointed out Mikasa Hatsuka's identity, Toyokawa Shoko suddenly understood many things.

She arrived at the company, clocked in, greeted acquaintances passing by, and returned to her workstation. Many people greeted her with smiles, but those who turned their backs...

Toyokawa Shoko glanced back at him with a slight concern.

I'm afraid many people would say she got the job through connections.

Although she didn't hear it, Toyokawa Shoko understood. When she encountered someone with connections at work, it wasn't just annoying, it was always a topic of conversation when people were slacking off at work.

Around 10:30 a.m., Toyokawa Shoko met her deputy, who was also one of the key figures in the Mujica project.

Hachiman Kairin.

The girl's outfit had a post-punk style, with a red tube top underneath a black jacket and shorts that only reached mid-thigh.

"Toyokawa-san?" Hachiman Kairin looked at Toyokawa Shoko with a serious expression. "You don't look well. Why don't you go back and rest?"

"...It's alright. Let's finish this part of the adjustments as quickly as possible."

"Toyokawa-san."

Yawata Kairin took a mirror out of her pocket and placed it in front of Toyokawa Shoko.

"You look terrible."

As Hachiman Kairin spoke, she recalled several times when she and Narusawa Kaede had temporarily formed a band, one playing bass and the other guitar. That drummer and guitar-playing young lady, well, some of them were just being stubborn.

If it were her, she would at most offer a reminder. But Narusawa Kaede went up, and Hachiman Kairin will never forget the scene where they walked off the stage and held hands with each other.

As Hachiman Kairin recalled those days, Narusawa Kaede spoke in that tone.

She looked into Toyokawa Shoko's eyes and said.

"Leave this to me."

"..."

Toyokawa Shoko looked at her haggard appearance in the mirror.

She sighed inwardly and said to Hachiman Kairin,

"Wait a minute, Xiao Mu will be here. You and her—"

"Try the revised draft you sent us yesterday, right? Toyokawa-san, don't forget who's handling the scheduling. Leave this to me. You should go and rest for a bit..."

Shoko Toyokawa didn't try to be brave and went to their lounge.

Even with the air conditioner set to the most comfortable temperature, Toyokawa Shoko still felt stuffy in the room.

On the way here, even maintaining a polite smile was a struggle.

Shoko Toyokawa curled up on the beanbag chair in the lounge, suddenly feeling a damp heat on her face. Something had slid to the corner of her mouth.

She took a sip; it was salty.

An unpleasant taste.

When Toyokawa Shoko opened her eyes, she knew she was dreaming. Before her, a little girl even cuter than she had been as a child ran into her arms and said to her in a spoiled tone,

"Mom, did I play well...?"

When Toyokawa Shoko saw her, her heart melted; this was her and Kaede's child. Toyokawa Shoko knew it almost instantly, and her tone became doting. She held her hand tightly, as if afraid she would leave at any moment.

Xiangzi said in a trembling voice, "That sounded great. You're amazing, baby!"

How I wish that this were reality...

"My child...my child with Feng..."

Toyokawa Shoko subconsciously felt for her own hand. This hand didn't resemble a child's; it was warm, somewhat large, slightly rough, and very familiar...

Toyokawa Shoko opened her eyes.

Mingze Feng sat next to her.

Toyokawa Shoko's vision suddenly blurred. She had so many things to say: the rented house was too noisy because it was near the driveway; she had put too much salt in the fried egg this morning and didn't eat it; the bed was always cold in the morning without you; and she might not be able to be with you in the future.

So many words were on the tip of her tongue when Toyokawa Shoko, her face contorted, burst into tears, her mouth agape.

"Ugh... Waaah... Feng, I miss you so much... I want you to hold me while I sleep—"

To her surprise, Naruzawa Kaede's face also contorted in this dream. It was as if Toyokawa Shoko's cries had completely overwhelmed him.

"I'm here... I've always been here, I'll be here whenever you need me..."

Naruzawa Kaede leaned forward and hugged Toyokawa Shoko's shoulders tightly.

Toyokawa Shoko was so happy! She naturally rested her chin on Naruzawa Kaede's shoulder. More and more words were about to come out of her mouth. She wanted to act cute, she wanted to sing, she wanted Naruzawa Kaede to listen to her play the piano.

Oh, and their children too!

"Feng, I just saw—"

Before she could finish speaking, Toyokawa Shoko saw her teammates.

Wakaba Mutsumi, sitting on a stool with her back to us, holding a guitar; Hachiman Kairin, pretending nothing was wrong while looking at her tablet; Misumi Hatsuka, seemingly wiping away tears as if watching a melodrama; and Yutenji Wakana, excitedly holding up her phone, as if recording a video.

Toyokawa Shoko also saw Yamada Ryo, who was leaning against the wall near the door with a cold expression.

Yamada Ryo's face was particularly sour, as if someone owed her eight million yen and wouldn't pay it back.

Toyokawa Shoko's crying stopped abruptly. After processing her heartfelt words, they rushed into her brain, causing her vision to go black.

The body, which was no longer aware of anything, subconsciously uttered a curse.

"Wow..."

Shoko Toyokawa was dumbfounded, muttering, "This isn't a dream..."

"Hahaha—!" Yutenji finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he bent over and slapped his thigh hard. "Xiangzi, can you perform that again? Just that one, okay!"

Naruzawa Kaede could clearly feel how stiff Toyokawa Shoko's shoulders were at that moment.

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