Mygo, you guys seem to be getting a bit heavy-hearted.

"Little Lamp, you... I just can't do anything with you."

When the tram arrived at the station, the two got up and got off, continuing their conversation as they walked.

Su Shi asked, "Do you remember the scene when we first met?"

Of course Deng remembered. She nodded and said, "Yes, Xiao Xiang first introduced Su Shi and Xiao Mu to me, and then we went to find Li Xi together."

Su Shi was lost in memories. The gentle evening breeze, combined with her clear, cool voice, made time seem to rewind: "Back then... I wasn't really in a good mood, because I had no confidence in 'playing in a band' at all."

He had only agreed to Xiangzi's request and decided to see for himself why the seemingly naive blue-haired girl's 'band' could evoke such longing in her.

until……

“It wasn’t until Xiao Xiang said that we were ‘a community of shared destiny playing together’ that I began to have a little bit of a real sense of our band.”

Nagasaki Motoyo really likes the word "fate".

It is composed of "fate" and "fortune," and it runs through a person's entire life.

For the first fifteen years of her life, Su Shi passively accepted her fate, drifting along a predetermined path, suffering countless wounds along the way. Not only did her loved ones leave her, but she also had to wear a disguise in order to seek a false happiness.

But then, someone tells you that they are "a community of shared destiny," and they do so with such conviction and sincerity.

...Thus, Su Shi's previously indifferent heart was touched for the first time by an outsider through language.

“In the beginning, we in Crychic didn’t look like a team at all. We were just five complete strangers who got together. I remember back then, Lixi always disliked Xiaodeng and would say that you weren’t serious.”

It's a pity I didn't record those words back then. Otherwise, if I were to tell those words to Lixi now, her expression would probably be quite interesting.

"Hmm... Back then, Suze-chan would make excuses for me... Every single time..." As she said this, Akari recalled it as well.

They were all quite young and inexperienced back then, and their relationship wasn't exactly harmonious... but no one can deny the beauty of those days, even though they weren't perfect.

"Our shared crychic is so wonderful." Su Shi murmured blankly, as if she had lost all her strength, and the lamp holding her hand felt the heavy weight in it.

"Um……"

"To this day, I still hold a grudge about this, and none of you can compare to my Crychic in my heart, not even Xiao Xiang."

Stupid, selfish, and unrepentant

This is how Su Shi views himself.

"But... when I see you all gathered together again, I have no means to resist you."

A single individual can never compare to the faded crychic of our memories.

But four vibrant faces can shatter the filter of memories, strangle the clown living in the past, and slap Nagasaki Motoyo awake from the dream called spring and bring her back to reality.

Su Shi stopped, gently took the back of the lamp's hand, pressed it against her forehead, closed her eyes, and spoke in a low, hoarse voice... but the melancholy was gone:

"The night we all stayed at my house, you were the first one to approach me and ask me... if I wanted to form a band."

Chapter 155 Nagasaki Motoyo is still chasing me

"You still can't read the room, just like before, casually saying such important things...like an idiot."

"...How can I not feel at ease?"

"So I agreed."

"You gripped my hand tightly as if you were swearing an oath, your face flushed red with excitement... and then you said some embarrassing and stupid things."

"What did you say...?"

“You said… ‘We’re starting this band anew, so I’ll never let it end again until Su Shi is disappointed in me.’”

From that moment on

Lamp, you are my new Toyokawa Shoko.

Hopefully... we can all keep our word.

"Xiao Deng is a companion who needs my care, whether in the past or now... As long as the band is still here, and you guys are still here, I'm willing to continue like this."

The extraordinary wisdom that could harm others is now useless.

Now, Nagasaki Motoyo just wants to focus her energy on the lovely people around her and try to do what is truly right according to her own beliefs.

After expressing her opinion on the lamp, Su Shi continued to ponder: "As for that kid, Li Xi..."

What is your impression of Li Xi?

Motoyo Nagasaki frowned.

To be honest, she didn't have the same deep impression of Li Xi as she did of others. Her feelings for Li Xi were similar to those for Xiao Mu, and their relationship was limited to being good friends in the same band, without any further development.

But if we're talking about things that I've noticed unintentionally that the lamp didn't, there are indeed quite a few.

"Lixi is actually very fragile. What's worse than her physical health is her mental health."

"During rehearsals, whenever she played a wrong note, her pupils would slightly contract and her breathing would become heavier, which is a sign of tension... In other words, even when she was just practicing, she was very concerned about her performance. Maintaining such a high level of concentration and excitement for a long time puts enormous pressure on her mental state."

"I don't understand why Lixi is doing this, and what his reason is for working so hard? We're just an ordinary student band."

Su Shi continued her rambling explanation, and Deng listened attentively.

Finally, she asked softly, "Su Shi-chan, is it possible that Li Xi is feeling uneasy?"

Su Shi paused for a moment: "Uneasy? Li Xi...?"

Then, she nodded thoughtfully.

"That is indeed possible, because something is chasing you from behind, so you have to force yourself to run faster."

Su Shi expressed his guess, but the truth was exactly the opposite.

Li Xi is the one who is pursuing.

In their eyes, Shiina Ritsuki, who habitually maintains a serious and proper demeanor, is actually tormenting her mind and body due to her inferiority complex.

Even though the training was not very effective for her, she would still practice day and night for that tiny bit of progress, even to the point of becoming pathological, which ultimately ruined her.

Upon hearing that her point of view had been agreed upon, the lamp felt a slight sense of joy, but then she slumped down in frustration again: "Even if I knew what Riki-chan was thinking, I couldn't think of a way to 'slow down' her..."

"Even with your singing, 'Walking with the Blue Sky,' it still not good?" Su Shi asked.

“No…it’s impossible.” Deng answered Su Shi’s question. “The arrangement of ‘Walking with the Azure Sky’ can only be done by Li Xi, but…if Li Xi really thinks that way, even if we let her arrange the music herself, she will still force herself and then faint again…”

Su Shi sighed, "This is really difficult. Is there not a single normal person in this band? They're all troubled girls."

"Gurgle..." The lamp was mentioned.

When it comes to troubled girls, she definitely deserves a mention.

"No wonder people say birds of a feather flock together. The fact that I'm with you all means I've become one of the 'problems' too." Su Shi stopped again. Before they knew it, they had reached the front door of their house. "We're here, light."

"Um……"

Using his 1.62-meter height, Su Shi comforted Deng by patting his hair: "Get some rest. Even if 'Azure Sky Companion' doesn't work, we can come up with other solutions. I promise you."

It was supposed to be a guarantee, but Su Shi was the one who felt the most uncertain.

After a brief moment of revealing her true feelings, she started lying again, trying to calm Deng down temporarily and thus delay the resolution of the problem.

Su Shi wanted to maintain this kind of life and the band for as long as possible, so she couldn't stand idly by and ignore any possible changes.

Therefore, she will probably have to resort to any means necessary again...

"Soyo...bye-bye..."

"Goodbye." Su Shi waved her hand, and the moment the lamp disappeared behind the door, her face instantly darkened.

"..."

……

"Thump!"

Xiangzi was curled up on the sofa with his cat, watching TV, when he suddenly heard a vibration in his pocket.

"Hmm?" Xiangzi took out his phone and looked at the message bar.

damn it

Nagasaki Motoyo is still chasing me

...Just kidding.

What does Su Shi want with her?

[Su Shi: Xiao Xiang, are you resting? I'm sorry to bother you so late.]

[Xiangzi: I'm free, please speak.]

[Su Shi: Regarding Li Xi, Xiao Xiang, you were the first to invite her to join the band. Do you know anything about her that we don't?]

Xiangzi asked in confusion, "Lixi?"

"What's wrong with Lixi?" Upon hearing the name of one of the owners, Lena, who was lying in Xiangzi's arms, immediately reacted.

“I don’t know either. It was Su Shi who asked me about Li Xi.”

“Hmm…” Le Nai thought for a moment, “Li Xi fainted during practice, and he hasn’t been to school for the past few days, he’s been resting at home.”

"Waaaaaah???"

Why are you only telling her this now?!

"What?" Yanming, who was reading a book nearby, immediately put down his book and turned around upon hearing this. "What happened to Shiina-kun?"

Lena said, "It's due to overwork... I secretly went out to check on her yesterday, and she still wasn't feeling well."

“Excessive fatigue…” Xiangzi didn’t understand what was wrong with Lixi either, but she did know some things about Lixi that she hadn’t told anyone else.

[Xiangzi: Lixi has a very talented older sister. I contacted Lixi through her when I formed my band.]

[Su Shi: Sister...]

When I visited Lixi's house before, Lixi only mentioned that her family was busy and didn't tell them that she had an older sister.

[Xiangzi: Yes, her name is Shiina Maki. She attends Haneoka University and is my and Xiaodeng's senior.]

Do Chapter 156!

[Xiangzi: But I don't know anything else.]

[Su Shi: It's alright, thank you Xiao Xiang, you've been a great help.]

[Xiangzi: Yeah.]

It has been quite a while since Su Shi last chatted with her.

Perhaps it was his previous act of blocking her that left a psychological scar on Su Shi, which is why she seems very cautious when she sends him messages now.

Because I haven't had a moment's rest during this time, I haven't been able to keep up with my old teammate's situation.

[Xiangzi: How have you been lately? Are your studies and the band going well?]

The messages from Su Shi stopped briefly, and the chat box displayed "[Typing]", but half a day passed and no messages were sent.

Just as Xiangzi was wondering if the other party's phone was out of credit, Su Shi finally made a move.

[Su Shi: I'm fine.]

It was just three words, yet it took so long to send them out. Only Nagasaki Motoyo probably knows the emotional journey she went through during that time.

[Su Shi: Xiao Xiang, how have you been lately?]

Have you been eating properly? Have you been resting on time?

Have you been bullied by others? Have you encountered any problems that you couldn't handle?

People who have experienced psychological trauma in childhood often develop an extremely strong attachment to things they once possessed.

It can also be called nostalgia.

Just like a bowl for eating, if you start using it when you are very young, even if you grow up and the size is no longer suitable, many people will still choose to keep the bowl as a physical object that carries memories until it is completely broken or lost.

Nagasaki Motoyo has this kind of mentality.

Even though she and Xiangzi are now just ordinary friends, haunted by those memories, she still subconsciously and urgently wants to know about Xiangzi's current situation.

Because that was the warmth she once had.