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

The girls suddenly fell silent.

The atmosphere instantly became awkward.

"Haha... I suddenly remembered I have to do chores today. I won't bother you, I'm off..."

One of the quick-witted girls, in a moment of inspiration, found a good excuse and ran away in a flash.

Others were also inspired.

"I just remembered that our club has something to do..."

"I just remembered, it's my turn to water the potted plants in our classroom today..."

"I remembered..."

[I've remembered too! In my past life, I was Qin Shi Huang. Now that my memories have returned, if someone can give me fifty points, I can go to Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum and awaken my terracotta army to unify the world. Then I'll appoint that person as a great general.]

Everyone chimed in with their own excuses, and soon the once large group of people was reduced to just Yanming and Deng.

And then there's Qin Shi Huang, who always liked to join in the fun.

【Hehe.】

"Deng, this is for you." After everyone had left, Yanming took a box off his motorcycle and handed it to Deng. "It was originally made for my child, but I made an extra one. I don't usually eat bento boxes myself."

Because her mother had already prepared a bento for her, Deng instinctively wanted to refuse, but just as she was about to speak, a familiar aroma wafted out from the crack of the bento box and entered Deng's nostrils.

"…!" The lamp's pupils contracted.

She wouldn't mistake it; this bento box...tastes like Xiao Xiang.

why? !

That's not right. This bento was brought out by Mr. Yanming, which means... Mr. Yanming should have made it himself...

"Mr. Yanming! May I ask about this bento box...?"

"It was just made this morning, so it's absolutely safe to eat. Take it; if you don't like it, you can share it with your friends. It's just going to go to waste if it stays with me." Yanming placed the bento box in Deng's hand, then turned the accelerator. "See you this weekend—"

The roar of the engine resumed, and just then, the countdown below the traffic light was about to end. With the red and green lights about to change again, if the light didn't ask now, it would miss the opportunity.

"..."

She didn't say anything, watching helplessly as Yanming rode his motorcycle away from her sight.

"Xiao Xiang..."

Even when the light turned green, Gao Songdeng didn't make any move to leave. She just held the warm lunchbox in her arms, which drew stares from passersby who assumed that the girl had been dumped by a scumbag.

"But... if it really is Xiao Xiang, he probably... wouldn't make me a bento box..."

This is a bento box made by Mr. Yanming and then given to himself... I can't make a mistake again.

Not Xiangzi

Not Xiangzi

Not Xiangzi

Mr. Yanming should not be Xiangzi.

They are different people.

Are they different...?

The light, looking utterly lost, crossed the road a second before the red light turned on, and swayed unsteadily toward the school.

She couldn't quite understand.

I can't tell the difference, I really can't tell the difference.

Was he looking at Yanming, or was he merely looking at the reflection in those pure black eyes?

She said, "Crychic is over!"

He said, "Crychic isn't over yet, it's just that nobody's coming anymore."

The lamp crouched down and hugged its head tightly.

"No...no, this can't be done..."

……

Chapter Thirty-Two: Minor Auspiciousness and Major Auspiciousness

The next few days weren't exactly uneventful, but nothing major happened either.

The only change was in Xiangzi's attitude towards himself, which seemed to have become somewhat different from before.

If Xiangzi's previous behavior in front of him could be described as "restrained," "respectful," or "cautious," then...

Now, for some reason, Xiangzi seems to really want to get my attention.

"Yanming! Yanming!"

Yanming put down the magazine in his hand and looked at Xiangzi, asking, "What's wrong now?"

However, because the child was so cute, he didn't feel impatient.

"Look!" Xiangzi pulled out a round object from behind him like he was showing off a treasure and stuck it to Yanming's cheek.

"Hmm... let me see." Yanming shrank back a little to avoid blocking his view. "Oh, it's just a doll."

Xiangzi held a small blue octopus plush toy in her hands, with two small ribbon bows tied on either side of its head, making it look exactly like her.

However, the expression on the doll's face was (O∧O)

Xiangzi himself is y∩__∩y

"It's cute, isn't it?"

"So cute." But I don't know exactly what kind of cuteness she means.

Yanming chuckled and asked, "Did Xiaoxiang make it himself?"

"Huh? How did you guess that?" Xiangzi didn't expect to be discovered so quickly.

Yanming stretched out his finger and poked the octopus's soft little belly: "If you hadn't done it, you wouldn't be so happy."

Xiangzi took a step back shyly: "Don't poke my stomach..."

"I was just checking if you were hungry," Yanming explained insincerely, then got up and continued, "I made lasagna for dinner, I'm going to check the oven."

“…Wait a minute!” Xiangzi grabbed Yanming, who was about to leave. “Wait a little while before you put on your stockings.”

"Is there anything else... Oh—" Yanming understood.

You probably want praise, right?

"Well done..." Before Yanming could finish speaking, a fluffy octopus butt covered his face. "Great..."

"This is for you!"

After saying that, Xiangzi ran away with a red face, leaving Yanming standing there helplessly, still holding the octopus doll in his hand.

[A token of love~]

"Don't make a fuss. Xiao Xiang didn't mean it that way. It was just a normal gift for a friend."

【That--】

Why is the host smiling so happily?

"..." Yanming was speechless for a second.

"I want you to manage."

Yanming carefully placed the doll on the coffee table, then moved the teacup and kettle a little further away.

【Yo yo yo yo yo yo~】

This guy is so damn annoying!

but……

Yanming looked out the window: "Tomorrow is the weekend."

Time really flies.

[Is the host worried about Deng-chan?]

[Speaking of which... I've run into her on my way back every morning these past few days. If it weren't for the fact that she always seems flustered when she greets the host, I would almost think she's been following us.]

Haha, this must be what people call fate, otherwise such a small thing wouldn't happen every day.

[Yosh~ Let's take a look at Lantern-chan's panel together, maybe there'll be a surprise.]

[Name: Takamatsu Tomo]

Current intimacy level: ? ? (???)

【…Huh? (?OдO)b】

The surprise turned into a shock.

What's going on? What happened?

Not only is the affection level no longer visible, but the relationship is also in question.

Is there a bug?

[Host, wait a minute, I'll go check the data in the backend.]

After saying that, the strategy system went silent.

"Hmph, unreliable guy." Yanming commented casually, then slapped his forehead, "Damn it! My mille-feuille!"

Therefore, it means that two types of people cannot live in one house.

……

Ten minutes later, Yanming sat at the dining table, looking embarrassed.

"It's a little bit burnt, but the taste... is still fine. Just don't eat the top layer."

As the head chef in the family, the first person he wouldn't forgive for such an oversight is himself.

"It's okay, it's your first time making it, and it's already great." Xiangzi picked up a fork, peeled away the charred outer layer, revealing the fairly successful part inside. "Yanming, look, isn't it pretty good? -- I'm starting to eat."

"good to eat!"

Hearing Xiangzi's evaluation, Yanming finally breathed a sigh of relief, then cursed the system in his heart for running away somewhere.

"It's good that you can eat." He continued, "Xiao Xiang, have you been in contact with that Ms. OB something-or-other these past few days? What did she say?"

"It's [oblivionis]! It would be very rude of you not to know his or her name when you meet him!"

Yanming nodded: "I've got it. I'll definitely be able to call it out then."

“[oblivionis] said she is free this weekend and can meet with you, but if you need her to provide keyboard support, you will need to provide the keyboard yourself.”

As Xiangzi spoke, he secretly thought that it was time for him to get a keyboard.

Otherwise, if she doesn't practice for too long, her skill level will definitely decline significantly.

Upon hearing Xiangzi's conditions, Yanming exclaimed with considerable wealth, "Need a keyboard? No problem, I have a friend who specializes in this. I'll make a call and have him airlift one of the best ones over; it'll arrive in a day."

Xiangzi: “…”

She was just thinking about using the money she had saved up over the past few days to rent the cheapest piano from a second-hand platform to make do.

Those wicked rich people... no, she used to be rich too...

Ahhh—whatever!

"Yes, [oblivionis] she'll definitely be very satisfied!" Xiangzi said confidently.

She spoke with such certainty that anyone who didn't know better would think she was that oblivionis, instead of the Toyokawa Shoko, a third-year student at Tsukimori Junior High School who, after her family fell on hard times, had her father become an alcoholic and was expelled from the family, and ultimately needed her landlord to help her out.

After finishing his meal, Xiangzi didn't stay long. He said he planned to go back and look for a summer job in advance, and go straight to work on the first day of his vacation.

Yanming roughly calculated that they would be on summer vacation in about one more week next week.

as well as……

"After graduation, I don't plan to study at Tsukimori High School anymore. I'll have to let my bastard dad handle the transfer procedures. Sigh... it'll probably be a lot of trouble."