Tokyo Three Generations

"Brother Chun..." Overwhelmed with emotion, her voice trembled slightly, and she could only manage to call out once before she could no longer speak.

"Aine!" Her reaction startled Takasaki Jun, who feared she might not be able to handle it. "Don't panic, it's alright."

With his efforts to comfort her, Aine finally recovered from her depression.

"Did you just speak with Miss Toyokawa?" she asked softly.

"Yes, that's right." Jun Takasaki didn't lie and confirmed it directly.

"Alright, that saves me the trouble of explaining." Ai Yin sighed sullenly. "Anyway, that's how it is."

"So, you really intend to have a band match with Xiangzi?" Jun Takasaki pressed.

“Yes, I’ve already spoken to her.” Aine nodded.

“But you don’t have a band!” Jun Takasaki retorted accurately.

"I... I don't have it now, but I will in the future!" Ai Yin said angrily.

"You mean you're going to put together a band on the spot and go up against Xiangzi? What chance do you have? I've heard her and her best friends play together, and they're really good. They're much better than the mediocre music clubs at our alma mater... Tsukinomori Academy, a prestigious academy for young ladies, really focuses on cultivating students' talents in this area."

After Jun Takasaki pointed out this fact, which was actually common knowledge, Aine's briefly high spirits instantly plummeted again.

She knew all this all too well.

Even if you manage to form a band, it's impossible to mold a ragtag group into a "fighting force" in a short time; you'll still die if you encounter them.

In other words, he was 99.99% certain that he had already predetermined a humiliating end.

Faced with this hopeless outcome, she could only do what most teenagers her age did... bury her head in the sand.

She could only keep up her act until the very last moment, and then face the seemingly inevitable ending.

"Brother Chun..." In her extreme frustration, Aine called out again, "Don't say anymore... If you say any more, I will really be ashamed."

In that call, Jun Takasaki also felt her grief at that moment.

Surely not? So what if you lost the band competition? Xiangzi won't attack you, and losing to Xiangzi isn't shameful. Who would laugh at her just because she can't beat Miss Fengchuan?

Young girls' thoughts are truly unfathomable.

However, he was an experienced person after all, and he knew that people of this age were very concerned about their reputation, and that they would cause a lot of trouble just to save face.

Therefore, he tried to ease the situation.

“How about I smooth things over for you?” he offered. “I’ll talk to Xiangzi and tell her to forget about it and not to have any more sparring with you. She’ll give me that much face.”

"No, no way! Don't beg her for my sake! I don't need to beg!" To everyone's surprise, Aine reacted very strongly and rejected the suggestion outright.

In Aine's eyes, having Jun plead for her was worse than losing; it would be a stain that would make her unable to hold her head high for the rest of her life.

Aine even felt that at this moment, the young lady Toyokawa was waiting for Jun to plead for her, and then pretend to be generous and "show mercy" to let her go. She was magnanimous and put on a good show, while Aine became the clown begging for mercy.

Absolutely not.

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Jun Takasaki sighed helplessly. "It's a bet with absolutely no chance of winning, but you insist on starting it and won't even let me help you save face... Aine, stop being childish."

"There's always a way! We haven't even started yet, have we?" Aine stubbornly shook her head. "Anyway, I'll work hard on this! We'll see then!"

Sigh, I just can't do anything with you.

Jun Takasaki sighed inwardly again.

Aine's words, rather than stemming from confidence or hope, were more of an escape from reality, a way of numbing herself with the idea that "things will work themselves out."

However, even knowing this, he couldn't bring himself to be angry with Aine.

“Well… then give it a try. Even if you still can’t beat Xiangzi after forming a band, at least you’ll have expanded your social circle, which is a good thing.” In the end, he could only reluctantly give in to Ai Yin. “However, Ai Yin, you also have to promise me that this so-called ‘sparring’ doesn’t mean anything. Don’t take it too seriously. Xiangzi isn’t the kind of person who likes to kill you. As long as you treat her well, she won’t do anything to you… In fact, if you really get to know her, you’ll find that she’s a pretty good person.”

Seeing Takasaki Jun praising Toyokawa-sama repeatedly in front of her, Aine felt a lump in her throat and felt even more uncomfortable.

"What did she say about me when she was talking to you just now?" she interrupted Takasaki Jun, then asked coldly, "Was she implying that I overestimated myself?"

“No,” Jun Takasaki immediately denied. “She has never said anything bad about you, nor has she shown any hostility towards you. On the contrary, she has told me several times that she wants to get along with you, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Ai Yin wasn't really worried that Xiangzi would do such a thing.

Although the two had just met, her first impression of Xiangzi was that although he was a bit pretentious, he didn't seem like the type to scheme and plot behind people's backs.

Or to put it more cruelly, I am not even worth her gossiping and belittling behind my back.

She just wanted to humble herself.

Moreover, it is conceivable that as long as he yields to her and submits, he can receive many "preferential treatments" from her.

What can one gain if they are treated favorably by Miss Toyokawa?

In a practical sense, there are so many things one can gain—the ability to attend the best private universities, to receive the best job offers, to mingle in the highest circles, to be featured in magazines whenever one wants, to appear on television whenever one wants, and to have a bright future ahead of one… In short, all of a girl’s wildest dreams can become reality.

She knew that money had this miraculous power in society.

However, that also means losing one's dignity, even losing the people one has relied on since childhood, and losing those innocent and beautiful dreams...

That is why we must never kneel!

Let whoever wants to lick it, Miss. Anyway, Aine will definitely not lick it.

That's her backbone.

A surge of heat seemed to flow from her bone marrow through her bloodstream, rekindling Ai Yin's fighting spirit and invigorating her once again.

Even if you lose, you should lose only after giving it your all.

There is still time, and where there is time, there is hope. Even if there is only a 0.01% chance, we must persevere to the end.

She didn't expect to hastily form a team and defeat the ladies of Tsukimori, but as long as she could show her courage and backbone in the process, she wouldn't lose in spirit, and the ladies of Toyokawa wouldn't belittle themselves as worthless.

Aine straightened her back again, and her eyes regained their brilliance—a light she hadn't seen since going to London.

“Brother Chun, things have come to this, so please stop trying to stop us. Since we’ve already made a verbal agreement, we won’t go back on our word.” Ai Yin said solemnly into the phone, “If you want to help me, please help me find a few suitable and reliable band members… I’m short of people right now.”

"Okay, I'll help you." Seeing that she had made up her mind, Jun Takasaki didn't try to persuade her any further and agreed directly.

This might be a bit biased towards Aine, but it's not exactly cheating—anyway, even if he finds someone more powerful, he still can't beat them.

He wasn't familiar with the two who joined Crychic midway through, so he didn't know much about them, but he had great confidence in the strength of the Moon Forest trio.

Xiangzi is an exceptionally skilled pianist and also a composer. Su Shihe is also skilled in her own way. Moreover, they are in the same school and see each other often, so their cooperation is bound to be very smooth.

Therefore, no matter who he asks, it's impossible for him to take Ai Yin to a height that can rival theirs.

However, even if he wanted to help, finding the right person wouldn't be easy.

Since it's a battle of wits between girls, it's clear that only the girls can resolve it. If I were to find an adult professional to help, it would be blatant cheating.

He thought for a moment, but couldn't come up with a solution.

Fortunately, there is still time, so there is no need to rush.

“Then I’ll keep an eye out for it and introduce you to someone suitable... But, Aine, I still have to remind you that this is just a small matter, there’s no need to take it too seriously.”

"I can't help but value it..." Ai Yin silently retorted in her heart.

With a crisis looming, there are some things I originally intended to say later, but now it seems I have no choice but to say them.

She took a deep breath, then mustered her courage and spoke into the phone in the most sincere tone she had ever used.

“Brother Chun, I have always been grateful for your care. I am not only filled with gratitude, but also have the deepest trust in you. To me, you are not just an older brother who accompanied me as I grew up, but also a role model for me and the most important person in my life. I cannot imagine that one day we will part ways, or that there will be a barrier between us. To me, that would be more terrifying than the collapse of the world... I need you, not only to continue to care for me and stay by my side, but also to cherish me as much as I cherish you in the past..."

After saying all that, while she was still caught up in the moment, she quickly hung up the phone, not caring what the other person's response was.

Then, an indescribable shyness gradually welled up in her heart and took over her mind.

She blushed, but also smiled.

At least in this moment, she faced herself.

-------------------------------------------------- ----

While Aine and Jun were talking on the phone, Shoko was leaving the park at a leisurely pace.

Although she was walking, her eyes were still on her phone.

Xiangzi opened the three-person group chat that Su Shi had created last time.

Su Shi created this group to facilitate the handling of Crychic's internal affairs, but it has unexpectedly come in handy in an unexpected way.

Thinking about this, Xiangzi felt a mix of amusement and exasperation.

However, this is related to Crychic, so it's not exactly off-topic.

"My two dear friends, I need your help now!"

She typed out this message.

Not long after, Nagasaki Motoyo's response appeared on the chat interface.

"What's wrong, Xiangzi? Have you run into some trouble?"

"Nothing serious. It's just that, just now, Chun's childhood sweetheart and I made a promise to have a band competition soon..." Xiangzi typed this message.

?

?

Two question marks appeared on the screen instantly.

The simpler the symbols, the more they can convey the shock and tension of the person involved.

It seems Mu has also been alerted...

Xiangzi knew that her two best friends must be both confused and nervous at this moment, so she didn't keep them in suspense and simply told them what had happened.

She didn't exaggerate or deliberately belittle Chihaya Aine; she simply said that Chihaya Aine wanted to have a friendly match with Crychic.

After all, even just mentioning the basic facts is enough.

Childhood sweetheart...who could resist that?

"Anyway, that's how it is." After saying that, Xiangzi left these words: "Chihaya didn't mean any harm, but as the founder of Crychic, I absolutely cannot allow anyone to belittle my band. So, here, I implore you two to cooperate with me and win this. This is the most important thing for our band since its inception, and it deserves our serious attention, don't you agree?"

“That’s right,” Su Shi was the first to respond. “Although winning or losing isn’t actually that important, we have to give it our all to protect the band’s reputation. We need to practice hard these days, so we can’t let others look down on us…”

Then she added, "We're not trying to start a fight out of spite. We just need to show our effort and demonstrate our abilities. Besides, I think we need to be careful not to hurt feelings or make Chun look bad..."

Su Shi really does think things through carefully... Xiangzi thought to himself.

However, this is also her strength; she can always be considerate and try her best to take care of everyone—of course, the price is that she is the most mentally exhausted.

At this moment, Wakaba Mutsu also spoke.

"Upholding the dignity of Crychic is my inescapable responsibility."

Compared to her two best friends, Mu's words were as brief as ever, but this one sentence already revealed her determination at that moment.

Seeing that her two best friends had reached the same conclusion with her in an instant, Xiangzi felt a touch of emotion, a sense of sisterly unity that could move mountains.

What does it matter if we've been friends for ten years? As long as we're united, what is there to fear?

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you all! See you later!" Xiangzi hung up his phone with satisfaction and then calmly started his journey home.

127, Identify and address any gaps in knowledge.

After the call with Aine ended, Jun Takasaki didn't have much peace before his phone started shaking again.

He picked up his phone and saw that the person calling was Nagasaki Motoyo.

"Why are they all coming one after another, huh...?" He couldn't help but complain in his mind.

Despite his complaints, Su Shi's call actually brought him a sense of reassurance—because he subconsciously felt that Su Shi was the type of person who would never cause trouble for others; on the contrary, she would try her best to comfort people.

So, with a touch of lightness, he answered the phone.

"Su Shi, what's wrong?"

"Chun... I just heard from Xiangzi that she challenged a classmate named Chihaya Aine to a duel, and that this classmate is your childhood friend. Is that true?" Su Shi didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

“Yes,” Jun Takasaki sighed. “We’ve known each other for many years.”

"You've kept it well hidden. We've spent quite a while together, and we didn't know a thing," Su Shi complained softly, but there was no hint of displeasure in her voice; instead, it seemed as if she were smiling. "I'm actually quite curious, who exactly is this person who has received your care and support for so many years—"

“You two will meet eventually, haven’t you already made an appointment?” Jun Takasaki replied irritably.

"Don't be upset. I'm not here to interrogate you, nor do I have the right to do so," Su Shi's voice remained gentle. "I'm just surprised by all of this."

Then, she continued to explain to Takasaki Jun, "Shoko has already spoken with me amicably. She's very determined to win. While I also want to uphold the band's dignity, I'm more worried that this might cause you trouble, so I wanted to find out the situation beforehand—"