Tokyo Three Generations

Suddenly, her eyes lit up.

"If that's the case, that's great! You've been a huge help!"

As she spoke, she directly grasped Nagasaki Motoyo's hand.

Eh...

Nagasaki Motoyo felt a little uncomfortable with this sudden, somewhat intimate gesture, but seeing how happy Shoko was, she didn't complain.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

“Su Shi, as you know, I’ve been going through a lot of troubles lately. During my lowest moments, I kept thinking about how I should spend the last days of my life before I become an adult. After thinking about it for a long time, I had an idea—” Toyokawa Shoko raised her head, her eyes shining brightly, “I want to form a band!”

"band?"

Motoyo Nagasaki finally understood. "What kind of band?"

"It's less of a band and more of an interest group—" Xiangzi clearly already had some ideas in mind, so he continued talking non-stop, "To be honest, I'm quite good at classical music, so I'm thinking of using classical music as a base, combined with a pop rock style, leaning towards a genre that suits the delicate emotions of us girls and has a chamber music feel. What do you think?"

Shoko Toyokawa spoke with such passion, while Motoyo Nagasaki was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

It's obvious that this is just the young lady wanting to start a club on a whim to have some fun.

It's alright, the young lady can be willful. Anyway, she'll be able to inherit the Toyokawa family's vast fortune once she comes of age.

But what about her?

She had already made a promise with Jun Takasaki that she would make something of herself in the future, become a useful person to the Takasaki family, and pay off her mother's huge debts; and just now, she was provoked by Tsubaki Shirasawa, and the idea of ​​"I can also get into the Faculty of Law at the University of Tokyo and become an elite" was born.

Faced with such a grand goal, playing house with the young lady would be rather inappropriate.

But faced with Xiangzi's excited and expectant eyes, she couldn't bear to refuse—after all, he had just helped her a lot.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally replied, "It's possible, but I have to prioritize my studies, so I can only cooperate with you in my spare time. Is that alright?"

"Of course..." Although she poured cold water on it, Toyokawa Shoko agreed almost without thinking. "Su-se, I know what's important. Let's just treat the band as our last memory of our youth. We can get together after class and during holidays, play together, and have afternoon tea together. Isn't that nice?"

Toyokawa Shoko's words made Nagasaki Motoyo a little expectant.

Indeed, if it doesn't affect your studies, what's wrong with that?

Although it is difficult to "take care of both at the same time", Nagasaki Motoyo believes that with her talent and hard work, she should be able to manage it.

Besides, everyone is still in the final year of junior high school, and there are still three years until the final exam. At worst, we can just sprint in the last year.

Because she had such confidence in herself, she made up her mind without hesitation.

“Alright… I hope you’ll take care of me from now on.” Her tone became firm. “However, let’s make this clear beforehand: although I’m easygoing, once I’ve made up my mind about something, I’m determined to do it well. So, Xiangzi, since we’re going to form a band, we have to take it seriously and not give up halfway… Can you make that kind of commitment?”

"I can!" Toyokawa Shoko said earnestly. "I'm the one who wanted to form a band, and I'm the one who asked you to come with me. If I give up halfway, wouldn't that be too embarrassing? I'm the heir of the Toyokawa family; I won't do something so shameful!"

After speaking seriously, she couldn't help but laugh again.

"Let's study together, play in a band together, and graduate together to go to Tokyo University. Just like Mom and Aunt Bai Ze—"

Faced with this seemingly wonderful vision, Nagasaki Motoyo couldn't help but laugh.

"Um……"

Then she asked, "Who else is in your band besides me?"

"We still have Mutsu, and to be honest, Mutsu's guitar skills are also excellent." Because she was in a great mood, Toyokawa Shoko smiled so much that her eyebrows curved. "As for the others, I'll slowly look for and recruit them! Anyway, we still have time."

"Okay, I'm ready to go anytime."

Nagasaki Motoyo nodded.

It was only then that she realized that Toyokawa Shoko was still holding her hand.

"Well then, I'll head back now."

She subtly withdrew her hand and prepared to say goodbye to Xiangzi.

"Sushi, are you under any pressure in your life right now?" Just then, Toyokawa Shoko suddenly asked again, "If you have any trouble, I can help you."

"Things are alright now, we can still get by." Nagasaki Motoyo gave a wry smile.

Although Nagasaki Chizuru was listed as a suspect and her bank accounts were frozen, her original residence had not been seized, so Nagasaki Motoyo could still go home and live as before without having to worry about renting a place.

She could manage her daily living expenses, as well as utilities like water, electricity, and gas, with her savings for a short time—although she was a little short of money, she was far from being unable to survive.

Despite her seemingly humble and gentle demeanor, she possesses a deep-seated pride. She doesn't want to ask her friends for money, much less accept such well-intentioned charity.

Besides, she already owes others enough favors and really doesn't want to owe any more.

"Oh, that's great." Toyokawa Shoko seemed to see through Nagasaki Motoyo's insistence, so she didn't say anything more. "Motoyo, can you come to my house sometime? It's not like I owe you a favor, and I'd really like to have some classmates come over for a visit."

"Okay, sure. I'll come visit you when I have time," Nagasaki Motoyo agreed.

“Oh, right, there’s something very important I haven’t mentioned yet.” Toyokawa Shoko seemed to remember something else. “When I was thinking about forming a band, I told Junya about this idea.”

"He's participating too?" Nagasaki Motoyo was a little surprised, after all, she had never seen Takasaki Jun perform.

“No… he can’t play music.” Toyokawa Shoko shook her head. “However, he promised to be my band’s first audience member, so if nothing unexpected happens, he should be the first person to support the band—”

Seeing how close the two were, Nagasaki Motoyo was at a loss for words.

After a moment, she nodded slightly. "That's fine too. I think even if he can't play, he might still be able to help the band."

“I think so too…” Toyokawa Shoko nodded with a smile. “Your joining is another milestone for our band, so how about we have a party together? Let’s invite him over too, to commemorate it.”

Nagasaki Motoyo always thought, "Since the young lady likes to play around, let her do it," and didn't object to Toyokawa Shoko's endless stream of ideas.

"So, how should we hold the gathering?"

“Let’s just stay outside the school,” Toyokawa Shoko replied casually. “Aren’t there karaoke places or something around our school? Perfect for everyone to relax. Su Shi, you should know the area pretty well, right? I heard that when Jun dropped you off, you even took him for a walk… So, since you know it better than I do, you can just pick a place.”

Toyokawa Shoko may have just mentioned it casually, but Nagasaki Motoyo felt a chill run down her spine.

She didn't ask Xiangzi how he knew—since Bai Zechun had just investigated her, he must have found out about that scene from her school days and then casually told Xiangzi about it.

Originally, she just wanted to show the intimacy between the two of them, but she didn't expect it to backfire and become a thorn in the young lady's side.

Even more unexpectedly, Toyokawa Shoko, despite knowing all this, still acted as if nothing had happened and continued to have Shirazawa Tsubaki help her.

Indeed, they have a clear sense of right and wrong...

Nagasaki Motoyo didn't feel offended; instead, she felt a bit like she'd been given a hard time, as if her so-called methods were just a joke and the other party wouldn't care at all.

She wasn't angry, but she was also a little resentful.

She looked up at the smiling young lady in front of her, and then unconsciously smiled as well.

"Okay, let's have a party together then! I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun."

"Okay, it's a deal then~" Toyokawa Shoko waved and said goodbye to Nagasaki Motoyo, "Motoyo, see you then!"

29, Suffering comes from suffering

When Jun Takasaki received the urgent message from Motoyo Nagasaki, he felt a chill run down his spine while he was in class.

He immediately wanted to call Nagasaki Motoyo to inquire about her situation, but he was afraid that she was being questioned by the prosecutor and that calling her would be tantamount to giving himself away.

So he could only wait anxiously for the other party's further response.

Although he was a little nervous, he did not regret his momentary act of kindness.

Ultimately, once Nagasaki Motoyo returns to the academy, it's inevitable that she'll be targeted by investigators. Since he chose to do this, he has to bear the consequences.

He was a thorough activist with a strong sense of self-respect. Because of this, he was willing to take responsibility for all his actions and never regretted his decisions once they were made. Since it was his decision to forgive Nagasaki and her daughter, he was willing to bear all the consequences.

Moreover, he trusted his judgment; Nagasaki Motoyo was absolutely capable of withstanding the pressure from the prosecutor, protecting her family's reputation, and preserving her mother's life.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally received a new message from Nagasaki Motoyo.

"Alright, the prosecutor has left."

"What did you talk about before?" Jun Takasaki asked quickly.

"He asked me some questions, but I didn't answer them directly."

Nagasaki Motoyo's response put Takasaki Jun at ease, as it seemed that his worst fears had not come true.

"I knew you had this ability."

However, Nagasaki Motoyo suddenly changed the subject.

"But...some troublesome things happened in between. I feel we can't let our guard down yet."

"What?" Jun Takasaki was startled and hurriedly asked.

"Well, it's hard to explain over a chat app. How about we talk in person? Come to my place tomorrow and I'll explain it to you in detail."

Junichi Takasaki thought so too; such an important issue couldn't be discussed in ordinary chat software.

So he immediately agreed.

"Okay, I'll come find you tomorrow. Where shall we meet?"

Nagasaki Motoyo was silent for a while, and after a long time, she shared an address—a karaoke bar next to Tsukimori Academy.

Yes, karaoke is indeed a very good place. It offers enough privacy and is convenient for discussing business. Takasaki Jun was very satisfied with Nagasaki Motoyo's caution.

"Okay, I'll come tomorrow." He left with that brief message.

The next day, he arrived at the area around Tsuki no Mori as promised, found the karaoke bar, and then, following Nagasaki Motoyo's message, found the private room.

Since the view inside the private room was not visible from the outside, Jun Takasaki took out his phone and left a message for Motoyo Nagasaki.

"I'm already outside the private room. What about you?"

"Come in, I'm inside—" the other party responded immediately.

Without further hesitation, Jun Takasaki pushed open the door and went inside.

Upon entering, in the dim light, he noticed that Nagasaki Motoyo was sitting upright on the sofa, her expression serious, as if she were preoccupied with something.

"Chun, you've finally arrived."

Upon seeing Jun Takasaki, her previously dull gaze seemed to brighten, as if she had found her anchor.

Although he was a little unaccustomed to Nagasaki Motoyo suddenly calling him by his own name, Takasaki Jun felt it was important to comfort her at this moment, so he let it go.

He even changed how he addressed her, saying, "Su Shi, don't be nervous! I'll take care of everything. Just tell me the details."

After he finished speaking, he immediately walked over to Nagasaki Motoyo and sat down.

"Tell me, what exactly did that prosecutor do to you?"

Seeing his nervous and uneasy expression, Nagasaki Motoyo suddenly covered her mouth and then chuckled. "Alright, it's all over now. When the prosecutor came looking for me, I went to see Miss Toyokawa. She had her family lawyer block the prosecutor for me. He got nothing and slunk away. I guess he won't come back to bother me again..."

With that smile, the seemingly frozen beauty suddenly came alive.

Jun Takasaki was stunned.

So you're just trying to scare me?

He was initially going to get angry, but then he immediately remembered that he had done the same thing to Nagasaki Motoyo before.

It seems this is Nagasaki Motoyo's little act of revenge for scaring her last time.

What a petty girl... he couldn't help but think to himself.

However, seeing that the other party was safe and sound, he felt more relieved than anything else.

Well, even though we were tricked, at least we got the best possible outcome.

So he sighed softly and responded in a calm tone.

"Okay, we're even now! Don't make jokes like that again. It's good that everything's alright now."

"Jun, I'm sorry, I was just joking. Please don't mind." Nagasaki Motoyo's smile faded, and she bowed slightly as an apology. "Actually, the reason I specifically called you here wasn't just to trick you, but because someone asked me to..."

"Entrusted by someone? Who?" Jun Takasaki asked, puzzled.

Looking into Nagasaki Motoyo's eyes, he suddenly seemed to realize something. "Could it be..."

Before he could even speak, he had already received the answer in an instant.

The door to a small room next door opened, and then two small, thin figures gradually emerged from the shadows.

Upon closer inspection, Jun Takasaki realized that it was none other than Miss Toyokawa and her close friend Mutsumi Wakaba.

"Xiangzi?" Although he had guessed that it was Toyokawa Xiangzi calling him, he was still a little surprised when he actually saw her. "What are you doing here?"

Shoko Toyokawa did not answer the question immediately; she simply observed Jun Takasaki calmly.