Green plums cannot become lovers.

Just as An and Asuka were about to refuse, a voice filled with anticipation rang out again.

He turned his head and saw Marina's mother looking at him expectantly, as did the other two girls.

[Host, you can't refuse now.]

【yes. 】

There was no turning back now. He had brought them here to make them happy, and now was the time for him to fulfill his mission.

An and Asuka sighed inwardly, but finally nodded.

"Ok."

"I knew you wouldn't let me down."

A smile bloomed on Songyue Ying's face, and the three people beside her also looked on with anticipation.

Another performance ended, and it was time for intermission. Going on stage now wouldn't take up anyone else's performance time.

An and Asuka got up and started walking toward the stage.

"What are you going to perform?" Matsue Sakura asked quickly upon seeing this.

"Sing."

"Huh? Can you sing?"

"I learned it from TV."

An and Asuka joked for a moment, then he stopped smiling and looked at Matsue Sakura with a sincere expression.

"Although the result may disappoint Ms. Matsue, I will still do my best."

"I am also very grateful to Ms. Songyue for being willing to help me so much."

"Then please wait for my performance."

"Speak," An and Asuka said, then turned and left.

Volume 1: Chapter 42 I Don't Believe in Tears

As Songyue Ying watched the boy's departing figure, she felt very gratified.

Although he is a bit mischievous and not as obedient as a top student, perhaps it is precisely because he is not a block of wood that he is more likable to the teachers.

A family capable of raising a child like this must be very open-minded. So why won't the parents give this boy a chance?

Songyue Ying was puzzled, but silently watched as the boy picked up the microphone and walked onto the stage.

After a brief self-introduction, he boldly began to sing under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

It's a folk song, very suitable for the tastes of the elderly people here, and surprisingly pleasant to listen to.

Matsue Sakura's eyes lit up as she looked at the boy on stage. The woman and the two girls beside her did the same.

Yi Leng said to Qi Wu, "Flying Bird is so amazing."

"This must be the song Mom often listens to."

"Um......"

Not only from their side, but the feedback from others was also very good, and everyone's expressions were very satisfied.

Even Mr. Miyaji was very satisfied and personally went up on stage.

Seeing this, Songyue Ying couldn't help but fantasize about the boy on the stage being noticed and rising to prominence.

But... the scene before her eyes didn't seem quite the same as she had imagined.

The boy's singing came to an abrupt end, and Mr. Miyaji's gift was not a blessing.

Sakura Matsue stared blankly at the boy being pulled off the stage for a moment before she reacted and hurriedly ran backstage.

"What are you doing here, you plague?! Get out of here right now!"

"Grandpa..."

"Don't call me grandpa! Our Yae family has no bloodline like yours!"

"..."

An and Asuka opened their mouths, but in the end, they said nothing. This had happened several times before, and he knew that saying anything more would be useless.

"I apologize for disturbing you. Please take care of yourself."

After saying that, An and Asuka turned and left without hesitation.

Matsue Sakura watched this scene in disbelief. She didn't know that Miyaji was the boy's maternal grandfather, nor did she know that their conversation was filled with hostility.

She wanted to question the indifferent old man not far away, but the boy's figure gradually approached and finally stood in front of her.

The boy smiled at her.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Matsue, I really didn't expect my grandfather to be so disrespectful to me."

"It seems the Face Fruit's power has failed. Even you, Matsuki-sensei, have to give me three times the face."

"Teacher, you should run away too. If Grandpa finds out that you forced me to go on stage, he probably won't give you a good look."

"..."

Matsue Sakura was stunned to see the boy in front of her who showed no sadness whatsoever and even had the leisure to joke with her.

Wait a minute, this isn't what she imagined. Shouldn't this boy be looking heartbroken, but then putting on a brave face and saying, "Teacher, this is the result you wanted"?

But this guy seems completely unaffected, as if he's used to it.

"Matsuzuki-sensei, snap out of it."

"Hmm... Teacher, you're not thinking about some weird scenario right now, are you? Like how I might misunderstand you and become dissatisfied with you, and then drift apart from you or something."

"Difficult? Isn't this how things are supposed to develop?"

Matsue Sakura snapped out of her daze and subconsciously asked a question in return.

She presumptuously forced the boy to perform, only to make him look utterly humiliated. Anyone would hate themselves for making such a presumptuous decision.

Therefore, she was already mentally prepared to be hated by the boy.

"Matsuzuki-sensei, when did this Chinese drama start?" An and Asuka said speechlessly, "Some things can be resolved by talking them out properly, there's no need to be so long-winded."

Besides, this kind of thing really doesn't bother me.

"Aren't you really sad?"

"Do I look sad to you?" An and Asuka asked with amusement.

Songyue Ying looked him up and down, observing him carefully, and it took her a while to finally confirm that the boy really hadn't lied to her.

He was genuinely not sad at all.

"Then why didn't you tell me about your situation sooner?"

That way she wouldn't do such a thing.

"So I never expected my grandfather to be so disrespectful to me," An and Asuka said helplessly. "I was planning to leave right after I finished singing, but who knew he would kick me off the stage halfway through."

"Besides, it's not appropriate to talk about such family scandals everywhere. If I told Professor Songyue in advance, he would definitely try his best to intervene, and it would be even more troublesome in the end."

"Besides, I've already refused the teacher many times, and I'm worried that if I don't agree again, the teacher will make things difficult for me."

"..."

This brat is actually complaining about her being troublesome at this point, and is she the kind of petty person?

Matsue Sakura felt both annoyed and amused, but her unease completely vanished with the boy's words.

"Aren't you afraid I'll get involved now?"

"Tsk."

"You clicked your tongue just now, didn't you?"

"No, teacher, you misheard."

"You brat, just you wait, I'll be visiting your home in a couple of days."

Matsue Sakura angrily pinched Anwa Asuka's cheeks, but couldn't bring herself to use much force.

"Yes, you are always welcome to visit, teacher."

"But I advise you not to go to my grandfather, otherwise he might even beat you if he gets angry."

"Asuka, I'm sorry, it's all Auntie's fault."

On the way back, not long after comforting Ms. Matsue, Marina's mother fell into self-blame again.

“If I hadn’t suggested coming here, you wouldn’t have been treated like this.”

She only wanted to pray to the gods for a better life for them. She was just longing for this long-lost relaxation, but she never expected that it would hurt the boy.

Being treated like this by the person closest to him must have been very painful for him. She knew that feeling all too well.

These words made An and Asuka feel a little tired, but he couldn't just sit idly by and do nothing.

He thought for a moment, then decided not to respond to her question, but instead asked, "Auntie, did you hear the song I just sang?"

The woman who heard the question paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, I heard you."

Whenever she felt sad, she would listen to that song. The love depicted in it was exactly what she had longed for back then, but had now lost.

"That song was specially sung for you, Auntie."

It was a folk song about 'relationships', which meant that any relationship could develop cracks, and if that day ever came, letting go was the best choice to avoid getting hurt.

"Huh?"

The woman suddenly stopped and stared blankly at the boy who was still walking slowly forward.

"Unexpected things always happen in this world, such as family changes, being abandoned, or a broken relationship..."

The boy walked and talked, then seemed to realize that no one was following him, so he stopped and slowly turned around to face her.

"Although these are all sad things, and I may be very reluctant to let go, I think that since we can't hold on to them, we should just let go."

"You cry every day because of your uncle, but your uncle doesn't care about your tears."

"But in fact, besides your uncle, there are other people in this world who care about your tears."

For example, Marina.

The sunlight, which had appeared out of nowhere, shone on the boy before me, illuminating everything about him so brightly—his smile, his eyes, his expression.

The woman felt a warm current slowly flowing through her heart.

She suddenly realized that she had been too stubborn and extreme.

Volume One: Chapter Forty-Three - New Life

From that day on, the arguments in Marina's family decreased significantly. The man, however, remained unrepentant, and after cheating on his wife, he would take his anger out on his family when he returned home.

But this time, Marina's mother chose to remain silent, making all the man's attacks seem like hitting cotton.

Finally, one day, as if he couldn't take it anymore, he casually uttered a sentence to the woman in front of An and Asuka.

Let's get a divorce.

"it is good."

The once happy family was completely destroyed by these words. An and Asuka looked at Marina, who looked at her parents as if she had lost her soul, without making a sound or crying.

An and Asuka knew she was not as calm as she appeared; perhaps her heart was already riddled with wounds.

He desperately wanted to save the girl and give her a happy home, but he had already done everything he could to prevent her from being hurt in this broken environment.

He couldn't do more for this girl.

The divorce was swift; they had just reached an agreement one day and were divorced the next. Only after watching her father walk away without looking back did the young girl finally break down in tears.

She cried with great restraint and forbearance, which made her all the more heartbreaking.

However, this should be considered the most perfect one among countless terrible possibilities.

"Maria, I will always be with you."

An and Asuka embraced the girl and whispered promises in her ear. The girl closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face.

The deep winter of January was bitterly cold, and the swirling snow seemed to freeze a fragile heart. But thankfully, a tiny firefly always shone its faint light, warding off the cold wind.