Green plums cannot become lovers.

[System, can you stop Marina's father from cheating?]

As long as he doesn't cheat, no tragedy will occur.

[Theoretically impossible.]

[Theoretically?]

[Because I can't predict what will happen next. Even without Shizuka's mother, given that man's personality, he would still have an affair with Gian's mother and Suneo's mother.]

[Does this mean that no matter what, Marina will still repeat that hellish experience?]

An and Asuka gritted their teeth; they found the problem rather troublesome. Based on the system's analysis, the man at the root of the problem was indeed difficult to deal with.

That's not the case; there's another way.

What method?

Win over Marina's mother and make her like you.

The system's calm, mechanical voice stunned An and Asuka for a moment; he never expected the system to offer this solution.

Trying to win over Marina's mother? What a joke!

Can you be a little more reliable?

It's supposed to be a system that's practically divine in all sorts of novels, how could it come up with such a terrible idea?

[It's not unreliable. According to the system's calculations, as long as you get Marina's mother to like you, all the problems will be solved.]

She will no longer mistreat Marina, and Marina will no longer hurt Shizuka Kuze, so that no one will get hurt.

"Go to hell." An and Asuka couldn't help but bang on the table, but he quickly calmed down and asked in an uncertain tone.

Is what you're suggesting really feasible?

【Have】

An and Asuka fell silent again, and it took them a while before he spoke again.

We'll see when the time comes.

This plan can only be used as a last resort; if all else fails, this is the only option he can take.

If he were to win over Marina's mother, wouldn't he become her father in the future?

I feel like Marina is going to beat me to death.

An and Asuka imagined the future in their minds, and finally couldn't help but shudder.

Well, let's just take it one step at a time. Right now, the most important thing is to improve my skills.

Although his goal was to save Marina, he couldn't devote all his energy to her.

To save others, you must first save yourself. Having finally been given a second chance, he didn't want to live an ordinary life again.

Therefore, in order to create a better future, he must study hard.

Sitting at their desks, An and Asuka continued reading "Fundamentals of Music Theory".

Music was a completely unfamiliar field for him, so even though he studied it very carefully, his efficiency was very low.

He felt that he might not have the talent for it, but even so, he didn't want to let go of this rare opportunity.

If you don't try, you'll never succeed. Giving up before you've even gotten a result is a foolish decision.

He definitely can.

An and Asuka encouraged themselves in their hearts, and just then the system's voice rang out in their minds again.

[Task posted: Read through the book "Fundamentals of Music Theory" and fully understand all its contents. Time limit: three months.]

[Rewards for completing the task: 1 character skill point, double reading experience for "Fundamentals of Music Theory", and the sheet music for "Kikujiro's Summer".]

[Mission failed: No reward]

"..."

An and Asuka looked at the system tasks and rewards in front of them.

Spending two months reading a book is no problem for him. The book is about five centimeters thick, and he can read it all in just two or three days now.

However, reading through or even fully understanding it is not a simple matter; it requires a great deal of effort, let alone for someone like him who has no foundation or talent.

Is three months enough? An and Asuka felt that even if they lacked talent, it would be enough; they were quite confident in their reading abilities.

However, at this particular time, while studying, he also had to pay close attention to Marina's situation to prevent a tragedy from happening, so he had to devote even more energy to it.

An and Asuka pondered for a moment, and soon they had an answer.

Then he looked at the reward and punishment mechanism for this task. He didn't quite understand the first two things, but he knew the last one all too well.

Looking at the book "Kikujiro's Summer" in the reward list, An and Asuka felt a surge of excitement. But they quickly calmed down and asked the system.

[System, what are these skill points and reading experience?]

There were character skill points in the main quest, but there was no 'reading experience' reward.

[Using character skill points can increase the host's corresponding attributes.]

As the system spoke, it brought up a character panel, on which the headshots were clearly those of An and Asuka.

Name: Anhe Asuka

Strength: 2 (Due to the influence of the host's physiological age, the maximum is 5 in childhood, and it gradually increases with age. The average value for human males is 7, and the maximum value becomes 10 in adulthood.)

Speed: 2 (Due to the influence of the host's physiological age, the maximum speed is 5 in childhood, and gradually increases with age. The human average is 7, and the maximum speed in adulthood is 10.)

Intelligence: 6 (Very intelligent, but far from being a peerless genius; the maximum age is 10)

Talent: 1 (Music and literature are talents, as are folding paper airplanes and origami cranes)

Appearance: 4 (A handsome appearance is a direct asset for communicating with others; rating: somewhat handsome.)

[Reading experience: Increases the knowledge gained during learning. For example, if the reading knowledge gained from reading a book is 100, it doubles to 200.]

Looking at the answers to her questions provided by the system, An and Asuka almost couldn't help but sigh.

This was a godsend for him, as what he lacked was so-called reading experience.

With the reward came motivation, and An and Asuka could no longer suppress their desire to learn.

Volume 1: Chapter 5 Another Girl—Kuze Shizuka

An and Asuka read until nine o'clock, only lifting their heads from their books when their stomachs growled.

He rubbed his stomach, feeling a bit hungry. Having no other choice, he gave the whole pot of noodles he'd cooked to the mother and daughter next door.

Turning on the living room light, the dim yellow light dispelled the darkness of the room.

An and Asuka cooked another bowl of noodles and brought it to the table to eat. The large living room was completely silent except for the sound of him eating.

There was neither a mother's care nor a father's nagging.

My father was a gambler. After losing all the money the family had left, he left with an apology. My mother, who loved him deeply, also left a few months later to follow in his footsteps.

So he was all alone in the room, but fortunately he was already used to this kind of life and didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

After finishing their noodles, An and Asuka returned to their room to continue reading.

That's why he needs to work hard.

The next day, on my way to school.

Did your aunt get angry with you yesterday?

An and Asuka asked the girl beside them, this was the question he cared about most. He didn't want the girl to be hurt without his knowledge.

“No.” Marina shook her head, forcing a smile, and said, “Mom said that thanks to Asuka, she and I didn’t go hungry.”

"That's good." Anhe Asuka breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, then asked, "What about your father? Did he come back last night?"

Upon hearing this, Marina's smile vanished, and she sadly lowered her head, softly replying, "No..."

The girl's slender fingers were unconsciously twisting the hem of her skirt, and she looked very sad.

"I see..."

Anhe and the birds looked up at the treetops, where the emerald green leaves swayed gently in the breeze, and dappled light and shadows were cast through the gaps without any discernible path.

"By the way, did you finish your homework yesterday?"

"Homework... Ah, homework!"

Marina, who was already feeling down, immediately looked frightened when she heard about homework.

After what happened yesterday, she completely forgot about her homework. Oh no... and to make matters worse, her homeroom teacher repeatedly reminded her yesterday that there would be a check today, and anyone who hadn't done their homework would be punished.

"Fly, fly, what should we do...?"

Marina looked pitifully at An and Asuka, trembling as she grabbed his sleeve.

"I knew it."

Their homeroom teacher's punishments are very severe; he frequently hits their hands. But when something serious happens, he pretends not to hear.

"Let's hurry up and go. We can write it at school. I'll help you."

"Ah."

Marina knew that being scared was useless now, so she could only go to school early to finish her homework.

Their home is not far from the school, only about half an hour away.

The town's school wasn't particularly luxurious either, consisting of only one teaching building, one multi-purpose building, and a playground.

He had some reservations about the school, because, to put it nicely, it lacked educational resources, and to put it bluntly, it was a place where you could see the whole thing at a glance.

Unless you're an exceptionally talented individual, you'll never be able to compete with kids from big cities here.

He also harbored this idea, hoping to leave after finishing elementary school and live in a better place.

However, it seems he can't leave for the time being. At least not until the problems with Marina and Shizuka are completely resolved, he can't just leave so easily.

When I entered the classroom, there were already more than a dozen students there, but most of them were doing their homework.

"Birds..."

|Seven Shaanxi?:Mio?Sijiu7 Umbrella Death Marina looked at him pitifully while holding her homework.

Seeing this, An and Asuka took the Chinese homework book from her arms and gave her their math and English homework instead.

"Go ahead and copy it, there's still plenty of time, don't worry too much."

There's no need to worry about his Chinese homework, because he can imitate handwriting so well that most people can't easily tell the difference.

"Thank you, Asuka!"

Marina didn't care about anything else and went back to her seat with her homework.

After quickly finishing Marina's homework and returning it to her, An and Asuka returned to their seats and took out "Fundamentals of Music Theory" to read it when suddenly their vision went dark.

Looking up, he saw a little girl with black hair sitting in front of him.

——Shizuka Kuze.

The girl still looked listless today, wearing a thin short-sleeved shirt, looking like a delicate flower by the roadside.

An and Asuka suddenly remembered what the system had told them yesterday, and the equally tragic ending of this girl.

He couldn't help but reach out and pat her shoulder, calling out, "Shizuka."

He could clearly feel the girl's thin shoulders and her body tremble slightly.

Then, she slowly turned around to look at him, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

“Anhe, classmate.”

"..."

The girl's gaze calmed An and Asuka down. He realized that he wasn't very familiar with this girl, at least not as familiar as he was with Marina.

Their relationship is at most that of ordinary friends... If that's the case, then why does the system say that she is also his childhood sweetheart?

[If you build a good relationship with her now, won't you be childhood sweethearts? Childhood sweethearts definitely need to develop from a young age.]

The system seemed to have sensed An and Asuka's thoughts and said in a pleasant tone.

[Speak properly, or she and I will never become lovers.]