People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

He suddenly remembered that day at the karaoke bar, when Deng finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Can we... be in a band for the rest of our lives?"

Although she later left, this doesn't seem to mean she didn't yearn for a band.

Perhaps quite the opposite, what she wanted was too pure and absolute—she wanted an eternal bond.

crychic, you've done so many evil things! You've driven a perfectly good child to this state.

This makes her so heavily tie "band" and "a lifetime" together, yearning to get closer while also fearing being hurt again.

Ishikawa Mayu thought through gritted teeth.

but……

lifetime……

Just thinking about that heavy word gave Ishikawa Mayu a headache. After all, even if she understood the child's inner thoughts, what could she do?

Should I rashly walk up to her, pat her on the shoulder, and say something as irresponsible and unbelievable as, "Ah, Xiaodeng, don't be sad, I want to be in a band with you for life," just to comfort her?

What is the essential difference between that cheap and irresponsible promise and the illusion that Crychic may have given her, which ultimately shattered?

All morning, Gao Songdeng seemed listless.

To outsiders, she might seem no different from usual—still as taciturn as ever, quietly sitting in her own world.

Meanwhile, Chihaya Aine was chatting enthusiastically with Mai and the others, completely unaware of the unusual situation in this corner.

But Ishikawa Mayu noticed it.

Today, Deng's desk has been empty since this morning.

Not to mention textbooks, even her little stones that she almost always carries with her and often takes out to quietly play with, as well as her new favorite of the past two days—band-aids—were nowhere to be found.

She just lay there quietly, lost in thought, like a small plant that looked somewhat wilted due to lack of sunlight.

The lunch break bell rang.

Amidst the commotion, Takamatsu Akari silently stood up, picked up her already packed bag, lowered her head, turned around, and walked out of the classroom like a drop of water merging into a river, heading straight towards the Astronomy Department.

Her movements were fluid yet detached, as if separated from the surrounding hustle and bustle by an invisible membrane. Even the promise that Ishikawa Mayu had made to her yesterday seemed to have been forgotten somewhere.

Ishikawa Mayu watched the figure disappear through the doorway and sighed softly.

He picked up the lunchbox, then pulled out the band-aid and held it between his fingers. Leaning slightly towards Chihaya Aine, who was excitedly describing the band's bright future to them, he deliberately spoke in an exaggerated tone:

"Aine, I'm going to the Astronomy Club for lunch today. If I don't participate in club activities soon, I feel like I'm going to get kicked out of the club by Akari!"

"Huh?" Ai Yin turned her head, amused by his unusually funny appearance. "What is this? You're making it sound like Xiao Deng is some kind of strict minister~ Okay, okay, go on, don't actually get 'fired'!" She waved her hand with a smile, obviously not taking this made-up reason seriously, and quickly turned back to continue her daydreaming about the band.

If this guy knew that his unintentional remark had made Xiaodeng so sad, he would definitely be sad for a long time.

Ishikawa Mayu suppressed the funny expression she had been putting on and thought to herself.

Although I'm really not good at comforting people...

Chapter Thirty-Eight: An Old Saying from the Eastern Empire

Push open the door to the Astronomy Department.

Takamatsu was slumped over the table, clutching a band-aid with a little penguin on it, staring blankly out the window. The creaking of the door hinge startled her; she sat bolt upright like a frightened animal, frantically hiding the band-aid behind her back, her cheeks flushed with panic.

"What's the rush?" Ishikawa Mayu smiled, closed the door behind her, and sat down naturally on the old sofa behind her, casually placing the lunchbox aside. "Forgot what I told you yesterday? I came with you to the Astronomy Club today. I plan to have lunch here."

Gao Songdeng remained frozen in place, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, muttering softly, "I...I haven't forgotten..."

“Then sit down quickly,” Ishikawa Mayu gestured with her chin, her tone tinged with helplessness. “If you keep standing like this, and someone comes in later, they’ll really think I’m bullying you.”

Deng then carefully moved back to the edge of the chair and sat down, but his back was still straight, and he still dared not relax completely.

Ishikawa Mayu watched her sit down before taking out the starry sky bandage from his pocket and twirling it between his fingers.

"Speaking of which, why did they only bring me band-aids today, and not Aine's?"

He asked in a deliberately casual tone, with a hint of teasing in his eyes, "You're not treating me and Aine differently, are you?"

"No!" Deng immediately shook her head in denial, her voice more urgent than before. But then, as if all her strength had been drained, her shoulders slumped, and her voice lowered, carrying a hint of desolation.

"...Because...Aine-san...doesn't need it anymore..."

Ishikawa Mayu understood that this sentence did not refer to the Band-Aid.

"It's probably because of the band."

He stopped beating around the bush, his voice was more serious than before, and he looked at her calmly.

The lamp's body trembled slightly; it neither admitted nor denied it, but simply lowered its head even further.

He leaned forward slightly and asked in a gentle but clear voice:

"Do you know why Ai-yin didn't agree to your suggestion of 'forming a band for life' back then?"

Deng's lips trembled slightly, and her eyes quickly reddened, as if tears were about to burst forth.

If it weren't for the fact that the Astronomy Department is located in such a remote place that no one passes by, I would probably become the enemy of the whole class soon, given her appearance.

Ishikawa Mayu sighed inwardly, but instead of offering comfort, he continued in a calm tone:

"Life is a long and heavy journey. Deng, have you thought about it? After graduating from high school, we might go to different universities in different cities. After that, we might have to work, struggle to make a living, and even... have our own families and children. At that time, will we still have the time and energy to get together and play in a band like we do now?"

He watched the light's reaction.

The girl was indeed stunned when she heard this series of distant yet realistic questions, and her tearful eyes showed obvious confusion and bewilderment.

Looking at her expression, Ishikawa Mayu understood.

She never seemed to connect these specific life trajectories with the romantic vow of "a band for life".

He's still just an innocent high school student.

He didn't stop there, but pressed his advantage, speaking in a calmer tone:

“I used to have a friend from Donghuang who once told me an old saying: ‘He who makes promises lightly will be seldom trustworthy, and he who does many things easily will encounter many difficulties.’”

Takamatsu's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if her attention had been drawn to the unfamiliar words.

“It means,” he explained patiently, “that promises that sound easy to obtain are often difficult to keep; and that things that seem easy to do often hide many difficulties.”

The lamp gave him a look that seemed to understand but not quite.

"Aine really wanted to form a band, and she was very serious about inviting you at that time. I think you could tell that, right, Deng?"

Ishikawa Mayu gently patted Takamatsu Akari's head, nodding as she recalled the sparkling, enthusiastic eyes Aine had shown at the karaoke.

“Now, imagine,” Ishikawa Mayu’s voice was calm as she guided her thoughts, “that back then, if Aine had agreed to your request for ‘a lifetime’ without a second thought, you would have joined the band immediately, right?”

"Even if that promise of 'a lifetime' cannot be fulfilled in the future for various reasons, at least at that time, hadn't she already achieved her goal?"

He looked into the lamp's eyes and saw a flicker of realization and wavering in her pupils.

"But she didn't do that. She hesitated, or rather... avoided it. This shows that she wasn't just thinking about quickly bringing you into the team to achieve her own goals. She was genuinely and seriously considering your request and the weight of that 'lifetime' commitment. She knew she might not be able to bear it, so she didn't dare to make a promise lightly."

As Ishikawa Mayu finished speaking, she gave the light a smile that was both somewhat helpless and appreciative:

"To be honest, if Ai Yin had really agreed to 'forever' without thinking back then... I might have secretly left the band later."

The lamp opened its eyes wide in surprise, seemingly not understanding why he would say that.

“Because,” he said, his smile fading and his tone becoming serious, “it’s hard to truly trust someone who can so easily make such heavy promises that they may not be able to keep. Her ‘easy agreement’ today may be her ‘easy abandonment’ tomorrow.”

Not specifically targeting any particular band.

“On the contrary,” he looked at the lamp again, his gaze gentle, “Aiyin’s hesitation at the time and her subsequent ‘not inviting’ were clumsy and even made you sad, but this shows that she was serious and careful about your wishes. She really wanted to cherish the friendship between you, which is why she dared not touch it easily.”

Deng listened quietly, the confusion in her eyes not completely gone, but the heavy sense of loss that had enveloped her earlier seemed to have been dispelled somewhat by these words. She lowered her head slightly, her fingers unconsciously pinching the penguin band-aid, as if slowly processing these perspectives she had never considered before.

Ishikawa Mayu knew that he had said enough. This thoughtful yet stubborn child needed time to think for himself. He didn't continue the conversation but silently opened his lunchbox and quietly began to eat his lunch.

After finishing the last bite, he packed up his lunchbox, walked to the door, and placed his hand on the doorknob. He turned back to look at Takamatsu Akari, who seemed to be lost in thought, and his gaze fell on the penguin-shaped band-aid in her hand.

"I hope you can muster up the courage to give this band-aid away again!"

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Eavesdropping on Love Sounds

Ishikawa Mayu gently closed the door to the Astronomy Club, returning the quiet to Takamatsu Akari.

After the door closed, he immediately relaxed, leaning his back against the cool corridor wall and raising his hand to cover his face.

What on earth did I say...?

The words I had just spoken to the lamp replayed in my mind—words like "cherish," "be careful," and "dare not touch easily"... These cheesy yet serious lines seemed so unlike what I would say.

Like a meddlesome fool...

He rubbed his face vigorously, trying to dispel the awkwardness.

Just then, a very faint sound came from the direction of the stairwell next door.

He walked toward the dimly lit corner with a puzzled look on his face. Just as he rounded the corner, he saw an unexpected figure—Chihaya Aine was sitting there helplessly, her face clearly showing the words "I'm doomed."

Before he could even ask what she was doing there, Ai-yin flailed her arms like a startled rabbit, her voice rising eight octaves in panic:

"I...I wasn't eavesdropping!"

This guy is so panicked, isn't he just admitting his mistake?

Looking at Chihaya Aine in this state, Ishikawa Mayu felt both amused and...

Wait a minute, doesn't this mean that the person in question heard what I just said?

This realization made him feel uneasy. He subconsciously turned his face away, coughed lightly, and unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck with his fingers.

Chihaya Aine realized she had been exposed the moment she shouted that she hadn't been eavesdropping.

Looking at Ishikawa Mayu's slightly flushed earlobes and her averted gaze, her own cheeks burned, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her skirt.

A subtle silence fell over the narrow fire escape, with only the slightly disordered breathing of the two people mingling in the air.

In the end, Aine was the first to give in, looking at Ishikawa Mayu and whispering.

"I really didn't mean to listen..."

Ishikawa Mayu, somewhat helplessly, walked over to her side and sat down on the same step, their shoulders almost touching.

"How much did you hear?" he asked, his voice softer than before.

“From…” Chihaya Aine tilted her head, recalling, “from when you said, ‘There’s an old saying in the East…”

She turned her head, gazing at Mayu's profile in the dim light, her ears still faintly flushed. This discovery made her smile involuntarily. But quickly, her expression became more serious, and her voice softened:

"Um... Mayu-kun, do you really think that when I didn't immediately agree to Xiaodeng's 'Forever Band' request that day, and later when I said 'I won't invite her again'... it wasn't just to brush her off, but... it was because I cared about her feelings?"

There was a hint of expectation in her eyes.

Ishikawa Mayu didn't look at her immediately; her gaze remained fixed on the steps ahead, but her voice was steady:

"Otherwise what? Do you think I'm making up stories to make Deng happy?"

“But…” Ai Yin lowered her head slightly, her fingers unconsciously digging into the edge of the stairs, “I didn’t even think about it that clearly myself… I just saw Xiao Deng looking sad, and I felt like I had done something wrong, and I didn’t want to make things difficult for her anymore…”

"It's precisely because it's a subconscious action... that it shows this is your true inner self."

Ishikawa Mayu is not a frank person, and he always feels very awkward when he speaks such bluntly, but he turned his head away and still said it.

"It wasn't a well-thought-out choice, but rather an instinct... a desire to be considerate of other people's feelings no matter what."

He paused slightly, as if finally making up his mind, and turned his head, his gaze meeting hers for a moment before quickly looking away:

"Although the method may be a bit clumsy... the intention itself is never wrong."

Chihaya Aine stared blankly at his reddened earlobes, suddenly feeling a gentle touch on the softest part of her heart. She unconsciously smiled and nudged him lightly with her shoulder.

"What... why are you suddenly talking so seriously..."

She blinked, then quickly regained her usual liveliness, a sly smile spreading across her face as she deliberately drew out her words:

"But—someone who said on LINE before, 'I'm a yin character and not good at comforting people, only a yang character like Aine-sama can do it,' just said it quite well, didn't they?"

When she suddenly brought up old grievances, Ishikawa Maho was speechless.

"...That was so long ago."

"Really?" Ai-yin mimicked his tone, her eyes curving into crescents. "Then should I thank Kodama for giving me the opportunity to witness Ishikawa-sensei's brilliant 'subtle comforting'?"