People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

After doing all this, he took a half step back, giving her some space.

"I'm sorry, Xiangzi." He looked at her retreating figure, his voice slightly downcast. "I was too presumptuous."

"……Fool."

A very soft sob, tinged with a heavy crying tone, came from Xiangzi's direction.

Ishikawa Mayu didn't refute it. Perhaps he really was a complete idiot. He just stood there quietly.

Time flowed slowly in silence. Finally, Xiangzi raised his hand, wiped his face vigorously, took a deep breath, and slowly turned around.

Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red, but there were no more tear stains on her face, only a calm after exhaustion and a hint of barely perceptible relief. She didn't look at Ishikawa Mayu; her gaze was fixed on the rice ball on the plate.

She walked to the dining table, pulled out a chair, sat down, picked up the slightly cool rice ball, and began to eat it in small bites. Her movements were slow, but exceptionally focused.

As Ishikawa Mayu watched her eat, the heavy stone in his heart seemed to loosen and fall away little by little with her slow chewing.

He didn't leave or say anything more. He simply walked to the window, leaned against the window frame, and waited quietly, gazing at the deep night sky outside, leaving her space to process her emotions and food.

Only after Xiangzi finished the last bite of the rice ball and slowly drank the warm water did he straighten up again.

"I'm leaving," he said softly.

Xiangzi put down his cup, still not looking at him, but only nodding almost imperceptibly.

Ishikawa Mayu walked to the door, picked up the trash bag she had collected, and gripped the doorknob with her other hand.

This time, before he could turn the doorknob, Xiangzi's voice rang out again, much clearer and calmer than before:

"...Be careful on the road."

Ishikawa Mayu paused for a moment, turned his back to her, and slightly curved the corners of his mouth upward.

"Ah."

He opened the door, went out, and gently closed it again.

"Click".

The sound of the door lock closing echoed in the quiet hallway.

Xiangzi sat alone at the dining table, listening to the footsteps outside the door gradually fading away until they disappeared completely at the top of the stairs. She looked down at the empty plate and water glass in front of her, and after a long while, she reached out her fingertip and gently touched the lingering warmth on the glass.

The warmth was faint, yet it stubbornly lingered on my fingertips.

She stood up silently and walked to the window, her movements somewhat slow.

The street below was deserted, with only the streetlights casting a dim yellow glow on the ground. Just when she thought he had gone far away, a deep engine roar broke the silence of the night.

She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the familiar figure straddle a sleek motorcycle and put on a helmet.

The engine roared, the headlights lit up, and it quickly merged into the traffic on the main road in the distance. The taillights soon blended into the city's flood of lights and disappeared.

She stood by the window until she could no longer catch a glimpse of light and shadow.

motorcycle……

It seems like this guy's life is really getting better.

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

Ishikawa Mayu returned to his quiet and tidy apartment. He put down his things, walked to the window, and looked down at the endless stream of car lights below.

"Fool……"

He repeated her insults to himself in a low voice, but with an uneasy smile on his face.

This tearful curse, compared to the previous cold silence and sharp rejection, actually made him feel a little more at ease.

He really was an idiot. An arrogant idiot who almost pushed away someone important in the wrong way.

Fortunately, it's not too late.

Just then, her phone rang, and the screen lit up with a cheerful message from Chihaya Aine: 【Don't be late for practice tomorrow! (≧?≦)ノ】

Ishikawa Mayu paused for a moment on the keyboard, and her usual brief reply was now tinged with a gentleness that she herself did not realize.

Okay, I won't be late.

The regrets of the past are being gently mended, and the future is slowly unfolding before his eyes.

Everything seems to be stumbling along the way, but gradually moving towards the right and hopeful path.

Xiang.jpg

Chapter Seventy: Shinba's Observation Report

Wednesday, June 13

Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting bright spots of light on the floor of the band activity room.

Shoko Toyokawa sat at the slightly worn piano, playing Debussy's "Clair de Lune." The notes, like moonlight ripples on water, carried a hazy melancholy and a tranquility detached from reality.

The door to the activity room was gently pushed open, and Ishikawa Mayu walked in carrying a shoulder bag.

He didn't make a sound to disturb her, but simply leaned quietly against the wall, his gaze fixed on her focused profile.

Xiangzi caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, and her fingertips paused almost imperceptibly, but the melody did not stop. She merely frowned almost imperceptibly before continuing to immerse herself in her musical world, as if his presence were merely an insignificant shadow.

When the piece finished playing, Ishikawa Mayu didn't applaud, but instead spoke softly, breaking the silence of the room:

"This song... is nice, but it feels a bit too... quiet."

"Could you play something else? Like... Schumann's 'Träumerei'?"

Xiangzi's hand, which was about to close the piano lid, froze in mid-air. She turned her head, looking at him with a mixture of speechlessness and disdain, her brows slightly furrowed:

"You... suddenly started requesting songs?"

The naive and dreamy melody was completely out of place with her gloomy mood at that moment.

Ishikawa Mayu didn't take her disdain to heart. Rather, it was this reaction—a mix of impatience and eventual compromise—that brought back a sense of familiarity he had felt when they were together in the past.

He leaned against the wall, his tone casually teasing: "Suddenly wanted to listen, huh? Is that not allowed?"

Seeing his unyielding attitude, Xiangzi's full chest heaved slightly, as if he wanted to say something in rebuttal, but in the end he just muttered under his breath, "...You're such a troublemaker."

Despite her complaints, her fingers were already hovering over the black and white keys again. She took a slight breath, as if to dispel some emotion, and then her fingertips fell.

A soothing, gentle melody, filled with innocent longing, flowed slowly through the sunlit activity room, replacing the cold moonlight.

Unlike the hazy and complex "Moonlight Sonata", the melody of "Dreamy Song" is simple and direct, full of dreamlike beauty and tranquility.

At first, Xiangzi's playing was a bit stiff, with a hint of perfunctory effort as if he was forced to complete a task.

But gradually, in that repetitive, hopeful melody, her tense shoulders seemed to relax slightly, and the force with which she struck the keys became gentler.

Sunlight shone on her lowered eyelashes, casting small shadows.

As the last pure and warm note reluctantly faded into the sunlight, a strange tranquility descended upon the activity room.

Several seconds passed before Xiangzi seemed to finally break free from a brief dream. She hastily closed the piano lid with a soft "click," as if trying to cut off that moment of distraction.

She stood up, her tone deliberately cold, as if that could erase the effects of the "Dreamy Melody" she had just heard:

"Finished playing. Satisfied?"

"Satisfied." Ishikawa Mayu nodded, silently adding in her mind: Xiangzi looks better with his brows relaxed.

Without giving Xiangzi a chance to continue using his cold demeanor, he leaned against the piano:

"Speaking of which, the band I joined is finally starting to look promising lately."

Xiangzi paused slightly, neither looking up nor responding, but simply listening in silence.

"Shiina Tatsuki—the drummer from your old band—has joined as well."

Ishikawa Mayu observed her reaction and continued in a slightly teasing tone.

"But this guy is really strange. He has a terrible temper, but he's exceptionally gentle with Little Lamp. Calling him Little Lamp's 'guardian' wouldn't be an exaggeration."

"Lamp...guard?" Xiangzi repeated the overly direct and somewhat comical address, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

That Shiina Tatsuki? She's with the light...?

This created a strange discrepancy between her memory of Li hope and the image of Li Xi she remembered.

“Yes,” Ishikawa Mayu nodded affirmatively, as if sharing some interesting observation report, “And Suze-kun, she’s just like… well, like a mother.”

"He always steps in to smooth things over when everyone is about to start arguing. He speaks gently, but he always manages to keep the situation under control."

"As for the lamp... she's not very talkative, but you can tell she likes it this way, being with everyone."

Mayu Ishikawa depicts a scene that, though noisy, is full of life, and everyone seems to be looking forward.

He actually knew, knew how much Xiangzi blamed herself for Crychic's disbandment, and that heavy feeling might still be weighing on her heart to this day.

So he chose to tell her in this awkward way: Look, they are all doing well. They have found new ways to get along and support for each other on new paths.

Xiangzi listened quietly, and the initial impatience caused by being disturbed gradually dissipated, replaced by a sense of comfort.

Lixi has found a new person to protect, Su Shi continues to play the role of mediator, and Deng is willing to try again...

They all seem to be moving forward.

At a time she was unaware of, she stepped out of the shadows of "Crychic" and "Toyokawa Shoko".

This is what she originally hoped to see, isn't it?

But why... why, deep in my heart, besides that little bit of comfort, is there more of an empty loneliness?

Everyone else has crossed the river called "Past," but she herself remains stuck in the mud of the past, struggling to make a living.

A sour feeling welled up in her nose, and she quickly lowered her head, not wanting the person next to her to see her expression.

The only sounds in the activity room were the faint noise coming from outside the window and the barely audible breathing of the two people.

After a while, Xiangzi heard light footsteps and the sound of fabric rubbing together beside him.

He left again?

The small sense of comfort that had just risen in Toyokawa Shoko's heart was like a candle flame flickering in the wind, about to be extinguished.

However, the footsteps only stopped nearby.

She couldn't help but glance over out of the corner of her eye, only to see that Ishikawa Mayu wasn't heading towards the door, but instead bent down and picked up the backpack he had placed on the chair next to him.

He took a box carefully wrapped in a plain-colored handkerchief from his bag and handed it to her.

"Give."

Xiangzi's gaze fell on the box, his body stiffened almost imperceptibly, and his eyes showed a clear sense of estrangement and wariness.

"What do you mean?" Her voice turned cold.

Is this guy showing off his condescending compassion again?

Ishikawa Mayu didn't retract her hand; instead, she leaned forward slightly, her tone carrying an exaggerated sense of感慨:

"Those two pieces just now, especially the latter one, 'Dreamy Melody'... With your skill level, Xiangzi, you'd charge at least 5000 yen to perform one of those outside, right?"

He shook the lunchbox in his hand, a slightly sly smile playing on his lips.

"This thing costs less than 500 yen to produce. In exchange for a private concert like this, I've made a huge profit, haven't I?"

He looked into her slightly widened eyes and tucked the lunchbox into her arms.

"Have a little more confidence in your skills. Take it, great musician."

Xiangzi stared intently at him, trying to find even a trace of pity on his face, but all she saw was a clear, undisguised approval of her musical skills in his eyes, and that despicable "I'm the one who profited" expression.

Of course she knew it was an excuse. What 5000 yen, what reward… this guy was clearly just…

However, this excuse is too cunning.

Its high praise for her abilities shut down all her reasons for refusing. Denying it would have been like questioning whether her piano skills were worth the price.

A mixture of helplessness, amusement, and a faint, carefully comforted warmth intertwined in her heart.

She remained silent for a moment, then carefully stuffed the lunchbox into her bag.

“…fallacies and heresies.” She turned her face away and muttered a curse under her breath, but her tightly clenched lips seemed to loosen almost imperceptibly for a moment.

Seeing that she accepted it, Ishikawa Mayu said nothing more, picked up his schoolbag, and stood quietly to the side to wait.

Xiangzi zipped up his backpack, his fingers lingered on the straps for a moment, and then he whispered, "...I'm leaving."