People in Mygo are emotional firefighters.

He remained silent for a few seconds, and this brief hesitation and the complex expression on his face that he could not completely hide were immediately caught by the keen Ai Yin.

Her smile faded slightly, she tilted her head, and a hint of doubt and barely perceptible worry flashed in her silver-gray eyes:

"Hmm? Zhenyu?" she asked softly. "What's wrong? You look... a little serious? Is it because... I read so badly?"

“No, you read very well.” Ishikawa Mayu immediately denied it, but his voice was a little lower than usual. He avoided her probing gaze, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table, and finally he spoke with difficulty, “Aine, there’s something I need to tell you.”

He paused, trying to make his tone sound calm and objective:

"Starting tomorrow, the video supervision practice for the next two weeks may need to be temporarily cancelled."

"—Huh?"

Chihaya Aine's smile and anticipation froze instantly.

Cancel...?

why?

A sudden surge of inexplicable grievance and panic welled up inside her. Her mind raced, and the first thought that popped into her head was—could it be because she had deliberately sung the original lyrics to tease him at the astronomy department at noon, and angered him?

A huge wave of disappointment and grievance washed over her like ice water, leaving her momentarily stunned.

Why? Just because I teased him a couple of times during Chinese class this afternoon and sang the line "I live next door to you"?

But...but she was so well-behaved afterwards! She didn't bring it up again, didn't make a fuss, and even obediently followed along and said "hurry back"...Mayu isn't that petty, is she? How could she get upset over such a joke...?

A jumble of chaotic thoughts clashed in her mind, making her feel both flustered and bitter.

Looking at Mayu's seemingly troubled expression on the screen, she suppressed the stinging feeling in her nose and forced a smile that didn't quite work. Her voice unconsciously softened, carrying a tremor she herself didn't even realize:

"Oh, I see... It's... It's okay..."

She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her pajamas.

"If... if you feel uncomfortable with it, Mayu... I... I can practice on my own... You don't have to force yourself..."

The more she forced herself to appear "considerate," the more guilty and uncomfortable Ishikawa Masahiro felt. He could almost picture her on the other side of the screen, looking pitiful yet pretending not to care.

He explained somewhat flusteredly, his tone unusually urgent, afraid she might be overthinking things, "It's not because of you! Absolutely not!"

Ishikawa Mayu took a deep breath, trying to make her explanation sound clear and believable: "It's... I received a rather urgent work assignment that requires me to use those evenings. It's important business, the kind I can't refuse."

On the screen, Zhenyu looked so anxious and flustered, as if he wanted to tear his heart out to prove it. The anxiety and apology in his eyes didn't seem fake; they were even a little clumsy and cute.

So... it wasn't because they disliked me, it was because of work.

The huge weight that had been pressing on Chihaya Aine's heart finally lifted with a thud.

Although the disappointment of not being able to video chat for a long time still lingered, the fear of being alienated had dissipated, replaced by a sense of relief that "I see, there's nothing I can do about it," and even... a hint of smugness at the opportunity to "manipulate" him.

Her slightly slumped shoulders straightened again, and the forced "sensible" expression on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a more vivid and lively expression that mixed cunning and coquettishness.

"Hmph~ So you have 'serious business' after all." She deliberately dragged out the last syllable, holding her guitar, leaning forward slightly, and getting closer to the camera, her silver-gray eyes gleaming. "Well... as compensation for suddenly disrupting my precious practice schedule, shouldn't Ms. Mayu do something?"

Chapter 123 Extortion

As Ishikawa Mayu watched her instantly "change her expression," transforming from a pitiful, low-spirited girl into a mischievous little devil with darting eyes, clearly plotting something wicked, a bad premonition immediately rose in his heart.

"...What do you want?"

Ai Yin held up one finger, speaking with absolute certainty, "Tonight's video call needs to be extended! Extended until I'm satisfied!" She paused, then counted on her fingers, "Look, after normal guitar practice, you still have to give me extra lessons in Donghuang language! Of course, if you're really busy and can't give me extra lessons, that's fine too..."

She leaned closer to the camera, a sly glint in her silver-grey eyes, her voice softening, carrying an irresistible, clingy quality:

"Let's just keep the video chat on like this~ It's okay even if we don't talk, you can just do your homework and I'll watch. Or... just keep it on like this, listening to each other's breathing, that's nice too, right?"

Ishikawa Mayu was completely speechless.

Now that they've said all that, if I don't agree, wouldn't I seem incredibly unreasonable and heartless?

His face showed just the right amount of helplessness, as if he had no way to deal with her. He sighed and nodded: "...Alright then."

Seeing Mayu's helpless expression of "okay, okay, whatever you say," Chihaya Aine was secretly overjoyed, but she had no intention of being satisfied with that.

"Let's begin today's practice," Ishikawa Mayu said, trying to get the pace back on track.

"Wait a minute!" Ai Yin immediately shook her head, her ears perked up like a wary kitten. "There's more, there's more!"

She put her hands on her hips, leaned slightly forward in front of the screen, and her face was full of smug satisfaction, as if to say, "You're so naive!" "Mahakasa-sensei~ You don't actually think that just extending the video call a little longer is enough to make up for my 'precious' practice time over the next three days, and to soothe my frightened little heart, do you?"

Seeing her poised to make an outrageous demand, Ishikawa Mayu's eye twitched slightly, and a growing sense of unease crept into his heart. "...What else do you want?"

"Hmph~" Chihaya Aine shook her head smugly, her pink hair swaying with it. She cleared her throat and began to count on her fingers as if reciting a familiar story:

"First! I want to hear you play the violin!"

"Secondly! You have to give me a gift! No half-hearted stuff!"

“Third!…” She paused, a faint blush rising on her face, but quickly masked by her self-righteousness, “Next week, you have to take a day off to go out with me! I haven’t decided what to do yet, maybe a movie, or something else!”

As Ishikawa Mayu listened to each of the requirements, his brows furrowed more and more.

"Wait..." he couldn't help but interrupt her, his eyes filled with disbelief, "These demands... why do they feel... so familiar?"

“Of course I’m familiar with it!” Chihaya Aine immediately replied, a bright and slightly smug smile on her face, like a little mouse that had just stolen some oil.

She picked up a brightly colored notebook that was spread out next to her and waved it in front of the camera as if to show off. Sure enough, there were several lines written in colored ink on it, with cute stars and hearts drawn next to them as markers.

"These—all—were—your—own—options—yesterday—for 'Guess what reward I want'! I wrote them all down without missing a single one!"

She patted her notebook, announcing her "final verdict":

"However, given that you, Ms. Mayu, unilaterally and temporarily canceled our valuable video supervision lessons, it has had an immeasurable potential impact on my young mind and the pace of my progress..."

She spoke deliberately in an exaggerated tone, as if reading legal statutes, but her eyes gleamed with cunning.

"Therefore, all of these original 'reward options' are now, immediately, and instantly upgraded to your 'compensation package'! No objections, no rebuttals allowed, it must be implemented!"

Listening to her self-consistent, even somewhat far-fetched, "verdict," and seeing her smug little expression that said, "I've got you figured out," Ishikawa Mayu was momentarily at a loss for whether to be angry or amused.

Why was he so rude yesterday?!

Wouldn't you say this is like... lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot?

However, Aine's "offensive" was not over yet. As if she remembered something, she puffed out her cheeks slightly, stretched out a finger, and pointed at him from a distance.

“And! Yesterday you said, ‘It can’t be that I have to go to the movies with you next week, can it?’ The way you phrased that sentence—” she deliberately drew out her words, her silver-gray eyes filled with accusatory “I’m very dissatisfied”, “—‘It can’t be that?’ That reluctant, as if forced tone, I’m very, very dissatisfied with!”

She crossed her arms and announced the additional "punishment" clauses:

"So, as a correction to your incorrect wording, in the execution of the third clause of the aforementioned 'compensation package,' 'accompany me out,' you also need to, additionally, proactively, and in a good mood, treat me to milk tea! Full sugar! Double the pearls and milk foam!"

She finished speaking in one breath, then slightly raised her chin and looked at him with a "let's see how you do" look, as if to say: Now you should know you were wrong, right?

Hearing the sentence that "added to her crime," and seeing her charmingly innocent appearance—which she tried so hard to maintain but couldn't hide the smile in her eyes—Ishikawa Mayu completely lost her temper.

What else could he say?

He sighed helplessly, but the corners of his mouth curved upwards almost imperceptibly from an angle she couldn't see.

“…Okay.” He nodded resignedly, his voice carrying a hint of indulgence he himself was unaware of. “I’ll do whatever you say. Movies, gifts, a violin, and… milk tea with double the sugar and pearl foam.”

Just as Chihaya Aine was overjoyed by his complete "surrender," Ishikawa Mayu changed the subject, trying to salvage the last shred of her precarious initiative.

“However,” he cleared his throat, trying to make his tone sound more like a discussion, “the specific day and location… that’s up to me to decide.”

Chihaya Aine's silver-gray eyes suddenly lit up, as if stars had fallen into them.

She nodded almost immediately, a bright, trusting smile spreading across her face, her voice clear and cheerful:

"Great! No problem at all!"

She cupped her cheeks in her hands, her body unconsciously leaning slightly forward, as if trying to reach him through the screen, her eyes filled with pure, undisguised anticipation:

"As long as it's a place you choose, no matter where it is, I'll be super excited!"

Chapter 124 Becoming the Best Guitarist and Vocalist

Looking at Aine's completely trusting expression on the screen, as if she would jump for joy even if he took her to the far side of the moon, Ishikawa Mayu looked away somewhat awkwardly and responded softly, "...Mm."

"It's a deal! Pinky promise!" Ai Yin smiled and extended her little finger on the other side of the screen, making a half-hearted hook across the screen.

“…Childish.” Zhenyu said with disdain, but a faint smile flashed in her eyes.

“That’s called a sense of ritual!” Chihaya Aine withdrew her hand confidently, but did not start practicing immediately.

She held her guitar, tilted her head, and a genuine concern flashed in her silver-gray eyes. The topic then jumped back to the beginning:

"By the way, Mayu... is that sudden job you mentioned going to be very demanding? Like being so busy that you won't have any free time until the evening?"

Hearing Aine's concern, Ishikawa Mayu smiled warmly.

As for Mana's work... although he felt it probably wouldn't be too easy, he didn't want Aine to worry too much.

"It's alright. The main problem is communicating with an unfamiliar team, which is a bit mentally taxing, but the music itself is fine."

“Oh…” Aine nodded as if she understood, but in her opinion, Mayu’s musical talent was top-notch, so it was only natural that she would receive job offers. But then a thought popped into her head, and she tilted her head, her silver-gray eyes filled with pure curiosity.

"Speaking of which... why did you take on this job, Zhenyu? We're only in our first year of high school, and our allowance... isn't that enough?"

Her question was naive and direct.

Ishikawa Mayu casually replied:

"Because we need to eat."

This was said so naturally, as if it were a matter of course, that Aine didn't react at first. She instinctively wanted to reply, "And your mom and dad..."

The syllable "Dad" was barely on my lips when it was suddenly choked back by an invisible hand.

She suddenly stopped.

Her pink eyelashes trembled rapidly, and a hint of panic and astonishment flashed in her silver-gray eyes.

and many more……

Mayu-kun...it seems...she has never mentioned her parents?

Vague fragments of memory flooded his mind instantly—it seemed he had taken a long break from school in the second year of junior high… At the graduation ceremony in the third year of junior high, amidst the bustling crowd, he seemed to be… all alone?

A suspicion that made her heart clench suddenly, like a cold vine, instantly entangled her thoughts.

Could it be...?

She dared not think any further, nor dared she ask any more questions. She simply stared blankly at Zhenyu, whose expression remained calm on the screen, when a huge surge of emotions, a mixture of heartache, frustration, and helplessness, overwhelmed her, causing her nose to sting with tears.

She...she seems to have asked a very, very inappropriate question...

She abruptly covered her mouth, and her usually bright, silvery-gray eyes instantly filled with panic and deep heartache.

"...I'm so sorry! Makoto!" Her voice was urgent and choked with sobs, her eyes instantly reddening. "Did I...say something really hurtful?! I...I didn't mean it! I really..."

Seeing her instantly transform from a curious kitten into a panicked, tearful figure, Ishikawa Mayu was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized.

He had long since stopped caring; even the related memories had become a distant background noise. Looking at her now, as if she had done something terribly wrong and was about to cry, he felt a mixture of amusement and pity, and his heart softened completely.

"Hey, don't make that face." His voice was gentler than before, carrying a calming and reassuring power. "It's okay, it's all in the past."

He paused, his tone as calm as if he were talking about someone else: "I'm doing fine the way I am now. I can play the violin, I can do what I love, and I can... meet you all."

Seeing Aine's still furrowed brows and sad face, Ishikawa Mayu felt it was necessary to do something to dispel the gloom that had been created by him.

So he stood up, walked to the wall, and picked up the dark-colored violin case.

"Alright, stop making that face." He said in a relaxed tone as he opened the violin case, trying to change the subject. "Didn't you want to hear me play the violin? How about I deliver the first item of the 'compensation package'?"

Ai Yin watched him take out his violin, his feigned nonchalance as he tried to comfort her, which made her nose sting even more. She nodded forcefully, suppressing the tears that almost welled up, her voice still a little muffled: "...Mmm!"

Shinba adjusted the strings and rested the instrument against his chin. He closed his eyes slightly, seemingly gathering his emotions. Then, he raised the bow and strummed the strings.

The next moment, a melody, gentle yet tinged with a touch of bittersweetness, yet brimming with boundless vitality and hope, flowed out like moonlight. It was Kenshi Yonezu's "Lemon."

He didn't choose an overly exciting or cheerful song. The melody of "Lemon" perfectly reflects the atmosphere at the moment—there is nostalgia for what has passed, but more importantly, there is the gentleness and strength of acceptance and moving forward.

Ai-yin sat quietly in front of the screen, hugging her knees, resting her chin on her hand, staring at him intently.

The lights outlined the focused profile of his face, his slender fingers deftly pressing and sliding on the strings, his right hand holding the bow steady and expressive. He seemed to be one with the music, his usual languor and aloofness vanished, replaced by a serene yet dazzling radiance.

The melodious piano music came through the microphone clearly; every vibrato, every change in dynamics, seemed to strike Ai Yin's heart directly. The melody seemed to whisper something, soothing her inner turmoil and bitterness, replacing it with a tranquility of understanding and comfort.