As they got off the bus, Toyokawa Shoko took off her headphones and asked Shirakawa Haru why they were getting off here, as the bus stop was still quite a distance away. She was worried she’d miss the train to the company. Shirakawa Haru replied, “You didn’t hear me because you were wearing headphones. I told the driver to go faster. Even if you walk to the bus stop from this point, you still have plenty of time.” Toyokawa Shoko checked her phone and saw that it was true. They walked down the street, chatting.

“Is it really okay for you to treat Nagasaki-san like this?” Shirakawa Haru asked as they walked down the street. “Nagasaki-san is quite pitiful.”

“…” Toyokawa Shoko was silent for a moment, then said, “I… don’t know how to treat her yet.”

“It’s a little cruel.”

“She came up to me on her own initiative. I’ve already clearly rejected her.” Toyokawa Shoko said, her tone starting to harden, but when she thought about the person beside her, it was Shirakawa Haru instead of Nagasaki Suyo, her tone softened immediately. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for. We’re friends.” Shirakawa Haru smiled. “Friends also have different levels. There are casual friends, friends who are just gentlemen, friends you can confide in, and friends who can maintain a lifelong relationship. I don’t want our friendship to remain at the second level.”

The streetlights came on, and Shirakawa Haru turned to look at Toyokawa Shoko beside her. When they were alone together, Shoko rarely wore headphones, and she was particularly sensitive to his gaze. So, as soon as Shirakawa Haru turned her head, Shoko’s eyes met his. Knowing that Shirakawa Haru would smile, she smiled first. Her smile was brilliant, revealing a row of tiny teeth as white as pearls, making the air around them seem lighter.

“So Qing, which stage of the four relationships do you think our current relationship is in?” asked Toyokawa Shoko.

“I don’t know. It’s probably between the second and third types. The relationship between people is very vague. After all, I only represent myself as an individual. I don’t know what you think of me… but it definitely won’t reach the fourth type.” Baichuan Qing said after thinking carefully for a while.

Shoko Toyokawa was obviously not satisfied with Shirakawa Haru’s answer. She quickened her pace. When Shirakawa Haru found that she had walked in front of him, she was already quite a distance away from him. She turned her back to Shirakawa Haru and said, “But I treat you as a third kind of friend. I let you stay overnight at my house. We should have been friends who could confide in each other and tell each other anything.”

Baichuan Qing said, “Then I will also treat you as a friend with whom I can confide my true feelings.”

He said this in a nonchalant manner. Although Toyokawa Shoko knew that Shirakawa Haru was serious, she still couldn’t be happy, so she silently quickened her pace.

“Xiangzi, walk slower.” Shirakawa Haru bought two bottles of juice from a roadside vending machine and chased after Toyokawa Xiangzi. “Don’t walk too fast.”

“Have some water.” Shirakawa Haru handed a can of juice to Toyokawa Shoko.

“Qing, do you still have money to buy juice now?” Toyokawa Shoko didn’t bother to be polite with Shirakawa Haru. She took the juice from his hand. A sizzling sound was heard. Feng Chuan opened the pull ring of the box and took a sip of the juice.

“If you lose money, you can earn it again. Save when you should save, and spend when you should spend.” Baichuan Qing said, “For example, I think now is the time to spend money.”

“Then you have quite a lot of money to spend.”

Toyokawa Shoko sat down on a park bench by the roadside. The streetlights shone on her long blue hair, and tiny fragments of light lit up her hair, like stardust falling from a burning star. When Shirakawa Haru came to her side, she took his hand and asked him to sit down, telling him that she had been walking too fast just now and needed to rest.

“Would you like to talk about something?” Bai Chuan asked.

The surrounding environment is very good. Although cars speeding past from time to time make roars on the empty streets, this sound does not give people a noisy feeling. It is like the echo of a waterfall falling on boulders in a valley, making the atmosphere between the two people even more out of touch with the world.

“Go ahead,” said Shoko Toyokawa.

Originally, the place where the two got off was not far from the tram stop. Just now, Shoko Toyokawa ran away as if to vent her anger, which greatly shortened the distance between them and the tram stop.

Now, as long as Shoko Toyokawa stands up and stands on tiptoe, she can see the sign of the tram station not far away.

“You can’t keep going like this,” Shirakawa Haru said. “Some things are better explained. Look at Nagasaki-san’s expression, it’s obvious he won’t give up.”

“But I have nothing left to say to her. I even blocked her on Line.”

“Perhaps Shigaraki-san doesn’t know you’ve blocked her yet, and simply thinks you don’t want to talk to her.”

“That’s her own business, it has nothing to do with me.”

“Why does it have nothing to do with you?”

“How does it have anything to do with me?”

“Awkward little girls are such a nuisance.” Shirakawa Haru saw through Toyokawa Shoko’s feelings for Nagasaki Suyo at a glance. “If my sister dared to talk to me like that, I would definitely whip her like a top. Oh, you don’t know who my sister is yet? You should have seen her, Suho Yuki.”

Toyokawa Shoko nodded to indicate that she knew. She found out when she used Alice’s Candy House this morning.

After taking a sip of juice, Shoko Toyokawa turned her head and looked at the traffic light at the intersection in front of her left. It changed from red to green, and the stopped traffic surged like a tide, leaving a series of blurry light and shadows in her eyes.

“You clearly feel guilty towards her, so why can’t you just explain it to her?”

Shirakawa Haru looked at Toyokawa Shoko’s profile. When he said she was a weird little girl, she turned her face away.

People often complain about meeting the wrong people along the way. When it rains, they reminisce by the window, remembering the past, both good and bad, but they can’t let go. If you don’t explain some things clearly, you’ll end up regretting it yourself. Shirakawa Haru, looking at Toyokawa Shoko’s face, decides to help her smooth things over with Nagasaki Motoyo. He tries to explain these paths to her, but she’s clearly not listening.

Their relationship became extraordinary that rainy night, but he did not want it to rain heavily in her heart.

“…You won’t understand.”

“Why wouldn’t you understand? To the rest of the world, you’re just an NPC, but to someone, you’re a special, unlockable character that they’ve worked so hard to finally get. And when they finally get to play you, they’re super happy because they played the game just to finally find you.”

Shirakawa Haru glanced at his phone. They stood up from the park bench and walked to the station just in time. He grabbed Toyokawa Shoko’s wrist and led her away, saying:

“For me, if you’re an NPC or character in a game, then you’re the reason I play that game. The same is true for Nagasaki-san, and you should feel the same way about her. Whether you love her or hate her, she clearly holds an important place in your heart.”

“Enough… stop talking!” Toyokawa Shoko was a little annoyed because her thoughts were completely understood by Shirakawa Haru.

Some people are like this, what they think in their hearts is completely different from what they show on the outside.

It’s like a seed, plump and round, planted in the soil, and it’s expected to germinate, grow, and then produce buds, ushering in a grand bloom and bearing fruit to complete the cycle of life. However, during the germination process, it finds that the top of its head is covered with a thick layer of cement, so it dies in the mud without blooming or bearing fruit.

If Toyokawa Shoko’s true feelings for Nagasaki Suyo are compared to a full seed, then her outward attitude towards Nagasaki Suyo is the fate of the seed that eventually rots in the soil without seeing the sun.

There is a hard and thick barrier between the seeds and the sunlight, separating the two.

Shirakawa Haru pulled Toyokawa Shoko and ran. Under the streetlight, their shadows were left behind and fell on the road. He told Toyokawa Shoko that if you don’t show your true feelings frankly, you will not only hurt others but also yourself.

“If you don’t explain clearly, you’ll regret it sooner or later. You should understand this yourself. I’m not exaggerating.” Shirakawa Haru said, “Be frank, or you’ll be exhausted. You’re already exhausted.”

“I’m pretty sure there’s nothing wrong with my attitude towards Nagasaki Suyo.”

“Then why do you feel guilty towards her?”

“It’s because of me that CRYCHIC disbanded. I like all the members of CRYCHIC! I feel guilty towards all of them, but there’s no need for Nagasaki Motoyo to humiliate me like this, right?” Shoko Toyokawa struggled hard and shook off Haru Shirakawa’s hand that was holding her wrist.

“Since she’s already rejoined someone else’s band, then don’t bother looking for me anymore! She hasn’t even paid attention to my choice. Since I’ve voluntarily quit the band, I won’t be returning to that band!”

“She keeps talking to herself like this, and even keeps asking my friends where my home is. Do you think I will be nice to such a person?” Toyokawa Shoko was very emotional.

“I’m sorry, Xiangzi… I didn’t know about these things.” Shirakawa Haru rarely lowered his head in front of others. The number of times he lowered his head in front of others was very few. Even when facing those powerful old ghosts, he could still use his strength to slap them in the face.

“As a friend, I just want to try to comfort you,” he said. “Nagasaki-san often tells me about you in Aine-san’s band. I think she wants to keep you.”

“But if she wants to keep me, she has to take my opinion into consideration, right?”

“Sorry…” Toyokawa Shoko glared at Shirakawa Haru. Shirakawa Haru looked at her and knew that he had touched the most sensitive and important thing in the girl’s heart. He touched her self-esteem. It turned out that the thing that blocked the seeds from contacting the sunlight was her dignity that she had infinitely magnified.

Dignity is the most important thing to some people, because for those people, as long as you don’t bow your head, your dignity will not be taken away.

Shirakawa Haru said that dignity is indeed very important. What he wants to say more is that some things are above dignity, such as life. But for those who survived the battlefield, they would not necessarily be grateful for their luck. Perhaps they would curse their lives and be awakened by the faces of the dead every night.

Sometimes the things you think are important are actually not important. Those things you discard like trash are the truly precious things.

Shirakawa Haru believes that a friendship is precious, and so is a good memory.

He didn’t know what happened between Toyokawa Shoko and Nagasaki Suyo, but at this moment he knew that he must have hurt Toyokawa Shoko’s heart. For Toyokawa Shoko, the most important thing is undoubtedly her dignity and herself.

Shirakawa Haru suddenly understood why she couldn’t see her entry above Toyokawa Shoko’s head.

“As a friend, I’m just trying to help you, that’s why I said all this.”

“Even if we’re friends, you can’t tell me everything!”

Toyokawa Shoko roared, her expression suddenly frozen. She realized that she shouldn’t have spoken to Shirakawa Haru like that, regardless of whether he was her lover or the dream builder who helped her realize her dreams. She had just been discussing with Shirakawa Haru what stage of friendship they were in. She had said to Shirakawa Haru, “I treat you as a friend with whom I can confide my innermost feelings.” Shirakawa Haru replied, “So does he, too.”

But now it seems that only one of them is being honest with his friend.

“Xiangzi, the train you need to take has arrived.” Shirakawa Haru pointed at the big screen above the station, “I’m going home too.”

Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko walked into the tram station one after another and sat down on the tram. Toyokawa Shoko was listening to music with headphones on, but her eyes would occasionally glance at Shirakawa Haru’s face. Shirakawa Haru’s face was expressionless, he just looked at himself in the glass window opposite.

Shoko Toyokawa realized that she had said the wrong thing, and the constant noise in her heart made it impossible for her to hear any music.

I am sorry.

Chapter 5400: The Escape of Three People ()

The space inside the tram was very quiet, so quiet that you could clearly hear the sound of someone taking notes on a Sony DPT with an electronic pen.

Although it was not late at all, the atmosphere inside the tram was drowsy. The people standing in the car swayed with the slight shaking of the tram, like dolls.

Shoko Toyokawa swiped her phone to search for ways to apologize to her friends. She thought that the above methods were not suitable for her relationship with Haru Shirakawa. Either they were too direct for her to say it, or they were so obscure that they gave people a feeling of charity.

Shirakawa Haru’s gaze moved. He looked at Toyokawa Shoko beside him and felt that she was still angry.

Until she got off the bus, Toyokawa Shoko didn’t have time to say sorry to him. She wanted to tell him that she shouldn’t have said that at the time, and she was actually very painful.

So hurtful words were spoken without thinking.

Shirakawa Haru was sitting on the tram, and the tram door in front of Toyokawa Shoko slowly closed. From this angle, she could see Shirakawa Haru was looking at her.

The tram door closed completely after a few seconds, and the tram started to speed again. Toyokawa Shoko suddenly realized that there was actually no need for Shirakawa Haru to get on the tram.

If it wasn’t for her company, Baichuan Qing could have turned around and left when she shook off his hand and said those hurtful words to him, but he didn’t.

At this moment, Toyokawa Shoko hated herself so much. Why did she meet Shirakawa Haru when she was at her most powerless, and why did she fall in love with him so hard?

Shirakawa Haru gave her a piano and loved her dream. He was so powerful in Hinomori, and it was said that the identity behind him was not simple. Now she was not only kicked out of the family, but also had to bear a huge debt. The unequal status between the two in social relations made her dare not reveal her true feelings.

She was born into the Chinese ethnic group, and the rigid dogmas of the ancient family bound her like a cage. Her elders told her that she only needed to maintain her Chinese identity and dignity in this life, but no one told her how to live after losing her Chinese identity, and how to break these rigid dogmas.

Now those rigid dogmas have penetrated into her bones, like the brand on a prisoner that cannot be removed.

Shirakawa Haru once hinted to me that she could use him as a backup, but now that I have hurt Shirakawa Haru, can I still accept his help with peace of mind?

Shoko Toyokawa stood there and rested for a while. She found that her eyes were a little sore and her nose was uncomfortable. When she touched the corners of her eyes with her fingers, she felt her tears.

Suddenly, her cell phone vibrated. Toyokawa Shoko took it out and found that it was her coworker calling her. She picked up the call, and her coworker’s voice came out of the phone immediately:

“Fengchuan, hurry to your workstation! Someone from above is coming to inspect today, so you need to clock in early, otherwise your salary will be deducted!”

“Thank you for the reminder, I’ll be there right away.” Toyokawa Shoko’s tone was calm, but her body subconsciously ran towards the company when she heard the word “salary deduction”.

Ten minutes after Toyokawa Shoko got off the train, Shirakawa Haru also got off. However, he didn’t get off on the familiar road that led to his home, but right in front of Toyokawa Shoko’s house. He remembered there was a 24-hour convenience store there. After wandering around the intersection for a while, Shirakawa Haru found the store. When he pushed the door open, the store was empty except for the female clerk, who was sitting at the counter, dozing with her chin propped up.

He had seen this female clerk before. A few days ago, when he and Shoko Toyokawa were taking the tram together in the morning, it was she who greeted Shoko Toyokawa.

Shirakawa Haru approached the front counter. The dozing female clerk noticed someone approaching and immediately woke up. Then she put on a sweet smile and said:

“Welcome, how can I help you?”

“Ah! It’s the handsome guy that Miss Toyokawa brought home to spend the night a few days ago!” The female clerk said with some surprise. She realized belatedly that it was inappropriate to describe Shirakawa Haru as a customer in this way, so she looked apologetic.

She could guess that Toyokawa Shoko was not at home at this time. After all, Toyokawa Shoko had never visited a convenience store at this time. Shirakawa Haru and Toyokawa Shoko were in a relationship where they could spend the night together, so he couldn’t have been unaware of this.

That’s why the female clerk was so surprised when she saw Shirakawa Haru.

“Excuse me, I need your help with something.” Shirakawa Haru said, “What does Xiangzi usually buy here?”

“Mostly bento,” the female clerk said. “Ms. Toyokawa often buys half-price bento. She doesn’t have a fixed preference; she always buys whatever’s on sale. At the beginning of every month, she buys a regular five-mek fried rice bento… Lately, she’s started buying canned beer. Look, Asahi, but she always buys the ‘buy one, get one free’ discounted ones.”

“Ms. Clerk, how is the customer flow at your convenience store?” Baichuan asked.

“The customer flow is quite high. The residents of the surrounding buildings are all regular customers of this convenience store.”

“What will Xiangzi buy if she can’t buy a discounted bento?”

“Hmm… in that case, Ms. Toyokawa won’t buy anything.”

“I see.”

Shirakawa Haru took out a few Fukuzawa Yukichi banknotes from his pocket and handed them to the convenience store clerk. The clerk looked a little at a loss as she saw Shirakawa Haru taking out the banknotes.

He told the female clerk, “If Xiangzi comes to buy a discounted lunchbox from you in the future, please find a way to secretly replace it with a fresh one. Xiangzi will pay for it, and you can take it. If she doesn’t have the money for the fresh one, deduct it from the money I gave you. If she wants to buy beer, put a “buy one, get one free” label on the fresh milk and sell it to her. If Xiangzi wants to buy some unhealthy food or drink, please help me persuade her to take care of her health, drink less alcohol, and drink more milk.”

“The difference between fresh goods and discounted goods will be deducted from the money I give you. I will come to you at the beginning of each month to make up the difference.” Shirakawa Haru said.

Shirakawa Haru pulled out a few more Fukuzawa Yukichi cards and handed them to the convenience store clerk:

“Please accept this. This is my service fee. Xiangzi is a very troublesome girl. If possible, please help me take care of Xiangzi when I can’t see her.”

“Oh, oh… No, no!” The salesgirl crossed her arms in front of her chest and quickly refused. She was not refusing Baichuan Qing’s request, but was refusing the service fee that Baichuan Qing gave her specifically.

“This convenience store is my family’s business. My grandfather handed the store over to me a few years ago. So as long as Mr. Shirakawa comes here to spend money, I will make money and there is no need to pay me more money,” she said.

“Let’s put things aside. Don’t I have something else to ask of you?” Shirakawa Haru even used the honorific “you” to address the female owner.

You have to know that the people who can make him use honorifics to address others are either business tycoons or leaders like his own Hinomori and Chairman Tsuki Nomori across the street. The fact that he can use honorifics for a small convenience store manager shows the sincerity of Shirakawa Haru’s feelings.

“Okay.” The female store manager finally reluctantly took the few Fukuzawa Yukichi photos that Shirakawa Haru gave her, as if the action was very difficult.

Shirakawa Haru looked at the female store manager with a smile.

“But Mr. Shirakawa, aren’t you afraid that I’ll take the money and not do the job?” the female store manager said with some surprise.

“If that happens, I’ll just stand in the corner and cry alone.”

“I promise I won’t make Mr. Shirakawa cry!” The female store manager patted her chest and promised, then said, “Does Ms. Toyokawa know what you’ve done for her?”

Then she felt her question was a bit unnecessary. After all, Shirakawa Haru had asked her to quietly give the fresh bento to Miss Toyokawa, and he certainly didn’t want Miss Toyokawa to know. She thought to herself that Mr. Shirakawa looked so young, like a high school student, but his behavior was as gentle and elegant as that of a successful middle-aged man. Miss Toyokawa was so lucky to have found such a boyfriend.

“Please heat up a bottle of milk for Xiangzi tonight. Just tell her that I left it there when I came here to buy clothes last time… She might not be in a good mood today.” Shirakawa Haru said.