Ming Hai rubbed his palms and answered her with a smile: "In one word, it's very nice. Whether it's your singing or your piano playing, it's the most beautiful music I have ever heard in this world."
All in all, he had only been "born" in this world for two days, and what he said was the truth from his heart.
There is exaggeration, but not much.
I believe that Teacher Xiaoxiang will definitely be able to see his sincerity and be moved to the point of being heart-pounding, right?
——Unfortunately, things went against our wishes.
"Thank you for the compliment... or something, even though I really want to say that."
Taking a deep breath, Toyokawa Shoko held her forehead as if she had a headache. Even the movement of trying to suppress the urge to complain was so reserved and elegant.
As for being touched?
What kind of performer can be in a good mood when faced with such a scene!
"What did you... do to Takamatsu-san?"
Ming Hai turned his head away, looking as if it had nothing to do with him.
"I just saw that she was not feeling well, so I gave her a candy."
On the other side, Takamatsu Deng was covering her mouth with her hands, her cute facial features huddled together, her shoulders trembling slightly, trying to hold back the instinctive impulse rising from deep within her body, causing pitiful tears to well up in the corners of her eyes.
However, the power of "Super Cool Mint Candy (Narumi Special Enhanced Edition)" is not something that can be suppressed just because you want to.
then……
"Cough! Cough! Chirp!"
Since a while ago, this little animal girl has been coughing and sneezing in the corner, her eyes and nose are red from choking, but she refuses to spit out the super cool mint candy in her mouth onto the ground.
I just endured the impact of the icy wind, and tried to keep the noise down so as not to affect others, and to get used to it as soon as possible.
"Takamatsu, are you okay? I'm so sorry. Come, spit the candy here..."
Bringing a pack of tissues over, Toyokawa Shoko squatted down to wipe Takamatsu Deng's tears, and gently advised her to spit the mint candy onto the tissues.
Then he looked up at Ming Hai, pursed his lips slightly, and his expression became rare and serious.
"What I want to ask is why did you feed her this candy? And it was while I was playing... Was it a prank?"
This question, filled with dissatisfaction and confusion, is more of a sense of disappointment that trust has been betrayed than a reproach.
Ming Hai didn't care.
After all, the premise of disappointment is to have expectations. In other words, I already have weight in her heart, and I am no longer just an abrupt passerby who chats up people on the street.
This is a good discovery.
However, it is not a pleasant feeling to be misunderstood, especially when the other person is the culprit.
He simply raised the corners of his mouth and questioned in an aggressive tone:
"That's what I want to ask, you made up a song about her 'dark history' without her consent. Don't you think this is a 'prank'?"
"When you were singing, her mood was very unstable and she looked like she would collapse at any time... Toyokawa-san, before you satisfied yourself, did you really consider the feelings of the person involved?"
"No matter how beautifully you sing, the 'lyrics' you think of are not something worth singing about for Takamatsu-san, right?"
——Lies are like honey, the truth is like a sharp knife.
To the naive and sensitive young lady, the existence of candy is insignificant. Only a sharp blow from time to time can make her remember the pain deeply and wake up from her self-righteous illusion.
Although the reason was to cover up the fact that Takamatsu Deng had just shaken his hand, this did not prevent him from asking the young lady, who was a little too excited, to reflect on what mistake she had made just now.
"Self-satisfaction?"
After hearing what he said, Toyokawa Shoko stood there in a daze as if struck by lightning, her expression gradually changed from disbelief to paleness, the tissue slipped from between her fingers, and her wide-open eyes were filled with hesitation.
She opened and closed her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then squeezed out a weak excuse:
"I just wanted to sing it for Takamatsu-san. I didn't mean to laugh at or tease her... How can those lyrics, no, words, be considered as dark history? They should be the cry in Takamatsu-san's heart. She needs someone to speak for her words that she can't say..."
"Stop talking nonsense. You weren't the one who decided this, were you? Who asked you to do this?"
Ming Hai sighed and said earnestly: "Put yourself in their shoes. The diary you wrote with emotion when you were a child was secretly read by someone you just met. As a result, the other person not only read it out loud, but also specially composed a song and sang it in front of you..."
Now, how would you feel now?
Without him having to finish his words, Toyokawa Shoko completely understood that she had indeed done something wrong.
Just like Ming Hai said - no matter what the process and the result were, the cause was her self-satisfaction.
Without paying attention to the feelings of the person involved, he sang those words as lyrics without authorization, and even asked her smugly if she sang well...
If those words are really the scars in Gao Song's heart that he doesn't want to be touched.
——She who tears the other person’s wounds with a smile on her face must be the cruelest person in the world, right?
"I didn't realize..."
Biting her lips tightly, Toyokawa Shoko lowered her head, her expression hidden in the shadows full of pain and self-blame.
"I really didn't mean to do this... I'm sorry, Takamatsu-san, please forgive me..."
Before she finished her words, Gao Songdeng supported her arm, allowing her to stand up straight and look at him.
The small gray-haired head shook from side to side, and with slightly red eyes, he looked at her seriously, then spoke slowly.
"Thank you, Toyokawa-san."
"……Eh?"
Toyokawa Shoko was stunned, tears of self-blame stuck in her eyes.
"Thank you, me? Why…"
"I'm not very good at speaking, and I don't know what I'm missing or how I can live like a normal person."
Gao Songdeng spoke slowly, and some of his words were not clear enough, but he still spoke every word seriously and sincerely.
She went on to say, "You can sing those words as lyrics... It makes me feel like my world is finally understood by others."
"If I were alone, it would definitely be the same as before, I would be unable to do anything and change nothing..."
"If it weren't for you, maybe I would never hear their voices, right?"
“So, I want to say, thank you.”
After a pause, Gao Songdeng hummed softly, as if to affirm himself of his remarks.
Then, she inhaled through her nose and muttered in a low voice, "It doesn't matter if I'm self-satisfied. Fengchuan's song is very nice... Thank you for singing it."
"..."
Toyokawa Shoko looked at her blankly.
The next moment, she could no longer hold back her tears and they rolled down her cheeks. She wiped her tears while crying and laughing. Her eyes regained their former brilliance and she was so moved that she was incoherent.
"Takamatsu-san~~ I really, I really... I don't know what to say! From now on, can I call you Deng-san?"
"Well... it's no problem..."
In front of Toyokawa Shoko, whose attitude became more intimate, Takamatsu Touma looked a little overwhelmed and troubled.
Just then, her eyes met with Ming Hai who had been silent for a long time.
As if remembering something, Gao Songdeng blinked at him and said solemnly again:
"Thank you too, Narumi-san."
Although the candy was cold and choking, it was like a helping hand reaching out to her when she was drowning, allowing her to immediately get rid of the state of being entangled in emotions to the point of chest pain; it was only after she came to her senses that she realized that she seemed to have unconsciously held his hand tightly, leaving many nail marks on it...
From the very beginning, he had been helping her silently; he never said anything even when he was hurt, and he even went against his good friend Toyokawa for her own sake.
We've only known each other for a short time, but he's willing to care about me so much.
It was the first time that Gao Songdeng met such a gentle and kind person.
"…What are you talking about? I don't know."
Unable to resist her crystal clear, watery and trusting eyes, Ming Hai turned his face away as if nothing had happened, took out a candy from his pocket and threw it into his mouth.
"puff!"
Then I almost vomited.
——Damn, the power of this "Super Cool Mint Candy (Ming Hai Special Enhanced Edition)" is completely beyond his imagination.
They can all be used as instruments of torture.
"Since she endured for so long and didn't spit out the candy, let's call it a draw this time..."
Thinking of this, Ming Hai no longer cared about the pinch marks on his wrist, and quickly bit the candy into pieces, exhaling a breath of cold air.
-
"Mr. Deng, do you want to form a band with me?"
After that, Toyokawa Shoko also made her real request to Takamatsu Deng.
Gao Songdeng didn't think much about it, and didn't even know what he was going to do, so he just agreed ignorantly.
The nameless band, which currently only has two members, was successfully formed under Ming Hai's personal witness.
...He had unknowingly become an outsider, and until now he still didn't know why Toyokawa Shoko asked him to come along.
Just before the group dispersed, she stopped Ming Hai who was about to send Takamatsu Deng to the station.
As if she had something to hide, the girl crossed her arms with a flickering look in her eyes, her expression indescribably complicated.
"Narumi-kun, I have something I want to tell you... Could you please stay for a moment?"
Volume 17: Chapter Chapter I probably won’t have a second chance to cry in front of you, right?
Walking through the lush and green garden, there is a large pond in the center that looks like the cursive script of the Chinese character "heart" and has an ancient look.
Toyokawa Shoko led him to sit in the pavilion in the middle of the pond. A pair of tea sets had been placed on the table at some point.
The tea was hot, and hazy white smoke came out of the spout of the kettle, which was slowly blown away by the breeze blowing from the pool.
"..."
The two sat facing each other in silence.
Toyokawa Shoko's back was still straight, and her bare hands kept stroking the almost invisible wrinkles on her skirt. Even though she tried to act calm, she didn't dare to look at Minghai. Her slightly pursed lips seemed to be glued shut, and no sound came out of them since then.
It seems like I have a lot to say, but I don’t know how to start.
"Didn't you ask me to come here...?"
Ming Hai looked at her speechlessly. If it were someone else, he would have pretended to get up and leave.
There was no other way, since he was the "white moonlight"? If the girl retreated, he would have to take the initiative to attack.
"Toyokawa-san, could you pour me a cup of tea?"
“…Ah, my apologies.”
As if waking from a dream, Toyokawa Shoko quickly stood up and skillfully arranged the tea set.
Soon, with the girl's delicate hands, amber tea was poured into the cup. Ripples of strong tea fragrance spread out, as if dispelling the early spring chill beside the stone table and chairs.
Ming Hai picked up the teacup and took a sip. Without any unnecessary greetings, he directly picked a topic to open the situation.
"I'm sorry for accusing you like that."
He smiled habitually, but his eyes were quite calm, and there was not much apology in his tone. It was obvious that he did not think he was really wrong.
But facts are facts, and feelings are feelings - he was chatting with a girl, not reversing the case in court. It was no longer important who was right or wrong. What mattered was who was the first to admit their mistake.
She didn't know what to say, so she let him come.
Someone has to pave the way for the young lady.
"Like Takamatsu-san said, whether the way you two get along is right or wrong, it's not for an outsider like me to comment on it... I'm the one who criticizes without understanding, and you just made the best decision for her."
Toyokawa Shoko was stunned for a moment.
Then she lowered her eyes and sighed softly.
“…Really.”
——It would be unbecoming of me to ask someone who doesn’t want to admit his mistakes to admit them.
