"Um, Deng-san..."
Slightly frightened by the enthusiasm, Toyokawa Shoko took a step back and gave a wry smile, just as she was about to let Takamatsu Deng calm down first.
Ming Hai next to her naturally reached out his hand and took the penguin Band-Aid she handed over.
Then he bent down slightly and listened attentively to Gao Songdeng's detailed explanation of the museum, which was sometimes incoherent and a little abstract, but full of sincerity, enthusiasm and personal characteristics.
After a brief moment of surprise, Toyokawa Shoko seemed to understand something and couldn't help but chuckle.
Soon, there were two people standing in front of the little animal girl and listening attentively.
They looked serious and gentle, like parents watching their child show off his or her performance in school. They patiently let the other person talk, nodding in response from time to time.
It was several minutes later that Takamatsu Deng came out of his personal world. The moment he realized what he had just done, he froze in place, his slightly widened eyes revealing panic and fear.
She lowered her head almost subconsciously, clenched her fists, and her body trembled slightly unconsciously.
“S-I’m sorry… Xiangzi-chan, Ming Hai-san, I didn’t mean it… It’s just that I haven’t shared my favorite things with my friends like this for a long time… So, I accidentally did something that would make everyone hate me… I…”
The intermittent sound seemed to be leaking out from a constantly flapping sieve.
She hadn't even finished her words, but she turned and ran instinctively, like a murderer who had committed a crime in front of the police. Her fragile psychological defenses collapsed.
——Unfortunately, when Takamatsu Deng apologized, Ming Hai had anticipated this scene.
"Toyokawa-san!"
"I understand the stockings are falling!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ming Hai grabbed Takamatsu Deng's slender wrist tightly.
Although there was no prior communication, Toyokawa Shoko seemed to be prepared. With unexpectedly nimble steps, she flashed in front of Takamatsu Deng and blocked her way.
boom!
The fleeing little gray head bumped into the small but elastic and soft chest.
Toyokawa Shoko did not retreat. The impact force had been reduced to the minimum by Minghai's pull. It didn't hurt, but she just felt a little chest tightness.
She simply hugged Gao Songdeng in her arms and gently stroked the back of her head with her hand.
"Teng-san, don't be afraid, don't run away...just look into our eyes."
Gao Songdeng, with his head lowered, hesitated for a moment before slowly raising his rabbit-like red and moist eyes to look at the elegant girl who was so close to him.
Gentle, peaceful, as bright as the sun, with a soothing smile in his eyes.
"...Shoko-chan?"
"Yes, it's me." Toyokawa Shoko nodded gently, pushed her out of her arms, and let her look back, "There's more."
Gao Songdeng turned around blankly, only to find that his wrist was held gently but firmly in his palm, and he couldn't pull it out even when he tried to.
The force of the five fingers was quite strong, but it did not bring fear, but a sense of security from the heart.
"You won't run away, will you?" he asked softly.
Gao Songdeng shook his head and looked at him without blinking.
Ming Hai then let go and laughed: "That's good. We listened to you so attentively for several minutes, but the first moment you came to your senses, you ran away instead of confirming whether we were listening. It's really sad."
Gao Songdeng wanted to bow his head and apologize again: "I'm sorry, I..."
"Stop, it's a rare opportunity for us to meet here, so stop apologizing all the time." Ming Hai extended his index finger and gently pushed her forehead, "Have you forgotten so quickly what I said that day? I rarely comfort others, so remember it well in your heart!"
Gao Songdeng was forced to tilt his head back, but the pair of slightly absent-minded eyes were still fixed on him, as if the clouds at night suddenly dispersed, and the starlight that had been twinkling all the time was finally reflected in his eyes.
——You are no longer the same as before.
——You have found it, and after you make your voice heard, you are willing to accept your environment.
Of course she remembered it clearly, whether it was the sharp sound of the wind that night or his gentle voice coming from the phone.
Her chest was filled with warmth and emotion, and a relieved smile unconsciously rose to her cheeks. It seemed that the feeling still lingered in the deepest part of her body, and she could not help but smile whenever she thought about it.
So, after a brief moment of daze, Gao Songdeng spoke without hesitation:
"I will never forget those words in my life. I will never forget them!"
As if eager to prove herself, she looked at Ming Hai who had withdrawn his fingers, and suddenly said loudly with a firm tone, even a little excited: "Ming Hai and Xiangzi are my friends... the most important friends who are willing to become human beings with me!"
Feeling the strange gazes from all around, Ming Hai's body stiffened for a moment, then he smiled and nodded as if nothing had happened: "Since you remember, don't be so sensitive next time, okay? Just say whatever you want to say, just let your voice out... If you are really not interested, we will interrupt you mercilessly, so don't be too disappointed then."
"Ok!"
Gao Songdeng nodded vigorously, and her overly serious look was really hilarious. However, she didn't care about the gazes around her at all, and just stared at the two people with her eyes that had brightened up again.
The lively melody of her heartbeat and the sound of her blood flowing faster made her face slightly red, and she suddenly felt that she was really alive and living in this moment.
——The touching feeling I felt that day was not a beautiful dream, but a real and existing reality.
She had truly bid farewell to her past self and became a "human" with friends and emotions.
"Teng-san?!"
Toyokawa Shoko was startled. Seeing a tear suddenly sliding down Takamatsu Deng's cheek, she was at a loss as to how to comfort him.
Gao Songdeng shook his head, wiped away the barely perceptible traces of tears, and with a shy smile on his lips, he said softly: "Shoko-chan, Ming Hai-san... thank you."
She had a lot to say in her heart, but even though she had become a little more cheerful, she was still not good at speaking and didn't know how to express her gratitude to them.
Fortunately, both people present could feel how heavy the weight of this gentle thank you was.
Toyokawa Shoko took her hand and said with a smile, "We already talked about it on the overpass, didn't we? It would be too polite to thank you again. Besides, it was my arbitrary decision to let Deng-san make his own voice. I also want to thank you for not blaming me for meddling in other people's business."
Gao Songdeng nodded, looked down at the hands of the two people, suddenly remembered something, and looked at them both with a puzzled look.
"By the way, did you guys...hold hands while visiting the aquarium?"
It's just a simple doubt, there is no other meaning.
Takamatsu Deng didn't even have the thought "Could they be a couple?" He just felt a little envious of their good relationship.
However, this did not prevent a certain young lady from becoming like a top student who was caught in a premature love affair. Her expression became stiff again and she began to sweat profusely due to her guilty conscience.
Ming Hai glanced speechlessly at Toyokawa Shoko who was thinking about the right words, and took the lead in explaining to Takamatsu Deng: "There were a lot of people just now, so I held her first in case she got lost."
"I see." Gao Songdeng suddenly realized, but soon he no longer cared.
Toyokawa Shoko breathed a sigh of relief, but she also felt an inexplicable awkwardness in her heart.
"You just said that it's okay to be misunderstood, but now you're taking the initiative to explain to Deng-san..."
Although it made no sense, she still snorted secretly and decided not to hold his hand for the time being.
Then he turned to Gao Songdeng and asked, "Mr. Deng, do you have anything to do next?"
"After visiting the aquarium, I wanted to go to the planetarium and then go home for lunch... I used to spend many weekends like this."
Gao Songdeng answered honestly.
"That's great. Do you want to visit the aquarium together next?"
Toyokawa Shoko clasped her hands together and invited him with a sincere smile: "It's the first time for Ming Hai and I to come to the aquarium. Although it's fun to explore the unknown, if we can have an experienced person to guide us and explain it to us, we may get a richer and more enjoyable experience!"
Ming Hai looked at her with a subtle expression.
She just gave him a calm look silently, as if she had no intention of explaining now.
Gao Songdeng was slightly stunned, but instead of refusing, he nodded solemnly, his small figure igniting with great enthusiasm:
"Leave it to me! I will make sure you two fall in love with this aquarium and come visit every week!"
"There's no need to like it that much..."
Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but smile bitterly.
All in all, without Narumi expressing his opinion, Takamatsu Tomori officially joined the two of them, so that their "first date" did not last long before it became a threesome.
They resumed their steps, with Deng Gaosong walking in the front, earnestly and actively explaining to them the names of the marine life in each aquarium, the interesting things they had seen here before, and all kinds of obscure knowledge that they felt was unnecessary to know.
Although her voice was still not loud and she tended to get off topic while speaking, at least she tried her best to do what a tour guide should do.
Ocean tour on the first floor, waterfront tour on the second floor…
All the way down, Ming Hai and Toyokawa Shoko followed behind Takamatsu Deng, slowly watching her changes from stuttering to fluent, from inferiority complex to self-confidence, from only seeing herself to starting to learn to pay attention to their reactions, and they almost forgot that this was supposed to be a date time for the two of them.
Just like a parent taking his child on an outing to the aquarium, that warm gaze filled with love and relief made Takamatsu Deng always feel that something was wrong, but he didn't understand what was wrong.
After finishing their tour of the second floor, the three of them arrived at the final stop of the indoor venue - the surrounding shops.
Before entering the store, they decided to go to the bathroom separately and reunite later.
"Whoo~"
After finishing the battle as quickly as possible, Ming Hai felt relaxed all over and walked out of the bathroom wiping his clean hands.
He thought he would have to wait for a while, but when he turned his head, he found that the girl with long sky-blue hair was already standing in front of the store, about ten seconds faster than him.
...From the subtle movements of her constantly stealing glances towards the men's restroom, she must be waiting for me to come out, right?
"Didn't you go pick the flowers?"
Ming Hai walked up to her and asked her politely, then said with a strange expression: "Don't tell me that observing the men's restroom is more important to you than relieving yourself..."
"Don't say that to a lady!"
After gently hitting his chest, Toyokawa Shoko pursed her lips slightly, as if she was not in the mood to joke with him. She soon lowered her head with a sigh and said softly:
"I'm sorry for ruining our date without your permission."
"..."
After a brief pause, Ming Hai reached out and caught her falling hair, and gently tucked it behind her ear with his fingertips.
"Although I don't mind, I still want to hear your reasons."
Toyokawa Shoko raised her head, without the weakness in her voice, and looked at him seriously and sternly with her eyes.
"You should be able to see that, right? Deng has already undergone a great transformation and progress, and has completely opened her heart to us... I want to strike while the iron is hot and continue to cultivate her courage to speak and sing in front of the public."
It's not that he's upset with Ming Hai, nor is it that he suddenly doesn't want to go on a date.
——In addition to being a gentle and kind noble lady and a beautiful girl who is being pursued passionately by someone, Toyokawa Shoko is also the leader of [CryCHIC].
She had to consider the future of the five of them and not miss any possibility that could help the current situation.
When Takamatsu Tomo said that, Toyokawa Shoko immediately realized that this was a great opportunity to get her lead singer used to speaking loudly outside and develop confidence in speaking.
Of course, without the two of them, Takamatsu Deng might soon become the dull and taciturn person he was before...
Therefore, if she wanted to do this, she would have to sacrifice the "first times" that she valued and promised him, and turn this precious date into a training session for [CryCHIC] members.
When love and career were placed on the two ends of the scale, Toyokawa Shoko hesitated for only a second before making a decisive decision.
——Even if it might disappoint Ming Hai, she wanted [CryCHIC] to stay on the right track and realize the dreams of the five of them.
Volume 51: Chapter Chapter Dependency Proof
"Compared to other members who have a certain foundation, Deng, who has no experience and is introverted, can never keep up with our practice progress. He is often criticized by Lixi for not being able to sing or having a sense of rhythm."
Toyokawa Shoko straightened her back, with a dignified manner and a somewhat solemn expression as she spoke:
"Of course, if we continue to practice, no matter how many shortcomings we have, they will be improved sooner or later. I am not in a hurry to let [CryCHIC] perform on stage. The most important thing is the process of us realizing our dreams and playing together... But before that, can Deng really withstand the pressure?"
"That delicate and sensitive child, even if we don't mean to blame her, she will take the initiative to care about issues like 'strength gap' and 'holding back', right?"
At this point, she couldn't help but sigh sadly.
——After a week and two practices, Toyokawa Shoko, who had been watching the members from behind, had already vaguely noticed such signs.
During the practice process where everyone was gradually able to sing in unison, only Takamatsu Deng was still unable to sing a complete song at a normal volume and pitch. She basically lost her voice halfway through the song, and mumbled and stammered the lyrics at the front until they finished playing.
Even if Shiina Riki, who has the most straightforward personality, no longer mentions it, even if I and classmate Suyo are constantly comforting her loss...
The guilt and inferiority of being out of touch with the environment around her will accumulate in Takamatsu Deng's heart for a long time, until she is once again surrounded by the loneliness written in "Song of Wanting to Be Human"?
So, this is what Toyokawa Shoko thinks:
"If this dilemma is not resolved sooner or later, Deng will be unable to bear the self-condemnation and will eventually avoid singing and leave the orchestra."
"Fortunately, we met her today and learned that she can still be so talkative and confident. She just needs an opportunity to change."
The lead singer is the soul of the band. Takamatsu Deng, who was appointed as the lead singer by himself, is the irreplaceable center of [CryCHIC].
Whether for the band or for her friends who want to make a change, Toyokawa Shoko must take responsibility and become a qualified lead singer who can perform on stage with confidence.
