Zongman: Dream with me

In a corner of Shimokitazawa, Mu You looked down the stairs, sometimes looking at his phone, sometimes pacing, and then went to open the door with a timid look, just like a student who had just returned home after a parent-teacher meeting.

Looking at the girl in front of him who was wearing a pink tracksuit and carrying a guitar, the boy smiled wickedly and said in a deep voice:

"Hmm—who are you and why are you here?"

"Ah—I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

"Don't change the subject. Tell me your name."

The girl turned pale with fear, then quickly bowed and apologized: "I'm sorry... My name is Goto Ichiri, I'm a student at Xiuhua High School, I have a father, a sister, Erli and Jimmy Henry at home..."

Before she could finish her explanation, she heard the young man on the steps laugh, and he sounded familiar. She looked up secretly and saw his face through his heavy bangs. She was stunned.

"Hello, Goto-san, my name is Kasugano Yuu, nice to meet you... Goto-san."

Mu You looked at Ichiri, who had frozen his phone, then glanced behind him, then back at himself. "Hmm?" he asked. "What's wrong?" he asked. He walked down the stairs and waved his hand in front of Ichiri. After a moment, there seemed to be a delay. Goto Ichiri was so frightened that he jumped into the corner, trembling and peeking at him.

"Are you, Kasugano-san?"

"What should I do? Why is Kasugano-san here? He must be so disappointed in me if he sees me like this! I'm dying! I'm dying!"

"You know me?" Mu You scratched his head in surprise. "Did Hong Xia tell you? Sorry, I was just joking. You must be the guitarist that Hong Xia mentioned. I'm Hong Xia's friend."

Goto Ichiri's trembling body paused, he raised his head and looked at Mu You with curiosity.

[How could he... Did he forget, or did I recognize the wrong person? I guess I recognized the wrong person. You-kun should still be in Chiba. He wouldn't be so stupid as to run all the way here like I did. Hmm, I guess I recognized the wrong person...]

Just as Goto Ichiri was hypnotizing himself, a voice interrupted them.

"Kasugano-san, what are you doing? Don't bully Pochi-chan!"

"How could that be? You finally found a new guitarist, and I came all the way from Chiba to celebrate for you. Look, I even brought a gift."

Waving the gift in his hand, Mu You turned around, only to find that Goto Ichiri had turned into ashes at some point.

---

Time goes back to a long time ago. Goto Ichiri, who was still in elementary school, sat alone in a corner, watching his classmates playing in the distance. He obviously wanted to play with them, but he always didn't know how to start.

My classmates also invited me when they saw me, but my frightened look every time made them helpless, and gradually, they acquiesced to this kind of relationship.

It really is difficult! Young Yili felt a little dejected.

"Excuse me......"

"Sorry to bother you, I'll leave right away!"

It was indeed too difficult to face others. I didn't dare to look back until he walked away. It was a senior student from the upper grade. He was dressed very neatly, with short gray hair, and he looked very nice when he smiled.

There was a cute, though a bit cold, black-haired girl next to them. Occasionally, you'd see a young woman with gray hair hanging out with them. The boy sat on a high table, chatting with the girl about stories, talking non-stop—amazing! Sometimes he'd even teach her words she didn't understand, which she'd say were Chinese—amazing! He'd also play music on his harmonica—also amazing!

Later, somehow, the boy invited her to join their story time. He would give them a candy each time and then start telling his story. Sometimes the black-haired girl would give her her candy. Later, she learned that her name was Yukinoshita Yukino.

She didn't remember how she joined, maybe it was because the candy was really sweet. The boy was called Kasugano Yuu, and the other girl with long gray hair was called Kasugano Sora, and they were brother and sister.

Although everyone present was a year older than him, no one acted like a senior; instead, they treated him very well. The boy didn't like being called "senpai" and forced her to change the address, only to be lectured by Yukinoshita-senpai. Aside from necessary conversations, the storytelling crowd seemed to dislike talking. They preferred listening to the boys tell stories and discussing them, and the boys seemed to agree. Perhaps this was what being an adult was like.

But she knew that they actually noticed her, and sometimes when she was late, they would wait for her.

Just like that, she, who was lonely among her peers, inexplicably made a few friends in higher grades. This friendship filled her young elementary school days. As a result, she found herself lonely again after they graduated.

She accepted the boy's advice and watched an advertisement on TV, and decided to make friends by learning guitar. However, three years passed in junior high school, and her guitar skills became better and better, but she still didn't make a single friend.

No, I have an online friend, a famous YouTuber, that Barbatos! Yeah, that's right, I do have friends. As for that other one named Wendy, no, I don't want to think about him. Forget him!

"Pochi-chan, Pochi-chan! Stop banging your head on the table."

After putting together the ashes of Yili, she was in a daze, then she grinned and became soft at the same time. When Mu You wanted to see if this guy would turn into pudding, the girl suddenly sat up straight and started to hit the table with her head...

In contrast to Hongxia's panic, Yamada Ryo was enjoying the cake brought by Muyou slowly and leisurely. Well, it seems that she has plenty of funds recently.

"Ah, I'm fine." Pochi-chan, who had been daydreaming, finally came back to her senses. She looked at the new teacup and cake in front of her, and secretly glanced at Mu You who was browsing her phone. Just as she was about to say something, the other party took the initiative.

"You're welcome. Welcome to the band. Please take good care of Hongxia from now on."

"Ah, no, it should be Hong Xia who is looking after me. I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble."

"It's okay, Pochi-chan." Hong Xia quickly comforted him, and at the same time said to someone in a bad mood, "And you, don't be so careless about your seniority! Besides, this is clearly our band's gathering, and now I always feel weird..."

"It's obvious that he is the financial sponsor." Yamada Ryo stood up for Mu You.

Hong Xia looked at her friend helplessly. There was nothing she could do. The first band members' meeting had to be held.

Because of the presence of someone, Goto Ichiri seemed more reserved, but not too out of touch. She listened carefully to every word the boy said. She knew that he was the senior who helped her in elementary school. Like her, he was from Chiba, but...

"By the way, Kasugano-kun, since you and Pochi are both from Chiba." Hongxia was a little surprised.

"Yeah, I didn't expect that either." Mu You was also a little surprised.

"Do you know each other?" Yamada Ryo seemed to have realized something.

"......"

"...Um..." Goto Ichiri raised his hand weakly, "Kasugano-kun was my senior in elementary school."

"Really?!" X3

"Hey, why are you surprised?"

"I......"

"It's okay. People like me are supposed to stay in some dark place, be forgotten, and then moldy and rot alone." Goto Ichiri said weakly, and then Mu You was greeted with the contemptuous looks of Ijichi Hongxia and Yamada Ryo.

"No, you know, I had a car accident before and forgot some things."

"What!" Now it was Goto Ichiri's turn to be surprised. He stood up in a panic and grabbed Mu You's arms to check them up and down.

"Okay, it was all a long time ago. I'm just sorry Goto-kun, I don't remember a lot of what happened before."

"Ah, it's okay, don't worry about me, as long as You-kun is okay." Goto Ichiri didn't know how to describe his current emotions. There was a sense of loss, relief at surviving the disaster, and joy of reunion after a long separation.

"Yu-kun?" Yamada Ryo looked at Goto Ichiri, "Pochi-chan is surprisingly bold!"

Several people also reacted and looked straight at Goto Ichiri, whose face was already red. They stammered and couldn't say anything. Finally, the computer froze again.