You are Toyokawa Shoko, then who am I?

"Ah? Um, thank you."

Li Xi, still caught up in his thoughts, uttered two interjections in quick succession and nervously took the cold parfait. "Xiang, do you want some? I'll give you half."

"No, no, just eat it."

Toyokawa Sho shook his head, then put his arms on the bar and asked, "What are you guys talking about again?"

"We'll talk about what tasks the boss will assign when he comes."

Yamada Ryo replied on behalf of Riki.

"I heard my boss say on the way that we need to move the goods and put the hard-to-carry instruments like drums and keyboards in the practice room. After that, we have to call the fire department and ask them to come over and check if they pass the fire safety inspection—"

Toyokawa Sho counted on his fingers one by one. The work in the afternoon was heavy, which was why the boss just wanted to ask him to tutor Rana, because this was the only time he had to study today.

When I get home in the evening, Yao Lenai will fall on the sofa like a puddle of liquid because of the discomfort of the car ride, and will not be able to get up. The afternoon is too busy, all work, so the only time she can get up is during her lunch break.

"I plan to go to the convenience store and buy some food to treat everyone after we finish work. What do you two want to eat?"

"I can do it."

Li Xi didn't want to eat anything, but then she noticed a blind spot. How could Toyokawa Sho have the money to buy food when he was penniless? "Sho, your money..."

"Don't worry, the boss just gave me a few Fukuzawa Yukichi tickets early this morning."

Toyokawa Sho stretched out his hand and conjured a ten-thousand yen bill from his fingers like a magician. "It would be a waste to leave it to me. Why don't you do the boss a favor and buy something to celebrate with everyone?"

"There are too many people in the store. You can't carry so many things by yourself."

Yamada Ryo appeared behind Li Xi like a ghost, and then patted her shoulders from behind with both hands, "Why not take someone with you?"

"Huh? Wait, I—"

Li Xi subconsciously resisted.

But after meeting Toyokawa Sho's eyes.

After thinking at the speed of light of 0.00001s, the brain instinctively chose to follow the answer from the heart.

Her two hands were clasped together somewhat awkwardly, and her beautiful eyes were usually associated with words like coldness and scrutiny, which were difficult to associate with, but at this moment they were full of girlish feelings, which was both a manifestation of her inferiority complex and the inevitable nervousness when facing someone she liked.

"……May I?"

Facing Riki's inquiring gaze, a smile appeared on Toyokawa Sho's face, and a background effect of sunshine and flowers seemed to appear behind him.

"of course can!"

53

Chapter 53 Just need to affirm her, she can't bear it.

Work is like a fox demon that has been practicing for thousands of years. It will attach itself to you, constantly entangle you, and steal your energy all the time.

It is wrong, it should not be done, it is incorrect, it is anti-human, and it is something that no carbon-based life form should touch.

Even with the blessing of the Corridor of Life, Toyokawa Sho was no match for it and was defeated by the endless work.

The man who could climb a 30-story shrine with 90 kilograms of fat on his back without batting an eyelid the night before, now walked out of the supermarket exhaustedly, carrying several heavy bags filled with various snacks, his soul seemed to be about to fly out of his mouth.

After a whole afternoon of work, his bottomless stamina was completely wiped out, like a solid, shiny brick that could be moved wherever it was needed.

First, I helped to move a large number of tables and chairs. These tables and chairs were unloaded from the big truck and moved one by one to the cafe on the second floor. Then I had to follow the boss's instructions and continue to move some musical instruments that were inconvenient to carry, such as keyboards and drum sets, to the vacant practice room.

After that, you need to use a broom and mop to clean the practice room one last time to make sure there is no garbage left in it.

The musical instrument store downstairs also started preparations, and Yamada Ryo was assigned to work as a sales clerk here.

Together with her, Sho Toyokawa checked whether there were any quality problems with the musical instruments being sold, and then they had to place the instruments one by one in the correct positions according to the internal design drawings.

After doing these things, the boss found that there was a problem with the neon sign outside the store. It had no electricity and could not emit light. So Toyokawa Sho went to the storage room, picked up the shelves and electrician's box, and changed his job from a great magician who helped junior high school students with their homework to an electrician like Tomoya Okazaki, and helped to fix the circuit.

In addition, there is a series of lengthy and detailed tasks, which I will not go into detail here.

All in all, Toyokawa Sho, who had not slept for a single night and had been suffering from intense mental shock for almost the past four days, was completely defeated.

His expression was peaceful, the bright light in his eyes was wiped out by fatigue, and his body seemed to be slowly turning into burnt ashes and dying.

"Xiang, let me help you carry it."

Then Shiina Tateki walked out of the supermarket and extended his hand to Toyokawa Sho.

She was also wearing a windbreaker today, but not the British style like Toyokawa Sho and Kaname Rakuna's. The length was just to her thighs, and she had a purple plush scarf around her neck. Under the gentle light of the street lights, her beautiful and pretty face really gave people a feeling as if she was in a comic book.

"You've already done enough for me."

Fengchuan Xiang looked at the two large bags in her hands and said, "Don't worry, I just had too much work in the afternoon and I'm a little tired."

"Then...shall we take a taxi back?"

Li Xi suggested.

"Let's go to a sushi restaurant and have a big platter. The price will probably be cheaper than taking a taxi back. Tokyo taxis are evil ghosts who rob people of their money."

Toyokawa Sho shook his head with emotion, then turned his gaze to Li Xi who was looking at him.

"Auntie probably doesn't give you much pocket money. You need money to learn arranging and tuning, and to maintain your drum set. Things like aging drum skins and damaged pads are all very expensive. It's a waste to spend money on a taxi. It's only a few miles. We can walk back in a while."

"But you've been tired all day."

Li Xi's tone was a bit anxious, and there was also obvious worry. "As for the money, it's no problem. I still have some of my New Year's money from last year. Besides, it seems that this place is not far from RiNG. Even taking a taxi won't cost much!"

"Lixi, you are overprotective..."

Toyokawa Sho teased.

Li Xi was stunned by this sentence. He thought about it and felt that he was indeed a little... So he didn't say anything else, but there was a faint red spot on his earlobe.

Toyokawa Sho didn't continue to tease Li Xi about this matter. Seeing that she was embarrassed, he changed the subject.

"In the morning, you gave me a bag of donuts. They were made by Mana-chan, right? Did you meet her?"

"Mana-chan?!"

Li Xi was stunned by this intimate address.

Recalling what Junda Mana said this morning, she considered herself to be Toyokawa Sho's idol...

Wasn't that what you were talking about?

Is this actually true...!?

"Then...what about me?"

Li Xi leaned closer, looking embarrassed, and his meaning was very clear, are you asking me to add some sauce at the end too... ?

Sure enough, people are all double standards.

This woman, who a few days ago sharply criticized Nagasaki Motoyo's address to Toyokawa Sho as corny, has now been hit by her own boomerang.

"Eh? Li Xi."

Toyokawa Sho replied knowingly, and as expected, he saw her leaning back with a dull expression and a bit of loss.

Seeing that Li Xi was so depressed, Fengchuan Xiang explained while suppressing his smile.

"I call her Mana-chan because she's an idol and her fans all call her that, but I call her Riki-ni because we're close friends, so it has a different meaning."

Having said that, Toyokawa Sho added.

"Besides, Lixi, you are not fit to be called Lixi-chan by me,"

Toyokawa Sho turned his head and couldn't help laughing, "That's too corny."

Li Xi stood there as if he was being punished, feeling as if a thorn was stabbed behind his back, with half of his face almost buried in the scarf.

Lixi sauce...Lixi sauce...

The more she thought about this nickname, the redder her cheeks became. She was also confused for a moment. Why did Xiang call her that?

I am too embarrassed to see anyone...!

Damn it, if there were a drum beating at this moment...

Seeing that Li Xi's head was about to make the sound of a boiling kettle, Fengchuan Xiang put away his smile. Joking should be done in moderation and not be sustained to the point of exhausting resources.

Otherwise, his character will unconsciously become closer to a legend of Sobu High School, and he will be dubbed as "the great devil who must not be approached easily" by those around him. From then on, the sky will be stained with the blood of his devil, and he will be able to suppress the five heavens and ten earths with one hand.

Although this beautiful scenery is nice, it is not what we want.

Once you become a social terrorist, you will become addicted to this powerful force and there will be no going back.

"Sorry, I took the teasing a bit too far,"

Toyokawa Sho moved closer to Riki and said apologetically, "Let's go back."

"Ah... uh, no, no need to apologize. It's not Sho's fault. I didn't think clearly."

Li Xi also recovered from her embarrassment. She took a deep breath and brought the topic back on track.

"Speaking of Juntian, I did run into her this morning. I was sitting in front of the store waiting for it to open, and I happened to run into her. Then she... told me something about you."

"That's it..."

Toyokawa Sho murmured softly. He understood why Li Xi had been staring at him silently all day.

It turned out that Li Xi learned about his situation from Mana, and knew that he had encountered some problems that caused him to be emotionally unstable, and he had not slept all night, so he kept looking at him worriedly.

But if you were worried about what he would say, why didn't you say a word?

Toyokawa Sho lowered his eyes, remembered what Li Xi said to him last night, and quickly understood the answer in his heart.

From Li Xi's perspective, she is an omnipotent person, so when she gets her own recognition, she will naturally feel extremely happy, just like yesterday.

But precisely because the image of me in her heart is so strong, when I am depressed, she will feel that this matter is so serious that even I cannot face it, let alone her?

Then he would silently retract his steps. Even if he wanted to comfort her in his heart, he would feel that he was not qualified.

Ugh.

Li Xi.

What's the point of taking qualifications seriously?

Who you want to comfort or who you want to worry about has nothing to do with qualifications or talents.

"Lixi."

Toyokawa Sho's tone was complicated.

"Ok?"

Li Xi looked in the direction of his voice.

"There are many things that you don't need to think too much about,"

Toyokawa Sho said frankly, "For example, when I encounter something I don't want to face, I will also be weak and try to escape. I even hope that you, Lixi, can comfort me."

"But I..."

"But I'm not qualified, am I?"

Li Xi was speechless. He opened his mouth to speak for a while, but finally closed his mouth and nodded slightly.

She thought she would hear Toyokawa Sho say that this was wrong, but what she actually heard was an unexpected affirmation.

"Actually, I can understand why you would think that."

Toyokawa Sho was not lying. When he was young, he didn't understand Riki at all. Because he had a life experience, he had never worried about talent. Naturally, he didn't understand Riki who was troubled by ordinary talents.

But after gradually getting familiar with Li Xi again, and knowing that he had also experienced the issue of being in debt, he could more or less understand the inferiority complex that had troubled Li Xi for many years.

"Humans are creatures that need self-affirmation. Oftentimes, we aren't comparing ourselves with others, but rather competing with our inner selves."

“I hope I can become my ideal self, rather than the current me who is not good enough, not great enough. Even if I do well in some aspects, it is still far from the goal in my heart.”

As he spoke, Toyokawa Sho wanted to raise a finger to give an example, but looking at the five or six bags in his hands, he had to give up and continued.

"If you have someone you like one day, you might think about waiting until you become more beautiful, have a better education, have more money, or have a more stable life before confessing your feelings. This is a very normal thing."

“Before you can face others bravely, you must first face yourself bravely. If you can’t even face yourself, you naturally won’t have the courage to stand in front of others.”

Lixi walked aside, her innocent face full of surprise. She lowered her head and murmured.

"A genius like you, do you also sometimes feel afraid to face others..."

"Yes, I am also a mortal, of course there will be such times."