“I saw it.” The angel from Shimokitazawa smiled. “Liang was on stage, clearly just having fun by himself.”

Hongxia has few strangers, but many friends. She gets along with everyone and is the most popular character in the class.

"..."

Yinjiao Yamada Ryo nodded to indicate that she understood.

Hongxia asked again, "Yesterday you and that classmate... I went to the third grade to inquire a little, but I didn't find any information at all. Most people in the class don't even know his name."

“Narizawa Kaede…” Yamada Ryo turned his head away. “His name. As for the band, I declined on his behalf.”

"He won't join a band that plays the same kind of music."

Actually, she doesn't want to play in a band lately. Even if she does form one, it will only be temporary, like the band that Mingze Feng made up last night to fool her—a band that would disband after graduation. Or maybe they won't even make it to graduation, just like her previous band, collapsing halfway through.

Of course, she wouldn't tell Ichiki Nikka these things.

Ichi Nijika twirled the ends of her hair with her fingers.

She could tell that Yamada Ryo didn't want to talk anymore.

She gave a nasal "hmm," wanting to invite him further but holding back, knowing that would only bother him.

"Sorry to bother you these past few days... but if you're interested in playing in a band, you should consider me!"

We should try to work on it from other angles... or maybe we shouldn't bother with Liang.

But I'm always a little worried. Liang always seems to be alone, and she looks a little lonely.

Ichi Nijika thought to herself.

.....

Yamada Ryo wasn't lying; she had a large house, a two-story villa with a yard and a basement, and she lived alone.

Mingze Feng hadn't expected moving in so easily. There was neither the harsh torture inflicted by the young lady's parents, nor the contemptuous attitude of the servants.

Upon closer reflection, this is a band-themed show, and the reason given is playing music, so everything makes sense.

Although Naruzawa Kaede spent the weekend under the same roof as the young lady, there was nothing particularly youthful or romantic about it.

If he were invited to live with a silver-haired fairy, he might encounter adorable twin maid sisters; if he were invited by a busty high-ranking demon, he might experience the close relationship of a demon older sister. But unfortunately, neither of those happened.

Because she is Yamada Ryo, she has neither an endearing face nor a breathtaking figure. What romantic encounter could one expect from living with a cold, somewhat reclusive girl?

Naruzawa Kaede spent two days completing a report on the habits of an animal named 'Yamada Ryo'.

Over the weekend, Yamada Ryo woke up very early each day, much earlier than Narusawa Kaede, but she generally didn't go out and skipped breakfast. For the rest of her meals, she would either go out to find food or simply skip breakfast altogether. When she went out to eat, she would also browse secondhand clothing stores, musical instrument stores, record stores, and the like.

Mingze Feng naturally ate with her, and on Sunday he even helped make a simple breakfast.

By the way, the bread in the shopping street is cheap and delicious.

Ryo Yamada spends most of his time watching obscure movies, reading manga, and listening to music.

Naruzawa Kaede was led by her to experience the humanistic films of the last century, and was semi-forced to learn that there were several Nirvanas in Britain, and that Yamada Ryo played music based on feeling.

When Yamada Ryo talks about certain things, he can't stop.

Perhaps it was because Narusawa Kaede was able to grasp what she was thinking. The only difference between the two was the added silence, but Yamada Ryo, who was used to silence, felt quite at ease.

There will be no feeling of your soul having nowhere to rest.

If I were in the previous band, I would feel completely uncomfortable.

She would immerse herself in the realm of thought and dreams, sometimes jotting down brilliant moments and lines, humming them, and laughing to herself. She would also stare blankly at the editor and her own notes after dinner, then take out her guitar or bass, call over Mingze Feng, and start playing directly from her feelings.

Mingze Feng agreed to accompany her to practice the piano.

Although most of the time, the two of them would lean against the sofa, watching obscure tokusatsu films from the Showa era or black-and-white films left over from the last century.

Yamada Ryo has all sorts of weird stuff here. Narusawa Kaede even dug out an antique Soviet-era liberation film disc, without subtitles.

The two of them had nothing better to do than watch until the very end, when they finally recognized which segment was being filmed when the red flag was planted atop the building.

It was past midnight. Yamada Ryo was hungry.

Mingze Feng was able to fulfill his dream from a few days ago: to steam buns.

The two of them spent roughly two or three days like this.

On a weekend afternoon, Yamada Ryo let Narusawa Kaede go. Before leaving, she also took out ten Fukuzawa Yukichi banknotes. They were the kind with a face value of 10,000 yen each, ten in total, exactly 100,000 yen.

Mingze Feng returned the three cards, but she didn't want them. Instead, she continued, "These are for this month... Please come back next week."

Yamada Ryo was dressed in simple casual clothes, long sleeves and trousers, with the trouser legs hanging down to cover his shoes.

"It felt like it passed by in a flash... but it was different from usual."

"I'm very happy."

But I feel...

Mingze Feng clapped the banknotes in his hands and said with emotion, "This feels like getting paid while on vacation."

Yamada paused... A smile played on her lips, but when she thought of the bass she had cancelled her order, she still felt a little reluctant.

In order to continue... I need to find a way to make money.

This is what a vacation experience should be like.

If Mingze Feng had to summarize the past two days in one sentence, it would be like this.

I want to have fun with pretty girls and get paid! I wish I could have a dozen of those days.

After summarizing his experiences over the past two days, he added this sentence and concluded the discussion.

Chapter Fourteen: Destined to be Misunderstood

Dust lingered in the house; there was no sign of anyone returning. Even the water he had boiled in the pot one night was still sitting there.

After tidying up quickly, Mingze Feng lay back on the bed and prepared to sleep.

As his consciousness faded, he suddenly remembered his clothes... that is, his school uniform, which he hadn't retrieved yet.

Beep... It seems there's some news on my phone too.

Mingze Feng squinted and saw the blurry text.

"Brother Feng, lend a hand and warm up the atmosphere. — Ijichi Hoshika"

"..."

"Never mind, I'll just get up early tomorrow and go pick it up..."

11/13

Based on common observations, if a person says before bed that they'll do something after they wake up, they're more likely to fail. A student might say they'll finish their homework after waking up, a writer might say they'll increase their word count, and a senior might say they'll take a look at a problem after waking up.

There may be deeper underlying issues, involving human nature and modes of thinking. From a sociological perspective, it is not unrelated to modernity...

"I'm saying, Mingze? You're listening, aren't you!"

The head of the teaching department pretended to be very stern, speaking in a deep, low voice as if that could frighten people.

"Saying you overslept, that your clothes weren't dry after washing, or that you forgot to bring them—that's just an excuse to avoid class! Let me tell you, a student like you should... well... at least not bother the other students! What kind of student are you, not wearing a school uniform? You might as well just skip class and never come!"

Mingze Feng finally looked up from his reverie.

[These days, students, to put it bluntly, will jump off buildings; to go to extremes, they'll come to school with knives threatening to attack teachers. They have absolutely no sense of gratitude or respect for others!]

How strange! Shouldn't we reflect on ourselves at this point?

Mingze Feng lowered his eyes in boredom.

Bringing a knife to school is too impulsive. There are many things that teachers care about... but it's unnecessary. He'll graduate around the end of December, and once he does, we'll all be familiar strangers again.

"Teacher Qitian, are you still there?"

Then came a teacher with long, tan hair; she looked like a newcomer.

Her expression remained unchanged, but Mingze Feng couldn't help but glance at her a few more times.

[I should have come later. I hope that grumpy old man won't scold me too. Last time I accidentally saw him wearing a wig, and he deducted two thousand from my paycheck the next day. It made my grandma so angry.]

Behind her, Naruzawa Kaede saw Ijichi Nijika carrying a plate of papers into the house.

[Feeling frustrated → Surprised: What's he doing here... Oh right, Mr. Qitian is also the head of student affairs for the third grade...]

The other person also saw him at that moment, their eyes widening slightly, but their movements remained nimble as they placed the stack of papers on the desk and chatted softly with their teacher.

[Ugh, how do I start a conversation? Why is he here?]

Naruzawa Kaede didn't think his face was that attractive. As far as he knew, Ijichi Nijika wasn't a looks-obsessed person either, so it was probably because of the band they had talked about on the rooftop that day.

He had seen it at Yamada Ryo's place, and that Ijichi Nijika had later contacted her. In fact, as one of the few classmates who could talk to Yamada Ryo, Ijichi Nijika's importance was considerable, though Yamada Ryo himself didn't realize it.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?!" The head of discipline suddenly snapped. "You've been daydreaming since just now, all you've been doing is 'uh-huh.' Is it really that hard for you to genuinely repent?!"

"Teacher, Mingze might not be feeling well..."

The head of student affairs seemed not to have heard her, but then he brought her up in his next sentence, "Look at Ijichi, she even knows how to make excuses for herself. And you? It's no wonder your family doesn't want you, someone who gives up on themselves."

Ichi Nijika tilted her head slightly, looking puzzled.

She exclaimed, "Huh?"

[What did he just say? That Naruzawa-kun was abandoned... Oh, I see. No, no, how could he say something like that! That's too much! Naruzawa-kun... This, this isn't right! We have to stop him...]

"Let me tell you, even if you come next month, I'll check a cross off your attendance sheet! You either go back to repeat your senior year or get out of here. I don't think you can afford the tuition and fees anyway!"

This kind of bottom-of-the-class student should be kicked out of my class.

His nostrils were higher than the top of his head, and his domineering manner reminded one of a certain world-famous painting.

Mingze Feng asked calmly, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

He glanced at the new intern.

Ichi Nijika was stunned by this out-of-control situation.

She realized something was off, but she really didn't know how to bring it up. Not to mention her, even the intern teacher next to her had never seen anything like this before.

[This student didn't bring a knife, did he? He's going to splatter it all over my face and then not give me a day off.]

The female teacher met Naruzawa Kaede's gaze and decisively grabbed Ichiji Nijika's wrist.

"Hongxia, I suddenly remembered my water bottle is in the classroom. Can you come with me to get it?"

"Wait a minute, teacher, you didn't bring a water bottle...!"

boom--

The door was slammed shut, as if to say that no one would come.

Mingze Feng looked up and around, but couldn't find the camera.

"You think anyone can help you?! Kneel down obediently... What are you doing? What! Someone, come here!"

Ming Zefeng kicked over the swivel chair under the dean of students' buttocks. "What are you yelling about? What are you yelling about! Don't you know I'm not even sixteen yet? You're getting addicted to ignoring me!"

"I, I...I want you to drop out of school!"

"The tuition is ridiculously expensive, I don't even want to stay here! Do you think you'll still see me in high school? If you see me on the street then, you two will feel unlucky! Where did you get this dog-like temper from? Whoever marries your child will be doomed!"

"You, you...!"

The dean of students collapsed to the ground in pain, his anger rising. At that moment, Ming Zefeng kicked him in the buttocks again. The pain wasn't much, but the intense humiliation overwhelmed him, and he was almost driven mad.

Mingze Feng watched as he walked over, grabbed his collar, and pushed him away.

After thinking about it, Mingze Feng decided that he didn't need to get entangled with him anymore.

Although he is under sixteen, he is still responsible for his actions. It's fine to kick him a couple of times to vent your anger on your past self, but if he injures someone, you'll have to pay compensation and face administrative penalties. It's not worth it for such a piece of trash.

He considered calling the police, but that seemed like a waste of time. So he went directly to the principal's office.

He wanted to express his willingness to report the incident to the police in front of the principal.

Chapter Fifteen Anonymous Submission

The principal's office was not hard to find, and he was received by the principal.

[Narizawa Kaede? The student whose file Director Yamada requested?]

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