Mygo, the band legend of Tokyo handsome guy

"No, how is that possible!"

Mingze Feng quickly shook his head: "I didn't even leave my contact information, Xiang Sang. I swear I didn't have any thoughts about it just now, and I didn't do anything."

Why didn't you speak up for me...why...did you do nothing...?

Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth and shrugged, "It's all my fault, I disturbed you and that other woman, okay?"

Xiangzi became more impatient than he had a month ago.

Mingze Feng scrutinized Xiangzi's face. The dark circles under her eyes, barely concealed by light makeup, had become more pronounced now than they had been a month ago.

"What time did you go to bed last night?"

Toyokawa Shoko didn't answer. She snorted, her attitude softening slightly, but her words were still sharp: "Why are you telling me all this? What do we have to do with each other? Stop being so narcissistic!"

"We'll be married from the time I move out—"

Before she could finish speaking, she saw Mingze Feng move.

Toyokawa Shoko's heart skipped a beat.

Faced with Naruzawa Kaede's sudden approach, Toyokawa Shoko neither flinched nor dodged. She simply remembered a scene from the past, when she and Naruzawa Kaede were not familiar with each other... or even strangers, when she was suddenly hugged.

Their relationship was never a normal romantic one, involving handshakes and kisses.

From the very beginning, their relationship was destined to be a desperate struggle to hold onto each other, no matter how sharp the thorns in their hands or how deep the pain.

Or perhaps Toyokawa Shoko was simply born without the ability to have a normal romantic relationship.

Mingze Feng then recalled the hedgehog described in the narration.

Facing Xiao Xiang, a former customer service representative, the narrator describes her as a hedgehog. Anyone who tries to hug her should be prepared to have their hands pricked.

Toyokawa Shoko is covered in rebellious thorns; the tighter you try to hold on, the easier it is to get pricked.

With a flick of his knuckles, Narusawa Kaede pinned Shoko's wrist against the wall. At such close range, one could even clearly see the trembling of Shoko's eyelashes.

Then, with his other hand, he hugged Toyokawa Shoko tightly along her waist.

So what if it's a hedgehog? I've been hugging it since last year, it's not the first or second time.

Wall slam...

In this dimly lit corridor, accompanied by the silence of no one in front or behind, the air seemed to freeze instantly.

The distance between them was so close that their breathing became rapid in an instant.

Toyokawa Shoko's back felt icy cold, but with Narusawa Kaede so close to her, she couldn't be distracted to adjust the contact between her back and the wall.

They were so close that they could almost hear each other's heartbeats—no, that's not right, maybe it was their pulses, maybe it was their own heartbeats.

In short, the sound of banging echoed in my ears.

Mingze Feng looked down into her eyes and, after observing her closely, came to this conclusion: even though she had been staying up late every day recently, Xiangzi's skin was still so soft.

Even the lips.

To Naruzawa Kaede, the light in Toyokawa Shoko's eyes remained as soft and captivating as ever. Her skin was as delicate as white jade in early summer, and even her thin lips still possessed a mesmerizing softness.

Toyokawa Shoko's back grew increasingly cold, while her face became burning hot from the sudden contact.

A moment of confusion, hurried breathing.

Toyokawa Shoko tried to break free, but she couldn't escape Naruzawa Kaede's loose embrace. She wanted to escape, but dared not move under Naruzawa Kaede's gaze.

Naruzawa Kaede's embrace was without any unnecessary force, yet it firmly held Toyokawa Shoko captive.

Because it was Toyokawa Shoko herself who trapped herself.

Even Toyokawa Shoko herself was fully aware of this matter.

Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth.

That's why she hates...hates so much that even leaving becomes difficult, and she can't pry open Naruzawa Kaede's hand at all.

Sometimes, even Mingze Feng didn't know what she was angry about—most of the time it was because of other women, but this time it was clearly not because of that.

Maki Shiina was merely the trigger for today's events.

There was another reason that drove Shoko Toyokawa to leave, to work hard, and to achieve something.

But the reason is that even with narration, it's still incomprehensible.

And now, in those small moments, Toyokawa Shoko is arguing with herself, as if she's fighting with herself, and the aftershocks of the battle will incidentally stab those around her as well.

He stopped at Xiangzi's lower back, and with his palm raised, he could touch the ends of her waist-length hair.

Running his fingers through her hair, Mingze Feng whispered, "Xiangzi, why are you leaving?"

"They could have simply spoken up to communicate, but because of mutual concealment, they missed each other time and time again—this kind of thing should never happen again. That's what I think. What about Xiangzi?"

“Okay.” Toyokawa Shoko looked up and asked, “Just the two of us, okay? Just the two of us. Leave that drunkard and come to my band… just the two of us—”

Without even pausing, Toyokawa Shoko snorted, "Can't take it anymore, huh?"

[Ask a question I already know the answer to, and then...]

[Just say it all in one breath and leave...]

So, is this also because they don't want to say it out loud...?

Toyokawa Shoko: "To be honest, you should forget about what happened before and after the New Year."

Mingze Feng: "Huh?"

"I am such a person."

Toyokawa Shoko turned her head to look at the floor beside her, "Anyway, anyway... it's all because you've been deliberately trying to annoy me. You... you only needed me..."

Toyokawa Shoko avoided Narusawa Kaede's gaze, turning her head to look at the dimly lit, intersecting lines on the ground. She said in a low voice, "Anyway—what we did made no difference. You got your pleasure, and so did I. Forget it, yes, forget it, so what—uh...uh..."

Naruzawa Kaede simply gagged Toyokawa Shoko.

Naruzawa Kaede's actions were sudden, leaving Toyokawa Shoko no time to react. Before she could even utter a sound, she was completely silenced by the kiss.

In that instant, Toyokawa Shoko had already placed her hand on Narusawa Kaede's chest.

Just a gentle push...

Why can't I push it...?

Toyokawa Shoko's eyes reddened, and her deep voice trembled slightly. The emotions that had been lingering around her seemed to be triggered by this kiss and surged into her heart.

"..."

Xiangzi: "Um...you know I can't do this...it's against the rules..."

Mingze Feng: "You know there's nothing I can do. We've all broken the rules."

Mingze Feng gently slid his hand to Xiangzi's back and hugged her even tighter.

"You know I never give up easily..."

Mingze Feng continued, his tone now more resolute, "You can't just let go of everything between us so easily, and neither can I."

To give up or not?

Shoko Toyokawa retorted, trembling, "Do you think that this is how you decide everything? Do you really think... you can bear the weight of whose life?"

"A person like you... clearly only thinks of yourself!"

“Yes, that’s right.” Mingze Feng nodded. “From the first moment we met, I knew we were the same kind of people.”

"..."

Shoko Toyokawa was stunned, momentarily forgetting to breathe.

She froze, as if Ming Zefeng's casual remark had struck a nerve, forcing her to log off. Several seconds later, she logged back in, blinking.

But nothing could be said.

Toyokawa Shoko opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't utter a word.

In that instant, time seemed to stand still.

Toyokawa Shoko suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.

Her previously tense shoulders suddenly relaxed, and she suddenly felt her legs go weak. Toyokawa Shoko raised her arms and wrapped them around Narusawa Kaede's neck.

The tension that had been building for a month finally began to ease. Leaving the apartment, Toyokawa Shoko filled her days with photographs, so much so that she couldn't even remember the day she walked down the hallway, let alone the day Mutsu had her birthday.

Toyokawa Shoko moved closer, shifting her body slightly to gently press her cheek against Narusawa Kaede's chest, closing her eyes and letting out a soft hum.

This position is still the most comfortable.

This thing only gets in the way of my hard work, I hate it so much.

[I absolutely adore this guy who's such a jerk, I can even hug him when he's tired]

Naruzawa Kaede

"..."

Mingze Feng didn't speak, but gently placed his hand on her waist and slowly and tenderly embraced her.

"I..."

I want to succeed.

"Feng, I lost. I lost that time. So this time I'm going to win. I'm going to win against myself, I'm going to win against all of Tokyo."

"This is for myself...it's what I want to do. I'm willing to sacrifice everything for this, to give up...Eek?!"

Toyokawa Shoko jumped up, clutching her backside, and glared at Narusawa Kaede with murderous eyes. "I...you! I was talking about serious business!"

"Why give up? Wouldn't it be better to let me help you?"

"Come on..."

"I just want to be myself again... without you, without anyone's... protection... to let me accept those... ugh, then just kill me."

Seeing her disdainful expression, Ming Zefeng patted her head and asked, "Let's change the subject. Do you still stand by what you said the other day?"

"Ok?"

Shoko Toyokawa nestled in his arms, and after listening to what Kaede Narusawa had to say, she murmured, "Marriage..."

Enjoying the embrace, Toyokawa Shoko hummed comfortably.

"It's settled. Whatever. I'm waiting."

Mingze Feng: "Just you wait and see. If you won't let me help you, then I'll become the final boss of your journey."

Xiangzi: "If you're so capable, then go ahead. Don't talk now... Let me hold you for a bit, it'll be over soon."

Chapter Nineteen: The True Colors of a Scumbag and a Cat's Victory Celebration

Shoko Toyokawa left.

Just as she arrived quietly, she congratulated her predecessors, Morfonica, who did not know her, on their victory, and then personally united the nameless band to win third place.

This time she walked away quietly, and as her light blue hair finally disappeared into the darkness of the corridor, Mingze Feng couldn't take his eyes off her for a long time.

The lingering fragrance and warmth still lingered on her lips and fingertips; after a month apart, the girl hadn't changed at all.

Whether it's the gentle Xiangzi, the sharp-tongued Xiangzi, or the prickly Xiangzi, they are all the same: the proud yet fragile Miss Xiangzi.

Mingze Feng recalled that hazy morning on the eleventh of the year, when the tacitly agreed fairy made up her mind to leave and quietly departed.

Then, in their love nest, facing the sunrise over Tokyo, they shouted their declaration of fighting again.

At that time, Naruzawa Kaede would laugh, because the junior high school girl was still a bit of a chuunibyou (a person with delusions of grandeur).

This time, Naruzawa Kaede didn't laugh.

Because Xiang is serious, and she looks beautiful when she's serious.

Hedgehog quills are hollow; they prick and hurt, but if you break them open, they're hollow.

The hollow thorns, turned upside down, hold the moonlight of Toyokawa Shoko.

Xiangzi possesses a charm that touches people's hearts, and many people can find a reflection of themselves in her.

Hardworking Xiao Xiang, Xiao Xiang who never gives up, Xiao Xiang who is independent and self-reliant...

When Narusawa Kaede set foot on the road to Tsuzuki Shisen again, his mood was completely refreshed.