They all have special skills

Strictly speaking, the father and daughter in front of her are not outsiders. On the contrary, they are her closest people.

"..."

After hesitating for a moment and sorting out her thoughts, Toyokawa Shoko exhaled lightly, pulled Qingshui Ai out from behind her, and said softly,

"Okay, don't be sad, mommy will take you with her, okay?"

"it is good!"

"But, you have to agree to one condition from your mother, okay?"

"What are the conditions?"

"Well, Mom is going to meet up with some friends to discuss something important, so after we meet, can you please stay quiet? If you have anything to say, you can talk to Mom and Dad quietly."

Toyokawa Shoko made this arrangement because she didn't want the situation to become too complicated.

I thought Shimizu Ai would continue to ask "Why", but unexpectedly she just smiled widely and replied "Okay!"

Then she stopped hiding from Qingshuichuan and threw herself into his arms, asking for a hug affectionately.

The next moment, Qingshuichuan picked her up.

He looked at Shoko Toyokawa and smiled.

----

"Is it really okay for me to come along?"

"It's okay. I'm just dealing with some things between friends."

"Is there anything I need to pay extra attention to?"

"Just...just do it normally."

"Even if you say so, it's too general..."

"Don't worry, it will be over soon. You won't even need to greet them."

Toyokawa Shoko said so.

Qingshuichuan was relieved.

Just after leaving the store, they headed straight for the tram stop.

After leaving the station, I bought a freshly made Belle Cake from a nearby dessert shop for Qingshui Ai to eat.

It doesn’t matter if the two of them go hungry for a while.

Now there is a statue of an iconic figure standing by the street waiting for someone.

Qingshuichuan took this opportunity to look around.

This is a very fashionable and lively street.

Record stores, musical instrument stores, and audio equipment stores can be found everywhere on the street.

In the square not far away, you can see people singing outdoors.

There are no more sighing office workers on the streets, but instead free and casual young people.

No matter which direction you look, you can see several people carrying guitar bags.

What about the so-called music rock street...

Then the purpose of Shoko Toyokawa coming here may be related to this matter.

Qingshuichuan thought so silently.

At this time, the person they were waiting for arrived.

Light green hair, petite figure, and a delicate little face with no expression.

It's Wakaba Mutsu.

The only difference between her and the afternoon was a change of clothes.

Come to think of it…it seems that during the time she worked at the store, Toyokawa was alternating between her school uniform and this casual outfit…

After seeing her so many times, I can guess what she will wear the next day...

Qing Shuichu silently withdrew his thoughts.

Wakaba Mu came in front of them.

Her gaze first rested on Toyokawa Shoko, and after a slight nod, she turned to Shimizu River.

She didn't know what she was thinking, and the next moment she quietly moved closer to her friend.

"Xiangzi, he is not a good man."

"..."

Toyokawa Shoko turned her head and looked towards Shimizu River with an embarrassed expression.

Qingshuichuan was also quite speechless.

"Just pretend I don't exist. Also, if you want to whisper, please speak more quietly."

Qingshui Ai, who was in his arms, was originally going to politely call out to the person when she saw him coming, but thinking of her mother's previous instructions, she didn't say anything. She pretended not to see it and ate her Belle Cake in peace.

"It's almost time, let's go."

Toyokawa Shoko did not respond to Wakaba Mu,

She knew the character of her childhood sweetheart and secretly gave Qingshuichuan an apologetic look.

Qingshuichuan shook his head indifferently. He was not the kind of person who would get angry over such a small matter.

Led by Wakaba Mutsu, they walked for five minutes to an exhibition hall.

Walk through the door and head inside.

Qingshuichuan followed them and looked around, quite interested.

This was his first time in such a place.

Whether it was the gorgeous posters of band musicians covering the walls or the faint sounds of musical instruments that could be heard as soon as he entered the door, they all felt fresh to him.

"...It seems that a band couldn't come to the stage at the last minute, so they were asked to come over to help."

Wakaba Mutsu explained this to Toyokawa Shoko.

After hearing this, Toyokawa Shoko didn't show any concern, but just nodded slightly.

"How long has their band been around?"

"Probably... less than two months."

Wakaba Mu gave the answer.

Toyokawa Shoko sighed slightly.

"Time is so short..."

"Shuangshi... still hopes you can come back. There's no keyboard player in their band right now."

"You know that there's no going back, don't you?"

Toyokawa Shoko shook her head, obviously not wanting to continue talking about this topic.

"I hope everything goes well for their performance today..."

Although her words did not show that she had high expectations for them.

However, she still sincerely hopes that her former partners will receive a good response for today's external performance.

In this way, she can say goodbye to the past completely without any burden.

Qingshuichuan didn't ask any more questions from beginning to end.

However, I was also able to passively hear their conversations along the way and was able to roughly imagine what happened.

“…Here.”

Ruoye Mu looked down at his phone, then looked up at the label of the exhibition hall in front of him.

After confirming that everything was correct, he pushed the door open and walked in.

The others followed behind her.

In the performance hall, the lighting in the audience area below the stage is dim.

Three adults and one child walked in, chose a place with few people, and stood against the wall farthest from the stage.

At this moment, the singer on the stage had just finished performing and was waving goodbye to the audience.

There was applause and cheers in the performance hall.

Toyokawa Shoko turned around and looked at Shimizu Ai, then gently touched her head.

"Are you scared?"

"will not!"

Shimizu Ai shook her head.

She is not afraid because her parents are around.

Toyokawa Shoko moved closer to her, and thus closer to the Kiyomizu River.

"Mom will come later... My friends will come up on stage to sing. After they finish singing, Mom will find them and say a few words. After that, we can leave."

She said this to Qingshui Ai and Qingshui Chuan as well.

"okay!"

Qingshui Ai nodded vigorously, and then stuffed the half-eaten Belle cake into Qingshuichuan's hands.

Qingshuichuan had no choice. It was shameful to waste food, even though the edges of the Belle pancake were sticky with his daughter's saliva and looked wet.

But how could a father despise his daughter, especially such a lovely daughter, he had no choice but to accept her completely.

Shoko Toyokawa couldn't help laughing when she saw Shimizugawa looking embarrassed but finally eating the crepe.

Qingshuichuan looked at her like this and swallowed the food in his mouth.

“So you don’t wear a mask outside of restaurants.”

Toyokawa Shoko's smile froze because of his words.

Qingshuichuan continued,

"You should smile more often in the future. You look much better than when you have a blank expression."

"...!"

Shimizukawa really just said that according to the thoughts that came to his mind naturally, but it made Toyokawa Shoko's face turn unusually red again.

She didn't respond and turned to face the stage.

But her shy scene was seen by Ruoye Mu who was standing beside her.

She turned her eyes, glanced at Qingshuichuan, and then looked more carefully at the child in his arms.

"Xiangzi, who is that child?"

“You’re asking this question now…”

The lights on the stage dimmed and the performers left the stage one after another.

Then a fainter white light came on.

The whispered conversation between Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu stopped.

They looked towards the stage together.

Looking at their expressions, Qingshuichuan realized that the next people to appear should be their friends.

He changed the arm holding Ai Shimizu in his arms and turned his attention to the stage.

The show is about to begin.

----

On the stage that was the center of attention, five girls came on stage one after another.

Shimizukawa has very good eyesight. Even when standing farthest from the stage, he can still see the specific expressions of everyone on the stage.