dmims Page 92
Page 92
“Back when it was all so bitter… I didn’t really like Xiaodeng’s lyrics. Maybe… I wasn’t ready to reveal my true feelings.” Su Shi said, raising her head and revealing a bright, gentle smile. “But now it’s different. Now I really like Xiaodeng’s singing.”
Gao Songdeng looked at Su Shi, racking his brains for a reply. After a long while, he finally managed to say softly, "Thank you for liking my lyrics... Let's keep working hard together in the future."
"Um..." Li Xi, who was standing to the side, opened her mouth slightly, a little embarrassed, and interrupted the interaction between the two. This went on and on, and she didn't know when they would get back to the main topic.
"Haha, you're right." Aine touched her temples, thinking carefully, and said, "But even so... I have no clue. If only I had some leads..."
Su Shi hesitated slightly. She quietly took a sip of tea, glanced at everyone, and said softly, "Xiao Xiang... seems to admire Mr. Momoi very much."
"Huh!?" The three women's eyes widened slightly. This was the first time they had heard of this... or rather, they had no idea that Toyokawa Shoko knew Momoi Taro. They all turned their gazes to Nagasaki Motoyo, seemingly waiting for her explanation.
Su Shi's hand holding the teacup trembled almost imperceptibly. She took another sip, then closed her eyes tightly and fell silent. Li Xi's expression clearly became anxious; her lips moved slightly, and she looked as if she was about to question Su Shi. Just then, Ai Yin swiftly reached out and covered Li Xi's mouth, shaking her head vigorously, her eyes clearly conveying dissuasion.
Lixi angrily pried Aiyin's hand away—a move that was perfectly natural for her, given her physical advantages. However, Aiyin didn't give up. She immediately tugged at Lixi's sleeve again, gesturing for her to look closely at Su Shi's expression.
Fortunately, Lixi immediately understood Aiyin's reminder and followed her gaze. She saw that Su Shi's usually gentle face was now clearly filled with struggle, frustration, pain, and resistance, and her pearly teeth were even unconsciously biting her lower lip.
This was the first time Lixi had ever seen such complex and intense emotions on someone's face. Even she understood that Su Shi seemed to be going through some kind of extremely difficult and unbearable inner struggle.
So, no matter how anxious and agitated Li Xi was, she could only suppress her impulse and calm down in the face of the situation.
The pattering of raindrops against the glass outside the window, the long, drawn-out breaths of the people in the room, and Su Shi's increasingly rapid and suppressed breathing filled the originally spacious living room to the brim, making the air seem to stagnate.
After an unknown amount of time, Su Shi slowly opened her eyes, her beautiful eyes filled with fear. But despite her fear, she still said firmly, "Actually... something happened between me, Xiao Xiang, Mr. Taro, and Xiao Mu."
"I know that Xiaoxiang admires Mr. Momoi very much because of this." She put down her teacup, straightened her posture, and tried to calm herself down.
"Hey, you!" Li Xi said awkwardly from the side. Her expression was stiff as she crossed her arms, turned her head, and looked out the window at Su Shi, saying, "If you don't want to, you don't have to say anything. We just need to know this news."
Su Shi was slightly taken aback when she heard Li Xi say this, then gave a sincere smile and said softly, "Thank you, little Li Xi, but we are in the same band, partners who play music together, a community with a shared destiny. This is something... I think... you should know."
As she spoke, her smile faded, and although she was prepared to be honest, she couldn't suppress her inner unease. Ai Yin's eyes darted around, and she gave a knowing smile: "Hehehe, a community of shared destiny...it feels a bit cheesy."
To Aine's surprise, no one responded to her comment. She secretly glanced at everyone's expressions, which didn't look good. Oh no... Did she say something she shouldn't have?
Su Shi coughed lightly. She knew that Ai Yin didn't mean it, so she didn't care too much about it. She just wanted to draw everyone's attention to herself.
Under the curious gazes of the three, Su Shi recounted to them all the bastard things he had done before.
Admitting one's mistakes is incredibly difficult, and throughout the narration, Su Shi's cheeks remained flushed. Her heart pounded like the drumbeats of her own band's music…
The things I did—following Xiao Mu, seeing Xiangzi, kneeling down, Taro coming to my house, stealing a kiss from him after his death… Ah, this is still something I can't really talk about.
Su Shi's face flushed slightly, but fortunately, her face was already red from regret and shame, so no one noticed anything unusual. However, the content of her words had already caused the other three to somewhat freeze.
“You…you’re really something…” Li Xi was the first to speak, but she choked on her words. She didn’t know what to say. After all, Su Shi’s actions weren’t exactly bad, but they were morally questionable.
but……
"Haha, Su Shi's ideas are really peculiar," Ai Yin laughed awkwardly, changing the subject. What could she do? The other person had already brought this up; she could only assume that the other person was genuinely remorseful.
If it were her, she'd probably want to keep it hidden deep inside her heart forever. That's why Aine's wariness of Suze increased significantly. The reason was quite simple—
Putting yourself in their shoes, if you did something so outrageous and still didn't get the desired result, it's practically the opposite of what you'd expect. And then, the other person comes to help you, making things less painful for you…
She'll definitely develop feelings for that person! She glanced at Su Shi with a slightly wary expression... Damn it, she's definitely a formidable enemy.
However… now is not the time to think about this. She shook her head slightly to clear her mind, then asked with a hint of curiosity, “Speaking of which, where’s Xiao Mu? You’re in the same band, right? And you’re one of the people involved, it just doesn’t feel right that she’s not here…”
"Ah..." Takamatsu Akari's mind had just recovered a little from the overwhelming amount of information she had just received from Su Shi that had almost burned her up. She looked around, but she couldn't see the light green-haired girl anywhere.
She asked softly, a little uneasy, "Where's Xiao Mu...?" Hearing Deng's question, Li Xi, whose face had been dark, softened slightly: "That girl... Mu, it seems she still has something she wants to say to Xiangzi, so she didn't come back with us."
“I see…” Aine lowered her head, piecing together the whole incident: “So, Xiangzi went to see Taro’s live performance, and then when she saw your live performance, for some reason…” She thought for a while before managing to use a single word to describe it:
"Feeling bad... and then ran away? And then the next day, I don't know why, I wanted to ask you guys to form a band or something?" Ai Yin stroked her chin, thinking.
"In conclusion, this is the case," Su Shi said, taking a small sip of tea, but the worry in her eyes remained.
"I... I can understand a little bit." Aine thought for a moment and tried to offer her opinion: "It's normal to feel a little disappointed when you see the band members you formed playing together even when you're not around. But her reaction seems a bit too extreme."
Then, Aine denied her own speculation: "No matter what, doing this is a bit too much. It must be because something happened to her..."
"Speaking of which, we don't even know the reason why Xiao Xiang left the band?" Su Shi tilted her head and whispered.
"Hmph~" Ai Yin suddenly had a brilliant idea, and her expression became very smug. She chuckled and said, "I have a way to know a lot of things."
"Stop being so mysterious, just tell me already." Li Xi rolled her eyes at the pink-haired girl, while Aine stood with her hands on her hips, her expression becoming increasingly smug: "Why don't you just ask Taro?"
"Huh?" Lixi was very puzzled: "It's true that Taro is very powerful, but there are things we don't know that he might not know either."
“No, there’s at least one thing Taro will know.” Her expression was confident and certain.
"What is it?" The others were intrigued by her suspense and looked at her with great anticipation.
"That's why Xiangzi admires Taro." Upon hearing Aine's words, Riki gave her a "That's it?" look. Akari's expression was one of surprise, though she didn't quite understand.
"What can we do with knowing this?" Su Shi was also a little puzzled.
“How should I put it…” Aine looked out the window, Tokyo was once again shrouded in rain. Her expression was somewhat reminiscent as she said, “Admiration and respect for someone are not feelings that arise without reason. Although Taro seems arrogant, he is actually a very nosy person.”
"So I wonder if Taro did something to make Xiangzi admire him, and whether this is related to the reason she left the team."
As she spoke, the scene of herself and Taro in front of their junior high school classmates flashed through her mind, and her face flushed slightly. She quickly suppressed it and revealed a bright smile: "Although there is no direct evidence to prove it, it's always good to know more."
“I understand, I’ll ask Taro…” Riki stood up, but was interrupted by Takamatsu Akari’s firm voice: “No… I’ll ask Master Taro.”
The others couldn't help but look at her. Her expression remained unchanged; she simply stated firmly:
"I want to know... why Xiaoxiang has become like this... Xiaoxiang is an important friend of mine. Although... I can't understand her feelings... what she's doing now must be hurting others and hurting herself..."
"Hmph~ This is also the resolve of Takamatsu as the lead singer of the Toon Dragon Flame Group, right?" Aine chuckled, her eyes full of encouragement as she looked at Takamatsu.
Hearing Ai-yin's words, Li-xi silently gave up the idea of solving the problem alone.
Su Shi also held a warm teacup, gazing at Tokyo through the rain outside the window...
Meanwhile, at Kiyoshiro Ramen, a handsome young man in a red jacket pushed open the door. The ramen shop was mostly empty due to the rain, and Kiyoshiro Toyokawa, who was sitting upright, immediately noticed the young man's arrival.
Needless to say, the person who came was naturally Momoi Taro. He walked up to Qinggao and asked, "You told me you had something important to say to me. What is it?"
“Yes, Mr. Momoi, it’s a pleasure to have you here…” Kiyoko stood up and bowed deeply to Taro, who was standing ramrod straight, and pleaded, “Please, Mr. Momoi, wake up my daughter just like you did to me that day.”
Episode 42, The Incompetent Father
"Please, Mr. Momoi, wake my daughter up, just as you did to me that day."
Taro's eyes widened slightly, and he frowned in confusion, asking, "What do you mean? Explain it to me properly."
Taro rushed over after receiving a call from Qinggao. The sudden announcement of Xiangzi's accident left him completely bewildered. Although Wakaba Mutsu mentioned Xiangzi's escape at the celebration banquet that day, she said she would take care of it, and Taro assumed that the matter had been properly resolved.
"What happened to Xiangzi? Explain it to me properly." Under Taro's confident and calm voice, Qinggao also calmed down a little.
Kiyoshi stood up straight, his face full of a bitter smile. He clenched his fist reluctantly and bowed his head as if reporting to Taro: "At this stage... nothing has happened yet, but something is bound to happen."
"I can't understand what you're saying." Taro leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, raised his head, and said almost commandingly, "Explain it to me properly."
Kiyoko gave another wry smile. He stood up, closed the shop door, and didn't want anyone to disturb his conversation with Mr. Taro.
After doing all that, he walked over to Taro and put a glass for both of them. Then, he stood in front of the refrigerator, glanced at the beer inside, hesitated for a moment, and then took out some iced barley tea, filled the glass for both of them, and sat down next to Taro.
"It's a long story... and the idea that Xiangzi already has problems is just my speculation." Qinggao gave another bitter laugh, lowering his head as he pondered how to begin: "I am Xiangzi's father, and some of her traits come from me..."
"So... I should say I know her quite well. After all, only now do I realize how ridiculous my thoughts were before I met you." Kiyoshi explained, intending to tell Taro everything little by little.
“At that time, Xiangzi’s mother passed away due to a hereditary disease, and I promised Xiangzi that I would work hard…” His face was full of regret: “But, not long after that, I discovered the 168 billion yen fraud and was kicked out of the Toyokawa Group…”
"This is also due to my personal reasons, which damaged the reputation of the Toyokawa family. Being kicked out of the Toyokawa family and the Toyokawa Group is only natural." Toyokawa Kiyoko went back under the counter, seemingly unable to sit still, and boiled the pot while watching the contents as he spoke:
"But at that time, I thought Xiangzi was innocent and I couldn't let her be implicated by me, so I sent Xiangzi a text message... Even without a father, you must be happy."
"This is just your personal self-satisfaction," Taro commented mercilessly. "Children without parents by their side, no matter how well-off their lives are, cannot easily obtain happiness." Taro's gaze was deep, seemingly referring to Xiangzi, yet also alluding to other experiences.
"You're right." Kiyoshi gave a wry smile, bowed to Taro, and asked, "Mr. Momoi, would you like something to eat?" During the days when Taro forced himself to train and learn skills, Kiyoshi had long regarded Taro as his teacher.
"Give me a signature dish. And then? Seeing your status the other day, this story must have a sequel, right?" Taro wasn't polite at all. After ordering, he pressed for details about what happened to Toyokawa Kiyokaku. He didn't hide anything and started telling the story while making the ramen.
“Xiangzi inherited my stubbornness.” Toyokawa Kiyoko said in a distressed tone, but there was an indescribable pride in his voice. He said, “When he heard the news that I had been kicked out, he also left home to live with me.”
“People like us, once we've made up our minds about something, are very hard to change. Although I'm not exactly a good father, I can say that I understand my daughter quite well.”
“At that time, I made a judgment… Xiangzi wouldn’t go back so easily. There was only one way to get Xiangzi back—” Toyokawa Kiyoko’s tone was firm: “Turn me into a piece of trash.”
After saying that, Qinggao immediately deflated: "Of course, that was just my thought at the time. Now I realize how foolish I was."
"If I find out that my father is a hopeless good-for-nothing, he might give up on me and go back to the Toyokawa family to live a comfortable life."
Kiyoshi Toyokawa smiled wryly, regretting his naivety at the time, but his hands did not stop moving at all, and a steaming bowl of ramen was served.
"Well then, I won't be polite." Taro took the ramen, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite. "Delicious! The noodles are chewy and the broth is perfectly combined. You're very talented, 65 points!"
“However, as a father, I’m slightly lacking in ability, only when it comes to ramen!” Taro’s evaluation was blunt. Faced with his criticism, Toyokawa Kiyotaka could only smile wryly and nod, saying, “You’re right. My daughter is more stubborn than I imagined. I’m also grateful that you woke me up back then.”
“Otherwise, I would probably still be making that presumptuous decision to make my daughter give up on me.” The regret on Toyokawa Kiyoshi’s face was hard to shake off, but he still tried to cheer himself up and said softly, “Yesterday, I was startled the moment my daughter came back.”
"Her expression... was just like the one I had when I decided to become a useless father and drive her away from me in front of the mirror." Qinggao grabbed his hair in anguish, his expression contorted, his voice filled with fear: "That gentle woman actually showed the same expression as the father who decided to become a useless father."
“I don’t know what Xiangzi wants to do, but what she’s going to do is definitely not something good for her…” His eyes widened slightly as he said hesitantly, “Moreover, I also know very well that Xiangzi, in that state, is unlikely to listen to any advice…!”
"I saw all of Xiangzi's pain and exhaustion at the time! But I convinced myself that it was just growing pains. As long as Xiangzi could leave my side, she could live a comfortable life and would definitely be happy again!"
Toyokawa Kiyoko's voice grew increasingly agitated: "But that's not the truth! Faced with my ever-degrading state, even though Shoko suffered herself, even though she gave up her band, she insisted on her decision...! Looking back now, my thoughts were nothing more than pure self-pity."
“I don’t want this! I don’t want my daughter to be like me, doing irrational things. The moment of waking up from this self-satisfied state is so painful—I’ve woken up countless times myself, but the pain of waking up made me avoid waking up… She really can’t get out of this on her own.”
He was somewhat incoherent, and in the end, he could only express his determination through his actions. He bowed and said, "Please! Mr. Momoi! You, who can help my stubborn self from that time, are my last hope—"
Faced with the agitated Toyokawa Kiyoshi, Momoi Taro remained unmoved. He even calmly picked up a tissue to wipe his mouth, stood up, and said calmly to Toyokawa Kiyoshi, "Are you saying that's the end of it?"
“Mr. Momoi…?” He seemed a little at a loss, looking at Momoi Taro. Taro, on the other hand, was very calm, took out some change from his wallet, placed it on the table, and replied, “I will take action when necessary.”
"When is it necessary...?" Toyokawa Kiyoko was a little confused. He didn't say much about Momoi Taro paying the bill. After all, that was just Momoi Taro's personality. He would accept being treated once or twice, but he would never accept being asked not to pay the bill. He was more concerned about what Momoi Taro said than that.
"It's a very simple matter. Someone has decided to deal with Xiangzi's situation, and I will only intervene when she asks me for help." Taro turned around, walked to the door, pushed it open, gripped the edge of the door, looked back, and said calmly:
“She’s my future attendant. Since she says so, I’ll believe her.” Taro’s firm words lingered in Toyokawa Kiyotaka’s ears before he turned and left, leaving only a lingering sense of unease…
Why is the edge of the door warm when I touch it?
Dong 43 episodes 90 Lü Si Lü Qi