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However, Banami failed to capture the girl's subtle emotions, and after this brief interlude, the two continued walking back.
The boy, intentionally or unintentionally, slowed down a bit, as if afraid that Chu Hua might feel unwell.
Looking at the boy's broad back, the girl felt a slight pang of bitterness in her heart.
Because she had tasted this happiness, she was more unwilling to lose it than anyone else.
She had a secret that she absolutely could not tell, a secret she kept from the boy, and even from Xiangzi.
But she could never bring herself to tell this secret; if she did, everything she had now might vanish.
"strangeness……"
Chu Hua, who had been silent, heard the boy speak in a puzzled voice.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
Banami scratched her head and said, "I feel like someone is watching me, and it's kind of sticky. Could it be that one of your sasaeng fans was in the crowd listening to the music earlier?"
"Let's hurry back and meet up with Saki and the others," Chu Hua said softly.
This trip has already been filled with far too many unexpected events.
Banai agreed, but before they could enter the original coffee shop, they ran into Xiangzi and the others.
"You two took so long to buy a pancake, were you two taking a sweet time together?" Miao Meng said sarcastically.
Xiangzi couldn't help but frown and said, "Weren't you going to buy pancakes? Where are the pancakes?"
"Ah..." Chu Hua panicked a little when asked this question.
"I bought enough for everyone, but Triangle said she was hungry and ate all the pancakes on the way back. What a shame." Banami looked quite regretful.
Chu Hua's eyes widened as she looked at the boy who had framed her.
Miao Mengqin was also somewhat surprised and said, "I didn't expect that you, Chu Huaqin... would have such a gluttonous trait."
"Yeah, and those vegetable pancakes had a lot of sweet potato in them, so eating too many can make you fart, but Triangle still wouldn't listen. She farted several times when she came back, and I didn't have the heart to say anything," said Banami, covering her nose.
Chu Hua was almost in tears from being bullied like this. Xiangzi knew that this guy was full of lies and that he wasn't telling the truth, so he kicked him in the shin.
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could Chu Hua do such a thing?"
Banai chuckled twice, thinking that at least she had managed to cover up the fact that the two of them had been delayed.
But at that moment, everyone present heard an old yet dignified voice.
"Xiangzi, what are you doing here?"
Upon hearing this voice, Xiangzi's body stiffened instantly. However, what no one noticed was that Chuhua's body also trembled slightly.
When everyone looked over, they found a serious-looking old man with slicked-back hair and wearing an expensive suit standing there.
“Grandpa…” Xiangzi said in surprise.
Old Master Toyokawa... ah, no, the head of the Toyokawa family, Toyokawa Sadaharu, makes his grand entrance.
Chapter Nine: Cheese Sandwich in Two Buns
"Xiangzi, what are you doing here?"
The appearance of that meticulous old man surprised everyone.
When they heard Xiangzi call out "Grandpa," Ruomai and the others realized who he was.
Even unrelated outsiders have heard of him: Toyokawa Sadaharu, the head of Toyokawa, Japan's leading capital group.
"It's so late, and you're still out there loitering with a bunch of people. Look at yourself! What kind of behavior is this!"
Moreover, it was quite obvious that the atmosphere between him and Toyokawa Shoko was not very good.
Ruo Yemu knew the inside story, but she didn't have the ability to handle this kind of situation, so she could only lower her head. As for Miaomeng and Hailing, the two outsiders, they couldn't get a word in edgewise.
Xiangzi pursed her lips gently. Since she left home with her father in a fit of anger last time, she had never seen the old man in front of her again.
Xiangzi originally thought that he had given up on himself, just like he had given up on his father.
But clearly, she and her father are still somewhat different.
Xiangzi said stubbornly, "I... want to make up for my father's mistakes. I want to cheer him up. I will form a professional band."
The two unsuspecting members of the band were slightly surprised, seemingly not expecting that the reason this young lady from the Toyokawa Group formed a band was actually this.
"Stop doing this pointless thing. Now, come home with me right now," Toyokawa said coldly, seemingly not wanting to pay any attention to Shoko's childish behavior.
"If I go home with you, Grandpa, can Father come back with us?" Xiangzi asked, pursing his lips.
"Impossible. That guy is no longer a member of the Toyokawa family. Don't mention him in front of me again," Toyokawa Sadaharu said coldly.
Hearing his words, Xiangzi didn't react much, but Chuhua behind him trembled slightly, her face showing a mixture of confusion and fear, completely losing the so-called "happy" state of mind she had just felt.
"Well... I can't promise you, Grandpa. I can't go back to the Toyokawa family for the time being."
For Xiangzi, defying the deeply entrenched old man made every word incredibly difficult.
Hearing his granddaughter's answer, Toyokawa Sadaharu was clearly dissatisfied. Then, he shifted his gaze from his granddaughter to the boy beside her and a girl standing nearby.
Xiangzi recalled the scene when her grandfather forcibly expelled her father from the Toyokawa family. Instinctively, she shielded Banami behind her, while Hatsuka, who was beside her, instinctively hid behind Banami in fear.
Therefore, the three of them formed a very subtle straight line—Xiangzi stood in front of Banami, and Chuhua hid behind Banami, forming a cheese sandwich between two people.
Banami was speechless for a moment. No, you two girls are treating me like a Japanese person?
Originally, Toyokawa no Takashi didn't even notice him, but after seeing the girls' vastly different yet surprisingly unified reactions, the veins on Toyokawa no Takashi's forehead began to bulge.
Hanami seemed to hear things like, "Young Master Hanami, a private room in Tokyo Bay."
However, whether it was luck or not, an elderly bespectacled man who looked like a butler whispered something in Toyokawa Sadaharu's ear, as if it were something important.
Old Deng glanced at the three of them again, then silently got back into his luxury Lincoln and drove away.
Although Old Deng didn't say anything, the butler in the tuxedo bowed slightly to them, giving Miao Meng the real feeling that the person she was arguing with was indeed a rich young lady.
Ba Nai breathed a sigh of relief. It was also his first time meeting Xiangzi's grandfather, although he had already learned about her family situation from Teacher Da Xiang.
"I'm sorry, I've dragged you into this," Xiangzi said with some guilt.
However, as expected of Teacher Da Miao, although she was intimidated by Toyokawa Noboru's imposing manner, she could still breathe on Xiangzi and say, "So that's why you look so poor, unable to even afford new clothes. You're a runaway heiress who's fallen on hard times."
"You rich people really know how to have fun."
When Xiangzi heard Miaomeng's teasing, he just gave a cold "humph" and did not deny it.
Xiangzi couldn't bring herself to tell the members of MYGO about her situation because she was too close to them, and she had always appeared in front of them as a leader. Unable to accept this difference, she decided to leave.
On the contrary, since Mutsu, Banami, and Hatsuka already knew, and Mutsu and Hachiman Kairin weren't that close, it wasn't unacceptable for them to know.
However, what puzzled Banami was...
Chu Hua's emotions were a bit strange; she seemed very afraid of the old man.
Moreover, Toyokawa Sadaharu had just intentionally or unintentionally lingered his gaze on Hatsuka behind him.
"Sorry, Saki-chan, I'm not feeling well, so I'll head home now."
Chu Hua seemed to realize the boy's gaze, but she hurriedly left as if trying to escape.
She was completely unlike the person she had just described as very happy.
***
When Banami returned to his apartment, he received a text message from Hatsuka saying that he had arrived home safely, which put him at ease.
Clearly, something was wrong with Chu Hua during this unexpected incident.
However, he doesn't really like to force others to say what's on their mind.
"If there's anything you want to say to me, feel free to contact me anytime."
He simply ended with that sentence and stopped thinking about what happened that night.
Now that golden retriever must be completely moved by his gentleness, hehehehehehe.
When he tried to open the door with his key, he found it was locked from the inside.
"No, Su Shi's mother, I'm still outside. You didn't leave the door open for the child!" Banami hurriedly called out.
A moment later, the door opened, and Nagasaki Motoyo, wearing a nightgown, stood there with a somewhat indifferent expression. She said, "I don't remember raising a child who doesn't come home after 10 p.m.
Well, Su Shi has also been quite influenced by this. She keeps being called "Mom" by Banami, and subconsciously she has even accepted the identity of "Mom".
Aside from routinely reminding him not to shout in front of strangers, he's gotten too used to it.
As a result, when neighbors occasionally see the two of them, they often give them strange looks, like, "You two young people really know how to have fun."
"I'm hungry." Banami wouldn't be so foolish as to answer that question directly.
Su Shi frowned slightly. Although she was a little annoyed that he was coming home late, she still asked, "Doesn't Saki-chan cook?"
She had already heard from Ai Yin that her son had been kidnapped by Xiangzi after school.
Banai laughed and said, "She's so poor, why would she need to feed her?"
Su Shi couldn't help but want to laugh, but she didn't want to give him a friendly look, so she just said lightly, "Then I'll make you some noodles."
Banami took a deep breath and said, "I'll eat, I'll eat."
Su Shi turned around gently, and the curves outlined by the nightgown clinging to her hips surprisingly exuded the charm of a young married woman.
Chapter Ten: Feelings
While slurping noodles, Banami told Suze's mother almost everything that had happened that night without reservation.
Of course, he decided against singing for Chu Hua in public, fearing that Su Shi's mother would give him another bean sprout meal.
Su Shi sat down opposite her with an elegant demeanor and a gentle expression, and said softly, "I see, Saki-chan, you're finally going to form your own band."
Her tone was quite emotional, and in fact, Banami could understand her feelings very well.
Although I was happy for Xiangzi, I couldn't help but feel a little sad, because it meant that all the hardships were now a thing of the past.
For Su Shi, that was an unforgettable memory for a lifetime.
"What kind of kid is the new bassist?" Su Shi asked with some curiosity.
Banami paused for a moment and said, "She's Riki's classmate, named Hachiman Kairin. I've heard her play bass before, and she's quite good."
Hearing the boy's comments, Su Shi nodded slightly. To receive a "good" evaluation from Banami meant that, by her standards, it was more than just "good".
In fact, Su Shi had a thought she couldn't express. When she learned that Xiangzi was going to form a professional band, she did consider becoming the guitarist for the new band.
After all, even Hatsuka Mikami can be both the guitarist for SUMIMI and the lead singer for her new band, so Susuke Nagasaki can naturally handle both as well.
But he never voiced this thought, for a very simple reason.
Her skill level is not good enough...
Of course, Su Shi's bass playing is pretty good for an amateur level, but that's only within the realm of an "amateur" band.
The most obvious thing is that SAKI has never commented on her bass playing skills. She is neither as bad as some C majors, nor as good as the spiritual level of Neko and Takamatsu.
And Hanami is just like Saki-chan.
Someone like her would only be a burden to Xiangzi in the new band.
She gently pursed her lips, calmly watching the boy slurping noodles across from her, a faint pang of jealousy rising in her heart.
Su Shi was jealous of Banami, who was able to form a band with Shoko, even though, strictly speaking, he wasn't a member of the band.
But for Xiangzi, Banami was also an indispensable part of his new band formation.
The boy was able to keep up with Xiangzi's pace, as had been proven in the past.
"So, you won't have time to watch us practice anymore?" Su Shi asked, tilting her head slightly.
After school, when she has nothing to do, Hanami would watch MYGO's practice and occasionally offer some suggestions.
Although, for the girls of MYGO, the opinions that Hanami offered were far less important than the opinions that he had when he sat there watching them practice.
But if Hanami is busy with Saki-chan's new band activities, she'll probably have less time to focus on MYGO.
After finishing the last bit of soup, Banami smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "Well, it's just that the new band needs time to get used to each other, so it should take some time."
From now on, things will be pretty much the same; I won't need to do anything else.
This is a lie.
Even Su Shi could understand that, unlike the Lost Child Band, SAKI-chan wanted to form a commercial band that could make money. It could be said that she would not have the leisure of a student at every step.
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