Are you, as meal replacement users, ready for the consequences?

Page 124

"Ah this."

Ch159. A simple life with the one you love.

Triangle Emerging Flower…

A woman who evoked conflicting feelings in Toyokawa Neko.

As a member of the popular group Sumimi, she also shoulders the responsibilities of being a student.

Under such high pressure, how could he still find time to take a friend's sister out for coffee?

This person seems quite extraordinary.

Toyokawa Ningko's attitude towards Mikasa Hatsuka changed from hostility to keeping her distance, if it weren't for the fact that Hatsuka offered to bring Shoko some snacks...

Ning Zicai was unwilling to be alone with this person.

"Then why did Xiao Ning lie to me last time?"

"Um... because I was feeling really unwell at the time, and I saw someone as my savior."

"Is that so?"

Chu Hua remembered Toyokawa Ningko, who was hiding under the shade of a small tree, looking petite and fragile, her face pale as if she had been soaked in water.

He definitely looks unwell and sick.

Chu Hua didn't care about this deception.

Because Xiangzi's sister is essentially her sister, isn't she?

"Warning! Don't look at me like that! It's weird!"

"Ahem, okay."

Chu Hua adjusted her baseball cap and stuck her tongue out at Ning Zi.

How did Xiao Ning fare after that?

"It's alright. I died a few times, but I was resurrected by watching ads."

“…Huh?”

"What? I should be asking you that too. Why are you wandering around outside without a mask?"

Ningzi pushed open the door of the coffee shop and wiped the cherry blossom petals off the soles of her shoes on the insoles.

Rotten cherry blossoms are a sign of death in spring.

"What a coincidence, it's this store again."

"hehe."

Having found a quiet, secluded seat, Toyokawa Ningko looked forward to finishing her conversation quickly and going home.

After all, there's not much to talk about, is there? I was basically dragged here against my will.

And surely the other party didn't bring me here for some reason like being in a good mood; they definitely had some ulterior motive, right?

Otherwise, why would they be so nice to me for no reason?

"Why aren't you wearing a mask? Because I'm too lazy to wear one, or maybe I'm just not in a good mood today."

really.

A woman with ill intentions.

Ningzi continued to label Chuhua, while also condemning herself for being so ungrateful.

Such self-condemnation and condemnation of others occur simultaneously, maintaining a delicate balance.

"So, are you feeling stressed and want to chat with me?"

"More or less, but I can't say that...otherwise it would seem like I'm being insincere."

Ha ha.

"Have you been having a bad time lately?"

The coffee was served, and Ningzi took a small sip. The bitter and sour taste crept onto her tongue, polluting her taste buds.

The same thing that polluted her taste buds was the carelessly placed triangular Hatsuhana in front of her.

I'm sorry, thank you for saving me; you're just a nobody, don't look at me like that!

"The pressure is immense, and I'm incredibly busy. Sometimes I'm so busy that I'm completely disorganized, and after I'm done, I feel like there's no point in doing anything else."

Ningzi slowly opened up Chu Hua, who had originally planned to go to the planetarium to relax today.

As a result, they ran into Ningzi halfway there.

"I think it's because you're too young to shoulder such a responsibility."

"Ugh?"

What a boring topic. Everyone goes through this.

When Sanjiao Chuhua said this to Ningzi, Ningzi thought she simply wanted to find a confidante or someone to pour out her troubles to.

This isn't meant to belittle Chu Hua, nor is it to complain about her poor mental resilience; it's just—

"I think Chu Hua didn't actually recognize me completely."

"What do you mean?"

Chu Hua lay on the table, stirring her coffee while glancing at Toyokawa Ningko.

"I think you didn't recognize me and Xiangzi when I fell into the water."

"...That's true."

"Then how can you be sure that the person you saved wasn't Xiangzi who fell into the water, and that the person lying on the riverbank wasn't me? And how do you know that the person you had coffee with last time wasn't Xiangzi, and who I could be?"

"???"

"W-what does this mean?"

Chu Hua's mind was a little confused about what Ning Zi was saying; she felt like someone was doing something terrible to her brain.

"Chuhua, what I mean is, actually I am Xiaoxiang. The person sitting in front of you has always been Xiaoxiang."

This is utter nonsense.

Ningzi didn't want to comfort Sanjiao Chuhua or become the kind of good woman and philanthropist that others talked about.

Rather than following the rules honestly and methodically, Toyokawa Neko prefers to use a vast and chaotic logic to prevent the other person from thinking about their own sadness.

What to do when there's too much sadness?

That's because you can't think of enough things, so you can only keep thinking about those trivial matters and eventually exhaust yourself.

Overwhelm your brain with a massive amount of information, and you won't even have time to be sad.

This is how Toyokawa Neko comforted Mikami Hatsuka.

"Xiao Hua".

"Xiao...Xiaoxiang?"

"No, actually, I am still Ningzi."

"???"

Chu Hua stopped drinking her coffee; she didn't understand what Ningzi was talking about.

"It's nothing, I just wanted to reprimand you, Chu Hua, for not recognizing me after all this time."

"So you are?"

"I am Toyokawa Shoko."

Ningzi maintained her older sister's usual tea-drinking posture, leaving Sankaku Hatsuka dazzled.

"..."

Chu Hua tried to sort out the whole thing and found that something was off.

"Isn't this right?"

"Of course, you just realized? I'm just kidding. I am Ningzi. Thank you for saving my life, otherwise I wouldn't have the chance to tease you like this now."

"puff."

Chu Hua seemed to understand Ningzi's meaning a little, and put her hat back on.

This time was different; she took the mask out of her pocket.

"Thanks, I feel better now... I think I feel better now? I'm feeling a bit more motivated and I want to go to the planetarium to relax. Xiao Ning, do you want to come with me?"

Planetarium?

The last time I went was a week ago, when we met up.

"Never."

Ningzi just wanted to take the dessert Chuhua had promised to her home. It was already past four o'clock, and if she didn't hurry back, Xiangzi would be home soon.

"Chuhua, keep working hard with my blessings. We probably won't see each other again. I wish you happiness."

"Huh? We'll never see each other again?"

Outside the coffee shop, Ningzi grabbed her dessert and was about to run away.

She waved at Sanjiao Chuhua, swatting away all the bad luck around her.

It's a little embarrassing to accept someone's dessert for free, so let's leave a blessing as a gift for our last meeting.

"That's right, you'll rise to great heights and become a superstar I can never reach, while me..."

Mitsuba Hatsuka saw herself reflected in Toyokawa Neko's amber eyes.

"I just want to live a peaceful and stable life with the person I like, so I will definitely have no contact with them in the future."

Ningzi just wanted to get away from her.

Although not quite like Nagasaki Motoyo.

But now, I still don't really like being with Chu Hua.

"And also, I'm not trying to comfort you today, so don't get the wrong idea!"

"Good~"

Even after Ningzi had gone far away, Chuhua did not leave.

She didn't really want to go to the planetarium.

"It's really interesting."

Proud?

Ch160. No longer firmly determined not to become an adult

After the collapse of Japan's bubble economy, ordinary people lost their upward mobility and could only hope to become big stars to achieve upward social mobility.

But only a small number of people can succeed on this path. Most people, like the members of Yuqiu, just use playing in a band to fill the void in their real lives.

Some say this reflects the despair and tragedy of Japanese high school students.

Can…

"These have nothing to do with Triangle Emerald."

I walk the same path home again and again; it's an old story.

Toyokawa Ningko was carrying a bag full of snacks and desserts.

This is what she got in return for providing emotional value.

There's nothing shameful about it... after all, many people make money by providing emotional value.

Perhaps because the stock market has crashed again, everyone has flocked to the high-rise areas to fly around. Even though it's supposed to be the most comfortable time of day, the streets are deserted.

Ningzi caught a whiff of summer in the tail end of spring.

“It’s May already,” Ningzi said, leaning against a telephone pole downstairs, staring blankly into the distance. “Soon, I’ll be able to pester Xiangzi to buy me popsicles. Maybe I can earn more money and treat Xiangzi to one this year.”

Last May, Xiangzi was with me, and this May, Xiangzi is with me again.