So, Toyokawa Shoko is really not a jealous person.
I hope everyone can remember this.
"He said that he only has eyes for Xiangzi-chan and he won't fall in love with any other girl except you, which naturally includes me... If you were here, you would definitely fall in love with him completely, right? His tone was so firm and affectionate."
Nagasaki Suyo raised her head and smiled slightly bitterly again, but her eyes were as clear as the blue sky after a sunny day, and not a drop of rain could fall.
"Xiangzi-chan, I have understood how terrible it is to confess."
"Once you say it, the things you cherish will probably be completely destroyed, and nothing will be left..."
"But if I delay, I will just have to watch you get closer and closer until there is no room for me to stand... That feeling will seem to be more painful and will last longer."
"All the feelings that are not expressed will decay into regret and hatred that constantly burns your heart, and eventually make you no longer like yourself."
"So, I decided to speak out."
Taking a deep breath, Nagasaki Suyo clenched her clasped hands on the table and forced herself to smile in relief.
"It's nothing I can do about being rejected - after all, Xiangzi-chan is more attractive than me!"
"Mr. Sushi..."
Her whole body shuddered, and Toyokawa Shoko murmured with a complicated expression, biting her lower lip slightly.
As if she had made a decision, she suddenly stretched out her palm and gently placed it on Nagasaki Suze's fingers, which had turned white from exerting so much force, so that the warmth of her palm could be transmitted to her.
No mercy, no hostility.
Toyokawa Shoko just stared straight ahead, her eyes as if they were real, and spoke seriously to Nagasaki Suyo:
"Please stop forcing yourself to smile!"
"Just pretend that everything is my fault. At least in front of me, you can cry, insult, get angry, and vent to me as much as you want. Until you can completely let go of all the sadness and pain, I am willing to stay by your side."
"If you endure everything alone, your heart will eventually break down... Neither I nor Narumi want to see you look like this."
Nagasaki Suyo shook her head gently and was about to look into her eyes and say that she was fine, but when she met those unreserved, gentle and sincere amber eyes, she subconsciously turned her gaze away, and an inexplicable complex pain and guilt came from her chest.
"Shoko-chan..."
——Don't be so gentle to me.
Come on, say some lines for when the rival wins.
If you're still so nice to me until now, wouldn't it make me look like a bad woman who betrayed her friend's kindness...
Despite a momentary struggle in her heart, Nagasaki Suyo still did not forget her purpose and forced the voice out of her throat:
“For many things, it is better to regret after doing them than to regret not doing them… In that case, at least you can continue to move forward calmly.”
"Shoko-chan, I don't want to regret it. So, after I told Ming Hai, I also want to tell you about this feeling, so that you know--"
"Even if he rejects me, I still can't help but like him."
Like a criminal going to the police station to turn himself in, Nagasaki Suyo lowered her head and didn't look at her stunned expression.
After a while, only a slight response was heard.
"……Um."
Toyokawa Shoko seemed to smile, a little helpless, and then regained some of her usual cheerfulness and gentleness, "That's true. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to immediately hate him or ignore him after being rejected, right?"
After a brief pause, she said calmly, "So, are you going to try to take him away from me?"
"……Eh?"
Nagasaki Suyo couldn't help but be stunned, her eyes wide open in surprise.
If she hadn't lowered her head, the overly surprised expression on her face would have exposed her acting skills that she had maintained until now, right?
—Because she really intended to do so.
If Ming Hai achieves his goal and can separate from Toyokawa Shoko at any time...
At that time, no matter what kind of blow it would bring to her friend, Nagasaki Motoyo would never hesitate and would use all means to snatch him away from Shoko.
What she didn't expect was that the other party actually spoke her thoughts directly, and even invited her to stand on the stage without any warning.
Is this an overconfident provocation, or a line of humiliation from the winner to the loser?
Nagasaki Suyo couldn't understand what she was thinking, so she adjusted her expression, raised her head, and looked at Toyokawa Shoko in a daze.
——The smile is as straightforward as the sunshine, without any gloom or sarcasm.
Rather than a young lady, she now looked more like a heroic female knight fighting against the enemy general on the battlefield.
"We are not dating yet, nor are we married yet - before everything is settled, even if I am more reluctant than anyone else to let go of Narumi-kun's eyes, I cannot deny the existence of other possibilities."
"Murakami-kun has the right to like someone, and others have the right to pursue him... I am the foolish one who cannot make a decision. I am the one who is afraid of "change" until now."
"so……"
Toyokawa Shoko raised her hand and extended it towards her as if inviting her, with gentle eyes and a confident smile. Her voice was as bright and clear as a sunny day in early summer, dispelling all the depression that had settled between them.
"Mr. Su Shi, if you still like him, please don't give up on him so quickly."
"Be honest with your feelings and become my love rival!"
In front of Nagasaki Suyo, who had completely lost control of her expression and looked at her in disbelief, Toyokawa Shoko raised her eyebrows with high spirits and declared without question:
"Of course, I won't lose!"
"The person Narumi-kun likes is me, and I like him more than anyone else - I have the confidence to spend the rest of my life with him. Feel free to test us with your feelings!"
"On the wedding day, I will ask you to be the maid of honor."
"..."
It was like the first time she saw such a childish Toyokawa Shoko. Nagasaki Motoyo looked at her with a dull gaze and was speechless for a long time. The words came to her lips but she didn't know how to say them. Even the lines she had prepared were blown away by these explosive remarks. She was left with a feeling of confusion in her heart.
But at the same time, the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise slightly, as if she was smiling.
Seeing this, Toyokawa Shoko breathed a sigh of relief and continued, striking while the iron was hot:
"Of course, no matter who he chooses in the end, we can't hold grudges against each other, and we can't affect other people in [CryCHIC]... Our emotional disputes should be quietly resolved privately."
"We are both friends and enemies. Can you please make this agreement with me? Suyo-san."
Nagasaki Suyo looked at her and did not avoid her again. Instead, she stared at her and met her gaze seriously, as if to confirm the truthfulness of her words.
After a moment, she raised her hand, without the usual smile on her face. Instead, she bit her lips with a slightly complicated look, and slowly held it while struggling.
But just as she touched Toyokawa Shoko's fingertips, she withdrew her hand as if she had been electrocuted, cupped her palm to her chest, took a deep breath, and gently shook her head.
"Xiangzi-chan, your proposal... really makes me excited."
"But I've made my decision. I told Narumi as well."
Saying this with some difficulty, Nagasaki Suyo turned around and looked up at the sky outside the pavilion.
Her voice was like a feather, light enough to be blown away by the wind: "...I will hide my feelings of love and wish you all the best."
His tone was unexpectedly calm, yet it trembled slightly with some discomfort.
Rather than feeling guilty or lying, Toyokawa Shoko believed that it was her farewell and reluctance to give up this relationship.
"I don't want to lose the person I love, but I don't want to lose two friends at once... Whether it's you, [CryCHIC] or Ming Hai, they are more important than my own feelings."
"So, this is my only choice. It's the best ending for everyone to be happy."
Give up your own love and help your friend's love.
Even if you can't be in love with the person you like, at least the important things around you will not fall apart - friendship is no cheaper than love, right?
Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but suddenly realize and somewhat understood Nagasaki Suyo's thoughts.
Even if she had to compromise, this was the best option for her and them.
——I don’t seem to have any reason to reject this choice.
"Don't worry about it, Shoko-chan."
As if she had heard the hesitation in her heart, Nagasaki Suyo turned her back to her and spoke softly.
"Even if we like the same person, we won't become rivals in love."
Her long brown hair was blown by the breeze. Toyokawa Shoko couldn't see her profile, but she felt that her back was not as relaxed and natural as her tone.
"Mr. Sushi..."
"That's what I wanted to say. It's almost time, let's get ready to go back to the classroom!"
Without letting her finish her words, Nagasaki Motoyo walked out of the pavilion with her hands behind her back, stepping lightly without looking at Toyokawa Shoko's hesitant expression.
In the light spots of the swaying tree shadows, there is only a whisper whose emotions are unclear:
"Shoko-chan, let me see Ming Hai happy, okay? Otherwise..."
——Otherwise, I can’t help but feel happy.
Only this sentence remained deeply engraved in Toyokawa Shoko's heart like a nail, and she still doesn't know how to ask her about it.
-
Ever since the confession in the pavilion, Nagasaki Suyo began to talk to her about Ming Hai.
Sometimes it was school, sometimes it was the orchestra - as if the tacit understanding that was once kept secret was all a joke, whenever she found the opportunity, she would openly ask about the progress of the two.
When he knew that Xiangzi was going to date him, he even jokingly called himself a "love strategist" and took the initiative to give her advice and discuss the itinerary and outfits for the date.
She is as active as a good girlfriend who is crazy about the couple.
If she hadn't known that she liked Ming Hai, Toyokawa Shoko's feelings would definitely not have been so complicated - after all, she had always wanted to have a close friend with whom she could talk about private matters and share love stories.
She was still confused about what this "best friend" was thinking and whether he really supported their relationship... But there was nothing she could do, because the person who said "both a friend and an enemy" was Xiangzi himself.
Toyokawa Shoko could only accept Nagasaki Suyo's initiative to show goodwill, suppress her unspeakable thoughts, and act as if she knew nothing, and continue to get along with her as if nothing had happened.
Over time, I got used to the existence of this "love strategist" and gradually opened my heart to chat with him about various topics of love and dating.
As for the issue of confidentiality...even if Nagasaki Suyo didn't say it, she wouldn't tell Ming Hai about it.
If Ming Hai knew about this, it would probably be hard for the three of them to get along harmoniously as usual, right?
"Compared to this..."
The past is like smoke, fleeting.
Putting the memories back into her mind, Toyokawa Shoko followed Ming Hai to get the popcorn set. On the way to the theater, she glanced at him casually, thinking about the most important purpose of this date.
"——How can I make him say 'I like you'?"
Should I ask him to speak out directly? It feels like I am doubting his intentions and forcing him to confess.
Even if he really said it, he would probably show disappointment and sadness, right?
Toyokawa Shoko didn't want this to happen.
So she planned to let Minghai say "I like you" naturally when he was not on guard and could not react.
Then he went back and told Wakaba Mu proudly and confidently:
"Mu, you're thinking too much this time, aren't you? There's no doubt that he loves me, he just doesn't often say that he likes me."
Thinking of this scene, she couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, and her eyes turned into beautiful crescents.
"What's wrong? You're smiling so happily."
Ming Hai tilted his head and asked in confusion.
"No, I just thought of something interesting." She paused, and suddenly asked casually, "By the way, do you like my smile?"
Ming Hai was stunned for a moment, then frowned slightly: "...What kind of weird question is this?"
"Just asking casually!" Feeling that he was beginning to doubt, Toyokawa Shoko quickly added, but her tone was a little stiff, "If you like, I can smile more next time!"
Volume 74: Chapter Chapter Miss Toyokawa wants me to say I like her
After all, I have known her for a while, and I deal with this young lady almost every day, and we are as close as a couple.
Even though Toyokawa Shoko tried to cover it up very quickly, Ming Hai still didn't miss the strangeness and took in her expression that was trying to hide something.
——This guy, has he come up with a new way to tease me?
He subconsciously thought so. After all, it was not just one or two days that Miss Xiangzi liked to tease him.
