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

Page 60

The paper's texture, handwriting, content, degree of crease...

Ningzi stacked the two sheet music pieces together, and under the desk lamp, their shadows could almost be said to overlap completely.

"Exactly the same... Give the fake one back to the lamp, and that will replace part of it, right?"

I'm permeating your memories... Little Lamp.

I will slowly, slowly, little by little, sew myself into your life... whether it's the past or the future.

Even your memories of others will be mixed with my shadow.

"Xiao Ning? What are you looking at?"

Xiangzi, wrapped in a towel, walked out of the bathroom and looked at Ningzi curiously.

"There's nothing there, just some study materials the teacher gave us to review."

"You're actually studying hard? Ningzi is such a good girl."

"That's right, Ningzi is the best behaved."

Toyokawa Ningko blinked, her amber eyes full of laughter.

Ch79. I only regret that my brain lacks sufficient material.

"Get up, or you'll be late."

In the early morning, Xiangzi combed his hair and carefully poked Ningzi's cheek with his finger.

It's very soft and tender. When your fingertips touch your skin, it vibrates slightly. When Ningzi is asleep, she looks just like a little pufferfish.

"Waaaaaa?"

With her eyes closed, Ningzi reached out her hands to touch her sister, but unfortunately, she couldn't find anything after groping around for a long time.

"Silly Xiao Ning, I'm here."

Holding Ningzi's hand and extending his arm under his sister's back, Xiangzi skillfully pulled the still-sleepy little kitten up.

"Sister... just five more minutes of sleep, I love you."

"No, that's what you said when I called you just now."

"Waaah, I don't believe it... Xiangzi lied to me."

"Hey, don't cry, I just can't do anything with you."

Xiangzi reluctantly carried Ningzi back and covered her with a small blanket.

This was actually the fourth time I had called Ningzi to get up.

But this little fish always begs for mercy in an incredibly cute voice, crying and pleading to sleep a little longer.

Xiangzi picked up his phone, glanced at the time, shrugged, and went to the living room.

"Anyway, it's still early, and the breakfast hasn't been heated up yet, so there's no rush."

The living room was a place that Xiangzi was familiar with yet also felt completely unfamiliar with.

After moving, she didn't dare to slack off for a moment. From seven in the morning to ten at night, she spent most of her time outside.

During the day, I focus on studying and taking care of my younger sister. My only task during this time is to dedicate myself to my studies and provide emotional support for her.

Studying hard is for the sake of scholarships, and there are only three or four spots available in each grade.

Thanks to her solid foundation and continuous efforts, Shoko Toyokawa is now in this range.

As long as we continue to take it seriously, we will definitely win!

And then at night...

Toyokawa Shoko took small sips of her coffee.

Evenings belong to working-class Shoko Toyokawa.

From 3 p.m. after school, Xiangzi would shed his naive student appearance and transform into a living legend of Tokyo City—the working king, Fengchuan Xiangzi.

A mysterious and elegant female customer service representative who never shows her face; a masked piano artist who occasionally appears at a high-end restaurant; a multifaceted and contradictory oddball who simultaneously works posting and removing flyers…

And so on and so forth; Toyokawa Shoko has a whole host of other identities like these…

That's why she doesn't get home until very late every night.

That's why the living room became a place that was both strange and familiar to Toyokawa Shoko.

Having lived here for so long, I can only go home to rest at night... It's more like a gas station than a home.

Toyokawa Yasuko is the gasoline that powers her Peterbilt 389 tractor truck.

Ding--

The bread in the bread machine is ready.

This was also bought by Mu... Mu said it was an essential item to provide Ningzi with a good living environment.

"Mu is right... We can't expect Ningzi to eat cheap, leftover takeout with us."

Ultimately, it's because I've failed too much.

After deducting rent and living expenses, and saving most of my own spending, the money left was simply not enough to support the family's daily living expenses.

Fortunately, my father ran away from home...

Where is my father now?

Xiangzi looked towards the room, and she seemed to vaguely hear some noise.

The summer before school started was alright, since I was able to spend more time taking care of Ningzi.

During the gap between the end of summer vacation and taking Ningzi to school, I was really negligent.

The stupidest mistake I ever made was leaving Ningzi at home and having my father take care of her.

Who could imagine that the father would be so indifferent to Ningzi's well-being... He even went so far as to give Ningzi alcohol as drinking water on one occasion...

A man who makes his daughter support the family and wastes her wages.

"Ah, thankfully Father has now come to his senses."

Mu said that her father went to a place that was very far away but also had great opportunities to find work.

I think it was called something like an industrial park?

Mu spoke so vaguely that I didn't hear him clearly at all.

However, Mutsu wasn't very clear about these details either; they were all told to him by the Wakaba couple.

They used Mutsu as a messenger to pass on these messages to Toyokawa Shoko.

"It should still be in Asia, after all, it's impossible—"

"Sister! Good morning! Did you miss me?"

Ningzi, now dressed in Haneoka school uniform, jumped out of the room and flashed a peace sign at Xiangzi.

Lively and lovely, fresh and charming, like seaweed swaying in the water.

"Good morning, come and have some breakfast. You must be tired from school."

"It wasn't tiring at all! Let me tell you what I dreamed about yesterday!"

"Okay."

"I... um, I'm going to brush my teeth and wash my face first! Talk to you later!"

"Okay, go ahead."

Ningzi hurriedly fled to the bathroom, her sweet and lovely smile completely collapsing after she closed the door.

"Aaaaaah, what was I just saying?!"

Last night, Ningzi dreamed that she went to the Heavenly Palace to be a little keeper of the Peach Garden. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she suddenly saw seven fairies walking towards her.

Those people were Toyokawa Shoko, Chihaya Aine, Takamatsu Akari, Shiina Tatsuki, Hachiman Kairin, Wakaba Mutsumi, and Misumi... I forgot their names.

In the last moment before waking up, I was still playing and frolicking in the water with these seven fairies with brightly colored hair, and everyone was dressed unusually coolly... Ahhhhh!

"How did I wake up?!"

She even felt the fairy sisters trying to persuade her to stay several times, but in the end, she was woken up by one of them...

Ahhhhh!

As handfuls of tap water splashed onto her face, Ningzi felt the cold malice of the world.

"How awful! Why only... only..."

Her face grew redder and redder as she thought about it, to the point that it felt like it could drip water.

"Why is the most suggestive thing just touching the cheek? How can they do that..."

Eight people spent almost half a day in the water, and all they did was hold hands and flick each other's cheeks...

"It can't be because we lack further material, can it?"

After wiping the water off her face with a towel, Ningzi looked at the shy little girl in the mirror, and the pent-up grievances in her heart finally burst forth:

"Toyokawa Reiko! Why didn't you give me this kind of knowledge!"

Don't give me those boring, tedious, and long-winded books! That's not what I want to see!

"Ningzi? What's wrong?"

Shoko Toyokawa's caring greeting rang out from outside the restroom.

"Oh, oh, sorry sister, I was still sleepy and talking in my sleep..."

Ningzi gritted her teeth, took the toothbrush, and squeezed on the toothpaste.

Chapter 80. Once the genuine article is destroyed, the fake becomes the genuine article.

Good morning, Toyokawa-kun!

Good morning, Jie! Is there any soccer club activity today?

"Ah, we're going out for a meal today, and Chikiri and Nagi Makoto are coming too!"

Good morning, Ningzi!

"Good morning, Bee Joy! What about your date with Jie yesterday...?"

"Haha, it's a super success!"

Upon entering the classroom, Ningzi was greeted with a warm welcome as usual. She had already gotten used to exchanging these meaningless morning greetings with her classmates on this beautiful day.

Haha, a bunch of pathetic girls, always so stingy with their money, let's see how you get into university! Just wait to be crushed by me, Toyokawa Ningko!

Ningzi greeted everyone she met with a smile, her tone kind and gentle.

After just over a week of getting to know each other, Toyokawa Ningko's fame and popularity at school had far surpassed that of her older sister, Toyokawa Shoko.

After all, although they had almost identical appearances, Ningzi was different from Xiangzi in that she always kept her distance from her classmates, to the point that many of Xiangzi's classmates still do not know Xiangzi's name.

Ningzi practically had the words "I'm super easy to talk to, come chat with me, you shy little rascal" written all over her face.

She always showed everyone her smile.

When she notices you looking at her, Ningzi will slightly narrow her eyes, making you lose yourself in her bright amber pupils.

If Toyokawa Shoko could be like Neneko, then her "status" would rise in Haneoka just like Neneko's.

Unfortunately, Toyokawa Shoko didn't care about any of that. Her only purpose in coming to school was to study, meet Ningzi, and occasionally steal a moment to play the piano.

This (social) activity isn't really necessary for Xiangzi. He's not interested in playing in a band or pretending to be a child with high school girls.

"Good morning, Xiaodeng. How was yesterday's penguin plush toy? Did you like it?"

"I really like it, thank you Xiaoning."

Although Lixi paid the bill in the end, Xiaoning did help choose the items... so I'm very grateful to Lixi.

Lixi has always been a good person.

"This is our autumn... 'Spring Shadows', I went back and looked at it yesterday, and it brought back a lot of memories between us."

"I think the things I forgot during my hospitalization will all be brought back into my life by the light."

Ningzi still remembered that when she asked for Deng's address last time, she used the lame excuse of amnesia.