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

Page 42

Two slices.

I'll eat two slices this time.

Having made her decision, Toyokawa Ningko swallowed the pills in one gulp, hoping that after taking them she would become normal like everyone else.

Her current wish is simply to be an ordinary mortal.

If I were a normal person, I probably wouldn't overthink things, my sister would feel much more relaxed, and my friends wouldn't have to worry about me anymore.

Hmm... I'm feeling a little sad.

But I took the medicine, and I feel much better now.

Ningzi tightened the bottle cap and gave Hailing a bright smile.

Perhaps it's just psychological, but Ningzi really feels much better!

"Hailin, I'm all ready. Let's go, don't keep our employer waiting."

"Well, let's go."

Yawata Kairin glanced at the medicine bottle that Toyokawa Neko had put into her pocket.

She doesn't recall having any cold medicine like this; is it a new one?

Perhaps I'm just too outdated.

She led the way, guiding Ningzi into a rehearsal room.

"Hello, we are the bassist and keyboardist who have made a reservation."

"Oh, right, my name is Toyokawa Ningko. Nice to meet you!"

"Hachiman Kairin, please take good care of me."

"Please take good care of me!" X3

…?…

"so tired!"

Bitter Lucy! Bitter bitter bitter bitter! Bitter bitter bitter!

Ningzi was walking home; her fingers were practically about to explode from all the clicking.

Hailing parted ways with me at the Ring entrance. That idiot had said to me with a malicious look that I'd get used to it.

"You'll get used to it" sounds like compromising with the status quo and becoming someone else's shape.

Well, you just have to adapt to these things, since I don't really play them that much.

"Is today's piano a piano lamp instead of a piano bell?"

On another day of twilight, the golden afterglow of the setting sun was simply overwhelming. Ningzi leaned against the floor-to-ceiling windows of Ring, taking a short rest and enjoying this hard-won peace.

The girls in the rehearsal room were so noisy!

They'd burst into laughter at the slightest joke I told, and they'd surround me with starry-eyed begs for more when I casually played the keyboard…

They even asked for my contact information, cautiously inquiring about all sorts of private matters.

Yes, that's why my fingers hurt.

For over an hour, I was creating music for my little fans.

It's truly a happy kind of trouble.

So what is Xiao Xiang doing now? Has he eaten? Is it possible that he can only buy food that is close to its expiration date because he is reluctant to spend money?

"Xiao Ning? What a coincidence, we meet again!"

Chihaya Aine covered her mouth and peeked out from behind the wall, her cute little tiger teeth peeking out from behind her palm.

"Hmm? Aine? It's you again."

The pink-haired puppy, with an extraordinary joy and enthusiasm, hopped and skipped over to Ningzi's side.

"Oh yeah, I wanted to go for a walk, and I didn't expect to run into Ningzi like this!"

This is a lie——

Aine had actually seen Ningzi walk into Ring more than an hour earlier. She had been squatting outside for the past hour, waiting for Ningzi to be alone before jumping out.

Chihaya Aine spoke in a high-pitched voice, but Ningzi didn't mind.

The more you listen, the more addictive it becomes; the more you listen, the more you feel it. It's really quite cute.

"Shall we go get dinner? I haven't eaten yet, and Ningzi is probably still hungry too."

Are you going to have dinner with Aine? I have some takeout at home.

Ugh, I don't want to eat bento boxes anymore! I never want to eat them again!

"But I'm sorry, I don't have any money."

"It's okay! I'll kiss you!"

...... ...... ......

Chapter 53. Toyokawa Shoko in Search of...

【Lixi…I’ve finished eating. Now…have I atoned…?】

Don't talk nonsense, you idiot!

[Please vomit it up! I'm begging you! You'll die!]

【No, no!】

"what!"

Shiina Riki suddenly sat up in her chair, and the bizarre and dazzling dream finally came to an end.

Because of the sudden movement when she woke up, Shiina Ritsuki fell off the chair.

It was already dusk, and Shiina Ritsuki, wearing Bluetooth earphones, slept peacefully all day.

At that moment, Mertic's "Lost Kitten" was playing in my ears.

The school's nap program is very effective; just two hours of sleep is equivalent to eleven hours of sleep at home.

Lixi woke up several times during the nightmare, silently listening to the sounds of her classmates playing and walking around her, before turning back to continue her cycle of nightmares.

Since the night of the incident, Shiina Tatsuki has never had a good night's sleep. Every time she falls into a deep sleep, she dreams of that hellish afternoon.

Scattered tables and chairs, overturned coffee cups, the sound of someone crying under the lamp, an empty medicine bottle, a girl who has fainted…

Ningzi bites her fingers whenever she closes her eyes, and whenever she relaxes, a feeling of self-blame creeps up her spine.

"I'm so damn stupid."

Taking off her headphones, Lixi rubbed her eyes, which were sore and stinging.

It's been more than two hours since school let out.

I feel so tired of living.

After packing her belongings, Li Xi could only limp along the corridor of the teaching building because her legs had gone numb from sitting.

The students who participated in the clubs have mostly returned to their own cozy homes, and the only creatures that can be seen in the vicinity are small, unprepared stray cats.

A stray cat... Being a cat isn't so bad, at least cats are cute when they throw tantrums at people, aren't they?

"Lixi."

"Ok?"

There was a blurry figure at the school gate. Shiina Riki didn't notice it at first, but when she got closer to the school gate, the familiar voice made Riki's heart skip a beat.

This is Toyokawa Shoko, whom I haven't seen since we parted ways at the hospital a few days ago.

"Xiangzi? I..."

"I'm not here to hear your explanation."

Toyokawa Shoko leaned against the school gate, her calm expression making Riki feel suffocated.

Now, whenever Lixi sees Xiangzi's face, the phrase "atonement" that Ningzi spoke of back then automatically plays on a loop in his mind.

"Tell me the details; you must have a lot to say."

Xiangzi and Lixi maintained a distance of about half a meter, but despite this, Lixi felt as if the other person was choking her.

"Okay... I'll tell you everything, I'll cooperate."

It felt like interrogating a criminal, Li Xi thought to herself, but wasn't she the criminal herself?

If I explain everything to Xiangzi, will I feel any better? Will Xiangzi choose to forgive me?

"I will not forgive you, Shiina Tatsuki."

As if she could read Riki's mind, Toyokawa Shoko took another step closer to Riki.

"Yes, really..."

“I will not forgive you. You can beg Ningzi for forgiveness. You can make her forgive you.”

"But as Ningzi's older sister, I have no right to forgive you on Ningzi's behalf. The only right I have is to say that I will never forgive you personally."

“Yes, I understand, these are all… the proper course of action,” Lixi’s heart sank further. “Should I explain this from the beginning?”

"I just want to know one thing."

"what?"

"Where did the sleeping pills come from? Why does Ningzi have sleeping pills? Do you know anything about that?"

Lixi found out about the school he attended by asking the boss at Ring himself.

Xiangzi took a day off today and waited for two hours at the entrance of Hanasaki River.

Xiangzi had investigated the cause, process, and outcome of the case to a great extent, but there was one thing she really couldn't understand.

It makes no sense why Ningzi would have sleeping pills.

"..."

Shiina Tatsuki remained silent, and after some struggle, finally pulled a small medicine bottle out of his bag.

This is the can that Ningzi ate back then. Lixi always kept it with him, originally thinking that he could tell the doctor about the details when they asked him at the hospital.

"It's this kind, I checked, it's prescribed by the hospital, I think..."

"Someone gave it to Ningzi, right?"

"Yes, I saw Ningzi take it out of her pocket."

When faced with Toyokawa Shoko's quick answer, Shiina Tatsuki simply cooperated obediently.

She really doesn't dare to have any temper anymore.

"Did someone give this bottle of medicine to Ningzi after she asked for leave from school that day?"

The bottle wasn't big, but it could hold dozens of pills. I wondered how desperate and sad my sister must have been to swallow them all in one go.

"Oh, right, I have one more question to ask, my last question."

"what?"

Is it coming? The final judgment, the judgment of Shiina Tatsuki by Toyokawa Shoko.

From the day of the incident, Shiina Tatsuki had been waiting for Shoko's questioning.

"It was you who provoked Ningzi, wasn't it?"

"..."

ended.

“It’s me…”

...... ...... ......

Takamatsu House, the little nest of gray penguins.

Miss Penguin, who had rolled on the school lawn, climbed into bed without taking a shower. She buried her head under the pillow, clutching the small stone Ningzi had given her.

like.