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

Page 97

For Xiao Ning's sake, it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring her along, right?

As long as Xiao Ning is happy, it's not a big deal...

"Xiao Ning! You're back so fast!"

Chihaya Aine pushed open the door and entered, seeing Ningzi and Akari chatting animatedly at their seats.

That's not the point. The point is that Deng is still sitting in her seat so that she can chat with Ningzi.

"Hmm? Xiao Ai, you're back."

When Akane returned, she got up and left, clutching the unfinished words and the necklace in her palm.

"Yes, even though I've already said it, I still want to say that the piano performance today was really good! It was really good! Although I really want to hear Ningzi's original compositions."

While speaking, Aine would occasionally glance at Takamatsu Akari. Even if she wasn't hostile towards the guy who was competing with her for her childhood friend, she definitely wanted to provoke him a little.

A wise person once said, "Girls are either childhood sweethearts or adulterers!" So Gao Songdeng is that adulterer!

Lamp didn't understand Aine's subtle boasting; she only heard the second half of Aine's sentence.

"Chihaya-kun, have you heard of Ning's original songs?"

"Don't call me Chihaya anymore, just call me Aine. I'll call you Akari too!"

"Ok!"

Chihaya Aine was not a bad woman like Ningzi after all. After seeing that the light was calm, she lost interest in continuing to show off.

"Well, if Xiao Ai wants to hear it, I can play it next time."

Ningzi couldn't hear any of the chatter from her classmates around her; all she could hear now were the sounds of Aiyin and the lights.

Even her own voice didn't matter anymore; Ningzi only knew what she was saying but couldn't hear a single letter.

"Really? That's great!"

"hehe."

Such an adorable reaction, like a little child, but with a touch of wildness. If it were a newborn parrot, it would have to be sent for tail clipping.

Love Sound... Parrot...

Ningzi looked Aine up and down. Although she might have misunderstood her just now, misunderstandings never happen without reason.

The misunderstanding stemmed from Ningzi's inner unease.

Ningzi did not get enough security from Chihaya Aine, this friend who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

They've only known each other for a few days. Even if it's Xiangzi, Ningzi will still question her first, then refute herself, and then question her again.

After all, although Xiangzi is reliable now, there was a period in the past when he was really hard to trust...

Toyokawa Ningko clearly remembers that last year, Shoko would often spend an entire afternoon working on the band... Most of the time it was fine, but there were always a few days like that.

Xiangzi is obsessed. Yeah, he even talks about the band in his sleep while hugging himself to sleep at night... It's really not cute.

So how do we gain a sense of security?

These are things that you really have to fight for yourself.

Ningzi grasped Aine's hand as if she were holding the feathers at the tip of a parrot's tail.

To prevent parrots from flying away, people cruelly clip the feathers behind their wings so they can be more easily manipulated and won't have to worry about the little parrots flying away and not coming back...

[Shouldn't you cut off Chihaya Aine's feathers too, Ning?]

No, I didn't think that way...

You know you're easily misunderstood, and you understand your own sensitivity. So why are you still dragging your feet and doing nothing? What are you trying to achieve?

I want stability, I want peace of mind... even if it means taking medication...

[If you want peace of mind, as you know, you have to fight for it yourself... So, you need to...]

Should I try to control my friends... and become a parrot that can't fly?

[It's good that the parrots aren't allowed to fly around freely; if one of them crashes into something and dies, haha, no one will come to collect the body, so...]

"Xiao Ning? Don't look at me like that, it's kind of scary."

Aine could detect a glint of cold light in Ningzi's eyes; though fleeting, it was definitely not a hallucination.

"Xiao Ai, I'm sorry, hehe..."

For any harm I may cause you in the future, Chihaya Aine, I apologize to you here.

So please accept my apology. Just say "It's okay?" and I'll feel better inside... Little Ai...

"Huh? What's wrong... um..."

Is Xiaoning apologizing because she felt her performance today wasn't good enough? That idiot…

"It's okay, it's nothing serious."

"Really? Xiao Ai, you promised it would be okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay, it's no big deal."

Yeah, it's no big deal, Ningzi, it's no big deal...

Why are you so vulnerable right now...?

Where did your courage go when you jumped into the river...?

"Thank you, Xiao Ai, thank you so much. I'm going to the restroom now, let's talk later."

Ningzi felt empty inside. She did not find the relief she had imagined; instead, her mental stress became even more severe.

How could I have such extreme thoughts, wanting to harm my friends... How disgusting...

Leave the classroom, reject social interaction, find a secluded space, lock yourself away, and then curl up inside with your knees drawn up for a hundred years…

Toyokawa Ningko wants to go home.

"The medicine...maybe it will be useful in the future. Xiao Ning, go and get it back."

The passing gray stray cat said this in a gentle tone, then walked ahead, wiggling its rear as it led the way.

"..."

Her body followed on its own. Ningzi didn't know what the stray cat was up to, but she had a premonition...

Following it won't do you any good, but it won't be too bad either...

The cat led her to the building, and Ningzi looked at the open floor-to-ceiling windows, feeling nothing at all.

It wasn't Xiao Xiang and Xiao Ai's fault, it was Xiao Ning's.

Toyokawa Ningko is guilty.

"Aren't you going to pick up the pills, Xiao Ningzi?"

"Oh…"

Scattered around the shattered medicine bottle, pills lay scattered on the ground. Toyokawa Ningko crouched down and gathered them up with her hands, which were covered in dust.

The box was shattered into pieces, just like Ningzi's life.

Ch128. Li Xi: Do you want to learn how to woo girls?

"Pills...pills..."

The box is no longer needed.

It's broken, just like Ningzi, it's broken.

Toyokawa Ningko rolled up the hem of her shirt, barely managing to hold the remaining dozen or so pills.

Her hands were covered in dust, and the pills had turned a dirty, earthy green. Ningzi tried to wipe the pills clean, but they only got dirtier.

A futile attempt at redemption.

For Toyokawa Ningko, it was indeed a desperate attempt to save her from the pills, hoping she would get better and become clean again.

But for pills, this only makes them more filthy.

Can self-indulgent redemption truly save people?

Toyokawa Ningko found the nearest vending machine and bought a box of candy without hesitation.

Finally, it was gently washed with water from the toilet tap and then put into the candy jar.

Ningzi only made sure the medicine bottle was clean, and didn't care whether the pills were damaged, melted, or mixed with the candy in the jar.

Right now, all Toyokawa Ningko wanted was to use some damn thing to collect all those damn pills that were scattered all over the ground...

It seemed that only by doing this could her increasingly distressed mental world become full and comfortable.

Is it useful...?

no.

The pills were poured into the jar in a daze, and Toyokawa Ningko shook it vigorously until the jar accidentally flew out of her hand and crashed against the wall with a loud bang.

Ningzi walked over, picked it up, and left the washroom.

It's the last ten minutes before lunch break ends.

If we don't get back soon, Ningzi is going to be in trouble...

"..."

It seems like I'll get into trouble if I don't go back?

"That's true!"

The phantom voice came to her ears again, perhaps from some ghostly thing that was passing by, but Ningzi had no interest in finding the source of the sound.

She was so tired, really so tired.

Negative emotions from the past returned like lightning, leaving Ningzi's mind reeling.

"I want to go home and relax."

Ningzi walked to the big tree in the courtyard. She was only a few steps away from the classroom, but she had no intention of continuing.

She kicked off her indoor shoes, and then kicked off her socks with both feet, leaving Ningzi barefoot on the sun-baked ground.

It feels so free, like I'm no longer bound by anything... but it's not enough, I still feel uncomfortable.

My phone kept ringing. It was my older sister, asking me where I was and why I wasn't in the classroom.

Where did they go? They probably committed slow suicide, it's no big deal.

Ningzi sat under the big tree, her nimble little toes twitching, revealing the turmoil in her heart.

Actually, she now strongly resists using her phone, feeling that it's a waste of time and a drain on her life.

But swept along by the times and by society, Toyokawa Neko had no choice but to open it up.

[Neko: I went to the bathroom, don't worry.]

[Saki: Received.jpg.]

"..."

Such a brief reply. Ningzi wanted to talk more and wanted her sister to help her ease her mood.

But seeing such a simple reply, my expectations vanished instantly.

Ningzi exited the chat with her sister.

She wants to talk to someone, but not someone who might make her sad or have even the slightest stain on her reputation.

The stain refers to something that made Ningzi feel uncomfortable.

Even if she did nothing wrong, as long as Ningzi felt uncomfortable, then it was a stain that could not be washed away.

I'm so sorry, so sorry...

This is Toyokawa Ningko, a spoiled and pretentious psychopath. You'd better run away, stay as far away from her as possible, and don't get involved.

"Ha ha…"

Even someone like me can actually be liked... We're all just a bunch of equally sick and love-starved little devils.

So Toyokawa Neko dialed Yawata Kairin's number.