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Sow the seeds towards the clear sky.
Hallelujah depicted the picture of a dream.
I want to tell you about this joyful feeling I'm letting go.
*Joyful steps and laughter linger at our fingertips
Banami and Shoko finished playing the song amidst smiles and eye contact.
Immediately, thunderous applause erupted from all around. It wasn't just the crying little girl; many children with their parents also jumped up and down, clapping enthusiastically.
The two linked arms in salute, signaling the end of their performance.
"Big brother, big sister, you're so amazing! You sing so well!" the little girl, her eyes still a little red, said excitedly.
Upon seeing this, the uniformed young lady expressed her heartfelt gratitude, saying, "Hello, I am the manager of this square. Thank you so much for your help. Your performance was wonderful."
Xiangzi just covered his mouth and chuckled softly, feeling extremely proud inside.
Just then, a middle-aged woman called out from not far away, "Xiao Wu!"
The little girl, her eyes red, immediately cried out, "Mommy!"
Sure enough, the little girl's parents finally arrived, and they quickly thanked the plaza manager and Banami.
Before saying goodbye, the little girl, who had become very happy, said, "In the future, can I become someone who plays the guitar very well, like the older brothers and sisters?"
When Banai saw the little girl's pure wish, he was taken aback. But Xiangzi, who was next to him, reacted much faster. She handed her hand drum to the little girl and said, "It's definitely possible. Here, take this. Practice hard when you get back."
After another round of polite exchanges and thanks, the little girl left with her parents.
Not wanting to attract too much attention, the two declined the female manager's offer to stay and slowly left Kumamon Square.
Xiangzi was naturally in a good mood after doing a good deed, but when she looked at her boyfriend next to her, she found him to be somewhat silent.
Teacher Da Xiang, who immediately became a womanizer and confidant of his girlfriend, asked, "What's wrong, Xi?"
"Well, it's nothing major, it's just that I suddenly realized that my music can actually touch people."
Hearing the boy's belated words, Xiangzi opened his mouth and said, "Actually, you can just say what you want me to say to praise you."
Once she came to her senses, Banai quickly waved her hand and explained, "I wasn't showing off. You know, all my 'original' songs actually come from other worlds..."
Xiangzi nodded slightly; Banami had no intention of hiding this from her at all.
"However, since it's useful, I'll just use it. I don't feel guilty about it, and I don't consider it mine."
Even music is just a useful 'tool' for me, a tool that can help you, Su Shi, and others resolve their inner conflicts, and now it can also earn travel expenses along the way, making it a very practical means.
But personally, I wouldn't say I particularly like music... just like your attitude towards the Toyokawa family, I can only say I'm indifferent.
But just now, seeing that little girl's longing look, I suddenly thought...
It turns out that the songs I played could actually move people.
Although I didn't write the song myself, at least I performed the show myself.
Thinking about it this way, I felt...a strange sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.
But bringing this up now makes Banami a little embarrassed, since she was always praised as a musical prodigy in Tokyo.
But Xiangzi didn't see it that way. She happily held Banami's hands and said, "Xi, you've awakened."
"What?" the boy couldn't help but feel embarrassed.
"You've awakened, even if it doesn't bring you any benefits, you can now genuinely enjoy the music itself."
If in the past, Hanami only regarded music as a means to achieve his goals, now music is like creation to him, something that has become part of his very being.
When he first established Ku Lai Xi Ku, Xiangzi had a similar experience. He went from using music as a means to fill his soul to genuinely enjoying music itself without considering any profit.
For Xiangzi, or for many musicians, this is the charm of music itself.
The girl's eyes sparkled as she said to Banami, "Yu, once Grandpa agrees to our relationship, you should pursue music with Hatsuka and the others. I'll be watching you from the sidelines."
What makes the girl even happier is that this kind of Hanami allows her to better entrust her dreams to him and to him the world in her heart, "Ave Mujica".
Chapter Twenty-Five: Are you planning to soak in a hot spring?
Banami's feelings about awakening his musical soul were rather complicated. He never expected that he could find a second hobby besides creation that he could genuinely enjoy.
This is probably due to the change in Banami's mindset after deciding to stay with Xiangzi and remain in this world.
He even thought that if he could spread the songs from that world and touch more people, just like that little girl from earlier, even if it only made the listeners feel a little better, it would be meaningful.
He never expected that he, who prided himself on being a self-interested person, would have such a naive idea. Perhaps it was because he had been with pure people like Teacher Da Xiang for too long and had been assimilated into the same kind of fool.
"Hey, Xi, how about you start a YouTube account during this trip? Hmm... how about calling it 'Guitar Hero'? Then, spread the music from your world and let more people hear it."
Otherwise, it would be such a pity that a great song like "Red Pepper" couldn't be heard by more people.
Xiangzi said with some excitement.
Just like the "Ave Mujica" account that I currently manage.
Suddenly, Banami couldn't help but laugh, which puzzled the girl slightly.
"It suddenly occurred to me that you don't seem to mind at all that my musical talent is completely fake."
"Wh...what? Why are you suddenly bringing this up? Isn't this something we already knew?"
"Hmm, I guess it's because I've read too many novels. I always have some strange thoughts in my mind. For example, in some novels, the protagonist wins the favor of the female lead in another world because he is a plagiarist, whether he is copying music or famous works."
At that time, I was thinking, if the female protagonist loves the protagonist because of his talent, then she should actually love Kenshi Yonezu, Jacky Cheung, O. Henry, or The Heavenly Silkworm Potato, not the protagonist himself.
Hearing what Banami said, Shoko couldn't help but laugh: "Yu, your idea is so strange, but it's not incomprehensible, after all, you want to pursue the 'real thing'."
In Xiangzi's eyes, he was completely unmoved by the praise that Banami was a musical prodigy.
After all, he didn't approve of, and even somewhat resisted, this title from the bottom of his heart, because he knew that these songs weren't his.
The kind of love he wants is unrelated to talent, unreasonable, and something that will continue to love him no matter what he becomes – a "genuine" love.
"Coincidentally, the wonderful girl standing in front of you now doesn't care whether you are talented or not, or whether you are rich or poor. She just wants to love you in an unreasonable way."
After they started dating, Xiangzi came to understand the boy in front of her more and more.
Perhaps due to his childhood, he actually needs to feel loved more than most people, but Banami also strictly adheres to the social norms that he is taught, namely, that boys cannot easily show their cowardly side.
Therefore, they usually hide their emotional needs very deeply, using a carefree and playful demeanor to mask their true feelings.
The evidence is that he actually believes that being loved requires qualifications.
But this is extremely wrong for Xiangzi.
The education she received from her parents from a young age, and the concept she absorbed from witnessing their happiness, was that love is love, and it doesn't need any additional conditions.
Her mother, Toyokawa Mizuho, was a wealthy heiress, and the man she ultimately chose was Toyokawa Kiyoshi, who didn't seem to have any special skills—that is, her father.
Yes, after all, that's how her mother taught her through her own actions.
When he was little, Xiangzi had asked his mother this question before, because all the other children's fathers in kindergarten seemed very impressive, which made Xiangzi feel a little disappointed.
But her mother gently stroked her hair and said something to her that deeply influenced Xiangzi's views on choosing a spouse.
And now she is giving those words to her lover as well.
"Because Xi is someone who will genuinely treat me well."
Xiangzi spoke to Banami in a gentle voice.
Because Kiyoshi Toyokawa was someone who would genuinely care for Mizuho Toyokawa, the mother chose the father.
Because Banami Yuu was also someone who genuinely cared for Toyokawa Shoko, she chose the boy in front of her.
Talent is irrelevant, as is wealth or poverty; that's all.
Hearing Xiangzi's words, Banai was deeply moved and couldn't help but hug the girl in front of him tightly.
"Waaaaah, I think I'm becoming more and more inseparable from Saki-chan. Let's stay together forever, okay?"
Just as Banami's love gradually filled the void in Xiangzi's heart caused by the loss of his mother.
Xiangzi is also gradually making up for the emotional deficiencies caused by the boy's childhood experiences, making him a better person.
"Idiot...Idiot, isn't this just the way it is? And besides, your snot is dripping onto me, it's so dirty!" Xiangzi said shyly.
Well, to outsiders, these two have completely become a silly couple.
Banami seemed particularly excited and said, "Shoko, I want to go to the hot springs."
Xiangzi's cheeks flushed slightly. He thought to himself, "Do you want to soak in the hot springs? Do you want to sleep with me? I don't even want to talk to you about that."
"Ugh, aren't you annoying? Let's find a place to stay first."
It's also a bit annoying when boys become clingy, Teacher Da Xiang thought with a touch of smug satisfaction.
Indeed, the two needed to find a suitable place to stay, preferably not a hotel or inn, as those places would be too easy to be investigated.
However, doing something unconventional... and it's difficult to guarantee safety, so it is indeed quite challenging.
More importantly, the two of them didn't have much money, so they tried to save as much as possible on their travel expenses.
Just as the two were about to leave Kumamon Square, they were blocked by "people".
To be precise, I was stopped by a Kumamon, the same one that was just there coaxing the little girl.
The two tried to take a detour, but were still blocked. Xiangzi asked with slight wariness, "Excuse me, is there anything I can help you with?"
Then, the Kumamon pointed to a secluded spot not far away, as if to say that it's better to talk in a less crowded place.
"Sorry, we're in a hurry." Wanting to avoid trouble, Banai prepared to leave with Xiangzi.
Suddenly, a voice came from inside the Kumamon plush toy: "Are you looking for a place to stay?"
Kumamon pointed to the two people's backpacks; it was the voice of a middle-aged man.
The two looked at each other, and finally decided to follow Kumamon to a secluded corner.
Then, Kumamon took off its headgear, revealing the head of a middle-aged man covered in sweat. Although he had a bit of a stubble, he still had the look of a handsome middle-aged man.
He let out a soft breath and grinned, "Sorry, you can't just take off the costume here, it would ruin children's dreams of Kumamon."
Xiangzi, who had once worn a mascot costume to work, could understand this.
"Excuse me, um..." Hanami asked, slightly puzzled.
"Oh... I almost forgot, your performance was fantastic! My shop is currently short of a resident singer... accommodation included!" The middle-aged man, speaking with a strong local Kumamoto accent, said with a touch of magnanimity.
"Your shop?" Xiangzi asked, puzzled.
"Wait a minute." After saying that, the stubble-faced uncle rummaged through the mascot costume for a while and actually found a business card, which he handed to Banami.
"The 'Bear and Wheat' craft beer bar, uh, Uncle Kumamoto?" Hanami looked up and asked.
The bearded man revealed his white teeth.
"That's right, everyone calls me Uncle Kumamoto."
The middle-aged man held the head of a Kumamon plush toy and said with immense pride.
Chapter Twenty-Six: The Bear and the Wheat
Initially, Banami and Shoko were quite wary, fearing that this guy who called himself Uncle Kumamoto was a fraudster or someone who knew about the Toyokawa family.
But soon, the two of them had let down their guard.
It's not about the character of this middle-aged man with a slight limp, but rather that he... is simply too famous.
After he took off his Kumamoto mascot costume and left work, he said that his craft beer bar wasn't far away, so he took the two of them there.
Along this short stretch of road, countless people had already greeted this cheerful middle-aged man.
"Kumamoto, let's have a drink tonight!" an old man with a red nose called out.
"Hahaha, your wife will let you out tonight, we'll talk then."
"Uncle Kumamoto, could you help me lift my car out? I accidentally bumped into a ditch."
A girl with a somewhat pitiful expression shouted.
The limping middle-aged man readily helped the girl carry the electric bicycle back, and even had Banami lend a hand.
"Kumamoto, the new season's Kikuchi rice is out. I'll deliver it to your house later."
"Uncle Kumamoto..."
This man, whose surname is local, looks very prestigious here.
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