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

Page 13

"Wait, Xiao Ningzi, you're not wearing shoes and socks!"

"No, I've been wearing it all day."

The teddy bear sat cross-legged on the doormat, watching Ningzi prepare to go out barefoot.

"Then take me with you?"

"No, taking you out would waste a hand, it's too much trouble."

"No, I..."

"See you."

boom-

Ningzi went home, Ningzi went out, the whole process took only a few minutes.

The house returned to calm, just as quiet as it had been half an hour earlier.

That's the way it is.

……

Going to school, tending the garden, having afternoon tea, and coming home from school.

This is a typical day for Mutsumi Wakaba.

If no one pays attention to her, she won't make a sound all day.

When Mu is not speaking, she looks like she is in a daze, and it is hard to imagine that her father is a comedian.

Was it because the father laughed too much and too loudly that he also used up his daughter's share?

Perhaps, Mu is just a naturally lonely person.

Ruo Yemu, at a young age, has experienced the full spectrum of human nature. People approach her for various reasons, and all those who like her are only using her.

For example, Nagasaki Motoyo, a brown-haired divorced high school girl who is also a student at Tsuki no Mori.

I went home, opened the door, and found no one inside.

Just like yesterday, last month, and a year ago, there has never been a day when I came home to find someone there.

Parents are busy, everyone is busy, it's good to be busy.

Should I say "I'm back"?

forget it.

This is no longer necessary.

After taking off her shoes, Ruo Yemu did not choose to put on slippers; she stood in front of the shoe cabinet, lost in thought.

Ning said when she was little that she didn't like wearing shoes.

She said that shoes are prisons that confine the feet, and that shoes make Ningzi feel unhappy and sad.

Misfortune and sorrow...

Try walking around the house wearing only socks.

We don't need these (slippers) anymore.

I don't know what to do when I get home.

Wakaba Mutsumi sat on the sofa in a daze for a long time before picking up the guitar from the shelf and heading to the basement.

I'll play the guitar for a bit, then grab a quick bite and go to sleep.

Another day.

A person.

The stairs leading to the basement were short and contained various professional equipment. Ruoye Mu loved music and excelled in this area.

Some have commented that Wakaba Mutsumi's talent is like the wings of a butterfly, entirely innate.

Ruoye Muxin thought, "Maybe so."

"A pick?"

The pick that Wakaba Mutsu liked the most was a gift from a friend. The story takes place a long time ago, when she was still a little piece of wood.

Setting the guitar aside, Mu diligently searched every corner where a pick might have fallen, but ultimately found nothing.

Has it disappeared?

If Ye Mu stood still, it would look like he was in a daze.

If your pick is missing, you can just use another pick instead.

But that one is special; no other pick can compare to it.

and so…

"Go buy one, the same one, okay?"

Even if it's not from that area, it should at least look similar.

This seems to be called a meal replacement.

After turning off the basement lights, Wakaba Mutsu returned to the entrance hall.

She stared blankly at the shoes by the door, hesitated for a long time, and finally shook her head.

This trip out…

She didn't really want to wear shoes.

Ch16. The Lights at the Crossroads and Ning

"Really, I was so stupid, really."

Toyokawa Ningko stood at the crossroads, the April evening breeze rustling beneath her skirt. She simply stood there, motionless.

She regretted coming out.

I don't know where I'm going.

Do I have a goal? No.

So why did I want to come out just now? Was I bewitched?

In fact, Ningzi didn't want to come out at all; it was just that the pleasure she felt from meeting Gaosong Deng today had clouded her judgment.

She still didn't like the outside world; all she liked were the tall pine lights outside.

And countless tall pine lamps.

To be honest, anyone can be Takamatsu Teng; they're all just flawed products that approach infinite love for me...

Just like I said during the day, it's just a meal replacement.

Am I eating meal replacements, using a living person to replace an imaginary character or something...?

I'm disgusting.

Aside from the Takamatsu lamp, other things in the outside world still make Ningzi feel uncomfortable and sad.

The flashing neon lights are the eyes of a demon.

The manhole covers on the ground are the monster's mouth.

The passersby were just a swarm of mediocre, dying creatures.

And what am I? I am a lost dead man.

The more Toyokawa Ningko thought about it, the more regretful she became. She wanted to die, but felt that someone else deserved to die.

The passersby around her changed one after another, but Ningzi still stood at the crossroads, lost and confused. She wanted to go home, but she had forgotten the way home.

I had never been here before, and the only map I knew was the area that Xiangzi had taken me through.

Xiangzi never brought me here... I miss you so much, sister. I may never see you again. Ningzi is lost. I'm so sorry...

A flock of pigeons flew by, but Ningzi didn't hear their conversation as usual.

For the first time in a long time, all she heard was the cooing of this large herd of livestock.

At the same time, Ningzi didn't hear the complaints from passersby about the clothes. Before, when she went out occasionally, she would hear these chattering little creatures complaining about how bad their owner's fashion sense was.

What are you saying? Buying your own stupid item is just bad taste. You're so ugly, why would you buy it? That's all you'll ever be like.

This time, nothing was heard. Neither the living nor the dead around her spoke. Toyokawa Ningko's longtime companions had all gone silent.

Why is everyone so quiet?

Toyokawa Ningko tried to confide in the traffic light, but the light didn't respond; the only response she received were the strange looks from passersby.

Please don't do this! I didn't take any medicine. Why can't I hear you...?

She tried to back away, but the crowd at the intersection was growing larger and larger, and the crowd was pushing Ningzi forward, trying to take her to the other side of the road, which was farther away from her home.

No! Stop it! I want to go home! I'm never coming out again!

"Xiao Ning?"

Someone in the crowd grabbed Ningzi's hand and pulled her into a warm embrace.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and this unexpected comfort left Ningzi momentarily stunned.

The person who grabbed her was a freak who wasn't wearing shoes but only socks, with long blue hair draped over his shoulders, and the emotion in his amber eyes was unreadable to Ningzi.

……

Why isn't that girl wearing shoes?

"It looks so familiar."

"Don't worry about them, that's their freedom."

As Ruoye Mu stood at the intersection waiting for the traffic light, the surrounding crowd was bustling, and many people noticed her.

Most people just glanced at Mu's cute little feet with strange looks.

"I don't feel anything."

At first, it did feel a bit strange. When walking on some surfaces with unusual materials, it felt as if someone was licking my feet through my socks.

Overall...

It's really nothing.

Mu has never felt happy walking barefoot.

Looking down at my glistening toes, I realized my socks were already wet from not avoiding a small puddle I had just passed.

Mu could clearly see the big toe of his own foot.

The green light came on, the red light went out, and the crowd began to move. Mu followed the flow of people, and there was a bus stop further ahead.

Take the tram, and you'll soon arrive at a large musical instrument store.

Hopefully, there's a replacement there that looks exactly like the lost pick.

But the new is never the old; they have different meanings.

Meal replacements can at least make you feel better.

As the time of twilight approached, the last rays of the setting sun began to spread, and the sky resembled a cozy little house ablaze with flames.

If Ye Mu didn't care about the strange looks from others, and with so many people around, who would care whether she was dressed or not?

Let's just keep going like this, in the crowd, it's fine this way.

A group of people walked towards them from the opposite intersection. This group was no different from the people around them.

They are all ordinary people living in the twilight of their lives.

Pedestrians mingled, passing each other in completely opposite directions. Ruo Ye Mu was very glad that no one stepped on her foot.

It's not a big deal if you get stepped on, but it would hurt terribly.

A flash of blue crossed her vision.

Panic filled the corners of those blue eyes; unlike the others, the person seemed like a victim swept away by the waves.

"Xiao Ning?"