As a former member of C-group, I want to destroy mygo!

Zhenliang just felt useless, not that she wasn't interested in being with them, and that was enough.

She is very happy.

A surge of joy welled up within me.

Akane also sincerely said, "Zheng has already made a great contribution today, so we should reward you."

The moment when Masuzu broke Nagasaki Motoyo's defenses, she would remember it for the rest of her life.

Division of labor completed.

Kamitani Yu, who was left aside, didn't feel left out. He picked up a piece of chewing gum, unwrapped it, and started chewing. Then he turned on the TV and casually watched the program.

Like a feudal lord who expects everything to be done for him.

But that's fine.

Others may not know, but he felt... Akane had been getting a little too close to him lately, and that wasn't right.

It's time to cool things down and let things cool down.

He cannot consider the other person a true friend.

……

As Natsukawa Masaki carried her clothes to the bathroom, she looked in the mirror and saw her fair and delicate body. Her eyelids drooped, and her expression became slightly complicated.

Because she was so stunningly beautiful and had such a fair figure, she had been confessed to by countless men since she was a child.

Therefore, she is actually very perceptive about the gazes cast upon her by men and can quickly discern them.

In the afternoon, when she was playing Truth or Dare, the moment she fell to the ground, you could feel that Yu had definitely swept his hand over her body.

It's not about judging by looks like usual.

Instead, he looked at her legs, her chest, her waist, and... the area around her hips.

That burning gaze was something that had never appeared before.

If Yu had looked at her with that kind of gaze under the cherry blossom tree, she wouldn't have gone along with forming a band.

She has always hated being coveted by others, especially those greedy, sweeping gazes that seem to want to strip her clothes off and touch her...

but.

This time, however, I wasn't as resistant.

"...Because I have a forgiving heart towards my friends."

Looking at her reflection in the mirror, a vague sense of confusion, as if she herself knew part of the truth, appeared in Natsukawa Masuzu's eyes. However, she had no desire to know the possible answer to the mystery. She simply murmured to herself as if hypnotizing herself, convincing herself.

That's all.

Anyway, she hasn't had any friends this year, so she doesn't know how much leniency she would show to her friends.

Given that, it's only natural that I would forgive Yu's sweeping glance.

Muttering to herself, Natsukawa Masaki, who had just washed herself clean, soaked in the bathtub. Suddenly, she realized that after her, Yu would be the next one to take a bath.

She involuntarily squeezed her legs together slightly, and the carefree ease that had once graced her face was gone.

……

Because she wanted her friends to taste more of her cooking, Yukino kicked Akane out of the kitchen after finishing part of it, leaving the rest to herself.

Akane took off her apron, and the relaxed atmosphere she had been having while chatting with Yukino in the kitchen vanished the moment she stepped out.

Now is a chance to be alone.

There were only her and You in the living room.

Some things must not be heard by others, otherwise everything will immediately fall apart.

But... after she tells him, what will happen to her relationship with Yu? Will it still be the same as it is now?

Somewhat resistant to the possibility of a terrible future, Akane finally couldn't hold back when she thought about what would happen to Yu after he was exposed. Her blue-purple pupils reflected a heavy gravity, no longer showing their usual gentleness and innocence, but filled with an extremely heavy gloom.

"Yu."

Standing behind the sofa, she reached out and patted You's shoulder, then pointed to the balcony. "Can you come with me for a moment? There's something I'd like to talk to you about."

"What's wrong?" Kamiya Yu, who was confused, paused for a moment, stood up, and followed him to the balcony.

There were clothes, including underwear, that Yukino had hung out to dry on the balcony, but before Kamiya Yu could even stand up, his desire still lingering, the words from Kurokawa Akane beside him instantly made him lose all interest in them:

"...Yu, please, could you at least try to act convincingly?"

Volume 1: Chapter 92, Section 91. The contrast between Su Shi and Chi Yin, the unshakable Xiangzi.

Kamiya Yu's hand trembled for a moment.

His eyes were incredibly gloomy, and he suddenly looked at Kurokawa Akane, his deep black pupils filled with deathly silence.

It was as if she had anticipated his reaction, but even knowing it, she didn't want to know, didn't want to see it, didn't want to be sad, didn't want to be upset, and didn't want to face the fact that her importance was perhaps far less than that of Lixi and Sushi.

From the very beginning, Akane kept her eyes fixed on the world outside the balcony, never glancing to the side, so that she could not see Yu's face at all.

On the balcony, it seemed that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

After a pause of several seconds, Kamiya Yu managed to compose himself and, in as calm a tone as possible, asked Akane with a look of utter confusion, "...What do you mean?"

He is testing.

However, Akane, who already possessed absolute evidence, completely skipped this step.

She spoke softly, word by word, until Kamiya Yu completely gave up:

"Tachiki-san, Akari-san, Nagasaki-san, me, Aine-san, Masuzu, Yukino."

The order in which these names are arranged reflects his level of attention towards everyone, and how frequently his gaze sweeps over the group when they are gathered together.

Akane didn't elaborate on the specific meaning, but even so, Kamiya Yu knew that he had already revealed at least 80% of his true nature.

Since they didn't know about Xiangzi's situation, no matter how smart Akane was, he couldn't possibly conjure up a story out of thin air and immediately deduce that Xiangzi formed the End Band simply to make money for him and then revive Crychic.

However, based solely on the current information, this girl, who is like a famous detective, must have already grasped some degree of speculation. At the very least, she must know that his actions of protecting the band, even though he was willing to breach his contract under Su Shi's command, were not simply due to his feelings for the three of them.

Kamiya Yu's heart sank, filled with bitterness.

If time could go back to the beginning, he could never choose Akane Kurokawa again, no matter what.

"..."

No more of Yu's excuses were heard.

Her deduction was accurate, but a dark, painful light flickered in Akane's eyes, without a trace of the joy one would expect from a clever person.

If she could, for the first time, she wanted to pray to God that she wouldn't be so clever, able to discover things she didn't want to know from the slightest clues—things she'd rather never find out, things she'd rather remain in the dark about.

She would rather be deceived by Yu forever, even though she didn't know what Yu was hiding from everyone, but it must be something that was bad for her, Masuzu, Yukino, and them.

She could tolerate it and not pry, since You didn't want to talk about it.

She clearly could have done that.

However, he still had no choice but to stand up and confront Yu.

"...What do you want?" With a sigh of helplessness and defeat, Kamiya Yu's tone suddenly became much more distant, and his eyes were cold.

Hearing this tone that suddenly created distance, Akane bit her lip, causing a slight trickle of blood to seep out. She gripped her right arm tightly with her left hand, her body trembling slightly.

Only when she felt the pain in her body did she have the strength to continue speaking:

"...It's really cold, you'll notice."

Everything was ready. The band had already reached the point of adjustment and was about to get on track, start performing live, and make a lot of money. But Akane ignited the band's downfall, and there was absolutely no way to salvage it like Masuzu did. It was a complete and utter failure for Kamiya Yu, who suddenly became stunned.

Even though she's seen through so much, why can Akane still endure it?

It wasn't to provoke the band into revealing the truth about everything to Natsukawa Masuzu and Yukino Yukinoshita, nor was it to blackmail him into submission.

And it turns out that... he was only doing this because he felt that if he continued like this, Natsukawa Masaki would also discover the secret, so he was willing to expose himself to warn him?

Could it be that they're actually just playing with him?

The idea is to give him hope, and then at some point, suddenly shatter the illusion of all that hope.

No... Akane couldn't possibly be that kind of person.

Even with a girl named Akane Kurokawa, he had misjudged her too many times, mistakenly thinking she was an ordinary person when she turned out to be a highly praised professional actress in the industry, and mistakenly thinking she had average intelligence and emotional intelligence when she turned out to be a real detective living in reality.

However, at least in terms of personality, he was willing to believe that Kurokawa Akane was not a bad person.

She is a gentle girl, a tolerant and generous good girl.

So, did she choose to forgive again this time, just like last time?

Kamiya Yu looked at Kurokawa Akane with a complicated expression.

Even though he believed in the girl's character, and was certain that she wouldn't betray him like Natsukawa Masuzu and Suze did, he was still uneasy.

What Akane possesses is too important, so important that he cannot place all his hopes on the word "trust".

Even if you know it's despicable, utterly despicable, and utterly absurd.

However, he couldn't rest easy because of Xiangzi.

Is there any way to get Akane to leave a guarantee that he won't betray him?

Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to rest easy, and he probably wouldn't be able to get a good night's sleep tonight, or even from now on.

The danger is in Akane's hands.

It's already past 7 p.m.

The sun had already set, and moonlight shone on the balcony. Kamiya Yu looked at Akane and suddenly realized that Akane's figure, which he had never paid much attention to before... Although it was not as perfect as Natsukawa Masuzu's, it was still long and slender, with fair skin, and her breasts and buttocks were very attractive.

Looking at this girl, who was under pressure from three sides today, her thoughts became slightly chaotic. Unlike her usual mature and steady self, Kamiya Yu had unknowingly walked step by step behind Akane.

You need to pretend, like some things, right?

The girl's advice and pleas echoed in his mind. As if possessed, Kamiya Yu reached out from behind and wrapped his arms around Akane's waist. He raised his other hand and gently placed it on the girl's head, stroking her short, blue-purple hair.

Akane Kurokawa remained motionless, as if nothing had happened.

Kamitani Yu couldn't see her expression, but he could sense that the tolerant girl was gradually relaxing, and the atmosphere from before suddenly vanished.

But Kamiya Yu hesitated for a moment before letting go.