After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

Little Yue's eyes sparkled, her face full of excitement and joy, completely oblivious to her mother's exhaustion.

She stood on tiptoe, tilted her little face up, and said in a childish but eager voice, "Mommy~ didn't you say you were going to take me to see Aunt Mihua today?"

Upon hearing the name "Aunt Mihua," the weariness in Yuri's eyes seemed to be replaced by a touch of warmth. She smiled slightly and said softly, "But it's still early, Xiaoyue, the sun hasn't even risen yet."

Hinasaki pouted, seemingly dissatisfied with this reason. Her little mind raced, trying to find a reason to convince her mother: "But... I really want to see Aunt Mika so much! I want to see her first thing in the morning!"

Yuri shook her head helplessly. Although drowsiness had enveloped her, she couldn't bear to refuse Yue's expectant little eyes. That innocent longing softened her heart, so she sighed softly, her tone carrying a hint of compromise and indulgence.

"Okay, okay... but let Mom sleep a little longer, okay?" Yuri gently reached out and stroked Yue's hair, her voice soft and soothing, hoping to calm Yue down.

Her fingers gently ran through Yue's hair, carrying a reassuring power.

Yue's previously energetic face suddenly looked somewhat confused, as if she was pondering her mother's words.

Children's minds are always simple. After listening to her mother's advice, she finally nodded.

Although she was still filled with anticipation for Aunt Mihua, Yue obediently climbed into bed and lay back down next to her pillow.

Seeing this, Yuri smiled with relief. She knew that although Xiaoyue was mischievous, she was ultimately a well-behaved child.

She gently patted Yue's back, just like she used to lull her to sleep when she was little, and said tenderly, "Little Yue, close your eyes. When the sun rises, we'll go see Aunt Mihua, okay?"

Although Yue still felt a little reluctant, her eyelids gradually became heavy under her mother's comforting words.

Yuri hummed a soft lullaby, her voice like a gently flowing stream, slowly washing away the excitement in Yue's heart.

She gently nodded her little head a few times on the pillow, and finally quieted down.

Within minutes, Yue's breathing had become steady, and her eyes closed again. The small figure lay quietly beside (eight) l ten ing cu ling qi jiu wu (eight) xi li, still holding her mother's hand tightly in her hand.

As Yuri watched Yue fall asleep again, a slight smile touched her lips, and a warm feeling welled up inside her. She gently removed Yue's hand from her own, lay down again, and closed her tired eyes.

--------------

“Xiaoyue?” Shen Yu, sitting in the back seat of the car, turned his head and looked at Xiaoyue beside him.

At this moment, Xiao Yue was pouting, looking out the car window, looking like a disgruntled little hedgehog, clearly in a bad mood.

Fukaba was puzzled and asked Yuri, who was driving in front, in a low voice, "What's wrong with her?"

"Hahaha..." Yuri laughed awkwardly, gripping the steering wheel with both hands and focusing her eyes on the road ahead. "Maybe it's because we got up too late, and Xiaoyue is unhappy."

They slept until almost nine o'clock before getting out of bed. After washing up and having breakfast, it was already ten o'clock when they officially set off. They estimated that it would be three o'clock in the afternoon by the time they arrived in Aomori Prefecture, where Mount Hikami is located.

Hearing Yuri's explanation, Fukaba nodded thoughtfully, then looked at Kozuki with a somewhat helpless expression.

At this moment, Yue's cheeks swelled up even more, and her arms were tightly crossed in front of her chest, as if she had erected a barrier, unwilling to pay attention to anyone.

Her little eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her lips were tightly pursed. Although she wasn't crying, her emotions were quite evident.

He turned his whole body toward the car window, looking like he was "very angry".

Her feet dangled from the seat, swaying occasionally, clearly indicating that she was suppressing some kind of emotion.

She had been looking forward to seeing Aunt Mihua as soon as possible, and even planned to play with her all day, but now she found that her time had been seriously delayed.

"Really!" Yue finally couldn't help but mutter softly, her small face full of dissatisfaction.

She glanced at Yuri driving in front of her, then quickly looked away and continued gazing out the window, giving off an "I'm ignoring you" vibe.

Seeing Yue's expression, Shen Yu couldn't help but sigh softly. He reached out his hand, wanting to pat her head to comfort her, but as soon as he reached out, Yue gently dodged to the side, clearly still being sulky.

"Sigh." Fukaba smiled helplessly, and could only temporarily abandon the idea of ​​comforting her.

Yuri smiled helplessly and continued to focus on driving.

Xiaoyue continued to lean against the window, her small body tense, like a sulking little animal, quietly waiting for them to reach their destination quickly.

------------------

Children's emotions always come and go quickly. Although Yue tried her best to maintain an "angry" demeanor throughout the journey, she eventually couldn't resist getting bored as the car drove smoothly.

Lacking any form of entertainment, she glanced around the car and finally her gaze settled on Shen Yu. Suddenly, she said, "Mom, tell me some stories to cheer me up."

She grabbed Fuka's arm, her small body swaying gently, looking incredibly cute.

Shen Yu glanced at her, a smile appearing in the corner of his eyes: "Weren't you just ignoring me?"

"No...no way!" Xiaoyue's cheeks flushed red, her lips pouted, and she hurriedly retorted.

Her eyes darted around, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, clearly indicating that she had already recovered from the previous emotional turmoil.

Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh out loud, and said softly, "Alright, alright, since you're willing to talk to me now, I'll tell you a story."

She raised her hand and gently pulled Xiaoyue into her arms, patting her little head reassuringly: "Today we're going to Rishang Mountain, so let me tell you about what happened there."

Xiaoyue sat in Shenyu's arms and quieted down like a kitten. Although she still had a hint of curiosity and expectation, she looked very well-behaved.

Yuri, who was driving in front, glanced at the mother and daughter in the back seat through the rearview mirror and sighed softly.

She shook her head slightly, a helpless smile on her lips, but she couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Is it really okay to tell Xiaoyue the story of the sun (seven)* umbrella 0罒疚[Qi|Shansi going up the mountain...?"

Fuka held Yue in her arms, her gaze gentle yet firm. She parted her lips slightly and began to softly tell Yue the story of how she met Yuri on Mount Hikami.

----------------

Xiaoyue nestled in Shenyu's arms, her body trembling slightly with fear, her hands gripping Shenyu's clothes tightly, as if trying to find a sense of security in them.

Her big, curious eyes were now filled with tears, with wet tear stains at the corners, clearly indicating that she had been frightened to tears by the ghost story she had just heard.

Her face was pale, her lips trembled slightly, and she sobbed occasionally. Her small body was curled up in a ball, as if trying to hide herself.

Yue kept glancing furtively out the car window, afraid that the monster from the story might suddenly jump out from some dark corner.

"Shaking...shaking..." Yue trembled uneasily, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Shen Yu sensed her fear, gently rubbed Yue's head, and coaxed her softly, "It's alright, Yue, those are just stories. Mom made them up to scare you. They're not necessarily true."

Despite what Fukaba said, Tsuki clearly couldn't fully believe it. She still clung tightly to Fukaba, her eyes still filled with lingering fear.

She tilted her head slightly, her voice trembling slightly, and asked softly, "Really...really?"

Looking into her daughter's eyes, which were filled with fear and innocence, Shen Yu's heart softened. At this moment, she couldn't bring herself to tell her that some of what she had said was actually true.

She gently hugged Yue and said with a smile, "Of course it's true! Little Yue, there are no ghosts in this world. Look, with Mommy here, no monster dares to come near."

--------------

The family of three arrived at Rishang Mountain at 3:30 pm, more than half an hour later than expected.

Kurosawa Mika's coffee shop is quietly located on the edge of town, with a few simple wooden tables and chairs outside, surrounded by evergreen plants, making it look very elegant.

Although Mika Kurosawa is almost forty years old, she still retains the charm of her youth. Her beautiful face has hardly been ravaged by time and remains radiant.

"Xiaoyue~ It's been a long time." Mika smiled gently and opened her arms to welcome Hinasaki as she jumped out of the car.

"Aunt Mihua!" Xiaoyue's eyes lit up when she saw Mihua, and she rushed into her arms without hesitation.

Mihua bent down, gently hugged Yue, kissed her cheek, and her face was full of affection.

"You've grown quite a bit taller, Xiaoyue," Mihua chuckled, her voice tinged with affection.

"Hehe..." Yue blushed. Although she was excited when they met, she still smiled shyly at Mihua's praise. Then she looked up and said, "Aunt Mihua, you are still so beautiful!"

She raised her hand, gently patted Yue's head, and said with a smile, "You have such a sweet tongue. Auntie has prepared some delicious snacks for you later."

At the same time, Yuri and Fuka also came over, greeting them with smiles: "Mika-nee, it's been a long time."

Mika straightened up, turned to look at Yuuri and Miyu, and smiled happily, "Yuuri, Miyu, it's been a long time. You both look as good as ever."

There was a tacit understanding between the three of them, as if they were reunited after a long separation, and they all wore genuine smiles.

Just then, a woman dressed in a neutral style walked out of the coffee shop. She had short, slightly messy hair, wore a simple shirt and cargo pants, and was carrying a rag in her hand. She had obviously just come out of the shop to help out.

“I’m tired. Let’s take Xiaoyue out to play for a while,” Mihua said, turning to the woman with a hint of trust and gentleness in her voice.

"Ah, Miss Kagamiya is here too?" Yuri noticed a young waitress in the shop and seemed a little surprised.

“Yes,” Mihua nodded and explained with a smile, “Lian has recently gone abroad and has been staying with me lately because she’s tired. She helps me manage the coffee shop and keeps me company.”

At this moment, Mihua bent down and said to Xiaoyue, "Xiaoyue, go upstairs and play with Sister Lei for a while. Mom wants to talk to me about something."

Although Yue really wanted to continue chatting with Aunt Mihua, seeing the slightly serious expressions on the mothers' faces, she knew it was best not to interrupt the adults' conversation, so she obediently nodded: "Okay, Mom."

Jinggong Lei walked over, smiled slightly, gently took Xiaoyue's hand, and whispered, "Xiaoyue, shall I take you upstairs to play?"

Yue nodded and followed Lei's sister towards the back of the shop.

----------------

Kurosawa Mika made a cup of coffee for each of them, locked the door, hung up a "Closed for Business" sign, and then the three of them sat around the table.

"Sister Mihua, what happened this time that you called us over so urgently?" Xili asked.

Two days ago, she suddenly received a message from Kurosawa Mika asking if they could come to the mountain in Japan as soon as possible, as if something had happened on the mountain again.

"Hmm..." As Kurosawa Mika slowly uttered these words, the coffee cup in front of her seemed to become unusually heavy.

She looked down at the swirling liquid in her glass, as if she could see those images through the light brown liquid.

“If Lian were here, I wouldn’t have wanted to bother you too much, but Lian happened to be abroad recently and encountered some strange things. I can’t take care of both sides at the same time, so I can only send you a message,” Mi Hua said.

"What exactly happened? Has the Gate of the Underworld become loose again?" Shen Yu asked nervously.

"Hmm... how should I put it..." Mihua rubbed the coffee cup in her hands, looking embarrassed.

“Since the Gate of the Underworld was sealed, the development of Mount Rishang has actually resumed, and there are quite a few tourists now. The number of people missing on the mountain has also decreased, so I haven’t received any requests to go up the mountain to find people for a long time,” Mihua said.

"But not long ago I received a request from the person in charge of a tourist attraction. They said that a girl had wandered into the Water Palace and then became mentally unstable. She said she saw strange things and wanted me to take a look."

“Water Palace?” Shen Yu frowned. She was familiar with this place. “Shouldn’t that place have already been cleaned up? There shouldn’t be any more problems.”

"I initially thought everything was fine, but... when I went to investigate, I did discover some anomalies."

“I found some strange marks at the Water Palace. At first, I thought they were just simple natural changes, but when I reached out and touched those marks…”

Mihua paused, took a deep breath, as if gathering the courage to continue, "I have fallen into the state of 'seeing' again."

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The above side stories involve a large amount of Zero series content.

Strange Side Stories and Epilogues: Side Story: The First Encounter of Tsuki and Momoko

"Come on, Tsuki, play with your sister here, okay?" Kagami Rui carried Hinasaki to her temporary room on the second floor, gently placed her on the bed, then squatted down to look Tsuki in the eye and said gently.