People are in Mygo, and I can write their personalities.

"The image of me you have in your mind... Xiao Xiang, is that what you think?"

"Yes!"

Hatsuka's expression suddenly changed from surprise to frustration. This sudden change made Shoko think to herself, "Oh no!" Although even she didn't know why Hatsuka would show such an emotion.

"But the me you remember doesn't exist at all... That version of me was just an act from the very beginning, Xiao Xiang. I'm perfectly clear-headed now... Why won't you accept that I'm clear-headed?"

"Sister Yue... Naiyue didn't do anything to me. It was my own choice to kidnap you here. I just want you to know how much I like you, do you understand?"

"You like me? Chu Hua...you're kidding, right? How could you possibly like me? I'm a girl!"

"I'm not joking."

Crazy... Xiangzi felt that Chu Hua must have been influenced by Nanami Natsuki, otherwise how could she have suddenly transformed from a gentle and confident older sister into a perverted kidnapper?

This kidnapper is still telling her to accept reality? What kind of reality is that?!

If reality is this distorted, she'd rather live in her dreams.

Just as Xiangzi was pondering how to persuade him, Sanjiao Chuhua couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed to Xiangzi, who was turning to run away, and hugged him tightly around the waist.

"Chu Hua, what are you doing?! Let go of me!!!"

"Xiao Xiang, I really like you. You shouldn't have found out all this. If you hadn't known, you would have accepted me completely as I had envisioned, right? After all, you're so gentle and understanding..."

Gentle? Tolerant?

Was this irony? Toyokawa Shoko felt ashamed as she listened to the two words used to describe her.

"Please don't make me hate you... Chu Hua, please."

Unfortunately, Xiangzi's response was too soft; such a low murmur was not enough to stop Chuhua, who had already revealed her true intentions.

Seeing that she was being treated the same way that Natsuki had treated her that day, Xiangzi put up a fierce resistance. She was like a chicken about to be slaughtered, hopping around in the butcher's hands.

During their struggle, the two fell down together. What puzzled Xiangzi was that, at the moment of falling, Chuhua used her hand to protect the back of her head, preventing her head from hitting the floor.

"Xiao Xiang, you have no idea what I'm thinking... You have no idea what I've sacrificed to get this opportunity today."

"Payback... Chu Hua! Tell me quickly, what exactly did you make a deal with Nanami Natsuki?"

"I...I can't say."

The secret to her identity is that of Chu Hua... no, it's the underlying code that Hatsune Miku relies on for survival. No matter how excited she is right now, she can't just blurt this out.

"Why?!"

Xiangzi was very distressed. She no longer recognized the girl in front of her. No, if what Chuhua had just said was true, then she had never understood this girl from the beginning.

Were all those past behaviors of the other person just a facade?

When talking to her face to face, was Chu Hua thinking only about how to possess her? That's terrifying... Xiangzi felt a chill run down her spine when she thought about Chu Hua's attitude towards her after they met again recently.

Why? Why did Chu Hua, the girl from my childhood, become like this when we met again after so many years apart?

Besides attributing all the problems to Nanami Natsuki, Shoko couldn't find any other reason that would convince her.

"Chuhua, I won't resist anymore... but could you please hear my thoughts first?"

"Okay... then you go ahead."

That's good. Chu Hua can still communicate, but I'm afraid she won't be able to communicate at all.

"Chuhua, I..."

Xiangzi wanted to say, "I've always considered you my best friend," but looking at Sanjiao Chuhua's "mosquito coil eyes," she swallowed hard and held back her words. "I believe what you just said is true. Perhaps you... did do these things with that in mind. If that's the case, I won't blame you."

"really?"

"Hmm... But Chu Hua, you must understand that you are you. You cannot become Nanami Natsuki's slave. If there is anything she forced you to do, you must tell me what it is."

“You are you, and you should not be anyone’s appendage. If there is anything she makes you do that you are unwilling to do, I will definitely stand up for you.”

Could it really be that Nanami Natsuki forced her?

In fact, deep down, Xiangzi was very clear that although Nanami Natsuki was very bad and a bad child with a twisted mind, she would never force others to do things that they did not want to do.

Yes, if you don't even have that thought, Natsuki won't mention those things at all.

What that guy wanted to see was them shed their pretenses when faced with what they desired deepest in their hearts, admitting their own despicable nature while still being unable to resist proposing deals with Nanami Natsuki that they would never have agreed to.

But Xiangzi still made this assumption, not for any other reason than to give both sides a way out.

Unfortunately, for Mitsukasa, there was absolutely no way out at this moment.

"Xiao Xiang, you understand... Sister Yue would never force me to do anything."

"Wait? Yue... Sister Yue?"

"..." Since she had subconsciously used the name she had always used for Natsuki, Chu Hua simply stopped pretending. "Xiao Xiang, this is my true self. I have shown you my true self. I... am just this kind of person."

"You don't need to sow discord between us. Sister Yue has given me everything, and I can't impose my actions and thoughts on her. I only have sincerity towards you, and you must believe in my determination."

"I don't understand... what exactly did she give you that makes you speak up for her like this? And why do you... have these feelings for me?"

"This kind of thing is inherently incomprehensible."

For Chu Hua, she had fallen in love with Xiangzi in a morbid way. Although she knew that what she was doing was wrong, and even now, she was still hiding part of the truth, namely, the true relationship between her and Xiangzi.

However, soon, even this last secret of Chu Hua's will be exposed.

"I'm sorry, Chu Hua." With a heavy heart, Toyokawa Shoko broke free from Chu Hua and quickly picked up the fruit knife on the ground, holding it in front of her for self-defense. "I...can't accept this outcome. If all of this is true, then I hope that after today, we will treat it as a lie."

"...No, perhaps I can no longer deceive myself like this, Chuhua. Our relationship may not be able to continue. I can't force myself to face you with the same attitude as before. That would be bad for neither of us. You have to understand that there is no future for us."

"No, no... Xiao Xiang, you're joking, right? And why are you pointing a knife at me?"

"..."

"Did you resist like this when facing Sister Yue? Did you... ever use a knife to fight back against her?"

"...Huh?"

"Why? Isn't she even more repulsive to you in comparison? But why is your attitude towards her so different from before? You even asked me how to get along with her amicably. Why... If it were me, would you treat me the same way?"

"No...you wouldn't, you know what I said is true. I like you and I don't want to really hurt you, so that's why you treated me like this...right?"

Chu Hua had already started to cry, and her voice became more trembling and emotional.

“I don’t understand what you mean. Natsuki is a special person to me... You should know that the Toyokawa family wronged her, and she really didn’t do anything too serious wrong, besides…”

"enough!"

Sankaku Hatsuka was furious. She glared fiercely at Xiangzi in front of her, every pore on her body seemingly telling of her grief and indignation. "Xiangzi, this is so unfair! Why do you only show your gentleness when facing the even more wicked Sister Yue, but when facing me you point a knife at me?!"

"What am I in your eyes? A crazy, perverted woman and an unreasonable kidnapper, right?! Isn't the relationship between you and Sister Yue even more sensitive? She's your aunt!"

"Why can you accept her love for you, but not mine?"

“This is different… Besides, Natsuki would never do this to me. She never hides anything from me, and she would never force me to make a choice like you do.”

Having completely broken ties with Chu Hua, Xiangzi, relying on her weapon for self-defense, is now saying whatever comes to mind. After all, in her view, her relationship with Chu Hua is completely over after today, and there's no way she can go back to being friends with her.

Ke Xiangzi herself didn't realize that Sanjiao Chuhua could still think under such circumstances, and even set traps for her with her words.

"So you really accepted Sister Yue's love, didn't you? You didn't deny it just now..."

"what?"

"Have you two done something intimate behind my back that I don't know about? Have you?!"

Misaka Hatsuka was in tears. She should have realized it sooner... As the person most sensitive to these emotions, she should have realized earlier that Xiaoxiang's attitude towards Nanami Natsuki was a bit off. It was not like someone who hated Nanami would act like that.

What normal person would look so anxious and conflicted when talking about their enemy? They would even show an undisguised sense of shame on their face.

Why did she choose to ignore it back then? Was it because she believed that Xiao Xiang already belonged only to her?

"Chu Hua... that was just... no, nothing ever happened between us!"

Chu Hua's relentless pressure nearly robbed Xiangzi of her ability to think rationally. But after she finished speaking, she realized that it was too late to change her mind, because she had already exposed a fact that neither of them wanted to face.

To Xiangzi's surprise, Chuhua, who had smashed many things in the room during her outburst, quickly calmed down afterward.

"Chu... Chu Hua?"

"You can go now... Xiao Xiang."

"Huh?"

"I acted impulsively today, and I apologize." Mikasa's expression was frighteningly calm. "We... can't be friends anymore, can we?"

"It's still okay, after all, you didn't really intend to do anything to me, did you?"

"..."

Seeing that Chu Hua seemed to have "come to her senses," Toyokawa Shoko didn't want to provoke the other person by holding a knife between them anymore. So after some hesitation, she placed the knife on the kitchen counter not far behind her, and then walked towards the door while looking at Chu Hua behind her as she took out her keys to let her go.

But in the next instant, Chu Hua's figure vanished in a flash, and the next moment he pounced on her, knocking her to the ground and twisting her hands behind her back, controlling all her means of resistance.

"Chu Hua, you lied to me? You bastard!!!"

"Xiao Xiang...do you know? Nanami Natsuki is the one who deceived you."

"what?"

Misumi Hatsune's voice was calm, but it terrified Shoko. "She's not the illegitimate daughter of the Toyokawa family, nor is she your aunt. I... am Hatsune Miku. My real name is Misumi Hatsune."

"...Huh?"

“I…I made a deal with Nanami Natsuki, no…I should say she helped me for free, because of something you said before.”

"So, she and I switched identities. She became your close relative, the illegitimate daughter the Toyokawa family wronged in your eyes, and the one you could forgive even if she did something wrong!"

"Are...is everything you're saying true?"

"Do you think I'd still lie at this point?! Don't underestimate me, Xiao Xiang! Why... why does everyone despise someone like me from the bottom of their hearts? Even you have to deny me now, right?!"

"I didn't deny you... Nobody... denied you."

"It's all your fault... I didn't want this to happen. Who would want to be born with this identity? Is it wrong for me to want to escape? Xiao Xiang... Do you understand now? I am your aunt... Nanami Natsuki is not, she is nothing!"

"Oh, I see... That's wonderful."

Just as a flicker of joy flashed in Mitsuka's eyes behind her, Toyokawa Shoko's next words shattered all her illusions, "Our family hasn't wronged Natsuki... So I won't have to be afraid of her anymore..."

"..."

Misaka Hatsuka laughed, but in a way that was even uglier than crying.