After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

But as soon as Toyokawa Shoko opened her mouth, she immediately cooled down the atmosphere that had just become lively, and Yutenji Wakame had a premonition.

If we don't eat a few more bites now, there might not be any left to eat later.

"Xiao Mu has something to do and will be a little late. Don't wait for her, let's start now, I'll talk to you later."

When questioned by Toyokawa Shoko, Toyokawa Yuu did not answer directly, but instead told everyone not to be shy.

Upon receiving Yuu Toyokawa's reply, the first person to breathe a sigh of relief was Wakame Yutenji, who also helped Yuu Toyokawa smooth things over.

"Xiangzi, there's no need to worry about this. This is our first celebration party, and our agent can't possibly not bring Muzi along."

Just from the brief exchange between the engaged couple, she could tell that something must have happened again.

This victory celebration banquet might actually be a trap.

Fortunately, Yuu Toyokawa was willing to forcefully bring the atmosphere back on track, but the calmer things are now, the more important the news that is about to be said will be.

But what does that have to do with her, a working-class woman? Right now, all Yutenji Wakana wants to do is finish the food on the table in front of her. This is a very special first celebration banquet, so she shouldn't waste it.

Unfortunately, some people genuinely wish the storm would be even more intense.

"You didn't bring her, right... You skipped class with her yesterday and we were out of contact for an afternoon, and you're out of contact again today... What exactly are you planning to do to her?"

The overly blunt words completely cooled the atmosphere in the private room.

Everyone could see that Toyokawa Yuu and Wakaba Mutsu's relationship had been a little strange these past two days, but no one chose to point it out.

Some things are not suitable for discussion as band members, and even the band leader is not quite in a position to discuss them.

However, apart from being the band leader, Toyokawa Shoko also had a very close relationship with both Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsuko.

Although she has almost never managed the band's specific affairs since Yuu Toyokawa joined, it cannot be denied that she has always been the core of the band.

Only she could openly bring up this topic with such a tone in this setting.

"Are you sure you want to tell me this at a time like this? The celebration banquet has just started, and everyone has barely eaten anything."

Yuu Toyokawa picked up a piece of grilled meat with her chopsticks and held it to Shoko Toyokawa's mouth.

What appeared to be an intimate act of feeding between an engaged couple actually lacked any smile on either Toyokawa Shoko's or Toyokawa Yuu's faces.

Although Toyokawa Yuu did not say it directly in front of Toyokawa Shoko, his implied meaning was quite obvious.

If we talk about some things now, we might not be able to eat at the celebration banquet.

Yutenji Wakana, who was stuffing food into her mouth, looked at Toyokawa Yuu, whose demeanor had become somewhat confrontational and who seemed ready to smash the piece of grilled meat into Toyokawa Shoko's face at any moment. She grabbed the drink next to her and took a big gulp.

She suddenly felt that watching this engaged couple argue was actually quite entertaining; after all, if they really wanted to flip the table and ruin the celebration banquet, she couldn't stop them.

Since we can't resist it, we might as well enjoy it.

Upon realizing this, Yutenji Wakami felt a sense of clarity and even put some food into Hatsune Miku's plate.

"Is this some kind of taboo topic? Mutsu is a member of Ave Mujica, so there's no reason not to let her attend the celebration party."

When Yuu Toyokawa put the grilled meat in front of her, Shoko Toyokawa neither refused it outright nor swallowed it directly.

Using the chopsticks in front of her, Toyokawa Shoko took the meat that Toyokawa Yuu handed her, still turning her head to look intently at her fiancé, her eyes showing no sign of evasion.

After confirming that Ruoye Mu was not in the private room, she completely lost the desire to hold any celebration banquet.

She couldn't contact Ruoye Mu all day.

Moreover, compared to yesterday's obviously capricious act of turning off the phone, the unread message notifications, and the dial tone that went unanswered until the time limit was reached, all of these made Toyokawa Shoko feel even more uneasy.

Last night, she and Yuu Toyokawa received a warning from Sadaharu Toyokawa, and today they couldn't contact Mutsuka Wakaba. Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but think things through.

Now, seeing him clearly preoccupied but keeping it to himself only fueled Toyokawa Shoko's anger.

Is there anything more important than the current state of harmony?

"Then I'll tell you the truth, Xiao Mu can't come, and for a while she won't be able to go to school or continue participating in the band's activities."

Faced with Toyokawa Shoko's somewhat aggressive gaze, Toyokawa Yuu did not choose to continue arguing this time.

Using her own chopsticks, Yuu Toyokawa served grilled meat to Hairin Hachiman, who was sitting on her other side, and the other two people present. Toyokawa answered Shoko Toyokawa's question with the same indifferent but even more forceful attitude.

However, in Toyokawa Shoko's ears, this was not an explanation at all, but rather an inhumane notification.

Upon hearing this news, Toyokawa Shoko immediately became anxious.

Ave Mujica is currently in its early stages of growth, and it's a time when they need to participate in a lot of activities and hold regular concerts to quickly build up their popularity.

They've only held two concerts so far, and now one member is unable to participate in activities for a considerable period of time. This is an unimaginable blow for a band that has only recently debuted.

As Ave Mujica's manager, Yuu Toyokawa should be the one who knows this best, yet he's saying this now...

"What happened to Mu?"

He reached out and grabbed Toyokawa Yuu's shoulder, forcing him to look at him.

After receiving accurate information, Toyokawa Shoko's voice was full of urgency.

Toyokawa Shoko was not worried that Toyokawa Yuu would harm Wakaba Mutsu.

He had promised himself that Ave Mujica would be able to perform at the Budokan within a month, so Toyokawa Shoko believed that he could do it and would not break his promise.

So, what exactly happened to Ruo Yemu that made him say such a thing?

"Where is she now?"

Seeing Toyokawa Shoko's stubborn, questioning gaze, Toyokawa Yuu remained silent for a moment, then took out her phone and made a call.

Seeing the call connect almost instantly on her phone, Toyokawa Yuu hesitated slightly, but in the end, she handed her phone to Toyokawa Shoko beside her.

For this victory celebration, Toyokawa Yuu had no intention of letting Wakaba Mutsu appear, not even of communicating with her.

The prospect of being absent from band activities for an extended period was already a significant burden for the golden-eyed girl. Rather than having her explain herself and face questioning from others, especially Toyokawa Shoko, it was better for her to inform the band directly.

However, in this matter, Yuu Toyokawa ultimately couldn't go against Shoko Toyokawa's wishes.

"Mu? Is that you?"

Upon receiving the call, Toyokawa Shoko immediately turned to the person on the other end of the line and asked a question.

I turned the speaker volume up to the maximum, afraid of missing a single syllable.

"Xiang, I'm fine..."

If Ye Mu's calm voice reached her ears, even though she couldn't see the other person's face on the phone, Toyokawa Shoko could immediately recognize that it was the voice of her own half.

"Mu, why did you keep replying to my messages before? What happened... Where are you now? Are you okay?"

Genuine concerns came from Toyokawa Shoko's mouth.

After discovering that Ruoye Mutsu had gone missing again today, a feeling of unease lingered in her heart.

"I'm fine, this place..."

The voice of Wakaba Mutsu on the other end of the phone paused, as if hesitating whether to tell Toyokawa Shoko where he was.

But in the end, she just silently shook her head.

“This place is safe, but I can’t say where it is… Xiang, don’t worry, Youyu will handle these things, I trust him.”

The voice on the phone carried a hint of apology, but Ruo Ye Mu still did not choose to tell her other half that she lived in Toyokawa Yuu's house.

If this gets out, it will seriously damage the band's reputation.

Although he didn't know if his mother, Minami Mori, would use this incident to her advantage, Ruoye Mu didn't want any slip-ups on his end that would cause Toyokawa Shoko and Toyokawa Yuu to get into extra trouble.

"What exactly happened? I haven't been able to contact you all day. Even if something happened, can't you just tell me? Why do you have to keep it from me with Youyu?"

Upon hearing Wakaba Mutsu's voice, although it remained indifferent and lacked much emotion, Toyokawa Shoko, who was extremely sensitive to the sounds of music boxes, could still discern that the other person's tone was very calm, indicating that nothing had happened.

Upon confirming that her upper body was safe and sound, Toyokawa Shoko breathed a sigh of relief.

But as the worries that had been weighing on her mind dissipated, the emotions that had been hidden from her by Toyokawa Yuu and Wakaba Mutsumi for a whole day suddenly came to the fore.

She didn't understand. One was her other half, and the other was her nominal fiancé.

Theoretically, they should be the two people closest to you, but why have they been so tacitly excluding you lately?

"Do you think I can't help? Even if that's the case, you should at least let me know. I'm worried too!"

A series of sounds, which sounded somewhat hysterical.

But for Toyokawa Shoko, there was indeed a worry about releasing the pent-up emotions that had been suppressed all day.

Unable to reach her by phone, I went to Wakaba Mutsumi's house after school, but only received a vague reply from Mori Minami.

[That child probably won't be able to perform on stage with you for a while. But I never expected Xiao Mu to have the courage to do something like this. He's really been taken care of by you two, Xiao Xiang...]

Toyokawa Shoko doesn't even remember how she left the Wakaba family; she only remembers that after learning some information from Mori Minami, she immediately wanted to contact Toyokawa Yuu.

However, Toyokawa Yuu remained vague throughout, refusing to reveal anything on her phone.

That's why, before stepping into this private room, Toyokawa Shoko had been living in a state of anxiety, thinking "something terrible has happened to Mutsumi" and fantasizing that "maybe it's just a joke," until she just realized that the fantasy was just a fantasy, and her anxiety had become a reality.

"Xiang, I..."

Hearing Toyokawa Shoko's increasingly agitated tone, Wakaba Mutsu on the other side of the screen opened her mouth to explain, but couldn't find the words to do so.

Given her introverted and sensitive personality, it would be impossible for her to organize the events of the past two days into a concise summary in such a short time.

Fortunately, she wasn't the only one who knew the whole story.

"Xiao Mu can't reach you. Her original phone is at home, but she can't go home recently, otherwise you might not see her for the next two months."

Yuu Toyokawa's voice interrupted the call between Shoko Toyokawa and Mutsu Wakaba. This communication was not planned, and he had not asked the girl to prepare her remarks in advance.

Now that he's been rendered speechless by Toyokawa Shoko's questions, he has a responsibility to explain the cause and effect.

"Ms. Mori Minami, Xiaomu's mother, has already requested a long leave of absence for her from Tsuki no Mori, citing 'mental health issues requiring rest.' If I don't hide her, she will be forcibly sent to the hospital. As for why I didn't tell you beforehand..."

Yuu Toyokawa glanced at Shoko Toyokawa, whose face was somewhat ashen, and her voice also turned cold, her reply even more impolite.

"Would it do any good to tell you? You have no experience or methods for dealing with this situation, or are you planning to take Xiaomu back to your home and hide?"

"Instead of letting you worry about it, I'd rather arrange things myself first."

Upon hearing Toyokawa Yuu's words, the expressions of everyone else present subtly changed.

Although Yuu Toyokawa did not explicitly state it, the meaning conveyed in her words was quite clear.

It seems the band has inadvertently gotten themselves into some very troublesome situation...

While stuffing food into her mouth, Yutenji Wakame kept an eye on the expressions of the other people.

Hai Zi didn't seem to be acting strangely, as if he already knew something. Xiang Zi and Chu Zi's expressions, on the other hand, were quite telling... It seems like I'm the only one who doesn't know what happened.

Chewing on her food, Yutenji Wakame found the sight of everyone else looking so overwhelmed rather amusing; it was a kind of leisure that only someone like her, from the bottom rungs of society, could enjoy.

"I......"

After being bluntly rebuked by Yuu Toyokawa, Shoko Toyokawa was about to stand up and retaliate when she suddenly realized that what the other person said seemed to be true.

I don't seem to have any particularly good ways to deal with this situation. Do I really have to let Muhe and I squeeze into that small rented room?

How could a girl who had been carefully protected since childhood and even worked as a child star possibly withstand such an environment and the contrast between her past and present?

Unable to find a reason to respond, Toyokawa Shoko's tone finally softened.

"I can help too, why can't you believe in my abilities?"

Toyokawa Shoko's voice became low. This time, she couldn't find an angle to stand up to Toyokawa Yuu, and she looked somewhat disappointed.

She would rather ask her fiancé for help than tell herself what had happened first.

"Instead of pointlessly arguing about what has already happened, I think it's more important to discuss solutions now."

As Hachiman Kairin ate the grilled meat that Toyokawa Yuu had put on her plate, she steered the conversation back on track while chewing.

She probably realized that, if time wasn't too tight and no one steered the conversation back on track, Toyokawa Shoko could argue with Toyokawa Yuu about work-related topics for ages without stopping.

"Since Wakaba-kun is unable to participate in band activities during this period, should I contact a replacement guitarist?"

Yuu Toyokawa had already told Wakaba Mutsumi about her situation before the celebration banquet even started.

Although she didn't discuss the solution with herself, Hachiman Kairin did think of some countermeasures.

"Or, could we have Ruoye record the guitar part in advance, then find someone with a similar build, dress them up, and go on stage to fool them?"

Neither of these solutions is a good one, but with one member inevitably absent, she couldn't think of anything better.

"no!"

Upon hearing Hachiman Kairin's suggestion, Toyokawa Shoko almost instinctively objected.