After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

"Soyo?"

When Shoko Toyokawa heard Nagasaki Sase calling her by her nickname, she couldn't continue to ignore it.

"Why are you here?"

Although she was speaking to Nagasaki Sōse, Toyokawa Sōko's gaze remained fixed on her fiancé and the lunchbox in front of him, which looked far more refined than the company's dining area. She sighed softly to herself.

Coming in without knocking at a time like this is certainly not because of a lack of social etiquette or because the matter is too urgent.

Even though I have an appointment with Chihaya Aine this afternoon, time isn't that tight yet.

She only rushed over because someone told her they had seen Nagasaki Sasuke's trail.

The surnames of Nagasaki Sase and Nagasaki Ms. alone are enough to make one think, and as it turns out, her suspicions were justified.

There's a slight urge to flare up.

Time and again, Toyokawa Shoko began to feel annoyed with this friend she had once been unwilling to hurt.

If it were just him bothering her, that would be one thing, but even if he bothered her for a whole year, it wouldn't be unbearable for Toyokawa Shoko.

Regardless, they were once in the same band, and even if they went their separate ways, it didn't mean a complete break. The connection brought by those happy times made it difficult for them to refuse this intrusion.

However, everything about CRYCHIC had nothing to do with Yuu Toyokawa.

At that time, he hadn't even come to the city yet.

Just to entangle herself, after failing to make progress with Mu, she chose to drag her fiancé into it... That's too much.

A subtle dissatisfaction was building in his gaze as he looked at Nagasaki Sase.

However, given the occasion and the presence of Ms. Nagasaki, Toyokawa Shoko did not openly express her dissatisfaction.

"I came to visit my mom on set and bring her food. I didn't expect to run into Xiao Xiang here."

Nagasaki Sase readily told lies in front of his mother.

However, apart from her family who should know her best, no one else will be fooled by such a clumsy lie.

Even the harmonious mother-daughter relationship displayed by Nagasaki Sase made Toyokawa Shoko feel slightly uneasy.

Not long ago, she lost the only memento left by her mother, and the half of her mother, who was also the half of her mother, was the same kind of person.

"Then Youyu and I will not disturb you any longer. We have other things to do this afternoon."

Walking up to Toyokawa Yuu, Toyokawa Shoko gently placed her hand on her fiancé's shoulder, intending to leave with him like this.

"Then I'll arrange the vehicles. It's almost past noon now."

Ms. Nagasaki also tactfully took out her phone and began arranging transportation to take Ave Mujica and her group back.

She could tell that everyone was a little embarrassed because of her daughter's behavior, and it would be best to separate her from the others now.

However, Ms. Nagasaki did not expect that her usually well-behaved daughter would be so enthusiastic when facing her "friends".

"Xiao Xiang, don't you want to eat something first? It will take a while before the vehicle is ready, and Mr. Youyu is still hungry."

Seeing that the others were now somewhat embarrassed because of his remarks, Nagasaki Sase stood up, realizing that his presence was actually somewhat superfluous.

However, recalling the unpleasant expression on Toyokawa Yuu's face when he handed her the food, Nagasaki Sase was very curious about how interesting his expression would be if he swallowed what he had made.

This somewhat dark and malicious thought lingered in the girl's mind, and only by leaving these two Toyokawas here could she do what she truly wanted to do.

Moreover, if Xiaoxiang and Toyokawa Yuu could stay here temporarily, they should be with Xiaomu nearby, and there shouldn't be anyone who could stop them.

She was more worried about the girl who seemed to have developed mental problems from being in the band called Ave Mujica than about Toyokawa Shoko.

A little bit of scheming, though it might make Yuu Toyokawa dislike me even more, will achieve my goal.

As for Toyokawa Yuu's opinion of herself... after what just happened, Nagasaki Sase had given up hope.

"But since Mr. Yu and Mom are talking about work, I won't stay here and cause trouble. Mom, remember to eat well too."

Nagasaki Sase stood up and was about to take his leave even faster than Toyokawa Shoko.

“This child… I’m sorry, both of you. I’ve been neglecting my daughter’s upbringing. I was originally planning to invite Mr. Toyokawa to try my daughter’s cooking.”

Seeing her daughter dash out before anyone could reply, Ms. Nagasaki felt helpless, but she had to apologize to the two Toyokawa men in front of her.

"It's alright, I didn't take Miss Nagasaki's matter to heart. But what Shoko just said is right, I really should go now, we have other work to do this afternoon."

Faced with Toyokawa Shoko, Nagasaki Sase actually took the initiative to run away, which caught Toyokawa Yuu somewhat off guard, but he quickly understood why.

That guy, Nagasaki Sosei, definitely went to see Wakaba Mutsumi.

Metis said those things to her in [RING] last time. Given that troublesome guy's personality, it's impossible for him not to hold a grudge until he dies.

Moreover, he had absolutely no desire to touch anything that Nagasaki Sase made.

Yuu Toyokawa was about to get up and chase after him when his fiancée pressed down on his shoulder, preventing him from standing up immediately.

"It's not that urgent, Yuu. Ms. Nagasaki does need time to prepare the vehicle, and Soyo is right, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Your stomach isn't good to begin with..."

Using the excuse of caring for Toyokawa Yuu's health, she forcibly stopped her fiancé, who was about to leave.

Toyokawa Shoko glanced in the direction Nagasaki Sousei had left, then picked up the lunchbox on the table.

Wakaba Mutsu had already told her about what happened in [RING] before, so... we can't let Toyokawa Yuu get involved any more.

Ultimately, he and Soyo weren't that close. Given Soyo's personality, his resistance wouldn't have any effect; it would only backfire.

So... I'm counting on you, Mutsu.

I'm sorry that you've been taking the blame for Soyo's harassment all this time.

She's been probing me like this all year, and now she's doing it again to keep Youyu away from her.

Feeling a pang of guilt towards her own body, Toyokawa Shoko picked up the lunchbox in front of her and placed the food inside in front of her fiancé.

She needs to buy some time for her own body now. After all, given Toyokawa Yuu's protectiveness towards Wakaba Mutsu, he would never want to see the girl he lives with being harassed by Nagasaki Sōse.

But only Wakaba Mutsu can do this kind of thing; even his own words don't count.

After all, in the past year, the only person Nagasaki Sose owed anything to was Wakaba Mutsumi.

"Yuyu, ah—"

Chapter 165 Cohabitation Exposed

Leaving her mother's office, Nagasaki Sase quietly breathed a sigh of relief, her azure eyes gazing at the still somewhat unfamiliar corridor.

She knew she had to hurry and find Wakaba Mutsu before Toyokawa Yuu and Toyokawa Shoko came out.

However, the building where the mother's company is located is quite large, the corridor is incredibly long, and there are countless rooms. Where could Xiao Mu possibly be?

Nagasaki Sase turned to look in the direction he had come from, but the band drummer who had been standing by the huge floor-to-ceiling window talking to his family was nowhere to be seen.

Now it seems I don't even have anyone to ask. Should I search room by room? Wouldn't that seem impolite?

It's not that Nagasaki Sase has to consider his mother's image at the company just because he's already broken off relations with Toyokawa Yuu.

how should I do it?

Turning his head to look in another direction of the corridor, Nagasaki Sase was slightly taken aback.

While she was struggling with how to find her target, she stood quietly by the wall, her head slightly lowered, her light green hair cascading down like a waterfall.

"Xiao Mu..."

Nagasaki Sase called out softly, surprised that he could find his target so easily.

In fact... it seemed as if the other party had been waiting for him on purpose.

Were you waiting for me?

The voice he used was exactly the same as when the two of them had met at school before.

Looking at the girl in front of him, dressed in a mesh dress, whose simple style didn't seem like that of a popular band guitarist, and who kept her head slightly down and refused to look at him, Nagasaki Sase realized that it had been a while since Wakaba Mutsu had stopped going to school.

"......Um."

A while after Nagasaki Sase finished speaking, Wakaba Mutsu slowly raised his head and carefully examined the girl in front of him with his golden eyes.

Beneath the other person's usual gentle and sweet smile, she couldn't see much of the anger that was being hidden.

At least this time, there's no need to worry about the other person suddenly changing their attitude and blaming you for everything you do being wrong.

"I have something to tell you."

The simple statement confirmed Nagasaki Sosei's earlier guess: Wakaba Mutsumi was waiting for him here.

So, even Wakaba Mutsumi, who was standing outside the door and whom he hadn't noticed at all before, knew that he had arrived, and Toyokawa Shoko, who had just entered... there's no reason why she wouldn't know, right?

So why did Xiao Xiang look so surprised to be there?

Have we come to the point where even our encounters have to be pretended to be accidental?

Realizing that the relationship with her former bandmates could never be the same again, Nagasaki Sase's feelings suddenly became extremely complicated.

"Sure, what does Xiaomu plan to tell me?"

Seeing Wakaba Mutsumi turn around after casually uttering those words, seemingly gesturing for him to follow, Nagasaki Sosei nodded in agreement with his usual smile and followed the girl's footsteps.

The place that Wakaba Mutsu was taking her to was not far from Ms. Nagasaki's office; in fact, it was in a room just next door.

The band's drummer, who had just been talking to his family from the window in the hallway, was now lounging on the soft sofa, resting with his eyes closed.

Besides her, there were two other people whom Nagasaki Sase also knew.

One is Hachiman Urin, who refused to be hired by him in [RING] last time, and the other is the blonde guitarist wearing an Ave Mujica mask. If Nagasaki Sase is not mistaken, he should be the lead singer of this band.

"Hey, Mutsuko, you've changed your clothes so quickly."

Seeing that Wakaba Mutsumi had changed out of her Ave Mujica costume and into her usual simple and elegant clothes that didn't seem like something a daughter from an entertainment family should wear, Yutenji Wakamu greeted her and seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Yutenji Wakana kept winking at Wakaba Mutsu, gesturing for her to look in the direction of Hachiman Kairin.

There's no way around it, just now when Hachiman Kairin came back from delivering food to Toyokawa Yuu, she looked radiant.

The confident smile on his lips even made Yutenji Wakana wonder if she had mistaken him for someone else.

Although Hachiman Kairin has always been the kind of person who is quite confident in her abilities, she used to be somewhat restrained in that confidence. But now, just looking at Yutenji Wakamu gives her a sense of impending doom.

Since Hatsuko knew she couldn't fight against Umiko, Yutenji Wakana had no choice but to place her hopes on Mutsuko, who was close to her manager.

However, to Yutenji Wakame's disappointment, although Wakaba Mutsu noticed her suggestive glances, he seemed to ignore them and instead addressed the others.

"Amoris, Timoris, Doloris, could you lend me this room for a while? I have something to discuss with my friend."

His expression was calm and indifferent. Although it did sound like Wakaba Mutsu's voice, his tone made the other three members of Ave Mujica feel somewhat unfamiliar.

They all stopped thinking at the same time, looked at each other, and finally Hachiman Kairin nodded to Wakaba Mutsumi.

Yuu Toyokawa had instructed her before today that if she found that Mutsuka Wakaba was acting strangely, she should try to go along with his thoughts.

"I understand, but try to hurry. We'll probably be leaving soon, and Mr. Youyu has to take you home. Don't waste his time."

After saying that, he left the room with the other two girls beside Nagasaki Sosei and Wakaba Mutsumi.

Hearing Hachiman Kairin's groans, which were neither a reminder nor meddling, Ruoye Mu didn't respond. His golden eyes were somewhat vacant, as if he were in a daze, and it seemed that he hadn't listened to her words at all.

Even after his three companions left the room and thoughtfully closed the door behind them, Wakaba Mutsu stood there blankly, neither speaking nor making any other movement.

From the outside, he appears to be in a daze, but inside he is having a fierce internal struggle.

[If Xiaomu can't bear to say those things, I can say them instead, after all, Xiaomu and Soyo are friends...]

In her mental world, Metis held the plush toy that Yuu Toyokawa had bought for her, fiddling with it while seemingly casually offering suggestions.

She could see that Ruoye Mutsu was in a dilemma; given his personality, he certainly wouldn't want to hurt someone he had once formed a band with.

But you can rest assured that you'll leave this to me; I'll definitely convey your thoughts clearly.

Metis, why did you actively want to come out when facing Soyo?

Instead of immediately accepting the advances of her other self, Ruoye Mu began to ask Metis some questions with some doubt.

The person's supportive personality, in this matter, seems to have other motives besides assisting themselves.

[Of course, I want to teach Soyo a lesson. Xiao Mu can only say it's baffling; Mr. Youyu was very blunt about it before, saying he disliked Soyo, right?]

Metis shrugged, not hiding his thoughts from Ruoye Mu.

As a girl with a supportive personality, her situation regarding "having nothing of her own" is even more extreme than that of Wakaba Mutsumi.

Metis naturally took special care of Yuu Toyokawa, who had given him many gifts and even enabled him to have friends like a real human being.

Since Toyokawa Yuu dislikes Nagasaki Sase, she will, on the basis of fulfilling Toyokawa Shoko's request, ensure that Nagasaki Sase will never want to appear in front of her again.