After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

She didn't care about the new band that Toyokawa Shoko had formed.

In Toyokawa Shoko's eyes, Nagasaki Sase didn't care how that band compared to the former CRYCHIC.

Regardless, Ruoye Mu was her friend, and the two were even classmates.

If Toyokawa Shoko chooses to harm Wakaba Mutsumi for the sake of the band's commercial development, then she will have no way to ignore it.

However, before Nagasaki Sase's resolute gaze could last long, it was interrupted by a sudden phone call.

Nagasaki Sase took her phone out of her bag and discovered it was a call from her school teacher.

"Hello teacher, this is Nagasaki. Yes, I'm still off-campus, I'll be back soon..."

Nagasaki Sōse, unsuspecting of any ulterior motives, dealt with the teacher's questions about leaving school at lunchtime.

After all, it's almost time for class. As a renowned school for young ladies, Moon Forest tries its best to cultivate students' interests and hobbies, but its requirements regarding access control are quite strict.

After all, the students who can get into this school all come from wealthy families, and Tsukinomori wouldn't want anything to happen to them.

However, after hearing what the teacher said, Nagasaki Sase's azure eyes widened instantly, his original determination vanished, leaving only surprise and worry.

"What? You mean Xiao Mu also applied to go out at noon, took her guitar and left school, and hasn't returned yet?"

The tense voices were not deliberately concealed, and even Takamatsu Akari, who was standing next to him, heard Nagasaki Sase's exclamation.

With a worried look in her pink eyes, Takamatsu Akari looked nervously at Nagasaki Sase.

Even though she could deduce the general idea from her exclamation, she still hoped that Nagasaki Sase could explain it to her personally.

"Xiao Mu is missing. She left school at noon with her guitar..."

Nagasaki Sōse pursed his lips, unable to understand why Yōya Muku would need to leave the school at this time, and why he hadn't returned within the stipulated time.

If we have to be nitpicky, this could be considered skipping class.

Nagasaki Sase gritted his teeth and dialed Wakaba Mutsumi's number directly after sending him a few messages on his phone and seeing that they were marked as "unread".

However, before the doorbell had even finished its first long ring, the call Nagasaki Sase dialed was disconnected.

The usually well-behaved and seemingly unambitious Wakaba Mutsumi, like a cucumber in a vegetable garden, actually refused to answer the phone.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. The fact that Tsukimori's teacher asked her about Wakaba Mutsu's whereabouts means that she must have done everything she could and had no other choice but to ask her, a classmate who was close to Wakaba Mutsu.

It's understandable that the phone call wouldn't go through.

what to do......

The tension and worry even brought a misty fog to Nagasaki Sase's azure eyes, but soon she came up with a solution.

Perhaps, Ye Mu won't answer his call.

However, there was one person's phone call that Ye Mu absolutely could not ignore.

After exchanging a glance with Takamatsu Akari, Nagasaki Sōse immediately turned around and led Takamatsu Akari back to the coffee shop.

"Let's go back and find Xiangzi."

.................................................. .......................

Inside the coffee shop, Toyokawa Shoko looked at Chihaya Aine in front of her with a somewhat serious expression.

After all, even without Toyokawa Yuu by their side, the two of them would still be dealing with the same old issues from last night.

Why did you form a band with other people? Why did you make Wakaba Mutsumi perform like that on stage? Wakaba Mutsumi's heartfelt cries were so painful, couldn't you hear them? ... These kinds of questions were so tiresome that Toyokawa Shoko was sick of hearing them.

After reflecting deeply last night, even without Yuu Toyokawa by her side, Shoko Toyokawa is now able to answer questions fluently with a cold expression.

Or, to put it another way, they unilaterally refuse to answer, shutting down the other party's questions with excuses like "this is none of your business."

In Toyokawa Shoko's view, these trivial questions were far less important than the medical history that Toyokawa Yuu mentioned, as Chihaya Aine said.

"Tell me, what's the deal with Youyu needing to see a doctor?"

Taking a sip of Earl Grey tea, Toyokawa Shoko actually preferred the taste of this black tea to the coffee that Toyokawa Yuu had ordered for herself that morning.

Toyokawa Yuu should be quite aware of this, since the drinks he prepares in the teapot in his office are always this kind of black tea.

This morning, however, when ordering his breakfast, he substituted coffee for black tea.

Toyokawa Shoko even suspected that this was a small act of revenge by Toyokawa Yuu, who was unhappy that she had handed him over so early in the morning.

However, suddenly calling someone to ask them to take her to school was indeed a bit willful. Toyokawa Shoko was not unable to understand Toyokawa Yuu's feelings, so she gladly accepted Toyokawa Yuu's silent little revenge this morning.

They were not a loving, devoted, and supportive engaged couple, but rather two birds of a feather, vampires devouring each other.

There's no need to consider despicable acts like stabbing someone in the back. Whatever your desires, just shove the blade into their arms and then suck the crimson blood flowing from their breasts.

There are no secrets between her and Yuu Toyokawa. Even if they are using each other, they should be honest and straightforward about it... That's how it should be.

However, Chihaya Aine's previous words made Toyokawa Shoko feel uneasy.

Yuyu... there's something you're hiding from me.

"Xiangzi, when Youyu ate breakfast with you this morning, did she show any unusual behavior while eating?"

abnormal?

Upon hearing Chihaya Aine's words, Toyokawa Shoko immediately frowned.

It wasn't that she couldn't recall anything unusual about Toyokawa Yuu's behavior, but rather because...

Their interactions never seem to be normal.

This morning at the coffee shop, their actions were less like having breakfast together and more like a power grab.

However, the power grab ultimately ended in failure for Toyokawa Shoko, who was the initiator.

However, when it comes to eating...

“Youyu didn’t eat anything; instead, he gave me his breakfast.”

Even though she was forced to eat two breakfasts by Yuu Toyokawa with the excuse that "looking at you makes me nauseous," Shoko Toyokawa still felt it necessary to maintain a public image of a harmonious relationship between the two in front of Chihaya Aine, an outsider.

I deliberately changed the adjective to the word "let".

But for some reason, after she said those words, Toyokawa Shoko felt that Chihaya Aine's gaze towards her had become somewhat pitiful.

"So, Yuyu didn't eat anything in front of you at all, right?"

Chihaya Aine closed her eyes with some distress. Toyokawa Shoko's reaction had confirmed to her that the conflict between the two was more than just a simple matter of emotional discord.

These two adopted siblings were like familiar strangers bound together for some reason.

They knew nothing about each other's secrets.

"Don't you know that Youyu has a psychological aversion to food handed to her by strangers?"

"Youyu, do you have psychological trauma?"

Listening to Chihaya Aine's感慨 (sentiments/reflections), Toyokawa Shoko's brows furrowed deeper and deeper; she had never known such a thing existed.

However, Chihaya Aine found out about this matter, which she herself was unaware of.

This seems to have gone beyond simply making friends.

What kind of relationship would allow someone to reveal a mental illness they wouldn't even tell their fiancée to a so-called friend?

Even disregarding the presence of Chihaya Aine, Toyokawa Shoko immediately took out her phone and sent several messages to Toyokawa Yuu.

Xiangzi: [Youyu, I have something to ask you.]

With her eyes fixed on the phone screen, Toyokawa Shoko's amber eyes became even more serious than when she had been trying to end her conversation with Nagasaki Sase and Takamatsu Akari.

In particular, when she saw the message in the chat box that showed "read" but received no response whatsoever, her expression even became somewhat frightening.

She knew that Toyokawa Yuu was deliberately not replying to her.

Even when it was a sudden request this morning for him to take me to school, he responded quickly, as if he were on his phone 24/7.

An inexplicable anger welled up inside me; I hadn't even explained why he had read my message but deliberately didn't reply.

This is not the attitude one should have towards accomplices who are birds of a feather.

So-called accomplices should know each other inside and out, so that they can make the best use of each other.

Not to mention, this time Toyokawa Shoko didn't intend to take advantage of anything; her feelings were mostly just simple concern.

However, in the current situation, it is enough to know that Yuu Toyokawa is listening.

Xiangzi: [What's the deal with your psychological aversion to imported food?]

There was still no response, and this time there wasn't even a "read" mark, as if the other party had given up on contacting them.

Without hesitation, Toyokawa Shoko dialed Toyokawa Yuu's number, but this time the call ended before it even rang.

Undeterred, I dialed again, only to hear a message that the other party's phone was switched off.

Simple acts of concern were met with repeated setbacks. Even in front of Chihaya Aine, Toyokawa Shoko could hardly control her emotions. She suddenly stood up, her hands gripping the table, her expression grim as she gritted her teeth.

She knew she shouldn't be so hasty. Even if Yuu Toyokawa didn't want to talk about it on the phone, she could wait until the evening to ask.

As a commercial band, Ave Mujica had to go to their management company for rehearsals every night, and their manager, Yuu Toyokawa, couldn't possibly be absent without a reason.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can wait until then.

However, being treated so coldly by Toyokawa Yuu made her feel inexplicably unhappy.

Lowering her eyes, Toyokawa Shoko tried hard to suppress her emotions.

But before she could convince herself to settle any scores later that night, another unexpected situation completely threw her into disarray.

The coffee shop's doors, which had been closed, were pushed open again, and Nagasaki Sosei and Takamatsu Akari, who had just left, returned.

Before even reaching the table where Toyokawa Shoko and Chihaya Aine were sitting, Nagasaki Sase couldn't wait to speak.

"Xiao Xiang, Xiao Mu is missing. The school teachers said she suddenly left the school with her guitar at noon and hasn't returned yet."

Upon hearing Nagasaki Sōse's words, Toyokawa Sōko, who had been suppressing her emotions, suddenly opened her eyes wide and stared at the brown-haired girl.

"What did you say?"

My fiancé and my other half have both disappeared at the same time?

................................................

"Won't you answer?"

Standing beside Yuu Toyokawa, Mutsu watched as the boy turned off his phone after hanging up and put it back in his pocket, and couldn't help but ask a question.

From her angle, although her view was slightly obscured by the side, it was still not difficult to discern the contact's name.

【Xiangzi】

Ruoye Mutsu couldn't understand why Toyokawa Yuu was deliberately ignoring Toyokawa Shoko's calls.

"What if it's a band issue?"

"We'll talk about the band when we get back to the office."

When asked about Wakaba Mutsu's question, Toyokawa Yuu made up a random excuse.

"The important thing now is to skip class."

He didn't think that Toyokawa Shoko was contacting him because of any "work in the band".

He and Hachiman Kairin had control over both the band's external and internal affairs. If there was any work to be done, it should be Hachiman Kairin who contacted him.

Moreover, the message from Toyokawa Shoko just now has already exposed her purpose.

Psychological trauma...

It's unclear how Toyokawa Shoko learned about this; it's possible that Chihaya Aine told her, but that's not important.

Yuu Toyokawa did not intend to discuss this topic further with Shoko Toyokawa.

In his view, this was no different from laying out his weaknesses on the table and then teaching her step by step which angle to stab her from to make it hurt more.

Even though the two of them were openly stabbing each other in the back, Toyokawa Yuu didn't have the inclination to personally teach the other person how to hurt her.

Seeing that Toyokawa Yuu was clearly trying to evade the question, Wakaba Mu remained noncommittal.

He said he would take me to skip class, but ever since he gave up exploring Yumu, Toyokawa Yuu has just been wandering around aimlessly with me. It seems that even he himself doesn't know what to do next, and is just simply killing time.

but......

Feeling the vibration coming from her pocket, Ruoye Mu took out her phone and looked at the call from the contact labeled "Xiang," her expression hesitant.

She noticed that the moment Yuu Toyokawa took out her phone, she deliberately looked at her phone screen.