Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Moreover... it seems that Chu Hua, whom she regards as a rival, is completely different from the humble, peaceful, and uncompetitive Chu Hua of the past.

Chu Hua took a deep breath.

As a popular idol, she was already used to maintaining perfect facial expressions in front of the camera. She quickly suppressed her shock and astonishment, replacing it with a softer smile that subtly conveyed an intriguing emotion.

"Xiaojun, do you think I should give this position to Xiaomu?"

Not only did she show no sign of backing down, but she even smiled and turned her gaze to Kazama along with Mutsu.

This puts pressure on Kazama's side.

Why do these two act like they've been shot the moment they meet? What exactly did Metis say?

"Wow, this is truly an unexpected development."

A burning desire for gossip instantly ignited in Miss Miaomeng's eyes. She looked Chuhua, Muhexiao, and Xiaohe back and forth with great interest, a playful smile playing on her lips.

"Hailing, whose side do you think Xiaojiang will take?"

She leaned back slightly, as if ready to watch a good show. These backstage secrets were far more interesting than the stage performance.

"Is Kazama-kun that popular?"

Hai Ling raised an eyebrow. Although she wasn't particularly interested in emotional entanglements, the tense silence before her was somewhat unexpected.

"If that's the case, then he might as well stand on my side."

"Eh? Hai Ling, are you going to join this fight too? I'm rooting for you!"

"No, it's just that at least when I stood next to Shiina, she seemed much more normal than the other two."

"Eh~ Does that mean Hailing has an accomplice? The relationships among you guys are really complicated~ Speaking of which, Xiaojiang is so popular, he must be using sweet talk to deceive girls again, right?"

Even if you, Miaomeng, lowered your voice, everyone has ears and can still hear you! And wasn't that last sentence a malicious and defamatory statement?!

Although he was complaining in his heart, Kazama didn't have time to pay attention to this troublesome cat.

At this moment, what awaited his response were the piercing gazes of Mu He and Chu Hua.

One side seizes by force, while the other side defends it fiercely.

"Hmm... how about this?"

Kazama, on a sudden impulse, quickly stood up from his seat—

Then he gently pushed Xiaomu's shoulder and helped her sit in her seat.

"There's clearly plenty of room in this room, isn't there? Hahahaha—"

After giving such a guilty answer, he picked up a chair and casually pulled it to sit next to Xiangzi, who was furthest away from everyone else.

"?"

Miss Xiangzi looked on incredulously.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean to talk to you, I just came here to lay low for a while."

Kazama spoke bluntly, ignoring the bewildered look on their faces, and turned to observe the reactions of Mutsu and Hatsuka.

Although the two still disliked each other, they refrained from escalating the situation out of consideration for him—or perhaps because there was a crucial band debut that they absolutely couldn't afford to mess up—so they tacitly postponed the conflict.

Kazama knew very well that this was just a delaying tactic.

"...Do you know how devastated I was to witness my childhood friend and the girl who suddenly appeared in my life fighting over you, Kazama-kun?"

Xiangzi didn't make any further moves; exhausted, she simply empathized with Kazama's unusually cautious state of mind at that moment.

"I know, believe me, I'm way more devastated than you."

Kazama nodded without hesitation—nothing could be more devastating than his mother, Mutsu, and Aunt Hatsuka suddenly starting to argue with him for no apparent reason.

"Alright, everyone, calm down for a bit. We're going to be on stage soon, you know? Let's put aside all those romantic entanglements and past affairs for now~"

Miao Meng commendably stepped forward to take charge, even though her words always had a sarcastic tone, at least Xiao Mu and Chu Hua obediently stopped bothering each other.

"Xiao, aren't you planning to go on stage?"

While everyone else was busy touching up their makeup and changing clothes, Mutsumi bypassed them and grabbed Kazama's sleeve.

"Ah... um. Because I don't intend to play the role of a puppet, even if it's just a conceptual interpretation."

Kazama was still a little shaken, but he honestly told Mutsu his thoughts.

"That's it."

Mu blinked, then looked up and met his gaze without fear.

"I have something I want to say to Xiao."

"...?"

"But I know I can't mess up the performance. I'll behave myself and talk to Xiao after the performance."

She nodded to Xiao, then let go of his sleeve and walked over to Xiangzi, who was changing into his stage costume.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Xiang..."

"Seriously, Mutsu...! I thought you'd never talk to me again..."

As Kazama watched Mutsu return to Shoko's embrace—or rather, as she tried to soothe the uneasy Shoko—he felt somewhat dazed.

After the performance, Mu had something she wanted to tell him.

What exactly is she trying to say...?

"Well."

Kazama didn't have time to continue pondering, because the next instant he felt his sleeve sink again—

This time, Chu Hua grabbed his wrist.

"Xiaojun... even though you won't be on stage, you'll still be there to greet us after the performance, right?"

The warm touch slowed his reaction by a beat, and Chu Hua's pair of jewel-like, brilliant purple eyes shone with a light he had never seen before.

"Then, please... watch me closely from the audience."

The words that came out of Chu Hua's mouth lingered in his mind like a demonic chant.

Kazama then realized that he had made a huge mistake.

These two guys didn't stop fighting at all, nor did they shake hands and make peace for his sake.

Kazama's delaying tactic only gave them a short break; they still hadn't given up on proving themselves superior.

He already had a vague premonition.

"I also have something I want to say to Xiaojun. After the performance, please be the first person to stand backstage to greet me... okay?"

As expected, Chu Hua pitifully made this seemingly insignificant request, as humble as a puppy waiting for its owner's permission—yet also displaying an incredibly strong competitive spirit.

The warmer the body heat emanating from his wrist, the more deafening the alarm bells rang in Kazama's heart.

The next performance was less of a debut for Mujica and more of a final consolation as he was about to be sent to the gallows by two girls.

If he manages to get back alive today, he'll definitely drag that troublemaker Metis out and teach him a lesson.

Chapter 84 The Loser Chu Hua is Within Reach

Before the curtain rose, the stage was completely silent, as if even the air itself was holding its breath in anticipation.

Before the spotlights were turned on, the audience could only vaguely see the silhouettes of girls in gorgeous costumes in the darkness—or rather, the silhouettes of a group of dolls.

The debut performance of Ave Mujica, "Masked Ball," quietly began, but Kazama, backstage, watched the girls' backs as they walked onto the stage, completely unable to empathize with the excited audience.

Logically speaking, with Toyokawa Shoko having lost power, he now firmly holds the reins of the band and has no more worries.

Xiangzi's life was extended, and Muhe people would no longer be plunged into long years of grief because of her unexpected death.

But he just couldn't feel happy.

Yes, history was changed by his actions, and the butterfly effect has led the story in his memory in a direction that was never intended—but this development is a bit too unexpected, isn't it?

First, a second personality named Metis emerged from Mutsu's body, maliciously instigating conflict between Hatsuka and Suze. Then, after Mutsu himself logged in, he and Hatsuka inexplicably found themselves locked in a tense standoff...

Kazama rubbed his head, feeling a bit of a headache. If these two guys asked him to choose a side, he would really be in a dilemma.

On one hand is his mother, who has led him into a new life and with whom he has lived for more than ten years; on the other hand is his aunt, who takes meticulous care of him in every detail of life, even making him feel a little overwhelmed—this choice between two equally beloved women is truly frustrating.

Let's just hope for now that things haven't escalated to that point.

Kazama silently gazed at the girls, watching them address him by nicknames like Dolores, Mortis, and Ob, a string of letters, and a sense of loss welled up inside him.

If Aunt Xiangzi hadn't had that accident in his original timeline, perhaps Xiao Mu and everyone else's lives would have followed a similar path to now.

Can a self with different life experiences in another time and space truly be considered the same person without any doubt?

Kazama could no longer connect the women of today with the aunties of his memories. He could only pray in his heart that his choice had led everyone toward a better future—at least better than the past.

"Ugh...so boring. It's not as interesting as watching a love triangle backstage."

Meanwhile, the short-haired girl with purple hair, hidden beneath a mask on stage, felt inexplicably bored during this masquerade ball.

As the lavish and eerie background music began to play, she could only follow Xiangzi, the one who conceived this whole concept, and act like a puppet on a string—

But watching her deliver so many fancy but useless self-introductions only made Teacher Miaomeng feel extremely bored.

It's a wonder that Xiangzi, despite having had most of his power as captain taken away by that boy who didn't even get to perform on stage, can still portray obliviously on stage without batting an eye.

Speaking of which... it was Kazama who gathered everyone together, but when it came time to go on stage, he seemed uninterested in becoming true companions with everyone. It's really puzzling.

Meow Dream, sitting behind the drum set, glanced towards the backstage area. The boy was still leaning against the wall, lost in thought, looking somewhat absent-minded.

"Oh dear, you've brought us together but aren't you going to keep an eye on us? In a way, Xiao-chan is even worse than Xiang-chan."

So, driven by a playful impulse, she made a choice against Xiangzi's wishes.

If I could make Shoko's seemingly confident expression waver, that would be fantastic. And if I could get Kazama's gaze focused on me, that would be even better.

"What a joke, that fake smile, it's so meaningless."

Yutenji Wakana smiled mischievously as she gracefully rose to her feet—

"Wait...Amoris?"

As the leader, Xiangzi noticed Miaomeng's unusual behavior and tried to stop her by calling out her code name—

But this was naturally in vain.

"We can't go down the masked look route, Xiang-chan."

Miao Meng blinked cutely, and then, in front of the audience, she removed the exquisite and gorgeous mask from her face.

Let's make things more interesting!

"Wait—what are you doing!"

The audience erupted in chaos. Xiangzi was stunned by her sudden action and couldn't stop her from taking a nimble step to Mu, who had been silent, and removing his mask.

"what……"

A cacophony of noise erupted once again in the audience, all eyes fixed on Mu's adorable face as a second-generation star.

"Is that a child from the Wakaba family?"

"Wakaba Mutsumi, right? I remember! She's Minami's child!"

"...!"

Xiao, who was still lost in his own thoughts, snapped back to reality in an instant, simply because there were suddenly a few voices in the crowd that he could hear clearly discussing Mu's family background.

Oh dear, it seems the plan has succeeded.

Miao Meng chuckled, while Mu, somewhat oblivious, hid her face from the spotlight for a moment, which caught the attention of Chu Hua standing nearby.

“Amoris…”

Of course, she noticed Kazama, who had been influenced by the murmurs from the audience, standing up and looking at the stage, following Nyanmu's malicious gaze.

Chu Hua could tell that he seemed to be emotionally affected because everyone was discussing Mu.

Chu Hua, who had been trying her best to cooperate with Xiangzi, fell into a brief silence, but then she gritted her teeth and followed Miao Meng's example, removing the mask from her face—

"Oh my god, Lord Chu Hua!!"