Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Metis sat upright in front of the television in his consciousness space, staring at the image reflected on the screen and chuckled softly.

[Heh... Just as I guessed—Hatsuka is deeply in love with Akatsuki!]

Chapter Eighteen: The Heart of Harmony

Titled "Lyrics," it is actually a "Love Letter."

Without a doubt, even for Wakaba Mutsu, who knew very little about romantic relationships, she could clearly feel the overwhelming love and twisted possessiveness emanating from the screen.

You'd think I'm crazy to be jealous of every member of the opposite sex around you, right?

The only way to avoid being harmed is to intentionally make yourself more and more timid and insignificant...

But I still can't lie to myself; I'm still searching for you aimlessly in the chaotic crowd.

Line after line of text filled with deep love came into view, and even Metis, who was sitting in front of the television in his consciousness space and taking it all in, opened his eyes wide in surprise.

[Haha... Although I expected it, I didn't realize that Chu Hua's love for Xiao was so deep and intense!]

Holding a rabbit doll, Mo San Si Lin's wife, Er Er Si Si Shi Si ...

[As expected, I sensed it long ago! Both Su Shi and Chu Hua have ulterior motives towards Xiao... What are you planning to do, Xiao Mu? Oh dear, or did you simply not notice this at all?]

During this time, she had been forced to remain confined in the consciousness space, and Mu, who held the power of life and death, rarely revealed any information or images of the outside world to Metis.

Unless her guarded consciousness was shaken by something, inadvertently allowing Metis to glimpse the situation outside.

And that's the situation now.

[Xiao Mu actually panicked because of Chu Hua's love confession letter? That's really rare, really rare. Even someone as familiar with you as I am didn't expect you to be a little flustered by something like this. Hmph~ Chu Hua is really scary like this, isn't she? I was terribly scared before, you know? Especially when she looks at Xiao, that terrifying look in her eyes, so fiercely protective of her food—]

Metis...stop talking.

This was the first thing Mu had said to Metis since he had imprisoned her for so many days.

"So you've finally decided to talk to me, Xiao Mu!"

Metis, who had been chattering away alone in his consciousness space for days, heard Mu's voice and his eyes instantly lit up again.

[I knew it! You can't stay calm when it comes to Akatsuki! Hmph, feeling threatened? Do you need my help?]

Ever since Metis was unhesitatingly put in solitary confinement by Mu for being playful (actually, causing trouble), she had been eagerly waiting for her chance, knowing that the moment she would see the light of day again would eventually come.

Some birds are destined not to be caged; every feather of theirs shimmers with the light of freedom—just as some mischievous children are destined never to learn to behave; every time they feign ignorance, it means they have a lot of bad ideas brewing inside.

Metis is such a demon child; she doesn't need any kind of redemption through prison break.

【I am one with you, Mu! Your troubles are my troubles! Come on, let me out! I'll help you solve your problems, and I'll stand with you against Chu Hua, who has ill intentions towards Xiao! Only I will be your eternal partner, Mu!】

The seductive voice of the demon child was close to her ear, and Mu frowned imperceptibly—outside of the consciousness space, she showed not even the slightest sign that she was negotiating with Metis.

"Mu...? Are you daydreaming?"

Xiao, completely unaware of this, tilted his head and thought Mu was just scared by Chu Hua's lyrics.

"Well, I understand how you feel... I was also shocked when I first saw these lyrics..."

[Hmph, Xiao's really a step behind. Is it that Chu Hua's act is too flawless, or has his observational skills declined?]

While Kazama was explaining, Metis in his mind, as if afraid the situation wasn't lively enough, began to embellish and interpret the current situation.

【If you let your guard down against Chu Hua, you'll suffer a great loss, Mumu! Of course, if you can let me out, I'll definitely keep a close eye on her every move. After all, I know you really don't want anyone else to get close to Xiao, right? It's strange, maybe influenced by you, I don't want that to happen either—let me out, and we'll protect Xiao together, okay?!】

What a troublesome guy.

No matter how much Metis pleaded for herself, whether with gentle persuasion or force, Mu chose to ignore her, leaving her alone in the space of consciousness.

[Wait, Mu——! 】

Mu forcibly severed the connection between herself and Metis, but that did not mean that what Metis had just said had not disturbed her thoughts.

"...Who did Chu Hua write these lyrics for?"

Mu slowly swiped his phone screen, maintaining an unchanging calm demeanor as he scanned the entire lyrics at a glance.

Kazama glanced at Mutsu's appearance, then stammered out what he believed to be the truth.

"Chu Hua said that she created this based on her imagination... Well, sometimes creators don't necessarily have to base their creations on real people and events, right? Even just watching a sad coming-of-age romance movie or reading a novel about unrequited love can inspire creation."

Although he didn't know why Mutsu would suddenly ask such a question, Kazama patiently recounted the whole story that Hatsuka had told him.

"Well."

Mu nodded, seemingly having grasped the general situation, and then fell silent.

"...What do you think, Mu?"

Feeling that he needed to ask questions carefully at this moment, Kazama unconsciously lowered his voice slightly.

"So, the lyrics were written by Chu Hua, and the music was written by Xiao."

But Mu's mind wasn't on that; she asked this seemingly irrelevant question.

"Hmm... is that a correct understanding?"

Kazama twitched the corner of his mouth. Although Mutsumi's expression did not change and his tone was as calm and composed as ever, he, who knew the girl well, still noticed a slight change in Mutsumi's aura.

I had a feeling that this guy sounded a bit down... but it probably wasn't just him overthinking it.

"........."

Mu didn't say anything more, but just looked up at the cucumber seedlings in front of him.

These are cucumber seedlings that she and Xiao cultivated together.

The songs that are currently playing through the headphones, weaving through the ears and wires, are also the "fruits" that Xiao and others have cultivated together.

[Jealous? — You're jealous, aren't you, Xiao Mu?]

If your mental strength relaxes even slightly, the inappropriate voice will ring in your mind again.

[You probably didn't expect Chu Hua to beat you to it, did you?]

Metis continued to fan the flames with impunity, as if making the situation even more chaotic was her birthright.

[If we don't do something soon, Xiao might really be snatched away! After all, Chu Hua was more certain of her feelings and took action before Xiao Mu! Xiao Mu, you're way behind! It'll be too late if you don't act now!]

Having had enough of the noisy and chaotic sounds in his mind, Mu frowned unhappily.

However, Metis's sarcastic remarks did slightly shake her original firm belief.

"...My feelings."

Muku murmured these four words to herself, which made Kazama, who had been watching and observing her, raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

Chapter Nineteen: Xiang, the Battle Continues!

"So, what do you think of the song that Chu Hua and I created?"

Kazama cautiously sought the opinion of the girl beside him, while also not ignoring the unusual behavior she had inadvertently displayed earlier.

"And what did you just say... about your feelings?"

"……nothing."

Mu shook her head silently; to her, those words just now seemed to be nothing more than a casual remark that slipped out of her mouth.

"This piece of music is very beautiful."

Mu silently took off his headphones and handed the phone with the lyrics written on it back to the boy beside him—as if he were personally handing over the thread of blood connecting the two of them to him.

"........."

Kazama was momentarily speechless. Mutsu only commented on his own composition and arrangement, but made no mention of how good the lyrics written by Hatsuka were.

"Was this a song that Xiao specially composed for Chu Hua?"

Okay, I guess I mentioned it indirectly.

"Why is it that only the two of you... co-wrote this song?"

"Well... actually, it was Chu Hua who came to me first, hoping that I could write a song that corresponded to the lyrics she wrote."

Kazama hurriedly began to explain his relationship with Hatsuka in a serious manner.

Even though Mu Shang didn't know that he was actually a relative who had traveled from the future, she could still very likely misunderstand that she and Chu Hua might have something going on in private.

After all, to outsiders, they do appear to be very close—which could easily be misinterpreted as a romantic relationship between teenagers of the same age who are attracted to each other.

"But that's all. Chu Hua asked me for help, and I lent a hand. There's nothing else."

Kazama quickly drew a line between himself and Hatsuka in front of Mutsu. He didn't care what others thought, but it would be really infuriating if Mutsu misunderstood his relationship with Hatsuka.

After all, he had considered telling Xiao Mu the whole story in person someday. Now that she had this unfounded misunderstanding, it would be very difficult to explain it later.

"I see."

Mu, whose face was as delicate as a doll's, nodded, but Xiao still couldn't discern any subtle emotions in her calm, watery eyes.

"Xiao wants me to take a look at the song you two co-wrote?"

"Uh...that's true."

Is it just my imagination? I still feel like something's off about Mu's words.

"Well, it's okay to make some minor changes to the details, right?"

Mu rolled his eyes dismissively.

"I might make some minor changes to the lyrics written by Chu Hua. Is that alright?"

"Hmm...it should be fine, right?"

After all, it was Chu Hua who first suggested "letting Xiao Mu listen to this song first"... He should have been mentally prepared that the lyrics would be modified and corrected by Mu.

"I understand."

Mu Wu stood up on his own, then took the boy's hand and pulled him up from where he was.

"...Mu?"

Even after she stood up with her, the girl still held her palms up with her slender, warm fingers.

Kazama lowered his head, not breaking free from Mutsu's grasp, but his gaze towards Mutsu held a hint of confusion.

"........."

Mu remained silent, but raised his other hand, extended his index finger, lowered his head, and focused intently on sketching something on the boy's palm.

"Well……"

The girl's movements were light and fleeting, like a dragonfly skimming the water; the warmth from her fingertips even made his palms feel slightly itchy.

She was writing something in her palm.

"This is the password for my electronic lock."

Mu lowered his head and gave an explanation.

"I also want to help Xiao, but it's impossible to explain in just a few words which part of the song needs to be changed today. Let's meet at my house tomorrow—"

The next second, the girl looked up and met the boy's somewhat confused gaze.

"It doesn't matter when you come, just come in. If I'm still sleeping, wake me up."

She entrusted the combination to Kazama without reservation, as if she were entrusting him with something more important as well.

"If it's Akatsuki, I'll wake up obediently."

When Mutsumi drew the second number on his palm with his index finger, Kazama had already guessed that it would be the electronic lock password for the Wakaba family.

This was also the password used by the Wakaba family when he was first taken home by Mutsu as a child.

Although the password was changed to Xiao's birthday several years later, and the mother and son moved frequently due to work or school, Xiao still remembered the original password.

Now, Mu, unaware of all this, entrusted it to him with peace of mind.

"………Um."