Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Stop showing off your literary talent and sentimentality. Whether it's true or not isn't a difficult question to answer, is it? Or are you just using this joking way to change the subject again? And don't call me so intimately.

【No, I just wanted to talk to Riki more. And why are you so concerned about how I address you... Isn't Riki more intimate than Riki-chan?】

[...Don't use such a flippant term of address towards me.]

Despite saying she didn't want to change the subject, Miss Lixi's attention was still successfully diverted.

Never mind, although teasing Riki occasionally can make Kazama feel better, the most important thing about these casual banter is to keep it brief.

[Nothing happened between Mu and me, of course. Even if Mu isn't the Mu who actually raised me, she still looks just like my mother.]

He answered Li Xi's question, a slight smile even playing on his lips.

[Lixi, do you want something to happen between us? No, what exactly do you mean by "something to happen"?]

In short, it's about things a son shouldn't do to his mother. It's good that you have a set of strict moral standards and know what you should and shouldn't do. Since you haven't gone to such extremes, I'm relieved.

Despite the perfectly proper words in the chat box she sent, Kazama bet that Riki on the other end of the phone must have been blushing and stammering for a long time before coming up with this seemingly respectable response that actually exposed her true feelings.

So, let's get back to the main point. Should I tell Su Shi about yesterday's events on your behalf?

Okay, let's stop teasing this guy for now.

"No problem. If you don't do this, Lixi, I'll have to explain it to Su Shi sometime in the future. But speaking of this..."

He suddenly thought of Chu Hua, then rolled his eyes and typed out a reply that left Li Xi on the other end of the phone speechless.

Besides that, I think we should also find some time to get everyone in MYGO together and explain the situation.

[Everyone...wait, you mean...?]

Ah, that's right.

Ryuna, Riki, and Suze already know all the secrets, and among the members of MYGO, only Chihaya Aine and Takamatsu Akari are still completely unaware of it all.

It's time to tell them the truth.

Chapter 46 You slept with her first?

"Wait a minute... So, don't you think it's a bit premature to tell those two this secret now?"

About half an hour later, downstairs at the apartment building where Kazama lived.

The black-haired girl, who had rushed over panting, paused. Completely oblivious to the blush rising on her face from exercise, she instead earnestly inquired about the conversation on Kazama's social media app.

"Arbitrary? Why does it feel a bit arbitrary... By the way, Lixi, did you rush over here immediately after receiving my text message?"

In stark contrast to the panting Riki, Kazama, with a leisurely expression, pointed to the path the black-haired girl had taken.

"Oh, right. What's wrong? I came right away after I got your message, is that not allowed?"

The girl wiped the sweat from her forehead, still sparing no effort in adding her sharp edge to her words, but her shifty gaze always betrayed her true thoughts at these moments.

"I just want to see it for myself..."

"With your own eyes?"

Kazama keenly caught a glimpse of Shiina Tatsuki's hidden emotions—a subtle emotion that was not easily noticed by outsiders—as she glanced around, and his eyes became intrigued.

"I'll witness with my own eyes whether you're a completely unharmed undead (7) @II2 (Illegible) walking out of Mutsu's house! After all, to put it bluntly, the fact that you slept in the same room as Mutsu is easy to misunderstand!"

Unfortunately, Riki's reaction prevented her from falling into the embarrassing situation that Kazama would love to see. Instead, she brilliantly managed to straighten out her own logic.

"Why describe Mu Family Home as such a terrible place? You know, I grew up there too, you know? If you're so suspicious, Lixi..."

The boy smiled and opened his arms wide, revealing his embrace to her without any hesitation.

"Lixi, you can come and check if there's anything missing from my body."

The more open and honest he was, the more Lixi avoided his gaze.

Can you come and check...? What does that mean?

She looked the boy up and down; he appeared thin but was actually much more muscular than herself. In the end, because of a random thought that popped into her head, her cheeks flushed with a few fiery red blushes.

If this guy's definition of an examination means he can do whatever he wants without restraint, then isn't that a bit too much of a sacrifice? Of course, it's not that she doesn't want an examination...

"...Kazama, you careless guy! You must have said the same thing to Mutsumi yesterday!"

"It's clearly Lixi, you just imagined something incredible again, didn't you?"

Kazama chuckled and crossed his arms again. Riki's shy yet slightly annoyed expression was exactly what he wanted to see.

"Hmph... We'll have to see it with our own eyes to know if you've really done anything wrong to Mu. But judging from your expression right now..."

Li Xi held her breath, composed herself, and looked him up and down.

"Okay, I can barely tell that you haven't done anything wrong."

That would be terrifying to do something wrong to a woman who could become your mother.

“Since when did you start caring so much about what I might do to Mu? In my memory, you’ve never cared about her this much—well, although you do care about Mu’s feelings, you’ve never cared about her like this before.”

Kazama wasn't angry at Riki's sharp and somewhat impolite words. Instead, he playfully turned the tables and threw the question back into Riki's hands.

"I……"

Now, it was Lixi who was in a flustered state.

"It's just because Mu was, after all, a teammate I fought alongside..."

Of course, this is a lie.

Even though Kazama already knew this, he could only smile and pretend to be clueless in order to save face for the girl in front of him.

"Eh, is that so—" (without emotion)

"Hey what? You're not allowed to brush me off."

To his surprise, he was met with a fierce glare from Lixi.

"Hmm... Has anyone ever told you, Lixi, that you are such a complicated and difficult person to get along with?"

"Ha, do I need someone else to tell me? Do I count myself?"

"Well, that's not what I meant. Anyway, in the future, even if you describe yourself like that, your nephew will still stand by your side without hesitation."

"Hmph, hmph... Don't give me empty promises. I hate it when you talk nonsense."

"If you're really going to tell everyone... then at least I should be there this time. Or is it that you don't need me to control the situation and that's fine with you?"

"That's true, of course Lixi is someone I trust a lot. But I only have this plan for now. It's not like I'm going to tell Aine and Tou all my secrets today."

"Woo..."

Lixi calmed her breathing. When Xiao mentioned the name of the lamp, her expression looked somewhat ferocious for some reason.

"Yeah, that guy, Deng, doesn't know anything yet..."

"Hey, did you subconsciously ignore Aine's existence?"

"How about this... When you're about to tell Akari about this, come find me first. I'll arrange the time and place for your meeting, and I'll guarantee that no one with ulterior motives will interfere—how about that?"

"Although I don't know whether the 'person with ulterior motives' you're referring to is a veiled reference to Su Shi or Chu Hua, if doing this makes you feel a little safer, then of course it's fine."

"It's not because I feel insecure... Don't take my words for granted."

"Okay, okay. Ms. Shiina Tatsuki, who makes me feel very safe, would you do me the honor of accompanying me to the coffee shop downstairs from my house?"

"Hmph, I would have gone even if you hadn't told me. I've already arranged for Su Shi to come over for afternoon tea to chat."

"So, Lixi, in the past half hour, you were rushing to my house while also arranging to meet Su Shi at the coffee shop downstairs? That's really reliable."

"...Do you even need to tell me that?"

As the black-haired girl walked into the coffee shop side by side with the boy, she seemed a little absent-minded as she fiddled with the ends of her hair, while muttering a complaint under her breath.

"While you were busy fooling around with other girls, I was always keeping you in mind..."

Oh dear, what's with that faint smell of vinegar?

Upon hearing this, Kazama grinned broadly and, without Riki being on guard, put his arm around her shoulder—just like a good buddy.

"I will never forget Miss Lixi's great kindness! Now it's time for us to hang out! How about I treat you to coffee, Lixi?"

"Wait—don't get so close all of a sudden! Where are your hands?!"

"Oh dear, I've never put my hand on another girl like this before. If Lixi doesn't like it, then I'll take it off?"

"Woo..."

The boy, with a bright and cheerful smile, put his arm around the silent girl whose head was down and whose ears were red, and the two walked into the coffee shop side by side.

If Ms. Motoyo Nagasaki had witnessed this scene, she would probably have wanted to gouge her eyes out and hang them on those two people.

Unfortunately, she arrived a little too late.

Chapter 47 Straightforwardness Overcomes Cunning

"I have something very important to discuss with you. It's about Kazama and Shoko. If you're free today, let's meet at the coffee shop downstairs from his house in two hours. If you're more than half an hour late, I'll assume you're not interested."

A brown-haired girl with long curly hair smiled as she sat in the restaurant, looking at the text displayed on her phone with great interest.

Shiina Tatsuki would actually send her such a message; it seems they are becoming more and more like truly connected companions.

No problem, I'll be there on time! (*^．^*)

Accompanied by an adorable, cute emoji, Su Shi sent out this short message.

Next, she turned the screen directly to the blue-haired girl sitting right across from her.

"In short, here's the thing—would you mind coming with me to the appointment, Anchovy-chan? If you're interested in this too, I'll try to persuade Taki-chan to bring you along as well."

The girl being watched by her with a smile looked rather worried, only occasionally using an awkward smile to cover up her slight unease.

"Um... do I really have to be there? I don't feel like this is the kind of occasion I should be in, haha..."

"How can you say that? Apricot Sauce has a kind of magic, you know? It's always so comfortable talking to you, and sometimes you always bring unexpected surprises to everyone—maybe going to see Lixi and listening to her tell some interesting things will also bring surprises to everyone as promised?"

Su Shi smiled and said a lot of insincere flattery, but Banami Anna could tell that only the last sentence was the truth.

This guy... even if he didn't realize she had a system, he must have already noticed something was up.

Banami forced a smile and hurriedly stuffed some of the matcha ice cream that the waiter had just brought to the table into her mouth.

In fact, Nagasaki Motoyo had been interacting with her with a purpose all these days, something even she herself had sensed.

However, the "purpose" here does not mean that Su Shi was very utilitarian and expected to get something in return from her—but rather that the evidence left behind after the system had some kind of problem made Su Shi point the finger of suspicion at her, Yanami Anna.

In Su Shi's eyes, as long as this person appears, there is a very high probability that he will drop things like photos or videos that can be traced back to Xiao's past.

Although she couldn't yet figure out what this guy's relationship was with Kazama, nor did she know why a vessel recording the future would appear again and again whenever she existed—

However, as long as we keep a close eye on this guy, we can be prepared for the next similar situation to occur.

This was the only thing Nagasaki Motoyo was absolutely certain of.

So she would pay out of her own pocket to invite Banami out for coffee and afternoon tea every now and then, and would also inquire about her relationship with Aine and Akatsuki whenever she had a spare moment.

Of course, Banami wasn't stupid; she could easily read Suze's intentions. However, the delicious desserts and fragrant food were simply irresistible, and every time she was precisely captivated by Suze, enjoying the food while subtly battling Suze's voyeuristic desires at her invitation.

This should have been the case this time as well.

But to actually invite her to meet up with the other members of MYGO, and even to listen to some little secrets about Kazama... this is something that has never happened before.

To be honest, Banami was having a bit of a headache.

It wasn't that she wasn't interested in the band girls; it's just that, having thrived in social circles among her peers, she understood one thing very well—

That means staying away from small groups.

While this might sound like malicious speculation, the information gap between small groups that only communicate with each other and are isolated from the outside world can make others feel uncomfortable.

Banami doesn't dislike the members of MYGO, but once a small group forms, the members face some very tricky situations. She's not very good at handling the friction and conflict that may arise between groups, so she still chooses to keep to herself when it comes to small groups.

This time was no different.

"Um... I feel like I'm completely useless, can I not go?"

She kept stuffing matcha ice cream into her mouth while trying to brush it off with this indistinct tone.