Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

It would be better to take advantage of Xiangzi's busy work schedule these days and not have time to keep an eye on Mu, and quickly find a way to steal Mu's house.

"Of course... if Mu doesn't want to see me, I won't force you."

Xiao, who had crouched down, buried her head between her knees and arms, casting a sincere and respectful look at Mu beside her.

"You're more likely to value Xiangzi's opinion than mine—I know your wife well, so I can completely understand if you choose her."

"I……"

For the first time, Mu showed a cute, slightly flustered expression. It seemed she didn't know how to start, or perhaps she wasn't sure how to phrase her feelings clearly.

——Okay, actually, I brought this up so that Mu wouldn't know how to respond, as he was in a difficult situation.

After all, if Jurchen had no curiosity or other feelings for him, she wouldn't be waiting for him here; she should allow Xiao to plant sunflower seeds in her own field.

"I... that's not true."

In the end, she could only stammer and deny Xiao's claim that she "didn't want to see him."

"...Just don't let Xiang know, that's fine."

Finally, after careful consideration, he uttered this sentence in a muffled voice, which at first glance could be easily misunderstood.

"When Xiaojian and I are having dinner, I just need to make sure Xiang doesn't know, right? I'll make sure she doesn't notice, so Xiao... don't worry."

When the woman showed a somewhat guilty expression, Xiao also felt a little guilty—after all, his teasing manner was undoubtedly forcing Mu to make a clear choice.

But if I had to say something... it really is still the fault of that young lady from the Toyokawa family.

He just wanted to chat with his mother whenever he had a spare moment; what did it have to do with her?

From this perspective... it would be better if Toyokawa Shoko really did die young, just like we remember her.

The moment the thought crossed Xiao's mind, she suppressed it with her rationality.

Speaking of which, when was Toyokawa Shoko's death date?

Chapter Fifty-Two: The Battle for Custody?

—The perspective returns to Su Shi, who is still secretly competing with Chu Hua.

"Since she's Xiaojun's friend, maybe she can become my friend too?"

When Dang Hua delivered those lines with a smile, she knew something was seriously wrong.

As a kindred spirit to Misaki Hatsuka, Nagasaki Motoyo knew all too well that she wanted to extend her reach into the currently unknown interpersonal relationships of Kazama Akatsuki.

But then I thought, who could be the person that Xiao could laugh off in front of Su Shi, someone she would go to see even without revealing the truth to her...?

Actually, there should only be that one.

Thinking of this, Su Shi smiled, which caused Chu Hua's expression to pause slightly.

"Yes, I also think it would be great if everyone could become friends... but sometimes things don't go as planned."

She resorted to her usual social niceties, but even though she had a specific person in mind as her answer, she didn't directly tell Chu Hua.

"The person Xiaojun is going to see should be Mu."

Su Shi smiled gracefully, and this time, like Chu Hua, she used a more intimate term of address to call the boy by his name.

"Speaking of Xiao Mu, Chu Hua should know her, right?"

"...Xiao Xiang's best friend since childhood."

For the first time, the smile on Chu Hua's face gradually disappeared.

She nodded and began to recall the last time she met the CRYCHIC members.

"I remember you, you were your guitarist before, right?"

"Hmm... saying it was in the past might not be quite accurate."

Su Shi placed her hands on the wooden dining table, interlaced her fingers to support her chin, and smiled like a cunning and calculating commander—all she needed was a pair of glasses to perfectly recreate the scene.

"My alliance with Xiaojun is actually an alliance to persuade Xiangzi and Xiaomu to come back and reconcile."

She spoke in a kind and gentle tone, saying things that made Chu Hua unable to smile anymore.

Of course, this was also the "final blow" that Nagasaki Motoyo had prepared.

"Actually, I've always had a bit of a headache... I don't know why, but I always felt that Xiaojun had a very special obsession with Xiaomu. However, he also told me personally that he really likes everyone... everyone in CRYCHIC."

Su Shi smiled and added the last sentence, knowing that this was nothing short of a powerful finishing blow to Chu Hua.

But there's no way around it; if the price of protecting CRYC②玲er兒翼（三）令现兒HIC is harming others...

"I think he must really like Mutsu and everyone else from their time in the group, and he wanted to get everything back to normal, which is why he was willing to ally with me."

She doesn't mind exposing her ugliest side to others.

"..."

Chu Hua fell silent, a rare occurrence, clearly because Su Shi's attack had been both incisive and utterly devastating.

Kazama Akatsuki's hidden friend is none other than Wakaba Mutsumi.

Mutsumi, who already occupied the position of Toyokawa Shoko's childhood friend, will now become the person Akatsuki cares about most.

"...I see, haha."

Chu Hua lowered her head and forced out a reply to Su Shi.

I win this time, right?

Nagasaki Motoyo took a sip of her fragrant black tea with a smile, already feeling that she was in an undeniable position of advantage.

only.

"...Is that so? Xiaojun wants CRYCHIC to go back to the way it was before...If that's really what he wants, I can understand. After all, back then, each member shone with a special light. Even I, sitting in the audience, could feel your brilliance."

In just over ten seconds, Chu Hua readjusted her state.

"But if they are allies, why did Xiaojun need to hide it from Su Shi when she went to see Xiao Mu?"

"...!"

Su Shi's smile remained unchanged, but the hand holding the red tea cup involuntarily trembled slightly.

Chu Hua keenly sensed that Su Shi's words were not without contradictions, and thus meticulously unraveled the inconsistencies within them.

“I just saw it. Even though Su Shi was already waiting downstairs at the apartment building, Xiao Jun panicked when she saw you, as if she had seen someone she had to avoid.”

This guy's eyesight is way too good; he was clearly just spying from the street corner.

“Even if they try to evade the issue by not mentioning Su Shi at all, I don’t think that’s a sign of an alliance.”

Detective Chu Hua dumped all the details she had observed and her speculations onto Su Shi, whose brain was processing at an alarming rate. She rarely pointed out the problem so bluntly.

But when it comes to that boy, she can no longer maintain the composure of a perfect idol.

Meanwhile, Su Shi, who was having a brainstorming session at that moment, was naturally on high alert.

Oh no, the Triangle Flower seems even more difficult to deal with than I thought.

I originally thought she was the kind of person who cared about her image and could maintain a superficially friendly atmosphere during conversations, even if we each had our own ulterior motives—but it turns out she was genuinely worried and confused when it came to Xiao's matter.

What's this all about? She was someone Kazama only met after he met him and Riki. Kazama probably never said anything like "I like you" to Hatsuka like he did to him and Riki.

Su Shi could feel that she was feeling a little uncomfortable, but she temporarily attributed this strange feeling to the restlessness that things were about to slip out of her control.

That's probably the truth... right?

Su Shi rolled her eyes, and with her exceptional intelligence, she naturally came up with a solution after a moment's thought.

"Seeing is believing. Why doesn't Chu Hua just find a way to go and see for herself?"

That is, instead of directly answering the question, you throw a new question at the other party.

"And...after that, Xiaojun and I have some personal matters to take care of."

Su Shi smiled and put her hands together, tilting them to the side of her face, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"I'm really sorry, Chu Hua, because this was a conversation between just the two of us. Maybe one day in the future, I'll ask him out again, just like I did today."

The implication is that Nagasaki Motoyo will not give up easily until she has a legitimate reason to ask Kazama Akira out.

And at that point, she wouldn't care about Chu Hua's feelings anymore.

"...Ah, I feel the same way."

Chu Hua didn't say much about this, but simply nodded slightly, using minimal force to deflect Su Shi's attack.

"Me too, thank you Su Shi for telling me everything today... It seems I also need to have a good talk with Xiao Jun in private."

The two of them, through seemingly gentle and humble open and covert struggles, achieved an extremely similar consensus.

He will definitely keep my appointment, not yours.

As their gentle gazes met, it seemed as if an invisible spark ignited.

"...Achoo!!"

At that very moment, Xiao, who was at the center of the vortex on the other side and was still immersed in a harmonious parent-child time, sneezed again.

What's going on? Aren't there a lot of people talking about him today?

Chapter 53 Nagasaki Motoyo, a regrettable defeat

The first to take the stage was Nagasaki Motoyo.

Although her conversation with Chu Hua wasn't exactly a direct confrontation—after all, neither of them were the kind of people who would speak frankly and openly—their competitive relationship was already self-evident after the conversation ended.

Therefore, the competition between the two of them officially began.

As an ally of Kazama Akatsuki, Suze had many reasonable excuses to call the boy out, so she picked another day and came to the Kazama residence.

As her evenly matched rival, Hatsuka once again took her place at the same spot as before—the corner at the end of the road where the Kazama family's apartment building was located.

Since this is a contest that is no different from a competition, it would be fair for her to witness Nagasaki Motoyo's round in person.

Su Shi tidied up her outfit for the day. Compared to her previous light and elegant style, this time she changed into a more gentle and charming light blue dress, and also put more effort into the details of her hair and makeup.

Nagasaki Motoyo rarely considers her clothing choices for others, let alone dressing up to get a man to agree to a "date" with her—even though she doesn't consider it a date.

However, she will use every means possible without crossing any principles to win back Xiao's ally.

"Su Shi came to my building so early in the morning... that's really strange."

After receiving a text message from Su Shi, the curly-haired boy, who looked a little sleepy, walked out of the apartment lobby.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't mistaken.

The girl wore a long, fitted, light blue dress that reached her knees. Her skin appeared translucent and snow-white under the blazing sun, and her fluffy, slightly wavy brown hair seemed to have been styled more carefully than usual.

"Since we're allies, isn't it normal to visit our allies occasionally, Xiaojun?"

Su Shi's smile was so warm and welcoming that it felt like a gentle breeze.

Even without a moment's thought, Xiao could sense that something was off about Su Shi today.

Putting everything else aside, when she showed up at my doorstep without a word last time, she wasn't dressed up as meticulously as I am now.

And this way of addressing her, didn't she always call her Kazama before? Could it be that, without his knowledge, Su Shi recalled her memories as Su Shi's aunt?

No... that's still unlikely.

After shaking off the outrageous ideas that came up in her brainstorming session, Xiao looked up at the confident Su Shi, but her expression became somewhat awkward.

"So, Su Shi, you're actually thinking of coming back a second time because you failed to invite me out last time, right?"

"Well, can't you?"

Su Shi's smile remained elegant and composed, although Xiao could already sense a hint of undeniable pressure in her tone.

"As an ally, I didn't even ask Xiaojun who you were trying to see last time, right? You're already a very gentle and considerate ally, aren't you?"

Oh no, Aunt Su Shi's dark side has returned after her gravity attribute was unlocked!

"Of course it's not impossible, cough cough. It's just..."