Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

He remained as calm as a parent watching their child perform in a cultural event with gentle eyes.

This only made Lixi feel more annoyed.

This guy is mysterious enough, and he stares at her with that all-knowing look all day long... Could it be that he's viewing her from the perspective of an old father raising a daughter?

"Have you seen enough? It's your turn next."

Without further ado, Riki stood up decisively and gave up his spot in front of the drum set to Kazama, whose smile remained unchanged.

"You said it before, right? You're actually better at the drums than the keyboard."

"Yes, because I have a very amazing teacher who taught me."

Despite Lixi's tough stance, Xiao maintained a smile throughout, her eyes still filled with tenderness.

This feeling of punching cotton was so disorienting that Lixi was completely at a loss.

"...Don't look at me with such tender eyes."

In an even tougher tone, Shiina Tatsuki issued an ultimatum.

"I am now your opponent."

She handed the drumsticks to the boy.

"...Since you're stronger than me, then show me your true skills so I can be convinced."

Instead of looking at her with a gentle gaze that only made her drum her ears, he suddenly slowed down his gaze, making her feel that she was not worthy of his tolerance.

"Hmm... Is that so? So this is how Lixi wanted to be treated."

Xiao glanced at Li Xi's expression and finally suppressed her smile.

He took the drumsticks she handed him, sat down in front of the drum set, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, his aura had completely changed.

Xiao raised his right hand and swiftly brought it down—

thump.

The explosive sound of the snare drum seemed to pierce the air of a confined space, like a heartbeat suddenly amplified. Then he followed up with a strike with his left hand, the two drumbeats flowing smoothly and precisely, like bullets fired in rapid succession.

The bass drum under his feet was also busy, interwoven with his hand movements—one beat followed by a pause, one heavy and one light, the rhythm flowing from his chest throughout his entire body.

Then the speed changes begin.

His right hand rapidly struck the tom-toms, while his left hand quickly tapped the edge of the snare drum, creating a bright yet rapid rhythm. The hi-hat under his feet maintained a steady beat, like the precisely beating light on a heart rate monitor.

Not only Lixi and Lena fell silent, but even Aine, who had just been laughing and joking with the intention of watching the fun, held her breath at this moment.

Even she, a complete novice, could tell that Kazama's performance had no sheet music at all; it was all improvised.

Kazama's right foot slammed down, the low-frequency vibrations of his double stomps almost cracking the ground. The muscles in his arms were clearly outlined in the light, and his left hand suddenly unleashed a series of spinning strikes with incredible speed—

Just as everyone was about to be overwhelmed by the rhythm, he suddenly came to a stop.

Only the last bass drum fell heavily, like a final, decisive blow.

The entire recording studio fell silent.

He placed the drumsticks back steadily on his lap, without any showy swinging motions.

Kazama Akatsuki opened his eyes, reverting to his gentle, smiling self, a stark contrast to his earlier domineering demeanor with the drum kit.

The pressure was immense.

Shiina Riki couldn't gauge his true strength; he could only feel a sense of oppression emanating from him.

His performance was very well done. Although it was just an impromptu performance, it was still much more exciting than his previous solo show, which seemed like he was just showing off.

"Wow, that's amazing... Kazama-sensei, is there anything you can't do?"

Chihaya Aine, whose eyes had turned completely into stars, had become Akatsuki's praise robot. Even Rakuna, whose mind was only filled with matcha parfaits, nodded at him.

"Xiao is very strong. An interesting man."

"........."

Only Lixi remained silent, crossing her arms over her chest, her usually sharp gaze escaping Xiao's sight this time.

"Alright, witnessing this answer with my own eyes is enough to make my wish come true."

Now is not the time to be arguing.

"You're strong enough, Kazama."

However, Li Xi couldn't bring herself to offer congratulations as frankly as the other two, and instead picked up her bag and walked out of the recording studio.

Even without this competition, she knew she was destined to lose.

"Well then, that's enough for today."

Lixi just wants to go home alone, curl up in bed, and study the metronome that measures bpm all night long.

"Ah...rikki?"

Aine, who is good at reading people, naturally noticed that something was wrong with Riki, but before she could cast a pleading look at Kazama, the latter had already started walking out of the recording studio with Riki.

In the corridor, Xiao grabbed Lixi's wrist as she was about to leave.

"It is precisely because you are so important to me that I need to give my all at this time to live up to your expectations, Lixi."

As Shiina Tatsuki's prized student, how could Akira not know about her teacher's eccentric temperament?

“I…don’t want you to misunderstand me. I have never had any ill intentions towards you or anyone else.”

He didn't even need to ask; he knew what Lixi was thinking.

"...Don't you understand, Kazama? It's because I knew you meant no harm that I had no choice but to slink home and hide away by myself."

Lixi smiled instead of getting angry, but there was no hostility towards Xiao in her eyes—it seemed that she was only disappointed in herself.

Despite practicing diligently for two weeks, I still couldn't match his effortless improvisation.

Yes, Lixi is a little vulnerable.

However, she could neither wholeheartedly praise his abilities nor betray her conscience and morality by speaking ill of him.

"If you had disliked me from the beginning because of my unfriendly attitude, you might be feeling better now."

Li Xi chuckled, but even that self-deprecating remark was directed at herself.

"But I simply can't do that kind of thing."

Xiao stubbornly refused to let go of Lixi's hand, instead tightening her grip on her wrist even more.

"After all... without you, I wouldn't be who I am today."

He still couldn't hide his emotions and revealed his true feelings to the dejected and self-deprecating Li Xi.

"...?"

Li Xi was momentarily speechless, and her previously dull eyes met Xiao's gaze in surprise.

In the brief moment when neither of them noticed—

The screen of Kazama's phone, which was in his pants pocket, suddenly lit up.

Chapter 56 Li Xi is so cute!

"What do you mean by 'If it weren't for me, you wouldn't be who you are today'?"

Shiina Riki, who was already feeling down, was stunned, because the words that Kazama had just blurted out had caught her completely off guard.

In fact, Shiina Tatsuki probably guessed that he would lose, and had probably prepared several different kinds of "post-match remarks" from Kazama.

For example, saying things like, "Lixi is already very good. I only managed to beat you by using all my strength," or "Losing to me is not shameful."

Let him be arrogant if he wants; he has the confidence to be arrogant anyway.

But Xiao's answers always surprised her.

"...It's the literal meaning of 伊溜哟VII寺:wu韭思揪)VIII."

For some reason, the boy's expression was even more downcast than hers. Even though he was the one who had won the competition, he was now staring at her with a wronged look, like a misunderstood child.

"I only went all out because I really valued the competition with Lixi... Before, you complained that I would give you pointers on the drums all the time, but that was because I wanted to help you but didn't want to seem like I was lecturing you..."

"I didn't blame you for this, did I?"

Lixi wanted to explain but didn't know how to start, so in the end he could only respond with a tone that seemed tougher but was actually weak inside.

"I know, because when Lixi encounters this kind of thing, she will always blame herself for not being strong enough, and she will never blame others."

"Well………"

Shiina Tatsuki could not find a suitable explanation or rebuttal for this one sentence.

"But it's okay if we're not that strong yet."

Seeing that she hesitated, Xiao loosened her grip on her wrist slightly.

Her palm slipped from his, and the two were now only five centimeters apart.

It's only natural to feel a little wronged when your mentor/aunt misunderstands you and takes it out on you.

But now, Xiao can no longer be the student who lets the teacher guide her and exposes her childlike nature in front of her.

Riki isn't the mature Shiina Riki-aunt yet, so does he, who traveled from the future to the past, need to shoulder the responsibility of helping her grow and transform?

It's okay if it's not that strong for now.

Actually, this was the earnest instruction he received from his teacher, Shiina Tatsuki, when he first started learning the drums.

At first, young Xiao didn't know how to get along with the aunties, nor had she found a reason to learn music, so she could only bury herself in practicing the drums.

It was at this moment that Lixi pulled him out with a voice that was both gentle and firm.

"Whatever you desire, haste makes waste—take it slow."

Now, he needs to say those words again to the young Shiina Tatsuki.

"Anyway, I will always, always be with you."

"........."

A slight glint appeared in Lixi's eyes; this was the first time she had ever been so comforted.

“I know Lixi is the kind of person who feels secretly anxious even if others don’t care about your abilities. If you can’t find a sense of security no matter what—”

Xiao paused for a moment, then pointed to himself with his thumb.

"Why don't you try relying on me for a bit?"

—What on earth is this guy talking about?

Shiina Riki was initially amused by her amusement.

Just a minute ago, she had been scolded by him because of the competition, but now she could laugh so openly and let him rely on her.

But the more she realized this, the faster her inexplicable anger would dissipate.

"Whether it's being a punching bag when you're angry, or a handkerchief when you're sad, I'd be more than happy to do it. Of course, if you need me, I can also be your comrade-in-arms."

The smile on the young man's face was pure and innocent; she could tell that he genuinely meant it.

But the more she thought about it, the less she understood.

“I… am not worth you doing this.”

In her mind, the reason why Kazama cared so much about her was probably just because he used to be a loyal fan of CRYCHIC.

It's just because I like the charismatic band girls under the spotlight and have unrealistic expectations of them that I'm so unconditionally tolerant of everything about them.

"Really? But I know you better than you do, Lixi."

However, before her idea could take shape, Xiao firmly rejected it without any explanation.

"Because I aspire to become... no, to surpass my older sister, I've been practicing diligently. I even played the trumpet for a while in junior high, chasing after her. I'm used to being a social loner, so I prefer eating and karaoke alone. But I'm actually very sensitive and responsive to my friends and Akari-kun—"

Under Li Xi's increasingly wide gaze, Kazama recounted everything he could think of about Li Xi, as if reciting a familiar story.

"Lixi, you don't like the name rikki because people used to make jokes about your name like konjac noodles and mushrooms, which made you not like eating those kinds of foods anymore. But as long as Aine acts cute, you still won't stop her from calling you rikki."

"You may seem fierce and unapproachable, but you always care about everyone. You're always worried that you might hold them back and become discouraged, or that you're not strong enough to pursue your dreams and your sister's shadow. Even though you're very hard on yourself, Lixi, you always try your best to treat others with kindness—"