Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Li Xi seemed completely oblivious to how easily her feelings were guessed. She smiled and nodded at Su Shi, her face beaming with trust.

"I'll head back now. I need to find some time to talk to Deng and the others about the situation."

"Ah, um..."

Nagasaki Motoyo watched Riki walk away, seemingly very confident that Motoyo could "snatch" Akatsuki back from Hatsuka.

Shiina Tatsuki may have thought that this possessiveness stemmed from their time together and the resonance they shared in delivering a perfect performance on stage.

Nagasaki Motoyo had a different perspective on this, but she forcibly suppressed the urge to ask, and looked at Riki's departing figure with a complicated expression.

"...Always wearing your feelings on your sleeve isn't a good habit, Taki-chan."

She muttered to herself, but then turned around and slowly walked back to the corridor where Kazama's ward was located.

Finally, Nagasaki Motoyo paused briefly outside the corridor.

She held her breath; she only needed to turn her head to see everything in the ward through the window.

"...!"

Su Shi's pupils contracted slightly, because she saw an unbelievable scene through the gap in the curtains.

The blonde girl, who had been sitting by the hospital bed, had somehow risen slightly, bent down, and moved closer to the boy sitting on the bed, her head touching his—

This is everything that can be seen from a layman's perspective.

Nagasaki Motoyo was dumbfounded; all the expressions on her face froze into an ugly, stiff state.

Chapter 86 Let's skip the lovers and become family!

What Nagasaki Motoyo saw was true; in the hospital room, Mitsumi Hatsuka and Kazama Akira's heads were indeed leaning together.

However, the actual situation was actually somewhat different from what she had imagined.

"Actually, I've wanted to ask this for a while... I always felt that Xiaojun and Xiaoxiang have such similar eyes, it can't be a coincidence."

Using this excuse, Chu Hua moved closer to the boy's face, perfectly justifying her own faint fragrance lingering in the boy's nostrils, where he was still somewhat listless.

"Could it be a distant relative or something?"

Chu Hua seems to be making logical guesses about the relationship between Xiao and Xiangzi, but in reality, her mind is not on that.

"However, it doesn't matter if it isn't... No matter how similar they look, as long as their core is completely different, they are completely different independent personalities—right, Xiaojun?"

This was the viewpoint that Kazama had told her before.

—After this incident, there is only one thing that Mikami Hatsuka can be sure of.

Regardless of whether Kazama knows his true identity or not, what exactly is his relationship with Shoko...?

Chu Hua absolutely did not want him to show that expression again or suffer similar harm.

Whether it was from unexpected physical injury or from the group of band girls (mainly Nagasaki Motoyo) who betrayed his kindness and attention.

Mikasa Mikasa would never allow anyone to cause him pain and torment again; she believed it was her responsibility to protect Kazama from harm and offense from others.

Therefore, Chu Hua put in a lot of effort to express her feelings.

"No matter who Xiaojun is, where she comes from, or what secrets she has... I will always be your partner and stay by your side."

Not knowing how to express her "love" to the opposite sex, even after mustering up her courage and blushing, she could only utter words that sounded like a declaration of friendship.

She hoped to hear words of agreement from Xiao.

She hoped to get feedback from the other party that "no matter what your real identity is, I am happy to be possessed by you like this."

Xiao was slightly taken aback after hearing her heartfelt words, but responded with a cheerful and happy smile.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that... Chu Hua. I'll always be your companion."

It's obvious that Xiao interpreted Chu Hua's feelings as a friendship.

However, Chu Hua was not discouraged. Instead, she blushed and nodded shyly but excitedly.

If she could be mimicked as an animal, the golden retriever's big tail behind her would definitely be wagging excitedly from side to side.

It doesn't really matter if it's temporarily understood as "friendship".

In any case, he did express the attitude that "I am really happy to be valued so much by Chuhua".

That alone is enough.

However, it's clear that Triangle Q Wing Zero Cry 8si#〢〒 Qi 4 Wu (Six E&) Qun Chu Hua wants more.

"Well, as friends..."

Chu Hua hesitated a little, which was unusual for her. She spread her hands and crossed her fingers, like a young girl in love who was looking forward to an answer but did not want to seem too hasty.

"Am I Xiaojun's best friend right now...?"

"Hmm—Chuhua is my most special friend."

Xiao rolled her eyes. Although she didn't directly answer Chu Hua's question, she still managed to answer her question in another way.

Speaking of friends, he didn't actually include any of the current band girls in the category of "friends"—he never imagined that traveling through time to be friends with the aunties would develop like this.

"A special good friend, huh..."

Chu Hua seemed lost in thought, perhaps also a little disappointed.

After all, anyone would feel disappointed if their uniqueness wasn't acknowledged.

"If I had to say, compared to friends—"

The boy pondered for a moment, then looked at Chu Hua and suddenly smiled slightly.

"I think I still really want to be family with Chu Hua!"

"—"

His words completely ended the slight disappointment on Chu Hua's face, even turning it into an unexpected blush.

Become family.

What does "family" mean?

Even Chu Hua, who is usually very meticulous, was a little stunned.

Becoming family... Could it mean skipping the ambiguous yet heart-pounding stage of ambiguity and the stage of unspoken understanding—and directly entering a more intimate and accustomed relationship with each other?

Misaka Chuka wanted to slap her face to clear her head, but her heart was pounding so hard she couldn't control it. No matter how hard she tried to control her thoughts, they would still wander into certain fantasies.

"Home, family and such, isn't this a bit too fast... Xiaojun."

Finally, with her face flushed red, Mitsuka managed to maintain the last shred of her rationality and tentatively probed Kazama's feelings in a tone that still retained a hint of reserve.

"Eh... doesn't Chu Hua want to be like family with me?"

"No, it's not that..."

In fact, Chu Hua wasn't that resistant to becoming family.

After all, this also means that she has priority over everyone else and will enter Kazama Akatsuki's most intimate territory much earlier—which is exactly what Mika Mika wants.

However, it was clear that Kazama interpreted the shyness and hesitation in her eyes as something else entirely.

Aside from Aunt Xiangzi, Hatsune Miku has no close friends. She came to Tokyo alone from the island, hiding her identity, to make a living. Her family must be a very special presence for her.

Even so, when he was young, she helped share some of Mu's responsibilities and treated him like family.

Since there's no way to give back to Hatsune Miku from the original timeline, all he can do now is offer the greatest support and help to Misaki Misaki, who is still in the early stages of her career and still feels vulnerable and lonely.

So Kazama nodded to Hatsuka without even thinking.

"I will take responsibility; it's my family's responsibility."

"...!"

Of course, his heartfelt expression not only contradicted Chu Hua's thoughts, but also successfully made the blush on her face grow even more intense.

Could it be that Kazama meant that?

Rather than becoming an unreliable couple who might grow tired of each other and go their separate ways after the relationship fades... it's better to be family who will always support each other and share joys and sorrows.

The thought of this possibility made Chu Hua's heart pound even faster, and her usually fast-paced brain seemed to freeze for four or five seconds.

"Ah, um... that..."

Ms. Chu Hua, who is usually good at direct attacks but has never received one herself, is now a little confused because of Xiao's direct attack.

"Tsk."

Only Su Shi outside the window had a very unpleasant expression, and even couldn't help but click her tongue softly.

Nagasaki Motoyo could clearly sense that Kazama hadn't meant it that way, but as soon as he said it, Hatsuka interpreted it as meaning it was.

Chu Hua is completely trying to win himself over.

No, even if the flower is willing but the water is indifferent, the submissive Kazama will probably be lured away by Hatsuka—that's completely unacceptable.

At this moment, Nagasaki Motoyo's sense of crisis reached its peak.

Whether it was out of a desire to repay a favor or out of her own ulterior motives, she was determined to do everything in her power to turn the tide and prevent Xiao from falling into the arms of the band's pretty idol.

Since it was Chu Hua who ran away first, then you can't blame her for resorting to any means necessary.

Chapter 87 The Important Thing You Forgot

If she had to choose the most disliked season, Xiao would definitely blurt out "summer".

The piercing chirping of cicadas and the sweltering heat make you sweat profusely the moment you step out of an air-conditioned room—Mu said that summers weren't this annoying when she was a child, and children could happily spend the whole summer with just watermelon and a fan.

Although she didn't know if what she said was true, Xiao, who went back decades, was quite certain of one thing.

The summer of 202x was still terribly hot.

Lying in his hospital bed, Xiao looked out at the scorching summer sun and couldn't help but sigh. Even though there was air conditioning in the room, just looking at the blinding sunlight made him a little irritable.

"Speaking of which, the weather's gotten so hot lately... Kazama, can you have an ice pop?"

As he looked out the window, the blue-haired girl sitting on the edge of the bed took out the vanilla popsicle she had been holding in her mouth.

Anna Hanami was the girl who had been visiting him throughout his hospitalization.

"The doctor said there's nothing I need to avoid... but you're not planning to feed me the leftovers, are you, Banami?"

After these few days of recuperation, Xiao's physical condition has improved a lot. However, no matter his physical condition, his mentality is good enough that he can joke with Banami at any time.

"No, that's not true. Even if you owe me money for a few meals, Kazama, I'm not that stingy or petty, am I?"

Banami stuck out her tongue, and the vanilla ice cream stained her tongue with a few specks of white.

"Really? I thought the reason you hadn't come to see me all this time was because I still owed you money for meals. I was secretly sad about it for a long time."

"Don't give me that. Actually, I come here every day, you know? I either chat with Aine-chan or talk about everyday things with Riki-chan, but every time I come you're asleep. Just how much can you sleep, Kazama?"

In fact, what Hanami said makes perfect sense.

After all, he slept for more than ten hours a day on average during the first two days. Perhaps the anesthesia made him and Banami so destined to be apart.

"Besides, I'm not worried about your life at all—you'll definitely pull through, don't worry."

Seeing Banami swing the ice cream stick with such seriousness, Akatsuki became a little curious.

"Why are you so sure I'll be alright, Yaiba?"

After all, a car accident should sound like a very serious incident to anyone else.

"Uh, well..."

The blue-haired girl's composed expression froze slightly, but she quickly covered it up with an exaggerated yet completely unnatural tone.

"Of course I trust you, I trust you!"

She pounded her chest with a serious expression, but this explanation was completely unconvincing.

"You just don't think anything will happen to me, do you?"

Xiao let out a helpless sigh, and seeing this, Banai quickly offered a somewhat awkward and forced smile in response.