Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

All of this is simply because she is not strong enough.

Perhaps she was being malicious in her assumptions about Kazama. What he said to her was simply a way of hoping she would think things through more carefully and not wait until the truth came out before she regretted it.

Even when she knew she had done something wrong, Toyokawa Shoko still couldn't bring herself to apologize honestly.

She has lost too much; all she has left is pride and self-respect.

"...someday."

She raised her head and looked at the hospital's inpatient building with her slightly reddened eyes.

One day she will return to her peak, find partners to form a new band, and then make a fortune through huge commercial success.

She knew that this was the capital and bargaining chip that would allow her to renegotiate with her grandfather and make Kazama look at her with new respect.

She stared intently at the windows of the inpatient building, as if trying to see someone.

"I'll probably never forget what you just said, Kazama-kun."

After muttering to herself, Toyokawa Shoko turned and left without looking back.

There's no turning back now. Toyokawa Shoko has made her decision, and it's unlikely anyone can persuade her to stop facing this challenge.

Even Kazama, who saved my life, is not an option.

As he said, giving up everything and returning to the Toyokawa family to be a carefree young lady would certainly be the optimal solution with the least resistance, but Toyokawa Shoko did not want such an optimal solution.

Even though Kazama repeatedly warned her that hell lay ahead, she was determined to continue.

If he could get in her way... then she would have no choice but to sweep away all obstacles.

Of course, the apology and compensation can be given to him later. The only thing Toyokawa Shoko needs to think about now is how to increase his bargaining chips.

We have to form a new band.

Even if it's just to refute Kazama's doubts about him, he has to form a new band.

Once the tear stains on her face had dried, Xiangzi, having regained her composure, took out her phone and dialed the number of the person she could rely on most at that moment.

"Hello... Xiao Xiang?"

The call was quickly answered, and the girl on the other end sounded delighted, as if she hadn't expected to receive the call.

However, what Toyokawa Shoko wouldn't notice was that this joy was mixed with a little bit of incomprehension.

"Chuhua, please... can you let me forget everything?"

Xiangzi wiped away the traces of moisture still lingering in the corners of his eyes and mustered his courage to make the request.

She knew that if it were Chu Hua, she probably wouldn't refuse her.

However, the girl on the other end of the phone paused for a moment, as if she was hesitating or just thinking about something.

Finally, Sanjiao Chuhua murmured aloud.

"Xiao Xiang... do you really want to form a new band that badly?"

"Hmm? Of course... Why do you ask that?"

Xiangzi found it strange that Chu Hua didn't immediately give a definite answer, especially since her tone on the other end of the phone sounded off.

She had assumed that Chu Hua would definitely agree to her request.

"It's nothing... I was just thinking, if Xiao Xiang really wants to form this band, Xiao Mu should definitely be included, right?"

After a few roundabout words, Chu Hua finally steered the conversation to the key point that concerned her.

"Xiao Xiang, have you asked Xiao Mu again?"

"what……"

I have absolutely no idea why Chu Hua would suddenly bring up Mu at this time.

But her concerns were not unfounded. In the past few days, she had been sent to the hospital and then taken home by her grandfather for interrogation. She was so busy and overwhelmed that she had no time to consider the feelings of her childhood sweetheart.

"Thank you for your concern, Chuhua. I should indeed go and ask Mu how he is doing lately."

"Okay, I'll wait for your news, Xiao Xiang."

And so, Chu Hua neither agreed nor refused, and hung up on Xiangzi's invitation to join the team once again.

Xiangzi had no idea that this might be Chuhua's way of mediating with her. After ending the call, she opened the Hemu chat interface.

Because Mu is not very good at communicating directly with others, Xiangzi, her childhood friend, rarely calls her without prior notice.

Therefore, the two of them mainly communicated through social media apps.

And for the past two days, Yue>+Yiqier③zero④/JiuqishanI~V has not sent her any messages.

"Mu..."

Mu usually doesn't act like this.

Thinking back to the scene of the car accident that day, Mutsumi's eyes, which had turned into black holes after witnessing Akira being hit by the car—

A bad feeling gradually grew and spread in my mind.

This time, we have to make an exception.

Xiangzi dialed Mu's number. Even though she was so flustered that she was pacing back and forth, she tried her best not to let her anxiety show on her face.

The dial tone lasted for several seconds, but Toyokawa Shoko was unable to get through to Mutsu.

"Mu...why aren't you answering my calls..."

The image of that rainy day flashed through his mind again, showing Mu kneeling listlessly beside the boy's pool of blood.

Could it be that……

The ominous thought that had been lurking earlier gradually took shape and took on a more concrete form in Xiangzi's mind.

"Is Mutsu... blaming me?"

It's her fault for causing her new friend Kazama to suffer such an unexpected disaster, ending up in the hospital and barely surviving after emergency treatment.

"........."

Xiangzi silently put down her phone. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree shade, etching itself onto her hand like a warm tattoo—but it couldn't restore even a trace of color to her pale face.

"Why...did it turn out like this?"

Chapter Six: This is the Aisu TV I really want to watch

It's another day that everyone gathers in the RiNG practice room.

Logically speaking, the girls who didn't propose forming a band together should have gone their separate ways or even gone their separate ways after that stage performance.

However, during the time Kazama was hospitalized, they would still meet in the practice room in a tacit way.

It seems that, in order to maintain the status quo, or perhaps to ensure that the boy wouldn't feel alienated after being discharged from the hospital, everyone has gathered here to practice.

"Soyorin~ You're here so early today? Riki just went to change her drumsticks. It seems like RiNG upgraded a batch of new equipment for us after the last performance!"

Therefore, it is perfectly normal for Nagasaki Motoyo to meet Chihaya Aine here.

The girl with long pink hair, who seemed completely unconcerned about Sue's outburst that day, greeted her warmly. A closer look revealed that Aine's fingers were unusually red.

These past few days, she has changed her usual lazy style and seems to be diligently practicing the guitar.

"Hmm... Thank you for your hard work, Chihaya-kun. But it's okay if you don't practice so hard, we won't have any performances for a while."

Perhaps it was out of good intentions, but more likely it stemmed from Nagasaki Motoyo's relatively well-mannered upbringing; she kindly reminded Aine that she didn't need to work so hard.

"Oh dear, you noticed that... Soyorin has such good observation skills, hehe... No, I already told you, Soyorin, you can just call me Aine! Why are you being so formal!"

Because she didn't think that working together once would make them partners—Su Shi really wanted to say that, but her good upbringing didn't allow her to show such a sharp and mean side.

Although she really wanted to treat the girl in front of her, who looked like a big pink-haired puppy, the same way.

Then again, she had shown her true colors to Kazama more than once before... but he just smiled and acted as if he was already used to it.

He's also a guy who's hard to fathom.

Su Shi pressed her hand against her brow, as if trying to ease the slight furrowing of her beautiful eyebrows.

Speaking of which, there's something she really cares about regarding Kazama that she wants to ask Aine for her opinion on.

After thinking it over, she realized that only she was a suitable candidate, so even though Su Shi was very reluctant to deal with such an enthusiastic pink-haired dog, she finally asked a question.

"Speaking of which... Ai-ne-kun."

"No need to add 'classmate' at the end, just call me Ai-on, soyorin!"

Sure enough, this guy's seemingly harmless yet infectious smile made it hard not to be wary.

"Okay, Aiyin, I'd like to ask you something... cough cough."

Ignoring Aine's words, Su Shi cleared her throat and came up with a plausible excuse to ask Aine her question.

"Is it possible that someone might use beauty filters to deliberately make a girl's face look like she's middle-aged, and then the changes won't be detected?"

"...Pfft, soyorin, what kind of question is that?"

Aine covered her lips with her hand, trying hard not to laugh out loud.

"Even if someone uses photo editing software, it's to make themselves look prettier and more flawless, right? Why would they deliberately edit their face to look middle-aged?"

"Hehe, I'd love to ask the same question too."

Su Shi responded to Ai Yin's teasing with a forced smile, and only then did Ai Yin realize that Su Shi was not joking.

"Oh... if there really is such a photo, could you let me see it?"

Aine solemnly raised a finger. Keep in mind, she was a highly successful, well-rounded high school student who had mastered various image editing software to a high degree—a true "normie" (or at least a very active and enthusiastic student).

Identifying whether a photo has been photoshopped is a piece of cake for popular high school girls of their age.

"I...I need to show it to you..."

However, upon hearing her say that, Su Shi hesitated and her tone became somewhat unnatural.

If she really hands it over, it means that Aine will also see the photo of middle-aged Nagasaki Motoyo holding what appears to be the child she and Kazama had conceived...

With her keen sense of smell, Chihaya Aine is sure to be having all sorts of wild thoughts again.

"What's wrong? Does this photo really exist, Soyorin?"

Ai Yin tilted her head slightly, blinked, and looked at Su Shi with a curious expression, just like an adorable golden retriever waiting for its owner to speak.

No, I absolutely cannot let Aine see this photo.

Putting everything else aside, if this guy actually sees it, the content of this photo will definitely spread far and wide within their small group.

"...I was just asking casually."

In the end, Su Shi had made up her mind, and being cautious, she still did not intend to take the risk.

"Oh~Okay..."

Ai Yin was also a little dejected. It seemed that she was actually looking forward to seeing what kind of photos Su Shi would produce—of course, the more she looked forward to it, the less likely Su Shi would do as she wished.

"However, it's actually quite easy to tell whether a picture has been heavily edited! You can check if the surrounding buildings show signs of distortion, or if lines that were originally straight are now noticeably bent..."

After that, Ai-yin, a popular high school girl who was good at using photo editing software, taught Su-shi a lot of knowledge about photo editing. Su-shi seemed indifferent on the surface, but in fact listened to her explanation attentively.

Although Nagasaki Motoyo is indeed a true heiress, her classical and traditional style from childhood means she will never have the experience of needing to use photo editing software—Aine's guidance, however, was quite enlightening for Motoyo.

However, the more Aine taught, the uglier the expression became when Sose used that photo to compare it later.

"...Absolutely not, there's no sign of the photo being edited."

During her break, she slipped into the women's restroom, took out the photos and examined them carefully—but ultimately couldn't find a single detail that matched Aine's example.

In other words.

"...It can be confirmed that this photo was not a prank deliberately created by someone."

Nagasaki Motoyo is really having a bit of a headache VII②3 LIN: ⒋ Just Qi San-Fei, because this also means that the people in the picture actually exist.

My future self will have a child with Kazama? No way.

But no matter how you look at it, the woman in the picture can only be herself, and not anyone else—

"Woo..."