Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Shoko Toyokawa resolutely interrupted Kazama's rant, determined to get to the bottom of things.

“You have the right to question me, and I have the right to demonstrate my ability to respond to your questions! Next, I will definitely persuade Muhe and Chuhua to join us—that way, we'll be even!”

"...Miss Xiangzi, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"

Kazama suddenly calmed down and spoke objectively, but it was precisely this attitude of "I'm doing this for your own good, don't easily promise things you can't do" that made Shoko even angrier.

"I, Toyokawa Shoko, always keep my word! Just you wait, Kazama-kun!"

Alright, alright, it's hard to reason with a damned devil.

"Hmm—am I just supposed to quietly wait for the results to be inspected? That's so boring. How about this?"

The boy pondered for a moment without speaking, and then suddenly had a flash of inspiration and came up with a "brilliant plan".

“Let’s invite Mutsu and Hatsuka together and see whose request they’ll accept to join the team. How about it? Even if only one of them chooses you, Xiangzi, before I do, then you win.”

"Hmph, I'd be happy to. But I don't need your final conditions. It's my duty as captain to persuade these two to join the team—if I can't do that, I don't need to be the captain, let alone be responsible for everyone's lives."

Xiangzi straightened her chest, revealing the faint outline of her chest, and her pride returned at that moment—

But the higher the goals you set now, the more humiliating the reality check you'll be later.

Miss Miaomeng couldn't help but shake her head at the sight.

They're practically digging their own grave.

Unfortunately, it seems that Ms. Toyokawa Shoko still hasn't truly grasped this principle.

"Okay, then it's settled?"

"A word is settled!"

With the two ending their unpleasant conversation through this confrontation, Miaomeng was finally able to stand appropriately between them and use her smooth talk to ease the tension.

"Finished arguing? That's great, the band members had a really good fight on their first meeting - I can already imagine how united we'll become!"

Well, it's less about easing the tension and more about being sarcastic. Anyway, Teacher Miaomeng has completely maxed out the latter's skill tree.

"Oh, even divorced couples can get back together, right?"

"..."

Feeling a little embarrassed by the sarcastic remarks, Miss Xiangzi turned her head away and remained silent.

"...Who is he divorced?"

It wasn't until much later that she muttered a rebuttal to the least important part of Miaomeng's words.

"I hope this time we can really be a band that lasts a lifetime."

Kazama, whose skin is thicker than a city wall, doesn't care anyway.

"Since Muhe and Chuhua are both your childhood sweethearts, Xiangzi, I hope you can keep an eye on them and make them choose you firmly."

Chapter 47 Holy crap, this is awesome!

Toyokawa Shoko took action almost immediately.

Time is of the essence. Who knows if she continues to be careless and Xiao Mu and Chu Hua will end up in this guy's possession without her even realizing it?

So, the day after the four of them got together, she got up early the next day, called her boss and bowed to ask for half a day off. As soon as she left home, she went straight to the modeling agency where Sanjiao Chuhua worked.

Aside from Aumimi's commercial activities, Chu Hua also regularly takes on print modeling jobs each week. If you want to find her discreetly and efficiently, this is the perfect place.

Sunlight streaming through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows outlined the busy figure of Toyokawa Shoko, who had been running all the way. The girl, panting, slowly came to a stop on the gleaming marble floor.

"Chu Hua—!"

She went straight to the backstage dressing room and intercepted the blonde girl at the door, whose makeup was so exquisite and flawless that she had just finished her morning shoot.

"Ah... Xiao Xiang!"

Chu Hua, who had finally breathed a sigh of relief after finishing her work, looked up. Her beautiful purple eyes suddenly lit up like dry straw being ignited when they caught sight of Xiangzi.

She greeted the staff and then ran happily to Xiangzi, gently taking her wrist.

"Long time no see, Xiao Xiang... why did you suddenly decide to come looking for me?"

Sanjiao Chuhua was indeed pleasantly surprised by Xiangzi's uninvited arrival, and that was absolutely true.

But she never imagined that Xiao Xiang, who only contacted her by phone, would be so direct as to come offline—

How could she continue to keep her promise to Kazama and ignore Shoko's enthusiastic invitation?

Just thinking about this made Chu Hua feel a little guilty.

Fortunately, Xiangzi didn't notice the barely perceptible reluctance beneath Chu Hua's smile; she simply made her request on her own.

"Chuhua, I need you!"

Without any beating around the bush, Xiangzi warmly embraced Chuhua's hands.

"Although I've mentioned this to you more than once before, you've probably been too busy with work lately... but I came here specifically to see you this time because I hope you'll seriously consider my request!"

Toyokawa Shoko's eyes were filled with a dazzling determination and an incredibly infectious emotion.

"If I were to form a new band... then the most indispensable person at its heart would be you, Chuhua!"

Toyokawa Shoko's straightforward emotions and unwavering commitment to her own words were things that would normally make Hatsuka feel blissfully happy.

"Entrust yourself, and the rest of your life—to me with complete peace of mind! I will take responsibility for them, Chuhua!"

To be honest, Chu Hua's throat tightened a little; the word "good" was already poised to burst forth from the tip of her tongue—

"I……"

But the image of that boy would always suddenly flash back in her mind at this time.

Whenever she thought of Kazama, Hatsuka's restless heart, stirred by Shoko, would gradually calm down, which was also thanks to this that she didn't impulsively agree to Shoko's request.

The joy on her face turned into hesitation, and she stopped her attempt to hold Xiangzi's hand tightly.

She hesitated.

"Chuhua...?"

Xiangzi then noticed that Chuhua's behavior was a bit off; her previous enthusiasm and energy had gradually cooled down.

"Wow, if that speech were given by a politician running for prime minister, I would give it a high score, Miss Xiangzi."

But before she could react, a pleasant male voice, accompanied by bursts of applause, shattered the heartwarming scene of their reunion.

A boy with naturally curly black short hair was leaning lazily against the cold metal door of the lounge, and he lowered his hands after clapping with great interest.

Kazama's timing was as precise as a cheetah's.

"Kazama-kun, you're cheating by showing up here now!"

Xiangzi's face darkened, and he shielded Chuhua behind him before speaking rudely.

"Oh? When did we agree to fight our own battles? It's not considered cheating if we didn't agree beforehand."

"You...! We never said we could get in each other's way, did we?"

"Yes, I never said that, so whether you want to do it or not depends entirely on your personal moral standards, right? Unfortunately, I don't have many moral principles, so please forgive me~"

"...?"

Watching the two of them engage in a heated debate, Miss Chuhua, who was far from the battlefield, was a little confused.

Why would these two people who are completely incompatible suddenly appear in front of me... and say these incomprehensible and obscure words?

It's almost like...

Upon realizing a certain possibility, the blonde girl suddenly blushed.

It was practically a battle for control of the Triangle of Flowers.

No, no, no.

Xiaojun and Xiaoxiang are both vying for her attention, so why would she have such a dream?

Although Miss Hatsuka often dreams of similar scenes, does this kind of thing actually happen in real life?

The blonde girl covered her flushed, almost burning face, lost in her own daydreams.

Now, it's time for fantasy!

However, before Chu Hua could indulge in her fantasies for long, Kazama interrupted her as if he had seen through her thoughts.

"Wake up—wake up, Chuhua."

He waved his hand, just as a hypnotist would wake a lucky audience member from a sweet illusion, causing Miss Chuhua to awaken from her dream.

"What... what exactly is going on...?"

"Well... to make a long story short... Anyway, it's about that—"

Kazama scratched his head, a hearty laugh spreading across his face.

"If Kazama and I both invited you, Hatsuka, to join the band, who would you say yes to?"

Miss Xiangzi spoke first, seemingly to gain the upper hand.

As the saying goes, the first to strike always wins.

"You...you'll choose me, right?"

Another common saying goes that women who love to act coquettishly have the best lives.

Although Toyokawa Shoko is not good at acting cute or charming, she knows that as long as she shows her sincere and vulnerable side, Hatsuka will definitely take her feelings seriously.

That's why she stared at Chu Hua with those pitiful yet sincere eyes, like a puppy.

"Xiao Xiang..."

And this did indeed manage to shake Chu Hua's resolve for a moment.

"If Chu Hua feels that I'm bothering you two, then it's okay for me to leave now."

Until the boy beside her spoke such a considerate and gentle word in a calm tone.

"No, that's not true!"

Chu Hua, who had previously wavered in her stance because of Xiangzi's show of weakness, immediately lost her composure and turned around to stop Kazama, who was about to leave.

"Please, Xiaojun, don't go yet. I don't mean to agree right away..."

Xiangzi, who had failed at the last moment, was dumbfounded.

No, there are cows...!

Chapter 48 If Xiangzi and I fell into the water at the same time, Chuhua, who would you save?

As the saying goes, the power of a childhood sweetheart who suddenly appears out of nowhere can often annihilate most of the rivals in a romantic comedy.

The plot of meeting each other in childhood and rekindling the relationship in adulthood is still talked about by readers and viewers even after more than a decade, and is easily arranged by authors as a destined fate.

Although both Toyokawa Shoko and Mikami Hatsuka are girls, their bond is not easily broken up by external interference.

To be honest, Kazama didn't want to be the bad guy who interfered with their childhood friendship.

When he was a child, he would always choke up and his eyes would redden when he heard Aunt Hatsune talk about Aunt Xiangzi. So even for Aunt Hatsune's sake, he would not go too far with Xiangzi.

Therefore, what he just said was not a sarcastic remark or a provocation.

If these two childhood sweethearts, who haven't seen each other in a long time, need a space to catch up, he wouldn't mind temporarily avoiding suspicion.

—However, it seems that he is the only one who thinks this way.

"Xiaojun...please, don't go yet."

Chu Hua, who had been holding hands with Xiangzi warmly, noticed his slight emotional fluctuation and quickly freed one hand to gently pull the boy's sleeve.

"No matter what—I will never abandon you!"

Correspondingly, Xiangzi was the guy who was ruthlessly thrown off and stood there somewhat bewildered.

What happened? Why did I suddenly become a cow?