After dropping out of school, I chose to join a girls' band.

“Qi Ling VII~I (IV) Ba`Qi {Hmm? Have Aine and the others arrived ahead of time?” Yue frowned slightly, her voice carrying a hint of doubt.

Lixi also looked up at the open door, feeling a little uneasy: "So early?" she murmured to herself.

According to their agreed time, the training should have started in more than two hours. Ai Yin usually arrives on time, so why is she arriving so early today?

Yue gently pushed open the door, slowed her pace, and cautiously walked inside. The living room lights were on, but there was no one inside.

"Hey, Ai-yin? Little Light?" Yue called out tentatively, but still received no response.

Her gaze swept quickly around the room, and then, as she walked to the entryway, she noticed something amiss—there were two extra pairs of shoes there.

Yue paused for a moment, her mind instantly on high alert. These two pairs of shoes clearly didn't belong to Aine and the others, and... they looked very familiar.

"No way..." Her heart suddenly raced, and the two mysterious figures in the restaurant flashed through her mind. Those familiar details finally connected.

"Xiaoyue? What's wrong? Did you encounter a burglar?" Lixi frowned slightly when he saw Yue's stunned expression, his voice filled with worry.

"No...no..." Yue came back to her senses, but her expression instantly became complicated. Her lips moved, but she didn't know how to explain the situation.

Li hope looked at Yue, clearly not expecting her to show such a conflicted expression, and felt even more puzzled.

"What should I do now?" Yue thought to herself, deep in worry.

Just a short while ago, I met Lixi's sister, and now it's Lixi's turn to meet my family? This is developing way too fast!

She took a deep breath and quickly made a decision. Since it was now unavoidable, she could only let nature take its course.

She gave an awkward laugh and managed to squeeze out a few words: "Lixi... I think you'll be meeting my family today..."

"What?" Li hope was taken aback when she heard this.

"Xiaoyue, you're finally back! And who is this?" Fuka and Yuuri finally arrived late, pretending they knew nothing and acting as if the restaurant incident had never happened, as they asked Hinasaki.

Yue tried to remain calm, but her heartbeat had already lost its rhythm.

She swallowed hard as she stammered her answer to her mother's question: "Ah... this is Ritsuki, Shiina Ritsuki, my... girlfriend."

The air seemed to freeze for a moment, and Yue's voice echoed in the room.

Shen Yu raised an eyebrow, clearly not expecting her daughter to be so direct about their relationship.

She had thought that Yue might try to cover it up a little, or at least ease the situation, but she never expected that Yue would directly say the word "girlfriend".

Yuri wore a helpless expression, but she wasn't surprised at all by her daughter's actions.

She knew her daughter's personality all too well. This girl, Hinasaki, was just like her. Once she made up her mind about something, she would rush headlong into it, even if it meant going through fire and water or going to the underworld.

"Oh?" A faint smile appeared on Fukaba's lips as he turned to look at Shiina Tatsuki.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Riki bowed slightly to Fukaba and Yuri, looking a little nervous.

She tried hard to recall the etiquette she had been taught in class... only to find that it seemed Hanasaki hadn't taught her how to behave when meeting the parents.

"Don't be too nervous, come in and have a seat." Shen Yu chuckled and patted Li Xi on the shoulder, gesturing for him to come in first.

"Ah...okay..." The Hinasaki family home, which she had visited countless times before, now seemed like a "devil's den" to Ritsuki. She tried her best to control her expression and slowly walked in.

Climax Stage: Chapter 103 - Meeting the Parents

"Don't be too nervous, come in and sit down. Xiaoyue, go and help Yuuri pour a cup of tea," Hinasaki Miyu said slowly, her gaze never leaving Shiina Tatsuki for a moment.

Lixi swallowed hard, trying to keep herself calm.

Yue glanced at Lixi, a slight smile playing on her lips, giving her a helpless expression as if to say, "Good luck to you."

Then she turned and walked toward the kitchen.

Lixi sat on the edge of the sofa, feeling as stiff as a piece of wood.

Shen Yu gently sat down opposite her, his gaze still gentle, but it made Li hope feel like she was sitting on pins and needles.

"Shiina-kun, how long have you known each other?" Fuka finally spoke, his tone still unhurried.

Li hope swallowed hard, composed herself, and tried to answer in a calm voice, "About... more than half a year."

Shen Yu nodded slightly, placed his hands on his knees, and continued to scrutinize Li hope, but seemed to have no intention of asking any further questions.

A silent pressure seemed to permeate the air, and Riki could only pray that Hinasaki would return as soon as possible to save her.

--------

Meanwhile, Hinasaki, whom Shiina Ritsuki was hoping would return as soon as possible to save her, was being kept in the kitchen by Yuuri.

Just as Yue was about to take her teacup outside, her hand was gently stopped by Yuri.

She looked up at Yuri, who put her finger to her lips, making a "shh" gesture.

“Xiaoyue…” Yuri said gently, “Didn’t you notice? Fukaba actually wanted to talk to Riki alone, so he sent you away.”

Yue stopped in her tracks, her expression suddenly becoming somewhat complicated. She tilted her head, her eyebrows slightly raised, and said with an air of self-righteousness, "Of course I know."

She sighed softly. Although she understood her mother's intentions, she couldn't help but worry about Lixi, who was left alone.

She continued, sounding somewhat helpless, "But the problem is, Lixi looks like she's about to collapse! I have to go save her right away!"

"..." Yuri was a little confused. Her daughter wasn't even married yet, so why was she already siding with outsiders?

"Hey..." Before Yuri could notice, Yue had already taken the brewed coffee and walked out.

------------

"Lixi... could you tell me how you and Xiaoyue met?" Shenyu sensed the atmosphere was right and continued to ask.

Li hope felt Shen Yu's sharp gaze, his heart raced slightly, and cold sweat almost broke out on his back.

She was sitting on the sofa with her head down, nervously rubbing the fabric on her knees with both hands. When she heard Shen Yu's question, her heart skipped a beat.

“Ah…yes…” Lixi responded stiffly, clearly not expecting to be called out directly, “I met him at the shop where I worked.”

Shen Yu nodded, a hint of curiosity and gossip flashing in her eyes, but to maintain her image in front of her son-in-law, she kept a serious expression and continued to ask, "Oh... could you tell me more about it?"

As Shen Yu continued to press for answers, she suddenly heard Yue call out "Mom~" in a sweet, cloying voice she had never heard before. The voice was as sticky as honey, floating in the air of the living room, instantly sending a chill down her spine.

"!!!" Shen Yu's expression froze instantly, his eyes revealing an indescribable shock and discomfort.

The last time her daughter called her that was probably back in elementary school.

Since then, Yue had always been aloof and rational; such a coquettish voice was simply unbelievable. Suddenly, her ears were filled with this cloying voice, and goosebumps involuntarily rose all over her body.

Shen Yu subconsciously shivered slightly, her lips twitched, and she could barely control her expression.

“Xiaoyue, you…” Shenyu spoke tentatively, his eyes filled with disbelief, clearly bewildered by the change in his daughter.

At the same time, Shiina Tatsuki's heart raced as she was startled by Tsuki's squeaky sound.

She froze, looking at Yue in disbelief. Yue's unexpectedly sweet tone still echoed in her mind. She subconsciously swallowed, wondering, "What is Yue up to?"

She even secretly wondered, "Did Yue secretly learn something from Nagasaki Motoyo?"

After all, this slightly coquettish tone is quite similar to Su Shi's cold and sometimes sarcastic manner.

Before Lixi could recover, Yue spoke again.

She still had that sweet smile on her face, and said in a soft voice, "What's wrong, Mom?" She drew out the last syllable, her tone as gentle as a child pleading with their parent.

"No..." Shen Yu was about to say something, but seeing the smile on Yue's face, she felt that since her daughter wanted to act with her, she could also test her daughter's acting skills. "It's nothing."

Seeing her mother's cooperation, Yue's smile brightened even more. She stood up, brought over the coffee she had just prepared, and placed it in front of Shen Yu: "Then have something to drink. You and Li Xi must be thirsty after chatting for so long."

He sat down next to Lixi without hesitation, his movements natural and fluid, as if he had rehearsed it countless times.

Then, Yue gently reached out and quietly took Lixi's hand, just as Lixi had done for her before at Lixi's house.

Shen Yu's gaze fell on their clasped hands, and she sighed silently. Although she had long known that her daughter had found her happiness, seeing this scene with her own eyes still left her with mixed feelings.

However, she didn't show it. Instead, she picked up her coffee and took a small sip.

"It seems you haven't forgotten the coffee-making techniques Aunt Kurosawa taught you before." Fukaba's eyes held a hint of nostalgia.

"Kurosawa...?" Upon hearing Fukaba's words, Riki subconsciously thought of the previous Kurosawa Momoko. Although the surname Kurosawa is relatively common, now that it was mentioned by Yue's family, she subconsciously thought of Momoko.

Hearing her mother mention this name, Yue's face showed more concern: "How is Aunt Kurosawa doing?"

"Hmm...she's been doing well lately." Shen Yu nodded gently, as if she had returned to those past times.

She paused, a hint of longing in her eyes, and then said, "In a while, I plan to go and take a look with Yuri. Yue, do you want to come with me?"

"Hmm..." Yue didn't answer immediately, "About when?"

"It should be next week. You called to ask about those things before we came back, and we were a little worried. Now that we see you're alright and have someone to take care of you, we're relieved," Shen Yu said.

"Next week?" Yue turned to look at Lixi. "Do we have time?"

"Next week... I should have about three days free after the joint live performance," Li Xi said after thinking for a while.

"Well, let's discuss it later and go together. We can also experience the hot springs at Mount Hikami." As Yue was speaking, she suddenly realized something.

Everyone from Mygo will still be coming to rehearsal today... which means everyone will see their parents.

Just as Yue was about to take out her phone to send a message to the Mygo members to remind them that two elders had suddenly appeared at home and were about to meet, she was interrupted by Fuka's words.

"By the way... since Xiaoxi, you're now Xiaoyue's boyfriend, what's the deal with your band's promotional video lately?"

"At first I thought it was your band's yuri promotion, since it's quite common for girl bands to do so these days, but it doesn't seem to be the case now." Fuka took another sip of coffee and posed another question to Yue and Riki.

Meanwhile, Yue, sitting to the side, looked embarrassed, inwardly screaming, "Most of the 'yuri' interactions in these girl bands that you think are real, right?!"

“Um…Auntie…” Li hope racked her brains trying to explain, but didn’t know how to start.

Yue quickly tried to smooth things over and defuse the awkward situation: "Mom, those were the video production companies' choice to make them like this to attract as many viewers as possible. After we found out the video was like this, we didn't have time to modify it, so we could only release it like this."

"Hmm? Is that so?" Fuka raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing Yue's explanation.

"Um...it really is just the effect shown in the video," Li hope quickly added, trying to salvage the situation.

Shen Yu picked up her coffee cup, took a sip, and said in a calm tone, "It's not that I'm against this kind of marketing tactic, it's just that... if your feelings are real, then cherish them and don't let these external things interfere. Xiao Yue, you should know how many people in the entertainment industry have made compromises for fame and traffic, whether it's lesbian marketing or other methods."

"I know, Mom." Yue lowered her head slightly, her tone tinged with helplessness.

She already had some understanding of the various pairings and marketing tactics in the entertainment industry. Many projects were designed to please fans by selling pairings, which resulted in a significant impact on the plot, sometimes even altering the storyline altogether. A prime example is the Detective Conan/Elementary School Student pairing.

Her mother brought Sakura Sakura over to be her manager because that way she could avoid a lot of trouble.

Seeing Yue's reaction, the seriousness on Fukaba's face gradually eased.

She smiled and turned to Lixi, saying gently, "Alright, Lixi, you don't need to be so serious. Actually, I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to..."