Will the plagiarism girl be a substitute for the preference for women?

“Thank you so much for cleaning my place again, but…” Chizuru tilted her head slightly and frowned, “Are you still having something on your mind?”

"Why do you ask?"

Xiangzi crossed his arms and tried to remain calm, but his speech was somewhat rapid, as if he were in a panic.

"There's no need to use psychological analysis to explain why I'm cleaning so thoroughly, or why I'm sensitive to untidy things around me. I'm fine."

She immediately closed her lips after speaking, because her rambling words only made her seem flustered.

"Xiao Xiang..."

Chika cautiously moved closer to Shoko, trying to calm her down with a gentle tone.

"Xiao Xiang, forgive me for guessing, but it seems you've been harboring some bad intentions..."

"No..." Xiangzi quickly denied it, then gritted his teeth and held his breath.

"Hehe, let me finish." Qiannai moved even closer, her face almost touching Xiangzi's.

She continued in a sincere tone:

Seeing that Xiangzi was already showing signs of impatience, Chika continued speaking before she could even catch her breath.

"Then you said that no one in the band of Light could understand her, only we understood her, and then you said you hoped that her band could continue to exist, and so on."

Xiangzi's eyelids twitched, but he avoided eye contact and remained silent.

China slowed her speech slightly.

"Because you don't agree with this bad idea, but it keeps tempting you, so you try to construct a reasonable possibility: if the band Lamp unfortunately disbands, then you'll have no choice but to accept Lamp into our band."

"In this way, bad intentions are transformed into something that has no choice but to be done, and one can feel more at ease about it."

Chika placed her hands on Shoko's shoulders: "This is a way to relieve internal friction, it's normal, it's okay."

"I just want to say that we can try to face and accept our true selves..."

"stop!"

Xiangzi finally couldn't help but speak up.

She tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and after a moment of inner struggle, finally spoke in a calm tone.

"Don't carry the lantern anymore..."

"Tonight, I only want to talk about you."

She gently stroked China's bewildered face.

"When I was mopping the floor on the second floor just now, I passed by the first door. Was that the room where your mother lives?"

"Could you... let me go in and take a look?"

Chapter 166 I Heard the Echo of [Memory]

"Want to see...my mother's room?"

Do not……

Suddenly, China seemed to hear the tolling of a huge bronze bell, the rumbling sound echoing in her ears, causing her vision to sway and blur.

A dim, fragmented, and blurry image, veiled by a layer of gray mist, surfaced in her mind.

I couldn't make out what it was, but it looked like a smaller figure nestled in an adult's arms.

Don't look at it any more closely...

"Qianna, Qianna? Qianna!"

As the shouts grew louder, China gradually came to her senses.

She blinked and gave a stiff smile, "Why does Xiao Xiang want to go see my mother's room? If it's just for cleaning, then there's no need."

"because……"

Xiangzi's ominous premonition grew stronger, like the approaching thud of horses' hooves.

China's condition just now was very strange, as if her consciousness had been paralyzed for a while after mentioning her mother.

China took a step back in a panic, biting her finger as she pondered why she had subconsciously been hiding her mother's death.

It's because he's a time traveler, not a "person who experienced" this event firsthand.

Therefore, they always avoid visiting neighbors to offer condolences.

When faced with those who are unaware, he would use the excuse that "his mother is often away on business trips" to brush them off.

Otherwise, even if they haven't personally experienced this painful event, they still try to act like they're showing some emotion.

That's the reason, right?

Yes!

China heard a stern reply coming from somewhere.

She looked up and saw that Xiangzi, who was originally reflected in the bathroom mirror, now had a beauty mark under his right eye.

Now, he is staring intently at her, seemingly tough but unable to hide a trace of fear.

Do you expect me to judge my own motivations based on this?

Otherwise what? Do I need to doubt my own actions?

This is something we both understand very well: what mentally ill patients understand least is their own behavior.

China stared intently at the mirror.

Are you interfering with my actions?

That's enough! Stop!

The original owner stepped out of the mirror, grabbed China's arm, and warned her sharply and sternly.

Don't interfere in my mother's affairs anymore.

Find an excuse to change the subject with Xiangzi

Suddenly, the original owner's hand, which was gripping China's arm, seeped into China's body.

Immediately, the image that had just flashed through China's mind reappeared, this time in a clearer and more vivid form.

It's a picture of China as a child, nestled in her mother's arms.

The original owner quickly pulled his hand away from Qian Nai's body, but his hand was still trembling.

I, my memories...

The original owner looked around frantically at her body, then stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Qianna!!"

This time, it was Xiangzi who took China's arm.

When I came to my senses again, the hallucinations about the original owner had disappeared.

"Ignore my request from earlier. We can discuss other business matters another day. You should get some rest."

Seeing that Qian Nai was still in a daze, Xiangzi was really worried, so he gently helped her to the sofa and poured her a glass of water.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked those questions."

Chizuru handed over the water, then slowly raised her other hand, her gaze still unfocused on the person or thing: "It's okay...it's okay..."

"Do you want to watch TV?" Xiangzi asked, picking up the remote control, hoping to temporarily distract Qiannai.

“Hmm, okay…” China replied hesitantly.

The TV is turned on; it's a variety show, and the host is interviewing guests.

"Mother's Day is in ten days, what are you planning to give her...?"

Xiangzi immediately changed the channel, muttering under his breath about how they had to ask such private questions on a public program.

"What should I give as a gift..."

China leaned against the armrest of the sofa, her hand resting on her forehead, as if pondering the content of a proposition.

The footage on television switched from the idol girl singing on stage to the audience.

However, in China's eyes, the audience consisted of China herself, dressed in her junior high school uniform, and her mother.

"What's wrong, Xiao Nai? Sing along!"

The mother waved her glow stick excitedly and shouted at her idol on stage.

China crossed her arms and looked utterly bored, suggesting she had reluctantly agreed to accompany her mother to the performance.

At this moment, the original owner reappeared out of thin air, spreading out his arms and blocking the television.

"No, please, don't look anymore..." She lowered her head and sobbed, tears dripping down her cheeks to the ground.

At that moment, the television screen changed.

It has become a cemetery.

"no, do not want!!!"

The original owner held down the edge of the TV and smashed it repeatedly against the screen, but his fist just passed right through it.

In the end, she gave up, leaned against the television, pursed her lips, and silently watched the images in her memory.

"This bouquet of carnations was supposed to be given on Mother's Day."

Dressed in all black, China knelt down and placed flowers in front of her mother's tombstone.

“I’ve never given a gift for Mother’s Day before.”

“I’ve been thinking, since it’s the pocket money you give me, and I’m using your money to buy you gifts, I don’t know what the point is.”

"Now I've earned some money, thanks to the sponsorship from people who like my songs."

So I thought... I'd buy you something.

Chinatsu took an album out of her bag; it was released by her mother's favorite idol.

She sighed towards the sky: "Sigh, I'm clearly your daughter, so why are our musical tastes so different?"

"Am I really your child?"

China looked at the tombstone with a puzzled expression, then waved her hand.

"Never mind... You haven't told me how my dad left us for over ten years."

She gently sat down on the steps beside the tombstone, glanced at her scarred left hand, and murmured in confusion:

"So, what should I do next? I have a feeling that my period of depression is coming soon."

“I’ve heard of a type of bipolar disorder, an extreme, rapid cycle, unlike my depressive phase which lasts for several days, where manic and depressive phases cycle several times a day.”

"So then, suddenly the thought of suicide arises, and after struggling for a while, just as the noose is tied, suddenly the thought of not wanting to die comes back."

"Ah... I'll try to meet some fellow sufferers when I have time, if I can get through this depressive phase..."

.........

Before she knew it, China's hallucinations faded away, and it was time for the Toyokawa Group's advertisements to start.

Xiangzi turned off the TV and reached out his hand to Qiannai: "Are you alright now? Go upstairs and go to sleep."

"Ah."

Chika took Shoko's hand and led her upstairs to her bedroom.

"Then I'll go to the guest room first..."

Xiangzi changed his mind halfway through his sentence.

She was still a little worried.

"Shall I sleep with you?"

“Okay,” China quickly agreed, “but we need to take care of something first.”

??key.

She silently repeated the word in her mind, and then a memory, like a roaring train, crashed into her mind.

Then, Chizuru found the key to her mother's bedroom door in a book at the very bottom of the bedside table.