Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

However, Metis might scare Xiangzi, but it would never escape Xiao's sharp eyes.

When this guy just smiled, pretending to be a scheming mastermind, the corners of his mouth were clearly trembling uncontrollably. As for acting skills, Mr. Da Mo, he's still a long way from being a master.

"You...you're not Mu? Then who are you?!"

Uh... but it seems she completely fooled Xiangzi.

Toyokawa Shoko took a step back. She had never looked at her childhood friend, who was also her other half, Wakaba Mutsu, with such astonishment and surprise.

No, to be precise, it was this girl who occupied Mu's body, yet gave her a completely different sense of unfamiliarity.

"Well, since you know so much about Mu's affairs, Xiangzi, why don't you take a guess?"

Whether it was a sudden urge to play, a simple attempt to buy time and save his life, or both—in any case, Metis deliberately kept everyone in suspense, even making a cute funny face with Mu's cheek.

Do you need a prompt?

Kazama interrupted with this untimely question just as the two were locked in a standoff.

Mu's funny face is cute, thank you for the treat.

However, if possible, I would prefer to see Mutsu himself make such a blank, funny face—that would definitely be cuter than Metis's version.

"Ah...if possible."

As if she had never expected Kazama to lend a helping hand at this time, Xiangzi paused for a moment before accepting his help with a somewhat stiff but polite reply.

"Wait—Xiao, you're cheating! I never said you could play like this!"

However, his back-and-forth behavior clearly threw Metis off balance.

"You never gave either Su Shi or Chu Hua any hints before!"

The problem revealed by Metis's innocent remark made Toyokawa Shoko realize the seriousness of the issue.

"What... Su Shi and Chu Hua—they know about this too?!"

Oh dear, Metis, you're the one who spilled this word.

Kazama shrugged; he wasn't the one who should be keeping his mouth shut.

"Ugh——!"

Metis knew that the person should be herself, but even if she quickly covered her mouth and didn't reveal any more information, it was too late.

"What exactly is going on...?"

Only a bewildered Xiangzi remained, still pressing for the truth.

"So you knew about Kazama too?"

She turned to look at the boy, trying to get an answer from him, but he just nodded and repeated what he had just said.

"If you need a hint. But do you really need one now?"

Clearly, something happened to Mu, but she was the only one unaware of the details.

The feeling of thinking you're always moving forward, but actually being left behind by former teammates or even old friends you haven't contacted in a long time, is absolutely awful.

"...Xiangzi has always been a crybaby, but he always pretends to be strong when he should be sad."

Metis spoke at the worst possible moment.

"But I have a question."

But her question, which she found strangely humorous, happened to be a fact that neither Xiao nor Xiangzi could refute.

"Xiangzi, are you saddened by Xiao Mu's disappearance, or by the fact that you weren't the first to notice something was wrong with your childhood sweetheart?"

It was Metis's seemingly childish joke that made Xiangzi realize his current predicament.

Whether it was Su Shi Chu Hua or Kazama... she lost to them both.

Whether it was Chu Hua or Mu, she lost.

It was a complete and utter defeat.

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Boomerang, A Taste That Must Be Tasted

As the saying goes, those who constantly change their minds and switch sides will not have a good ending.

Someone like Metis, who offends both sides and is a hardcore fence-sitter who is always jumping up and down, will certainly not have a good ending.

Especially now that her survival motives have been exposed, Kazama could easily expose all her little schemes to everyone if he wanted, thus plunging her into a hell from which she could never see the light of day again.

However—before falling into hell, she felt she could at least take someone down with her.

Isn't Xiao Xiang, who's already showing signs of timidity, a great candidate?

Besides...

There was no way for Metis to survive with Xiao, but it was different with Xiangzi.

Metis's eyes darted around, and he came up with another bad idea that was adapted to the local conditions.

Based on her current combat strength, it's no surprise that she can't defeat Akatsuki, that cunning old fox.

However, Ms. Toyokawa Shoko, who is all bark and no bite, is a different story. In terms of fighting ability, she might not even be able to beat him.

Metis no longer needs to deliberately create conflict between Xiao and Xiangzi; she only needs to severely punish Teacher Da Xiang, who doesn't care enough about her childhood sweetheart.

That way, she'll definitely be too ashamed to see Mu again, and Mu will mistakenly believe that Xiangzi doesn't want to have anything to do with her anymore, allowing her to take advantage of the situation... Hmph, a flawless plan.

Thinking of this, Teacher Da Mo couldn't help but feel a little smug, so he straightened his chest and intensified his attacks on Xiangzi.

"What does it matter if I'm the last one to know about this? Anyway, Xiangzi, you don't seem to know Xiaomu as well as I thought, so stop doing self-indulgent things and saying self-indulgent things!"

Wow, Metis really does speak up when he does, and when he does, it's astonishing!

Kazama, who was standing nearby, was also intrigued and had originally planned to applaud and cheer her on. However, thinking that this might cause the depressed Shoko to break down and cry, he held back for the time being.

"Mu...Mu would never say such a thing to me. Who are you anyway?"

Xiangzi, who was on the verge of tears, was trying to stay strong. His face turned red, and he stubbornly refused to let the tears slowly flow from his already reddened eyes.

"Give me back my Mu—Xiangzi, is that what you're trying to say? Oh, how romantic, but Mu can't hear you right now, can she? After all, I'm the one in charge of this body now."

"You're in charge? That means...you are......"

“Metis—that’s my name. Oh, I wouldn’t have come up with such a fun name if it weren’t for Xiangzi’s suggestion. Thank you so much for that~ You truly are my and Xiaomu’s best childhood friend.”

"You and Xiao Mu...?"

"That's right, I've been with Mumu since I was very young, you know. It's okay if you say I'm Mumu's other personality, right? I've introduced myself like that to many people anyway. As for why I took over Mumu's body at this time..."

Metis, like a god with a wicked sense of humor, tiptoed and circled around Xiangzi, who was standing still, once or twice, as if he wanted to scrutinize the girl's vulnerable expression from every angle.

"This is all thanks to you, Xiangzi."

Metis’s malicious mockery was like the whisper of a demon.

"what……"

Xiangzi seemed to be slow to react, as if he hadn't yet grasped her implied meaning. After all, no one would expect another personality to infiltrate the body of their childhood sweetheart, and to use that childhood sweetheart's face to hurt them with exceptionally malicious words.

"You know perfectly well that Xiao is also important to Xiao Mu, but you always insist on going your own way and clashing with Xiao... Actually, Xiangzi is afraid that Xiao will take away her unique position in Xiao Mu's heart, right? Oh dear, you even use such a high-sounding excuse of 'being afraid of Mu being hurt' to justify the righteousness of your actions—you are not as responsible as you think, Xiangzi!"

Metis, who had just been timid and hesitant in front of Kazama, seemed to have finally found a place to vent his anger, and poured all his pent-up frustrations onto Xiangzi.

Well, Metis's behavior had a comical feel to it, like a weak person drawing their sword against an even weaker one. But since what she said was indeed the truth, Kazama decided not to interfere with this "trial".

Yes, this was indeed a "trial" held by Metis against Toyokawa Shoko on a whim.

Although this guy may seem like an innocent child who needs to imitate other people's behavior and logic to survive, his survival instinct is probably just too strong. When he needs to trample on others to survive, he doesn't hold back at all.

If Metis's attempts to sow discord between him and Xiangzi were aimed at increasing his own chances of survival, then his current relentless mockery of Xiangzi was probably for the same reason—Kazama quickly came to this conclusion.

Unfortunately, those involved are often blinded by their own perspective, while bystanders see things more clearly.

Xiangzi didn't delve into the source of Metis's malice at all; she was simply too ashamed to face the accusations.

"I……"

She tried to open her mouth to say something, but the sentences she wanted to use to defend herself always got stuck in her throat.

Although I am very reluctant to admit it, Metis has indeed exposed the dark side of her humanity.

"Now that Xiangzi has come to see Xiaomu, is it to win the bet with Xiao, or does he genuinely want to talk things out with Xiaomu and reconcile?"

Xiangzi hesitated and stammered, which only made Metis more arrogant.

But if this guy continues to hurt Xiangzi's fragile self-esteem, who knows what kind of situation Teacher Da Xiang might be driven to.

It would be quite interesting to see Teacher Daisho running out of the door crying again, but Kazama wasn't in the mood to let Metis bully this lady with the string of letters "ob" who was easy to manipulate.

"Alright, do you think you can still persuade Mutsu—no, Metis—to join Ave Mujica for your sake, Miss Xiangzi?"

He spoke up in time to interrupt Metis's unilateral trial. Although Metis seemed a little unhappy, he reluctantly shut up for Xiao's sake.

Xiangzi wasn't stupid; she could certainly understand the unspoken meaning in Kazama's words.

Don't humiliate yourself any further; hell lies ahead.

"No wonder... Kazama-kun, you made that bet with me back then."

Toyokawa Shoko looked up and suddenly smiled with relief.

It turns out that the outcome of this bet was predetermined from the very beginning.

"Where exactly... did I go wrong?"

"Well... if I really have to say..."

Kazama pursed his lips, and suddenly, for no apparent reason, the phrase "that sentence" came to mind.

"It's probably because you're only thinking about yourself."

Chapter Seventy: The Reason I Saved You

It is only natural to shoulder the responsibility of others' life journey, and to respond to their expectations and dependencies.

These are all things that Toyokawa Shoko has known by heart since childhood, and she has truly regarded them as her own duty.

However, the beliefs that had been ingrained in his heart since childhood were suddenly denied one day by someone who looked like his best friend and childhood sweetheart.

"You're not as responsible as you think, Xiangzi. You're just worried that someone else will take your place in Xiaomu's heart, aren't you?"

She was even rejected by the boy who had eyes similar to her own.

"You're the one who's always thinking about yourself, aren't you, Xiangzi?"

Toyokawa Shoko had almost forgotten how she left the Wakaba family home. She had even forgotten about the important matter of confirming Mutsu's safety and numbly moved her body away from the Wakaba residence.

Just like the day CRYCHIC disbanded, she used all her strength to escape from their sight and fled to a street where no one knew she existed.

But this time, she was charged with desertion with an additional charge.

Egocentrism.

Is she really that self-centered?

Clearly, all she wanted was to find a chance to turn things around in a desperate situation—and to try her best to lead everyone to the top.

Is this also self-centeredness?

She usually maintains a perfectly rational and calm demeanor even in front of strangers, but today, as she walks through the bustling streets, she can finally let down her guard and reveal her vulnerable side.

It was a scorching hot, sunny day, and there wasn't a breath of cool air on the street, yet she was strangely shivering with cold.

Xiangzi's meticulously combed long hair, which she had styled before leaving home, was now disheveled, with a few strands of silver-blue hair clinging to her forehead and cheeks. Sweat mixed with tears had blurred her vision.

"Ha, ha...woo..."

She didn't know which intersection she started running from; she only remembered that the sound of her heels hitting the ground seemed to accuse her of running away, and passersby would always glance at her disheveled, crying face.

The shadows of the alley were like an abyss that devoured people's hearts, and she was also fleeing from the accusation in her heart that she was a deserter. It seemed that the faster she ran, the closer she could catch up with the flawless "Toyokawa Shoko" she used to play.

She plays Xiangzi, a reliable and calm woman who can handle anything with ease. Even when the band is completely unformed at the beginning, she can stand at the front and encourage everyone with a smile. Even when everyone is preoccupied with their own worries, she has the ability to bring them together.

Why only this time—