Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Why was it only this time that she was unable to refute Metis's accusations and Xiao's sighs?

"what--!"

As she walked through the dark alley, she finally tripped over a piece of trash on the ground and fell to the ground.

"Hiss...woo..."

First came a piercing pain in my knee, followed by a burning pain and the sensation of sweat and blood mingling at the wound.

"Waaaaah... Waaaah...!"

Tears streamed down her face, and she could no longer suppress the sobs that had been building up in her throat, whimpering softly like a wounded animal. She tried to bite her hand to stifle the sound, but the more she did so, the more uncontrollably the tears fell.

Crying is something only the weak do. Toyokawa Shoko used to forbid herself from crying in situations other than rainy days, because that would make others see her tears.

But now, it doesn't really matter anymore.

Anyway, in this alley where no one would pass by, no one else would witness her in such a wretched and miserable state.

"What...what am I doing...?"

That's why she self-deprecatingly falls into self-doubt.

Xiangzi's hair hung down in a mess, his arms and knees were covered in dust, and his white shirt was soaked with tears and sweat.

The once confident Toyokawa Shoko, who always stood center stage, is now like a rag doll thrown into a puddle, disheveled, dirty, and broken.

She herself no longer cares about her image.

She slowly raised her head, her gaze blankly fixed on the sun on the horizon, which was stained a dirty gray-red by the city's dust.

She couldn't remember how long it had been since she had looked up at the sky like this, nor could she remember the last time she had shown such an embarrassed expression. All she knew was that tonight's wind had finally blown away the disguise on her face.

But in the next second...

"...That's a really bad look on your face."

An unexpected face appeared before her, replacing the gray sky.

“I didn’t save you because I wanted to see you make that face, Toyokawa Shoko.”

The person standing in front of her as she fell was the boy who was looking at her with an exceptionally complicated expression.

"Why do you always follow me like a ghost..."

Xiangzi didn't even have the strength to stand up in front of her old rival. She could only slump on the ground, facing the still composed young man with the demeanor of a loser.

"You think you're fast? I can catch up with you in no time."

Kazama sighed; the difference in physical strength between the boys and girls meant he didn't even feel tired.

"Heh... If you want to see me make a fool of myself, then go ahead. You have indeed won this bet, Kazama-kun."

Xiangzi shook her head with a wry smile, even at this moment she had no intention of changing her stubborn and obstinate ways.

"But...why?"

Before completely abandoning her dignity, she asked the question that had puzzled her the most so far.

"Why... even though we're so incompatible, and you even planned to turn all my members against me—yet you saved me so selflessly back then?"

What puzzled Xiangzi most was, of course, the car accident.

"Mingming, you could have just stood by and done nothing, couldn't you? My life or death wasn't your responsibility..."

It's really annoying.

Toyokawa Shoko looked so self-pitying.

Unable to bear watching her give up on herself any longer, Kazama suddenly stepped forward, grabbed the girl's white collar, which was soaked with sweat, and even lifted her upper body slightly.

“Listen carefully, I chose to save your life, Xiangzi, to repay a debt of gratitude. This has nothing to do with your self-centered speculations.”

This was the first time Toyokawa Shoko had looked directly into those amber eyes that were so similar to her own, but she could feel that the emotions and light emanating from them were strangely unfamiliar.

"Ah, it would have been easier to just die like that. You'd just be done with it anyway, and how many years of suffering this pain would affect others wouldn't matter to you. But since you've already survived, can't you at least pull yourself together a little? At least don't let anyone other than me see you in this pathetic state?"

Is he... angry?

"At least—um."

Kazama suddenly stopped, not saying anything more, suppressing the last few words in his heart.

"...Luckily, I'm the only one who saw you like this."

When the boy uttered those words in a slightly complicated tone, anyone would probably have thought it was the turning point from bitter rivals to sympathetic, loving friends.

But Toyokawa Shoko didn't think so.

She blinked, and the boy's image reflected in her pupils became even clearer.

For the first time, he frowned, and when he looked at himself, his expression was filled with unmistakable disappointment.

This is not a prelude to a handshake and reconciliation, but a signal to completely remove the other party from the list of opponents, as if finally defeating a long-time rival and bidding her farewell with a respectful glance.

Toyokawa Shoko also had a sudden, unfounded idea.

Kazama seemed to be constantly looking at another person in the distance through himself.

"...Are you afraid that others will see me like this?"

Instead of feeling humiliated, Xiangzi seized on this subtle point and continued to press for answers.

"I wouldn't say I was scared, I was just relieved."

Kazama remained calm and composed; his response was flawless and unyielding.

What a tough opponent.

But the more stingy Kazama was with sharing fragments of the truth, the more Shoko felt her intuition guiding her in the right direction.

"Kazama-kun, the fact that you saved me... is related to this so-called 'other person,' isn't it?"

"........."

Kazama fell silent, a rare occurrence, and the truth was beyond his expectations—

He wasn't the only one who witnessed Xiangzi's miserable state.

At the end of the dark alley, where they had come from, two figures quietly concealed themselves in a corner.

"Ah...mm."

Nagasaki Motoyo almost cried out, but Mikami Hatsuka, who was holding her breath beside her, gently covered her breath with her hand.

They heard everything that had just happened.

Chapter 71 It's Better for the White Moonlight to Die

Logically speaking, it was impossible for Nagasaki Motoyo and Mikami Hatsuka to have witnessed this scene happening in a corner of the city, since they were on their way to Wakaba's residence according to their original plan.

But just as the two of them were about to reach the door of Wakaba's house, they happened to see Toyokawa Shoko rushing out of the door with her head down, and Kazama Akira silently following behind.

What happened now?

The two women exchanged a glance and immediately changed their original plan based on the changing situation.

As the saying goes, "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

As Xiao chased after Xiangzi's figure and followed the staggering girl into this deserted dark alley, Su Shi and Chu Hua also held their breath and followed closely behind.

Then they overheard the conversation between the two men from the corner.

"Kazama-kun, the fact that you saved me... is related to this so-called 'other person,' isn't it?"

And Xiangzi's question, which grasped the key to breaking the deadlock.

"...Shh."

Chu Hua reached out and pressed her hand to Su Shi's lips, who was about to make a sound and cause a commotion. She led Su Shi to hide in the shadows deep in the alley, while her mind was already drifting into vague speculations as the two of them had been talking.

"What did those two people mean by what they just said?"

Su Shi brushed away Chu Hua's hand from her cheek and asked her question in a low voice that only the two of them could hear.

"Xiaojun's statement that she saved Xiangzi's life to repay a debt of gratitude is simply—"

"Ah, it's as if we knew all along that this accident would happen to Xiao Xiang."

Chu Hua's response was rather understated.

"Why this tone, as if you already know everything..."

"I had already vaguely sensed something about this before, Su Shi. It was back when Xiao Jun and I were alone and having a heart-to-heart talk."

"...The final supplementary explanation is completely unnecessary."

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"Well, I'm just adding some additional information."

Who asked you that?

Su Shi pouted somewhat unwillingly. It seemed that becoming a detective like Miss Chu Hua was a long and arduous road for her, and she would have to work even harder to catch up with her.

"However, it's not just this one thing that's not quite right."

Chu Hua also lowered her voice, observing Xiao and Xiangzi's movements while telling Su Shi her guesses.

"Su Shi, don't you think your photo is somewhat related to what Xiao Jun just said?"

"...What's the connection?"

Su Shi's face was full of undisguised confusion. Although she was exceptionally intelligent in interpersonal relationships, she was no match for Chu Hua when it came to reasoning.

"Hmm... this is just a random thought of mine. I have a feeling that what Xiaojun just said was almost like..."

Chu Hua pondered for a moment, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

It was almost as if they were saying, "Thank goodness someone didn't see your current predicament," and it was full of sighs and regret.

Kazama wasn't lying; he was just holding back in front of Shoko. But... who was the person he was holding back from saying?

Whenever Chu Hua thought of this, her thoughts would be drawn to the photograph in Su Shi's hand.

Could the woman who looks 90% or even 100% like Su Shi be connected to the person Kazama has been thinking about all along?

"...Never mind, it's just a vague guess. Forget what I just said."

Chu Hua shook her head and pulled Su Shi to focus their attention on the standoff between the two in the dark alley.

Seeing Xiao Xiang's disheveled and miserable appearance, she and Su Shi had both considered going forward to help him, but considering that if they stepped forward at this moment, they would not be able to hear Xiao's response, they could only continue to hide obediently in the shadows.

Whether this conjecture can be formed depends on Xiao's response.

"...This has nothing to do with you anymore, Xiangzi."

As expected, he wouldn't easily reveal a secret he wanted to keep.

But the tighter Kazama's mouth was sealed, the more curious Su Shi and Chu Hua became.

What exactly is this guy hiding all this time?

They held their breath again, focusing their attention on Xiangzi and Xiao's conversation.

"Why is it none of my business anymore? If you saved me because of this [someone], Kazama-kun... then at least there's one more person I need to thank, right? Can't I even know who that person is?"