Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Chu Hua didn't meet Su Shi's astonished gaze; she just stared longingly at the end of the deserted street.

"I know this shift in the topic might be a bit abrupt for Su Shi, so please let me sort out my emotions and explain it to you."

She took a deep breath and then told Su Shi everything she knew so far.

“Xiaojun mentioned it to me once… He was adopted by his current mother, and judging from his tone, there shouldn’t be any younger brother—not to mention that the child’s surname is ‘Ruoye’ instead of ‘Kazama’ like him.”

"So... Chu Hua, you mean..."

"I still mean the same thing I just said."

Chu Hua paused for a moment, then reiterated her previous point of view.

"That photo definitely shows Su Shi and Xiao Jun... it's just that your ages create a subtle... misalignment? I think that's how I would describe it."

absurd.

That's absolutely absurd.

"Chu Hua, so you mean... in the future, decades from now, I took a picture with Xiao Jun, who is at least ten years younger, that looks like a family photo, and he even claims his surname is [Ruo Ye]... is that right?"

Not to mention Chu Hua, even Su Shi herself felt like laughing when she laid out this logic.

This is no longer a question of whether it's outrageous or not. Compared to that, she even thinks it's more reasonable that Kazama actually has a younger brother who looks seven or eight parts similar to him, who was taken away by the Wakaba family and raised as an illegitimate child.

"Hmm... I know this sounds unbelievable, but after eliminating all the impossibilities, what remains, no matter how outrageous, is the truth—this is what a very famous detective said."

Chu Hua seemed to have anticipated Su Shi's reaction, so she smiled helplessly.

"Of course, my deduction cannot explain why Xiaojun in the photo calls herself 'Ruoye'. At this stage, there is no evidence to support my reasoning, so it is reasonable for Su Shi to question my deduction."

"No, that's not the point."

Su Shi patted her chest, her face filled with disbelief.

"Ultimately, why would I think that decades from now I would actually have a photo with Xiaojun when she was a child? Isn't that a bit beyond common sense?"

"Hmm, but Xiao Mu has even developed symptoms of dual personality disorder..."

"That kind of thing can at least be explained by modern medicine! A trip to the hospital can clarify it! But Chu Hua, your reasoning just now can only be explained by science fiction elements, right?"

In Su Shi's opinion, Chu Hua's current symptoms probably warrant a visit to the hospital.

"Hmm, science fiction elements..."

Especially when she heard Su Shi's doubts, instead of returning to normal, she began to thoughtfully consider the feasibility of the matter.

"Yes, science fiction elements—how come I didn't think of that? If that's included, it definitely makes sense!"

"Ha...you definitely need to go to the hospital to get checked out too."

Looking at the blonde girl in front of him who completely ignored his complaints and concern and was engrossed in the sea of ​​reasoning, Su Shi lowered her head helplessly for the first time.

What she could never have imagined was that, on the other side, a certain Miss Metis, who had just been "taken revenge" by the two of them, was experiencing a similar situation.

"Uh... so I can explain, Mumu..."

In Ruoye Mu's consciousness space, Metis, unusually, huddled in the chair like a well-behaved child, not daring to raise his head and look Mu in the eye.

“I know everything, Metis.”

Xiao Mu's expression became so serious for the first time—those who knew her could discern a key point from her still expressionless yet slightly furrowed brows.

That means she is indeed a little angry right now.

"Why treat Su Shi and the others like this? And Xiang too."

"I'm sorry... You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. I'm just worried that they'll get close to Akatsuki, which would affect Mutsu's position..."

Metis obediently lowered her head to admit her mistake, but her frantically darting eyes betrayed that she was merely brainstorming how to clear her name.

One wrong move and Metis's path to survival could be completely cut short.

As expected, Heaven is watching... I shouldn't have deliberately stirred up trouble with those two cunning old foxes. Now look what happened, I've not only failed to ignite the fire but also gotten myself into trouble.

First leave slip

I have some personal matters to attend to tonight, so I'll have to take the whole night off. (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Please forgive me, considering I haven't taken a break from writing this book so far. ☆?─????─?

Updates will resume tomorrow. The plot is almost at the point where the final reveal is about to happen, so please look forward to it! ( '? ??')

Chapter 79 Mutsu is the real center of gravity!

"Is Mu really that gentle, or is she just carefree?"

To make himself appear more righteous—or perhaps to make his motives seem less self-serving—Metis calmly began his new battle plan.

The first step was to subtly divert attention from Xiao Mu's troubles and take matters into his own hands.

"Do nothing, ask for nothing. Even just stand here and watch quietly, as long as Xiaohui stays by your side, it doesn't matter if he gets closer to other girls - is that what you think, Xiaomu?"

"Ah."

Mu agreed readily and with exceptional sincerity.

She simply stood by the window, her back to Metis, her gaze quietly fixed on the endless gray-white sky in the space of consciousness.

"Although I don't know why, even though I haven't spent as much time with Xiao as I thought, I feel more at ease when I'm with him than when I'm with anyone else."

She quietly placed her hand gently on her chest, as if the voice emanating from there was the only way to guide her forward.

There's always a voice in my heart calling out... "As long as Xiao is happy, I will be happy."

Mutsu didn't say it aloud, but Metis, as another personality, could understand Mutsu's thoughts even without hearing her explanation.

“I know, I can empathize with everything Mutsu does—after all, I am you.”

Metis walked slowly to Mu's side and gently placed his hand on Mu's shoulder.

"But is Xiao Mu's feeling for Xiao truly selfless—just wanting to watch over him and ensure his safety and happiness? Is that the kind of feeling she has?"

"?"

Mu raised her eyes, somewhat puzzled.

She didn't understand why Metis would question this point.

"I don't mean to doubt that Xiaomu is fabricating anything. I'm just saying... let's assume! Let's assume something!"

Metis quickened her pace, as if to conceal her unease and her underlying motives beneath the surface of concern.

"Of course I know that Xiao Mu wants Xiao to be happy, but what if among the girls who are close to him, one of them becomes a very special person to him? For example—"

Her mind raced, and she came up with a novel possibility.

"For example, if Xiao and Chu Hua or Su Shi start dating, would Mu still think it doesn't matter as long as he's happy?"

"Hmm, why be unhappy about something like this?"

Mu was still somewhat confused.

"Even if Xiao dates someone else, I will still be a very important person to him."

Although it was an unfounded idea, Mu truly felt that way from the bottom of her heart.

Moreover, her idea doesn't need any proof—if Kazama were there right now, he would definitely agree with Mutsumi's statement.

This is the source of Wakaba Mutsumi's unwavering confidence.

"No, no, no, Mu... falling in love is a very destructive thing; it can destroy all your previous relationships!"

However, Metis's position was quite different from that of Harmony.

"If you fall in love, it's only natural that everyone will see their partner as someone more important than anyone else—that's what boys and girls of this age do!"

Ultimately, Metis wanted to justify his actions and had only one point in mind that he wanted to "stir up trouble."

"If Xiao and Chu Hua or Su Shi become lovers... then the position of 'most important person' will naturally fall to one of them, right?"

Even so, will Mu still remain unmoved?

"Take Chu Hua for example—if Xiao were to reciprocate her feelings, given Chu Hua's possessiveness and Xiao's deep sense of loyalty, they would only become closer and more in sync than they are now. At that point, even Xiao Mu's position might be replaced, right?"

"........."

Mu remained motionless, as if she hadn't heard anything. But the air around her seemed to have cooled down several degrees without her noticing.

"That's impossible."

—Until she uttered those few words with a blank expression.

Metis was able to stand to her left and catch a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg of the terrifying expression on Xiao Mu's face.

As if not allowing Metis's hypothesis to exist at all, her eyes even became completely lifeless, with bottomless black holes reflected in her pupils.

"I am the most important person to Xiao, and he will not let anyone else take my place."

She spoke without a single inflection, yet Metis felt a sudden chill rise from her ankles to her spine.

Deeply buried beneath naivety and absolute trust lies an extreme desire for control that one considers perfectly normal.

Metis had felt similar emotions from others before, such as drawing similar gravitational fields from Chu Hua and Su Shi.

But she never expected that Xiao Mu was actually the best at gravity, and she humbly claimed that no one dared to claim the title of number one.

It's not simply about being considerate, gentle, and understanding, nor is it about being as unreasonable and stubborn as Su Shi or Chu Hua.

"There will never be anyone more important to Xiao than me."

When Mu uttered those words with such certainty, he possessed a gravitational field in his heart comparable to that of a "black hole."

Her tone remained consistently calm, without any shouting or hysteria. Yet, the madness beneath the calm was more deadly than any emotion—it was the very essence of gravity itself.

She remained confident throughout that she was the undisputed center of attention.

It's too heavy.

Metis couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat; she somewhat regretted stirring up trouble for Xiao Mu.

But now that things have come to this, she has to finish the path she has chosen, even if she has to crawl—after all, it concerns her life and death.

"That's why I said that love doesn't follow any rules, you know? Even if Akatsuki agrees with Mutsumi's point of view, people in love will completely throw rationality to the back of their minds once they get carried away, you know?"

Metis continues to try to justify his previous actions of stirring up trouble by proving the danger posed by Chu Hua and Su Shi.

"So, it's only to protect Xiao Mu's place in Xiao's heart that I have a tiny bit of hostility towards Su Shi and Chu Hua—"

Little did Ye Mu know that he had completely misunderstood it.

"Does being in a relationship mean that your partner will be superior to everyone else?"

Mu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite, as if he agreed with Metis's explanation.

But what she said next completely stunned Metis—

"In that case, Xiao and I can become lovers, right?"

"...Wait, that's not what I meant."

Metis rubbed her forehead; she suddenly felt a little dizzy at her temples.

Chapter 80 This is the Seven Forms of Love!

Mu has definitely gone mad.

Hearing her answer, Metis felt a little dizzy and rubbed his temples.

"What...what do you mean by becoming lovers! That's not what I meant!"

"what does that mean?"

Mu tilted his head, seemingly puzzled as to why Metis was speaking in such a roundabout way.

"It was Metis who just said that love is a more terrifying thing that can destroy other relationships."