Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

An unfamiliar female voice suddenly rang out, and Chu Hua looked behind her as if waking from a dream—

A girl with short, snow-white hair nimbly rushed toward the boy sitting opposite her, clinging to him affectionately and naturally like a sloth.

"Eh?!"

Chu Hua's previous composure had completely vanished, and Xiao was completely taken aback by Le Nai's sudden attack, freezing on the spot.

While the two were at a loss, Lena, who had caught them off guard, sniffed the boy's neck as if no one else was around—acting as willfully as a wild cat that had suddenly become close to humans.

"Wait...it's so itchy!"

Kazama reacted immediately and tried to push Rakuna away. He never expected that one day he would blush and avoid the advances of the opposite sex like a teenage girl who had been falsely accused of being innocent. In fact, this behavior is considered an advance in cat language.

"Great, it tastes just like Akatsuki's original flavor."

Instead of apologizing, Lena, the instigator, nodded with obvious satisfaction. Her words were enough to instantly snap Chu Hua out of her daze.

Wait a minute, why is someone suddenly behaving so intimately with Xiaojun right in front of me?

Belatedly realizing what was happening, Chu Hua's eyes instantly became empty and lifeless.

Even though Kazama tried to push away Rakuna, who suddenly came close to him, she was like a piece of chewing gum, impossible to push away or move away, clinging tightly to him.

"Lanna, what are you doing all of a sudden?!"

"Hmm? Just confirming Akatsuki's scent. Hmm, that puts my mind at ease."

"Now that you're at ease, can you get off me first?"

"No, I didn't say I wanted to go down."

"........."

Watching the two bicker like a pair of bickering lovers from a romantic comedy, Chu Hua's pupils contracted more and more.

What's happening here.

Having just ended the potential crisis that Su Shi might have brought, how did Le Nai suddenly and mysteriously join the battlefield?

However, Chu Hua's rational mind was too busy to follow logic and reason why things had turned out this way; her gaze remained fixed on one spot the entire time.

That was to hug the boy from behind, thus pressing herself against the chest of the white-haired girl behind him.

too close.

That's way too close.

Chu Hua didn't speak, but her pupils trembled uncontrollably, and her eyes reflected only the intimate parts of their bodies.

A very dangerous idea popped into Misaka Chuka's mind.

If I were to push her to the ground right here... what kind of excuse would I use?

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Beginning. The Offender.

Xiaojun, who was originally hers, was taken away by a wildcat lady who appeared out of nowhere.

This is Chu Hua's current feeling after being caught off guard by Le Nai's sudden attack.

"What are you talking about 'the original taste'? If Lixi and Su Shi heard you say that, they would definitely misunderstand. By the way, Miss Lena, could you please get off me? It's not good if we stay in this position."

The boy who suffers terribly, being used as a substitute for a tree branch by a sloth girl, bearing all the weight of her body.

Something's not right.

And the white-haired girl who didn't think there was anything wrong with her behavior at all, but just tilted her head and tightened her grip on the boy's neck.

"I think it's great."

"...I `I亿③⒌霓蹴⑹氵谰..."

Misaka Hatsuka is actually very good at enduring hardship, but even now she really can't help but want to pull this bad cat off Akatsuki.

"What Xiaojun said isn't quite right; she meant the social distance between you, Le Nai."

After much deliberation, Chu Hua, who had been trying her best to suppress the nameless anger in her heart, still put on a friendly and amiable smile.

Although she really wanted to unleash the aggression hidden deep within her heart and keep the philandering cat at least two meters away from Kazama, losing her rationality like that would definitely make her lose control.

Left with no other choice, she could only gently advise Lena to restrain her behavior.

"Have it."

But the only result was that the white-haired girl blinked her beautiful heterochromatic eyes nonchalantly, completely ignoring Chu Hua's explicit and implicit hints.

"No, social distancing. Between me and Xiao."

Upon hearing this, Lena tightened her grip on the boy's neck, completely ignoring the sudden drop in Chu Hua's lips.

"Ah... stray cat, when did you come in?"

Just as the three were at an impasse, Lixi, who had been serving the guests, looked up after finishing her work and finally noticed the dire situation.

"Hey, you two protagonists from the video are actually together... I guess everything's alright, right? If you're both curious about who's behind this, I can lend a hand and help you investigate."

Despite her seemingly cold demeanor, Riki always kept her comrades in her heart. Having just finished her job as a part-time warrior, she rushed to the three of them and brought up the video to Akira and Rana.

Of course, it's good to be eager to help your partner, but it would be even better if she could be more perceptive and notice that the atmosphere between the three of them was subtly shifting towards a chaotic situation.

"no need."

Lena shook her head dismissively, and her posture of hugging the boy from behind, who was lost in thought, and leaning her entire upper body against him, naturally attracted Lixi's attention.

"...Wildcat, when did you become so attached to Kazama?"

Lixi glanced at Chuhua, who was still smiling but whose expression was really stiff, and then looked at Kazama, who was silent with a subtle expression, and Rakuna, who looked innocent. He seemed to realize that something was wrong.

"...Has your ingredient suddenly turned into catnip, Kazama?"

Of course, Riki's suspicious gaze was mainly fixed on Kazama, who looked completely bewildered.

"Given the current situation, my ingredients might actually have turned into matcha parfait."

While bearing the sudden weight of Lena's upper body, Xiao, who was also suffering from the pain, could only laugh it off.

That's just how cats are, really. They're usually aloof and unapproachable, but when they want to be close, they'll suddenly cling to you as you pass by.

On the bright side...maybe I can take this opportunity to strengthen my relationship with Renai.

“Baphi…right, Baphi.”

However, the keyword he mentioned unintentionally caused the white-haired girl, whose expression had been indifferent, to change her expression.

"Xiao, would you like a parfait? It's on me."

She stopped hugging the boy from behind, and instead loosened her arms and squatted down by the table, looking up into Xiao's eyes.

Those beautiful heterochromatic eyes clearly screamed "Say yes!"

"...While I'm very grateful for your generosity, Lena, this is a bit sudden. Why did you suddenly decide to treat me to a matcha parfait?"

"Because taking care of Xiao is a matter of course."

"Oh, oh... I'm really very grateful."

For a fleeting moment, Xiao felt as if she had returned to the days when she was meticulously cared for by her aunts—but this illusion only lasted for a brief instant after Xiao noticed that Lena's face was actually more youthful than her own.

"A stray cat actually wants to treat someone to something? And... a matcha parfait? Treating someone to a matcha parfait?"

Li Xi twitched the corners of her mouth, momentarily unable to believe what she was hearing.

"...Is this some kind of trap?"

Xiao frowned in confusion and began to think. In his memory, Aunt Lena, who was self-willed and would even drag him into trouble and get scolded, had only used this trick when trying to drag him into being an accomplice in making trouble.

"I still have money."

Lena didn't directly answer their questions, but simply pulled out her empty wallet with a calm expression.

"……ha."

Li Xi couldn't help but let out his usual "Ha!" to express his doubt.

"Sorry, it's on my phone, but I don't know how to use it."

Lena stared at her empty wallet for a long time, and finally silently handed over her smartphone to Lixi, which she didn't know how to use to pay the bills.

"How about this, I'll treat you."

Chu Hua, who had been waiting for an opportunity, finally adjusted her mindset and appropriately highlighted her presence with a suitable reason.

She smiled and took out her phone, offering her idea to Lixi.

"Whether it's Lena's matcha parfait or Xiaojun's, I'll treat them both."

A spirited Hatsuka Mikasa would never be outdone by a rebellious wildcat.

She glanced at the white-haired girl's expression out of the corner of her eye, secretly relieved that she had finally managed to turn the tables a little. But just then—

In stark contrast to her own behavior of secretly observing others, Lena stared intently into Chuhua's eyes.

"Chuhua, are you like me too?"

The owner of those beautiful heterochromatic eyes, who stared intently at her, asked her a question that made her heart skip a beat.

"—?"

This wasn't the first time Chu Hua had lost control of her expression because of Le Nai's surprising remarks, but this time it was definitely the most unexpected one for her.

What does "just like her" mean?

Chapter Twenty-Four: Is it Lena, or Aunt Lena?

Lena expresses favoritism and trust much like wild animals. Through body language and the unconditional psychological activity of regarding others as her companions, even a blind person can understand her feelings.

And that's how it is now.

"Xiao, do you want a matcha parfait? The super big one."

Without waiting for a reply, Lenai, who had already sat on the boy's lap, turned her head to look at him and tilted her head.

"Or, buckwheat noodles. Orange cake."

"These are all your favorite foods, right, Lenai?"

"Yes, you can give one to Xiaodian."

The cat doesn't know how to please someone, nor does she know how to win the heart of a beauty through strategizing—she only knows that she will share what she likes with the important people in her life.

"Hmm... Although I did say I could order a matcha parfait for both Lena and Xiaojun, do I have to pay for everything Lena just mentioned?"

Chu Hua's smile was somewhat strained; rather, simply noticing Lena sitting intimately on Xiao's lap was enough to disturb her peace of mind.

And what Lena just said.

"Chuhua is just like me."

"Yueyi Medical Instrument Fin 罒~WuIX罒FU Wine〦stop……What does this mean?"

Although she tried to glean some subtle information by observing the white-haired girl's expression, how could Rakuna, whose calm demeanor rivaled that of Komugi, so easily let Hatsuka see through her?

Perhaps the most effective way to deal with such straightforward people is to ask directly when you're confused...?

With this in mind, Chu Hua cautiously began the first round of probing.

"Rakuna, what you just said..."

"Does Chu Hua want some too? Sorry, I'll treat you to Xiao's portion."

As soon as she opened her mouth, she was shut down by Lena's words.

Well, anyway, Chu Hua didn't really want Le Nai to treat her to a meal. What really made her indignant was something else.

How could Lena—how could she just sit on Xiaojun without saying a word…!

Just seeing the two of them being so intimate was enough to make her feel annoyed. Chu Hua wanted to rush up and pull them apart to keep their distance, but she didn't have the right to do so, so she could only feel resentful in her heart.

She had never done anything that crossed the line, yet this eccentric, self-willed wildcat had somehow managed to cling to Xiao.

This state of being powerless yet forced to maintain a smile is almost like the most irresistible scene in some obscene pornographic films.