Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

I suddenly felt a soreness in my nose.

In that familiar time and space, whenever he was frowning and hanging his head because of the difficulties in his life, Aunt Lena would always come up quietly and gently pat his head.

"Xiao, you've worked so hard. When you're feeling down, take a break."

Her care was neither as meticulous as Su Shi's, nor as precise as Chu Hua's, which struck straight to the soul.

If I had to say, Renai is like a cat.

When you're unhappy, she'll silently nuzzle you, her expressionless face conveying a straightforward yet subtle and enduring care and concern.

Could it be... that the girl in front of me, Renai, has inherited Aunt Renai's memories?

Xiao lowered his head in disbelief, trying to find a familiar, delicate expression on the girl's exquisite face.

"...Do you remember anything else?"

There's no need to beat around the bush and guess what's on Rakuna's mind, so Kazama just voiced his question directly.

Lena shook her head silently; it seemed she only remembered that one specific thing.

But what came out of her mouth next was another bombshell.

"All I remember is that I loved Xiao very much. Xiao loved me very much too."

To Kazama, this was Aunt Rana's heartfelt and unreserved advice—but to Hatsuka, who had just pushed open the door with her bag on her back and bumped into the two of them, it was a declaration with another layer of meaning.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Xiao is not your spoils of war.

Having already triumphed over Shiina Tatsuki in their first encounter, Mika Mika smiled as she slung her belongings over her shoulder and pushed open the door of the RiNG beverage shop, basking in the joy of her victory in the very first match.

Kazama didn't want his identity as a time traveler to be discovered, and in a sense, Hatsuka felt the same way.

If this is a secret known only to her, then not only will Akatsuki be unable to leave her, but others, unaware of the inside story, will also be unable to keep up with the pace at which she and Akatsuki have built their bond.

In other words, as long as others are unaware, Xiaojun can truly become "Xiaojun who belongs only to her".

Chu Hua, whose smile was so bright just thinking about the possibility, even hummed a cheerful tune as she pushed open the door.

Without a doubt, Li Xi, being a completely unaware outsider, will only become Chu Hua's defeated foe.

She had initially thought that Li Xi, with his fierce demeanor, would be difficult to deal with, but it turned out he was just a paper tiger that could be dealt with in no time.

Indeed, compared to others, Xiao Mu, who holds the most special place in Xiao Jun's heart, and Su Shi, who is just as relentlessly pursuing him as he is, are more worthy of serious attention.

Just as Chu Hua was thinking this, she pushed open the door and saw a girl, like a wildcat, "confessing" to a boy.

This caused the smile that had been lingering on her lips to freeze instantly.

"All I remember is that I loved Xiao very much. Xiao loved me very much too."

Lena uttered this weighty statement without batting an eye, a statement that could not be interpreted as anything other than a confession.

Not only was Kazama stunned for a moment, but the smile on Chu Hua's lips also vanished completely because of her earth-shattering confession.

Right? Apart from Renai herself, everyone else would just take what she just said as an undeniable confession.

Chu Hua was stunned. Kazama was also a little slow to realize what was happening because of her sudden confession. He stood there in a daze for a long time before he noticed the eerie gaze from Chu Hua beside him.

Why do I feel inexplicably guilty under such a gaze?

Under Hatsune's icy, emotionless gaze, Kazama shivered—even during his innocent and ignorant childhood, he had never seen Aunt Hatsune look at him with such a terrifying gaze.

However, the next second Chu Hua walked forward with a smile, hiding her sharp edge under a gentle and friendly smile.

"What are you two talking about?"

Chu Hua's tone remained gentle and soothing; perhaps others wouldn't have noticed the subtle pressure in her words—if she hadn't stood between Kazama and Rakuna without explanation, blocking them with her own body.

"I almost thought Xiaojun was going to leave without saying a word. She came with me, it wouldn't make sense for her to leave without telling me beforehand."

She smiled faintly and leaned slightly towards Kazama, the faint smile on her face seeming to foreshadow that something bad would happen if he didn't do this.

Kazama subconsciously swallowed.

He had never felt such pressure from Miss Hatsuka—or even Aunt Hatsune.

Could it be because she overheard Lena's statement?

"So, what were you guys talking about just now? Can I join in?"

However, judging from Hatsuka's confused look as she glanced at Ranna and then turned to look at Kazama... she seemed completely oblivious to Ranna's words, which even Akatsuki found astonishing.

However, if Xiao really didn't hear it, it would actually be a good thing for him.

Hatsune Miku, with her extremely strong possessive and protective instincts, completely severed all ties with him when he was a child because of a classmate's innocent and innocent advances.

Now, the younger and more impetuous Chu Hua might impulsively do something even more terrible.

It's fortunate that she didn't hear what Lenai said just now.

So even though she was right next to him, only inches away, and had her hand gently hooked around his wrist in a very intimate gesture, Xiao didn't show any sign of rejection or try to distance herself.

"Hey, it's nothing. By the way, Xiangzi just called me, right? Chuhua, do you want to know what we talked about?"

Kazama secretly breathed a sigh of relief, just as he was pondering how to use his silver tongue to gloss over the matter—

"?"

Lena met Chu Hua's seemingly friendly scrutinizing gaze with a nonchalant expression, like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.

To be precise, she only met Chu Hua's gaze with her calm, almost still eyes after watching Chu Hua naturally take the boy's arm.

The next second, Rakuna, who had been blocked to the side by Hatsuka's body, reached out and pulled Kazama over.

"—?!"

This unexpected action stunned Kazama once again. Hatsuka, who was holding his arm, never expected that she would need to exert so much force to prevent Akiko from being taken away by someone else.

"Chuhua, you're in the way."

Lena frowned and uttered the simplest yet most powerful words to shatter this false friendliness.

This seemed to be the first time she had expressed her likes and dislikes so directly, so neither Hatsuka nor Kazama reacted for a moment.

"Xiao and I were just talking about something important."

Lena ignored Chu Hua's bewildered expression and looked directly into her purple eyes as she expressed her feelings.

"Chu Hua is a bad kid for interrupting so casually."

—Although Hatsuka didn’t openly show hostility towards her, as a feline with a keen sense of smell (?), Rakuna could see perfectly well what kind of suspicious heart, wary of others, was hidden beneath Hatsuka’s seemingly friendly exterior.

Even if they see through something, they won't say it. When they're not involved in trouble, they'll just be like a wildcat, lazily and idly spending every day—but once their tail is stepped on, they'll arch their back and stare intently at passersby who have wandered into their territory, breathing heavily on them.

This is the behavioral logic behind Yao Lenai's actions.

Kazama already knew this, so he rubbed the throbbing veins under his temples with a slight headache. Meanwhile, Hatsuka only now began to understand her temperament a little, completely concealing the surprise on her face.

"It seems like I don't have a very good impression on Renai-kun."

However, she didn't rush to break off relations. Instead, she took a step back and smiled, tolerating Lena's sharp words.

"May I ask why this is?"

She smiled, behaving with humility and gentleness, like a friendly older sister who had just arrived and wanted to get along with everyone.

However, Renai's subsequent response still showed no respect for Chuhua.

"Because, Xiao is not your spoils of war."

Lenai's tone remained frank and direct, but her words did indeed inflict real damage.

The smile on Misaka Chuka's face came to an abrupt end along with the ambient music in the RiNG store.

Chapter Thirty-Three: I Might Not Love You

Shiina Tatsuki is actually a little annoyed right now.

She sat in the staff break room, fiddling with her phone, but her brows remained tightly furrowed the entire time. Even the way she scrolled through messages was impatient, with her fingers moving up and down impatiently, showing no sign of leisurely enjoying a stolen half-day of peace.

"Hey, Shiina—I've already taken all the tableware from that table to the kitchen. Remember to wash it!"

"...Coming right away."

Her secret break was over, and she still had to continue her work as a beverage shop employee.

Stepping into the busy kitchen and standing in front of the washing station, she put on rubber gloves and gently soaked the ceramic bowls and plates into the sink full of dish soap bubbles before washing the dessert plates.

After gently wiping the plate with a damp dishcloth, a blurry reflection of the black-haired girl with a furrowed brow and an unhappy expression appeared on the clean, white surface of the plate.

It was at this moment that Lixi realized just how angry she was.

"...What? That look that made it seem like only he understood him, and no one else was more worthy to stand by his side."

Lixi muttered to herself, and suddenly increased the force with which she wiped the plate—anyone could tell that she seemed to be treating the plate containing her phone as a substitute for someone else, and giving it a good thrashing.

Her colleague, who was working alongside her in the kitchen, involuntarily took a step or two back. Clearly, Shiina Tatsuki, in a low-pressure state, looked very intimidating.

But it's just an appearance.

Looking through the reflection of the dish soap bubbles on the water's surface, Lixi couldn't help but relive the unpleasant encounter she had just had with Chuhua.

He was speechless after being rendered speechless by Chu Hua during their confrontation, and watched her walk out of RiNG's beverage shop with her head held high, as if she had won the debate.

It's like a teenager who acts out in a childish, immature way at school during the day, and then curls up in bed with their pillow at night, regretting why they showed such an embarrassing side of themselves—

After a moment of reflection, Lixi began to regret why he hadn't performed better.

Yes, her sorrow and depression were not directed at Hatsuka, nor at Rakuna and Kazama, but at Shiina Tatsuki herself, who was powerless to cope with her own feelings and unable to comfort them.

"...Ugh, this is so infuriating!!"

Lixi vented all her frustrations on her work, scrubbing the plates with unprecedented force. This startled her colleague, a girl behind her who was washing another pile of pots and pans with her back to her, and she quickly moved to the side.

What's most infuriating isn't just facing others' doubts, but also the inability to convince herself that she truly has the right to challenge Chu Hua.

Shiina Tatsuki is not one to argue unreasonably. Whenever something is reasonable, she will calmly consider whether Hatsuka's sarcasm has hit her sore spot.

The answer is also obvious.

No matter how much she tried to fill that time with busy work, the blonde girl's question would always linger in her mind.

"Lixi, in your heart, are Xiaojun and Deng the same person?"

When Lixi himself looked back at the problem, everything seemed a bit ridiculous.

Deng is someone she has cherished since the CRYCHIC era. Even if Su Shi is just using her feelings for Deng to trick her into coming back to form a new band, Li Xi is willing to be used in this way.

After all, she was willing to do anything as long as she could stay with the lamp.

As for Kazama… what kind of uninvited guest is Kazama who suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

This guy appeared on his own without any regard for reason, and then, like a little sun, he showed them kindness on his own without any regard for reason... In the end, he went on stage on his own without any regard for reason and stood next to them to perform, and even saved Xiangzi's life.

No one asked him to be so generous to them, so Lixi should have just ignored his selfless dedication.

But she just couldn't do something so simple.

This includes nodding in acknowledgment that the boy and the lamp do not hold the same place in his heart.

Whenever she tried to speak, the truth would be stuck in her throat, impossible to utter. Whether this stemmed from shyness and unease or from a long-standing sense of inferiority, Shiina Tatsuki couldn't tell.

Friendship is expressed openly and honestly, while more obscure and bittersweet emotions are concealed.

She could openly show favoritism towards Akari in front of everyone, but if she couldn't find a proper reason to stay by Kazama's side, she would feel that she had no right to stand by his side.

"...Even if we figured it out, what good would it do?"

It seemed as if Li Xi was mocking himself for being unable to compete with Chu Hua, or perhaps he was simply lamenting the impermanence of life. Li Xi murmured to himself in a low voice.

Before her girlish thoughts and feelings, what she always prioritizes is the responsibility and obligation that she should bear herself.

It was his momentary negligence that destroyed that guy's unconditional trust in him and Su Shi—to the point that he almost paid the price with his life in saving Xiangzi.

If only she had been more straightforward in accepting Kazama's kindness and dependence, and had tried to communicate with him sincerely back then.

If only I could have stood by Kazama's side back then and helped him prevent that tragedy—

At least he wouldn't have almost died.