Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

This happened a long time ago, and Kazama, the person involved, has never blamed Ritsuki for it, but she just can't help but take the blame upon herself.

She lost the boy's once unreserved sincerity and missed the opportunity to become Kazama's true partner.

So no matter how much Chu Hua emphasized that she was Kazama's most important and closest companion, Riki could only leave with a displeased expression and say, "Then you must not betray his sincerity," and there was nothing more she could fight for herself.

Ultimately, I don't think I'm qualified.

There's really no need to fight for anything. Even if Hatsuka and Kazama have secrets that only the two of them know, it doesn't matter. As long as he doesn't repeat the same mistakes of "betrayal" from now on, that's enough.

After finishing his work, Lixi took off his rubber gloves and reached out to touch his tired face.

Hmm... that's enough.

Lixi lowered her hand, untied the apron hanging in front of her to cover the oil and stains, pushed open the kitchen door and walked to the front desk to hand over her shift to her colleagues.

It's almost time to leave work, and this eventful day can finally come to an end.

The moment she pushed open the door, the soothing piano music that had been playing in the beverage shop came to a close. Standing at the cashier, Lixi naturally looked up—

She happened to witness the three people still standing outside the shop, looking at each other in bewilderment.

"...They're still here?"

Li Xi narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the actions of the three people outside the window.

She always felt that the atmosphere outside the store was not quite right.

Chapter Thirty-Four: Lena vs. Chu Hua - Natural Charm Overcomes Cunning

The commercial street was bustling with people in the afternoon. The glass shop windows reflected the dazzling sunlight, and the neon signs refused to dim their lights even in broad daylight. The air was filled with the coolness of air conditioning and iced drinks emanating from the shops along the street.

Amidst the clamor, Lena and Chuhua seemed like two opposing undercurrents. People brushed past them, but no one dared to stop and stare at them, let alone further disrupt the tense atmosphere between them.

"Xiao is not your spoils of war."

Lena spoke naturally, her eyes fixed on him. Like a protective mother cat, she shielded the boy behind her, standing opposite Chu Hua with her relatively smaller and more frail body.

"This is an even bigger misunderstanding, Renai-kun."

Chu Hua was slightly taken aback at first, but after noticing that the white-haired girl in front of her was not joking with her, she quickly waved her hand to indicate that she was far from being so cunning and treacherous.

“I understand how you feel about Xiaojun, but I don’t see him as some kind of trophy at all. As you just saw, we’re just partners in a newly formed band.”

Because there were many people around, Chu Hua took out her black baseball cap, put it on her head, and pulled the brim down.

This was an occasion where she needed to keep a low profile, but it wasn't the case for Lena.

"Chu Hua, you're lying."

The white-haired girl didn't take it seriously. She shook her head, but her beautiful heterochromatic eyes remained fixed on Chu Hua, refusing to look away for even a moment.

"I don't know why I left such a bad impression on Renai-kun... but there might be some misunderstanding about this matter."

Chu Hua remained calm and chuckled, her eyes sweeping over the boy who was being protected by Le Nai behind Er Yi San Wu Qi Jiu Liu Shan.

"If you don't believe me, Lena can ask Xiaojun. Everything I did was just for us, and for our band to make it to the end. Right?"

As Chu Hua gazed into Kazama's eyes, she uttered her last pitiful plea, her head drooping and revealing her endearing puppy-dog eyes.

Well, the process and methods were somewhat heavy and even terrifying, but judging from the result, Chu Hua really didn't have any bad intentions—although that's precisely what makes her so terrifying.

Kazama twitched the corner of his mouth.

Putting everything else aside, Miss Chuhua is truly tight-lipped about using his secret as a time traveler to blackmail him into obeying her every word.

"Xiao is an idiot, so of course he'll listen to you."

Unexpectedly, Lena was noncommittal about Chu Hua's method of requesting foreign aid, and even curled her lip to question the impartiality of referee Kazama.

"Wait, why did you suddenly start attacking me personally?"

"This is not a personal attack, it's just stating the facts."

Lena ignored Kazama's pointing finger at her and raised objections, shaking her cute little head like a nimble cat.

"Because Xiao is an idiot, no matter who expresses a need, no matter who tells a clumsy lie, he will appear by that person's side."

The white-haired girl spoke with certainty about her impressions of the boy, marking the first time that the usually taciturn Lena had uttered such a long string of unique insights.

Chu Hua frowned upon hearing this, but quickly relaxed involuntarily.

Even though Rakuna hadn't spent nearly as much time with Kazama as she had to understand him thoroughly, she was able to articulate this meticulous observation with such certainty.

Or perhaps they had a heart-to-heart talk without me noticing... But when did this happen? Why didn't I notice at all?

In any case, Lena has already shown that she will protect the boy.

"How can someone say something like that so casually?"

Chu Hua had also lost that sense of ease; her increasingly gloomy purple eyes reflected the intimate figures of the two of them.

Even though she was the one closest to Kazama's secret, and the person closest to him—

What gives Lena the right to suddenly appear out of nowhere and blatantly overstep her bounds?

"Because I remembered some of it."

Lena is straightforward and outspoken, a complete opposite of the cryptic riddle-maker who likes to be secretive.

"Xiao is an important family member who needs protection."

The boy behind her was clearly over twenty centimeters taller and much stronger than her; he didn't need her protection at all.

Lena, however, still raised her hand like a mother cat protecting her kittens, using her small body to shield him.

“I can smell it, but Chu Hua doesn’t think so.”

It is said that cats are very spiritual creatures, and Lena, who has inherited this knowledge, also pointed out the strange thing about Chuhua in her eyes.

Hatsuka definitely doesn't consider Kazama family.

"........."

Chu Hua was speechless, as this was the only point she couldn't refute.

She certainly didn't just see Kazama as family.

Just as Lena was gradually gaining the upper hand, and the standoff between the two was about to end with Lena's victory—

Xiao, who had been protected behind the white-haired girl, reached out her right hand and gently placed it on her shoulder.

"?"

Lena blinked, then turned her head without any guard up to look at the boy she was protecting behind her.

"Um... I'm very grateful for Lena's overprotective instincts towards me."

Kazama scratched his cheek, but couldn't help but voice all his doubts.

"But I'm curious—you just said you remembered that I'm family who needs protection. What prompted you to have this thought? Or rather…"

He cleared his throat, glanced at the bustling crowd around him, and then lowered his voice.

"...What made you remember?"

Although it's a bit inappropriate to raise questions at this time, Lena's unusual behavior today is really too strange.

He knew his Aunt Lenai very well. This carefree and lazy girl, like a wildcat, never cared about other people's opinions; her eyes were only on her guitar and matcha parfait. Even if someone interested her, she would only ask them to play a song or two with her at most.

During this period, her attitude towards herself underwent a dramatic transformation.

Even a fool could tell something was wrong.

Lena blinked, and finally she answered Kazama's question.

"I do not know."

Of course, this also brings even greater mysteries.

"The memory was already in my mind when I noticed it."

"...Huh?"

Chapter Thirty-Five: Do you prefer Aunt Lena or Aunt Chuhua?

I don't know when it started, but memories are flooding my mind.

This was the explanation given by Rakuna, and Kazama and Hatsuka exchanged a glance, their expressions changing simultaneously.

Kazama, however, widened his eyes in slight surprise, as if he had discovered a new continent and couldn't believe it. Hatsuka, on the other hand, felt somewhat complicated because she thought of Nagasaki Motoyo, who was not present at the time.

"...Haha, if what you said is true, then you're either daydreaming or you need to go to the hospital to get checked out."

Kazama suppressed the surprise rising in his heart and tried to bury the most unlikely idea in his mind by making jokes.

His idea was simple and crude, but it was indeed difficult to put into practice.

Could it be that Aunt Lena from decades later suddenly transmitted some of her memories to the present-day Lena? Or perhaps they briefly shared a memory?

Of course, this idea was far too far-fetched and didn't even need to be spoken aloud to gain everyone's approval. It was unilaterally rejected by Xiao during the brainstorming stage.

The fact that he was able to travel to this time and space to meet the aunties from decades ago is already the biggest supernatural factor. If everything he imagined were to come true, then the operating rules of this world would probably really be thrown into chaos.

Chu Hua, however, had a different thought in mind as she looked at Le Nai, whose face was so open and honest that she didn't seem to be lying at all.

Could it be that Lena also knows that she will become Xiaojun's aunt decades later?

Who told her?

No, that's not right. Judging from her account, since it's a memory that flooded into her mind, we can at least rule out that someone told her about it... So what kind of being put this memory into her head?

Feeling that her logic was galloping headlong into an irreversible dead end with no turning back, Chu Hua quickly shook her head.

"What I said is true."

Seeing that neither of them intended to believe her, Lena briefly explained her situation using her already limited vocabulary—though her explanation was still somewhat confusing.

"Hmm... So what you mean is, after you watched that video, the corresponding memories flooded into your brain?"

Fortunately, Chu Hua was able to extract the key information from her few words and summarize it into a logically coherent statement, which finally explained the ins and outs of Le Nai's absurd experience.

"Yeah, that's right."

Lena nodded vigorously, and after agreeing with Chuhua's summary, she added her own words.

"It felt like I had suddenly been transported into a game and become the first-person protagonist. It was incredibly magical."

When this memory flooded into her mind, it was accompanied by an indescribable feeling—a feeling that Lena found difficult to describe precisely and completely in words.

She seemed to be able to personally experience and relive all the sensory experiences associated with that afternoon when the video was filmed, as the adult woman Yoro Nai in the video.

The warm touch of sunlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains, the feeling of fingers brushing across the guitar strings as they played familiar chords.

And the ripples that stirred in her heart when a naive and inexperienced boy lay on her lap, calling out "Auntie Lenai" in his still-undeveloped, childish voice.

None of this was the feeling that the video brought to Lena, but rather a product that naturally arose in her heart after she watched the entire recording, as if a switch had been pressed deep within her to release this past memory.

Yes, it was as if all of this was something she had done long ago but no longer remembered.

Lena discovers that she is indeed the "holder" of this memory and does not have any rejection reaction to this bizarre memory that has appeared in her brain.

In other words.

"...Aunt Lena?"

Kazama tentatively used the name he was most used to, but which had now become somewhat unfamiliar and awkward, to call the white-haired girl by name.

"Yes, Xiao."

Lena seemed very happy to receive his reaction, and even stood on tiptoe to pat his head in a serious manner.

"Xiao, I'll still treat you to a matcha parfait with my allowance tomorrow. If I get a bite, you'll get a bite too."

Seriously... that reaction is so typical of Aunt Lenai!

Kazama almost rushed forward to hug the white-haired girl tightly—but just as he took a step forward, Hatsuka quickly squeezed herself between the two of them.

"Wait—wait a minute! So this memory just automatically popped into your brain, Renai-kun?"

At this touching moment of family reunion between the aunt and nephew, Chu Hua quickly changed the subject and positioned herself in the middle, preventing Xiao and Le Nai from having any further physical contact.