Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Kazama forced a bitter smile.

"I feel like my image in Hailing's eyes has completely changed into a different kind of weird shape."

"If it's strange to like calling girls 'auntie,' then it certainly is."

Yawata Kairin nodded in agreement.

"It's not that complimentary."

Seeing that Meow Dream Sea Bell was no longer pressing them about their secret, Li Xi followed in her friend Sea Bell's footsteps and gave Kazama a soft snort.

It seems that he has now become the target of everyone's criticism.

Kazama smiled bitterly as he faced the three men's sarcastic remarks, some straightforward and others sarcastic. If he had to choose between having his secret exposed, he would rather be the "Auntie Maniac" who would be subjected to criticism and strange looks.

Little did they know that one problem after another was about to arise.

"So, it's that one, isn't it? You two, Kazama-kun."

Hailing didn't give up easily. Instead, she glanced at Lixi, who was feeling uncertain, and Kazama, who no longer cared about what others thought of him, with a slightly amused look in her eyes.

Are you two secretly dating? Or are you just mutually attracted to each other right now?

"…………!"

Her words completely shattered the almost restored atmosphere of the conversation, leaving both the person involved, Kazama Riki, and the onlookers, Meowmu, speechless.

"...Did I say something wrong again?"

Hailing belatedly frowned.

Chapter Sixty-Five: Aunt Lixi and Aunt Miaomeng's Battle to Protect Their Nephew?

In fact, during the days when Ave Mujica was not performing on stage, Yutenji Wakanagi and Hachiman Kairin would occasionally get together to chat about things within the group.

The other members of the band (aside from Kazama, the leader) are basically connected to Toyokawa Shoko's interpersonal relationships. Mitsumi Hatsuka is an acquaintance of Toyokawa Shoko, and Wakaba Mutsumi is Shoko's childhood friend. The three of them naturally form a more solid alliance.

So, during the free time when one of the boys was unable to take charge, Hailin and Miaomeng, who were left behind, could only keep each other company and pass the time.

Of course, most of their conversations revolved around the members of the team.

"Hailin, who do you think Xiao-chan likes more? Mutsuko or Hatsuka? I feel like we can rule out Shoko out; those two don't seem to get along for some reason we don't know—"

"I don't know, and I don't really care about these things."

"Hey~ Aren't you curious? Chu Hua and Mu Zi clearly like Xiao Jiang a lot. Maybe our team's in-team romance marketing can turn into a real relationship?"

When the two discussed the complicated male-female relationships within the band, Hai Ling always maintained a detached and indifferent attitude, as if it were none of her business.

"You actually noticed that Wakaba likes Kazama too? I thought she was always a cold and aloof person who didn't talk much to anyone."

"No, I've figured out Mutsuko's personality! She's actually a very easy person to understand and very perceptive. Her awareness is like an eight-legged crab running wildly, it's just that her speaking skills are more like a paralyzed earthworm going around in circles."

Well, she responded to her cat-like dream with a smile, and she wasn't exactly polite either.

"As long as they don't turn the charade into reality and end up destroying the band, I don't care if the three of them die."

Hai Ling didn't care at all what kind of ending this love triangle would lead to, after all, she was just an observer.

"Wow, Hailing's comment is so cool~! Should I join in and get a piece of the action? Anyway, if it's just acting, it would be really interesting to see me act out some romantic drama with the handsome guys and beautiful girls, right? It's a ready-made source of traffic, meow~!"

"Whatever, Yutenji-kun. Just don't get yourself into trouble."

"Of course I understand~ My wise and self-protective Hailing!"

—The scene of the conversation from the past is still vivid in her mind. Miaomeng, following her mischievous nature, gave Lixi a hard time. However, Hailing can no longer stay out of it as she once said.

If even Shiina Ritsuki, whom she considers a friend, has feelings for the producer in front of her, then she really can no longer remain indifferent.

"What, did I say something wrong? Aren't you two in a secret relationship? Or are you just not attracted to each other at all?"

Completely oblivious to the significant emotional intelligence flaws in her statement, Hachiman Kairin glanced back and forth between Riki, whose expression was becoming increasingly embarrassed, and Kazama, who had become numb to such occasions, and frankly voiced her concerns.

In fact, Kazama wasn't too bothered by Hailin's questioning. After all, he knew his aunt's temperament, and it wasn't something she found difficult to talk about.

None of the above.

He gave a straightforward answer, but the other party, Li Xi, stammered and seemed confused.

"We...are not...that kind of relationship..."

Why are you suddenly becoming so hesitant at this moment, Lixi-chan? No matter how you look at it, this is a sign that you're feeling guilty!

"...I understand."

Hailing stared at Lixi, whose eyes were darting around, for a long time before finally drawing a silent conclusion.

"You're in a one-sided love affair."

"…………!"

Shiina Riki suddenly looked up, her cheeks flushing crimson with defeat as her thoughts were exposed, and her eyes narrowed into an unexpected shape.

"Wow... Besides the love triangle within the team, Xiao-chan also has a lot of suitors outside the team? Do I have that many business rivals?"

Miao Meng clicked her tongue slightly in a pretentious manner, and no one could guess whether she was serious or not.

"...I would rather you believe that I really only see Lixi as my aunt."

Kazama lowered his head wearily and rubbed his temples, where a few veins were throbbing slightly.

"Hmm? So it's not even that kind of relationship?"

"Of course not—!"

Kazama and Riki once again rejected Hailin's conjecture in unison. The mercenary, who was used to acting on her intuition, showed an undisguised disappointment on her face because her guess was rejected.

"Okay, I misjudged. It's all Kazama's fault for making me think you're the kind of kid who would call a girl he likes 'auntie'."

"Wait, when did this false impression of me come about?"

"Alright, now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, let's get down to business and solve the problem."

Hailin walked to the bassist's spot on her own, glanced at Kazama who was still arguing for his image, and then looked at Riki who seemed to still have some resentment.

"Whether we perform together or separately, I'm fine with either. If you need me to play bass and provide backing notes, it'll be a good opportunity for Triangle to find inspiration for his arrangement."

"The arrangement...does that refer to the new song Chu Hua mentioned, the one with lyrics written by her?"

Seeing that there was a very suitable topic that could prevent them from getting into discussions about love and romance again, Kazama quickly followed up with Hailin and took over the topic.

"How about I help out too? Since I asked you to join Ave Mujica, I should do my best to help with whatever I can."

The boy walked quickly to Hailing and, with her consent, picked up the bass and began tuning it.

"........."

Although Lixi felt that her feelings were being treated lightly, she also understood that if she continued to pursue Xiao's secret, it might be exposed to Hailing and Miaomeng.

She could still tell the difference between her own complicated feelings and Kazama's mission as a time traveler.

"Alright, I've said from the beginning that it was just a misunderstanding caused by this guy's slip of the tongue. Since you two are uninvited guests, then I'll trouble you to help me improve my drumming skills."

Lixi magnanimously chose not to pursue the matter any further, and instead turned her gaze to the short-haired girl with purple hair sitting in her seat.

“Miss Meow Dream…right?”

Just now, she sat in the boy's lap right in front of him without giving him any prior notice.

"Hey~ Li Xi, have you watched my show too? Or is there something you want to say to your colleague?"

Yutenji Wakame chuckled and met Riki's gaze without any hesitation.

"Ah, if I had to say, there is."

As fellow drummers, there seemed to be some unusual energy field colliding between them.

The next second, Shiina Tatsuki frowned and hit his first straight ball of the day.

"Don't attack Kazama like you did before."

Chapter Sixty-Six: Shifting the Blame Eastward (Meow)

As a top beauty blogger with tens of thousands of followers online, Youtiansi Ruomai is very sensitive to interpersonal relationships.

For example, right now, when the girl named Shiina Ritsuki frowned and said to her, "Don't attack Kazama like you did just now," Nyanmu could clearly feel that Shiina Ritsuki's expression had become very unfriendly.

If she had to put it into words, she could almost see with her own eyes that the long-haired girl had gained something called "anger value"—and the value within it was rising steadily because of her own nonchalant flattery.

"What did 'like just now' mean?"

However, Miss Miaomeng did not back down because of Lixi's blatant warning. On the contrary, she seemed to be delighted by this scene.

She was never afraid of upsetting others, and even found Shiina Ritsuki's angry outbursts quite amusing and cute.

"Oh dear, is Li Xi feeling sorry for you?"

Of course, she wouldn't mind adding fuel to the fire and escalating the situation even further.

"...!"

Now he couldn't even utter a rebuttal.

Li Xi remained silent, his face turning red with suppressed rage.

Anyone with eyes could see that she cared far too much about the boy named Kazama Akatsuki, to the point of being somewhat petty and calculating.

"Oh dear, or do you think that the intimate actions between Xiaojiang and me just now were a bit too much for Lixi to bear?"

So Miaomeng not only didn't stop, but instead smiled and gestured with her hands as if she were embracing herself.

"Is this the kind of feeling where I willingly sit in his lap, with our skin touching against each other's clothes—does Li Xi think it's improper?"

"...How could people of the same age and gender do this in broad daylight, even though they're not in a romantic relationship...!"

Even though he was so angry he could barely contain himself, Lixi could only try to justify his outburst with such high-sounding words.

"Huh? Does that mean it's okay if it's someone of the opposite sex?"

But Miss Meow Dream persisted—or perhaps she was simply too engrossed in this game of teasing Li Xi to extricate herself.

"It has nothing to do with gender!"

"Hmm, I understand. So that means... it's okay if Riki, whom Akari calls 'Auntie,' kisses me!"

"That's not the point... Damn it, it just won't do! Doing this in front of me is unacceptable!!"

Forced to the brink of despair by Miaomeng's relentless questioning, Lixi suddenly swung her arm. Although her face was still flushed, she resolutely placed her hand in front of Kazama.

Although the girl with long black hair didn't say anything, her actions were tantamount to asserting her dominance.

"Stay away from me, Kazama"—her eyes clearly conveyed this undisguised emotion.

Hmph, an interesting woman.

Yutenji Wakame is not a woman who backs down when faced with difficulties. On the contrary, she tends to rebel and do the opposite of what most people would choose to do when things are going well.

Just like now, Lixi's unwavering expression not only failed to dissuade her, but instead aroused even more inexplicable curiosity in Miaomeng's heart.

Not only Hatsuka from the band and Mutsumi Wakaba, but even Tatsuki Shiina, who is not a member of the band, showed this amusing expression because of Kazama...

Who exactly is this man?

Curiosity is a terrible thing. Once it takes root in your heart, you can't get rid of it by ordinary means, and you can't ignore its existence. This will only make Miaomeng more itchy and restless.

She became increasingly curious about what kind of personal charm this young man possessed that made so many girls so submissive to him.

"Oh my, you're so protective, Lixi. It's okay. We don't know what will happen in the future, but for now I'm just Xiaojiang's teammate."

So, faced with Lixi's uncompromising declaration of sovereignty, Miaomeng fearlessly confronted him head-on.

That's how the battlefield between women is; every word and action can be wrapped in a sweet exterior, seemingly heartwarming words—but when you take them apart, they're all real threats.

"Even if I wanted to do something, Hatsuka and Mutsuko would definitely make a move against me before you do, and save Akatsuki from this wicked woman who has done all sorts of evil deeds."

Miao Meng's smiling words were not a sign of giving up; on the contrary, she cleverly brought up Chu Hua and Xiao Mu, who were not present in the group.

Her seemingly frivolous and unserious words left her room for maneuver, yet at the same time, her words seemed to subtly hint at something to Li Xi.

—Even if someone were to express their possessiveness, Li Xi, you would only rank after Chu Hua and Xiao Mu.