Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Kazama rubbed his sore eyes and reached out to pick up the notebook that Hatsuka had placed on the table.

As the true puppeteer in Ave Mujica who brings everyone together in place of Toyokawa Shoko, he has the ability and the obligation to help the girls who have come together to form a band because of him.

Of course, unlike Toyokawa Shoko, he doesn't intend to make any overly dramatic declarations like "Please entrust your future to me."

All he could do was help everyone hone their skills, offer his unique opinions on song innovation, and even personally help Chu Hua write Mujica's next live songs.

His existence was actually at Toyokawa Sadaharu's behest, so no matter how heavy his workload was each month, the Toyokawa family would regularly deposit his earnings into Kazama's account—but this reward was actually the least important thing to him.

All he wanted was to use his own strength to support the girls who had raised him, to help them lead better lives, and to repay their kindness.

But his idea seemed to be wishful thinking, a fact that even Shiina Tatsuki realized.

"Let me take a look at the lyrics first before deciding how to compose the music... Hmm."

As Kazama turned to the first page of the lyric book, his fingers froze on the spot as the words on the paper came into view.

"...What do you think, Xiaojun?"

Chu Hua lowered her head somewhat uneasily, like a student who had done her best to hand in a satisfactory answer sheet to the teacher and was now anxiously anticipating the teacher's grade, her face flushed and feeling lost.

Rather than describing this as a draft of lyrics meticulously revised and painstakingly created by the creator, it's more like she's contemplating how to use words and phrases to appropriately express her feelings to someone.

Chu Hua's handwriting was neat and beautiful, but the content was like a candy-coated bullet, ramming directly into his chest one after another—

【気payいたら片思いいつの间にか好きだった】

[A sudden realization of my crush; I've fallen for you without even realizing it]

【あなたを思うその度なんだか杀なくて】

Every time I think of you, sadness washes over me…

Having already sensed something was wrong upon reading this far, Kazama tried his best to control his brows from twitching too much and continued reading with a calm and uneasy heart.

【Youda's one person だと思い込もうとして】

I always tell myself you're just a friend.

【Unreasonable ordinary でいようとしてたら remaining plan にぎこちない】

Forcing myself to treat you as usual only makes me seem awkward.

【あなたを说してくれた他女のことまで】

[Including the girl you introduced me to]

[I am close to the opposite sex and I am jealous of the opposite sex and I am stupid]

You must be terrified that I'm jealous of any member of the opposite sex who gets close to you.

These aren't lyrics... they're clearly a declaration of love shouted through a megaphone in the street!

Kazama rubbed his temples and continued watching anxiously.

【人mixみの中そうあなたを探していた】

Even amidst the chaotic crowd, I keep searching for you.

【Initial めから分かってたいつの日にか好きになる】

I knew from the very beginning that one day I would fall in love with you.

【あなたと目が合った时本为は为义してた】

The moment our eyes met, I had an unmistakable premonition.

[First time is divided into special parts]

I knew from the very beginning that you were special.

【爱とは与えられるものdeterminationしてえない】

Love falls from the sky, and no one can resist it.

[Emotions are suppressed and the breath is bitter and painful]

Even if you suppress your emotions so hard you can't breathe.

【こんなに好きなのに言葉にしたら出えそうで】

【I clearly like you so much, but why do you seem to disappear when you transform into words? ⑵⊙Wo'er x Yi IfII Ball Dad 侕

Having patiently read to the end, Kazama closed the lyric book with a solemn expression.

Chu Hua cleverly avoided mentioning the object of her affections in the lyrics. Some might think she still harbors feelings for her childhood sweetheart, Toyokawa Shoko, while others might draw their own conclusions and indulge in endless speculation.

If someone didn't know these were lyrics, they would probably think that Chu Hua was preparing to establish some kind of support religious organization, and that she herself was the sole leader.

Most importantly, this fervor was mixed with a ridiculously earnestness that prevented Kazama from truly laughing; he could only want to cover his face while secretly feeling intimidated.

This guy is seriously writing this kind of thing...

Chapter Seventy-Three: Chu Hua, the Leader of the Xiao Cult, Reports for Duty

Kazama gently closed the lyric book, his expression somewhat complicated.

He knew that Chu Hua was the kind of girl who, once she became emotionally attached to someone, would give them everything without reservation. But to be able to pour so much girlish sentiment into her lyrics and to do it so vividly, she must have put in a lot of effort.

"How is it? I'm actually quite confident in my work... but I still need to show it to Xiaojun before I can feel at ease."

He looked up and saw Chu Hua smiling at him.

Her eyes gleamed with confidence and a certain cautious anticipation, and her smile was so bright it could almost dispel all shadows—yet it was so dazzling that even Kazama felt somewhat mesmerized.

"The lyrics are simple yet full of emotion, and the word choice and sentence structure are very touching... I think if paired with the right melody, it would definitely be a song that can move the audience."

Kazama honestly spoke his mind, but there was one thing he still found somewhat perplexing—

Isn't it a bit too heavy and bitter to explicitly express feelings for a specific person in the lyrics?

"If that's really the case, that would be great... My lyrics aren't written for myself. If I had to say, I'm just a puppet singing."

Chu Hua was visibly relieved to receive affirmation from the person in front of her.

"The only god who saved me from the shadows of darkness... I could write ten more lyrics like this without hesitation."

Her voice was light and cheerful, but it paused for a half-beat at the end, as if she was deliberately suppressing some kind of unconscious piety that was overflowing from her heart.

It was the almost fanatical devotion of a cultist to the god they worship.

Filled with possessiveness and a sense of inferiority, yet believing that holding such thoughts makes one feel filthy and disgusting, that's why she wrote such twisted, resentful, yet self-torturing lyrics.

Feeling as if he were flipping through a lyric book rather than a fanatical guide for atheists, Kazama looked away with lingering unease.

He had previously ignored Li Xi's statement that "Sangokuchi has feelings for you that she cannot reciprocate," but now he realizes that Li Xi's concerns and insights were actually well-intentioned advice.

Mitsumi Hatsuka would only harbor such deep feelings for two people in this world; the protagonist's bitterness in this song is directed towards only one other person besides Toyokawa Shoko—

Kazama took a sip of the black tea on the table to calm his nerves.

If the girl who will become his aunt in the future really wrote these lyrics for him, even if he were to return to the past, he probably wouldn't dare to see the Hatsune Miku aunt who raised him with such harmony.

"I... cough, I will help you compose a piece of music that matches these lyrics."

"Hehe, it's okay even if you don't put in that much effort. I'm already very happy that Xiaojun is willing to spend time creating lyrics like this."

Chu Hua lowered her head, like a student excited by a teacher's praise, gently touching her fingertips together, her lips revealing an undisguised joy and delight.

"What kind of talk is this? Since you poured your heart and soul into writing this, I have no reason to treat it carelessly."

"Hmm... I know."

A young girl's heart is like glass, bright and dazzling, yet fragile and easily broken.

The sincerity hidden in those words was like a series of fine rivers, pouring out all her gentleness and persistence—she never actually hoped to get understanding or a response from others, not even Xiao.

The fact that he was willing to taint such a tainted emotion with such a beautiful color was enough for Chu Hua to cherish this experience in her heart for a lifetime.

But seeing Chu Hua's secretly pleased expression, Kazama couldn't feel happy at all.

Because he knows Mitsukasa Mikami, the aunt, so well, he was able to fully anticipate the motivation behind Mitsukasa Mikami, the young girl, writing these lyrics.

These are not simple creations, but a silent entrustment—or perhaps a subconscious dependence.

She had become an irreplaceable and special presence in Hatsuka's heart, even surpassing the status of Toyokawa Shoko in her heart. Akatsuka should have been happy.

But the thought that the girl who would become his aunt had a completely different kind of obsession with him than familial affection made Kazama feel a chill run down his spine.

The silence between the two became thin and tense. Kazama lowered his head and pretended to flip through the lyrics again, but his gaze wandered involuntarily.

"Then I'll take these lyrics home with me?"

Unable to bear the unacceptable truth behind this speculation, Kazama wanted to find a suitable excuse to make a quick getaway.

"Hmm, take your time, Xiaojun. I... I hope you like these lyrics."

Chu Hua didn't try to stop him. She was just a little shy but brave enough to use the lyrics to convey her true feelings to him.

After waving goodbye to the blonde girl, Kazama walked in the opposite direction from her way home, finally feeling relieved at the busy corner.

"call……"

He looked down at the lyric book he was holding, which contained the heartfelt sincerity of Misaka Hatsuka from her teenage years.

Isn't this development a bit worrying?

Having traveled to this time and space, even if he couldn't restore his kinship with the aunts from the past, he could at least be friends with them and do his part to help them move towards a better future—that was all he planned to do.

Chu Hua's intense yet passionate feelings were completely unplanned.

Could it be that his way of expressing friendship and closeness went too far, causing some misunderstanding in her? Or perhaps he simply didn't consider the possibility that Chu Hua might develop deep feelings for him when he was getting closer to her?

Forget it, it's pointless to trace things back to the source now.

Even though Chu Hua's feelings for him weren't familial or platonic, she didn't bring them out into the open to demand an answer from Xiao. Instead, she kept them hidden in the shadows, like a shadow following her—in this respect, she was no different from the Aunt Hatsune in her memory.

"ha………"

Now that things have come to this, doing the right thing first is the most important thing.

He examined the lyrics in the lyric book with a slight headache, the words left after being scribbled and revised with ballpoint pen, and began to think about what kind of melody would be used to tell Chu Hua's heart in a captivating way.

He didn't intend to rely on Lixi to help him get out of the quagmire of heavy emotions. After all, this was a matter between him and Chuhua, and he had no right to leave it to others to decide.

—However, on the other hand, a storm he had not anticipated was brewing around Lixi.

Chapter 74 A Wisdom That Shocks the World: Su Shi Jiang, Rising Up to Catch Up!

Nagasaki Motoyo recently felt that something was off about Shiina Tatsuki.

Normally, she would only suspect that her frequent visits to RiNG's beverage shop were affecting Lixi's part-time job, since Lixi had complained more than once that Su Shi shouldn't show up at her workplace so often just because she was curious about her.

However, it's clear that Shiina Tatsuki isn't troubled by this matter lately.

In the rehearsal room, the sounds of drums and guitars mingled together, making the small space feel somewhat stuffy.

Su Shi lowered her head and counted silently to the rhythm, but occasionally glanced up at the direction of the drum set. Li Xi's wrist fell more heavily than usual; the movement wasn't wrong, but it lacked a bit of crispness and cleanliness.

That usually pure power seemed to be slowed down for a moment by something unseen.

"Wait a moment--"

The rehearsal was going smoothly until Ai-yin suddenly raised her hand, breaking the flow of the music.

She put down her guitar and looked at the drummer's position with a somewhat worried yet curious gaze.

"Rikki, are you a little out of sync with your pace today?"

Upon hearing this, Takamatsu Akari and Nagasaki Motoyo, who were previously focused on their respective tasks, both turned their gazes towards Ritsuki. Even the wildcat girl, who usually didn't care about her partners' condition and only cared about playing her own game, put down her guitar.

Feeling everyone's gaze upon her, Lixi stopped what she was doing, her breathing slightly rapid. The drumstick twirled between her fingertips, but failed to convey her usual composure.

"……Have it?"

She deliberately softened her tone, as if it were just an insignificant detail.

"Can you really hear where I played it wrong?"

“Hmm… The drum beat should have started two beats into the chorus, right? But Rikki, you were half a beat late.”