Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

"...Even if I told Su Shi directly to her face that that guy was a time traveler and also our future nephew, you would never believe it."

"That's true. Rather, I was fully prepared before accepting this absurd claim."

"So, what's your choice next?"

Standing on the street in the early autumn night, Li Xi nervously clenched the hand he had in his pocket.

Selfishly, she naturally hoped that Su Shi would choose the path that kept his secret from interfering with their lives. That way, no new companions would ever appear by his side, and she would always be his most special companion—

but.

"...Now that things have come to this point, it would be really unreasonable for me not to sit down and have a proper talk with my future nephew."

On the other end of the phone, Su Shi's helpless laughter brought Li Xi's delusions back to reality.

"……snort."

Li Xi chuckled, but it seemed he was only mocking his own wishful thinking.

"I knew you would make this choice."

"Oh dear, does Taki-chan prefer that I pretend to know nothing, so that she can legitimately monopolize Akatsuki?"

"Don't talk nonsense. This kind of thing is simply impossible."

"Hmm... Is it because there are others who also know this absurd truth, and actually believe it to be true?"

Su Shi smiled faintly, seemingly oblivious to the slight unease in Li Xi's forced arguments, and instead focused her attention on a certain girl outside the conversation.

"—Hatsuka Sangoku.

She abruptly mentioned this name.

"Is she an insider in this secret?"

Lixi was a little puzzled as to why she would suddenly mention another girl at this juncture, but Su Shi's subsequent explanation made everything clear to her.

"Although their identity is that of a 'future auntie'... it's clear that some people are not content with just being 'aunties'."

Su Shi's intriguing words reminded Li Xi of the lyric book that contained the heavy emotions of a certain girl.

"If Chu Hua uses Auntie's name to do something inappropriate to Xiao Jun... then things will be very bad. You understand what I mean, right, Taki-chan?"

Realizing where Su Shi's attention was focused, Li Xi gasped.

Sankaku Hatsuka seems to have been marked by Su Shi as her number one rival.

Chapter 86 The Correct Way to Use Amazing Wisdom

The genius boy who suddenly appeared in my life couldn't possibly be my nephew from the future.

Well, at first glance, this might sound like the title of a light novel, but it perfectly encapsulates Nagasaki Motoyo's feelings these past two days.

To say she didn't question or deny it would be a lie. But each time she doubted or sought verification, she found supporting evidence from herself or others.

In this way, she could only helplessly accept reality.

That makes sense.

The boy, who addressed himself and Lixi as "Auntie" from the moment they met, only showed his most obedient and sensible side to Mu. His loyalty was no less than that of any of Mu's fans. No matter how you looked at it, he had a special feeling for Mu.

If this is a son's deep love for his mother, then no matter how unconventional or unbelievable it may seem, Nagasaki Motoyo can convince herself to accept such an absurd reality.

And yet, I... had actually been wary of my nephew who was completely devoted to his aunts, and even did many things to him that could be described as excessive.

If I could travel back in time like Xiao, Su Shi would definitely find my former self and give her a good beating.

Because of her own sense of entitlement, the young man's undisguised favoritism led him to entrust his love to the wrong person. Even in the middle of the night, Nagasaki Motoyo would still toss and turn in bed, unable to sleep—to the point that she even had the thought of suffocating herself with a pillow.

She used to think she had only let down a friendly boy, but now she finally realized that she had also failed her nephew, who had always trusted her and shown her unconditional favoritism.

An apology is required.

I need to apologize properly again and tell Xiao that I already know everything.

But if Misaka Chuka is also aware of this secret, she would probably act as if nothing happened and sabotage Su Shi's plans.

"If Hatsuka really knows everything, but uses the name of family to do something inappropriate to Akatsuki, then the situation will be very bad. You understand what I mean, right, Taki-chan?"

After sitting up abruptly in bed, Su Shi tried her best to make her voice sound gentle and trustworthy.

"……what?"

However, Li Xi on the other end of the phone seemed to be a bit slow to react.

"What do you mean? I think even if she has that thought, she might not dare to put it into action directly..."

"Then you really don't understand her at all, Taki-chan. Although Hatsuka seems poised, polite, and well-mannered, she completely abandons all formalities in certain matters. I know that all too well."

"What... she's talking like she's the same kind of person as Su Shi."

"Yes, in a certain respect, that's certainly a fair way to understand it."

"Wow, that's really scary. To be able to compete with you, Su Shi, on equal footing..."

"Taki-chan, our focus right now should be on preventing Xiaojun from being taken advantage of by people with ulterior motives—right?"

Su Shi emphasized his position with a forced smile.

"Now that I know the secret you've been keeping, I'm not going to sit idly by and wait to die like Taki-chan."

"Who responded passively? I... I just felt..."

"I just think we should let things take their natural course, right? It's okay, I didn't mean to criticize or belittle your approach."

Noticing that Lixi's voice sounded a little evasive, Su Shi smiled slightly with pleasure.

"How about this? Taki-chan and I are teammates and comrades, so let's protect Xiaojun together in this matter."

"Ha...so you're going to have two girls protect that guy?"

"All I can say is that, based on our previous interactions, Hatsuka is a girl who is even more serious, sensitive, and perhaps even neurotic than I am. Taki-chan, are you really comfortable leaving her with Akatsuki without keeping a close eye on her?"

"...You on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; me on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Weekends will depend on the situation. And I meant keeping an eye on Triangle Classmate. What do you think, Su Shi?"

"Haha~tak栮溜（:二）倭医彡邻疤尔i酱 is a textbook example of saying one thing and meaning another."

"Urusai... Besides, even if you didn't say that, I'd still be doing it anyway."

Lixi sounded a little listless on the other end of the phone, but she still tactfully expressed her agreement.

In conclusion, the alliance between the two has been successfully established.

After hanging up the call with Riki, a subtle idea popped into Nagasaki Motoyo's mind.

"It seems that... we can only strike before Chu Hua realizes what's happening."

Lying on the bed, Su Shi pressed the lock screen button on her phone, silently closed her eyes, and placed it against her chest.

In her heart, a certain plan had quietly taken shape.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

(3) ({Four〒)〗 Another? Strange II⑵@Company VIII. The next day.

Although yesterday was a special day for Riki and Suze, it was just another ordinary early autumn holiday for Kazama.

He had already worked overtime to complete the arrangement demo for the lyrics written by Chu Hua last night after Li Xi left, and sent it to Chu Hua's email.

After all, coffee and nighttime are his primary sources of energy, and besides, it allows him to sleep soundly until he naturally wakes up without any worries.

But today he was woken up by a noisy cell phone ringing.

"Hmm...hello?"

Xiao, who was sleeping soundly in bed, subconsciously picked up her phone in a half-awake state and pressed the call button, asking in a daze who the caller was.

"Hello...hello? Good morning, Xiaojun."

Somewhat surprisingly, he found that gentle, sweet voice very familiar.

"Su Shi...? What's the matter so early...? Haha."

Xiao yawned listlessly, curled up on the bed, and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"I'm so sorry to have disturbed your rest, but if it's possible... I'd like to see Xiaojun today. There are some things that just can't be said in person."

Su Shi's voice still sounded gentle and soft, or perhaps it was just because Xiao hadn't fully woken up yet.

"Want to come find you... Okay, give me an address to meet... Haha."

He barely managed to respond to Su Shi in the blurry realm of consciousness, and the girl readily agreed with a smile, as if she were very pleased with the outcome.

"Come visit me! I'll send you the address later. Don't keep me waiting, okay?"

"Okay... phew..."

Kazama had just hung up the phone, still half asleep.

On the other side, Nagasaki Motoyo's face revealed a smile that seemed to confirm her plan.

She put her phone aside and, with a strange smile on her face, began to "set up" at home.

Chapter 87 Ahead lies a world of hell!

By the time Kazama finally woke up from his coma in bed, it was almost 11 a.m.

The days when you don't have to get up early for school or work and can sleep until you naturally wake up are so pleasant. He lazily got out of bed and went to the mirror to do his routine washing up. Finally, in the gap between his brain starting to function again, he remembered the phone call he received that morning.

That phone call came from Su Shi.

She said she hoped Xiao could come to her house to see her today... Based on Kazama's understanding of her, Su Shi must have something very important to say to suddenly call so early in the morning.

Although he didn't think things through when he agreed in a half-awake state, now that he's fully awake, he still feels that he didn't make a mistake.

Hmm, I'll go visit Su Shi Jia after lunch. I'm off today and don't have much to do.

Just as Kazama was leisurely taking out the ingredients he had prepared the night before from the refrigerator, intending to cook a delicious meal for his hungry self, his phone on the table suddenly vibrated.

"Ok?"

Xiao put down what she was doing, walked to the table, and picked up her phone.

Good afternoon, Xiaojun! I hope I've disturbed your lunch. I've received and listened to your demo – I really love the melody! I also tried adding a little bit of melody to Xiaojun's version, hehe… so it feels more like a collaboration between the two of us! ((?(ˊ?ˋ)?)) If possible, I'd like to invite you out for a listen today! Do you have time? ε==(づ′▽`)づ

The girl's text message was exceptionally sincere and hard to refuse—the string of cute emoticons made Kazama want to immediately reply with "Okay, okay, let's meet today."

I'd also love to hear Chuhua's compositions, but unfortunately... I have something else to do today and I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my appointment with Chuhua ::>_< :: How about we make it up another time?

He also imitated Chu Hua and sent a cute-looking emoji, hoping to convey his apology and helplessness.

The expected response did not come immediately, and the message "The other party is typing..." flashed several times above the chat box.

Just as Kazama was wondering if there was something wrong with his phone's network, Hatsuka's reply arrived promptly.

[Oh, I see... That's really unfortunate. Xiaojun, are you busy today too? If I had known, it wouldn't have been a problem if you hadn't rushed to send me the demo last night. You must have stayed up all night, right?]

Chu Hua not only didn't express any dissatisfaction, but was also a little worried that he might not have slept well last night.

Well, this made Kazama feel a little flattered.

No, I was only invited to go out this morning.

Oh, I see... Looks like I was too late and someone else beat me to it.

Then Chu Hua sent a cute laughing emoji while covering her mouth, as if she was just joking and taking her previous words lightly.

【Then I won't keep you any longer, Xiaojun, go ahead and get busy. Even on your day off, remember to take care of yourself, okay?】

【no problem. 】

Although I always felt that Chu Hua seemed to be holding a grudge about something... in any case, her calmness and tolerance allowed the conversation to end in a very peaceful atmosphere.

Kazama smiled and put his phone away, then used the leftover curry pork cutlet rice from last night, along with some fresh ingredients, to make today's lunch.

After a satisfying meal, he changed into his signature black work jacket and sweatpants, his go-to outfit for early autumn outings. He tidied himself in front of the mirror before heading out.

bang.