Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Su Shi narrowed her eyes, finally deciphering another layer of meaning from her words.

"Actually... you're just afraid of Xiao Mu, aren't you?"

Then, Nagasaki Motoyo incisively revealed the truth.

Chapter Eight: Chu Hua's Ingenious Plan to Secure the World!

"You're just afraid that if that guy tells Xiao Mu everything, your position in his heart will be affected... so you want to postpone the time for the mother and son to recognize each other as long as possible."

In the upscale apartment of the Sue family in Nagasaki, the long-haired brown girl crossed her arms in front of her and made this bold yet realistic guess to Hatsuka with an unwavering tone.

"Am I right, Chu Hua?"

Chu Hua, who seems as cunning and enigmatic as a fox, is actually quite easy to understand at times.

After all, she might be seen as a fox by others, but when it comes to Kazama, she suddenly becomes like a well-behaved and obedient puppy, and her secrets are instantly exposed.

"...Aren't you the same way, Su Shi?"

Chu Hua did not directly address Su Shi's question.

"I thought you stopped me to ask something, but it turns out it was just such a simple question."

She placed her hands behind her back, her eyes darting around as she surveyed everything in the room. Although her gaze never lingered on Su Shi, a faint smile played on her lips.

"Actually, we have far more in common than you can imagine."

"...Is that so? I don't think so."

Noticing that Chu Hua didn't seem to answer her question directly, Su Shi let out a soft snort.

"At least I wouldn't suggest that Xiaojun temporarily refrain from revealing the truth of the matter out of fear that her position would be replaced by someone else."

"So this is how Su Shi sees me... I'm a little sad."

"Hmph, if it were someone else, you might have actually managed to fool everyone. But we do have some similarities, Chu Hua. Sometimes I can still sense what you're thinking."

"...Perhaps that's true, but Su Shi doesn't understand me as well as she thinks—at least not as well as Xiao Jun."

Chu Hua smiled and shook her head. It seemed that no matter how Su Shi made sarcastic or insinuating remarks, she had never wavered in her beliefs.

"So, I don't want anyone else to understand him better than I do. Is that... a mistake?"

Finally, Mikasa Chika revealed her true thoughts in a calm tone.

"As expected, in the end, you're still afraid that Xiao Mu will take your place... But what's there to worry about?"

Su Shi shook her head, somewhat puzzled.

"Hasn't Xiaojun already made his stance clear? He won't treat us as the people from his memories anymore. Whether we're called Mother or Aunt, we just look similar to people he knows—given that our life experiences aren't exactly the same, he won't really treat Xiaomu as his mother, right?"

"Haven't you realized yet? This is exactly what I was worried about, Su Shi."

Chu Hua finally suppressed her usual gentle expression, and her delicate face suddenly became serious and earnest like never before—which even made her aura somewhat cold.

This is a scene that Nagasaki Motoyo rarely sees.

"It is precisely because Xiaojun does not completely regard Xiaomu as the mother who raised her that I have concerns."

"………interesting."

Su Shi belatedly realized what Chu Hua intended, and the expression on his face became much more interesting.

"You just think that even if Xiaojun and Xiaomu can't truly return to a mother-son relationship, they will still regard each other as the most important person, right?"

Chu Hua didn't speak again, but her silence only confirmed Su Shi's guess.

"That's a bit of worrying unnecessarily, Chuhua. Xiaojun himself has said that he won't confuse his feelings for us with his feelings for the elders who raised him—"

"If emotions could be controlled so easily by reason, I suppose everyone would live a less helpless life."

"Well………"

Chu Hua's sudden philosophical remarks caught Su Shi completely off guard.

"But, but no matter what... your worries are still a bit unnecessary, aren't they? Even if Xiaojun might treat Xiaomu as a special friend, that special relationship represents a son's feelings for his mother—it's unlikely that such feelings would deteriorate into the kind of situation you're worried about, right?"

Su Shi twitched the corners of her mouth and continued to argue her point of view. Compared to her, Chu Hua, with her calm and indifferent expression, was so taciturn that she was almost speechless.

"Perhaps Xiaojun is as you described, Su Shi."

She turned her head away and only replied with this ambiguous remark.

However, the next second, Misaka Chuka changed the subject.

"But Xiao Mu probably wouldn't think that way."

"……Eh?"

This time, Su Shi was stunned, waiting blankly for Chu Hua's explanation.

"Even if Xiaojun treats Xiaomu as a family member who raised her, Xiaomu doesn't have any corresponding memories, right? She doesn't even have a memory suddenly popping into her brain like you, Sushi."

"This... I don't know..."

Su Shi was somewhat indecisive.

If I had to put it into words, Metis's personality suddenly flooded into Mu's mind... or perhaps she covered up the abnormal phenomena that should have appeared in Mu's body?

“Since she doesn’t have the corresponding memories, Xiao Mu won’t treat Xiao Jun as a real family member.”

Chu Hua ignored Su Shi's brainstorming and continued to explain her logic methodically.

"This also means that... her subconscious dependence on and closeness to Xiaojun could very well be interpreted by her in the kind of feelings we don't want to foresee."

"In that case, shouldn't we tell Xiaomu about this to fundamentally prevent her from having any other wild thoughts?"

Su Shi was particularly puzzled and asked aloud, but Chu Hua simply shook her head calmly.

"As I just said, as long as Xiao Mu doesn't spontaneously recall things about Xiao Jun like you did in Su Shi... then she won't truly see Xiao Jun as a family member in the 'untouchable' zone. Even if we talk to her, it will be in vain. Although she won't refute us, she won't believe us either, since there's no evidence to back it up."

"...Would it be better to keep it a secret all along?"

Su Shi was still somewhat unwilling, feeling that dealing with the relationship between Xiao Mu and Xiao in this way was a bit too hasty.

"Of course it's not a better choice."

At this opportune moment, Chu Hua stepped forward and offered guidance to Su Shi, who was lost in confusion.

"Therefore, we still need to ask Miss Metis for a favor."

Chapter Nine: This Time It's Truly Astounding Wisdom

"Therefore, we still need to ask Miss Metis for a favor."

Mikami Hatsukata spoke with absolute certainty, uttering this instruction at the home of Nagasaki Soseki.

"Of course, it's okay if Su Shi thinks differently from me."

After leaving behind this intriguing remark, she nodded to Su Shi and left the Nagasaki family—it seemed that Hatsuka did not intend to make things clear.

That's why Nagasaki Motoyo didn't quite understand.

"Metis...can that guy be of any help?"

After seeing Chu Hua off, Su Shi, who was alone at home, brewed herself a pot of black tea with a worried expression. As she sat at the table, she savored the tea and began to ponder the words Chu Hua had left behind.

The other personality that grew up in her body with Xiao Mu was a completely unruly and capricious demon child compared to the taciturn Mu.

Su Shi didn't think she was of any use. In fact, this child almost tricked her when she pushed Mu out of the group.

"Isn't Xiao Mu the real mother of Xiao Jun? Hmm, although I'm not entirely sure if that child will even exist in the future... Ah."

As the refreshing taste of black tea filled her mouth, Su Shi also had a sudden flash of inspiration.

Does Chu Hua mean... that he wants Metis to come back and take over Xiao Mu's consciousness again, so that Mu and Xiao won't be able to reunite for the time being?

The moment the idea took shape in her mind, Su Shi frowned slightly.

"What a selfish guy..."

Of course, if Chu Hua were still there, she definitely wouldn't have said that. After all, if this guy hadn't suddenly come and interrupted her and Kazama's private time, Su Shi would definitely have turned Akatsuki's butt into a performance that only she could see—she'd always been a little bothered by having an audience.

In any case, perhaps that guy's worries weren't entirely unfounded.

“That’s true… Even if Xiaojun doesn’t think of Xiaomu in that way, Xiaomu doesn’t have many boundaries when she’s with him.”

The girl named Wakaba Mutsumi is the kind of person who, if she likes someone, will unconditionally lean towards and depend on him, even if it crosses the boundaries of a relationship and becomes something else entirely.

She wouldn't toss and turn all night, unable to sleep, constantly thinking about things like "Where are the boundaries as friends?", "Where are the boundaries as companions?", or "Will what I'm doing bother him?" In Su Shi's mind, these were things that belonged to Li Xi.

If Metis could temporarily replace her for a while, perhaps Chu Hua wouldn't constantly feel the crisis of "someone trying to take Xiao Jun away."

Even though she hasn't started dating Kazama yet, this guy has already become suspicious and treats everyone as a potential rival, even Mutsu, who is the least likely to be a love rival, is seen as a thorn in Hatsuka's side.

"Hmm... okay, so it turns out that Chu Hua is such an easily insecure person."

Thinking of the stories of some Japanese girls in real life who would blow things out of proportion and cause unease over the slightest mistake by others, Su Shi curled her lip, unaware that she had no right to tease Chu Hua like that.

After all, wasn't she also treating Chu Hua as a potential rival?

"Forget it, let that guy focus on Mumtaz and Metis. Although I think it's just meddling for nothing."

Thinking of this, Su Shi calmly took another sip of warm black tea.

Nagasaki Motoyo sorted out the current situation.

Currently, not many people know the secret of Kazama Akira.

Ryuna, a wildcat girl who's never serious; Shiina Ritsuki, who's like a silent gourd, never saying a word and only getting caught up in her own internal struggles; then there's the suspicious and paranoid Hatsuka; and the clever and quick-witted Motoyo Nagasaki, who guessed the whole story.

Chu Hua, who is most likely to make people feel threatened, seems to care more about Xiao Mu, who is completely unaware of all this. As a result, neither Li Xi nor Le Nai among the remaining people are her match.

Nagasaki Motoyo leisurely sipped her black tea, her movements as elegant and composed as if she were enjoying an afternoon tea.

Well, it's still completely under control.

"Let Chu Hua busy herself with going against Xiao Mu."

She needs to figure out how to overtake everyone else and get Kazama into her fold as soon as possible.

As the saying goes, it's easier for a man to pursue a woman than for a woman to pursue a man.

Su Shi believed that as long as she was proactive enough and launched the right attack at the right time, she would definitely make Kazama gradually let go of his "auntie" filter and develop some extra feelings for her.

For example, show him meticulous care in daily life, making sure only he sees it; always find excuses to ask him out shopping alone; and then, when you sit down to rest together, casually move closer to him to create misunderstandings that could easily lead to overthinking.

Any innocent young boy would surely find it hard to resist such an attack.

Su Shi, who was already having some fantasies, coughed lightly to prevent the faint blush on her face from spreading further.

He fantasized again, imagining that Xiaojun would easily crumble under his prompting, simply falling head over heels for him and becoming oblivious to Chuhua and the other people's advances.

However, mere fantasy is certainly useless—Nagasaki Motoyo patted her cheeks to bring herself back to reality.

Calm down, don't get too caught up in the joy of victory so quickly. It's still far from over.

Su Shi quickly calmed down and began to think about how to find the right opportunity to approach and seize the initiative among this group of people.

She quietly pondered the relationships around Kazama, and then suddenly remembered a girl who existed outside the "rules".

"Ah... I suddenly remembered, it seems that one of them is a rather special person."

As her thoughts wandered, a sudden figure appeared in her mind.

Anzu Hachimi.

The girl who frequently appeared at performances as his friend before she became acquainted with Kazama.

Is she one of the future aunties? Or... is she really just a "friend"?

As Su Shi continued to think along these lines, she suddenly remembered a series of strange things.

Memories from the future flashed through my mind because I discovered the photos in Anna Hanami's bag.

Rakuna suddenly recalls things from the future because she found that mysterious future video on Anina's phone.

"........."

Su Shi put down her teacup and looked thoughtfully out the floor-to-ceiling window.