Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Is this guy just naturally suspicious or simple-minded? Professor Metis spent the whole night worrying about this kind of thing.

"Then, why don't Metis accept the dawn with me too?"

Mu's calm and indifferent reply contrasted sharply with Metis's hysterical and frantic state.

"Anyway, your feelings for Xiao are probably the same as mine. After all, we're the same person."

　}Yin Lin q Qi 8 Shi 7 I & V Wu Lu Jun, & Yang [Hmm... if you put it that way, it does seem true...]

"Well, besides, Xiao and I aren't friends."

【Huh? So Xiaomu wasn't planning on letting Xiao be your best friend?】

The person never said they wanted a lasting friendship with Kazama; it was clearly Metis who was overthinking things.

"Yes, Metis, you also told me to think about it carefully yesterday. I've thought about it."

The unflappable Mu turned over in bed, while Metis, in the realm of consciousness, anxiously and with a face full of doubt, pressed her for the result of her thoughts.

And then what? And then what?

"Then, I don't want to be friends with Xiao."

[Phew, that's great—wait a minute, if we're not friends... what are you going to do with Mumu?]

"do not know."

Hey, keep thinking about it!

"I'm so tired, I don't want to think about it anymore. Let's wait for Xiao to come."

Although they are two completely different personalities, they can still agree on certain things.

Mu Tired Yi Ling Yi Qi (-4) 25 Jiu~; Si Jiu Ba turned over, and Metis, no matter how curious he was, had no choice but to give up.

[So, when Xiao arrives later... should Mu confront him about Chu Hua's lyrics?]

However, the energetic woman soon raised a new question.

Why are you making a fuss about it?

[Because that was] a blatant provocation! Mu, didn't you see that?!

Ms. Metis got excited again. Even though she could only talk to Mutual across the television screen in her consciousness space, her tone was still indignant as if it were happening to her.

[Mu, didn't you read those lyrics carefully? Even I noticed! Chu Hua wants to possess Xiao, and he's resentful and disgusted by every girl who gets close to him—even Mu, I bet she's no exception! We were the ones who came first!]

After speaking with absolute certainty, Metis paused for a moment, then became even more unrestrained and offered Mu his further conjectures.

[Maybe Chu Hua deliberately asked Xiao to deliver this lyric book, which represents her feelings, to us! After all, only by doing so can she know Xiao Mu's attitude!]

"So that's what Chu Hua was thinking."

The light in the eyes of the girl with light green hair flickered slightly. Although Mu was still lying lazily in bed, she kept thinking about the possibility proposed by Metis.

[That's why I said it, it's a provocation! She definitely thinks she's Akatsuki's best friend, and everyone else is no match for her!]

Metis proudly finished the reasoning, and even proudly puffed out his chest with his hands in front of him.

Mikasa Hatsuka must have wanted to monopolize Akatsuki's position as her best friend, which is why she proactively offered herself up.

[But it's okay, I'm here. I'll definitely help Mu Jue defeat Chu Hua!]

"It's okay if you don't help me."

No, no, things that concern Mulan are my things!

"If that's what you're going to say, Metis... if you've ever done anything to offend Akatsuki, you should apologize for it."

【Eh—I, I didn't do anything to wrong Xiao…】

"really?"

[Really! If you don't believe me, go ask him yourself... He's definitely not lying to Xiaomu.]

Metis chuckled and ended the conversation, while Mu stretched calmly, got up and quickly washed up.

With about an hour left before their agreed meeting time with Xiao, Mu unusually took the initiative to clean the house.

Even though she wasn't very good at housework, she always managed to tidy up her personal belongings and arrange the living room in a way that would allow guests to sit down.

She didn't have to do this, but a voice in her heart kept reminding her to make the boy feel at home when he entered the house—as if it were an unspoken agreement ingrained in her blood.

Mu was certain that the voice did not come from Metis.

Speaking of which, if Akatsuki knew that Hatsuka's lyrics were written for him... what kind of expression would he have?

When Metis's voice appeared in his mind again at an inopportune time, Mu was still engrossed in tidying up the house.

"It's okay, it's not important."

Really?! What if they both want to be each other's best friends?!

Even now, Metis still thinks it's just a friendly game, how adorable.

"I will make sure I'm right about what I think. Otherwise, Xiao is free to think and do whatever she wants."

After awkwardly placing the tablecloth on the table, Mu let out a long sigh of relief.

"I hope he is free."

This was the first time she had uttered such seemingly profound words, which made even the usually boisterous Metis instinctively fall silent.

However, the notification sound quickly broke the brief silence.

"...?"

Mu picked up his phone with some confusion, and saw a message from Xiangzi.

Um, I know this might be presumptuous... May I come to Mu's house to see you today?

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Invisible Hand of the Mastermind, Chu Hua

[Xiangzi is coming to our house...? What is she planning this time?]

When Ye Mu received the text message from Toyokawa Shoko, the first person to offer advice was Metis, who was trapped in the consciousness space and unable to move.

[I haven't forgotten, when Xiao Mu hid away and I took over her body, Xiangzi barely visited her at all.]

Metis, in her exquisite bedroom within the realm of consciousness, hummed softly while holding a doll. She had many opinions about Xiao Mu's childhood sweetheart, Ke Yue.

[Xiangzi is such a selfish person! Let's ignore her, okay? Let's just play with Xiao, Xiaomu!]

“Metis…”

Mu frowned. No matter how distant her relationship with Xiangzi had become, she still didn't want to hear anyone speak ill of Xiangzi—especially since this person was Metis, who had no right to accuse others of being self-centered.

"Xiang wants to see me, there must be something important about it."

Faced with Metis's reminder and advice, Mu dismissively typed a brief "yes" and an "OK" emoji.

No matter what, they were childhood sweethearts who had accompanied each other through difficult times, so there's no reason for them to drift apart like this.

【Xiao Mu—! Are you really going to say yes? What about Xiao?】

"It's just discussing lyrics with Xiao, there's no need to avoid suspicion."

What if the two of them happen to bump into each other?

"Hmm...good question."

Mu pondered for a moment, and finally nodded as if he had thought of a good idea.

About two hours later, at the Wakaba family home.

In this upscale apartment, two teenagers sat at opposite ends of a large sofa. Although they were only a few dozen centimeters apart, they seemed as close yet worlds apart as the North and South Poles of the Earth.

They both stared straight ahead without looking to the side, but their peripheral vision would always linger on each other, giving each other a quick glance.

"Ha... If Mu hadn't messaged me beforehand, I really wouldn't have expected Xiangzi to be so concerned about the progress of our new song's creation—to the point of personally supervising it."

Kazama was the first to speak out, and unusually, he didn't show his signature gentle smile. Instead, he immediately probed Xiangzi's intentions with an almost sarcastic tone.

"I originally thought that Xiangzi, as the team leader, wouldn't care about such trivial matters as creation, and that there must be more important things waiting for you to handle. It's kind of you to trouble yourself with such a small matter. I and Mu will definitely do our best to complete our duties."

Just an hour ago, Kazama was so happy to be invited to Mutsu's house that he was almost carried away with joy. Unfortunately, his relaxed and happy mood was dampened when he received Mutsu's advance notice that "Sho will also be coming."

"Hmph... Kazama-kun still likes to speak with a barb, as always, but it's okay, I won't hold it against you. You're right, as the captain of Ave Mujica, I do have more important things to deal with—that is, to strictly control the quality of the team's work."

Xiangzi, not to be outdone, pursed his lips in retort. The two didn't look at each other often, but every moment felt like a spark igniting a firestorm.

"You two are not allowed to fight."

However, Mu was completely unaware of this.

She reluctantly played the role of the head of the household, clumsily but earnestly serving Xiangzi and Kazama two cups of warm water, seemingly oblivious to the undercurrents between them, and explicitly forbidding them from continuing to bicker.

"Today is a rare occasion. I'm going to get some snacks."

Mutsu took small, quick steps and turned toward the kitchen, but just as she turned her back to Kazama and Shoko, who disliked each other, Metis's voice rang in her mind again.

[Absolutely—Xiangzi's sudden visit is definitely suspicious! Don't take it lightly, Xiao Mu!!]

"I know, I just don't care."

Mu dismissively rummaged through the cupboard and found the puffed snacks she had specially ordered to entertain guests, completely ignoring Metis's heartfelt advice.

And indeed, just as Teacher Da Mo had suspected, she had guessed the truth correctly—

Toyokawa Shoko's sudden visit was indeed due to ulterior motives.

But it wasn't just her who had ulterior motives.

Sitting on the sofa, seemingly calm and indifferent to the boy beside her, Toyokawa Shoko recalled what had happened yesterday and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Around this time yesterday, during a break when Xiangzi and Chuhua were alone together, they both learned that Xiaohemu was going to meet at his home the next day.

"What's going on... Mu usually doesn't bring people home casually, especially not a female friend he's only known for a short time..."

Shoko Toyokawa was thrown into a panic; when it came to matters of Mutsu, she couldn't maintain her usual composure and ease.

Chu Hua was no better off upon hearing the news, but she was facing a different kind of breakdown.

"If the two of them are alone in a room... no, that won't do..."

"Right! Chu Hua, you also think this won't work, right? We have to do something to stop it!"

"Ah, Xiao Xiang—do you have an idea yet?"

"Besides trying to separate Kazama-kun from Mutsuki, you don't have any other ideas, do you, Hatsuka, have any better ones?"

"Well, I'm just worried that such a tough approach might offend them... How about this?"

Chu Hua quickly came up with a solution due to the special emergency situation.

"Xiao Xiang can use work as an excuse to bother Xiao Mu. Anyway, the two of them must have gotten together to discuss creative matters. This excuse can be a legitimate reason for you to join in."

This is also why Toyokawa Shoko came to visit.

"As for me, it would be a bit too deliberate for me to go with you, Xiao Xiang... If everything goes smoothly, Xiao Xiang, you should be able to judge the situation yourself. If it's really difficult to handle, I can find an excuse to come and find you then. How about that?"

This time, Misaka Chuka didn't pretend to be weak to deceive others; instead, she fully displayed her intelligence without any concealment.

Xiangzi adopted her suggestion, and the two hit it off immediately, thus forming a temporary small team where Xiangzi was in the open while Hua was in the shadows.

Xiangzi had no idea that he might just be a pawn pushed out by Chuhua, who was unable to show herself, to test others. Instead, he secretly rejoiced that the clever and quick-witted Chuhua was a trustworthy partner.

Next, she turned her gaze to Kazama, who was sitting on her left, yet seemed like a distant galaxy.

Toyokawa Shoko firmly believes that there must be some unspeakable secret between Kazama Akatsuki and Wakaba Mutsu.

Perhaps today is the destined day to reveal the answer.

Chapter Twenty-Five: Mutual Affection Has Become Strange!

There has always been a certain type of person in teen romantic comedies.

They are at the very center of an emotional turmoil, completely unaware of how their feelings will lead this already unfair competition.

For example, there's Wakaba Mutsumi, who's in the kitchen fiddling with the snacks she bought beforehand.