Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Kazama was feeling very bad, but she wasn't.

Mu Shun followed the voice deep within her heart and made this decision to confirm her feelings. However, when she actually put it into action, the feeling that came to her heart was not the butterflies of a deer stealing a kiss from her sweetheart, nor was it the sudden emergence of ambiguous feelings.

She didn't even feel her heart racing; it was as if such intimate behavior with Xiao was the most natural thing in the world, as if her body and soul had already become accustomed to his presence.

But why is that?

Why does he give off a familiar and reassuring feeling, yet fail to make your heart race?

Ruo Yemu was still puzzled, and Ruo Yemu remained curious.

Since I've already decided to explore my own feelings, I might as well go all the way.

Mu stopped speaking, but silently moved his gaze down from where the boy's amber eyes were.

This time, her target was the boy's lips.

Perhaps, this place can give her the answer she's looking for.

Kazama noticed every subtle change in Mutsumi's expression, and he immediately suspected something ominous was about to happen, triggering an alarm bell in his mind—

Wait, what's going on?

"Um... what was that kiss just now, Mu?"

"Keep quiet for now, Xiao."

Sensing something was amiss, Kazama instinctively adopted a somewhat resistant posture, but because his brain was still in a daze, he hesitated to push away Mutsumi, who was pressing forward without explanation.

He desperately wanted to deny that his hypothesis was just a pipe dream, but as Mutsu's gaze gradually moved downwards and finally settled on the lower half of his face, Kazama's most dreaded guess seemed to have come true.

Seriously? This guy seems to really be after my lips.

Being forcibly kissed by his mother—he wouldn't even dare to dream of such a bizarre turn of events, not even in his nightmares!

No, no, we have to stop this outrageous thing from happening! Should we stay and push Mutsu away at this crucial moment? Will she be hurt? Compared to Mutsu's feelings, a mere verbal exchange isn't that important... No, I need to be firm in my stance!

Just as he was torn between whether to push Xiao Mu away or let her be,

pat.

"?"

The noise outside the bedroom door interrupted Mu's gradual approach to the boy. The two, still in an awkward, retreating posture, turned their heads to look towards the doorway.

There were only two equally stunned girls there, and a cell phone that fell to the wooden floor with a crisp sound.

"What are you two doing?"

The first to speak was Toyokawa Shoko, whose expression was unpleasant and whose voice was dry. Neither Kazama nor Komu was too surprised by her appearance.

What truly made Mutsu raise an eyebrow and Kazama's expression become somewhat subtle was the blonde girl who had inexplicably appeared alongside Shoko.

She removed her black baseball cap, revealing the deathly pallor of her face. The blonde girl's gaze also became vacant and blank, her purple pupils reflecting only the figures of the two people behaving intimately.

Why was Misaka Hatsuka here? Kazama wanted to ask her first, but when he noticed Shoko's evasive gaze, he understood everything.

Damn it, even Xiangzi with his thick eyebrows and big eyes would hire outside help...!

"What are you doing?"

Chu Hua moved her lips, her expression blank as she uttered broken, weak sounds.

"Well, all of this can be explained—"

"I want to know."

Xiao Mu completely ignored the boy she was pinning down trying his best to smooth things over, and answered Chu Hua's question in the most ordinary tone.

It was this frankness and nonchalance that became the fuse that ignited the subsequent out-of-control situation.

"W-Why are you suddenly doing this, Mutsumi? Could it be that Kazama-kun coerced or bribed you—"

"Please, Ms. Toyokawa Shoko, open your eyes wide and take a good look at who is being pinned down."

"What if... what if you used some underhanded methods, Kazama-kun? Like seduction, or..."

"I just want to know in person, is that not allowed, Xiang?"

The already intense argument between the three was about to escalate further, but Mitsumi Hatsuka brought the debate to an abrupt halt with just two simple words.

"……no."

First, there is a seemingly calm and brief denial.

Then, as the girl lowered her head slightly and emphasized principles and boundaries in an almost trembling voice, no one could see the expression on her face.

"That kind of thing... is no good."

"why not?"

Mu didn't understand, and just kept asking questions.

In her view, Chu Hua was just a strange, uninvited guest, and the only reason she was there could be that she had received an invitation from Xiang Zi.

Little did she know that her persistent questioning would become the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"Wait, Chuhua—"

"Because Xiaomu and Xiao are in a relationship where they can't do this kind of thing!"

Kazama sensed something was wrong, but before he could soothe Hatsuka's feelings, she seemed to have been pushed to the brink by Mutsu's unintentional mistake, finally tearing off her amiable mask to reveal her hideous true colors—

Almost through gritted teeth, Hatsuka, who had lost her mind after witnessing the failed attempt to kiss someone, revealed an equally terrifying truth with a stern and ferocious expression.

"Xiaojun is Xiaomu's son!! You can't do this!"

At the same time, her words also brought a completely new secret to Mu and Xiangzi.

“………Eh?”

Xiangzi and Hemu were frozen in place like statues by those words, unable to move. Only Kazama was the first to realize what was happening, and he closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands in utter despair.

...This is it, we're all doomed.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Mother and Child Across Time and Space

With Mutsu's inexplicable kissing incident and the unexpected arrival of Misaka Hatsuka, things ultimately took the strangest turn.

Upon witnessing the intimate embrace between the "mother and son," Chu Hua finally lost all the light in her eyes; the wisdom and strategies she relied on for survival vanished in that instant.

"Xiaojun is Xiaomu's son!! You can't do this!!"

Losing her mind, she shouted loudly in an uncontrollable voice, which stopped Mu from taking further steps to grope the boy.

Of course, it also left the other three people present speechless.

Wait, why did it turn out like this?

"What...what son? What are you talking about, Chu Hua...?"

The first to react was Xiangzi, whose face was full of confusion but who was trying his best to remain calm.

"...?"

Then he tilted his head without commenting, but his eyes were full of confusion.

"...We're doomed."

In the end, Kazama helplessly covered his face with his hands, unable to bear to look at the scene.

Based on his understanding of Chu Hua, he knew that a person who was usually calm and reliable could cause an irreparable tragedy if he faltered at a crucial moment.

"Hatsuka, what's wrong with you? How could Kazama-kun be Mutsumi's son...? Even just becoming family doesn't make sense, does it?"

"That's not how it is, Xiaoxiang! Xiaojun doesn't even have the surname [Kazama]. He and Xiaomu are genuine mother and son who have been together for over ten years—he is [Wakaba Akira] who traveled from the future to this timeline!"

Desperate, Chu Hua tried her best to persuade her childhood sweetheart, who was full of confusion, but Xiangzi still found it hard to believe this illogical truth.

Finally, driven by impulse and fueled by a surge of anger, Chu Hua uttered words that left no room for anyone to turn back—

"Don't you understand, Xiao Xiang! The reason Xiao Jun was able to save you in that accident as if he had foreseen it all is because in his world, it had already become a fait accompli! He risked his life to save you!"

"……Eh?"

Before she could recover from the shocking news, Chu Hua's confession plunged Toyokawa Shoko into a state of bewilderment from which she could not extricate herself.

"A fait accompli...?"

He risked his own life to save her... Are you kidding me?

"Xiao Mu, please don't... ah."

Overwhelmed by impulse, Chu Hua initially intended to direct her anger at Xiao Mu, who was still clinging to the boy. However, her rationality returned when she met the boy's calm and collected gaze.

Although he didn't verbally rebuke or stop her, the boy's complex gaze towards her still contained a hint of helplessness and frustration.

Suddenly, Mikasa recalled that just a few days ago, Kazama had repeatedly told her not to reveal these secrets to the public.

But now...

6①qi尹二八4俬扒悦/怡“………!”

Like a child who finally realizes he has done something wrong, Hatsuka finally realizes that she has been manipulated by sudden emotions and has revealed Akatsuki's secret.

She betrayed his trust.

She had promised to keep it a secret, but because of such a small provocation, she blurted out the whole truth—

Terrible.

She lost all her previous bravado, and, overcome with shame, lowered her head, unable to meet Kazama's gaze any longer.

"Ah, Chuhua!"

Finally, amidst Xiangzi's exclamation, she fled in a disheveled state, striding down the corridor towards the entrance and disappearing from the sight of the remaining three.

Realizing the enormity of his mistake, Mitsukasa fled the scene of the accident like a truck driver who causes a traffic accident on the highway.

She dared not stay at the scene and meet the boy's gaze, and she could hardly forgive herself for doing such a brainless thing.

Of course, the rest of the people didn't fare much better.

"...What did Hatsuka just say, Kazama-kun?"

Chu Hua managed to break free with a single, pathetic strike, which naturally led Toyokawa Shoko to turn her attention to the boy who was still being held captive by Mutsu and unable to move.

"No... is your name really Kazama-kun?"

Unlike Xiangzi, who often uses juvenile terms like "salvation" and "god," and the stubborn and materialistic Su Shili, she had already sensed the truth in Chu Hua's tone.

"Hatsuka said my accident is a fait accompli for you, but Kazama-kun, you're a time traveler from the future..."

She would have scoffed at anyone else saying such an outrageous "truth," but it just so happened that the person who said it was Chu Hua.

I know Chu Hua… Although she can be a bit suffocating at times, she would never go to such lengths to lie about something like this.

Xiangzi clenched her fists, her eyes fixed intently on the boy.

She didn't press further about whether what Chu Hua said was true, but instead changed her story.

"...Who exactly are you?"

Who is this person who shouldn't be called "Kazama Akatsuki"...?

"Who do you want me to be?"

Kazama broke his silence and simply threw the question back at him in a calm and collected tone.

"Xiangzi, do you hope that my initial motivation for saving you was purely out of kindness to help someone in need, and that it was just an accident... or do you hope that this was something destined to happen to you?"

"I……"

"Alright, now we need someone to go and bring Chu Hua back."

Kazama pointed outside the door, then looked at Xiao Mu who was clinging to him, and Xiangzi understood what he meant.

The most urgent task is to stabilize Chu Hua, who has spiraled out of control.

"...I'll be right back!"

Even with many questions and uncertainties in his heart, Xiangzi, who knew the priorities, gritted his teeth, turned around, and ran outside.

"Phew... Alright, all the irrelevant people have been sent away."