Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

"Um, Mu... I told you the secret not because I wanted you to continue being my mother..."

"Well?"

Mu seemed to have not expected this turn of events either, her adorable, doll-like face filled with confusion.

"Doesn't Xiao want a mother?"

"How could I not want it! But the current Mutsu and the Mutsu who raised me are not the same person. You don't know what happened to me in the past, and you didn't experience those things. I don't want to lump you together... Come to think of it, that sounds a bit strange. Uh... Anyway!"

Before Mu's thoughts could take an even stranger turn, Xiao quickly spoke up to steer the conversation back on track.

"That's how it is! I didn't tell Mu the truth before because I was worried you wouldn't be able to accept my identity. But now that things have developed to this point, I don't want to hide anything from Mu anymore. If you still have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll answer them one by one!"

He sat upright on Mu's bed, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders, his attitude as sincere as a believer who had just made a heartfelt wish to God, hoping that his dream would come true.

"Hmm, let me think about it first."

Mu nodded thoughtfully, then leaned into Xiao's arms.

Well, whether this is something a mother should do to her son is another matter. Actually, it feels quite comfortable to be relied on by Mu like this. Holding her feels like holding a kitten.

"Ruo Ye Xiao, that's a really nice name. Why is Xiao called [Kazama]?"

"Well... I guess this is the identity that allows me to survive in this strange time and space? If I really try to make friends with people using my original surname [Wakaba], I feel like my identity as a time traveler would be easily exposed, and I would be sent to a research institute to become a glorious cadaver."

"I see."

Mu's voice remained completely flat throughout, as if her feelings for the boy in front of her would never change, regardless of whether he was her relative or not.

"Xiao, is he really my son? It feels like a dream."

"Strictly speaking, we are not related by blood. I was adopted by Mu."

"Eh……"

However, Mu's voice suddenly lowered upon receiving this answer, clearly indicating that she was not happy.

"Why do you seem a little disappointed, Mu?"

"It turns out that there is nothing in our blood vessels except blood."

"...Then what else should be inside the blood vessels?"

Kazama was baffled by Mutsumi's answer, and it was at this moment that the relatively warm situation between the mother and son was disrupted by a girl who turned back halfway.

"Huff, huff... Hatsuka just left me behind—Mutsu, Kazama-kun... what are you doing?"

As soon as Toyokawa Shoko returned, panting heavily, she stumbled upon the scene of Komugi leaning affectionately against Kazama's chest.

Toyokawa Shoko's face immediately turned deathly pale. Her trembling voice wailed like that of an incompetent husband in a TV drama who discovers his wife's infidelity but can only pretend to be asleep, making people sigh with regret.

"What are you doing to my childhood friend?!"

Even a mother and son shouldn't stand this close!

Chapter Thirty-Two: Is it too late to realize this now?

Toyokawa Shoko has always believed that it is incredibly easy to simply dislike or like someone.

The former includes characters like Xiaomu and Chuhua, while the latter includes Kazama-kun, who is always at odds with her. His clear-cut likes and dislikes and his refusal to easily change his stance and become a fence-sitter are also part of Toyokawa Shoko's rare personal charm.

However, if these two emotions tend to merge into one, it will cause a lot of headaches.

The person she liked the most and the person she disliked the most turned out to be family.

Moreover, it was a mother-son relationship even closer than their actual relationship—

"What kind of joke is this...!"

Seeing Mutsu leaning naturally in the boy's arms without feeling anything was wrong, and Kazama holding the girl in his arms without feeling anything was amiss, Shoko, feeling like a third wheel, finally couldn't bear it any longer and questioned him.

"From the very beginning, it's been Hatsuka talking to herself, saying things that are impossible! And now you two are—Kazama-kun! Hmm… for now, I can only call you Kazama-kun!"

She stormed up to the two of them, her eyes burning with rage and a desire to personally separate them. However, her upbringing as the eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family restrained Xiangzi's restless thoughts, and she sat down properly in front of them.

"What time travel? What mother-son relationship? How does Chu Hua know about this... and why does she say that my fate was changed by you?"

Immediately afterwards, Toyokawa Shoko focused all her attention on Akatsuki.

"What exactly happened? I want to hear the whole story from beginning to end. Please don't hide anything from me...!"

Even though she was furious, she still maintained the manners and demeanor expected of a young lady from the Toyokawa family, which made Akira look at her with new respect.

"Well."

Mu, who was in his arms, also sat up. Although she didn't bombard Xiangzi with as many questions as he did, she was probably just as curious about everything as he was.

"...Alright. Then I'll start from the beginning."

Seeing that the two were waiting for his explanation with great seriousness and focus, Kazama shrugged and recounted his experiences up to this point in detail.

From being taken home by Xiao Mu as a child, to Su Shi Chu Hua and Li Xi raising him together, and then later, on the day before the group's formation, after offering incense to the long-deceased Aunt Feng Chuan Xiang Zi, he traveled back in time to the Feng Chuan family decades ago—

"I died long ago in your world... and you even traveled to my current home while you were worshipping me?"

The amount of information he received in such a short time was overwhelming, and Xiangzi repeated Xiao's explanation with some difficulty.

"So that's how it is. That's why Xiang called Xiao 'Auntie Mud Stick' back then."

Mu nodded thoughtfully. She seemed to accept this explanation much faster than Xiangzi—or rather, she believed everything Xiao said.

"How could something like this, which only happens in novels, possibly happen in real life..."

“I also hope that after offering incense to Aunt Xiangzi, I can return to the reality I am familiar with, instead of staring at you, Xiangzi, in the Fengchuan family home decades ago.”

Xiao shrugged. If time travel was something he could control, he certainly wouldn't have chosen to appear at Xiangzi's house and be treated like a burglar.

Seeing Xiao's serious expression, Toyokawa Shoko couldn't help but recall the farcical incident when she first met the boy.

Although this development is quite bizarre, it seems that only by combining it with what he said can it all make sense.

The boy who inexplicably appeared in her house muttered things like "Auntie" and "prank" until she was about to call the police, at which point he broke through the window and escaped.

If what he said is truly the truth—

"Then, about my accident... could it also be..."

Xiangzi managed to squeeze out a few words, and only then did she realize how sore and hoarse her voice was.

"...is an established fact."

Xiao nodded; there was no need to keep it a secret any longer.

"Xiang...will he die in the future?"

"No, this is the past history of the world I live in. The current Toyokawa Shoko should have already avoided the accident that would have taken her life."

"So, you knew all along that I would be in that accident..."

"Don't misunderstand. The reason I saved you is simply because I couldn't stand by and watch the tragedy that was about to happen."

Xiao shook his head. He didn't want to take credit in front of Xiangzi. Everything he had done so far was simply following his own heart.

"In the future after your death, both Mutsu and Su Shi will be very sad."

He simply didn't want to see someone important to him grieving for years to come, using the long years to soothe the sorrow of death.

"At first, I was also very curious about what kind of person could make everyone in Mutsuho so concerned... But now none of that matters anymore. Just consider it as me taking it upon myself to change the course of your life, and it's fine if you want to continue to hate me or oppose me."

Xiao waved his hand; he didn't really care what kind of person Xiangzi thought of him.

After being transported to this unfamiliar time and space, the most important people to him are the aunts who raised him in his world.

Although things have changed and they can no longer be equated with the family members in Xiao's memory, it does not mean that they have become insignificant in Xiao's heart.

"Um...I didn't..."

Compared to Xiao, who is frank and straightforward, Xiangzi is now caught in an unprecedented moral dilemma.

The boy who saved his life was Mutsu's relative who had traveled from the future—and he already knew that this tragedy would happen to him, but he still resolutely risked his life.

She had never given him a kind look before.

To him, she was just an aunt who died young, a figure who only existed in other people's conversations.

Xiangzi lowered his head, not daring to look the boy in the eye, but his hands were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

He has no obligation to save himself, much less to lend a helping hand to someone who is constantly at odds with him.

But he did it anyway.

And they don't ask for anything in return.

On the contrary, he was completely unaware of all this and arrogantly believed that he was deliberately going against him.

"I………"

My stomach was churning, and even my eyes were starting to ache.

Toyokawa Shoko lowered her head, not daring to look at Akira or Mutsu. A strong emotion surged into her heart, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably.

This feeling is called guilt.

Chapter Thirty-Three: My Mom Can't Be This Cute (?)

In conclusion, having one's identity completely exposed to everyone is probably not a bad thing.

At first, Xiao was worried that she might be punished by something like "world willpower" after the truth was revealed, but now it seems that this was just worrying unnecessarily.

The truth came out, and he no longer needed to hide and evade in front of others.

"So... that's how it is."

He spread his hands and told Wakaba Mutsu and Toyokawa Shoko the whole story in great detail.

"I am the son adopted by Ruoye Mu, the nephew raised by Su Shi Chu Hua Li Xi and others, and a third-generation star who was about to form a group and enter the entertainment industry - and an unlucky guy who mysteriously traveled back decades to the past the day before his debut."

He told Xiangzi and Mu the whole story, their curiosity piqued, just like an adventurer who had been through countless trials recounting his past experiences.

"So, do you two have any further questions?"

Xiao politely raised his hand, finished explaining, and then handed over the initiative to the other two girls present.

From the very beginning, Toyokawa Shoko had a serious expression and seemed preoccupied; she remained silent.

The student who obediently raised his hand before asking a question, just like a good student eager for knowledge in the class, was Mu, who sat next to Xiao and stared intently at him.

"I have a question."

"Mu, please speak."

Xiao, like a dedicated and hardworking teacher focused on imparting knowledge, readily nodded in agreement to Mu's request.

He probably guessed what Mu wanted to say.

Why did you keep it a secret from everyone except Chu Hua? Or perhaps you haven't thought of a way to go back? How can we help you return to your original timeline? —These are just the kinds of serious questions we're asking.

However, Mu's next answer was enough to surprise him greatly.

"What should I pay attention to when being Xiao's mother?"

“………Eh?”

The girl asked this seemingly irrelevant question with a serious expression, leaving Xiao and Xiangzi, who was standing to the side with his head down, somewhat dumbfounded.

"So, shouldn't I continue being Xiao's mother?"

Seeing the unexpected reactions from the two, Mu tilted his head in confusion.

"Um, I didn't mean that at all, Mu. We're about the same age now, you know? And I might even be a little older than you! How could you really be my mother?"

Even if I'm older, I'll still be Xiao's mom.

Wait a minute, why is this kid actually being so stubborn?

Xiao coughed lightly to clear her throat.

"Listen up, Mu—you have absolutely no memory of raising me, do you?"

"……Well."