Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

"Yes, yes, I know all of that."

Xiao could tell that Mu was trying to make him understand her preferences, so she smiled and nodded in response.

After all, Mom Wakaba Mutsu also has these hobbies.

"besides."

Mu shook his head, gazing calmly at the boy in front of him.

"I like Xiao the most."

"...I like Mutual too."

This time, Kazama couldn't handle it as easily. To cover up his embarrassment, he even took a bite of his sandwich while lost in thought.

The "like" that Mu mentioned here... is probably similar to the "like" that I remember my mother having, right?

He was unusually hesitant about this, and even took a sip of the mango juice on the table to calm his nerves.

Chapter Forty-Four: Deviating from the Predestined Path

In short, the night at Wakaba's house passed by without any major incidents.

The night before, Xiao was secretly worried that if they were to share a room together peacefully, something might happen that would cross the line between the two of them. But thankfully, even when they were lying on the same bed, Mu would only hold him in her arms, and any other thoughts were just overthinking.

After breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to the Wakaba family.

"So, Xiao, where are you going next?"

As Xiao walked towards the entrance to change into comfortable outdoor sneakers, Mu accompanied him to the entrance of the hallway, like a pet companion that had automatically followed him. Then, somewhat uneasy, she asked him this question.

"Well... anyway, I should go home first. Logically speaking, we should be back to work at Ave Mujica, but Hatsuka had that problem yesterday... plus Shoko volunteered to leave this to her, and Riki really needs me at MYGO—sigh, I'm a bit overwhelmed."

"Well."

Mu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

"I also really need Xiao."

Having probably found all the sense of security she needed from the boy in front of her, Mu bluntly spoke her mind.

However, her frankness made Xiao suspicious. He even remained silent for a while, rolling his eyes before giving a roundabout response.

"...But I'm not going to sleep peacefully in the same bed anymore, okay?"

"It's not that Xiao needs to be in bed."

"Is that so? Then I'm relieved... Wait, doesn't this sound a bit strange?"

In truth, Mu felt that if she could, she would like to share a bed with Akira again. After all, this was one of the few times she could sleep peacefully with someone else. Even when she slept with Minami as a child, she would always suffer from insomnia or wake up in the middle of the night.

But if Xiao doesn't want to do that, she won't force him to obediently climb into her bed for the time being.

Not for now.

After all, for Mu, what really matters right now is something else entirely.

"So, Xiao needs to find a way to coax Chu Hua back."

She summarized the most urgent matter for the teenager in a short sentence, which was affirmed by Xiao.

"Ah, I know that guy's personality. Even if I, you, and even Xiangzi don't care, Chu Hua will regret her impulsive and unintentional mistake. She's the kind of person who likes to dwell on things... even the most optimistic guess is that she'll hide from us for a while."

"And what's the worst-case scenario?"

"The worst-case scenario is that one day they'll suddenly walk into the lounge and say something like, 'I'm here to quit Ave Mujica.'"

The boy bent down and neatly put on his sneakers, then draped his own jacket over his shoulders, leaving nothing behind at the Wakaba family's house.

"........."

Mu didn't say anything more, but she seemed a little sullen, and her hands were awkwardly tucked behind her back.

"Mujica isn't good at handling these kinds of things, is he? That's okay. Even if it really comes to that, I won't let the hard-won Ave Mujica disband."

The boy smiled and stepped forward, reaching out to gently rub the girl who was a head shorter than him.

He had never been so close to other girls before, and naturally, he had never touched such soft and clean long hair with his own hands.

Compared to the mother who raised her, the girl in front of him seemed more like a girl with a similar face to her mother.

He had made up his mind to protect her in this time and space until he was no longer able to stay by her side.

“As long as Mutsu wants Ave Mujica to continue to exist, I will do everything in my power to do so.”

As he parted his fingers from her soft hair, he expressed his feelings in a calm voice, and Mu seemed to understand his unspoken meaning, her eyes curving into a beautiful smile.

"………Um."

A strange feeling seemed to be surging in her chest, and Ruoye Mu still couldn't accurately describe what kind of feeling it was.

It was as if fireworks were quietly exploding in her heart, or as if the scorching summer sun was relentlessly shining on her heart in this early autumn season, making Mu feel a warm current flowing through her chest.

She didn't know how to define this feeling.

But what she knows is that being able to occupy an irreplaceable and special place in the heart of the person she cares about most is something that makes her very happy.

"Xiao, just go for it."

She even reached out and hooked her hand around the boy's head as he patted her head. She then lowered her hand, intending to withdraw it.

"As long as Xiao is here, I won't go anywhere."

Mu's voice was very soft, and she didn't raise her face to make eye contact to express her seriousness, but Xiao could still hear the sincerity in her voice.

Oh my... Xiao Mu is so cute.

Kazama smiled and let the girl in front of him take his arm; he was completely captivated by Mutsumi's cuteness.

But at this moment.

"However, you cannot do something to Lixi and Chuhua like what happened last night."

"……………Um?"

Mu's stroke of genius froze his aunt's smile on her face.

"Xiao, you can't sleep with everyone."

Mu reiterated her needs once again, and when she looked up, her cute little face was now filled with nothing but pure seriousness.

"Wait... how did the topic suddenly veer to whether I can sleep with other people?"

Xiao, feeling embarrassed that the previously pleasant atmosphere had been suddenly shattered, covered her face, while Ke Mu continued to speak frankly.

"Anyway, Xiao shouldn't sleep in the same bed with everyone just to comfort them."

Ah, he seems to understand this guy's logic now.

"...Mu, do you think that because I'll sleep in the same bed with you, I'll do the same things as Chu Hua and Li Xi?"

"Ah."

The girl nodded firmly, but this only made Kazama feel even more like crying.

"God is watching...! I would never do that!!"

Although he had indeed stayed overnight at Chu Hua's house before, the physical contact and social distance between him and Chu Hua were nothing like the close embrace they shared last night, so they shouldn't be confused at all.

"Anyway... Xiao, don't do that."

Mu's voice gradually faded, but she still lingered, hooking her little finger near the boy's palm.

"Then, come back often."

Mu is not good at expressing her feelings, but even she mustered up the courage to make this request.

This is the humblest of requests.

What's the difference between this sentence and "Don't leave me alone"?

"........."

Xiao remained silent, but gently placed his other hand on the girl's palm.

"Yes. I'll come back often. I won't do things that Mu forbids me from doing with others."

He softly agreed to Mu's seemingly capricious request, completely unaware that their relationship seemed to be irreversibly changing course.

This is certainly not the typical trajectory of a mother-son relationship.

Chapter 45 Next up is an open game.

After leaving Wakaba's house, Kazama, walking home, let out a long sigh of relief.

From the very beginning, he felt that being together peacefully would not make him feel uneasy and would give him a sense of home. If it were just like that, the two of them getting along would be fine. But who knew that Chu Hua and Xiang Zi, two girls, would appear in the middle of the process and push things to the development he least wanted.

Next, he would have to figure out how to clean up the mess—that is, to step in and appease Chu Hua, who had run away without a word yesterday.

The boy stretched and walked along the sidewalk while taking out his phone and opening that familiar chat window.

Mikami Hatsuka has always been a girl who knows when to stop in conversation, so she won't bombard him with text messages like a certain Nagasaki Motoyo did, just because he didn't reply to her message for a while.

However, the fact that she hasn't replied to Kazama's messages since yesterday is still a bit strange.

Xiao rolled his eyes and typed a line in the message box.

Unsurprisingly, there was no reply for the next ten minutes.

This is quite unlike Chu Hua's usual style.

Admittedly, she wouldn't send Kazama a bunch of heavy messages like Suze did, but based on past experience, as long as Kazama sent her a few casual words, Hatsuka would reply immediately within two minutes—which often made Akira wonder if this guy was always glued to his phone during filming, otherwise how could he have time to reply to messages so promptly?

Kazama briefly put down his phone and walked from near Wakaba's house to the street where the train platform was located. When he picked up his phone again to check, the message bar was still empty and there was no response.

Oh dear, this is not good.

Chu Hua rarely does this; even Aunt Hatsune in his memory wouldn't leave his message unread for half an hour.

"...It seems it's still because of what happened yesterday."

After much thought, this was the only conclusion he could reach.

Even today, Sanjiao Chuhua is still resentful about what happened yesterday.

Kazama knew her personality well. After acting impulsively, Hatsuka might have already begun to regret revealing the secret that she had agreed not to tell others to Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsu—when she came to her senses, she would definitely feel that she had let Kazama down.

After endless self-blame and criticism, all that remained for Mitsuka Hatsuka was escapism.

Because she was afraid of being criticized and questioned, she simply threw her phone aside and stopped replying to anyone's messages... Well, that's exactly the kind of thing that Mitsuka Hatsuka would do.

In short, Misaki Hatsuka's avoidance ability has exploded.

"Ha...it seems it's best not to push this guy too hard."

Kazama reluctantly put his phone back in his shirt pocket. This issue was no longer something that could be resolved simply by clarifying that he wasn't bothered by Hatsuka's actions.

If I had to put it bluntly, this guy was completely struggling with himself.

Pulling her out of her vulnerability and self-doubt is not necessarily a good idea, and going directly to her house to arrest her is an even worse move.

Perhaps we should let her calm down for a few days before trying to comfort her, or perhaps...

Kazama walked across the platform and boarded the tram that happened to be passing by the station.

He leaned against the seat next to the cabin door, resting his back against the tram wall, and reached out to take out his phone.

He opened the chat window with Lixi.

As if they were telepathically connected, the other party sent him a text message the instant he turned on his screen.

"I'm planning to explain the situation to Suze today. What do you think, Kazama? If you're going to get involved, I won't have to waste time explaining for you. Or perhaps you'd like to postpone this?"

Lixi's messages remained goal-oriented and merciless. However, her attitude didn't last long; a turning point appeared in the chat box, which was currently typing.

[And...you and Mu, nothing happened last night, right?]

Pfft, he's really easy to understand.

[Is it really possible that Riki-chan, who always operates on the principle of "business is business," would actually pry into my private life? I'm truly flattered and humbled.]