Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Xiao was momentarily stunned—after all, just a few days ago his Aunt Su Shi had only treated him as a business ally.

Su Shi, who had previously been indifferent to his existence, suddenly showed up at his doorstep today and warmly invited him to go out and play together... Isn't something a little off?

Well, Ms. Motoyo Nagasaki's logic is indeed a bit complicated.

Admittedly, Li Xi's words were not without effect. However, Su Shi's decision was the best solution she arrived at after careful consideration with her extraordinary wisdom.

It is known that a certain Miss Chuhua in the triangle not only has the potential to steal Xiangzi away, but also her few reliable allies.

It is known that Ms. Misaka Hatsuka likes to take away Xiaoyue's time together by making her go out, and (it is suspected) that she warned her not to disturb the time she had worked so hard to create for the two of them.

Furthermore, it is known that Kazama Akira personally admitted that his favorite character is Nagasaki Motoyo. (Ignoring Riki and others).

Therefore, the way to deal with Chu Hua is quite obvious.

Xiao's favorite person, whom he had personally admitted to, suddenly appeared at his doorstep and even invited him to go out for a walk before anyone else could—now he had no reason to refuse, right?

Feeling confident of victory, Su Shi raised her snow-white neck and turned her head slightly so that she could just see the shadow of the black baseball cap hiding at the end of the path.

Sorry, I've already gotten there first.

Nagasaki Motoyo smiled with a triumphant grin, then looked away from the corner of her eye and quietly awaited Akatsuki's delighted agreement.

"This one……"

but.

"I'm sorry, Su Shi, I have an appointment today."

As Akira somewhat apologetically refused, Nagasaki Motoyo's smile froze.

"puff."

She always felt she could hear someone at the end of the path chuckle—or it could just be a hallucination caused by her own imagination.

"You...you made an appointment? With whom?"

Su Shi tried her best to force a smile, trying not to make her expression too unpleasant, and also to avoid feeling too embarrassed for having gotten up early to come only to be rejected.

"Well... just a friend."

Moreover, Xiao's eyes darted away, making Su Shi's smile even more unpleasant.

Even though she's his favorite person... does he have a secret he can't tell anyone, even about his favorite person?

"Who were you with? Was it someone I know? Or was it that blue-haired girl named Hanami who came with you last time? If neither, I'm a little worried that there might be some unsavory characters slipping through your net, Kazama-kun. You know, some people may seem glamorous on the surface, but they're not really like that at all. There are quite a few who might have ulterior motives towards you. If you can listen to what I'm saying, that would be really great—"

By the time Su Shi realized what was happening, he had already delivered a long speech about uncontrollable gravity with a dark face and a sly smile.

How terrifying! What's going on? I feel like Aunt Su Shi is about to grab my chest and drag me back into my room any second now.

Xiao was still smiling, but in her heart she was secretly sweating bullets.

This familiar gravitational field suggests that Aunt Su Shi had already achieved some success back in middle school.

Unfortunately, no matter how harshly she interrogated him or even stalked him today, he couldn't reveal who he was meeting.

Xiao lowered her head and glanced at the seeds of some kind of plant that she had put in her pocket.

"Sorry—I'm in a hurry. I'll definitely go for a walk with you again next time!"

Then he quickly raised his head and slipped out through the gap beside Su Shi before she could react, fleeing the scene as if his feet were greased.

"what……"

Although Su Shi wanted to stop him, she couldn't keep up with Kazama's speed at all and stopped in place after taking only two steps.

The person he'd go through all the trouble of making excuses to see... is it Mitsumi Hatsuka? But...

"It wasn't me."

As Su Shi stood there, stunned, staring at the boy's retreating figure as he disappeared from sight, Sanka Chuka emerged from the end of the path.

She strolled leisurely, but her eyes, like Su Shi's, followed the direction in which the boy disappeared.

"The person Xiaojun went to see was not me, Liu Yiqi. We didn't have a date today."

As if she were a prophet, Chu Hua smiled and answered Su Shi's doubts, even though she never said it aloud.

The blonde girl walked up to Su Shi and gave her a gentle and reassuring smile.

But Nagasaki Motoyo knew that the heaviness hidden behind that smile was no less than her own.

"Our last meeting was a bit too rushed. It seems we can have a proper chat this time, Su Shi."

Chapter 49 Initial Conflict Leads to Mutual Benefit

If it were an ordinary day and Su Shi were waiting at the door to invite Xiao out for a trip, she would undoubtedly be happy.

Unfortunately, he cannot act with Su Shi today.

Xiaofeng hurriedly boarded the train platform, squeezed into the crowded carriage for a long time, and finally got off at the station near Tsukimori Girls' Academy.

He took off running, heading straight for the nearest plantation, keeping the seeds in his pocket tightly in the process to prevent them from falling out.

Finally, he pushed open the plantation gate, registered at the front desk, and then followed his memory to the flower bed with the wooden sign that read "Ruoye".

There, a girl with light green hair was leaning against the wall, quietly and obediently watching the tender green cucumber seedlings that had already sprouted in the soil.

She didn't speak or look around anxiously; she simply stood there obediently waiting for someone to arrive. Her long, light green hair, bathed in sunlight, seemed to reflect a silvery sheen, as if she were adorned with gold and silver.

She was exactly like an obedient and sensible doll.

—My mom is so adorable.

Xiao tried hard not to let her love for Mu get too overwhelming, and ran quickly to her side with a smile.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mu!"

He practically rushed to Mu's side, taking three steps at a time. Even though he wanted to control his emotions so as not to scare Mu, his concern still turned into words of concern, which slipped out when no one was looking.

"How have you been lately? Have you been eating and sleeping well? I miss Mu so much every day, has Mu missed me too?"

"I don't really think about it, just occasionally."

Mu wasn't intimidated and calmly stated her true thoughts—though such directness might be somewhat disappointing.

"You missed me? That's great!"

However, Xiao was not discouraged at all; instead, her smile grew even brighter.

He's only met Mu twice so far, yet she already thinks about him occasionally.

The fact that she misses me proves that she has feelings for me, doesn't it?

Yes, the person Xiao avoided meeting in the real world was Wakaba Mutsu.

Actually, if it weren't for Xiangzi's interference, they wouldn't have parted on bad terms. Fortunately, before leaving, Mu left him the task of taking care of the plants.

No one knows a mother better than her son, and Xiao knew that this was a signal that Mu wanted to see him here again—after all, Mu would never give someone he didn't trust the right to take care of plants.

Sure enough, when he finally managed to find time to come to the plantation, Mu was there waiting for him.

"I thought you wouldn't come."

Even though Akatsuki's offensive was quite intense, Mu still maintained his composure and spoke as before.

"Because you weren't here for the past few days."

"what……"

Could it be that Mom has been waiting here for several days?

"I don't know why I'm waiting, or why I'm persisting in waiting. But I always feel that if I keep waiting, I'll get what I'm waiting for."

"I'm so sorry, Mu, I had something else going on the past few days so I couldn't come—"

Oh no, this is the kind of thing that makes me want to sit up and slap myself in the middle of the night just thinking about it.

"It's okay," Mu shook his head, then obediently squatted down and began digging in the dirt. "Xiao, were you delayed by someone the other day?"

"Well... strictly speaking, I guess so."

Xiao also bent down with Mu, and scratched his cheek as he rolled his eyes.

These past few days, he's felt like someone is following him whenever he goes out... no matter how he thinks about it, it's always Aunt Su Shi.

That's why he's reluctant to come to Mu.

Mu and Su Shi won't have any conflict. If Su Shi knows that the person she's meeting is Mu, she'll be less suspicious, that's for sure...

But in doing so, Su Shi might also unleash her terrifying gravity and ambition to restore C Group onto Mutsu.

Although it's just speculation, Xiao doesn't want Mu to be under any pressure.

I'm sorry, Aunt Su Shi, but Mu's importance to me is unparalleled by any other aunt.

Xiao clasped her hands together in her heart, repenting for her disobedience to the stalker Aunt Su Shi.

I love you all, but I love my mom the most.

On the other hand, if the person who had been with me these past few days was Su Shi, then the fact that she appeared so openly in front of me today... could be considered a bold change and breakthrough.

Xiao secretly felt gratified by her aunt's transformation... uh, no, her newfound confidence and poise, unaware that at the same time—

In the coffee shop downstairs from his home, another unexpected drama was unfolding.

"Our last meeting was a bit too rushed, Su Shi. We didn't even have time to have a proper chat."

After the blonde girl sat down at the corner coffee shop, she took off the sunglasses that were covering the upper half of her face and smiled at Su Shi, who was sitting at the table opposite her.

"This is a rare opportunity, so let me treat you to something to drink. How about coffee? The coffee beans here are quite good, and the owner also has a special cappuccino among his hidden drinks."

"Thank you very much, but black tea will be enough... um?"

Su Shi sat down gracefully and politely declined Chu Hua's offer to order for her, but then sensed that something was amiss.

She concealed her suspicion well, raising her eyes to meet Chu Hua's beautiful purple eyes.

"It sounds like... Miss Chuhua seems to be a regular customer here."

Even though it was the first time she had met Hatsuka downstairs at Kazama's house, this guy seemed to know everything about the hidden menu in the coffee shop on the corner.

It feels a little unsettling when you think about it more closely.

"Hmm? Is that so? These past few days, when I don't have any work scheduled, I've been coming here to get a cup of coffee and have it with a sandwich or something for breakfast."

Chu Hua seemed completely oblivious to the inappropriateness of her actions, a perfect smile spreading across her face.

"Besides, if I sit here, I might be able to see Xiaojun coming in and out of the apartment."

The blonde girl tapped on the table; the spot where they were sitting was the same place where Suze had sat when she was tracking Kazama.

I should have been scared for Kazama.

Any normal person would probably think to themselves, "Holy crap, there's a pervert."

"...The view from here is indeed quite good."

However, Nagasaki Motoyo did not feel a chill; instead, she nodded in agreement with Hatsuka's statement.

After all, that's what she did before.

"Yeah, right."

The two women, who should have been at odds, reached a consensus on this matter. Perhaps, in the midst of their sharp exchanges, they also felt a sense of mutual respect, as if they were evenly matched.

However, while admiring the other person, Nagasaki Motoyo was also secretly wondering what Hatsuka would say next.

It can only be a declaration of war.

Chu Hua's smile remained unchanged, but Su Shi did not feel any warmth from it.

"Su Shi... what is your relationship with Xiao Jun?"

Sure enough, the first offensive began.

Chapter Fifty: The Tea Party for Women

Why are people so easily troubled by interpersonal relationships these days?