Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Before the words "Please let me forget everything" could even be uttered, a piercing horn blared, accompanied by the screeching of tires skidding on the asphalt—

"puff……?"

The next second, excruciating pain swept through his entire body, and even his vision was stained crimson with blood.

"hiss……"

As the object of Xiangzi's empathy, Xiao also realized what had happened to her.

The girl's originally delicate and fair body rolled and rubbed against the rough asphalt road several times before finally coming to rest on the pedestrian crossing under the overpass with fresh wounds.

She was hit by a car and thrown more than ten meters.

"There's been an accident!!"

"Yes, it was this little girl who suddenly ran into the road and stopped..."

The torrential rain, the headlights that almost blinded people, and the crowd of unsuspecting onlookers gradually gathering around.

This is what Toyokawa Shoko, whose vision was gradually blurring, could see at the end of this rainy night.

"…!!!"

I opened my eyes to the familiar ceiling.

Xiao woke up suddenly from her bed, panting heavily, only to find herself in her studio apartment, which she had grown accustomed to living there.

He was still somewhat shaken, and his sticky body was covered in cold sweat from the nightmare.

Was everything I just saw... just a dream?

He spread his hands and examined them. They were neither the delicate hands of a young girl, nor were they stained with bright red blood.

How could I have such a terrible dream?

Kazama stretched and decided to get up and make himself a cup of coffee to perk himself up.

It's not even 5 a.m. now, so it seems this nightmare not only gave him an immersive sensory experience, but also completely ruined his sleep quality.

Kazama sipped his coffee and put on some relaxing R&B music on his phone. Only coffee and music could help him gradually get back into the swing of things.

The situation eased up until around 10 a.m., when Xiao had come to regard the nightmare simply as a negative consequence of her daytime thoughts manifesting in her dreams—

Unexpectedly, news of Banami arrived.

"Good morning, you sleepyhead! Are you awake yet? If you are, are you feeling any better?"

Oh dear, he originally thought that Banami's concern for him last night was just a social nicety, but it turns out she really took it to heart.

Feeling a bit lighter, Xiao responded to her concern in a joking tone.

"Master, why did I still have nightmares even though I followed your advice and went to bed properly last night?"

"...Are you dreaming?"

Hmm, is this some point that's really worth getting hung up on?

"Oh, I see... Oh, don't worry about it too much, it's just a dream. More importantly—look out the window!"

window…?

A little puzzled, Xiao got up, drew back the curtains, and peeked around.

Finally, his gaze settled on the smiling blue-haired girl standing downstairs.

"Hehe, I've been waiting for you for ages, Kazama!"

Banami stood gracefully in the morning sun, and beside her was another figure that Akatsuki had not expected.

Good morning, Kazama-sensei!

Chihaya Aine also changed into a cute dress this morning, and her adorable little tiger teeth were faintly visible when she grinned.

"………ha."

Seeing the two girls who suddenly appeared downstairs, Xiao, who had been forcing a smile, found her grip on the window somewhat weak.

Why are these two hanging out downstairs at his place...?

Chapter Sixty-Four: Loser Soyo Seizes the Opportunity

Okay, Banami has laid her cards on the table—the nightmare Kazama had was probably her doing.

Rather than calling it her masterpiece, it's more accurate to say that last night, after hearing Xiao lament, "I seem to have forgotten something very important," she recklessly used "Dream Fragments" on the system interface.

During this time, she completely abandoned her sunny and cheerful social life and read a lot of online novels for this system, almost becoming a well-read bookworm otaku - of course, her real purpose was just to help Kazama a little.

Since giving the spotlight to Kazama and Sumi's super idol trio of Hatsuka at the planetarium, Hanami finds herself still stuck in the role of the "loser."

This is not okay.

Isn't this the same as before, showing absolutely no progress?

At the very least... we should do something within our capabilities.

That's why, after hearing about Akira's troubles yesterday, Banami chose to use the items provided by the system to help him, and then came to check on the results this morning.

Judging from his somewhat lost and unsettled appearance, something must have happened last night.

Looking at the expression on the boy's face as he leaned against the window and waved to the two downstairs, Banami noticed that the worry that had been hidden in her eyes had gradually dissipated.

Although he had dark circles under his eyes, probably from not sleeping well last night, that at least proved that the fragment of the dream had come in handy.

Seeing that Anja had breathed a sigh of relief, Bana turned her gaze to Chihaya Aine beside her.

As for why the two of them met here—that's another matter altogether.

Five minutes later, Xiao dragged her tired body out of the apartment lobby and looked at the two energetic girls in front of her with suspicion.

"What are you two planning to do, suddenly showing up at my doorstep so early in the morning?"

He wasn't going to beat around the bush and went straight to the point, expressing his doubts.

"It's me, it's me! Actually, I've been a little worried about Kazama-sensei lately!"

Ai Yin raised her hand with unusual enthusiasm, just like a good student in the class who hopes to get the teacher's attention.

“Yesterday, Ancho-chan and I were talking about the time when Kazama-sensei and Riki were flirting… cough, I mean, having a drum contest, so she suggested that we go visit Kazama-sensei together—it would be a surprise for you, right!”

Surprise... more like shock.

And this guy was definitely planning to say the words "flirting" or "bantering," right?

Kazama rubbed his forehead. There had been far too many women who had come to his building to arrest him without warning these past few days, making him a little paranoid whenever he saw Aine or Hanami.

"Alright, if we're talking about expressing our condolences, then we really are—here, this is a gift we bought for you."

Banami nudged the listless Kazama with her elbow, then presented Akatsuki with a beautifully wrapped gift that she had been hiding behind her back.

Xiao, who was still feeling quite troubled, blinked. This seemed to be the first gift he had received since he traveled to this time and space.

"Just so you know, I didn't give you anything very expensive, so you don't have to worry about how to repay the favor, Kazama. This handmade ceramic mug is the one I chose; you can keep it at home to make coffee—Aine-chan chose the one next to it."

"That's right! My friend and I picked out the gift together. Since she gave me a coffee mug, I bought Kazama-sensei a cappuccino-flavored instant coffee and some coffee creamer! But Kazama-sensei shouldn't drink too much~ He needs to control his caffeine intake every day so he doesn't have to go out with dark circles under his eyes!"

Akira was somewhat lost in thought as she watched Banami and Aine chattering away like two little birds, expressing their care for her through gifts.

He hadn't felt this way of being cared for in a long time.

Moreover, unlike two other women who would display an overwhelming love the moment they appeared, they simply showed concern for his well-being within reasonable limits.

"...Thank you both, I really need these."

Xiao accepted the gifts from the two women and generously showed them her warmest and most heartfelt smile.

He hadn't laughed so easily in a long time.

"No, there's no need to be so formal, Kazama-sensei."

Aine scratched her cheek a little awkwardly. Being gazed at so gently by the handsome young man with excellent modeling skills and a good personality, even she, the queen of picking up girls at the girls' school, couldn't help but blush and her heart skipped a beat.

Eh... Kazama's passive flirting skills seem to have been activated again without his knowledge.

Banami, standing to the side, was not at all captivated by his smile. Perhaps it's just that losers have some resistance to the protagonist's succubus nature—anyway, her reason for helping Kazama had nothing to do with his handsome face that could debut as a celebrity.

"You all came all this way just to give me a gift? I feel a little embarrassed..."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. It's just a small token of my appreciation. Seeing that Kazama-sensei is alright, I can go home with peace of mind!"

"That won't do—how about this, I'll treat you to dessert. There's a coffee shop near my house that has really good desserts, you know?"

"Since Kazama-sensei has been so kind in extending the invitation..."

"Yeah, I can finally eat up everything Kazama owed me! Let's go!"

"Hey, so this is what you're focusing on, huh, Banami?"

The scene of the three of them together was somewhat rare, but they were also surprisingly compatible.

They walked into the corner café with a great view, chatting amongst themselves, and finally sat down by the window.

The help from Banami and Aine, those two little suns, was indeed effective. They were just whispering some topics that were particularly popular among female high school students at the moment, and Akira felt that her daily life was back on track.

Perhaps it was this kind of ordinary event that allowed him to gradually regain his sense of security.

"Ah, let's go to the restroom first, Kazama-sensei."

"I'll be back soon. Don't feel lonely, Kazama."

Midway through the meal, Aine and Banami left their table together and headed towards the restroom.

Girls are amazing creatures; even if you've only known each other for a short time, you can become so close that you go to the bathroom together.

Since they've all ordered dessert, and I had such a bloody nightmare last night, I might as well eat some sweets to replenish my energy.

With that in mind, Xiao also picked up the menu and began to carefully read through it.

However, the moment he held the menu up—his gaze, level with the table, eventually fixed on the customers at the table opposite him.

"..."

The girl sitting directly opposite her pulled her hat brim up a little, and the moment she took off her sunglasses, Xiao noticed her beautiful, smooth, long brown curly hair under the brim of her hat.

"I never expected to see you here, Xiaojun."

Nagasaki Motoyo simply took off her sunglasses and gave Xiaoyang a slight smile.

"Is there just a short break, enough time for us to talk?"

Chapter Sixty-Five: Su Shi is really only thinking about herself.

The fact that Nagasaki Motoyo appeared downstairs was somewhat sudden, but after careful consideration, Akira could only helplessly come to a conclusion.

Although he did give Su Shi his home address before, judging from Su Shi's behavior... she must have already scouted out the area around his house.

He looked down and saw that Nagasaki Sose's table was set with the coffee shop's hidden desserts and her carefully selected black tea.

Hmm, they even prepared a guide for this store, which seems to confirm that Xiao's idea was correct.

"Su Shi, do you also like to launch these kinds of surprise attacks?"

He sighed. Xiao had thought that Su Shi wouldn't do such a thing—Matsune Miku was more likely to refresh in this kind of place than Su Shi.

But Su Shi was indeed sitting at the table in front of him, and she seemed quite dissatisfied with what he had just said.

"What do you mean 'also'... Xiaojun, do you still want to be suddenly attacked by someone else?"

"Are they really nitpicking over words like this?"

"Ahem... I didn't come here to talk about this kind of thing."

Su Shi suppressed her obvious displeasure, probably realizing that dwelling on this matter would be inappropriate.

“I know, Xiaojun asked that Miss Sanjiao Chuhua… not to agree to form a new band with Xiangzi.”

"...?"

Xiao's previously lazy expression froze instantly, after all, this should be a secret between him and Chu Hua.

"Please don't misunderstand, I'm not here to interrogate you—quite the opposite, I'm very happy to know that Xiaojun has always kept our alliance in mind."