Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

"Really not? Not even the smallest, insignificant thing?"

Now it was Su Shi who seemed relentless. Whether she was doing it to ease her conscience or to continue creating a connection with Kazama, no one knew.

"Su Shi, do you really want to be bossed around by me... um?"

Kazama let out a slightly helpless sigh, but in the brief moment his eyes gleamed—

His gaze, however, fell upon something that Su Shi was holding in her hand.

His heart skipped a beat as if something had suddenly gripped it.

That looks like a photograph.

"What is this?"

He stopped paying attention to Su Shi's request and instead threw new questions at her.

“Ah… this.”

After a moment of surprise, Su Shi showed the photo in her hand. Although her tone was still gentle, the warmth in it suddenly dropped a little.

"This is a prank by Hanami-kun."

She showed him the photo in her hand, and Kazama immediately recognized it as a picture of himself and Aunt Suze.

"what……"

Kazama appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was in his throat.

Why did this photo appear in this time and space?

"No—I already said it wasn't my prank!"

Banami, who had been busy eating fruit, quickly spoke up to refute, but Suze seemed to have already defined the nature of the matter, leaving her speechless.

"Oh? Then can you explain why this photo ended up in your bag, Yanami-kun?"

What? It was even in Banami's hands at the beginning?

Now, is my relationship with Nagasaki Motoyo and others just going to be made public like this?

However, Su Shi's extraordinary wisdom will definitely not disappoint Kazama.

"This...photo is clearly malicious!"

For once, Su Shi expressed her strong dissatisfaction with Banami in a rather uncharacteristic tone, and even her usually gentle and quiet face showed a blush of embarrassment and annoyance.

"It's obvious that the person in the picture was photoshopped to be me when I become a new mother... and my child with Xiao and Xiaojun, right!"

"……ha."

Kazama let out a long sigh of relief.

It seems he doesn't need to worry at all about whether Su Shi, with her intelligence, would discover her true origins. After all, most people wouldn't consider things like time travel in their daily lives…

But if this photo is seen by someone with an even more imaginative or intelligent mind in the future, then who knows what might happen?

No, it seems Kazama has been overlooking another point all along.

How come he doesn't remember taking a similar photo with Aunt Su Shi when he was a child...?

Chapter Four features an even more groundbreaking and profoundly intelligent individual.

Using "as if her voice and appearance were still there" to describe someone might not be quite the right word, but Xiao still remembers the smile on Aunt Su Shi's face when she took her to a professional photo studio.

"Today is the birthday of Xiao's aunt, who loves her the most. Aunt doesn't want much; she just wants Xiao to take a picture with her and have it displayed at home so she can look at it often. Can you help Aunt fulfill this birthday wish?"

Aunt Su Shi's smile was gentle and warm, and the words that came out of her mouth were as irresistible as ever.

So even though she was still at an age where she didn't like taking pictures with elders, Xiaoye obediently did as she was told, sitting on Su Shi's lap and looking at the photographer's lens with her.

"Three, two, one, cheese!"

...But what happened after that?

Don't remember at all.

After searching high and low for so long, he could only rack his brains to come up with this little bit of background information.

It was as if an invisible hand had erased most of his memories of the incident. Even when recalling the expressions of the two people in the photo, he could only vaguely remember the general outline of their faces, which seemed to be covered by sand.

...Did that car not only nearly break his leg, but also knock his head out of control?

Kazama had a slight headache, but after pressing his temples, he felt clear-headed again.

In any case, the truth is far from what Su Shi thought.

"So, this kind of behavior is extremely bad. To Photoshop a girl of the same age into a middle-aged person, and to make the child next to her look like another boy... This kind of behavior is very, very inappropriate, Hanami-kun!"

Although Kazama understood the inside story, it was the poor Banami who had no idea what was going on.

"Sigh... I'll do what you say... I'm sorry..."

Her face was filled with despair, but the way she stared intently at Kazama made it seem like she had something important to say to him—it just didn't feel like anything good.

"If what you just said, Su Shi, about 'doing anything,' still holds true... then please forgive and forget about this matter."

So Kazama quickly stepped in to smooth things over—he always felt that this couldn't have been something that Banami had orchestrated alone, and there must be some hidden story behind it.

However, if we don't quickly ease the situation for Banami, who knows what other rotten things she might say next.

"Hmm... if Xiaojun says so."

Su Shi, still indignant, probably wanted to say something more, but seeing that Kazama clearly wanted to quell the situation, she reluctantly withdrew the question that was about to come out.

"Then... Xiaojun, will you gradually distance yourself from everyone because of your relationship with me?"

Seemingly a little uneasy, or perhaps not wanting anyone to notice, Nagasaki Motoyo nervously raised this possibility while fiddling with her interlaced fingers.

“I know it might seem a bit greedy to bring this up now, but…”

She just didn't want to lose the chance to keep Kazama by her side any longer.

"Probably not in the short term."

Faced with Su Shi's somewhat cautious question, Kazama seemed quite dismissive.

As long as you don't place unrealistic expectations on them, then whether it's Nagasaki Motoyo or Shiina Tatsuki, they are just girls of similar age to Kazama, like Hanami.

Why should he need to avoid girls his own age?

Besides, if this could make Xiangzi furious, he would be even more willing to do it.

After all, what he wanted to do was not just "take away" her former teammates... but also completely shatter her delusions of divinity.

"Anyway, Su Shi, you don't need to worry."

He gave Motoyo a big smile to put her mind at ease, but Motoyo still seemed a little hesitant before nodding in agreement.

She felt that Kazama's expression now was somewhat different from the sincerity and expectation he had shown when they first met.

…This must be the consequence of not cherishing his sincerity back then.

She could only let a bitter smile creep onto her face, because at this point, any attempt to explain would be futile.

After the visit ended, Kazama waved goodbye to Sose, who was saying her farewell.

However, before leaving, she took the photo with her, saying, "If others see this photo, it will definitely cause some unnecessary misunderstandings about Xiaojun and me."

Well, Kazama wouldn't object to Sose taking the photo, since her thoughts did coincide with his own.

When Banami watched as Suze put the photo into her bag, her expression was somewhat subtle, as if she knew she had messed up something but was powerless to change it.

Only after Su Shi left did she turn her head and show Kazama a bitter expression.

"Kazama—that really wasn't a prank! You should know that better than anyone, right?"

"Okay, okay, of course I know this isn't a prank. But why did you say 'I know this best'?"

After all, how could Banami possibly know about his relationship with Suze in another time and space... But then again, he was really concerned about why this photo ended up in Banami's hands.

"Hmm? Isn't it because of that? It's that."

Upon hearing this, Banai blinked her big, watery eyes, seemingly confused. She then extended her index finger and gestured with great seriousness.

"That photo is actually a picture of you and your mom, Kazama, isn't it?"

"……what?"

Kazama couldn't help but use his Aunt Riki's signature breath-breathing technique. If Mutsu were here, he would probably sneeze too.

"I'm not stupid. Su Shi looks exactly like a younger version of that woman in the photo, and the boy in her arms looks like a young Kazama—so you and Su Shi are actually siblings! I feel like you're more like siblings than siblings, so I'll assume you're siblings for now!"

Sorry, Banami, but you really are an idiot this time.

"I understand, I understand. It seems different from the fantasies in romance novels where siblings are kind and loving, and might even develop into something romantic. In reality, the relationship between teenage siblings seems quite tense... If it's a blended family, then I understand even better!"

It seems that Banami takes the fact that Kazama and Sose have completely different surnames as evidence that they come from a blended family. What kind of amazing wisdom could create such a genius?

"Don't worry, you all thought I didn't know, so you were still putting on an act, right? I can understand that the siblings are worried that the other will steal their favorite band member... I won't tell anyone your secret!"

Even without Kazama's explanation, Banami could justify her own words... Has she been reading too many novels lately?

"None of that matters—why do you have this photo, Hanami?"

However, Kazama was not swayed by her rambling and disjointed remarks; he only cared about one thing from beginning to end.

That's why this photo appeared at a time when it shouldn't have appeared.

"Uh... about this..."

Banami's lips drooped slightly.

Meanwhile, outside the ward, Nagasaki Motoyo, who had just left, walked slowly down the corridor—

She looked at the photo clutched in her hand and frowned slightly.

This photo... there's really no sign of it being altered.

Is it possible that my assumptions were wrong from the very beginning?

If a photo has been edited using photo editing software, a sharp-eyed person should be able to easily spot the traces of modification, especially high school girls who frequently use photo editing software.

With this in mind, Su Shi had a very specific person in mind.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Feel free to speculate about future plot developments; after all, foreshadowing is meant to leave room for everyone to express their opinions. However, I won't easily change the outline. Even when an author sets up foreshadowing, they might also include some "smokescreens" for later plot twists. Within reasonable limits, you can speculate on how the plot will develop.

Finally, I'd like to ask for a few more votes (?=д=?). The previous donations have been tallied, and I'll start distributing them to everyone next week!

Chapter Five: The Weak Xiao Xiang Still Exerts His Strength

The sun is like fire.

The girl with long silver-blue hair jogged out of the hospital gate, ignoring the indifferent glances from passersby, silently wiping away her tears.

This guy, Sanba Lu, was easily brought to tears by just a few words. He's really pathetic.

She squinted in the scorching sun and hid under the shade of a tree by the roadside, finally managing to catch her breath and stop sobbing.

All of them were rejected.

All her perseverance and efforts so far, and the little bit of kindness she showed out of consideration for Kazama's selfless act of saving her life—were all negated by that guy's incisive words.

I don’t remember ever offending Kazama before, so why is he acting like he’s about to explode today?

Although he felt a little wronged, Xiangzi still felt a bit annoyed after slamming the door and leaving.

"To treat a patient who saved me like this... that's really going too far."

Thinking about it carefully, what Kazama said is indeed true. He would doubt his own strength, but that's only because he doesn't yet have the leverage to prove that she can keep her word.

Yes... it's just that I'm not strong enough, so I'm naturally looked down upon.

Toyokawa Shoko's logic has achieved a closed loop.

She felt repeatedly frustrated in front of her grandfather, even though Kazama, who was originally gentle and tolerant towards her, spoke harsh and hurtful truths to her after rescuing her.