Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

Suddenly, I felt a sudden, inexplicable dizziness.

Su Shi braced herself against the sink. Just as her thoughts were about to wander into an even more absurd and outrageous realm, this inexplicable dizziness robbed her of most of her consciousness.

And the next moment.

"...?"

Another scene she had never seen before then came over her and gradually took hold in her mind.

Are these... fragments of memory?

Chapter Seven: Partner... or Partner's Husband?

Nagasaki Motoyo was quite certain that the memories flashing through her mind at this moment were scenes she had never experienced before.

But since she had never experienced it before... why did all of this feel so real to her?

After that moment of disorientation, the world seemed to have had its underlying color subtly changed.

Standing in the bathroom, in front of the mirror, Su Shi's eyes gradually lost focus—memories were being pieced back together layer by layer, and the tide of time was silently receding from the depths of her consciousness, revealing the beach where the tides rise and fall.

She felt as if she were in that photo studio.

The familiar wooden floorboards creaked underfoot, and the air was filled with the faint smell of photographic paper baked by a heat lamp, mixed with the subtle fragrance emanating from the bottle of dried flowers that had been kept in the corner for years.

She wore a simple, off-white knitted cardigan, its soft texture and sleeves hanging naturally. Her long hair was styled in an updo, and her makeup was light and composed, as if she were already accustomed to this mature woman's style of dress.

She looked down at the child in her arms.

Around seven or eight years old, a mischievous age. Her jet-black hair was naturally curly, and her eyes were as clear as amber lake water untouched by the world.

The curly-haired little boy was frowning and puffing out his cheeks unhappily, but then lowered his head in embarrassment because of her gaze.

"Today is the birthday of Xiao's aunt who loves her the most."

She heard herself speak softly. Her tone was gentle and mild, without a trace of coercion.

"Auntie doesn't want much. Just one photo of us together, so we can keep it at home and look at it often, is enough. Can you grant Auntie this birthday wish?"

The child didn't answer immediately, but just slightly raised his eyes to look at her.

His eyes were just like that boy's—the kind of eyes that seemed to understand your every thought even though he hadn't said anything.

Su Shi suddenly felt like laughing.

She had experienced this feeling of being seen through far too many times with Kazama.

The boy bit his lip, as if thinking for a moment, and then nodded. Although his face still held a stubborn expression that said, "It's not because of your birthday," he still moved slightly and obediently sat on her lap.

She smiled, reached out, and gently wrapped her arms around him.

“Look at the camera, Xiao.”

She reminded her in a low voice.

"Come on, three, two, one—"

"eggplant--"

The image was frozen in time by the shutter.

Su Shi stood in the restroom, tears welling up in her eyes.

Not because of sadness, nor because of shock.

It was like a surge of emotions mixed with too many feelings, like something sealed away for many years finally breaking through the soil and enveloping her from head to toe.

That scene was not a fantasy, not a fiction, and certainly not an accident.

She could feel all her senses returning to her body so vividly, even the warmth of her palm against the child's back was unmistakable.

She slowly raised her head and looked at herself in the mirror.

She was still in the prime of her youth, not at all like the mature woman I remembered.

Yet everything felt so real; it was as if she had truly held that child in her arms, asking him with the gentlest smile to leave her with a memory.

Su Shi gently wiped away the tears on her face. She closed her eyes again, trying to find important information she had forgotten in that fleeting memory.

On her birthday, she took a photo with a well-behaved little boy who looked just like Kazama... Based on her own understanding of herself, Nagasaki Motoyo wouldn't be so possessive of someone she's not related to.

"...?"

This memory is fading away, but she still managed to find some clues that were not quite right in the fragmented details.

After receiving the photo from the photo studio, her signature was indeed Nagasaki Motoyo—

However, the boy's name next to her delicate handwriting was not "Kazama" in its crooked and distorted characters.

"...Wakaba?"

These two words appeared in Su Shi's mind and then quickly disappeared, as if they had never appeared at all.

Now Su Shi is even more confused.

She stared blankly at herself in the mirror, her pretty little face filled with disbelief and confusion.

If this were just a dream, she would definitely categorize it as a "strange dream with no logic or order"—but this memory just happened to appear in her mind when she was holding this photo.

Su Shi quickly put the photo aside, and that memory gradually faded away.

What is going on here?

This photograph is like a key to unlocking a palace of memories, but what's even stranger is the content of those memories.

Su Shi adjusted her breathing; she needed to calm down before she could properly think about what this supernatural phenomenon was all about.

Let's assume for now that this memory is real and not fabricated.

First of all, that mature woman was undoubtedly herself.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that even in middle age, one should retain their charm and elegance, like a fine, aged wine – this is the kind of person Su Shi hopes to become in a decade or so.

So who is that child with the surname "Wakaba"...?

Judging from his appearance, it's not hard to tell that he and Kazama are related by blood, but they don't even have the same surname...

Gazing at herself in the mirror for a long time, Su Shi could only come up with an answer that left her with mixed feelings.

"If that was me from the future, and all my memories are true... then that child probably has nothing to do with me."

She didn't know whether she should breathe a sigh of relief or feel a sense of loss, because what supported this logic was the following conjecture.

"...Could that be Xiao Mu's child?"

In fact, Su Shi was completely right here—if she hadn't gone on to add unnecessary further reasoning.

Su Shi's expression grew increasingly grim.

The child, whose surname is "Wakaba," bears an inexplicable resemblance to Kazama in his features. Yet, this child cannot possibly be the same person as Kazama; perhaps "Akatsuki" is simply a nickname she gave the child.

"...Is that Mutsu and Akari's child?"

She couldn't help but gently cover her mouth, as if afraid that someone with ears on the other side of the wall might hear her reasoning.

"If what I just saw were things that will happen in the future... then does that mean that Xiaojun will marry into the Ruoye family... and then they will get married, have children, and become family... is that what you mean?"

Su Shi's extraordinary wisdom once again allowed her to guess the relationship between Xiao and Mutsu by accident, that is, "family"—although her reasoning process was completely wrong.

After all, compared to other possibilities (such as the child actually being the same person as Kazama), this reasoning was more acceptable to her—otherwise, she would have to face the insurmountable age gap between Nagasaki Motoyo, who was in her thirties or forties, and Kazama Akira, who was seven or eight years old, which was completely beyond Motoyo's common sense.

However, this does explain why Akatsuki treats Mutsu differently. Even though he keeps saying he likes everyone, he still says that Mutsu is the person he loves the most.

Why do I feel a sudden, inexplicable heart palpitation?

The child's face in her memory gradually overlapped with Kazama's appearance. Suze wasn't sure if the urge to pinch the boy's face would carry over into her real-life encounter with Kazama.

Of course, she knew it was best not to do that.

Su Shi carefully put away the photos on the sink, and finally walked out of the bathroom with a complicated expression.

She desperately hoped that she had just been overthinking, that it was all just baseless speculation, and that no matter which side it led to, the logic was inconsistent. For example, if Kazama really did become a son-in-law of the Wakaba family in the future, would he still name his and Komugi's child the same?

No... there's something wrong with taking this kind of question so seriously. It's just a memory that has absolutely no basis in reality.

But if the future is truly destined to be like this...

This means that not only will she lose CRYCHIC, but she will also become the single aunt in the eyes of her relatives, taking care of the child for Mu and Xiao, who will eventually become a couple.

No, she absolutely doesn't want that kind of future.

Speaking of which... what is Mutsu's attitude?

Chapter 8: Hana Meets the Detective? Hana Meets the Suspect!

Although the band members still meet at RiNG, girls who are not part of their group only visit the place occasionally.

For example, there's the wildcat girl, Rakuna, who goes wherever she pleases, and then there's Anja Hachimi, who only visits them occasionally.

"Ha...Aine-chan, you've worked hard today too. How about we go check out that new pop-up store in the mall later?"

When Su Shi pushed open the practice room door again, heavy with worries, she found another girl inside.

That's Anna Hanami, who often comes here to chat with Aine, and the two of them often go shopping together with the shy Akari.

Generally speaking, if Deng were also present, even if Lixi had absolutely no interest in such a women's gathering, she would still feign reluctance and try to follow the group.

At this time, the two yang jiao, Yana and Aine, would cheerfully push her next to the lamp, and the four of them would happily go out together.

To say that Su Shi didn't feel a sense of loneliness from being excluded would definitely be a lie.

However, she had more important things to ask at the moment, so Su Shi quickly composed herself and walked up to the two of them.

"Hello, Hanami-kun. May I speak to you privately?"

She wanted to ask about the photos, of course.

Although Kazama had told her not to ask too many questions while she was in the hospital, once curiosity got the better of her, it was hard to suppress until she got an answer.

"Uh... Ah! Su Shi, it's okay if we talk about it here...!"

Banami quickly put on a smile that was very infectious to people with a positive attitude, but Suze could still detect a hint of guilt in it.

It seems she knows very well why Su Shi came to her door.

"Hmm? Is Soyorin going to whisper something to Apricot Sauce? I want to hear it too!"

Just then, a pink-haired, big dog with bright eyes seemed very interested in their conversation—if it weren't for the fact that she wasn't too polite, Miss Su Shi would probably have just clicked her tongue to express her displeasure.

"It's somewhat inappropriate to talk about that photo here."

Su Shi suppressed some of her negative emotions and reminded him in a gentle voice.

If you don't want Aine to know the whole story, find a place where the two of you can talk.

The fewer people who know about this, the better. Nagasaki Motoyo believes this is a consensus that even Banami had to reach with her.

"Waaah... I'll be back soon, Aine-chan."

As expected, after a long internal struggle, Banami reluctantly agreed to Suze's invitation with a long face, and followed Aine out of the practice room under her curious yet bewildered gaze.

The two followed the corridor to the rest area at the end. After confirming that no one was around, Su Shi didn't waste any words and went straight to the point.

"Let's get straight to the point—where did Banami get that photo?"

"What? Just like Kazama, he cares a lot about this... Wait, didn't Suze promise him not to investigate further?"

Banami looked rather distressed, seemingly because Kazama had previously held her tightly, hoping she could explain the origin of the photo.

"I can't ignore the mystery before me. If you've already answered Akatsuki's question before, you could answer it for me again, right?"

After all, the photo was found in her bag, and there's no denying that.

"In other words... how did Yanami explain it to Akatsuki back then?"

Since Kazama also has doubts about the origin of this photo, it means that he was not the one who started it.

"Uh... I'm just telling the truth."

The blue-haired girl scratched her cheek, leaned against the wall, and looked around unsteadily—it was unclear whether she was making up a new excuse or simply reminiscing.