Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

"........."

Shiina Riki covered her cheeks, not wanting her embarrassed and annoyed expression to be exposed in front of Kazama.

"...You're too cunning, Kazama."

She said those words simply to calm herself down and, incidentally, to stop Kazama from saying such embarrassing things.

Who knew that this guy's true feelings were like a machine gun, firing off relentlessly once the trigger was pulled, making things even more difficult for Lixi, who was already struggling to cope.

"Anyway, I don't need Lixi to do anything more for me. Whether it's Su Shi's matter or the band's matter, I don't want to be your partner because I need your help. Rather, just having you by my side is already a huge help, okay?"

"Who taught you to say these embarrassing things so calmly and expressionlessly..."

"Um—they are some of my very respected aunts and elders. I would really like to introduce you to them if I have the chance in the future."

After that, Kazama maintained a gentle, smiling demeanor without saying a word, and Riki, of course, did not press Kazama further about who these elders were.

(」?一) Ling〧印+qi寺邬诌師就⑧卄 It's such a pity. If she had continued to ask, she would have gotten a very interesting result.

"Anyway, just do whatever you want. Everyone in MYGO genuinely wants you to stay, and even Suze probably feels that way now. If anything happens in the band, I'll take care of it... Just remember not to abandon us and leave like this."

Lixi waved his hand and sat back down in front of the drum set.

"He's just like a reliable patriarch who maintains the stability of the family, Lixi."

Kazama smiled and nodded. The current Riki was completely different from the Riki Aunt he remembered—

But it still gives him a sense of home.

“I don’t want to be your elder, Kazama.”

Lixi rolled her eyes at him helplessly and picked up the drumsticks that had been lying to the side.

"Alright, that's enough said... Would you do me the honor of singing a song together?"

She gently tapped the drumhead with her drumstick, and the deep yet melodious tone resonated throughout the practice room as the drumhead vibrated.

She was inviting Kazama to play a duet.

After speaking frankly and openly, Shiina Tatsuki uses a joint performance to completely break down and say goodbye to this rift—that's Shiina Tatsuki's style of doing things.

"If we're going to recruit new members, they can't be too weak, Kazama."

Perhaps there's also an emphasis on the sense of responsibility that says, "I was your first partner, and I have the right to let you stand beside others in a stronger position."

Kazama smiled and picked up his guitar.

"If it's to accompany Li Xi, I'd be happy to do it as many times as I want."

He didn't dislike Li Xi at all—in fact, he liked her very much.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: I'm Here to Join You

Yawata Kairin's life has been relatively peaceful lately.

Everything was proceeding normally and according to plan, and the business seemed to be gradually developing in a positive direction.

"In short, if possible, please grant that guy's request after careful consideration."

—Hmm, it seems there's room for repairing her relationship with Shiina Tatsuki, although it wasn't something Hailing initiated.

This happened after she personally went to RiNG to assess Kazama's abilities.

On an otherwise ordinary day, she completed an otherwise ordinary substitute performance request and, as usual, planned to head home after the performance.

It was at this moment that Shiina Tatsuki appeared at the exit of the performance venue, blocked her way, and said the words mentioned above.

Hachiman Kairin suddenly found it amusing, and she raised an eyebrow as she looked at Riki leaning against the wall.

"When did you start acting like those two, coming to my workplace and waiting for me?"

"Who else could those two be besides me and Kazama?"

Li Xi frowned, and seeing that Hai Ling was clearly unaware of the situation, she didn't reveal any more details.

"It's nothing, just another person trying to poach my employees."

While it's not something a friend should do to hide Xiangzi's existence from Lixi, given the nature of her work, it's impossible for her to so easily reveal a potential client's personal information.

"So, when did you become so generous? I thought you would hold onto Xiao tightly and not let me take her away, like a child holding onto their favorite toy."

Yawata Kairin calmly took down the bass box and went to the wall to face the facade.

"Or perhaps, Ah Xiao's silver tongue even managed to persuade someone as stubborn as you?"

She had indeed maliciously left this girl, who was caught in a sullen mood, to Kazama to deal with—but unexpectedly, Riki was not only coaxed back into a good mood, but even took actions completely contrary to her own previous thoughts.

"Huh? Who said that guy had a silver tongue? He's just been acting like a jerk and being silly all the time. I'm sick of hearing it."

Li Xi still kept a straight face and refused to admit it.

However, despite saying that, this person actually went to Hai Ling to act as Kazama's intermediary.

Hai Ling was both amused and exasperated.

"Alright, alright, since you've put it that way, let's settle on that."

"Yeah, you definitely need to do well on the exam...what?"

“I said, let’s settle on that.”

Seeing Lixi's belatedly shocked expression when he realized what was happening, Hailing found it even more amusing.

"No, I just wanted you to think carefully about his proposal, not for you to agree immediately..."

"I've been thinking about this for days, and I really can't think of any reason to refuse."

Hai Ling nodded dismissively, then a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Besides, if joining that guy's team makes you make that face all the time, then it's a win-win situation—meaning I win twice."

"Well……"

To be honest, Li Xi was so angry she was itching to bite him.

"What's wrong? Why are you glaring at me like that, just as you wanted? Are you welcoming me to stand next to Xiao, or not?"

In terms of teasing Li Xi, Hai Ling is actually Kazama's senior in a sense—but she probably didn't expect that Kazama had become so formidable that Li Xi would willingly ask her to seriously consider a cooperative relationship.

"...Never mind, if we're going to be comrades, I shouldn't say anything hurtful to that guy."

Lixi didn't argue anymore, but silently reminded Hailing of the important points that she considered extremely important.

She seemed to be mentally prepared for Kazama and Kairin to become partners—or even friends.

Do I seem like the kind of person who would speak rudely to you?

Hai Ling also toned down her slightly frivolous thoughts; she hadn't originally intended to make the topic so serious.

"I know you've performed on stage together before, and you must have gone through a lot of practice and coordination behind the scenes. But is it really necessary to be this overprotective?"

"You don't understand, before..."

After a moment's hesitation, Li Xi finally recounted his past experiences under Hai Ling's curious gaze.

From the disbandment of CRYCHIC to the sudden intrusion of a boy named Kazama Akatsuki into their lives, to his seemingly unintentional but actually gentle and considerate care—as well as the fateful performance of "Spring Shadow," and the nightmare accident that occurred on the same day.

"Hmm... So, some of you not only failed to properly thank this benefactor who helped you improve your skills for free, helped you perform on stage, and even saved someone's life from under a car... but also said some rather offensive things to him."

Li Xi perfectly summarized the points that Li Xi still can't let go of, although some parts are still not accurate enough.

"She actually... realized she had gone a bit too far after that accident. I also reminded her to apologize to Kazama seriously... but you know how it is."

Once trust is broken, there's no such thing as putting a broken mirror back together.

"Hmm... So you specifically reminded me of this so that I wouldn't repeat the mistakes of your friend."

Hai Ling rolled her eyes. Although Li Xi didn't reveal Su Shi's identity out of consideration for everyone's privacy, it was obvious enough to Hai Ling who this person was.

"Don't worry, I will take good care of your classmate Xiao and won't let him suffer similar harm again."

“What do you mean by ‘my Xiao’… I’ve never said that.”

"Then who went to all the way to my workplace to stop me, just so I would be nicer to the person she loves?"

"You're so annoying..."

"Don't worry, none of the things you're worried about will happen."

Hai Ling patted Li Xi, who was still grumbling and arguing beside her, hoping that her promise would put her at ease.

"Because I won't form any bonds with anyone like you do."

Just as you won't be disappointed if you don't have expectations, you won't be hurt on the day you are let down if you don't form emotional bonds with others.

"We agreed on a long-term partnership, so it's just a partnership. Teammates aren't friends, and I won't invest any extra emotions in them or anyone else."

Hachiman Kairin will never repeat the mistakes of Nagasaki Motoyo—nor will she repeat the mistakes of her past self.

"And I would never take away the people my friends care about. I'm here to join you, not to cause trouble."

"I...I already told you I don't care about him!"

On Hachiman Kairin's side, under Riki's offensive, she had finally made up her mind.

Kazama knew from the start that she would agree, so while the two were having a pleasant conversation, he went to meet the last member originally slated for Ave Mujica.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Meow Dream, She Can Be Replaced

"Hehehe, hehehe~"

A girl with short purple hair leaned against the marble bar, holding a lemon mousse in her hands, the delicate sweetness blooming on her tongue as she gently bit into it.

With her other hand, she gently swiped the screen with the pad of her thumb, watching the PosTube videos dance between her fingers, making her delicate and pretty face, which was worthy of appearing in a beauty video, even more adorable.

Yutenji Wakana is better known by the name Miss Meow Dream.

The light from the floor-to-ceiling windows streamed in through the white walls, landing on her focused, slightly furrowed brows and eyes, the corners of her eyes gently upturned, as if she were capturing some interesting moment.

On her phone was a live video that had leaked from RiNG's livehouse a while ago.

The camera on the screen was fixed on the band, who were performing on stage under the lights, sweating and singing their hearts out, while their music echoed in her ears through the Bluetooth earphones.

The song was played by an unknown band, and it seems to be called "Spring Shadow".

The girls on stage unleashed their emotions, channeling them into the powerful impact of the song, which resonated with the audience. Only one boy in the band remained unusually calm, but a closer look revealed that it was his string playing that led the girls to elevate the emotional outburst to even greater heights.

The lead singer is working so hard! This song broke my heart; I wanted to kneel down and beg her to sing just a few more lines...

Am I the only one who thinks the guitarist is cool? These days, mixed-gender bands are rare. Does anyone have the guitarist's account I can follow?

[Drummer, please step on me!]

The comments left by viewers in the comment section were still varied, and Miss Miaomeng clicked on a few of the sub-comments with great interest.

[I knew my long-lost husband the moment I saw the guitarist, so does anyone have his social media accounts? — Chuhua-sama, a die-hard fan]

[What do you mean "your husband"? I heard he's very close to Summimi's Chu Hua. Paparazzi even photographed them entering and leaving the hospital together. —Friend A]

[What? Who's injured? My husband or Master Chuhua? — Chuhua-sama's die-hard fan]

[I bet it's your husband. —Friend A]

[Okay! If it's Lord Chuhua, I can accept it... Honey, go in peace! —Chuhua-sama's die-hard fan]

When I got to this part, I couldn't help but smile.

"As expected, everyone here is quite interesting."

Sometimes she would raise her eyes to bring the mousse to her lips, close her eyes to savor the lingering aroma of vanilla and lemon, and other times she would lower her head to immerse herself in the world on the screen, her fingertips moving with distinct rhythm.

Although Ms. Yutenji Wakame, who is adept at navigating the internet, mainly runs a beauty vlog account, she lives in a city with an unprecedentedly large market for girl bands—keeping up with current trends and hot topics is how she captures traffic.

That's why, whenever she's not working and has free time, she spends a lot of time browsing social media to make sure she doesn't miss any interesting information.

The same is true today.

She had originally planned to enjoy this afternoon without work or worries, spending some time alone in a dessert shop to replenish her energy and occasionally looking out the window to relieve her fatigue.

But all of this was disrupted by an uninvited guest.