Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

"I have to go out this afternoon and won't be able to come back to have dinner with my father. But I've already prepared dinner in advance and left it at home. If my father gets hungry, he can just heat it up in the microwave."

After breakfast, Xiangzi, having washed all the pots and pans, changed into his summer clothes and stood in the entryway changing his shoes.

She was eager to try, as if she were about to face a trial that would take ten years to hone, and her father, Qinggao, could only nod awkwardly at her.

"Okay...go home early."

"……Um."

The father and daughter, Toyokawa, exchanged a glance, and finally, Shoko nodded vigorously first.

"I am leaving!"

The girl pushed open the door of her dimly lit home and stepped into the bright sunshine outside.

Even the air itself seemed to distort under the scorching summer sun, but this did nothing to dampen the elation rising in Toyokawa Shoko's heart.

Today is the day she and Miaomeng Hailing and the others have agreed to meet offline.

As partners who are about to debut together, they should get together as soon as possible to become familiar with each other and, ideally, each take on their respective roles to prepare for the debut-related matters.

The thought that all her worries of the past few days had been resolved so easily, and that her plan could proceed so smoothly, made Toyokawa Shoko admit that she was almost losing her composure with joy.

With a smile on his face, Xiangzi opened his phone and accessed the group chat he had created a few days ago.

Although it's just me, Hailing Miaomeng, and myself in the chat for now, this is the first group chat belonging to ave mujica.

"Don't worry, Hailing and Miaomeng. I will do my best to lead everyone to success!"

Although her ambitious declaration came somewhat unexpectedly, the other two still gave her their support.

"It's great that you're so motivated, Xiao Xiang~ — Teacher Miaomeng"

"Yes, I've arrived. I'll be waiting for you. —Hachiman Kairin (For collaboration inquiries, please contact me privately)"

Seeing his friends' comments, Xiao Xiang was so happy that he took two steps at a time while walking.

Everything is moving in a positive direction, isn't it?

With such a reliable partner, this do-or-die project is sure to succeed—and perhaps Toyokawa Shoko can rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

With this hope that "tomorrow will be better," Toyokawa Shoko happily boarded the platform and took the tram to the place where she had agreed to meet her companions.

Yes, companion.

Having agreed to her request to join the team, Yutenji Wakana and Hachiman Kairin are now undoubtedly her true companions.

Although the last time she formed a band didn't go as planned, she's confident that this time she and her new bandmates will create new miracles together.

That was Toyokawa Shoko's original plan.

The moment she pushed open the door, she suddenly realized that there was another person in the room besides Hachiman Kairin and Nyanmu.

"Hey, good afternoon."

The handsome boy sat on the sofa and greeted her, but his cheerful smile made Xiangzi's expression freeze.

"Kaze, Kazama-kun..."

Why is this guy here?

"I bet you're wondering why I'm here."

Kazama stood up from the sofa and exchanged glances with Hailin, who was drinking canned coffee, and Nyanmu, who was busy touching up her makeup with a vanity mirror.

"Hmm... I think you definitely don't want to see me here right now. Wouldn't it be easier for you to accept if they explained things to you?"

He shrugged, and Hai Ling, who was standing next to him, put down her canned coffee and nodded knowingly.

"Let me explain. Shortly after you, Toyokawa-kun, extended an olive branch to me, Kazama-kun also approached us."

"Hey hey~ This abandoned + (two) Shaanxi Lin silk? ⑨ Ni ③ things have become more and more complicated, and we include me too?"

Miss Miaomeng temporarily put down her paintbrush, raised her hand charmingly and cutely, and supplemented Hailing's explanation with her words and actions.

"So...you are all..."

The smile that had lingered on Toyokawa Shoko's face about ten minutes ago had completely disappeared, replaced by bewilderment and astonishment at everything that had happened.

"Oh, I don't know anything about Hailing-chan, but I was persuaded by Xiao-chan. Okay, even if it has nothing to do with popularity, it's hard to disagree with his handsome appearance, right?"

Teacher Miaomeng added unnecessary details, as if she didn't mind watching the drama unfold, but this only made Xiangzi's expression increasingly unpleasant, without shaking Kazama's leisurely demeanor in the slightest.

"Persuaded by Kazama-kun...?"

Still reeling from the shock, Xiangzi stared at the three people in front of him—people he should never have crossed paths with—after repeatedly processing the information he had just received—

Her expression finally grew increasingly gloomy.

"Kazama-kun, you—"

She stopped glancing at the composed Hailing and Miaomeng and instead stared intently at the boy standing in the center of the room.

Without the slightest hesitation or beating around the bush, Toyokawa Shoko directly asked the question that had been bothering her.

What exactly are you planning to do?

Chapter 44 Xiao Xiang Breaks Down His Defenses, So Cute!

Toyokawa Shoko is now feeling quite regretful, wishing that car had just hit her back then.

Why, why—

This guy was always around both Mu and Chu Hua.

Looking at the boy standing in the center of the room—even between Miaomeng and Hailing—she suddenly felt a lump in her throat.

Even if she temporarily avoids his sharp edge, she will still encounter Kazama in unexpected places, and even have things that are hard to predict "taken away" by this guy in various ways.

I can't stand it anymore.

Ms. Toyokawa Shoko is really having a hard time now.

"What exactly do you want to do?"

For some reason, Xiangzi's pride in her self-restraint and dignity always crumbled in front of this young man, and her reserve and etiquette always surrendered to him.

Why are you always by my side, appearing no matter what I do?

Towards the end, her voice even carried a hint of barely suppressed anger, which made Miaomeng and Hailing, who had initially just been watching the show, much more restrained.

The situation doesn't look good.

The two women exchanged a glance.

If I weren't a friend, I would have readily agreed because I genuinely believed these two were a husband-and-wife business.

Hai Ling shook her head, a hint of helplessness in her eyes as she conveyed her emotions to Miao Meng.

Me too—at least we have to be very close, right? Otherwise, who would lower themselves to cover for Xiangzi-chan who only has a project proposal?

Miaomeng returned a complicated look, it seemed that neither of them had expected this situation to occur.

Anyway, Ms. Toyokawa Shoko was in full-on, ready-to-fight mode from the start, and now it's up to Kazama to respond.

Having reached this tacit understanding, Hailing and Miaomeng didn't say anything more. Instead, they both turned their gazes to Kazama in the center of the room.

"What's wrong? Are you about to wave goodbye to a victory that's within reach, Ms. Toyokawa Shoko?"

He did not respond to Xiangzi's persistent questioning, but calmly and composedly raised his own questions to her.

"Success was clearly within your grasp, yet you broke your resolve just because these two weren't members you personally invited—are you really prepared to lead them onto the stage and face the storm of public opinion?"

This time, Kazama neither cheated nor used glib talk. He changed his usual gentle and calm style and instead calmly and objectively pointed out Xiangzi's weakness.

"—No way!"

Naturally, this confrontational communication strategy did not calm Xiangzi down; instead, it seemed to make her even more defensive.

However, Hailing and Miaomeng, as bystanders, could more or less understand why she broke down.

The eldest daughter of the Toyokawa family left the family to start her own business. She planned to recruit the two women under her wing with a business plan, but the plan was temporarily shelved due to a lack of manpower.

She finally received affirmative answers from both of them, but it wasn't the result of her hard work, nor did it come from Hailing Miaomeng's recognition of her abilities.

It was only because another person, "more capable" than her, appeared and persuaded them to join Xiangzi's team.

That's it.

And this person just happens to be Kazama, with whom she has had some friction.

It's not so bad to compete with someone you don't like for teammates; the worst thing is not only losing to them, but also having them give you their teammates as if to appease your feelings.

This was incredibly embarrassing for Toyokawa Shoko, whose pride was so high.

She should have been the one who found everyone to form A-kun, Yang Zhou lingl@iu Si 6 Qiba 28ve mujica.

But what does this mean now?

Her once close and harmonious relationship was strained by this unexpected guy, and Chu Hua, who had always been very reliable, kept putting her requests aside.

The two powerful figures they managed to recruit, Meow Dream and Hailin, only agreed to join their team because of Kazama. In other words, without Kazama, they probably wouldn't have even considered their suggestion.

"That's enough, I don't want to have anything to do with you anymore!!"

She forced those words out through gritted teeth, almost using the last shred of her sanity.

After uttering these harsh words, Ms. Toyokawa Shoko turned and left angrily, not letting anyone see the red marks on her eyes.

"Ala……"

Hai Ling and Miss Miao Meng exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat subtle.

How could things have gotten so out of control?

"Could it be that you two had some unresolved misunderstanding before, Xiao-chan?"

The meddlesome Ms. Miaomeng spoke first.

"There's no such misunderstanding, is there? Maybe some people are just naturally incompatible."

Kazama watched as Shoko stormed out the door, remaining unmoved as her footsteps faded into the distance.

"Well, regardless of your relationship, since you've agreed to form a band, you still need to consider the relationships within the band."

Hai Ling tilted her head and gestured towards the doorway.

"Aren't you going to do something, Kazama-kun?"

"Need not."

Kazama shrugged dismissively, then held up three fingers.

"Three, two, one."

The words had barely left his mouth when the door, which had been slammed shut earlier, was gently pushed open again by someone—

"........."

The newcomer was Toyokawa Shoko, who had been furious and stormed off in indignation.

Embarrassed, she slowly closed the door behind her and silently walked back into the room.

oops.

Hai Ling and Miao Meng exchanged a glance. They now understood why Kazama remained so calm and composed even after being dumped.

"...If this is your charity, I absolutely refuse it."

Even after slinking back, Miss Xiangzi still seemed determined to stick to her guns—but she didn't meet Kazama's gaze at all when she said that.

It really is a dead duck.

Kazama was no longer swayed by Shoko's bluff; instead, he almost burst out laughing at her dejected appearance, which showed that she had already broken down but had to slink back due to reality.

"That's what you say, but your actions betrayed you and you came back. I thought you were going to quit Ave Mujica like that."

"W-This is my plan!"

"But I'm the one who found them."

"Well……"

Sho, who was no match for Kazama in verbal sparring, was so angry that his face was practically bleeding.