Aunt Xiangzi, how did you manage to live?

"...Perhaps the bond between Xiaojun and me, in some way that defies common sense, has long been an unshakable objective fact."

When Su Shi put the photo back into her handbag, her voice was not loud and her tone was extremely gentle, as if she were just stating an ordinary, trivial matter in her life.

But her words struck Chu Hua like a thunderclap.

For a moment, Chu Hua couldn't even tell whether her heart was racing because she was angered by these words or because of some deeper fear.

Not right.

It wasn't just Su Shi's attitude that was off; the whole thing had an unsettling sense of incongruity from beginning to end.

Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed together in her palms, trying to recall the few words Kazama had once mentioned about her family.

The boy rarely mentioned anything about his family, but Chu Hua always took it to heart whenever he casually brought it up.

According to Kazama himself, he was adopted and raised by his current mother. Although there is no father in the family, there is a group of his mother's good friends—to him, a group of warm and gentle aunts who occasionally take care of him in place of his clumsy mother.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with this kind of family atmosphere. Although my mother isn't very good at expressing her feelings verbally and is rather clumsy in her actions, I can clearly feel that she loves me very much."

When talking about his family, the boy always has a happy expression that looks like he's reminiscing about the good old days.

"The aunts who have taken care of me since I was a child are the same. Although they have different personalities and sometimes don't get along very well with each other... and sometimes they even act like children and act spoiled towards me when they are drunk, they are the family members who taught me all kinds of knowledge and protected me as I grew up."

Chu Hua first developed unusual feelings for the boy, perhaps from this moment on.

Even though he has a broken family like mine, why does he look so happy when talking about home?

Misaki Hatsune Miku – no, Misaki Hatsune Miku – first felt a longing for the imagery represented by the word "home" because she empathized with his feelings.

"Although we are now far apart and cannot meet again for a while... we will definitely meet again in the future."

Why does Xiao's tone carry a subtle, almost imperceptible sadness when she mentions her family?

Why is it that even though they're now worlds apart, he's still eagerly anticipating their next meeting?

These are things that Hatsune Miku, whose family background is so different from that of normal people, cannot understand.

But there's one thing she understands very well.

That is, as long as she can see a happy smile on the boy's face, her heart will leap with joy.

He is happy, therefore she is happy.

Now, the appearance of this bizarre photo has completely shattered Chu Hua's understanding.

Judging from the intimate posture of the woman holding the boy in the photo, the two should at least be close relatives.

Even if the little boy in the picture is indeed Kazama, it's really not a big deal.

What truly unsettled Chu Hua was the woman in the photo with the serene and gentle smile.

Who is she really?

Chu Hua immediately turned her anxious gaze to Su Shi.

The woman in the photo not only has the same expression in her eyes and brows, but even the curve of her smile is exactly the same as Su Shi's now.

"It seems that Miss Chuhua has the same thought that I had when I first saw this photo."

Su Shi's reaction to this was remarkably calm.

"Could it be... Su Shi..."

After thinking for a long time, Chu Hua still whispered a tentative suggestion.

"Actually, she's Xiaojun's cousin... or something like that?"

Sure enough, she immediately steered the argument towards kinship.

"Could the person in the photo be Su Shi's mother...?"

"I thought Miss Chuhua's reasoning ability was far superior to mine, but it seems I was just overthinking it."

Su Shi shook her head, quickly distancing herself from any connection between her family and Kazama.

"Unfortunately, my mother and the lady in the picture look quite different. I've also asked my family members before, and none of them have a child named Kazama Akatsuki who is my age."

What Chu Hua had anticipated, Su Shi had already put into practice long ago.

"Then, could it be..."

The blonde girl's expression became increasingly intriguing, and her hesitant behavior conveyed a kind of unspoken speculation to Su Shi.

"I regret to inform you that I not only have no memory of taking this photo, but I also haven't tampered with it. Although I'm embarrassed to admit this to Ms. Chuhua, I'm actually a complete novice when it comes to photo editing."

Su Shi gracefully held the red tea, dispelling the undeniable suspicion in Chu Hua's eyes when she looked at her.

"That's why I say this is an objective fact that even my subjective will cannot shake."

Motoyo Nagasaki doesn't seem to be lying.

But then, who is the woman in the photo holding young Kazama Akira?

"...Actually, I have another piece of information regarding this point of doubt."

Su Shi carefully observed Chu Hua's pensive expression.

She tried her best to maintain a polite smile, keeping the corners of her mouth curved. But anyone with eyes could see that Chu Hua's eyes had darkened, like a pool of water frozen solid.

It seems that the evidence I presented successfully shook Chu Hua's perception.

Su Shi smiled without saying a word, and leisurely placed the red tea cup in her hand on the table.

"However, if Miss Chuhua wants to know..."

"We need to use another piece of intelligence to make the substitution, right?"

As the most favored daughter among the favored daughters, Chu Hua, who was of the same kind as Su Shi, simply and easily revealed Su Shi's intentions.

Even though they had never had any in-depth contact before, as competitors, they were all too familiar with each other's ways.

"Since Su Shi just said that, and also wants to restore her relationship with Xiao Jun... then I won't lie to Su Shi."

Chu Hua nodded, easily agreeing to Su Shi's unspoken exchange request.

In a sense, how could this not be considered a kind of mutual appreciation between women?

"Ahem... Since you've put it that way..."

Nagasaki Motoyo cleared her throat, straightened her back, and sat up straight.

“…That’s it.”

Then, with a slightly embarrassed look, she asked the question that had been lingering in her mind for a long time.

"Metis...while he was sleeping at Xiaojun's house, what else did Miss Chuhua and Xiaojun...do?"

"……Eh?"

After all that rambling... is this where the truth finally comes out, Miss Su Shi?

Chapter 59 The Only Way Out for the Loser Su Shi

The bad news is that Nagasaki Motoyo has not only not given up her covetousness for Kazama, but has become even more determined and intensified in it.

Another piece of bad news is that Nagasaki Motoyo seems to be holding top-secret information that is unknown to others.

But there is good news.

The only good news was that Su Shi could have used these two strengths, which were absolutely disadvantageous to Chu Hua, to turn the tide of the battle, but in the end she was held back by some trivial matters.

These "little things" are, of course, the things that Chu Hua and Xiao secretly did behind Metis's back, as she mentioned.

Wait... how does Su Shi know all this?

After a brief moment of doubt, Chu Hua suddenly understood.

As expected, Metis-chan is unreliable.

With a sudden realization, she smiled and sighed softly to herself.

Such a secret, known only to her, Kazama, and Metis, would inevitably reach the ears of others. There's no need to even consider who the informant truly is.

Fortunately, she and Xiao didn't talk about anything too private that day, otherwise, if Metis had relayed these words to Su Shi, it would have been even more troublesome to explain.

and many more,

Why explain...?

　Jiu & Ling ⑹ Silk Lu% Wife Bar Japanese Pa "..."

Sanjiao Chuhua lowered her head and remained silent.

She knew very well that every word she uttered and every casual expression she made could become a weapon to protect Xiaojun.

Even if I'm accused of being selfish, I don't care.

This is a turbulent time for the new band, and if Su Shi senses an opportunity and snatches Xiao Jun back... her hard-won chance to travel with the three of them will vanish into thin air.

Of course, when referring to the "three people" here, Sanjiao Chuhua still includes Xiangzi to some extent.

Although Xiangzi and Xiao's importance in her heart has been placed at opposite ends of a scale, and their importance has gradually shifted, Chu Hua still wants to defend the opportunity to be in the same band as both of them at this stage.

No one can take it away.

Even Su Shi, who came to negotiate with a so-called "secret," was not an option.

With this in mind, Chu Hua made up her mind.

She raised her head, her eyes like a small fish flashing beneath the surface of water, light and cunning.

Despite appearing bewildered on the surface, Chu Hua had already quickly pieced together the words she should say in response. She blinked, a hint of playfulness in her eyes.

"Well... nothing really happened."

She neither pressed for details about who told her this, nor did she respond with something that could easily be interpreted as showing weakness, such as, "This is a private matter, and it's not convenient to disclose it to Su Shi."

Surprisingly, Mikasa answered Su Shi's ill-intentioned question in a gentle and calm manner.

She recounted the whole story in an extremely gentle tone, her voice as soft as cotton candy.

"Actually, I just went to his door without permission and cooked a meal for him and Metis without Xiaojun's consent... We also had a heart-to-heart talk and cleared up the previous misunderstanding."

But she deliberately pronounced those few words that Su Shi cared about slowly and clearly.

For a moment, the air seemed to be wound up tightly, so quiet it was unsettling.

Su Shi's eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.

"We had a heart-to-heart talk... Was there any misunderstanding between you two before?"

Miss Su Shi's face was clouded with worry, and she even lost the appetite to pick up her teacup and drink tea.

She was still smiling, but that smile clearly froze for a moment.

It is clear that Su Shi has fallen into the "trap" that Chu Hua prepared for her, and now is the time for Miss Chu Hua to capture her in one fell swoop.

"Well... it's actually similar to Su Shi's situation. After that accident, I was always worried that Xiao Jun would completely sever ties with me because of Xiao Xiang... so, I did some things that I should do as someone important to him."

Chu Hua tilted her head slightly, her eyes crinkling at the corners, and smiled as if she were reminiscing about a very happy thing.

Su Shi's fingers tightened slightly.

But she still managed to maintain a composed expression, as if she had only heard a casual remark.

"Miss Chuhua, why don't you put things more clearly?"

Even Metis should have noticed by now that Chu Hua was secretly mocking something, let alone Su Shi, who is most skilled at using this kind of trick.

"Make it a little brighter... but that's really all there is to it."

Chu Hua shook her head.

She had indeed considered that since Metis, that loose-lipped fellow, had already spilled the beans, should she seize the opportunity to press her advantage and paint an even more embellished picture of the truth?

But lying is wrong.

"I wanted to explain things to him before he became disappointed in me, and to nip that possibility in the bud. That's all."

Moreover, once one lie is exposed, countless more lies are needed to cover it up.

Besides, she's already told enough lies.

To become someone who matches that boy, I can no longer allow myself to continue lying.