thefictionvixens Page 94
Page 94
However, there is one person who will be deeply burdened by her... her vital companion, Wakaba Mutsumi. Wakaba Mutsumi not only has to join that... well, the band with the rather nonsensical name.
And then there's the avemujica event, which involves sacrificing oneself for others, and the conflict between oneself and Wakaba Mutsumi. Sooner or later, a conflict will arise.
In her view, the most decisive, and also the most painful, way was to erase all traces of her past suffering—leaving no place for Toyokawa Shoko there. So, in front of Wakaba Mutsu, she invited Ritsuki and Sose to the meeting, almost cruelly declaring her intention to destroy that… cough, the rather nonsensical-named Dong Brothers group.
Surely, this would make Ruoye Mu give up? Although the price of doing so was to create an even deeper chasm between them... Xiangzi almost obsessively believed that only by completely leaving her and getting away from the whirlpool she had created could Ruoye Mu truly move towards a better future that belonged to her.
And then there was Motoyo… Thinking of Nagasaki Motoyo, Shoko felt a pang of bitter guilt. She had treated her so coldly back then at Asukayama Park.
Even so, Su Shi was still willing to stay in touch, and even this time, when he communicated with her in such a distant and harsh tone, she was still willing to meet him...
This persistence made Xiangzi believe that deep down, Su Shi must also be unable to truly let go of the bitterness of the past, just like her. Those once warm times are like an old scar that can never heal.
Therefore, Xiangzi was certain that if anyone could really sabotage the renamed Ku Lai Xi Ku, that person would be Su Shi—but based on his performance, he believed that Su Shi must have given up.
Fortunately, everything went according to Xiangzi's plan.
As for why he didn't invite Takamatsu Akari... Shoko felt that the people he owed the most to were, first, Wakaba Mutsu, and second, Takamatsu Akari.
I pulled the other person out of my own world, but I failed to fulfill my responsibilities... Everything I did can be considered compensation for Takamatsu.
Although that's what she thought, she was still a little frustrated when she heard Lixi and Sushi both reject her without hesitation.
But one thing is certain: none of Takamatsu Akari's bands need Toyokawa Shoko now, and Toyokawa Shoko shouldn't even appear in front of their bands...
But I really didn't expect that Hatsuka would know Taro-senpai, and even suspected that she had some inappropriate feelings for Taro-senpai... Isn't this like shooting herself in the foot?
Then, Xiangzi's eyes revealed an extremely resolute look, and his fingers unconsciously clenched. Although he needed to rely on Chuhua, he would absolutely not give up his senior.
Xiangzi hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and made up his mind: At worst, we'll compete fairly, but... I still need to talk to Chuhua about this. Taking photos secretly is absolutely unacceptable—
After figuring out everything he had been through, Xiangzi walked slowly and happily back to his home—now the Qinggao Ramen Restaurant.
Episode 45, Dong the Royal Family
Xiangzi approached Qinggao Ramen Shop, only to find that his family's ramen shop was closed... Normally, it should be open and running well...?
Her father's ramen shop usually stayed open until 11 or 12 o'clock. Why was it closed at this hour? Luckily, she had a key. Just as Xiangzi was about to use the key to open the door, her father's voice came from inside the ramen shop:
"But at that time, I thought Xiangzi was innocent and I couldn't let her be implicated by me, so I sent Xiangzi a text message... Even without a father, you must be happy."
Father? Who is he talking to?
"This is just your personal self-satisfaction." A voice that Xiangzi recognized very well came from inside. It was the voice of his elder, who rebuked his father for his irresponsibility without any mercy.
"Children without their parents by their side, no matter how well-off their lives are, cannot easily obtain happiness."
Taro-senpai… Then, what the father said inside made Shoko's heart sink to the bottom of the sea… (For details, see chapter 42.)
Because what my father said is what I think. But will what my father said really come true?
Xiangzi's confused gaze quickly returned to determination. No, he was absolutely right. This would definitely... definitely make others happier.
Then, upon hearing that Taro wanted to leave, Xiangzi quickly hid to the side...
Meanwhile, dragging her exhausted body and feeling dazed, Wakaba Mutsumi left the coffee shop and returned to the Wakaba residence. Like many nights before, the Wakaba residence was pitch black.
If Ye Mu had no desire to investigate today, she walked into the hall in the dark, without intending to disturb anyone.
However, all her efforts were ultimately in vain, just as her desire to stay by Xiangzi's side was futile.
Suddenly, a woman silently approached from behind and embraced her cool, night-chilled body in her warm, soft arms. At the same time, the lights were turned on.
The familiar scent emanating from the woman immediately triggered a reaction from Wakaba Mutsu. She spoke softly, without struggling or reacting unusually, simply saying calmly, "Minami..."
Upon hearing Wakaba Mutsu's greeting, Mori Minami happily released her body, walked around to her front, and used her fingers to lift her chin. Wakaba Mutsu's expressionless face remained unchanged in the face of this ambiguous gesture.
Seeing the broken expression on Wakaba Mutsumi's face, Mori Minami's interest grew even stronger. She asked with great interest, "What's wrong? My dear daughter? Why do you have such a pitiful expression, like a kitten caught in the rain? That's quite rare."
She released her fingers that had been lifting Wakaba Mutsu's chin, placed them to her lips, tilted her head, and pondered, "Ah~ it really did rain today, and I think I'm a little wet. Is that why I'm so disappointed?"
If Ye Mu's eyes flashed with a fierce light, she had clearly switched to Metis's form, and she forcefully pushed Mori Minami aside:
"Minami! Mutsu isn't in the mood for playing house with you today! Besides! Can't a woman in her thirties be a little more mature and composed!?"
Faced with Motis's questioning, and even malicious personal attacks, Mori Minami remained completely unperturbed. She yawned and said lazily:
"Really? That's a shame. I was planning to talk to Mutsu about Momoi Taro today. But since Mutsu doesn't want to hear it, let's just forget about it."
She tried to leave, but something tugged at her sleeve. She turned around and, as expected, saw her 'well-behaved' daughter, Ruoye Mu.
She lowered her head, clutching her clothes, and whispered, "Minami, tell me about Taro."
"But...a woman in her thirties is already getting sleepy and can't stay up late anymore~" Looking at Wakaba Mutsu's calm yet pleading eyes, she couldn't help but tease her again.
"I'll make Mortis apologize." Ruoye Mu sold Mortis out without hesitation, then her usually calm expression turned awkward. She turned her head away shyly and stammered, "I...I'm sorry!"
"It's okay~ How could a mother hold a grudge against her own daughter~" Senmina smiled brightly and gently pinched Motis's little face, leaving a noticeable red mark.
With tears welling in her eyes, Mottis turned her head away, thinking to herself: If you really don't care, don't pinch so hard, you bastard.
Fortunately, after pinching Metis, Senmina started to get down to business: "You can treat this as a legend, it's okay. A long time ago, there was an upper world called Edenworth, and the beings living in it were called Brain People."
"When humans in the lower realm have excessive desires, they go berserk and become demons. The existence of demons will disrupt the fluctuations of Edenworth. Therefore, the Brain Man will eliminate all demons."
Mori Minami smiled, as if she were telling a bedtime story, while the little cucumber, who had switched back to the personality of Wakaba Mutsu, listened very attentively to her story.
“The difference between brain-type humans and ordinary humans isn’t that great. As people from a higher-dimensional world, it’s understandable that they judge humans with this attitude.” Minami’s tone was somewhat casual.
"However, the royal family among the Brain People strongly opposed this approach. They conducted various studies and finally, they achieved results."
"Although the difference between brain humans and ordinary humans is not that great, the royal family is special. Every member of the royal family is born with unique talents. These talents come from a power within their souls called kirakiradokidoki."
As she spoke, Mori Minami glanced at the expressionless Wakaba Mutsu and continued, "That's right, the name of this royal family is the Dong Royal Family."
Upon hearing the word "dong," Wakaba Mutsu stirred slightly. Mori Minami seemed to notice his expression and smiled faintly.
"The research of the Dong royal family is to extract the power of kirakiradokidoki from their souls and disperse it to all life in the lower realm. In this way, the excessive desires will be channeled by the power of kirakiradokidoki, and from then on, the excessive desires in the lower realm will no longer cause humans to go berserk and become demons."
"The power of kirakiradokidoki is the power of the soul of the Don royal family. Any Don royal family member whose power is extracted will naturally die."
"However, the Dong royal family also feared that the Brain People would covet their Kirakiradokidoki power, causing their people to sacrifice themselves in vain. Therefore, the Dong royal family made a decision to seal the path between the upper and lower realms. From then on, the entire Dong royal family perished. But no more humans will be eliminated in the lower realm."
"Then Taro...?" Wakaba Mutsu tilted her head in confusion and asked. Through Mori Minami's explanation, she roughly knew that Taro was the so-called Ton royal family, but according to Mori Minami's explanation, shouldn't the Ton royal family have all died out?
"Don't be in such a hurry~ The story has only just begun, Xiao Mu needs to be patient." Senmina still had a smiling face, which made Motis's fists harden in her heart. She really wanted to slam her fist into the other's face and see if she would keep up the suspense any longer.
Seeing Xiaomu's anxious expression, she couldn't help but chuckle inwardly, but she continued, "However, the power of Kirakiradokidoki (hereinafter referred to as power) will weaken over time until one day it can no longer stop a person's rampaging desires and turns them into a demon. Therefore, the Ton royal family has left three backup measures."
Minami held up three fingers, her smiling face turning quite serious as she explained:
"The first is that when human desires are about to reach their peak, more kirakiradokidoki will gather among a small number of people. In this way, the excess desires of everyone will be eliminated through these chosen people, and the total amount of these forces will be increased."
Then, Minami pressed down her ring finger, raised her middle and index fingers, and said, "Secondly, at this moment, a portion of the power stored by the Dong royal family will be released, giving birth to a child of the Dong royal family. That child will possess the most power of the Dong royal family—"
"That's Momoi Taro's true form...?" Wakaba Mutsumi's eyes glazed over in shock. Mori Minami pressed down her middle finger, a smile spreading across her face. "As expected of my daughter, she understands very quickly. The third method is—"
"The Dong royal family left behind a branch with the least stored power in the lower realm, allowing them to reproduce in the human world, assisting the Dong royal family that may appear in the future, and guarding the seal of the passage between the human world and the Brain Human world, ensuring that the seal will not be broken."
Hearing Minami's words, Wakaba Mutsu's heart stirred slightly, as if she was about to realize something. Minami laid her hand flat, pointing her index finger at Wakaba Mutsu:
"In order to conceal their identities, this clan would naturally not use such an obvious surname as 'Dong'. Since the entrance to the human world and the brain-human world was in a forest at that time, the clan's surname was determined to be 'Sen'."
Wakaba Mutsumi's pupils dilated slightly. Mori Minami took a deep breath. Suspicion arose, and Teraya Kyuu suddenly knelt down, pointed at Wakaba Mutsumi with her index finger, and shouted loudly:
"Ruo-ye-mu-!"
"Why did you develop multiple personality disorder when you haven't suffered any harm since birth?!"
"Why does he possess the talent of multiple monsters!"
Why do you feel a sense of familiarity when you see Momoi Taro?
"Stop talking!" Mavis forcefully pushed Wakaba Muku offline. Although she didn't know what Mori Minami was trying to do, stopping her was always the right thing to do.
However, Metis discovered that her feet seemed to be rooted to the ground, and she couldn't move an inch.
"There's only one answer." Mori Minami exhaled softly, revealing a healthy smile.
"Stop!" Metis sensed that Wakaba Mutsu's resolve was wavering, and couldn't help but plead with Mori Minami to stop her, but she showed no intention of stopping.
"Ruo-ye-mu-!"
"You're the only remaining branch of the royal family from back then, and you're Momoi Taro's younger sister—hahahaha." Mori Minami laughed maniacally, and Metath was once again forced offline.
"I... am? Momoi Taro's sister?" Wakaba Mutsumi looked at her hands in disbelief, then lowered them. "Is this all...?"
Although it was indeed shocking, it didn't seem so bad. However, Ruoye Mu had some doubts in her heart... doubting whether she was worthy of this identity.
Compared to the almost invincible Momoi Taro, I seem to be far inferior.
"What's wrong with you, Mutsu? Give me a better reaction." Seeing Mutsu's reaction, Minami, who was still kneeling on the ground acting crazy, stood up with a bored look, walked to Mutsu's side, and put her arm around her shoulder: "This reaction is so boring."
"Shut up, you bastard!" Super Male Modes punched Mori Minami in the stomach. "What kind of mother are you?" Mori Minami took the punch from Wakaba Mutsu, but kept her expression unchanged, as if nothing had happened.
"But... compared to Taro, my abilities seem far inferior, it's hard to believe..." Wakaba Mutsumi lowered her head, recalling the almost omnipotent Momoi Taro, and then thinking about herself who couldn't even play the guitar very well...
“Of course, that’s the main branch of the Dong royal family. It’s only natural that the branch is much weaker.” Minami Mori rubbed her little head nonchalantly and said, “Your abilities are already terrifyingly strong among all the generations of the Mori family. I was very jealous of you when Mutsu was little… I seem to have said too much.”
Minami released her hand, straightened up, and looked down at Mutsu. Her pale yellow eyes were filled with indescribable emotions: pity, sorrow, jealousy, and heartache, along with many other things that Mutsu couldn't understand, all crammed into Minami's gaze.
"Well~ let's leave it at that~" Mori Minami squinted her eyes, stretched lazily, and when she opened her eyes again, all those complicated emotions had vanished. She walked to Wakaba Mutsumi's side, patted her shoulder, and said:
"I've told you most of what I know. Normally, I wouldn't say these things until you turn eighteen." After expressing her appreciation, Mori Minami prepared to leave. Wakaba Mutsu didn't turn back, letting Mori Minami walk away from her.
Minami walked to the door, then, as if remembering something, suddenly turned around to face Mutsuka Wakaba and said teasingly:
"By the way, although you're nominally Momoi Taro's sister, in reality, you're only distant relatives. Getting married is no problem at all~ Mom is very open-minded about this~ Bye~"
Until Minami Mori pushed open the door and left, both Mutsuka Wakaba and Motis were somewhat stunned by Minami Mori's words. After a long while, what was probably Motis's angry shout came:
"Little—Minami—!!!!!"
Episode 46, Interlude
The morning sunlight filtered through the off-white curtains, casting warm, dappled patterns on the floor. Renna, wrapped in a thin blanket, rolled over, her soft hair brushing against the pillow. She lazily opened her eyes.
She groggily picked up her watch from a short distance away, glanced at it, and yawned again: "So sleepy..."
Yesterday, she, Anheang, and Taoxiang had just finished their band's first live performance. Although it was just a small show, the excitement and fatigue still lingered.