Momoi Taro wants to form a "don" brother duo, but it's a music anime.

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"Lixi, the drum rhythm is off again." Xiangzi called out to Lixi, looking intently at her with a gentle expression in her eyes. She asked softly, "This is different from the usual Lixi. Are you alright?"

"..." Although Li Xi really wanted to say that she was fine, saying that would only be bravado and a waste of everyone's time.

"Tachibana-chan..." Takamatsu Akari muttered softly, looking at the other person's terrible expression: "If you're not feeling well, don't push yourself."

Su Shi silently put down her bass and looked at Li Xi from afar without saying a word. Ruo Ye Mu thought for a moment and said softly, "Continuing to practice is impossible."

As soon as Ruo Yemu spoke, Li Xi's expression darkened further, but she still nodded reluctantly and said in a low voice, "Yes, I'm sorry, I don't feel well today. I'd like to ask for a day off."

Everyone comforted Lixi, except for Ruoye Mu, who stood there somewhat at a loss. Although she didn't know what was going on, she felt like she had said the wrong thing again.

“It’s not Mutsu’s fault.” The gentle Su Shi noticed Mutsu’s state and came over to hug her, comforting her, “Tachi-chan has been pushing herself too hard. She needs to relax a bit.”

"Speaking of which, I almost forgot to give this to you, Su Shi." Xiangzi seemed to remember something, took out three orange picks from his bag, held out his hand, and said, "Here, tickets to Taro-senpai's live show, 1200 yen."

If Ye Mu silently took a portion and tried to take out some gold from her bag to give to Xiangzi, Xiangzi stopped her by raising her hand:

"No need, Mu treated me to coffee this morning, so Mu can treat me next time too. It'll save you the trouble. Su Shi too, treat me to coffee next time."

Upon hearing this, Ruoye Mu nodded silently and put the ticket away.

"Yes, yes, then please do me the honor of coming." Su Shi took one from Xiangzi's hand with a bit of helplessness.

Is it that she didn't want to invite him? It's clearly Xiangzi who didn't want to come!

Xiangzi withdrew his hand and then said with some worry, "Lixi's condition is indeed very abnormal. Although I haven't spent much time with Lixi, I've never seen Lixi like that before."

"Well... that's just my personal opinion." Su Shi recalled the brief but precious moments she shared with Momoi Taro: "The meddlesome Momoi Taro gave her the ticket, it must be because something happened to Riki."

“That’s right, that’s right.” Xiao Xiang nodded quickly, echoing Su Shi’s statement: “It has absolutely nothing to do with Taro-senpai’s personal feelings!”

Then, as if realizing something, Xiangzi subconsciously glanced at Su Shi, only to find that Su Shi was also looking at him. The two seemed to understand each other.

They simultaneously turned their heads away, as if on cue.

Ruo Ye Mu watched the two exchange glances, then looked away. Her little head tilted to the side, filled with countless question marks. What was wrong with these two?

“I think so too…” Takamatsu Akari, who hadn’t quite grasped the situation, clearly hadn’t noticed the exchange between the two, and said softly:

"So, as expected, I'm going to go see Riki-chan live." Takamatsu Akari's expression was very determined.

"Then, how about we sneak over there? Giving Lixi some space would be better, wouldn't it?"

Su Shi shared her experience, suggesting that if things could be resolved, Li Xi might need some private space to vent her emotions.

“Although what Su Shi said makes a lot of sense, it may not be very realistic,” Xiangzi said bluntly. “Because we’ve already discussed this in the group chat.”

Su Shi shook her head slightly and said softly, "I disagree with Xiao Xiang's statement because it's normal to not remember information when you're in this state."

"Anyway, let's just pretend nothing happened for now. Let's not give Lixi any further shocks." Su Shi thought about how to explain, but in the end, she sighed and gave up trying to explain.

Gao Songdeng nodded as if he understood, and then everyone chatted for a while before preparing to go home.

After Takamatsu Akari left, Shoko found Sose and asked softly, "So, Sose likes Taro-senpai, doesn't she?"

"Hmm... I won't deny it." Su Shi nodded gently, looking at Xiangzi with a firm gaze: "Even if it's Xiao Xiang, I won't give it up."

"I don't need Su Shi Rang. I, Desuwa, will definitely be the one to win!" Xiangzi replied with the same unwavering gaze. Their eyes clashed in the air, seemingly sparking a fierce exchange.

Not far away, Wakaba Mutsu watched the two of them speechlessly. "Can you two be a little more mindful of the people around you when you're loudly plotting?"

But, do Su Shi and Xiang actually like their older brother?

The little cucumber tilted its head, thinking, as if Aine also had that tendency.

Ruoye Mu didn't care who her brother and sister-in-law were; she could accept it whether it was Aine, Xiangzi, or Su Shi.

But does my brother really like them? Wakaba Muku glanced at the two of them slightly, even though they liked my brother very much.

However, in Wakaba Mutsu's eyes, it seemed that her older brother didn't have any feelings for them.

Rather, she hasn't seen her brother have romantic feelings for anyone yet.

As Ruoye Muku thought this, she felt a little uneasy because she couldn't help but become genuinely curious about the matter.

"I'll ask later." Perhaps it was the bad habit of talking to himself that Ruoye Mutsu developed from talking to Motis, or something else entirely.

Wakaba Mutsu voiced her inner thoughts: "What kind of woman does my brother like?"

The two people who were still staring at each other suddenly stopped looking at each other and focused their attention on Ruoye Mu. Then, the two of them quickly walked to Ruoye Mu's side and supported her from both sides.

"Xiao Mu, can we come with you when you go to ask?" Su Shi's face revealed a terrifyingly gentle smile. She looked at Ruo Ye Mu with a smile, bringing her an invisible pressure.

"Yes, we'll just watch, okay? Mu." Xiangzi's smile, though still gentle and bright, was inexplicably terrifying.

This made Wakaba Mutsu reflect on what had gotten into him to say those words.

Sure enough... things always get worse the moment I open my mouth...

"Please, Mumu/Xiao Mu." Caught between the two requests, the poor little cucumber had absolutely no way to refuse—

Episode 23: Momoi Taro's "Criteria for Choosing a Partner"

Under the silent pressure of Xiangzi and Su Shi's gazes, Ruoye Mu could only take out her phone and send a message to Ai Yin.

"Aion, are you still practicing?"

The three of them were almost pressed together, their eyes focused on the small screen of Ruoye Mu's phone.

"Don't you guys have cell phones?! It's so crowded!" Mortis protested vehemently in her mind.

Ruoye Mu kept her expressionless face, though it was slightly distorted from being squeezed. Although she knew Xiangzi and Su Shi cared, she was sending a message to Aine, not to her brother.

Can you guys be a little more reserved?

2澪?児兒依?叁龄捌倭若叶睦 silently took a step back, extricating herself from the two people's attack.

Seeing her like this, the two of them felt embarrassed to chase after her and could only stand there and wait silently.

While Ruoye Mu waited for Ai Yin to reply, Su Shi and Xiangzi went to the front desk inside RiNG, ordered red tea, and sat down to chat.

The two are actually very good friends. The emotions surrounding Momoi Taro are just that—emotions. They don't affect their relationship. Besides, it's a one-sided crush.

However, a "minor" unpleasant incident occurred between the two, and they never spent time alone together again after that.

Now, the atmosphere was somewhat awkward as the two were alone together. After a brief silence, Xiangzi finally broke it: "I didn't expect that you, Su Shi, also like Taro-senpai."

After all, Xiangzi was angry with Su Shi because of Momoi Taro's matter, but how long has it been? How did she end up liking her senior?

Hearing Xiangzi's question, Su Shi was slightly taken aback, but she quickly came to her senses and said softly, "Actually, I never thought that I would fall in love with Momoi Taro."

She rested her chin on her hands, elbows on the table, her eyes unfocused. Although her gaze was fixed on Xiangzi, her thoughts seemed to drift elsewhere.

“But I was really saved by him.” Su Shi’s two thumbs unconsciously rubbed together. “Actually, I don’t know what my feelings for him are.”

However, she had already given him her first kiss... so she should be considered to like him, right? Su Shi's pretty face flushed slightly as she tried to calm herself down.

Xiangzi looked at her suspiciously, but finally shook his head slightly and said softly, "I'm sorry about what happened before."

Xiangzi's sudden apology surprised her a little. After a moment's thought, she realized that Xiangzi was referring to what happened at Asukayama Park.

"Actually, what Yue said to you back then was what I really wanted to say, but it was also what I was saying to myself."

Her gaze drifted into memories. She put down her teacup and said softly, "Back then, I was just venting my personal emotions on you. Your stalking of Mu made me very angry, but... I really shouldn't have talked to you like that. I'm sorry."

Upon hearing this, Su Shi shook her head slightly: "It's alright, it's my own fault."

Since he had made a mistake first, he couldn't blame Xiangzi. The two looked at each other silently again, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward once more.

Between the two, it was their own fault that they had made the mistake first, so of course they couldn't blame Xiangzi. The two looked at each other silently again, and the atmosphere became extremely awkward once more.

Suddenly, the two of them smiled at each other, and their long-standing grudges seemed to loosen up a little at that moment.

Then, the two chatted casually about everyday things to pass the time.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Wakaba Mutsu sat in the practice room, silently waiting for Aine's message. Not long after, Aine sent her a message.

"Xiao Mu, I'm sorry! (clasps hands) I was just practicing with the band and I just bumped into my phone. Is something wrong?"

Ruoye Mu smiled slightly and typed her reply, "I want to see my older brother. Is he in the practice room right now?"

"Yes, Taro hasn't left yet, but why don't you tell him yourself?"

The reason why Wakaba Mutsu remained silent was because her feelings towards Momoi Taro were actually very complicated.

On one hand, she felt proud to have such an outstanding older brother as Momoi Taro, but on the other hand, Taro's excellence made her often reflect on herself and wonder where she could have done better.

The most important reason is that Aine, Shoko, and Su Shi... there is no doubt that the three of them like their older brother.

What she truly feared was that the precious and genuine friendship would be tainted because of this relationship. She couldn't imagine what it would be like if everyone treated her preferentially because of her brother.

Fortunately, apart from Xiangzi, no one else's reaction was that obvious... Xiangzi also recovered quickly.

However, the fear of facing Taro Momoi remains deeply ingrained.

She shook her head, pulling herself out of her own world, and typed a text message to Aine: "It's not just me, Xiangzi and Sushi are coming too, so I want to talk to Aine alone."

At present, the only people Ruoye Mu can trust are Aine, Metath, and her brother himself.

Since she was reluctant to face her older brother... she could only turn to Aine.

"I know, Mutsu, come to the practice room. Taro is here."

Ai Yin didn't press Xiao Mu for the reason. If she thought about it carefully, she would realize how unreliable her excuses were.

Ai-yin's lack of further questioning relieved her somewhat. She replied with one last message: "I know, I'll bring Su-shi and Xiang-zi over."

After that, Wakaba Mutsu walked to the front and saw Shoko and Su Shi chatting enthusiastically.

Wait, what's going on? Weren't you two just on the verge of a fight? How did your relationship suddenly become so good?

The little cucumber was stunned and couldn't react for a moment.

It was only when Xiao Xiang, who was having a great chat with Su Shi, saw her standing there in a daze that she snapped out of it.

"Mu, what are you standing there for?"

Reminded by Xiao Xiang, Su Shi also noticed the stunned Ruo Ye Mu and asked softly, "Xiao Mu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Ruoye Mu shook her head slightly and said softly, "My brother is in the practice room right now. Their practice just ended."

"It's already six o'clock, and you're only just finishing practice?" Su Shi asked, somewhat surprised. Xiangzi smiled and said, "Isn't that to be expected? It's almost time for the live performance."

In short, the three of them walked side by side to the practice room of the Dong Brothers group. Xiangzi and Su Shi were wondering whether they should knock on the door or how to greet them.