Page 324
Page 324
Silently, Wakaba Mutsu followed the maid into the bright and sunny mansion.
"Wow, it's Mutsu!" Mutsu saw a little girl with light blue hair and pigtails running over excitedly. The girl hugged Mutsu tightly and kept rubbing her face against hers.
“SAKI...” Wakaba Mutsu called out the other’s name softly.
"Oh, Xiao Xiang, Xiao Mu is coming to visit today, so you can't bully her, okay?" Standing next to the two little girls was a beautiful woman with a gentle smile.
Although Minami is also very beautiful, Wakaba Mutsu feels a greater sense of closeness whenever he sees the young woman in front of him.
“Mizuho, Auntie,” Wakaba Mutsu said softly.
“My little Mutsu is so well-behaved.” Mizuho Toyokawa smiled even more happily.
"Mommy, I didn't bully Xiaomu at all. I was just too excited. Muzimi's body feels so soft and comfortable," little Xiangzi said happily.
"You silly child, why do you talk like an old man?" Aunt Ruihui gently tapped Xiangzi's little head.
The little girl with light blue hair pouted slightly and said, "I'm not talking to Mommy anymore."
After saying that, Xiao Xiang took Ruo Ye Mu's hand and led her into the house, saying, "Xiao Mu, come with me, I'll take you to the room to play."
"Don't do anything dangerous, okay? I'll bring some tea and snacks over later," Toyokawa Mizuho reminded them.
But Ye Mu looked at Xiangzi with an impatient expression.
However, at that moment, as if remembering something, Mizuho Toyokawa came to Mutsuka Wakaba's side, handed her the soft ball, and said with a smile, "Don't forget this, Mutsuka, do you like playing with balls?"
"It's a birthday present from Dad..." Wakaba Mutsu said softly.
"That's really a precious thing. But Brother Longwen is really something, giving a little girl a ball. He still doesn't understand girls' preferences at all," Toyokawa Mizuho said, seemingly speechless.
Although Takafumi Wakaba and Mizuho Toyokawa did not develop a romantic relationship, they were family friends and knew each other very well, more like siblings who had grown up together.
If Mutsu gently held the ball, remaining silent, then Mizuho said with a smile, "But, Mutsu likes it very much, doesn't she?"
Little Cucumber raised her head slightly, looked at the other person's gentle smile, and Xiao Mu softly hummed in agreement.
"Mom, have you stopped nagging? I still want to play with Xiaomu," Xiangzi said from the side.
"You silly child, when will you learn to be as quiet and gentle as Mumi? Be careful no boy will want you in the future," Toyokawa Mizuho said with a smile.
"Hmph, what's so great about boys? They're all so rude. I'd rather spend my whole life with Xiao Mu. Xiao Mu's body is so fragrant and soft, it feels so good." With that, Xiangzi happily hugged Ruoye Mu again.
Wakaba Mutsu's head buzzed, and he looked at the twin-tailed girl next to him in disbelief.
Sunlight fell on her hair, making it appear bright and shimmering.
"You're talking nonsense again." Toyokawa Mizuho shook her head gently.
Soon after, the two little girls were playing in the room.
"Xiao Mu, can you play the piano? I learned a new piece called 'The Bell,' but it's so difficult. I got tired after playing it twice."
Ruo Yemu naturally shook her head gently. Although her family had a piano, no one had ever asked her to learn it.
"Okay, then how about Xiao Mu plays the guitar, and I'll play the piano, and Xiao Mu will accompany you with the guitar? Even though you don't understand now, it's not too late to start learning. Xiao Mu is so smart, she'll definitely learn quickly!" Xiangzi said to himself.
“…Okay.” Wakaba Mutsu simply nodded.
So, Wakaba Mutsu decided that she would learn how to play the guitar.
After listening to Xiao Xiang play the piano, the two started playing with a ball again.
"Muzimi Jiang, is your mother not home today?" Xiao Xiang asked casually.
"Mom, I'm going to film a movie."
"Oh, I see. That's true. I can see Aunt Minami's dramas on TV now, and they're really well made... But why doesn't she take Mukomi-chan with her when she's working?"
"My mom usually takes me to the company when she has to handle work," Xiao Xiang asked with innocent eyes.
*Thud...* The ball bounced towards the doorway because Wakaba Mutsu missed it.
"Ah...sorry, did I use too much force?" Xiao Xiang exclaimed softly, then ran to the door to retrieve the ball.
But when she ran back, Wakaba Mutsu said, "Because my acting is better than my mother's, my mother doesn't like me and won't take me to the theater."
Xiao Xiang paused for a moment, then burst out laughing: "I didn't expect Mu Zi Mi Jiang to joke like that. Aunt Mina Mei is a national first-class actress. Many of the TV dramas she starred in are classics. Even I have watched quite a few of them."
If Mu Zimi wants to become an actress, she should work hard!
Hearing Xiangzi's gentle words, Ruoye Mu remained silent. However, Xiangzi was already very used to this and did not find anything strange about it.
“SAKI,” Wakaba Mutsu suddenly said.
"Hmm?" Xiangzi was somewhat surprised.
"You said we'd be together forever... Why?" Wakaba Mutsu asked calmly.
Xiao Xiang tilted her head slightly. In fact, she didn't understand many of the profound truths; she just sincerely longed for it.
"Well... well, because childhood sweethearts are meant to stay together forever!" Then, Xiao Xiang started making things up.
"Childhood sweethearts...will they be together forever?" Wakaba Mutsu repeated the other's words as if they were puppets.
"Look, Yamazaki's parents got divorced, and she cried a lot. Divorced couples can't be together anymore. But if they're childhood sweethearts, even if they stay together, it won't seem strange to others."
Just like Xiao Mu and I are now.
"So, as childhood sweethearts, we can always play together!" Xiangzi said excitedly.
Ruoye Mu stared blankly at the sparkling girl in front of her.
Childhood sweethearts can stay together forever in this society.
“SAKI, let’s be childhood friends for life,” said Mutsumi Wakaba.
"Xiao Mu, what are you saying? Isn't this just common sense?" Xiao Xiang said with slight dissatisfaction.
It's unbelievable that Xiao Mu would doubt our friendship.
"To be childhood sweethearts for a lifetime," Wakaba Mutsu emphasized again.
***
"How pitiful, Miss Xiangzi, you lost your mother at such a young age."
As Ruoye Mu listened to the gossip of those faceless people, she looked up and saw a black and white photo of Aunt Ruihui hanging on the table.
The father cried bitterly, while the mother stood silently to the side.
As Wakaba Mutsu calmly walked through the familiar corridor, the image of Aunt Mizuho's gentle smile and her voice floated into his mind.
Finally, in a corner of the mansion, the girl found Xiangzi, whose eyes were red and swollen.
"Xiao Mu, I'm sorry, could you leave me alone for a while?" Xiao Xiang said in a hoarse voice.
However, Ruoye Mu took the initiative to come up to her and hold her hand, which surprised Xiaoxiang.
"SAKI, let's be childhood sweethearts for life."
anyway.
Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Heartless Man
"Damn it, I'm clearly Xiao Mu's childhood sweetheart, those people just don't understand."
In his brand-new Rolls-Royce Phantom, Xiangzi couldn't resist using his phone to watch a video on YouTube that had seen a surge in views. Looking at the negative comments, Xiangzi said with frustration.
"That's because everyone now only thinks that Xi Jun is Xiao Mu's childhood sweetheart, so there's no use in you being so angry," Su Shi said calmly from the side.
Although this matter is essentially unrelated to her, both Xi Xiang and Xiao Huanggua are people she cherishes very much, and she even temporarily puts aside her differences with Xiao Xiang.
Looking at the cooldown period for switching bodies, it seems this time it's much longer, which should be enough time for Banami and Shoko to resolve this crisis.
After hearing Su Shi's words, Xiangzi snorted softly and said, "And this comment from the ID 'Su Xi is the best in the world,' saying that Fengchuan Xiangzi has a pointed head and a narrow forehead and no noble character. It's obvious that he is not worthy of young master Fengchuan."
She worked so hard to become Toyokawa Shoko!
"How despicable! They actually resorted to personal attacks! These bastards!"
"Oh, this one? I posted it." Su Shi said casually.
Xiangzi's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Su Shi, whose expression remained calm.
Just as the two were about to start fighting, the car had already stopped in front of the Toyokawa family's house.
And the boy who should have been at Yugaoka was also waiting for them here.
"Xi!" Xiangzi called out.
Banami reached out and helped her out of the car.
"We can talk about it when we see your grandfather. I just got back myself," Banami said bluntly.
After Su Xiang and the other got out of the car, Banai stuck her head into the car and said with some doubt, "Wakaba Mutsu!"
After he called out, Little Cucumber seemed to come back to her senses and looked at Banami in front of her.
"What's wrong? What are you thinking about so intently?" Bana asked with a smile.
If Ye Mu shook his head slightly, then opened the door on the other side and got out of the car, ignoring the hand that Banami was offering.
Banami didn't care. From Wakaba Mutsu's perspective, if she couldn't be angry with Sho in this situation, it would be reasonable for her to be angry with him instead.
She inexplicably becomes childhood sweethearts with a boy she dislikes, then inexplicably enters into a marriage agreement with him, and even gets caught up in a public opinion storm because of being abandoned on trumped-up charges.
Banai felt uncomfortable just thinking about being in that situation.
The four of them soon arrived at Toyokawa Sadaharu's study. The old man with a full head of silver hair hung up the phone, and his previously cold expression was now quite subtle.
"You've arrived," Old Deng said calmly.
"Who called you?" Banami asked.
Old Deng glanced at him and said, "He's Xiao Mu's grandfather who's recuperating abroad."
Upon hearing this, Banami recalled the history of these "noble families" in Tokyo that Old Deng had once crammed for him.
Leaving aside the powerful Toyokawa family, the Wakaba family is actually not just two public figures in the entertainment industry.
Even if one of them comes from a family of comedians and the other is a national-level actor.
To become the Toyokawa family's neighbor, this is far from enough.
The Ruoye family is a typical cultural businessman, holding the power of cultural and public opinion discourse, wielding enormous influence within cultural circles, and possessing its own business empire.
However, within the family, some members maintain their status in the cultural world, such as Takafumi Wakaba, who inherited the Wakaba family's resources in the cultural field, while others are responsible for monetizing this influence.
Although still not as powerful as the Toyokawa family, they should not be underestimated.
Moreover, compared to the Toyokawa family, which has only one heir and is constantly being watched by the branch families, the Wakaba family is much more prosperous and the various branch families get along relatively well. The branch that connects the family is the Wakaba Takafumi branch, which is a cultural icon and holds a high position.
Seeing this, Banai smiled rather amusedly and said, "Old Deng, did Little Cucumber's grandfather give you some trouble?"
Xiangzi saw that Toyokawa Sadaharu, who was usually expressionless, had a pained look on his face and even let out a muffled groan.
Or, to be more precise, Toyokawa Sadaharu was severely scolded by Wakaba Mutsumi's grandfather.
You can't even talk back when you're being scolded, after all, you were the one who made the promise of the betrothal when you were children, and now you're the one who took the initiative to accept that commoner woman as your daughter-in-law, so you don't deserve to be scolded.
In particular, the two were longtime friends and of similar status, so they had no reservations whatsoever.
Therefore, Toyokawa Sadaharu was quite depressed today.
Hearing what Banami said, Xiangzi couldn't help but say, "Grandpa! How could you make such a promise back then? It was really too much! What if I were a boy? No, it's not about gender. You didn't even ask for my opinion!"
Banami thought to herself, "You were still inside my belly back then, how could I ask for your opinion?"
Toyokawa Sadaharu said with some annoyance, "I knew you were a girl a few months after Mizuho got pregnant with you. That was just a polite remark, you idiot."
The idea that prenatal tests cannot determine the sex is meaningless to the Toyokawa family.
Knowing the baby's gender sooner allows Toyokawa Sadaharu to prepare for the child's future earlier.
Seeing his grandfather get angry, Xiangzi couldn't help but shrink back, his grandfather's wrath building up over the years.
When it was Ba Nai's turn to be dissatisfied, he shouted, "Old Deng, you can say whatever you want, but why are you yelling so loudly? You scared Xiao Xiang."
Toyokawa Sadaharu looked at the other person coldly and said, "The reason we're in this situation today is all because of you."
After he finished speaking, Old Deng himself became a little puzzled.
His initial polite words were certainly not a problem, after all, both of them were girls, sworn sisters, which was a good thing for the friendship between the two families.
However, after agreeing to Banami's plan, Old Deng overlooked this detail.
After all, these were just casual remarks made so many years ago; who would remember them all?
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