Oh no! They all seem a bit off!

Chapter 200 Dongzi Dispelled the Word of Power

"What does it mean to send this over?"

After thinking for a while, Makoto Akizuki replied to Rie Niijima.

He didn't understand what Rie Niijima wanted to do. If she wanted to question him, shouldn't she have been more direct?
And why didn't she just tell Shiina Maki directly?
Could it be that Rie Niijima didn't have any substantial evidence and sent this address to him to try and scare him?

But no matter what, Akizuki Makoto was already mentally prepared.

"Is this all you wanted to say?"

Rie Niijima replied to him less than a minute after he sent the message.

"I don't understand what you mean, Niijima, so I'm asking first."

"You know perfectly well what I mean, don't you? Are you still going to play dumb now?"

“Niijima, you misunderstood me. I wanted to ask what you planned to do, not to pretend to be stupid and try to fool me.”

"Hehe, let's talk alone tomorrow. I'd like to know why Akizuki-senpai and Rin-chan had a secret rendezvous. I hope you can explain it to me clearly."

After replying to the message, Rie Niijima set a time.

She seemed to be in a hurry and immediately asked Akizuki Makoto to meet with her during his lunch break.

The location was in the clubroom of the Light Music Club, which was the best place to talk, both secluded and safe.

Makoto Akizuki agreed to Rie Niijima's request for a meeting, and it seemed he had no right to refuse.

Let's see what Rie Niijima is up to first, but she seems to have ill intentions.

"This is really a headache, we've been exposed so quickly..."

Akizuki Makoto turned off his phone screen, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply.

From now on, we can only take it one step at a time and hope that Rie Niijima won't make things too difficult for him.

After that, Fuyuko returned home and excitedly jumped into Akizuki Makoto's arms.

"Brother, I'm home!"

"Welcome back."

Akizuki caught Fuyuko steadily, and seeing her so energetic, his inner turmoil and worries were greatly relieved.

He unconsciously smiled, placed his hand on Dongzi's head, and gently stroked it.

"Brother, Dongzi said that he got full marks on all the monthly tests!"

As Dongzi spoke, she proudly took out the test paper from her schoolbag and handed it to Qiuyue Cheng to look at.

As she said, every test paper was perfect, even better than Akizuki Makoto's back then.

Back then, Akizuki Makoto didn't get full marks in every subject; he missed marks in a few subjects.

"Dongzi is great."

Akizuki Makoto's smile softened further as he asked, "What reward does Fuyuko want?"

He had always been clear that Dongzi was far more outstanding and intelligent than himself.

However, due to her personality, she never showed off her own excellence, and other people's impression of her and their focus were on her outstanding appearance.

No one but him would know that Dongzi's intelligence was as high as ten points, corresponding to the highest level that humans can achieve.

"Dongzi doesn't want anything."

Dongzi smiled sweetly, hugged Qiuyuecheng tightly, and whispered, "Dongzi only needs her brother, she doesn't need anything else."

"You're saying that again."

Akizuki Makoto smiled helplessly; this was one of the things that really bothered him about Fuyuko.

Although Dongzi relies on him a lot, which makes him happy, being too dependent on her is not good.

He was a little worried about Dongzi's future, wondering if she would become a useless person.

"what?"

Just as Akizuki Makoto was thinking this, a strange feeling suddenly filled his heart.

He was before...

Didn't he think it was okay for Dongzi to depend on him, since he had promised Dongzi that he would never leave her and that they would live together forever?

But why is he now worried about Dongzi's future?

This strange feeling did not disappear as quickly as before, but took root in my heart.

He was a little confused about what he had been thinking before.

Although Dongzi is his adopted sister, it's strange that they've been living together all this time.

It's alright now, Dongzi is still young. But what if she waits a few years until she's fully grown up and then has these kinds of thoughts? Would that be inappropriate?

"I used to want Fuyuko to be independent, but why did I suddenly start spoiling her?"

Qiuyue covered his head with his hands, his face blank and filled with disbelief.

He kept recalling, but couldn't find the reason for spoiling Dongzi; he had just unconsciously started spoiling her.

He had seemed to feel confused before, but those feelings were fleeting and never left him as bewildered as he was now.

"Brother, what's wrong?"

Dongzi noticed that Akizuki Makoto had suddenly stopped talking. She looked up at him, her voice filled with worry.

"N-nothing, I just suddenly feel a little confused..."

Akizuki Makoto shook his head, feeling as if there was something wrong with his memories and thoughts.

He didn't know why, perhaps because he was mentally exhausted during that time and unconsciously wanted to rely on Dongzi, seeking her presence to heal himself.

He found this reason more convincing.

He didn't suspect that Dongzi had used superpowers; if it were, the system would have given him a warning.

Are you feeling unwell?

Dongzi was even more worried, and her clear, bright eyes flickered with sadness.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, it's nothing serious..."

Akizuki Makoto shook his head, feeling a pang of self-reproach, because he had made Touko uneasy.

Just by looking into Dongzi's eyes, he could tell that Dongzi was in a low mood.

Anxiety, sadness, and other negative emotions brought tears to her eyes, making her on the verge of sobbing.

At that time, Akizuki Makoto would never have known that Touko's sadness was not due to the abnormality of his body, but rather stemmed from self-reproach.

Today, Fuyuko released the spell she had initially cast on Akizuki Makoto, which is why he was confused.

"Are you really alright?"

"It's all alright now, don't worry."

"That's good……"

With that, Dongzi felt relieved and hugged Qiuyue Cheng tightly again, burying her face in his chest and saying in a muffled voice, "Brother has been too stubborn lately, keeping everything to himself and refusing to tell Dongzi."

"This……"

Hearing what Fuyuko said, Akizuki felt extremely ashamed and embarrassed.

He really had no face to tell Dongzi what he had done.

Besides, even if he said it, it would be meaningless; he didn't need to confide in anyone.

Of course, it's not that Dongzi can't help him; after all, Dongzi's superpower is to alter common sense.

If he asks Dongzi for help, he can immediately realize his long-cherished wish, right?

But that was not what he wanted; he hadn't stooped so low as to need to resort to such despicable means to satisfy his desires.

"I'm sorry, Dongzi, but if you want to know, I'll tell you..."

Afterwards, Akizuki Makoto told Fuyuko in detail about all the things that had been troubling him lately.

Throughout the entire process, Dongzi sat on his lap, held in his arms, listening quietly. After he finished speaking, Qiuyue Cheng gave a bitter smile and said self-deprecatingly, "You see, it's hard to talk about this kind of thing, isn't it? After all, I'm a scumbag, always doing things that hurt others."

"Dongzi... doesn't understand those things."

Dongzi shook her head gently, and said sadly, "Dongzi only wants her brother to be happy. As long as her brother is happy, it doesn't matter who gets hurt."

"You really are biased towards me."

With a sigh, Akizuki gently stroked Fuyuko's head.

He thought they were truly a disgusting pair of siblings. The brother was like a scumbag, hurting others and trampling on their feelings, while the sister sided with him, saying that as long as her brother was happy, it didn't matter who was hurt.

If others heard this, they would definitely think that Akizuki Makoto is a terrible older brother.
At the same time, Makoto Akizuki also noticed that what Touko had said was truly without any hypocrisy.

Dongzi once said that no matter what, she would stand by her brother's side.

She wouldn't blame her brother; she would side with him and be tolerant of him.

Putting yourself in Qiuyue's shoes, you probably couldn't do that, because he's a hypocrite.

If Dongzi did the same thing as him, he would probably try to correct her thinking and give her a stern lecture.

"Ring ring ring"

Just then, the doorbell rang in the entryway, interrupting Akizuki Makoto's thoughts.

"Is that Maki?"

With that thought in mind, he released Dongzi, letting her off him, and then walked towards the entrance.

Fuyuko obediently followed behind him, and together they went to the entrance to greet Shiina Maki.

When Akizuki Makoto opened the door, sure enough, standing outside was Shiina Maki, dressed in light loungewear, wearing an apron, and carrying a steaming hot meal.

"Chengjun, dinner is ready."

"Thank you for your help, please come in quickly."

Makoto Akizuki stepped aside to let Maki Shiina in, then took Fuyuko to wash her hands and prepare for dinner.

Shiina Maki's timely arrival was a great help. He didn't want to continue talking to Fuyuko, as he felt the atmosphere was strange.

Being favored by Dongzi made him feel uneasy, and he realized just how much Dongzi depended on him.

At the same time, he also realized the feelings that Dongzi had for him.

He had always been aware of it, but he had been ignoring it.

This kind of thing is far more taboo and despicable than what he is doing now.

Fortunately, Dongzi didn't ask for anything more; she was simply content to live with him.

"Hehe, come and try it!"

When Akizuki Makoto and Fuyuko finished washing their hands and returned to the living room, Shiina Maki had already set out all the dinner on the table and served them soup and rice.

"Thank you, Maki."

Akizuki sincerely thanked Shiina Maki.

Maki Shiina is a good woman. She is always considerate and gentle, never complains to him, and never acts willfully. She is a truly exceptional woman.

That's why he felt guilty and worried that he would hurt Shiina Maki and wouldn't be able to give her happiness.

"No need to thank me, I'd be happy to cook for Cheng-kun~"

"You should eat too."

As Akizuki Makoto spoke softly, he took the initiative to serve food to Shiina Maki.

Then, he glanced at Dongzi beside him, hesitated for a moment, and then put some food on her plate as well.

After that, the three of them enjoyed a pleasant dinner together.

After finishing their meal, Akizuki Makoto helped clear the dishes, then said goodbye to Fuyuko and went to Shiina Maki's house to spend the night.

Although Dongzi was reluctant, she could endure the loneliness and spend the nights alone for her brother's sake.

After all, Shiina Maki is her brother's lover, and she should be able to receive more of his favor.

……

……

The next day.

The last class of the morning is over.

As soon as the teacher announced the end of get out of class, the classroom instantly became noisy.

Akizuki Makoto packed up his textbooks, got up and walked towards the classroom, greeting Shiina Maki.

"Sorry, I'll be going now."

"Ah... yeah, go ahead."

Shiina Maki nodded and watched Akizuki Makoto leave the classroom.

Last night, Akizuki Makoto had already told her that they couldn't have lunch together during lunch break.

She didn't press him on where Akizuki Makoto was going. If it was convenient for him to tell her, he would explain it to her when he did.

Since he didn't specify where he was going or what he was going to do, it means that it's inconvenient for him to tell her about it.

Although Shiina Maki was concerned about where Akizuki Makoto would go during his lunch break, she knew that sometimes knowing too much was not necessarily a happy thing.

After leaving the classroom, Makoto Akizuki walked through the elevated corridor connecting the teaching building and the club building, and arrived at the Light Music Club.

There was no one at the entrance of the K-On! club; it seemed Rie Niijima would be arriving later.

He took out his key, unlocked the door, and entered the activity room of the Light Music Club.

This activity room has not been used since the day Ji Yexue dropped out of school.

As if by telepathy, the four of them did not gather at the Light Music Club after school, tacitly announcing in their hearts that the Light Music Club was disbanding.

"How nostalgic..."

As Akizuki looked at the interior setting, memories immediately flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.

If only I could travel to the future, to the day Ji Yexue proposed the club's assistance, how wonderful that would be.

"Senior Qiuyue."

Just as Akizuki Makoto was feeling sad and sentimental, he suddenly heard Niijima Rie's voice from behind him.

Unlike its usual cheerful and lively tone, the voice at this moment was filled with undisguised anger and coldness.

"Here he comes."

Makoto Akizuki turned around to look behind him, but what greeted him was Rie Niijima angrily walking forward, raising her hand, and slapping him hard across the face!

"Snapped!!!"

The crisp, resounding slaps echoed in the activity room.

After slapping him, Rie Niijima grabbed Makoto Akizuki by the collar and yelled, "Why! Why were you and Rin there yesterday afternoon! What's your relationship?!"

"..."

Akizuki remained silent and did not answer.

He turned his head away, not looking at Rie Niijima.

"Look at me! Answer me!"

Seeing this, Rie Niijima became even angrier, grabbed Makoto Akizuki's collar, and shook him violently.

"Are you afraid to take responsibility for your actions?"

"...What else is there to say?"

At this moment, Akizuki Makoto finally turned his face to look at Niijima Rie, whose eyes were blazing with anger and murderous intent, and said softly, "As you can see, I've taken a liking to Shiraishi and want to make a move on her, which is to say... cheating?"

(End of this chapter)