After breaking up, my ex asked me to win her back

Xiaosong Lisha, Kagura Hikaru's mother.

She was a mischievous and lively woman, like a little sun, ensuring that it was never too dull when around her.

"Mister Hikaru, did you get a girlfriend while I was away?"

"No."

"Liar~ You must be very popular, eh, after all, you are my son."

"..."

"...Ahem, still a virgin? (softly)"

"Hey!"

Kagura Hikaru now experienced just how awkward it could be to have his own mother make such risqué jokes.

The red Porsche stopped in front of the Kagura Family's house.

Kagura Hikaru couldn't wait to get out of the car.

After about ten minutes, he had packed his bags, slinging his guitar case and luggage over his shoulder as he walked out.

He hadn't forgotten to lock the doors and windows of the house, take in the laundry, or put the fruits, vegetables, and meats in the fridge.

He probably wouldn't be coming home for a while.

Xiaosong Lisha drove a Porsche 911.

As everyone knows, Porsche sports car trunks are famously small. The luggage might just barely fit, but forget about the guitar. Normally, no one would think of stuffing an expensive guitar into a trunk anyway; the jostling could ruin it, especially the headstock, and if it breaks, it's a lot of trouble to fix.

Kagura Hikaru had no choice but to put his luggage and guitar in the back seat of the car.

Xiaosong Lisha was fiddling with her phone, apparently discussing with her fiancé about Kagura Hikaru coming over to stay. Upon seeing Kagura Hikaru's luggage, she gestured towards his guitar and asked, "When did you buy a guitar, can you play?"

"I can."

"Play it for me when we get back."

"There's no amplifier, an electric guitar won't make a sound."

Xiaosong Lisha looked utterly clueless, as if wondering why a guitar would need an amplifier to produce sound.

The car quickly got in motion.

Rolling over fallen leaves, it surged forward.

At first, everything was fine, but gradually Kagura Hikaru noticed that the car was heading in a direction he had been to before.

He thought it might be a coincidence.

That was until he saw the car stop in front of a luxury apartment building.

An apartment made of many glass panels, its opulence apparent at first glance.

Kagura Hikaru: "..."

If his memory served him correctly, this was Kiryu Hina's home.

She lived on the fifth floor of this building, one of the six families in the apartment.

Kagura Hikaru naturally connected the dots to a possibility...

—No, no, no, it's not certain yet, right?

Maybe it's just a pass-by, maybe the destination is actually somewhere nearby, unrelated to the apartment in front of him!

"This is where you'll be staying for a while," Xiaosong Lisha said with a laugh, as if to kill any of his faint hope, pointing at the apartment building.

"..."

Stay calm, even if he had to stay here, it wasn't necessarily Kiryu Hina's home.

The building housed six families.

That meant, the chance that his mother's fiancé was Kiryu Hina's father was one in six.

So that was it, one in six.

Six, just like the number of chambers in a revolver, haha.

One in six, so basically—

...Russian roulette?

Kagura Hikaru barely resisted the urge to cover his face with his hands.

"Wait here for a while; I'll go park the car," Xiaosong Lisha said.

Kagura Hikaru didn't take in a word of her voice; carrying his guitar case and luggage, he looked up at the apartment with a blank stare, not even noticing when she returned after parking the car.

"What's wrong, spacing out here?" Xiaosong Lisha looked at him with curiosity before a bright, expectant smile spread across her face, and she pulled Kagura Hikaru's arm forward, "Come on, they're all waiting for you."

"..."

Xiaosong Lisha used a passcard to open the main door of the apartment building on the first floor; the bright and transparent glass doors slid open to either side. She dragged Kagura Hikaru through the vibrant lobby and into the elevator.

The elevator had only eight buttons, with the first floor and the rooftop aside, the remaining ones were for the six households of the building, each occupying a floor.

He clearly remembered that to go to Kiryu Hina's floor, he needed to press the third elevator button from the bottom up.

This was his last hope.

Absolutely, it must not be the Kiryu Family!

Kagura Hikaru's eyes widened as he stared intently at his mother's outstretched finger.

Truth be told, he didn't exactly dislike the Kiryu Family.

Kiryu Hina was a deeply acquainted friend, someone he knew inside out.

Her father, Kiryu Masaki, was also a mature and reliable man, who had left a very good impression on Kagura Hikaru; if it were him, he could entrust his mother's happiness to him.

But the issue wasn't really there.

It wasn't so simple.

My mom's fiance's baggage is my ex-girlfriend? — The fear that gripped Kagura Hikaru wasn't the unfolding of some romantic comedy scenario.

If, just if, his mother Xiaosong Lisha's fiance was Kiryu Hina's father.

That would also mean she became the stepmother of Ayakoji Chiyoko and the former girlfriend of Ryoma Ayakoji.

The conflict between Ayakoji Chiyoko and Kiryu Hina was sparked by their stepmother.

And Ayakoji Chiyoko had said she had always kept in touch with her past stepmother, their relationship was as close as a real mother and daughter.

If this conjecture came true, by order of birthdates, Kiryu Hina would become his older sister, Ayakoji Chiyoko would become his younger sister, and at the same time, they're also ex-girlfriends he couldn't completely separate from...

Such a complicated relationship within one family, even soap operas wouldn't film this!

Who would need such drama, bloodthirsty audiences?!

Kagura Hikaru anxiously watched Xiaosong Lisha's raised hand, her index finger inching towards the elevator button.

Perhaps due to his excessive focus, his mother's movements seemed extraordinarily slow to him.

In fact, he could have found out who his mother's current boyfriend was in the car, or even earlier, using mind-reading; in this world, there wasn't anyone who could keep a secret from him when he wanted to find out—oh, except Komori Ai, let's exclude her.

But Kagura Hikaru didn't use mind-reading on his mother Xiaosong Lisha.

Probably because the lesson from the last time he used it on her was too profound.

The last time Kagura Hikaru used mind-reading on her dated back to the day he learned of her and his father's infidelity.

Right, he almost forgot, the man his mother had an affair with was named 'Daisuke', which was not at all like the name Ryoma Ayakoji.

So there was still hope, right?

The finger drew closer.

The Kiryu Family's floor was the third button from the bottom up on the elevator, and unfortunately, Xiaosong Lisha's finger was approaching that area.

Kagura Hikaru could almost hear his heart beating like a drum.

Then, he watched helplessly as his mother pressed the fourth elevator button.

...Eh, the fourth one?

It wasn't the floor of the Kiryu Family!

Kagura Hikaru let out a massive sigh of relief, even laughing to himself deep down for the silly reason that his heart had been racing moments before.
Stay tuned to My Virtual Library Empire

That's right, that kind of far-fetched coincidence shouldn't happen to him.

Even if the goddess of fate was keen on playing tricks, she had no reason to be so infatuated with an ordinary person like him.

"Ah, I pressed the wrong one."

Suddenly, he heard Xiaosong Lisha say this.

She hastily pressed twice to cancel the mistaken floor, then her finger moved down and pressed the third elevator button from the bottom up.

"This is correct." She hummed a tune like a sprite that guides a princess, mischievously pressing the button to close the doors.

As the elevator doors closed, so did the sparkle in Kagura Hikaru's eyes.

Ah, dear goddess of fate.

I'm going to shark you.