In the small room, no one was speaking.

Even the people walking were absent.

Everything in the room came to a standstill.

And amidst all these still things, the focus was on Koga Mizuo.

Whether it was Ziong Zong or Yuki, they held their breath, waiting for Mizuo to say something, to do something.

But Mizuo remained silent, motionless, staring at the empty floor, eyes unfocused, devoid of any point of focus.

Time passed by second by second, but their lives did not move forward with time, they froze in this moment.

-No, Mizuo was caught in a whirlpool of self-blame, someone here has to say something to her!

Ziongzong stepped forward, reaching out to hold Mizuo's shoulder, but Yuki preempted him, reaching out to stop Ziongzong.

Yuki didn't say anything, just looked into Ziongzong's eyes and shook her head.

-Why...are you stopping me?

At first, Ziongzong thought Yuki wanted to personally say something to Mizuo, but after Yuki stopped him, she instead stepped aside, silently watching over Mizuo.

-Not doing anything at all?

Ziongzong gestured to Yuki, but Yuki only gestured for him to stay quiet and wait.

-Wait? What are we waiting for?

Ziongzong glanced at the time, more than ten minutes had passed since he informed Mizuo about Watanabe Gengo's funeral. In these ten minutes, he and Yuki had silently waited, waiting for Mizuo to respond as if her soul had already left her body.

Would Mizuo really give a response? Ziongzong had his doubts. He didn't know how to believe Mizuo anymore. He didn't know how to believe in this Mizuo who had been in decline for a month.

Someone needs to pull her up, push her forward, so she can come out of the whirlpool of self-blame.

But Yuki believed that they should continue to believe in Mizuo, believe that she can pull herself out.

The differences in opinions from the first family discussion were once again evident here.

The radical Ziongzong and the conservative Yuki.

-Okay.

Ziongzong opened his arms to Yuki, indicating to wait for another ten minutes, and if there was still no response from Mizuo after ten minutes, he would take action.

Yuki hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded in agreement.

They were neither impatient radicals nor expectant conservatives.

Though their attitudes differed, their wishes were the same - they hoped for the return of the lively and healthy Mizuo.

So, once they reached a common understanding, Ziongzong became calm, sitting down at the table, while Yuki stood by Mizuo's side, focusing on her.

Then, three minutes later, Mizuo finally stirred.

"Tomorrow, right? Can you take me there, Ziongzong, Yuki?"

Although Mizuo's voice was very weak, in this extremely quiet environment, it was clear enough for both Ziongzong and Yuki to hear.

Due to this sudden breakthrough, the two of them were caught off guard and didn't react immediately.

Then, in the next second, an excited Yuki immediately hugged Mizuo tightly, and Ziongzong finally let out a sigh of relief, showing a relieved smile.

He looked at the happy Yuki and the bewildered Mizuo, walked out of Mizuo's house, and came to the corridor outside.

Ziongzong was well aware that there was still a long way to go before Mizuo returned to her lively and healthy self, but now, they had taken the first step.

And the reason Ziongzong left the house first was because his phone vibrated in his pocket just now, and to avoid disturbing Mizuo, he hung up the call.

It was a missed call from Eiji Hayamizu.

"What's up, Hayamizu?"

On the other end of the phone, Eiji Hayamizu's voice came through, seemingly chatting and laughing with a woman.

"The woman you entrusted me to keep captive wants to talk to you directly."

"Oh... don't worry about her, just keep her locked up, and if you have any difficulties, contact me anytime."

Ziongzong thought for a moment, then replied to Hayamizu.

"Hahaha, leave the women's matters to me, you can rest assured. On the other hand, I'm counting on you for the entrance exam!"

"Sure, don't worry about that. If you don't get into high school, I'll accompany you for another year of studying."

The conversation ended with laughter between the two boys, but what they were working on together was not as easy as it sounded in their laughter.