Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Masao Kawai, as Toyokawa Sadaharu's confidant, has followed him for many years, so his loyalty is naturally beyond doubt.

It is almost impossible to bribe him with money or ordinary coercion and inducement.

When Kujo Renji was dealing with the servants in the afternoon, he also had a brief "accidental" contact with the driver. The other party's attitude of being unmoved, silent, and only obeying Toyokawa Sadaharu's orders also confirmed his judgment.

Since conventional "bribery" doesn't work...we can only use some...unconventional means.

Kujo Renji hung up the phone.

Next, it’s just a matter of waiting patiently.

The next day

The phone vibrated, indicating that Ishikawa's email had been sent.

The content of the email was extremely detailed, almost revealing the entire life of Masao Kawai.

Ishikawa is very efficient.

Starting from the early morning of the next day, Kujo Renji's old mobile phone received encrypted text messages from Ishikawa one after another.

Each text message contained detailed information about the driver "Kawai".

Masao Kawai, 52 years old, is married. His wife is a housewife who is in poor health and needs medication all year round.

They have a 25-year-old son who recently graduated from university and works for a small trading company. They are currently discussing marriage, and the woman wants to buy a house in downtown Tokyo. Kawai Masao's parents have long since passed away, but he still has an elderly sister who lives alone in the countryside and is struggling financially, requiring his constant support.

These pieces of information, like puzzle pieces, gradually outlined a complete character image in Jiujo Renji's mind.

——A typical Japanese middle-aged man, burdened with heavy family responsibilities and financial pressure, is the backbone of the entire family.

And these "responsibilities" and "pressures" are precisely his biggest...weaknesses.

"Ishikawa," he called Ishikawa again: "I need you to help me with one more thing."

"Ms. Xiangzi, please speak."

"Follow the address I gave you and take Kawai Masao's wife, son, and his sister in the countryside to a safe place. Remember, be polite and don't hurt them. I just want them to cooperate with me in a play."

Kujo Renji's tone was nonchalant, as if he was talking about something very ordinary.

Ishikawa was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the line. He seemed to sense something unusual and chilling in Ms. Xiangzi's calm tone.

But he did not raise any objections, but responded in a deep voice:

"Yes! I understand."

......

Masao Kawai has been feeling a little uneasy lately.

As Mr. Fengchuan's full-time driver and confidant, he has always been known for his calmness, competence and loyalty.

The master entrusted him with such an important task as the house arrest of the young lady, which showed his great trust in him. He had always been conscientious and did not dare to slack off in the slightest to ensure that the young lady was "protected" without any risk.

However, since yesterday, the eldest lady seems to be... a little different.

He no longer made as much noise as before, nor did he try to escape in various ways. Instead, he was surprisingly quiet.

He spends most of his time in his room, occasionally making requests such as "I want to read a certain type of book" or "I want to listen to a certain out-of-print classical music CD."

Although these requirements were a bit tricky, they were all within a reasonable range, and Kawai met them one by one.

But the more this happened, the more Kawaii felt something was amiss. Behind the young lady's calm eyes, there seemed to be something hidden... something he couldn't see through.

This evening, when he was about to call home as usual to ask about his wife's health, he found that... his wife's phone was turned off.

An ominous premonition suddenly surged into his heart.

His wife was in poor health and her phone was always on so he could contact her at any time. How could it suddenly turn off?

He quickly called his son again - the phone was also turned off!

Cold sweat instantly broke out from Masao Kawai's forehead.

With trembling hands, he called his sister who was far away in the countryside.

——After a long busy tone, still no one answered!

A huge fear instantly gripped his heart!

He tried his best to deny it, but a terrible thought emerged from the bottom of his heart uncontrollably, making him feel cold all over.

Masao Kawai frantically denied this terrible guess in his heart, but the fear in his heart grew like weeds.

.......

Just as Kawai Masao was getting anxious and confused because he couldn't contact his family, he heard the calm voice of "Miss" calling out from the room he was in charge of guarding:

"Driver Kawai, can you come in for a moment? I have something I want to talk to you about."

Kawai Masao took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. No matter what happened, he couldn't lose his composure in front of the young lady. He straightened his clothes, pushed open the door, and walked in.

The lights in the room were dimmed.

"Toyokawa Shoko" was sitting quietly on a chair by the window.

"Miss, what do you want to talk to me about?" Kawai Masao tried his best to make his voice sound steady.

"Driver Kawai..."

Jiujo Renji put down his teacup and looked at him calmly: "I heard that you seem to be worried about something recently?"

Kawai Masao's heart sank: "Miss... I don't understand what you mean."

"Do not understand?"

Jiujo Renji chuckled and picked up a cell phone from the table beside him.

——It was the old mobile phone that the young maid had given him before——and then, in front of Kawai Masao, he clicked on a photo.

The photo shows a middle-aged woman who looks a little haggard, curled up in a corner with a look of fear on her face.

The setting appears to be an unfamiliar, dimly lit room.

That woman...was none other than Kawai Masao's wife!

Kawai Masao's pupils suddenly contracted! He felt a chill running from the soles of his feet straight up to his head! He froze in place as if struck by lightning!

"This...this is..."

His voice was hoarse from extreme shock and fear.

Jiujo Renji said nothing, but flicked his finger gently, switching to the next picture—a young man with his hands tied behind his back, his mouth taped shut, his eyes filled with anger and fear. That was his son!

The thing he was most worried about...the thing he was most unwilling to believe...finally happened!

It's really her!

It was really this young lady who looked harmless and even a little weak who planned all this!

How on earth did she do it? !

Where did she find the manpower? !

Is she... is she still the Toyokawa Shoko he remembered?!

Countless questions and fears overwhelmed Masao Kawai like a tide.

He felt his legs go weak and he could hardly stand.

"Driver Kawai."

Under the dim light, the girl's delicate face looked unusually cold and...strange.

There was a frightening cold light flashing in those amber eyes.

"You are a smart man."

Jiujo Renji's tone was terrifyingly calm:

"I think you should know what to do next to ensure your family's safety, right?"

The air in the room seemed to be frozen, so oppressive that it made people breathless.

.....

PS: This chapter has 16,000 words. I had to catch a flight yesterday, so I will resume normal updates today.

It should be no less than 10,000 words recently. I won’t offer a reward this month, so it can be considered free additional content.

Chapter 103: What do you mean when you say the enemy is the Xianjuan Group? (1w)

If we count from the time when the cup of drugged black tea caused him to fall into coma, to the moment when he could breathe the free air outside the Toyokawa residence again, the whole process actually took less than thirty hours.

Although the time span was not too long, and during this period, he also used the mobile phone provided by the "timely" maid to simply report his safety to Ruoye Mu through encrypted text messages, telling her that he just "had some things to deal with temporarily, so there was no need to worry."

But no one can say for sure, if time goes on a little longer, whether Mutou will do something extreme because of excessive worry.

Thinking of this, Jiujo Liansi suddenly felt inexplicably helpless.

He originally thought that through the previous "war of words" with Toyokawa Sadaharu, by showing his ability and determination, he could at least make the old guy understand that the current "Toyokawa Shoko" was no longer the chess piece that he could manipulate at will, and the two sides should at least establish a basis for...relatively equal dialogue.

As a result, all the information exchanges and all the logical games seemed to be ineffective in the end.

Or to be more precise, the old stubborn Toyokawa Sadaharu never really put his "granddaughter" on an equal footing for dialogue from beginning to end.

In his perception, no matter how "excellent" or "powerful" "Toyokawa Shoko" becomes, she is still his junior and someone he can arrange and control at will.

The so-called "negotiation" is nothing more than a kind of "charity" when he is in a good mood; once he thinks it is necessary, he can tear off the mask of tenderness at any time and reveal his unquestionable fangs.

This obviously also had a significant impact on Miss Toyokawa in his mind.

If it is said that Toyokawa Shoko's attitude towards her grandfather before was still mixed with awe, dependence, and a hint of desire for recognition, then now, after experiencing this almost humiliating "drug-induced house arrest", the remaining warmth in Shoko's heart is probably gone.

Now, like Kujo Renji, she is filled with shared anger and...disappointment towards Toyokawa Sadaharu.

The feeling of being betrayed and plotted against by one's loved ones is more hurtful than any overt attack from an enemy.

Although Toyokawa Sadaharu's actions were despicable, they also indirectly illustrate some problems.

Logically speaking, if Toyokawa Sadaharu really just wanted to keep "Toyokawa Shoko" under house arrest, with his power and resources as the head of the Toyokawa family, there would be no need to make it so complicated, let alone use such a shameful method as "drugging".

He could have just sent someone to control Xiangzi in a tougher way.

He chose this circuitous and deceptive method for one reason only.

——That is, Toyokawa Sadaharu has a considerable understanding of the current "Toyokawa Shoko", or in other words, the "ability" displayed by Kujo Renji, and even... is wary of him.

It is very likely that Toyokawa Sadaharu has clearly known through certain channels that the current "Toyokawa Shoko" is not only smart and ruthless, but also has excellent physical fitness and even has a certain fighting foundation.

This may have been leaked from previous events or some other channels he was unaware of.

In order to ensure that he could be controlled "without fail" and avoid any unexpected conflicts and resistance, Toyokawa Sadaharu made all the calculations and set up this "Red Tea Bureau".

In other words, Kujo Renji needs to re-evaluate how well Toyokawa Sadaharu really knows him.

However, these are later stories.

In a sense, after this incident, Toyokawa Sadaharu had completely broken off relations with him.

The thin, hypocritical veil of "family affection" between the two sides has been completely torn off, revealing the cold and cruel power game underneath.

In this case...

A hint of cruelty flashed in Jiujo Liansi's eyes.

To deal with these "geniuses" with abnormal thinking in the Toyokawa family, it seems that we can only use a more direct and thorough approach.

No matter whether they are from the same family or a branch family, whether they advocate reform or stick to tradition, anyone who stands in his way must be "eliminated"!

Of course, with the resources that Kujo Renji currently has, it is still quite difficult to achieve this.

The Toyokawa family is a towering tree with intricate roots and deep foundations, and it is not so easy to shake it.

He still needs more time, more chips, and... a more careful plan.

The process of leaving the Toyokawa family's main residence was almost smooth.

The driver, named Masao Kawai, was pale at the moment. He carefully "escorted" Renji Kujo into the Maybach that originally belonged to Sadaharu Toyokawa.

This is a typical example of gods fighting and mortals suffering.

Kawai knew very well that he actually had no choice at all.