Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Jiujo Renji stared at the woman:

"The important thing is, Miss Kitamura, I can help you solve this 'trouble'. Not only that, I can also help you...completely consolidate your position in the Kitamura Group, making you the one who truly has the final say."

"What about the conditions?"

Chiaki Kitamura suddenly realized that from the very beginning, the initiative in this conversation was in the hands of the other party.

It made her feel a little... wary.

"The conditions are simple."

The Nine Lotuses' plan is finally revealed:

"I need Miss Kitamura...or rather, the Kitamura Group, to do a few things for me over the next period of time. Things...that may require the use of all your resources and connections."

"For example?"

"For example..."

Jiujo Liansi chuckled and said:

"Cooperate with me and together...'swallow' the Toyokawa Group."

"Swallow the Toyokawa Group?"

Even someone like Kitamura Chiaki, who has seen a lot of ups and downs, was stunned when he heard this.

Finally, she said with some amusement: "You say such things to an outsider?"

"Some people have been in that position for too long and have become rotten. It's time... to change them."

Jiujo Renji said something that really hit her:

"Didn't Miss Kitamura come here this way?"

He did not explain the reason in detail, but Kitamura immediately understood what he wanted to do.

Kitamura Chiaki was silent for a moment, as if weighing the pros and cons.

Cooperating with Shoko Toyokawa is undoubtedly a gamble.

If successful, she would not only completely resolve the internal hidden dangers, but might even use this opportunity to further strengthen the Kitamura Group. But if she failed... the consequences would be disastrous.

"Why should I believe you?" Kitamura Chiaki sneered. "Because of your empty words? Or because of your dishonorable method... of breaking into my house?"

"Just because..." Kujo Renji smiled slightly and mentioned a name that shocked Kitamura Chiaki again: "...the 'land swap' transaction you secretly carried out in Hokkaido three years ago, and...the former landlord who 'accidentally died' as a result?"

Kitamura Chiaki's expression changed slightly.

That was an incident when she collaborated with Kujo Renji of the Canglong Society. Logically, no one should know about it except the top leaders of the Canglong Society.

"Ms. Toyokawa..."

Kitamura Chiaki's voice was slightly hoarse:

"You... really gave me a 'surprise'."

"Each each other."

Jiujo Liansi smiled faintly:

"So, Ms. Kitamura, regarding our 'cooperation'..."

"I need time to think about it."

Kitamura Chiaki said in a deep voice. She needed to reassess the current situation and... this unfathomable Toyokawa Shoko.

"Of course." Jiujo Renji nodded and stood up.

"However, I hope Miss Kitamura won't make me wait too long. After all... opportunities wait for no one."

After saying that, he turned around and walked straight towards the door, as if he was certain that Kitamura Chiaki would agree to his "cooperation".

Just as Kujo Renji's hand was about to touch the doorknob, Kitamura Chiaki's voice, with a hint of complexity and...inquiry, came from behind:

"Ms. Toyokawa, have we... met somewhere before?"

Kujo Renji paused slightly, but did not turn back.

Chiaki Kitamura looked at the back of the girl with blue hair and twintails, her eyes flashing with memories and... a sense of familiarity that became increasingly clear.

From the beginning to the end, this negotiation was completely dominated by the other party.

The other party knows her character, weaknesses, and even her most hidden secrets, but she knows almost nothing about the other party.

This feeling... this feeling of being manipulated...

And then there's the other party's calm and decisive negotiation skills, the powerful aura of control that he inadvertently exudes, and that tone... with a hint of sarcasm and playfulness...

They all made her feel... strangely familiar.

She suddenly raised her head, staring intently at the departing figure, and word by word, squeezed out from between her teeth a name that she thought she had long forgotten, but which repeatedly tormented her in countless dreams at midnight:

"Kujo... Renji?"

Kitamura Chiaki caught this subtle change, and a complex smile slowly curled up at the corner of her mouth, with a hint of understanding, a hint of teasing, and a hint of... inexplicable excitement:

"During the days when you were away, I missed you every day."

—Fuck? This can even be seen?!

Jiujo Liansi felt as if...cold sweat had appeared on his forehead.

...

PS: This chapter has 9,500 words. The update was late because I had a sore throat. I bought some compound methoxyphenamine, but I fell asleep after taking it. Red Bean Paste Private Marseille.

Chapter 105: Miss Xiangzi's New Ability (4K)

The moment Kitamura Chiaki's words, which were full of dangerous temptation, fell, the string called "calmness" in Kujo Renji's heart was almost completely broken.

He could even feel the muscles in his cheeks twitching slightly as he forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart.

After a brief shock, Kujo Renji quickly adjusted his mentality.

He turned around slowly and put on the distant and polite smile that belonged to "Toyokawa Shoko" again on his face, as if the momentary stiffness just now was just an illusion of Kitamura Chiaki.

He scoffed, his tone carrying just the right hint of confusion and displeasure that belonged to a young girl:

"Ms. Kitamura, what nonsense are you talking about? Are you... too tired from work lately and a little hysterical?"

"Hysteria?"

Kitamura Chiaki heard this, but just looked at him meaningfully. Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes flickered with a fox-like cunning light, as if she had already seen through his disguise:

"I think... otherwise."

She walked slowly in front of Kujo Renji, and the distance between them was instantly shortened.

She leaned forward slightly, with the tip of her nose almost touching Xiangzi's cheek, and then whispered in his ear with a hint of ambiguity and teasing in her voice:

"Ms. Toyokawa... the 'smell' you have is exactly the same as his."

"Ms. Kitamura, I don't know who the 'he' you're talking about is, let alone what you mean by 'taste'. If you don't have anything else to say, I think I should take my leave."

He tried to end the conversation, which was becoming increasingly unfavorable for him.

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Miss Toyokawa." Kitamura Chiaki reached out and gently pressed his shoulder to stop him from leaving.

A mocking smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were full of teasing and... a hint of undisguised pleasure:

"Tsk tsk tsk... I never expected... The former leader of the Canglong Society, the one who once dominated the Kanto underworld and was so decisive in killing people, has now... turned into this... delicate, pitiful girl?"

She looked up and down at Toyokawa Shoko's slender figure and delicate face, her tone full of undisguised teasing:

"Why? Do you think being a man is too tiring, so... you want to change your lifestyle and experience what it's like to be a young lady?"

The veins on Jiujo Liansi's forehead twitched uncontrollably.

This woman! She definitely did it on purpose!

"Kitamura Chiaki!"

Kujo Renji's voice finally took on a hint of uncontrollable anger, but the voice that came out was still that of "Toyokawa Shoko," a slightly shrill one:

"I'll say it again! I don't know any Jiujo Renji! If you keep talking nonsense like this, don't blame me for being rude to you!"

He tried to put pressure on her by using his identity as "Miss Toyokawa".

"Oh? You're welcome?"

Upon hearing this, Kitamura Chiaki's smile grew even brighter, a smile filled with provocation and... a hint of nostalgia:

"How do you mean to be rude? Are you going to have someone tie me up and sink me into Tokyo Bay to feed the fish, like before? Or... are you going to use this 'cute' look of yours and breathe on me?"

Kujo Renji felt that his patience was almost reaching its limit.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Now was not the time to argue with this crazy woman.

"Ms. Kitamura, I think you really need to see a doctor to treat your abnormal brain."

Kujo Renji's tone returned to calm. "If you continue to pester me, then I'm afraid our 'cooperation' will... no longer be necessary."

He tried to use "cooperation" as a bargaining chip to force the other party to return to the main topic.

"As for cooperation...of course we have to discuss it."

Kitamura Chiaki knew when to stop, as she also knew that it would not be good for her to push this "wolf in sheep's clothing" into a corner.

She released her hand that was pressing on Jiujo Liansi's shoulder, took a step back, and the smile on her face faded a little, but the inquiry and teasing in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"but..."

She changed the subject, her tone carrying a hint of unquestionable certainty:

"There are some things that only 'Kujo Renji' knows. For example... the 'deal' I made in Hokkaido three years ago. Ms. Toyokawa, you have to give me a... reasonable explanation, right?"

She settled for the second best and no longer directly revealed the other party's identity. Instead, she changed her approach and continued to test him.

"Or rather..."

Kitamura Chiaki's eyes flashed with curiosity: "What is your relationship with 'Kujo Renji'? Lover? Illegitimate daughter? Or... the heir he is secretly training?"

In fact, her intuition was still telling her madly that the blue-haired girl with twin tails in a high school girl's uniform in front of her was the one who made her hate her so much but had to admire her in some aspects...Kujo Renji himself!

But reason told her that this was too absurd and unbelievable.

Jiujo Renji knew that he had to give a relatively reasonable explanation for the information that "only he knew", otherwise, he might not be able to pass this level today.

He was silent for a moment, as if trying to formulate his words:

"Ms. Kitamura, you should know that in this world, some 'information' can be 'passed on' and 'inherited'."

After listening to this, Kitamura Chiaki narrowed her beautiful almond-shaped eyes slightly and looked carefully at the "Toyokawa Shoko" in front of her, as if judging the truthfulness of her words.

After a long while, she drew out an "Oh", and it was unclear whether she believed it or not, her tone was still meaningful.

But Kujo Renji could feel that Kitamura Chiaki seemed... to some extent, to accept this "explanation".

In other words, she didn't plan to delve further into this issue for the time being.

It seemed that something had been confirmed, and Chiaki Kitamura seemed to be in a very good mood.

She waved her hand gracefully, and her face once again showed that kind smile that was unique to businessmen, with a hint of hypocrisy:

"Okay, then... let's just assume that what Ms. Toyokawa said is true."

She extended her hand to Jiujo Renji: "So, happy cooperation?"

Kujo Renji looked at her outstretched hand, and also stretched out his hand, gently shaking hers.

"Pleasant to work with."

Obviously, Kitamura Chiaki only believed his words on the surface. Her true thoughts were probably only known to herself.

Just as Kujo Renji was about to pull his hand back, Kitamura Chiaki suddenly exerted a little force and pulled him closer.

She leaned close to Xiangzi's ear and whispered in a teasing and ambiguous tone that only the two of them could hear:

"Don't worry, that Kujo Renji helped me a lot in the past. For his sake, I will take good care of you in the future. I will never reveal this... 'special relationship' between you to outsiders, Miss Toyokawa~"

The last word "Miss Toyokawa" was drawn out long and charmingly, full of undisguised teasing.

Obviously, these words were deliberately said to "Kujo Renji".

Kujo Renji: "..."