Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Chihaya Aine was stunned by his sudden action.

She subconsciously followed Kujo Renji's gaze, but did not notice anything unusual on the guitar bag.

However, Kujo Renji ignored her confusion.

He stretched out his hand and leaned forward slightly, crossing the table and also crossing Chihaya Aine's body, which had instantly become a little stiff due to his approach.

Chihaya Aine only felt that a faint, elegant fragrance belonging to "Toyokawa Shoko" instantly enveloped her.

Her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably and her cheeks felt slightly hot.

Eh? Xiaoxiang...Xiaoxiang...she's...she's trying to...

Just as countless pink bubbles of beautiful fantasies flashed through Chihaya Aine's mind, Kujo Renji's hand had already accurately landed on the connection of the strap of her guitar bag.

His fingers twisted there lightly.

The next moment, a small black object, the size of a button, almost blending in with the color of the guitar bag strap, appeared at his fingertips.

It was a...quite ingeniously crafted, eavesdropping device.

......

at the same time.

Nagasaki Suyo was sitting upright on the tatami with an exquisite tea set in front of her.

She looked focused and performed the tea-making steps gracefully, as if she was completely immersed in this tranquility and elegance.

Not far from her, a miniature receiver disguised as a hairpin was working silently.

The intermittent conversation in the coffee shop could be clearly heard through the headphones.

When Nagasaki Motoyo heard Chihaya Aine's somewhat flustered and anxious words, "I didn't tell Soyorin anything! I also didn't tell Soyorin my guess about Xiaoxiang's true identity!", her hand that was grinding matcha paused slightly, almost imperceptibly.

Her eyes flickered imperceptibly.

——Sizzle, snap

There was a sound of electricity.

The eavesdropping device is broken.

PS: This chapter has 9,000 words, which is rounded up to 10,000 words.

Chapter 119: Is Su Shi talking about... me?

The air in the coffee shop suddenly froze because of the sudden appearance of the small black device.

The relaxed and comfortable atmosphere just now disappeared, replaced by an invisible and unsettling sense of tension.

Jiujo Liansi's fingertips gently twisted the little thing that had been deformed by him.

His eyes wandered over the rough plastic shell and a few tiny metal contacts.

"Bugging device?"

He whispered to himself.

The workmanship of this thing cannot be said to be exquisite, it can even be said to be a bit simple.

It doesn't look like the standard equipment produced by professional intelligence agencies, but more like a "little invention" made by a dexterous amateur.

The technical content is not high, but it wins in concealment and...surprise.

This is a bit difficult to handle.

If it is standard equipment with numbers and production batches, he can still use certain "special channels" to trace its source and trace back to the buyer.

But trying to trace the origin of this purely handmade thing is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He raised his head, his gaze fixed on Chihaya Aine, who was still in a state of bewilderment across from him, and asked in a calm voice:

"Aine, have you recently... come into close contact with anyone... you don't know very well?"

Chihaya Aine blinked her innocent big gray eyes, obviously not yet fully recovered from the beautiful fantasy of "Xiaoxiang suddenly approaching".

She looked at the little black thing in Jiujo Liansi's hand, then looked at his face which looked a little serious at the moment. The pink bubble in her heart suddenly burst with a "pop".

"Huh? What...what is this?"

She asked belatedly, and then, as if she suddenly realized something, her eyes widened a little.

"me..."

She tried hard to recall, trying to search for any suspicious clues from her recent memory:

"I don't think I've talked to any strange people recently..."

She racked her brains and went over the itinerary of the past two days in her mind over and over again, but still found nothing.

He scratched his hair in annoyance and said somewhat dejectedly, "Lately, my life has basically been a two-point line. Besides going to school, I stay at home... Oh, and... and also go to the band's rehearsal room..."

Rehearsal room?

Jiu Tiao Lian Si's eyebrows moved slightly, almost imperceptibly.

He keenly caught the seemingly ordinary place in Chihaya Aine's words.

Is there a possibility...

This eavesdropping device did not come from the hands of some "stranger".

But...it was done by an acquaintance?

The image of a gentle and quiet girl who always had a warm smile quietly emerged in his mind.

Nagasaki Suyo.

He remembered that Chihaya Aine had mentioned before that she and the young lady from Nagasaki had initially come together because of their suspicions about the relationship between "Toyokawa Shoko" and "Kujo Renji" and started their somewhat childish secret investigation.

And now, the "investigator" Chihaya Aine has obviously been successfully "turned over" by him, the "subject of investigation".

According to Aiyin's "confession" that was full of loopholes just now, she did not seem to reveal her more in-depth speculations about "Xiaoxiang's true identity" to Miss Nagasaki.

So...

Was it because of this that the thoughtful and observant young lady from Nagasaki had noticed something strange in Chihaya Aine's recent behavior, and began to suspect that her former "investigation partner" was hiding some important "intelligence"?

So, they resorted to this desperate measure and used this somewhat "extreme" method to try to find the "truth"?

The more Kujo Liansi thought about it, the more he felt that this speculation was reasonable.

He looked at the small, crude eavesdropping device in his hand, then looked at Chihaya Aine, who was still in shock across from him, and couldn't help feeling a bit absurd.

Are you really still ordinary high school girls?

After briefly comforting Chihaya Aine in the coffee shop, Kujo Renji had no intention of staying any longer and went straight home.

Sunlight shines through the window lattices, casting mottled shadows on the wooden floor. Tiny dust particles float in the air, dancing leisurely in the beam of light.

Ruo Yemu, who rarely went out today, was curled up on the soft sofa in the living room, holding a pillow with a cucumber pattern in his arms, his clear golden eyes staring at the TV screen without blinking.

A classic documentary about the animal world is playing on the screen. The rich and magnetic narration is telling the daily life of lions on the African savannah.

After changing into slippers, Jiujo Renji walked into the living room and saw on the TV screen a majestic lion who, after patrolling his territory, returned to the lion group. Several naughty little lions immediately pounced on him happily, rubbing their furry little heads against the lion's mane and making satisfied snoring sounds.

Mu, who was sitting on the sofa, jumped up almost immediately when he heard the noise coming from the door. When he saw Kujo Rensi, he didn't even have time to put on his slippers, and ran over with his bare feet.

Then, he stood in front of Kujo Renji, slightly raised his fair little face, opened his arms, and made a hugging gesture exactly the same as the little lions on TV did when they welcomed the return of the "Lion King".

Those clear golden eyes were filled with unconcealed, pure joy and dependence.

When Jiujo Renji saw her like this, his heart couldn't help but move slightly. The slight gloom brought about by the bug incident just now seemed to have dissipated a lot in the face of this pure joy.

He bent down slightly to match the girl's height, and stretched out his hand, gently taking her into his arms.

Mu's little head rested on the crook of his neck and he let out a satisfied hum like a kitten.

She even imitated the little lions on TV and gently rubbed Jiujiao Liansi's neck with her soft, chubby little face.

"Woo——"

She uttered a vague, slightly nasal grunt, as if imitating the intimate greetings between lion pride members described in the narration.

After a moment, Mu raised her little head from his arms, her clear golden eyes still staring at him without blinking. She pointed her little finger at the TV screen, then at Jiujo Liansi, and said softly:

"...Lian Si has returned home."

He reached out his hand and gently rubbed Mu's soft hair:

"Well, I'm back."

Mu seemed even happier when he heard his words. His beautiful golden eyes curved into two lovely crescents and a faint smile appeared on his face.

......

After finishing his interaction with Wakaba Mutsu, Kujo Renji returned to his bedroom.

Nagasaki Suyo...

He chewed the name over and over in his mind.

In any case, the Miss Nagasaki line should be prioritized.

Different from the relationship between Chihaya Aine, Yutenji Wakami, and Toyokawa Shoko.

Nagasaki Suyo... obviously has a stronger bond with Shoko.

If you want to shake this bond and "turn" Nagasaki Motoyo away from the "Toyokawa Shoko" camp, it is probably not feasible to rely solely on those conventional, boiling-frog-in-warm-water "NTR" methods.

For a girl with a relatively simple mind like Chihaya Aine, he could still use some carefully designed "coincidences" and "misleading" to make her unconsciously turn her favor towards himself.

But Nagasaki Suyo...

To deal with such a person, only more intuitive, more impactful, and even more threatening means can break down her inner defenses in the shortest time possible, forcing her to re-examine her position under tremendous pressure and fear and make a choice that meets his expectations.

Originally, Kujo Renji was still feeling a little...tricky about how to get the eldest lady of Nagasaki to "willingly" cooperate with him in investigating her "Mrs. Nagasaki", whose whereabouts were mysterious and who seemed to have a close connection with the Soryukai.

After all, asking a daughter to investigate her own mother is somewhat unreasonable from any perspective.

but now...

He looked at the small bug in his hand.

Since this young lady from Nagasaki has already taken the initiative to hand over the "handle" to him...

Then why wouldn't he accomplish it?

..

Night silently enveloped the entire Tokyo.

The hustle and bustle of the bustling city seemed to have settled down at this moment, leaving only the faint sound of traffic coming from afar, like the breathing of a sleeping giant, echoing low in the silent night sky.

On the top floor, a large flat with elegant decoration and a wide view is brightly lit.

Nagasaki Suyo was wearing comfortable home clothes and sitting on the large and soft sofa in the living room.

In front of her was a cup of black tea with steam still rising from it. The fragrance of the tea was elegant and refreshing.

However, her eyes, which always wore a gentle smile and were as calm as a lake, now showed a rare and barely perceptible ripple.

Her fingertips unconsciously rubbed the small micro-receiver disguised as a hairpin in her hand.

There was no sound in the headphones anymore.

Ever since that sudden "click" sound with a hint of metallic friction, there was a dead silence over there.

Su Shi knew that her "little trick" had been exposed.

The bug that she had cleverly hidden on the strap of Aion's guitar bag was discovered.

Moreover, it was discovered by "Xiao Xiang"...or should I say "Xiao Xiang".

She slowly took off her headphones and gently placed the small receiver on the polished glass coffee table.

The only thing left in the air was the lingering aroma of black tea and the boundless, deep night outside the window.

Su Shi's gaze was directed out the window.

From this height, the entire nightscape of Tokyo is in full view. Countless lights, like diamonds scattered on black velvet, gleam with a hazy yet dazzling light.