Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

The magnificent scene that once made her feel relaxed and happy now made her feel inexplicably...depressed.

In her mind, like a slide show, recent scenes related to "Xiaoxiang" flashed rapidly.

Is that Xiaoxiang?

Once this idea took root in her heart, it quickly entangled her entire thoughts like a wildly growing vine.

She began to recall.

Recalling the details that she had overlooked.

When did you first realize that something was "wrong" with Xiangzi?

It seemed that it was shortly before Xiangzi was forced to drop out of Yuezhisen due to family changes and the band disbanded.

During that time, Xiangzi seemed to have completely changed. He had once been like a bright moonlight, but overnight, he had lost all his edges and corners, becoming silent and taciturn, with a heavy heart.

Later, she appeared in front of him again.

Yes, it is undeniable that the changed Xiangzi is "better" to some extent.

She has become more gentle, patiently listening to other people's troubles and offering just the right amount of comfort and encouragement in an almost mature tone.

She has also become more considerate, noticing many details that she would have ignored before, remembering everyone's preferences and habits, and even doing small, heartwarming things without realizing it.

She has also become stronger, and she always seems to be able to deal with and solve problems with a calmness and composure beyond her age.

However...

Nagasaki Suyo picked up the teacup and gently sipped the already somewhat cold black tea. The bitter taste spread across her tongue, calming her troubled heart a little.

However, it was precisely these "good" changes that made her feel...an inexplicable...alienation.

Yes, alienation.

Today's "Xiangzi"...

She was too perfect. Too perfect...too perfect to be real.

She is like an actor wearing an exquisite mask, playing a role called "Toyokawa Shoko" on the stage of life.

But the real "Xiangzi" who had lived with her day and night and shared countless secrets and dreams seemed to have... disappeared.

Trapped in some... unknown corner.

or...

Nagasaki Suyo's mind couldn't help but recall Chihaya Aine's frightened and flustered "explanation" in the coffee shop.

"About...about you, Xiaoxiang...the speculations about your true identity..."

"True Identity"...

This word, like a thin needle, gently pierced Nagasaki Suyo's heart.

Aine...what on earth did she...know?

What did she mean by "guessing"?

Could it be...

An absurd thought that made her feel uncontrollably palpitating quietly emerged from the depths of her heart like a poisonous snake.

She remembered the subtle habits of "Xiangzi" that were completely different from his previous ones.

These subtle changes, which may not be surprising to others, are like... shocking cracks in the eyes of Nagasaki Suyo, who once lived with "Toyokawa Shoko" day and night and was very close to her, cutting the figure she once knew so well into pieces.

Xiaoxiang...she...really has a problem.

And it is a serious problem.

An indescribable panic and powerlessness surged in Nagasaki Suyo's heart.

She didn't know what she should do.

Go and question "Xiangzi"?

But...how should she start? Should she just ask her, Xiaoxiang, what is your true identity?

These words sound like... the ravings of a mentally ill person.

She subconsciously hugged her arms tightly, trying to draw a tiny bit of warmth from the cold air.

The night outside the window grew darker.

The whole world seemed to have fallen into deathly silence.

Only the "boom, boom, boom" sound of her heart beating uncontrollably was particularly clear in the empty living room, and also particularly...heart-wrenching.

"Xiaoxiang, what on earth happened to you?"

She murmured quietly.

at this time--

A faint voice, with a hint of teasing, yet clear as if it were ringing right next to her ear, belonging to "Toyokawa Shoko", broke the suffocating silence without any warning.

"Is Sushi talking about... me?"

.......

PS: I’m taking a day off, so I can only write 5,000 words today.

Tell me about the general plan.

The current word count is almost 800,000 words, and it will probably return to its original size at around 1 million words.

To be honest, this framework has been criticized for a long time. Alas, returning to the basics, it is my lack of ability.

The chapter after the return will probably be several hundred thousand words long, recycling the previous lines, the humble girl's sneaking away, the complete achievement of the harem ending, and so on.

It's almost June now, and it's expected to be completed in September, with about 1.5 million words.

Chapter 120: Miss Nagasaki...You don’t want anything to happen to Xiaoxiang, do you?

This is the heart of Tokyo, on the top floor of a heavily guarded luxury apartment building.

The height here is high enough to overlook Tokyo, and the security system is also very good.

It stands to reason that there would be no such thing as burglary.

However, just now, just a moment ago, she clearly heard another person's voice.

A voice that shouldn't be here.

A voice belonging to "Shoko Toyokawa".

The voice was faint, with a hint of teasing, and it echoed clearly in the empty and silent living room.

"Is Sushi talking about me?"

Nagasaki Suyo felt a chill rushing from her tailbone to the top of her head. She turned around suddenly, her heart beating violently with fear.

Then, she saw it.

The figure that shouldn't be here.

I don't know when, the girl who was wearing simple home clothes, with her signature blue twintails and a pair of eyes as clear as fine amber,

——"Shoko Toyokawa".

She just leaned there casually, her legs crossed, her posture elegant and calm, as if she was the owner of the room.

There was a faint, elusive smile on her face, and her amber eyes, under the soft light of the crystal chandelier, made people's hearts palpitate.

For a moment, countless bizarre and horrifying thoughts, like a flood bursting through a dam, madly flooded into the girl's mind!

Is it a monster?

Japan has had "Bakemonogatari" since ancient times. Monsters with strange powers lurking in the human world often transform into human forms and mingle in the mortal world.

Could this "Xiangzi" before us be a fox demon who has practiced for many years, or a cat demon who was attracted by Xiangzi's beauty and family background and used magic to replace him?

Or a ghost?

Is it possible that the real Xiangzi is already gone? And this one is her vengeful spirit?

Or is it that some more vicious evil spirit that came from nowhere has taken over Xiangzi's body just to achieve some ulterior motive?

Xiaoxiang...has actually been possessed by a ghost for a long time?!

This thought made Nagasaki Suyo's breathing suddenly quicken.

She remembered the descriptions of "つきもの" (つきもの) that she had read in strange stories.

——Those who are possessed by evil spirits, animal spirits, or even the resentment of living beings will experience drastic changes in their temperament, behave strangely, and even do some horrifying things.

These messy thoughts full of Japanese horror colors were wildly intertwined and collided in her mind, which had long been occupied by fear.

The hand holding the cup of black tea began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

The warm black tea overflowed from the edge of the cup and dripped onto her white home clothes, leaving a small dark stain, but she was completely unaware.

Kujo Renji looked leisurely at the girl opposite him whose face was pale and whose body was shaking like a sieve.

He keenly noticed that a lot of black tea in the other person's cup had spilled out.

The look of someone who was obviously terrified to the extreme, yet holding his breath and trying to maintain composure, was, in his opinion, indescribably "cute".

"Xiaoxiang, why are you here? It's so late, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Nagasaki Suyo forced herself to suppress the fear in her heart and tried to make her voice sound calmer.

But the slightly trembling ending tone and the somewhat unnatural and stiff smile ruthlessly exposed her true thoughts.

She didn't even dare to ask how the other party got in.

Because she knew that in those ghost stories, this was often the most deadly taboo.

Upon hearing this, Jiujo Renji tilted his head, a mischievous smile flashed across his amber eyes, and with a hint of deliberate playfulness in his tone, he asked back:

"Su Shi, shouldn't you be asking how I got in?"

Finished!

Hearing these words, Nagasaki Suyo's heart sank to the bottom in an instant!

Sure enough! It's exactly like what they say in those ghost stories!

She remembered the stories about "One Hundred Tales" that her grandmother had told her when she was a child.

In those stories, when the night is quiet, after lighting a hundred candles and telling a hundred ghost stories, real monsters and demons will appear.

These demons and monsters often appear in front of the victims in a seemingly ordinary way, and then lure the victims with some seemingly unintentional questions that are actually full of traps.

Once the victim fails to notice the "abnormality" and follows the other party's guidance to point out the "unreasonable" place, it is equivalent to breaking a certain "taboo", the demon's "disguise" will be revealed, and then there will be an irreversible tragedy.

For example, there is the legendary "Tu Bi", a monster that turns into a wall and blocks the way of pedestrians.

If a passerby points at it in panic and shouts, "Why is there a wall here?", the painted wall will reveal its true form and crush the person to death.

For example, in those incidents known as "kamikumi", those who were abducted by monsters or gods were often because they inadvertently answered certain questions that "should not be answered" or touched certain taboos that "should not be touched".

Now, isn't the question raised by this "Xiangzi" a typical "trap"?!

Once I asked the question "How did you get in?", it was equivalent to admitting her "non-human" identity! Acknowledging that she had entered this room in an "abnormal" way!

Would she then become like the evil spirits in those ghost stories, letting out bursts of shrill laughter before revealing her hideous and terrifying true face and devouring him alive?!

Thinking of this, Nagasaki Suyo felt that all the hairs on her body stood up!

She forced a smile that was uglier than crying, trying to laugh it off and brush off this fatal question:

"Ah, hahahaha... I'm just a little curious why Xiaoxiang suddenly came here so late. Is there something urgent...?"

Her voice was dry, and every word she said was filled with a strong desire to survive.

Jiujo Renji looked at her trying to be calm but full of loopholes, and found it more and more funny.

He was in no hurry to point it out, but just leaned leisurely on the sofa, his amber eyes looking at her with interest.

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

There was an absurd and eerie silence in the air.

Nagasaki Suyo could even clearly hear her heart pounding due to extreme nervousness.