Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

"look into my eyes."

Chihaya Aine's body stiffened.

This line... She also wrote this line!

In her latest chapter, "Jiujo Renji" used such an irresistible tone to command Su Youli under her, forcing her to look directly at herself and let her admit her own downfall in extreme shame.

She felt her legs go weak.

She dared not look.

She was afraid that if she took one look, she would be sucked into those eyes and reveal all her secrets.

"I..."

"Look at me." Lian Si repeated, his voice not loud, but with an irresistible sense of oppression.

Chihaya Aine's body trembled uncontrollably, and she raised her head little by little, stiffly.

Her eyes finally met those.

It’s over.

The moment she saw those eyes clearly, these two words were the only ones in her mind.

In those eyes, there was no desire or playfulness as she had imagined, only a pure, cold calmness that seemed to see through everything.

In the face of this calmness, she felt like a naked clown. All her dirty, filthy and perverted thoughts were exposed in broad daylight for everyone to scrutinize.

"What are you hiding?" Lian Si asked slowly.

——Miss Chihaya Aine’s brain has stopped functioning.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out of her throat. She could only make meaningless sounds like "ah...ah..." like a fish out of water.

Just when she was about to completely crash due to information overload and pass out on the spot, a crisp preparatory bell rang, like the sound of nature, resounding throughout the entire campus.

saved!

Chihaya Aion suddenly came to her senses, like a robot that had been injected with the last bit of energy.

"Ah! Class is starting!"

She burst out with the strongest desire to survive in her life, and bowed awkwardly 90 degrees to Lian Si in a posture that was almost like falling flat on the ground, and her head almost hit the ground.

"Sorry, I have to go now! Goodbye! Xiangzi, you should also study hard and don't be late!"

After she finished speaking, she didn't even have time to wait for Lian Si's response before turning and running. Her speed was three times faster than the "800-meter sprint" she had just mentioned. Her back was filled with the embarrassment of a hastily fleeing person.

Kujo Renji stood where he was and did not chase after him.

Chihaya Aine's reaction was completely beyond the scope of normal social interaction.

It wasn't just shyness, nor was it the helplessness a girl feels when she sees her crush.

What Chihaya Aine displays is an extremely complex and contradictory mixture.

First, there was extreme fear and guilt. Her body language—her stiff stance, her evasive gaze, her subconscious retreat, her violent reaction to being touched—all clearly said, "Stay away from me."

This fear does not come from the identity of "Toyokawa Shoko", but is precisely directed at him, or rather, at a certain existence that she knows is hidden under this skin.

Secondly, there is a strong sense of guilt and self-loathing. When he expressed his concern in a friendly tone, her eyes instantly reddened and she blurted out "I'm sorry", which proved that she felt that she had done something "sorry to Xiangzi".

The guilt was real, even strong enough to overwhelm her fear and allow her to show a brief moment of vulnerability.

The last and most crucial point was a kind of suppressed and inappropriate excitement. Beneath her terrified expression, Lian Si keenly caught a flash of her eyes that were surprisingly bright.

That wasn't the look one gives to a friend, but more like the sickly glow of a voyeur peeping into a forbidden secret, a mixture of guilt and excitement.

Fear, guilt, excitement.

These three emotions revolve around the same core - "him", forming a strange closed loop.

She must have known something.

But what she knew was probably not the "truth" of the matter, but rather an "illusion" distorted and even exaggerated countless times by her own cognition. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain her exaggerated reaction, which was comparable to a cheap stage play.

He began to build an information network in his mind, connecting all the relevant nodes.

Chihaya Aine, Wakaba Mutsu, Nagasaki Suyo, MYGO... and himself.

Could the problem be with Nagasaki Suyo?

It is very likely that Chihaya Aine learned through some channel that there was some kind of "unusual" relationship between him and Nagasaki Suyo.

And this channel may be the girl’s somewhat bizarre labeling ability?

Labels are often one-sided.

From the perspective of Chihaya Aine, an ordinary high school girl, how would this "unusualness" be interpreted?

Bullying? Coercion? Or...

Lian Si's mind uncontrollably emerged a word that he had seen in those pulp novels and TV dramas in his previous life.

"So, what do you think might be happening?"

Kujo Renji asked the original owner of this body.

In the past, this sentence was usually the opening remark that Toyokawa Shoko would make when she took the initiative to ask him for advice when facing a complicated situation.

Miss Xiangzi in his mind was obviously stunned for a moment. After a brief silence, she snorted coldly with a hint of disgust.

"Oh, how would I know?" She said with a gloating tone, "Maybe she found out about something bad you did."

For some reason, she was very happy to see the girls around her stay away from this bastard.

Even if the other party is occupying her identity?

Knowing that he would not get any results, Kujo Renji couldn't help but sigh.

Now, there is a new branch line as soon as I return to school.

Miss Chihaya's strange attitude, I'll try to find a breakthrough from Nagasaki Suyo later.

.......

The bell after school is like the halftime break of a long drama.

The corridor was instantly filled with the noise and energy of the students, and the air was filled with the restless and carefree atmosphere unique to adolescence.

Kujo Renji walked slowly among the crowd.

At this moment, the phone in my pocket vibrated slightly.

It is not the group chat notification of social software, but a reminder with a specific frequency that belongs only to a certain encrypted communication software.

Without stopping, he walked to a secluded corner of the teaching building, from where he could see the maple trees in the courtyard downstairs that were beginning to wither.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, and the name that lit up on the screen was [Ishikawa].

When he clicked on the encrypted message, the short text caused Jiujo Liansi's pupils to shrink almost imperceptibly.

[Miss Xiangzi, there's news about Bai Shihu.]

White stone tiger.

I have to say, this is indeed one of the hidden dangers that Jiujo Liansi has always been worried about.

Lian Si's original guess was that Bai Shihuye, this idiot, was either hiding in some corner of the country and was found by several major chaebols in Tokyo, squeezed dry of all his value like a rag and secretly disposed of; or he had fled abroad and disappeared from view ever since.

No matter which one it is, it is a potential huge threat to his current identity as "Toyokawa Shoko".

Once Bai Shihu is arrested, there is no guarantee that he will not reveal some things about him. Even if he is "dead", those complicated enemies will never let go of any clues.

A trace of uneasiness passed through his heart, and his finger continued to slide down, reading the second half of the message.

He fled to Southeast Asia, but fell foul of a local warlord in the Golden Triangle and is currently being held captive in his private military camp.

...ha?

"Source of intelligence?"

After hearing this, Ishikawa on the other end of the phone fell silent.

This moment of hesitation conveyed enough information - the source was very special, so special that he needed to choose his words carefully.

"It's...Chiaki Kitamura."

Ishikawa finally said the name.

Kujo Renji's eyes narrowed instantly.

"The Beicun Group has operations in the Golden Triangle and has a stable 'cooperative' relationship with local warlords."

Ishikawa's tone grew more serious. "So she got the news first. And...she explicitly requested that I inform you, 'Ms. Xiangzi,' of this news as soon as possible."

"Tell me?"

Kujo Renji whispered, repeating it unconsciously.

What is Chiaki Kitamura doing?

She's playing an open card.

A card named "Bai Shi Hu Ye" that can directly threaten him.

But she did not use this card to checkmate directly, but chose to "send" the card to him through Ishikawa.

This is a test.

She is saying: Look, I know where your weak spot is, and it's right here at my fingertips.

Has she received any news from Bai Shihuye?

Kujo Renji's mind was calculating rapidly.

Unlikely.

If she had already obtained solid evidence, the person who called at this moment would not be Ishikawa, but the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office Special Investigation Department.

What she was doing now was more like confirming, confirming "Toyokawa Shoko"'s reaction to the name "Shiraishi Toraya".

"Miss Xiangzi..."

Ishikawa's voice pulled him out of his thoughts:

"We actually have some 'partners' over there. If necessary, we can try to orchestrate a rescue and get the white-stoned tiger out of Southeast Asia."

Kujo Renji certainly knew this.

The network he had laid out in the past continued to operate even after he was killed.

But he knew better how risky Ishikawa's so-called "attempt" was.

That's not the optimal solution.

"Hold still for now."

"...Yes, I understand."

Ishikawa didn't question it and simply agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Kujo Renji stood there. The tall maple tree cast mottled shadows behind him, making his delicate face appear light and dark.

The phone screen lit up again.

A text message from an unknown number, but the content is familiar.

[Ms. Xiangzi, I believe Ishikawa has already told you the news? ]

Kujo Renji did not reply.

He waited quietly, knowing that the other party would be even less patient than he was.

A minute later, the second text message arrived.

How about we discuss cooperation?

Kujo Renji still ignored it.

He turned off his phone, put it back in his pocket, and turned to leave. The silence he gave the other party was his best weapon.

However, the other party's eagerness exceeded his expectations. His phone vibrated wildly in his pocket as the unknown number called directly.

Kujo Renji walked to a more secluded stairwell and then slowly picked up the phone.

"Hey."