Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

She knew there was no point in arguing any further.

He just stopped talking and was actually sulking with himself.

I was angry at myself for speaking so hastily. I said something about "community of shared future", but now it has become a shackle that binds me.

The vehicle slowly drove into the hospital's underground parking lot.

The VIP intensive care unit of Tokyo Central General Hospital is located on the top floor of the building and has its own independent elevator and security system.

However, when Kujo Renji walked towards the specific ward under the escort of two black-clad bodyguards, he was stopped.

A young nurse stood at the door of the ward. Her face was pale and her eyes were full of tension and embarrassment.

"Excuse me... who are you?"

She looked at the girl in front of her with a strong aura, and the two bodyguards behind her who looked not to be trifled with, and her voice trembled a little.

Kujo Renji didn't say anything, but just signaled Ishikawa beside him with his eyes.

Ishikawa immediately stepped forward, took out a document from his arms and handed it over.

"We are Mr. Kujo's family. This is Miss Shoko."

Ishikawa's voice was steady and powerful, carrying unquestionable authority: "We are here today to prepare for the transfer of Mr. Kujo."

"Eh?"

The nurse's eyes widened slightly in shock.

She took the document and opened it with trembling hands. It was a household registration certificate and kinship certificate that was so perfectly forged that it was indistinguishable from the real thing.

But her difficulties did not decrease.

"I'm so sorry, Miss Xiangzi..."

There was a sobbing tone in her voice, and she was almost about to cry:

"Our department director has specifically instructed that no one can visit Mr. Kujo without his permission, nor can anyone... transfer him to another hospital. You see, I'm just a nurse, I..."

She knew very well that neither the "family members" in front of her nor the Canglong Society to which the big boss in the ward belonged were people she could afford to offend.

Kujo Renji looked at her, who was about to collapse, and his heart remained calm.

He did not embarrass her, but spoke calmly:

"I understand your dilemma. You don't need to make a decision, you just need to call your director."

The nurse looked at her blankly. She nodded subconsciously, as if she had been pardoned, turned around and ran quickly to the nurse's station.

Not long after, a middle-aged man in a white coat and a Mediterranean hairstyle came jogging over.

He is the attending physician of this intensive care unit and also the director of the department.

"Miss Xiangzi! I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting!"

He ran up to her, wiping the sweat from his forehead while bowing and apologizing.

He obviously knew something about it.

"It's alright." Kujo Renji said calmly, "Can we go through the formalities now?"

"Of course, of course! Please follow me!"

The director personally led the way in front, with an attitude as respectful as a subordinate.

The door of the ward was finally opened.

In the center of the room, on the large hospital bed, a person was lying quietly.

Kujo Renji paused for a moment at the door.

Then he walked in.

He saw "himself".

It was an extremely strange, out-of-body experience.

Use a pair of eyes that do not belong to you to examine a body that should have belonged to you but is now a stranger to you.

The man on the hospital bed had his eyes closed and a peaceful expression.

Various sophisticated instruments were connected to his body, and the data and curves jumping on the screen proved that his vital signs were stable.

Time seemed to have been paused for him.

[..Is this you?]

Toyokawa Shoko's voice was filled with curiosity.

Kujo Renji did not answer.

His eyes fell on that familiar face.

To his surprise, this body, after being in a coma for over six months, hadn't changed much. The skin still retained its healthy hue, the cheeks hadn't sunken from prolonged bed rest, and even the faint muscle outlines visible through the loose hospital gown seemed to have not lost any significant weight.

This doesn't make sense.

"director."

He turned his head and looked at the attending physician beside him.

"Yes, Miss Xiangzi, what do you want?"

"Has his physical condition always been like this?"

The director perked up immediately at the mention of his professional field. He adjusted his glasses, his face revealing a mixture of confusion and excitement, typical of a researcher.

"Miss Xiangzi, you are truly observant. This is exactly what has always amazed me. Logically speaking, for a patient like Mr. Kujo who has been in a dormant state for so long, muscle atrophy is inevitable. Even if a nurse performs massage and physical stretching for him, it can only delay the process."

He pointed to a data curve on the instrument.

"However, Mr. Kujo's condition completely defies medical common sense! His muscle activity remains at an exceptionally high level, and his metabolism far surpasses that of similar patients. It's as if... as if his body possesses some powerful, autonomous recovery mechanism. Honestly, in my thirty years of medical practice, I've never seen such a bizarre case."

A strange case?

Jiujo Renji became thoughtful

He knows his own body best. There is no such thing as a "strange physique".

So, the only explanation is... during the time he was unconscious, there was a force that maintained his body functions in some extraordinary way.

Yes, system?

Just as Kujo Renji was lost in thought, Toyokawa Shoko deep in his consciousness had a completely different mindset.

To be honest, this was also the first time she saw the true appearance of the man who occupied her body.

Before, he was just a voice, a consciousness, a rational, powerful, and incorporeal existence to her.

And now, this existence has a concrete and perceptible image.

and..

And this image, damn, precisely, hits her aesthetic point.

The man on the hospital bed had a face with distinct contours. A high nose bridge, thin lips tightly pursed, and the lines of his brow bones were sharp and deep. Even in his sleep, he exuded an indelible, aggressive heroic aura.

His physique is not that of an exaggeratedly muscular man, but the typical type that looks thin when dressed and has muscles when undressed.

Broad shoulders, strong arms, the collar of the hospital gown is slightly open, revealing the clear collarbone and the smooth outline of the chest muscles.

It is a kind of beauty that is full of power yet elegant.

Strong, lean, with a hint of danger, the aura of an adult man.

Absolutely the type that is most popular among Japanese high school girls.

Shoko Toyokawa felt her cheeks begin to heat up uncontrollably.

Her heartbeat skipped a beat without warning, then began to accelerate.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

That sound, in the silent space of consciousness, was as loud as the beating of a drum.

Her brain started working uncontrollably.

The guy who spoke all kinds of cold words in a flat tone in her mind every day, turned out to look like this?

That man who could calmly analyze the pros and cons, who could make her speechless with anger, and who could clumsily cook porridge when Mu was sick, was... the man on the bed...

this..

A man who is a little too handsome?

A strong, absurd, and cognitive dissonance feeling instantly gripped her.

Then, some more inappropriate and chaotic thoughts began to emerge wildly from her mind like out-of-control weeds.

if..

If he wakes up...

What would those tightly closed eyes look like when they opened?

Is it like his voice? Or... will it have a certain... burning temperature?

if..

If he used those hands... those bony, strong-looking hands... to grab my wrist...

If he had used those thin lips to say something other than those infuriating analyses...

Ah ah ah ah ah--!

Toyokawa Shoko! What are you thinking about?

He's the bastard who took over your body! He's a former gangster! He's a complete egoist!

How could you...how could you think of these things...such messed up things in front of his body!

So shameless!

The girl's consciousness uttered a sharp wail within her head. She felt as if her soul was about to evaporate from shame.

She shook her head suddenly at the conscious level, trying to get rid of those "wild" and erotic images.

However, just as she was struggling internally and her cheeks were red as if blood was about to drip out, the voice of the culprit, with a hint of teasing laughter, slowly sounded in her mind.

【Why, I have a good figure, right? 】

"boom--!"

Toyokawa Shoko's mind went blank in an instant.

He...he knows!

He knows what I'm thinking!

This bastard! He's actually peeping into my thoughts!

Shame, embarrassment, anger, and the panic of having her heart touched, all the emotions came together at this moment and instantly broke down the dam of her reason.

【abnormal.】

She squeezed out the word from between her teeth almost subconsciously.

The familiar sound of breathing that became rapid and heavy due to emotional excitement, the so-called "breathing", once again appeared in the space of consciousness.

This has become her signature stress response to cover up her inner panic.

【It's just a reasonable inference.】

The smile in Kujo Renji's voice became even more intense.

【You...you still dare to say that! 】

Shoko Toyokawa was so angry that she could hardly speak.

Using this kind of analysis to interpret her ulterior motives as a girl is a thousand times more hateful than directly mocking her!

[Shut up! Don’t say that again!] She roared in her mind, somewhat angrily.

[Okay, okay, I won’t say anymore.]

Kujo Renji readily "shut up".

But his nonchalant attitude, as if he was watching an interesting drama, made Toyokawa Shoko even more crazy.