Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

He liked this feeling. The feeling of holding something cold, deadly, and filled with the breath of death in his hands.

This made him feel that he was the master of his own destiny.

The door of the room was gently opened.

A trusted subordinate knelt at the door in a squatting position, with his head buried deep in the ground, not daring to even breathe.

"explain."

Tanaka didn't turn around, his voice was flat, and he didn't stop wiping the dagger at all.

"Saeki, he, couldn't come back."

Tanaka's hand paused for a moment.

Saeki.

He certainly knew what kind of person Saeki was: arrogant, domineering, greedy, lustful, and stupid.

Within the Soryukai, many people did not understand why Mr. Tanaka would rely so much on a fool like Saeki who was not presentable enough, and even gave him many important "dirty jobs".

Those people only saw Saeki's stupidity, but failed to see that this "stupidity" itself is such a useful tool.

Tanaka sneered in his heart.

Stupid, meaning non-threatening.

A man like Saeki would never betray me, because he didn't have the brains or the wherewithal. All his prestige came from his backer, Tanaka. If he lost me, he would be worse than a dog.

This kind of tool is the safest to use.

What’s more important is that Saeki’s “arrogance” and “stupidity” is itself a temptation.

Just like a hunter would release a noisy hound to disturb the grass to see whether it is a rabbit or a tiger hiding inside.

If the other party is easily angered, intimidated, or even defeated by someone like Saeki, it proves that the other party is just an insignificant rabbit who can be manipulated at will.

And if...

If the other party could easily, even disdainfully, kick away this mad dog Saeki...

Things became much more interesting than he had imagined.

Toyokawa Shoko.

Of course he had heard of this name.

He also knew that the old stubborn Ishikawa had been following the young lady around recently, like her most loyal bodyguard.

When he first got the news, he just laughed it off.

It's just a trick. Only that idiot Ishikawa believes in this heir thing.

An old antique like Ishikawa, who has been brainwashed by the word "loyalty and righteousness", is not worthy of being his opponent.

He thought that as long as the boss died, he could easily take over the entire Canglong Society.

but now...

Tanaka couldn't help but sneer.

A trick?

No, this is no longer a trick.

Did the Toyokawa family mobilize its hidden power?

Or is it some external force that they are unaware of and is eyeing the Canglong Society?

"What did she say?"

Tanaka finally asked, his voice had returned to calm, but beneath that calmness was a volcano about to erupt.

His hands trembled as he repeated what Saeki had said word for word.

"She told you to wash your neck and wait for her in Yokohama...she...she will come to find you..."

When the last three words came out of his men's mouths.

"Clap!"

There was a crisp sound.

The high-end custom-made sake cup in Tanaka's hand was crushed into pieces by him.

The sharp porcelain fragment pierced his palm, and bright red blood mixed with clear wine flowed through his fingers and dripped onto the expensive tatami.

But he seemed to feel no pain at all.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

"Good... good 'don't worry'..."

......

At the same time, on the other side of Tokyo, in an elegantly decorated office overlooking the entire financial district, Sadaharu Toyokawa was enjoying a rare moment of relaxation.

He leaned back in the expensive Italian leather chair, his gaze fixed on the steaming cup of Longjing tea in front of him. The mellow aroma of the tea mixed with the smell of old books and wood in the study, forming a scent that made him feel at ease and satisfied.

Recently, he has been in high spirits.

Not long ago, those guys from the side branches of the family who had been trying to challenge his authority and secretly make trouble for him suddenly stopped.

The unreasonable demands they made were voluntarily withdrawn, and several hostile takeovers they planned were inexplicably aborted. Even some of the most enthusiastic ones were overwhelmed by some old accounts that were dug up and were unable to take care of themselves.

Everything went so smoothly, so strangely.

It was as if an invisible hand was secretly clearing away these obstacles for him.

Toyokawa Sadaharu did not believe in the protection of gods or Buddhas.

He would rather attribute all this to the prestige and connections he had accumulated over a long period of time, which finally played a decisive role at a certain critical juncture.

Those scoundrels finally realized the reality and retreated.

This feeling of "everything is under control" was very beneficial to him. He felt like a chess player. Even if a few pieces deviated from the expected trajectory, in the end, the situation on the board would still develop in a direction that was favorable to him.

Tap, tap.

There was a gentle knock on the office door.

"Enter."

His personal secretary pushed the door open, bowed, and respectfully placed a gold-embossed invitation on the large mahogany desk.

"President, regarding the dinner party at Xianjuan's house next week, the schedule has been cleared for you."

The secretary's tone was as cautious as ever.

Toyokawa Sadaharu just said "hmm" without even raising his eyelids.

He naturally had to attend the Genmaki family dinner. It wasn't just an ordinary social event, but a display of strength and connections among Tokyo's elite. As the head of the Toyokawa family, he had to be there.

Seeing that he had no other instructions, the secretary hesitated for a moment, as if considering something. Finally, he mustered up the courage and spoke cautiously.

"This dinner is to celebrate the birthday of the eldest daughter of the Xianjuan family, Miss Xianjuan Xin. She is about the same age as Miss Xiangzi."

When he heard the name "Shoko", Toyokawa Sadaharu paused slightly while picking up the coffee cup.

The secretary keenly caught this detail, but he still continued speaking. He felt that he had an obligation to share the president's worries, even if it was about family matters.

"Besides, it's said that Miss Xianjuan is also very fond of bands. Isn't Miss Xiangzi also forming a band with her friends recently? I think they might have a lot of common topics."

The secretary's voice grew lower and lower, and he could feel the air pressure in the office slowly dropping.

"So I was thinking, should we take this opportunity to bring Miss Xiangzi back and attend together? This might also be a good opportunity to repair the relationship between you two."

After saying this, the secretary lowered his head, not daring to look at Toyokawa Sadaharu's expression again.

There was a brief silence in the office.

The silence was like a piece of ice, making the air stagnant.

Repair the relationship?

Toyokawa Sadaharu sighed in his heart.

He was well aware of his granddaughter's ability to stir up trouble. That child, with a restless and rebellious nature, was like a thorny wild rose, always trying to break free from the garden he had planned for her.

However, she is still not that great now.

He defined Shoko Toyokawa as a "potentially troublesome variable."

Currently, the risk level for this variable is low.

The reason is simple: she has no capital to use.

No money, no connections, no influence.

All she could do was to form a playful band with a few second-rate friends and put on some meaningless, self-satisfying performances in small venues.

Just like a bird trapped in a cage, no matter how loudly it chirps, it can't fly out of his palm.

However, the dinner at the Xianjuan family was different.

That wasn't just any social gathering. It was Tokyo's top resource pool, a hunting ground for connections, capital, and power.

If she were to attend this dinner...

What if, just what if, she connected with a connection she shouldn't have connected with, and accumulated a power she shouldn't have possessed...

Then the bird in the cage might actually grow wings to break free from its restraints.

For someone like Shoko Toyokawa who has capital and connections, the level of his "trouble" will increase exponentially.

He had finally managed to exclude this biggest "unstable factor" from his core. How could he possibly invite her back and hand her a lever to move the chessboard?

Toyokawa Sadaharu shook his head, which completely rejected the secretary's proposal.

"You don't need to tell Xiaoxiang about this."

The secretary's body trembled slightly, and he immediately lowered his head respectfully:

"Yes, I understand."

Toyokawa Sadaharu's gaze returned to the gold-embossed invitation, as if the previous conversation was just an insignificant episode.

He added lightly, as if he was talking to his secretary, or to himself.

"As for repairing the relationship with her, we'll talk about it later."

The so-called "afterwards" is an illusory point in time that is indefinitely postponed.

The secretary bowed and left the office, closing the door quietly.

Silence returned to the room.

Toyokawa Sadaharu leaned back in his chair with satisfaction.

He believed that he had once again made the most correct decision that was most conducive to maintaining the existing order.

He successfully avoided a potential risk and continued to isolate the restless variable firmly outside the safe range.

He had no idea that the "trouble" he had tried so hard to isolate had not only already known about the dinner, but was also preparing to step onto the stage he thought he could control with a more powerful attitude than he could ever imagine.

.....

PS: This chapter has 14,000 words, which is a new beginning of a new month (