Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Kujo Renji looked at her, as if evaluating the truth of this statement.

Then he nodded, as if he was satisfied with the answer.

"Well said." The girl stood up and walked to the other end of the room: "You can get up now."

Yutenji Wakamu slowly stood up, his legs numb from kneeling for so long.

She took off the cat ears, untied the collar, and placed them back on the coffee table. Every movement was as slow and mechanical as sleepwalking.

"Loyalty is the most precious commodity in this world, Ms. Yutenji Wakamu. It is worth far more than your beauty, your talent, even your dignity."

The girl turned around and spoke softly:

"But loyalty is also the most easily overestimated thing. People always overestimate their own loyalty but underestimate the temptation of betrayal."

"I thought my sincerity would be rewarded with the same sincerity, but now it seems that it is not."

The blush on Yutenji Wakami's face made her look a little cuter than usual.

He barely analyzed the words that entered his mind.

Yutenji Wakamu felt only deep regret.

Only now did she understand why the other party did not use a contract to restrict them.

Was it negligence... was it stupidity? Was it unnecessary?

Or... was it a trap set from the beginning?

"Everything that happens today will stay in this room."

The blue-haired girl spoke softly, "No video, no audio, no evidence. Only your memory, and my memory."

She took a step closer and lowered her voice. "Memory is unreliable. You can choose to forget, but don't forget your promise."

Yutenji Wakamu lowered her head, and shame made her clench her hands.

"Regarding your social media account..." The girl's tone suddenly became gentler: "If you perform well enough on the upcoming tour, maybe I can help you solve this problem."

These words cast a glimmer of light in the darkness. Yutenji Wakamu raised her head, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"really?"

The blue-haired girl smiled slightly, a smile without any warmth: "It depends on your performance."

She walked towards the door. "It's getting late. You should go back. Tour rehearsals are going on as normal. I hope you can show up with the right attitude."

"Uh-huh!"

Yutenji Wakamu nodded and asked stutteringly:

"Can I..can I leave now?"

..

Back in the hotel room, Kujo Renji closed the door and took off the disguise of "Toyokawa Shoko".

She—no, it would be more accurate to say "he" now—walked silently toward the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the night view of Tokyo.

From the beginning, Miss Toyokawa Shoko had been making sharp explosions in his mind.

"Ahhhhh, how could you do such a thing!! This, this, is too much!" Toyokawa Shoko's voice sounded in his mind, with obvious dissatisfaction and blame.

Kujo Renji absentmindedly adjusted his shirt cuffs. "Excessive? I think she should be thankful."

"This is just your bad taste!"

Toyokawa Shoko's voice was filled with anger and a hint of shame.

"She's already admitted her mistake!"

"Ms. Toyokawa..."

Kujo Renji's voice was calm and gentle, with an almost professorial patience:

"In this situation, you should never show mercy. Kindness will only be seen as weakness, and weakness will breed more betrayal."

He walked to the wine cabinet and poured himself a glass of water:

"Yutenji Wakami didn't really obey. She just compromised to protect her own interests."

Toyokawa Shoko was obviously a little dissatisfied, with a hint of shame in her tone.

"She...she just obeyed you and did those shameful things. How could she not have truly obeyed?"

Kujo Renji sighed: "This is just a compromise. Compromise does not mean obedience."

“Superficial obedience is easy to obtain, but true loyalty requires a deeper taming.”

Jiujo Renji walked to the sofa, sat down casually, and said nonchalantly:

“You can only tame a dog when you starve it to death. When it understands that only you can give it food and only you can decide its life and death, it will be truly loyal to you.”

"If you don't believe me, wait until the tour is over and see."

......

Now, alone in the apartment.

Yutenji Wakamu buried his face in the pillow.

The emotions that had been suppressed for the whole day finally found an outlet.

“Why…why did it turn out like this…”

She shook her head, trying to shake off the lingering memories - the touch of kneeling, the coldness of the collar, the weight of the cat ears, and the name that made her extremely ashamed...

"Master... Master..."

The word slipped unconsciously from her mouth, echoing in the empty apartment.

Yutenji Wakamugi was stunned, as if burned by his own voice.

She suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes widened, and her heart was beating like thunder.

What was going on? Why did the word come out of her mouth so naturally?

What's even more terrifying is why she felt a strange shudder the moment she said this word?

"No...that's not right...it's not like that..."

Yutenji Wakamugi shook her head vigorously, slapping her cheeks with both hands, as if this could bring her back to her senses. The warm touch reminded her that her face was already frighteningly hot.

What exactly is that feeling?

In today's humiliation, when she knelt on the ground, when she crawled, when she shouted "Master", she felt more than just shame and anger.

And a hint of...excitement.

This is something Yutenji Wakami would never admit.

She jumped up from the sofa and paced back and forth, trying to clear her mind of distracting thoughts.

It was just a normal manifestation of shame, she told herself.

The body's abnormal reaction is only due to extreme stress and fear, just like people laugh when they are extremely nervous. This is... this is a psychological defense mechanism.

It must be so.

She was definitely not...excited by that kind of thing.

Absolutely not.

Yutenji Wakamugi walked into the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and let the cold water wash over her hot face.

Drops of water slid down her cheeks, taking away some of the heat but unable to take away the confusion in her heart.

The reflection in the mirror flushed, her eyes complex. She stared at the reflection, trying to find the confident beauty blogger "Miao Mengqin" or the member of Ave Mujica codenamed Amoris.

But she only saw a lost girl who, stripped of all her external identities, didn't know how to face her true self.

"This is just temporary... Once my account is restored..."

Yutenji Wakamu talked to herself in the mirror, her eyes gradually becoming firm.

Yes, this will all pass. When she regains her social media accounts, when she has her own voice again, when she no longer needs to rely on Ave Mujica as a lifeline...

By then, she will definitely make Shoko Toyokawa pay the price.

"A gentleman's revenge is never too late..."

The words echoed in her mind, bringing a sense of comfort. The thought of revenge gave her some sense of control, even if it was only an illusion.

She can wait, she can be patient, she can appear to be perfectly obedient and loyal.

She would become the best drummer, she would perform well on tour, she would prove her worth, until Toyokawa Shoko trusted her, until her account was restored, until she was able to fight back...

Turning back to the living room, Yutenji Wakamu's eyes fell on the computer screen. It was still stuck on the page where she had tried to log into her social media account yesterday, the bright red ban notice still glaring.

She took a deep breath and turned off the computer.

As she lay in bed, pulling up the covers, she couldn't help but think of those amber eyes, the calm gaze that held absolute control...

"Well..."

The body's reactions are more honest than the mouth's.

..

The spring breeze, with a hint of warmth, blows the cherry blossoms of Yugaoka Girls' Academy, and the tender green leaves sparkle with the breath of life in the sunlight.

Kujo Renji walked through the campus corridor in neat steps, her blue ponytails swaying gently with her steps, and her small leather shoes making crisp sounds on the marble floor.

After leaving the teaching building, he took out his phone and saw a message from Yidi Zhixingge. He tapped the screen with his finger, reading the words as he walked.

The message started with some polite words, but as he read further, Kujo Renji noticed that there was obvious hesitation in the other party's tone.

[Ms. Toyokawa, I have something to ask you...]

[Everything is going well at STARRY recently. Thank you for your help last time...]

Seeing these obviously roundabout words, Jiujo Liansi couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.

A smile flashed in his amber eyes, and he replied directly:

【Is someone causing trouble again? 】

A simple sentence, but it hits the heart of the matter. After the message was sent, the phone interface immediately displayed the status of "the other party is typing", but this status lasted for nearly a minute, and in the end, only a brief reply was received:

【No...】

A longer explanation follows:

"It's Nijiya and the others, the members of the band you met last time. They've been brooding over their last performance, feeling they didn't give their best. So... they want to give you another performance. They've been working really hard lately, and I can't resist them, so I came to ask if Ms. Toyokawa is free?"

Jiujo Renji felt a little amused after reading the message.

The last performance wasn't perfect. The pink-haired kid was shaking almost the entire time, and the drummer was so nervous that he messed up the rhythm a few times. The only relatively stable player was the bassist.

He thought for a moment and quickly replied: [No problem, I'm looking forward to the performance that day.]

Putting away his phone, Kujo Renji walked towards the music classroom. The sun fell on his shoulders, gilding his school uniform.

"You just agreed?"

Toyokawa Shoko's voice rang out in his mind, somewhat complainingly. Kujo Renji could sense her dissatisfaction.

"What's wrong?" he responded in his heart, walking towards the music classroom without stopping.

"You're already struggling to find time to practice the piano, so why did you agree to go see a band?"

There was obvious complaint in Toyokawa Shoko's tone, and Kujo Renji could almost imagine her pouting.

"After all, I haven't really performed on stage before..." Kujo Renji laughed inwardly and made up an excuse: "I might go and take a look and get familiar with the process."

After hearing what Kujo Renji said, Toyokawa Shoko had no reason to refute.

He pushed open the door of the music classroom, and the sunlight shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the grand piano. The black body of the piano glowed with a warm luster under the sunlight.

Jiujo Renji sat on the piano stool, gently stroked the keys, feeling the smooth and cool touch.

He took a deep breath and began to practice.

As the fingertips touch the piano keys, beautiful melody flows in the classroom.

"Why is it Kasuga Shadow again!" Miss Toyokawa said dissatisfiedly in her mind.

"Isn't it just perfect for warming up..."