Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

When shaking hands, Yamamoto clearly felt the pressure from Kimura's hand.

When he left the hotel, Yamamoto Ryuichi's shirt was soaked with cold sweat.

He knew that although Kimura Seiichiro did not say it explicitly, he had definitely locked his attention on Toyokawa Shoko.

——Alas, Ms. Toyokawa, I have tried my best.

.....

I don't know what's happening far away in Chiba.

Late at night, the rain outside the window is still falling.

The water droplets slid slowly down the glass, casting a blurry reflection in the dim light.

Jiujo Renji sat in front of the piano, his slender fingers gently stroking the keys but not pressing them.

His mind was clearly not on music. The blue light of his phone screen reflected in his amber eyes, showing an encrypted message he had just received.

"Ishikawa: We have completed your instructions. The target has received the contract and expressed strong interest."

The corners of Kujo Renji's mouth curled up in a satisfied arc. Everything was going according to his plan.

"What do you think Yutenji Wakami will do?"

Toyokawa Shoko's voice sounded in his mind, with a hint of worry in her tone.

She has been feeling a little uneasy ever since the trap contract was sent out.

"Didn't I say this before?" Jiujo Renji replied softly, a hint of helplessness in his tone: "According to her personality, there is only one choice."

Toyokawa Shoko was silent for a moment, as if she was organizing her words.

"I think... she won't betray Ave mujica."

When she said this, Toyokawa Shoko's voice was soft but extremely firm.

"what--"

Kujo Renji let out a short and sharp sneer, as if he had heard something naive and ridiculous.

——Innocent Xiaoxiang.

Kujo Renji never believed in human nature, and he never thought that he could rely on the so-called "bonds" to bind a person.

Countless betrayals and deceptions have taught him the cruelest truth - when the interests are big enough, human nature is just a piece of thin paper that can be easily punctured.

In his opinion, the only means that can truly tie a person down completely are benefits and costs.

No friendship is more reliable than money, and no loyalty can withstand sufficiently great temptation. The best way to ensure a person's loyalty is to make the cost of betrayal far higher than the benefits of loyalty.

That's why he designed a trap for Yutenji Wakami to fall into.

He believed that this was the real way to completely tie someone up and kill him.

I was just about to say something to mock Xiaoxiang's naivety.

At this moment, his cell phone suddenly lit up, interrupting his thoughts.

The screen displayed a message from Yutenji Wakami.

What Yutenji Wakamu sent was none other than a photo of the "UTENDERA WAKAMAE Artist Independence Plan," along with a caption:

"Xiao Xiang, this was given to me by someone from Vortex. I suspect they want to bring down Ave Mujica."

What he saw froze the sneer on his face.

In an instant, the blue-haired girl's expression became quite interesting.

.....

PS: This chapter has 10,000 words, five chapters in one. Tomorrow's update should be a little late, I will adjust my schedule.

Please give me some votes, please please please please please!!

Chapter 67: I Succeeded, Teacher! (8K)

Kujo Renji stared at the message sent by Yutenji Wakami on his mobile phone, unable to understand what he was seeing.

The unexpected development caused him to freeze his mind for a short time.

"Xiao Xiang, this was given to me by someone from Vortex. I suspect they want to bring down Ave Mujica."

This message and the accompanying picture clearly convey a message: Yutenji Wakami chose loyalty over temptation.

But Toyokawa Shoko's voice brought his thoughts back to reality.

"See, I told you she wouldn't betray Ave mujica."

The girl's words were full of pride, as if she was celebrating her rare correct prediction while Kujo Renji made a wrong judgment.

This situation is really rare - Toyokawa Shoko actually made Kujo Renji lose face.

"Your judgment doesn't seem to be accurate either." She continued teasingly.

Kujo Renji did not retort immediately. His brain was working at high speed, analyzing the real motive behind Yutenji Wakami's actions.

Could it be that he was really showing his loyalty? This was completely contrary to his expectations.

Or had she calculated shrewdly, believing the payoff would be greater after revealing her identity in Osaka? Perhaps she felt the hidden clause in the contract was too harsh? Or had she seen through it all as a test?

She had thought that with the other party's ambition, 30 million yen in publicity funds, a top stylist, and a renowned music producer, these conditions were something she couldn't refuse. Every benefit was precisely calculated, far exceeding the resources an internet celebrity could obtain on their own.

Perhaps Yutenji Wakamuki realized the cost of betrayal outweighed the immediate benefits? Perhaps she assessed Ave Mujica's future commercial value and concluded that the long-term benefits of being part of a team outweighed the short-term gains of independent development? Or perhaps...

"Don't be stunned. What should we do next?"

Toyokawa Shoko's voice interrupted his thoughts again.

Only then did Kujo Renji realize that he had a rare confused expression on his face.

He quickly regained his usual composure, but deep down, a deep-seated belief seemed to be slightly shaken.

Jiujo Renji, who has always believed that "human nature is just a piece of thin paper that can be pierced by interests at any time", encountered a variable that his set of values ​​could not explain for the first time in a long time.

Kujo Renji stared at the screen of his mobile phone, his fingers tapping the keyboard slightly stiffly.

It was a simple reply, but it made him ponder for longer than usual.

He edited and revised it several times, but the message he finally sent still sounded unnatural and awkward:

"Well done, Miss Yutenji. This is indeed a conspiracy against Ave Mujica. Do not respond to any of their contacts. I will handle this matter. Your loyalty is commendable."

He pressed the send button, then placed the phone on the piano, his fingertips lightly tapping the black and white keys, but no sound was made.

"Your reply looks strange," Toyokawa Shoko commented in her consciousness. "It's like a robot wrote it."

"Shut up."

Jiujo Renji was a little angry and embarrassed.

.

On the other side, Yutenji Wakamu, who had just sent the message, seemed to have unloaded a huge burden and collapsed on the bed in the hotel.

"I'm so crazy."

She mumbled to herself softly, her short purple hair spread out on the pillow.

The contract clearly gave her everything she had dreamed of - 30 million yen in publicity funds, a top stylist, a professional agent... These were things she had never dared to even imagine late at night.

But why would she refuse?

Why send it to Shoko Toyokawa?

Yutenji Wakamugi turned over and buried his face in the pillow.

She herself didn't understand why she did that.

Was it out of loyalty to Ave Mujica? Was it because Toyokawa Shoko gave her the opportunity? Or was it simply because of the promise to unveil her face at Osaka Station?

"Damn it——"

She rolled over on the bed, grabbing her hair:

"Why on earth is that?"

She tossed and turned on the bed like a troubled cat, and finally lay down on the bed, kicking her legs in the air.

But strangely, despite giving up the tempting contract, she felt a long-lost sense of relief and joy.

It was like a huge stone that had been pressing on my chest for a long time was finally removed.

The feeling was strange, yet strangely comforting.

"Forget it, forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore!"

Yutenji Wakamugi sat up suddenly and slapped his cheeks.

Now that she had made the decision, she shouldn't dwell on it any longer. She always hated indecisive people, and she shouldn't be like that either.

Instead, a complacent thought emerged in her mind.

——Hehe, Xiaoxiang must have been deeply moved by my unhesitating behavior!

Imagining how touched Toyokawa Shoko was, she felt a strange sense of satisfaction in her heart.

——So what if Hailing is a maid? I am still the one who shows the most loyalty to her!

As soon as this thought came to her mind, she was stunned and shook her head violently.

No, no, no! Why are you arguing with Hai Ling about this?

She grabbed her hair and rolled over on the bed several times.

At this moment, the cell phone beeped.

Yutenji Wakamugi jumped up like a startled cat and pounced on the mobile phone on the bedside table.

"Well done, Miss Yutenji. This is indeed a conspiracy against Ave Mujica. Do not respond to any of their contacts. I will handle this matter. Your loyalty is commendable."

When she saw the message that Toyokawa Shoko replied, she couldn't help but let out a slight "hehe" laugh.

——Xiaoxiang is praising me!

Yutenji Wakamu rolled around on the bed holding her cell phone.

Her face was filled with unconcealable joy, and her purple eyes curved into crescent shapes.

This feeling of being recognized is really good and more pleasing than any likes and comments from fans.

She stared at the message again, reading it over and over again, as if trying to sear every word into her mind.

But for some reason, when she read it again, she felt that although the message sent by the other party was a compliment, it had a strange sense of stiffness, as if the wording was carefully calculated and considered, rather than a compliment from the heart.

"That's not right..." She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to examine the message: "Xiaoxiang's reply seems a bit...weird?"

But she quickly shook her head and put the thought out of her mind.

"It must be an illusion. I think too much."

"hey-hey..."

She couldn't help but giggle again, curled up into a ball, and rolled around on the bed with her phone in her arms.

The rain is still falling outside the window, dripping on the glass like some kind of gentle background music.

Ruomai looked at her phone again. The screen was still on, and on it was the message from Xiangzi.

She pressed it to her chest, closed her eyes, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

There was an indescribable calmness in my heart, as if I had finally let go of something.

Although she gave up that opportunity, the opportunity that seemed to make her famous overnight, she surprisingly did not regret it.

——Maybe this is a sense of belonging?

"It's time to go to bed. We have to rehearse tomorrow."

She talked to herself in the empty room, and when she got into bed, she could still hear the sound of rain.

But what was even clearer was the cheers from the Nakano stadium that rang in her mind, and in her imagination, the faint but reassuring tone of Xiangzi's voice when he said "Well done".

Miss Youtiansi slept very soundly this time, and even her dreams were warm.

.....