Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

A black leather collar decorated with rhinestones and a pair of furry cat ear headbands fell unexpectedly on the empty seat next to her, forming an extremely strange and glaring contrast with the practical travel items.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment, and time seemed to stretch out.

Every second feels like a century.

Yutenji Wakamai felt her blood rush to her head, then instantly recede, leaving only a cold fear and an overwhelming sense of shame. Her cheeks, as if burned by fire, quickly turned a deep red, spreading to her ears and even her neck.

“No no!!”

Yutenji Wakamu almost screamed and rushed over, trying to stuff the two things back into the bag in a panic, her movements as frantic as a cat whose tail was stepped on.

"This... this isn't mine! It's... it's a friend's! Yes! My friend left it here with me! She... she's going to a party! Yes! Role-playing!"

Her explanation was incoherent and full of loopholes, and she couldn't even convince herself. She didn't even dare to look other people in the eye, especially Xiangzi.

There was deathly silence in the carriage.

Only the steady "whoosh" sound of the Shinkansen contrasted with the suffocating embarrassment.

........

PS: Thanks to the indescribable He.Xia boss for the treasure chest, I kowtow to you, bang bang bang.

At the same time, thank you very much for your monthly tickets

I owed 19,000 words yesterday, and this chapter is 12,500.

Tomorrow is the last day of the bounty, and the bounty will be settled at midnight on the 10th.

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Chapter 77: Trouble in Osaka (Thanks to Afghan for the treasure chest)

Yutenji Wakamu's panicked words, "It's not mine! It's my friend's!" were still echoing in the air in vain, but the effect was obviously counterproductive.

The carriage was eerily quiet, with only the regular sound of the Shinkansen running, which in turn amplified the silence infinitely.

Teacher Da Miao froze in place, his hands tightly gripping the pair of furry cat ears and the black collar with rhinestones, his knuckles turning white from the force.

The touch of leather and fur had never been so clear, yet it felt like two red-hot irons, burning her so much that she wanted to let go immediately, but she didn't dare, for fear that they would be exposed to everyone's sight again. Her cheeks were as red as ripe tomatoes, and even her breathing was filled with a burning sense of shame.

In this suffocating silence, the reactions of different members were like a silent pantomime, quietly performed in their respective corners.

Hachiman Kailing's reaction was the most subtle.

The moment Ruomai denied it, a strange look flashed across her face.

But her first subconscious reaction was not to look at the embarrassed Ruomai, but to cast a sharp gaze at "Toyokawa Shoko" diagonally opposite.

That look seemed to be confirming something. In just a moment, Hai Ling seemed to suddenly remember something. A barely noticeable blush crept up her earlobe and even spread to her neck.

She quickly and almost calmly turned her gaze away and looked back at the scenery passing by outside the window, as if the brief moment of gaze had never happened.

Ruoye Mu was completely stunned. She looked at the cat ears and collar, then at Ruomai, whose face was flushed and almost crying, and then at the others who had suddenly become overly quiet. Beneath her long light green hair, her pure golden eyes were filled with obvious confusion.

She didn't quite understand why the atmosphere suddenly became so solemn. These two... things that looked like some kind of ornaments, were they that strange?

Mu tilted his head slightly and blinked, as if waiting for an explanation, or waiting for this strange atmosphere to dissipate on its own.

As for Sanjiao Chuhua, her expression is the richest and most complex among all the others.

The moment she saw those two things, she was stunned at first, then she seemed to think of something, the corner of her mouth twitched, and she seemed to have some other emotion.

But she soon realized Ruomai's predicament and the frozen atmosphere in the carriage.

Almost immediately, the inexplicable malice in her heart disappeared, replaced by a cheerfulness that was a little forced, but tried to appear natural.

She seemed to have forcibly switched modes, trying to play the role of "atmosphere adjuster" who broke the deadlock.

"what--"

Chu Hua first deliberately made a little noise to attract everyone's attention, and then said in a deliberately exaggerated tone:

"Nyanmu-kun! Could this be the rumored limited edition video they're secretly preparing as a thank you to their fans? Cat ears! A collar! Wow, this has a feeling it's going to be super popular!"

Chu Hua's words, which were obviously meant to smooth things over, did have some effect.

She glanced at Chu Hua gratefully. Although her face was still red as blood, it was no longer completely stiff. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something in response to Chu Hua's words, but her throat seemed to be blocked, and she could only utter a few meaningless syllables:

"I...that...is..."

She finally gave up explaining and just stuffed the cat ears and collar back into the deepest part of her bag as quickly as possible and zipped it up.

Although Chu Hua tried hard to liven up the atmosphere, the air in the car could not return to the relaxed state it was just now.

Jiujo Liansi, who was sitting by the window, tapped his fingers unconsciously on the armrest, and a barely perceptible ripple flashed across his amber eyes.

"Ugh...."

A very light sigh sounded in Kujo Renji's heart, but he did not say it out loud.

He felt a little funny and helpless.

Osaka tour...this last stop seems to be a bit dangerous.

........

On the platform of Shin-Osaka Station, the air was filled with a humid and hot atmosphere that was completely different from Tokyo, mixed with the sweet soy sauce aroma of takoyaki and the slightly noisy Kansai accent.

Ave Mujica and his group followed the crowd out of the carriage. The strong afternoon sunlight shone through the huge glass dome of the station, making it difficult for people to open their eyes.

Yutenji Wakamu deliberately fell half a step behind, pulled the mask on his face, almost burying the lower half of his face in it, and avoided looking at anyone, especially Kujo Renji who was walking in front.

All she wanted now was to get to the hotel quickly, lock herself in the room, and get away from all the scrutiny and speculation.

Although Chu Hua had helped to smooth things over just now, the shame of having her secret discovered and being embarrassed in public was like countless tiny needles, still making her feel uncomfortable all over.

She even felt that the way Hai Ling and He Mu looked at her had some indescribable meaning, which made her even more uneasy.

"Let's go to the hotel to put our luggage first."

Hachiman Kailing's voice was as concise as ever. She pushed up her sunglasses and checked the map information on her phone:

"The hotel we booked is not far from here, about a ten-minute walk."

Wakaba Mu followed quietly beside Kujo Renji, still holding the book in his hand, but it was closed.

The weather was actually pretty good. It was a rare mistake in the weather forecast, and we didn't encounter any rainy weather.

However, fate seemed determined to add some "surprises" to this trip to Osaka.

When the group dragged their suitcases and braved the scorching sun and finally found the hotel they had booked, which looked quite nice, the first trouble came unexpectedly.

The air conditioning in the hotel lobby was turned on very high, which was in stark contrast to the scorching heat outside.

The front desk staff wore neat uniforms and had professional smiles on their faces, but after checking the information, the smiles became apologetic and stiff.

"I'm so sorry, Ms. Toyokawa."

The front desk manager came out to explain personally, bowing slightly:

"Our system indicates that your reservation....was not successfully recorded due to some technical difficulties. Our hotel is now completely full, and I'm afraid we can't provide a room for you and your group at this time."

"Technical malfunction?"

Jiujo Renji's voice remained calm, no emotion could be heard, but his amber eyes narrowed slightly, with a hint of scrutiny:

"Here is the confirmation email and number for your successful reservation."

He took out his cell phone and opened the email interface.

The manager took a look and the apology on his face deepened:

“Yes, we saw it. But this is indeed a serious error in our back-end system, which resulted in duplicate bookings and information loss. We are urgently handling it, but... I am very sorry, there are indeed no available rooms to allocate at the moment.”

"No room left?!"

Yutenji Wakamu was the first to cry out, the shame she had just felt was temporarily replaced by shock and anxiety:

"We came all the way from Tokyo, and now we're told there are no rooms? How can this be?"

She subconsciously wanted to use her "life expert" style to argue, but when she met the manager's helpless and apologetic eyes, as well as the unfathomable gaze of Kujo Renji next to her, her momentum weakened again.

Sanjiao Chuhua also frowned, "We have already made a reservation!"

Jiujo Liansi was very calm, but he was a little more cautious and asked:

"Since this was a mistake made by your hotel, what are the follow-up arrangements? Do you have any recommendations or can we coordinate with other hotels of the same level? What are the relevant compensation measures?"

The manager nodded and bowed quickly:

"Yes, yes. We're contacting a nearby partner hotel and will do our best to arrange it for you. And, as compensation, we're willing to cover your room at the new hotel, provide transportation subsidies, and... some small gifts as an apology."

After some negotiations, another alternative hotel was finally confirmed, but they had to go there on their own, and the level seemed to be slightly inferior to the originally booked one.

After confirming that the other party would put the compensation measures into writing and send them via email, Kujo Renji nodded expressionlessly and signaled everyone to leave.

Walking out of the hotel lobby and exposed to the scorching air again, everyone's mood was overshadowed.

"It's a bad start." Miss Chuhua muttered, looking a little listless.

"Let's go to the new hotel first."

Hai Ling took out her cell phone and started navigating a new route.

Yutenji Wakamu was dragging her suitcase, feeling a little uneasy.

The hotel is gone, is this just the beginning?

She couldn't help but think of the cat ears and collar that had fallen out of the car, and a chill ran down her spine. Could this really be a bad omen? She stole a glance at Jiujo Renji, who was walking ahead of her. He remained the same, and for some reason, she felt a little more at ease.

Just as the group was following the new navigation and traveling through the somewhat unfamiliar streets of Osaka, the second trouble quietly arrived.

The streets of Osaka seem more...livable than those of Tokyo, with alleys crisscrossing and pedestrians walking hurriedly.

They try to choose routes with fewer people to avoid the congestion on the main roads.

When they finally emerged from the maze of alleys and were about to head to the new hotel, the huge noise coming from the main road ahead made them stop again.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The sound of uniform and rhythmic drum beats.

"Oppose! Oppose! Absolutely oppose!"

"Protect our home!"

"Unscrupulous developers, get out!"

...

Huge banners, waving flags, emotional crowds, police maintaining order...a wide road is now occupied by a dense crowd of marchers.

"Wow! What is this? A festival?"

Miss Triangle Chuhua used her "natural" attributes and peeked around curiously.

"Looking at the signs, it looks like...a protest march?"

Hai Ling frowned and read the words on the banner:

“‘Protect the West District’s century-old shopping street’? ‘Oppose forced demolition’?”

"It's a protest against the 'New West End Redevelopment Plan.'"

Kujo Renji glanced at the crowd and slogans and made a quick judgment.

He had heard of this plan before arriving. It was a controversial urban renewal project recently promoted by the Osaka City Government. It aimed to modernize an old but historic shopping street in Nishi Ward and introduce a large-scale commercial complex. Naturally, this sparked strong opposition from local shop owners, residents, and some cultural preservationists.

They happened to run into this huge parade.

The crowd moved forward slowly but steadily, with slogans, drums, and sirens mixing together to form a huge wave of sound that rushed towards us. The air was filled with a tense and excited atmosphere.

"We...seem to be unable to get through."

Yutenji Wakamu looked at the crowd in front of him that was almost impossible to move.

"Let's take a detour."

Hai Ling said immediately, trying to find another route.

But their position was awkward, as they were stuck at an intersection. There was a parade in front of them, and the roads on both sides were congested due to traffic control and the crowds of onlookers.

Chu Hua also realized the seriousness of the problem, put away his curiosity, and showed an anxious look on his face.

"How long will this traffic jam last?"

At this moment, there was a small commotion in the crowd. It seemed that some people in the parade had an argument with the police who were maintaining order and started pushing each other.