Substitute Toyokawa Shoko, you can become stronger by breathing

Toyokawa Shoko has many great friends one after another. He remembers that Wakaba Mu is also from Crychic... If he doesn't explain clearly, maybe more great friends will come to him.

Thoughts are fleeting.

"Actually...I'm having some problems at home."

The girl with blue hair and twin ponytails lowered her head slightly, letting her bangs cover part of her expression. This small action just conveyed a kind of vulnerability that she didn't want to show to others.

Su Shi's expression immediately became serious, and she leaned forward involuntarily, ready to listen.

There was concern in her eyes, exactly the reaction that Kujo Renji was expecting.

"Toyokawa Group lost 168 billion yen last year."

There was a hint of bitterness in Kujo Renji's tone, and he observed Su Shi's reaction calmly:

"My father, as the project leader, resigned and left the family."

Su Shi's eyes widened, and his lips parted slightly. "168 billion? Is this... so serious?"

Kujo Renji nodded, his eyes revealing the unique mixture of strength and fragility of Toyokawa Shoko.

He bit his lower lip gently, which was Xiangzi's habitual action when facing difficulties:

"My father has always been the person I respect the most. When he decided to leave the family, I...I chose to go with him."

He paused, letting the emotional weight of the words settle in Su Shi's mind.

The setting sun shone through the cafe window onto the table between the two of them, adding a touch of drama to the moment.

"So now you..."

Su Shi asked cautiously, her tone full of concern, her hand unconsciously reaching forward as if to touch Xiangzi's hand, but she stopped midway, unsure whether this action was appropriate.

"We live in a regular apartment now."

Kujo Renji answered, tapping his fingers lightly on the coffee cup, creating a sense of relief, and said with a smile:

"Our living conditions are much worse than before, but at least we are still together."

A trace of heartache flashed in Su Shi's eyes. She finally mustered up the courage and gently covered Xiangzi's hand: "Xiao Xiang..."

"I quit Crychic because I needed a part-time job to support my family," Kujo Renji continued, a hint of resignation in his voice. "Plus the pressure of school... I just don't have the time or energy to devote to band activities."

——No wonder she left Tsuki no Mori...No wonder she went to Hanaoka.

It all made sense.

Xiaoxiang actually carried so much on his own.

Su Shi's eyes moistened slightly: "Xiao Xiang...you should have told us earlier. We can understand and help..."

Kujo Renji shook his head: "This is my choice. I don't want anyone to treat me specially out of sympathy."

He looked directly into Su Shi's eyes, his gaze firm and sincere: "So, please understand why I didn't tell you the truth. It's not distrust, but..."

The words were not finished, but the meaning was revealed.

Su Shi was silent for a moment, then nodded gently. The understanding and respect in his eyes was exactly what Jiujo Renji expected:

"I understand. But Xiaoxiang, you have to know that no matter what happens, we are your friends. If you need help, you can always come to us."

"By the way, Xiaoxiang hasn't eaten yet, right?"

Su Shi suddenly remembered and looked at his watch. It was already evening.

There was a hint of concern in her tone, and her eyes became warm again, as if the heavy topic just now had been carefully put aside by her.

Jiujo Renji was slightly taken aback, then gave a hesitant smile: "Indeed not yet."

"That..."

There was a hint of anticipation and tentativeness in Su Shi's voice: "Do you want to come to my house for dinner? My mother is not at home today, I can cook some simple dishes."

Her eyes gleamed with a sincere invitation: "Just like we used to do."

Jiujo Renji could sense the friendship behind the invitation. After a brief thought, he nodded gently: "Okay, sorry to bother you..."

A bright smile immediately bloomed on Su Shi's face, and that smile made the entire cafe seem warm:

"That's great! I just learned a new dish a few days ago and have been wanting to find someone to try it with."

"You actually agreed?"

Toyokawa Shoko's voice echoed in Kujo Renji's mind, her tone filled with surprise. Ever since she was forced to share this body, she had gradually become accustomed to Kujo Renji's style of doing things—calm, calculating, and rarely engaging in unnecessary social activities.

According to Kujo's personality, shouldn't he find this matter very troublesome?

Toyokawa Shoko thought.

"Nagasaki Suyo...she is quite pretty." Kujo Renji responded calmly in the space of consciousness, with a rare hint of ease in his tone.

"?"

A question mark appeared above Toyokawa Shoko's head.

......

Nagasaki Suyo's home is located in a duplex on the 42nd and 43rd floors of Block B in Roppongi Hills Residence. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows is a panoramic view of the Tokyo night scene, with neon lights flickering in the distance like scattered gems.

"Please come in..." Su Shi said with a smile, "You're welcome, just treat it as your own home."

"Sorry to bother you..." Kujo Renji responded softly and put on the home slippers handed to him by Su Shi.

The decoration style of Su Shi’s home is simple and exquisite, with beige as the main color.

"Please sit down for a while. I'll go prepare dinner." Su Shi put her bag on the cabinet in the entrance hall and turned to Kujo Renji and said, "Would you like something to drink?"

"Water is fine, thank you." Kujo Renji replied, but his eyes were already attracted by the huge bookshelf on one side of the living room.

Su Shi nodded, turned and walked towards the kitchen, and soon the clatter of pots and pans and the sound of ingredients being cut could be heard.

Kujo Renji walked towards the bookshelf and looked at the books on it curiously.

The bookshelf takes up an entire wall, extending from floor to ceiling, and you need a small ladder to reach the top.

There are many kinds of books - literary classics, music theory, travel guides to various countries, and many comics and light novels that look like collector's editions.

As he was browsing casually, the spine of a book caught his attention: "Tracking and Detecting: The Complete Handbook for the Amateur Detective."

Kujo Renji raised his eyebrows and couldn't help but pull out the book.

When I opened the inner pages, I found that they were filled with notes. Some places were marked with key points with colored highlighters, and the corners were even covered with small sticky notes.

"?"

He continued to look through the books around him and found more strange titles:

"Introduction to Camouflage Technology", "How to Observe the Target Undetected", "Basics of Secret Communication and Cryptography".

These books are carefully arranged together to form a small "detective area".

"The water is coming--" Su Shi's voice suddenly came from behind. Kujo Renji reflexively closed the book in his hand, but it was too late.

Su Shi stood there, holding a glass of water. Her expression instantly changed from a smile to a stunned expression, and then quickly turned to embarrassment. Her cheeks turned red at a visible speed, all the way to her ears.

“Um, um…”

Su Shi stuttered as he came over, put the cup of water on the coffee table, then quickly walked over to Jiujo Renji and tried to take the book back from Xiaoxiang:

"These are just my hobbies!"

"No wonder Su Shi..."

"It's not what you think!"

Su Shi hurriedly explained: "I'm just interested in mystery novels, so I want to learn some detective expertise..."

Her explanations became quieter and quieter, until she was practically talking to herself.

"So today's tracking operation is a practice exercise?"

Su Shi's ears turned even redder, and his eyes wandered:

"I'm really just worried about Xiaoxiang..."

The sound of a timer came from the kitchen, and Su Shi seemed to have found a savior:

"Ah, the food is almost ready! I'll go check it out!"

After saying that, she almost rushed to the kitchen as if running away.

Kujo Renji looked at the other person's back with some amusement.

Shaking his head, he began to wander around the room.

At the end of the corridor, there was a room with its door ajar. Through the crack, one could see that it seemed to be a study with various certificates and photos hanging on the wall.

Out of curiosity, Kujo Renji gently pushed open the door and looked inside.

This is indeed a study room with a modern and simple decoration style. There is a large desk with a computer and some documents on it.

The bookshelves are lined with various business and management books, and it looks like it should be the workshop of Nagasaki Suyo's mother.

Just as Kujo Renji was about to leave, something in the corner of the desk caught his attention.

It was a corner of an envelope half-hidden under a document. It couldn't be more ordinary, but the special blue edge and subtle dragon-shaped texture made his pupils suddenly shrink.

——That’s the envelope style of the Canglong Society.

.....

PS:

I feel that with Soyo's temperament, being the team leader's wife is the most reasonable episode (

Chapter 43: Exchange of Feelings (5K5)

The envelope of the Canglong Society - this is an item that is highly recognizable in certain circles.

It is made of a special Japanese paper that has an elegant off-white surface, but when held to light, reveals extremely fine blue dragon scale textures.

The edge of the envelope is cut using traditional hand-crafted methods to create a subtle wave shape, symbolizing the meaning of "a dragon walking on water."

The most subtle yet crucial thing is the hot stamping mark on the lower right corner of the envelope that almost blends into the color of the paper - a swirling green dragon pattern that can only be seen at a specific angle.

In modern Japanese gangster culture, letters are often seen as a symbol of etiquette and respect. Unlike electronic communications, letters written and delivered by hand represent sincerity and importance.

Of course, this sense of ritual is just a way for Kujo Renji to gain a sense of identity, and it does not mean that he wants to establish a mysterious underground organization like the "Tarot Club".

What made him lose his composure was not the letter itself, but the fact that according to the strict regulations of the Canglong Society, only people at the level of Ruotou (deputy team leader) or above were qualified to send such "letters", and they had to be personally reviewed and approved by the team leader.

Now, with Kujo Renji's real body still in a coma, no one in the Soryukai should be qualified to send this letter. Before he was reincarnated into Toyokawa Shoko's body, he did not remember having ever reviewed or approved any letters sent to Nagasaki Motoyo's mother.

——Then who sent this letter?

While his mind was in a mess, he had already walked to the desk, reached out and pulled the envelope out from the pile of documents.

The envelope had been opened, leaving neat cutting marks on the seal, obviously opened carefully with a paper cutter. Facing the moonlight, he could clearly see the hot stamping mark of the Azure Dragon on it.

It was indeed a letter from the Canglong Society.

Kujo Renji tilted the envelope slightly, trying to see what was inside, but found that the envelope was empty - the letter had been taken away.

"How rude!" Toyokawa Shoko's voice suddenly rang out in his mind. "This is someone else's personal property!"

Kujo Renji took a deep breath and put the envelope back to its original place, making sure it looked exactly the same as before - half-hidden under the documents, with only a corner showing.

Just then, Su Shi's voice came from downstairs: "Xiao Xiang? Dinner is ready!"

"coming!"

Kujo Renji responded in a light tone, as if the discovery just now had never happened.

He walked down the stairs and saw Su Shi already waiting at the dining table, where a carefully prepared dinner was laid out - light sea bream chazuke, fragrant miso soup, and several exquisite side dishes.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting..."

Kujo Renji then turned his gaze to the table:

“It looks delicious.”

Su Shi showed a satisfied smile on his face: "I hope it suits your taste."