After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

When the purple-haired girl finally walked to the desk, Hachiman Kairin also left the desk she had been leaning against, taking a few steps back to give the space to Toyokawa Yuu and Yutenji Wakame.

She could roughly guess what the purple-haired girl, who had recently caused trouble, wanted to do. Judging from her unusual behavior today, she must have been punished for something other than being sidelined by the team, so she had no choice but to come and apologize to Toyokawa Yuu.

"I'm so sorry for all the trouble I caused you before!"

Chapter 53 The Warning Bell of Trust

He bent over very quickly, placing his hands on his knees and bending his body into a perfect right angle.

"I will never act on my own initiative again, nor will I cause you any more trouble. I am willing to do anything you ask. Please forgive me."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the office seemed to freeze.

No one chose to speak first, as if Yutenji Wakana's apology was just a one-woman show, and no one would cooperate with her performance.

Bending over for a long time is tiring, let alone bending your body into a perfect right angle. Yutenji Wakame could clearly feel the muscles in her waist gradually becoming sore, and her body began to tremble slightly.

However, Yuu Toyokawa did not speak. She did not dare to raise her head so easily. She could only support her knees with her hands and try her best to maintain this posture, feeling the gaze that fell on her back like needles.

Sweat gradually began to trickle down his forehead.

"cough……"

Shoko Toyokawa coughed lightly, glancing at Yuu Toyokawa, who was sitting behind his desk, with her amber eyes, signaling him to say something.

Does it make you feel good that a purple-haired girl is bowing so deeply in front of him?

Upon hearing Toyokawa Shoko's hint, a hint of helplessness flashed in Toyokawa Yuu's eyes, who had originally wanted to further temper Yutenji Wakami's temperament.

She was the one who made her draft the contract to tie people to Ave Mujica before, and now she's the one who's being soft-hearted.

Toyokawa Shoko has played all the good guys, snatched the cat she had reserved, and now she has to play the bad cop herself at a time like this.

Asahahata Kairin nodded, and Toyokawa Yuu gestured for her to help Yutenji Wakana up.

Since Toyokawa Shoko wants to be a good person, then he, who has to cooperate with her performance, can only play the bad guy to the end.

“Please raise your head, Miss Yutenji.”

The first thing that reached Yutenji Wakami's ears was not Toyokawa Yuu's voice.

After receiving a suggestive look from Toyokawa Yuu, Hachiman Kairin's emerald-green eyes revealed a hint of concern as she moved closer to the purple-haired girl before her.

The hand that usually strummed the bass strings rested on Yutenji Wakana's shoulder. Hachiman Kairin wanted to straighten her body, but found that the resistance was greater than she had expected.

How to do?

Turning her head to look at Toyokawa Yuu sitting behind her desk, Hachiman Kairin cast an inquiring glance at her.

She doesn't seem willing to get up unless you speak.

“Amoris, please lift your head. As a doll in the name of love, you should wear an elegant and perfect smile, not look dejected as if the threads that hold your body together have been torn off.”

The voice she was looking for finally came from behind the desk. Yutenji Wakana breathed a sigh of relief and finally sat up with the help of Hachiman Kairin.

The prolonged bowing left Yutenji Wakana's lower back a little sore, but she didn't dare to rub it now, pursing her lips as she looked at Toyokawa Yuu sitting in the office chair.

"I have already punished you from the team's perspective for your previous behavior, so there is no need to apologize. You don't owe me anything."

His tone was businesslike, and he never steered the conversation away from work, as if his connection with the girls in the band Ave Mujica was limited to work alone.

"But... I still want to thank... Mr. Yu Yu for 'protecting' me. I'm so sorry for causing you trouble."

Almost through gritted teeth, Yutenji Wakana squeezed the word "protect" out of her mouth.

His brows furrowed immediately, and Toyokawa Yuu's gaze fixed on the girl before him, his voice losing its usual businesslike politeness.

Toyokawa Shoko's face also showed almost the same expression.

"Did you hear that?"

Almost simultaneously, Toyokawa Shoko and Toyokawa Yuu spoke in unison, even using the same tone that combined inquiry and questioning.

What did you hear?

Since it's related to Miss Yutenji's punishment, it must be an internal team matter, right?

The unexpected content caused a hint of confusion to flash in Hachiman Kairin's emerald-green eyes.

She was certain that she always arrived at the office earlier than Yutenji Wakame.

There shouldn't be any possibility between her and Mr. Youyu being alone without his notice.

Not to mention, her account sounds more like she was eavesdropping at the time.

Did Mr. Yuu discuss the handling of Miss Yutenji with Toyokawa-kun, and why didn't he let her know?

A sense of alarm began to resonate deep within Hachiman Kairin's heart.

One sense of crisis is that one has never actually gained trust and has always been excluded from a certain circle.

Is there anything in this band that I can't know?

However, Hachiman Kairin was a perceptive person and knew that all she had to do at this moment was remain silent. She could ask any questions she wanted to explore later.

Toyokawa Yuu... trusts herself.

Lowering her eyes, Hachiman Kairin was thankful for the first time that her mask could cover the lower half of her face, preventing others from seeing her subtle changes in expression.

"I heard...some of it."

Yutenji Wakame pursed her lips, recalling the conversation she had overheard between Toyokawa Yuu and Toyokawa Shoko in the conference room of the Starlight Plaza shopping mall.

I'm protecting her...

Do you think the Toyokawa family is as simple as you think, young lady...?

A country girl who is barely seventeen years old and still in high school, even after living in a metropolis like Tokyo for a few years, is nothing more than a social media influencer and does some cosmetics advertising.

She had little concept of the so-called family group; at most, it was just some alarmist talk she had heard through various means, which perfectly matched what she had overheard.

Yutenji Wakana had actually had doubts about this claim, but Toyokawa Shoko's tacit agreement only increased its credibility.

As a girl from the countryside, she might not understand whether the darkness of so-called large families is really as terrifying as Toyokawa Yuu said, and whether even a small conflict can bring unimaginable consequences.

However, it's impossible that Toyokawa Shoko, whom Toyokawa Yuu refers to as "Miss Toyokawa," was unaware of these matters.

Since Toyokawa Shoko did not deny this, then in Yutenji Wakana's eyes, Toyokawa Yuu's statement is very likely true.

Therefore, at this moment, Yutenji Wakana looked at Toyokawa Yuu with a rather complicated expression.

Her online celebrity career, her backup plan, and all the results of her hard work over the years were destroyed because of this kind of thing without her even knowing it.

However, I felt desperate and powerless. I couldn't stop any of this from happening. I was like a fish on a chopping board, and the timing of the knife's fall was not up to me.

Therefore, an instinct called wishful thinking made her willing to believe Toyokawa Yuu's words and believe that he did this in order to protect himself.

Only in this way can one avoid encountering more unforeseen events in the future. The person who personally blocked one's path is actually on one's side.

Even though the person who had destroyed everything in his life was standing right in front of him, Yutenji Wakana felt a strange sense of gratitude.

"Fine, I won't delve into how much you heard... Just sign this, Amoris."

Chapter 54 Have you been fixed up?

After carefully examining Yutenji Wakana's masked face for a long time, Toyokawa Yuu finally looked away and placed a new contract in front of the girl.

Carefully picking up a stack of papers from the table, Yutenji Wakame browsed through them meticulously.

In fact, the girl didn't have much experience dealing with such formal contracts.

The contracts she had signed before were nothing more than insignificant online cosmetics promotion agreements. The biggest contract she ever signed was probably the almost entirely unenforceable piece of paper she signed when Toyokawa Shoko pulled her into Ave Mujica.

The contract that Yuu Toyokawa is presenting now is completely different from the one that Shoko Toyokawa gave him back then; the thickness of the contract alone is on a completely different level.

The page was filled with densely packed payments, the black ink almost completely covering the paper, leaving no white space.

Yutenji Wakana couldn't understand many of the clauses, but the numerous phrases like "must not," "belongs to Party A," and "subject to Ave Mujica" made her realize that this contract was far less lenient than the one Toyokawa Shoko had given her before.

"This is……"

With a bewildered look in her eyes, Yutenji Wakana looked at the boy sitting behind the desk, hoping that Toyokawa Yuu could explain it to her.

In response, Yuu Toyokawa simply raised her chin at Shoko Toyokawa, indicating that she would explain.

Taking the copy from Yutenji Wakanagi's hand, Toyokawa Shoko flipped through a few pages, her brows furrowing slightly.

This contract was slightly different from what she had imagined.

"In short, signing this contract means you're completely tied to Ave Mujica."

While casually flipping through the other of the two copies, Toyokawa Shoko did not explain each clause in detail, but simply recounted the consequences of signing it.

"You're not allowed to take on side jobs. The Miaomengqin account will be managed by the team. You can manually post, but you won't be able to decide what content to upload... There's a lot more to it than can be explained in a few words."

As Yutenji Wakame listened to Toyokawa Shoko's story, his fingertips began to tremble.

Perhaps the truly terrifying thing is contained in the "many" she mentioned.

Noticing the fear on Yutenji Wakana's face, Toyokawa Shoko put down the contract in her hand and her tone became stern.

But this severity was not directed at Yutenji Wakana, but at Toyokawa Yuu.

"No matter how you look at it, this contract is far too... harsh."

Looking at the contract in his hand, which was practically a servitude agreement, a hint of reluctance flashed in Toyokawa Shoko's eyes.

Toyokawa Shoko did indeed have Toyokawa Yuu draft a new contract to tie Yutenji Wakanagi to Ave Mujica.

However, she never said that she wanted Yuu Toyokawa tied up so tightly.

If this contract is signed, then Yutenji Wakana will essentially have nothing left after leaving Ave Mujica.

"But correspondingly, by signing this, Ave Mujica will be Amoris's long-term meal ticket. As long as the band doesn't break up, she won't have to worry about making a living, and her quality will at least not be worse than when she was making videos."

Toyokawa Yuu didn't seem to care about Toyokawa Shoko's reluctance.

This contract was indeed a servitude agreement, but it also firmly tied her to Ave Mujica's ship.

No matter what storms the band faces in the future, or even if there are personnel changes, no matter who is replaced, she will never be replaced.

“Didn’t you say you were going to take on everyone’s lives? This is perfect. Once you sign this, Yutenji Wakami will never be able to leave Ave Mujica.”

That's the truth. Anyone with even a little knowledge of the industry would know that this contract is squeezing out Yutenji Ruomai's future value.

It may not seem like much now, but as Ave Mujica's fame grows and everyone's value rises, this contract will make Yutenji Wakami the cheapest one.

But at least, Yuu Toyokawa can guarantee that as long as the band's development proceeds as expected, the revenue that Yutenji Wakami will receive will be unimaginable compared to his previous experience as an internet celebrity.

"No, doing this is no different from being a robber who takes advantage of a disaster..."

"Miss Xiangzi".

Yuu Toyokawa interrupted Shoko Toyokawa's voice rather abruptly, her voice turning cold and even her way of addressing her became distant.

Upon hearing Toyokawa Yuu's tone, both Hachiman Kairin and the usually silent Yutenji Wakana were taken aback.

Even just now, when it came to CRYCHIC, the band that Toyokawa Shoko used to form, their tone had never been this intense.

If what happened before was merely a dispute, it could at least be considered a form of communication.

Now, Hachiman Kairin and Yutenji Wakanagi prefer to define the two people's behavior as an argument.

“Ave Mujica is a commercial band. It’s not just about talent that’s important, but also about order and discipline. If you don’t want this warship you’ve worked so hard to put together to crash for all sorts of reasons, then you’d better do this.”

As she stood up, supporting herself on the desk, a hint of anger seemed to appear in Toyokawa Yuu's eyes.

"Yutenji Ruomai's behavior has proven that she is an unstable factor for the band, and I don't want to go through all the trouble of cleaning up your messes every time."

When Yuu Toyokawa addressed her by her first name for the first time, Yutenji Wakame instinctively shrank back, feeling that Yuu Toyokawa seemed genuinely angry.

Even if I caused a ruckus before, he would still try his best to maintain a professional attitude and refer to me as Amoris.

but now……

Even so, I'm different...

"I sign!"

A sharp shout interrupted the argument between Toyokawa Yuu and Toyokawa Shoko. Yutenji Wakana breathed heavily, one hand resting on Toyokawa Shoko's shoulder, as if only in this way could she prevent herself from falling to the ground.

As if having made a decision that didn't actually require much deliberation, Yutenji Wakana took a pen from the pen holder on her desk, preparing to write her name at the end.

The pen tip, which had not yet touched the paper, was pressed down, leaving an abrupt scratch on the clean surface.

Yuu Toyokawa placed her hand on the contract, her eyes fixed intently on Yutenji Wakana's eyes.

“I advise you to think carefully. This is not as trivial as when Xiangzi brought you in. If things go wrong, your life might really be ruined by this band... I don’t want anyone to come looking for trouble with me again.”