He tried to save the fallen girls, but they came after him instead.

Shirakawa sat in front of Akaza, who bent over and squeezed forward slightly.

This resulted in Shirakawa leaning half his body forward out of the motorcycle, his chest resting on the dashboard.

His head was resting right on the motorcycle's headlight.

Just like the lion's head on the front of the Thousand Sunny in One Piece.

It was so embarrassing that Shirakawa even wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground.

"Haha, Shirakawa, don't fall down!" Akaza said gloatingly.

A moment later, amidst the strange looks from those around them, they drove into the gym's parking lot.

After getting out of the car, Shirakawa clutched his aching chest and gently lifted his shirt to look inside.

There are circles of red marks, all from being pressed down by the dashboard.

"Not bad, you little scum... Shirakawa." Akaza laughed.

With Nikaido around, it's best not to call him a scumbag.

Nikaido was very upset because he failed to make contact with Shirakawa.

Akaza, as she requested, set off together on a motorcycle with the other two.

Nikaido couldn't find any fault with it either.

We arrived at the gym's entrance gate.

It's still the same receptionist.

Akaza scanned her work ID, entered, and greeted the receptionist. The receptionist then processed the transaction, and Nikaido was able to enter smoothly as well.

With her work ID, she can bring one relative to experience the facilities and services here for free.

Shirakawa also rummaged through his shoulder bag and took out his VIP card.

Upon scanning, the access control system began to beep.

It's different from the last time I came.

The receptionist pressed a button to stop the access control from beeping, and then the receptionist made a phone call from the landline.

"Hello, boss, yes, he's here..." The receptionist covered the microphone with her hand, controlling the volume, and spoke quietly to the boss.

"Hey, Shirakawa, didn't you renew your subscription?!" Akaza asked through the security gate.

This gym offers single-visit passes, weekly passes, monthly passes, annual passes, and an ultimate permanent VIP pass.

The cost for a week is equivalent to an average person's monthly salary, so an ordinary student like Shirakawa probably can't afford it.

Shirakawa flipped his VIP card over and over, examining it carefully.

Yes, that's the one.

This shouldn't be happening! How could this be? This was a reward the system (Sethia) gave me before, how could it be wrong?

To be fair, the rewards sent by Cecilia were quite reliable.

"Hello, Shirakawa-kun."

The deep V-neck dress and slit cheongsam, slightly less voluminous than Mitsu Kana's, revealed her slender white legs and long silver hair, with two muscular bodyguards following behind her.

Hoshimiya Rie, Hoshimiya Ushio's mother, was someone I met briefly when she last visited, the time Akaza beat me up, and she gave me a lot of money to settle things.

She walked out from the exit next to the gate, came to Shirakawa, and bowed slightly.

That aura was completely different from that of Xing Gongxi.

Hoshimiya Shio is the kind of arrogant and disdainful woman who reigns supreme, while Hoshimiya Rie is the kind of shrewd, cunning, and treacherous woman who is like a snake.

Of course, this was just Shirakawa's first impression.

Why is she here?

Author's Note: Previous Summary: Akaza, under hypnosis, carried the infant Hoshimiya Shio to the Shirakawa residence. Shirakawa gave him half of the total amount as a thank you gift.

126. About the Hoshimiya family

"Akaza, take your cousin inside first. I need to talk to Shirakawa about something."

Rie spoke to the Nikaido sisters, then strolled over to a small table near the front desk where guests could rest and sat down.

He gestured to Shirakawa to sit down.

Her silver-white hair was styled in an updo, and she sat with her legs crossed and her hands on her lap, exuding a mature and charming aura.

While his temperament may not be comparable to that of the god Cecilia, he was still considered outstanding among humans.

The Nikaido sisters had no choice but to leave first.

Shirakawa sat opposite Rie, flanked by two tall, burly bodyguards who kept a close eye on his every move, their fists clenched, ready to strike at any moment.

This made Shirakawa very uncomfortable.

"Everyone, step back. It's alright. He's just a student."

"But, Mr. Xinggong..."

Rie Hoshimiya waved her hand slightly: "I want to talk to him alone."

Rie Hoshimiya's negotiation style is also completely different from her daughter's, being much gentler.

The two bodyguards had no choice but to leave.

Before Rie could speak, Shirakawa took out the VIP card and placed it on the table.

Why can't I use this card?

"I'm sorry, Shirakawa-kun. When you left last time, I specifically checked the system and found that there was no detailed personal information about you, and the transaction records didn't match up. So, for security reasons, I deactivated your VIP card."

Rie Hoshimiya took out a brand new card from her small purse, but this card was edged with gold and looked even more luxurious than the VIP card.

"This is a Star Palace Enterprises all-in-one card. With this card, you can enjoy any Star Palace family-related goods and services for free,"

Rie placed the gold card on the table and pushed it forward with her slender fingers: "If you agree to my conditions, this card is yours."

"What conditions?"

"Monitor Xinggong Xi."

Shirakawa frowned. Her mother was watching her daughter, and she sensed that something was amiss.

"why?"

"This is a matter for the Xinggong family; outsiders should not interfere."

"Then how should I monitor them?"

"Didn't you recently become the vice president of the student council? As Xing Gongxi's right-hand woman, you can send me any unusual information about her via Line."

This "surveillance" mission doesn't sound too difficult, and the gold card is a very generous reward.

But Shirakawa still hesitated, afraid of offending Hoshiguchi Shio.

He knew Xing Gongxi's personality; if she discovered that he had secretly done something wrong, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“I still want to know the reason,” Shirakawa said. “I can’t help you without knowing the reason. I’m also outnumbered and outmatched. If Hoshimiya Shio comes after me, I won’t even have a chance to resist.”

Rie Hoshimiya sighed, surprised that this high school student would leave herself a way out.

He had no choice but to raise his arm and point to the area between his armpit and waist.

Underneath various skincare products and concealer, a long scar can be faintly seen.

“When I was the head of the family, I had a conflict with a big boss who was doing business with us because of the unequal distribution of profits. This scar is from that time.”

No wonder those two bodyguards protected her so closely; it turns out something like this had happened before.

“Because of this scar, I stayed in the hospital for a while, but the position of head of the Hoshimiya family cannot be vacant for a long time, otherwise the branch families under my command will fight tooth and nail for the position, and the entire Hoshimiya family will suffer a great loss of vitality. So I had no choice but to let Hoshimiya Shio, who was still in junior high school at the time, take over my position.” When talking about her daughter, the shrewdness in Hoshimiya Rie’s eyes was replaced by gentleness.

"Wait a minute, she's only in junior high school, how can she manage such a huge corporation?" Shirakawa asked in surprise.

"The board of directors and the group that split up Xinggong all think this way. They don't believe that a mere junior high school girl can manage the group well. They are all waiting for Xinggong Xi to make a fool of herself so that they can secretly make a lot of money and profits."

"But things turned out far beyond their expectations. She had the ability to manage, and my former confidants and stewards were all silently supporting her. Xing Gongxi's position as the head of the family became more and more stable."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

Rie Hoshimiya shook her head and continued, "This child has been different from others since she was a child. Her personality is very... how should I put it... very strange. Her style of doing things is too ruthless and she is arrogant. Many of the large groups and companies that I used to cooperate with have been swallowed up by her and her followers and have become Hoshimiya's businesses. Although the stock price is constantly rising, the big bosses of these companies have long harbored resentment towards the Hoshimiya family and have been waiting for an opportunity to take revenge."

Rie Hoshimiya then pointed to her scar.

Shirakawa immediately understood; she didn't want her daughter to suffer the same fate as her.

"What I want to do is very simple: wait for the right opportunity, accumulate strength, regain my position as the head of the family, and let Hoshimiya Shio stay away from this workplace strife so she can enjoy her campus youth." Hoshimiya Rie spoke sincerely and did not seem to be lying.

"You want to bring down your daughter?"

“That’s right. I’ve planted spies around her everywhere except at school. Hoshimiya Rin only recognizes Hoshimiya Ushio now. The other vice president, Fukada Saori, is just a snob. The only one who fits the bill is you.”

After listening, Shirakawa carefully considered the matter.

Is the risk of monitoring Hoshiguchi Shio proportional to the benefits brought by this gold card?