Tokyo: After years of stagnation, the heiress of the yakuza arrives.

On the way to the police station, inside the car.

"Um, using a lighter for lighting is indeed not a good idea..."

Shuangyue Gaoli's face stiffened, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward. She quickly found a topic and excuse to smooth things over, silently put the lighter back in its place, and turned on the car's interior lights.

If Shimotsuki Takari remembers correctly, this lighter was used to light candles at their Ai Li's birthday party last time, and it has been sitting here untouched ever since.

I just saw Shido Kuroba taking something out of his pocket, and I thought he was smoking...

Although Shimotsuki Gao Li hated the smell of smoke, the other party had done her family a favor, and besides, they had kicked down the door, so she was in the wrong and it was only right for her to smoke.

You've already taken out your lighter, and now you're telling me that what you put in your mouth isn't cigarettes but cordyceps?

What kind of cordyceps do good people carry with them when they have nothing to do?

And... just chew it dry like that?

Isn't it bitter?

Shimotsuki Takari fell silent. However, a rich person like Shimotsuki Takari would not understand the thoughts and ideas of a poor person like Kuroba Shido... Okay, just kidding. Poor people can't understand Kuroba Shido's thoughts either.

bitter?

Bitterness is a good sign; it means this is highly nutritious!

After a period of silence, the atmosphere in the car became awkward again. Shimotsuki Takagi hadn't forgotten her mission and started to find topics to talk about, taking the initiative to speak.

"Kuroba, you seem to pay a lot of attention to health and wellness?"

After thinking for a long time, Shimotsuki Kori finally decided to start with the cordyceps that Kuroba Shido had just eaten!

Otherwise, you can't just ask why Shido Kuroba's leg is lame, can you?

No, wait, it might actually work. Isn't she a doctor?

Kuroba Shido nodded: "That's right, a man's body starts to decline after eighteen, it gets worse and worse, he needs to be properly nourished!"

As Kuroba Shido spoke, he began to try increasing the dosage. He took out a cordyceps from his pocket and threw it into his mouth, letting the cordyceps experience the hot and stimulating combination between his upper and lower teeth!

One cough!!!

Chew, chew, chew...

Shuangyue Gaoli: "???"

A man over... eighteen?

Are you serious, classmate?

Eighteen is supposed to be the best time of your youth, so how did it become the beginning of decline? Your eighteen and my eighteen seem to be quite different.

Shimotsuki Takashi remembers being incredibly energetic at eighteen, able to work until the early hours of the morning without feeling tired. Now, she can't do that anymore; she starts feeling sleepy after ten o'clock. She guesses she's getting old…

As a result, Shido Kuroba avoided taking decades of detours, and now his body is starting to fail!

Shuangyue Gaoli: "..."

"Um... won't this be very bitter?" Shimotsuki Kori asked after a brief silence.

"Bitter? That's right, it means it's very nourishing!" Kuroba Shido said earnestly.

Shuangyue Gaoli: "..."

This classmate... seems a little strange?

Okay, you can't see where the normal part is at all.

Although she was indeed a psychiatrist who had seen countless difficult patients, she had never seen such a beautiful mental state as Kuroba Shido before. It was like he was sick but felt good, which was... very strange.

It felt like she'd seen this feeling somewhere before.

For example... Xiaoqing?

Subconsciously, a solitary figure appeared in Shuangyue Gaoli's mind. He was alone, but his heart was full. He never felt sorry for himself.

In human terms... one person has isolated everyone around them!

Yes, that's exactly the feeling. Shimotsuki Takagi remembered. That's exactly the feeling. Besides Kuroba Shido's good mental state, there was also the daughter in her sister Ritsuko's house!

No wonder she seemed familiar; she's someone with the same wonderful mindset as Xiaoqing...

As expected of an expert, all those books you've read haven't been in vain; you found two people with similar symptoms right away!

What they have in common is that they both seem to live in their own worlds, completely unconcerned about the opinions of others. This explains why Kuroba Shido always says strange things, like gold bars, cash, and top-quality purebred high-intelligence spirit pets...

Um... what exactly is a spirit pet?

Do these things still exist these days?

After thinking for a while, Shimotsuki Takagi still couldn't figure out what this "highly intelligent spirit pet" that Kuroba Shido was talking about was, so she had to give up and continue to think about some of the motivations behind Kuroba Shido's behavior.

Shuangyue Gaoli remained silent...

Shuangyue Gaoli thinks...

Shimotsuki Kori suddenly realized... There was absolutely no logic to it, just like Kiyoshi from Ritsuko's family. Her words and actions were full of self-consistent logic, but only Miyazaki Kiyoshi, as the person involved, understood this logic!

Shimotsuki Takagi gave up thinking...

"Kuroba-kun, what do your parents do for a living?" Shimotsuki Takari remained silent for a while, took a deep breath, adjusted her state, and began to launch an attack again!

This time, I plan to approach it from a different angle.

Since Shido Kuroba is difficult to deal with, she will start with Shido Kuroba's parents. She can provide them with stable, easy, high-paying jobs with good benefits as a way of repaying them for this.

We'll offer other compensation later, and I believe Kuroba Shido will let this trespassing incident go unpunished...

"Parents? No... chew chew chew." Kuroba Shido blinked, looking at Shimotsuki Takari while chewing the cordyceps in his mouth, his expression somewhat painful.

Damn, this is so bitter!

No, it's good for nourishing!

No?

"That's great..." Shuangyue Gaoli was overjoyed and accidentally blurted out her true feelings.

Kuroba Shido's expression was a bit strange, but after thinking about it, he realized it made sense: "Yes, it's really good, a strong player in this version... chew chew chew."

"Huh? Um, no, that's not what I meant, Kuroba-kun. What I meant was, 'Great! I can help you!'"

Shimotsuki Takagi was taken aback by Kuroba Shido's reply. Only then did she realize that she had accidentally blurted out her true feelings. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and she hurriedly explained.

She was still wondering what Kuroba Shido's parents did for a living, so she could arrange corresponding job connections...

As it turns out, Shido Kuroba's parents are unemployed and homeless. Great! That means they can do anything, so there's no need to worry about compatibility or anything like that!

Just assign a pharmaceutical representative, but not the kind who has to go to hospitals. She will directly handle the drug sales, and the commission will be attributed to Kuroba Shido's parents. It's quite easy to make three or four million a month.

This is much better than just giving money directly. It can improve the life of Kuroba Shido's family and prevent Kuroba Shido from living a miserable life every day...

Thinking of this, Shimotsuki Takagi subconsciously recalled the scene she saw inside the Kuroba Shido family's house when she broke down the door earlier.

It can no longer be described as bleak and frugal; it was poverty, and unimaginable poverty at that. Any depiction of poverty in movies or TV series pales in comparison when you open the door to the Kuroba Shido family!

Movies are just movies after all; actors only dare to portray people eating moldy bread and rice at home...

The real poverty can be seen in the Black Feather Taoist family; is it moldy?

Don't be ridiculous. Shido Kuroba and the whole Kuroba family haven't even had enough to eat yet, how dare you, mold, eat them?

Food and stuff... they'll be gone in a second if they show their face!

Shuangyue Gaoli: "..."

With such poverty, it's no wonder that Kuroba Shido has become somewhat mentally unstable...

Shimotsuki Gao Li sighed inwardly, feeling a pang of pity for Kuroba Shido. She planned to do everything in her power to help Kuroba Shido's family escape poverty and live a normal, or even a comfortable, life.

This can be considered repayment for today's events, and for kicking down the door of Kuroba Shido's house...

"Kuroba-kun, to be honest, I happen to have two good job openings. If you don't mind, you can have your parents come and give it a try. If they're interested, they can stay. The salary and benefits are excellent, I can guarantee that!"

"I work no more than eight hours a day, there's no physical labor, and I spend most of my time sitting in the office..."

After finishing her speech, Shimotsuki Takari began to describe the advantages of her job, which made Kuroba Shido lose his appetite for the cordyceps he was eating.

"Um, Auntie, do you think I'm okay?" Kuroyu Shido gulped down the bitter cordyceps in his mouth. He wouldn't need this stuff anymore, because he had finished his bitter journey and good days were about to begin.

Today will be the last time that Kuroba Shido will suffer in his life, and he will remember this heavy day forever!

"Huh? You? Kuroba-kun, aren't you still in school?" Shimotsuki Kori was taken aback and looked at Kuroba Shi with a strange expression.

Kuroba Shido shook his head: "I'm not going anymore, I'm dropping out right now!"

Shuangyue Gaoli: "???"

Damn it, the point of studying is to find a job, to just coast along and wait to die. That's how I came up with the idea of ​​becoming a civil servant. The system is the best place to coast along and wait to die. Now that a better job is available, why am I still studying?

I must drop out of school!

After Kuroba Shido said this, there was a long, deathly silence in the car...

"Kuroba, you're joking. You should focus on your studies. Leave the work to the adults. I'll reserve two positions for your parents, so don't worry. There's no need to rush."

Shuangyue Gaoli pursed her lips and offered words of comfort.

She thought Kuroba Shido was just too excited because he had never seen the world before, and was afraid that the opportunity would slip away...

"No, Auntie! You don't need two, one is enough. I'm an adult too!" Kuroba Shido became even more excited, wishing he could take out his student ID right now to prove that he was an adult.

Shuangyue Gaoli was taken aback... she felt like something was off.

"What do you mean, 'no'? Kuroba-kun, I don't quite understand... Didn't you say your parents don't work? Shouldn't they have two workstations?"

Shuangyue Gaoli asked.

"No, I mean I don't have parents, not that I don't have a job. Why bother with all that nonsense..." Kuroba Shido blinked, looking completely "innocent."

Shuangyue Gaoli: "???"

With a buzzing sound, Shuangyue Gaoli's mind went blank, as if something had exploded.

No...not that you're unemployed?

They have no parents!!!

Shuangyue Gaoli: "???"