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

Miyazaki Kiyoshi sat on the bed, the room light falling on her shoulders. The fabric of her long dress hung softly, half-covering her knees, revealing her slender white ankles. Her toes gently touched the edge of the bed, as if even such a casual posture was controlled by her within a certain quiet and precise range.

She lowered her eyes, the cold light from her phone screen reflecting on her face, making her already emotionless face appear even clearer.

The message that was just sent is still stuck in the chat box.

Why didn't you come to the club activity today?

Unread.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at those two words.

Half a minute passed.

Still unread.

Her fingers lightly tapped the edge of the phone. She wasn't in a hurry or frowning; she just quietly looked at the chat box, as if observing the changes in a variable after an experimental subject hadn't given any feedback for a long time.

Kuroba Shido did not reply.

To be precise, they didn't even look at it.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi remained silent for a moment, then opened the input box again.

[Tomorrow morning at 8:00 AM, please be in the clubroom.]

She paused for a moment, then continued typing.

The club activity I missed today needs to be made up.

Hold your finger above the screen for half a second.

[Reasons for absence should not include stomach aches, toilet access, human dignity, or sewer lines.]

Three messages were sent.

The screen fell silent again.

Unread.

After looking at it for a while, Miyazaki Kiyoshi finally put the phone down on the bedside table.

The warm water on the bedside table was still steaming slightly. She reached out, picked it up, and took a sip. Her movements were slow, and the rim of the cup covered half of her face, revealing only a pair of eyes that were unusually quiet.

She hasn't eaten anything since she got back today.

This matter was originally unimportant.

But the body needs energy.

Therefore, we should go downstairs.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi put down his water glass, stepped barefoot onto the carpet, and sank his toes into the soft velvet without making a sound.

She changed into slippers, opened the door, and found the hallway lighting to be softer than the room's, with faint voices coming from the lobby downstairs.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi stopped at the top of the stairs.

She didn't go down immediately.

In the hall, Miyazaki Ritsuko and Shimotsuki Takari sat on the sofa. The tea on the table was changed once. Miyazaki Ritsuko kept her voice low, as if she didn't want the people upstairs to hear.

"Kogao, if Kuroba Shido is willing to cooperate, does Kiyoshi really have a chance?"

Shuangyue Gaoli sat upright, and her tone sounded very reliable.

"There is an opportunity, but we can't rush it, Ritsuko-neechan. Xiaoqing's problem is not just a general resistance to communication. Her issue is closer to a highly self-consistent closed structure. If the external stimuli are too strong, it will only make her tighten her boundaries even more."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi lowered his eyes.

You can lower your voice.

You can't express your true feelings.

Ritsuko Miyazaki's thoughts were clear in the hall.

[As long as there's an opportunity, I'll give Kuroba Shido anything he wants, as long as it helps Kiyoshi.]

[If the Miyazaki family isn't enough, then we'll use her maternal family. We can't let Kiyoshi continue like this.]

Miyazaki Kiyoshi stood in the shadows of the stairs, his expression unchanged.

She continued listening.

Shuangyue Gaoli nodded slightly, maintaining a professional demeanor.

"What makes Kuroba special is that Kiyoshi can't easily categorize him into existing models. He disrupts her predictions and forces her to rebuild her interpretive path."

Ritsuko Miyazaki listened very attentively.

"So, he has to come to the house."

Shuangyue Gaoli smiled.

"Yes, it would be best to do it in a controlled environment. Let me communicate with Kuroba first, and then arrange for him to meet with Kiyoshi."

She spoke calmly.

But my feelings are completely different now.

[It’s over. 】

Ritsuko-neechan still thinks I don't know Kuroba-kun.

[If Kuroba blurts out my secret the moment she speaks, or if that idiot Xiaoyu slips up, the whole situation will fall apart.]

No, we need to coordinate our statements beforehand.

[Let me tell Kuroba first, this is our first time meeting, absolutely our first time meeting.]

But will Kuroba cooperate?

He will most likely ask for money.

Or perhaps they're begging.

[It's also possible that we want both.]

Miyazaki Kiyoshi's eyes finally showed a very subtle change.

She stood on the stairs, quietly watching the composed and elegant woman in the hall.

Shimotsuki Takagi knows Kuroba Shido.

And it's not just that I've seen it.

They were so familiar with each other that they needed to coordinate their statements.

Ritsuko Miyazaki didn't know.

Amamiya Kaoru was also involved.

Light rain.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi mentally went over the name again.

Shimotsuki Takagi's beloved disciple.

Kaoru Amamiya.

Kuroba Shido did not participate in club activities today, nor did he check his phone in the evening.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi's fingers, hanging by his side, twitched slightly.

In the hall, Ritsuko Miyazaki was still asking questions.

"What if Xiaoqing rejects him?"

Shuangyue Gaoli pondered for a moment.

"Based on the information we have so far, it seems that Xiaoqing is not rejecting Kuroba-kun, but rather is observing him closely."

Ritsuko Miyazaki was taken aback.

Shuangyue Gaoli continued, "As long as she is willing to observe, it means that he has entered the boundary of her system, which is more important than simple liking or disliking."

Miyazaki stood quietly.

Shuangyue Gaoli's inner thoughts floated out again.

Of course, Kuroba himself might not think that way.

If he knew the Miyazaki family was planning to invite him over, his first reaction would probably be to run away.

No, he'd probably ask if there's any food first.

They might ask first whether or not they'll be paid.

[Xiaoyu has probably managed to calm the person down by now.]

Miyazaki Kiyoshi narrowed his eyes.

Xiaoyu has probably managed to calm everyone down by now.

This is an interesting statement.

She did not continue downstairs.

There was no sound.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi turned around and walked back to the room, his slippers making no sound on the carpet in the hallway.

In the lobby, Miyazaki Ritsuko was unaware that someone had been upstairs.

Shuangyue Gaoli didn't know either.

She suddenly felt a chill down her spine, looked up towards the stairs, but only saw an empty corridor.

"Xiao Gao?"

"I asked Ritsuko Miyazaki."

Shuangyue Gaoli withdrew her gaze and gave a natural smile.

"It's nothing, I'm probably just a little tired."

She picked up her teacup and took a sip.

But I felt inexplicably more panicked.

the other side.

In the Japanese restaurant, the mother-daughter conflict finally came to an end.

The waiter stood at a distance, holding a towel, not daring to approach.

The chef stood behind the bar, his eyes heavy, as if he had just witnessed a disaster that couldn't be explained by the menu.

The table is crooked.

The chair was also tilted.

Napkins were flying everywhere.

Ritsuki Sawamura sat in the chair, her pink hair even more disheveled, her eyes still red, clutching her phone tightly in her hand, as if that phone had become her last vestige of dignity.

An elegant woman sat opposite.

The rice and sauce on her face had been wiped off.

But instead, he had two very obvious panda eyes.

"Sawamura Ritsuki, you are no longer my daughter!" the noblewoman said angrily, pointing at Sawamura Ritsuki in front of her and shouting loudly!

Ritsuki Sawamura didn't even look up, continuing to edit her little essay, her face turning bright green...

"I'm talking to you again! Ritsu Sawamura, did you hear me? From now on, you are no longer my daughter, and I am no longer your mother!" The elegant woman spoke angrily again, her voice even louder!

Ritsu Sawamura... didn't even give him a second glance, and was still busy editing the little essay she was preparing to send to Shido Kuroba.

The elegant woman: "..."

It was visibly warm to the naked eye that the elegant lady's face had turned red!

This is outrageous!