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

The Miyazaki family.

As night fell, the entire mansion continued to operate quietly and orderly.

The lights in the courtyard turned on one by one, and the corridor was bathed in warm light. The servants talked in hushed tones, their footsteps light, carrying leftover dinner and tea sets from the first-floor dining room. Someone else went to the study to change the hot tea and confirm the schedule for tomorrow morning.

The nights at the Miyazaki family's house are not as abstract as those at the Jingu family's house.

There was no patriarch rolling around in the hall, no fancy mouse sitting in a massage chair preparing for a boxing championship, and no poor Tokyo pretty boy jumping around at the door, enjoying the sweet fruits of the remnants of capitalist feudalism.

It's quiet and orderly here, like a well-maintained machine that has been running for many years.

Everyone knows what they should do.

After finishing the last document in the first-floor reception room, Miyazaki Ritsuko looked up at the direction of the stairs. A maid came over in a low voice to ask if she needed a late-night snack. She shook her head and only asked someone to leave her a glass of warm water.

"Where's Xiaoqing?"

"Miss has already had dinner and then went to the training room. She should be in the bathroom now."

The maid answered in a low voice.

Ritsuko Miyazaki nodded and said nothing more.

This is Miyazaki Kiyoshi's daily life.

Go home, study, read, eat, maintain basic energy intake, then exercise, take a shower, continue reading or organizing materials, and go to bed at a fixed time.

health.

law.

Precise.

It's as if someone broke down the word "excellent" into specific performance standards and then incorporated them all into her life.

Compared to a weak, timid male chef like Shido Kuroba, they are the complete opposite.

Kuroba Shido's biggest flaw is that he is too ruthless and kind to himself.

I'd rather lie down than sit.

If you can sit, never stand.

If a problem can be solved with a cane, never try to walk on two legs; if a day can be survived on discounted rice balls, never waste precious energy on an expensive dinner.

Of course, saying that would be a bit unfair to him.

Because Shido Kuroba did try.

He worked hard when he was a child, even very hard, but soon discovered something very cruel.

Effort is worthwhile.

However, it doesn't work the same for everyone.

Some people can achieve results that you can't reach even after years of hard work with just a little effort. That kind of gap is not just a matter of one dimension defeating another; it's like you're still picking potatoes on the ground while they're already flying over your head on clouds.

Shido Kuroba realized the differences between people when he was very young.

For example, there are many fools in this society who are just lucky.

Don't try to reason with these fools, because they will try to pull you into their world and try to persuade you. If they can't persuade you, they will start ostracizing you.

My childhood in an orphanage is the best proof of that.

When a group of children get together, whoever is the loudest, cries the loudest, tattles the most, or grabs potatoes the fastest will gain an advantage in that little ecosystem.

You try to reason with them?

Useless.

You said I got the potato first, and the other person immediately sat down on the ground and cried, saying you hit someone.

You said everyone should share fairly, but the person on the other end has already stuffed a potato into their mouth and is still chewing while asking you what you just said.

Shido Kuroba understood then that if he wanted to survive among the fools, there were only two paths ahead of him.

Join if you can't.

Or, one person isolates everyone around them.

The former requires less effort.

The latter is more handsome.

Kuroba Shido originally wanted to choose the latter, but later realized that isolating everyone required strong combat ability and a large appetite, neither of which he had, so he ultimately chose the third path.

Just muddle along if you can.

Run if you can.

If you can play dumb, then play dumb.

If all else fails, find someone who is better at fighting than you to cooperate with.

For example, the little girl standing under the telephone pole.

Kuroba Shido's impression of her is still very vague.

It's not that I don't remember at all, but many things in my memory were swallowed up by the drab background of the orphanage, leaving only a few very clear fragments.

utility pole.

A petite and thin girl.

Eyes that are much quieter than those of an average child.

And their physical abilities are completely unlike those of their peers.

She's smart enough and physically strong enough; she's a natural talent.

Back when they were in the orphanage, if it weren't for the other person being so helpful, the two of them wouldn't even have had the nightmare of eating potatoes, sometimes going hungry and sometimes full.

Kuroba Shido once seriously considered why, despite both being from an orphanage, some people could pull out SSR characters like those drawn from a hidden character pool, while others could only end up like him, a weak and timid guy.

Finally, a conclusion was reached.

This world is unfair.

That's extremely unfair.

He also trained.

Running, push-ups, carrying things, fighting with orphanage kids for potatoes, and even once seriously researching how to build some decent muscles with a malnourished body.

The result was completely useless.

It's still soft.

It's still weak.

At most, they'll just bully the kids.

By the way, we won't be accepting orders for students in the third grade or above.

We can't beat them.

Shido Kuroba has always been very clear about his own position: he has a relatively stable chance of defeating elementary school students or kindergarten students below the third grade.

Of course, this doesn't include exceptionally gifted individuals like Aoko Jingu or Kiyoshi Miyazaki, who are below the third grade.

If you had encountered this while taking orders as a child, the only difference between this and hitting the jackpot is that the jackpot doesn't hurt as much, and the consequences aren't as severe.

Therefore, Shido Kuroba eventually accepted reality.

The gap between people can sometimes be greater than the gap between a person and a rice ball.

At least the rice ball is edible.

The gap cannot be bridged.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki represents the other extreme.

Her efforts were not the kind of struggling efforts that Kuroba Shido made, but rather a steady, calm, and precise execution that was almost boring.

Learning is learning.

Forging is forging.

Eating is to replenish the energy needed by the body.

Taking a bath is about cleaning and relaxing.

Every step was reasonable and meaningful, with no unnecessary waste and no weak excuses like Kuroba Shido's "I don't have enough power today, I'll deal with it tomorrow."

Steam rose slowly from the bathroom on the second floor.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki leaned against the bathtub, holding a book in his hand.

The pages were pressed down by her fingertips, the edges of the paper were not wet by the moisture, and the angle was very steady.

From the outside, she looked no different from usual.

Quiet, serene, focused.

But those familiar with Kiyoshi Miyazaki will notice that she has been on the same page for quite some time today.

Generally speaking, in Kiyoshi Miyazaki's hands, a book of average difficulty will not be lingered on for more than thirty seconds on any page, unless there are viewpoints worth re-verifying or that need to be cross-referenced with existing materials.

But not today.

The content on this page is not difficult.

It's even somewhat ordinary.

But she didn't turn over for a long time.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi lowered his eyes, his gaze fixed on the words, but his true attention seemed to have been drawn away from the pages of the book by something else.

The scenes from the afternoon kept replaying in my mind.

apartment.

Access control.

Face registration.

Kuroba Shido stood there, looking bewildered as if he had been forcibly crammed into a high-end lifestyle, while muttering to himself whether living in such a house would corrupt him with capitalism.

He's always like that.

Even though his eyes were already glued to the facilities inside, he still had to pretend to be a poor boy who wouldn't accept charity.

Then, with a simple turn of the head, one can very naturally begin to calculate rent, security, utilities, air conditioning, bathroom, kitchen, and whether the Big Black family can carve out an activity area inside.

Very realistic.

It's also very much like Shido Kuroba.

When Kiyoshi Miyazaki was teaching him how to input faces, the two of them stood very close together.

She needed to confirm the angle, whether the system had fully recognized the information, and whether the access control system would make unnecessary misjudgments due to changes in his crutches posture.

Kuroba Shido was initially very wary.

It's like a poor little animal being forced into a high-tech cage.

Later, he found that the system was really useful, and his eyes lit up again.

"Minister, can this device identify Yamamoto rice balls?"

Why do we need to identify him?

"If he attacks me again, I want the access control system to directly call the police."

Why did he attack you?

"envy."

"Jealous about what?"

"They're jealous that I live in a luxury capitalist apartment."

She glanced at him then.

Kuroba Shido looked serious.

It was as if he genuinely believed that Yamamoto would come and attack him in the middle of the night, disguised as a rice ball, just because he moved into the apartment.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi didn't respond at that time, but simply reached out to adjust his position.

Her hand touched his wrist.

It's very light.

It was just a brief physical contact.

Kuroba Shido's body stiffened visibly for a moment, and the next second he started spouting nonsense, saying something like, "Captain, the poor boy's body is very fragile. Even a slight touch might trigger the compensation mechanism."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi ignored him at the time.

But now, looking back, she finds that the image of that moment is clearer than many of the conversations that followed.

His wrists were thinner than they looked.

Her skin temperature was a little higher than she had expected.

When gripping the cane, the fingers tense the joints, as if ready to run away at any moment.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki's fingertip hovered over the edge of the book page.

A faint dampness condensed on the eyelashes.

strangeness.

She rarely lingers on irrelevant information for this long.

Kuroba Shido himself is indeed worth studying.

His thought processes, unusual reactions, survival strategies, and the way he navigates moral boundaries are all different from ordinary people.

But today's distraction doesn't quite resemble analyzing a sample.

It was more like some uncontrolled fragments occupying a place in her mind that they shouldn't have.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi frowned slightly.

She disliked this sense of disorder.

She glanced down at the time.

It's been soaking for quite a while now.

Continuing like this is bad for your health.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi closed the book, placed it on the waterproof shelf next to him, and then used his hand to support himself on the edge of the bathtub as he got up.

The sound of rushing water filled the air.

The steam in the bathroom gently dissipated, and the soft light, filtered through the mist, fell upon her, outlining only her slender and beautiful silhouette.

Her wet hair clung to her shoulders, water droplets trickling down the ends, tracing her fair skin before being quickly covered by a towel.

Her movements were calm and without any unnecessary pauses.

Dry yourself off, put on a nightgown, and then put on a light jacket.

As she came out of the bathroom, someone happened to be passing by in the hallway.

Ritsuko Miyazaki stood not far away, holding a glass of warm water, as if she had just come up from the first floor.

"Xiao Qing".

Miyazaki Kiyoshi stopped in his tracks.

"Um."

Looking at her wet hair, Miyazaki Ritsuko said gently, "You soaked for a little longer than usual today."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi: "Mm."

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "Tired?"

"no."

Kiyoshi Miyazaki answered quickly.

too fast.

Ritsuko Miyazaki looked at her and suddenly smiled.

"Xiao Qing, sometimes you don't have to deny it so quickly."

Kiyoshi Miyazaki did not speak.

The mother and daughter stood in the corridor, the light was soft, the night was pressing in from outside the window, and there was a faint smell of moisture in the air after they had just taken a shower.

Ritsuko Miyazaki didn't press her for details; she simply handed her the warm water in her hand.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki took it.

"Thanks."

Miyazaki Ritsuko watched her take a sip before casually asking, "Kuroba-san, did you go look at apartments today?"

Miyazaki Kiyoshi looked up.

Ritsuko Miyazaki's smile remained unchanged.

"I was just asking."

"Don't ask. This has nothing to do with you and it's meaningless. Even if you knew, it wouldn't change the outcome. It would only increase the conflict between us and the probability of some unnecessary things happening..." Miyazaki looked at the other person calmly, his emotions as stable as a machine.

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "..."

"And that's not what you wanted to ask, is it?" Miyazaki Kiyoshi said, then suddenly stopped, staring at the other person without moving, and asked in return.

Ritsuko Miyazaki's heart skipped a beat, and then she sighed softly, as if resigning herself to her fate.

"Okay, I do want to ask Kuroba-kun."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi placed the cup on the low cabinet next to him.

"He is a member of the club."

Ritsuko Miyazaki looked at her.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki continued, "He is a special individual who needs to be observed. The apartment is a club benefit, mainly used to ensure the stability of his subsequent participation in club activities."

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "Anything else?"

"His leg injury has not fully recovered, and his original living conditions were poor, posing safety, hygiene, and mobility issues. Moving him to a more suitable place will be beneficial for his subsequent management."

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "Anything else?"

Miyazaki quieted down and pondered for a moment.

"He's a problem."

Ritsuko Miyazaki laughed.

This statement actually sounds more like the truth than the previous reasons.

Looking at her mother's smile, Miyazaki Kiyoshi said calmly, "If what you want to say is about my relationship with him, you don't have to continue."

Ritsuko Miyazaki paused slightly.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki continued, "I do have many relationships with him: minister and member, observer and subject of observation, apartment provider and recipient of club benefits, and people who can exchange information when necessary."

She paused for a moment, as if to confirm her wording.

"Apart from that, there's nothing else you need to worry about."

Ritsuko Miyazaki looked at her.

This answer is very comprehensive.

It's so complete that it's as if all the categories that could be used to explain it were prepared in advance.

But it is precisely because it is so complete that it appears unnatural.

"Xiao Qing".

Ritsuko Miyazaki's voice softened slightly: "Mom isn't trying to interfere with you, nor is she trying to interrogate you."

"I know."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi nodded: "So I just ended the unnecessary conversation early."

Ritsuko Miyazaki: "..."

Kiyoshi Miyazaki picked up the cup and finished the rest of the water.

"I need to rest."

She put the cup back.

"Good night."

After saying that, Miyazaki Kiyoshi turned and left.

Ritsuko Miyazaki stood there, watching her daughter's figure disappear at the end of the corridor, the smile on her lips slowly turning into helplessness.

This child has been like this since he was little.

Too smart.

Too perceptive.

If she doesn't want the conversation to continue, it's very difficult for others to push it away.

But Xiaoqing today is different from usual.

Ritsuko Miyazaki could tell.

She is a mother.

It wasn't based on logic or evidence, but on a kind of intuition accumulated over a long period of interaction.

When Xiaoqing mentioned Kuroba Shido, her tone remained unchanged.

But the pause has changed.

His eyes changed too.

Very subtle.

It was so subtle that others might not even notice it, but Ritsuko Miyazaki could see it.

She sighed softly and murmured to herself, "Good luck, Kuroba-kun."

She won't force anything.

It won't make Xiaoqing uncomfortable.

But if that boy could really bring something different to Xiaoqing's world, she would help him as much as possible.

The premise is that the child can survive.

After all, Xiaoqing is not an ordinary girl.

And Shido Kuroba doesn't seem like a normal teenager either.

In a sense, the two of them are quite fair... and in order to increase her chances of winning, she will help Shido Kuroba cheat to the best of her ability and within the scope of her actions!

Ultimately, he won over his own daughter!

Of course, this plan is currently just a fantasy for the old mother... there is no risk or possibility of success yet.

After returning to his room, Miyazaki Kiyoshi first dried his wet hair until it stopped dripping.

She didn't dry it immediately.

Air drying is better for hair. She has always disliked unnecessary heat damage and doesn't like using loud things to disturb the peace of the night.

The room was dimly lit.

There were unfinished documents on the desk, a phone by the bed, and the curtains were half-drawn, revealing a small patch of tree shadows illuminated by lights in the courtyard outside.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up a towel to continue slowly drying his hair.

She originally planned to wait until her hair was a little dry before reading for a while and then going to bed on time.

Your daily routine should not be disrupted.

Even if many unexpected things happen today, it shouldn't affect the necessary rest.

However, she subconsciously glanced at the phone on the bed.

It's like some kind of action that wasn't planned in advance.

The screen is black.

next second.

hum.

My phone vibrated.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi stopped moving.

She looked down at the past.

The screen lights up.

The message came from a tampered note.

My best friend, Aoko.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki: "..."

She looked at the note and remained silent for two seconds.

She didn't change that note.

It couldn't have been Jingu Aoko who changed it herself.

The number of people capable of doing something like this is extremely small.

It's basically possible to pinpoint the current head of the Jingu family, who likes to interfere in other people's lives with trivial, pointless actions.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi did not click on it immediately.

She put the towel aside first, then picked up her phone.

It's not normal for Aoko Jingu to send her a message at this time.

The note, especially, is placed at the top of the screen, making it look even more unusual.

Miyazaki opened the message.

It contains a voice message.

She stared at the audio recording, paused for a moment, and then pressed play.

Shido Kuroba's voice came through the phone.

"As for Minister Miyazaki... Aoko, don't worry, she's no match for you at all."

Miyazaki Kiyoshi's eyelashes fluttered slightly.

The audio continues.

"Although the minister is very intelligent, she is too sinister. She is like a moving mind-reading surveillance camera. I feel unsafe at all when I am with her."

The room fell silent.

Miyazaki Kiyoshi sat on the edge of the bed, her wet hair still draped over her shoulders. The light from her phone screen fell on her face, making her originally calm eyes appear even fainter.

She did not stop immediately.

They didn't quit immediately.

Just keep listening.

"Moreover, Minister Miyazaki is too cold, like a freezer in a laboratory. Getting close to him makes you feel like you're about to be dissected and studied."

"Anyone who gets close to her is doomed, anyone who likes her suffers. Dating her is like living with an EEG lie detector every day; no normal person could handle it."

"Anyone who likes her is a complete scumbag."

End of audio.

The room returned to silence.

Kiyoshi Miyazaki held his phone, motionless for a long time.

The shadows of the trees outside the window swayed slightly.

On the screen, Aoko Jingu's message was still displayed.

Another message popped up immediately afterward.

Go line up at the entrance. If I'm in a good mood, I might give you some time, but only if you ask me to...

As Miyazaki Kiyoshi stared at the messages displayed on his phone screen, his gaze gradually quieted down...

It was unusually quiet.

After a moment, she narrowed her eyes slightly, as if she was thinking about something.

The phone screen went dark...

Three seconds later, I decisively opened my phone and initiated a video call!

"Beep beep beep..."