After Xiangzi died, I inherited her harem.

After all, although those work mistakes were instructed by Minami Nami to be made by her team, she was aware of and witnessed the whole process, watching helplessly as Hachiman Kairin fell into this trap.

In this matter, he was not innocent at all, but rather an accomplice in a vicious scheme.

After all, if he didn't do this, how else could he exploit her desire to be exploited and use psychological manipulation on her?

Tossing a thick address book into Hachiman Kairin's hands, Toyokawa Yuu counted down in his mind, waiting for his deputy to unleash her power.

Having been teased and neglected by herself for so long, Hachiman Kairin, who has begun to enjoy the domineering desire and sense of trust that comes with power, should be nearing the limit of her patience.

An outbreak that can be kept under control will become a turning point in their subordinate relationship.

If it weren't for waiting for Hachiman Kairin, Toyokawa Yuu would have already left work. Now that the public opinion has been largely guided, the rest of the work will be handled by the agency's public relations team, even if she doesn't keep an eye on it herself.

He didn't believe that this agency would dare to harm Toyokawa Shoko.

Staring blankly at the address book that Yuu Toyokawa had thrown into her hands, Kairin Hachiman's hands, which were holding the book, even trembled slightly.

This is a somewhat tedious but not difficult task; you just need to flip through the pages one by one to find it.

However, this also means that my work ability can no longer be trusted. Mr. Youyu will only assign me tasks that I can easily avoid making mistakes if I just pay a little attention.

It's even possible that they saw me standing there for so long and found me an eyesore, so they deliberately sent me away.

So, going a step further, will they even take back the authority to arrange the team's schedule?

And... Timoris, Timoris again, another unfamiliar code name.

What happened to the unspoken understanding you had when you called me Hachiman? Don't be so... distrustful of me.

"Mr. Youyu..."

Clutching her contacts to her chest, Hachiman Kairin didn't turn down the job, which wasn't particularly lucrative. Instead, she looked directly into Toyokawa Yuu's eyes, forcibly suppressing the trembling in her heart, maintaining her calm and composed demeanor.

Showing such weakness now serves no purpose other than highlighting one's incompetence.

"As I said before, please address me as Hachiman or Kairin. Even though this is our workplace, we shouldn't be so distant that we can only address each other by our job titles."

Sitting down on the sofa, Hachiman Kairin quickly got into work mode, flipping through her contacts while talking to Toyokawa Yuu.

His demeanor was as swift and efficient as ever.

"Or is it that, because of previous mistakes at work, Mr. Youyu no longer trusts my abilities?"

By getting straight to the point, Hachiman Kairin, whose personality is straightforward to begin with, had no time for any pretentious pleasantries.

"If you find my work ability unreliable, please revoke my authority over the team's schedule arrangements."

“I never had such thoughts, nor did I doubt your abilities. I was just reflecting on whether my high regard for you had put too much pressure on you, causing you to lose your footing... Xiangzi talked to me before and said that you had delayed a lot of rehearsals because of the venue setup work.”

After waiting for so long, the other party finally took the initiative to start a conversation. Toyokawa Yuu didn't stay in her office chair any longer, but went to Hachiman Kairin's side and sat down on the same sofa with her.

He took out two boxes of panda drinks from the bottom of the drawer, placed one in front of Hachiman Kairin, and tore open the packaging of the other himself.

"Moreover, I myself am also hesitant about how to punish you."

"punish......"

Upon hearing Yuu Toyokawa's voice, Kairin Hachiman paused in her book-turning.

"After all, I handed over the final finishing work to you, which is something everyone knows. Even if I took the main responsibility, I still have to hold you accountable as a formality, but I can decide on the punishment myself."

"The most appropriate course of action would be to temporarily suspend your authority and then find a way to restore it to you after a while. This would not really harm you and would also provide an explanation within the company... But I don't want to do that."

As she fiddled with the beverage box in her hand, Toyokawa Yuu's expression looked slightly conflicted.

"why?"

Hachiman Kairin was puzzled. Although she herself absolutely did not want to accept this arrangement, it was indeed the best choice for Toyokawa Yuu.

If she were in her shoes, she probably wouldn't even have the most basic hesitation.

"Because it's unnecessary, I'm not the kind of person who likes to put on a show."

The person who was putting on an act was shamelessly praising himself, and even went so far as to pat Hachiman Kairin on the shoulder.

"Moreover, I am not the kind of person who cannot tolerate the slightest mistake. Since you made the oversight while sharing the burden for me, how can I bear to be harsh on my right-hand man?"

Left and right arms...

Hearing Toyokawa Yuu describe it that way, Hachiman Kairin's heart skipped a beat.

So, Mr. Youyu's trust in me has reached this level.

That's true, otherwise why would he entrust me with such an important task as acceptance inspection, but I...

Seeing that Hachiman Kairin was deep in thought and had clearly fallen for the trap, Toyokawa Yuu nodded in satisfaction.

Great, now we just need to put in a little more effort...

Just then, the phone in her pocket vibrated. Toyokawa Yuu took it out and saw that it was a message from Chihaya Aine.

Chihaya Aine: [Mr. Yuu, at Asukayama Park, Soyorin and Shoko are about to start arguing.]

What's going on here? Battle of Asukayama 2.0?

The bystander changed from Mutsuka Wakaba to Aine Chihaya?

After a moment's thought, Toyokawa Yuu immediately understood the trick.

After all, those MyGO!!!!! members were sitting in the VIP seats at the concert, so they naturally saw Mortis's strange behavior.

If they recognized Toyokawa Shoko and Wakaba Mutsuko, then they couldn't help but worry about Wakaba Mutsuko.

Toyokawa Yuu hadn't expected that Nagasaki Sase would act so quickly this time, calling Toyokawa Shoko out that very night, and Shoko actually obeyed.

Now it was Toyokawa Yuu's turn to be in a dilemma. If she stayed here, she could take the PUA (Pick-Up Artist) tactics on Hachiman Kairin even further. She didn't expect to win her over in one go, but she could definitely make her more useful to her.

But now, Chihaya Aine is asking me to go and mediate the fight. Should I go or not?

Of course, I'd go even if it meant dying.

It has nothing to do with Chihaya Aine. Toyokawa Yuu only knows that when it comes to things related to CRYCHIC and the past, Toyokawa Shoko may seem tough, but her inner defenses are practically paper-thin.

Otherwise, I wouldn't have kept emphasizing the importance of the concert to her in the days leading up to it.

Who knows, this time we might be able to catch that young lady red-handed.

Having waited so long for this opportunity, Toyokawa Yuu was naturally not going to give it up.

Compared to Toyokawa Shoko, Yawata Kairin is clearly a level less important.

"I have some urgent business to attend to right away... It's related to Xiangzi. I'll leave the task of arranging psychological counseling for Mortis to you."

With a comforting pat on Hachiman Kairin's shoulder, Toyokawa Yuu hurriedly got up, afraid of missing the opportunity if she was late.

Watching Yuu Toyokawa leave the office, Kairin Hachiman looked at the panda-shaped drink on the table, its straw torn open but not yet drunk, a strange expression flashing in her emerald green eyes.

ps：本章1w2k字，除去正常更新的4k以外，又还了8k。目前为止总共还了8k+6k+8k=2w2k。目前一共欠了3k+3k+1w4k+7k=2w7k，还剩5k没还……如果后续没新增的话，明天应该能还完了。

Chapter 63 Xiangzi: Youyu, take me home (8k)

A gentle night breeze blew as Toyokawa Shoko and Nagasaki Sosei stood side by side, each facing away from the other.

Friends who once formed a band together now refuse to look at each other's faces even when they're shoulder to shoulder, and they don't even face the same direction.

"You really are...so high and mighty. And what do you... know about me?"

Recalling Mortis's almost manic performance on stage, which sounded like a rambling, incoherent performance, Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth, feeling a pang of grievance even in her heart.

She clearly never intended for Mu to do that.

I never imagined she would scream hysterically on stage, nor did I imagine Mu would act recklessly during her performance.

Toyokawa Shoko simply couldn't understand why her own body would disrupt the original performance plan and do such a thing on stage.

Even if it's too short a time to fully memorize the new script, you can still perform based on your impressions.

The small theater itself wasn't very long either.

Anyway, the audience doesn't know what the script is like. As long as everyone plays along and makes the scene passable, that's fine.

Why destroy all of this completely?

All plans were disrupted, and no one got what they wanted. Why is she the only one facing these accusations?

Even though this happened, I'm the one who suffered the biggest loss.

Nobody cares about what they actually want; they just unilaterally believe that making these bad things happen is their wish.

There is clearly no one more eager than me for Ave Mujica to continue to thrive.

No, maybe Yuu can understand, but I can't possibly expect her to be understanding.

Those who exploit each other will not lick each other's wounds; they will only take advantage of any opportunity to push their luck.

"I really can't understand what Xiao Xiang is thinking, because Xiao Xiang never talks about his own affairs with others."

Xiao Mu is already in this state, yet she's still saying things like that.

Toyokawa Shoko's words also ignited Nagasaki Sase's emotions.

It's not just the atmosphere created by Wakaba Mutsu's strange behavior tonight, but much earlier, even back to the day CRYCHIC disbanded.

“They keep everything from us, yet they always accuse us of being clueless. That’s how it was back when we were still in CRYCHIC.”

This is how it was on the day CRYCHIC disbanded, this is how it was on the day MyGO held a live concert, and this is how it will be tonight.

On one hand, they say others are only thinking about themselves and acting on their own, while on the other hand, they always do things that are hard to understand.

"Xiao Xiang is always like this. He says that it is his freedom to do whatever he wants, but he always acts superior and rejects other people's concern... He is the one who is always thinking about himself. It should be Xiao Xiang."

Reaching out and grabbing Toyokawa Shoko's wrist, Nagasaki Sase took a forceful step forward, seemingly intending to drag Toyokawa Shoko away from this place.

"Now, I really need to think only about myself..."

This behavior was completely contrary to the ladylike etiquette of Tsukinomori Academy, and even Nagasaki Sase herself did not expect that she would actually take action.

Grabbing Toyokawa Shoko's wrist, Nagasaki Sase, who is usually gentle, tolerant, and accommodating to others, deliberately disrupted the delicate and fragile tacit understanding between the two.

“We’re going to Xiao Mu’s house right away. I need to ask you two what exactly happened. She wasn’t this emotional when we were at CRYCHIC.”

Toyokawa Shoko, who never expected Nagasaki Sase to make a move, was stunned for a moment. Her body was subconsciously pulled a couple of steps forward before her brain realized that she should resist.

Resisting the movement that was being led by her, Toyokawa Shoko grabbed Nagasaki Sase's hand and tried to pry it open.

"Let me go. You have no idea how difficult things are for me... I already told you before, don't get involved with me anymore. What right do you have to say this to me now?"

Watching helplessly as Nagasaki Sōse dragged her several steps away, Toyokawa Sōko gritted her teeth, exerted her strength, and finally shook off the hand that was holding her.

The girls who once played happily in a band looked at each other for the first time tonight, their amber and deep blue eyes revealing the stubbornness in each other's eyes.

"I'm no longer your classmate since I transferred from Tsuki no Mori. CRYCHIC has long been ruined. We're no longer friends who play in a band together. I... have no desire to continue playing in a band."

"What about Xiao Mu? What about that band called Ave Mujica? They abandoned everyone else but kept Xiao Mu by their side, just so she could suffer like this in that band?"

The conversation began to shift from Wakaba Mutsu himself to Ave Mujica.

Nagasaki Sōse looked at Toyokawa Sōko with his deep blue eyes, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

When exactly did Toyokawa Shoko, who always had a smile a year ago, become like this?

"Did you destroy CRYCHIC just to form that kind of band? How is Mortis on stage any better than the old Xiao Mu who used to serve everyone cucumbers with a gentle smile?"

Is Ave Mujica necessarily better than CRYCHIC?

Is Mortis on stage necessarily better than the quiet and well-behaved Mortis from before?

Is Oblivionis now necessarily happier than Toyokawa Shoko?

With her hand tightly gripping the spot where Nagasaki Sōse had just grabbed her, Toyokawa Sōko turned her head away, no longer looking at Nagasaki Sōse.

She couldn't answer the question; she only knew it was meaningless.

Lamp, Riki, and Soyo standing in front of her already have a new band. The girl named Chihaya Aine is more cheerful than her, better at setting the mood, and more suitable for a student club like this where there is no pressure and just happiness is all that matters.

And I... shouldn't have ruined that simple and pure band.

The wounds that everyone has worked so hard to mend should not be torn open again by the person who created them.

"Don't talk such nonsense. Ave Mujica is already bound to my fate... I have nothing left but Ave Mujica."

Looking at the texture of the cement on the ground, Toyokawa Shoko gritted her teeth and squeezed out this declaration.

"Is this another 'shared destiny' rhetoric? Then this band is no different from CRYCHIC to you, right? You can just form it on a whim, Xiao Xiang, and then destroy it for some unknown reason."

Our fates are intertwined...

Hearing these words from Toyokawa Shoko again, Nagasaki Sōse's azure eyes narrowed involuntarily, and the day CRYCHIC was officially established a year ago subconsciously came to mind.