Chapter 19

When Rina woke up again, she was already in the hospital.

My right hand is still on an IV drip; I guess the wound got infected after yesterday's ordeal.

She struggled to sit up, supporting herself with one hand, and twisted her neck uncomfortably. Then she looked at the bouquet of red roses on the bedside table and hesitated to speak.

Who's so short of electricity that they bring roses to a sick person?

Before she could take the business card out of the bouquet, the door to the ward was pushed open.

"Sister!" Kurosawa Shiran placed a paper bag on the bedside table, found a chair, and sat down. "Sister, how are you feeling?"

"Still alive." Rina saw someone else come to the ward and lay down again, looking sickly.

Sato greeted the nurse at the door, and when he came in, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, clearly very dissatisfied with her unauthorized actions.

But he couldn't take his anger out on a patient, so he glanced at the roses by the bedside and said irritably, "Who sent these flowers? They're full of idiots."

Kurosawa Shiran turned her chair around, looked up at him, and a faint smile appeared on her lips: "Sister, some people come empty-handed."

Rina: "......"

Sato's lips twitched. He thought about how he had spent the whole night searching the scene of the bombing, and how he had rushed over to visit the injured man after returning to the police station in the morning. He felt that he had done more than enough.

He rubbed his face vigorously and said impatiently, "Why is this brat following you?"

Kurosawa Shiran gave a meaningful smile, stood up, and deliberately walked past him to get him a glass of water from the water dispenser.

The height difference between the two immediately created a stark contrast, making it clear at a glance who the younger one was.

Sato ground his back teeth, unaware that his emotions were being manipulated.

Rina pulled two steamed buns out of the paper bag and tossed one to him.

Kurosawa Shiran watched helplessly as half of the breakfast she had bought for her sister was bitten into, and then started to whine, "Sister."

Rina's memories began to return, and she clearly knew that she had been overwhelmed by him and had fainted. "Why don't you go out for a bit?"

Kurosawa Shiran gave a wronged "Oh".

Sato sat in the chair, taking a bite of steamed bun and a sip of tea. "No need. He was there too. We can just ask him together."

He looked at Kurosawa Shiran with a cold gaze, "Why were you there back then?"

Rina also found it a bit strange. He had been secretly following them at the villa, so it was normal for him to know her location and appear at any time.

But how did he manage to pinpoint her location in the mountains this time?

“I went back to the annex because Mr. Takase called and said that I needed to sign my resignation letter and that I needed to take some personal belongings back with me,” Kurosawa Shiran paused. “After I finished dealing with these things, I went to the annex, but I couldn’t find my sister. I was a little worried, so I went to the storeroom. That’s how I got there.”

In short, it was all a coincidence.

Sato frowned and asked, "How did you know there was a secret room there?"

Kurosawa Shiran glanced at Rina with a slight smile and said obediently, "My sister and I found it together."

Sato continued, "And then what happens after we go inside?"

"After I went in, I heard some strange noises, like someone fired a gun," Kurosawa Shiran sniffed. "I was terrified and ran around everywhere. In the secret passage and maze-like place, I found a bomb and defused it. I only found out later that the bomb was very close to my sister's location. Luckily, nothing bad happened."

Sato felt like he was being treated like a Muggle. "You can defuse bombs?"

A chicken farmer on a ranch can actually defuse bombs?

Kurosawa Shiran couldn't continue her story and turned to look at the person on the hospital bed: "Sister?"

"......."

Rina: "I taught you."

Upon hearing this, Sato's gaze shifted between the two of them, and he muttered under his breath, "When did you two become so close?"

“It’s always been fine,” Kurosawa Shiran took out a photo from her pocket, waved it in front of Rina a few times, and then carefully put it away. “I’ve known you for a long time, right, sister?”

Rina turned her head away expressionlessly.

Yes, she's already unconscious, it would be strange if she didn't do something.

Sato raised an eyebrow. "So what if I know her? I even held her when she was little."

After saying that, Kurosawa Shiran stared at him with a chilling gaze, "Then you might as well die."

He disliked any close contact with his sister.

No one will do.

"What?" Sato didn't react for a moment.

Rina quickly kicked Kurosawa Shiran, saying, "I was just about to find him a psychiatrist."

Kurosawa Shiran: "........."

Sato glanced at him warily, thought for a moment, and ignored the other's provocative words. "The experiment has been destroyed, and with Kawashima Hideo's involvement, the case has been transferred from my hands. Murai has also hired a lawyer and is refusing all questioning."

Rina, recalling the two people in the cage, vaguely sensed something was wrong. "Did you see anyone else during the search?"

“Kawashima Hideo’s sister was found about one kilometer from the explosion site,” Sato thought for a moment. “She claims to be Kawashima Kazuha. Just now, Kawashima Hideo sent a lawyer to take her back.”

"How is this possible?" Rina tried hard to recall the face she had seen in the cage and roughly understood what was going on.

Sato sighed: "The lawyer explained that she is mentally unstable, so she has been kept in the basement. She has all her identification documents, and the psychiatrist has also confirmed it."

Lina was speechless at these people.

She found it strange at the time that a woman would be imprisoned in such a place.

It turns out that she had always been Yuriko's double in the secret room. This time, Hideo Kawashima got the information from somewhere and took advantage of the situation to use the double to get rid of suspicion of colluding with the mafia.

She asked, "Where are the men?"

Sato scratched his messy hair. "There were no men, but there was a fifteen-year-old girl. She must have been caught in the bomb blast. She's lying next to you."

Rina seemed to remember something else and asked, "Kazumi?"

Sato sighed, "Maybe so. His ears have been deafened by the noise; he'll need some time to recover."

Rina looked away and gazed at Kurosawa Shiran.

But he just stared at her with a look of complete incomprehension, "Sister...?"

"Take good care of yourself. I have to go back now. Call me if you need anything." Sato's phone rang a few more times in his pocket. He stood up, gave a few hurried instructions, and left the ward.

However, before the ward door could be closed, it was pushed open again.

Kazumi Arisu stood at the door, dressed in a pink sailor uniform with a cute cartoon bear printed on it. She was originally an energetic girl, but with a bandage wrapped around her head, she looked somewhat comical.

She stared intently at the two people in the ward.

At this moment, I wish I could skin them alive.

"Rina!"

Kurosawa Shiran turned and pounced on the hospital bed, her arms quietly wrapping around Rina's waist. "Sister, it's this person, she was mean to me!"

"Pah! You two are such a jerk!" Arisu Kazumi couldn't hear what he was saying, but she felt the scene was too melodramatic and made her eyes go blind.

Especially that scoundrel, who not only lied to her but also locked her in a laboratory with a bomb. If she hadn't been so small and managed to crawl out through the ventilation duct, she would probably have been blown to bits!

Rina: "......"

She cleverly changed the subject, typing a message on her phone: "Have you investigated the case I gave you?"

Arisu Kazumi shouted angrily, "You want me to catch the mistress?"

Since the incident at the detective agency, Natsume Rina has stopped letting them take on any cases related to murder.

Kurosawa Shiran pretended to be dead while lying on Rina.

Rina continued typing on her phone: "Then go back to school obediently. You always rank at the bottom of the grade, which is very difficult for me. If this continues, you will have to repeat a grade, and the tuition fee is still a considerable burden."

Arisu Kazumi swung her schoolbag and slammed it hard against Kurosawa Shiranui's back. "It's your turn to pay tuition, what does it have to do with me? I'm not going back to school!"

Rina didn't stop her: "You changed schools again."

Arisu Kazumi originally wanted to smash him to death, but this bastard was so persistent and clingy that she had no choice but to give up.

She glanced at Lina and said, "I'm not going! You're not my brother, what right do you have to tell me what to do!"

Rina: "......"

She typed another line: "You can make friends at school."

"I'm not going! I'd rather die than go!" Arisu Kazumi was furious and started spouting nonsense. "I'll only go back to school when you pay for my brother's life!"

Kurosawa Shiran moved its fluffy head, like a wary little dog.

Rina sighed, remained silent for a moment, and in the eerily quiet atmosphere, said, "Then let's get to work."

Experience the harsh realities of society.

"Fine, I'll go!" Arisu Kazumi said angrily, her eyes reddening, and then she slammed the door and left.

But for some reason, I felt a strong soreness in my nose, and tears welled up in my eyes.

"Tsk," Kurosawa Shiran flipped over and looked up at her, "Sister, who is that crazy woman to you?"

Rina: "Get up."

Kurosawa Shiran: "My back is swollen."

Rina: "Serves you right."

Kurosawa Shiran remained unmoved. "Sister, you knew me before, why didn't you say so?"

"I just remembered." Rina opened her phone, scrolled through her previous messages, and tried to focus on the man in the photo.

Then, with a "ding," she received a recording from Hemei.

Kurosawa Shiran blinked her long eyelashes and said pitifully, "Doesn't my sister care about me at all?"

Rina thought for a moment, then transcribed the recording and said, cutting out the beginning and end, "I found you next to the trash can and then took you to the children's welfare home."

Kurosawa Shiran smirked: "Didn't anything else happen in between?"

Rina: "No."

Apart from taking care of him for a few days when he was sick, and then taking him to an amusement park, nothing particularly unusual happened in between.

Kurosawa Shiran looked at her with utmost sincerity and shifted her body slightly. "But I feel that you hold a very important place in my heart."

"Really?" Rina smiled and opened the recording.

Kurosawa Shiran suddenly had a bad feeling. In that position, she hugged her waist with both arms and buried her face in the quilt.

Then I heard—

“She killed my brother. If it weren’t for Nanase, she would be mentally ill now. I would have killed her sooner or later.”

"But I haven't had enough fun yet."

The following part was played on repeat for him three times.

Repeatedly whip the corpse.

Kurosawa Shiran lay motionless, and it was unclear how much time had passed, perhaps only a few minutes.

Rina gently patted his shoulder, but he didn't say a word for a long time. Instead, he slowly tightened his arms and hugged her even tighter.

She's asleep.

Rina shifted her body, but was suddenly pulled under the covers, causing her heart to skip a beat.

Kurosawa Shiran buried his face in her neck, slowly tightening his embrace, and let out a soft laugh, "Since you know my identity, why are you still so unguarded with me, sister?"

Her hair was so soft that it didn't tickle when it brushed against her chin.

The two of them ended up sharing a hospital bed.

Rina looked down at him, noticing the temperature of her palms rising. After thinking for a moment, she finally decided to grab his hair and pull him off her. "Why aren't you holding me anymore?"

Every time he speaks, his voice is either soft and gentle, or slightly hoarse yet full of a sticky quality.

They acted like a couple deeply in love.

She didn't want to cheat on her boyfriend.

“My sister doesn’t like people who act cute,” Kurosawa Shiran hissed, not resisting but instead hugging her even tighter. “I’ve tried so hard… and my sister still pulls my hair.”

This person was practically glued to her, and she couldn't break free at all.

But he looked completely relaxed. Was she lacking in exercise?

Rina: "Then get up."

Kurosawa Shiran's Adam's apple bobbed twice, and she grumbled, "I know I was wrong, I promise I won't bully her again."

Undeniably, Rina was truly helpless against him: "I have other things to do."

Upon hearing this, Kurosawa Shiran released his grip and lay lazily on the hospital bed.

The top two buttons of the gray shirt collar were undone, revealing the subtle, slender muscles of the shoulders.

He watched Rina's every move, gently wiping his lips with his finger. "Isn't your sister recuperating in the hospital?"

"I don't like the smell of hospitals." Rina looked down at her phone, her tone as usual.

Kurosawa Shiran's lips curled up, and she said with a doting expression, "I'll drive you home."

Her voice became sexy and deep.

"No need. You haven't even gotten your driver's license yet. I have to think about my safety." Rina glanced at him after getting out of bed, and just as she finished speaking, her phone rang.

Hideo Kawashima sent a message.

Kurosawa's blue eyes sparkled. "How did you know I don't have a driver's license, sister?"

Rina asked, "Are you an adult?"

Kurosawa Shiran: "A few more days."

Rina leaned against the bedside table, clinging to a sliver of hope, and used her phone to check her bank card account information.

But reality is cruel; each time she checked, she got a startling number that made her face stiffen slightly.

The total balance of her five bank cards, amounting to less than three digits, had already made her somewhat vulnerable.

Kurosawa Shiran let out a soft laugh, as if she had already guessed what she was doing.

Lina glanced guiltily at the scenery outside the window and said, "Never mind, let's go to the opera house first."

Kurosawa Shiran suppressed his secret delight, pretending to be completely unaware: "Hmm?"

Rina: "......"

She paused for a moment, then changed into canvas shoes, turned around, and left.

Kurosawa Shiran jumped off the bed and followed him with a happy expression.

Rina opened the door, glanced back at the bedside table, and suddenly said, "Take the flowers."