Chapter 23
The old house itself is not very big, but it is an elegant Japanese house with a small and exquisite courtyard.
Mrs. Kasuga had finished tidying up the living room and kitchen and was about to go home when she suddenly heard the sound of a car engine outside the yard.
After Arisu and Mimi ran inside, Rina appeared at the entrance at a leisurely pace.
"Oh my god, sister, what did you do? Why are you injured?" Mrs. Kasuga stood in the entryway, looking shocked.
Rina stepped forward and hugged her, pressing her cheek against hers to comfort her, "Something happened, but it's nothing serious."
Mrs. Chunri, not quite used to Western etiquette, blushed. "Darling, judging from your complexion, you haven't been getting enough rest lately."
Rina: "I'm a bit busy with work."
"You must take care of your body—" Mrs. Kasuga said, looking up to see a fair-skinned, tall and slender man.
He wore a custom-made, all-black casual suit made of a fine, soft, and comfortable fabric. He paired it with a gray French-style shirt underneath, the collar slightly open to reveal his delicate collarbone, while the sleeves were casually rolled up to his elbows, revealing the muscular lines of his strong forearms and exuding a unique masculine strength.
This outfit added a touch of asceticism to that slightly youthful face.
When Kurosawa Shiran saw Rina greet her earlier, she knew that the two were very close.
He was carrying two shopping bags and suddenly became very well-behaved, standing in the entryway with a faint smile on his lips.
Mrs. Kasuga exclaimed excitedly, "Oh my god, you even brought your boyfriend home!"
Rina: "......"
Previously, due to a case report, a reporter accidentally filmed her. The matter between her and Nanase has never been clarified. She is now used to such misunderstandings and has no desire to explain anything.
"This is the first time Rina has brought her boyfriend home," Mrs. Kasuga said, helping him with his shopping bags. "What a handsome young man!"
"No need, I can do it." Kurosawa Shiran put down the shopping bag and took out a pair of slippers to change into.
Rina said, "This is Mrs. Kasuga, our next-door neighbor."
"Good evening, Mrs. Kasuga," Kurosawa Toki greeted her politely. "My name is Hoshino Rin."
Mrs. Kasuga rubbed her hands together, looking at him with a satisfied expression and a hint of disbelief in her eyes. "No need to be so polite, come in and sit down, I'll go make some tea."
Rina: "No need for that. It's already past midnight. You should go back and rest."
"Oh, I know, I won't disturb your time together," Mrs. Kasuga patted Kurosawa Shiranui's shoulder, then frowned as if she had thought of something. "Young man, did you live here before? I feel like I've seen you somewhere before?"
Rina raised an eyebrow: "Mrs. Kasuga, he had been living abroad before."
Mrs. Kasuga asked, puzzled, "Is that so? But I think I've seen you around here before. I'm getting old, I can't quite remember anymore."
Kurosawa Shiran did stay at her house for a few days when she was a child, but Mrs. Kasuga hadn't moved in at that time, so how could she have seen her?
Rina: "You must have remembered it wrong."
Mrs. Kasuga said, "Rina, don't doubt the memory of an old maid. I've just forgotten for the time being. Maybe I'll remember in a few days."
Rina stepped up the stairs, glanced at Kurosawa Shiran, and said, "You'll be staying in the guest room."
Upon hearing this, Kurosawa Shiran lowered her head, her eyes showing hurt, her expression bitter and passive.
Kazumi Arisu, who was leaning on the second-floor railing, witnessed the entire scene. She felt disgusted, as if she had swallowed a fly, and quickly went back to her room to wash her eyes.
What exactly does this bastard want to do?
How could he live such a despicable and shameless life?
What a despicable scoundrel!
Mrs. Kasuga paused for a moment, then burst into laughter, smiling as she comforted him, "Don't worry about it. When I was younger, I felt embarrassed bringing my husband home, but we already had a child then."
Kurosawa Tokiran's forehead twitched, and she said apologetically, "Mrs. Kasuga, I'll take you home."
“Thank you very much, but it’s just a short walk away. You should stay and keep Rina company. She might not be in a good mood these days,” Mrs. Kasuga sighed quietly. “By the way, you should move to the guest room. Rina’s room window was smashed, and a swarm of mosquitoes flew in. I sprayed some insecticide.”
After seeing Mrs. Kasuga off, Kurosawa Shiran walked upstairs with her long legs.
Rina leaned against the door, looking down at her phone, and didn't look up when she heard the noise.
Kurosawa Shiran leaned on her shoulder without saying a word, her eyes fixed on her phone screen: "Who are you chatting with, sister? Is it your boyfriend?"
He emphasized the last few words and made a point of holding her waist tightly.
I had already taken off my coat, and through the thin fabric, my back was pressed against a hard chest, feeling no different from leaning against a stove.
Lina didn't have a free hand to push him away, so she could only move her shoulder slightly. "If you know I have a boyfriend, then don't try to touch me."
“It’s okay, even if he doesn’t find out about the affair, he won’t say anything,” Kurosawa Shiran suppressed her true nature, her large hands sliding from her waist to her side, almost pulling her into her arms. “Are you hungry, sister?”
A muffled and ambiguous voice came from beside her ear. Lina couldn't resist his clingy manner at all. Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned off her phone screen, saying, "My stomach hurts."
Her excuse of having a boyfriend didn't work the first time.
Kurosawa Shiran tilted his head and kissed her earlobe before quickly fleeing.
"I'll go cook some porridge," he said.
"It's too late, let's talk about it tomorrow morning." Rina just wanted him to let go.
Kurosawa Shiran had already gone downstairs to the kitchen.
He just went to a convenience store to buy some daily necessities, as well as some fruits and vegetables.
Rina's ears burned slightly, her thoughts became a little chaotic, and she let out a barely audible sigh.
After calming down for a while, she also went downstairs.
Kurosawa Shiran washed the mushrooms and bok choy, and also chopped some meat.
Rina stared at the pink plaid apron he was wearing and suddenly asked, "Don't you have any memories of your childhood?"
“No,” Kurosawa Shiran paused in her chopping, her eyes chillingly cold, though her disheveled hair concealed her emotions. “Sister, that rumor is true.”
Rina was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was going on.
They were exiled nobles.
Kurosawa Shiran smiled and looked at her from a distance of a few meters. "You probably already guessed it, right, sister?"
Lina said helplessly, "I really didn't expect that you had British royal blood."
“But I do have a blank in my memory, I have no recollection of anything about my sister,” Kurosawa Shiran said, “including that photo.”
Rina didn't quite understand: "Just me?"
“Yes.” Kurosawa Tokiran’s slender fingers held the wooden spoon and stirred it gently along the side of the pot. “When I was in the orphanage, I remember often sneaking out, but I have no recollection of what I did.”
Lina seemed a little dazed as she listened, "Have you gone to the hospital for a checkup?"
Kurosawa Shiran looked sad: "Does my sister think I've lost my mind?"
"Otherwise what?" Rina continued, "What about a psychologist?"
“He kept saying things I didn’t want to hear, so I killed him.” Kurosawa Shiran softened her tone, which was full of coquettishness. “But, he lied to me first. Who told him to drag me into the mafia?”
Rina: "......"
"If there is no external injury, it is likely that the psychological trauma has caused the person to forget their specific experiences, resulting in selective memory impairment caused by psychological factors."
Kurosawa Shiran: "That's what he said too."
Rina glanced subconsciously at the kitchen knife beside him. "There have been similar cases before. A married woman, after suffering a severe emotional blow, completely forgot her cheating husband, but she could clearly remember her other relatives and friends, and her life skills were as normal as ever. She simply forgot her husband, but later, when her husband came to her door, her memory gradually returned, and then she brutally murdered her husband."
Selective amnesia may preserve some subconscious traces related to her.
These implicit memories may be recalled under certain stimuli.
Kurosawa Shiran crossed her arms and fell into deep thought, then said in a serious tone, "Could it be that my sister cheated on me, and I suffered a severe emotional blow?"
Rina: ".........."
What could she say? She couldn't win a fight anyway.
Kurosawa Shiran put on an innocent and aggrieved expression.
Rina closed her eyes briefly to calm herself down, but couldn't bear his burning gaze any longer and looked away.
She thought that Kurosawa Shiran should know very well that he just liked to play dumb.
If it is indeed selective amnesia, then seeing that photo might evoke some indescribable emotions from the bottom of his heart.
Or perhaps, upon hearing her name, he felt a vague sense of familiarity.
He must have had some kind of feeling for her, otherwise she would have died long ago.
That is beyond doubt.
Those forgotten memories hampered his judgment.
Over the days they've spent together, she's come to realize that it's not incongruous to put Kurosawa Shiran alongside the rumors of a cruel and tyrannical ruler.
He lacked moral values and had extremely detached emotions; he simply tried his best to hide his true self and appear as a normal person.
However, selective amnesia is mostly a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. People with selective amnesia make their brains forget those memories to escape pain, which is a self-protective mechanism.
Did she really do something irreversible that hurt him?
That's impossible.
After a while, Kurosawa Shiran used a small spoon to scoop up a little porridge, blew on it to cool it down, and handed it to Rina. "Want to try some?"
Rina reached for the spoon, but Kurosawa Shiran dodged it, blinking like a young girl experiencing her first love, "I want to feed my sister."
The air fell silent for a few seconds. Rina's expression was somewhat subtle as she smiled and said, "You might have that chance once my other arm is broken."
"Ah, but I don't want my sister to get hurt again." Kurosawa Shiran's deep blue eyes slowly moved down and stopped at her lips, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. "Sister, my childhood wasn't happy at all either."
"What mischief are you plotting now?" Rina chuckled, lightly tapping his chest with her index finger. "Do you need my pity?"
“No,” Kurosawa Shiran blinked, her face full of sincerity, “I want my sister to love me.”
Rina was certain that he probably didn't even know what love was right now.
Kurosawa Shiran ladled out a bowl of porridge and placed it on the table.
He said with a smile, "The time I spent with my sister was truly special. These are things I've never experienced before. No one has ever been so kind to me. I have no neighbors, no classmates..."
Before he turned fifteen, all he had to do was live with cold corpses and countless assassination missions.
After finishing her late-night snack, Rina felt much better.
She stood up, ruffled his fluffy head with a hint of affection, and said, "I wish you success in your investigation, little brother."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
