Chapter 46
Kurosawa Shiran returned to the cramped room, which contained only a single bed and a worn-out table, with only an arm's length between the two pieces of furniture.
He lay on the bed with his feet on the railing at the foot of the bed, feeling as if he could fall to the ground if he rolled over; there was simply no room for him.
Kurosawa Shiran managed to fall asleep, but because of the two people on the deck, he dreamed about his childhood.
During the years that Natsume lived in the Natsume family, one of them could no longer stand it, or rather, she saw her own abnormal appearance and began to feel fear and disgust, just like his mother and father, blaming him for being a freak and a monster.
Natsume Kanon packed a few clothes, planning to spend the summer vacation at a classmate's house. If Rina wasn't home, she simply couldn't stand being in the same space as a boy; it felt like being choked, suffocating her.
But that child was the one she brought back.
At first, she could accept the boy. After all, everyone likes cute things, like cats, and people too. He had long hair and a delicate appearance like a doll. Undeniably, he was so beautiful that it was impossible to tell his gender, which led her to misunderstand and buy him a few dresses.
She loves cooking for the boy because she always gets great feedback. He is quiet and elegant while eating, and he also tidies up her room every day. He is polite and sensible, unlike Rina, who is extremely picky about food and always gives her a ton of suggestions on how to improve after eating with her.
Xiangyin never expected her younger sister to tidy her room.
She liked the boy very much, but he was very quiet. In the two weeks they spent together, she never heard him speak once.
Rina asked her when she planned to send the little mute boy to an orphanage. Xiangyin always hesitated. She felt that orphanages were terrifying places, or rather, that sending him to such a place would be pitiful for the child, and he didn't want to go there either.
Xiangyin planned to keep him there and then ask her uncle to handle some identity procedures so that he could stay at her home as her distant cousin.
That was the first time the boy had said thank you, and Xiangyin was very happy.
After the boy settled in, they got along quite well in the days that followed. Only Rina would occasionally pick on him, didn't like him much, and often made him run errands, serve tea and water, and do some odd jobs.
The two of them had some opinions about each other, which was a strange and illogical thing, so every time Rina looked at him, the boy would hide behind Kanon.
Life continued peacefully, with everyone contentedly going about their own business. Xiangyin made up her mind to confess to a boy in her class and struggled every day with how to write a good love letter. Meanwhile, Rina, as before, stayed cooped up in her room all day, seemingly fiddling with something. In any case, no one was allowed to enter her room, as it was said to be too dangerous.
However, as time went on, the boy soon showed signs of having problems.
That night, Xiangyin turned on the light in the yard and saw the boy standing barefoot in the yard, holding a bloody dead cat in his hand, its internal organs detached from its body.
She was quite frightened and let out a scream.
Hearing the commotion, Rina came downstairs and ran to the entrance. She saw the boy throw down what he was holding, and his eyes subtly changed as he tried to explain something. Rina patted Kanon on the shoulder, telling her to go back to her room first, and then took the boy to the shower to wash the blood off his hands.
Rina checked and found that the cat was hit and killed on the road, but why would he go barefoot to the road to pick up the cat and bring it home?
Want to save it?
Xiangyin felt much relieved after receiving this answer, but soon the boy's problems became more and more serious, or rather, his true nature emerged.
He often stayed up late at night, standing alone in the dark kitchen, wiping the knives. Xiangyin was startled by him several times when she went downstairs in the middle of the night, half asleep.
Especially when she met his gaze, Xiangyin felt as if the knife in the boy's hand could fly over at any moment and pierce her throat.
But he's only a ten-year-old boy, why would he do something so strange?
From then on, Xiangyin began to pay extra attention to his actions, but even when she asked the boy why, he would not say anything.
Xiangyin is about to take the entrance exam and is under great pressure. She decides to break up with her boyfriend, but strange things happen at home, which makes her have a mental breakdown. She suffers from insomnia all night and her temper becomes irritable. At that time, Rina has been admitted to a prestigious university and is participating in an Olympiad training program. She has not been home for a long time and only comes back on weekends.
Due to prolonged mental torment, Xiangyin's grades began to decline, she argued with her teachers, and became estranged from her friends.
When Rina heard the news, she took a sick day and returned home. She saw the boy quietly and obediently tidying up the clutter on the coffee table, as healthy and harmless as milk.
He seemed like just a quiet, somewhat withdrawn child, but the occasional glimpses of his eyes were extremely unsettling.
Rina turned around, put down her schoolbag, and went upstairs. Suddenly remembering something, she turned around and saw the boy accidentally cut his finger while rummaging through a box. He was sucking the blood from his fingertip, and before she could say anything, he reached his hand into the box again.
This time, the wound was obviously more serious, but he seemed not to feel any pain and was even thinking about something else.
She asked, "Such a young age and already has self-harm tendencies?"
The boy looked up at her, staring at her intently. "What's that?"
Rina raised an eyebrow and said, "I like to endure hardship."
Boy: "Am I like that?"
Rina lowered her head slightly and said, "Yes, go wash the dishes, and remember to wear gloves."
Her voice and demeanor possessed an indescribable charm. The boy stood in the living room, staring intently at her, until she closed the bedroom door, at which point he looked away.
She wasn't Xiangyin, but she was wearing Xiangyin's clothes. If it were Xiangyin, she would have already started to feel disgusted and scolded.
Later, Rina was allowed to commute to school after talking to the teacher for some reason. Kanon's emotions gradually stabilized, but she still couldn't stand the boy and decided to send him away.
Rina agreed, but on that very day, on the beach in the park, she saw him choking a boy four years older than him with both hands, pressing him down in the sand, his eyes twitching uncontrollably, almost strangling him to death.
Rina stepped forward, grabbed the back of his collar with one hand, and hugged his waist with the other, finally managing to separate them.
Then they were taken away together in a police car.
However, since both were minors, they were given a short talk and made to write a guarantee before being released. But the parents on the other side clearly didn't want the matter to end there, and after leaving the police station, they slapped Rina.
"How can you be such a bad older sister? Your brother is mentally unstable, so you send him to a mental hospital and let him run around everywhere. What's the difference between that and a rabid dog biting someone?"
"My son was almost strangled to death by him. Can you take responsibility for that? Or is your whole family mentally ill?"
Kurosawa Shiran wanted them to shut up. He felt that the sound was like a little bird trapped in a cage, chirping and wanting to be free, but he just wanted to strangle the bird or cut off its head with a knife to make the annoying chirping disappear.
A knife tip protruded from his cuff, his gaze fixed intently on the woman's neck.
Suddenly, Rina grabbed the back of his collar. "What are you still looking at? Let's go back."
The woman tried to call out to them, but seeing police officers approaching, she dared not make any further moves.
Kurosawa Shiran walked down the street, gazing at her for a long time. He noticed something unique about her that attracted him.
He began by saying, "She said I'm mentally unstable."
Rina: "How do you define 'normal'?"
Kurosawa Shiran asked calmly, "My mother is a drug-addicted prostitute, and my father is a madman who only knows how to kill. How can I be normal?"
Rina pondered for a moment, "They might be your adoptive parents."
Kurosawa Shiran stopped in her tracks, a slight smile playing on her lips, her eyes suddenly becoming extremely aggressive: "Then can I kill them?"
His tone wasn't like a question, but more like a provocation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Rina tried her best to remain patient: "If you want to get slapped, you can keep asking this question."
Kurosawa Toki said, "I don't want to go to the orphanage."
I don't know when it started, but some things have quietly changed.
Rina: "Then let's stay here."
Kurosawa Shiran asked again, "Is it okay?"
“The premise is to be a decent human being,” Rina said. “If I find out you’re playing tricks again, you won’t be going back to the orphanage.”
Kurosawa Shiran smiled at her and said, "Okay."
This dream wasn't heavy; in fact, it could be described as beautiful, especially since the person from the dream was right in front of me when I opened my eyes.
Kurosawa Shiranui ripped off her bow tie, then loosened the buttons on her collar and cuffs.
Even when he is asleep, he remains alert to his surroundings, and he will immediately wake up and retaliate if anyone gets close.
Only Rina could approach him silently, but because of her unique scent, he could recognize her quickly.
"Did I disturb you?" Rina casually flipped through the "Waitress Management Manual" on the table.
Kurosawa Shiran: "No, why is my sister here?"
Rina asked, "Can you fall asleep in a place like this?"
The toilet is right next door. Whenever someone goes in to relieve themselves, the stench permeates the narrow room through the crack in the door.
Kurosawa Tokiaki: "Waitresses can only live in places like this."
“You can go to my room,” Rina felt a slow throbbing in her heart, then paused. “I’ll save the sofa for you.”
Kurosawa Shiran smiled and slowly propped herself up, her gaze following her intently. "Wouldn't this offend you, sister?"
From the moment he opened his eyes, his gaze never left her.
"You even know the word 'offend'?" Rina asked him.
Kurosawa Shiran followed her out of the small house and into the VIP room, where they were about to close the door.
An argument broke out in the next room without warning, and glass items fell to the ground and shattered.
Lina gently closed the door, stood in the entryway, and listened to what was happening outside. Soon, John ran from the end of the hallway, knocked on Emily's door, and whispered, "It's me, John."
Emily's face was deathly pale. She opened the door a crack, her lips moving slightly, "What is it?"
“We should talk. You received that card, didn’t you?” John blushed nervously. “A dead man will appear tonight.”
Emily's hands trembled. "Are you crazy?"
John said angrily, "Don't be silly, the fact that we're all gathered on this ship already says something. We're all being threatened by the murderer, and that person has something on us!"
Odel, with a grave expression, also pushed open the door to the room, followed by Rossi.
Everyone looked at each other.
John gave Emily a defeated smile. "The facts are right in front of you, everyone has heard them."
Emily calmed down and said in a low voice, "This might just be a prank, and that person is just playing a trick on us."
Rossi smiled and said casually, "One of us must die to prove the falsehoods on the card. Since we can't unite, let's just wait quietly in the room for dawn and see who goes to hell tomorrow morning."
John thought he was being a bit outrageous, and said in a serious tone, "One of us? You think this is just a prank?"
Emily took a deep breath: "That's right."
Odel laughed heartily, looking quite smug, and even said without any restraint: "The card I received was from a woman named Lydia, who once killed a child."
The air suddenly became quiet.
Everyone had their own thoughts on their minds as they returned to their rooms.
“It’s 11:30 at night,” Kurosawa Shiran said, staring intently at her. “Sister, you received it too.”
Rina gave a faint "hmm" and turned to leave the entrance hall.
Kurosawa Shiran followed behind her, saying, "I want to see."
Rina: "You think I'm going to die?"
She couldn't tell him about the card that Kurosawa Shiran was uncontrollable, and she couldn't guarantee what would happen next. Moreover, at this moment, the expression on his face had darkened, and he had fallen silent, which confirmed her guess.
He will kill that rapist named Odell.
"Get some rest." Rina took a blanket from the closet and placed it in his hand. She brushed past him and went into the room. She made herself a cup of herbal tea to refresh herself and leaned against the bed, quietly flipping through a book.
Kurosawa Shiran, wrapped in a small blanket, knocked on the bedroom door a few times. "Sister?"
Rina: "Come in."
The room suddenly became extremely quiet. Kurosawa Shiran paused for a moment, stood in front of the bed, and looked down at her: "...I'm just a little worried."
Rina looked up and could indeed sense the other person's indescribable emotions. It seemed to be anxiety, but it could also be excitement. She couldn't understand all of Kurosawa Shiran's thoughts and emotions.
"I'm fine," she reassured her.
"You look terrible." Kurosawa Shiran took the book from her hand, placed it on the cabinet, and then touched her forehead with her palm. "Low-grade fever."
Perhaps due to the medication, Rina is not very aware of her own physical condition.
Kurosawa Shiran picked up the cup that Rina had drunk from, smelled it, and then put it back. "Sister, what else do you know?"
Rina: "Those who received the invitation just now received a card with the crimes we committed written on it. If we fail to kill the person on the card, death will come upon us."
Kurosawa Shiran: "Everyone received that card, including my sister."
“I think so.” Rina turned her face to the window, looking at the sea view outside.
“I’ll make him regret it,” Kurosawa Shiran said succinctly. “Go to sleep, I’ll be guarding the door.”
He knew that Rina hadn't let him sleep here to protect him; she simply wanted him to rest in a better environment.
But that fool who impersonated Death really angered him.
Early the next morning.
Rina's condition worsened, and she could clearly feel her body temperature rising.
She splashed water on her face, wiped it clean, took a shawl from the closet and wrapped it around herself, then pushed open the bedroom door and found that Kurosawa Shiran had already left.
But breakfast and fever reducers were laid out on the table.
Rina sat down, took a sip of porridge, and took a sweet biscuit from a small dish. Then, she heard hurried footsteps outside.
She left the room and followed the crowd onto the deck, where two crew members carried a stretcher out of a double cabin.
Lydia stood to one side, her hands tightly clasped together, her expression one of near terror, muttering to herself, "Someone really died..."
Some crew members were just saying that someone found a first-class ticket in his suitcase.
Rossi leaned against the railing with one hand in his pocket, staring coldly at the corpse covered with a white sheet: "It seems the card we received wasn't a prank."
Emily bit her lip. "But he's not one of us."
John's face turned pale, and his body trembled uncontrollably. "Maybe it's not six people at all...it's seven."
Emily turned her head, puzzled, and asked, "Why do you say that?"
Rossi: "I received the Morse code on the card."
The card had Morse code written on it with lemon juice. Once the paper was completely dry, the writing would disappear. Only when the card was heated would the writing slowly reappear.
The Morse code result is the number seven.
John nodded, and Emily became even angrier: "How would I know anything about that? Why didn't you say so before?"
Rossi smiled knowingly: "Nobody's being honest, Miss Philip Knight."
“Last night at the restaurant, I heard your friend call you Emily,” John suddenly said, directly exposing her lie.
Rossi raised an eyebrow when he heard the name, a sly glint in his eyes.
“The information on this card isn’t accurate, because once someone is killed, this chain is broken,” John’s voice trembled slightly. “This might be… the first round, because none of us did anything; the killer himself took action.”
Emily asked sharply, "Who received the deceased's card?"
John: "Armstrong once drove drunk and killed a fisherman."
Odell: "Lydia killed a child."
"Don't talk nonsense!" Lydia, who had been eavesdropping for a long time, couldn't help but stand up and refute them when she heard them say these words. "That was an accident!"
Odel yelled, "That's what it says on the card, what are you getting worked up about, you little bitch?"
"Enough, stop arguing. Is it fun to be played like an idiot?" John looked around at the group. "We all have the same goal: to kill the murderer."
Lydia reiterated, "I didn't, I would never kill anyone in my life."
John asked, "Then what are you doing here?"
“Lucy was my best friend,” Lydia cried sadly. “We depended on each other at the orphanage. She was like a sister to me, the only person who was kind to me. I would have given my life to save her from the swamp, but she still left. She got stuck in the swamp and struggled. The teacher and I couldn’t save her. We could only watch helplessly as she was swallowed by the black mud. It was an accident…”
Emily patted her on the shoulder and comforted her, saying, "You've been very strong."
Lydia cried for a while, then turned to Rossi and said, "You killed twenty people."
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Rossi smiled slightly, admiring the expressions on their faces: "Mercenaries have countless lives on their hands."
Emily shrieked, "A heartless wretch."
Rossi took a drag of her cigarette and retorted, "Is homosexuality noble?"
Emily raised her hand and slammed it on the table, making quite a noise.
Odel was taken aback, then burst into laughter. "Turns out he's gay. How disgusting! What right do you have to be so condescending and criticize others?"
“Don’t cause any more trouble,” John interrupted him, glaring at him fiercely. “Now it’s your turn to talk about your business.”
“There’s nothing to say,” Odell shrugged. “My wife had depression and committed suicide by jumping off a building.”
There was a full three minutes of silence. John breathed a sigh of relief and said in a low voice, "There's one more person. Her information should be on that dead man from earlier."
Lydia bit her lower lip and said, "Should we ask the crew for help?"
John licked his dry lips: "Do you think this is appropriate?"
“We should call her over and ask her.” Emily glanced at Rossi with disgust and shook her body impatiently.
John stroked his chin. "She's the prime suspect right now. Who's the most suitable candidate?"
"I'll go." The atmosphere in the room was heavy, and Lydia took the initiative to step forward, wanting to leave the room and get some fresh air.
However, as soon as she stepped out of the building and went downstairs, she ran into the same waiter from yesterday. "Sir, may I ask what happened just now?"
Kurosawa Tokiaki politely said, "A gentleman has died."
“This news is too heavy,” Lydia slowly shook her head and continued to ask, “Is it a sudden and serious illness?”
Kurosawa Shiran: "Security has cordoned off the scene, so we can't confirm anything yet."
Lydia said softly, "I'm an intern, perhaps I can help."
Kurosawa Shiran: "That's great, I'll take you there."
Lydia smiled and followed behind him, deliberately closing the distance. "Sir, may I ask your name?"
“Leon, Miss Lydia, you can call me Leon.” Kurosawa Shiran smiled and slowly walked down the stairs.
Lydia had fair skin and delicate features; at first glance, you could tell she was a young woman who had just come of age. "Are we the same age?"
She didn't notice the carpet under her feet while she was talking, and because she was wearing high heels, she tripped over it.
Out of courtesy, Kurosawa extended his arm, but Lydia, harboring her own thoughts, moved hastily and suddenly leaned close to him, creating an intimate and ambiguous distance between them.
She placed her hand on the other person's hand, not their arm.
Kurosawa Shiran calmly pushed the other person away, scrutinized her for two seconds, and then, with a slight upturn of her lips, said politely, "Miss Lydia, please be careful."
At this moment, Rina was wearing a pink and white checkered shawl, high-waisted washed denim jeans with an extremely slender waist, and a pearl white shirt. She leaned against a wicker chair, looking at them expressionlessly.
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