Chapter 65
The two arrived at a restaurant. Rina turned around and saw that Shimono Gen had put down his umbrella, and his left shoulder was already soaked.
She was perfectly clean, not a drop of water had fallen on her.
This reminded Rina of the victims under her umbrella—Arisu Kazumi and Kurosawa Tokiara.
In her earlier years, she was responsible for picking up and dropping off these two children at school, which inevitably involved rainy weather.
Needless to say, Kurosawa Shiranui's acting skills are already superb at such a young age. When she got home, she found him half-soaked, staring at her with his innocent big eyes as if he were wronged, but there was a scrutinizing look in his eyes. He just wouldn't say a word.
In contrast, Arisu Kazumi is different. She has a bad temper, is straightforward, and likes to yell at people. When she comes home and sees that she is the only one who is soaked to the bone, she gets furious and can't help but complain. Some people not only don't know how to respect the elderly and care for the young, but also take advantage of their age!
Later, Rina found taking care of children too heartbreaking, so she simply stopped taking them. As a result, she was severely reprimanded by her homeroom teacher for being too willful.
Rina handed him a handkerchief.
Shimono Gen paused for a moment, then moved quickly, accidentally touching her fingertips as he took it.
Rina watched him wipe the water droplets off his wallet and inadvertently caught a glimpse of the photo in the wallet's inner compartment.
The little girl had her hair in pigtails, wore a pink dress, and had a strawberry hair clip at the neckline. Her smile was so sweet that it warmed your heart.
She looks only five or six years old.
Rina had noticed it before, but hadn't asked yet, "Your daughter?"
Shimono Gen paused for a moment, closed his wallet, and gave a faint "hmm".
Rina lowered her voice as much as possible, "I've never heard you mention it."
“He’s long gone,” Shimono Gen said after a moment of silence, as if recalling a series of events, his eyes almost completely dark. “There was an accident at home.”
Rina felt a pang of sympathy and wanted to offer some words of comfort, but what came out of her mouth was: "Where's your wife?"
Shimono Gen, as if possessed, said, "Kazumi is right."
Rina asked, somewhat puzzled, "What?"
"You shouldn't bring this up," Shimono Gen handed the menu to the waiter, smiling noncommittally. "She ran off with someone else."
Rina's eyes widened slightly: "Because you're busy with work?"
Shimono Gen corrected, "Maybe so, plus it's a family marriage, so there's not much affection between them."
Caught off guard, Rina looked quite shocked: "I didn't realize that."
Shimono Gen said casually, "Just a victim of family interests."
Aside from being melodramatic, the feuds among the wealthy are nothing but ruthless. As for the so-called "family ties," they are nothing more than a fig leaf for exchanging interests.
But she still couldn't imagine how this unconventional, unkempt tough guy could have gotten involved with a wealthy family.
He didn't flaunt any extravagance; instead, he seemed like a calm, unwavering rock, managing to be both an observer and a hidden participant.
Rina gave a faint "hmm," took a sip of the local specialty fruit tea, savored it, and then smiled slightly. "It has honey in it, not bad."
The two tacitly avoided bringing up the matter again, and Shimono Gen asked, "Do you need any help?"
Rina nodded silently, then asked with a puzzled look, "Why are the people from Club 31 targeting me? Their place is an information exchange center for high society, and the boss behind it is the Mafia, who claims to know everything. But now he's handing over a fake photo to the police to frame me. Is Fujiwara Yukino also involved with the Mafia?"
Shimono Gen thought for a moment, then methodically cut off a piece of steak. "It might be somewhat related, otherwise it would be difficult to gain a foothold in this place."
Rina stared at his face, swallowing back the words that were on the tip of her tongue. When he looked up, she subtly slid her gaze toward the ceiling, just like a cat that had stolen some fish.
Shimono Gen's eyes twitched, as if he didn't understand her meaning, and he continued eating.
Rina didn't hear him reply, so she turned her gaze back to him: "...Why don't you go inside and take a look?"
The two were silent for a moment, then Shimono Gen gritted his teeth softly: "What kind of trouble are you up to now?"
Rina said truthfully, "I just feel that the club is not as simple as it seems on the surface."
She didn't believe it was just an intelligence center.
Shimono Gen chuckled. "Anything else?"
"Anything else?" Rina coughed twice, covering her mouth. "If I don't prove my innocence soon, I'll really go to jail. I don't want to get shot."
Shimono Gen reached out and closed the window beside him, chuckling softly, "No, it won't happen."
For some reason, Rina sensed a carefully considered tone in his words, making him completely unpredictable. "There's a self-service fruit tea over there. I'll go get two cups."
While the two were talking, Rina suddenly felt a gaze pass through her hair and shoot straight to the back of her head, but when she turned around to check, she found nothing.
Shimono Gen nodded, and after she left her seat, he cut a piece of rare beef with an expressionless face, put it in his mouth and chewed it. Recalling Rina's reactions earlier, he found it very interesting, and then cut a piece of bloody steak.
Just then, a waiter came over to clear away the extra plates. Perhaps because he was new, he reached out his hand without the customer's permission.
Shimono Gen slowly raised his head to look at her, his voice becoming firm and carrying a threatening undertone: "I don't like women getting too close to me."
At the same time, that terrifying and horrifying gaze was laid bare, and the waiter was startled, almost dropping the plate in his hand. "...I'm so sorry."
Lina was lost in thought and didn't notice the commotion behind her. She took two glasses from the shop window and joined the queue at the back of the crowd.
According to information provided by Hideo Kawashima, Sagara was able to find the photo because of information provided by Baba. Rina had contact with Baba, who, like Chiyo Momoyama, was a liar. However, the examination of the injuries on Baba's body confirmed that he had indeed been beaten.
Rina, carrying the glass, took small steps forward. Suddenly, her chin was gently lifted, forcing her neck to turn to the other side. An impeccable face blocked her view. "You—"
The girls next to them blushed and withdrew their hands that were about to ask for contact information.
Kurosawa Shiran looked at the eyes not far away and leaned down to kiss Rina's forehead.
The fabric of his black trench coat clung to his tall, slender figure as he moved, his voice carrying the chill of the coat, "Big sister, it's been so long, have you missed me?"
Rina's heart skipped a beat. She looked up at him, her thick, dark eyelashes trembling slightly. "What are you yelling about?"
The boy had a high, straight nose, which made his facial features appear even more defined and aloof under the cool white light, instantly making him the most eye-catching presence in the restaurant.
However, he flicked a non-existent tail behind him, instantly transforming into a harmless big bad wolf. "Sister, you still haven't answered me."
Rina couldn't help but laugh: "Less than twenty-four hours."
Kurosawa Shiran said confidently, "But I started missing my sister after we were apart for just five minutes."
Rina let out a soft breath and poured two and a half cups of osmanthus plum juice. "Behave yourself."
"Where's your sister?" Kurosawa Shiran whispered in her ear, "I don't have a cuckold fetish."
"......"
Rina thought this person was both childish and nasty. She gritted her teeth and didn't answer. She took him to the dining area, thinking of asking the waiter to add a set of chopsticks and a bowl, but the waiter seemed to be slacking off. She looked around but couldn't find him.
Kurosawa Shiran licked her lips and sat down next to Rina, saying very obediently, "My sister and I can use one set of chopsticks and bowls. Maybe that waiter saw something scary and hid."
Completely bewildered, Rina handed a glass of juice to Shimono Gen.
Shimono Gen looked at Kurosawa Shiranui with a strange smile on his face, but didn't say anything.
Kurosawa Shiran stood close to her and said naturally, "Sister, this uncle doesn't seem to like me."
Two of the words were emphasized, clearly indicating that Shimono Gen was old.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward. Rina glanced at Kurosawa Shiran out of the corner of her eye, signaling him not to say anything inappropriate, and then changed the subject to something lighter, "Are Kazumi and Damian together?"
Shimono Gen hummed in agreement, his eyes lowered as if he were pondering something. "Mrs. Kasuga goes over every day to prepare breakfast for them. She really likes Kazumi."
Rina smiled gently: "Mrs. Kasuga's cooking skills are very good. I like her cookies."
Shimono Gen grinned mischievously, propped his chin on one hand, glanced at Kurosawa Shiranui, and said calmly, "Damian seems to be in trouble too."
Lina felt inexplicably guilty and swallowed hard. "What?"
Kurosawa Shiran met his gaze, leaning forward slightly, exuding a powerful aura of pressure.
Shimono Gen looked away and turned to Rina: "He said he went to see his online girlfriend, and he seemed to be in a good mood when he came back."
Rina: "I didn't expect that."
This is truly unexpected; Damian, that homebody who never leaves his house, actually had an online romance that led to a real-life meeting.
“Isn’t this good? Everything slowly settles into ordinariness,” Shimono Gen said. “After experiencing death and loss, you finally realize that only the stability of those around you is the real thing that is within reach. People should live a better life. Don’t you like an ordinary life?”
Rina's heart skipped a beat, her expression changed slightly, and she forced a smile.
She doesn't know when it started, but her life began to be filled with death. Each case was like a mirror, reflecting the cruelty of the crime and revealing the indifference and complexity of human nature.
Mountains are no longer mountains, and water is no longer water.
Unbeknownst to her, she was being pushed forward with difficulty by conspiracy or fate, forgetting that she was an ordinary person.
Yes, she was just an ordinary person, unable to change the predetermined tragedy and regret.
She couldn't find peace of mind until she discovered the truth about the murderer who killed Takizawa Nanase and Natsume Kanon.
Rina seemed lost in thought, turning the cup in her hand.
"Nanase also hopes that you can find your own life and doesn't want to become a cage that traps you." Shimono Gen seemed to want to say something more, but hesitated for a moment and only sighed.
Kurosawa Shiran narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I have something to do, so I'll be going now." Shimono Gen stood up and gave her a smile.
Rina grunted, snapping out of her reverie, and reminded him, "Don't forget what you promised me."
Upon hearing this, Shimono Gen immediately empathized with Kazumi Kazusa and said angrily, "You little brat!"
Rina laughed, then casually added, "Go on."
Shimono Gen quickly signed the bill and left without looking back.
He looked more and more like an angry old father.
Kurosawa Shiran blinked a few times quickly, then looked away and turned to Rina: "Sister, don't you think I'm being cuckolded?"
Rina took a moment to realize that she had accidentally spilled the beans of jealousy, so she could only pretend to be clueless and ask, "Green?"
Kurosawa Shiran's gaze revealed a slight chill as he tapped his index finger lightly on the table and said in a strange tone, "It's all green."
"Let me see," Rina straightened up, ruffled his hair, and stroked it gently. "It's not green."
“It’s been greened…” Kurosawa Shiran felt wronged, and her voice grew softer and softer until it was almost inaudible.
The waiters nearby stared with wide eyes, seemingly amazed at something.
Rina is a dignified person who is obsessed with saving face and suffers for it. Under the watchful eyes of others, she felt a little uncomfortable dealing with her boyfriend's coquettishness. "No, I said no, so I don't mean it."
But Kurosawa Shiran could completely ignore everyone else and say sourly, "My sister is on a date with a man who's not very good-looking, and she looks at him with such infatuation."
"..." The two stared at each other for a long time. Rina's eyelids twitched for a while. After finishing her juice, she put the glass on the table and said in a low voice, "I'm leaving."
Kurosawa Shiran followed silently behind, her head bowed and eyes downcast, as if she would let Kurosawa scold and beat her.
I almost tripped when I got on the bus.
The atmosphere in the car remained silent for a while. Lina couldn't stand his pathetic behavior any longer, so she grabbed his collar and bit his lip. "It's just a simple meal, why are you making such a fuss?"
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