Chapter 110 Youthful Spirit
Hagiwara, still dazed, was led out of the confinement cell by Matsuda. He then went to Kumagai's classmates to inquire about the situation, learn more details, and even obtained a photocopy of the suspect's sketch.
Hagiwara stood by the side the whole way until Matsuda finally finished his investigation and came to the playground. Only then did he not be able to help but ask, "Jinpei-chan, what's wrong with you today? I just thought you were interested in the person who hit the Superintendent General. We don't need to get involved in this case, do we? I suspect the truth is that the person has a very powerful backer, which is why the case was handed over to the Public Security Bureau. And the instructor locked Kumagai up to protect him from retaliation."
Matsuda lay on the lawn, sprawled out in a "T" shape. Wearing sunglasses, he looked up at the blazing sun and asked inexplicably, "Hagi, how much do you think I've changed over the years?"
Hagiwara grinned and leaned closer, saying, "Of course you've become even more handsome!"
Matsuda nudged the other with his elbow in annoyance, and Hagiwara yelled dramatically, "Jinpei-chan, that hurts!"
"Tch—stop pretending! I didn't even try." Matsuda rolled his eyes at his childhood friend and said nostalgically, "Hagi, do you remember? Once when it was raining, Furuya and I got into a fight in the mud puddle in front of us."
"How could I not remember? I thought you'd fallen into some sewer; you looked like a clay sculpture." Hagiwara sat on the ground, laughing so hard he bent over.
Matsuda's lips curled into a smile: "I was so energetic back then... unlike now, I don't even have the energy to deal with him."
He hadn't forgotten the bet. He just lacked the drive he had in his youth.
"Jinpei-chan, are you afraid of losing? How about I spar with you? Just now..." Hagiwara hadn't finished speaking when she felt dizzy and was pinned to the ground by curly-haired man. "Matsuda Jinpei, how dare you ambush me?!"
Matsuda struck a victorious pose and leisurely lay down: "Hagi, sparring with you is so boring. When have you ever beaten me?"
"Tch—" Hagiwara curled his lip. "Hey, you really want to get to the bottom of this? What's your motive?"
Matsuda was silent for a moment, then said with a hint of sadness, "Hagi, eight years ago I would have grabbed that person at all costs. But now, when facing Kumagai, my first thought is about punishment and my career: Will I be expelled from school? Will I be ostracized at work? Being constrained for too long by all sorts of rules and regulations, the mundane and boring work has finally turned me into the kind of person I used to hate—arrogant and unapproachable. Over the years, I hadn't even noticed the changes in myself. But when I'm facing them, I truly realize that I've really changed, that I've actually grown old enough to feel nostalgic."
"People change! To be honest, Kumagai's handling of this matter was not very appropriate. But we can't entirely blame him, after all, he lacks experience."
Matsuda gave a wry smile and pointed to the energetic students in the distance, saying, "Hagi, look how young they are, while I've become a dull and boring middle-aged man. We're all 30 years old this year."
"Then, why don't we add some spice to our dull and boring middle-aged lives?" Hagiwara suggested, blinking his eyes.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I was thinking,” Matsuda replied, cracking his knuckles as he did so.
Hagiwara and Matsuda arrived at the bar Kumagai had mentioned. It was quite a distance from the police academy and very secluded. You could practically feel the survival instinct of the police academy students sneaking out by climbing over the wall.
"Jinpei-chan, the decor here is so new!"
"Yes, I looked it up and found out that this used to be a nightclub. It was renovated and turned into a bar after it changed hands two years ago."
It's a little past four in the afternoon, and there aren't many customers in the bar yet.
Hagiwara ordered two beers and, with a beaming smile, began chatting with the waitress: "Working here must be very tough, right?"
"It's alright, the boss is a very nice person."
Do you need to work the night shift?
"It depends on the shift schedule. The night shift is definitely more tiring."
"Yes, yes, I also have a friend who works in a bar, and he said the night shift can be very dangerous. Especially for a young girl like you, you need to be extra careful."
The waiter smiled and said, "Don't worry about that, our security guards are very capable."
"Really? Did something like that happen before?"
"Every bar has its share of drunken patrons... but please rest assured, our environment is quite nice."
Hagiwara nodded with a look of conviction: "Of course, I could tell from the moment I came in that this place had an unusual ambiance."
However, what he actually meant was that he always felt he was being stared at with ill intent.
“It would be such a shame to just drink beer in such a stylish bar. Why not try some Scotch whisky? It’s dry, full-bodied, and mellow with a caramelized aroma—truly a top choice!” A stranger suddenly approached and struck up a conversation.
Hagiwara was taken aback, as the other person had approached him without him noticing. He silently sized up the person before him: he had hair that was even longer than his own. But it wasn't straight; it was curly like Matsuda's.
Matsuda glanced at the man with some displeasure and replied lazily, "It seems this gentleman has a particular fondness for Scotch whisky."
“I wouldn’t call it a particular fondness, but I think it’s a very charming wine…” The long-haired man slowly swirled the glass, admiring the brownish-red, crystalline liquid.
Hagiwara and Matsuda exchanged a glance, completely baffled as to what this man was up to. Hagiwara shrugged and said, "Sorry, I don't know much about whiskey."
Upon hearing this, the long-haired man seemed intrigued and said with great interest, "Really? Actually, I only recently became obsessed with this kind of wine, and I've discovered an interesting secret."
"Oh? Tell me about it?"
“There are two types of Scotch whisky: single whisky and blended whisky,” the man said elegantly, taking a sip of his whisky before continuing in his deep voice. “As the name suggests, single whisky is produced from a single distillery. Blended whisky, on the other hand, is made by blending whisky from multiple distilleries. Therefore, blended whisky has a richer and smoother flavor profile and is more appealing to a wider audience. Isn’t that interesting?”
"Um, um..." Hagiwara and the other person echoed in bewilderment, still not understanding what the other was trying to say: although they stayed up all night watching Inuya Neko's live stream, they didn't realize what all the Scottish elements on the screen meant, and just thought it was a food blogger doing something funny.
After all, the two undercover agents had never told them the distillery's code name. Asking them to make that kind of connection all at once was really asking too much.
The scene became somewhat awkward. The long-haired man frowned slightly and said thoughtfully, "I think people who only drink beer shouldn't come here."
"What? You've started to differentiate between high and low status when it comes to drinking?" Matsuda's tone was quite dissatisfied, and his eyes were fierce.
The long-haired man chuckled, shook his head, and left without a word.
"Hagi, is that guy crazy? He seems a bit eccentric." Matsuda said, downing his beer in one gulp.
"I feel like he's picked the wrong person..." Hagiwara pondered, stroking his chin.
"Never mind that! Let's find ours first."
Under Hagiwara's relentless pursuit, the waitress finally revealed some confidential information: the short, stocky man with a scar on his right arm they were looking for was a regular customer and a friend of the owner.
"He seems to work at a car company nearby, but I don't know exactly what he does," the waiter said.
Do you know his name?
"Sorry, I don't know."
"Alright then. Thank you for your hospitality, we'll take our leave now!"
Hagiwara and Matsuda walked out of the bar and whispered to each other: "Hagiwara, there aren't many car companies nearby, and we have the looks, so finding the person shouldn't be too difficult. But I'm worried that things aren't that simple, because based on what the students from Kumagai said and the bartenders explained, I have a feeling that the bar owner might have some connections."
“Yeah, ever since we left the bar, someone has been following us.” Hagiwara glanced at him casually out of the corner of his eye. “He’s hiding behind the white Santana.”
"But this tracking technology is terrible. It's nowhere near as good as that guy who was talking about whiskey. They must not be the same kind of people, right?"
"Yes, that's what I think too."
Just then, the two bumped into an acquaintance. Hagiwara's eyes lit up: "Eh? Isn't this Takagi-kun?"
"Hagiwara-senpai, Matsuda-senpai, what a coincidence that you're here too!"
Upon seeing Takagi, the person who had been following him fled as fast as he could.
Takagi noticed the suspicious-looking man and asked curiously, "Was that person secretly following you just now?"
"Hey, where? You must have seen wrong," Hagiwara said, trying to brush it off.
But Takagi persisted, saying, "That guy looks so familiar, he seems very suspicious!"
"Could it be a fugitive?" Matsuda couldn't help but feel nervous.
"Hmm, let me think. Who was that person again?" Takagi frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly exclaimed, "I remember now! He's the criminal we arrested before, the one I caught myself! Come to think of it, he shouldn't have been out of prison for long, right?"
"Haha, no wonder you ran away as soon as you saw me, looks like you're terrified of being caught."
"If he hadn't done anything wrong, I wouldn't have arrested him. Seniors, he really hasn't done anything wrong?"
"As far as I know, no."
"Takagi, what happened?" Date's voice came from behind. When he saw his two classmates, he was surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing much, we just came here for a drink. But what are you guys doing here? Has some kind of case happened again?" Hagiwara asked.
"It's just a follow-up visit for a case. By the way, where did you guys go for drinks? I remember there's only one bar around here."
"That's the one. Is there a problem?"
Ida frowned and said, "I advise you to avoid going there."
Why?
Ida pulled the two aside and said, "Back when that was a nightclub, it was an underground trading market for a criminal gang. Although it was later shut down, the reopened bar still attracts all sorts of people. Now it's a place that the police are closely monitoring, so you'd better not go looking for trouble."
Long-haired and curly-haired nodded knowingly.
Feeling puzzled, Ida asked again, "Why did you come all this way here to drink?"
"Well... I've heard that the Scotch whisky there is exceptional, so I came here specifically to try it," Hagiwara lied without batting an eye.
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