6 | Exclusive from Jinjiang Literature City · 6
His innocence has been repeatedly destroyed.
A night breeze swept through, and Lai Chuan Huang Quan had just stood up after patting her skirt when a trench coat was suddenly draped over her head.
The warm inside of the cloak still retained Kenji Hagiwara's body heat. Yomi Laichuan, wearing the large trench coat, looked like a bride wearing a red handkerchief, giving her the illusion of being embraced by Hagiwara.
She hurriedly ripped her trench coat off, her vision snapping out of the darkness. Just as Lai Chuan Huang Quan was about to get angry, Hagiwara Kenji raised his hand and pressed it against her head.
"Put them on," Kenji Hagiwara said with a bright yet mischievous smile, exuding a cool and roguish charm. He deliberately ruffled Yomi Laichuan's smooth, long hair with his hand. "It's already winter, why are you wearing so little?"
Grabbing Hagiwara's wrist, Yomi Raikawa bared his teeth, his face fierce: "Kenji Hagiwara!"
Kenji Hagiwara withdrew his mischievous hand and laughed, "So you do know my name."
"!"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan froze, and while putting on Hagiwara Kenji's trench coat, she guiltily looked away.
"It was Matsuda Jinpei who told me..."
Upon hearing this, Kenji Hagiwara raised an eyebrow and smiled teasingly: "Miss Soft Bread, lying is not a good thing. I asked Jinpei, and he not only never told you my name, he never even introduced himself to you."
"But on the first day we met, you called out his name correctly without a doubt, as if you already knew him and us."
"I……"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan pursed his lips, his brain racing but unable to come up with a reasonable explanation.
Fortunately, Kenji Hagiwara hadn't intended for Yomi Rikawa to give a satisfactory answer anyway. After saying that, he took a few steps away with his beer.
"Let's go."
Kenji Hagiwara turned around to look at Yomi Laichuan behind him. The little girl was wrapped in his trench coat, and she would exhale a string of white breath when she breathed.
Kenji Hagiwara smiled and said, "I'll take you home."
When she spoke, her voice, light and airy with a hint of laughter, was like fine snowflakes falling on my heart, rippling through my eardrums.
Neither of them spoke the rest of the way. The only sounds were the occasional clatter of the car wheels and the crunch of shoes on the road.
The single-person apartment building, located half a block away from the Metropolitan Police Department, is long and narrow.
Although the Hagiwara family went bankrupt during the bubble economy boom, Mr. Hagiwara still retained his excellent business acumen. While he didn't become extremely wealthy, he quickly revived his small business.
In a place like Tokyo where land is incredibly expensive, he can't afford a large apartment, but he can afford a small, secondhand studio apartment.
Warm, orange-toned light illuminates the entire room. To the left is a narrow entryway, to the right is the bathroom, and further in is a one-bedroom apartment that can be seen at a glance. The small stove, sofa, television, and large bed are arranged neatly and orderly from near to far.
Small but cozy.
Hagiwara rummaged through the shoe cabinet and found a pair of relatively new men's slippers. He squatted down and handed the slippers to Yomi Raikawa's feet: "Sorry, I only have men's slippers here. These are relatively new, so you'll have to make do with them for now."
After saying that, Kenji Hagiwara changed into another pair of shoes and went straight into the room. He first turned on the air conditioner, and then took out a quilt from the closet and spread it on the bed.
Hagiwara turned to look at the woman who had already changed her shoes and entered the room, and asked with a smile, "Do you know how to use an electric water heater?"
"ha?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan raised an eyebrow: "Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I know how to use a water heater."
As a result, Hagiwara, while saying "okay, okay, okay," went into the bathroom to plug in the water heater.
"You can wash it in about ten minutes. You don't need to unplug it; it will shut off by itself."
"I already told you I know how to use it!"
Yes, yes, yes.
Kenji Hagiwara retreated to the entrance hall, changed into leather shoes, and casually picked up a bag full of beer.
A thin layer of water droplets had condensed on the transparent bottle, and some water droplets that had slid down from the bottle had also accumulated inside the white plastic bag.
"I'm leaving now, I'll bring you breakfast tomorrow."
Smiling and waving goodbye, Kenji Hagiwara turned and left.
The footsteps outside the door faded into the distance. It wasn't until Lai Chuan Huang Quan was about to take a shower that she belatedly realized that Hagiwara Kenji hadn't taken her trench coat with him.
Ignoring the man who had already left, Lai Chuan Huang Quan casually washed off the dust and then tapped his earlobe twice.
This time, the dog boss is online.
"Number 1107, what's the matter?"
"Why didn't the basic protection be triggered when Kenji Hagiwara approached me while I was asleep half an hour ago?"
"Kenji Hagiwara is on your whitelist, so naturally the protection won't be triggered."
"ha?"
Whitelist? She couldn't recall ever setting up such a thing.
"Who else but Hagiwara?"
"Matsuda Jinpei".
"..."
"Any other questions?"
"there is none left."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lai Chuan Huang Quan heard a rustling sound in his ear; his boss, who was extremely busy, cleanly and efficiently cut off the communication.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan stretched and was about to crawl into bed when there was a knock on the door from the outside.
"Lai Chuan, are you asleep?"
Kenji Hagiwara's deep, honey-sweet voice came through the door.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan sighed and listlessly unlatched the door.
The long-haired man, who had returned, stood smiling in the aisle, showing off the plastic bag in his hand to Lai Chuan Huang Quan as if seeking praise.
"It's a new toothbrush and a new towel. Considering we don't have any disposable cups at home, I also bought a mouthwash cup."
Hagiwara simply handed the bag to Yomi through the crack in the door, showing no intention of entering the house. He didn't even glance at her, but simply smiled and gazed into Yomi's eyes.
"I also bought bottled water, bread, and some snacks. If you get hungry, you can use these to tide you over."
The sight of Yomi Laichuan curled up on a park bench in a long dress led Hagiwara to mistakenly believe that in addition to being unfamiliar with Tokyo, she might also be experiencing financial difficulties.
Yomi Lai stared at the bulging bag in Hagiwara's hand, paused for a moment, and then reached out to take it.
As the bag was handed over, Yomi Laichuan's fingers quickly brushed against Hagiwara's palm, making it tickle.
The cool temperature of Lai Chuan Huang Quan's fingertips traveled to Hagiwara through the point of contact, causing the usually smiling man to furrow his brows for a very brief moment.
Why is it so cold? Is it because you still feel cold?
"Thanks."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan didn't notice the doubt in the man's eyes. Hagiwara Kenji was also good at hiding his true emotions, so it was understandable that he wouldn't notice it.
When she thanked him in a low voice, her tone was unusually gentle. Her long, wet hair fell beside her ears, and the room light behind her cast a soft filter over her, making the adorable little dumpling look quite pretty when she wasn't baring her teeth.
“Speaking of which,” Kenji Hagiwara suddenly held up a finger, winked at Yomi Yorikawa with his eyes closed, and said with a smile, “I have a small favor to ask of you, Miss Soft Bread.”
Upon hearing that Hagiwara had something to ask of him, Yorikawa Yomi's first reaction was to take a half step back, still carrying a full bag of food for Hagiwara, but her face was already full of vigilance.
Kenji Hagiwara has already uncovered too many of her secrets. If he is indeed a genius as the central system has described, then Yomi Lai has no doubt that he might have already made some guesses about her origins.
"Don't look at me like that, it'll make me sad."
Kenji Hagiwara said he was sad, but his face showed no sign of disappointment.
"It's not a big deal. When my older sister came to stay with me last time, she told me that the air conditioner was broken and the heating function wasn't very effective, only lasting for three or four hours at most. I was thinking of keeping the heater on all night tonight and checking if the air conditioner was still heating when I got up tomorrow morning."
The unexpected request made Raikawa Yomi's eyes widen. After a long while, she managed to squeeze out a sound full of disbelief: "Huh?"
"If I come back to stay here, I'll have to submit a report for staying out overnight, which is such a hassle."
Kenji Hagiwara fiddled with his hands, looking annoyed by the hassle: "The thought of having to write a report and get it signed by my boss just gives me a headache."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan frowned, her face full of suspicion. She stared intently at Hagiwara Kenji, trying to find a flaw in his expression.
But Hagiwara just chuckled, his face remaining calm.
The phone rang suddenly. When Kenji Hagiwara answered, Jinpei Matsuda's impatient voice came through the receiver, echoing in the empty and silent corridor: "Hey Hagiwara, where did you go to buy beer?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry, the convenience store across from the dormitory building was out of beer, so I went to a place a little further away to buy some."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan looked down and saw that Hagiwara Ken was indeed still carrying that bag of iced beer.
"That's taking too long. I've already bought some late-night snacks."
"I ran into an acquaintance on the way back and chatted for a while."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan, who had been standing silently opposite him since earlier, raised an eyebrow, seemingly asking with his eyes, "Who is someone you know?"
After hanging up Matsuda Jinpei's call in a few words, Hagiwara Kenji looked at Yomi Yorikawa again: "I'm leaving now. I'll come find you again at 10 a.m. tomorrow. Anyway, I'll leave the air conditioner to you."
Yomi Lai squinted and stared at Hagiwara for a while before nodding in agreement.
"Then I'm off. Sweet dreams, Miss Soft Bread."
"I wanted to ask this in the park: what the heck is 'Miss Soft Bread'?"
"Being knocked unconscious by you with a soft bread roll is such an unforgettable experience, I probably won't have to go through it again in my life. I didn't know your name back then, so I just called you that. If you don't like it, Miss Knockout?"
Lai Chuan Huang Quan rolled his eyes: "Say my name properly."
"Yes, yes, goodnight, Miss Raikawa."
The door closed slowly, and the sound of footsteps receding into the distance could be heard outside.
The L-shaped bookshelf on the wall holds several books on mechanics and police work, which are filled with dense annotations and notes.
There were a few Hagiwara shirts hanging in the closet, and the soft white cotton quilt still smelled of being baked in the sun. The spotless room hadn't even accumulated any dust.
Lai Chuan Huang Quan hugged the pillow to his chest and crawled into bed.
She glanced at the bedside table, where a suspense novel, only a third of which had been read, sat, with a leaf bookmark tucked inside, half of its dried veins showing.
He couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Saying no one lives here, do they think I'm stupid?"
The air conditioner thing was definitely a lie; I made up that excuse so she wouldn't feel embarrassed.
Burying his head in the pillow, Lai Chuan Huang Quan mumbled, "I won't catch a cold, who asked you to be so presumptuous..."
The room fell into a long silence, broken only by the low hum of the air conditioner running.
Time passed slowly, and after a long while, Lai Chuan Huang Quan suddenly sat up in bed. She picked up the crumpled long coat piled on the table, her ears red and her face full of awkwardness.
"I'll... reluctantly iron your trench coat for you!"
The next morning, Yomi Yomi got out of bed very early.
The ironed trench coat was neatly folded on the table. After smoothing out the sheets and folding the blankets, Lai Chuan Huang Quan opened the door a crack, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then tiptoed out of the room.
She doesn't want to wait for Hagiwara.
What a joke! Kenji Hagiwara has definitely started to doubt her identity as a resident of another world, otherwise he wouldn't have asked such a seemingly stupid question as whether she knows how to use an electric water heater.
As soon as he turned the corner of the stairwell, Lai Chuan Huang Quan was met with a pair of purple eyes.
Kenji Hagiwara raised an eyebrow at Yomi Yorikawa, then smiled and stubbed out his cigarette, shaking it twice to dispel the smell before smilingly moving closer to Yomi Yorikawa.
"Good morning, Ms. Raikawa."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan's lips twitched twice as she looked up at the man approaching her. This guy said he'd be here at ten, but it's only eight now.
Kenji Hagiwara was already tall; even standing on a step shorter than Yomi Yorikawa, he was still much taller.
He smiled, his droopy eyes crinkling like summer sunlight streaming through a window: "Are you hungry? I'll take you to get breakfast."
What are you doing here?
"Because I guessed you might leave beforehand."
Lai Chuan Huang Quan resisted the urge to roll her eyes and let out a long sigh. She took Hagiwara Kenji's hand, put the room key in his palm, and walked past him downstairs without looking back.
Although she was grateful for Hagiwara's kindness and gentleness, Yomi Yorikawa didn't want to waste any more time on a mission that had already been accomplished, since the relief efforts for him were over.
Being completely ignored didn't bother Kenji Hagiwara. He simply put his hand behind his head and followed Yomi Yorikawa.
Kenji Hagiwara followed Yomi Laichuan without saying a word. She walked, he walked; she stopped, he stopped, just like a stinky man who could only obediently follow behind his girlfriend after she got angry and wait for her to calm down.
"Why aren't you at work yet? It's not good to skip work, officer."
"Don't worry about that, I'm off today~"
"..."
After failing to shoo the person away for the fourth time, Lai Chuan Huang Quan remained silent for a moment, then felt an urge to hit someone. When she saw a pastry shop on the street, her eyes lit up, and she decisively turned inside.
Kenji Hagiwara watched as Yomi Yorikawa made no hesitation, and then stopped in his tracks. He pursed his thin lips, and some unpleasant memories surged in his mind.
Half a minute later, Lai Chuan Huang Quan, having shaken off her gloomy mood, pushed open the door of the pastry shop. She was carrying four or five baguettes, her eyes sparkling, and her face beaming with joy.
"Hey, second-year graduate student police officer, wanna have some bread?"
She held up a long loaf of bread and approached Kenji Hagiwara, smiling smugly, her words carrying a hidden meaning.
After a moment of silence, Kenji Hagiwara raised an eyebrow and looked at Yomi Laichuan with a mixture of helplessness and amusement, saying, "Miss Soft Bread, you're just like a little kid."
She actually tried to annoy him in such a childish way.
And that smug little expression on its face—it was definitely a Pomeranian swaggering around in front of a big dog, thinking it was super fierce.
Seeing that his plan had failed, Yomi Laichuan pouted and was about to shout out his skill.
"Complete……"
However, before she could even utter the first word, Kenji Hagiwara quickly covered her mouth.
A large, dry hand pressed against Lai Chuan Huang Quan's lips, silencing her. The unfinished words turned into a warm breath that brushed against Hagiwara Kenji's palm, spreading outwards along the lines of his hand—wet, hot, and itchy.
When Yomi Laichuan opened and closed her lips, her lips would occasionally brush against Hagiwara's palm; they were very soft.
It was as if committing a crime, as I touched and pinched the pure white, soft flower with my fingers.
His Adam's apple bobbed back and forth, and Kenji Hagiwara's thoughts were momentarily thrown into disarray.
He suppressed the wild thoughts swirling in his mind, raised an eyebrow at Yomi Laichuan, and gave a smug smile: "Hmph, do you think I'd let you use this move again?"
Before he could even feel smug, the next second, Yomi Raikawa grabbed him by the collar with one hand and shoved him against the wall a few steps away. The impact of his back against the wall made a dull thud, and his dark blue shirt was smeared with white plaster dust.
Yomi Laichuan held the bread wrapped in brown paper in one hand and grabbed Hagiwara's collar with the other.
Imitating the provocative and coercive gestures often used by gangsters in movies and TV dramas, Lai Chuan Huang Quan pressed his body against Hagiwara Kenji, tilted his head back with a smug look on his face: "All flaws, you bastard officer."
With a smirk playing on his lips, Kenji Hagiwara looked down at the smug woman grinning at him, barely suppressing his laughter.
In movies and TV dramas, the premise for villains to pin weak characters against the wall and coerce and oppress them is that the villains are tall enough to create a sense of oppression by using the height difference, and then make the other party uncomfortable by invading their personal space.
There was indeed a significant height difference between Yomi Lai and Kenji Hagiwara, but the taller one ended up being pinned against the wall, which looked rather comical. The distance between them didn't make Hagiwara uncomfortable; instead, he found the woman in front of him endearingly silly.
"Pfft, hahahaha."
As Hagiwara Kenji lowered his head and chuckled, his chest vibrated incessantly, making Yomi Rikawa, who was pressing against his chest and rising and falling with his breath, look even more like a harmless little Pomeranian.
His violet eyes were veiled with mist as he smiled happily, which infuriated Lai Chuan Huang Quan.
"You bastard, stop laughing! What's so funny!"
They were completely unaware that their threat was utterly ineffective.
However, before Kenji Hagiwara could speak again, a dull thud was heard a few steps away as something fell to the ground.
The two men who were shoving each other against the wall turned around and saw a man in a dark suit staring wide-eyed with his mouth agape, a cell phone lying at his feet that was on a call.
His gaze swept back and forth between Kenji Hagiwara and Yomi Raikawa, who was pinning Hagiwara against the wall, before he suddenly stood up straight and bowed deeply to Hagiwara: "Excuse me, Captain, please continue. I didn't see anything."
The next second, the man slipped away, picked up his phone, and dashed off towards the Metropolitan Police Department.
Kenji Hagiwara's smile froze, his expression stiff as he watched his teammates run away until they disappeared from sight.
"..."
When Kenji Hagiwara looked back at Yomi Yomi once more, his eyes were filled with sorrow.
That's it, this time it's even harder to clear my name.
It's all your fault, Miss Soft Bread.
[Author's Note]
According to Baidu data, the height of each step in a residential building is about 15cm. Hagiwara's height in the police academy group is close to that of the squad leader, and he is half a head taller than Zero and the others. Assuming Hagiwara is 189cm and Yomi is between 160-170cm, then even if Hagiwara stands on a step shorter than Yomi, he would still be taller than Yomi.
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