Chapter 59: The Bandaged Man
The Shinkansen cannot stop for too long, so the vehicle quickly restarted.
Jiang Xia and his three classmates returned to their original seats. The atmosphere became much quieter than before.
…
Suzuki Sonoko was also commemorating the martyrs.
But after a while, she looked at the sad Mao Li Ran, and then looked at Jiang Xia, who had done nothing but seemed suddenly very tired, as if he was using sleepiness to cover up his sadness... and suddenly realized that something was not good.
…I heard that emotions are contagious.
We must not let Jiang Xia stay in this sad atmosphere!
Suzuki Sonoko then cheered up and started to recommend her sister's villa to Jiang Xia, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
She thought that even though she had encountered a murder case again, it didn't matter, as she still had the villa in the woods to help her recover.
The scenery there is beautiful, and there is no signal - that is to say, after you get there, you can no longer play with your mobile phone, and you can only communicate with people traveling with you. It is a good place for a young man to fall in love... ahem, it is a good place to promote the in-depth development of friendship and replace the position of that bastard doctor in Jiang Xia's heart!
…
Two hours later.
The group of four crossed the mountains and arrived near the Suzuki family's villa.
Suzuki Sonoko was very happy when she saw the villa on the other side of the mountain stream from afar across the suspension bridge - this meant that they had finally reached their destination and could drop off their luggage and have a good rest.
However, as she was about to cross the bridge, she was slightly startled.
——There was actually someone on the old suspension bridge that was more than ten meters long.
The man was wearing a black robe and a hood, and was walking towards the villa across the suspension bridge with his back to them.
Suzuki Sonoko guessed that this was her sister's friend, so she greeted the person in front of her enthusiastically in the whistling mountain wind. She waved and shouted, "Hello——!"
The man in black robe on the bridge turned around when he heard the sound, revealing a face covered with bandages.
"!"
In the dim evening, deep in the mountains and old forests, I suddenly encountered a creature that I didn't know whether it was a human or a ghost...
Suzuki Sonoko was startled and stopped talking. She quickly shrank behind Jiang Xia and trembled to confirm: "Did you see it!?"
Of course Jiang Xia saw it.
Not only did he see it, he also smelled a hint of murderous intent as the mountain breeze blew over.
…
The bandaged man in front did not stop.
He looked back and ran away quickly. He soon crossed the suspension bridge and disappeared into the dark woods near the villa.
Without anyone blocking the way, Jiang Xia planned to cross the bridge safely.
But just as he took a step, his arms tightened and he was pulled back to where he was by two girls who had gained huge strength buffs out of fear.
Suzuki Sonoko stared at the place where the bandaged man disappeared, and asked in a fearful whisper: "That man is going to the villa too? Why is he dressed like that?"
Jiang Xia thought for a moment and said, "It must be because the mountain wind is strong, so I wear a hat and a cape."
As he spoke, he also pulled his hood over his head: "It's a bit cold."
The other three: "..." No, the point is not the hood and cape! It's the face wrapped in bandages!
Conan: "...Are you nearsighted?"
Jiang Xia had been exposed to the mountain breeze for so long, and now he just wanted to move into the warm villa with murderous aura as soon as possible. He nodded perfunctorily: "It seems so."
"..." Suzuki Sonoko and Mao Li Ran were hesitant to speak, wanting to describe to Jiang Xia the suspicious people they saw.
But then he thought again, the bandaged man on the bridge didn't do anything bad. Instead, he ran away quickly after seeing them. Maybe he was just a chuunibyou passing by.
It’s better not to say it out loud and affect Jiang Xia’s mood…
…
The four of them stopped talking about the man in black.
They quickly crossed the suspension bridge and arrived at the door of the villa.
Suzuki Sonoko was about to press the doorbell when there was a sudden rustling sound from the side of the house.
The two girls immediately thought of the scary bandaged man, their hair stood on end, and they screamed "Ah" and shrank behind Jiang Xia skillfully.
Conan was as brave as ever and rushed to the corner.
Jiang Xia also walked closer to take a look at the situation.
Then we discovered that the sound came from a small warehouse on the side.
…
Through the open warehouse door, you can see a young woman standing inside.
The woman had slightly curly hair, a pair of squinty eyes, and her facial features were very similar to Suzuki Sonoko.
Suzuki Sonoko saw the woman's face clearly, breathed a sigh of relief, ran over and hugged her: "Sister!"
Suzuki Ayako greeted her with a smile, and then looked at the others.
She had met Mao Lilan before.
So Suzuki Ayako took a closer look at the unfamiliar Jiang Xia and asked in a friendly manner, "Are you Sonoko's classmate?"
Then she looked at Conan again, "This must be the child living in Xiaolan's house, so cute."
Suzuki Ayako originally wanted to rub Conan's head, but she was sorting firewood and her hands were a little dirty.
So he just nodded at them in the end and said, "Go inside and put down your luggage first. It's very heavy to carry."
…
Although she asked the guests to go in first, since Jiang Xia was already here, it would be inappropriate for him to just sit there and watch the hostess do manual work.
He handed the luggage to Mao Lilan and asked his classmates to help him carry it into the house, while he stayed behind to help stack the firewood.
Mao Lilan and Suzuki Sonoko also wanted to help, but the warehouse was very small and too many people would only cause more trouble, and the amount of firewood to be moved was not much, so in the end, they obediently took their luggage and went into the villa first.
…
But Conan didn't leave.
He symbolically helped to carry a few pieces of firewood that were taller than him, and asked Suzuki Ayako: "Sister Ayako, among the people who came today, is there anyone with a bandage on his face?"
"Bandage?" Suzuki Ayako didn't know what the kid was talking about. She shook her head and said, "No."
Conan asked: "Are there any cosplay enthusiasts? Or people who are very second-rate?"
This villa party was a small class reunion held by Suzuki Ayako, and Suzuki Sonoko was just there to bring some people to stay.
Therefore, Suzuki Ayako should be more familiar with the visitors than her sister.
But even so, they haven't seen each other for several years. Suzuki Ayako didn't know what her classmates were doing now, so she could only give a vague answer: "Maybe."
Conan nodded thoughtfully.
Jiang Xia also nodded, imitating the behavior of a serious detective when hearing a clue.
…
The three of them quickly packed up the warehouse, carried the firewood, and returned to the villa.
As soon as I entered the door, a girl's scream suddenly sounded from the second floor. The tone sounded very familiar.
...This is Ran Maori's voice.
Conan's face changed and he rushed upstairs quickly.
Suzuki Ayako looked at the second floor and tilted her head in confusion, but was not too worried.
Because she felt that this scream contained more shyness than fear...
…
Jiang Xia looked up at the second floor and vaguely guessed the situation.
——This time, among the party members invited by Suzuki Ayako, there were three men.
Just now, they were changing clothes in their respective rooms and forgot to lock the door.
Suzuki Sonoko had her fixed room and moved in without any problems.
Mao Lilan was not doing well.
——She went up to the second floor and entered the room without thinking much and just opened a door.
Just as I was about to go in, I saw a half-naked man changing clothes in the room.
Mao Lilan screamed in shock, apologized, hastily closed the door, and hurriedly opened another one. Unexpectedly, it was a similar scene and a similar naked back.
After opening three doors in a daze and checking all of Suzuki Ayako's male classmates, Mouri Ran finally found an empty guest room and rushed in as if fleeing.
...However, because of what she did, Jiang Xia had an easier time finding a room - everyone locked the door obediently.
(End of this chapter)
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