Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Mansion in the Rain (End)
The black shadow wandered in the corridor for a few steps, and walked towards a room without hesitation. I don’t know whether the owner of the room forgot to lock the door or the black shadow had a key, but the door opened quickly.
The black shadow walked into the room, skillfully found the position of the bed, suddenly raised something, and plunged hard into the bulge of the bedding.
The completely wrong feeling made the black shadow stunned for a moment, and he suddenly pulled back the quilt.
"Click."
After the crisp sound of the button, the lights came on instantly.
"You don't have to look for him. Mr. Nojima is not here. I asked Mr. Maori to move him to the empty room next door while you weren't paying attention."
"who?!"
The black shadow turned around suddenly. Because of the sudden strong light exposure, she squinted her eyes habitually, and her face looked a little hideous, but her identity could still be clearly seen.
Standing next to the light switch by the door, Saionji Tamon looked as if she knew it, and called out the other person's name, "Ms. Yamanaka."
Behind her stood Kogoro Mori, Yu Kato and others with different expressions.
Kato Yuu looked past Yuyin and stared at Yamanaka Yukiko in the room with an expression of disbelief: "Yukiko, how could this be possible?"
Seeing her lover, Yamanaka Yukiko showed a trace of sadness on her face: "You saw it, Ayou..."
She quickly regained her resolute expression, pulled out her knife, and snarled at him fiercely, "Don't put on that fake expression. You're a liar and a murderer! You're just like Nojima Kei and Mizuta Mizuki—you're the ones who killed my sister!"
Kato Yu seemed to have received a great shock and took a step back suddenly: "You, you know everything?"
"Yes, I know everything about what happened ten years ago, the truth that you tried so hard to hide. You didn't expect that, did you?" Yamanaka Yukiko said self-deprecatingly.
Ten years ago, the Yamanaka sisters were high school students at the nearby Furuuchi School. Hinako was the older sister, and Yukiko was the younger. Hinako was very beautiful, lively, and popular, while Yukiko was ordinary-looking and shy, looking inconspicuous in comparison to her sister.
However, even so, the relationship between the two sisters is very good. In order to take care of her introverted sister, the elder sister Hinako even gave up the popular drama club that invited her repeatedly, and chose to join a very niche literary film research club with her sister.
Kouai High School wasn't crowded. Besides the sisters, the only other members of the research club at the time were Kato Yu, Nojima Kei, and Mizuta Mizuki. They quickly bonded. As the name suggested, the club's main activities involved watching art films, conducting discussions, and writing film reports. Kato Yu offered up a separate room in his home for them to watch art film tapes.
This was originally Yukiko Yamanaka's best memory of her student days.
If that accident hadn't happened.
At the last club gathering of the first semester of her senior year, her sister Hinako accidentally fell to her death due to an aging railing.
Yukiko didn't even get to see her sister for the last time. Before the club activities started, she caught a cold and had a fever and was unable to attend the party. Her sister had planned to stay and take care of her, but Yukiko didn't want her sister to have any regrets, so she tried her best to persuade her to go, and that's why her sister left.
If she had known earlier, if she had known earlier... she would definitely have kept her sister!
Yukiko suffered a severe blow from this incident and even took a half-year leave of absence from school to recuperate. Later, she was admitted to a university in another place and left the sad place where her sister passed away.
Shortly after graduating from university, she met Kato Yu by chance. Because of their past friendship, the two gradually became close. Later, Kato Yu confessed to her, and the two naturally got together.
This return trip to their hometown can be said to be the time for the two to formally meet their parents and prepare for their marriage.
If Yukiko had not happened to meet the drunk Nojima and Mizuta and heard their drunken conversation.
It turns out that Nojima murdered her sister, and Mizuta was his accomplice!
The reason why the elder sister ran to the terrace where she fell that day was because she was rejected when she confessed her love to Kato Yu, but Yu never told her these things.
"So, all of you, including me," Yamanaka Yukiko excitedly waved the knife and then put it to her neck, "you should all pay for your sister's life. You all deserve to die!"
"Yukiko, no!"
Kato Yu stretched out his hand and shouted.
"Don't come over!" Yukiko Yamanaka stabbed the tip of the knife in her neck, slowly backed away, came to the window, pushed the window open with one hand, and leaned her lower back against the windowsill.
"I originally wanted to poison the food, kill Nojima, Mizuta, and... you, and then commit suicide. But unfortunately, Mr. Mori and the others showed up," Yamanaka Yukiko said self-deprecatingly. "I couldn't harm anyone who had nothing to do with me... Then I changed my mind and planned to kill Nojima first and put the blame on Mizuta, so that he would have no way to defend himself. Now I can't even do that for my sister..."
Damn it, it had to be at this time that the doctor took the watch to upgrade, otherwise he could have used an anesthetic needle... If he had used a football, kicking it at this angle might have directly caused Miss Yamanaka to fall from the building.
Conan, who was also standing at the door, clenched his hands and was extremely anxious. He thought of the piano sound on Moonlight Island again. Could it be that his negligence would cause someone to die again this time?
"At least," Yamanaka Yukiko said sadly, "let me choose the same way of death as my sister to meet her."
She closed her eyes, a tear fell from the corner of her eyes, and her body slowly leaned back.
Sister, I'm here to see you.
"You're wrong."
elder sister……?
Yukiko Yamanaka suddenly opened her eyes and looked forward, only to find that the person who spoke was Saionji Tamon.
But this is clearly my sister's voice...
Saionji Yuyin took a few steps forward. Strangely, her voice was completely different now. "Yukiko, you misunderstood. No one killed me. It was just an accident."
"Impossible!" Yamanaka Yukiko's emotions suddenly became agitated when she mentioned this matter. "I heard it with my own ears. Nojima Kei said he killed you. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't have fallen from the building. And Mizuta, he asked Nojima to forget about it and not mention it again. He also said he wouldn't tell anyone else. Isn't this protecting a murderer?"
"Xiyuanji Yuyin" sighed: "No one hurt me. I have never lied to you, right Yukiko?"
"Liar, liar!" Yamanaka Yukiko yelled, "You promised me that when I got better, you would come back and share a secret with me. You never came back, liar!"
Conan looked in shock at Saionji Tamon, whose voice, expression, and even small movements such as pace had completely changed.
He soon thought of voice changing and disguise. Although he looked left and right and couldn't find where Miss Saionji hid the voice changer, thinking about Kaito Kid, it seemed possible that he could change his voice anytime and anywhere.
Perhaps Yamanaka Yukiko's brain waves suddenly synchronized with Conan's. She shook her head and said, "No, you are not my sister. Don't try to pretend to be my sister's voice to deceive me."
"Yukiko, don't you even recognize me, your sister?" "Saionji Tamon" showed a lonely expression. "I still remember when we were little, Yukiko, you loved eating ice cream, but mother didn't allow us to eat too much, so I gave you my ice cream and secretly used my pocket money to buy a few more. As a result, we both had stomach upsets. When mother found out, she was angry and amused. Another time, Yukiko, you picked up a kitten and wanted to keep it, but unfortunately, your father was allergic to cat hair, so he had to give the kitten away. You were depressed for several days, so I specially made a cat doll to comfort you, and you finally smiled..."
She was talking about interesting things that happened when the two sisters were little. The more she listened, the more shocked she became. Finally, her hand loosened, the knife fell to the ground, and she rushed forward and threw herself into Yuyin's arms, "Sister!"
Ran Mouri hugged her arms and felt a little cold. She was most afraid of such supernatural things. Looking at the reactions of Mr. Saionji and Miss Yamanaka, could it be that Mr. Saionji was really possessed by Miss Yamanaka's sister?
She whispered to her father beside her: "Dad, how does Saionji-san know all this? Could it be, could it be that... there really are ghosts in this world?"
"How is that possible?" Conan scoffed at the idea of ghosts. He believed that all unreasonable things could be explained by science. "It must have been someone who knew the situation who told Miss Saionji, such as Mr. Kato."
Kato Yu was stunned when he was suddenly cueed, and quickly shook his head and said: "No, I don't know anything about what she said, and Yukiko never told me." Then he continued to stare at his lover, fearing that something might happen to Yamanaka Yukiko again.
"Uh," Conan was choked by Kato Yu's answer. He said that because he knew Xiaolan was afraid of ghosts. This would make Xiaolan even more scared. "It may not be Mr. Kato, maybe it's someone else who knows those things..."
"Emmm," Maori Kogoro stroked his chin and pondered, "When Miss Saionji asked me for help before, she said that this was also a commission she received from someone else. Perhaps it was told to her by the client we don't know."
Conan nodded continuously: "That's it, Xiaolan, don't think too much."
Natsume Takashi just walked to the door. He had been ensuring the safety of Kei Nojima and Mizuta Mizuki. When he heard what Maori Kogoro said, he blinked and thought, it was indeed the client who told Miss Saionji. Isn't the client Miss Yamanaka Hinako?
Here, several people were discussing in low voices.
On the other side, "Sister, sister..." Yukiko threw herself into "Yuyin"'s arms, as if she wanted to vent all the emotions that had been pent up for a long time, and kept calling her sister.
Yuyin hugged the crying Yamanaka Yukiko, patted her back gently, and coaxed her: "Good Yukiko, don't cry, or you'll turn into a little cat."
After a long while, Yukiko finally recovered from her out-of-control emotions. Wiping away her tears, she asked, "Sister, you said it's not what I thought. What happened back then?"
"Yune" smiled and reached out to touch her head. Yukiko suddenly felt that she saw her sister's appearance in this unfamiliar face. She wiped her eyes with her hands. She was not mistaken!
"Actually, it's half true," Yuyin sighed. "Before I left that day, I told you I'd come back to share a joy with you. That was true, because I had planned to confess my feelings to Kato-kun at that party. From his usual attitude towards me, I thought... he liked me too. I didn't expect..."
Yukiko couldn't help but clutch the corner of her clothes: "...But Kato rejected you."
"Yeah, Kato-kun said he already had someone he liked, and I realized I was in the wrong relationship, so I felt embarrassed," "Yaon" stuck out her tongue, "so I ran away, and Nojima-kun saw me and chased after me to comfort me."
Kato...was it me that Ayou loved back then? Was it me who caused all this? Yukiko couldn't help but wonder.
"Nojima-kun couldn't help but confess his love for me, and I subconsciously rejected him. It was really awkward. Suddenly, I understood how Kato-kun felt when he rejected me," Tamane said, pointing with her finger. "But when I turned to run, I accidentally slipped, and the railing I was leaning on broke, and then..."
Yukiko was extremely surprised: "But, but I heard Nojima say that he was the one who killed you, and Mizuta..."
"It's me! I'm the one who killed Hinako!"
At this time, Mizuta helped Nojima Kei, who had just drunk the hangover soup and whose eyes were bloodshot, into the room. When he heard Yamanaka Yukiko's words, his expression was even more intense than hers: "If it weren't for my confession, if I hadn't held Hinako's hand, Hinako would definitely not have been in trouble!"
"Nojima-kun."
Yuyin patted Yukiko, let go of her, stood up, looked back at him, and smiled faintly, "Thank you for liking me, but after so many years, my death is just an accident. Please let yourself go and pursue new happiness."
"Hinako..." Nojima Kei seemed to see the girl from ten years ago. She was like the bright sunshine, illuminating his life. He couldn't help but burst into tears. "If this is your request, well... I promise you."
"And Kato-kun," Yuyin looked at Kato Yu again, smoothing her hair. "So it was Yukiko you liked, why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had told me clearly then, I would have dragged you home and forced you to confess, not to mention the sadness of confessing. Instead, you wasted so many years, and I only found out after you returned to this house that you were finally together after all these years."
Kato Yu opened his mouth, but in the end it only turned into three words: "...I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It's not your fault. I shouldn't have run around." Yuyin smiled. "I remember when we started our freshman year activities, you warned us that this Western-style house was too old and told us to stay away from the windows and railings to avoid accidents. I forgot in my haste that day."
"And Yukiko, you are the one I'm most worried about."
Yuyin pulled Yukiko up and wiped her face with a handkerchief. "You always get stuck in a rut, just like this misunderstanding. If you had asked Kato-kun, Nojima-kun, and the others directly, you would have known the truth. You also always blame yourself for the mistakes. It's not your fault that Kato-kun likes you, it's not your fault that he rejected my confession, and it's definitely not your fault that you persuaded me to participate in club activities."
She laughed softly.
"A passing ghost told me that people are reluctant to die because they still have attachments in their hearts. My obsession is worrying about you, Yukiko. I promised you that I would come back. I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise, and I know you will definitely blame yourself for my death. When I thought of this, I was completely worried. When I came to my senses, I was trapped in this old Western-style house, waiting for the day we would meet again."
She held Yukiko's hands and pleaded, "Promise me, Yukiko, to live happily. Only in this way can I leave without any regrets."
"...Okay," Yukiko choked out, "I promise you."
"That's great, now I can rest assured..."
Suddenly, a strong light burst out from the location where "Yuyin" was.
"What's going on?!" Conan covered his eyes with his hands to block the strong light, wondering if such a thing really existed? This is unscientific!
In the bright light, only Yamanaka Yukiko, who had a talisman stuffed into her hand without her knowledge, and Natsume and Madara, who were standing by the door, could see the translucent figure of Yamanaka Hinako floating behind Saionji Gyomon.
She smiled at Yukiko and a word drifted into her ear.
"You must be happy, Yukiko..."
After the bright light faded, everything in the room returned to normal. Only Saionji Tamon, standing in the middle of the room, looked around with a puzzled look on her face. "What happened? Wasn't I by the door just now?"
She saw Yukiko beside her and quickly said, "Ms. Yukiko, don't do anything stupid!"
Yamanaka Yukiko came back to her senses, wiped her tears and smiled, "No, I promised my sister."
"Sister?" Yuyin tilted her head, confused, "Miss Yamanaka, what are you talking about?"
Conan staggered: Hey, hey! No way, Miss Saionji's reaction, is there really...
This is unscientific!
*
"Everyone, come to breakfast!"
After a long period of hard work in the early morning, everyone got up quite late. As soon as they entered the restaurant, they were greeted by Yukiko Yamanaka's sincere and gentle smile.
At the dinner table, Kato Yu said to Maori Kogoro, who was involved in the case as a detective, "Yukiko and I have decided. After dinner, I will accompany her to the police station to surrender. Although her plan was stopped by you, Mr. Maori and Ms. Saionji, before it could be carried out, the fact that she once had the intention to kill cannot be changed."
Upon hearing this, Kei Nojima slammed the table and shouted, "I disagree! Kato, you bastard, Yukiko is Hinako's sister, are you going to watch her go to jail? I... the person involved hasn't said anything yet, what are you trying to say!"
"Mr. Nojima, Mr. Kato is right," said Maori Kogoro, lazily adjusting his bow tie. "Although the crime was aborted before it could be carried out, Miss Yamanaka did prepare those things and premeditated the murder."
"But..." Nojima Kei was extremely excited. "As long as you don't say anything and we don't say anything, who would know about this? Can't we just pretend it doesn't exist?"
Kato Yu said seriously: "This is a joint decision between Yukiko and me, but no matter what, I will be with Yukiko." Then he softened his voice and said, "When this matter is over, we will get married."
Suddenly, a small card spun in an arc and jumped into Kato Yu's arms.
Kato Yu took the card and asked in confusion, "Mr. Maori?"
Maori Kogoro tutted his words, tilted his head, and said, "I hate to admit it, but that woman's litigation skills are probably the best in this country. If Miss Yamanaka is prosecuted, with her as a defense lawyer, and the testimony of the original victim, Mr. Nojima, there's a high chance that Miss Yamanaka will be found not guilty."
Kato Yu looked down at the small card, which turned out to be a business card with the name "Hiki Eri" and a contact number written on it.
He was surprised and said, "Is this the lawyer, Eri Kisaki, who is known as the undefeated queen of the legal world?!"
"Tsk, it's her." Kogoro Mouri said awkwardly.
Seeing that her father carried her mother's business card with him, Mao Lilan couldn't help but smile.
At this time, Saionji Tamon finally came to the living room, pulled out a chair and sat next to Mouri Ran.
Thinking about what happened last night, although she was still afraid of ghosts and gods, Mao Lilan still smiled and said to Yuyin: "Saionji-san is worthy of being a shrine maiden. She can even let Miss Yamanaka's sister possess her. It's great. If it weren't for this, this misunderstanding would not be easily resolved."
Yuyin yawned. Fortunately, she didn't have to go to school today, Saturday. After hearing what Mao Lilan said, she stopped cutting the breakfast bread, covered her mouth with her hand, and whispered to Mao Lilan: "Xiaolan, I'll tell you a secret."
When Conan, who was sitting next to Ran Mouri, heard the word "secret", he immediately pricked up his ears.
"What happened yesterday was just my acting. There was no such thing as Miss Yamanaka's sister possessing a spirit."
"What?!" Ran Mouri covered her mouth in surprise.
"I acted it out based on the information I got. I threw a flash bomb at the end and pretended to be back to normal to create a contrast."
Yuyin winked happily at Mao Lilan and boasted: "Well, my acting is very good, right? I guess you all got fooled by me, haha."
Conan frowned. This explanation made sense, but all the mysteries pointed to the source of the information. Where did Miss Saionji get the truth of the past and know about Miss Yamanaka's plan to kill and commit suicide? This didn't make sense!
Mao Lilan blinked, then suddenly realized and said happily: "So, there are no ghosts in this world!"
"Shh!" Yuyin signaled to her, "Be quiet, don't let Miss Yamanaka hear you."
Mao Lilan quickly covered her mouth with both hands and nodded repeatedly to show that she understood.
Miss Yamanaka's new hope in life is based on her sister's wish. If she knew that all this was staged by Mr. Saionji, she would definitely be very sad.
Opposite the two of them, Natsume was eating breakfast silently with his usual indifferent expression.
Miss Saionji is really good at lying. Last night, she had Miss Hinako guiding her and showing her what to say and what expressions to make, but all of this was only seen by him and Mr. Cat, who can see ghosts. That scene actually looked... very funny.
However, he had originally intended to let Miss Hinako possess him, but unfortunately Miss Hinako was too weak. She would be easily hurt if she possessed the body of Mr. Saionji, who had powerful spiritual power. She was embarrassed to possess him, so he had to settle for the second best and let Mr. Saionji act.
Speaking of which, Saionji-san was truly kind and thoughtful, just like always. During their handshake, he slipped the talisman that could reveal ghosts into Yukiko's hand, allowing her to see Hinako herself at the last moment. That's why Yukiko finally believed it.
He also thought about the whole thing very carefully, even thinking of the lines to cover up things like "ghost possession". This way, Miss Maori and the others will no longer be suspicious, unlike himself, who is easily exposed in front of others every time.
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The author has something to say: Let’s keep the values of a primary school student for now^_^
*Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2021-11-15 23:59:04 and 2021-11-16 23:59:25~
Thanks to the little angel who cast the mine: 1 sure win;
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: Egotistic 50 bottles; Turtle Fungus 20 bottles; Qiyue 15 bottles; Shiba Inu Xiaoer 3 bottles; Dandelion's Solo Dance ing 2 bottles;
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