Chapter 16

"This... lady," Amamiya Leisheng said weakly, "could you please stop staring at me?"

He sat behind Tsushima Shuji, curled up with his legs curled up, and held Tsushima Shuji tightly with his hands from behind, holding him in his arms. It was hard to tell whether he was hiding behind the child or protecting him.

The woman sitting opposite them had already tidied her hair, and tied it into a loose low ponytail behind her head. She had a haggard face and looked very thin. Her eyes were a little cloudy when she looked at Amamiya Reisei, but she was unexpectedly calm, not as crazy as the rumors said.

Amamiya Keisei wasn't sure whether the other party was not in the sick period or not sick at all, so he could only look at her vigilantly.

The woman did as she was told and looked away, looking down at the table in front of them.

"Sir," Tsushima Shuji said in a low voice, "I think it would be better for us to call the police?"

It seems that something is wrong with this family. It is not known whether the son is real or fake, and the mother is suspected to be not crazy. This matter can be traced back to ten years ago, when Tsushima Shuji was still a newborn kid who knew nothing and was troublesome at first glance.

They are just here for tourism and will be leaving tomorrow night, so why add to the trouble?

"Hmm..." Amemiya wrinkled his nose. "Why don't we just listen? I don't think she's mentally ill."

Tsushima Shuji silently shrank back, forcing Amamiya Ruisei to move back a little, away from the woman in front of him.

The woman didn't mind. She bowed slightly to them and said, "Thank you very much. Don't worry, I won't bother you too much. I just want to ask you to do a small thing for me. It's very small... I will pay you."

Amamiya Keizo and Tsushima Shuji looked at each other and said, "If that's the case, why are you looking for us?" It's the same if you look for the police, right?

“Because only you can do it,” the woman said softly, “and I don’t want to be discovered by the guy pretending to be my son.”

She looked at Tsushima Shuji and said, "You are the young master of the Tsushima family, right? I think if I find you, I can hide it well."

Tsushima Shuji pursed his lips: "How do you know me? And how can you be sure that I will help you?"

"My name is Masada Yoshiko," the woman began. "Before I married here, I was friends with Kukiko. I've kept in touch with her over the years, and she mentioned you to me, so I know you."

The boy held onto Amamiya Reishi's hand tightly, and asked in a tense tone, "Kukiko?"

"Yes." Masada Ryoko nodded, but she didn't say much. Instead, she said, "Can you listen to my story first?"

Tsushima Shuji's thoughts were a little confused: "... Tell me, what do you want to do?"

"My husband was a researcher in a laboratory," the woman said slowly. "Not long after my son was born, more than 20 years ago, he died unexpectedly. But I know it wasn't an accident."

"He was killed because he knew something he shouldn't have known and got something that could threaten a lot of people."

Masada Yoshiko said: "He handed the item to me and I kept it for more than 20 years. Ten years ago, the news was accidentally leaked and my son died just like my husband."

Her expression was calm, but her extreme calmness was like madness: "Someone pretended to be my son and tried to pry the whereabouts of that thing out of me, but I hid it very well and they didn't find out at all. They have been dealing with me for ten years but couldn't do anything to me."

"Their patience has run out. If they can't get it, then let no one else get it either," she sneered. "I'm not sick to begin with, but I've taken too many psychiatric drugs over the years. Even if I wasn't sick, I would have gotten sick. Recently, they changed my medication, and I feel like my body is getting weaker and weaker, and I'm going to die soon."

"As soon as I die, this secret will go into the coffin."

"I want to ask you to give this thing to Kukiko," Masada Yoshiko lowered her eyelids. She looked a dozen years older than Kukiko, but perhaps because of her poor physical and mental condition, she looked particularly old. "Only you can do this."

No wonder they say only they can do it.

only……

Amamiya Raizo asked, "Our presence here is a coincidence. Do you think you have to die with this secret because you have never met anyone related to Kukiko?"

"I don't know," Masada Yoshiko shook her head in confusion. "The day before yesterday, Hisako contacted me and said that you would definitely come today. She asked me to find a chance to meet you, give you the things, and then bring them to her."

Amemiya Reizo was a little tired of thinking. He was able to bring Tsushima Shuji out here to play because of the arrangement made by the head of the Tsushima family. Why did Hisako know about this in advance? Did she reach some agreement with the head of the Tsushima family?

Was the kidnapping yesterday a staged act? Was it just so they could come here and get the item in Masada Yoshiko's hand? This item should not be given to Kukiko, but the one who actually got it was the head of the Tsushima family, but why did they go through all the trouble? Couldn't they just send someone here to get it?

Amemiya Ruisheng couldn't figure it out, and his head was aching from thinking about it. He was not very good at thinking about these things. After all, he had never really participated in the intrigues between adults. He could only come into contact with these things through some books and plays.

"Really..." Tsushima Shuji lowered his head in disappointment after hearing this, "I understand."

What did you understand? Amamiya Reizo wanted to ask, he hadn’t figured it out yet!

"Father wanted to make me a target."

Tsushima Shuji pursed his lips, his voice trembling a little: "This thing doesn't have to be brought to Hisako, nor does it necessarily end up in my father's hands. As long as I hold it, I am a bait to lure out the enemy."

Simply taking the thing is not enough. He must first go through a kidnapping, dragging in another person, and letting the enemy's eyes fall on him. Only in this way can they find out that he has the thing. He must tell the enemy conspicuously and directly that the thing is with him.

Amamiya Reizo: “So…”

"So even if you hadn't asked my father if he could take me out for a walk, I think he would have found a way to trick me out and bring me here." Tsushima Shuji clenched his hands and took several deep breaths, but he couldn't slow down.

His father used him, and even Hisako seemed to be using him, as if his existence was just for those adults to achieve their own goals and he was a chess piece that could be discarded at will.

The boy's hands and feet felt cold, his breathing became increasingly rapid, and he felt dizzy and about to pass out.

"Shuji-kun?" Amamiya Rei noticed his abnormality and held his hand in panic, supporting him from behind. "What's wrong with you?"

"gentlemen……"

Tsushima Shuji's mind is very confused. If he grew up just to become a chess piece, then what role does Amamiya Teisei, who was invited by his father to teach him, play in this?

He held Amamiya Reisei's wrist weakly and asked firmly, "Sir, who are you...?"