Chapter 12 Twelve, cold dew

It's only been ten days since I left Tokyo, but the season seems to have changed a lot.The color of the Jingu Forest, which was still gloomy before departure, has faded.The ginkgo trees on both sides of the road leading to the Painting Museum have also begun to lose their leaves.The treetops look even thinner under the overcast sky.Looking at it day by day, it is difficult to feel the change of seasons, but looking at it after ten days, I really feel that autumn has accelerated its pace. On the night of returning to Japan, Iori slept soundly.After waking up at eight o'clock the next morning, he browsed through the newspapers he had accumulated during his absence, and then ate the porridge made by Tomiko.These days, it's not hard to find Japanese food in Europe, but few restaurants serve porridge.It happened that Tomiko cooked the porridge, and Iori felt that he had completely recovered into a Japanese again.

Iori put all the embroidered handkerchiefs for the staff and the handbags for Shengzi into the briefcase, and left the apartment earlier than usual, at ten o'clock in the morning. "Go slowly!" Fuzi happily sent him off.Probably because the owner who had been away for a long time came back, the house was full of vitality, or maybe it was because I was very satisfied with the Chinese tapestry Iori bought for her.Anyway, Tomiko was very happy. Iori drove to the office by himself, and all the staff in the office stood up to welcome him back. "you are back!" Usually, when Iori comes, the staff members are all busy with their work, and they just say "good morning" to each other.Iori always liked this informal and casual approach.But this time, after all, he had been away for ten days, and the staff seemed to have been looking forward to his return for a long time.

"How is everyone?" "yes……" Everyone nodded as if relieved. "This is a gift bought for everyone, it is not a respect. Share it with everyone!" Yizhi handed things over to everyone, looked around again, looked at everyone's faces, and then entered the director's office.I already called Mochizuki yesterday, so I have a general understanding of the situation during the outing.Some urgent items have been seen at the apartment yesterday and instructions have been given. Still, the pile of mail on the desk still looks like a hill.He looked at the email and suddenly remembered that he hadn't seen Shengzi just now.

"What's up with her……" He leaned back in his chair and thought.Sakai came in with tea, and Iori waited for her to put the tea on the table, and asked, "Why isn't Miss Aizawa here?" Sakai replied in a daze, "She seems to have asked for leave." "Are you feeling unwell?" "Not sure, I started resting two days ago." Iori drank tea slowly, and after she went out, he leaned back on the swivel chair and began to think again. He just heard that Shengzi had a rest two days ago.I felt a little strange that I didn't see her pick me up at the airport yesterday.At that time, he just thought that maybe he was busy with work.He also thought that maybe she didn't want to see him come back from a trip with Xia, so he didn't come to pick him up.But he never expected that Shengzi would have rested the day before his return.Since she was resting, the staff who came to pick him up should tell him.However, maybe they don't think it's necessary to say it, or maybe it's hard for them to say it.

In any case, it is rare for Shengzi to rest.She looks fragile, but she is actually very healthy. She catches a cold occasionally and rarely rests. Otherwise, find Mochizuki and find out why she asked for leave... He just came to the office this morning and asked about it, everyone will be puzzled.It doesn't matter if it's another woman, since it's about Sheng Zi, it's not easy for him to talk about it. Just when he was puzzled, Mochizuki came in with the document.There are too many things accumulated during the break, and there is a large bundle of documents.Mochizuki reported it again, and then asked him: "How is Europe?"

"Hey, it's okay!" "It's already cold, isn't it?" "It was very windy in the Netherlands, and it was late autumn in Vienna, and the scenery was beautiful. This trip has plenty of time, but it's easy." "Is there a building worthy of reference?" "If you talk about references, all the buildings in Europe can be used as references. But if you say no, they are really not worth referring to. The architectural concept is completely different from ours." After Iori finished speaking, he asked as if he had just remembered: "Why did Ms. Aizawa ask for leave?"

Mochizuki suddenly looked surprised and said: "Don't you know? She said that she has already talked with the director." When he came back, he neither saw Shengzi nor talked on the phone. "yes……" Seeing Iori nodded nonchalantly, Mochizuki left the office. The interior is filled with afternoon sun, much stronger than in Europe. Needless to say before the trip, during the whole trip, Sheng Zi hadn't contacted him.After he came back last night, he didn't receive a call from Shengzi, and he didn't find anything written by Shengzi when he was dealing with the emails during the outing.However, she said she had been contacted.What's going on here?Is it just word of mouth?Or was the contact delayed due to some circumstances?Although the reason is unknown, things seem to be unusual.

After much deliberation, he decided to call Shengzi's apartment. Called, but no one answered.After ringing six times but no one answered, Iori hung up and dialed again, still no one answered. From the fact that no one answered the phone, it can be concluded that it doesn't look like a cold, maybe it's going out. Iori put down the microphone and continued to smoke. There is a briefcase next to the table, which contains gifts for Shengzi; handbags.When buying handbags, Iori felt a sense of atonement for Shengzi in his heart, trying to relieve the guilt in his heart caused by traveling abroad with other women by buying handbags.

When he went out this morning, he originally planned to hand the bag to Shengzi when he saw her.Of course he couldn't give it to her in front of everyone, but the two spent a lot of time alone.At that time, say "this is a gift for you" and hand it to her, and the unhappiness before departure may disappear. It seems that this idea is too wishful thinking.Could it be that she is still brooding about her trip to Europe with Xia... Iori thinks that her rest may have something to do with it.However, the key person Shengzi was absent, so he could neither ask the reason nor defend himself.

For a whole day, Iori was restless because of this. Since I was away from the office for ten days, there were a lot of visitors in the office, and sometimes I had to discuss work with the staff, and I was so busy that I didn't even sit in the chairs.However, despite being so busy, sometimes I suddenly think of Shengzi. what is she doing nowwhy don't you call... However, in front of the guests, he couldn't show this emotion, he could only pretend to be calm.However, every time when serving tea and reporting the situation to the guests, the person who came in was not Shengzi, and always felt awkward.When Sheng Zi was there, she had a good understanding, but now that it's another woman, everything has to be explained carefully.When the guests should be invited to leave as soon as possible after finishing business, Shengzi can always arrange them to leave cleverly, but now the woman is still offering new tea respectfully, which makes Yizhi feel annoyed and angry.

At dusk, when the work finally came to an end, Yizhi called Shengzi's apartment again, but no one answered. That evening, he made an appointment to have dinner at Tsukiji with the manager of the fiber factory; the manager was a new friend Iori had made since he designed his building.During the whole dinner, he kept thinking about Shengzi.After dinner, he was invited to Ginza, and hung up again at a nightclub near Shimbashi, but Shengzi was still not at home. "What's the matter? Nothing will happen..." After the phone call, Iori was depressed.When the manager asked, he could only answer ambiguously: "Nothing...". Drinking the whiskey and water mixed by the waitress, Iori herself was surprised again.With Sheng Zi not around, he was so depressed.If I knew this earlier, I shouldn't have gone on a trip with Xia.Today's bitter fruit was caused just because two people secretly went on a trip.However, although he blamed himself in this way, after thinking about it again, he felt that this moment, and that moment, he thought that going on a trip with Xia was the most important thing at that time.It is meaningless to say these now. However, when I returned to the office, I found that Shengzi was not there, and everything was not as expected.In other words, he once again realized the essential role of Shengzi in his work. Normally, when leaving Ginza, one would have to go to at least another tavern to continue drinking, but he was restless and tired from the journey, so he had no desire to drink again, and at ten o'clock he parted ways with the manager. He hailed a taxi and headed straight back to the apartment to find a letter on the desk.On weekdays, Tomiko is always responsible for retrieving mail from the mailbox below.When he saw the words on the envelope, he knew in his heart that it was written by Sheng Zi.Iori wanted to see the content as soon as possible, but was afraid to open it, so he took the letter to the living room, sat on the sofa, and then slowly opened it. A piece of Japanese-style note, folded in three, with Shengzi's neat characters written on it. Iori read it twice before putting the letter on the table.It would be a lie to say that this result was not expected at all. But he didn't expect the words to be so decisive, with no room for maneuver.He already felt that the matter was unusual, but he also felt that it could be redeemed, so he really underestimated her. The letter was clearly an ultimatum.While resigning from the firm, she also announced that the relationship between the two people in the past was also cut off. Iori fidgeted, read the letter again, and then lit a cigarette.Although he smoked puff after puff, the content of the letter remained the same.Yizhi read it again, wondering if there was still room for the Shengzi to be retrieved between the lines. The letter began with "Welcome Home".It seemed that before Iori came back, she was determined to do this. The diction is methodical, and every word is carefully considered, and there is no trace of excitement at all.The content of the letter, however, was ruthless.No matter how many times I read it, this is also a notice to announce my farewell to Iori, and at the same time, it also means to take this opportunity to resign from the firm. "I will never forget everything in the past four years." Every time I read this, Iori felt a heart-piercing pain. Yeah, it's been four years.Everything in the past is vivid, as if it just happened. After meeting for the first time, they fell in love with each other and finally shared the same bed.They love each other, but friction keeps breaking out.Since she came to work in the firm, Shengzi has been doing her best to serve him every moment, and both of them firmly believe that they will never be separated.It was this Shengzi who proposed to break up with him now. To be honest, for Iori, this thing still lacks realism.There was a letter in front of him, and he knew it was written by Sheng Zi, but he still didn't want to believe it was true. "why……" Holding the letter in his hand, Iori muttered to himself. In recent months, the relationship with Shengzi has indeed been awkward.Sometimes the reconciliation appears on the surface, but in reality there is mistrust lurking deep inside.The reason was obviously Xayah's intervention.He could deduce that the direct trigger of this breakup was also because he and Xayah traveled to Europe.Sheng Zi was angry, of course.Even so, Iori still couldn't figure it out. "Why make such a fuss..." Yizhi once again looked for room for reconciliation between the lines of the letter.However, the understatement of words and phrases that suppress emotions actually shows Shengzi's resolute determination. The title of the letter only says "Mr. Shoichiro" instead of "Shoichiro Iori".Iori finally finds a glimmer of hope here. Shengzi sent such a letter, where is the person?He looked at the back of the envelope again, it only said "Aizawa Shengzi" without an address.Since she was not in the apartment, she must not be in Tokyo, but it was still impossible to find out based on this alone.He wanted to see the postmark so that he might be able to identify the post office from which the letter had been sent, so he checked carefully, but he could only vaguely see the word "Nagano". Nagano is Shengzi's hometown. From this point of view, it turns out that Shengzi is currently in his hometown... Iori was so excited that she immediately wanted to call Nagano.He hadn't met Shengzi's parents yet, and he had only spoken to her mother once. Her mother gave off the same impression as Shengzi, honest and serious.He remembered her mother's very humble thanks for his usual care for her daughter, which overwhelmed him. Iori didn't know how Shengzi explained the relationship between the two to her mother, but from the phone conversation, she speculated that her mother was a conservative and honest person. He remembered it was New Years.The relationship between the two is like glue, and it is painful to not be able to see each other for a few days during the New Year's holiday, so the two make an appointment to call each other to chat for comfort.Thinking about it now, he even wondered if there was really a time back then. In short, he knew the phone number of her hometown, and as long as he wanted to make a call, he could call right now. However, he was hesitant: Should he call it himself?Or wait for her to contact me? Shengzi will never be anticlimactic, and will always contact him in the future.But the thought of waiting would make him uneasy, and he felt that Mo Ruo would be happy to make a phone call. Iori took out the brandy from the wine cabinet, took a sip as if to cheer himself up, and picked up the microphone. While dialing the number, he convinced himself: "The secretary put down his work and ran away. It's only natural for the boss to look for her!" After a while, a beep sounded, and after holding my breath for a while, the voice of an older woman came out. "Hi, my name is Aizawa." It seemed that it was her mother who answered the phone, Yizhi saluted lightly at the phone, and said her name, "I'm Yizhi..." Her mother greeted politely for a while.Iori asked cautiously, "Is Shengzi at home?" "Shengzi has returned to Tokyo at noon today. Do you have anything to do?" "It's okay. Now that you're back, forget it." Iori bowed his head to the invisible party again as if relieved, and put down the phone. Sheng Zi finally returned to his hometown.Although I didn't talk to her directly, but knowing her whereabouts, I finally felt a little relieved. Now that I'm back in Tokyo, maybe I'll call later. Iori stood up, took off his suit, and changed into pajamas. After returning from a trip abroad, there are many things that need to be done.The design of the newly developed greenbelt in the Tama area had to be considered immediately, and the deadline for manuscripts for architectural journals was fast approaching.In addition, I had to write a thank you letter to Higashino and Kisaki who took care of me during my trip to Europe.But now he was really not in the mood to work, so he lay on the sofa and drank brandy. Maybe it's because I just returned to Japan on the second day, and my brain and body haven't returned to normal yet.He also knew it wasn't jet lag, but he just couldn't concentrate.He had to watch TV, but he was still thinking about Shengzi. It's already eleven o'clock, why hasn't Shengzi called?Shengzi's mother said that she left Nagano at noon and should arrive at five or six o'clock.Even if I took the evening express train, I arrived at half past ten.In addition to the time to go back to the apartment, I should be home before twelve o'clock. Shengzi had never come back so late before.Even when meeting up with friends, it was always around ten o'clock, and I returned to the apartment no later than eleven o'clock at the latest.According to this speculation, she should be back by now. Iori went to the bathroom and opened a bottle of beer.Although the body is exhausted, the mind is clear.After taking a sip of beer and seeing that it was already half past eleven, Iori finally couldn't wait any longer and started calling Shengzi's apartment.Iori waited for a while, but no one answered.The phone rang ten times, but no one answered.He hung up and called again, but still no one answered. "Where did you go..." He was waiting for her so anxiously, why didn't she contact him?Angry at both Shengzi and himself, he drank beer and lay on his back on the sofa.The light was too bright, and he had just closed his eyes when the phone rang.Iori jumped up and couldn't wait to pick up the receiver, only to hear soft voices coming from inside. "Hey, hello..." "you……" Just as Yizhi was about to get angry, he realized that the other party was not Shengzi, so he quickly swallowed his words back.At that time, Yizhi only had Shengzi in his mind, and when the phone rang, he took it for granted that Shengzi was calling, but it was another person who called. "Hey, what's wrong with you..." Although the voice is very soft, but the lowered voice is a bit coquettish.Only then did Yizhi gradually realize that it was Kasumi. "Is it convenient now?" Xia also seemed to be aware of Yizhi's abnormal reaction, she was stunned for a while, and then asked, "Did you go to work today?" Iori nodded, gradually recalling the scene when Kazuya traveled to Europe in his mind.Just came back a day ago, but he felt that was very far away. "Are you tired? Have you recovered yet?" "Hey……" "I can't sleep by myself, I've been drinking whiskey by myself just now." Seemingly drunk, Xayah's voice was cheerful but slightly slurred. "What were you doing just now?" "Nothing..." "Hey, do you want to meet?" Hearing Xia's sudden question, Yi Zhi realized that she had completely forgotten about Xia's affairs all day today. "Didn't you ask me to call you as soon as possible?" After she said it, Iori remembered that he had indeed said so. "you are so bad!" "Bad……" "Yes, it's really bad. Take me on a trip and develop a bad habit. What do you say?" After Xia finished speaking, she sighed softly. "You don't want to talk to me anymore?" Regardless of whether he is good or bad, Iori's mind has not yet fully turned to Xia. "The night after tomorrow, can we meet?" "..." "are you busy?" "No, is it night?" "Can I go to your apartment?" "Hey……" "Then I'll be there then." Xayah paused again. "You are such a fickle lover, you will be punished by this world." Fickle or not is another matter, the words of Xianshibao are true, Iori nodded silently. After Kasumi hung up the phone, Iori drank the rest of the beer in the glass in one gulp.Although it wasn't the long-awaited Shengzi's call just now, after putting down the phone, he felt a little more comfortable. In retrospect, although I only thought about Shengzi all day today, I calmed down and thought carefully, he still had Xia. "Why should I just keep thinking about Shengzi..." While pouring brandy into the glass, Iori resolved it by himself. Sheng Zi did a good job and had a serious attitude, but the more he was like this, the more annoying he became and became a burden.Although the work entrusted to her is completely safe, on the other hand, she is still naive in some places, and she shouts justice and honesty at every turn.From this point of view, Xia is still cheerful and generous.She is not casual, but rather easy-going and generous. "Shengzi's matter, let's leave it at that..." He convinced himself again, drinking brandy.But after drinking a cup of hot wine, I miss Shengzi again.She may have already returned!Maybe I called after I got home, and the line here is busy and I didn't get through... Why on earth do I always think about Shengzi?Just now I thought I had Xia here, but in an instant I had to wait for Shengzi's call again.He felt disturbed and surprised by how bored he was. "Probably because she proposed to break up..." Just now Xia took the initiative to make a phone call, telling her how she missed her, and boldly asked for a tryst with him.However, Shengzi insisted on leaving her.She knew she was waiting for her, but she just didn't call.He also understands that this is not a trick to play hard to get, but the more silent she is, the more he will miss her.Probably because Shengzi left, he realized how valuable Shengzi was.Perhaps it was because she was reluctant to part because she knew she would never look back. "Why didn't I realize it sooner..." In the past, he really felt that dating Shengzi was too wordy, but now he wants to have a tryst with Xia, and he feels heavy.His free-spirited mood was not to judge what was right and what was wrong, but only the sin of being too tempting in love. In the early morning of the next day, Iori called Shengzi's apartment again, but no one answered.Although she returned to Tokyo, she may have changed directions halfway, or stayed at a friend's house.All in all, for now, we can only wait for her to contact. Yizhi gave up looking, but was still angry at Shengzi's reluctance. Even if she wasn't satisfied with going on a trip with Xia, she shouldn't confuse personal feelings with work.There is no distinction between public and private, which is too much. Although he thought so, he still couldn't hate it. Anger and pity were intertwined in his heart.On the one hand he wanted to lash out at her: "Why did you do that!" On the other hand he wanted to hug her tightly. The next day, he asked Sakai who replaced Shengzi: "Did Miss Aizawa explain to you all the work during her absence?" It may be because of Iori's blunt attitude, Sakai replied nervously: "She told me to greet the guests who came to the office, and to arrange the director's schedule." "Did she say she was going to take a few days off?" "At the beginning, it was about a week, but I called me last night and said that maybe I will resign. Is Miss Aizawa really going to resign?" "Called you last night?" "Called to my room around ten o'clock. She asked for leave suddenly, but she was still thinking about work." "Did she say she was going to resign?" "She only said that maybe it would be like this... I would take the liberty to ask, is Miss Shengzi going to get married?" "marry……" "I don't know. But I think it might be!" Sakai Kazuko is three years younger than Shengzi, and he has admired Shengzi since he entered the office.She even imitates her in the way she dresses, and it seems that she often goes to Shengzi's apartment to play. "Where is she now?" "Don't the director know?" Sakai believes that the director is knowingly asking.Judging from their past relationship, she would naturally think so.Iori restrained himself, stopped asking the bottom line, and started to drink tea. If he asked Sakai again, it would be inevitable that he would completely expose his embarrassment. After Sakai went out, Iori began to think alone.Finally, he warned himself: "Don't think about Shengzi anymore. If you think about her endlessly, you won't be able to work. If Shengzi shows up in the middle, you have to talk about it at that time. Now you can only admit that she has resigned. In fact, if you don't do this , will definitely affect future work.” Having said that, it is still difficult to make a resignation process.Even if someone asks to resign, it is difficult for him to make up his mind without talking directly with him.The safer way at present is to treat them as vacations, leaving room for reinstatement in the future. Shengzi rested for four consecutive days, and the staff began to wonder.There was talk behind her back, speculation about her family, rumors that she had committed a crime. Iori decided to keep silent about it.Although everyone knew about his close relationship with Shengzi, he couldn't tell others that Shengzi had a quarrel because he found out that he was traveling with other women, and he didn't know whether this was the whole reason for Shengzi's resignation.In any case, he himself could not take the initiative to say such a disgraceful thing. If you take a long-term vacation, you can't leave it alone.Once Shengzi is on vacation, the workload of other female staff members will inevitably increase, and the absence of Shengzi who is familiar with the work seems to make other staff members feel difficult. In fact, for the past four years, Shengzi has not only served as Iori's secretary, but also served as the firm's financial and accounting work. She has also been acting as a bridge between Iori and the staff, so her work has been greatly affected.This must not go on forever and must be resolved immediately.Although Iori thought so, it was hard to make up his mind. However, he could not allow an opaque atmosphere to spread in the institute. Why did Shengzi Aizawa ask for leave?It seems that only the director knows the reason.But the director has remained silent, and the staff seem to be getting irritated. On this day, Iori left the office at six o'clock.He had an appointment with Xia at seven, so he went straight back to the apartment and changed into a tan shirt, a beige cardigan, and flannel trousers of the same color. Iori's suits are roughly divided into two categories: blue and brown.He himself can't tell which color he likes, but he just thinks that wearing blue will make him look younger.Recently, maybe because of my age, I feel that wearing brown looks stable and dignified.Looking young on the outside, I am naturally happy in my heart, but I don't want to make people look too young.Men should still be commensurate with their age and look older.Being young always feels frivolous and superficial. However, he has rarely changed into his dressing gown or pajamas as soon as he gets home these days, much less a sweater or cardigan.Although he specially bought cashmere sweaters and velvet home clothes for indoor use, it was ridiculous to say that when he thought of sleeping alone, he couldn't get up the energy to dress himself up. On this day, he rarely puts on the camel sweater that has been pressed to the bottom of the suitcase; this sweater is made in Italy and has pockets on the sides.While he was drinking his beer and reading the evening paper, the intercom leading downstairs rang.He looked at his watch. It was five minutes to seven.He stubbed out his freshly lit cigarette in the ashtray, opened the entrance door, and a moment later, Xia appeared. "Can I come in?" Xayah peeped in and closed the door. "I thought you didn't come back!" "Come back thirty minutes ago." Xia is wearing a blue cloak and long black boots today. She is completely different from when she was wearing a kimono in the past, full of modern atmosphere.She took off her sumptuous cloak and boots and wore a turtleneck and a tight skirt underneath. "It's been a long time since I came to your place." Kasumi slowly looked around every corner of the room as if examining, and then bowed her head to Iori. "Thank you so much for taking care of me in those few days." Iori felt panicked when he suddenly thanked him solemnly.At this moment, she said with resentment in her eyes, "You didn't want to see me at all." "certainly……" "Of course what do you mean?" "want to see you." "You don't have to force it. I saw me because I said I wanted to see you. Right!" After Xia finished speaking, she suddenly dropped the cloak in her hand and threw herself into Iori's arms. For the past few days, Yizhi has only thought about Shengzi in his mind.However, he didn't want to have a tryst with Xia because of this.He sometimes thought of Xia, but he was not in the mood to call and ask her out. "I miss you!" Kasumi pressed tightly against Iori's chest.From chest to toes, lean your whole body forward.With such a push, Iori took two or three steps back, but kept holding Kasumi tightly.He felt the soft body on his chest, looked at the black hair hanging on his arms, and thought of the days and nights in Europe. By the window overlooking the park, by the bed, in the forest in late autumn, he has hugged her shoulder more than once, and seen her wavy black hair.Perhaps because the body's feeling is stronger than the mind's memory, he hugged Xia, and Shengzi's face gradually disappeared from his mind, and Xia standing in front of him became more and more clear. "You're so bad, let a woman propose a tryst." "Just got back, too busy." After embracing for a long time, the two let go and stood facing each other and said. "No matter how busy you are, you should be able to make a phone call!" Indeed, as long as you want to call, you should call long ago.It's not just because of Shengzi.The reason why I sometimes thought of Xia and didn't call was also because I was worried about her home in Tang.It's always inconvenient to call a woman with a husband and children.I just took her on a trip abroad for ten days, and immediately called her to ask her out after returning, which is too much. He has already become a lover.Up to now, he didn't want to pretend to be serious, but he was very concerned that Xia had a family.Although he sometimes forgot, he immediately thought of Xia's husband again and felt terrified.He always thought that he had just returned from a trip after taking her out, so it would be better to be more cautious during this time.It was this thought that made him hesitate to call.For women, these things seem to be out of the question.Once the flames are burning, she will be desperate. The so-called sorry husband and children are just timid excuses. "You are so selfish!" Xia looked at Yizhi with complaining eyes again, and Yizhi took another half step back.He thought that Xia's delicate eyes only appeared after this trip. "Oh, by the way, the photos taken in Europe have been developed." Xia brushed her tousled hair and opened the handbag she had bought in Vienna. "In order to develop these photos, I made a special trip to Kamakura." Because most of the photos taken during the trip were photos of Iori and Kasumi together, so I couldn't take them to the nearby Caikuo Department. "Such a camera, it's pretty good! Your photos are blurry, but mine are great!" The photos are all in color, nearly forty.The group photo of the two was taken by Dong Ye and the tour guide, and the single photo was taken by the two of them. "This photo is too much." In the photo taken with Chablon Palace in the background, for some reason, Xayah only showed half of her face. "Maybe the palace is too beautiful, and all the attention is focused on the palace." "No! You just look at the beauty beside me!" There was indeed a blond woman standing beside her, her long hair blown by the breeze. "I think this one is very memorable." In the photo taken in front of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, both of them stood there straight, looking straight ahead.This may be because they had just arrived in Europe, and Higashino was staring hard again, and the two stood side by side nervously.In the photos I took later, my expression was natural and my posture was not so rigid. "Do you remember this photo? You fell asleep first, and I took a photo when I got angry." Shana took a picture of Iori sleeping on a bed in a Vienna hotel with her mouth cocked to one side. "You only brought my embarrassing photos, have you hidden your own?" "I brought all the things I didn't have. Your technique is not good, and you can't wash out five or six of them." Xia took out another one and said, "Is this one not bad? Does it look like a shot in a movie? But the leading actor is terrible." Probably on a path in the Vienna Woods, two people in overcoats, leaning forward, were casually leaning together, walking leisurely. "When we didn't know, the tour guide took the picture." "Give me this one, okay?" "Of course. I printed a copy and kept it at home." How dare she put such a photo at home!What should the family do if they find out?Iori was a little worried.He felt that it was after this trip that Xia became so bold. "Haven't you had dinner yet?" "No, I won't eat. I have to go back at nine o'clock today..." Although Xia shook her head, her eyes were full of enthusiasm.Seeing that look, Iori quietly stretched out his hand as if attracted. "Go over there!" "I just came to see you today." Looking at it, Xia has already raised her body.Yizhi pulled her into the bedroom, so the two of them stopped hesitating.He kissed her, he sucked Xayah's most sensitive ear with the tip of his tongue.Xia curled up and said, "Don't..." "Take it off quickly!" After hearing what Iori said, Xia obediently turned around and untied her skirt. Yizhi finished taking off first, and got into bed, while Xia was still half-squatting close to the bed. She was not wearing pajamas, a cloak was wrapped around her body, and her lower body was completely naked.After approaching, she threw away the cloak all at once, and threw herself into Iori's embrace like a white cannonball. Iori hugged her tightly, and stretched out his lips to rub against her ear. "what……" Xia was rubbed on the itchy place, and she let out a soft cry, leaning her whole body against Iori. "I lost weight!" "kind of……" "It's all because you're bad." Iori didn't understand why all the bad things belonged to men. "I miss you so much. Do you miss me too?" Yizhi didn't answer, but touched her lower body with her hand. Although it hasn't been long since returning from Europe, Xia seems to have been looking forward to it for a long time, and the place is already wet. In the past, Iori would always caress for a while first, but today he was impatiently teased by Xia, and the two immediately bonded together. Xia frowned slightly, let out a cry, and put her arms around his neck with both hands.Now it is hard to tell who is attacking and who is defending, and the two fell into the vortex of love. A few minutes after making love, Iori noticed the doorbell ringing. At first, the doorbell sounded distant, drowned out by Xayah's gasping.After listening carefully, he realized that it was indeed the doorbell of his room ringing.The door of the apartment is automatically locked, but sometimes some people come in with others without pressing the intercom. Who is it at this hour... Iori hugged Xia and stopped moving, but the fiery Xia seemed to hear nothing.She twisted her body, not letting Iori stop. "do not move……" Yi Zhi leaned over and whispered in her ear, "It seems that someone is coming." At this time, Xia seemed to hear it too, and slowly opened her eyes. The doorbell sounded again into the quiet bedroom. "Did you lock the door?" It was Kasumi who entered the house, and Iori felt as if she saw Kasumi lock the door. "No problem, who did you invite?" Iori thought for a moment and felt that he didn't invite anyone to the apartment today. "The man didn't have the room key, did he?" Xia suddenly showed a look of fear.However, she also knew that only the maid Tomiko had the key to the room, and she would not be coming at this time. "Whoever it is, I'll go and see." Iori hurriedly put on her underwear and put on her overcoat, but she was afraid that if an acquaintance came, this kind of attire would not be suitable, so she put on a sweater and trousers again. Xia showed a dissatisfied expression, trying to make love between men and women, but was interrupted. "I'll be right back, don't move." The doorbell rang a few times and then stopped. Perhaps the person who came thought that the owner was not at home and stopped ringing, but it seemed that he still stayed outside the door.Yizhi got out of bed and quietly left the bedroom, walking towards the door. He stood quietly in front of the door first, looked out through the peephole of the door, but found no one.The visitor may give up and leave.He wanted to check and quietly opened the door.At this moment, he saw a woman walking down the corridor. "what……" Almost at the same time as Iori was talking to himself, the woman also turned around. The person who turned back was Shengzi.The corridor of the apartment at night was very dark, with a haggard face curled up in a windbreaker hat, looking straight at this side. Across the corridor, the two looked at each other for a while.Then, Shengzi turned around and walked towards this side.She held the purse in one hand and kept it in the coat pocket, and the sound of high heels sounded in the corridor. Yizhi stretched her head out of the door, staring blankly at her, and continued to remain silent.Shengzi is about to enter the house.However, Xia was lying naked on the bed in the house.Iori felt that measures must be taken immediately, but he couldn't move as if he was bound tightly. "what's wrong with you……" 还有几米就要来到眼前，伊织再也无法忍耐，喊了一声。笙子也好像感到很吃惊，疑惑不解地看着伊织。 “我以为你不在家，刚要走……” 的确是千钧一发，如果再稍微晚一会儿，笙子就可能已经上了电梯下楼去了。 “因此就……” 他想稳住神，但声音还是有些颤抖。 “我给公司打电话，说你直接回家了。所以才到这里来看看。” "but……" “我本该事先给你打个电话。不过，我以为你大概在家，所以突然跑来了。真对不起，正在休息吗？” 这话正击中要害，伊织连忙摇头。笙子冷静地说道：“看来你很忙，我以后再来。” "No, it's nothing." 因为正在门口，再这样嘀咕下去，屋内的霞可能会听到。伊织果断地说：“对过有一家名叫'凡'的咖啡馆。你到那里等我，我马上去。” “可是，我并不一定非得今天。我只想见您一面，说声对不起。” “对，除此之外……” 伊织极力抑制住想说的话，有些口吃地说道：“我马上下去！记住，是叫'凡'咖啡馆。好吗？”听他叮嘱完，笙子面无表情地微微点了点头。 "okay then!" 伊织看着笙子转身走远，又轻轻叫了一声：“我就来……” 门口的鞋帽架上还放着霞的长靴，刚才急匆匆开了门，没来得及把它藏起来。站在对面的笙子肯定早已看得一清二楚。 关上门后，伊织接着在门口站了一会儿。霞虽然还在床上等着，但他现在很难马上回到她的身边。他已经没心思再接着和霞在床上做爱，刚才和笙子短兵相接时的尴尬局面更使他裹足不前。 但他总不能呆呆地站在门口不动。没办法，只好先去了一趟洗手间，然后又回到卧室，看到霞正用被单裹住身子，坐在床上。 “这回可麻烦了……” 他轻声地咋了咋舌头，掩盖自己的难为情。霞二话没说，下床站了起来。 "What are you going to do?" “穿衣服。” 霞蹲下，拿起叠好放在床边的衣服。 “我们好容易才……” “你不是要出门吗？” 霞冷淡地说道。看来，她到底还是听见了刚才门口的对话。 “连个招呼也不打就突然跑来。这家伙太缺乏常识了……” 伊织开始发牢骚。他曾经那么焦急地等待她，但她根本不联系，偏偏选在他正和霞上床的时候跑来了。而且，她也不按对讲机，居然径直来到房间。就算要直接跑来，也该打个电话来呀！自己这时候睡觉固然不合常理，但这种来访的方式也实在缺乏常识。The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.不过，在当时那种情况下，他不能让她走掉。 一直在找，好容易才见到。他正和霞在床上，感到心虚。这两种思索使他感到犹豫。他直觉地感到，不能只在门口见一面就让她走掉。如果今天打发走笙子，今后恐怕就再也见不到她了。无论如何，如果现在不抓住她，两个人谈谈，一切就全完了。 但是，和笙子见面必然伤害霞，事实上，霞已明显露出不快。 “靠那边去！” 霞说着，关上了卧室的门。正值男欢女悦的高潮，居然有个女人来找，这样的男人实在没用。这种男人居然半道停下来，跑出去追别的女人。那他爱怎么办就怎么办吧！霞要他“靠那边去”，眼里充满了愤怒。 但是，今晚的事绝不是伊织故意制造的，纯粹属于偶然。 然而，仔细想来，在此之前，霞和笙子已经有好几次险些碰上。有一次，他正和霞接吻，笙子打来了电话。还有一次，他刚和霞幽会完，笙子就来找他。他们去欧洲旅行时，在机场上，霞又清清楚楚地看见过笙子。另外，打电话时，两人也曾多次听到过对方的声音。 今天撞车，实在难堪。不过，以前没碰上过，毋宁说是一种幸运。周旋在两个女人之间，早晚会发生像今晚这样的事，只不过是个时间问题。 “没办法呀……” 他尽力安慰自己。然而，无论怎么说，今晚的事实在难堪。假如两个人正在聊天或喝酒，倒还无所谓，可如今正在床上，而且正在做爱，这时间实在太不合适。况且，他又不能马上离开家。笙子从他的表情和态度上，一定知道事情非同一般。更糟糕的是，他又慌慌张张地约她在附近的咖啡馆见面。这不仅使笙子感到奇怪，也伤害了屋里的霞。 “真糟糕……” 他自暴自弃地拍拍脑袋。这时，霞已经穿好衣服，从卧室走了出来。 “那么，我回去了。” 听那声音，和刚来时比较，简直判若两人。她拿起大衣就要走。 “喂，喂，等一下！” “不是有女人在等你吗！” "But……" 这样分手的话，他和霞的关系也会变僵。 “我今天的确没约她来，纯属偶然。是因为工作，有急事才来的。” “女人会在晚上因工作到男人的公寓来吗？” “可是，她是秘书……” “秘书兼情人吧！” 说完之后，霞卷起大衣，快步走向门口。伊织想追出去，但又站住不动了。他不愿这样和霞分手，但笙子还在对面的咖啡馆等着。再不抓紧时间，笙子会逃掉。那可一切全完了。 "Sorry……" 伊织道歉，霞却一声不吭，稶的一声关上门走了。伊织独自一人，又站在厕所的洗手池前照了照镜子。 虽然刚才和笙子照过一面，但如果被她看穿刚才正在做爱，那就更糟了。 他简单梳了梳头发，又看了看嘴唇周围，这才拿起烟和打火机。 他刚要出门，又想起该检查一下卧室和客厅。和笙子见面后，如果回到房间来，被她发现有女人来过，可就麻烦了。客厅茶几上放着两只玻璃杯。他赶忙收好。接着，他又查看了卧室。霞已把床整理得干干净净，但他还是再次掀起床罩检查了一遍，看看是否有丢落的发卡。又看了枕头和床单，没发现发卡和头发。 “这下没问题了……” 伊织点点头，穿上了鞋。 他让笙子等候的咖啡馆就在公寓对面，因此用不着穿大衣。他穿上外衣，围上围巾，乘电梯下了楼，刚要走出公寓大门，忽然发现右手的大厅里坐着个女人。他吃了一惊，仔细一看，原来是笙子。 "what happened?" 吃惊之余，他不禁大声嚷了起来。 “我不是说让你在对面的咖啡馆等吗！” “我去了，但人太多，没座位。” 笙子双手插进口袋里，声音冷酷无情。 “那你就一直在这里等着？” 笙子默默地点头。看来，真是祸不单行，如果她一直等候在这里，那么她肯定看见霞出来了。霞也一定看见了独自一人呆在大厅里的笙子。 “要是您没时间，我以后再来。” "No, nothing..." 真是自作自受。总之，今晚上不走运。看来无论怎么煞费苦心，也是白搭。但是，就此和笙子分手，他又感到太窝囊。 “我们先找个地方谈谈吧！到我的房间去吧。” "No." 笙子站在深夜的大厅里，断然摇头拒绝。 “那么，到外边去谈吧！” 伊织也不愿回到刚和女人睡过觉的房间。他们出了公寓来到右边大楼地下室里的快餐馆。 “这里只有麦片粥和简单的三明治。” “我不吃。” 快餐馆又细又长，餐桌成L型。伊织感到寂寞的时候常来这里，所以和这里的老板很熟悉。 “要一杯加水威士忌……” 伊织向老板说了一句，又问笙子喝什么。 “要一杯咖啡。” “你真让我大吃一惊……” 伊织双肘支在餐桌上，叹了口气说道。 “从欧洲回来，没想到你请假了。” "..." “信我也看到了。信是在我回来两天后才收到的。我马上给长野挂了个电话，你母亲说你已经回东京了。” 笙子只是微微低着头，一言不发。 “你突然请假，大家都觉得奇怪。突然让坂井接替你的工作，她也有点为难，其他人也感到诸多不便。” “对不起……。” “我也不知道你这是为什么。就算是辞职，也要得到上级允许，得到大家的谅解才行呀！你一不高兴，就突然辞职，是不是有点太过分了！” 伊织担心说得太过分，但如果低声下气，又会一败涂地，所以只好强硬地说道：“而且，一走几天不见你的踪影，今天又突然冒出来。” “真不凑巧，打扰您了。对不起。” 笙子一口气说完，又一下子扭过了头。 伊织点燃一支烟，慢慢吸着，心里盘算着，下一步自己该强硬呢，还是该低声下气。按理说，他应该加以训斥，然而对方已经打算辞职，如果再予以训斥，结果只能是赶尽杀绝。再说，她已经察觉到自己和霞的关系，要强硬也难以做到。 “算了，这件事就这样吧……” 思来想去，结果说出来的话还是软弱无力。 “可是，你为什么突然要辞职呢？” "..." “不会是因为对工作待遇感到不满意吧？” 笙子双手握住咖啡杯，沉默不语。 “是不是遇到了不愉快的事儿？” 他明白笙子辞职的原因只有一个，但又不好由自己说出来。 “你既然突然想辞职，还是希望你说清楚理由。” “我不是突然想辞职。从很久以前，我就一直想辞职。” 笙子伸手慢慢拢了拢头发，耳朵下白皙的脖颈露了出来。 “我想该换个活法了。” “对以前的生活不满意吗？” “倒也不是。我在事务所已经工作多年。再说，年龄也一天天大了。总之，我想改变一下现状。” 笙子的解释未必令人信服，但伊织明白她要说的意思。尽管有种种理由，他还是可以理解笙子希望改变现状的心情。 “不过，辞职以后，干什么呢？” “暂时先回长野。” “坂井说，你可能要结婚。” "no." “真的不是吗？” 伊织对她如此肯定的回答感到意外。他看着手中的玻璃杯，掐灭了烟，继续说道：“你也许有各种理由，但你是否再重新考虑一下。” "..." “过去的事情就当没发生过……怎么样？” 不知不觉，伊织的口气已经变成了哀求，而笙子仍然低着头，眼睛盯着餐桌，一言不发。 不过，伊织却在这默默不语中看到了一线光明。 如果她真的不想回事务所，即使劝她别辞职，她也会断然拒绝。就算她干脆离去，也不足为奇。可现在她只是默默地听他说话。由此可见，并非完全不能挽回。如果毫无希望，她也就不会来公寓找他，更不会明知霞在，还要等他。如果单为办辞职手续，她完全可以白天去事务所公事公办。然而，如今是笙子一个人深更半夜来公寓找他。 也许笙子嘴上表示要辞职，实际上并没有下决心。至少到今晚来公寓时为止，她大概还没下定决心。 如果真是这样，她跟霞的事就显得更糟糕。笙子本来是打算来找他商量，可刚才这一闹，很可能立刻打消了这念头，也许早已伤心透顶。 "all in all……" 伊织轻轻摇晃着杯子里的冰块说道：“你好像有些误解。其实，不是那么回事。” 他说这话的意思是指霞，但不知笙子是否明白他的意思。 “只是工作关系，仅此而已……” 说完之后，伊织忽然发觉自己刚才对霞也讲过一模一样的话。他刚刚对一个人讲了些辩解的话，唾沫星还未干，又对另外一个人说同样的一句话。张嘴就是瞎话，这种男人简直就是个顶风臭四十里的大骗子。 不过，他跟霞说这话时，是真心不想失去她，现在面对笙子，也是出于真心，不想失去笙子。可能有人说他满嘴跑火车，也可能有人骂他是骗子，其实他每次都是出自真心。他是怎么想就怎么说，结果就是如此。被夹在两个女人之间，眼见就要不断出麻烦，但现在他已经顾不了那么多了。 他可以明确地说，绝对不想失去笙子。 “以前可能发生过不愉快的事，我向你道歉。” 他想把话解释清楚，但仅仅三言两语，不仅说不请，还要露出破绽，所以他只能含含糊糊地道歉。 但是，笙子依然沉默不语。最初，这种沉默显得像是在趁机撒娇，但现在看来，倒像是暗示着极大的愤怒。 伊织喝干杯子里的威士忌，站起来说道： "Let's go..." 再呆下去，似乎也无法谈拢。不过，要说已经谈妥，那也确实早已经说清楚。如今是想要反悔，当然就困难重重。 “好，那就走吧！” 伊织朝服务台招了招手，老板也有些担心地看着他俩。两个人平时总是有说有笑，今天却气氛沉闷，老板似乎也觉察到两个人的关系有点反常。付账出门后，他又发现街上飘着落叶。伊织突然想起，阿姆斯特丹的大街上也出现过类似的景象。 “再坐会儿吧！” 伊织两手插在上衣口袋里问道： “哪儿去？” “公寓……” 笙子慢慢地摇了摇头。 “我回去。” “可是，我们还什么都没谈妥呢！只呆一会儿……” 回到房间，两人独处，也许还能够挽回。尽管这么做有点卑鄙，但只要回到房间后强行和她拥抱，再接个吻，也许笙子的情绪会有所缓和。然而，笙子可能早已看穿了他这套把戏，或许根本就没这种打算，所以她凝视着寒风吹去的方向，只是说道： "Then, I take my leave." “等一下！就算你要辞职，也得商量一下从什么时候开始算起，还要交代一下工作。再说，你的东西不是还放在事务所吗？” “我明天去事务所。” “你乱来，我不好办呀！明天下午我要去建设省，晚上也有事。” “您不在也没关系，我会跟望月和坂井交待清楚的。” “恐怕不仅仅是交接工作吧！还有公寓的事，再加上……” 笙子住的公寓是伊织租的，里面至今还放着伊织的书籍和毛衣。这些虽不急需，但是持续了四年的关系总不能这样草草了事吧！为了缓和气氛，伊织背对着刮来的风慢慢地走起来。这与自己公寓的方向正好相反，但他现在只好跟着笙子往前走，希望尽量和她一起多呆一会儿。 笙子大步流星朝前走去，根本不把身边走着的伊织放在眼里。 "But……" 伊织从后面追上来对她说道：“你再冷静地考虑一下，怎么样？” "..." “说是分手，也不是那么简单吧！” "What do you mean by that?" 笙子突然转过身来，霓虹灯下，她的脸色苍白。 “请你不要说这种不可理解的话。” "no……" 伊织模棱两可地自语着，脑子里又回忆起往事。 伊织是因为爱她才主动付出，因此并不要求她偿还，但他对笙子确实尽心尽力了。他送她各种礼物，给她足够的钱让她生活得好些。伊织现在倒也并不想强调这些事。他说的不仅是指经济方面，更包含了长达四年的时间和精神方面的联系。但是，现在只凭一句话，一切都将结束。他表示不愿分手，然而就从这一刻起，男人就成了一只懦弱的落水狗。 “不过，我们已经交往了那么长时间……” "..." “都已经四年了……” 伊织特别强调四年这个字眼。他只是想说，四年来，两个人相亲相爱，他们培养起来的一切都来之不易。 但是，这一切将化为乌有。伊织和笙子可能都感到吃惊和诧异，它竟然如此脆弱。 枯叶飘过街道。伊织突然屏住呼吸，等到风刮过之后，低声说道：“我们拦辆出租车吧！” “不，我要回去。” 伊织没听她的，抬手叫住了一辆车。总不能这样在大街上走来走去。既然已经到了这一步，那不如先上车，然后再谈。 “上车吧……” 车停了，伊织招呼她，但笙子照样大步流星地朝前走。 “你不坐车吗？” 他又喊了一声，但笙子依然不回头。司机对拦住车却又不上车的客人有些不耐烦。 "Sorry." 伊织连忙向司机道歉，然后想追上前去。然而，这时笙子突然拦住另一辆车坐了进去。 "Wait a moment……" 他喊着追了上去，但汽车已经开动。 “喂！喂……” 他使劲敲车窗，然而笙子好像根本没看见，只是盯着前方。然后，汽车沿着夜色朦胧的街道开走了。 伊织呆呆地站在路旁，凝视着尾灯慢慢消失。 笙子到底走了。他现在已经麻木地感觉不到喜怒哀乐。他突然觉得身体软绵无力，无依无靠。时间已经将近十点，车辆变得很少。宽敞的大街上，落叶突然飘过。伊织像是被风推着，慢慢地走向公寓。 "I see……