Chapter 8 SCENE 4

Tosa people always give people the impression that they love to drink, and Haiqing can't deny that she also has this prejudice.In fact, many people in Kochi prefecture would drink whenever they got the chance—or should I say just create it—and would never stop getting drunk.The following words should not be made loudly, some workplaces even hold banquets in broad daylight; if the number of drunk young women is concerned, it is probably the first in the country. However, there are exceptions to everything; not all people in Kochi Prefecture are heroes of the liquor country, and there are many people who are poor drinkers.One of them is Haiqing's boss, Chief Shishi.After all, it seems that Shishishi is not born with a poor capacity for alcohol.

"Actually, I used to drink too much." Xi Shi played with the oolong tea cup in his hand, and his tone seemed a bit self-deprecating. "It's just that one day before and after the birth of the boss, he suddenly stopped drinking, and he didn't even touch a drop of it after that!" "Have you given up drinking?" White deer hair bell and yellow soup poured down cup after cup, which was in contrast to washing persimmons.She was already good at drinking, but after she came to Kochi, she practiced a lot, no matter how much she drank, she would not change her face; when she was in Kochi University, she was nicknamed "Yuki Girl" among her classmates. "I like drinking so much, but I can still give it up. I really have perseverance!"

"No, actually I haven't given up drinking." "Did you break your body?" The horsetail didn't seem to know the reason, and while handing back the drained glass to Haiqing, he asked with great interest, "Is it sick or what?" "No, no, no." "Then why on earth—" "Oh, it's no big deal! Don't mention this kind of thing! Yamabuki, are you drinking?" When talking to the horsetail, use the local accent, and when talking to Ling and Yamabuki, switch to standard Mandarin, which has become The habit of washing persimmons; perhaps this is just his thoughtfulness. "Miss Bailumao, Mr. Horsetail, you are welcome too, drink as much as you can!"

Maybe the reason made it hard for him to talk about it. Xishi desperately broke the topic, got up with the bottle and kept adding wine for the three of them, and said: "By the way, let's go to karaoke together later!" He seemed extremely excited. This is a dinner party in the name of welcoming the new and sending off the old, but the employment counseling unit has no old people to send off, so it is actually a welcome party for the horsetail transferred from other units and newcomers Ling and Haiqing.The welcome and send-off party for all teaching staff, including teachers, has been held separately in April, and the welcome and send-off party for administrative staff is held on the day before the Golden Week; The guidance unit welcomes the new and sees off the old, so four people gather at a Japanese-style seat in an izakaya.

"I can't drink and have to attend so many dinner parties, it's very hard!" Haiharu wrapped the garlic slices on the bonito flakes like a batter and put them in his mouth one by one, sympathized with Saidaki from the bottom of his heart, and filled his cup with oolong tea.In fact, the welcome and send-off parties held in three batches are quite famous; the other dinner parties are all using names that I don’t know where to find, and they are held quite frequently.Every time he attends this kind of dinner party, Xishi has to hold oolong tea alone from beginning to end, and it is difficult to teach people not to sympathize.

"No, no, that's not going to happen. I don't hate the atmosphere of the banquet, besides, I'm very happy this year, because there are beauties like Miss Bai Lumao, how can I not participate? It doesn't matter whether I can drink or not! Ahaha, yes ? Mr. Horsetail, do you think so too?" "Yeah, it's rare to see such a tasteful beauty in this area. Just mentioning it, other guests have been looking here!" "That's right! They are very envious! It's just a group of men drinking together, how boring! Hahaha! It's so cool! Look, Yamabuki, it's like this, it doesn't matter if you drink or not, and the mood is still very good! "

"Oh, beauty is really a great existence!" Happiness seems to be contagious, and Haiqing also seemed extremely happy. "It is the property of mankind!" "Even if you join forces to praise me, it's useless, I still have to decide." Ling put the last piece of bonito on the plate into his mouth. "tasty!" "Why, gone?" The mountain of bonito flakes disappeared within a few minutes, causing the horsetail to pick up reading glasses and widen its eyes. "Shanbuki, you are so bold when you eat! It's refreshing to see." "Should I order more, or something else? Mr. Horsetail, what do you think?"

"That's the kind of question you should ask a lady!" "Oh, yes! Miss Bailumao, what do you think?" "I'm fine, but Yamabuki wants to eat bonito, right?" "I want to eat bonito, but I also want to eat other things." "Wahhaha! Well said! Then let Yamabuki order!" After eating and drinking, the four of them headed to the next destination.Saikaki led the crowd to the karaoke bar "Iris" located in the mixed residential and commercial building.It was a small shop with only two tables and counter seats, and there were only four customers including Haiqing. Xishi seemed to come here often, and he played dirty jokes with the proprietress intimately.It seems that he said that although he can't drink but likes the atmosphere of the banquet, it seems that he is not all polite.

Everyone took turns singing, and when Haiqing, the fourth player, sang "Manjianghong", new guests came, three young men and women. "Oh, Mr. Long Dan." Sai Shi was the first to notice, and he waved to one of the trio. "What a coincidence!" "Ah... hello." Although Long Tan immediately recognized the other party as a school administrator, he couldn't remember Xi Shi's name, and only showed an ambiguous smile. "Everyone is here?" "Welcome party for newcomers. How about you, teacher?" "Come sing along with your friends from high school."

Only then did Xishi realize that Gendan was from the local Anyi High School.After Haiqing finished singing, Long Dan introduced the men and women who were traveling with them to the four; the man's surname was Qingci, and the woman's surname was Zhu Hua.Qingci wears glasses like Gentian, but with a slightly fat body and a welcoming smile, he gives the impression of being sophisticated—at least not as neurotic as Gentian.Zhu Hua is a beautiful woman. Although the makeup and clothing are not exaggerated, they are clearly well-groomed.She showed momentary hostility towards Suzu's natural beauty, but she seemed to feel that she was unmannered, and then she smiled friendly.

Although there were new visitors to the "calamus", the seven people occupying the table always maintained a private atmosphere; they took turns to sing songs harmoniously, each having their own fun. After the meeting, Haiqing looked up at the starry sky, thinking that it was time to go home; at this moment, a voice came from behind. "Where are you going next?" It was the woman named Zhu Hua. "Nowhere to go, just go home and sleep." "I'd like to have another stall, do you want to come together?" Hai Qing was full of doubts about this abrupt invitation; at this moment, the man named Qing Ci interrupted: "Xiao Fang, are you seducing men again?" "Don't say it so harshly." Zhu Hua's name seemed to be House. "Just asking Mr. Yamabuki if he wants to renew the stall! Do you want to come too?" She sounded as if Yamabuki had agreed. "Come if you want, it's okay!" "Where's the gentian?" Under the night, the beautiful face of the house was still clearly visible, ugly and distorted. "gone back." "He's already gone back? His work and rest are too regular! What's wrong with that kid?" "Are you going or not?" The house restlessly leaned against Haiqing's tall body. "If you procrastinate any longer, I won't care about you!" "Ah! Wait, wait, let's go, let's go, let's go." Haiqing just joined the ranks of the house and Qingci in such a muddled way.Although Qingci was almost abandoned just now, they went to the old place where Qingci often goes. It is a small bar like "Calamus", except that there is no Karaoke. "Has Mr. Yamabuki engaged in any sports?" After toasting, the house looked at Haiqing from head to toe as if appraising a commodity. "Such a good physique." "What? Xiaofang, Nong is really planning to play on someone's body?" "You are so noisy!" She raised her eyes and glared at the gag Qingci. "Speak as if we are a cat in heat. If you keep talking, let us go back!" "Let's shut up, let's shut up!" The smiling Qingci didn't intend to shut up at all. "You don't have to beat around the bush and ask about sports! Don't hurry up and get to the point, Mr. Yamabuki is inexplicable. I don't understand why I was called to such a place by someone I just met." "What's the matter? What's the point? What do you mean by this! How can there be any point? We just wanted to have two more drinks, and we invited Mr. Yamabuki to come with us. You are saying What!" "Okay, okay, just treat it like this! Let's drink!" "Sounds so uncomfortable! Ah, Mr. Yamabuki, you don't have to pay attention to him, anyway, he just followed, just treat him as a talking beckoning cat, and just pretend not to see it." "Are we a decoration?" "By the way, Mr. Yamabuki, have you worked in Anzhuan for a long time?" "No, no, it only started in April this year, less than two months," "What..." The disappointment of the house was beyond words. "Then you don't know much about the lecturer?" "Well, it's a pity. Because my department is mainly for students, I don't have much opportunity to serve teachers—" "Look! Xiaofang really wanted to inquire about gentian, so he invited Mr. Yamabuki!" The house showed an angry expression for a moment, but then it went all out. "So what? No way?" "You want to know..." Obviously there was no need for this, Hai Qing still felt very sorry for being unable to help. "What about Mr. Longdan?" "Uh, like work situation or something—" "Has he gotten close to any female students? After all, that kid works in a women's garden!" "This kind of rumor..." She glanced at Qingci with hostility, but what he said was right, so she didn't refute it. "Did you ever hear that in school?" "I haven't heard of it at all!" "It doesn't have to be with students, for example, whoever you are with tonight? That beautiful administrative lady—" "Miss Bailumao? I don't know! I don't think she is very familiar with Mr. Gendan!" Maybe he felt that the casual assertion was not rigorous, so he added the following sentence sternly; sunny character. "Of course, I didn't monitor the private lives of the two of them, so I can't say for sure. What, you want to know about Rindou-sensei's female relationship?" "It's not easy to make public... well, that's what it means." "Then..." Qingci was about to tease him, but was interrupted by Haiqing: "Why don't you ask him how he is?" "what?" "It may be difficult to ask if you don't know each other, but are you two friends of the teacher? Ah, or classmates? I think he will tell you if it is convenient for him." "Uh..." The house and Qingci looked at each other, as if they didn't understand how serious Haiqing was when she said this. "But if it's inconvenient, I won't say it!" "Of course, if it's inconvenient, you can't say it!" Hai Qing, who firmly believes that a third party should not pry into other people's secrets, said this without any confusion. "There is no way out of this situation." The house looked at the giant man in front of him again.The main purpose of inviting him after the meeting of "Iris" was of course to inquire about Rindou, but she was not completely uninterested in Yamabuki Haiharu; although he had a slightly out-of-focus face, but I feel very good.In fact, he didn't look like he was teasing the house; if the man was neither teasing nor drunk, he was probably well-braced and simple-minded!Rather than saying that he has a serious personality and is not smooth enough, it is better to say that he is a simple fool, "But I just want to know about that inconvenient thing!" With the feeling of a lukewarm object sliding down his back, the whole body of the house was covered by a strange feeling. Surrounded by floating sensations.She had already decided to ignore these men and go home early, but her tongue just kept going. "To tell you the truth, I like gentian. In fact, I like men with good physique, like Mr. Yamabuki; and gentian is thinner, which is not my type. But for some reason, I just like him, and I am even willing to be with him. He's married. I've reached the marriageable age, and he's single, isn't it just right? I don't want to say, the two of us are quite right, hee hee!" "What do you mean 'I didn't want to say'?" Although Qingci responded to the house, she couldn't believe her sudden naked confession. "Nong's face is too thick!" "I teach children piano at home, and Xiaolong... ah, his name is Longdan Longyi. Xiaolong is a teacher of the second college. If we get married, we will definitely be able to establish a scholarly family." "Oh, that's how it is." What made Qingci even more dumbfounded was that not only the person who said it was serious, but even Haiqing who listened and agreed was also serious. "That's great!" "Right? Yamabuki-san also thinks we are really good, right?" "Is that Xiaofang's wishful thinking?" Qingci felt extremely stupid and had to refute. "Besides, that boy Gendan must not know that Lennon likes him so much." "would not!" "Have you ever confessed to Gendan?" "Confession? How can such a thing be initiated by a woman?" "No, no, that's not necessarily true." Hai Qing said solemnly again: "Recently, it's not so unusual for women to chase after men." "But this kind of thing still hopes to be opened by the man, right?" "Look! Xiaofang didn't say it clearly, so that kid definitely doesn't know!" "Really? Then we should make it clear? Mr. Yamabuki, what do you think?" "Since your mind is already firm, it's better to say it clearly? Otherwise, you won't know until later that the teacher also has a good impression of you. Wouldn't it be regrettable?" "Wait a minute, wait a minute!" Qingci belonged to the prudent group, and he glanced at Haiqing, as if implying that he should not stir up trouble. "Maybe if you say it, it will destroy the friendship in the future! Xiaofang, it's okay to confess, but you have to think about it first." "That's right." It's gratifying to get approval for my opinion, but seeing Haiqing's words are so natural, Jiao Qingci couldn't help asking "Which side are you on?" "Maybe before you act, you should Ask yourself again if you really like Sensei Rindou." "I can't understand that kind of thing." "But Xiaofang, didn't you say it yourself? Gentian is not the type you like. You like a big guy like Mr. Yamabuki. Then why did you fall in love with the slim type of gentian?" "I just fell in love, there is no way!" "That's what I said, but you would like someone who is not your type so much, there must be some special reason or opportunity?" "Opportunity... just mentioning it," she looked into the distance with nostalgic eyes, and then looked at Qingci and Haiqing mutually. "That incident might be an opportunity! When I was a sophomore in high school—" "Second year in high school? So ancient?" "What? But it was... er, nine years ago! Xiaolong and I were in the same class in An Yi High School. Although we were in the same class, our grades were very different; Xiaolong always got high marks in the exams, but I couldn't do it at all. , especially mathematics and society are in a state of collapse. It was the same at that time. It was almost the midterm exam, and my homework was still a mess; and mathematics and society were all crowded on the first day of the exam. I also knew that my score would be very high. Miserable, I really want to die. Of course, the reason is not just the exam; at that time, the piano practice reached a bottleneck, and the relationship between my parents was bad. How should I die? After much deliberation, I decided to commit suicide by jumping from the school building. The day before the exam, everyone went back, but I still hid in the school until dark." Qingci seemed to hear her bring up this topic for the first time, frowning with heartache. "...So there was such a thing!" "I didn't know what time it was at that time, and I didn't look at the clock. Anyway, after the sky was completely dark and the surroundings were quiet, I climbed up to the fifth floor and opened the window to see that there were many cars passing by on the road ahead. It was quite bright with the lights of the surrounding houses and street lamps; if anyone looked at the school, they would see me jumping clearly. Strange to say, I feel very ashamed when I think about it. But on second thought, Anyway, in the morning, my body would be found on the concrete floor in front of the front porch, no different; so I put my foot on the window. It turned out—” "result?" "I didn't dare to jump, my feet were so soft. I maintained that position for a while, but I couldn't jump down; so I gave up and went to the fourth floor. I think the height is lower, and I should dare to jump." "I see." "But the fourth floor is still very high. My feet are soft and I dare not jump. I also felt useless, so I gave up the fourth floor and moved to the third floor, but I still dare not jump. Finally, I walked to the teacher's office on the second floor." "Second floor..." Qingci scratched his nose in embarrassment as the sad expression disappeared. "Uh, it's not like we don't understand Lennon's feeling, but jumping from the second floor seems a bit..." "I think it was funny when I look back on it now, but it was serious at the time. We thought, 'Okay, let's do the dance from here. This time we must succeed!' So we opened the window and stepped on it; at this time, Someone grabbing our shoulders from behind is Gentian." "Gentian? Wait a minute, what is that kid still doing in the school building at such a late hour?" "We were also taken aback and asked him: 'Gentian, what are you doing here at this time?' But he said: 'Idiot! We saw Lennon stepping out of the window from below!'" "That's why he ran up?" "He probably came home after cramming and passed by the school! He was still holding a handout with a bunch of unsolved math problems on it. We read it at the time and thought leisurely, 'You really deserve to be a gifted student. , he will probably have a final sprint after returning home, and finish solving these exercises'. Seeing that I was silent, Gendan seemed impatient, and said fiercely: "Hurry up and go home! What we saw tonight I won’t say it out loud, but don’t do such stupid things in the future!’ Of course, the school building was completely unlit at the time, but the light from outside illuminated the corridor quite brightly, so I could see Gentian’s expression clearly. His The face looks so fierce...very angry." "What happened next?" "Because I was procrastinating, he took my hand, led me downstairs, and opened the glass door of the entrance. I was also in a daze at the time, and asked him 'do you need to lock the door'? It made him angry again , answer me, 'How do I lock it from the outside'? Well, that's exactly what you said." "And then?" "In the end, he took us back to our house. Gendan was angry at the end and said: 'Don't do that kind of stupid thing in the future!'" "I didn't expect this kind of thing to happen..." Qingci nodded and sighed repeatedly. "Later?" "Later? It's gone! That night, Gendan's angry expression kept flashing before our eyes, which made us unable to sleep. We had no choice but to get up and read." "It's called 'No way'? You should study before the exam!" "But we planned to seek death that day!" "Well, that's true." "To tell you the truth, I hadn't completely given up the thought of dying. But the next morning when I took the math test, the improvised Buddha's feet worked. It's good for my level - I got two out of five questions correctly. In fact, those were the questions I memorized the night before, and I didn't really know how to count them, but I was still very happy because my previous mathematics The grades were either zero or single digits. I developed a little self-confidence, and it turns out that as long as I work hard, I can still pass the exam. Is this called "breaking the demons"? I even began to feel that I was so stupid that I wanted to die." "I see." "In terms of piano, I also got rid of the low tide in one breath. It's really like a dream. When life is not going well, everything is not satisfactory, but once it gets better, everything goes well. If Gendan didn't stop me from jumping off the building at that time... a Thinking of this makes me shudder, really. Even if it’s only on the second floor, if you hit a vital point, you might die.” "So..." Qing Ci sighed like watching a series. "It's all thanks to Gendan!" "Yes, you can say that. It is thanks to him that we can be admitted to Musashino Music University in the future." "It's a touching story." Hai Qing also sighed and nodded, but suddenly tilted her head. "However, I understand that Ms. Zhu Hua is grateful to Teacher Long Dan, but can this be interpreted as goodwill or love? Could it be that you are wrong?" "Ah, that's it, I understand what you mean. I didn't like him immediately from then on. At first, I even found him annoying; if it's the type I like, it's fine, but it's just a classmate , Why are you so fierce to me? Of course, on the other hand, I am also very grateful to him. Looking back now, my feelings at that time were quite complicated." "No, I understand very well. Then when did you realize that you fell in love with Sensei Rindou?" "It should be... last year!" "Huh?" The story suddenly jumped from nine years ago to last year, making Qingci's eyes widen. "It's so close?" "Last winter, on December 10." "I remember it very clearly!" "Because it was our birthday that day! After graduating from high school, the three of us have different career paths; Rindou is from Kochi University, and I am from Tokyo's Music University." "What about Mr. Qingci? Where did you study?" "Our family runs a clothing store, and our brains are not good enough to continue our studies, so after graduating from high school, we stayed at home to help with work. That is to say, our father and mother are healthier than us, and it is important to inherit the family business. A long time later." "Qingci's house is very close to my home, so I often go to his house to play when I go back to my hometown on vacation—" "Friends from the past often come to our house. People who study in other counties and cities will come to our house if they want to meet their classmates when they return home." "Like a meeting place for classmates?" "Well, you can say that!" "So when Gendan and I meet, Qingci is usually with us. Last year we planned to celebrate our birthday with the three of us, right?" "Ah, I remembered. We made an appointment with the three of us to go drink together to celebrate Xiaofang's birthday; but we happened to have a cold that day and couldn't live without pillows, so we canceled it." "That's right, that's right, you just called the day before. But then Gendan contacted us, saying that he had something to come to Kochi the next day, and asked if we would like to come out, and he wanted to treat us to celebrate our birthday." "The kid took the initiative to contact Nong?" Qingci's expression became brighter. "What are you doing? From this point of view, that kid is also interested in Xiaofang!" "But that meal didn't work out in the end." "I didn't eat it? Why?" "We drove to Kochi separately, and we made an appointment to meet in the lobby of the Washington Hotel." "Appointment at a hotel in one go? You guys are so excited?" "Zhutou, it's just an appointment to meet there! We arrived first, and after waiting for a while, Gendan came; but he didn't come alone, he was with a young man." "Young man? Who?" "The person we haven't met looks about the same age as Gentian, maybe younger. We asked Gentian what happened, and he replied 'I'm sorry, I have a sudden emergency, can we have dinner together next time', we said It doesn't matter, Rindou will introduce that man for us, saying that he is a detective from the Kochi Police Station—” "Interpol?" As soon as this unexpected word appeared, Qing Ci showed a helpless expression; probably because he was completely unable to predict the next development! "Why did Gendan and the criminal police..." "We were also taken aback. After hearing it, it turned out that the detective's surname was Bengata, and he was a junior at Rindou University. No wonder he looked so young. When the man spoke of Tosa dialect, it was as if he had a bitter egg in his mouth. He also likes to pretend to be familiar; if he didn’t say anything, we would have thought he was a student! Long Dan said with a troubled face that he couldn’t explain the details, I thought it was very important, so he agreed to go back without saying a word. But unexpectedly Yes, but it was the criminal policeman surnamed Benbing who called me to stop." "Why?" "He said: 'Miss Zhu Hua, do you know Miss Zi Yuan too?'" "Ziyuan?" Qingci murmured in surprise.His face changed drastically, apparently he had heard this name before; but neither the house nor Haiqing noticed his wavering. "Ziyuan...who is it?" "Shion Mizue. The detective asked me if I had heard of this name before, but I didn't remember it at all; Rindou said in a panic, 'Benga, it has nothing to do with her'. But the detective didn't budge, saying: "Senior Rindou , didn’t you say that Miss Zhu Hua was there when you first met her?’” Her face that was originally facing Haiqing suddenly turned to Qingci: “Qingci, have you seen Ziyuan Ruizhi before?” "We?" His Adam's apple moved up and down, hesitating whether to tell the truth, but finally decided to pretend not to know. "When?" "When we were seniors with Long Dan, it should be four years ago! Didn't the three of us go to the garden party of Anyi High School together?" "At first it was nine years ago, then it jumped to last year, and now it's four years ago?" Qingci is obviously not good at breaking the topic, so he confirmed these things without thinking. "Jumping around, we're in a mess!" "Don't you remember? Speaking of which, you probably don't know her name; we only knew her name was Ziyuan when the criminal police mentioned it. Didn't we go back to our hometown to find a job in the fall of four years ago? At that time we said we would Going to see the activities of the younger brothers and sisters, and take a break, so the three of us—no, there seems to be one more person? Anyway, we went to visit the garden party of An Yi High School; It sounds so interesting, let's just say we want to play and see—" Haiqing always felt as if she had heard the name Ziyuan Ruizhi somewhere, and now she finally remembered that it was mentioned by Mudan Masuko, a friend of Shuiyu Jilizi.The girl who passed away the year she first entered Kochi University—she was classmates with Kiriko and Masuko, so it should be last year. "But there were so many people, and we couldn't get in after queuing up and paying; later we felt that even if we waited for another hour or two, we wouldn't get our turn, so we gave up and planned to go back—" "Could it be..." Probably because the judge couldn't figure it out and it seemed unnatural, Qingci interjected: "Is it the guide girl who came here specially to return the money to us at that time?" "That's right, it's that cute girl with the braids. In fact, it's just fifty yuan, so I don't care about it at all, but she came here to pay back the money and give us the candy for the prize, saying it's an apology. Then The girl is Shion Mizue." "What happened to that girl?" "I heard she passed away." "What!" Qingci was so surprised that he spat out the water and wine from his mouth.He seemed to be hearing the news for the first time. "Passed away...she died?" "According to the detective, he was found dead in the apartment room during the vacation in May of that year. He just entered Kochi University!" "How...how did you die?" "We don't know about that. I heard that the police judged it to be a suicide at first, but later they thought it was a homicide, so they had to go to the apartment in Asakura to search for evidence again on the same day, and asked Long Dan to come to help—simply put, this That’s why Gendan temporarily canceled the birthday dinner.” "We understand this...but why does Gendan have to participate in the on-site evidence search?" "We also found it strange, so we asked. Rindou was hard to say at first, but in the end he confessed that he had been to Shion Mizue's residence..." "He knows her so well...?" "It's not just that. Although he and the criminal police didn't say it clearly, judging from the words, Gendan seems to be the first to discover it." "The discoverer...of the corpse?" House nodded heavily. "The criminal police saw that I didn't know anything about Shion Ruizhi, so they drove away in a plainclothes police car with gentian. I was left alone in the hotel lobby, and I was at a loss because I was too shocked; it was not because gentian might have anything to do with the murder case. Related, but because he has a woman with such deep feelings. I find it incredible; he is not young, and it is normal to have one or two close girlfriends, but I am shocked and find it unbearable. There was darkness in front of my eyes. I didn't realize until then that I like gentian!" "From the beginning of the opportunity, it took nine years... no, eight years to finally realize it?" "We also feel that it would be great if we could find out earlier. We must subconsciously believe that he is not the type we like, so we can't be honest with ourselves. Sigh! We are really a pig head." "However...my statement may be a bit strange, but Miss Ziyuan has passed away, right? This means that the rival in love is gone now—" "You're so naive, Mr. Yamabuki. If the rival was a living person, I wouldn't lose; but I can't win against a dead person." "So, Rindou-sensei still likes Miss Shion...?" "I just want to know this. I just invited Mr. Yamabuki here tonight! As Qingci said, An Zhuan is a woman's garden. It's not surprising that he gets close to certain students; if so, isn't it? It means that he has somewhat forgotten about Mizue Shion now? There is no way for a dead person, but if the opponent is a living person, I am confident that I will never lose, so I want to ask Mr. Yamabuki for information on this—” "So that's what happened, that's what happened! Sorry, I can't help you." It doesn't matter—the house that wanted to answer like this closed its mouth again, because the strange floating feeling that had calmed down before invaded again.Her explanation was over, but a strange impulse welled up in her throat, as if the topic was about to begin.Before she realized what she wanted to say, her tongue had already started to twirl. "...I remembered a strange thing." "What's up?" "Nine years ago, when I wanted to jump from the school building—" "It's nine years ago again?" Qingci laughed. "Aren't you too busy?" "Gentian was still wearing outdoor shoes when he grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back." "so what?" "Don't you find it strange?" "What's wrong? Gendan ran up in a hurry when he saw the small room stepping out of the window? In that case, which pig would leisurely change into indoor shoes?" "Yes!" The house nodded, feeling confused.Why did I find this strange, and even brought it up without thinking? "...It's nothing surprising." However, in the next moment, the house understood why he mentioned the shoes.Where did the gentian come from?It couldn't be the front entrance, because Gentian had unlocked it when he left with the house; in other words, the glass door was originally locked. In this way, the gentian goes around to the east or west of the school building, crosses the atrium, and goes upstairs from the student shoe cabinet; other than that, there is no other way to enter the school building.But it is impossible for Gentian to go this way, because the iron rolling door at the entrance of the shoe cabinet is pulled down at night. That night, the iron rolling door was also pulled down, which was witnessed by the house; when she walked out of the front porch, she once looked back at the building with T-shaped corridors and passages, and clearly saw that the iron rolling door at the other end was pulled down .The dark memory image hidden in the consciousness in the past, now vividly emerges in the house's mind. She knew her lips were trembling.Where did the gentian enter the schoolhouse at night?Isn't it the front entrance and the back side, but the east gate?She didn't make sure the east door was closed, maybe it was still open. But is it possible?House doubts.It is understandable to see the house from the outside ready to jump off the building; but the question is, how did Gentian enter the night school building in a state of secret room?He wanted to save people but couldn't get in. Fortunately, the east gate happened to be unlocked at that time?How can there be such a coincidence in the world?Another assumption is far more plausible than this view!That is, Gentian was hiding in the school building. Just like the house that night, Gendan also hid somewhere in the school building; in order to prevent the teacher from checking the shoe cabinet, he specially changed into outdoor shoes, and hid in the toilet or other rooms without saying a word, waiting for the school building to be emptied.but…… But why did Gentian do this?The house is deliberately hiding in order to commit suicide, what is the purpose of Gentian?Thinking of this, the house suddenly remembered a seemingly irrelevant matter at first glance-how could he answer two questions correctly and get a high score of 40 in the math test the next day?It was a dream score for House, and it still haunts her nine years later.It was because she guessed the questions correctly...but how did she guess those questions? Vivid memory images resurfaced.At that time, the handout in Gendan's hand seemed to be printed with the math problems of the exercises; the house was naturally not in the mood to read the whole content carefully, but two of the problems were imprinted on her retina in an instant, and remained in a corner of her subconscious.Although she didn't deliberately memorize the questions, she kept thinking about those two questions when she was studying that night, so she memorized the answers by force. Could it be that what Long Dan was holding was not the practice questions, but the next day's exam questions?Gendan somehow got the backup key of the teacher's office, sneaked into the office the day before the exam, and took the copy of the test paper; then he just had to leave the school and go home without being found. However, Rindou, who left the office, found that he was not the only one staying in the school; at that time, the house that came down from the third floor was opening the window of the corridor on the second floor, trying to jump off the building, so he quickly grabbed her by the shoulder to stop it. The house always thought that Gentian stopped him reflexively based on a strong sense of morality, but now that he thought about it, he felt that he had other plans.Assuming that the house really jumped from the second floor, it’s fine if no one sees it, but there are bright lights and passers-by outside, and there may be people who happen to look in the direction of the school building from the window. If you see someone falling from the second floor, you will definitely call the police immediately It would be bad if he was seen fleeing the school building recklessly at such a moment.Not only the matter of hiding in the school building at night, but also the matter of stealing exam questions will also be exposed. 房子过去一直没来由地认定龙胆是气她不爱惜生命，当时才会如此愤慨；但或许实际上的理由并非如此崇高，他只是对于在关键时刻来破坏自己好事的笨女人感到愤怒而已。这么一想，似乎便能解释他当时何以那般愤怒了。 “怎么啦？小房。”青磁打量着突而怫然不语的房子。“喝醉了啊？” “白痴，这么一点酒哪会醉？欸，咱们换个地方好不好？咱又想唱歌了。” “咱是无所谓啦！” “假如不会打扰你们的话，”青磁带着征询之意转向海晴，海晴也点了点头。“我也一起去吧！” “好！那就走呗！” 三人这回到了房子常去的卡拉OK.房子虽说想唱歌，其实自己几乎不唱，而是将麦克风推给青磁及海晴。两人合唱“恋爱假期”时，她在一旁鼓掌喝采，满脑子却尽是龙胆的事。 龙胆每到考前就会那么做吗……？应该不是吧！反覆思索之后，房子否定了。下手的次数越多，被发现的危险性越大；很难想像他每到考试就会冒着这种风险去偷试卷。他应该是一时鬼迷心窍吧！一定是的，龙胆无须那么做，也能考高分；他会作弊，想必是有某种理由，比方那阵子正巧身体不适之类的。没错，肯定有理由，她希望有。 毕竟，无论动机为何，他救了房子是不争的事实。假如当时房子死了，便再也无法歌颂学生生活，再也无法弹她最爱的钢琴。龙胆是房子的恩人，这点并未有任何改变；虽然没有任何改变…… “人真格的容易变心耶！”从卡拉零K前往青磁家的路上，房子如此喃喃地自言自语。“好空虚。” “怎么啦？小房。” “总觉得说出来以后，咱的感情也冷却下来了。” “感情？对龙胆的？” 房子点头，三人抵达了青磁家。青磁的房间是个约有十二张榻榻米大的组合式预制房，与主屋分离，另成一栋；里头有套精美的接待桌椅组，头上则是张高架床。 “原来如此，这个房间的确很适合当作朋友的集会场！真棒。” “很棒吧？”房子宛若夸耀自己的房间似地得意洋洋。“不必顾虑家人，可以尽情嬉闹。青磁的家人在他国中时替他盖了这个房间，好令人羡慕！” “哈哈哈，咱可是大少爷咧！山吹先生，喝白兰地成吗？” 海晴正想回答他什么都喝时，突然有人敲门；一个休闲服打扮、身材圆滚滚的银发老妇人端着餐盘走进房里来。“回来了也不早说！” “哇，妈，这啥东西啊？”放到桌上的餐盘里摆满了炸肉及沙拉等大量菜肴，一看便知绝不是区区三人能够吃得完的。“咱不是老说宵夜只要一点点就好了吗？” “说啥傻话，有句俗语不是这么说？'天惨地惨，没有眼前的食物不好来得惨！'” “可是咱们吃了不少东西才回来的耶！” “吃不完剩下没关系。” “好、好！咱又要发胖啦！” “龙胆没和你们在一起啊？” “他先回去了。”从房子的口吻判断，她和青磁的母亲似乎还挺熟络的；看来趁儿子的朋友们来家里时大展手艺，似乎是这位母亲的兴趣。“他最近作息忒规律。” “很好啊！当了大学老师，作息不规律怎么成呢？” 对了、对了，这位山吹先生也在大学工作——房子总算替海晴引见。青磁的母亲见了海晴的身材，判断他的胃袋应该相当巨大，便浮现了礼貌性微笑，说道：“拉面之类的咱随时能煮，要是想吃请说一声。请慢慢坐呗！”也不等对方回话，一口气说完便离开了房间。 “这老太婆忒难搞。山吹先生，不必勉强吃。她因为自己肥，就把养肥别人当成生存意义。” “那我就在不勉强的范围内享用了。” 三人默默地喝了片刻的白兰地——正确说来，只有海晴一人时而从盘里拿起炸肉放入口中。 “欸，小房。”此时，青磁泛红的脸似因苦恼而变得苍白。“都这种时候了，咱就老实说呗！” “汝个没头没脑地说啥啊？” “其实……咱早就知道紫苑瑞枝这个名字了。” "what?" “应该说，就是咱告诉龙胆她叫啥名字的。” "what happened?" “四年前，咱们不是三个人一起去逛安艺高中的园游会吗？不，慢着，是四个人？咱想起来了，朱鹭也在，他正好回安艺。” “啊！对耶！真格的、真格的，这么一提，小晃那时候也有去。” “总之，园游会那天的晚上，龙胆打电话到咱家来，要咱替他查那个导览女孩的名字。” “咦？”房子高声叫道，探出了身子；接着又像是忆起了海晴的存在似地，瞥了他一眼后才放低音量。 "What's going on here?" “大概是对她一见钟情呗！那小子的声音听起来忒亢奋。当时龙胆还在朝仓租房子，对呗？他升大四，课业正忙，没办法常回安艺，所以要咱一定得帮他查那女孩的事。听他那声调，假如人在咱眼前，只怕要跪下来求咱了咧！” “原来有过这种事啊……”房子的语气与其说是惊讶，倒像是看热闹。“然后呢？然后呢？” “听他快哭出来了，没办法，只好透过社团的学弟妹们查啦！结果查出她的名字叫紫苑瑞枝，当时是高一，还当班长。龙胆想知道她的住址、电话，不过她好像是室户羽根那边的人，所以住校；咱觉得查到人家家里末免太没礼貌，也嫌麻烦；就只跟龙胆说她住在女生宿舍，剩下的交给他自己想办法。” "and then?" “还然后？然后就没啦！龙胆之后啥也没跟咱说，要不是小房提起，咱早忘了紫苑瑞枝这名字啦！不，慢着。”青磁虽对海晴旺盛的食欲感到不可置信，却也受他影响，拿了块炸肉放进口中。“这么一提，他谈过一次她的事，呃……是前年，不，是去年三月时。那时咱看龙胆难得心情忒好，问他怎么回事，他说'她终于要上大学了'。咱问'她'是谁？他说就是从前拜托咱帮忙查的那个紫苑瑞枝。” “当时她应该高三，快毕业了呗？这么说来，龙胆已经和她交往了快两年？” “不，好像没有。咱问他：'她上大学，侬干嘛那么高兴？'他说：'因为这下我总算能和她正式交往了！'一问之下，原来听完咱的报告以后，龙胆立刻联络她并自我介绍，表示希望能和她长久交往；不过她却说自己还是高中生，希望专心于学业之上，无法和他交往。当然，龙胆无法接受这个答覆，咱想他八成还追问人家是不是有男朋友；但她还是坚持上大学前不和任何人交往。” “原来如此，两年那么长，他一定忒高兴呗！她考上高知大学，咱看最高兴的不是她本人或她的家人，而是龙胆。” “也没那么乐观啦！龙胆那年修完硕士，已经讲好要去刚开校的安专当讲师。换句话说——” “啊，对喔！本来龙胆人在朝仓，她人在安艺；现在反过来，龙胆回安艺来，她却要到朝仓去了。” “龙胆其实想留在高知大学当助教；当然，是为了待在她身旁。不过当时没空缺，安艺到朝仓开车不过一个半小时，也还算不上是远距离恋爱，所以他才死心到安专教书。” “原来是这样啊……”受了两个男人的食欲刺激，房子也开始动起筷子来。“那她死在去年春天的事，汝个也知道啰？” “不，完全不知道，今晚听了吓一大跳。” “汝个没听过葬礼之类的风声吗？” “咱不是说过，她家是在室户吗？再说，既然起先判定是自杀，报纸应该也不会刊，龙胆又啥都没说。” “是吗？说得也是。” “不过现在一想，倒也不是无迹可寻。那小子去年春天不是一直闷闷不乐的？” “啊，对！没错。”房子似乎也有印象。“连假结束后，好一阵子他都板着脸，邀他喝酒也都不太赏光。咱那时还以为是他刚到安专、工作累的缘故呢！” “咱也一直以为是教年轻女孩、神经紧绷的关系。现在回想起来，原来不是这个缘故啊！话说回来，那个叫紫苑的女孩为啥自杀啊？” “刑警不是说有他杀的可能？” “啊，对喔！假如是他杀，凶手抓到了没？” “谁知道？说不定其实还是自杀。算了、算了，别再说这个了，换个有趣的话题呗！”结果，当晚海晴在青磁家待到了破晓时分。三人和乐融融地吃完青磁的母亲煮的拉面，待海晴与房子等人告别之时，天边已呈现一片鱼肚白了。海晴见已无暇补眠，无可奈何，只好回公寓冲个澡、换件衣服，直接前往上班。他对体力素来有自信，就算一、两晚不睡也不成问题；但他呼出来的气却是连自己闻了都要大皱眉头的熟柿子味，令他有些介意。说归说，他又不愿请假；一提到职业道德，海晴便立刻化为从平时悠哉模样绝难想像的老顽固。对他而言，全勤、不迟到是基本伦理。 “咦？”离早上七点尚有数分钟，海晴抵达办公室时，门却已然开着。“股长！”令人惊讶的是，洗柿竟然独自在打扫办公室；当然，其他人皆尚未出勤。 “哦！今天怎么这么早来？” “洗柿先生也很早啊！啊！”让上司一大早做打扫工作，令海晴觉得颇不自在，连忙走向橱柜拿拖把。“我来弄就好了。” “啊，没关系、没关系，已经弄完啦！倒是你可不可以替我烧水啊？我们来泡杯咖啡喝吧！” “每天早上——”海晴将冒着热气的咖啡杯放到洗柿前，忍不住问道：“你都这么早来吗？” “怎么可能？只有餐会隔天才会这么早来。” "why?" “喝了酒的人，隔天早起很痛苦吧？可是我没喝酒，不会宿醉，就算前一天有餐会也没影响；既然如此，当然该由不痛苦的人早点来，比较合理啊！也可以先解决一点杂务。” 海晴一向认为在人人相互体贴的职场工作，是最大的幸福；因此听了这一番话，不由得深深感动。“没想到你这么设身处地为别人着想……真是社会人的楷模啊！” “没那么夸张啦！” “一点也不夸张！有幸接受洗柿先生这样的人指导，我真是全日本最幸福的人。假如可以，我希望能一辈子在你手下做事！” 一开始洗柿只是腼腆地微笑，但他发现海晴的眼角竟微微湿润时，不禁皱起眉头。即使海晴的眼眶是因饮酒过量才泛红，这一番话却显然不是客套，而是发自内心。洗柿不由得担心起来：“这个小哥没问题吧？”打从初次见面时，这小子就有点怪怪的；虽然人不坏，脑袋瓜却似乎稍嫌空荡了些…… “我也不是自愿这么为人着想的，只是不会喝酒，无可奈何。”洗柿的感觉犹如走马看花之际马儿却脱缰狂奔一般，他的理智希望就此打住，舌头却背道而驰，不肯停歇，与睽违数年的酩酊感相仿的浮游感包围全身。“唉，酒这种东西，不喝最好。喝醉了，只是胡言乱语的话还算可爱，但有时候可是会犯下无法弥补的大错。山吹，你知道吗？以人口比例来说，高知的重大犯罪率是全国第一高。” “咦？可是我觉得和东京比起来，这里的气氛很安详啊！” “这里的计划性犯罪虽然少，冲动型犯罪却很多。不，也不是冲动型，该说是不经大脑型吧！比方说喝醉了吵架，吵着吵着发起火来，就亮刀子；这时候加害人早已失去自制力，一不小心就闹出人命，即使与被害人是当天才认识的也一样。” “还真可怕耶！” “与其说是可怕，不如说是蠢。我不知道有没有人统计过，但要说起酒醉闹事率，高知肯定是全国第一。酒真的很可怕啊！最可怕的就是你以为知道自己在做什么，其实根本不知道。我也曾因此犯下无法弥补的大错。” “洗柿先生也是？是怎样的大错啊？” “我……”他的理智正尖声质问自己在说什么，但舌头却像酒醉般持续失控；即使如此，他仍有多余的心力环顾四周，确认其他人尚未出勤。“害死了我妈。” “害死令堂？怎么回事？” “那已经是八、九年前的事了。那时我老大刚出生，所以应该是九年前吧！当时住的不是现在的家，而是从前的老家。我和我老婆、孩子及我妈四个人住在一起，我爸早就不在了。那时候我是市立国中的行政人员，晚上一如往常去应酬，喝得酒气冲天才回家；当天我老婆带着刚出生的孩子去给她父母看，要在娘家过夜，所以我比平常还要放纵，喝了很多，连自己都记不得续了几摊。当然，我喝了一整夜，等看见家里的灯光时，已经是清晨三点左右了。” “令堂那时在家吗？” “在。我妈还是学生时就结婚生下了我，所以当时还年轻；呃，应该不到五十岁吧！还在工作。她在安艺高中当老师，隔天还得上课，我以为她早睡了，没想到二楼的灯却亮着。不过，我一开始并不觉得奇怪；应该说，我根本没发现二楼的灯亮着。” “这又是为什么？” “我的旧家是在农田附近，玄关正朝着农田；白天还好，但晚上是一片漆黑。我有一次喝醉回家，还掉到田里去。” “没有栅栏吗？” “栅栏？才没那种玩意儿咧！放眼望去全是农田，对侧的房子看来就像火柴盒一样大。总之，路很窄，半夜走起来很危险。其实走到家门口就有门前灯引路，但问题是走到门口之前；所以我家的院子里立了一座夜灯，好让我们在远处就能借光看清脚下。那灯大概比二楼的屋顶还要矮一点，多亏有它，半夜喝醉回来才不会踩空，也比较安全。当晚我心情很好，虽然觉得有点暗，但还不到伸手不见五指的地步，所以一点都不以为意；回家一看，才发现院子里的夜灯没亮，好像是灯泡坏了，但二楼的灯却亮着。我那时想着'哎呀？妈还没睡啊？'但倒也没放在心上，大概是因为醉了吧！反而注意起挂在二楼扶手上的棉被——” “棉被？” “嗯，二楼挂着棉被，我猜是我妈晾着忘了收。我一想到得换灯泡又得收棉被，就觉得麻烦，厌钝得很，干脆伸手把棉被拉下来。” “咦？碰得到吗？”海晴猜想“厌钝”大概是“不耐烦”之意，又问道：“棉被晾在二楼耶！” “不不不，起先碰不到，不过我跳了一跳，发现好像够得到。山吹，这就是醉汉的可怕之处；平时我根本不会干这种蠢事，但当时那种快够到却又碰不到的毫厘之差却在我心头点了一把火。我伸着手连跳了好几次，跳着跳着火大起来，心里咒骂：'他妈的，老子一定要把你拉下来！'” “就好像面对女人时心痒难耐的男人一样？” “可以这么说。最后我终于抓住了棉被，被子啪一声地掉到身上、罩住了头，我一时之间什么都看不见，又加上那时喝醉酒，脚步摇摇晃晃，所以一头往后栽，就那么倒在地上。虽然庭院里是草地，但我没任何防备就倒下，撞得迷迷糊糊；而且刚才跳来跳去，酒气运行，所以就睡着了。总之，我也不知道自己失去意识多久；等我回过神来，只觉得眼前一片黑暗，又喘不过气来。我立刻发现自己盖着棉被，起先还以为是在房里睡觉，后然才察觉是在庭院。我心想'怎么会睡在院子里？'一看四周，吓了一大跳，我妈竟然倒在我身后！一开始我还搞不清楚状况，但渐渐地就想起自己做了什么事。当时我把挂在二楼扶手上的棉被硬拉下来……就是那个时候……” “难道说，当时把令堂也一起拉下来了？” “好像是。我妈八成是半夜醒来，发现棉被还晾着，就从二楼窗户探出身子，想把它收进来吧！她双手抓着棉被、正没防备的时候，我刚好从下面拉扯，结果她连叫都来不及叫，就从二楼窗户掉下院子，头部朝下，撞到了夜灯周围的庭石。” “不过，洗柿先生没发现吗？你拉棉被的时候，令堂正在楼上收被——” “我不想把全部的责任都推到酒醉头上，但我当时喝醉了，是真的没发现。搞不好我妈发现我在下头拉棉被，曾叫我别拉了，但我没听见。总之，我连忙摇晃我妈的身体，她却完全没反应，已经没呼吸了。我六神无主，抓着凉鞋冲进家里，叫了警察和救护车。” “当时令堂已经过世了吗？” “是脑挫伤。警方来了以后做了很多调查，我的酒也早醒了，试着描述事情的经过，却无法好好说明；当然啊！因为我杀了我妈。虽然最后以意外结案，我并未被追究，但说真的，我宁愿被关进牢里，心里还好过一点。那件事给了我很大的打击，后来我就无法喝酒了，总觉得要是喝醉，搞不好又会闯下滔天大祸。” "I see." “我这话可能很怪，但幸好我害的是亲人，假如是外人该怎么办？我拿什么赔人家？光是害死我妈这件事，就已经让我想上吊了。一想到这里，我就怕得不敢喝酒。人的身体真的很不可思议，心里这么想，身体就跟着变成这样；之后有好几次我参加喜宴，想说滴酒不沾未免失礼，就在干杯时喝了一小口啤酒，但还是不行，一喝就反胃吐出来。我的身体已经完全无法喝酒了。” “是这样啊！真是活受罪。” “亲朋好友都很同情我；不巧我老婆不在家，不巧棉被忘了收，不巧我喝醉回家时我妈正好想收棉被……他们都说，是因为这些小小的不幸凑在一起、是我运气不好，才会发生这种事。但听他们这么说，我更难过；虽然我很感谢他们的好意，但我宁愿被骂个狗血淋头，心里还好过一些。我消沉了好一阵子，还得了忧郁症，身心失调。” “你太太应该也很难过吧！” “是啊！她好像不知道该如何安慰自己的老公，就算对我说不是我的错，也不能改变什么。唉！现在回想起来，她的心情我很能理解。她怕我难过，后来就尽量不提这个话题；不过有一天，她却不小心脱口问我：'欸，老公，你不觉得奇怪吗？'我问她什么事奇怪，她说：'妈为什么选在那种日子晾棉被啊？'” “'那种日子'是什么意思啊？” “我也问了这个问题。她说，那天一整天都是阴天，虽然没下雨，但天气预报是说'时而有雨'；所以她觉得奇怪，为什么会在那种日子晾棉被？经她这么一说，我也觉得怪。当时家事是我妈和老婆分着做，衣服是我妈洗的，所以她一向比别人更注意天气预报；这样的她为什么会特地在那天晾棉被？仔细一想，我老妈也不是会忘记收被子的人。” “这么一说，的确很奇怪。” “怪是怪，但事实上她就是这么做了，也没办法啊！” “你刚刚说警方来了以后做了不少调查，那警方对于令堂的死有提到任何疑点吗？” “没说什么，倒是说过我妈似乎死了有一段时间；不