Chapter 11 Snow Sasa Kaori Chapter 4

The day after Hotaka's funeral, that is, on the afternoon of May 23, I took the Keihin Express to Yokohama to meet Kamibayashi Miwako.Although she went to the crematorium yesterday, I was questioned by a strange detective, so I didn't have a chance to have a good talk with her. Standing by the door, looking at the moving scenery outside the window, I recalled my conversation with the Kaga detective yesterday. Kaga obviously has doubts about Hotaka's death, to be precise, he seems to deny that the murderer of Hotaka was Namioka Junko. What is the basis for this conclusion?Although he pointed out that the number of pills was not right, it must be more than that.Maybe he also discovered other doubts and contradictions.

When I thought of the behavior of Suruga Naoyuki and Hotaka Makoto who carried the body of Namioka Junko, I couldn't help but smack my lips.Even if it happened so suddenly, it would be strange for them to think of doing it in such a conspicuous way that they could not be seen. Maybe someone witnessed their behavior and notified the police, and perhaps left behind. decisive evidence.No matter what it is, if Kaga took this action because he has this kind of evidence, then the situation is developing in a difficult direction. Having said that, even if Kaga is aware of further content, there is no need for me to be frightened.No sparks will fly, and as long as I don't confess, what connection I have with Hotaka's death will always remain a mystery.

After about ten minutes from Shinagawa, I arrived in Yokohama. I got off the train and took a deep breath while avoiding the people rushing past the stairs towards the platform.The weather suddenly changed from yesterday's gloom to today's clear sky, the outside is very warm, and there will be a gust of refreshing wind blowing from time to time. I felt a new energy build up inside me, spreading to every finger and toe of my body.There was a sense of exhilaration in my heart that I had never experienced in the past few years.Those parts of my heart that had been festering ugly disappeared completely.

The scene at yesterday's funeral was playing in my mind again, a ceremony as gloomy as the weather. At that time, I almost shed tears, tears shed for my former self.In retrospect, yesterday's funeral was also in memory of myself. But from that moment on, I was born again.Over the years, I died at the hands of Makoto Hotaka, or he cast a curse on me, and this curse was finally broken yesterday. If there is no one around, I really want to dance a few times based on my current state of mind, and I have the urge to shout: I have won!I found myself again! There is a mirror on the side, and I can't help but want to reflect myself in it, and I am confident and full of pride.

There is another sentence I really want to say, and I try to imagine myself who said it: I led that man to a dead end, that Hodaka Makoto—— This imagining made me feel twice as happy, but I didn't feel guilty at all.After thinking about it again, I headed for the stairs.On the way, I bumped into a man who looked like a working class. The man did not apologize, but looked at me with an angry expression. "Sorry." I smiled and continued on my way. I made an appointment with Kamibayashi Miwako to meet at her house. I checked my watch and found that the time was still rich. I planned to go to the bookstore in the shopping center to find out.Of course, this trip has a purpose.

After walking into the bookstore, I searched for the literary book counter, the best-selling books and the place where popular books are placed horizontally without thinking. I stood in front of that counter and moved my eyes quickly.No matter how many books there are, as long as I participated in the editing, I can find them at a glance.After a while, I found two books by Miwako Kanbayashi side by side in the second column next to me. Unsurprisingly, I was secretly delighted.The death of Hodaka Makoto is not only his own news, but also a big news about Kamibayashi Miwako.Judging from the current popularity and entertainment, compared to "Hodaka Makoto who died during the wedding", "Bride God Miwako Hayashi who died during the wedding" is more attractive to the world.It is impossible for this large bookstore to ignore this business opportunity.

If it sells well, there will most likely be another print next week.If the minister is indifferent to this, I have to go and urge him. However, when I looked away from Miwako's book, the feeling of comfort just now was halved immediately.Next to it are Makoto Hodaka's books. There are five books in total, including the earlier ones. I smacked my lips, why is this kind of man's book placed here?It is impossible for the world to be interested in the books of past writers just because they were killed. It is really uncomfortable to place such books side by side with Miwako's works. Shouldn't books with literary value be placed here?What a joke!

Just as I was thinking, a young woman with a white-collar appearance next to me quickly picked up a book by Miwako, and then turned a few pages. Hurry up and buy a copy—I send thoughts silently in my heart.Although he has been an editor for a long time, he has never seen the books he is in charge of being sold in bookstores. The female white-collar worker hesitated for a while, then finally closed the book and put it back in its original place.I was so angry that I wanted to stomp my feet. But what happened next was a little unbelievable. The woman picked up another book by Miwako and walked towards the cashier. I followed her back with my eyes.There are a lot of people at the payment office, and there is a long queue. Maybe she will change her mind when she is in the queue.I was a little anxious, and the slow movements of the male clerk made me even more impatient.

Finally, it was the woman's turn to hold Miwako's work. The clerk put a cover on the book, and the woman took out her wallet to pay, and it was finally completed smoothly. It seems that the timing is perfect~ I walked out of the bookstore with a lighter mood than before entering the bookstore. What must be considered now is how to erase the shadow of Hodaka Makoto from Miwako's heart as soon as possible.If she were to be regarded as a pair with that kind of man forever, it would undoubtedly be fatal to Miwako.But I am not worried, people in the world are very forgetful, I have a deep understanding of this.

I took a taxi from Yokohama to Kamibayashi Miwako's residence in a residential area full of old buildings.I am so happy to be here again.If the wedding ceremony ended without incident, I would have to run to Hotaka's house all the time while I was Miwako's editor-in-chief, and I had to witness their married life.Thinking about it now makes me tremble all over, and a feeling of relief surges in my heart again. I arrived three minutes earlier than the agreed time, and I rang the intercom doorbell at the entrance.Here it is Miwako's voice, "I'm Yukissa," I said into the microphone.

"Oh, you're so early!" she said. "Really?" I looked at my watch, the time should be accurate. "I'll open the door right away." The intercom was rudely cut off. I had an ominous premonition, because Miwako's voice seemed very stiff. It has been five days since the incident, and I still can't get back up? After the entrance door opened, Miwako came out. "Hello!" "Hi," I greeted with a smile, confirming my hunch was right.Miwako's complexion was worse and haggard than what I saw at the funeral yesterday. I came just in time, and perhaps there was salvation. "Please come in." "excuse me." As I passed the gate, I turned my gaze to the garage, where the dingy Volvo wasn't there today.Takahiro Kamibayashi seems to be going to university, and now is the perfect time to sit down and have a chat with Miwako. It is said that Miwako's furniture has not been shipped home, so we chose to talk in the restaurant on the first floor.Until then, our conversations had been in Miwako's room, sitting across from each other across a small folding table. In the corner of the dining table, there are many folded newspapers.And many places in those newspapers have been cut out.While Miwako was making coffee, I pulled out one of the newspapers and spread it out.Unsurprisingly, it was the social page that was cut. You don't need to ask to know what news is on it. Miwako, who noticed my movement, poured coffee into two cups and looked at me with a slightly embarrassed expression. "Sorry, I wanted to clean up." I sighed deliberately and refolded the newspaper.Then folded her arms and looked up at Miwako. "You cut and paste every story?" She nodded like a little girl. "What is the purpose of this?" I asked. This time Miwako didn't answer right away, she put two coffee cups on the tray, put a companion strip on each saucer, and slowly brought them over.Is she thinking how to explain it to me? She put two cups of coffee in front of me and herself respectively, sat down on the chair with downcast eyes, and then said slowly: "I want to put the case in order and try to make my own interpretation." "Explanation?" I couldn't help frowning. "What is an explanation?" "It's just..." Miwako opened the companion bar and poured in the coffee, then slowly stirred it with a spoon.It wasn't intentional, but it did have the effect of making me anxious. "I want to get to the bottom of the truth about what happened." "Truth? What do you mean?" "Behind Cheng's death, there are still things hidden." "That's really strange. Didn't you read the newspaper? Then, you should know the cause and effect of his killing very clearly!" "You mean, he was forced to die in love by that woman named Namioka Junko?" Yes, I nodded. Miwako took a sip of her coffee and tilted her neck, "Is that true?" "What's the matter? What's your dissatisfaction with this explanation?" "A policeman came to our house yesterday. It was a criminal policeman named Kaga from the Nerima Police Station." "Oh," I nodded, and his sharp eyes and powerful appearance appeared in front of my eyes again. "I saw it too, when you two went to the crematorium." "So, he told us, and asked Ms. Yukisa something." "He's here to investigate my alibi, you're wondering, the alibi for May 17th." I shrugged and reached for my coffee mug. "He asked us the same thing, everything about what happened on Saturday." "That policeman is not normal, you don't need to pay attention to it." "Kaga also said that Namioka's suicide was linked to a third person." Did you even say this?A bitter taste began to spread in my mouth. "What is the basis? Who is this third person?" "He didn't tell us that..." Hearing her answer like this, I was relieved for the time being. "He was just making it up. This is a high-profile case, and the police have to try their best to gain some popularity. Anyway, you can't be fooled by him." I began to emphasize the tone. "But," Miwako raised her head, "Ms. Namioka Junko has no chance to poison you." "Huh?" I also looked at her, "What's going on?" Miwako told me Kaga's words and Kamibayashi Takahiro's testimony. Combining these factors, Namioka Junko really had no chance to poison. But I can't just agree so easily, at least after listening to her words, I didn't show the turmoil in my heart on my face, how could it be like this?Let me return this sentence lightly. "Skilled thieves can't tell when he's making a move, even up close. It's not uncommon for the party being stolen to not even realize they've been stolen. Because of this, some professional killers, even if they're targeted by the police, It will also be a long time before the French Open. Although Junko Langoka is definitely not a professional killer, maybe by some accident, she found a blind spot in everyone's blind spot and poisoned it. It is not impossible!" Although This explanation is a bit difficult even to convince myself, but it is better than being silent. "Is there such a blind spot?" Mei Hezi still refused to agree. "For example," I said, "she bought rhinitis medicine on Friday, so it is possible that she went back to her room immediately after finishing the poison capsule, and then sneaked into Hotaka's house on Friday night." I thought it was reasonable, but Miwako's expression remained unchanged. "I've thought about this possibility, but I still don't think it's possible. Cheng should be at home all the time on Friday. He called me in the evening and said he was going to spend the night preparing for the trip today. So Namioka Junko Can I still sneak in?" Miwako's reasoning is impeccable, but now is not the time for emotion, I make full use of the time of drinking coffee to think.The face is calm, but the thoughts are a little disturbed.I can't lose this debate! "Although I don't want to think so, and I don't want to say it." I finally came up with an idea, and said while sorting out at super fast speed: "Nangoka Junzi may not have sneaked in quietly, it may not be necessary at all." Do that!" Miwako blinked her eyes, as if she had no idea what I was going to say next. "I mean, it's possible that she came in through the main gate. As for whether Hotaka called her or came uninvited, I don't know." Miwako finally realized the meaning of my words, her big eyes widened. "A meeting on Friday night? Cheng and her...?" "It's not impossible, is it?" "How come...he is going to get married in two days!" Mei Hezi's eyebrows were in a figure eight shape. I sighed and licked my lips, great!The initiative finally came to me. "Let me tell you the truth, among the men who are about to get married, there are many bastards who want to see their ex-girlfriends again while they are single. Of course, it's not just a meeting, they may also have sex with her." Miwako shook her head desperately, showing a very displeased expression. "I don't believe this will happen, regardless of other people, he will never do this..." "Miwako," I stared at her face intently, "I don't want to talk about these things, but the fact is that Hotaka really played with Namioka's heart. It's a pity that he is this kind of man." "Cheng has always been single before, so it's not unbelievable that he had a relationship experience before dating me!" "It wasn't before dating you!" I said, and now I have to tell the truth, "while dating you, he still maintained a relationship with her. Because of this, when she knew that Hodaka was going to date you Dizzy with rage after the news of the marriage—isn't that the case?" "He... Cheng might plan to break up with her completely." Mei Hezi's gaze was full of persistence, it was clearly the face of a young girl who hadn't experienced much in the world. I was so anxious that my teeth itch.In fact, there is another way to make this ignorant girl completely sober, and that is to show her the relationship between me and Hotaka Makoto.But saying this means that the relationship between me and Miwako is over. I took a sip of coffee, continued to deliberate on the battle plan, and it didn't take long for me to come up with another coup. "She was pregnant," I said. ah?Miwako opened her mouth wide with a dumbfounded expression. "Namioka Junko was pregnant with Hodaka Makoto's child, and of course she had an abortion. This is not hearsay, but Suruga told me. But the media has not yet learned about it." "No way……" "If you don't believe it, you can go to Suruga to confirm it yourself. Now he should tell you the truth, and Hotaka didn't allow him to spread the word before that. According to Suruga, Namioka Junko always thought that She can marry Hotaka. It is precisely because she believes in it that she agrees to the abortion." The last part of this sentence was not heard from Suruga, but I guessed it myself.But I am sure that this point is absolutely unmistakable, Hotaka is this kind of man. Perhaps because she was too shocked, Miwako remained silent, staring at the surface of the table, holding the handle of the coffee cup with her right finger.Seeing her slender, unpainted fingers, I couldn't help feeling a little bit of sympathy for her. Speaking of which, the root of all evil is still me. If I hadn't introduced that kind of man to her, the current situation wouldn't have happened.So to untie the bell, the person who tied it has to be tied. I shoulder the responsibility of bringing Miwako back to life. "Miwako?" I said in a gentle tone, "I wanted to ask a long time ago, what is so good about him?" Miwako slowly turned towards me, and looking into her dark eyes, I continued, "Why would a smart girl like you fall in love with that kind of man? I can't figure it out." Asking this out of your mouth while laughing at yourself in your heart, didn’t you like him before? "Maybe," she said, "in the eyes of me and Miss Yukiza, he looks completely different." "You mean like Jekyll and Hyde?" "No, even if it is the same person, if you look at it from different angles, you will see it completely differently." She picked up a can of coffee powder from the low cabinet next to it, and placed it horizontally on the table. "If you put it like this, it looks like a rectangle from Ms. Yukisa, right? But it looks like a circle from me." "You mean, I can't see his good side?" Mei Hezi nodded slightly after hearing what I said, and I continued: "But Mei Hezi, you haven't seen his bad side either!" "People are not perfect, and he is no exception. I always think so." "Then you weren't a little shocked just now?" "It was only a little bit, but it recovered immediately." Miwako covered her forehead with her right hand and propped her elbows on the table, as if she was enduring some kind of pain. I have some understanding of parents trying to wake up their daughters who are captives of a vicious religion, words won't help. But isn't this who I was not so long ago?I don't tell anyone about my relationship with Makoto Hodaka. Even if an acquaintance sees through our relationship and tells me that it's best to break up with him, I will ignore it. "Okay, I admit defeat." I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender.Then he slapped his hand on the table again, "After all, he died suddenly when you were in love, no matter what others say, it doesn't make sense. It may be impossible for you to hate him right away, so what do you think? Just think about it. It's just that I have a request." Miwako turned to me, her eyes were still bloodshot, and she looked like she was about to cry. "Please try to forget about the case, the sooner the better, I will help." Hearing this, she lowered her eyes again.I held the table with both hands and leaned forward. "My boss is opposed to my coming here today. He thinks that Miwako has not recovered from the case not long ago, and he asked me to let you stay alone for a while. But my view is different. The more The more you come at this time, the more you will be asked to write poems when you come.” She turned her head down and shook her head, rejecting my request with all her strength. "Why?" I asked her, "You are so sad now that you can't write? But it is this kind of sadness that must be expressed in poetry! Because you are a poet. Do you think that you only need to write some mirages?" Is it okay to dream?" I couldn't help raising my voice, because I had ardent expectations, hoping that she would cheer up as soon as possible and forget about Makoto Hodaka as soon as possible. Miwako put her hands down from the table, she seemed to be in a trance, her eyes were focused on one point. "I don't write poetry until I understand it!" "Miwako..." "About this case, I won't write until I get a clear answer. I don't want to write, and I can't write." "Even if you say that, apart from the answers we know now, there is nothing else!" "Even so, for me, the case is not over until the facts are revealed." After speaking, Mei Hezi bowed slightly, "I'm sorry." I lifted my neck and looked at the ceiling.Shh~, let out a long sigh from the stomach. "You mean, Hotaka was killed by someone other than Namioka Junko? How did that happen?" "I don't know, but there are not many people who can poison you." I couldn't help but glance at her because she was surprisingly calm when she said this.Immediately, Miwako's expression seemed to have changed from losing her mind to being extraordinarily calm. Miwako asked me with this expression, "I gave you a medicine jar before the wedding, right? Where did you put it after that?" It was past four o'clock when I left Kamibayashi's house, so I headed south in order to get to the main road where I could get a taxi.The warm breeze blows on the cheeks, and the intimate contact between the dust and the skin makes people feel very unpleasant.Why did I still feel that this climate is very pleasant just now? I have never been able to free Miwako from the shackles of this case. She is bound by the chain of suspicion. If I don't untie it, my words will never enter her ears. Forget about these things, she still suspects me—— Of course, her suspicion must not be aimed at me alone.She wanted to solve this case, so it was necessary to find out who had passed through the poisonous capsules, so she asked me to give a clear explanation.However, when I asked "where did you put it later", Miwako's eyes clearly told me that no one can enjoy special treatment for this matter. What should be done to make Miwako understand?What should be done to completely erase this case and Hodaka Makoto from her mind? When I was walking and thinking about it, a car horn sounded next to me.Startled, I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a car driving slowly beside me. "Huh?" I stopped, "Did you just come back?" "Well," Shen Lin Guihong, who was sitting in the driver's seat of the Volvo, smiled faintly, "You have been to my house, haven't you?" "Yes, my conversation with Miwako is over, and I'm going to go back now." "Huh...?" Shen Lin Guihong was a little surprised and opened his eyes wide.Maybe he is very aware of Miwako's current situation, so he has doubts about whether she can talk to me. "Actually, she can't talk about the content of her work yet." As soon as I said it, he nodded as if he understood. "Probably. But how are you going to get home now?" "I want to hail a taxi and drive to Yokohama." "Then I'll see you off, please get in the car." He unlocked the door lock of the passenger seat. "No, this is too much trouble for you." "Please don't be too polite, and I want to discuss something with you." "discuss?" "I want to ask you something, maybe it's more appropriate to say that." Shen Lin Guihong meaningfully raised his tone at the end of the words. It must be very tedious to be alone with this man for a while, but I have no reason to refuse.Moreover, I also want to test his inner thoughts. "Then I'm not impolite." I walked around to the passenger seat. "What did you and Miwako talk about?" Not long after the car drove out, he asked first. "Well, we talked a lot." I was vague, there was no need for me to show my cards first. "About the case?" "Well, let's talk a little bit." "Did Miwako say anything?" "I heard from her that the criminal police came to your house yesterday." "and then?" "'Then' means?" "Did Miwako say anything about that?" "You mean about the police coming to your door?" I pretended to be thinking, "She didn't say anything, I was a little curious after hearing this, since the case has already been solved, what else is there to investigate?" Shen Lin Guihong faced forward, nodded slightly in agreement, he obviously cared about Miwako.What I really want to know now is what kind of conversations the siblings had. "Have you two talked about the case?" I asked purposefully. "Basically, she didn't say anything. She locked herself in the room and couldn't come out." He replied coldly. I couldn't judge whether it was true or concealed. I looked at his side face, his skin was as smooth and flawless as a boy's.The facial features are so correct that one can't help but want to kiss him, but it doesn't feel real enough.He reminds me of the plastic male mannequins in the gentleman's clothing section of department stores. "About that woman named Langoka," he moved his lips, "do you know her well?" "No, not at all." "That is to say, you, like me, saw her for the first time last Saturday?" "Well, what's the matter?" "It's nothing... I wonder if anyone else knows that woman besides Suruga-san. You used to be Hotaka's managing editor, so I want to ask." "If I knew, then when Miwako was going to marry him, I would definitely stop it with all my strength." I said bluntly. Shen Lin Guihong held the steering wheel, glanced at me from the corner of the eye, "That's true." He nodded after speaking. Near Yokohama Station, the road started to get a bit congested.You find a suitable place for me to get off, I said. However, instead of answering, he asked, "Have you been with Hotaka for a long time?" "Long time?" "You guys met, or when you were his editor." Oh, I realized, "Four years... a little more." "That's a long time." "Yeah, I don't think that's the case. Recently he's been completely ignoring my work, so my editor-in-charge is just a name." "But the two of you seem to have a good personal relationship. You were the one who introduced Hotaka to Miwako, right?" What is this man trying to say?I couldn't help but strengthen my vigilance. If I was negligent, I might capsize in some gutter. "It can't be called a good personal relationship. The reason why I introduced it to Miwako is because I happen to be her editor in charge." "Really? But when we went to the restaurant for dinner last Saturday, the expressions of the two of you gave me the impression that you know each other well." "Huh? Will it? I'm a little surprised, the two of us often meet at parties and don't talk." "It's hard to tell." Shen Lin Guihong said, still facing forward. He seems to be telling me something, although he doesn't know what his basis is, but he is indeed doubting my relationship with Hodaka Makoto.He couldn't possibly want to inquire about such a thing for no reason. He must want to know if I had a motive for killing Hotaka.But why is he staring at me? In short, I cannot allow this topic to continue. "Please just stop here, I'll know how to go next," I said. "Are you in a hurry? Where should we go for a cup of tea?" Shen Lin Guihong said. In the past, he would never say such a thing to me. "Although I really want to, unfortunately, I don't have time. I have to go back to the company before the proofreading is finished." "Is that so, what a pity." There was an open space to park on the left side of the road. He slowed down, turned the steering wheel carefully and drove over. "Thank you, thanks to you, I was able to get home so quickly." I picked up my bag, put my hands on the doorknob, and planned to open the door as soon as the car stopped. "No, it might waste your time instead. Oh, right!" He said while stopping the car, "Do you have a computer?" "Computer? No, I don't have one." "That's right. Actually, I have a friend who makes computer game software. He seems to be looking for a display screen. But if you don't have one, you can't help it. Miss Yukisa, are you a word processor guy?" I shake my head. "It's a bit ashamed to say it. I don't have a computer or a word processor. In fact, editors rarely write articles by themselves, and they only need to write by hand to make red annotations on typesetting." "So that's the case." Shen Lin Guihong stared at me with probing eyes. "Then I'll take my leave first, thank you." "It's nothing, please come to my house to play again in the future." I got out of the car and circled from behind the car onto the sidewalk.Lin Guihong, the god in the driver's seat, nodded slightly, walked out, and then heaved a sigh of relief. What a difficult man to communicate, it is difficult to understand his heart.Without this man, I would never approve of Miwako's marriage.In order to get her out of this man's clutches, even if the marriage partner is Hodaka Makoto, she can only admit it. A horizontal line appeared in front of me, so I decided to walk over it.Congestion remains on the road.While walking on the crosswalk, he casually searched for Shenbayashi Guihiro's Volvo from a distance. Volvo was about 20 meters behind, and it seemed that it hadn't moved much since just now.Presumably Shen Lin Guihong must have been impatient to wait. I thought so and glanced at the driver's seat, but was shocked and almost stopped. Shen Lin Guihong was still staring at me, with his hands on the steering wheel and his chin resting on his fingernails.The eyes are always on me, and the eyes are like a scholar observing some kind of object. I quickly turned my face away and left the place quickly.