Chapter 46 Section 5

After returning home that night, the first thing Qing Jiang did was to check the jewelry.He wanted to make sure the necklace was still there.He usually puts it in a drawer, but no matter how hard he searches, he can't find it.He tried to remember when he last wore it.It was probably a week or ten days ago, I can't remember.He always decides what to wear and accessories for the day on a whim. He wanted to gather his thoughts, so he sat on the sofa with a beer in his hand.Suddenly, the phone rang, and it was Meifuyu calling. "The police came just now, about that girl named Nakano Ami."

"Oh." It seems that the police immediately went to Meidong. "I heard that gangsters were encountered and the money was robbed. It seems that something has happened. They didn't tell me the details." "Come here too." "I know. I don't know that girl very well. What's she like?" "Very good, enthusiastic about work, and good attitude towards customers. I'm surprised that this kind of thing happened." "Did you tell the other clerks?" "not yet." "Well. It's hard to say about it, maybe it's better not to say it, so as not to disturb everyone's mind and affect the atmosphere in the store."

"The police asked me to ask everyone if they could provide any clues." "You don't have to worry about this kind of thing, anyway, those people will ask the clerk one by one." Qing Jiang also thought so. "Let's not talk about this first, the police showed me a strange thing." Mei Dong's words made Qing Jiang startled, "Photos, pictures of pendants, carved in the shape of skulls and roses. The police asked me if I had any Where have you seen it?" Qing Jiang thought, as expected.By now, he was beginning to regret his answer. "Do you have something like that?"

Meifu still remembers.He remembered wearing it a few times when he met her, and she praised the style of the necklace. "Do you have it?" Seeing that he didn't answer, Meidong asked again. "...Yes." He had no choice but to admit. "Sure enough. Did the police let you see that photo too?" "Ok." "How did you answer? Say you have the same thing?" "No, I said I haven't seen it..." Worried that he would be blamed for this incident, he continued, "I think it's good to say that. If I say that I have the same thing, I worry about being suspected for no reason."

"That's true... the police came to ask me, and I guessed it might be so." "Mifuyu, what did you say?" "I said I hadn't seen it. It's okay for me to pretend to be confused, but you'd better tell the truth. Those policemen will definitely show the photos everywhere. Maybe someone will say it's your thing, and that's troublesome." "I regret it too." "So, that necklace is in your hand?" Mifuyu's question hit him where it hurt.Holding the cordless phone in his hand, he tilted his face. "What's the matter? Haven't confirmed yet?" She asked anxiously.

"No, it's confirmed." "In your hands?" "This..." he faltered. "Gone?" "I guess it's mixed up with something." Strong uneasiness surged into Qing Jiang's heart again.The place where he puts his jewelry is fixed, no matter how urgent he is, if he doesn't put it away properly, he will feel uncomfortable. "Look for it quickly, if you can't find you, it will be troublesome." "I know, you don't need to remind me." His tone couldn't help being a bit rough, he sighed, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. It happened so suddenly, I'm a little anxious."

"I'm exaggerating too much. I'm not doubting you, but you'd better be fully prepared." "I'll look for it more carefully." "That's all right. Besides, there's one more thing that bothers me." "what?" "You use EGOISTE?" "EGOISTE? Chanel's?" is a men's fragrance. "Sometimes." "Oh, sure enough..." Meidong seemed to be thinking about something on the other end of the phone. "What? What's wrong with EGOISTE?" "I don't know. The police asked a strange question, saying that they smelled a fragrance when they met you, and asked if you wear perfume. They didn't ask you that?"

"No. What does that mean?" "I told them that beauticians need to be in close contact with customers. Some people use perfume to eliminate body odor. I guess Qingjiang is the same. But I always feel a little worried. They seem to ask casually, but there may be some purpose." Qing Jiang recalled the expressions of the policemen who came today.They didn't seem to suspect anything, but actually observed carefully in many ways. "If you find that necklace, let me know." "Yeah. I'm sorry for making you worry." Qing Jiang, who got up and left in front of Meidong yesterday after leaving a single sentence, is now very grateful for her sense of companionship.

After hanging up the phone, he started looking for the necklace again.I searched everywhere I could think of, but found nothing. Another three days later, Nakano Ami still came to work. "How is Ya Shi? Has there been a call from her family?" Qing Jiang asked a male shop assistant surnamed Tsurumi next to him. "It seems not." Tsurumi shook his head. "Would you like to rest for a while? Then we have to think about countermeasures... It's really troublesome." "Looks like Satomi went to see her yesterday." "Tsurumi!" Satomi, who was preparing for business, stared at Tsurumi sternly.Satomi came to work here a year ago and worked in other stores for three years.

"Oh?" Qingjiang looked at Satomi. She nodded, feeling very reluctant.It looked like she didn't want others to talk about it. "What is Ash doing now?" "What are you doing? Nothing..." Satomi lowered her head.She didn't want to face Qing Jiang directly. "Do you look in good spirits?" Satomi didn't answer, just tilted her head slightly. "What's the matter? Didn't you go to see Ash? Of course you know her situation." "Qingjiang, don't you know what happened to her?" Satomi rolled his eyes and looked at him.

Qing Jiang hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Know." "Then you should know that she can't be in good spirits." "This, of course..." Qing Jiang was speechless.Only then did he realize that the shop assistants around him were all staring at him. "It is estimated that Yamei will not be able to go to work in the near future." Leaving this sentence, Satomi walked away from Qingjiang.This seemed to be a signal, and everyone else continued to get busy with the work at hand.No one came over to talk to Qing Jiang. Qing Jiang found out that the shop assistants looked strange yesterday, the usual cheerful atmosphere was gone, and everyone didn't speak much, as if they were hiding some secrets in their hearts.He realized that everyone already knew what happened to Ami, and might have been questioned by the police. Could it be that necklace?Perhaps some clerk remembered that Qingjiang had worn the same thing, and guessed that he had something to do with the incident. When he was about to get off work that day, Qing Jiang's cell phone rang, and it was Wei Fang who called, saying that he hoped to meet him and would wait in front of his apartment.Qing Jiang murmured in his heart, but agreed. "I'm sorry to disturb you again." Wei Fang bowed his head politely and apologized.The other party was too polite, and in Qing Jiang's view, it became more and more ulterior motives. The policemen set up the conversation place, and Qing Jiang silently followed.It was a nearby coffee shop, the one Meifuyu went to when we met a few days ago, I don't know if it was by chance. "When we met last time, did Mr. Qing Jiang make a wrong judgment, or maybe a misunderstanding or arbitrariness?" After ordering three cups of coffee, Wei Fang asked. "What's up?" "This." Seeing what the police took out, Qing Jiang thought, it really is this—the photo of the necklace. "In this regard, I was looking for an explanation to you." "So you say, you did see this?" "I have a necklace identical to this one, but blurted out I've never seen it last time." "Oh, why are you lying?" The police emphasized the word "lying". "I think I have the same thing, but it has nothing to do with this case. How to put it, I don't want to cause disturbance to the work of the police." "In other words, you are thinking of us?" "No, that's not the case." Qing Jiang broke out in a cold sweat, and took out a handkerchief from his pocket.When the coffee was served, Qing Jiang took a sip immediately, his throat was so dry that it was about to smoke. "We then asked a few more people, including your colleagues. Someone said they had seen you wearing the same necklace, and not one person said that." "Employees in our store can probably recognize it." Qing Jiang's voice became very quiet. "Oh, I want to hear you explain it yourself, so we can save trouble." "I'm sorry. To be honest, I don't want to be strangely misunderstood." "What exactly?" "This..." Qing Jiang looked at the policeman's face, and couldn't help shivering.There was a slight smile at the corners of their mouths, but their eyes were extremely cold. "I guess that necklace is related to the case. If I say the same thing, I'm afraid I will be suspected..." "You're right, we think it has a lot to do with the case. To tell you the truth, it was left at the scene of Ami Nakano's attack and the chain broke. But we don't think it's definitely the perpetrator What's left behind, we're not so simple yet. But you have exactly the same thing, but deliberately conceal it, which is a bit strange." "Wait a minute," Qing Jiang's eyes widened, "I really have nothing to do with this matter. I apologize to you for hiding the necklace, but it just happened to have the same thing." Tai Fang still stared at him with cold eyes, took a sip of coffee. "happen?" "Coincidentally." Qing Jiang repeated. "So, excuse me, can I go to your place and have a look?" "what……" "I hope you can show us," Wei Fang smiled, "that necklace." Qing Jiang felt that the blood in his whole body was congealed. "No, this..." He inserted his fingers into his hair and scratched his head vigorously, "I started looking for it a few days ago, but I seem to have lost it." "Lost it?" Wei Fang opened his eyes wide, and the young police officer next to him bit his lower lip. "No, this, if you search carefully, you may find it." "Do you have it on hand now?" "It's... probably somewhere in the house." "Understood." Wei Wei winked at his colleague, who wrote something in the notepad.Qing Jiang is very concerned about what he writes. "Did you not attend the study session in the store on the night of the incident?" Wei Fang asked. "Well, as I said last time, I'm going to see Xinhai." "I have confirmed this matter with Ms. Xinhai. I heard that it started at ten o'clock, and we talked about forty to fifty minutes, right?" "almost." "I heard it's in this store." "Yes." Qing Jiang thought, the police brought him to this shop, it really wasn't accidental. Tail looked around the store. "What did you do after meeting Ms. Xinhai?" "Of course I'm going back to my residence, it's right next to me." "Then?" "After that... are you asking me what I did?" "Yes." The policeman nodded.He spoke politely, but exuded a high-handed air. "Nothing. Eat something, drank a beer, then fell asleep and probably watched TV." "What program?" "Ah?" Qing Jiang was a little at a loss, "I didn't remember it, and I didn't read it carefully. Why do you ask this? It's like investigating my alibi." The police did not deny this.He took out a box of Seven Stars, put one in his mouth, lit it with a disposable lighter, moved slowly, and then slowly puffed out the cigarette. "How long does it take from here to Komazawa where Ms. Nakano Ami's accident happened? It's only twenty minutes by car, no, fifteen minutes, maybe shorter." "Wait a minute, are you suspicious of me? Of course, the same thing as the necklace I wore was left behind at the scene. I have no choice but to be somewhat suspicious, but how could I do that kind of thing?" "Everyone says that," said the young policeman curtly. "Don't talk nonsense." Wei Fang scolded, and looked at Qing Jiang again, "It's our job to lock down the suspects. After the case happens, everyone in this world is full of suspects. We will doubt people all over the world, and the only one we can trust is ourselves , and then slowly ruled out many people through physical evidence and case facts. In this sense, Mr. Qingjiang, we have been suspicious of you from the very beginning, and so have all the employees in the store. The degree of suspicion of you is higher than others, just like You just said, because of the necklace. If you are to be excluded from the list of suspects, you need a stronger reason than others. Alas, my job is really annoying." "Why did I attack Nakano? I was only robbed of two hundred yen, how could I do such a thing for this little money?" "The robbery is just a cover-up, and the criminal has only an attempt. What he wants is Nakano Ami's body, but by stealing money, he can pretend to be a fugitive. This is how we look at it," Ogata said. "I'm not interested in Nakano." "Others don't know about it. At least it's a fact that you like her, right? You are the one who interviewed and decided to hire her." "What I like is her character and work attitude, not her person." "Didn't you just say that? No one else knows about this kind of thing, only you know it. Let's change the subject, Mr. Qingjiang, did you wear perfume today?" "Perfume?" Qing Jiang remembered Mei Dong's words, "What's the problem?" "I heard that you always wear perfume. When we went to the store last time, you smelled good. What brand is it?" He asked the colleague next to him. "EGOISTE." "That's right, it's EGOISTE. I heard it's a product of Chanel. I didn't know it until I was so old. There are also perfumes for men." "What's the matter?" Qing Jiang was a little anxious. "The second remnant, I will know it sooner or later anyway, so I will tell you. The criminal seems to have used perfume." "What does this mean? There are many men who wear perfume, and Egoiste is not a rare thing." Qing Jiang's voice trembled. "Let's not talk about this for now. There are not only these leftovers, but also many more, such as the hair collected at the scene, the fingerprints left on the car, etc., and these will be investigated soon. Finally, I will ask again, since the necklace is not there In your hand, when was the last time you wore it?" "About ten days ago, I can't remember exactly..." "Oh. Call us if you find it. Needless to say, it's very important to you." Tai Fang greeted his colleagues and stood up.Qing Jiang reached out to get the bill, but Wei Fang snatched it away. "I'll pay the bill." He smiled.That look seemed to say that the suspect should not buy himself a coffee. After returning to the room, Qing Jiang's mind was blank for a long time.I didn't do anything, but I felt that I was being pursued by something.Ami Nakano's face appeared in her mind, and she suspected that Qing Jiang was the one who attacked her.Satomi heard what Ashi said, and told everyone about it, so all the shop assistants looked at Qingjiang with strange eyes. "Are you kidding me?" He couldn't help talking to himself.Just then, the phone rang. "Hi, I'm Qing Jiang." "It's me." It was Xin Hai Mifuyu.For some reason, when he heard her voice, he relaxed a lot. "Found the necklace?" "No, it's getting weirder and weirder." Qingjiang recounted the conversation with the police just now, now Meidong is the only one he can rely on. "How could this be?" Mei Dong said angrily. "It's inexplicable. First the necklace, then the EGOISTE, how can there be so many coincidences overlapping?" "It shouldn't be accidental. Of course, I'm not saying it's you." Mei Dong's words made Qing Jiang speechless for a moment.These words did not surprise him, he himself felt it vaguely. "Would you have been framed by someone? Maybe someone left the necklace on purpose and sprayed the same perfume on their body to make you a scapegoat." "I've thought about that too." "Is there such a possibility?" "I don't know, who would do that?" "Certainly not the employees in the store. If something happened to you, the store would be existential and they would lose their jobs." "Who would that be?" Meidong was silent.Qing Jiang felt that she was not thinking, but was hesitating whether to speak or not. "You may be too conspicuous." "Huh? What do you mean?" "Speaking of super beautician Shinichiro Aoe, he is now more famous than ordinary entertainers. Do you think everyone likes this situation? In the beauty industry, will there be many people who try their best to hurt others? " "Even so, would you do such a thing?" "You don't see your current situation clearly at all, so you have unrealistic ideas such as wanting to go it alone." Holding the cordless phone in his hand, Qing Jiang tilted his face. "I don't want to talk about that right now." "Yeah, now's not the time to talk about that. Anyway, I think someone set a trap and got you completely." Qing Jiang couldn't think of how to refute.This explanation is more acceptable than the unfortunate recurrence of chance. "what can we do about it?" "The best way is to find the necklace, but it's probably impossible. The necklace left at the scene must belong to you. It was stolen from your room and left behind on purpose." "From here..." He put the microphone to his ear and looked around the room.There doesn't seem to be any sign of a break-in, but as long as you find the necklace you want, there's no need to clutter the room. "Wait for three days." Meidong said, "I will find a solution within three days. You will have a hard time these few days, but you still have to go to work, so you must stand upright, understand?" "Understood. You said to find a way, what can you do?" "Leave this to me. In addition, the content of our conversation must not be told to anyone." "I know." "Then, I'll call you in the evening in three days." She hung up the phone. Putting down the phone, Qing Jiang sighed.I just proposed to Meidong to set up another company, and I don't want to cause her any trouble now, but I don't have the confidence to properly solve the current problem.She said that she would think of a way, but she didn't know how to do it.Qing Jiang couldn't figure it out at all. Three nights later, Meifuyu really called. "Do you still remember the store called 'SIRUKI'?" "The one on Roppongi Avenue?" "Well, European cuisine, I went there about two months ago, have you been there since then?" "No, I went there just once." "Great, then there's no problem. Listen, you go to that store first tomorrow. It seems to open at five o'clock in the afternoon. Try to go in as soon as the door opens, and then ask the clerk..." Meidong's instruction was not difficult, but Qing Jiang was astonished.He had a bunch of questions he wanted to ask, but she didn't give him a chance. "Don't think too much. I've arranged everything, so don't worry. Got it?" "Hmm." That was all he could answer. The next day, he went to SIRUKI in Roppongi according to Meifuyu's instructions.The store is on the third floor, and the interior decoration is antique. A thin man with protruding cheekbones in a black uniform walked over. "Are you one?" "No, I'm not here for dinner." Qing Jiang waved his hand, "I came here two weeks ago, and it seems that something was left behind, it's a necklace." The man seemed to remember something. "Weared by the lady who came with you?" "No, I wore it." "What's it like?" "Silver with pendants carved in the shapes of skulls and roses." "Skeleton and roses." The man in black repeated, "Wait a moment." He walked into the room. While waiting, Qing Jiang was restless.Mifuyu said that everything has been arranged, but is it really possible?This store may have some kind of relationship with her.But she repeatedly told Qing Jiang not to ask too many questions in the store. The man in black is back. "Is it this one?" Qing Jiang couldn't help but widen his eyes, it was the skeleton and the rose. "It's this one, that's right." "Please write your name and contact information here." While filling out the necessary items on the designated form, Qing Jiang thought, that woman is really amazing.