Chapter 13 Section 5

Can't hear the conversation between the two at all.Zhelang sat cross-legged on the ground, and Risako lay on the bed, waiting for Mizuki to knock on the door. Zhe Lang imagined that Meiyue should explain the complicated and painful process in an understatement as before.But since Nakao is speaking to her, Mizuki should find it harder to speak than before. Zhe Lang thought of the white ski resort.In the winter of his fourth year at university, he and Risako took the tandem cable car together.Looking straight ahead, you can see the backs of a couple who are also a couple. They are Nakao and Mizuki.That winter, the four of them went to Naeba together.

Only Zhelang and the others knew that Nakao and Mizuki were dating, and the two asked Zhelang and the others not to tell others, and they still kept this secret. Zhe Lang doesn't quite know how the two started dating, he doesn't like to pester Nakao to ask about such things.He felt guilty about concealing his relationship with Mizuki, which was one of the reasons why he didn't ask.Besides, Mizuki didn't seem to tell Risako anything. The ski trip was proposed by Risako, and Nakao seconded it first.Zhe Lang hesitated because of the incident with Mei Yue, but he couldn't think of a proper reason to refuse.He heard that Mei Yue agreed, so he thought about it, and thought that if this was the case, maybe he didn't need to care about it.

In the hotel of the ski resort, Zhe Lang has the opportunity to be alone with Mei Yue.But at that time, the two did not mention the one-night stand that happened at Zhe Lang's residence.Zhe Lang just tried to ask: "How do you and Nakao plan to get along in the future?" In short, this question is asking whether Mizuki has considered the future. Mizuki tilted her head. "I haven't thought about it that far. I'm worried that a woman like me won't be good enough for him." "Aren't you tantalizing?" "I didn't mean that." The content of the conversation between the two is roughly like this.

Looking back now, Mizuki's words at the time seemed to hide a great meaning.It turned out that when she was with Nakao, she was also troubled. Nakao and Mizuki seem to be dating for less than a year.On New Year's Day the following year, Nakao told Zhe Lang that the two had broken up. "I'm not trying to save face, but I don't think I've been dumped." At that time, he said: "How should I put it, it seems that we are not suitable to be a couple, but it is more appropriate to be friends. So we will still keep in touch in the future, but We decided to break up."

Zhe Lang replied when he heard this passage: "Oh, maybe that's fine." But he didn't accept this set of rhetoric.He interpreted it as, to put it bluntly, he was broken in love. Now it seems that Nakao may not have lied.Although he didn't know the truth, he might have glimpsed another hidden side of Mizuki. Zhe Lang glanced at his watch. It has been about twenty minutes since the two of them started chatting. "Hey," Risako said, "Will Nakao be hit hard?" "It should be." "Shouldn't he be angry?" "angry?" "Feeling cheated..."

"Probably not." Although Zhe Lang answered this way, he was not sure.He only had sex with Mizuki once, and never fell in love with her.Even so, knowing that she was a man in her heart, she still fell into mixed emotions. "Nakao," said Risako, "he's lost a lot of weight." "I think so too. He seems to have suffered a lot." "Obviously everyone said that he married Miss Qianjin, so he could save thirty years of struggle..." "So marrying Miss Qianjin is not all about benefits." Nakao's wife is the daughter of a director of a large food manufacturer.He seemed to have met her at the celebratory dinner when the American football team sponsored by that manufacturer won the Japanese championship.Nakao was the ace running position at the time.It is said that the woman does not particularly like American football, but just happens to participate in it. The two should be considered destined.

The manufacturer was a family business, so his future looked bright.He now lives in a single-family house in Chengcheng with his wife and two children.Needless to say, that house was also a gift from my father-in-law. Nakao is currently changing Takashiro, but Zhe Lang and the others never called him that.In front of his former golf friends, he is still Kosuke Nakao.It's the same as everyone still calls Risako Takakura. There was the sound of the living room door opening, followed by footsteps.Risako immediately straightened up on the bed, and Zhelang stared at the door. Someone knocked on the door.Zhe Lang responded, "Please come in."

Mizuki opened the door and poked her head in. "We're done talking." "Nakao...how is it?" "How about what?" "How is he feeling?" "Are you asking if he's had a big blow?" "Ok." "I don't know, I don't know very well." Mizuki showed her teeth slightly. "You'll know if you go to see him." makes sense.Zhelang and Risako looked at each other, then stood up. Nakao was standing in front of the TV cabinet, holding the American football adorning the TV cabinet.As soon as Zhe Lang and the others walked into the living room, he held a football and turned his face to them.

"At that time, didn't you think of rushing for a touchdown?" Nakao asked Zhelang. "At that time?" Zhe Lang asked, and understood what he was referring to. "The finals?" "The enemy only thinks of passing the ball, but there is also a surprise attack, isn't it?" "Eighteen!" Zhe Lang grinned. "Are you a bit reluctant?" The running back back then turned his head sideways, put the ball back to its original place, and then looked at Risako. "I heard that you prevented Meiyue from turning herself in?" "Can't you?"

"No, it's a good thing you did that. This guy is always acting rashly. It seems that even though she has become a man, her habits have not changed at all." Judging from the fact that he said this with a smile, it seemed that he wanted to see Mizuki's changes positively.But his expression was still unbearable, and Zhe Lang couldn't help but look away from him. "I can't..." Nakao paused, then continued, "Put Mitsuki in jail. I want to do something for her." Risako nodded reassuringly. "I knew you would say that." "However, what specific actions do you think we should take?" Zhe Lang asked tentatively.

Nakao didn't seem to have thought of this step, he lowered his head in thought, and the shadow on his cheek became deeper. "I have a proposal." As soon as Risako said that, the other three focused their eyes on her.She pointed to the sofa, as if to say: Sit down first and then talk. Tetsura and Nakao sat side by side, Risako sat on the love seat, and Mizuki hugged her knees and sat on the threshold of the living room and the Japanese room. "I'll start with the conclusion. My thoughts are this: I think the best way to keep Mizuki from being discovered by the police is to make Mizuki stop being Mizuki. In other words, to change her face." "What do you mean?" Zhelan asked. "Even if the police are after someone like Mitsuru Kanzaki, he doesn't actually exist. It turns out they're only looking for someone like Mitsuki Kanzaki. So just make Mitsuki stop being 'someone like Mitsuki Kanzaki'." "In short," Nakao confirmed to Risako, "it's just to make Mizuki stop dressing as a man, isn't it?" Risako nodded, as if saying: The correct answer! "Forgive me." Mei Yue murmured, still hugging her knees. "At this point, if you want me to dress up as a woman, why don't you kill me?" "But if the police were targeting the bartender who suddenly quit his job at 'Cat's Eye', they would definitely list women in cross-dressing as the most important feature." Zhelang had to agree with Lishazi.Because "Maoyan"'s mother-san also seems to know that Mizuki is a woman, it is impossible for that mother-san to lie to the police. "In this way, the police should focus on places where women gather. It seems like a place where people with that hobby often go." "The so-called ladyboy shop..." Nakao whispered.The use of this word seemed to make him feel a little offended. "I wouldn't go to that kind of place." "I know, so the police can't find Mizuki in that kind of place. So, where will they look next?" She looked around at the others, as if observing their reactions, but no one spoke. Risako said the answer: "Could it be a hospital?" "I see," Zhe Lang understood. "You mean hormone therapy?" "The police may infer from the testimony of the 'Maoyan' employees that the missing bartender had surgery or received hormone injections. That kind of person has to report to the hospital regularly, so it is impossible for the police not to go to the hospital." "The people who inject us may not all be licensed doctors." Mizuki said rudely. "Maybe it's true. But if it's a black doctor that Meiyue can find, the police should be able to find it too, right?" Meiyue didn't respond, which meant that Lisha's deduction should be correct. "You mean Mizuki can't go to the hospital for the time being?" Nakao pressed the corners of his eyes with his fingertips. "That's right. In this way, Mizuki can no longer dress up as a man. Because it is a very dangerous thing." "Why?" Zhelan asked. "If you don't receive hormone therapy, Mizuki's body will gradually return to a woman. Although she looks like a man now, she will only look like a woman wearing men's clothing in the near future. At that time, whether she wants to or not, she will be attractive Look sideways. If you want to hide her, that's not right, right?" "But did the police also expect the suspect to turn back into a woman?" To Nakao's question, Risako replied: "I think so too." "That can't be helped. But even so, it won't reduce our advantage. The police don't know Mitsuru Kanzaki's real name, and everyone involved doesn't know what she looked like when she turned back into a woman. As long as Mizuki remains a woman, The leads the police have are almost useless." Zhe Lang thought over the contents of her excited explanation over and over in his mind, and felt that her proposition was reasonable. However, this clever plan does not seem to be a good proposal for Mizuki.She bit the area around the second knuckle of her index finger. Zhelang said to Risako: "When Risako persuaded Hiura not to surrender, she said, 'Can you give up the man's body that you have worked so hard to get so easily?' But now you want her to give up again." "I admit that my words are inconsistent, but I don't think my principles have changed." Risako got up from the sofa and stood in front of Mizuki. "Once imprisoned, important things will only be deprived without explanation, and Mizuki's ideas and propositions will also be ignored. This is completely different from temporarily enduring for the future and pretending to be a woman." Mizuki raised her head. "How long am I going to be a woman?" "Well..." Risako hesitated for a moment, and then said, "To be honest, I don't know. You have to see the development of the situation to decide." "It might last a lifetime." "How could it be so long..." "Is the statute of limitations for murder 15 years?" Mei Yue asked Zhe Lang. "Yeah." He nodded.Mizuki smiled wryly and sighed. "Worst case, will it take me another fifteen years to get rid of the woman's posture?" Her murmur caused a moment of silence, and everyone fell into their own thoughts. "Mitsuki," Risako said shortly afterwards, "I will take this opportunity to tell my truth first. If I only care about principles, then I can't do anything." Zhe Lang didn't know what his wife was going to say, and looked at her profile.Mizuki also looked up at her with a surprised expression. "I think I can understand your mood. I am a woman and I also have a woman's body. As a woman, let me ask you something, what are you dissatisfied with about a woman's body? I think there is no reason for your body to make you so annoying. " "You are a woman in body and mind, aren't you?" Zhe Lang interjected, "Ri Pu suffers because the body is a woman, but the heart is a man." "I understand this. But why do you have to be a woman both physically and mentally? What does it matter if your heart is a man and your body is a woman?" "I want to be treated like a man," Mizuki said. "In order to be treated like a man, I need the appearance of a man. You understand?" Hearing what Mizuki said, Risako put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "What Meiyue said mentioned a major issue. The way people treat others will be different depending on whether the other party is male or female." Zhe Lang turned his head to an angle that Risako could not see, and sighed softly.I thought, it started again. "Speaking of which, don't you think this is strange?" "Whether it's strange or not, this is reality, what can be done?" Mei Yue shouted. "Don't you guys want to change this reality? If the other party doesn't change the way or attitude towards others because of their gender, won't Mizuki's anxiety disappear?" "The reality can't be changed so easily, can it?" Zhe Lang said, "Ripu's thinking is that since you can't change the world, you have to change yourself. What you say is like a dreamlike ideal wheel." Risako finally turned her face to him. "I know this, so I want to respect Mizuki's meaning. However, what I want to say is that changing the body to cater to the eyes of the world is too much of a compromise. My truth is, this doesn't really solve the problem .I also said just now, I want to tell the truth. I want to say the truth again..." He looked down at Mizuki again. "The anxiety and anger that Meiyue feels because of having a woman's body is something that all women will have. I don't care about these things just because I am a woman in my heart. I just got used to it and gave up." "I'm done." She made a conclusion, sat back on the sofa, picked up the cigarette on the coffee table, and lit it with a lighter. The smoke she exhaled floated gently in the air.The air gradually became cloudy, like the mood of everyone present. "Risako, you... forgot one important thing," Mizuki said, "It's not just other people who see your appearance, there is something called a mirror in this world." "Don't you think you look distorted in the mirror too?" "Maybe. But I'm at my wit's end." Risako sounded like shaking heavy air.Zhe Lang picked up the microphone, "Hello." "Is it Nishiwaki? It's me, Sugai." "Oh, what's the matter?" "It's nothing, actually my wife screwed up. She seems to have told Nakao that Hiura is with you." "I know that, Nakao is at my house now." "Huh? Is that so." Xu Bei lowered his tone. "What about the situation?" "Don't worry, Nakao is calm." Sugai breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I'm worried I might cause some trouble?" "Don't worry, we'll take care of it." "Sorry, I can't be of help. To be honest, I have gathered new information. The police investigation seems to have made little progress. It is still too late to surrender." "Wait a minute. You said you have collected information, how did you collect it?" "No big deal, I called Hayata." "Hayata?" Zhe Lang held the microphone vigorously.Risako, Mizuki and Nakao looked at him anxiously.Zhe Lang looked at their faces and said, "What excuse did you use to call him?" "I'm talking about the murder case in Edogawa District. If you know any clues, please tell me. I have a friend who lives near the murder scene. He wants to know the details. Hayata will not be suspicious." "Did Hayata tell you the news right away?" "He said he needed a little time to investigate. Not long after he hung up the phone, he called. That guy does not belong to the Union of Memory, but a freelance reporter. According to the results of his investigation, the police seem to have found out the identity of the deceased. See The deceased was the uncle who lived in Banqiao District. But that’s all the police know, it seems that they haven’t figured out that he is a stalker, or that he often goes to Ginza bars and so on.” His voice sounded elated, perhaps based on the complacency of having the good news.But Zhe Lang couldn't see the value of this news, instead he cared more about other things. "I see. Let me ask you, Sugai, you didn't say anything to Hayata, did you? Something about Hiura." "How can I say that I'm not that stupid." Although you're not that stupid, you're pretty stupid.Zhe Lang refrained from speaking. "OK, thanks. But, don't call Hayata again. No matter what he asks, you just pretend that it has nothing to do with you." "Why? If you ask him, you can easily get information." "Anyway, you do as I say. You don't want to get involved in trouble, do you?" "Of course, that's why I..." "Promise me, don't contact Hayata again!" Xu Bei seemed startled when he heard Zhe Lang's stern tone.After a moment of silence, he said inexplicably, "I see." Zhe Lang hung up the phone and told the three about the conversation.Nakao smiled wryly, while Risako held her head. "Hayata should have sensed something was wrong." Mizuki said. "Probably, his intuition should not be underestimated." Zhe Lang agreed. Hayata works at a newspaper.He is a reporter covering social news, which is his wish since he was a student. "But the person who asked was Sugai. He probably didn't expect Mizuki to have a relationship with our car." "As it is now, we can only pray that he forgets sooner. If he came here suddenly by instinct, we can only throw up our hands and surrender." "If things get to this point, we'll just have to ask him for help." "It should be useless." Nakao said calmly, "Whether it is praise or criticism, that guy is a man who will not be swayed by emotions. He will calmly think about his current situation and then take action. I think that guy must Will choose to work." "I think so too," Mizuki muttered. "That's why he plays as a winger." The winger is tasked with blocking the movement of the opposing tackler.But often have to get into the enemy's defensive net depending on the situation, catch the ball and sprint towards the scoring line.This is the position where improvisation is most needed. "Since Sugai called, maybe Hayata will spy on us. Everyone, be careful." Tetsuro said to Risako and Nakao. It was late at night, and Nakao said he wanted to go home, and Zhe Lang took him outside the apartment. His car was parked on the road ahead; a dark green Volvo.There was a big dent next to the taillight, and Zhe Lang pointed to the dent and asked, "What's going on here?" "Oh, that one, I was hit by someone before." "Are you all right?" "A small car accident, fortunately no one was injured. But..." Nakao stared straight into Zhe Lang's eyes. "I'll leave Mizuki to you." "I know." Nakao nodded and sat in the driver's seat.After starting the engine, he opened the window and said, "Goodbye, then." "Nakao, um... can I ask you something?" When Zhe Lang said, he smiled slightly. "You want to ask me how I feel when I know that Meiyue is a man at heart?" "……yes." "Well, I can't say I haven't been hit hard, but I think it's a different matter from our relationship." "Two different things?" "I mean, I believe that Mizuki who was with me at that time must be a woman." "That's it," Zhe Lang also said with a smile, "Yes." "Goodbye." Nakao raised a hand and closed the electric window. The VOLVO drove forward quietly, and Zhe Lang watched the taillights go away.