Chapter 15 Juzi Chapter Eight

Just after three o'clock in the afternoon, Miss Shimojo and I left the head office of an office machinery manufacturer in Toranomon, and I listlessly followed Miss Shimojo towards the subway entrance. We just met Keiichi Hatamura, the member of the Hiking Club whose home address was found by Miss Shimojo. This morning we went to visit Mr. Hatamura's home. Mrs. Hatamura helped us call Mr. Hatamura who was working in the company. I said that I was Ujiie Kiyoshi's daughter and was writing my father's half-life diary. After hearing this, my wife had no doubts at all. Hatamura The husband also readily agreed to meet with me.After making an appointment with him at the company at two o'clock, Miss Shimojo and I were very happy, thinking that we had finally found someone who knew about my father's Yamabokai past.

However, the result disappointed me. Mr. Hatamura said that he remembers the mountain walking meeting very clearly, and he misses the name Ujiie Kiyoshi very much, but he has almost no impression of the woman Abe Akiko. "At that time, there were girls who occasionally came to participate in the event. I still remember..., but after all, it was a long time ago. I can't remember the name and appearance." "I heard that my father once pursued the same woman with another member. Is it true?" "Well, this may have happened before. In fact, there were not a few frivolous guys who joined hiking clubs in order to pursue girls. At that time, there were several hiking clubs, and they would compete with each other for girls who were willing to participate in activities. A girl It is often heard that children join several hiking clubs at the same time. It is no different from the modern relationship between men and women, but I don’t know if I was slow or slow. I just like drinking and fooling around with my buddies. "Mr. Hatamura smiled boldly as he said it. Seeing his behavior, it is not difficult to imagine his appearance as a student.

"Excuse me, do you have any photos of that time?" I held out my last hope, but Mr. Hatamura's answer poured a bucket of cold water on me. "There should be one or two photos, but I don't organize things very much. When I got the photos, I didn't know where to put them." Simply put, it was lost. "Have you still contacted the friends from the original mountain walk meeting?" "It's a pity that we haven't contacted each other anymore. When we first graduated, we met occasionally, and then we gradually drifted away. Everyone worked hard in society, and there was no time to look back on the past. Thinking about it now, it's really pitiful. It's rare to be friends by fate. We have so many shared memories, but we have never heard from each other again." Mr. Hatamura said with emotion.The expression on his face is no longer a senior executive of an office machine manufacturer, but a member of the walking club back then.

"It seems," Ms. Shimojo said after saying goodbye to Mr. Hatamura and leaving the company, "Thirty years is really too long." I can only nod silently. We took the subway to Shibuya and transferred to the train, and we only took one stop. Miss Shimojo said that she wanted to go to school to do something, and of course I nodded. "Speaking of which, all the clues are broken now." She said with a wry smile. "Yeah." I wanted to smile back, but couldn't squeeze it out. "Would you like to try your luck at Gao Cheng's house?" "But everyone else has passed away..."

"That's right..." Miss Shimojo also looked frustrated. I thought to myself, I can only ask my father directly, and before that, I have to meet Miss Kobayashi Futaba, just as Miss Nejijo said, I have to appear in front of my father with her. But Miss Kobayashi Futaba's current whereabouts are a mystery. Last night, Mr. Mochizuki called and told me that Miss Kobayashi Futaba was staying in a hotel in Sapporo, but when I called, the hotel said she had checked out. I called Mr. Feng, and he said that Miss Kobayashi Futaba didn't contact him after that, and he was also at a loss.

What happened to Miss Kobayashi Futaba in Hokkaido?Is it about me or my father?I was getting more and more uneasy because I didn't get any news at all. It's already summer vacation, but there are still many young students who look like students on the campus of Teito University. Ms. Shimojo said that some of these people are here to participate in seminars, and some are here to participate in club activities.Is this also the case at the university I attended in Sapporo?This year is my first year in college, and I can't imagine how college students spend their summers. Passing by the tennis court, I saw the teacher that Miss Shimojo introduced to me when I came to Tokyo last time. He is also on the court today. I remember that he is a professor of the School of Economics.

"Ms. Kasahara spent more time chasing the ball than standing on the podium." Ms. Shimojo seemed to see through my thoughts and said, and it was only then that I remembered the teacher's last name. As soon as Mr. Kasahara saw us, he stopped practicing and walked over, sweat dripping down his chin. "Hi, you guys showed up together again today." "Teacher, you practiced too hard, didn't you?" "You should also practice a lot, lest one day you won't be able to parry me." "Don't worry about it for a short time." Miss Shimojo said with a smile, and then she asked seriously: "Teacher, didn't you participate in the hiking club when you were a student?"

"Well, but it shouldn't be the society you want to investigate." "Your members are really all boys?" "Of course, there were no girls in the school at that time." "But you should invite girls from other schools to participate in the event?" Kasahara-sensei was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then smiled again. "You really know, who did you listen to? That's right, we often recruit girls everywhere, and we once sneaked into other universities and held up billboards to advertise. We were really young at that time."

Sure enough, it was the same as Mr. Hatamura's description. "Do you remember which girls you found back then?" "Huh? I don't remember this, it was a long time ago after all." "Sensei Kasahara, who is known as a playboy, should still remember?" "I think you've misunderstood me, I'm pretty decent. Anyway, why are you asking such a weird question? What happened?" "Well, we are doing some research." Miss Shimojo glanced at me, "We want to find out the girls who participated in the activities of the Imperial Capital Hiking Club back then."

"Oh." Mr. Kasahara seemed to be half-believing, but didn't continue to ask, "Then maybe the photo album can provide some clues." "Do you have a photo album?" When Miss Shimojo asked, Kasahara-sensei puffed up her chest slightly and said: "Do you think I am a person who can do nothing but play tennis? Don't look at me like this. My previous hobby was photography. I joined the hiking club back then to take pictures of the beauty of nature." "Then you should also take pictures of the girls who participated in the event together?"

"As long as girls walk with me, there is no reason not to shoot." "What, you really are a playboy, you will definitely ask for your phone number after taking the photo?" "Uh, I can't remember that." Kasahara-sensei scratched his bearded cheek, "There should be a name in the photo album, but I dare not say the phone number. What is the name of the girl you are looking for?" name?" "Abe Akiko." "Akiko Abe..." Kasahara-sensei repeated it, and suddenly looked at me as if remembering something, but immediately returned to a relaxed expression, "Okay, I'll go back and check today." "Excuse me." I bowed. After we said goodbye to the teacher, we headed towards the medical school, "Although we don't have much hope, it won't hurt to try." Miss Shimojo said. "Thank you." I waited for Ms. Shimojo to finish her work, and left the school with her, and we had dinner at the same restaurant last time.While we were drinking our after-dinner coffee, we discussed what to do next, but there was no conclusion, and I had already caused so much trouble for Ms. Xiajou, and I was too embarrassed to actively offer opinions, but Miss Xiajou seemed to have noticed it and warned me One sentence: "Don't be polite to me." Why is she being so nice to me?It's incredible. As soon as I got back to the apartment, I found that the indicator light on the answering machine was blinking. When I pressed the play button, there was a message from Mr. Mochizuki Toyo. He said he hoped we could contact him as soon as possible, so Ms. Shimojo called. "Hi, hello, I'm Shimojo....Eh...ah, that's how it is, that's great. What happened next?...Uh...uh" After talking for a few words, Ms. Shimojo fiddled with the microphone and said to me, "I have news from Ms. Kobayashi. She is now in Hakodate." "Hakodate?" "The details are unclear. She seems to have encountered some troubles. Now she doesn't even dare to stay in a hotel, so she can only stay in the car. Also, she seems to want to see you, so she wants to know when you will return to Hokkaido .” I swallowed, "Miss Kobayashi Futaba...want to see me?" "How? Do you want to go back first?" I lowered my head and pondered for a moment, but it wasn't because of any hesitation, I was just trying to convince myself to face my avatar bravely. "I'm going back to Hokkaido." I looked up at Miss Shimojo, "I want to go back and meet Miss Kobayashi Futaba." Miss Shimojo nodded as if she agreed with my decision, and she let go of the hand that was shaking the microphone. "Hey, Juzi said she would go back... Yes, that's right. But I don't know if I can book a seat at this time... Well, I see, I will let you know when the flight is confirmed." After hanging up the phone, she turned her head and looked at me and nodded deeply again, "Tomorrow we will call all the airlines to check, but it is the summer vacation, so it is difficult to book a seat." "I'm really sorry to trouble you." "Don't mind, but I have a request." Miss Shimojo hesitated to speak, and sat down on the low sofa. I rarely saw her show such an expression. "What request?" I asked. "Can I go to Hokkaido with you?" I was taken aback and blinked fiercely, "Miss Shimojo wants to go back with me?" "I've been in muddy water for so long, and I really want to see another you. How about it, isn't it convenient?" She looked at me sincerely. I smiled slightly and shook my head, "Why is it inconvenient? I feel much more at ease with Miss Xiajo by my side, but is it really okay with you? What about the school?" "I'll take care of it, don't worry." "Okay." I nodded vigorously.To be honest, I was terrified of meeting Miss Kobayashi Futaba alone, and the journey back to Hokkaido alone must have been quite difficult. "Meeting Ms. Futaba is of course the key point, but I also want to arrange some free time. This is my first time going to Hokkaido." Ms. Shimojo joked. At this time the phone rang, and Miss Shimojo picked it up immediately, and she said happily: "Ah, teacher, thank you for your help just now." It was Mr. Kasahara calling. "Huh? Ah...so that's it. What? Oh...it doesn't matter,...now? I see, let's make an appointment at the coffee shop in front of the station." Her tone gradually became serious, and after hanging up the phone She looked at me wonderingly, "Ms. Kasahara said he found the photo album, and he wanted to show it to us right away." "Have you found a picture of Akiko Abe?" "Maybe, he didn't make it clear, anyway, let's go see him." Miss Shimojo stood up as she spoke, and I followed suit. Walking into the coffee shop in front of the station, we chose seats near the inside, sat side by side and waited for a few minutes, and Mrs. Kasahara appeared.In his plain polo shirt, he looked nearly ten years older than he had been in his tennis attire. "Have you been waiting long?" "No, we just arrived." Miss Shimojo said. After ordering drinks, the teacher watched the waiter walk away and put the photo album under his arm on the table. "Before I open this album, I want to ask a question." "What's up?" "The woman you are looking for must be related to her?" The teacher looked at me and said to Miss Shimojo. "Why do you ask?" "Now I'm asking the question." The teacher said with a smile.When he smiled, his expression became very gentle, like a teddy bear, "Answer my question first." "It's unclear whether it has anything to do with her." Miss Shimojo also glanced at me, "This is exactly what we want to investigate." "So that's the case, which means that my guess is correct. As for why I asked that question, you will know after reading this." Teacher Kasahara opened the photo album and turned the front to us, "This woman is Miss Abe Akiko. ’ he pointed to a photo. As soon as I saw that photo, I suddenly felt a chill run through my body. In the photo are four young people, two men standing on either side of two women, the location seems to be on a gentle mountain, all four of them are wearing light trousers and windproof jackets. It was the woman on the right that caught my gaze. I believe that not only me, but Miss Shimojo was also staring at her. The woman was about twenty years old, with shoulder-length curly hair. And her face... The face smiling at the camera is my face at all, and I appeared in the photo more than 30 years ago. It was almost ten o'clock when we returned to Ms. Shimojo's residence. We sat silently on the sofa in the living room. Ms. Shimojo turned on the air conditioner and put the photo that Kasahara-sensei gave us on the table. The two of us stared at the photo for a while. The person in the photo is me. Regardless of appearance or body shape, everything about the woman is exactly the same as mine, even the slightly raised corner of the right mouth is exactly the same, which cannot be described with the word "like".I remember seeing a movie about a time machine, the main character is a boy, he traveled to the past and the future with the inventor of the time machine, the boy took a picture in the past and returned to the present, so of course he will find a picture There are old photos of myself on it.When I watched that movie, I clapped my hands and laughed, but looking at this picture now, I just feel that maybe only that kind of plot can explain the situation in front of me. "Didn't I say that I seemed to have seen you somewhere when we first met? Now that I think about it, it should be because I vaguely remember the appearance of this woman. In fact, when I heard the name Abe Akiko, I felt a little familiar, but To be honest, I didn't expect you to look so much alike, you were printed from the same mold." Kasahara-sensei also said the same. But of course it wasn't me. So, who is she? "Finally found the answer." I broke the silence, and Miss Shimojo slowly turned her head to look at me. I opened my purse and took out the photo of the woman's face painted over that I had brought from Sapporo. "The person in this photo is also this woman who has the same face as me. I think my mother may have seen this photo in my father's old photo album. She must have been very shocked at the time because her daughter was completely different from herself. Not like it, but it looks exactly the same as her father's old friend. Then she must have guessed immediately that the fertilized egg implanted in her body during in vitro fertilization was not her own egg at all, but this woman's egg, so of course she wanted to find out Find out who this woman is." "That's why your mother came to Tokyo..." I nodded, "It should be like this." "Why didn't she just ask your father?" "I don't think I can ask. My mother has a lot of pride, and..." I took a deep breath, "she must be very scared." "That's right." Miss Shimojo lowered her eyes. "My mother knew that this photo was taken by my father when he participated in the mountain walking meeting, so she immediately contacted Mr. Shimizu Hirohisa. She saw Mr. Shimizu's photo album and learned that the woman's name was Abe Akiko, who was my father's unrequited love. At that moment, my mother finally understood what my father had done. My father couldn't get the woman he loved, so he had to settle for the next best thing. He wanted her child, so he used my mother." The depressive emotions kept shaking my heart, I kept trembling, and my eyes were filled with tears, "My mother took away all the photos of Abe Akiko from Mr. Shimizu's album, maybe she didn't want this fact to continue to exist. This incident made her feel so miserable....Miss Shimojo, I can finally understand why my mother could only choose to burn everything to end her life, because she found out that everything was fake, a happy family, a considerate husband , Even the daughter given by her own is fake. Ah ... ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Words of distressing my mother kept pouring out of my mouth, and I couldn't figure out whether I was crying or screaming or talking, and finally I lay down on the table and kept sobbing. The excitement gradually calmed down, followed by a sense of exhaustion.Shimojo-san, who was waiting for me to calm down, put her hand on my back and said: "It's not your fault," she said. "You were just born." "I hate my father and I will hate him forever." "Mariko..." Miss Shimojo stroked my hair. I looked up at the photo on the table, at the woman who, genetically, should be my mother. "Miss Xiajo." "Huh?" Her hand stopped. I picked up the photo and said: "Even if it's my biological mother, would it look like this? No matter how you look at it, this person is exactly the same as me." Ms. Shimojo was silent for a moment and said, "Anyway, let's go to the home of Mr. Takashiro Yasuyuki tomorrow." I turned the photo over, and on the back there was a handwriting written by Kasahara-sensei about thirty years ago: "From left, Kasahara, Toshiyo Ueda (Teito Women's Short College), Akiko Abe (Teito Women's College), Takashiro (Economy)" Yasuyuki Takashiro, who belongs to the same mountain walking club as his father, also appeared in the photo.