Chapter 23 Section 23

Kusanagi took a deep breath and pressed the doorbell of the intercom.While looking at the house number with "Apricot Yellow House" written on it, he asked himself why he was so nervous. There was no voice of inquiry from the intercom, and the door opened directly.Ayane's fair face appeared.She looked at Kusanagi with the gentle eyes of a mother looking at her son. "That's right on time," she said. "Ah, is that so?" Kusanagi looked at his watch, it was exactly two o'clock in the afternoon.He had called before and said he would visit her at this hour.

She said "Come in", opened the door, and invited Kusanagi into the house. The last time Kusanagi came here was when he brought Hiromi Wakayama back for questioning.At that time, he didn't observe the room carefully, but he always felt that there was a subtle difference in the appearance of the room today.Although the workbench and furniture have not changed in any way, he always feels that there is a lack of luxury. After sitting on the chair that Ayane asked him to sit in, he turned his head and looked around. Seeing this, Ayane poured the black tea from the teapot into the cup with a wry smile on his face.

"It's quite a sight, isn't it? I feel again that there are so many magnificent things piled up in the room." Kusanagi nodded silently. Hiromi Wakayama appears to have offered to resign voluntarily.When hearing this news, Kusanagi also took it for granted.For ordinary women, once the special relationship with Mashiba Yoshitaka is made public, they will do so. It is said that Ayane moved out of the hotel yesterday and moved into this room.She doesn't seem to plan to move back home, and Kusanagi can understand her feelings. Ayane put the teacup in front of Kusanagi, and he said "panic".

"I went home this morning." Saying that, Ayane sat down opposite Kusanagi. "Go back to your own house?" She put her finger on the teacup and nodded slightly. "I went home to water the flowers, but they were all wilted." Kusanagi frowned: "I'm really sorry, you left the key to me for safekeeping, but I can't find time to water it for you..." Ayane quickly waved her hand: "It's nothing. I was the one who had the cheek to ask Mr. Kusanagi for your help. I'm not blaming you, please don't take it to heart." "I was negligent, and I will pay attention to it in the future."

"No, it's really unnecessary, I will water it myself every day from now on." "Really? I'm so sorry I couldn't be of more help. Then I'd better give you back the keys to your house, don't you think?" Ayane tilted her head in confusion and thought for a while, looked into Kusanagi's eyes and said, "Will the police never come to my house again to investigate?" "No, it's hard to say." "In this case, you should take the key. When you are going to investigate at home, I don't have to make a special trip." "Okay. I will take care of it for you." Kusanagi patted his left chest.The key to Mashiba's house is in the underwear pocket over here.

"By the way, Mr. Kusanagi didn't buy that watering can, did you?" Hearing Ayane's words, Kusanagi, who was bringing the teacup to his mouth, touched his head and said, "I also think the tool you used to make holes in empty cans is pretty good, but I think the watering can is more efficient. Higher... Do you think I'm meddling?" Ayane smiled and shook her head: "I didn't know that there was such a big watering can for sale. I tried it and found it very convenient. Why didn't I think of it before? Thank you." "I'm relieved to hear that. I was afraid you liked that empty jar."

"I didn't like using that thing that much either. Did you throw it away?" "Ah... are you going to blame me?" "Where is it, I really trouble you." Just as Ayane lowered her head and smiled, the phone on the shelf rang.She said "excuse me", stood up and picked up the receiver. "Hello, this is 'Apricot House'...ah, Ms. Ota...huh?...yes...ah, is that so?" Ayane still had a smile on her face, but Kusanagi could also see that her cheeks were stiff.When she hung up the phone, the expression on her face had become melancholy. Ayane said "Sorry", returned to the chair and sat down.

"What happened?" Kusanagi asked.The corners of Ayane's eyes revealed a look of loneliness. "It was a call from a student in the quilting classroom, saying that she would not be able to come because of family problems. She has insisted on coming to study for three years." "Really? It's really not easy for housewives to come out to learn skills." Hearing Kusanagi's words, Ayane smiled slightly: "Since yesterday, students have been calling to say that they don't want to study. This is the fifth one just now." "Is it because of the case?"

"Maybe there is also this reason. But I think the biggest reason should be Hongmei's resignation. In the past year, Hongmei has been serving as the lecturer, and these students are actually her students." "That is to say, if the master resigns, the students don't want to come?" "I think she doesn't have that much appeal, maybe it's because the students feel that this place is going to go downhill in the future. Women are very sensitive in this regard." "Ok……" Although Kusanagi echoed it ambiguously, he felt a little incomprehensible in his heart.Didn't they come here to learn from Ayane?Now that you can accept Ayane's direct education, shouldn't you be happy as a student?

Kaoru Utsumi's face appeared in his mind, and he thought, if it was that guy, maybe he could understand this feeling. "It is estimated that some people will call in the future, saying that they want to drop out of school. This kind of thing is like a chain reaction, isn't it? So I think it is better to temporarily suspend business." Ayane rested her chin on both hands and straightened her back suddenly, "I'm sorry, I just said things that have nothing to do with you, Mr. Kusanagi." Under her gaze, Kusanagi couldn't help lowering his gaze: "As it is now, I guess you are not at ease. We plan to do our best to solve the case as soon as possible. If this is the case, how about you relax a little during this time?"

"Yeah, or should I go on a trip alone and clean up my mood?" "That's a good idea." "It's been a long time since I've traveled decently. I think I used to go overseas alone." "I heard that you have studied in England before?" "Did you hear what my parents said? It's all old things." Ayane lowered her head, then immediately raised her head and said, "By the way, I want to ask Mr. Kusanagi for help. I wonder if you would like to Woolen cloth?" "What's the matter?" Kusanagi drank the lipstick tea and put the cup on the table. "Looking at this wall, don't you think it's a bit boring?" Ayane said, looking up at the wall beside her. There was indeed no ornamentation on the wall, except for the oblong traces of what had been hung not so long ago. "I hung a tapestry before, but since Hiromi made that tapestry for me, I gave it to her. As a result, it feels empty now, so I want to hang something else to decorate it." "Really? Have you decided what to hang?" "Well, I brought it from home today." Ayane stood up and brought over a paper bag in the corner. The paper bag probably contained some cloth or something, bulging. "What is this?" Kusanagi asked. "It's the tapestry hanging in the bedroom. It's no longer needed there." "So that's it." Kusanagi stood up, "Then hurry up and hang it up." Ayayin answered "Yes", and reached out to take out the contents of the paper bag, but her hand stopped immediately. "Ah, before that, let me hear about your intentions, Mr. Kusanagi, right? Didn't you come here today to talk to me?" "It doesn't matter if I hang it up for you first." Ayane shook her head seriously. "That's not acceptable, Mr. Kusanagi, you are here for work, so let's get the work done first." Kusanagi nodded with a wry smile, and took out the handbook from his pocket.When he looked at Ayane again, the corners of his mouth were tightened: "Then I will ask you a few questions. Although these questions may make you feel uncomfortable, I am doing this for the purpose of investigation, and I hope you understanding." Ayane replied "OK". "We have found out the name of the woman your husband had been with before meeting you. Her name is Tsukui Junko. Have you heard of this name?" "Tsujiu..." "Junko Tsukui, that's how it is written in Chinese characters." Kusanagi asked Ayane to read the name written in the handbook. Ayane looked directly at Kusanagi and replied, "It's the first time I've heard that name." "So have you heard your husband mention picture book writers before? It doesn't matter how trivial it is." "Picture book writer?" Ayane frowned, tilting her head and thinking. "Ms. Tsukui Junko used to draw picture books, so we think that your husband may have mentioned such a friend to you when he was talking about the past." Ayane stared sideways at the ground and drank her lipstick tea: "I'm sorry, I don't remember that my husband mentioned picture books or picture book writers before his death. If he had mentioned it, I think I should have an impression, after all that It is the world that has the most incompatibility with him." "Really? If that's the case, then there's no other way." "Excuse me...does this person have anything to do with the case?" Ayane asked proactively. "This is unclear and is currently under investigation." "Really?" She lowered her eyelids.Every time she blinked, her long eyelashes fluttered. "There is one more thing, I wonder if I can ask you for advice. Perhaps this matter should not be asked of you, but after all, the two parties involved are no longer alive." "The two parties?" Ayane raised her head. "Yes, in fact, that Ms. Junko Tsukui also passed away two years ago." Ayane let out an "hey" and opened her eyes wide. "Then I'm here to ask you. Because your husband seemed to have concealed the relationship between him and Ms. Junko Tsukui from the people around him at the time, which made us spend a lot of time in the investigation. Do you think this is the case? Why? And when your husband began to associate with you, did he ever hide it from others?" Ayane held the teacup in both hands and thought for a while, then tilted her head and said, "At that time, my husband didn't hide my relationship with him from the people around him, because when I first met him, his best friend Zhu Kai Sir was there too." "Well, that's true." "But if Mr. Inokai wasn't there at the time, maybe my husband would have tried his best not to let others know about our relationship." "why?" "Because, if no one knows, even if we break up in the future, we don't have to worry about the gossip of people around us, do we?" "That is to say, does he always have the idea of ​​breaking up in his heart?" "Instead of saying that, it's more appropriate to say that he always prepares for the other party not to be able to bear him a child. This is what he does when he makes a quick break. For him, the most ideal marriage model is what the world often says That kind of 'marriage with a child'." "That is to say, having children is the sole purpose of his marriage? But he and you couldn't get together in this way in the end, did they?" Hearing Kusanagi's words, Ayane smiled meaningfully.There was a kind of brilliance in her eyes that was not common before, as if she had a plan. "The reason is very simple. I refused to do so at the time. I asked him to take contraceptive measures before officially getting married." "I see. In other words, your husband didn't take any contraceptive measures during his relationship with Ms. Tsukuna Junko, right?" Although this question was a bit embarrassing to say, Kusanagi decided to face it. "I guess so. That's why the woman was abandoned by him in the end." "abandon?" "Because my husband is such a person." She had a smile on her face, as if she was talking about some happy topic. Kusanagi put away the portable manual. "I see. Thank you for your cooperation." "Have you finished asking?" "It's over. I'm sorry to ask you some unpleasant questions." "It's okay. Before my husband and I met, I've been with other men before." "Really?" Kusanagi then said sincerely, "Then I'll help you hang the tapestry." Ayane responded "Okay" and put her hand into the paper bag just now, but she seemed to have dismissed the idea, and immediately pulled her hand out. "Let's forget it today. Think about it carefully, this wall hasn't been wiped clean yet. I'll hang it myself after I clean it up." "That's it. If it hangs here, it will be very beautiful. If you need help, just say it." Ayane nodded to him in thanks. After leaving the "Apricot Cabin", Kusanagi regurgitated the question he asked just now in his mind, and at the same time further confirmed whether his answer was appropriate when faced with her answer. "I believe you are not a weak criminal policeman, and you will not distort your beliefs because of personal feelings." Yu Chuan's words echoed in his mind again.