Chapter 76 Section VI

Imae parked his dirty Honda Prelude on the side of the road a little way from the boutique.If it is seen through that you don't even have the energy to buy a new car, the high-end suits and watches specially borrowed from Shinozuka will be meaningless. "Let me ask you, do you really not buy me anything? Not even cheap ones?" Eri Sugawara, who was walking beside him, asked.She put on her best dress. "I don't think there's anything cheap there. I'm afraid the price tag on everything will make your eyes roll." "Then what if I want to?" "You can buy it with your own money, it's none of my business."

"What, stingy!" "Stop complaining, they say they will pay you by the hour." Soon, the two came to the door of the boutique "R&Y".The facade of the boutique is made of transparent glass. From the outside, you can see that the store is filled with all kinds of women's clothing and accessories. "Wow!" Eri exclaimed, "Sure enough, everything looks extremely expensive." "Be careful with your words." He lightly elbowed Eri's side. Eri Sugawara is a girl who works in an izakaya next to Imameda's office. During the day, she attends classes at a junior college. Imameda doesn't know what she is studying.She was trustworthy, though, and he sometimes paid her to help him when it was best to travel with him.Eri also seems to enjoy helping Imae.

Imaeda opened the glass door and walked into the shop.The temperature of the air conditioner is just right, and the air is filled with the smell of perfume, but it is not vulgar. "Welcome." A young woman appeared from behind.She wore a white suit and showed a professional stewardess smile.She is not Tang Ze Xuesui. "My surname is Sugawara, we have an appointment." Hearing what Imameda said, the woman saluted and said, "Mr. Sugawara, we are waiting for you." When acting with Eri, Imaeda used the surname Sugawara as much as possible.Because if you use anything else, sometimes Eri will not respond in time.

"What kind of clothes are you looking for today?" the woman in white asked. "It's suitable for her." Imameda said, "It can be worn from summer to autumn. It should be stylish, but not too fancy, and it won't be too conspicuous when worn to work. She has just entered the society, and if she is too prominent, she may be bullied. " "Okay," the woman in white nodded in understanding, "We have clothes that meet your requirements. I'll go get them now." At the same time the woman turned, Eri also turned to Imaeda, who nodded slightly to her.Just then, another person appeared inside, and Imaeda looked in that direction.

Tang Zexuesui approached them slowly as if walking through the clothes room, showing a smile, the smile was not artificial at all, it was really a gentle light, the sincerity of wholeheartedly entertaining the customers coming to the store, emanating from her whole body like a halo. "Welcome." She nodded slightly and said, never leaving the two of them. Imae also nodded silently at her. "You are Mr. Sugawara, I heard that Mr. Shinozuka introduced you?" "Yes." Imae said.When making an appointment, I asked the introducer for convenience. "Are you Shinozuka...a friend of Mr. Kassei?" Yukisui tilted her head slightly.

"Yes." After nodding in reply, Jinzhi thought, why did she mention Yicheng instead of Kang Qing? "Is it for Madam today?" "No," Imae smiled and shook his hand, "It's my niece. She just entered the workplace, and I want to give you a gift." "Oh, so that's the case, I was too reckless." Xuesui smiled, drooping her long eyelashes.At this time, bangs fluttered down her face, and she stretched out her ring finger to lift it up.This movement is so elegant that Imaeda can't help but think of the aristocratic women in old movies. Tang Ze Xuesui should have just turned twenty-nine years old, so young, how did she cultivate this temperament?Imae felt incredible.Now he can understand Shinozuka Koqing's state of mind when he fell in love with her at first sight, but there is probably no man who can't be attracted by her.

The woman in white came out with several clothes, introduced them to Eri, and asked her opinion. "Just ask the lady for advice and choose clothes that suit you." Imae said to Eri. Eri turned to him, raised her eyebrows, and showed a meaningful smile, her eyes clearly said: You are not willing to buy it for me at all, and you still say it! "Is Shinozuka-san okay?" Yukiho asked. "Okay, still busy." "Excuse me, is it convenient to ask about your relationship with Mr. Shinozuka?" "We're friends, golf mates." "Oh, golf... oh." She nodded, her almond-eyed eyes falling on Imae's wrist. "Nice watch."

"Ah? Oh..." Imaeda covered the watch with his right hand, "It was a gift from someone else." Yukiho nodded again, but Imaeda felt the smile on her face change.For a moment, Imaeda thought she was showing off, and she saw that this watch was borrowed from Shinozuka.Shinozuka once told him when he lent it: "Don't worry, I haven't worn this watch in front of her." It's impossible to show my feet. "Your store is really good. To prepare so many first-class products, you must have considerable management skills. You are so young, so amazing." Imao looked around the store and said.

"Thank you for your praise. But we still can't fully meet the needs of customers, and we have to continue to work hard." "you are too humble." "That's true. Ah, would you like something cold? Iced coffee or iced tea? Hot ones too." "Then please give me coffee, hot." "Okay. Please wait over there. I'll deliver it right away." Yukisui pointed to the corner where the sofa and table were placed. Imaeda sat down on what appeared to be an Italian-made animal foot sofa.The table doubles as a display rack, and necklaces, bracelets and other accessories are carefully arranged under the glass tabletop.There is no price tag on it, but it must be a commodity, and the purpose is obviously to attract the attention of customers when they take a break.

Imaeda took out the Marlboro and the lighter from his coat pocket. The lighter was also borrowed from Shinozuka.Light the fire, let the whole lungs be filled with smoke, and feel the tense nerves relax slowly.Imaeda thought to himself: What's going on here?I would actually be nervous, but facing a woman... Where does this woman's elegant temperament come from?How was it cultivated and honed?An old two-story building, the Yoshida Apartment, appeared in Imae's mind.It was an old house that was thirty years old, and it's incredible that it hasn't collapsed yet. Imaeda had been there last week because Karasawa Yukiho had lived there.After listening to Shinozuka's narration, he decided to find out her background first.

There are many small and old houses around the apartment, which should have existed before the war.Several of the residents still remember living in Yoshida Apartment 1.A mother and daughter in three rooms.The family name is Xiben, and Xiben Yusui is her real name. Because her father died early, she and her biological mother, Wen Dai, depended on each other for life.It is said that Wen Dai relied on part-time jobs to make ends meet.Wen Dai died when Xuesui Xiao was six years old, and it is said that he died of gas poisoning.Although it was treated as an accident, a nearby housewife said that "some people said it seemed to be suicide." "Ms. Nishimoto seems to have taken medicine, and I heard that there are many strange things. Her husband died suddenly, and her life was very hard. But she still didn't figure it out in the end, and it seemed to be an accident." Lived in the local area for three years The ten-year housewife whispered. When passing Yoshida's apartment, Imaeda deliberately approached and walked around to the back.One window was open, revealing the interior of the house.Apart from the kitchen, there is only one small Japanese room among the compartments in the house.Old-fashioned chests of drawers and dilapidated rattan baskets are placed against the wall. In the center of the Japanese room, there is a kotatsu table without a quilt, which should be used to replace the low table. Glasses and medicine bags are placed on the table.Imae recalled the words of the nearby housewife: "Now the apartment is full of old people." He imagined a primary school girl living in this room with her nearly forty-year-old mother. The girl may be doing homework at the warming table, while the mother is preparing dinner with an extremely exhausted appearance... At this moment, Imaeda felt a deep tangle in his heart. As a result of poking around Yoshida's apartment, he noticed another strange thing. A homicide. About a year before Wen Dai's death, a murder occurred nearby, and it is said that she was also investigated by the police.The owner of the pawnshop was killed, and Nishibundai often visited the pawnshop, so he was included in the suspect list.But she was not arrested, so the suspicion should have been cleared quickly. "The news that she could be investigated soon spread, which caused her to lose her job and probably suffered even more." An old cigarette seller nearby told Imae in a sympathetic tone. Imaeda looked up reports of the murder on microfilm.The year before Wen Dai's death was 1973, and he knew it was autumn. Soon he found related reports.Said the body was found in an unfinished building in Oe with multiple stab wounds.The murder weapon was presumed to be a slender knife, but it was never found.The victim, Yosuke Kirihara, had left home the previous afternoon and his wife was about to call the police.The one million yuan in cash held by the victim at the time was nowhere to be seen. The police judged that it should be for the sake of money, and it was done by someone who knew that Kirihara was carrying a huge sum of money.According to the information Imaeda found, there is no report about the murder case being solved.The old cigarette seller also said that he remembered not catching the murderer. Ruoxi Bendai really frequented that pawn shop, and it was reasonable for him to be noticed by the police.Since he is a familiar face, the pawnshop owner will naturally not be on guard, and even if it is a woman, it is not out of the question to assassinate someone at the moment.However, as long as he is found by the police once, the eyes of the society will naturally be different.From this point of view, the Nishimoto mother and daughter can also be regarded as the victims of this murder case.