Chapter 99 Section IX

The bags in the convenience store were deeply stuck in the fingers, and the mineral water and rice in PET bottles were too heavy.Holding these, Noriko Kurihara struggled to open the entrance door.She really wanted to say "I'm back", but she didn't make a sound, because she knew that there was no one inside who would listen to her words. Dianzi first put the things he bought in front of the refrigerator, and opened the door of the western-style room inside.The room was dark and the air was cold.In the dimness, a white personal computer emerged.It used to have a bright screen and a buzzing sound.Now there is neither light nor sound.

Dianzi went back to the kitchen and sorted out the things she bought.Fresh and frozen items go in the freezer, and the rest go in side cabinets.Before closing the refrigerator, she took out a can of 350ml beer. Came to the Japanese room, turned on the TV, and turned on the electric heater.While waiting for the room to warm up, she pulled the blanket tucked in a corner over her lap.On TV, comedians are playing a game, and the worst performer is forced to bungee-jump as punishment.Vulgar show, she thought.She would never watch this before, but now, she is grateful for the existence of such stupidity.She didn't want to watch some heavy-hearted programs in such a dark and cold room.

Pull open the tab of the can of beer, gulp down, the cold liquid flows from the throat to the stomach, goose bumps appear all over the body, and there is a shudder, but it is also a pleasure.So even in winter, beer is still indispensable in the refrigerator.Last winter too, he craved beer more when it was cold.It sharpens the nerves, he says. Dianzi hugged her knees, thinking, she must have dinner.No fine-tuning required, just microwave whatever you just bought at the convenience store.However, even this was troublesome for her, and she felt weak, but the main reason was that she had no appetite at all.

She turned up the volume on the TV, and there was no sound in the room, and it felt even colder.She moved slightly closer to the electric heater.The reason she knew very well was loneliness.Being in a quiet room can seem overwhelming with solitude. It wasn't like this before.It is relaxing and pleasant to be alone, and it is because of this thought that I terminated the contract with the dating agency.However, the cohabitation life with Akiyoshi Yuichi has greatly changed Noriko's thinking.She understands the joy of being with the one she loves. Being taken away from what she once had doesn't mean she will go back to the time when she didn't have that kind of thing.

Dianzi continued to drink beer, telling herself not to think about him, but what still appeared in her mind was his back facing the computer.This is natural, because for the past year, all she thought about and saw in her eyes was him. The beer was running out quickly, and she flattened the beer can and placed it on the table.There were also two beer cans on the table that were also crushed, from yesterday and the day before.She doesn't even clean the house very much recently. Let's eat first, just as she thought so, and was struggling to lift her heavy body, the doorbell at the porch rang.

When I opened the door, I saw a man in his sixties standing in front of the door, wearing a badly worn old coat, with a strong physique and sharp eyes.Dianzi guessed the man's occupation intuitively, and felt ominous in her heart. "Miss Noriko Kurihara?" the man asked with a Kansai accent. "I am. You are..." "My surname is Sasagaki, from Osaka." The man handed out a business card with "Sasagaki Junzo" printed on it, but without a title.He added: "I'll be a cop until this spring." Sure enough, he guessed right, Dianzi confirmed his intuition.

"Actually, I want to ask you something, can I spare you a little time?" "now?" "Yes. There's a café over there. Would you like to talk there?" Dianzi thought, what should I do?She felt repelled to let a strange man into the house, but she was too lazy to go out. "What is it about?" she asked. "A lot. Especially about your visit to the Imaeda Detective Agency." "Huh?" She couldn't help but let out an exclamation. "You have been to Mr. Imameda in Shinjuku. I want to ask you about this first." The old man who claimed to be a policeman showed a friendly smile.

Uneasy thoughts expanded in her heart, what did this person come to ask?But on the other hand, there was a bit of expectation in her heart.Maybe get a message from him?She hesitated for a few seconds, then opened the door wide. "Please come in." "is it okay?" "It's okay, it's just messy inside." "Excuse me." With that, the man entered the room.He smelled like an old man. Noriko came to Imameda Detective Agency in September.About two weeks before that, Akiyoshi had disappeared from her residence.Without any warning, it suddenly disappeared.She realized at once that nothing had happened to him, for the key to the apartment had been put in an envelope and dropped into the mailbox by the door.His stuff was mostly intact, but he didn't have much in the first place, and he had no valuables.

The only thing that can show that he once lived here is a computer, but Dianzi doesn't know how to operate it.After worrying for a long time, she invited friends who are familiar with computers to come to her home.Knowing he shouldn't, he decides to ask his friend to see what's on his computer.Friends who are engaged in freelance writing have not only looked at the computer, but also looked at the disks he left behind. The conclusion is: there is nothing, nothing left.According to her, the entire system was in a vacuum and the disks were all blank. Dianzi thought, is there really no way to find out where Akiyoshi is?All she could remember was the empty folder he had brought back, which said "Imaeda Detective Agency".She immediately looked in the phone book and found the firm in no time.Maybe something can be found?The thought nearly overwhelmed her, and she headed to Shinjuku the next day.

It's a pity that she didn't even get any information.The young female employee replied that neither the client nor the subject of the investigation had any relevant records of "Akiyoshi". It seems there is no way to find him.Dianzi thought so wholeheartedly.Therefore, when the clue from Sasagaki Shun Detective Agency came to him, Noriko was surprised and suspicious. Sasagaki asked about confirming that she was going to the Imaeda Detective Agency.Noriko hesitated, but still gave a brief account of how he went to the office.Sasagaki also seemed a little surprised to hear that the man she lived with suddenly disappeared.

"It's really strange that he would have an empty folder from the Imaeda Detective Agency. Don't you have any leads? Have you contacted any of his friends or family?" She shook her head. "I don't know how to get in touch even if I wanted to. I really don't know anything about him." "It's really strange." Sasagaki seemed quite puzzled. "Excuse me, what exactly is Sasagaki-san investigating?" When Dianzi asked this question, he hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Actually, this is also a strange thing: Mr. Imaeda has also disappeared." "what!" "And then many things happened. I was investigating his whereabouts, but there was no clue at all. I only disturbed Ms. Kurihara with a tentative mood. I'm really sorry." Sasagaki lowered his white-haired head. "Oh. Excuse me, when did Mr. Imae disappear?" "Last summer, August." "August..." Dianzi gasped as he remembered what happened at that time.It was at that time that Akiyoshi went out with potassium cyanide, and the folder he brought back had the words "Imaeda Detective Agency" written on it. "What's the matter?" The retired policeman was keenly aware of her abnormality and asked. "Ah, no, nothing." Dianzi hurriedly waved his hand. "By the way," Sasagaki took out a photo from his pocket, "Do you have any impression of this person?" She took the photo and almost exclaimed after just one glance.Although he was a little younger, he was clearly Yuichi Akiyoshi. "Is there?" Sasaki asked. Dianzi could hardly restrain her frantic heartbeat, with mixed feelings in her mind.Should I tell the truth?But the fact that the old policeman carried this photo with him made her worry: Is Qiuji a suspect in any case?Kill Imae?No way? "No, I haven't seen him." She replied while returning the photo to Sasagaki.She knew her fingertips were shaking and her cheeks were flushed. Sasagaki stared at Noriko, his eyes had turned into a policeman's.She involuntarily averted her gaze. "What a pity." Sasagaki said gently, put away the photo, "I should say goodbye." After getting up, he said as if he suddenly remembered: "Can I see your boyfriend's stuff? Maybe it can be used as a reference." "His stuff?" "Not available?" "No, it's okay." Noriko led Sasagaki to the Western-style room, and he immediately approached the computer. "Oh, Mr. Akiyoshi will use this." "Yes, he used it for novels." "Oh," Sasagaki carefully looked at the computer and its surroundings, "Excuse me, is there any photo of Mr. Akiyoshi?" "Ah...no." "It doesn't matter if it's small, as long as the face is photographed." "There really isn't even a single picture, I didn't take a picture." Dianzi didn't lie.Several times she wanted to take a photo with the two of them, but Qiuji refused.So when he disappeared, Dianzi could only rely on his memory to restore his figure and appearance. Sasagaki nodded, but his eyes were clearly suspicious.Dianzi felt extremely disturbed at the thought of what might be in his mind. "So, is there anything Akiyoshi-san wrote down? Notes or diary or something." "I don't think there's anything like that. If there was, it didn't stay." "Oh." Sasagaki looked around the room again, looking at Noriko with a bright smile, "Okay, excuse me." "Sorry I couldn't help you," she said. When Sasagaki was putting on his shoes at the entrance, Noriko was hesitant.This person knew Qiuji's clues, and she really wanted to ask.But she also felt that if she told him that the person in the photo was Akiyoshi, it would be very disadvantageous for Akiyoshi.Even though she knew she would never see Qiuji again, he was still the person she valued most in this world. After putting on the shoes, Sasagaki said to her, "I'm sorry to bother you when you are so tired." "Where." Dianzi said, feeling as if his throat was choked. Sasagaki looked around the room again, and seemed to be scanning for the last time, when suddenly, his eyes stopped. "Oh, that's..." He was pointing to the small cabinet next to the refrigerator, which was cluttered with things like phones and note papers. "Is that a photo album?" he asked. "Oh." Dianzi reached for the thing he was staring at.It was a simple photo album sent by the photo studio. "It's nothing," Dianzi said. "It was taken when I was in Osaka last year." "Osaka?" Sasagaki's eyes sparkled, "Can I see it?" "Yes, but there are no people in it." She handed him the photo album. That was when Akiyoshi took her to Osaka. The photos she took were all buildings and ordinary houses. They were not pleasing scenery, but she took them out of a little prank mentality.She didn't let Akiyoshi see the photos. However, Sasagaki's appearance became very strange.His eyes were wide open, his mouth was half open, and he froze completely. "Excuse me... is there something wrong?" she asked. Sasagaki didn't answer right away, but stared at the photo hard.It took a long time before he turned the open photo album towards her. "You have been in front of this pawnshop before, why did you take pictures of it?" "This... has no special purpose." "The building is also curious. What do you like about it that make you want to photograph it?" "What's wrong with that?" Her voice trembled. Sasagaki reached into his breast pocket and took out the photo just now - Akiyoshi's inch photo. "Let me tell you a coincidence. The signboard of the pawnshop you photographed says 'Kirihara Pawnshop', huh? This person's surname is Tongyuan, and his name is Kirihara Ryoji."