Chapter 21 Section five

The next Saturday, it took Kuroda more time than expected to find the family.Because I heard that the other party was studying in S Academy, I preconceived in my mind that it should be a high-end residence, but the address written on the note was full of apartments and rental housing.Even if he is flattering, his family background cannot be said to be rich.Kuroda wandered back and forth in the same place, asking passers-by, and finally came to the door of the house he was looking for. ——By the way, is this place really where the "dancing girl" Takashi mentioned lives? Standing at the door of that family's house, Kuroda couldn't help hesitating.It was a family sandwiched between longhouses.There were wooden-framed glass windows on the wall, and the lintel was askew, and the door seemed to be difficult to open and close.The shingles of the roof facing the road were also jagged like decayed teeth, perhaps because of the fire at the door, and there was a cloud of soot outside the door.No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like a family with a beautiful girl studying at S Academy.

Crossing the narrow road that was not fully paved, Kuroda walked to the cigarette shop opposite.An old lady with age spots on her face was sitting in the shop, dozing off with a blanket on her knees. Kuroda woke up the old lady, bought a box of Seven Stars, and asked her what the head of the household across the street did.The old lady blinked her eyes and answered. "It seemed to be a collector of waste products before, but now I don't know much about it." "Is his wife doing nothing?" "His wife doesn't seem to be in good health, but I heard that she sometimes works part-time or something... Are you from the Credit Investigation Institute?"

The old lady looked up at Kuroda suspiciously. "Almost." Kuroda said perfunctorily, "The two of them have a daughter, right?" Kuroda said the name he got from Takashi.The old lady thought for a while, then sighed. "Ah, you mean that child? It's a pity that he was born pretty." Hearing that there was something in her words, Kuroda hurriedly asked, "What a pity?" The old lady leaned out and whispered, "Don't you know? The daughter of that family committed suicide three months ago." "suicide?" Kuroda felt his heart sinking.Three months ago, it roughly coincided with the time when Xiaozhi saw the girl.

"She jumped off the building at the station ahead. I didn't see it with my own eyes, but I heard it was terrible." "Why did she commit suicide?" "I don't know. I heard that suicide is very popular recently. I guess there is no special reason." "Ok……" How should I tell Takashi—— Kuroda has already begun to think about this issue in his heart.He is so obsessed with that girl, after hearing this, I really don't know how sad and lost he will be.Or just say that she didn't find her home, so let's just deal with it... "Why is she so anxious to die? Isn't she just a freshman in high school?"

"Freshman?" The old lady looked at Kuroda in disbelief, then she nodded, "But she's about the same age." "Around the same age... Isn't she in high school?" The old lady showed her yellow teeth, and said with a smile, "That family doesn't have the financial resources. Just after finishing junior high school, the girl seems to have gone to work to earn money." The old lady in the tobacco shop told Kuroda the way to a Chinese restaurant called "Beijing Restaurant".After graduating from junior high school, the girl seemed to go to work there.The restaurant is located in the maze-like alley behind the station.

There are five oil-stained tables lined up side by side, and comic books piled high on the counter.Perhaps because it was not too early or too late at four o'clock in the afternoon, Kuroda was the only customer in the shop. The person who came to ask Kuroda what he wanted to order was a thin, short female shop assistant with heavy make-up.It is difficult to deduce the exact age, but judging from the skin around the other party's neck, it is estimated that he is about twenty years old. After passing Kuroda's order to the man behind the counter, the female clerk returned to the chair by the counter, sat down, and began to read Ladies' Weekly.

Kuroda got up and went to the counter, pretending to be searching for manga.Each is a magazine from long ago.Kuroda took out a book casually, looked at the female clerk just now and said, "Is there a younger girl working here before?" The female clerk didn't seem to understand immediately that the other party was talking to herself. Kuroda said the girl's name.Only then did the female clerk respond indifferently. "You know her?" "I can't say we know each other, but I heard that she used to work here." "The girl is dead." "It seems so. Suicide, I heard?"

"The girl has a gloomy personality and always looks worried. Even if she committed suicide, there is nothing to be surprised about." "What was she doing here before?" The clerk pointed to the counter with her chin. "Washing the dishes. You can't let such a gloomy person entertain guests, can you?" Kuroda swallowed back the words "Do you think you are generous and enthusiastic?" in his heart, and asked, "Do you know why she committed suicide?" "Didn't I say that? She looks like a suicidal person sooner or later. Who knows what's going on in her mind all day long."

At this time, the dumplings and fried rice ordered by Kuroda were ready.The waitress skillfully brought two plates. "Then do you know what hobbies that girl usually has?" "Hobbies? How would I know?" "Like dancing or something." The clerk grinned her red lips and said, "She doesn't have that kind of talent for elegance." But immediately, she seemed to remember something again, and closed her grinning mouth. "Ah, so..." "Do you remember anything?" "I'm not sure, but she would often just stare blankly at the new gymnastics on TV. Her hands would stop washing the dishes. She used to get scolded for it."

"Hey……" This ended the conversation with the female shop assistant.Although other customers came to the store was also one of the reasons, but more importantly, it seemed that there was no way to find out anything from her.When he walked out of the store, Kuroda looked at the signboard of the store again. It says "Closed on Wednesdays".