Chapter 4 4

It has been a week since Taisan met with the detective club, but there is still no result. That night, Taisan entertained the assistants and students in his laboratory at home again.It has been a long time since they have been invited to the house.These days everyone has worked really hard for a while preparing for the papers to be published at tomorrow's society.So, please come to our house for a meal as a reward for everyone.Of course, Taisan had another plan in mind, and he wanted to use this opportunity to find out the man who dated Yuriko. In a Japanese-style room with twelve tatami mats, two rectangular tables were placed together, and almost all the assistants, graduate students and undergraduates from Taisan's research laboratory came.Among these people are three assistants of Tae-san.

Yuriko and Yoshie were in charge of serving food for everyone, and Naoko said that she would come back very late tonight. "Hey, Ueno-kun, you can't drink tonight." Taizo took the already filled wine glass from Ueno's face.Ueno has a baby face and a round figure. "Yeah, he's going to be in the hotel all night preparing for tomorrow's speech." It was Motoki, the assistant who was sitting next to Ueno, who spoke.His complexion is not very good, and he always makes people feel a little mentally ill, but he has a good personality, so he is quite popular.

"It's not necessary to stay overnight." Ueno said with a smile. "Because we're almost ready, all we need to do is look at it from the beginning tonight." He is going to present his research results at tomorrow's meeting.Since the venue is relatively far away, it is necessary to find a nearby hotel to stay the night before, which is what the research office has always done.If the person who is going to speak is not fully prepared, there is also a surprise preparation. "When do you plan to go there?" Tai San asked. "Just leave after ten o'clock. In this way, you can arrive at the hotel at one or two o'clock at night."

"Are you going by car? Be careful on the road." "Yes. I will be careful." Said Ueno bowed his head in thanks. "Have you brought all the papers to be published?" The man sitting beside Taisan who had been silent all this time asked while pouring wine for Taisan. This is also Taisan's assistant, named Kanzaki.This is a tall and burly young man, probably because of his figure, his face also looks bigger than others.He wears a set of gray work clothes, and his apartment is very close to the school, so he doesn't change clothes when commuting to and from get off work.

Assistant Kanzaki was not in Taisan's laboratory at first, but worked under Taisan's colleague, Associate Professor Kikui.After Kikui died in an accident a few years ago, he transferred to Taizo's laboratory. "Don't worry, it's all in my bag. Oh, and I'm not going to open it until I get to the hotel." "This is the best." Said Kanzaki and drank all the wine in the glass. It was nearly ten o'clock when they left.Taisan and Yuriko sent everyone outside the gate. "Please be careful, everyone. I think I may be late tomorrow." Yuriko turned around after watching the figures of those people disappear into the night, but she went straight into her room without even looking at her father.

It was about thirty minutes after Taisan received the call from the Detective Club.The call was answered in his own study. "There has been no news, and I am worried." Taisan said straight to the point that he was going to ridicule the other party, but the other party's voice was very blunt: "Because the time limit for the appointment is one week." It seemed to be explaining. "So, what happened?" Tai San asked impatiently, "Have you found out the father of the child?" "Not yet." The answer was very simple. "What's going on? It seems very tricky."

"As said, there is no progress at all. At least in the past week, Ling Ai has no contact with that man." "Oh? Did these two guys notice something? But, they shouldn't last long, right?" "We think so too. However, I heard that everyone in the laboratory will be going to attend the seminar tomorrow. Maybe they are busy preparing for the seminar and don't have time. Therefore, we should be able to find some clues after the seminar is over." Although the tone of the other party is still very cold, Tai San is quite satisfied.Because he hadn't mentioned the matter of learning to the detectives, but they were fully aware of the situation.

"Understood, when will we contact you again?" "Because we have to wait until the end of the school, so it will be three days later." "Okay, worry about it." Tai San put down the phone, then sat down on the chair and prepared to read a book, which is what he does every day.Then there was a knock on the door. Ji Jiang came to deliver tea.Every day. "Is Naoko back yet?" Tai San asked after taking a sip of steaming tea. "Just got back, I think she's in her room now." "Are you drinking again?" Usually, when Naoko came back late, she drank a lot.

"Well, a little..." Ji Jiang didn't seem to be easy to say, so he lowered his head. "What a headache girl." Taisan complained.However, he was just complaining here, but he couldn't teach her a lesson in front of Naoko.Because in his heart he always felt that he owed Naoko a lot. When Naoko was brought back, she was only seventeen years old, still a high school student, and the girlish innocence on her face had not disappeared.The pitifully small amount of luggage when she moved in, the clothes she was wearing at that time, and her thin body all told Taisan how difficult the lives of their mother and daughter have been in the past ten years.

As for the reason why Naoko's mother ran away from home, simply put, it was the discord between husband and wife.At that time, Taisan was so focused on research that he almost ignored the family affairs and left everything to his wife.At that time, he felt that as long as he gave the money to his wife, he had done his duty.Therefore, when his wife ran away from home with her daughter, he was not even mentally prepared. Naoko was only three years old when she left Taisan's house, and she didn't seem to remember her father Taisan at all.Despite this, she returned to Taisan's side, which was her mother's dying wish.It was the mother who asked Taizo to bring Naoko back.Probably because she felt that she would die soon, and this should be the best way for Naoko's future.Of course, Tai San has no objection to this.

However, Naoko finds it difficult to integrate into the family.After moving here, she always locked herself in the room, and even seldom had meals with Taisan and the others. Yuriko was just twelve years old at the time, and even when she came to Naoko, Naoko would frown and look bored. After graduating from high school and entering a women's university, I didn't feel that Naoko had changed much.She often goes out, and when she comes back, she still hides in her room and passes the time by listening to music.She seemed to have something to say to Yuriko, but it was difficult for her to initiate a conversation with Taizou. After graduating from university, Naoko worked for a local pharmaceutical company.Occasionally, she will bring friends back, which shows that her personality is much more easy-going, but she never introduces her friends to her father, but from the laughter coming from her room, Taisan can imagine that she might be relatively cheerful. ——This child may change her personality after meeting a boy she likes.Then hold on until that boy shows up. Tai San often comforts himself like this.