Chapter 8 7

A woman in a black dress stayed in the store for an hour.In one hour she downed three glasses of brandy.It takes about 20 minutes to finish a cup, which is as accurate as timing with a chronograph.In addition, even the movements of drinking are almost exactly the same.She first reached out to the wine glass, then raised it lightly, stared at the wine in the glass for a few seconds, then touched the rim of the glass with her lips, allowing the wine to flow from her mouth into her body.Then she closes her eyes.While the wine flowed into his throat, his throat squirmed slightly, and then he took away the glass and sighed softly—just like this, he repeated the movement perfectly.

Even when receiving other guests, Shinsuke kept paying attention to her.No, it seems that Shinsuke is not the only one like this.When the woman came into the store, Ejima, who was sitting at the bar, wrote some words on the coaster with his favorite pen, and silently pushed it in the direction of Shinsuke.Shinsuke immediately picked up the coaster. Is it a guest you know? ——Written on the coaster.Shinsuke held the coaster in his hand and shook his head at Ejima.Jiang Dao showed a look of surprise, but naturally he would not openly cast a curious look at the strange female guest. Qian Duzi was also brooding over this mysterious woman.She walked to the bar and asked Shen Jie softly: "Do you know this guest?" Shen Jie shook his head again.If it is a male guest, Mama-san can cleverly ask the identity, but when the subject is a woman in mourning clothes, she is helpless.

In the first twenty minutes, the woman only said "Can I have a glass of Hennessy?" "Give me another glass, please." Two sentences.Compared with her slender figure, her deep voice is in sharp contrast.With a low voice like a fife, the aftertaste is still lingering in Shinsuke's ears. When the woman drank the second cup, Shinsuke sincerely hoped to hear her deep fife-like voice again.But she remained silent, only raised the empty wine glass to Shinsuke, with a smile on her face.The woman's expression can only be described as coquettish.Her pupils with light brown irises firmly caught Shinsuke's gaze.From the gap between her slightly parted lips, the woman breathed out a breath like a rich floral fragrance.

"Is it the same as before?" Shinsuke asked, his voice trembling. The woman nodded silently.The faint light in the store shines on her face from the side, and her skin is as white and smooth as porcelain. Shinsuke expected the woman to take the initiative to chat with him.Generally speaking, most of the guests who come to the bar alone are looking for someone to chat with.However, Shinsuke thought that this woman might not be like that.She probably came to the store so that she could drink alone like she is now.People who want to have a few drinks alone usually exude a unique loneliness, but this feeling does not exist in this woman.Wearing a black dress, she seemed to be quietly blending into the slightly dim light, exuding a relaxed and comfortable temperament.

After drinking her third glass of wine, the woman looked at her watch.On her slender wrist is a watch with a narrow black strap.Shinsuke's gaze was attracted, and his eyes fell on her wrist.She also wore black lace gloves on her hands. It was almost one o'clock in the morning.There were two other customers sitting at the table in the store, and the two of them exuded the atmosphere of corporate elites.After they came to the store, they also stared at the woman sitting at the bar for a while, and now they are at Qianduzi's place, talking enthusiastically about horse racing together.

"Thank you for the hospitality." The woman said the third sentence. "Are you going back?" Shinsuke asked. The woman nodded slightly.She stared at Shinsuke intently.Although Shinsuke also wanted to accept her gaze, he always felt that his heart would be seen through by that woman, and his aura was completely overwhelmed by her, so he immediately looked away. Shinsuke handed the receipt to the woman.The woman reached into her black handbag and pulled out an old dark brown leather bag with worn leather surfaces.Shinsuke was quite surprised that the purse didn't match her aura at all.

After paying the money, the woman put away the purse and got off the high chair.Just like when she came here, she walked straight towards the entrance without squinting. "Thank you for your patronage." Shinsuke said to the back of the woman. As soon as the woman left, Qian Duzi walked over immediately. "Who is that guest? It feels a little scary." She whispered in Shinsuke's ear. "Has she been brought before by any visitor?" "No. If there is, I will remember. Xiao Shen, didn't you talk to her?" "No. Always find it hard to talk to her."

"After all, she is wearing mourning clothes. Who is she?" Qian Duzi looked at the entrance from the direction the woman walked out, and tilted his head thinking. At two o'clock in the morning, Shinsuke and the others drove away the remaining customers and closed the shop.The part-time girls rush home before the last train, and it is Shinsuke's job to tidy up afterwards.Chitoko parked the car a little far away from the store, and left early in order to drive over. Shinsuke walked out of the store after packing up and locked the door.The stagnant air in the corridors was full of dust.He couldn't help thinking that the world at night was like this, and he finally came back.

Shinsuke stood in front of the elevator and pressed the button.Standing there alone, it really reminded him of what happened that night.The black figure approaching silently from behind, the murder weapon slashed from top to bottom, the violent impact, and the feeling of consciousness drifting away when feeling the severe pain. There was a sound somewhere.Shinsuke was taken aback, and turned to look behind him, but there was no one behind him.Not long after, a group of people laughed and talked from the direction of the stairs.Shinsuke breathed a sigh of relief as it was probably a customer who left from the store upstairs.When he came back to his senses, he realized that the hairs all over his body were standing on end, and his armpits were already dripping with sweat.

After the elevator arrived at Shinsuke's floor, the elevator door opened silently.Shinsuke prayed that no one would be in the elevator, but instead of that, there was a man in the elevator.It was a short man in his early thirties with a beard around his mouth. Although Shinsuke is extremely reluctant to stay in a confined space with strangers, he still has to.As soon as Shinsuke stepped into the elevator, he immediately pressed the "close" button.He didn't want to turn his back on the man, so he leaned his body against the inner wall of the elevator and stared straight at the lights indicating the floors.Although it only took more than ten seconds to reach the first floor, Shinsuke felt that the time was frighteningly long, and he felt his whole body stiffen.

Of course the bearded man did nothing.He was probably in a hurry, as soon as the elevator reached the first floor, he quickly passed Shinsuke.Shinsuke watched the man's back, sighed and shook his head. Shinsuke stood in front of the building in a daze when he heard the hollow sound of a horn.Shinjue turned his head to the direction of the sound.I saw a dark blue BMW parked by the side of the road, with Chitoko's fair face in the driver's seat. Shinsuke paid attention to the vehicles passing by on the road, bypassed the passenger seat, opened the door and quickly got into the car.The car smelled of Qianduzi's perfume. "It's been too long since I've been working in the store, so it took me some time to pack up." "Thank you for your hard work. Are you in good health? Does your head hurt?" "No problem. I'm fine." "Great, I'm a little worried after being so busy today." Chizuko started the engine, and the BMW moved forward slowly. Chitoko lives alone in a high-end apartment in Tsukishima.She goes home in the same direction as Shinsuke, so she always drives Shinsuke to the front of the building where he lives.If there is no way to send Shinsuke back, he will give him the taxi fare.As long as Chitoko thinks about the taxi fare, it doesn't matter even if it takes a long detour. Shinsuke looked out the window casually, and when the BMW started to accelerate, he subconsciously let out a soft scream. "What's wrong?" Chizuru asked. "No..." He shook his head immediately. "Nothing. Just saw a passerby who looked like someone I knew." "Would you like to stop and take a look?" "No, it's okay. I must have mistaken the person." "Really?" Qian Duzi once again stepped on the accelerator that had been loosened for a while. Shinsuke felt the acceleration of the car on his back, restraining his desire to look back.Just now his sight caught the figure of a woman standing by the roadside.Although it was just a quick glance, whether it was the black dress with a long hem or the short hair, it was definitely the woman who had just appeared in "Minghe".What's more, she was face to face with Shinsuke, as if she knew that Shinsuke was sitting in the passenger seat of the BMW, and she was about to watch him go. What was that woman doing in that kind of place?Why is she staring at herself?Speaking of which, what kind of character is that woman? The questions that came to mind one after another occupied Shinsuke's thoughts for a while.After a while, the emptiness in my heart swept away these doubts.Shinsuke felt that he probably admitted the wrong person.The woman had been out of the shop for some time.She couldn't stand there forever.He thought to himself, there are women in black clothes everywhere, as well as women with short hair. What's more, the woman standing there may not be looking at me, but looking into the distance, not looking at anything in particular, just turning around by chance. Just my own direction—— "You seem to be a little concerned. Is it the person you just saw? It's better to stop?" Qian Duzi, who was driving, said after several traffic lights. "I don't care at all, I'm just a little sleepy." "It's like this, you haven't stayed up late for a long time, right?" Chizuko speeded up the car slightly, probably because of her thoughtfulness to let Shinsuke go home and go to bed early. Shinsuke closed his eyes gently, thinking about why he couldn't tell the truth to Chitoko, and confessed that he saw the woman in black with a terrifying aura, but he still couldn't understand. After a while, Sentoko asked Shinsuke. "Do you want to take a break first? Do you think you are suitable for a job that requires staying up late?" "I don't know if I'm a good fit. But I haven't given it much thought." "Haven't you thought about taking this opportunity to find a day job?" "I never thought about it. And there's nothing else I can do." "No such thing, after all, you are still very young." "I'm thirty years old." "You're only thirty. There are still many possibilities in your future. But you don't have a lot of time left in your life. If you have any goals in life, it's better to start early." "I have nothing to do." Shinsuke never told Chizuko about his dream.One day I will be independent and have my own shop.Because he wanted to wait until everything was ready before telling Qian Duzi. Shinsuke could hardly remember what stage he was preparing for.He didn't know if he had specific plans or if he was just dreaming. "Xiao Shen, do you think it's time for you to go back to Ginza?" Qian Duzi asked further. "It's been a year since you came to our store." "I don't think so. I really feel grateful to be taken in by Mama-san's shop." "You don't need to thank me. You helped me a lot." Qian Duzi said with emphasis. Shinsuke came to work in "Minghe" after the criminal verdict was pronounced.Shinsuke was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years.So in fact, Shinsuke can still continue to live a normal life. Under Ejima's arrangement, he was temporarily placed in Sentoko's shop.This may be because Ejima cares about Shinsuke very much, and thinks that Shinsuke will not have to care about other people's eyes, and at the same time, it will not affect the perception of "Sirius" by regular customers who know about the car accident. Chitoko parked the car right in front of Shinsuke's residence.After thanking Shinsuke, he got off the station and stood by the side of the road. He didn't leave until he couldn't see the taillights of the BMW. When Shinsuke opened the door, the room was completely dark, which meant that Chengmei hadn't come home yet.The hotel where Chengmei works closes at 12:30, but she will have dinner with the female colleagues in the hotel and usually arrive home later than him.Sometimes I also accompany customers to drink in other stores.Or go to karaoke to sing and so on.As long as you are engaged in work related to the luxurious nightlife, of course, these things will inevitably happen, and Shinsuke will not ask them one by one. Shinsuke turned on the light, went to the bathroom to rinse his mouth, and then washed his face with hot water.When he wiped his face with a towel and looked at himself reflected in the mirror, a strange feeling suddenly struck Shinsuke.His face twisted involuntarily. That feeling is similar to Deja-vu.The so-called sense of déjà vu is the feeling that one has encountered the same situation before.But needless to say, it wasn't the first time he washed his face in this bathroom.After returning home from work, the first thing he does is to wash his face. This is Shinsuke's habit that has lasted for many years.So this also means that what you feel now is not a sense of déjà vu.Feeling a situation that has never been experienced before can be called a real sense of déjà vu. Shinsuke stared at the mirror, rubbed his face, and stroked his hair, but he still couldn't figure out the feeling he had just had.Not long after, the weird feeling subsided, and only his figure standing in place was left in the mirror. He decided to explain that he had been away from work for too long.It's also true that he cared too much about the woman in mourning, what happened to me tonight—— Shinsuke left the bathroom and changed into an undershirt.He turned on the TV and took out a can of beer from the refrigerator, which he also took out of the leftover potato salad. When Shinsuke was about to pull the tab of the can of beer, an idea flashed through his mind, so he opened the drawer of the small TV cabinet.There should have been a bank passbook in the drawer.But after looking through three drawers, I couldn't find the passbook, but every drawer was neater than before.He thought to himself, probably Chengmei took the passbook to another place when tidying up the room. If the passbook is not placed in the TV cabinet, where will it be placed?Shinsuke stood in the middle of the room and began to think.No matter how you looked at it, there was no room for valuables in the house.Apart from the TV cabinet and bed, the only things that can be called furniture are dining cabinets, sofas, and small storage cabinets for underwear.Almost all other major laundry items are stored in the closet.The lower level of the closet has multiple side-by-side storage boxes, and the upper level is equipped with hangers that can hang dozens of clothes.All furniture is purchased by mail. Just as Shinsuke was thinking about where to find it first, the sound of a key opening the door came from the entrance.As soon as the door opened, Cheng Mei's voice came over. "Xiao Shen, I'm back." "You're back." Shinsuke replied. "What are you doing? Why are you standing there?" Cheng Mei immediately asked as soon as she entered the room.She was wearing a chartreuse shirt that she had bought last spring. "I'm looking for a passbook." "Passbook...why?" "There's something that bothers me. Where did you put it? Can you get it out for me?" "What do you care about?" "I'll tell you later. Anyway, I want to see it now." Probably because Shinsuke suddenly said something strange, Cheng Mei's expression was extremely disturbed.But she didn't ask much, and then walked into the Japanese room and opened the door of the closet.In the closet, next to the hanging clothes, was a first-aid kit.She opened the first-aid kit, which contained a passbook. Chengmei said "here, here you are", and handed the passbook to Shinsuke. "Why is the passbook placed there?" "There's no particular reason...it's just that I can't think of another place to put it. Such an important thing should not be placed in an easy-to-find place." "Will the thief go through the first-aid kit?" Shinsuke opened his passbook.After seeing the numbers on the passbook, he couldn't help laughing.It was a self-deprecating smile. "What's wrong?" Cheng Mei asked. "There's no need to worry about thieves." Shinsuke opened the page where the amount was posted and showed it to Chengmei. "Look at this number. It's less than the bankbooks of middle school students recently." "It can't be helped. After all, many things need money." "How about Chengmei? You saved some money too?" "I'm about the same as you. The hotel where I work doesn't make a lot of money." Shinsuke shrugged and put the passbook in the first aid kit. "What's wrong with you? Why did you suddenly bring up the matter of saving money?" Cheng Mei's voice contained a little anger. Shinsuke sighed. "I don't know myself at all." Hey, she frowned. "What's the meaning?" "Hey, Chengmei," Shinsuke said. "What the hell am I thinking?" "What do you think?" "What plans do I have for the future? I don't have any savings, but I still want to open my own store independently. What am I imagining?" "You told me that you want to open your own store in the future..." "Then did I say how the money will come? Did I say what the target amount is?" When Chengmei heard Shinsuke's questioning, there was a mixture of anxiety and timidity in her eyes.Probably after realizing again that Shinsuke lost his memory, his heart became even heavier. "You said... you want to save money." "Saving money? For a person who said such a thing, would the amount in the passbook be so pitifully small?" "That's why you said that the two of us must save food and money in the future." "Frugal on food and expenses..." Shinsuke shook his head.He realized that he hadn't realized the words frugality for a long time. Did he really say such a thing? Shinsuke couldn't help squatting on the ground.Cheng Mei put her hand on his shoulder. "Hey, let's forget about this kind of thing in the past. If you forget what you plan to do in the future, don't you have to think about it from now on?" Shinsuke gently held her hand.Her hands were wet and cold.