Chapter 13 12

It was almost five in the morning after Shinsuke watched the pre-recorded program from beginning to end.Cheng Mei still hasn't come home. It's a little too late, Shinsuke thought. Although he didn't want to talk to Chengmei, he would still feel worried if he came home too late.Shinsuke picked up his mobile phone and dialed Chengmei's phone number. The phone went unanswered and went straight to voicemail.Shinsuke thinks that Chengmei will not turn off the power, so she is probably in a place where the signal cannot be received. When he heard the message and called me, he hung up after recording the message.Since my girlfriend works the night shift in a hotel, worrying about her coming back late will only make my body overwhelmed.Shinsuke decided to ignore it for the time being.

Just as Shinsuke put his phone back on the charger, he caught a glimpse of something unexpected on Narumi's dressing table, so he picked it up. It was a screwdriver with a cross-shaped tip.It seems to be used to lock a large screw, so it is a bit heavier, and the palm feels heavy.On closer inspection, it appears to be brand new. Shinsuke thought about why there were such things in the house. Obviously, even paper and pens were hard to find, so there should be no such tools as screwdrivers.Shinsuke had never seen this screwdriver before, and thought that Chengmei must have got it from somewhere.It looked new, and it was likely bought back, but he couldn't imagine that Chengmei would buy such a tool.

Shinsuke took a screwdriver and paced around the room.Whether it is bought or borrowed, since there is this screwdriver in the house, it means that it is used somewhere in the house, or it is planned to be used somewhere.He thought to himself, could a screw be loose somewhere? Shinsuke, however, was nowhere to be found.He wondered if the pot or pan handle had come loose, went to the kitchen, checked all the cooking utensils, and there wasn't a single Phillips screw the size of a screwdriver. Shinsuke had no choice but to give up and return the screwdriver to its original place.Although I mind very much, as long as Chengmei returns home, the truth will be revealed.

After five o'clock in the morning, I still feel a little sleepy.Shinsuke yawned and walked into the bathroom. After noon the next day, the electronic ringing of the alarm clock woke Shinsuke up.He sat on the edge of the bed as usual, pressing the corners of his eyes with his fingers for a while.The consciousness is temporarily awake, but the brain and body are basically in a sleep state.What month is it today, what day of the week is it, what are the planned plans, these things will be recalled bit by bit.Is today the 20th, or the 21st?Need to run errands at the post office?What about the bank?Is there a home delivery order that will be delivered?

After confirming that there is no special schedule today, Shinsuke took his hands away from his eyes. "Chengmei, what's for breakfast?" He turned his head and said.Usually, you should be able to see Chengmei's undressed face by her side. But there was no sign of her.It wasn't pajamas that were crumpled up next to the pillow, but a T-shirt. Shinsuke got up from the bed, looked at the situation in the room, and went to the entrance to check the shoes.There seems to be no sign of Chengmei returning home. He confirmed the messages and text messages on his mobile phone, but there was no message from Chengmei.

Shinsuke called her cell phone again, but the situation was the same as yesterday. Like the wind shaking the branches and leaves, Shinsuke's heart was disturbed. Shinsuke thought of calling Narumi's female colleague who works in the hotel, so he looked for his business card and phone book, but he couldn't find it.After thinking about it carefully, he felt that it was impossible for Chengmei to sort out the contact information of the people she knew, and she should have recorded them all in the mobile phone. Shinsuke looked at the alarm clock again, the time was 12:23 noon.Chengmei had never returned beyond this time before.

He suspects that Chengmei may be in love with the customers in the store, and secretly goes to the hotel to open a room.But even so, it is impossible for her to stay outside casually, at least she will make up a random reason to call Shinsuke.What's more, Shinsuke still trusts Chengmei.He thinks that Chengmei is not a woman who sleeps with men casually. Shinsuke decided to try calling his cell phone again, but he still only heard a message explaining in electronically synthesized voice.It's voicemail now— Shinsuke wondered if anyone would know where Narumi was.However, although he had heard Chengmei mention his friends, he had no way to contact those people.

Shinsuke finally came to the conclusion that he called the hotel where Chengmei worked to confirm, so he decided to take a shower first.Shinsuke thought that maybe Chengmei would call while he was taking a shower, so he put the phone by the bathroom door.However, while he was washing his hair and taking a shower, the phone didn't ring at all. Shinsuke went out at five o'clock in the afternoon. Before he left, he called Chengmei's "collie" at work. Probably no one was at work at this time, and he only heard the paging from the radio station. When Shinsuke arrived at "Minghe" to prepare for the opening of the store, he couldn't calm down.He thinks that Chengmei won't want to spend the night outside by herself, so nothing bad will happen to her, right?The incident worried him greatly, and he wished to have at least some intelligence.

When Shinsuke got the first information, it was past seven o'clock in the evening.He called "collie" and asked the other party "is Miss Chengmei in?".Cheng Mei uses her real name to work in a hotel. "She may have gone out and hasn't come back yet. Usually, she has already come to work at this time." Sure enough, Cheng Mei was not in the shop. "So, is Tomomi-san there?" "Yes, please wait a moment." The man said kindly. Shinsuke met Tomomi a few times.She and Chengmei often come to "Sirius" with guests.She is Cheng Mei's best hotel colleague, and she also heard from Cheng Mei that she knew about their relationship.

"Hi, I've kept you waiting." A hearty voice came from the other end of the phone.Shinsuke remembered Tomomi's expression similar to that of a tanuki. "Miss Tomomi, I'm Umura." Shinsuke paused after finishing speaking, "Oh, long time no see. How are you?" She still spoke in a hearty voice.Presumably to make the next person think it was a call from a guest.Then she lowered her voice and said, "Cheng Mei hasn't come yet!" "I know that, that guy didn't come home last night." "Huh, no way?" "It's true. I called her cell phone several times and she didn't answer. I was worrying that I couldn't contact her. That's why I wanted to ask if Miss Tomomi knew anything."

"Wait a minute, this is weird." "strangeness?" "Well. Because—" the voice on the other end of the phone suddenly stopped.The voice of Tomomi complimenting the guest was vaguely heard.Perhaps a guest passed by her.After a while, "Sorry!" Her voice came again. "Mr. Yucun, things are very strange. Chengmei asked for leave from the store yesterday." "Huh," it was Shinsuke's turn to be surprised this time. "Really?" "Well. Chengmei called her mother Sang yesterday evening, saying that she had a cold and wanted to ask for leave." "cold?" impossible.When Shinsuke left the house yesterday, Chengmei was fine.She was facing the dressing table to get ready for makeup.After that, however, she called the store to ask for leave. This is really weird, Shinsuke muttered. "Sorry. I can't talk for too long, I have a guest." Tomomi sounded a bit troubled. "Ah, I'm sorry. Then can you tell me your mobile phone number? I hope I can ask for more details later." "Okay. Then I'm going to talk. 080—" Shinsuke wrote down the number Tomomi said on a note beside him. "What time is it convenient to call?" "I think about three o'clock should be all right." "OK. Then I'll call at about that time." Shinsuke hung up the phone after finishing speaking. Shinsuke didn't understand why things turned out like this.If what Tomomi said is true, then where did Chengmei go yesterday?Of course she was lying when she said she had a cold. Shinsuke really minds that Chengmi lied to him.It doesn't matter if you just want to skip work, but why hide something from him? Shinsuke's conclusion is that Narumi really has another man.She would ask Shinsuke for leave to leave the store without telling Shinsuke, and that was the only explanation left. Worry less in half.No, it should be more than half.He began to feel that he was really stupid for brooding last night.When he tried his best to find out where Cheng Mei was and was restless, Cheng Mei might be in the arms of another man. However, Shinsuke is still very concerned that Narumi still hasn't contacted him and hasn't appeared in "collie".He doesn't know if Chengmei's partner is an old lover, or a man who has only recently become intimate, but Chengmei is not a girl who is affected by love and cannot judge the situation. It's hard to tell, though—Shinsuke wiped his wine glass and smiled without anyone noticing.Isn't love blind?Sung-mi could be spending time with some wonderful guy and forget about everything because she's having so much fun.Forget work, forget me— The entrance door opened, and a regular male visitor walked in. "Welcome! Mr. Ohashi. Long time no see!" Shinsuke greeted with a louder voice than usual. At around 2:30 in the morning, Sentoko drove Shinsuke home as usual.Shinsuke thought, maybe Chengmei had already returned home, he opened the door, but the room was still dark.Turning on the light, he didn't find any sign that Chengmei had ever returned home. The uneasiness in Shinsuke's heart gradually increased.Either way, a complete lack of connection still isn't quite right. Shinsuke sat down on the sofa and dialed the phone number Tomomi told him.After three rings it was connected. "Hi" she said. "Hi, I'm Yucun." "Ah. I'm waiting for your call. Chengmei still hasn't come home?" "Yes. Didn't she go to the store, too?" "Mom-san is furious, but I haven't told her about her disappearance yet. Because Chengmei didn't tell mom-san that she and Mr. Amamura are dating." "Well, I'll leave the hotel to you. By the way, do you have any idea of ​​where Chengmei might go?" "I have thought about this part, but I still have no idea. Among all the hotel ladies, I think I am the only one who is close enough to her to let her stay overnight. So I was wondering, would she Did you go back to your hometown in Chiba?" "I don't think I'll be able to contact her family either." Shinsuke heard that Narumi's hometown is in Kimitsu City.It's just that both parents have passed away, and those who currently live in their hometown are relatives.After she came to Tokyo at the age of eighteen, her parents died one after another.Cheng Mei once said that since her father's funeral, she has no contact with her relatives. "Could it be a man?" Shinsuke said. "man?" "I mean will she have another man." "Oh." Tomomi nodded. "I don't think so." "Really? It's okay not to care about my feelings. If she has that relationship with another man, I will give up." "I didn't hide it from you. Mr. Yucun is not my guest, so I don't need to please you. You are really the only one in Chengmei's heart. We have been together like this. If she has another man, I will definitely knew." "But, if it wasn't for a man, why did Chengmei go out without telling me?" "I don't know about that..." After a moment of silence, Tomomi blurted out, "Hey, should I call the police?" "Ask them to help with the search?" "Ok." "I thought about it too." "I think it's better to call the police. After all, this situation is too weird." After Tomomi finished speaking, she lowered her voice and continued. "I have a question for Mr. Amamura." "what is the problem?" "Is Cheng Mei planning to resign recently?" "Huh? I haven't heard her say anything about it at all." "Well... Sure enough." "Did that guy Chengmei say he was going to resign?" "Yeah. She said she's tired of being called around, and it's time to wrap things up." "What do you mean by making a settlement? Do you open your own shop?" "I don't know. Don't I?" "But..." Shen Jie originally wanted to talk about where the money came from, but swallowed the words back.Even though he has no funds in his hands, he just talks about his dreams, which is no different from his previous self. "Hi!" Tomomi said. "Let's call the police." "Yeah." Shinji murmured.