Chapter 18 Section 17

Natsuko Nishino appeared with a smile. "Long time no see, Teacher Tatsumi." She was wearing a short shirt with a green logo and a tight denim skirt, still casually dressed as always.Wearing a cardigan is probably because the temperature of the air conditioner in the company is set too low.She gave a surprised look when she saw the person behind me. "Actually, Tendo is also—" "This person is not good at asking questions, so I'm here too." "Ah—hello, long time no see." Xia Zi forced a smile, but Tendo ignored him, urged me, and walked to the front by himself.Xia Zi swallowed.

"That...but—" "It won't take you long, just go out and have a cup of tea." After the automatic door opened, Tendo, I, and Natsuko, who followed behind, lined up and left.The heat at the beginning of September is different from the extreme heat in midsummer, and it has a sticky feeling that makes people feel uncomfortable.Tendo didn't look back, but walked straight forward.After I walked out of the building, I bowed my head to the guard in overalls, and then caught up with his tall black figure. Leaving the circular line, I slowed down a little and walked side by side with Natsuko.

"that……" Seeing that she was about to speak, I signaled her to speak later with my eyes. The overcast sky was so still that not even the sun could be seen, and our blurred shadows fell on the sidewalk.The sound of cars whizzing by.A staff member stood resting with his coat tucked over his arm, and was still wiping his forehead with a handkerchief.A group of high school girls with tanned skin came from the front and brushed past us. Tendo walked into the "Coffee Street" and went upstairs.I remembered meeting Matsuura once at this shop. Xia Zi's footsteps followed closely behind.

Entering the air-conditioned store, the hot body feels very comfortable.Tendo and I gave her the seat by the window and sat side by side across from each other.After I sat down, I took out a handkerchief from my bag and wiped the sweat off my brow. The interior is a tasteful mix of wood and brick, with ornamental plants in the bay window behind Natsuko.The blackout curtains on the windows were drawn overhead and the logo of a pharmaceutical company building across the loop could be seen through the windows. The waiter came over to pour water, said a phrase like 'please greet me after you have decided to order', and then went back.

"I want hot coffee, can Natsuko?" I tentatively used interrogative sentences, but the tone of my speech was just to confirm.Xia Zi was a little confused, it seemed that he was not used to such a tone. "Where's Tiantong?" I asked the side, and he nodded silently, which should mean the same.In fact, on this occasion, it doesn't matter what you drink. "Three cups of hot coffee." I place an order in the store, and the response to the store is completed. "that--" "How's work going?" Tendo interrupted Natsuko on purpose.Xia Zi was very confused, and brought the cup of water to his mouth.Her thin lips are painted with purple lip gloss, which is not suitable for the cheerful Natsuko.

"There have been no major job changes recently." "...that's good." Tiantong replied.Without that incident, Tendo would still be in charge of planning and working on the development of the game version of "Machine Forest".In an instant, there was a sense of partnership facing the same goal and walking together along the way.A reassuring look appeared on Xia Zi's face. But this soothing atmosphere lasted only for a moment. "Say-" Tendo changed his tone. As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere at our table suddenly became tense. "Let me explain the purpose of my visit. The original manuscript that this person is writing, to be precise, the floppy disk containing the original manuscript has disappeared."

Xia Zi opened his eyes wide and looked at me.Is that right?Confirm with me.This is of course nonsense, a reason Tendo immediately made up when he interviewed Matsuura.It's just because the motivation for the investigation is quite convincing, so this set of rhetoric has been used in the future. "—in that villa." After hearing this, Xia Zi's face flashed a look of surprise.Tendo continued to explain calmly. "What happened that day, this person finally returned to Tokyo in a daze. Only when he came back did he find that the floppy disk was missing." "Ok."

I cooperated with Tiantong's rhetoric. "He brought a word processor with him when he went to the villa, but it was useless in the end. The floppy disk was always inserted in the machine, but when he came back, he found that it was pulled out at some point and disappeared." "Because I made a backup, it's not a big deal if the files are gone. It's just that things that haven't been published are taken away by others, which may cause problems." "We don't think you stole it. I hope you don't misunderstand. I also have suspicions. Santiao, Shihe, and the guy named Daji are all involved. So in order to ask everyone equally, we will take turns to make appointments like this. Talk. Speaking of it, I think the biggest suspect is that this person made a mistake, and the floppy disk did not exist in the first place, or the floppy disk was not inserted in the word processor at all."

"But I couldn't find it after searching in my house for a long time." "—Exactly. I'm very sorry for doubting you. I hope you can explain what happened and what happened that day after you arrived at the villa. In order for these teachers to understand that I made a mistake .” "But...it doesn't have to be today, and it's okay to interview me and Sanjo at the same time, right? This approach is too inefficient——" "I was the one who asked for separate interviews. Because... I think if it wasn't for the teacher's mistake, it would probably have been done by Santiao."

Xia Zi was taken aback.When I heard Tendo's words, I also showed a surprised expression for a moment.Tendo was referring to the fictional event that my floppy was stolen. "Why would Sanjo do such a thing—" "Well, let's not talk about this for the time being, let's not talk about it for the time being... You start talking about it when you arrive at the villa, and I will judge." After hearing Tiantong's words, Xia Zi clenched his lips and stared fiercely at Tiantong. "It's too much for you to doubt your colleagues." "I'm also suspicious, the same as him, and you. So deal with this stupid thing as soon as possible. I also said that I don't want any strange estrangement. Stop talking useless words."

Xia Zi took a breath through his nose and let out a resentful sigh.She looked like she wanted to say something more, but just as the waiter brought the coffee, there was silence for a minute or so. Xia Zi took a sip and put it back on the tray, regaining her usual calmness. "Okay. Well, where do we start? After arriving at the villa?" "It started after we went up to the second floor. We and Sanjo were there too. At that time, everyone's room was being assigned, and Tatsumi and I decided on our own room—" "Natsuko was finally assigned to the innermost room on the north side, right? The one next to it is Sanjo. The order on the north side should be Tendo, Sanjo, and Natsuko." I confirmed it to her and she nodded. "What about after entering the room?" "I had nothing to do by myself, so I went out immediately after packing my luggage, and then went downstairs with Sanjo... The scenery over there is great, isn't it, so I proposed to go for a walk there, and went out with Sanjo—" "how long?" "Walk around the lake for about an hour. On the other side of the lake, there is a monument with the origin of Hime God and an ice cream place. I licked the ice cream—" "Then you came back from your walk. Sensei and I went to pick up Matsuura during this period, so the only ones left in the villa are Toka and Kaori—?" "It's just the two of them. And not long after that, Oiso returned with his motorcycle—" "Wait. Here I want to ask in detail. Where were Juhe and Kaori at that time? What were they doing?" Xia Zi considered for a moment. "I think they're both in their rooms. It feels like they're in the hall after hearing us coming back." "What about the next move?" "Let's think about it. I sweated a little. I thought I might not be able to take a shower after drinking, so I took a shower first." "So, you don't know what happened during this time?" "Well. It took about thirty to forty minutes. But I heard the sound of the motorcycle when Daiso came back. After I came out of the bathroom, I went back to the room, and then I started to prepare the barbecue with everyone. Cut Vegetable Shitendo and you guys are back too." "later--" Tendo nodded, as if to show that I generally understood. "At about ten o'clock in the banquet, everyone had a new proposal—it wasn't a new proposal. Everyone proposed to go up to the tower to see it, so I went back to my room and slept. What happened next? You went up the tower with everyone. " "Yeah. But—I went to the bathroom halfway through the drink, and then I realized that I was very drunk and probably couldn't continue to climb, so I went back to my room and slept." "What time was it?" "I think about it, it probably didn't take long to climb up from the beginning. Ah, Mr. Tatsumi fell behind before me. It should be less than five minutes after that." "Did you two run into each other in the bathroom?" "Well. You reminded me like this, you really missed it." I also nodded.Speaking of which, I went back to the room after going to the toilet, and seemed to hear footsteps in the corridor before I fell asleep.Probably Xia Zi. "—So, what about the next morning? I heard you got up very early." "Well. I got up a little early the next day after drinking. It was about six o'clock. I was careful not to make a noise to disturb everyone, and quietly left the room-my room, isn't my room next to the sink It was about 6:30 when I washed my face and went downstairs. Oiso came out of the bathroom and forcibly woke up Mr. Tokawa. Then it was about 7:00, and when I finished making coffee, Tatsumi-sensei also got up and came over." I nodded.This is the case on the surface, how to ask the inside story.I glanced at Tiantong, as usual, his eyes seemed to see through everything, staring at Xiazi intently. He asked the question straight to the point. "Your room has been empty since 6:30 when you woke up, right?" "Uh-huh--" Xia Zi lowered his gaze for a moment. "But someone said that they saw Sanjo coming out of your room after seven o'clock. What's going on? Could it be that Sanjo guy would come and go in and out of the room where the owner is not there—and it's a woman's room? Then he went into Tatsumi's room and stole the floppy disk It can also be fully explained. In fact, you also have something stolen, right?" Xia Zi shook his head lightly, denying Tiantong's question.Her eyes flicked around in panic. "It's a blessing if nothing is stolen. Then I'll ask three things." Drink, Tendo urged with gestures, as if to indicate that the conversation was over.Xia Zi stared at the cup motionlessly.No, her eyes were not looking at the glass, but thinking about— "Um... about three of them came to pick up the luggage. I mixed up some of his luggage, and I took it to my room. For example, there were toiletries in it, and he knew it should be in my room. So go in and get it. Knocked on the door but no one answered, so—” "Why cover it for him?" Tendo asked sternly, and his articulate pronunciation was like the Koma sound of a shogi player. "Don't be shy. Or do you mean that your relationship cannot be made public? Doing so will be abandoned by Sanjo?" "how come--" Tears welled up in Xia Zi's eyes. "It doesn't matter who you like or hate. I shouldn't be the one to say this sentence. If you like it, you like it. If you want to date, you can date. Why can't you tell the truth? Even if you don't hesitate to distort the facts, do you have to hide your relationship? Quite Just say it with your chest up, right. 'He slept in my room'. Why not?" Xia Zi burst into tears, her lips trembled and her nose was flushed.She in this state—is still very cute.Her courage made me suddenly feel a little pitiful. In any case, as Tendo speculated, Sanjo and Natsuko spent the night in the same room that night. When I came back to my senses, the clerk and the guests at other tables were spying on us secretly.In the eyes of others, the scene just now might be an interesting scene. "That night—and nothing—happened..." Xia Zi tried his best to hold back the choking, and began to speak intermittently. "He came to my room, but I was kind of mad at him—" "That guy was flirting with Kaori. So you went back to the room angrily. The guy tried to appease you and went to your room. But you ignored him. ... And then?" "I was alone... in bed. He spoke to me...but I ignored it, and that was it... When I got up in the morning, he was sleeping next to me." "Then it's the same as I said just now, right? You're careful not to disturb him, and get up quietly, right? I understand. —By the way, what time did you fall asleep?" "Probably—about eleven o'clock." "So, didn't you hear?" Ugh?Xia Zi looked over with bloodshot eyes. "—the sound of Kaori falling to the ground." Xia Zi took a breath. "It should be at one o'clock in the morning. You must have fallen asleep by then." Not knowing what Tendo was talking about, she couldn't understand——she nodded tentatively. "I see." Tendo sighed for a long time, indicating that his mission was over.He looked at me as if asking if I wanted to go.I shook my head, Xia Zi is still in a state where she can't get up and leave, it's too thin to leave her here alone. "correct." Tiantong seemed to have remembered something, and added another sentence. "Sanjo likes Kaori, not her lipstick. This color doesn't suit you, so don't use it." Her condition finally improved a little, but this sentence sank her again.I glared at Tendo and blamed him for saying something unnecessary. ——What a guy who doesn't understand a woman's heart.