Chapter 24 Section VI

As soon as Mariko returned to the bus station, Iseki was already sitting on the bench waiting for her. At this time, she was already five minutes behind the agreed time. As soon as Iseki saw her, he stood up from the bench with a smile. "It's rare for you to be late." Iseki said jokingly. "Seeing your pale face, did something happen?" "yes." "What the hell happened?" "We talked as we walked." After Mariko finished speaking, he and Jingguan walked towards the woods in the park. When we came to the sidewalk about two meters wide, there was a pool in front of us. Under the sunlight, the water surface was very calm, and the white bird was preening its feathers leisurely in the corner of the pool.

Compared with the first winter, it feels more like early spring, but Mariko is not in the mood to enjoy the scenery of the pool at present. As Mariko walked along the pool, she told Jingguan about seeing her husband enter the pharmacy and the pharmacy owner's firm denial. "My husband must have bought the pharmacy owner with money." "Is it necessary to buy?" When Jingguan said this, his expression suddenly changed. "Really..." Iseki said as if panting. Through this sentence, Mariko knew that Iseki also had the same idea as herself. "Will Tajima-kun really do that?"

"I don't do what he thinks." Mariko said with the following conclusion. "My husband must have gone to that drugstore to buy potassium cyanate or arsenic." "But, why did Tajima-kun buy that kind of thing?" "My husband once said that he would never let me leave him. This was not out of true love, but out of face and jealousy. Maybe my husband planned to poison me and brother Jingguan." "So, Tajima-kun really..." "Do you have any other ideas?" "However, pharmacies don't sell such strong poisons as potassium cyanate and arsenic!"

"For money, murder and arson can be done, not to mention just selling poison." Mariko thought of the bearded and protruding eyes of the boss of Kokubo Pharmacy, who would sell poison for money. "If it's what you think, it will be miserable." After a brief silence, Iseki said.The two looked at each other sadly. Mariko said with a frightened expression, "I don't have the courage to go back to my husband." "I don't want you to go back either. That's fine, I'll take you to Sendai." Jingguan stared at Mariko with sharp eyes, and Mariko felt a burst of joy in her heart, because Jingguan's words were the confession of love.

At that moment, Mariko forgot the horror and was intoxicated in the sweet sentimentality: Just like that movie, I will end in a comedy, right? For the sake of future happiness, no matter how much her husband obstructs her, she must muster up the courage to move towards the tragic ending. "Will you protect me?" "Of course I will protect you." "Won't you run away like you did three years ago?" "I will never run away this time. Now I regret my cowardice at that time, and I don't want to regret it again." Jingguan put his arms around Mariko's waist, and Mariko felt that Jingguan's hand was shaking a little.

With her eyes closed, Mariko felt that Jingguan gradually put her arms around her waist, and said to herself: (I'm going down the road to a comedic ending and never let anyone spoil that path.)