The blonde-haired youth, whose main occupation was undercover and whose side job was detective, chimed in, his eyes carrying a hint of soothing comfort: "This murder case is more likely to be a poisoning incident; it doesn't have much to do with the restaurant."
His appearance and temperament were naturally likable, his words at this moment helped that elegantly dressed Woman calm down considerably.
It also served to relieve the stressed and sweating Restaurant manager.
Gin offered no comment on such a foolish farce, his gaze sweeping across the surrounding crowd as he scrutinized their facial expressions.
Although he had no desire to stand out, he was still somewhat interested in the true culprit behind the scenes.
Since he had already witnessed the occurrence of the murder case, he might as well try to guess who the culprit was—wait, since when did he also pick up the detective's habit?
Well, not exactly.
After all, those people were acting for Justice, while he was driven by pure curiosity and interest.
An evil interest.
His thoughts wandered aimlessly, yet Gin's expression remained calm and undisturbed. He cast occasional, indifferent glances over the guests in the Western Restaurant, his eyes dull, until his gaze landed on a table of young boys and girls.
His pupils suddenly contracted.
How could she be here?
In the distance, the black-haired short hair girl made eye contact with Gin. Looking from afar, she was clever enough not to show any unusual expression, though her gaze clearly carried an inexplicable sense of misery.
Gin: ……
..
Nana sighed in her heart once again.
The blonde-haired youth who had stepped forward and claimed to be a "Detective"—of all things, she knew him.
It wasn't exactly knowing him; it was just a chance encounter. She didn't even know his name—well, she knows it now. Amuro Tooru. Whether it's his real name or just something he made up on the spot remains to be seen.
Of course, she sincerely and earnestly hoped that the other party had already forgotten her.
Zhenjun seemed to have just seen her, although he didn't show it, based on Nana's understanding of him—
Heh.
Nana sang a sad song to herself in her heart.
By the way, the even sadder thing is—
By the way, that person beside Zhenjun.. have I seen her before too?
When I heard their conversation back then, that black-haired man seemed to be called.. Rye?
From the looks of it, even if Zhenjun is not a member of that organization.. he should still have had some contact with it.
Hmm.. Actually, one could get a glimpse of the truth from the liquor name mentioned in the phone call earlier.
Nana sighed silently, then turned her gaze toward Niwang Yaji beside her.
This is going to be.. troublesome.
She unconsciously bit her lower lip, her lip color turning slightly pale, making the marks from her teeth stand out clearly.
Then, a warm and gentle sensation brushed against her jaw. Nana was startled, the moment she regained her senses, she looked up to meet the Silver-haired youth's grey-green eyes.
Under the Restaurant's light, it was as if stardust had fallen into the youth's eyes—or perhaps in the eyes of lovers, are they both glowing? A unique light.
The Silver-haired youth stroked his Girlfriend's lips, his greyish-green eyes carrying a hint of a smile, his movements gentle: "Don't bite."
“..” Nana smoothed her brow and curled her lips into a smile. "I know."
The onlookers, a group of Companions??
After showing off their affection as if no one else was around, Nana turned her head toward the crime scene.
Now, her mind was filled with only one thought: regardless of whether it would arouse suspicion, she had to solve the case quickly and leave as soon as possible.
After all, for one, they wouldn't necessarily remember someone they happened to run into at the tram station—especially with a more eye-catching little girl blocking the way; and for another, even if they still had an impression of him, it would be perfectly reasonable for a "detective" to help solve a case at a time like this; this was nothing more than a coincidence.
They might not even care about this; even if they had some doubts, it wouldn't reach the point of actual suspicion, they wouldn't fear being investigated—because today's events were indeed a coincidence.
The worst-case scenario would merely be his exposure—and even then, the chances were quite slim.
But, if Yaji notices and recognizes Zhenjun.. then it will be real trouble!
Nana's mind raced, in the blink of an eye, she had made up her mind.
She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, clenched her fists and then released them, before standing up.
..
The moment Nana left her seat, Gin's brow finally furrowed.
Nonsense—he cursed inwardly.
The Silver-haired youth was cold in personality and ruthless in action, feeling it beneath him to care about the thoughts of others, but since Dan Nani had been raised by him for a period of time, he did have some understanding of this girl.
Gin knew that this girl indeed possessed a certain level of seriousness and stubbornness deep in his bones, even to the point of being willing to risk his own life to pursue an 'understanding,' but she was not an impetuous person; before acting, she would at least give things some thought.
After the initial confusion, Gin shifted her gaze slightly and saw the people beside Nana; among them, the silver-haired youth was clearly someone he had seen before.
In the blink of an eye, he guessed Nana's plan.
He moved his finger with a hint of irritation, the sensation of his knuckles rubbing together causing him to frown. Her green eyes darkened, he almost felt the urge to pull a cigarette out of her coat pocket.
Reasonably speaking, Nana's approach could be considered a way to minimize the losses as much as possible.. It was just—
She had overlooked one thing.
If her true identity were exposed, those involved in handling her would find it difficult to escape involvement, there were actually very few people who had both the ability and the willingness to help her.
But she couldn't be blamed for that; after all, there was an imbalance of information. Gin heard a soft sigh emanate from within her heart. He was momentarily dazed, but quickly regained his composure, his cold green eyes returning to their usual clarity and sharpness.
Moreover, the possibility of her identity being exposed because of this matter was far too low.
Forget it, the Silver-haired youth lightly brushed her forehead with her hand, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her heart.
He had once said those words to Nana: "I am your Brother."
Then, I'll just consider it helping Sister out.
Not far away, Bourbon's inquiry had already made the general outline of the murder case clear, leaving only a few key points; Nana had already struck up a conversation with him and was assisting from the side.
Gin placed the knife and fork on the dining table side by side, the silver utensils reflecting a cold light under the light, while the Silver-haired youth's green eyes held a sense of laziness.
Anyway, he had already more or less guessed who the killer was.
But to be honest, as an innocent and law-abiding citizen, he had absolutely no desire to get involved in this at all.
-----------------------
Author's Note: This is a tragedy caused by the inequality of information..
The next chapter will describe the case, but the case itself will not be written in too much detail.
..
Gin: As far as this matter is concerned, I am as innocent as a little lamb.
Everyone?? I'm about to forget how to spell "innocent"!
..
Hmm..
On Qixi Festival, I played the role of one of the three light bulbs; it was my distant cousin and his friend (they have intentions, but haven't officially established a relationship yet).
By the way, I was the one who played matchmaker for the two of them. I wonder if there will be a wedding gift for the matchmaker—well.. alright, let's wait until they are actually official before we talk about that.
I had originally planned to release it the next day.. However, I have been quite busy these past few days..
I'll release one update first; the next one is half-written and will be released this afternoon.
I'll try my best.. to reach ten thousand words today?
Looking up at the sky..
..
I finally managed to post it.
I don't know if it's a network issue, but it just wouldn't upload.
Don't ask me what method I finally came up with; I don't want to talk about it ORZ
If there are any issues with the formatting, I'll fix them when I post the next chapter.. if the internet is working well by then.
Heartbroken.
Chapter 55: Chapter Fifty-three: Nana hears her own hidden little..
The Case itself was actually not complex.
As long as it is not a non-discriminatory poisoning incident, the perpetrator is generally acting with premeditation, the effects of the poison take effect very quickly.
This also meant that, under normal circumstances, the Poisoner had either investigated in advance or had never left the Western Restaurant at all.
Gin knew this, it wouldn't be difficult for Akai Shuichi and Amuro Tooru to figure it out as well.
Even Nana could analyze it after seeing the crime scene.
However, according to the information provided by the deceased's wife, although the deceased Shimabukuro came from a very good family background, his company was on the brink of bankruptcy due to recent turbulence, he had been in a state of depression during this period.
This was also the reason why the couple had come out to clear their heads and have a meal.
With her husband having died of poisoning, Mrs. Shimabukuro choked out the information she knew, his words broken and halting as she struggled to maintain his composure. He covered his face with his hands, crystal-clear tears trickled down his smooth fingers.
Therefore, the possibility that he committed suicide cannot be ruled out.
Furthermore, they also found a small glass vial containing residual poison on the deceased.
But there were still many suspicious points, such as the fact that the deceased showed no signs of abnormality while eating, why someone would go to an unrelated Western Restaurant to commit suicide.
“Is there surveillance in this Western Restaurant?” Nana didn't know much about toxic substances—by the way, the requirements for a Detective were truly high; she had only checked the deceased's posture and the surrounding arrangement, without conducting an extensive observation of the deceased's facial expressions or physical reactions.
Despite asking such a question, she didn't actually hold much hope.
Assuming it was a premeditated murder, if the killer was a cautious person, the likelihood of being caught on camera was low.