Past the time of the early night, after sending an email to the still busy Hayamizu, Ziongzong first left the couple hotel.

The cool night is like water, a seemingly homeless puppy, stick to Ziongzong's trouser leg stick up, a low wail as if it can feel Ziongzong's mood.

--No, no, no, these are still too early.

Not disgusted by the dirty mud on the stray dog, Ziongzong hands will be cupped up, do a high action.

--What I want to do is just beginning.

"Do you want to eat?"

"Woof!"

That was probably an affirmative answer, and Ziongzong took it to the convenience store to buy something to eat, and then parted with it.

It's a small fate.

Ziongzong changed his original plan, he should have gone straight back to Uesugi's house, but he decided to go back to that small company full of suspicions, if he was right, if he remembered correctly, then the owner of that company, the blond man named Akao, and the blond man in the alley he saw through the window of Uesugi's house that night, must be the same person The blond man was the same person.

Finding a public bathroom nearby that could be used for cross-dressing, Ziongzong went in as Ziongzong and came out as Ito Yoshihiro.

"Excuse me."

When Ito Yoshihiro walked into the office, there was no one inside, only the woman answering the phone at the front desk looked at him and did not show any obstruction, so Ito Yoshihiro just walked inside.

"What is it?

As soon as he entered the room, someone responded to the entry of Ito Yoshihiro, which was completely different from the indifferent treatment he had received a few hours ago. He looked at the voice and saw that it was the owner of the company, Akao, who was holding a document in his hand and facing Ito Yoshihiro, looking nothing special.

Even though there was nothing special, but Ito Yoshihiro already saw something strange in it, and the reason for this situation, he deduced that the document in Akao's hand.

"No...... nothing, just wanted to see if there was anything else I could do. "

Ito Yoshihiro inserted his hands into his pockets, a rather casual look, but in fact scanned the office with the corner of his eye, looking for some clues that would make the construction of the situation more clear.

"The money is so lacking, there is no more to do, you can go back. "

Akao impatiently stomped his foot on the floor, Ito Yoshihiro saw this, and also sagely owed, ready to go home, as he turned around, inadvertently saw a wanted notice on the table.

--- Situ Qilian.

The person on the wanted notice was not a stranger to Ito Yoshihiro, but not a familiar face either. It was a face he had seen once when he was reading the newspaper on the plane, the genius boy who had robbed a rich man of 15 million in cash.

--Called Situ Qilian? ...... It was a good name.

"I'm sorry, can I have this wanted notice, please? "

This is a request to take advantage, Ito Yoshihiro knew that Akao could not wait him to disappear immediately, so such a small request will not be refused.

"What do you need that for? Forget it, take it if you like. "

And as he expected, after taking the wanted notice, Ito Yoshihiro left a small hint to Akao, although he thought Akao would not understand.

"Well, thanks ...... Also, your blonde hair looks good oh, boss."

Ito Yoshihiro left this seemingly polite but meaningful words, and left the company. And Akao, looking at the departing figure of Ito Yoshihiro, kicked the table unhappily.

"I'm back."

Ziongzong, as usual, returned to the Uesugi house, no different from the usual, as if nothing special had happened today.

And, how much information was gained today, how much key information was filtered, only Ziongzong himself knows.

"Welcome back."

Ziongzong was greeted by Yukino-san's usual gentle smile, in the evening, sister Yuuki usually stays in her own room to do her homework, not keen to open the door in the business.

"Didn't you say you weren't coming back today? "

"Uh ...... because the things I had to do were done early, so I came back."

"Dinner ......"

Yukino-san's brow furrowed and stopped abruptly, then came up to Ziongzong, nose twitching and making sniffing noises.

'Little Zongzong.'

The gentle tone was gone, becoming somewhat serious, with a hint of murderousness.

"Where did you go just now? "

"Eh? Hayamizu's house ......"

"Well ......"

Yukino-san clasped her hands to her chest, her eyebrows knitted together, her head lowered, torn for a long time, and never spoke.

--Has she found out?

Because I just went to the couple hotel kind of place, let my heart a little scared.

Although there was no physical contact with Koga Shie, but in that small space, staying together for a long time, it is not impossible to get some smell ......

Ziongzong felt more and more fearful about the superpower of "woman's intuition", ever since I met Yukino-san.

Then, after a long silence, Yukino-san spat out a word in a small voice.

"Smell of perfume......"

This word instantly made Ziongzong petrified, so stiff that he could not even move a hair ...... No, it was supposed to be immobile.

The word "perfume......"

was repeated infinitely, and Yukino-san, who was still twisting and turning for some reason, and Ziongzong were frozen in the entranceway.

--To give an honest account ......

Ziongzong has roughly reached his limit, while Yukino-san, with a slurred sound coming out of her mouth, raises her head every now and then and glances at Ziongzong.

This never-before-seen look made Ziongzong even more flustered.

Tightly knitted brows, slightly curled body, hands around the upper body, lowered head, now and then raised, like a somewhat shy kitten, hurriedly look at Ziongzong a glance, and lowered ......

This is the sister Yukino who is killing at this time?

Not right ah ...... just the murderous aura has unknowingly gone.

What's wrong with the current Yukino-san?

"Yu ......"

"Small Zongzong! "

"Do you think the smell of his mother's body on the Hayamizu smells good? "

And so this bizarre conversation unfolded.

"......"

Because it was so bizarre, Ziongzong didn't even feel relieved from the crisis.

"...... eh? "

Even how the conversation unfolded to this point was too late for him to understand.

"Does it smell good? "

Yukino-san looked at Ziongzong seriously, and her more serious eyes looked shining.

"Uh ...... It's okay."

--a woman's jealousy?

--Can I muddle through like that?

"Well ...... it's okay ......"

Yukino-san turned her face to the side, then twirled her hair around with her fingertips.

"Then how do you think Yukino-san's taste is? "

She squirmed and brought her body closer to Ziongzong.

"Very, very good smell! "

Ziongzong said a very lame compliment in a very unnatural way ......

"Really? "

But Yukino-san didn't mind the lameness of it at all, instead, she clasped her hands together happily, and her eyes glowed with victory. If it were the "Queen", she would be laughing "Ohhhhhhh" and holding her chin with her orchid finger.

Incidentally, Ziongzong's knowledge of "queen" comes from the dean's ...... wife. He put aside the happy and forgetful Yukino-san and walked into the house first.

A woman's competitive spirit is really powerful.

Yukino-san's rare and lovely appearance more or less tempered Ziongzong's mood.

Only, it's not the time to be happy.

"Yuuki, can I come in?"

Finger knocking on the door, the KONG KONG sound with the texture of wood, immediately lowered the temperature for Ziongzong's mood.

"Please come in."

He gathered his mood and opened the door.

For him, this was the second time, entering Yuuki's room.

Only the mood was completely different.

A room full of girly smell, fuzzy teddy bear, walls decorated with cute accessories, loose cushions placed randomly on the floor. Slightly wider white pajamas hang on Yuuki's petite body, reflecting her characteristic white skin, as cute as a doll.

She turned from the chair and blinked her big eyes, looking at Ziongzong curiously.

-- Yuuki, good evening?

-- Should such a cheesy opening line be used at a time like this?

"What's the matter, brother? "

"Uh ...... still have something I want to ask you. Is it okay now, Yuuki?"

"Yes."

Not knowing what Ziongzong was going to ask next, Yuuki just treated it as a normal conversation, except for the usual formality in facing her brother, her attitude was very natural, on the contrary, Ziongzong's heart was quite torn, he knew that his next question would probably destroy the trust relationship they had gradually built up.

Yuuki, who was waiting for Ziongzong to ask her question, put the pencil in her hand on the table and closed her workbook. And Ziongzong, after closing the door behind him, sat down on the floor a little farther away from Yuuki.

--Yuuki may not be as simple a child as I thought.

--So, should I ask her openly now, or politely?

"Brother?"

"Yuuki."

Ziongzong pronounced the name in a somewhat lower tone, which was different from the usual feeling, making Yuuki feel slightly strange, but she still treated Ziongzong unsuspectingly.

"Big brother is going to ask you the next thing, there is no malice, I hope you do not mind. "

"...... Well?"

"Your school, it's not a holiday today, right?"

The fact that Ziongzong was not looking at Ziongzong as he had just done, but was staring at his hands with little expression, made Ziongzong quite tired of such a gesture, why should he treat his sister in such a way.

For him, today is the second time, the moment he opens his mouth, he hurts someone, obviously, not with malice.

"Hmm."

Yuuki didn't stay silent for long, and before Ziongzong gave up this "questioning" out of self-condemnation, she gave a reply.

--Is it already obvious that I know the truth, or are you not going to lie to me?

--It really bores me that I have to guess each other's psychology like this when it's obvious that we are living together.

But anyway, Yuuki gave the answer honestly, which made Ziongzong feel better about her.

"Did you go to school today?

"No."

Yuuki shook her head very frankly.

"But, I saw you walking out of school at the end of the school day. "

The conversation between the two gradually flowed, and they seemed to have accepted such a state of affairs with each other.

"That's because ...... I had reasons for having to go back to school at that time."

"But, I really didn't go to school, and the same ...... reason for having to skip school. "

Yuuki clenched her tiny fist on her knee, "not going to school" was not something worth emphasizing as true, but her expression was very serious and honest.

Ziongzong knew he already believed her, that "had to" reason, no matter what it was, Ziongzong felt he would side with Yuuki.

Because, this almost instantly recognizable, simple, pure and transparent little girl, makes Ziongzong feel guilty for even just slightly doubting her.

"So, what did you do during the daytime, Yuuki? "

The reason why he had to go back to school, Ziongzong probably already knew, or rather, he had seen this reason with his own eyes when he went to the city elementary school to look for Mizuo, and, Yuuki who insisted on doing such things, made Ziongzong feel that she couldn't be a bad child.

What Ziongzong cared about was the reason that "had to skip school".

"Because I was worried about someone, I spent the day with her. "

At this point, Japanese showed its convenience for the first time. If it were Chinese, Ziongzong would not have been able to hear whether the 'she' was a man or a woman. And now, the suspicion in his mind had added more weight.

Ziongzong felt it was time for a showdown, because he knew that Yuuki was on the same side as he was.

"That "she", is Koga Mizuo So, right? "

His words made Yuuki's dark eyes widen big and wide all of a sudden. She unbelievably stood up from the chair, towards the direction of her back to Ziongzong, took a few steps backwards, and accidentally, bumped into the table.

"Pain ......"

Yuuki's eyebrows knitted together, and some crystal tears even flowed from her eyes.

"Is everything okay, Yuuki? "

"Well ...... butt ...... butt hit the tip ......"

--uh ...... How should I show my concern in this situation?

"Brother ......"

She was slightly crying and looking at Ziongzong with watery eyes.

"How did you know about ...... Mizuo? "

Yuuki's small hand pressed on her butt, her cheeks slightly flushed, although there were no teardrops in her eyes, but her face was already watering with a look of pity.

The most important thing that Ziongzong is not good at is crying girls.

And this is probably the weakness of all boys.

"I'm not sure if it's okay, but I'll get some medicine or something. "

So, Ziongzong could only stammer and fork the topic away, quickly pointing the problem to a solution, which might not be a bad idea.

"No ...... it's fine ......"

Yuuki tried to sit on the chair, but jumped up with a 'yah'.

Maybe it's a bruise.

A bruise on the butt is really embarrassing and unspeakably sad.

Ziongzong picked up the cushion beside him and handed it to Yuuki.

"Well ...... thank you."

The current Yuuki, with the word 'soft' written all over her body, made it impossible for Ziongzong to continue to ask questions with the same flat, almost emotionless tone he had just used. However, she is indeed with Mizuo today, this, Ziongzong from the reaction just now, can be inferred.

--at the very least,......, you can be sure that Mizuo should still be safe and sound.

-- Then, looking at her reaction just now, she should be unaware of the matter that Mizuo had spent the night here.

-- First, let's calmly ask something inconsequential.

Yuuki carefully sat on the cushion, fine eyebrows tangled together on her tender face, with a funny expression, which made Ziongzong want to laugh, but had to hold back so as not to embarrass this sensitive sister.

"Have you known Mizuo for a long time, Yuuki? "

"Hmm."

With tears in her eyes, she nodded her head.

--It really hurts, indeed, if the butt hits the tip, it should hurt for a long time.

--When I think back, when I checked Mizuo's identity with Yuuki, the look on her face did look like she was talking about a close friend.

--Only, yet she was pretending to be a stranger in her words, it's really hard for you, Yuuki.

"Yuuki, can you tell me what you and Mizuo did today? "

"Well ......"

Yuuki hesitated whether to answer or not, such attitude made Ziongzong clearer that Yuuki was indeed with Mizuo, and now the question was what they went to do.

"In fact, brother and Mizuo are also good friends , just because she did not go to class today, let brother a little worried. "

"Is that so? ......"

Yuuki gave Ziongzong a hesitant look, and finally, nodded her head gently.

"Mizuo called me yesterday and told me that she was in a bad mood and wanted to skip class today."

-- At daytime ......

Ziongzong confirmed the chronological order and realized that at that time Mizuo should not have been beaten yet.

"Because Mizuo sometimes, will half-jokingly say 'do not want to live' and so on, I worry about what if ...... so I will skip class with her. "

--"Wouldn't want to live any more ...... an elementary school student to say such words. "

--"Living together? Don't be ridiculous, I'd rather sleep in a pigsty if I lived with a bratty person like that. "

--"What do I care about her? She should be grateful if she can pay her living expenses on time."

Ziongzong tried his best to keep a smile on his face to let Yuuki understand that he wasn't mad at her for skipping class, even though he was in a very bad mood at the moment because of the words 'I don't want to live anymore'.

''So, the two of us just went shopping together and played the whole day until the time school ended, then we separated.''

"What was Mizuo's mood when you were separated? "

"Well, I guess ...... was kind of happy."

Just last night, and fell down on the roadside with bruises all over.

"Have you been to Mizuo's house, Yuuki?"

"No ...... no. Once I said I wanted to go, but she refused, and then I didn't mention it again. "

Even though we are friends, there are things we don't want each other to know.

--The Mizuo you know may be even more innocent than the Mizuo I know.

A few days ago, Ziongzong asked Yuuki what kind of person she thought Mizuo was, and her answer was 'a cute person'. And Mizuo's class teacher, Mr. Honda, had an overall impression of her as 'a naughty and nice kid'.

In other words, everyone knew Mizuo as a somewhat naughty, but cute person.

The Mizuo that Ziongzong knew was much more complicated than that.

With that look mother, living together.

No, not a mother, just a woman who provided for her with feelings of disgust.

"By the way, Yuuki, will Mizuo come to school tomorrow? "

"Yes, why not?"

The rhetorical question from Yuuki gave Ziongzong a small shock, because the conversation was going so well that he unconsciously ignored the prerequisite of 'keeping Yuuki out of it as much as possible'.

"Well, yes, of course I will, but I think that the naughty Mizuo may also be capricious and skip class for another day. "

Before it was too late, Ziongzong had already led the conversation to the realm of his own manipulation before Yuuki could understand anything.

"I want to meet her tomorrow, can you keep an eye on her for me? "

"Yeah, sure, no problem."

--That's about all the help I can get from Yuuki.

--Then, let's stop here with the Mizuo thing.

Ziongzong was really surprised by Yuuki's frank attitude. Although outside, in the student group, have a big sister look, but in front of relatives, really just a, simple and lovely, can be trusted, little sister.

Ziongzong does not feel, innocent smile, innocent tone, can be pretended. Then, this in the spirit of good nature, eager to help others sister, he can not be left alone.

The danger that could come from hindering an organization that could do something like abducting children, Yuuki probably hadn't even considered that.

"Nah, Yuuki, in fact, I know the reason why you had to return to school at that time."

"Eh?"

"You wanted to make sure that the students could return home safely, right?"

"Eh eh eh eh eh !!!!!!"

Surprised, Yuuki stood up from the cushion and turned her back to Ziongzong's direction ......

"Watch out! "

Before she backed away, Ziongzong grabbed her hand. Ziongzong still remembered the crying voice of Yuuki, and he could not bear it if he had to do it again.

"Ah ...... thank you."

Yuuki leaned against Ziongzong pulling her hand, stood still, and then, somewhat shyly, looked at Ziongzong pulling her hand's hand's hand.

This tediously complex and verbose depiction of that hand in hand situation, in fact, are not related to the hand in hand, more subtle and blushing youthful emotions.

--Huh? What's wrong?

But there are people who don't think about it, such as a certain boy who has only two words for his surname and first name.

All of this will be put aside.

So, Ziongzong let go of his hand and let Yuuki sit back on the cushion first.

"Is that right?"

"Well, yes, yes."

"How did you know?"

"I asked some parents, and then I knew. "

Ziongzong was sitting up, because, next was a more serious topic.

"Yuuki, although I know you have good intentions, and the nature of the matter itself, is good."

His sudden serious tone made Yuuki a little confused and tilted her head.

"But have you ever thought about what dangers you might encounter by doing so?

Those parents who told their children not to meddle in the affairs of the world and to do what is right must have felt the same way. Even if the world's fairness and justice need to be maintained, even if the police are not omnipotent, but the safety of their loved ones, no matter what, is above all virtue, morality.

And now Ziongzong, also out of fear, had to say these, full of worldly flavors of reasoning to Yuuki.

Only, Ziongzong also knew that it was unlikely that he could get Yuuki to give up now.

"Yuuki, how long has the after-school team you organized lasted? "

"Eh? Well ...... almost a month ago. "

"You haven't had any trouble, have you?"

"Well, no, why would there be any trouble?"

In the face of Yuuki's innocent and almost ignorant rhetorical question, Ziongzong had no better way than to respond with a smile.

Any presumptuous manipulation of such innocence would be a blasphemy.

"Also, it is brother who thinks too much. "

Because of the large number of people, trying to do it openly is basically an impossible task.

But that doesn't mean absolute safety either, falling alone will happen to anyone.

The blond man seen in the night, let Ziongzong can not be at ease.

To keep Yuuki safe, you have to get to the root of the problem.

Ziongzong, however, did not have that kind of power.

So what if you don't have that kind of heightened power? Very often, the strength of a person's power does not depend on him or herself.

Ziongzong gradually has a to burn up, mixed with a heavy feeling of excitement.

-- What would happen if you discuss this matter with Uncle Uesugi and Yukino-san .......

Ziongzong adjusted his attention back to his eyes and gently touched Yuuki's little head with his hand.

"So, Yuuki, let's stop here for today, sorry for asking you so many questions. "

"It's okay."

Yuuki smiled and waved her hand.

"Nah, Yuuki, next time you come across something like this, will you talk to your brother first? "

"Yes."

After exchanging email addresses and phone numbers with Yuuki, Ziongzong left her room.

It is unpleasant to be suspicious of people around you, and it creates feelings of rejection of yourself.

In fact, the Yuuki who got along with Ziongzong has always been very frank and unbelievably innocent child.

If it were not for the sake of others, she would not have lied to Ziongzong.

Ask her questions, can answer honestly, do not want to answer, can not say the question, but also will clearly state her own position. When talking to such a frank child, Ziongzong, who had to calculate things like 'credibility' in his mind, felt that he was really a bit bad.

And this is also one of the poor methods that the paranoid dean told Ziongzong that he had to learn in order to deal with people.

-- should be responsible for this "have to be poor", is society, is the so-called bad guys, or all of us humans?

--Or, wishful thinking, wanting to be a person who is not disgusting ...... me.

Ziongzong's uncle heart laughs it off, and if you dwell on these untouchable principles, then nothing can be done.

The bell announcing the end of school in the morning is still hovering between the ears, the morning classes, in Ziongzong's mind the remaining memories, but there are few left. If we continue like this for a while, it should be sooner or later that we fail the exam.

--It's not like you've never failed a test before.

--I do fail the test before

Ziongzong elementary school the most miserable period, the exams to fail is as simple as eating.

He looked at the board on the blackboard, silently dumbfounded. Every word he could read and pronounce ......

but, when they were combined, they became statements that Ziongzong could not understand.

The last class of the morning was ancient literature. The power of the Japanese ancient language is comparable to that of the Chinese literary language, but of course, what I mean here is the killing power of a literary idiot like Ziongzong.

Because of that night's visit to the couple's hotel together, the attitude towards Ziongzong became more cordial, as if he was treating his 'relatives' in the same boat of thieves. He warmly asked Ziongzong if he wanted to go to dinner together, and then Ziongzong unemotionally rejected.

Ziongzong although he felt that this treatment of the Hayamizu is a little unfair, but he really did not and Hayamizu jokes and joking mood.

He entered Mizuo's life without permission in this way, and, after learning of her suffering, was not able to give her effective help immediately. After seeing her this afternoon, what to say and do, Ziongzong still has no clue.

Even if he could see her, he was not completely sure.

The night before, Ziongzong could actually feel the warmth of her body, but now, there is a sense of frustration that can not be grasped in the sand between his fingers, as long as the concentration is not concentrated, thoughts in the mind, the possibility of her disappearance from this world.

--The young Yuuki, the immature me, the woman who could not be called a mother.

Mizuo had nothing to rely on, and even she herself was just a weak existence that was powerless to resist.

"What are you thinking about, Uesugi-senpai? "

A girl placed her lunch box rather hard on the Ziongzong table and sat on the other side of the table.

"Nothing, besides, don't just come to other people's classrooms during lunch break, okay. "

With her short, lean hair and bright eyes, Ito Tomono, who was a 2nd year student, always seemed to have no worries and was full of energy.

"Let's hear it, it's rare that the class president has time to listen to your troubles. "

"You're a second year class president, so if you're in contact with me, a third year student, the title of class president doesn't mean anything, does it? "

I don't know why, but whenever I talk to Ito Tomono, Ziongzong's mood gradually becomes warmer, Ito Tomono is like a small sun, shining on everything around her, so Ziongzong thought a little and made a spiced up graying modification of her story and told it.

"There was a junior high school student who, by chance, met a girl from Primary 6, and one night ......"

Ito Tomono ate a box lunch while quietly, listening to Ziongzong finish telling this, unfinished story.

"This is the end of the story."

"That's it? "

When Ziongzong finished, Ito Tomono's lunch box was also empty, and Ito Tomono, who had finished her lunch at her own pace without any regard for decency in front of the boys, was indeed different from ordinary girls.

After hearing Ziongzong's story about a "weak junior high school student and a victimized elementary school student," her reaction was unique and unprecedented.

First, Ito Tomono gently put down her chopsticks.

"Are you kidding me, is this junior high school student worthy of being a man? "

Then, there was a super high decibel and super high volume cursing.

With such a high pitched tone, it instantly attracted the attention of the class ......Ziongzong had to make up for it with an awkward smile, and then passed the angry eyes of his classmates to Ito. But Ito Tomono didn't feel the least bit sorry, although she immediately lowered the volume.

"Although he held back his animal lust and didn't lay a hand on that elementary school student, that's okay for now ...... but! "

She slapped the table loudly again, and received another smile obsequiously from Ziongzong.

"As a man, he did not care and let the pupil go like this, if the pupil had an accident, how would he be responsible? "

"If it were me, I'd have gotten to the bottom of it and helped the student out of danger, no matter what. "

The moment when parted at dawn was clearly replayed in Ziongzong's mind.

The figure of Mizuo bowing towards him.

The last words.

He once again felt glad that he didn't just leave like that.

"What's wrong, Uesugi-senpai, you have a serious face."

"Well, of course, that's a serious question."

"Is it? ......"

Ito Tomono looked at Ziongzong suspiciously.

"From my point of view as the head of the class, your serious expression is too strange."

"That junior high school student, it's not you, right?"

--Of course it's not me.

The junior high school student in the story is a loser created by Ziongzong after he weakened himself, hesitated, and gave up all his decisions.

"No, how is it possible."

Ziongzong smiled slyly.

"You, on the other hand, only brought a bento and forced me to watch you eat it, is this the way the club president treats her members? "

"Watching others eat is not a problem, so you have to worry about such a small thing. is this the way the senior treats his junior classmate?"

"How outrageous, stealing other people's words in front of them."

"No, I'm just being flexible. ...... You're so concerned about my lunch, haven't you had lunch yet?"

"Yeah, that's right, so I'm going to the cafeteria to get some calories, want to join me? "

"No, no, I should go back to class."

"I'm surprised. I thought you'd say yes."

"No, no, no, it's too dangerous to go to the cafeteria with a boy who abducted an elementary school student and then tried to abduct a junior high school student."

Ito Tomono spit out her tongue mischievously and ran out of the room, holding her bento box before Ziongzong.

"......"

Ziongzong, who was left behind, could only eat this misunderstood dumb loss with his mouth open.

--It was just a rewritten story.

The sun outside the window is climbing up to the high point in the sky.

--The story of the scrappy boy, the cowardly boy, is not me.

The glow that spills over is an absolute symbol of its status.

--Then what kind of person is me?

The supremacy that does not allow any questioning.

--What is I who does this?

Its, sitting in the firmament.

--What kind of person am I?

To look down on the living beings.

-- choose to be injured in the middle of the road and thorns, choose to be decisive between doing and not doing, give up hesitation between self-preservation and regret, be treated as an idiot or be seen as a middle-aged disease or be identified as nosy, if the world puts the choice in front of me, whether to give up not doing and regret, or to do the failure and regret. I will choose the latter without hesitation, and I will break my bones, even if it means losing my life, I will not hesitate to do so.

On August 28th, 2007, the president of MiueFe Real Estate Group, Huang Qingzhu, reported to the police that he had been robbed of 15 million in cash by a 15-year-old boy.

This was initially dismissed as a joke, a fallacy, a malicious hype.

However, when the police became involved in the investigation and officially issued a wanted notice for a fifteen-year-old high school student named "Situ Qilian", the media, the public, society, only to know that this is not some intelligence game, but a teenager, overstepping the laws of this society, took a huge amount of wealth that most of them can not touch in a lifetime.

This teenager, Situ Qilian, he is on the loose.

Until the police obtained an important piece of information from the mouth of Huang Qingzhu, the matter always seemed confusing and hard to believe.

This important piece of information is -

The time of the crime is 2007, August 25th noon.

The time of the crime and Huang Qingzhu reported three days apart, this as a matter of solving the case of significant information, but Huang Qingzhu refused to provide the police with the reason, as the reporter, the victim, but Huang Qingzhu led the situation to the case, the direction of their own disadvantage.

In addition, the police were unaware of why Huang Qingzhu had so much cash and why he kept so much cash at home. The police, who are subject to many obstacles and restrictions on information channels, are struggling to make a breakthrough.

The only breakthrough came from the closed-circuit surveillance system of the district where Huang Qingzhu lived, and the police obtained the physical characteristics of Situ Qilian through the video, and used it as a basis to find out his personal information.

-- Situ Qilian, male, fifteen years old, Xiamen City, Fujian Province, the eighth high school (Double Ten Middle School) high school first-year students.

The photo on the monitor is the same one on the wanted notice. Ziongzong silently folded the wanted notice and put it in his school bag, then closed the computer.

After lunch, he stayed in the library, using the library's public computers and the Internet to look up the Chinese student's personal information. The same feeling he had that day on the plane, like a mixture of palpitations and a heartbeat, Ziongzong had an inexplicable sense of concern for this teenager, but only to a vague degree that seemed to be absent.

--This is it for now.

"I'm sorry, I don't use the computer anymore. "

"Well, okay."

Ziongzong thanked one of the girls with a sign that said "First Year - Kurashige Yui" and left the library.

On his way back to the classroom, Ziongzong saw Uesugi Yui and Katakiri Mai walking together, which was a rather rare combination for him because he didn't know what the two were related to other than seniors and juniors, and because of Katakiri Mai's cold gaze, Ziongzong didn't go up to greet them and avoided them by blending in with the crowd.

Ziongzong forced himself to listen to the afternoon's lecture as a distraction, and gradually returned to his normal state.

After class, he first sent an email to Yuuki like "I'm on my way there" and then arrived at the city elementary school as fast as he could.

The timing was perfect.

The schoolchildren were coming out of the school gate in twos and threes. The expressions on their faces were mostly happy, but there were also sullen ...... children who also had children's troubles.

-- When I was still in elementary school, what were some of the things that were being considered.

--I can't remember.

Because there was a request for help from Yuuki, Ziongzong did not wait in front of the school, but slowly walked around the school fence. He didn't know enough about the elementary school that had caused so much trouble.

The school wall was tall and old, and on the inside of the wall, rows of small banyan trees were planted, with dense branches and leaves that penetrated the enclosure of the wall and stuck out beyond the campus.

It was like the mind of the students.

It is not easy for people to stay in the same place, especially when they are young.

The leaves overlapped and rustled.

There is something strange, there is no wind blowing, the leaves are not moving on their own.

Ziongzong looked up and saw a pair of strawberry panties emerge from the fence.

--Strawberry panty?

--ha?

--eh?

Then, a little girl with a double ponytail, jumped down from the fence and landed firmly on the ground, as athletic as a kitten.

She landed with her back to Ziongzong, so she didn't notice Ziongzong's presence, casually slapped off the leaves on her body, she stood up to walk forward, and then suddenly remembered something general, looked up to the fence.

With her height, her vision could not see what she had left behind.

Ziongzong, however, could see that it was her schoolbag at the top of the fence, and he leapt gently and took it down.

"Ah, thank you."

A familiar voice.

"No need."

Ziongzong gave her a smile.

Then she gave Ziongzong a dumbfounded face.

-- No need to be this surprise?

Ziongzong was trying to say hello to her naturally when she turned around and ran away.

Only, how can elementary school students run away from junior high school students.

If you meet her in such a place and let her disappear from your eyes, then the first person to look down on Ziongzong is himself.

Just as Ziongzong thought, she could not run a few paces before she was overtaken by herself. Instead of trying to hold her hand, Ziongzong picked her up around the waist and carried her over his shoulder, letting her little hands and calves flutter.

She struggled so energetically, but let Ziongzong relieved, even originally a little worried about her mood, also calm down. He had a faint, joyful mood, slowly spreading in the heart.

Subconsciously, always involuntarily, imagining misfortunes is a flaw of a class of people, yet it also makes them less likely to lose what they hold dear.

The cell phone in Ziongzong's pocket buzzed and vibrated, and it was an incoming call from Yuuki.

"Brother, Mizuo is missing!

He had just pressed the answer button when a loud voice came out of the microphone, causing Ziongzong to hold the phone away from his ear. Yuuki, who always spoke softly, had her voice amplified by her anxiety.

But there was really nothing to be anxious about, at least at the moment.

"She's with me now, Yuuki, listen to me, Mizuo, she's with me now, do you understand? "

Ziongzong said in a calm tone, and after saying it many times in a row, Yuuki finally calmed down.

"You still have things to do, right, Yuuki, just leave Mizuo to me."

"...... hmm."

--It seems that she chose to climb out of the fence in order to escape from Yuuki.

--I don't think that's all I know.

--That's why she had to run away as soon as he saw me.

-- But ......

at this moment, the weight on Ziongzong's shoulders made him very relieved.

"Mizuo."

"It's really good to see that you're okay.''

Ziongzong put his hand on her little head and finally calmed her down.

"Let go of me!"

Ziongzong originally thought that if he stroked her hair gently, she would be quiet.

In fact, it did.

But it was only for a moment.

Then immediately the struggle resumed.

"Put me down! "

While Ziongzong was hesitating what to do, Mizuo bit him on the neck without mercy.

Ouch.

Pain, pain, pain!

Look at the pain, Ziongzong.

Because Mizuo's teeth were stained with blood, not Mizuo's own blood, it was Ziongzong's blood, she ripped off a small piece of flesh on the side of Ziongzong's neck, although this is only the extent of the flesh wound, but Ziongzong's pain is heartbreaking, he barely let out a scream, and Mizuo used this opportunity to escape from his hand.

-- Don't bite me even if you are angry!

Ziongzong quickly adjusted his state, did not use his hands to cover the wound, because it is useless, he is more concerned about whether Mizuo will escape again, but this time, Mizuo just watch Ziongzong warily, standing in front of him about two meters, no intention to escape. meaning.

Her school bag is still in Ziongzong's hand.

--Is it because of this bag.

--No, it's because of what's in it.

--Something that has nothing to do with books.

--What could it be.

--Perhaps, it is something that will determine the mystery of her body.

Thinking of this, Ziongzong realized the weight of the bag in her hand and couldn't help but put more force on her knuckles.

'Are you hungry? Let me walk you to eat.'

The shift of attention can only alleviate the pain rather than make it go away, the wound on the neck vaguely tortured Ziongzong's nerves, this bite by Mizuo is nothing to Ziongzong, only, this sudden change, so he could not understand.

The last time they were separated, the two were so close.

And now.

This girl who is good at changing, let Ziongzong very headache.

Before, Mizuo's clingy look was gone, now she looked at Ziongzong as if she was looking at a child abductor.

--child abductor.

Conversation is only possible when both parties speak, and Mizuo's silence left Ziongzong to continue the conversation on his own.

"It doesn't seem that you bit me because you was too hungry, so what is the real reason, Mizuo?"

"I don't know what I did wrong to make you angry, but if you don't say anything, things won't change."

Ziongzong tried to make the atmosphere more peaceful, but all these seemed to be in vain.

''The guy who has the face to ask what he did wrong to a little girl at the first meeting ......''

Mizuo's body was trembling slightly.

"You lolicon who has perverted delusions about young girls! "

--What?

--What's going on, is it poisonous mode now?

Ziongzong froze in place, feeling the world in his eyes graying a little.

"Don't let your loli control cells remain on my school bag! "

"Put your gloves on before you touch my bag, don't touch it with your dirty hands, you hear me, you super lolicon ? "

The speed of Mizuo's speech was so fast that Ziongzong could not fully analyze the words in it, but, without a doubt, from the momentum of the voice that wanted to kill, poke and crush the other party, Ziongzong was ten percent sure that he was scolded by Mizuo.

"Wait wait wait?"

So he decisively interjected.

He knew that if he did not intervene, Mizuo, she really might just keep talking endlessly until Ziongzong was really crushed to death by her vicious words.

"It's my fault for arresting you at the first meeting, but why did you run away? "

"It's none of your business if I run away, Lolicon."

"That's not the question. I'm asking about your attitude. It's unbearable for you to change your attitude. "

"So what if I change my attitude, Lolicon?"

"Can you not use the name "lolicon" ......"

"You have no right to deny it, lolicon!"

No, the situation is completely one-sided.

Ziongzong looked around nervously, but fortunately, this place is far from the entrance of the school and far from the main road, there are no pedestrians passing by, no good people passing by who will see the injustice and help because a "loli-con" is trying to do something to a loli.

Of course, these are all illusions.

Ziongzong clearly remembers the last time but because of the pedestrians and really ate a big loss.

"You still have to take my school bag until when , you have a fetish pervert lolicon! "

--No ...... Although I have deep feelings for my nine-section whip, I don't have a fetish.

"Did something happen in the past two days, Mizuo? "

Ziongzong tried to change the situation by using his most gentle, calm and affectionate voice.

"Don't call me with such a disgusting voice, you lolicon! "

--What's wrong with this Mizuo who denies everything about me and loathes me from top to bottom?

"What's wrong with you? Please talk to me if you have something to say. You were so clingy that night, and you begged me to sleep with you. ......"

"Noisy, noisy, noisy, noisy! "

"That's all your bullshit, it has nothing to do with me!"

"That's just a perverted delusion of your dead, dead, dead lolicon! "

"Who, who would ask a lolicon to sleep with them?"

--Although the wording was very strong, the overreaction, the panicked tone, and the gaze that didn't dare to look at me.

-- After all, it's just a little kid.

Ziongzong smiled faintly.

"That night, I remember someone said Favorite Ziongzong ......"

"Noisy, noisy, noisy noisy!

"I would never say something like "I like Ziongzong the most"!

It's so easy to blow yourself up.

After her words she was to realize what she had said, so her face turned red with shame and turned to the other side with her back to Ziongzong.

However, there was no intention of running away.

--"Because there is still a longing for me"

--This kind of shameless thought is absolutely impossible for me to have.

--The one thing that kept her from leaving was the school bag in my hand.

--I'm also curious about what's in it.

It was obvious that if Ziongzong opened the bag like that, there would be irreversible consequences inevitably.

Naturally, he wasn't stupid enough to do it knowing that there would be such consequences, but, what was in this bag, Ziongzong thought he would have to know sooner or later.

"How about, willing to talk to me now? "

Ziongzong calmly continued to try.

"Don't talk to me if you're a lolicon!

--There's no way to communicate.

The situation was right in front of me.

"Okay, okay, even if you hate me, you can't ignore yourself, right? Why don't you leave school with Yuuki and the others? It's dangerous to walk alone. "

"Maybe."

Not a voice of anger, Mizuo's voice was a little faint.

"Lolicon, so you know what Yuuki is doing. "

The voice is weak just a turn, Koga Mizuo's voice little by little tends to calm down, Ziongzong do not know whether her mood is also so changing.

"I know the general content. "

"How about it, feel very impressive, right? "

"......"

Ziongzong was hesitant, the conversation with Mizuo, always led by her, this will only repeat the same mistakes.

Moreover, the phrase, "How about that, you think it's amazing? "In his opinion, Mizuo, who was supposed to be Yuuki's "special friend", should not have said such words, and should not have said such words with a sense of mockery.

"Mizuo, why didn't you go to class yesterday? "

The wind blew through the treetops, making a rustling sound.

"Didn't I tell you that I didn't have to go to class yesterday ......"

"Yes, only you and Yuuki are on vacation, right? "

Ziongzong's words were so tightly forced that Mizuo was so surprised that she couldn't say anything for a long time.

"Are you investigating me?"

After a moment of silence, there was an unemotional question.

If it is said that before it was all joking and joking and playing, then now, the atmosphere has been very different. If all these are acceptable, this cold attitude of Mizuo now makes Ziongzong a bit scared.

Ziongzong realized that he had inadvertently led the situation to the most serious development.

Mizuo may no longer trust him.

Ziongzong uneasily senses this possibility and is thus confused as to what to do next.

'Don't be too self-conscious, give me back my school bag, I don't want to spend any more time with you.'

Mizuo's eyes became somewhat dull, and her voice was cold and warm, the relationship that still remained between the two of them was torn apart by her words.

She walked quickly to Ziongzong's side and grabbed the school bag from his hand.

However, she was not able to take it away.

Because Ziongzong's hand was also still holding the bag tightly.

--"What are you kidding, is this junior high school student worthy of being a guy? "

--As a man, he let the student go like this. If the student had an accident, how would he be responsible?

--So what if he's overly self-conscious.

Ziongzong had no intention of returning the bag to Mizuo.

"I can't leave you alone."

He said so, squatting down and looking at Mizuo's eyes from the front.

"I apologize if I hurt you, but I don't want you to think of me as an outsider. "

"Last night, I met your mother, Koga Shie. "

This was the last card Ziongzong wanted to play, not a trump card, but a ghost card, a card that would do neither side any good if it was open.

And, the name "Koga Shie" made Mizuo take a half step back, standing stiffly not knowing what to do, and then, the corners of his mouth rose, revealing a strange smile.

"That woman, you've met her."

"I think you've seen the lie about the family."

--Yes, I did.

--I just didn't think that to Mizuo, Shie was only the level of "that woman".

Ziongzong was surprised to see the shadow of Koga Shie in Mizuo.

"How about it, think my family is miserable, poor, no father, shameless mother living a rotten life outside, selling her body for money, and then leaving herself, and me, a guy who basically has nothing ...... to live for either, to maintain this crippled state of living."

"If you want sympathy, then it is not, the park agreement, you also as a silly dream good. "

Mizuo said with self-loathing, the dim shadows of the trees fell on her body, and a gloomy feeling surrounded her.

"What else do you want to know, good man? "

Mizuo brought her face up to my eyes, and instead of inferiority, there was pity in her gaze.

"I have things to do, I don't have time to spend here with you."

"I'm warning you, don't do anything redundant."

"Got it?"

Mizuo's voice fell, then Ziongzong's abdomen felt a sharp pain, Mizuo seized this opportunity, kicked him, and tried to take advantage of Ziongzong's moment of distraction to grab the bag, but Ziongzong grabbed Mizuo's outstretched hand, but he only caught one, and ignored Mizuo's other hand, filled with pepper spray, right at Ziongzong's eyes, sprayed down.

Treating Koga Mizuo like an ordinary schoolboy was the biggest reason for Ziongzong's rudeness here.

When he barely regained his vision and could vaguely see things, Mizuo, along with her school bag, had disappeared without a trace.

"Hey, is that Yuuki? "

"Is that your brother?"

"Yes. Do you know where Mizuo's house is located?

"I don't know. ......"

"I don't care how big the area is."

"In that case, I think it's the area around Terumimachi and Motomorinji-cho."

--That's a big area for two blocks.

--But it's not completely impossible.

"Thank you!"

Ziongzong hung up the phone and took off running.

Ziongzong understood that he can no longer stay behind the battle line, he must stand to the front line, or wait until everything is ready, then it will be too late for everything.

Kyoto on the map of the capital district has long been in his mind, at which intersection to turn, where there are shortcuts, his clear.

He originally thought that the encounter with Mizuo just now was the turning point of this incident.

But he never thought it would end up like this.

-- Who am I kidding, just letting her get away like that is even more infuriating than me actively giving up.

Ziongzong's eyes are still watering from the chili water.

-- just, to experience a lot of sadness and pain of Mizuo, always unconsciously, become tender.

He had no time to care.

--He couldn't be angry with her at all.

It was already the end of the school day, but to avoid Yuuki and escape from the school by going over the wall like this, Ziongzong knew that Mizuo was planning to do something, something that could not let Yuuki know, something that could not let him interfere.

What would that be, how dangerous it would be, Ziongzong could not imagine, did not dare to imagine.

All the way, he just ran, unable to think, only to choose the intersection is left, or right, to their own strength, fighting for even just a second, but also want to get to Mizuo home a little earlier.

Mizuo may not be at home, but in the "home" that cannot be called home, there will be instructions on how to get to Mizuo.

Ziongzong so convinced.

The frequency of his footsteps is still accelerating little by little, is it one kilometer or two kilometers? No, it no longer matters how far he ran. Ziongzong, who kept running every day, did not take this distance into account, he was too busy constructing goals in his mind and arriving at them one by one.

--It should not be difficult to find her place, as long as it is not an apartment.

On both sides of the road, the walls of the houses stretched straight ahead, blocking Ziongzong's view like a maze of barriers.

People walking on the road, people turning out from the alley, will make Ziongzong involuntarily overlap part of Mizuo's figure on their bodies.

She had just said - 'I still have things to do. .

-- Based on the experience of these days together.

--The look in her eyes when she said that.

--Not looking for an excuse to get away.

--And the school bag.

--It hadn't been opened, but judging by its weight, it must have contained only a small object.

--The bag didn't contain any books.

--In other words, she wasn't in the mood to go to class yesterday, and the reason for that was the "thing" she said she was going to do.

--The reason why she will come to school today is also for ......

At this time, the capricious person becomes easy to figure out.

Ziongzong suppressed the excitement of finding out the truth, but his feet disobeyed and ran faster and faster.

"Is it Yuuki? "

--Just one more thing to confirm ......

He dialed Yuuki's number.

"Yes, brother?"

"It's me. Did anything get stolen from your school today?"

--If that was her style.

"Eh, how do you know?"

-Good response.

"What was stolen?"

"I remember ...... was a camera. A girl from the next class brought it ......"

- a camera.

"Okay, thank you, Yuuki."

Ziongzong tilted his body and made a ninety-degree turn into an alley, and after passing this shortcut, he was not far from his set goal.

-- Camera, camera, camera ......

-- What can a camera be used for, taking pictures. Videotape. Use it as a brick to hit people. Use it to pad the corners of tables. Take it and sell it for money.

-- is evidence, a tool used to get evidence.

Ziongzong went through the alley and ran down Haruaki-cho again before turning into Terumo-cho.

-- Even the Buddha was kind to me.

What appeared before Ziongzong's eyes was a large row of small houses.

--If you go through them one by one, you'll get a clue.

The sun had already set over the treetops, and the dim light stretched Ziongzong's shadow to accompany him. Commuters and students returning home, together with him, make up the daily scene on the street.

On the walls of homes, there are nameplates with the family name fixed, and some people write the names of all the members of their families. However, Ziongzong searched and searched, but he did not see the surname "Koga", and when he asked the residents in the neighborhood, no one remembered it either.

--Although I didn't expect to find ...... right from the start, it was disappointing that there were no clues at all.

It took some time, Ziongzong walked to the end of the temple Imamachi, the other side is Genmyourenji town.

-- Ah ...... me idiot.

Ziongzong realized that he was so worried about Mizuo that he had overlooked important information.

--This is all a townhouse. There's no way Mizuo would live here.

--In other words, it could only be an apartment.

--Apartments ......

There are really a lot of apartments to find.

In Ziongzong's view, there is a large area of tall condominiums in the whole Genmurenji town.

It takes exponentially more time than a townhouse.

--Don't go looking blindly.

Learning from the lesson of a few minutes ago, Ziongzong analyzed the situation before moving.

-- Apartments are also divided into high-class apartments as well as bungalows.

Excluding the luxurious high-rise apartment buildings from his view, Ziongzong first targeted a low-rise apartment building closest to him.

Rather than an apartment building, it was a cement-reinforced version of a temporary workers' residence erected on a construction site.

The concrete facade, which was supposed to be white, had been grayed out, and the doors of the homes were covered with rust. The iron staircase set at the side of the apartment building gave a cold feeling.

Probably because he had been standing outside for too long, the janitor noticed Ziongzong and approached him from the duty room.

"Hello, what can I do for you?

"Excuse me, is there a family named Koga living here?"

He pressed his finger on the bridge of his nose and thought for a moment.

"The second room after the stairs on the third floor."

"Yes, thank you."

Although his voice was barely pretending to be even, Ziongzong's heart was already like boiling boiling water, oozing and spewing white smoke. After thanking the janitor, he suppressed his footsteps, which were constantly trying to get faster, and took one solid step at a time so as not to look suspicious or alert someone he didn't want to alert.

If she was there.

It was only a two-minute walk, but it felt like two centuries to Ziongzong.

The nameplate outside the door was written in Chinese characters, "Koga".

The mailbox on the door was stuffed with all kinds of payment slips and advertisements.

A thick layer of dust had accumulated everywhere except for the door handle.

It is true that there are people living here, but this is not life.

Ziongzong's hands trembled a little, and his feet were not steady.

He was in a mood that was so exuberant that he couldn't stop.

He tried to smooth the frequency and strength, gently knocked the door.

The sound of the empty KONG KONG did not last long before it was swallowed up by the silent air.

No one came to open the door.

Because the door opened by itself.

The old bolt, while rotating a sharp scraping sound that makes goose bumps stand up, such a breathtaking sound, even covered the sound of Ziongzong's heartbeat.

The door was unlocked, not even closed, and opened on its own after Ziongzong knocked.

"Excuse me, is anyone there?"

As a matter of course, no one responded to him.

Ziongzong's voice disappeared without a trace after turning around in the small room.

Then, with mixed feelings, he walked in.

-- Was Mizuo inside?

--or ......

--No, still blind guessing what.

-- Go forward and you'll see.

And as for what would be ahead, Ziongzong didn't care.