This Japanese Monogatari Isn't Lame
Chapter 192 - 172. Imperial River (Achieved 8000 words~!)_2

Chapter 192: Chapter 172. Imperial River (Achieved 8000 words~!)_2

Beichuan Si got out of the car and put his phone back in his pocket before he hurried home.

At home, in addition to Shen Gu Mirai, there was Beichuan Huili.

She said she had been brought home by Qianye Yuki around five in the afternoon.

Moreover, Beichuan Huili had been unusually spry lately; she even took the initiative to cook for Shen Gu Mirai.

This gave Beichuan Si a bit of a shock as well as a sense of pleased nostalgia—

At any rate, it was a relief that his sister wasn’t as listless as she used to be.

Beichuan Si put on an apron to help with the cooking.

With the Beichuan siblings’ help, Shen Gu Mirai felt much less pressure and was able to finish preparing the meal.

By the time dinner was over, it was already past eight o’clock.

"Is it this late already?" Shen Gu Mirai asked in surprise after washing the dishes.

She wiped her pale hands on the apron, then took it off and hung it on the wall: "Mr. Temple, it’s about time for me to leave."

But what Shen Gu Mirai hadn’t expected was that Beichuan Si stood up, put on his coat, and said calmly:

"I’ll walk you."

Shen Gu Mirai looked a bit stunned but then nodded, "Mr. Temple... All right, please walk me home."

It was already past eight o’clock, and it would take nearly twenty minutes to walk from the Beichuan Family home to the Shen Gu family home.

No matter what, Beichuan Si couldn’t let Shen Gu Mirai walk that long night journey alone.

He, however, wasn’t touched as Shen Gu Mirai was.

The two of them walked one after the other, with Beichuan Si in the lead and Shen Gu Mirai following.

The street ahead was lined with a series of streetlights, flickering at night like spotlight lamps on a stage.

These early days of spring were no longer as cold as January; instead, it had already warmed up.

Both Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai walked in silent agreement.

Beichuan Si was silent because he was always quiet, and Shen Gu Mirai was silent because Beichuan Si wasn’t talking.

Their long and short shadows stretched across the ground...

Beichuan Si, walking ahead, suddenly spoke:

"Do you want to hear what Liangzi told me?"

"Mhm." Shen Gu Mirai shifted her gaze from the footsteps that Beichuan Si had just set down and replied softly.

The matter of Ishikawa Kaoru wasn’t something to brighten one’s mood, but Beichuan Si tried to explain it to Shen Gu Mirai in as few words as possible.

"So you’re saying... There’s a shadow of a game of hide-and-seek behind the event of Ishikawa Kaoru’s death?" Shen Gu Mirai’s long eyes lifted.

Beichuan Si nodded in response, "Exactly, Hoshino Nana died because of Ishikawa Kaoru. The last person to have contact with her while she was alive was Ishikawa Kaoru, and there were also purplish bruise marks on his wrist..."

Shen Gu Mirai blinked in surprise, catching the key point in Beichuan Si’s words: "Purplish bruises? What do they have to do with anything? What do purplish bruises signify? Mr. Temple, where did you see any significance regarding purplish bruise marks?"

The astute Mirai quickly analyzed various possibilities from Beichuan Si’s words.

It had to be said that Shen Gu Mirai was indeed the cleverest girl he had encountered so far.

Some things just needed a modest cue, and she could glean a lot of useful information from them.

"Have you heard of the novel ’The Lost Mikawa’?"

Upon hearing the name, Shen Gu Mirai was startled, "The winner of the Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize?"

Besides reading spooky stories, she frequently read novels; she wouldn’t miss the books nominated for the Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize.

"You’ve heard of it?"

"It’s the dark horse of this edition; anyone with even a slight interest in reading would know it, right?" After saying that, Shen Gu Mirai seemed to sense that Beichuan Si’s gaze had become much deeper.

She quickly explained, "The Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize is initiated by nationwide bookstore employees."

"This award is based on their votes... in other words, all Japanese bookstore employees serve as judges, and during this period, some well-known authors might attend to comment on the nominated literary works of ordinary folk, but the final results still depend on the votes of bookstore employees nationwide."

"In other words, the Honkaku Mystery Grand Prize is actually about selecting the book in the employees’ minds that they find most interesting, the best selling, and the most in tune with the contemporary trend."

"And it’s called the Popular Literature Selection because it’s meant to choose books currently beloved by men and women,"

"The first place, which is the prize money award that Mr. Temple mentioned, ’The Lost Mikawa,’ had many famous authors attending the award ceremony. The author, Seto Cheng, even appeared on TV. I remember he was a tall, pale-faced middle-aged man."

Shen Gu Mirai spoke in one breath, exhaled a long sigh, and then took another breath.

"Famous authors attending..." Beichuan Si thought of Tsukishima Risa.

Tsukishima Risa had mentioned her father, Tsukishima Sen, more than once.

Maybe she could get some clues from her.

"Mr. Temple, are you suggesting that the secret of the four-person hide-and-seek game is hidden in the book ’The Lost Mikawa’?"

Shen Gu Mirai ran up in front of Beichuan Si and started walking backwards facing him.

Beichuan Si didn’t answer her question but steadily said, "Watch where you’re walking, or you might bump into something."

"Hehe... I’ve already noticed. Mr. Temple, you’ve been matching my pace, haven’t you? You’re a boy with bigger strides, but you keep pace with me so I don’t fall behind too much, nor do you let me get too close."

"It’s a subconscious action, it’s the same when I walk with Hui Li."

Beichuan Si was as candid as ever; he didn’t deny it and just scanned Shen Gu Mirai with his deep black eyes, "Your home should be close by."

"I know. Also, Mr. Temple, you didn’t answer my question just now, did you?"

"I can’t be bothered with that lip service, you’ve guessed it yourself already," Beichuan Si glanced away, not looking at her, and he reminded her, "’The Lost Mikawa’ is not something to rush about; don’t think about staying up all night to read it, it’s meaningless."

At this, Beichuan Si paused in his steps.

"I’ll take my leave now."

Without realizing it, more than twenty minutes had already passed.

In front was the Shen Gu household.

Beichuan Si had been to the Shen Gu family’s house once or twice, but that was when her parents were not at home, and she had returned home to get her clothes and money.

It was also in that process that this little girl gradually became his friend.

"Hmm, be careful on your way home, Mr. Temple."

"Okay."

Beichuan Si replied and headed back the way he came.

Shen Gu Mirai stood at the door, watching Beichuan Si leave.

Under her observation, Beichuan Si’s stride did indeed become more frequent and a lot wider.

She happily watched him leave until she could no longer see his tall figure, then she returned inside her home.

...

While walking, Beichuan Si called Tsukishima Risa.

But she didn’t pick up.

He walked on for about another seven or eight minutes, and then Tsukishima Risa called back proactively.

Her voice sounded a bit surprised, "Beichuan, I was in the shower just now, is there something you need?"

"I was wondering if I could visit Uncle Tsukishima tomorrow?"

"Huh? You’re coming over, Beichuan?!"

This was even stranger.

Ever since Tsukishima Risa had gotten to know Beichuan Si, she had realized that he was the type who didn’t like trouble.

Particularly when it came to social interactions, Beichuan Si voluntarily visiting someone was virtually unheard of.

"Hiss... There shouldn’t be a problem with my father. Around what time tomorrow? That way I can let my mother and father prepare in advance."

Tsukishima Risa spoke gently, with a soft and soothing voice that made people feel quite at ease.

"Tomorrow, probably between three and four o’clock in the afternoon, that would be great, thanks."

Visiting Kobayashi Seijiro’s family at ten o’clock in the morning, and visiting the Tsukishima family between three and four o’clock in the afternoon.

Leaving six hours in between should be enough.