CHAPTER 763: CHAPTER 622: ALMOST HOOKED LIKE A BIGMOUTH, BOLD SPECULATION

In the afternoon, at LEC Nakano District Main Campus, after finishing today’s classes, Yoshifu Yamanaka walked towards the elevator with a shoulder bag, greeting everyone politely along the way.

"Teacher Yamaoka! Please wait a moment!"

Accompanied by hurried footsteps, a crisp and familiar voice came from behind, causing Yoshifu Yamanaka to pause in his tracks and his heart to skip a beat. After taking a deep breath, he turned around and feigned calmness as he looked at the young woman jogging towards him from the classroom door.

Tokyo in March was still cool, and the woman wore a gray trench coat with a beige scarf. Her long hair danced lightly in the wind as she moved, and her delicate and fair face reddened slightly from the outdoor chill. The trench coat was unbuttoned, and as she ran, one could see the impressive pair of fruits held within the white sweater inside, slightly bouncing.

Yoshifu Yamanaka was enthralled; he felt this was the most beautiful scene he had ever seen in his life. How could there be a girl as kawaii as Bai He in the world!

"Teacher Yamaoka, please... please wait a moment."

Bai He stopped about half a meter in front of Yoshifu Yamanaka. Her breathing was a bit hurried, causing her sweet breath to fall onto Yoshifu Yamanaka’s face, making him feel itchy, blush, and his heart race.

"Ta...Tian Ye, is there something you need to ask?" Yoshifu Yamanaka asked.

"No." Bai He had already caught her breath by now. She shook her head, brushed a few messy strands of hair away, and said quietly, looking at Yoshifu Yamanaka with her big watery eyes: "Teacher Yamaoka, you realized long ago that I’m not a student at the school, just auditing the classes, right?"

"No, you are now. I helped you register and paid for your tuition; I hope Bai He won’t blame me for acting on my own initiative." Yoshifu Yamanaka finished speaking and bowed to apologize.

"What..." Bai He was taken aback, looking in surprise at this slightly overweight, unremarkable young man in front of her, "This... I..."

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Yoshifu Yamanaka gradually became calm and composed, smiling as he said: "Bai-chan is a very diligent student. I couldn’t bring myself to drive you out, but as a school employee, I couldn’t let you take advantage of the school, so I paid the tuition for you myself. Therefore, you don’t need to feel guilty about attending the classes."

The reason he was drawn to Bai He wasn’t merely because of her looks, as he had seen his share of beautiful women due to his background. It was Bai He’s diligence and her bold behavior in auditing classes that caught his attention.

At first, he just found her very interesting, and later, when he discovered how studious she was, he often asked questions and assisted her with her studies, developing feelings through this process.

Although he wasn’t a promiscuous playboy, he could chat freely with wealthy beauties. However, when he truly liked someone, he became cautious, afraid to express his feelings for fear of rejection and possibly never seeing the other person again.

"Teacher Yamaoka, thank you so much! You are truly a good person. I will definitely work hard to save money to repay the registration fee!" Bai He bowed deeply.

Receiving gratitude from the girl he fancied made Yoshifu Yamanaka very happy, and he laughed, "I believe Bai-chan will definitely pass the civil servant exam this June successfully. You can just treat me to a meal then."

Upon hearing about the June civil service exam, Bai He’s eyes flickered slightly. She looked up at Yoshifu Yamanaka with a smile and asked, "Why wait until then to treat you, can’t we do it today?"

"Ah?" Yoshifu Yamanaka was caught off guard.

Bai He smiled brightly and said, "I just caught up with you to invite Teacher Yamaoka to dinner to thank you for your guidance during this period. Are you free?"

"I’m free, I’m free." Yoshifu Yamanaka finally reacted, nodding repeatedly, smiling happily.

Although he had agreed to have dinner with his father tonight, he figured he would just pretend he hadn’t.

"Then let’s go." Bai He laughed mischievously and bounded towards the elevator, turning around to talk to him while walking backwards after passing him, "I know a great izakaya, I often go there with friends. I hope Teacher Yamaoka will like it."

"Sure! Since Bai-chan says it’s good, I’m sure I’ll like it." Yoshifu Yamanaka replied with a smile.

"Hehe~" Bai He suddenly burst into laughter after staring at him for a while, then turned away, "I just suddenly realized Teacher Yamaoka is very cute outside of class."

Yoshifu Yamanaka paused in place, grinning like a fool, then exhaled and quickly caught up with Bai He, "Is it far? Let’s take my car."

"Okay." Bai He nodded, winking playfully, "That’ll save on car fare."

Yoshifu Yamanaka liked Bai He’s frugal yet innocent and lively personality, which was very unique.

He always kept a low profile, never revealing his identity outside. Recently, as his father was busy competing for the position of Prime Minister, he laid even lower, driving an unpretentious Toyota Corolla.

Following Bai He’s guidance, he drove towards an old izakaya in the Harbor District. At 6 pm, it was peak hour, and the road was jammed, moving slower than a snail.

Yoshifu Yamanaka used to hate traffic jams, but now, smelling the faint sweet scent beside him, he wished they could be stuck in traffic forever, as he couldn’t get enough of it.

A trip that usually took 20 minutes took almost forty minutes in the afternoon, and it was already past seven when they arrived.

Bai He led Yoshifu Yamanaka to a small private room; as the indoor temperature was quite high, she quickly took off her scarf and trench coat as soon as they sat down.

The sweater was very fitted, showcasing her graceful curves unmistakably. Her legs, clad in black leggings beneath a short skirt, were long and slender, her small feet dainty—Yoshifu Yamanaka, excited, resorted to sipping tea to conceal his embarrassment.

Bai He was quite chatty, buzzing with conversation. Yoshifu Yamanaka mostly just chimed in occasionally, smiling and listening to her.

At the door of the izakaya, a plump young man got out of a Mercedes-Benz, looked disdainfully at the izakaya’s entrance, "Is this the great place you mentioned, Xiao Ye-kun? It doesn’t look much."

It was Hatanaka Zizi’s son, Hatanaka Ichiro.

"Don’t underestimate this place, Hatanaka-kun. The food is delicious here; otherwise, why would I bring you?" said a young man getting out of the car behind him.

"I hope it’s worth the long traffic," Hatanaka Ichiro shrugged and led the way into the shop.

The young man called Xiao Ye followed in, shouting to the waiter, "Two people, we want a private room."

Another twenty minutes later, both Yano Bai He and Yamahana Yu Fu on the other side seemed a little drunk.

And the slightly intoxicated Yano Bai He looked even more charming.

"Beep beep~ beep beep~"

Suddenly, Yano Bai He’s pager went off.

"Teacher Yamaoka, I’m going to return a call."

Yano Bai He got up holding the pager, seeming too drunk, swaying slightly as she stood up, steadying herself against the wall before walking unsteadily outside.

"Bai He-chan, do you need me to help you?"

Yamahana Shigeru felt a little uneasy seeing this.

Bai He-chan really couldn’t hold her liquor; she clearly doesn’t drink often, what a good girl.

"No... no... need." Yano Bai He waved her hand without turning back, closing the door after stepping out.

Yamahana Yu Fu instinctively nodded, but only after Yano Bai He left did he realize he also had a phone call, yet looking at the closed door, his previously opened mouth closed again and he continued drinking.

Yano Bai He did not actually return the call; standing at the door of the private room, she looked back with a complex expression.

Then she pretended to be drunk, pushed open the door of the adjacent private room, and staggered inside.

Upon hearing the door open, Hatanaka Ichiro instinctively turned his head to look, his eyes lighting up at the sight of Yano Bai He, and he asked with a smile, "Miss, is there something you need?"

The violence brewing within him was stirring.

This seemingly weak and pure cute girl, a slap would surely make her cry out loudly!

He loved to ruin things that appeared beautiful.

"Why are there only two people? Did I... did I walk into the wrong room?" Yano Bai He mumbled.

"No, you didn’t walk into the wrong room." Hatanaka Ichiro saw she was too drunk to know her bearings, his eyes glimmering, immediately shutting the door and supporting her, "What should I call you, Miss? It’s fate we met, let’s have a few drinks together."

"Drink... drink!" Yano Bai He nodded.

Hatanaka Ichiro’s lips curled up, looking at Xiao Ye across from him, he said, "Xiao Ye-kun, go bring the car around."

"Aren’t we... having dinner?" Xiao Ye asked.

With a few drinks in him, Hatanaka Ichiro’s face was flushed, "Dinner my ass! I’m taking her home to eat her!"

"Sure!" Xiao Ye chuckled lightly.

Yamahana Shigeru waited in the private room for a long time, but Yano Bai He never returned. Wanting to call but not knowing the number, he muttered to himself, "Maybe she left to handle some urgent matter."

Then he picked up Yano Bai He’s left-behind coat, scarf, and bag to settle the bill and leave, planning to return them to her during class tomorrow. Out of a strange impulse, he lowered his head to sniff the coat, ah, what a pleasant scent.

...................

Aoyama Xiu Xin hadn’t left the office all day today, not even for meals which were brought to him.

Because he was watching the surveillance from the Takahashi family’s alley entrance.

Watching from morning till night, his eyes were going blurry.

Heaven helps those who help themselves. With his excellent vision, he finally discovered something amiss.

In the surveillance, there was no footage of Saito Youmei leaving!

Even though there were a lot of people coming and going that day, Aoyama Xiu Xin confirmed he only saw Saito Youmei enter the alley, but not exit.

Of course, it could be explained that she left by someone else’s car, thus not appearing in the surveillance, but what if she really hadn’t left?

With suspicions in mind and the scratch marks on Saito Youmei’s hand, Aoyama Xiu Xin’s thoughts immediately expanded. Because it was a suspected sexual assault and murder case, previous investigations focused on the men, unconsciously ignoring the women present that day.

Could the skin tissue found in Mrs. Takahashi’s fingernails, unmatched by any of the many men at the scene, actually belong to one of the women there?

Furthermore, could the case itself not be a sexual assault at all, but a deliberate setup to mislead the police into focusing on male suspects?

Even if the truth wasn’t necessarily as he had theorized, at least it offered a direction, a new breakthrough. Aoyama Xiu Xin exhaled a breath of relief.