stonecrandall Page 130
Page 130
Along the way, Shirakawa Natsu saw several models being photographed, but they were just average and not nearly as attractive as the sexy fox.
When Mukai Yu saw the person who called the police, he was clearly stunned and exclaimed, "Ueda-sensei!"
Mr. Ueda, who was in his fifties and wore glasses, was equally surprised to see Yu Mukai. He looked Yu up and down and asked, "Yu, are you applying to the police academy?"
Yu Mukai was clearly very reserved, seemingly afraid to meet Ueda's gaze, and said with his head down, "Yes, I applied to the police academy after graduation."
After he finished speaking, he seemed unwilling to discuss the topic and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Mr. Ueda, did you call the police?"
“Yes.” Ueda pointed to another middle-aged man next to him and said, “Mr. Murakami invited me to take a set of photos, but the equipment was all there before we came in, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
The middle-aged man also came up to recount what had happened, glancing at Shirakawa Natsu out of the corner of his eye as he spoke.
Shirakawa Natsu nodded to himself. This guy's acting was pretty good. Although he gave him wrong information as a detective, at least he didn't mess things up this time.
Ryoko Arishima was not Yu Mukai's girlfriend at all. The two had feelings for each other in school, but they never officially dated.
Since she wasn't a key figure, the detective simply inquired about her and wrote it into his report without verifying it.
The person who reported the incident to the police was their own teacher, and the incident occurred at the workplace of their romantic interest.
Of course, such coincidences don't happen in reality.
As for why the school teachers would rent the venue to take photos, it's obviously because they paid enough money.
The investigation revealed a simple misunderstanding: someone had taken the wrong bag and returned it shortly afterward.
Of course, all of this was arranged by Shirakawa Natsumi.
It was lunchtime, and Shirakawa Natsu suggested they eat together, with the detective uncle chiming in.
Although Yutaka Mukai was reluctant, he nodded in agreement.
Shirakawa Natsu signaled to the detective to leave on purpose, giving Ueda and Mukai Yu some time alone.
He placed a small backpack containing a listening device next to the two people, and could clearly hear their conversation by simply listening to it.
The reason Shirakawa Natsu invited Ueda was because Ueda was the mentor of Mukai Yu's award-winning work.
Now that the two have met, they will naturally exchange some useful information.
After obtaining this information, Shirakawa Natsu was able to formulate a plan based on it and find a reason to get close to Hojo Maki.
Trying to win over Hojo Maki is no easy task.
After sitting for a while, Ueda suddenly spoke up: "The photography industry requires a long period of accumulation, and the judges' preferences are also different."
Yu Mukai shook his head shyly: "No, it's not the judges' fault, it's my own lack of ability."
“No, you are one of the most talented students I have ever taught.” Ueda said, “You are very sensitive to light and your sense of composition is also excellent. I don’t know why you suddenly gave up photography. There is an amateur photography exhibition next month. Do you want to give it a try?”
“Um…” Yu Mukai smiled shyly, “I think I’d better not, it’s been a long time since I’ve picked up a camera.”
Ueda didn't say much, he just nodded.
The two sat for a while longer when the detective uncle walked over, followed by a pure-looking girl with long, straight black hair.
She was dressed casually, and her face was as fair as a porcelain doll.
The detective smiled and said, "Let me introduce you two. This is the photographer that the company introduced to me, Ms. Ryoko Arishima."
Upon seeing Tanaka, Ryoko Arishima exclaimed with delight, "Tanaka-sensei!"
She immediately saw Mukai Yu in his police uniform, a complicated look flashed in her eyes, but she quickly recovered and greeted him with a smile: "Is this Mukai? It's been a long time."
Seeing that he couldn't avoid it, Yu Mukai raised his head and said, "Ms. Arishima, it's been a long time."
When Ryoko Arishima heard him address her as "Miss Arishima," a clear hint of disappointment flashed in her eyes.
"Oh my." Seeing that the time was right, Shirakawa Natsu also walked over with a smile and introduced herself.
Lately, I've been spending a lot of time with shrewd people, so encountering such easy-to-understand young men and women with no guile is a bit of a shock.
Subconsciously, I even suspected that she was deliberately making me think she was guileless.
Shirakawa Natsu revealed her identity as a manga artist, stating that she is currently working with Mukai Yu on a detective-related manga.
He quickly integrated into the group.
At his invitation, the group went to a hotel for dinner. At the dinner table, the detective, at Shirakawa Natsu's instruction, kept urging them to drink.
More than urging someone to drink, it's the desire to get drunk that's irresistible.
For example, Ryoko Arishima, who is clearly an innocent porcelain doll, kept leaning towards Natsu Shirakawa after a few drinks: "Natsu-sensei, I'm your fan. I'll buy and collect every single one of your manga."
Her fair face was flushed, as if she were slightly drunk.
"Hehe, thanks for your support." Shirakawa Natsu subtly stepped back a little, knowing that Arishima Ryoko was doing it on purpose for Mukai Yu's benefit.
He wasn't interested in matters between men and women, and besides, he needed to get closer to Aunt Maki by approaching Jingyu, so he couldn't afford to ruin their relationship.
Upon witnessing this scene, Yutaka Mukai hesitated several times before finally remaining silent.
The meal was passable. After finishing their meal, Mr. Ueda and the detective left by car on their own.
Only Shirakawa Natsumi, Mukai Yu, and Arishima Ryoko remained at the scene.
“Mukai-kun, you’re Arishima-san’s classmate and a police officer, so it’s your duty to take her home, right?” Shirakawa Natsu said with a smile.
Chapter 163: Where are we now?
“This…” Yu Mukai hesitated and looked at Ryoko Arishima.
She was truly a captivating woman under the cover of night.
Her face was slightly flushed, and her eyes were slightly drunk. She seemed to be in a daze, and her hands were limp and powerless under her body.
Her fair collarbone was exposed at the neckline, revealing a slightly crooked flesh-colored camisole underneath.
If someone were to put their hand inside her collar, pull down her pants, or put something in her mouth at that moment, she would definitely not wake up.
Shirakawa Natsu leaned close to Arishima Ryoko's ear and patted her shoulder: "Ms. Ryoko, would you like us to contact your friend?"
Ryoko Arishima opened her beautiful eyes a crack, her gaze unfocused, opened her mouth, made an indistinct sound, and then closed her eyes again.
Shirakawa Natsumi shrugged and turned to look at Mukai Yu: "It seems she's completely drunk. Mr. Mukai Yu, please get her a hotel room."
Shirakawa Natsumi is happy to see Mukai Yutaka and Arishima Ryoko get back together.
Once at the hotel, he used the excuse that he was drunk and needed someone to take care of him to get Mukai Yu to stay.
So when he went to the police station, he pretended to accidentally reveal this information to Aunt Mafei.
He believed that Aunt Mafei was still a person of principle and would never get involved with a subordinate who had a girlfriend.
“Well…” Yu Mukai’s expression was complicated. He looked at Ryoko Arishima and said with an awkward smile, “I know her home address. Let’s take her home.”
Shirakawa Natsumi's lips twitched, not wanting to make it too obvious, and she nodded: "Okay, Mukai-kun, please show me the way."
Ryoko Arishima lives in an ordinary apartment, not as luxurious as Natsu Shirakawa's, but still in the mid-to-high-end range. It's much more expensive than Yu Mukai's old-fashioned one-bedroom apartment, which suggests that she's had a relatively successful career after graduation.
Yu Mukai skillfully took the key from her bag, opened the door, and helped her inside.
The apartment was a one-bedroom unit, spotlessly clean, unlike the typical girl's room which was cluttered with many things. Apart from the necessities, there were no unnecessary decorations, and the furniture was all neatly arranged.
Yu Mukai carefully helped her to the sofa.
"Water." Ryoko Arishima frowned, closed her eyes, and uttered the word with difficulty.
"Wait a moment." Mukai Yu hurriedly picked up a glass, poured half a glass of water, and held it to her lips.
Ryoko Arishima's small mouth opened and closed, seemingly too drunk to drink water on her own.
"Be careful." Yu Mukai carefully brought the glass to her lips, tilting the glass to allow the water inside to flow into Ryoko Arishima's mouth at a suitable, slow rate.
Shirakawa Natsu stood aside, carefully observing the interaction between the two. Without a doubt, Mukai Yu was a typical sensitive person.
He's the typical gentle and kind male protagonist found in Japanese anime.
There's a reason why Aunt Mafei would develop a liking for him.
Shirakawa Natsu glanced out the window; the city was now completely enveloped in night. "Mukai-kun, vomit can cause suffocation. It's not advisable to be alone while intoxicated."
He wanted Mukai Yu to stay, and he even prepared a way for him to make amends.
During the meal, he noticed that Ryoko Arisuma didn't actually drink much alcohol.
Now, however, he acts as if he's drunk and at everyone's mercy.
According to typical comic book storylines, the next step is to have an in-depth conversation.
Yu Mukai glanced at the unconscious Ryoko Arishima and shook his head: "It's okay, I know her friend's phone number, I'll call her friend over."
After he finished speaking, he reached for his phone.
"Ahem." Shirakawa Natsumi coughed twice. "It's not good to bother others at this time. Let's wait for half an hour. If Miss Yujima hasn't sobered up yet, we can call her friend later."
Yu Mukai frowned, looking at the completely drunk Ryoko Arishima, who clearly didn't seem like she would wake up in half an hour.
He was shy and wouldn't easily refuse, so he nodded and said, "Okay."
The two chatted for about fifteen minutes when Ryoko Arishima, who had been fast asleep, sat up, rubbing her forehead.
"Ms. Arishima, you're awake?" Shirakawa Natsu turned her head and asked with a smile.
Ryoko Arishima frowned slightly, seemingly still suffering from a headache, but nodded to the two of them, clearly having sobered up.
"Water." Yu Mukai handed over a glass of water.
With a complicated expression, Ryoko Arishima took the water glass, drank it all in one gulp, and then closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa.
The two chatted for a while longer until Ryoko Arishima sobered up completely. After saying goodbye, she left the apartment.
"Shirakawa-kun, thank you for today." Mukai Yu looked embarrassed, scratching the back of his head. "So many things happened today."
"Hmph, we're friends." Shirakawa Natsu waved her hand, took out her phone, secretly turned on the camera mode, glanced at the location of Arishima Ryoko's apartment, and sure enough, she heard her voice from behind the window.
Ryoko Arishima was standing behind the window, looking down at the two of them, or more precisely, at Yu Mukai.
"I'll take Mukai-kun home." Shirakawa Natsu subtly put away his phone; the blond-haired guy's photography skills had given him plenty of opportunities to take candid photos.
He originally thought this photography technique was useless, but now he realizes he has missed a treasure.
In order to secretly capture the scene he wanted, the novice photographer was not only proficient in using equipment.
It also includes some covert shooting techniques.
He had no doubt that if he could upgrade Huang Mao's photography skills to an advanced level, he could, like the secret agents in those movies, silently infiltrate the heavily guarded rooms of wealthy women and clearly photograph them using props.
"Madam, you wouldn't want your children to see you in this lewd state, would you?"
Shirakawa Natsu has already seen the scene after Huang Mao's photography skills have reached their peak, and all of this only requires 60 points.
Seeing that he was distracted, Yu Mukai hurriedly waved his hand, "No need, no need, I've already troubled Shirakawa-kun enough today. I can just take a taxi back myself, and it's not on my way anyway."
Without waiting for Shirakawa Natsu's reply, he bowed deeply to him and quickly ran to the roadside to get into a taxi.
Clearly, he was also afraid that Shirakawa Natsu's enthusiastic invitation would leave him unable to refuse.
Shirakawa Natsu watched him leave in his car, not caring at all. A cool evening breeze blew by.
The streetlights were on, and some young women dressed in light clothing were walking together, while girls in JK uniforms were squatting on street corners.
They would occasionally stop middle-aged men passing by and have intimate conversations with them.
"They're having a lot of fun." Shirakawa Natsumi withdrew his gaze. According to what he had heard, women here are quite open-minded about sex, and if a woman is still a virgin in high school, she will be ridiculed in her small circle.
Of course, these were all hearsay to him. He spent his high school years lying in a hospital bed, so he had never experienced them firsthand.
I took out my phone, opened the friends list, and Inagawa Hanahi was still the only one whose name was highlighted.
"Strange." Shirakawa Natsu frowned. He had been trying to increase his friendship level with Mukai Yu for the past two days, but they were still not friends.
Yu Mukai never truly considered him a friend.
"It's harder than chasing girls," Shirakawa Natsu thought to herself before putting away her phone.
Turning towards the parking lot, she saw a figure standing not far away, hands clasped tightly together, seemingly struggling with something. Upon seeing Shirakawa Natsumi looking at her, the figure immediately lowered its head.
"Miss Ryoko, what a coincidence." Shirakawa Natsu put on the gentle smile she had learned from the lecherous fox.
With his delicate and harmless face, he can instantly gain people's favorability.
"I'd like to get down and walk around." Ryoko Arishima lowered her head slightly, not daring to look at Natsu Shirakawa. "I didn't expect to run into Mr. Natsu."
After she finished speaking, she stood there, opening her mouth to say something, but then hesitated and couldn't say it.