The next day, Beichuan Si reverted to his usual lifestyle, rising early for exercise, cooking, and then heading out.
Hearing from Beichuan Huili that she had to go out for an appointnt, Beichuan Si gave Salty Egg Sister a day off.
After notifying Qianye Yuki, Beichuan Si stayed ho until 8:30 before setting off for the Shen Gu family.
Shen Gu Mirai had been waiting by the door early, and as soon as she saw Beichuan Si approaching, she hurriedly ran up to him.
"Mr. Temple, let’s go," Shen Gu Mirai, now fully dressed in spring attire, looked brightly stunning.
"Uh-huh."
Since Shen Gu Mirai had co over herself, Beichuan Si had nothing much to say; he nodded and walked with her towards the station.
The journey to the station and taking the train need no elaboration.
By the ti Shen Gu Mirai and Beichuan Si reached the Shanwen District in Nakama District, it was already past 9:40.
This was Kobayashi Seijiro’s ho.
Shen Gu Mirai and Beichuan Si pressed the buzzer at the building’s entrance, directly calling room 412, Kobayashi Seijiro’s apartnt.
A woman answered the phone:
"Hello? Who is this?"
"Hello, Auntie Kobayashi, I am Shen Gu, who sent an email yesterday wanting to visit you," Shen Gu Mirai displayed an inexplicably grand deanor in receiving and treating people, her speech neither brisk nor slow, but it made others feel particularly comfortable.
The woman on the phone exclaid ’ah,’ and then responded:
"I am so sorry, I’ll open the door now. Please co in."
With a crisp ’pop,’ the thick glass door of the entrance hall opened.
"Let’s go, Mr. Temple."
"Uh-huh."
The two didn’t talk much more, pushed the door, took the elevator, and pressed for the fourth floor.
After waiting for more than ten seconds, Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai formally arrived on the fourth floor.
According to the door number, Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai quickly reached room 412 of the Kobayashi apartnt.
There, a middle-aged woman with anxiety etched across her brows and eyes was standing by the door waiting for them.
"Hello, Auntie Kobayashi," Shen Gu Mirai said with a smile as pleasant as the spring breeze.
"Hello," Beichuan Si followed up with a nod.
"Hello... you are Shen Gu and Beichuan, right? Please, co in."
It seed Shen Gu Mirai had chatted with Kobayashi Seijiro’s mother last night, taking that opportunity to introduce Beichuan Si to Auntie Kobayashi as well.
Kobayashi Seijiro’s mother, nad Kobayashi Saki, was a full-ti housewife, and her husband, Kobayashi Miao, worked as a technician in the IT industry, with Kobayashi Seijiro being their only child.
Kobayashi Saki welcod Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai into the house, imdiately offering them tea.
"Please help yourself."
"Thank you," Shen Gu Mirai said, simultaneously tilting her head slightly, feigning curiosity as she looked around: "By the way, Auntie, where is Qingjing? It has been a long ti since we’ve seen each other. Why hasn’t he co out to catch up?"
Shen Gu Mirai acted very familiar with Kobayashi Seijiro, and if Beichuan Si hadn’t known that she hadn’t really been in touch with Kobayashi Seijiro, he might have been deceived by her too.
But Kobayashi Saki was unaware of this, and hearing Shen Gu Mirai ask this, she even paused her tea-serving motion, her expression turning mournful.
"Auntie Kobayashi? What’s wrong? Why are you so sad? What happened?"
Seeing that Kobayashi Saki was about to cry, Shen Gu Mirai quickly stood up, asking very concernedly.
Both she and Beichuan Si instinctively felt a sense of foreboding.
The absent Kobayashi Seijiro and Kobayashi Saki’s troubled expression...
Could it be that sothing had actually happened to Kobayashi Seijiro?
"It’s all right," Kobayashi Saki sighed, "I was ntally prepared to tell you both about Qingjing since you ca."
"What exactly happened?" Shen Gu Mirai asked gravely.
Kobayashi Saki sighed deeply again: "Qingjing... his ntal state hasn’t been good, and we’ve had to hospitalize him."
"His ntal state has been a bit off?"
"Yes," Kobayashi Saki fell into a reminiscence:
"It started about a month ago. Initially, Qingjing told us that there was soone in his room, soone secretly watching him. We didn’t take it seriously then because, as you must have seen when coming up, this building is the fourth floor and requires soone to open the door... and the building’s security has always been very robust."
"No one could really get through the main door, bypass the security, and specifically avoid us to enter Qingjing’s room, right?"
"Indeed," Shen Gu Mirai nodded.
"My husband and I just dismissed our son’s concerns then, not realizing that there was more to co."
Kobayashi Saki dabbed her eyes with a tissue: "After a week passed without further incident, Qingjing went about his usual routines—going to school, coming ho, chatting with friends, and my husband and I were reassured. But then one day when I ca ho from grocery shopping, I found Qingjing trying to... grab a knife."
She broke down crying at this point.
Kobayashi Seijiro wanted to slit his wrists and was inexplicably aggressive.
His eyes surged with burst blood vessels, and he mumbled sothing unintelligibly under his breath.
"While restraining him, we finally heard the fragnted words he was muttering," Kobayashi Saki had cald down, taking another tissue and continuing:
"Qingjing was saying, ’Don’t co near, don’t co near, the child... the child!!!’ I don’t know what those words ant, but later the doctors diagnosed him with severe mania and auditory and visual hallucinations. We have now entrusted him to the hospital for treatnt."
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