"I understand," Beichuan Si replied expressionlessly.
Seto Cheng nodded, smiling as he dragged the blocks of ice into the house.
After watching him disappear behind the door, Beichuan Si slung his backpack over his shoulder and began walking down the slope.
One must always be cautious; Nishijou Kurenai and Shinra Bell were in the backpack, and Beichuan Si couldn’t possibly let anyone tamper with these items.
Moreover, there was another matter that particularly concerned Beichuan Si.
With thoughts stirring in his mind, Beichuan Si descended the hill and entered the town’s streets.
The town was peaceful and tranquil, a stark contrast to the hustle and bustle of Tokyo’s vast cityscape, leaving only a soothing and serene atmosphere behind.
Dusk was falling. Beichuan Si took out his cellphone, looked at the map on the screen, and slowly walked forward—
...
Qiushan Caiyin was a high school girl who had just returned ho from a high school in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Truth be told, she didn’t like Yuchuan Town at all; she saw the quietly leisurely town as significantly behind the tis.
There were no freshly made coffee shops like those in Kanagawa Prefecture, nor any trendy clothes stores, and even buying a sweet treat invited nagging from her relatives—
Because her family owned a traditional Japanese sweets shop, what was commonly known as a ’Wagashi’ shop.
"Why did they have to call back from the city when there’s barely any business at ho? Why am I always so unlucky?" Qiushan Caiyin sat at the shop’s entrance looking utterly bored, her face filled with regret over how her spring break was turning out.
She should have been sitting in a Kanagawa café or flirting with handso guys on the streets during her spring vacation, not stuck back in this shabby wagashi shop.
Luckily, her mom and dad had gone to deliver so sweets to a mobility-challenged elderly person; otherwise, seeing her in such a disheveled state would have certainly triggered another round of criticism.
"I really want to go to Tokyo! I want to see what a real big city is like!"
Qiushan Caiyin sighed again, completely disregarding the saying that ’happiness escapes with every sigh’.
Just as she had resigned herself to reality, a detached voice suddenly ca from outside.
"Is this place open for business?"
Startled, Qiushan Caiyin quickly stood up and responded, "Of course! What would you like, sir?"
As she stood, she saw a young man walking towards her.
So handso!
Qiushan Caiyin swallowed hard.
The young man had a tall, slender figure, clear brows and handso features which had a touch of sternness amidst their softness.
He looked like he could easily be an idol.
And judging by his traveler’s attire...
’Could he be from a big city?’
While she was sowhat lost in thought, the young man seed to grow a bit impatient and knocked on the counter, "Sorry, I would like to buy so sweets."
"Ah...ah..." Qiushan Caiyin flushed red and hastily ca out from behind the counter to guide him to the glass display.
"Please feel free to choose; all our wagashi are freshly made to suit your taste."
"Okay."
The man’s response was nonchalant as his dark eyes scanned the sweets displayed under the glass, seeming indifferent to her.
With cheeks burning red and feeling slightly embarrassed, Qiushan Caiyin fidgeted with her apron.
"Three strawberry daifuku, three mango daifuku, three yokan, and four hundred grams of konpeito."
"Okay, that will be four thousand one hundred yen. "
Swiftly, Qiushan Caiyin, the wagashi shopkeeper’s daughter, packed the sweets Beichuan Si wanted into a small wooden box and handed them to him.
"...Wood carving culture?" Beichuan Si remarked, observing the intricate carvings on the wooden box.
Qiushan Caiyin nodded vigorously, eager to strike up a conversation with Beichuan Si, "Yuchuan Town’s unique wood carving techniques, all our wooden boxes are produced in-house."
Beichuan Si realized the other person’s thoughts, so he stopped as well, "Is that so?"
He had so things he wanted to inquire about as well, and the girl in front of him seed like a good candidate.
He had been asking about the child disappearance cases from more than ten years ago as he walked around, but all of the suddenly color-changing shop owners waved him off.
In Yuchuan Town, it seed that no shop owner was willing to bring up the past, as if they genuinely intended to forget what had happened at Yuchuan Elentary School.
"Um... excuse , are you from Tokyo?" Qiushan Caiyin, after introducing the local wood carving culture, asked sowhat embarrassingly.
"Yes." Beichuan Si nodded, "I saw the promotion on the internet about Yuchuan Town, so I ca here to visit, but I don’t think I’ll stay long."
Hearing this, Qiushan Caiyin couldn’t help but pull a face.
Coming to visit Yuchuan Town?
But what else could there be here, besides rotten wood and landscapes that beca boring after two or three days?
Indeed, she still couldn’t understand the thinking of big city folks.
Country girls like her would do anything to cram into Tokyo, yet here was a Tokyoite like Beichuan Si who had purposely co to Yuchuan Town to visit, which was an especially ironic situation.
"Can I ask you a few questions?" Qiushan Caiyin suppressed her random thoughts and coughed twice before speaking.
Beichuan Si nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders, "No problem, I’m not in a hurry."
This young girl’s tone was full of longing for Tokyo, and Beichuan Si didn’t want to crush her spirits.
If she didn’t have a good connection, even if she worked in Tokyo, she would only live day to day munching on cheap bento boxes.
It wasn’t much different from those in Heavenly Dynasty who desperately try to squeeze into prestigious cities.
Five thousand monthly rent, minus utilities, travel expenses, clothing, and food costs, and if you have a girlfriend, another expense to add.
By the end of the month, you could hardly save any money.
Go to work, leave work, go ho. Such was life, nothing more.
However, Qiushan Caiyin hadn’t thought about all that yet. Mostly, she asked about the ways young people in Tokyo enjoyed themselves, and having lived there for more than two months, Beichuan Si understood these things quite well.
Haven’t eaten pork and haven’t seen a pig run?
Beichuan Si shared everything he knew with the young girl, which made her yearn for Tokyo even more.
"Tokyo... sounds wonderful... I really want to visit it."
"If you ever have the chance to co to Tokyo, I could perhaps show you around," Beichuan Si said, seeing it was about the right mont to step closer in their relationship.
"Really? Mr. Beichuan, you are such a kind person!" Qiushan Caiyin’s eyes shone.
"..." Beichuan Si subconsciously compared Qiushan Caiyin to Shen Gu Mirai and found that they weren’t in the sa league at all.
Compared to the quirky Shen Gu Mirai, Qiushan Caiyin was far too easy to deceive; it seed anyone from Tokyo could trick her with a bit of experience.
After exchanging LINE and emails, Beichuan Si then candidly said, "Actually, I have so other questions I’d like to ask Miss Qiushan."
"As long as it’s sothing I know, I can tell you everything, Mr. Beichuan." She nodded cheerfully.
To have the email contact of an active high school boy from Tokyo, and a handso one at that, now she could show off to Kanami and the others.
"This is sothing I’m personally curious about. I’ve heard that Yuchuan Town had a child disappearance incident more than ten years ago, could that be true?"
Beichuan Si emphasized his tone, looking up at Qiushan Caiyin.
"More than ten years ago... when I was a child...?" Qiushan Caiyin widened her eyes, "Is that what Mr. Beichuan wants to know?"
Seeing her reluctant look, Beichuan Si still nodded.
"...Alright, Mr, Beichuan, you’ve just beco my friend, it’s okay to tell you... but please don’t ntion to anyone that I told you this." Qiushan Caiyin looked around to make sure no one else was present, as a precaution.
"I understand."
Beichuan Si perked up.
Finally, it was coming.
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