"There’s only tea here, that should be alright, right?" Sanseiyuan Bei Nai said, her fingers already resting near the teapot.
"No need to go through all that trouble," Shen Gu Mirai began, but noticing that the tea was already being poured, she accepted it without further ceremony.
Sanseiyuan Bei Nai sat on the sofa, looking at Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai, and got to the point, "So, what do you want to ask? About Sister Tianzi’s whereabouts?... I suppose it can’t be that simple though, can it?"
Her deanor carried an air of a young man’s bravado, making one almost forget they were in the presence of a woman.
Moreover, since Sanseiyuan Bei Nai worked in a bookstore, her expression bore an intellectual keenness.
"In fact, we have heard about Sister Tianzi’s situation, and actually ca here to inquire about..." Shen Gu Mirai’s voice hesitated for a mont.
"About?" Sanseiyuan Bei Nai furrowed her brows.
"About Sister Tianzi’s mother, Sanseiyuan Shenzi."
Shen Gu Mirai finally said it outright.
She watched Sanseiyuan Bei Nai, carefully gauging her reaction.
Upon hearing the na Sanseiyuan Shenzi, Sanseiyuan Bei Nai’s expression flickered unnaturally for a mont; she remained silent for a while, pensively looking at Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai, as if contemplating sothing.
After what seed like a while, Sanseiyuan Bei Nai took a deep breath.
She still didn’t respond, but instead asked, "Why do you want to know about Sanseiyuan Shenzi? Tell your reasons."
Right as Shen Gu Mirai was about to answer, she heard Beichuan Si speak up next to her, "We have a relative who went to Ihui Island for a cultural investigation and is currently unreachable. We are quite worried."
Beichuan Si evenly t Sanseiyuan Bei Nai’s gaze and continued,
"Through certain channels, we’ve learned that Ms. Sanseiyuan Shenzi might have connections to Ihui Island, thus we sought out this place, hoping Ms. Bei Nai could provide us information on Sanseiyuan Shenzi."
"Hmph..." Hearing this, Sanseiyuan Bei Nai couldn’t help but coldly snort, a complex expression flashing across her stern face, "Ihui Island, that sure is a familiar na."
Was Sanseiyuan Shenzi really connected to Ihui Island?
Sanseiyuan Bei Nai took a sip of her tea and slightly sighed, saying, "Since you know Tianzi, you should also be familiar with Sanseiyuan Shenzi’s real na; it’s no wonder you’ve made the connection to Ihui Island."
You think too highly of your niece.
Beichuan Si also sipped his tea.
Recalling his conversation with Sanseiyuan Tenzi the day before, who played dumb to all questions, Beichuan Si felt an itching in his hands, wishing he could pin Sanseiyuan Tenzi down and give her a thrashing.
But of course, this thought could not be voiced in front of Sanseiyuan Bei Nai and had to remain unspoken.
While Beichuan Si was mulling this over, Sanseiyuan Bei Nai spoke again, "Sanseiyuan Shen... no, rather, Ihui Shenzi, she’s actually an Ihui Islander. She’s the woman my brother... found during his trip to Okinawa."
Sanseiyuan Bei Nai’s tone carried a mix of reproach and resentnt as she continued, "Approximately a week after my brother brought Sanseiyuan Shenzi ho, he declared to our parents that he intended to marry her. Honestly, with his career just taking off at the ti, a marriage would surely impact it, not to ntion we had never even t Ihui Shenzi’s parents... thus, both father and mother strongly objected."
Her recounting of the process was far clearer than that of Salty Egg Sanseiyuan Tenzi, indicating she had a distinct impression of the events at that ti.
Sanseiyuan Bei Nai tightly clutched her teacup, staring into the tea, and added, "Honestly, I was against their marriage myself, but that person... it was the first ti I saw him angry and the first ti he totally fell out with our family."
She let out a scornful laugh, "To fall out with family over a woman, if that’s not foolishness, what is? My foolish brother..."
"On the day of the wedding, besides myself formally attending, there were only my brother’s colleagues and friends present. On that occasion, I officially t that woman... Ihui Shenzi."
Sanseiyuan Bei Nai seed to hold her breath, then hurriedly gulped down her tea and continued, "That woman was indeed beautiful. I really thought she was so unknown artist or celebrity. But simply based on that..."
She clenched her fist, "As you said, Ihui Shenzi is an Ihui Islander, the woman my brother t during his visit to Ihui Island, also a fool."
By the looks of Sanseiyuan Beina, she seed like soone who didn’t frequently use foul language, but whenever Ihui Shenzi was ntioned, she appeared unable to help herself.
It was no wonder that Sister Tianzi found it troubleso, and there were reasons for that.
"Ihui Shenzi also ran away from ho to marry my brother. It was said that her family was against it; it seems it was because she couldn’t adapt to the environnt in Ibaraki, and her health rapidly deteriorated."
Sanseiyuan Beina looked up at the ceiling, her voice hollow and distant, "It was then that I understood why my brother was so determined to marry her... why he was willing to confront our family..."
Because Ihui Shenzi had also given up everything for Sanseiyuan Beina’s brother.
"So I really don’t have a good thing to say about that woman. My brother as well, and that woman too, both were fools." Beina waved her hand, "I had planned to visit Ihui Island after my brother’s death to see the situation there, especially since Sister Tianzi was there. I wanted the people there to know about her condition... but that was just a plan."
Sanseiyuan Beina shrugged, "At that ti, Sister Tianzi needed soone to take care of her. I couldn’t leave, and it was sowhat not nice to ask soone else, so it just got postponed. I just occasionally talked to Sister Tianzi about her mother."
"..." Shen Gu Mirai.
So, you’re still tsundere?
Complaining about your brother and sister-in-law, claiming indifference, yet taking on the responsibility of raising Sister Tianzi?
Shen Gu Mirai unconsciously glanced at the living room’s surroundings.
The living room was impeccably clean, spotless.
The fras also held photos with female friends.
Sanseiyuan Beina’s fingers didn’t wear any wedding rings, and her scholarly, rational face bore no trace of makeup...
Could it be that Sanseiyuan Beina was still unmarried?
Could it be she had feelings for her own brother?
If true, that could explain why Sanseiyuan Beina detested her brother and sister-in-law so much.
Shen Gu Mirai speculated wildly.
While she was wildly theorizing, Sanseiyuan Beina seed to rember sothing and spoke, "Oh right, I still have that woman’s diary and the photo album of her and my brother. Would you like to take a look? There might be clues about Ihui Island."
Sanseiyuan Beina felt slightly embarrassed, feeling like she had unloaded her complaints on both Beichuan Si and Shen Gu Mirai, naturally wanting to offer them a little compensation.
"Eh? Is that alright?" Shen Gu Mirai asked uncertainly.
Sanseiyuan Beina casually flicked her braids, replied nonchalantly, "What’s the harm? Both of them have been gone for a long ti; it’s not like they can turn into ghosts and haunt , right?"
With that, Sanseiyuan Beina walked into her room to search for the diary and photo album.
During this ti, Beichuan Si also reviewed the situation again.
What could be confird now was that Ihui Shenzi actually ca from Ihui Island, the very island that Shen Gu’s parents had gone to.
And now there arose another question.
What about those woodcut prints on the boxes?
Were they casually made by Ihui Shenzi, or were they a local product of Ihui Island?
This too needed confirmation from Sanseiyuan Beina.
One mystery after another.
If there truly was danger on that island, perhaps it was best to have Shen Gu’s parents return first.
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