Chapter 219: 215 The Witness

Uda Ryoko's fear could have many meanings; it might stem from simple fright, or perhaps a guilty conscience makes one fearful.

But what exactly is this guilty conscience? Is it just the fear of being held accountable by Kawakami Rumi now, after having made a gossip scrapbook about Kawakami Rumi's past?

No, if she truly felt this was a guilty act, her attitude when introducing the materials she had collected just now shouldn't have carried a hint of pride; clearly, the other party does not believe she did anything wrong.

Perhaps Uda Ryoko has done something else, something that truly wronged Kawakami Rumi.

He Jia'an looked at Uda Ryoko with a meaningful gaze for a moment. The other party seemed uncomfortable being watched by He Jia'an's eyes and felt displeased, so she issued an order to leave: "What nonsense, how could such an absurd thing happen? How could a dead person attack someone who is still alive? Besides, she committed suicide back then, the reason is already very clear... Mr. He, if you have nothing else, I need to make lunch. There is someone at home waiting to eat."

"Excuse me." He Jia'an nodded slightly, stood up to leave, and did not forget to take the bag of materials with him when he left.

Before leaving, He Jia'an glanced at the somewhat flustered figure in front of the kitchen stove, his eyes still thoughtful.

Woof.

Chaijiro barked once and sat down in front of He Jia'an, as well-behaved as a doll.

Seeing this, He Jia'an did not forget to give the dog one last vigorous pet before leaving. Such an affectionate and well-behaved dog was truly rare for him to encounter; the opportunity was precious, and he could not miss it.

The dog was very pleasing to the eye, and He Jia'an felt a sense of closeness to it, as if the other party knew him.

Finally, amidst Chaijiro's reluctant whimpering, He Jia'an left Uda Ryoko's home.

On the road, He Jia'an was thinking about where to investigate next; he knew Uda Ryoko was lying.

Thanks to paying attention to the customs of the people of Sakura Island, the placement of shoes in the entryways of Sakura Island people is full of characteristics; they place the indoor and outdoor shoes of the permanent residents of the home in the entryway in advance.

When entering and leaving Uda Ryoko's home, He Jia'an noticed that there were only shoes belonging to her in the entryway, so Uda Ryoko is actually a single woman or lives alone. Her saying that there was someone at home waiting to eat was clearly not true; it was more likely just an excuse to drive him away.

"What exactly happened back then?" He Jia'an pondered while walking toward Kisaragi High School.

During the long break, Misaki Naomi came to the school library and finally found information related to "Mimiko" in the school yearbooks collected in the library.

"This is the group photo taken at the entrance ceremony back then; this person is 'Mimiko'." Misaki Naomi marveled at the beauty of the high school girl in the photo. Even setting aside the filters of the era, the aesthetics of the time, and the low resolution within that small space, she still noticed the prettiest girl in that class at a glance.

"Kawakami Rumi." Misaki Naomi read out Mimiko's real name, unable to help but feel regret for such a beautiful senior.

Buzz buzz——

Suddenly, Misaki Naomi felt the phone in her school uniform pocket vibrating. She immediately trembled with nervousness, thinking it was Mimiko calling her with another deadly harassment call again. But this vibration only lasted for a very short moment and was not the special, persistent vibration frequency of an incoming call; she calmly realized it was just a message notification.

So she gathered her courage to open her phone to check. Seeing the message notification on the screen, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief and even felt a trace of joy, because it was a message sent by He Jia'an.

He Jia'an: "How is your progress over there?"

Misaki Naomi leaned against the bookshelf, pursed her lips, and tapped away: "Just came to the library to check materials after class, just saw Senior Mimiko's peerless beauty."

After sending the message, she secretly took a portrait photo of Mimiko and sent it to He Jia'an.

Two seconds later, He Jia'an: "Indeed very beautiful. If I were at that age, I might have pursued her, who knows."

Misaki Naomi curled her lips and typed: "How are your results over there?"

He Jia'an: "Ran into a former junior of Kawakami Rumi..."

He Jia'an briefly explained his experience. After reading the message, Misaki Naomi couldn't help but feel deep sympathy for this deceased Senior Mimiko. No matter who it was, they wouldn't be able to withstand that kind of environment at the time.

She imagined it for a moment; if it were her, she might not have lasted very long, yet Senior Mimiko was able to endure school bullying and social gossip under high pressure with that disfigured face for nearly a whole year.

Buzz buzz——

He Jia'an sent another message, this time making a request: "I hope you can investigate that accident from back then. I don't know if there are any witnesses left in your school, or people who know about what happened back then."

Misaki Naomi understood. While flipping through the photo album, she prepared to reply that she would try her best to find clues, but soon her gaze locked onto a graduation photo. The text she had just entered into the send box was quickly deleted and replaced with: "I think I really found a witness to the incident back then, right here in the current school."

After the message was sent, the other side was silent for a few seconds before sending a message: "Be careful with everything."

Misaki Naomi put away the photo album, returned the yearbook and album she had dug out from the library shelves to their original places, and then walked out of the library, heading straight for the teachers' private office next to the school chemistry lab.

Knock knock.

"Please come in." A man's puzzled voice sounded from inside the room.

Mano Daichi, the chemistry teacher and laboratory equipment manager for the first year of Kisaragi High School, saw that the student who opened the door and walked in was someone with a familiar face: "Eh, I remember you, you are... Misaki-san from Class 1-B, right."

"Sorry to bother you, Teacher Mano." Misaki Naomi greeted him with a bit of restraint.

Mano Daichi smiled: "No need to be nervous, is there something wrong, or is there something you don't understand in your studies?"

Misaki Naomi bit her lip secretly and gathered her courage to ask: "Teacher Mano, do you know Kawakami Rumi... this person?"

"Kawakami... Rumi." Mano Daichi was stunned for a moment upon hearing the name, and then fell silent.

Misaki Naomi felt as if the temperature of the air in the office had dropped by several degrees, and her palms were sweating. After all, she didn't know if her inquiry would make the other party feel offended, and the other party was still her teacher.

Mano Daichi took a deep breath, looked at Misaki Naomi, and said seriously: "How do you know this name?"

"Because... because of some things, I noticed Senior Kawakami Rumi, and then learned that a terrible thing had happened to her. I saw in the school's past graduation albums that you were among the graduates of Senior Rumi's year, so... so I wanted to ask you about that accident." Misaki Naomi said with some trembling, then bowed deeply and said somewhat loudly, "Please. You might find it hard to understand, but understanding this matter is really important to me. If you know anything, please tell me."