Chapter 173: The Man Living in Lies (Free Chapter)

The next morning, as the alarm clock rang, Akiwara Yuto crawled out from under his covers.

He stretched his shoulders, feeling that his arms were still somewhat sore.

Because of the excessive number of people at yesterday's book signing at Yokohama National University, he had been forced to work from 9: 0 AM until 10: 0 PM, far exceeding the originally scheduled time.

During this time, besides constantly signing books, he also had to shake hands with enthusiastic readers and put on an "amiable and approachable" facade.

Although he was a bit tired, in truth, the results of the book signing far exceeded his expectations, to the point where he found it a bit incredible.

Just yesterday alone, nearly 4, 00 copies of *Youth in April* were sold from the stock!

When tallying the data, the faces of the editorial department staff were beaming with joy.

Alright, it's time to write the manuscript for the fourth issue! Otherwise, by the time the later book signings come around, the manuscript won't be ready in time!

Akiwara Yuto ate a slice of bread, then sat down at his desk, lowered his head, and began to write.

The story continued to progress...

Upon discovering that the deceased young driver was the son of this couple, Morita Makiko panicked, momentarily not knowing what to do.

Just then, the middle-aged man named Yamazaki Ryu seemed to have finished fixing the sedan; he walked into the room and said to Morita Makiko, "It's getting very late. If you don't mind, why not stay and have dinner with us?"

Although Morita Makiko was flustered inside, it did not show on her face. She bowed slightly and said apologetically, "Thank you for your invitation, but I have urgent matters to attend to, so I won't intrude."

Yamazaki Ryu didn't mind, nodded, and then asked his wife, Yamazaki Saeko, "Have you reached Haruki-chan yet?"

Yamazaki Saeko shook her head, "I just asked his friends; they all said they haven't seen him."

"This kid." Yamazaki Ryu's tone was a bit dissatisfied, "Doesn't he know that making his parents wait for him to eat is a very rude thing to do?"

"Alright, don't be angry, I'll make another call to ask." Yamazaki Saeko replied in an understanding tone, "I'll call Haruki-chan again."

Seeing the other party pick up the receiver to dial, Morita Makiko on the other side suddenly realized that the deceased's mobile phone was still on her person! And it hadn't been turned off or set to silent!

She immediately became panicked and, feigning that she needed to use the restroom, walked quickly to the inner room on the other side.

Just then, because Yamazaki Saeko started dialing, the mobile phone on Morita Makiko's person began to ring.

She hurriedly took out the phone and shoved it under the sofa cushion.

Hearing the ringing of the phone coming from inside the room, the Yamazaki couple was puzzled. The two did not hang up the phone but walked into the inner room.

"There's a sound coming from here." Morita Makiko saw the two, pointed at the sofa, and said in a surprised tone. But inside, she was actually extremely panicked.

Following the direction Morita Makiko pointed, the Yamazaki couple found the phone. But upon discovering the phone, the two became puzzled.

Because their son had never had the habit of leaving his phone at home.

Morita Makiko, standing to the side, said again, "I've really troubled you today, but I have urgent matters to attend to, so I will take my leave now."

After saying this, she bowed again, then walked toward the entrance.

Although the Yamazaki couple was puzzled about why the phone appeared, they still saw her to the entrance.

Under their gaze, Morita Makiko opened the car door, sat in, adjusted the seat, and only then started the car to leave.

Seeing this scene, Yamazaki Ryu, as an automotive engineer, became suspicious.

Why, after having driven for so long, would she only be adjusting the seat now?

Watching the luxury sedan driving off into the distance, Yamazaki Ryu subconsciously took a look and memorized the car's license plate.

After leaving the Yamazaki home, Morita Makiko followed Sugo Nobuyuki's instructions, drove the car to his location, and informed him of the cause and effect of what had happened.

Upon learning everything, Sugo Nobuyuki's heart could not calm down, and he did not know how to handle the matters that would follow.

"I have an idea."

Morita Makiko was silent for a while, then told him her plan. Sugo Nobuyuki hesitated for a moment, but still agreed.

The next day, the two drove the car to a scrap yard specializing in recycling black-market cars and disposed of the vehicle.

After this, the two hugged each other and promised that for the sake of their respective families, they would never see each other again.

After leaving Morita Makiko, Sugo Nobuyuki returned to Tokyo and went to the police box in his residential area to report that his sedan had been stolen at a highway service station.

Then he returned home and told his wife the same lie he had fabricated.

Hotel room.

After finishing this, Sugo Nobuyuki stood up, looked at Watanabe Saki who was taking notes, and said in a tone of shame.

"I feel like a liar and a scoundrel, but I had no choice; for the sake of my career and family, I could only pretend that nothing had ever happened."

He lowered his head and looked at the newspaper on the table.

"I originally thought the matter had passed, but the day after I returned home, I saw the news on television reporting that the father of the deceased driver, along with a search team, was searching for his whereabouts in the deep mountains."

"All of this was a constant reminder to me that this matter was not over."

Watanabe Saki listened to these words, her eyes somewhat dazed.

But just at this moment, the phone in the room rang.

Watanabe Saki picked up the phone to listen, and after a while responded, "If there are changes to the situation, call me again. Also, a new eyewitness has appeared..."

"Who called?" Sugo Nobuyuki asked suspiciously, and then he was surprised to learn it was the lawyer he had previously entrusted, the same Lawyer Matsui who had introduced Watanabe Saki to him.

Sugo Nobuyuki thought for a moment and took the phone himself.

After a brief conversation, he was told that he should trust the lawyer he had been introduced to, named Watanabe Saki, even more.

After the call ended, Watanabe Saki picked up her notebook again and said to Sugo Nobuyuki, "Let's continue talking about what happened later."

Sugo Nobuyuki took a sip of water and continued his story.

After the news reported the search for the missing person, the police soon came looking and informed Sugo Nobuyuki that they had judged there were signs of a car accident near the place where the young man went missing, based on skid marks.

A police officer provided a sketch that looked 70% like Makiko to Sugo Nobuyuki and asked if he knew this woman. He also added that according to a license plate provided by someone, this woman was driving his sedan at the time.

Sugo Nobuyuki said nothing, only called Lawyer Matsui over and entrusted everything to him.

Facing the police's questioning, Lawyer Matsui instead "threatened" the police. Immediately after, over the next two days, he assisted Sugo Nobuyuki in forging his hotel receipts and eyewitness evidence from New York.

After these alibis were submitted to the police, the police had no choice but to give up questioning Sugo Nobuyuki.

After this, Sugo Nobuyuki's life returned to peace.

Watanabe Saki coughed once and picked up her notebook again.

"Mr. Sugo, the information from the Metropolitan Police Department is like a sieve. So I suspect that the parents of that young driver might have also learned about you from the police."

She paused and asked again, "Does that Ms. Makiko know about this?"

Sugo Nobuyuki was silent for a moment, then replied, "I haven't told her anything."

"But I know you've been in contact with her." Watanabe Saki smiled, "Rich people all want to protect their assets and families, but sometimes they make some foolish moves."

She paused and added, "Using a public phone booth next to a bank is not a good choice; there are cameras everywhere there, Mr. Sugo."

Sugo Nobuyuki smiled awkwardly, then said helplessly, "Alright, I did contact her, but I was just curious about how she managed to protect herself from the police."

After saying this, he began to explain.

That day, after being questioned by the police, he had kept an eye on how Makiko would resolve the situation.

After all, if she were to confess about him, the alibi he provided would also become invalid.

But Morita Makiko was much smarter than he had imagined, even making the police believe that the driver named Yamazaki Haruki had staged the car accident himself for the purpose of absconding with money.

Watanabe Saki frowned and asked, "How was that done?"

Sugo Nobuyuki nodded and began to tell her method.

On the day of the accident, Morita Makiko had taken the young driver's residence certificate and personal seal, and found a small town, wore a mask, and went to a dilapidated private bank that didn't even have cameras.

Through a series of procedures, she opened a new account in the young driver's name and transferred 5 million yen from the young driver's company account into it.

Watanabe Saki was surprised, momentarily finding it a bit unbelievable.

"Mr. Sugo, does your lover, besides her hobby of photography, also understand bank operations? Doing this is not simple!"

Sugo Nobuyuki nodded, "I know your confusion; I think her husband might have helped her with some things."

Watanabe Saki looked at him suspiciously a few times.

Wanting to get the bank to perform such irregular operations is not impossible, but it's not something just any citizen can do. Unless it's some insider or an important major client, there is only a certain degree of feasibility...

Sugo Nobuyuki did not try to continue that, but spoke of another place.

"In order to understand the specific reasons, Makiko and I went to a restaurant next to the previous scrap yard to talk in detail. But there, it seemed like someone was always watching me."

Watanabe Saki looked at him suspiciously a few times and asked, "Was it an illusion?"

"Perhaps, who knows..." Sugo Nobuyuki sighed.

"Alright, let's skip this topic and continue with your subsequent experiences." Watanabe Saki shook her head.

Sugo Nobuyuki nodded and continued his story.

"After this, I returned to the trajectory of my own life: attending various banquets, obtaining certificates issued by various institutions. But one day, an accident occurred."

"Accident, what accident?" Watanabe Saki asked suspiciously.

"When attending a banquet at the Tokyo Hotel, a waiter found me, saying someone wanted to see me. I didn't think too much and followed the waiter over."

Sugo Nobuyuki swallowed his saliva and continued.

"But I discovered that the person waiting for me outside was actually the father of that young driver!"