Chapter 432

The last four words—"any conditions"—she spoke with extreme difficulty, carrying a kind of desperate, self-abandoning resolve; tear tracks crisscrossed her beautiful face, her gaze miserable and hollow, as if her soul had been sucked out, leaving only a shell willing to pay any price to preserve that shameful lie.

Uesugi Muneyuki silently watched her, spat out the gum in his mouth, and the light from outside cast shifting shadows across his face. He reached out, with a cruelty almost like pity, and gently rubbed the tear tracks on her cheek with his fingertip. The icy touch made Meisa shudder again.

"Any conditions?" Uesugi's voice was low, carrying a dangerous magnetism, like a demon's whisper, "Madame Kashiwagi, do you know... what this 'any' means?"

"Keeping you and keeping Inspector Kashiwagi was already part of our deal, I kept him too, I even gave all this great merit to him!"

"What more do you want from me? Is it that he himself truly took these things as his own boasting, made up stories in his head and ran around spouting them... you want me to wipe his ass again? Madame, you doing this over and over should have a limit, shouldn't you?"

"Oh oh, I understand, you want me to help you cook up a flawless story to teach him?" Uesugi Muneyuki said halfway through, then suddenly realized.

Kashiwagi Meisa closed her eyes, her long lashes fluttering violently like a dying butterfly's wings, her bitten lower lip oozing blood. She nodded with extreme difficulty, squeezing out a broken syllable from deep in her throat: "... uh."

For that foolish husband lying in the ward dreaming of heroism, for that tottering, lie- and filth-stained home, she offered herself completely to the aristocratic young noble before her, as the hero's price, far exceeding his imagination. And all this stemmed merely from her husband's insatiable vanity and shameless lies.

Yet beneath these false appearances, Kashiwagi Meisa herself couldn't clearly say she harbored a strand of other strange thoughts.

For example, the coming busy period—Kashiwagi Meisa knew that involving such a massive personnel reassignment, full self-inspection, and the ultimate storm concerning all Metropolitan Police Department equipment afterward, headquarters would at least be in a very busy state for three to six months, and as the trump card of the Special Mission Unit, Uesugi Muneyuki couldn't possibly be allowed to rest too long; they'd soon be thrown into the next case.

Afterward, the time the two could meet would be very limited! Not to mention Uesugi Muneyuki is always accompanied by Ikeda Erena!

If we don't seize more opportunities and moments, if we can't further stabilize the relationship...

Moreover, Ren's side already has someone, it was his first, I'm just...

Kashiwagi Meisa's heart was in turmoil—fear and excitement, intense guilt and revenge pleasure, unable to say whether she wanted it or not, so she kicked the ball back to Uesugi Muneyuki.

Uesugi Muneyuki gazed at the ice mountain snow lotus utterly crushed by him, free for him to pluck, a surge of immense conquest pleasure and satisfaction at controlling everything welled in his heart. He withdrew the finger wiping her tears, his voice returning to its usual calm, yet carrying an undeniable command tone:

"Madame Kashiwagi, since you are so 'earnest,' I am not unreasonable." Uesugi Muneyuki smiled and said: "Come with me."

He didn't head for the elevator, but pulled the confused, conflicted Meisa straight toward the luxurious private restroom at the end of the hallway, marked with a gold VIP sign, reserved exclusively for VIPs in specific areas.

This place is far from the ordinary ward, unusually quiet, luxuriously decorated, spacious like a small lounge, and equipped with high-end soundproofing.

Normally this place is not open to the public, but... he is not an ordinary person!

The door clicked shut behind them with a soft "clack," in the enclosed space only the two remained, the air filled with a strange blend of faint incense and disinfectant. The huge mirror reflected Meisa's lost yet excited and ashamed face, and beside her, Uesugi's shadow like a predator.

Uesugi Muneyuki hesitated not at all, shoving Meisa against the smooth, icy marble sink.

Hmm, not as good as Erena~

"Mmm..." Kashiwagi Meisa symbolically resisted a moment, then quickly convinced herself.

For Ren! I have no choice but to do this!

Anyway, it's not the first time.

Uesugi obviously isn't satisfied with this.

"Lift your leg." He commanded, his voice hoarse.

Kashiwagi Meisa, like a marionette, humiliatingly and tremblingly lifted one leg, the stiletto heel touching the ground. Uesugi Muneyuki's gaze instantly locked onto her long, beautiful legs wrapped in dark gray sheer pantyhose, the Wolford stockings' material superb, perfectly outlining the smooth, elegant lines of her legs—from rounded ankle to slender calf to full thigh—glistening with a fine, enticing sheen under the bright restroom lights.

He let out a satisfied sigh, his large hand impatiently pressing down. From the ankle, with scorching temperature and undeniable possessiveness, he slowly rubbed upward along the calf. The smooth feel of the stockings against his calloused palm produced an almost inaudible rustle, amplified infinitely in the silent space.

"Madame, your legs are truly beautiful!" Uesugi whispered, his fingers sinking into the soft leg flesh beneath the stockings, feeling that astonishing elasticity and warmth.

Meisa bit her lower lip hard, desperately forcing herself to silence. Her body, in humiliation and under the glow of the pink abdominal markings, trembled uncontrollably, making her feel unbearably ashamed.

But this was only the beginning. Uesugi Muneyuki crouched down, like admiring a rare treasure, and lifted the ankle of Meisa's raised foot.

The high heel's lines were sharp and sexy, accentuating the arch of her foot more beautifully. The dark stockings wrapped her pale foot sole, faintly revealing the delicate skin texture beneath, five rounded toes slightly tensed at the stocking tips, outlining a pulse-racing contour.

"Madame, don't move~ you don't want to~"

"Okay... okay, I will obey, I will... submit~ just don't forget Ren's matter, Uesugi, I'll listen to you... listen to you..."

————I will listen to you dividing line————

The commotion of high-level visitors faded, the ward grew quiet again. Kashiwagi Jin leaned against the headboard, savoring the praise of "the perfect man through the ages," his mood relaxed, even the wound pain seemed to have lessened considerably, he pondered how to use this "hero" halo to counter Uesugi Muneyuki in Investigation Division One after discharge.

Uesugi Muneyuki, today I'm not doing this for anything else, just to suppress your arrogance!

In solving cases I don't fear you! In having a heart like a clear mirror for justice, I'm stronger than you!

You dog, I just want to fight you!

This time I really got an unearned great merit for nothing, that's true, but I also refused the deserved promotion, that point I don't owe the Metropolitan Police Department! I will honestly, openly, righteously stay in Investigation Division One and continue as my police inspector section chief!

Tomorrow when another big case comes, we'll each bring our own section's police, see who wins and returns to headquarters, see who gets wiped out!

The ward door was lightly knocked.

"Please come in." Kashiwagi Jin adjusted his expression, striving to maintain his steady elite image.

The door opened, and entering was the returning Sugishita Ukyo, section chief.

He held a paper cup with freshly poured hot water, his expression as usual, calm, showing no ripples.

"Section chief?" Kashiwagi Jin was a little surprised, but soon smiled, "Did you drop something?"

"No." Sugishita Ukyo walked to the bedside, put the water cup on the bedside cabinet, moved naturally.

"Just now there were too many people, some details I didn't have time to hear properly. Happened to pass the tea room, so I brought you a cup of water." His tone was flat as discussing weather, his gaze casually swept the ward furnishings, finally landing on Kashiwagi Jin's face. "How do you feel? Does the wound still hurt badly?"

"Much better, thank you for your concern, section chief." Kashiwagi Jin's heart twitched slightly, but he didn't suspect anything, just took it as routine care from a superior to a capable subordinate.

"Then it's good." Sugishita Ukyo nodded, raised a finger as if casually asking: "By the way, the action report mentioned that among the key evidence, there was an encrypted electronic spreadsheet about the trading company's internal fund flow, found in that underground level two west-side backup server room? I recall that server room has only one entrance, and the guard is strict. How did you break in?"

Kashiwagi Jin's spirit lifted! This question hit his sweet spot!

These past few hours, he had already repeatedly polished the "hero script" in his mind, filling in details to be extremely "realistic"!

"Exactly, that server room!" Kashiwagi Jin said with certainty, eyes heavy with "recollection," "The guard was indeed strict, regular methods couldn't get in. I used a maintenance hatch in their underground ventilation duct! That hatch is very small, well-hidden, at the end of a backup passage piled with junk. I observed for a long time, found that during guard shift changes, that passage has about a few minutes of gap!" He described it vividly, as if on the scene.

This answer was logically clear, rich in detail (ventilation hatch, junk passage, few-minute gap), sounded flawless, perfectly matching a lone hero's infiltration. Kashiwagi Jin even felt a bit proud.

Sugishita Ukyo listened attentively, gave a slight nod: "I see, truly impressive! As expected of Kashiwagi-kun!"

The Investigation Division One chief's gaze lingered on his shifting eyes and fingers rubbing the corner for less than half a second, then moved away.

Just as Kashiwagi Jin struggled to recall his observations of underground facilities when rescued, thinking about how to continue fabricating...

"All right, Kashiwagi." Sugishita Ukyo suddenly spoke up, his tone gentle, even carrying a hint of comfort: "These details are too complex, what you need now is rest, not repeatedly reliving those harrowing scenes."

He stood up, a hint of understanding on his face, even a touch of "sympathy" for his subordinate in a faint smile. "I only wanted to more fully understand your brave process to make the report more complete. But these clearly tire and pressure you. Let's stop here."

He picked up the cup of water that had barely been touched and set it gently beside Kashiwagi Jin: "Drink some water, get some good rest. You've rendered meritorious service to the Metropolitan Police Department, a hero beyond reproach; these trivial details can wait until you've fully recovered and your spirit is better to sort through slowly."

He patted Kashiwagi Jin's shoulder (this time the movement was light, carrying an encouraging meaning), "Investigation Division 1 is waiting for you, this 'national hero', to return to the team soon."

Having said that, Sugishita Ukyo spoke no further, turned, and left the hospital room with steady steps, gently closing the door behind him.

Kashiwagi Jin let out a breath of relief, picked up the water cup and took a sip; that tiny, almost detected flaw that had brought unease was forcibly suppressed by him, and he even felt that Section Chief Sugishita was truly a superior who cared for his subordinates.

Right, where's Meisa? What's he gone off to? Why's it taking so long?!

Strange……

But Kashiwagi Jin soon put his wife's matter out of his mind, scheming how to show off his achievements to Hayakawa Nanami.

Sugishita Ukyo walked out of the hospital room, but did not leave immediately. He stood by the window in the hallway, gazing outside, and calmly took a sip of water from his paper cup.

His lenses reflected the light from outside the window, hiding his eyes. But the corner of his mouth curled into an extremely faint, fleeting, cold arc that seemed to see through everything.

No need to ask further.

No need to spell it out.

That day, although it was baffling, and even Daiwa Bōgu, the SAT, and the Public Security Police couldn't figure out why.

But the server room door storing a massive amount of top-secret classified data was open that day; the Public Security Police walked right in and obtained the data — it wasn't that complicated at all.

Forty minutes later, the seaside food stall.

Director of the Commissioner's Secretariat Onoda Kimiaki and Sugishita Ukyo sat together, in the winter's black night, by the stall's dim lighting, with the distant sound of waves and white steam spraying from the boiling pot, the two old friends happily eating their late-night snack.

"What???"

Hearing Sugishita Ukyo's analysis, Director Onoda's pair of shrewd, calculating small eyes and heavy eye bags narrowed.

"You're saying the Kashiwagi couple risking their lives to cooperate inside and out to crack the Daiwa Bōgu case is very likely fishy?" Director Onoda used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of naruto roll.

"Yes, I just have a feeling... this matter seems... not that simple!"

"Like a... true lie!"

(Chapter End)