Chapter 58
Who?
Who was it?
Who was that man in her room?
If anyone had unfortunately passed by the hallway, they would have been terrified. The blond young man’s expression at this moment was exceptionally horrifying.
The floral scent that filled the corridor lingered for a long time. The fragrance came not only from the bouquet of flower branches the girl held in her arms, but also from her, who had been completely imbued with the scent in the flower grove.
An’an had planned to go see the plum blossoms today, and she had indeed gone.
It was as if the matter of her boyfriend becoming her ex-boyfriend had not affected her plans at all. She had just replaced him with someone else.
A neighbor is a very close relationship, but there is an even closer relationship than a neighbor—living together.
Calm down. Calm down, Furuya Rei.
It had only been the third day of the breakup. No matter how quickly the girl moved on, she couldn’t have accelerated to the point of living together in one go. Don’t scare yourself.
Furuya recalled the layout of An’an’s apartment. There were two bedrooms. She lived in the master bedroom with the balcony, and the second bedroom was set up as a guest room.
There were no signs of anyone living in the second bedroom, but An’an had no intention of converting it into a study or a walk-in closet. It had always been kept as a guest room.
“Maybe there will be a need for an overnight stay someday,” the dark-haired girl had explained vaguely.
This sentence had no subject, but it wasn’t about Furuya. As her neighbor and boyfriend, even if he stayed the night, he would definitely be sleeping in An’an’s master bedroom.
The second bedroom was prepared for that man.
They had known each other before An’an had moved into the Trojan Horse Apartments.
Could it be… her childhood sweetheart from her hometown?
The childhood sweetheart had come to the big city first to make a living. She had specially left a room for him in her rented apartment, so that when he came to the city, the two of them could live together directly…
Furuya: What kind of man relies on a girl for support? An’an’s taste is definitely not that bad!
“Is it a relative?” the blond Public Security officer frowned, analyzing.
She had many relatives active in Beika Town. The compatibility of the Fan family and the crime city of Beika was imaginable. It was reasonable for An’an, who had settled in Beika, to keep a guest room for her relatives.
“The man living with Miss Fan An? I hear he’s her distant cousin. He’ll be staying at her place for a while,” the apartment manager said.
After being invaded by paparazzi once, the Trojan Horse Apartments had strengthened its personnel management. Any strange face that appeared had to be registered with the manager.
Furuya: “A distant cousin?”
How distant?
The Manager: “The kind of distant where there’s no blood relation?”
At the very least, his registered name didn’t start with “Fan.”
Hiromitsu: Because that was the result of my life-or-death struggle.
After molding Mentor Scotch’s face, Fan An had decided to give him a fake name that was more in line with the Fan family’s temperament.
“I’ve thought of a good name,” Fan An had had a flash of inspiration. “Hiro died because of the ruthless distillery, and was reborn because of it. Even your fake name must reflect your determination to turn against the distillery!”
“Therefore, I bestow upon you the name [Fan Pan Zhe], a homophone for ‘rebel.’ What do you think?”
(T/N: “Fan Pan Zhe” literally means “criminal rebel person.”)
Hiromitsu, who had lived for over twenty years, had finally experienced the fear of being dominated by a pun.
Fan An’s family was truly terrifying. Every name recorded in the family tree was so chilling that one didn’t dare to think about it in detail.
The codename literature that the distillery had cultivated for a century was no match for their casual puns.
The name Fan Pan Zhe, Hiromitsu had politely but firmly refused. Even if he was suspected by Zero, he couldn’t make this decision to betray his ancestors.
Fan An had given up with regret. Even Hiro has his tasteless moments. Sigh, no one is perfect.
…
It had to be said, Hiromitsu’s arrival was very timely. Director Yuko’s new drama was a hit. An’an had been taken by her to attend various events during this period, as busy as a spinning top.
Hiromitsu served as her agent, assistant, and bodyguard, accompanying her everywhere, inseparable.
After a full day of recording a variety show promotion yesterday, An’an had come home and fallen asleep instantly. Hiromitsu had knocked on the master bedroom door a few times and gotten no answer, so he had gone out to do some shopping alone.
“The carrots are very fresh today, and the broccoli is not bad either,” Hiromitsu thought, considering the lunch menu. “Should I make pasta with cream sauce?”
The supermarket was crowded. Hiromitsu’s disguised appearance was unremarkable, blending in with the crowd.
Therefore, he could sensitively sense that someone was watching him.
Hiromitsu nonchalantly glanced over, but found nothing unusual.
He did not let his guard down and secretly used the tracking and anti-tracking skills he had learned at the police academy to continue observing.
Upon observation, he discovered that the other party was also an expert in tracking and anti-tracking skills.
Especially outstanding, very much like a certain person who had graduated first in his class at the police academy.
Hiromitsu: “…”
He calmly put the carrots into the shopping cart, pretending he had discovered nothing.
…
Furuya Rei was not intentionally following him.
He had arrived at the supermarket earlier than An’an’s distant cousin and was also doing his weekly shopping.
Vegetables, meat, snacks… no, no snacks.
The blond young man put the junk food he had almost put in his shopping cart back on the shelf.
If An’an were here, she would definitely have taken the opportunity to grab a whole armful of chips and dump them into the shopping cart, hovering over it like a mother hen, fiercely protecting her precious food reserves. “No take-backs! You can’t put them back!”
The girl, who only cared about quantity and not quality, often didn’t look at the chip flavors in detail. But it wasn’t a big problem. Someone would help her deal with the strange flavors.
Furuya: I’m about to lose my concept of normal chips…
He pushed his shopping cart past the snack aisle. A familiar figure caught his eye.
An’an’s distant cousin.
His purple-gray eyes locked on the target. He didn’t see the dark-haired girl.
How rare, Furuya thought with a blank expression. To think this person would act alone.
He’s with An’an all day long. What kind of cousin is so clingy to his cousin? Don’t you have your own life?
Hiromitsu had to admit that Zero’s tracking skills were even more refined than he had thought. It was absolutely impossible to catch an undercover Public Security officer in the act.
But, Hiromitsu thought hesitantly, Should I remind Zero that tracking skills have their limits?
Anyone would be able to notice the death glare of a gloomy ghost behind them.
His friend’s hostility was so great. How could Hiromitsu not know what he was thinking?
Mentor Scotch: My native language is speechless.
Stop torturing an honest person, you damned little couple! He’s really given too much for this family.
During yesterday’s variety show recording, the male lead, Ohara, had not given up and had tried to stir up trouble again. He had deliberately asked about An’an’s relationship status.
“I’m doing great. Couldn’t be better,” the dark-haired girl had smiled.
She might have thought her smile was sweet and generous, friendly and lively. In fact, a black, muddy malice had almost gushed out of her jet-black pupils. The overflowing resentment had floated above the studio, scaring the director into immediately cutting the camera.
Hiromitsu: Why did you have to provoke her?
Cheering An’an up is very simple. She would smile when she ate a delicious snack, laugh until she couldn’t stand up straight when she watched a manzai competition on TV, and be overjoyed when she met fans who enthusiastically expressed their love for her.
But these happy moments could only last for a short time. The TV was still playing a witty monologue, but Hiromitsu found that the sofa was silent. He turned his head to look.
The dark-haired girl, leaning listlessly against a pillow, was staring blankly, completely unmotivated.
This is what a breakup does.
A breakup turns a person into a ghost.
An’an was fine. She only got emo occasionally and wouldn’t torture Hiromitsu.
But Hiromitsu’s best friend, childhood friend, and comrade-in-arms was different.
Hostility.
Clear hostility.
Even being a “distant cousin” was useless. The hostility was naked.
Hiromitsu gave up on the idea of making pasta with cream sauce for dinner. He decided to cook dumplings.
No need for vinegar. Let An’an dip them in the air around her ex-boyfriend.
“To be so jealous. It’s a wonder he could say the words of a breakup at that time,” Hiromitsu was a little impressed with Zero.
He probably thought he could handle it calmly…
Hiromitsu (with pity): It’s already amazing that you could last for a second before breaking down. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
An’an, who had woken up after sleeping through the variety show recording, ate the freshly made dumplings.
Her: The dumplings are delicious, but why is there no vinegar?
Mentor Scotch didn’t explain. He just said there was no vinegar at home. If she wanted to dip them in vinegar, she could go next door and borrow some.
“Forget it,” An’an said, slowly eating the plain dumplings.
Furuya had really wronged the distant cousin. The distant cousin was someone who would sit at the elders’ table at a future banquet. How could he not create an opportunity for his friend?
The girl didn’t fall for it.
She was sad about the breakup, and she got emo, but she had a lot of backbone. She would never beg for a reconciliation.
“I’ll get over this sooner or later,” An’an said with conviction. “Time heals all wounds. In a few months, I’ll be able to knock on his door to borrow vinegar without batting an eye.”
Hiromitsu: “What if I asked you to go now?”
An’an: “I would run away in shame and jump on a train to Izumo to run back to my hometown.”
Mentor Scotch patted the dejected cat’s head with pity.
…
Coincidentally, just as Furuya had chosen high-intensity work to numb himself, Fan An had also become unprecedentedly active in the entertainment industry.
Director Yuko thought of her for every good thing. First, she took Fan An to various promotional events for the new drama, and then she introduced her to her friends in the industry.
“Based on the current viewership ratings and your popularity, you can already consider moving on to the next stage of your career,” Director Yuko said decisively. “An’an, are you interested in acting in a movie?”
“The movie circle is where the real A-listers are,” she said, holding up a finger. “There’s nothing that shows your strength more than box office appeal. For example, Sharon. Have you ever seen her in a drama?”
Director Yuko: “Speaking of which, Sharon is very interested in you. Have you met her yet?”
Fan An shook her head. Director Yuko was filled with longing again. “If one day, you and Sharon were to act on the same stage… just thinking about it makes me so excited I could die!”
Sharon Vineyard, a legendary actress, a great senior in the industry.
“Maybe one day,” Fan An said.
Director Yuko was her career fan. Fan An had been very active in taking on jobs lately. Through Director Yuko’s introduction, she had auditioned for a well-regarded suspense movie series, for the new villain role in this installment.
The new director went from “Is that all?” to “Promise me you won’t go to jail in the middle of filming—we’ll sign the contract right away!” in less than ten minutes.
“Congratulations,” Hiromitsu, who was acting as her assistant, handed An’an a glass of water. As she was drinking and listening to the director, a crew member rushed over.
“The hotel is surrounded by paparazzi!”
The crew member said to An’an with a headache, “The moment the paparazzi heard the news about you, teacher, they swarmed over like sharks smelling blood. We can’t even drive them away.”
An’an was surprised. “They’ve failed so many times. Haven’t they suffered enough in Beika Town?”
The Crew Member: They have, teacher. Otherwise, the paparazzi wouldn’t have waited until you left Beika to swarm over.
“Let’s split up,” Hiromitsu suggested. “I should be able to draw some of them away.”
A diversionary tactic, to create the illusion that An’an had left the hotel with him, and then the girl would sneak away.
An’an nodded. She immediately put on a mask and a hood.
Hiromitsu felt it was difficult for her. If she doesn’t cover herself, her face alone is enough to attract attention. But fully armed, she becomes Assassin’s Creed, a super-conspicuous package.
“I wish I had my robber’s mask,” the girl sighed. Her beloved hat was next door, and she hadn’t gotten it back.
Hiromitsu: Stop it. Don’t add any more buffs to yourself.
Mentor Scotch left, looking back every step of the way, worried.
An’an waited in the hotel for a while. Through the window, she saw the crowd outside gradually dispersing. She pulled her mask up high and went out with her head down.
“Senior, everyone’s gone. Shouldn’t we go too?”
“Idiot! It might be a diversionary tactic! I’m not going back empty-handed!”
“Don’t be lazy! Quick, see if there are any suspicious people in the hotel.”
“Yes, senior! Let me see—ah! There’s a suspicious person over there!”
“It’s just a janitor. Not everyone who wears a mask is a suspicious person.”
“What about that one over there?”
“With my ten years of experience as a paparazzi: a hay fever patient.”
“I see. Then this Assassin’s Creed cosplayer, with a black mask covering her face and a hood, must not be a suspicious person either.”
“A teachable child… my ass! Get her!”
Unbelievable. Miss An, who was not a suspect, was being chased for her life. Even Inspector Megure hadn’t tried this hard to catch her.
“Does it count as self-defense if I fight back?” the dark-haired girl asked, taking out one hand to search for the law online as she ran.
Although she didn’t find a single law that allowed her to kill, Miss An was still filled with evil thoughts.
The criminal law that had once been her bedtime story was long gone, along with her ex-boyfriend. The outlaw was about to make her grand entrance!
A hand grabbed An’an’s wrist and pulled her into a storage room disguised as a wall.
“Thank you,” An’an said, relieved. She looked up.
Furuya Rei: “…You’re welcome.”