Ke Xue: The thief Cao is actually myself

Chapter 528: Losing my love, everything is ruined! (Please give me a monthly ticket!)
"Ah! Is Xiao Wu here?"

Hearing this, Shoji Hatamoto's face was filled with astonishment, his mouth opened so wide that it seemed as if an egg could fit in it, and he couldn't help but exclaim.

His wide-open eyes, like searchlights, scanned the room, trying to catch sight of Xiao Wu.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden news. They looked around in astonishment, their eyes full of confusion and fear.

Hatamoto Ichiro's expression suddenly changed, and his nervousness was beyond words. His hands unconsciously clenched into a pair of pliers, and his knuckles turned white from the force. The uneasiness in his eyes was like a frightened bird, flickering in panic, and in his heart he silently prayed that his carefully planned conspiracy would not be discovered by the perceptive Bai Ye in front of him.

"Mr. Xiao Wu..."

Taking in the expressions on everyone's faces, Bai Ye raised his eyebrows slightly, then cast his gaze towards the tightly closed wardrobe beside him, while raising his voice.

Noticing Bai Ye's gaze, everyone's eyes were focused on the tightly closed door of the closet.

For a moment, the air seemed to solidify into substance. In the silent atmosphere, the only sound that could be heard was the light but rapid breathing of the crowd.

After a moment of stalemate, there was finally movement behind the closet door.

First, the door slowly opened a narrow gap, and a faint light that looked like candlelight came out from the crack. Then, a trembling hand carefully reached out from the inside, and the hand was like an iron hook, tightly grasping the door frame, and the knuckles turned white due to the force, as if the door frame was his only lifeline in this unknown and dangerous situation.

Then, Hatamoto Takeshi's slightly hunched figure slowly appeared in front of everyone.

His clothes were wrinkled, with some dust and stains on them, his hair was a little messy with a few strands of hair sticking to his forehead, with some beads of sweat hanging on them, flickering faintly in the light, as if telling of his previous embarrassment and panic.

His face looked tired and haggard, his eye sockets were sunken and there were heavy dark circles under his eyes, as if he had not closed his eyes for many days. His eyes were full of fear and anxiety, like a frightened hare, vigilantly scanning everyone present.

Seeing him in such a miserable state, Hatamoto Xiajiang felt a sharp pain in his heart and couldn't help but call out softly: "Xiao Wu..."

Even though she felt resentful about Takeshi Hatamoto concealing his identity and approaching her, after all, they had once loved each other. Now seeing each other like this, she couldn't help but feel a little distressed.

"..."

Hearing her gentle call, Hatamoto Takeshi's lips trembled slightly, as if he had a thousand words to say, but they were suppressed by the panic and pain in his heart like a surging tide. He could only make a slight "woooo" sound, like a wounded little animal whimpering in pain, which made people feel pity.

Bai Ye spoke again, his voice calm and steady, interrupting the gaze between the two, "Mr. Xiao Wu..."

Staring at Xiao Wu, Bai Ye said calmly, "Please explain to everyone how you disappeared from the warehouse."

Hatamoto Takeshi took a deep breath, as if trying to gather courage, and raised his head slightly, fear still lingering in his eyes, like a frightened deer, as he explained: "Because I really wanted to say a few words to Hatamoto Natsue, and suddenly I didn't want to be locked in the warehouse, so I desperately tried to break out, but I found that the door was not locked, so I rushed out."

"But when I walked onto the deck, I heard that everyone thought I had killed Long Nan. I thought it would be even harder for me to escape the accusation, so I had to flee back into the ship. At that moment, I saw that the door of this room was open, so I hid in Qiu Jiang's room and hid in the closet."

Hatamoto Shoji frowned and asked in confusion, "So, who is the real murderer of Ichiro?"

Logically speaking, Ichiro Hatamoto was a cowardly and incompetent person, and no one would attack him unless there was a deep hatred.

If the person who assassinated Ichiro Hatamoto was not Takeshi Hatamoto, then who was it?
Mariko Hatamoto's eyes widened with anger, her face burning like a flame, "Who is this person? Why did he even want to kill Ichiro?"

She clenched her hands into fists, as if she was going to eat the murderer alive. She was like a volcano about to erupt, with raging rage about to burst out, as if to burn everything around her to ashes.

Bai Ye looked calm and said calmly: "In fact, that was the biggest mistake the murderer made."

Mariko Hatamoto widened her eyes, her face full of disbelief, "Mistake?"

She didn't quite understand what Bai Ye meant by this.

"Hmm..." Bai Ye nodded slightly and continued to speak calmly, "Because the door of the warehouse was opened, I originally wanted Xiao Wu to take all the responsibility, but now that the door is opened, it means that Xiao Wu has an accomplice."

"As a result, the real murderer, who originally thought he was safe, began to worry that he would also be suspected. So, in that panic, the real murderer came up with a method that he thought would rid himself of suspicion."

"And this method was to assassinate Ichiro in the dark, but he never expected that this incident would eventually become the beginning of his own grave. In the dark, Ichiro really couldn't see the murderer's face, but the murderer knew Ichiro's position in advance, so he could accurately stab him. This is the flaw."

"Also, the location where the murder weapon fell is different from the previous two murders. The murderer did not take the murder weapon away like before. Why is that? It's because his leg was injured and he couldn't handle the murder weapon and destroy the evidence as usual. Do you understand?"

When Hatamoto Akiie heard this, she took a deep breath and blinked several times, as if she was trying to digest the news. Her brows knitted tightly together, and she suddenly realized something in her heart, as if a flash of inspiration flashed through her mind, "Could it be..."

Bai Ye nodded, confirming her guess, "Yes, the one who assassinated Ichiro was actually him! The one who killed Master Gozo and Mr. Long Nan was actually Mr. Ichiro."

As he spoke, Bai Ye's mouth corners slightly raised, outlining a meaningful arc, and turned to look at Hatamoto Ichiro, with a trace of scrutiny and inquiry in his eyes, "Why? Do you have anything else to say?"

Upon hearing this, Mariko Hatamoto was extremely shocked, "Ichi...Ichiro..."

Bai Ye's words were so clear. If she still couldn't understand that the murderer was her own son, Ichiro Hatamoto, then she would be too stupid.

"You deliberately created total darkness so that you can't say who the murderer is." Bai Ye said calmly, "Because if you say that you were stabbed by Xiao Wu, if Xiao Wu is proven innocent in the future, you will be in trouble. Am I right, Mr. Ichiro?"

I have to say that Ichiro Hatamoto's plan was very good, but it was a pity that he met him.

This is like a carefully choreographed chess game. Ichiro thought he was the chess player in control of the overall situation, but he didn't expect that Bai Ye had already seen through his every move and was just waiting for the critical moment to kill him in one fell swoop.

"..."

Ichiro Hatamoto was terrified, his body trembling slightly, like a candle in the wind that could go out at any time.

He never thought that Bai Ye could actually identify him as the murderer, nor did he expect that all his careful preparations would become his biggest flaw. He was like being trapped in a web he had woven, unable to extricate himself.

For a moment, his heart was filled with despair and regret, as if he saw his future crumbling before his eyes and turning into ruins. Hatamoto Mariko was so angry that she trembled all over and shouted angrily: "You are talking nonsense! What evidence do you have to prove that Ichiro is the murderer!"

But her slightly trembling lips seemed to hint that her heart was not as calm as she appeared to be.

Obviously, Bai Ye's words just now were not in vain. They had already made her a little shaken about this shocking truth. It was as if a seed was quietly planted in her heart, began to take root and sprout, and slowly eroded her originally firm belief.

"This is the evidence!"

Bai Ye and Conan looked at each other, and then Conan understood and took out the eraser he found in Ichiro Hatamoto's room and showed it to everyone.

"Take a look at the bread crumbs found next to Master Gozo's body."

Looking at the bread crumbs kept in the handkerchief, Mariko Hatamoto was puzzled, "Bread crumbs?"

Didn't you say you were going to show her the evidence? Why show her this bread crumb?
Could it be that this bread crumb was the murder weapon of her father?

Bai Ye patiently explained, "Ichiro was a student at the University of Fine Arts, and he had been painting before Gozo-sensei was killed. When he was drawing with charcoal, he often used bread crumbs as erasers, so it was easy for them to stick to his body. These bread crumbs were dropped when Ichiro killed Gozo-sensei. They are all stuck to Gozo-sensei's blood, and these bread crumbs are all stained with charcoal, so they must have been dropped by Ichiro."

Mariko Hatamoto's face was covered in sweat, as if a basin of hot water had been poured over her head. "But what was his motive for killing my father?"

Bai Ye's words were so clear, his reasoning was logical and rigorous, and the evidence was irrefutable. Even if she wanted to refute it, it would be difficult for her to find a suitable reason.

This truth hit her like a bolt from the blue, turning her world upside down in an instant.

She was in a deep struggle. On the one hand, she had love and trust for her son, and on the other hand, she had the ironclad facts before her.

"I didn't know about this until the very end. I went to Ichiro's room to check and found something by accident."

Ichiro Hatamoto's face was covered in sweat and his expression changed drastically, as if he had been struck by lightning, and all the blood color was instantly lost.

He knew that his biggest secret was about to be revealed, but he had nowhere to escape.

Mariko Hatamoto was puzzled. "One thing?"

Bai Ye looked up at Mao Lilan beside him and motioned her to show everyone the picture album she found in Ichiro's room.

"That was Ichiro's motive for killing Master Gozo."

Hatamoto Akiie came forward and asked curiously, "You said there is a motive in the painting?"

Bai Ye looked solemn and said in a deep voice: "The problem lies in the content of the painting!"

"What's the content?"

Hatamoto Akie couldn't wait to take the album and began to flip through it.

Seeing this, Ichiro Hatamoto shouted in fear, trying to stop her: "No!"

However, Hatamoto Akiie didn't like him very much in the first place, so how could she be willing to let him get what he wanted?

Not to mention, right now, he is suffering from leg problems due to an injury.

Having easily avoided Hatamoto Ichiro, Hatamoto Natsue began to carefully flip through the album.

As he watched, Hatamoto Akiie opened his mouth in surprise, "I... I know! These paintings... are all of Hatamoto Natsue!"

When these words were spoken, Hatamoto Natsue's face was filled with surprise, and his heart was filled with confusion and shock. He didn't understand why Ichiro would paint so many portraits of himself.

"No!"

Ichiro Hatamoto rushed over, snatched the album like a mad beast, then fell to his knees and burst into tears, his tears full of despair and pain.

Seeing this scene, Mariko Hatamoto was stunned, "What! Ichiro... Ichiro... you..."

She never thought that her son would actually fall in love with Hatamoto Natsue! This sudden truth was like a bombshell, shattering her originally calm heart and setting off a storm. She felt mixed emotions, not knowing whether to be angry at her son's actions or to feel sad for his experience.

Taking a deep breath, Bai Ye said slowly: "Yes, in fact, Ichiro likes Miss Hatamoto Natsue very much."

Hatamoto Natsue looked at Hatamoto Ichiro who was kneeling on the ground in disbelief, his eyes full of confusion and shock, "Ichiro, you..."

She never imagined that her relative, Ichiro Hatamoto, would actually like her, and liked her so much that every painting he drew was of her!
Bai Ye sighed slightly and continued, "I heard from the butler that Ichiro once expressed his love for Miss Hatamoto Natsue to Master Gozo."

Hatamoto Ichiro hugged the album tightly, his body shaking with violent sobs, and cried out in tears: "Yes, you are right, I hope to marry Miss Hatamoto Natsue. But my grandfather flatly refused me. He said that he would not let his beloved Hatamoto Natsue marry a brat like me, saying that I have no future."

"And not long after, Hatamoto Natsue's marriage was announced. Yesterday, when I was drawing Hatamoto Natsue on the deck, my grandfather told me that if something is impossible to do, I should just give up and stop dreaming about things that are impossible to achieve."

As he spoke, Ichiro Hatamoto's face twisted into a hideous and horrible expression, and his gloomy expression seemed to be filled with endless darkness and hatred. His eyes flashed with resentment, and he gnashed his teeth and roared, "I will never forgive Grandpa. He actually forbade me to marry Hatamoto Natsue! And Xiaowu who snatched Hatamoto Natsue away is also unforgivable!"

When he said this, he subconsciously glanced at Bai Ye, and a hint of resentment and hatred flashed in his eyes, but it was fleeting, and then he roared hysterically again.

"Unforgivable! Unforgivable! Grandpa, I hate you!"

(End of this chapter)