I became the emperor in the comic book series.

At the zoo entrance, Akira Higashino bought his tickets, grabbed a visitor's guide, and walked into the zoo with Saki Kawasaki.

Perhaps sensing that the man wasn't interested in excessive makeup, the girl simply used some skincare products and applied lip balm before going out, making her look exceptionally youthful and charming.

In addition, Akira Higashino bought her a bunch of clothes when he played the live-action version of Love Nikki last time. Although most of them were not suitable for going out in public, a small number of them were relatively normal, just a bit too cute. Aside from making Saki Kawasaki, who was already a high school student, feel a little embarrassed by this style of dressing, as if she was trying to look young, it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

She would normally be too embarrassed to dress like this, but today she was meeting this person after all.

After being apart for more than a month, Kawasaki Saki, who had already gotten used to that kind of relationship, would occasionally have some thoughts about it, though she didn't say it out loud.

As long as a girl doesn't reject the other person in her heart, she will also have desires and needs.

As a result, Kawasaki Saki subtly became more proactive today. Her face remained expressionless, but she had already taken the initiative to reach out and hold Higashino Akira's arm, moving closer and gently pressing her body against his.

Akira Higashino wasn't oblivious; he could naturally sense the girl's change. He simply smiled at her, causing Saki Kawasaki, who already had some ulterior motives, to blush slightly on her fair face.

Just as I was about to say something, a familiar voice suddenly came from beside me.

"Oh my, isn't this Higashino-kun?"

"I never thought I'd run into you here after all these years since graduation. It's been so long!"

Early in the morning, the sun was shining brightly. Yang Nai, who rarely had any free time, took her younger sister's hand and led her to the zoo to relax. They had just come out of the panda enclosure with great enthusiasm.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she waved to a familiar figure not far away, then walked over with her younger sister, Yukino.

Akira Higashino turned his head and saw the woman who had been a prominent figure in his class and school during his high school years.

"It's Yukinoshita. It's been a long time."

"Just call me Haruno. You're really something, still so cold."

Haruno shook her head, sighed as if regretful, and then proudly pushed her younger sister in front of her, "Come, come, let me introduce you. This is my younger sister, Yukino Yukinoshita. Isn't she cute?"

What does it mean?

I have more sisters than you, and they have better personalities than yours. I've bragged about that.

Higashino Akira gave a polite smile and nodded, "You are indeed cute. You two look quite alike, but your temperaments are a bit different."

"Right?" Yukinoshita Haruno smiled smugly, her face beaming with genuine joy.

It's clear that she has pure blood from the old swindler Ye family.

Noticing that her old classmate was accompanied by a girl with dark brown hair, Haruno asked him curiously, "Is this your sister?"

"She's my girlfriend."

Akira Higashino noticed that ever since she saw Yukino Yukinoshita, Saki Kawasaki, who was holding his arm, had unconsciously tightened her grip, clearly indicating that her emotions had been affected and she was somewhat nervous.

Therefore, Higashino Akira did not hide anything or have anything he couldn't say. He openly acknowledged his relationship with her, thus avoiding any possibility of making her feel embarrassed.

Upon hearing this, Yukinoshita Hiyori slightly widened her eyes, her gaze shifting between the two of them.

"Oh dear... this is really... if Xiao Jing finds out, she might be heartbroken for a long time."

She smiled meaningfully, "After all, another of my students has started dating, and it's Higashino-kun who used to pay the least attention to this kind of thing."

Considering that these two have a teacher-student relationship, a friend relationship, and even occasional slightly inappropriate tendencies, yet their relationship has never progressed to a more complex one, it seems that if Higashino already has a lover, then Shizuka has lost again.

Hesitation inevitably leads to defeat.

I've been telling her to be braver for ages, but she wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened.

Thinking this to herself, Yukino Haruno did not intend to interfere in other people's relationships. She kept the matter to herself and did not show any change in expression.

On the contrary, when Yukino Yukinoshita heard the introduction of her girlfriend, she carefully looked at her sister's classmate, paused for a moment, and then turned her gaze to Saki Kawasaki, greeting her softly.

"Hello... Kawasaki-kun."

Kawasaki Saki nodded at her with a somewhat indifferent expression. "Hello, Yukinoshita-kun."

The conversation between the two was lukewarm, not at all enthusiastic, and continued purely out of politeness to avoid embarrassing the people around them.

Otherwise, Saki Kawasaki herself didn't like Yukino Yukinoshita, this aloof and unapproachable young lady, and usually didn't bother to say much when they met.

Seeing this, Yukinoshita Haruno raised an eyebrow and asked, "You two know each other?"

Yukino nodded slightly. "Kawasaki is a classmate in Class F of the second year of Sobu High School. The Service Club had a brief encounter with her before because of a request."

Upon hearing this, Yukino's pupils trembled slightly. Soubu High School? And isn't this the class that Shizuka teaches? This is terrible. If Shizuka finds out about this, she might not only be sad, but she might even be a little angry.

Chapter Sixty-One: The Family Found Another Cat

While a turbulent undercurrent stirred within Yukino, she maintained an elegant and composed smile on her face and said in a half-joking manner.

"That's great, Higashino-kun is in love too."

"But now that you have such a cute girlfriend like Kawasaki, you can't try to hit on our Yukino anymore..."

Higashino Akira smiled politely but remained silent.

Are you kidding me? I'd rather choose Haruno than Yukino, okay? What's the point of hitting on her?

Is it because she's sarcastic? Or because she's cold? Or because she has small breasts?

Kawasaki Saki looked at Yukinoshita Haruno with a blank expression, seemingly indifferent, but her ears were actually slightly red from the teasing of this older sister.

She had to admit that although she had convinced herself that she had no other choice and the man had no intention of letting her go, it was just a matter of not having freedom in her feelings. At worst, she could try to accept him. After all, he was young and not ugly, so she wouldn't lose out.

In the past, when Akira Higashino told her that if she couldn't hide their relationship from others, she could just tell them that they were a couple, Saki Kawasaki just listened as a psychological comfort.

But when she actually encountered such a situation and saw him introduce himself as his girlfriend to people he knew without hesitation, Saki Kawasaki couldn't help but feel a little moved.

At least in his heart, he still cares about her and is a responsible person. Although his feelings are somewhat twisted, realistic, unfaithful, and unconventional, he doesn't just treat her as a tool to vent his desires.

As for Yukinoshita's younger sister, Saki Kawasaki felt no emotion whatsoever, while Yukinoshita was too young to be touched.

Not to mention that her relationship with this man was inherently unequal and abnormal, and she had no right to talk about possessiveness.

Based on her nearly three months of experience with Higashino Akira, it's clear that he prefers women who are larger, a little bit voluptuous, and have a softer personality. In this respect, compared to Yukino Yukinoshita, Saki Kawasaki feels that she has a significant advantage.

His personality is too strong; it's impossible for him to like another girl who is also too strong-willed and independent.

For some reason, Yukino Yukinoshita sensed a faint malice, not evil, but offensive.

She reached out and gently tugged at Yang Nai, her cool and pretty face serious. "Sister, don't joke like that!"

"I'm sorry, I'll stop now. It was rude of me."

Seeing this, Haruno readily put her hands together in a gesture of apology, then looked at Higashino Akira and Kawasaki Saki beside her, "By the way, where are you two going next? How about we go together?"

Higashino declined Yukinoshita Haruno's request to accompany him, partly because he had only come to the zoo one last time to check if there were any abnormalities that Kouno and Koyu had not noticed before.

Several groups of people were dispatched to investigate two or three times, but there were no problems. With so many tourists every day and no one getting into trouble, the probability of this zoo having any problems is actually very small.

His main purpose was to accompany Kawasaki Saki on her date. After that, he planned to take her home for a duo ride. What kind of couple would want two third wheels following them on a date?

On the other hand, the Yukinoshita sisters' next destination was to see giant pandas. What's so interesting about those things? In his previous life, when he traveled to Sichuan and stayed at a villager's homestay, he even touched a real panda. He had long since lost interest in those silly creatures.

As for Saki Kawasaki, she was originally interested in giant pandas, but she was not interested at all in going with Yukino Yukinoshita. Even if she wanted to see pandas, she would go at a different time than Yukino Yukinoshita.

Following the visitor guide, the two strolled along, occasionally buying souvenirs or feeding the animals in the park.

Occasionally, when taking photos, Kawasaki Saki would hand her phone to Higashino Akira and ask him to be her photographer. However, when she saw the various unflattering photos taken by his camera, which were taken from terrible angles, Kawasaki Saki was so angry that she gritted her teeth and turned into a giant mushroom, her little face puffed up with resentment as she stared at him the whole way.

Leisurely, after exploring the zoo to our hearts' content, it was already afternoon.

Visiting a zoo isn't very interesting. The animals and the park itself have a certain odor, and you can smell a faint stench if you get close. What's more, it gets quite hot after noon when the sun is shining and the temperature is rising. Animal exhibits with high visitor traffic are crowded and you have to wait in line for a long time.

However, time flies when you're with interesting people.

After a long and tiring day, Kawasaki Saki had no intention of continuing her shopping. She leaned weakly against Higashino Akira, her face flushed, as she looked through the photos on her phone. In the end, she refused to let this idiot be the photographer, so apart from a few selfies, most of the photos were of various small animals.

The two walked towards the zoo's main exit, where the shuttle bus was already waiting.

When they reached the gate, the two encountered Yukinoshita Haruno again, but this time she was alone and her sister Yukinoshita Yukino was not there. She was anxiously talking to a zoo staff member.

A cat kept rubbing against her calves, trying to get her attention, but Yukinoshita ignored it and almost stepped on the kitten several times when she moved her feet.

Upon seeing Akira Higashino, Haruno Yukinoshita quickly walked towards him. "Um, have you guys seen Yukino? She said she was going to the restroom, and then we suddenly couldn't contact her..."

The cat at Yukino's feet kept meowing, trying to get her attention, but Yukino, who was anxious, kept ignoring it.

Upon seeing this, Higashino Akira's brow twitched suddenly, as if he had thought of something, and he used his Qi Observation skill on the cat.

[Name:???]

[Age: 17]

[Air-assisted aircraft]

It's very close. Xiangzi was like that before; in cat form, his real name couldn't be identified.

While it cannot be definitively confirmed that this cat is Yukino Yukinoshita, its golden fur and lively, energetic appearance suggest a certain charm.

What's more, it's so eager to keep trying to get close to Haruno in order to attract her attention.

The problem is that Higashino Akira had already toured the entire zoo and hadn't noticed anything unusual. No special connections had formed during the tour, and even after using his spiritual attribute to enhance his understanding of actively using his aura and increasing his aura endurance, no abnormal information appeared when he used his aura observation skill throughout the entire zoo.

How did the snow under the snow turn into a cat?

Akira Higashino remained calm and told Yukino Yukinoshita that he had not seen any trace of her. Then, he quietly watched her turn and walk towards the broadcasting station with the staff. He grabbed the cat that was trying to follow, held its belly, picked it up, and ran his fingers across its lower abdomen without leaving a trace.

No fur balls, no surgical scars, it's a female kitten.

Okay, so now it's basically confirmed.

Family, I've found another cat.

Holding her in the hand of this unfamiliar senior, especially with his hands groping her inappropriately, and watching her older sister walk further and further away, Yukino Yukinoshita struggled desperately.

"Unless you want to harm her, you'd better keep quiet."

Akira Higashino spoke calmly, instantly silencing all of Yukino Yukinoshita's resistance.

Yukino Yukinoshita, who had transformed into a kitten, suddenly turned around and looked at him with surprise and uncertainty.

However, Akira Higashino did not continue to elaborate on this point. Instead, he took the cat and Saki Kawasaki out of the zoo and got into a car that had just pulled up and stopped. The driver got out and opened the car door to welcome him in.

They didn't leave; they just waited quietly at the zoo entrance.

After hearing the zoo's missing person announcements for several rounds without success, all the zoo staff, who had no fixed workstations or restricted activity areas, started searching everywhere.

In the end, even police sirens sounded from afar, and a large number of police officers, accompanied by police dogs, rushed into the park to search the area.

Normally, the police wouldn't be able to arrive this quickly, let alone so many people with police dogs. But since she's missing, she is, after all, the daughter of the Yukinoshita family. Although the Yukinoshita family is just a local powerful family and not much in Tokyo, they are not completely powerless to mobilize any political influence.

The search and rescue operation, of course, yielded nothing.

Akira Higashino quietly observed the changes in the garden, while Yukino Yukinoshita silently watched him. Although Saki Kawasaki didn't understand anything and didn't know what was happening, she sensibly refrained from interrupting to ask questions when she saw Akira Higashino's serious expression.

Outside the window, a manager gently knocked on the car window.

"Hello, parking is not allowed here, please move your car as soon as possible..."

Before he could finish speaking, the driver, wearing sunglasses, silently rolled down the window, pulled out a stack of bills, and held them out, interrupting his speech. He then waved him aside, indicating that he should take the money and move to the side, not stay there and get in the way.

Looking at the thick stack of banknotes, the staff member looked serious, respectfully took them with both hands, and then walked to the front of the car and bowed deeply at a 90-degree angle.

"Wishing you a pleasant life and a successful career. Please feel free to ask if you need anything. I'll be waiting for you in the guard post next door."

After saying that, he hid the money in his pocket, turned around, grinned, and ran back to his workstation.

Parking violation?

Who violated the rules?

Anyway, I didn't see it.

Just kidding, this stack of bills is more than his monthly salary. A mere parking violation, even if he gets caught, will at most get him a scolding from his boss.

How can someone refuse money just to avoid being scolded!

The car window closed again, and inside, Saki Kawasaki looked dazed.

Finally, the police cars began to disperse. Yukino Yukinoshita walked out of the zoo, her figure swaying and looking lost. Outside, a middle-aged couple had been waiting silently for a long time. When they saw her, they walked straight over to her. Then they saw their eldest daughter shaking her head at them with a gloomy expression.

Seeing that she was alright, Higashino Akira decided not to observe any further and had the driver drive away.

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P.S.: 3000 words, still 23 chapters short. Keep working on it, there will be more tonight.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Strange Tales of Zoo Rules?

They didn't even realize that the snow under the snow was the cause of the anomaly. To talk about it in detail near the zoo is just plain stupid.