Tokyo: Starting with taking on his wife's debts

He immediately made a nasal sound: "Mmm."

"May I ask who you are...?"

"I am Hideaki Yamanaka. What do you want with me? If it's about collecting debts, that's not your police station's jurisdiction!"

"Eh?! Oh! I'm so sorry to bother you..."

beep--

I guess he's a trainee police officer.

Xiuming silently put down the phone and pulled the cord off.

He felt somewhat heavy-hearted; even without identifying the deceased, he was already suspicious.

They might come to check on things, and if you want to keep your identity, you'll have to rely on Mrs. Riko's cooperation.

Xiuming sat quietly in the living room for about three minutes, then returned to the master bedroom, opened his briefcase, took out Xiuming's suicide note, read it word by word, and then took out a ballpoint pen to add a few words of entrustment at the end, imitating the handwriting.

Unfortunately, the handwriting is so different that even an illiterate person could tell it was written by two different people.

If you read and interpret it with the mindset of adding something later, it will all look like a courtship proposal.

"Forget it, let's just tie her up if she dares to call the police once she's inside!"

Xiuming threw the letter onto the mattress, then went into the unused children's room and found a red nylon rope in the pile of clutter.

Xiuming hadn't eaten breakfast yet when he went into the kitchen again. He found a bag of udon noodles, a bag of flour (which looked like bread flour), and an oven that hadn't been used once in the cupboard.

I also found two cucumbers, a tomato, and half a bunch of wilted spinach in the refrigerated display case.

Xiuming cooked a bowl of udon noodles, served it with spinach, and added a poached egg.

As he carried the food out of the kitchen, the bedroom door clicked softly.

Xiuming immediately retreated to the kitchen and crouched down to observe.

Mrs. Riko lowered her head and changed into slippers. Just as she was getting up, she suddenly froze, reached into the shoe cabinet, and took out a pair of blue canvas shoes.

She tilted her head, seemingly puzzled.

Xiuming quickly put down his rice bowl, pulled a rope from his waist, and rushed over in three steps at a time.

The floorboards thumped underfoot, and Riko turned around at the same moment.

Their eyes widened instantly, and then they turned around and reached for the doorknob.

Perhaps the sudden fright startled her, causing her legs to buckle and she collapsed to the ground. She couldn't grab the doorknob, and turned around, opening her mouth to breathe, as if she were about to scream.

Chapter 5 Mrs. Riko, your husband committed suicide by jumping off a building last night.

As Hideaki lunged forward, Riko cried out as well.

"Ah~ no..."

This was a short, trembling, and sobbing plea.

Xiuming immediately got goosebumps, but he didn't stop what he was doing.

First and foremost, we can't let her get away.

When Xiuming held her down, all she could do was struggle helplessly at first, then plead with a sob in her voice, and she completely gave up resisting.

As Xiuming tied her up, he thought to himself:

In this situation, which resembles a burglary, such a reaction would be considered wise.

After all, in many home invasions, the initial goal is to steal money.

The most serious consequence is not that the homeowner exposes the other party, but that the homeowner, in a clearly vulnerable situation, struggles and resists violently, causing the perpetrator to also become nervous and fearful, ultimately leading to irreparable serious consequences.

Xiuming tied her up very easily.

Because the nylon rope is relatively short.

She had just raised her arm to grab the doorknob, which made it perfect for being tied up behind her back, so that's how it was done.

Given her sensible reaction, there was a feeling that she was deliberately feigning weakness to numb herself, so I tied her up tightly.

Her current posture is an inverted bow shape, with her arms pressed against her back, her legs bent in a kneeling position, her wrists and ankles tied together, and her body lying diagonally on the marble-patterned tiles.

From the moment it happened until now, only a few tens of seconds have passed.

Her eyelids were already red and swollen from crying, turning purple, which was very obvious against her fair skin, almost turning into dark circles. Tears still dripped uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes onto the tiles.

"Please, please don't hurt me...please...please..."

Such a direct posture caused her chest to heave violently.

In this vulnerable state, her pitiful and pleading appearance constantly stimulates the evil in human nature, as if she can be molded into any shape one desires at will.

Hideaki said irritably, "Mrs. Riko, I'm kidnapping you, not raping you. Please don't make such exciting noises, okay?"

Xiuming picked her up and threw her onto the sofa. She didn't struggle and seemed not to hear what Xiuming said at all, still pleading.

"No...no...please, let me go..."

Xiuming felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this.

Her tearful pleas and pitiful appearance at this moment give the impression that her fate is directly controlled, which is extremely challenging to the limits of human nature.

He decided to ignore her for now, and went straight to the entrance hall to pick up the overturned shopping basket and gather the goods scattered on the ground.

Everything was labeled with a discount tag: a half-box of minced meat wrapped in cling film, a bunch of wilted spinach with rotten leaves, two boxes of pure milk with dents, and a small bottle of hand cream labeled as a free gift.

Mrs. Riko lay on her side on the sofa, her eyes still filled with fear, tears streaming down her face, pleading as if in prayer.

When Xiuming placed the hand cream on the coffee table next to her, she was so startled that she gasped for breath.

Xiuming glanced over and didn't know what he was feeling; he was just quite conflicted and complicated.

"Eek—~!"

He let out a strange sound that he couldn't quite make out, then picked up his vegetable basket and went into the kitchen.

The minced meat, wrapped in plastic wrap, was a mix of lean and fatty meat. The yellow price tag indicated it was half price. I don't know if it contained lymph nodes or not, but the appearance wasn't very good.

Xiuming hesitated for a long time but couldn't bear to throw it away.

Let's use it to make oil! It won't kill anyone, anyway.

After removing the rotten leaves from the spinach bundle, there wasn't much left.

The milk expires tomorrow, I'll drink it later!

After sorting the items and storing them in the refrigerator, Xiuming carried the prepared udon noodles out of the kitchen.

Mrs. Riko was still in the same position where Hideaki had thrown her onto the sofa, lying on her side and sobbing softly.

Can't she move herself? This position looks very uncomfortable to outsiders...

Xiuming suddenly realized that she had overthought things; she hadn't done it on purpose to lower people's guard.

That's just her personality; she's the epitome of passive acceptance.

In her current situation, she is filled with nothing but fear. She has no opinions of her own and no will to resist, and she is relying entirely on her instincts to beg for the "criminals'" mercy.

This is troublesome... I'll have to be honest with her now, and she'll have to cooperate with everything from now on.

To ease her fear, Xiuming loosened the ropes around her neck.

"Please, please, let me go..."

She was still pleading, too afraid to even move.

Xiuming helped her sit up by supporting her shoulders. She was like a weeping puppet, letting him do as he pleased.

Xiuming considered that when women are afraid, they usually curl up and huddle together.

So I put her feet on the sofa and made her curl up.

Xiuming: "Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you, it's just..."

"Please, please, let me go..."

She hugged her legs with both hands, rested her chin on her knees, and cried with her eyes closed, unable to hear anything anyone was saying.

Shouldn't I be considered a pervert?

Helpless, Xiuming sat down opposite her, pushed the bowl forward, and asked, "Do you want some?"

"Please, please, let me go..."

According to the logic of a burglar, to prevent her from escaping, they would have to tie her up first!

Who would have thought she had this kind of personality?

Xiuming put the bowl of udon noodles on the table and said, "I'm letting you go. You can leave now!"

Riko's shoulders trembled, and she looked up at Hideaki with tearful eyes. Her gaze was quivering, as if she wanted to confirm it again.

Wow, that's good that you're listening to what I'm saying.

“Mrs. Riko, your husband committed suicide by jumping off a building last night,” Hideaki said immediately.

Riko just stood there, stunned, without any of the expected reactions, such as disbelief or breaking down in tears.

.

Perhaps the topic shifted too suddenly, and I didn't react in time!

"I mean, your husband jumped off a building and committed suicide last night."

Riko remained still, but her eyes changed, as if they could speak.

Xiuming deciphered a sentence from it: "How could that be? You broke into my house just to say this? You burglar, get out of here, I have no money..."

She also made a small gesture, covering the platinum ring on her right ring finger with her left hand.

Perhaps this is the only valuable thing she has left. But no, she should still have a platinum pendant around her neck, but it's hidden by a high-necked beige knit sweater.

Xiuming couldn't help but sigh. Is this what it's like to be broke? They actually tried to steal her ring and pendant.

He quickly went into the master bedroom and took out his briefcase and suicide note.

Of course, when leaving the living room and entering the master bedroom, I was also worried that Mrs. Riko might take the opportunity to run away, so I acted quickly.