In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

"Qianye, what did you mean when you said that the two bad guys were tricked by someone who had already died?"

Eriri was also curious about this, and she had already understood the general course of events in the case.

However, like Rikka, she hasn't fully figured out some of the details yet.

Yuan Qianye did not answer directly, but looked at Shiyu instead.

Shi Yu remained unmoved by his gestures and continued to sulk.

Gen Chiya slowly shifted his gaze to Yukino and said, "Let Yukino explain it to you. She's so smart, she must have already understood everything."

"!" Shiyu glared at him unhappily, then explained before Yukino could speak, "It means exactly what it says."

Yuan Qianye ate leisurely, secretly laughing to himself.

The tactic of using reverse psychology may be old-fashioned, but it works.

If I can get Shiyu to open her mouth, I'll break through her defenses. Then, when we're setting off fireworks, I'll strike up a conversation with her. I'm sure I can win her over before she goes to bed that night.

Rikka's gaze naturally turned to Utaha, adopting a humble and eager-to-learn expression.

"To put it simply, the root cause of today's case is that it was meticulously planned from the very beginning by the victim... well, the deceased." Shiyu's hard tone quickly softened.

As for that womanizer who dared to flirt with other girls in front of his girlfriend and say "I love you" to her, she wanted nothing more than to stomp him under her feet and give him a good thrashing! To let him know what the punishment of a beautiful girl's foot strike was like!

But to be fair, the lovely sister-in-law is innocent.

"Meticulously planned?"

"Yes, that's how it's been from the beginning. Hmm, let me think... Let's start from the beginning. This is how things should have happened."

Shi Yu temporarily put down her chopsticks, elegantly wiped her mouth, and began to explain.

"Yuki Matsui discovers in the hospital that she has a terminal illness and will not live much longer."

However, because she had a habit of buying insurance for herself, her only family member was able to receive a large payout after her death.

'Even if I pass away, my husband will receive a lot of money, ensuring he'll be financially secure for the rest of his life.'

That was exactly what she had been thinking, but in the last period of her life, perhaps she noticed something was wrong, or perhaps it was an accident, but in any case, she discovered her husband's affair with her best friend.

She investigated further and discovered that they had been having an affair for a long time, so she could not forgive the betrayal. She did not want the insurance money after her death to be obtained by the adulterous couple.

That's why she chose to commit suicide at this hot spring inn during the final journey of her life.

Shi Yu's explanation was straightforward and clear, but there were still many parts that didn't make sense.

Eriri hurriedly asked, "If that's all there is to it, then she could have simply contacted the insurance company before she died and said she didn't want the insurance company's compensation, or she could have made a will and donated all the money. There's no need to end it with suicide, right?"

Shi Yu was very gentle and patient with her sister-in-law, but she had absolutely no liking for the blond-haired man who had just been flirting with her man in front of her.

She scoffed, her contempt unmistakable: "Are you still half asleep? I've already made it so clear, why do I need someone to explain it again?"

“You…!” Eriri was speechless with anger.

Yukino, standing up for her best friend, glared at her with disdain: "You clearly only have a vague understanding yourself, and you looked completely confused before Chiya officially solved the mystery. How dare you say such things now?"

"Aha?"

"What, did I say something wrong?"

"Alright, alright, I understand that you two have a good relationship, but how about we postpone your in-depth discussion until after dinner? Rikka is still wondering and waiting for an explanation."

Saeko's intervention, along with the mention of Rikka's name, temporarily halted the rivalry between Utaha and Yukino.

Yukino then followed up and explained Eriri's earlier confusion: "It's normal for you to be confused, Eriri, because you didn't consider things from Ms. Matsui Yuki's perspective."

The police officers had previously mentioned that her husband was unemployed, and that her best friend was someone she had known since their student days, and that her best friend had provided her with financial assistance when she was going through a difficult time.

It is easy to conclude from the above that over the years, Ms. Matsui Yuki has undoubtedly given far too much emotionally and financially to both her husband and her best friend.

Under such circumstances, how could she possibly be content with merely punishing them by not receiving their inheritance?

Yukino's patient guidance, like a kindergarten teacher instructing children on how to do homework, made Eriri clap her hands, instantly clarifying some of her doubts.

"I understand! So, Ms. Matsui Yuki, unable to forgive her husband and best friend's betrayal, risked her remaining life to get involved, all to make those two bad guys pay an even heavier price!"

Yukino was pleased: "That's it."

Rikka nodded in agreement, but then a new question arose: "But... how can Ms. Matsui Yuki be so sure that those two bad guys will obediently fall for her tricks?"

Yukino continued to explain, "This involves her understanding of those two people, but more importantly, it's probably a design she planned in advance."

"design?"

Yukino nodded: "Yes, whether it's that husband or that best friend, they are all wearing expensive and high-end items, including watches, necklaces, brand-name clothes, and the latest mobile phones. And this is only what we can observe."

Based on their personal financial situation, it is highly unlikely that they can support this level of consumption.

So, just as Chiya said before, all of this should be the result of Ms. Matsui Yuki's secret efforts.

She may have been intentionally or unintentionally implying that her wealth would be left to them after her death, constantly reinforcing this impression in their minds.

While numbing them, it also encouraged those two to overspend and take on huge loans.

And this is only what we can observe superficially.

Judging from Ms. Matsui Yuki's demonstrated intellect, I suspect she has accomplished far more than that.

"There's no need to guess, that's just how it is."

Yuan Qianye looked up from his phone screen.

"Latest intelligence: Heiji has received information from Inspector Michida."

Kento Matsui recently took out a loan to buy a sports car, and Shinju Arisu also took out a loan to buy an apartment.

In addition, Sergeant Michida asked officers from Nagano Prefecture to search Matsui Yuki's residence, where they found a handwritten suicide note.

Her computer also contained social media accounts set to send scheduled farewell messages, and a copy of a power of attorney authorizing her lawyer to donate all her assets to an orphanage after her death.

Eriri's eyes widened, and she stammered, "So, in other words, before Ms. Matsui Yuki died, after discovering that she had been betrayed by her husband and best friend, she had planned all of this."

First, they use the huge insurance payouts after their death as bait to encourage them to spend beyond their means.

Then they calculated their greed and foresaw their psychology after they learned of their suicide, when they were driven to the brink of collapse by huge debts and fell from heaven to hell!

So, he also prepared the murder weapon at the scene of his suicide in advance, precisely to make them think of insurance fraud. His ultimate goal was—

They should be bankrupted, and they should also be made to commit crimes, ultimately ending up in jail!

"Yes, and one more thing."

Yuan Qianye spoke up,

"The contents of the suicide note she left behind may not have expressed her regrets about leaving this world."

Instead, she might very well be extremely sarcastic and cynical in her remarks about her husband and best friend.

This not only ignited their anger and caused them to lose their temper, but also subtly guided them to consider faking the scene as a homicide within the text itself.

She was a freelance writer, and her daily work involved dealing with words, so achieving this was not difficult for her at all.

Rikka said blankly, "And even if those two bad guys don't fall for this last part of the plan, when they go back, they will only know that Ms. Matsui Yuki has donated all of her inheritance."

Not only will they not get a single penny, but they will also be dragged down by the excessive consumption scheme designed by Ms. Matsui Yuki, becoming penniless, no, heavily in debt!

While not everything will be clear from now on, their lives will certainly be over for a considerable period of time.

At this point, Rikka and Eriri exchanged a glance and simultaneously shivered.

But it wasn't shock; rather, from Matsui Yuki's perspective, they felt a heartfelt sense of satisfaction, akin to "getting revenge."

The kind-hearted Rikka felt sorry for the gentle older sister, thinking that she didn't need to punish the two bad people with her own death.

But now that she knows all of Matsui Yuki's plans, she can only feel genuinely happy for her.

Ms. Matsui Yuki succeeded, making those two who betrayed her pay a heavy price in her own way!

Her plans were all interconnected, and in the end, the two villains were kept in the dark without even realizing it.

No wonder those two people looked so desperate after Qianye gave them a warning.

They were eyeing Matsui Yuki's estate and insurance money, but little did they know that Matsui Yuki had already used this as bait, leading them step by step into the abyss of betrayal and deception.

"Ms. Matsui Yuki... is really amazing." Rikka Eriri exclaimed almost simultaneously.

"But I'm very curious."

After answering their questions, Yukino looked at Minamoto Chiya.

"How did you initially become so certain that Ms. Matsui Yuki at the scene committed suicide and was not murdered?"

"Can you make a judgment simply because of the messy traces at the scene and the discrepancy between the testimony of the customers next door?"

"It's not just that; to put it simply, it's a corpse."

"A corpse?"

"Yes, you didn't see it at the time, but Ms. Matsui Yuki's body had quite a few stab wounds on it, which is a very reprehensible thing."

Whether it was a real home invasion robbery or the two people were trying to stage the scene as a murder, there was no need to go to such a bloody and cruel degree.

Putting aside their greed and stupidity, those two people were neither killers nor psychopaths; they were just ordinary people.

So I've been thinking, there must be some reason that compels them to endure the discomfort and still do it.

Gen Chiya explained clearly and logically.

From the perspective of Arisu Shinju and Matsui Kento at the time, why did they have to do it this way?

Yukino and Utaha's furrowed brows relaxed almost simultaneously, and just as they were about to speak up with the answer at the same time, Saeko spoke up first: "It's bloodstains, isn't it?"

“Mm.” Yuan Qianye nodded with a smile in agreement.

"Huh?" Eriri looked left and right, completely bewildered.

Rikka disliked being excluded, with Eriri standing out as the only one with a clear and innocent expression, and quickly asked, "What happened to the bloodstains?"

"The amount of bleeding from a knife wound is not the same in the two completely different stages of life, before and after death."

Saeko extends her left arm out, and uses her right hand to gently poke the palm of her left hand with her fingertips, as a demonstration.

"If a person is stabbed while still alive, blood will spurt or gush out from the arteries or veins due to the pressure generated by the heart pumping blood."

If someone is already dead and then suffers a knife wound, and their heart has stopped beating, blood will only seep out passively from the wound by gravity, and the amount will be very small.

Chiya must have realized this as well, and based on the numerous, unnatural wounds, deduced that Ms. Matsui Yuki was already dead at the time.