Tokyo Knights: The Odd Jobs X Files

After finding a seat by the window, Kisei Ai, one of the staff members, approached Li Xin with a menu and smiled, saying, "Esteemed customer, you look unfamiliar. Is this your first time visiting our café? Besides coffee, we also offer a variety of desserts and dishes. Here is the menu, please take a look!"

Li Xin nodded slightly, glanced at the menu, and then said to Lai Sheng Ai, "Could I please have a cup of hot water? Thank you."

"Uh... please wait a moment, sir."

Kiyoshi Ai took the menu and looked at it carefully, suspecting that there was some hidden option on her coffee shop's menu. After looking at it three times, she still couldn't find "hot water" written on it. So she smiled politely and said, "I'm sorry, sir, there is no hot water on the menu."

"I know."

Li Xin nodded and then said, "But it says there is ice water on it. If you boil ice water, it will become hot water."

Love in the Next Life: "..."

Although what this person said made a lot of sense, she still suspected that the other party was there to cause trouble. Who comes to a coffee shop to order hot water?

"Okay, I know."

In the next life, Ai uses her professional skills to deal with Li Xin, even though Li Xin's demands are absurd, she still smiles at him.

At this moment, Li Xin added, "I remember that the ice water on the menu is free."

Lai Sheng Ai replied, "Yes, sir, iced water is free."

In Japan, most restaurants offer free iced water. Some restaurants serve a glass of iced water as soon as the customer sits down, without requiring the customer to order. Coffee shops do not serve iced water directly, but they list it as 0 yen on their menu.

Li Xin then asked, "Then, hot water shouldn't be free either, right? After all, they are essentially the same thing, just with different temperatures."

"..."

Lai Sheng Ai turned to look at her eldest sister: "Big sister, you handle this guy, I can't take it anymore!"

She felt an urge to hit someone.

Laishenglei gave Laishengai a look, telling her to deal with Li Xin properly. This stranger who suddenly showed up was unknown, so it was best not to provoke him for the time being.

Lai Sheng Lei made this judgment.

Lai Sheng Ai could only endure it, and said with a very stiff smile, "Sir, just like you said, ice water is free, and hot water is naturally free too."

Li Xin nodded slightly, "That's more like it."

The hot water was brought over a while later. This is because the Japanese don't have the habit of drinking hot water. In fact, most countries in the world don't have the habit of drinking hot water. So coffee shops usually keep ice water on hand, but they don't prepare hot water specifically. This hot water was boiled by Ai Kisei on the spot.

"Sir, here's your hot water."

Lai Sheng Ai brought the hot water to Li Xin's table, and looking at the steaming hot water, she thought to herself, "Drink it, it'll scald you!"

Li Xin moved the boiling water in front of him and then stared blankly out the window.

Seeing that Li Xin hadn't touched the boiled water, Lai Sheng Ai couldn't help but ask, "Guest, why aren't you drinking?"

I like to drink it cold.

Li Xin replied.

Why do you need hot water? Can't you just ask for ice water?

In the next life, I'll love you to the point of madness.

Because she was a beautiful woman, and this place was near the Metropolitan Police Department, Ai Kisei had never encountered any unpleasant guests. All the guests greeted her with smiles, and she had never been given any trouble. Meeting a guest like Li Xin was truly a first for her.

Laisheng Lei shook her head at Laisheng Ai, signaling her to calm down. Even though Laisheng Ai was extremely unhappy, she could only keep quiet in front of her eldest sister.

Just as Ai was about to leave this annoying guest, Li Xin suddenly spoke up: "Excuse me, do you know what 'cat's eye' is?"

This sudden question startled Lai Sheng's heart, and her muscles tensed instantly. She couldn't help but look at her eldest sister.

When Lai Sheng Lei heard Li Xin say the words "Cat's Eye," her heart skipped a beat, but she remained calm. She smiled and walked out from behind the bar, saying to Li Xin, "'Cat's Eye,' aren't we 'Cat's Eye'? Didn't you see the sign outside the coffee shop, sir?"

Laisheng Rui's answer drew laughter from the customers in the store.

They knew, of course, that Li Xin was asking about the recently very active art thief "Cat's Eye," but Lai Sheng Rui answered with their Cat's Eye Cafe, which was a brilliant response!

When Li Xin saw Lai Shenglei approaching, he couldn't help but look up at her and gaze at her silently for a moment.

Lai Shengrui's smile remained unchanged, but her heart was pounding. The black sunglasses prevented her from seeing the other person's eyes, making it impossible for her to judge what Li Xin was thinking. Li Xin's dark face also rendered her skill in reading micro-expressions ineffective. It was quite a mystery.

What should I do? Did they see through me? That shouldn't be the case; I've been hiding it so well...

Tears well up in my heart, like a drumbeat.

What is she pretending to be? Of course, she is pretending to be her true identity, namely the art thief "Cat's Eye" who has recently gained notoriety in Tokyo.

To be precise, it is one of the "Cat's Eyes." Contrary to outside speculation, the "Cat's Eyes" is not a single person, but three people: the three sisters of the Kisei family. Due to some special reasons, they are pursuing a batch of artworks and have been forced to become phantom thieves to steal these artworks.

The reason for opening the coffee shop near the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters was twofold. First, it was to avoid suspicion, as no one would suspect that "Cat's Eye," a wanted criminal, was hiding near the Metropolitan Police Department.

Secondly, it would also be convenient to gather information from the Metropolitan Police Department. The artworks they were going to steal were priceless treasures, each one under tight protection. The café was located near the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters and received many police officers every day, which would be a good opportunity to extract various important information from them.

Of course, no one connected the three Saki sisters with the art thief "Cat's Eye" through the name of Cat's Eye Cafe, but they soon laughed at themselves—who would be so foolish as to connect their real-life identities with those of a phantom thief? It's just a coincidence, nothing more!

And this is yet another layer of protection meticulously designed by Laisheng Lei.

As the leader of "Cat's Eye," Lai Shengrui had always been very careful and had never revealed any flaws. Now, suddenly someone showed great interest in "Cat's Eye" and even came to the Cat's Eye Cafe to inquire about it. This made the usually cautious Lai Shengrui suspicious.

She didn't know that Li Xin was staring at Lai Sheng Lei like that because he was mesmerized.

Well, please forgive Li Xin, a country boy, for never having seen a woman as charming as Lai Sheng Lei in his life. Just now, Lai Sheng Lei was wiping coffee cups at the bar, and Li Xin could only see her side profile. Now that Lai Sheng Lei has come closer to Li Xin, he feels a sudden flutter in his heart.

Although Li Xin graduated from high school and wasn't uneducated, at this moment, only one sentence kept echoing in his mind: "So beautiful..."

After a moment of stunned silence, Li Xin finally came to his senses. He swallowed subtly, feeling somewhat embarrassed, and tried to avoid Lai Shenglei's alluring gaze. But then he remembered his purpose for being there, so he continued, "Miss, the 'Cat's Eye' I'm referring to isn't your Cat's Eye Cafe, but the phantom thief 'Cat's Eye' who has been committing crimes recently. Since you're so close to the Metropolitan Police Department, have you heard anything about that phantom thief?"

Crocodile hadn't made any moves for several days. The promised big business hadn't materialized, and not even a small one had appeared. Li Xin's life was now a race against time, and he couldn't afford to waste any more time. So, since Crocodile had no work to do, he had to take matters into his own hands. He decided to try and catch the two most frequently mentioned phantom thieves in the Tokyo newspapers, who had extremely high bounties.

However, Li Xin was unfamiliar with Tokyo and didn't know where to start inquiring about information. It was Crocodile who gave Li Xin a suggestion: he could go to the bars and restaurants around the Metropolitan Police Department to ask around. Police officers often gathered in those places, and they would inevitably leak some information when they chatted. If Li Xin didn't mind the trouble, he could go to these places to gather intelligence.

Listen to advice and you'll eat your fill. Li Xin knew that although Crocodile was unreliable, he was a true veteran of the underworld, and his words were worth heeding. So he went to the vicinity of the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters and immediately saw this coffee shop with the same name as "Cat's Eye". Without any particular reason, he just walked in.

Upon hearing Li Xin say "frequently committed crimes," Lai Sheng Ai pouted, somewhat dissatisfied with the wording. They were simply retrieving their own belongings; why were they being treated like criminals?

Lai Shengrui nudged Lai Shengai with her elbow, signaling her to calm down, and then smiled at Li Xin, saying, "I'm sorry, we don't have any useful intelligence here. Besides, if we did, the police would have arrested 'Cat's Eye' long ago!"

Tears of the Next Life drew another burst of laughter from the customers in the coffee shop.

Yes, if even this tiny coffee shop knew about "Cat's Eye" information, wouldn't the Metropolitan Police Department have caught "Cat's Eye" long ago?

"Oh, I see. Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you."

Li Xin spoke slowly, his tone calm, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Li Xin: I'm so nervous talking to someone so beautiful for the first time!

"I haven't been able to help the guests at all, so I should be the one saying 'sorry'."

Lai Sheng Lei smiled slightly.

Tears of Rebirth: This is the first time I've encountered someone so completely unfathomable. Troublesome!

In the next life, Ai looked at her eldest sister and then at Li Xin. She felt that although the two were just having a normal conversation, it was as if they had already gone through a fierce battle.

Love in the Next Life: This is the first time I've encountered such a high-level game, I don't understand it at all!

Chapter Eight: The Eldest Sister is Like a Mother

"Ring ring ring..."

The wind chimes by the door rang again, and Lai Shenglei subconsciously turned to face the door: "Welcome."

At the same time, she breathed a sigh of relief, as she could use entertaining guests as an excuse to temporarily ignore this unpredictable man.

The person who entered was a young and beautiful woman with long hair. After seeing the woman's appearance clearly, Lai Shengrui immediately said, "Isn't this Miss Ayazuki!"

Kiyoshi Ai recognized the long-haired woman and eagerly stepped forward, saying, "Sister Cai Zhai!"

The long-haired woman was none other than Azuki Natsumi, who had met Li Xin once before. She was taken aback when she saw Kisugi Rui and Kisugi Ai, and asked in surprise, "Miss Kisugi, Ai, what are you doing here?"

Her younger sister, Yuko Azuki, was a classmate and friend of Ai Kisugi. Ai had visited her home several times. She had attended her sister's parent-teacher conferences, where Rui Kisugi, as Ai's parent, also attended. It was at that time that she met Rui Kisugi.

Rui Kisugi showed Azuki Natsumi how she was wearing an apron, then smiled and said, "Of course it's because I'm the owner of this cafe! As for you, I remember you work in the Shinjuku area, right? Why are you at Sakuradamon during your work hours?"

She smiled bitterly at Laishenglei and said, "I didn't want to either..."

Seeing that Ayatsuki Nata was having trouble, Kisei Rui said to her, "Miss Ayatsuki, let's sit down and talk."

It's not peak time at the coffee shop yet, so it's relatively quiet, and she has time to chat with Ayatsuki Natsumi.

After sitting down, Azuki Natsumi told Kisugi Rui and Kisugi Ai about Azuki Yuko's encounter with the "Shinjuku Serial Killer," and then said, "...Yesterday I brought Yuko to the Metropolitan Police Department to report the case. Yuko had seen what the serial killer looked like, and the Metropolitan Police Department asked Yuko to describe what the serial killer looked like so they could draw a sketch. I thought that would be the end of it, but this morning, someone left a dead cat in front of my house. I think the serial killer must have found out about this and was warning and threatening Yuko and me!"

"Ah, cats are so cute, how could that murderer kill a cat! It's outrageous!"

In the next life, I'll be so angry I'll be furious.

Lai Sheng Rui gave Lai Sheng Ai a reproachful look. Was this the cat's fault? Although the innocent cat that was killed was indeed very pitiful.

"And then what?"

In the next life, tears welled up as she asked Ya Yue, "What are you picking vegetables for?"

When asked about this by Rui Kisugi, Azuki Natsumi couldn't help but sigh and said, "I took a day off today to report to the Metropolitan Police Department, hoping that they could provide protection for me and Yuko. However, the police officers at the Metropolitan Police Department told me to go back and wait for news, saying that we had not been harmed at the moment, so they could not send officers to protect us directly."

Tears in the next life, love in the next life: "..."

Well, that does sound like something the Metropolitan Police Department would do.

As Ayatsuki Natsumi spoke, tears welled up in her eyes: "What do you mean we haven't been hurt yet? What will the Metropolitan Police Department do after we're hurt? Collect our bodies?"

That's a vicious serial killer who has murdered four young girls. If I and Yuko fall into his hands, our lives will be in danger. Even if the Metropolitan Police Department avenges them afterward, what good will it do?

She wasn't a native of Tokyo; she came to Tokyo from another prefecture to work in order to have better career prospects. Her younger sister, Yuko, came to Tokyo to study because she couldn't bear to leave her, just to be with her.

The two women had no relatives in Tokyo to rely on. How could they, two frail women, possibly fight against that ruthless killer?

Natsuki Ayatsuki touched her moist eyes and said, "I think I should resign first and go back to my hometown in Shizuoka Prefecture with Yuko. We'll go back to Tokyo after the murderer is caught."

That's true, but Japan has just experienced the collapse of the "bubble economy," and many businesses are struggling. If it weren't for the "lifetime employment system," they would have already been considering layoffs to reduce expenses. Ayatsuki Natsumi finally got a job in Tokyo. If she resigns, her resume will be ruined. Not only will she not be able to return to her original company, but other companies will also see that Ayatsuki Natsumi resigned because of "a small matter," and will think that she is a person who "lacks perseverance" and refuse to hire her. It will become very difficult for her to develop in Tokyo in the future.

When Kisugi Ai heard about Azuki Natsumi's plan, she couldn't help but look at Kisugi Rui. Kisugi Rui knew that Kisugi Ai wanted to help Azuki Natsumi, so she smiled and shook her head.

Xiao Ai, really, do you think I would just sit idly by and do nothing about something like this?

Then, Rui Kisei said to Azuki Nata, "Um, Miss Azuki, to be honest, my sister's boyfriend is a policeman. If you're willing to trust me, I'll tell him about your situation and ask him to help you."

Ayatsuki Natsumi was surprised: "Ai already has a boyfriend, and he's a policeman?"

Lai Sheng Ai almost fainted. She hurriedly explained, "It's not me, it's my second sister. We are three sisters, and I'm the youngest... ah no, I'm the third sister!"

"Oh, I see..."

Azuki Natsumi suddenly realized, and then thanked Kisugi Rui, saying, "Thank you so much, Kisugi-san!"

Lai Sheng Lei smiled and said, "You're welcome. Miss Azuki, if you're not in a hurry, please sit here for a while. When the Metropolitan Police Department closes for the day, my second sister's boyfriend usually comes here to sit for a while. You can talk to him about your situation then. Although he is a member of the Third Investigation Division, he used to work in the First Investigation Division and knows some colleagues there. He can definitely help you."

The Metropolitan Police Department's Criminal Investigation Division has many sections, among which the Third Investigation Section is responsible for theft cases, and is actually the rival of the Kisugi sisters. The famous First Investigation Section is responsible for rapist cases such as murder, robbery, assault, and sexual crimes, which corresponds to Azuki Natsumi's situation.

"Thank you again, Miss Laisheng. You've gone to so much trouble!"

"I'm so happy," said Azuki Nata.

Resigning and returning to her hometown to avoid trouble was a choice she was forced to make. If possible, she would certainly hope to ensure her safety without giving up her current life.

"Miss Ya Yue, please have a seat for a while. I have to entertain my guests, so please excuse me."

"Lai Sheng Lei" rose and said.

"Miss Laisheng, you can go about your business now."

Ya Yuecai picked some vegetables and stood up to offer them to her.

Just then, Li Xin realized that he couldn't find out anything in the coffee shop. After finishing the hot water in his cup, he got up and left his seat, and unintentionally passed by the location where Ayumi Natsumi was.

Natsuki Ayatsuki was chatting with Ai Kisugi when she sensed someone leaving. She subconsciously looked up, then hurriedly stood up from her seat: "Please wait a moment!"

Kisugi Ai looked at Ayatsuki Natsumi in surprise, only to see Ayatsuki Natsumi quickly get up from her seat, walk past Li Xin, and block his way, saying, "Sir, do you remember me?"

Li Xin nodded calmly.

Of course he remembered that he recognized Azuki Natsumi's voice when she was talking to Kisugi Rui, but he had already severed ties with her, so he naturally didn't bother to go up and be polite.

Upon seeing Li Xin, Ayatsuki Natsumi smiled happily: "Actually, I've been looking for you, sir. May I ask you to protect me and Yuko?"

Although Rui Kisugi had said she would help Azuki Natsumi find the police, to be honest, she didn't really trust the police's abilities. If the Metropolitan Police Department's police were really that capable, would they have allowed that serial killer to murder four people and still get away with it? So, compared to the police, Azuki Natsumi trusted Li Xin, who had saved Azuki Yuko before, more—Li Xin's skills were definitely not those of an ordinary person, as he was able to pull Azuki Yuko back from a moving car.

Unfortunately, the separation from Li Xin happened very hastily. After taking all the cash, totaling 35,650 yen, from Ayatsuki Natsumi, Li Xin left without looking back. Ayatsuki Natsumi not only didn't get Li Xin's contact information, but she didn't even know his name.

Originally, she thought she would never see Li Xin again in this lifetime, but unexpectedly, she met him again at the Cat's Eye Cafe. This was something that Ayatsuki Natsumi never expected and made her overjoyed.