Gin likes me?

"I didn't invite Uncle Kurosawa, and after what happened yesterday, how could he have time today?"

Her eyes opened slightly, and Akita Reiko's tone became even more impatient.

She didn't want to show her dissatisfaction and irritation to Kinoshita Menei, but when she tried to temporarily remove Uozuka Saburo from her mind, Kinoshita Menei kept muttering about Uozuka Saburo in her ear, which made her unable to bear it.

"Mianying, Uncle Hei Ze saved us yesterday."

"Okay! I get it. Don't be angry. I will never say anything about Uncle Kurosawa again!" She raised her hand and looked at Akiba Reiko pleadingly, while making a zipper gesture in front of her mouth with her hand.

"And it's not like there aren't people here today to support you, Reiko. My aunt and Heye also came over after they found out about the competition. You know, Reiko, that little girl Heye likes and admires you very much." With a bright smile on her face, knowing that her previous words had caused Reiko Akiba to be a little emotional, Kinoshita Menei hurried to make amends, hoping to help Reiko Akiba regain some stability.

"Oh, by the way, I heard from my aunt that she has a good friend who came with her son to cheer for you, Lianzi. It seems that she and Ye and that boy are childhood sweethearts. She forced him to come here today to watch you sing."

"I'm really sorry to trouble them." Shaking her head slightly, Reiko Akiba felt a little embarrassed and grateful.

She was not very familiar with Yuanshan Heye, but no matter what, the other party came to the scene to cheer her up.

"Don't worry, Mianying, I will win the game this afternoon!" Her eyes became firm, and with a faint smile on her lips, Reiko Akiba looked at Mianying Kinoshita confidently.

"Yes! I knew you would be fine, Reiko!"

. . .

"Heiji! Could you please be quiet for a moment and stop moving around!"

With her cute little face puffed up, Toyama Kazuha looked unhappily at Hattori Heiji who was sitting next to her, moving around and looking around.

"What? Isn't it your sister's turn to compete yet? What does it matter whether I listen or not?" Looking at Toyama Kazuha impatiently, Hattori Heiji really had no interest in the choir competition in front of him.

It should be said that if Hattori Heiji had not been dragged here by Toyama Kazuha today, he would not have wasted his time on a competition that he was not interested in.

"Huh, now you're saying that again. Weren't you listening very attentively when Sister Lianzi was singing just now?"

"...I already admitted that your sister is a good singer! You are so annoying, you idiot He Ye!"

Looking at the two people who suddenly started quarreling in a low voice with some amusement, Toyama Hanaaki and Hattori Shizuka looked at each other and then laughed helplessly.

"I didn't expect you to come along, Jinghua. Thank you so much."

"No way, I have nothing to do at home, and if it weren't for your invitation, Huacheng, I wouldn't have been able to hear such beautiful singing."

228: The next task

"Did Heizo tell you about yesterday?"

With a grateful smile on his face, Yuanshan Huacheng glanced left and right inconspicuously. The sound was very small, and only Hattori Shizuka could hear it in the not-so-silent environment.

"He didn't say much, but I could sense that Heizo was really serious and upset this time."

She shook her head slightly. As a family member of a police officer, although Hattori Shizuka knew some details about her husband's mission, she would not ask for more details.

"Me too. Ginjiro came back very late yesterday, but when he received a call from your Heizo this morning, the expression on his face was really scary."

With a somewhat distressed sigh, Yuanshan Huacheng lowered his voice even more, fearing that the two restless children beside him would hear it.

"I vaguely heard that from yesterday until this morning, there were six cases in Osaka, three of which resulted in death, and... all were caused by shootings."

"Yes, I also heard this news from Heizo who hurried out this morning. They seemed to have some speculations, saying that these six cases were committed by the same group of people."

She nodded with a subtle look in her eyes. Although she couldn't see anyone, Hattori Shizuka still subconsciously looked towards the waiting area for the individual competition players.

"Besides, it's someone that the little aunt named Akiba Reiko knows. Isn't this one of the reasons why you called me here today?"

"Yeah, although I feel a little embarrassed, I thought that since Ginjiro and your Heizo both think Reiko is someone they don't care about, I still want to take care of her. After all, she's just a high school girl, and it's a headache to be constantly stopped by those guys who don't act like good people when they're working."

That’s right, this is the reason why Toyama Hanaori specifically asked Toyama Kazuha to invite Hattori Heiji today, and she herself invited Hattori Shizuka to come over.

"But I think today, we should just treat it as participating in an ordinary singing competition. It's not our turn to participate in other things, right?" Shaking her head with a smile, Hattori Shizuka looked very relaxed.

After all, after being married for so many years, she still trusts her husband's judgment and ability.

Although Bu Heizo said that this matter was a bit troublesome, he also said that they were in Osaka and were not involved much in this turmoil.

Just live your life normally as usual and don't worry too much.

"That would be the best." He nodded with a smile. Hearing Hattori Shizuka's comfort, Toyama Hanaaki felt a little relieved.

She really cares about the relationship between relatives, and Reiko Akiba's performance also makes Toyama Hanako like her very much. She is also willing to help with such troublesome things.

It would be best if they didn't need to show up, she would just come to listen to the music~

"Hello, ma'am, this position should be empty, right?"

"Ah, no one's here. Please sit down." Yuanshan Huacheng, whose eyes were a little dazed, subconsciously said politely after hearing the voice beside him.

And when she turned around and saw the man sitting next to her, her eyes instantly became alert.

Although it is not good to judge a person by his appearance, any woman will subconsciously become alert if she sees a burly man in tight clothes who suddenly sits next to her and has a smile on his face but looks very dangerous.

"Ah! That uncle you had that day!"

"Oh, it's true. See you again, big brother!" Hearing the voice from this side, Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha, who were originally arguing with each other, also looked over and shouted subconsciously, interrupting the vigilance of their mothers.

"Oh, it's you two, the brave little girl, and the boy who likes to play reasoning games?"

He raised his eyebrows teasingly at the two children. Yuanshan Heye was okay. Although he was a little embarrassed to be praised in front of his mother, he just maintained a reserved smile and nodded.

But Hattori Heiji didn't care! He had heard the phrase "playing a reasoning game" from Uozuka Saburo many times!

He, Hattori Heiji, is going to be the best detective in Japan in the future! He takes every reasoning seriously, it's not like he's playing a game!

It's a pity that when Hattori Heiji was about to stand up to argue with Uozuka Saburo, Hattori Shizuka, who was sitting next to him, quickly stretched out her hand. It seemed gentle, but she pressed Hattori Heiji down on his seat with a force that he could not resist.

"I didn't expect that you, sir, know our child. It's really fate." With a generous and gentle smile on her face, Hattori Shizuka clenched the folding fan in her hand.

Compared to Toyama Hanaori, Hattori Shizuka, who is strong in kendo, can better feel the powerful aura coming from Uozuka Saburo beside her!

Although it is not advisable to lose before the battle, Hattori Shizuka knows that if she really has a conflict with the man in front of her, the result will be very cruel.

"Indeed, sir, you also like to watch singing competitions. Do you have any children participating?"

She smiled and nodded, noticing the attitude of her best friend. Toyama Hanacheng also cooperated, hoping to get some information out of Uozuka Saburo.

"As for the child in the family, even though we are not related and are about the same age, she does call me uncle, so she is considered my junior."

As if he didn't notice the attitudes of Hattori Shizuka and Toyama Hanaaki, Uozuka Saburo leaned leisurely in his chair and raised his hand to touch the back of his head.

"Oh, which child is it? Maybe we saw him just now?"

"Her name is Akiba Reiko, a very pretty girl. Although I have never heard her sing, she has a nice voice and I think she should be able to sing well." He nodded with a smile. In the sudden change of eyes of Hattori Shizuka and Toyama Hanako, Uozuka Saburo turned his body to face them.

"By the way, it's really rude that I haven't introduced myself after talking so much."

"My name is Kurosawa Jin, and it's nice to see you here, Mrs. Hattori and Mrs. Toyama."

. . .

"nailed it?"

"Of course, it's easy~" Uozuka Saburo threw the canned drink in his hand to Vodka in the driver's seat and gave a thumbs up proudly.

"I'm telling you, Master, it was really your loss that you didn't go in with me to hear that girl Lianzi sing."

"Really? Then my loss is too great." Looking at Uozuka Saburo unhappily, Vodka felt that he should not be outside to help him guard and check the situation, and just let him fend for himself inside.

"Okay, now that you've got it done here, we can move on to the next task."

"What's the next step...return to Tokyo?"

"Yes, back to Tokyo!"

229: Do you have any special complex?

"Hee hee~"

"..."

"Hehehe~"

"Mian Ying, what are you doing? You've been looking weird since we came back. Did you eat something wrong last night?"

Turning her eyes away from her mobile phone, Reiko Akiba looked subtly at Kinei Kinoshita who was sitting on the sofa beside her and grinning at her.

Reiko Akiba is not the kind of person who likes to tease her friends, but she really can't stand the sudden mental breakdown of her best friend who lives in the same room with her.

"I'm just happy for you, Reiko~" Facing Reiko Akiba's ridicule, Kinoshita Menei didn't seem angry at all.

Knowing Akiba Reiko's personality, Kinoshita Menei just assumed that she was angry because she was shy and didn't dare to face herself.

After all~

"Some people have been saying that it doesn't matter whether Uncle Kurosawa can come to watch or not, they just have to play well, and what's the result?" Raising a finger mischievously, Kinoshita Tamae looked smugly at Akiba Reiko, whose expression had already frozen.

"When I learned from my aunt that Uncle Kurosawa had actually been here, the smile on my face was already happier than when I received the award. Afterwards, when I received a text message from someone unknown, I just held my phone motionlessly with a silly smile on my face. I didn't know how scary it was, but now they say there's something wrong with me. Humph, woman~"

"Isn't it normal to be happy when you get praise from people close to you after achieving excellent results with your own strength?"

With a relatively calm expression, Reiko Akiba said something to Menei Kinoshita seriously that she herself did not believe, but what else could she do?

No matter what else it was, Akiba Reiko was confident that she could defeat Kinoshita Tamae in an argument, but the only thing Akiba Reiko couldn't do was when it came to the matter of Uozuka Saburo.

As the old saying goes, if you have done nothing wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door. But the only thing is that Akiba Reiko cannot openly say that she did not have a clear conscience in the matter of Uozuka Saburo.

"Yes, yes. What Lianzi said is right. So when your aunt called to praise you, you just said a few words and hung up the phone, and then continued to look at the emails on your phone?"

Well, that's settled.

Unable to maintain the calmness on her face any longer, Reiko Akiba narrowed her eyes slightly and slowly but forcefully looked at Kinei Kinoshita who was standing beside her.

If I can't pretend, I won't bother to hide anything.

After all, no matter what she said, Kinoshita Menei had already decided that she liked Uozuka Saburo.

And the key point is that Akiba Reiko herself really agrees with this deep in her heart.

Although Reiko Akiba is not ready to reveal her feelings in front of Saburo Uozuka, she would find it difficult to hold on if there is really no one around her who can tell the truth.

"I admit that I like Uncle Kurosawa. Are you satisfied, Mian Ying?"

"Uh, you really admitted it?!" Kinoshita Menei, who was originally enjoying teasing Akiba Reiko, suddenly sat up from the sofa and looked at her best friend in disbelief at her sudden change of attitude.

Why did Reiko Akiba, who had been hiding it, suddenly admit it today?

"Haven't you already been sure in your heart? Why are you so surprised again?" Looking at the frightened Kinoshita Tamae with amusement, this time it was Akiba Reiko's turn to show a relaxed attitude.

Gently stroking the long hair on her side, although Reiko Akiba didn't know much about Uozuka Saburo, she was clear that Uozuka Saburo liked long hair.

After all, in the few times they interacted with each other, apart from her appearance and voice, her long, beautiful, smooth and straight black hair was the only thing that Uozuka Saburo had ever praised.

"Well, although I think so, I would be surprised to hear you admit it with my own ears, Reiko, right?" Scratching her hair, Kinoshita Menei pulled the pillow on the sofa and hugged it in her arms.

"But if I think about it carefully, I can't find any problem. After all, based on what I know about you and Uncle Kurosawa, I think it's inevitable that you like Uncle Kurosawa. I believe that all the things that Uncle Kurosawa has done for you, Reiko, are enough to make any girl unable to refuse."

Thinking of her first meeting with Uozuka Saburo in the school's choir classroom, and this 'kidnapping incident' that Kinoshita Menei would remember for the rest of her life, the determination in Kinoshita Menei's eyes became even stronger.

"That's right, I don't believe there is any girl who can refuse a man as manly and gentle as Uncle Kurosawa!"

"Yeah, I think so too." She nodded gently. After hearing her best friend's undisguised praise for Uozuka Saburo, Reiko Akiba, who had already revealed her true feelings, expressed her agreement regardless of her status and laughed happily.

"I think what you said is quite possible. Think about it, although I can't explain Uncle Kurosawa's job in detail, I can probably guess a little bit. So there definitely won't be many women around him who can be considered as love targets! After all, according to Uncle Kurosawa's serious personality, he would never be the kind of person who would fall in love during a mission."

After clarifying Reiko Akiba's thoughts, Kinoshita Tamae, who naturally added the identity of "love assistance master" to her identity, immediately began to help her bestie analyze the possibility of her and Uozuka Saburo.

"Although it's a bit inappropriate to say this, if you don't understand Uncle Kurosawa carefully, his... decent appearance can indeed repel many people's attention in the first place."

"And Uncle Kurosawa has always been very responsible. He was able to send your father home, and he promised to take care of you, so he will definitely do it. So in the process, Lianzi, you just need to work hard and use your wisdom and atmosphere. I believe it will be easy to make Uncle Kurosawa change his opinion of you!"

Giving a thumbs up to Akiba Reiko, Kinoshita Menei said confidently.

"After all, Lianzi, you are a beauty picked out of a hundred!"

"Uncle Kurosawa is not the kind of person who cares too much about appearance." He argued a little for Uozuka Saburo, but Akiba Reiko's shining eyes and slightly upturned lips proved that she actually had the same idea in her heart.

"But I actually still have a question that I've always been curious about and wanted to ask you, Reiko." After flicking the pillow in her arms, Kinoshita Menei hesitated for a moment but still spoke with an averted gaze.

"Although I have always followed your way of addressing him, it seems that Uncle Kurosawa's real age is not much older than ours, right? Even if it is related to your father, I feel that you, Reiko, seem to be particularly fluent and enthusiastic in calling him Uncle Kurosawa."

"...What do you want to say?"

"Well, I don't mean anything else. I'm just a little curious. Reiko, do you have any special feelings or something?"