39

"Oh, I remember you come here more often, your name is..."

I roughly recalled my impression of the girl. Although I could also recall some fragmentary images of her reading here, it seemed a little more difficult to call her by name directly like the other party.

"My name is Hiyori Shiina."

Seemingly seeing Kitagawa Ryo's dilemma, Shiina Hiyori introduced herself with a quiet smile.

"Are you also planning to go to the exhibition in the third exhibition hall?"

"I'm just more interested in Shakespeare's manuscripts. I hope I won't waste my time like last time."

Kitagawa Ryo responded while walking.

"I just heard from Kitagawa-kun that you are more interested in mystery novels?"

"Even if you are not a detective fan, you should have heard of Conan Doyle's name. After all, Sherlock Holmes is considered a top IP in the world."

"But just now Kitagawa-kun also mentioned Lawrence Bullock. If you are a fan of fringe mystery novels such as Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown, and Detective Poirot, you probably won't take the initiative to mention his works."

"Oh, I do like his tough guy reasoning, such as "Eight Million Ways to Die"."

"Yeah?"

Shiina Hiyori took two quick steps until she was walking side by side with Kitagawa Ryo:

"I think Dorothy's works are also very good. As a rare female mystery writer, although she is not as famous as my grandma, her representative work "The Detective of Lord Peter Wimsey" is actually an excellent mystery novel, and Dorothy The complete set of mysteries is included in the British Library."

"Yeah, indeed."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded. This was the first time he met a peer who talked endlessly about mystery novels, not to mention a beautiful girl.

However, as the two of them were about to enter the third exhibition hall where speaking loudly was prohibited, Kitagawa Ryo had no intention of talking anymore and walked into the exhibition hall quietly.

In his eyes, this was just a chance encounter with a certain girl.

until--

"Kitagawa-kun probably hasn't had lunch yet? If possible, would you like to eat together?"

After spending two hours viewing the Shakespeare manuscript exhibition in the third exhibition hall, Kitagawa Ryo walked out of the door with satisfaction, but did not want to bump into Shiina Hiyori who seemed to have been waiting outside the exhibition hall for a while.

"...?"

Kitagawa Ryo looked at the girl in front of him who seemed to be smiling happily with squinted eyes, and for a moment he didn't know what she was thinking.

Is the British culture so open that you can meet strangers for dinner on the first day they meet?

No, they don't seem to be British either.

"Because I really hope to talk about novels with Kitagawa-kun."

Shiina Hiyori looked at Kitagawa Ryo who was a little confused and explained with a smile:

"Book friends are book friends."

She stretched out her white right hand and waved it in front of Kitagawa Ryo:

"May I?"

Kitagawa Ryo is a person with very keen perception. He stared at the opponent's purple pupils that were completely free of impurities and other thoughts. He seemed to be aware of Kitagawa Ryo's gaze. Shiina Hiyori even deliberately opened his eyes wider to cover Kitagawa Ryo's entire shadow. Go in.

"All right."

He really didn't find any ambiguous feelings. Shiina Hiyori, the girl he just met today, seemed to really just want to talk about novels with him, so Kitagawa Ryo couldn't find any reason to refuse.

"I remember Kitagawa-kun mentioned before that he really liked Lawrence Blake's "Eight Million Ways to Die."

The two of them randomly found a roadside restaurant. Shiina Hiyori seemed to be coming here for the first time, so she followed Kitagawa Ryo's example and ordered the same set meal.

"Well, Lawrence likes to write about prostitutes, and this one is no exception. Compared with ordinary mystery novels, his books have a slightly more human touch."

After Kitagawa Ryo figured it out, he simply relaxed a little and concentrated on chatting with Shiina Hiyori about the novel.

"You know what's going on in this city? What's going on in this fucking city from the woods, you know? Eight million ways to die (New York's population at the time was eight million)."

"This sentence can be regarded as a quite classic sentence in the whole book."

He seemed to have thought of something interesting and suddenly smiled:

"If converted to Tokyo, there are about 6.5 million ways to die."

"Hey, I remember Tokyo has a permanent population of 13 million?"

Hiyori Shiina asked in surprise.

"Because half of all people die the same way, suicide."

Kitagawa Ryo used a spoon to stir the hot milk that had been served. He held his face and said:

"People commit suicide for various reasons, including school violence, loan sharking, social pressure..."

"Speaking of school violence, Kitagawa-kun, have you read Keigo Higashino's recent mystery works?"

"Malevolence?"

Kitagawa Ryo still paid attention to this person. He thought for a while and sipped the milk and said:

"Different from ordinary mystery novels, most of the main body of this book describes the criminal's motive for committing the crime. The murderer, who was obviously protected by his friends through campus bullying, also joined in the bullying of his friends on campus. After being forgiven, he continued to commit crimes. He killed his best friend because of the jealousy he grew up with."

"It's a tragedy."

Shiina Hiyori also sipped the milk like him:

"Well, it's a tragedy."

----------------------------------------

When Karuizawa Megumi heard Wakata's name again, it was a month later when Wakata committed suicide.

[Plot pilot film: An old friend seems to have returned, finished reading]

ps: The first update of the bounty.

ps2: The novel Hiyori Shiina read comes from the seventh volume of the original work. Except for Keigo Higashino's "Malevolence", which was added by me, they are all mystery novel writers who appear in the original work. His experience of studying abroad in junior high school is also my own creation. , because there is basically not a word about Shiina Hiyori's previous experience in the original work, so I hope everyone knows about it.

ps3: Thank you for reading, see you tomorrow.

Megumi Karuizawa's Autumn Lies: Chapter 6: If Megumi can't do it, let me do it

Karuizawa Megumi didn't leave the house for a whole month during the summer vacation after the first semester. She locked herself in her room and pretended to turn a deaf ear to her father and mother's persuasion and even scolding. How should she tell them? What's the explanation? Anyway, among the rumors that have spread in the school, Wakata committed suicide in despair by jumping off the building due to campus bullying. The evidence is that Karuizawa Megumi once led the class to block Wakata in the woods.

She was charged with the murderer almost immediately. But overnight, Karuizawa Megumi's name was firmly bound to the murderer. What greeted her next was as expected. Of…revenge?

Karuizawa Megumi was unwilling to call what he suffered as revenge, because if those students who were under the banner of justice were really what they said, Wakata would not have fallen into despair and committed suicide at all, and even the next door Girls who have really bullied Ruoda can step on her without shame, as if this can wash away what they have done.

The horror of campus bullying lies in the unlimited infliction of insults. As long as the first person takes the lead, it will leave a mark of humiliation on the victim. It is like a bee using its scent to send a signal to its peers, and other people will follow. They flock to re-inflict violence because they know the person has already been bullied.

They will think that since they have already been bullied by others, they might as well do it one more time.

Moreover, it seems that she has no one to protect her. The legendary "Kitagawa Ryo" did not appear after a whole semester. Not everyone has seen him, so why should they be afraid? A man who only lives in legend?

On the contrary, bullying a person who has been bullied in school will only become more peaceful, because they will not feel that it is their fault. On the one hand, this is because of the peace of mind of placing individual behavior in group behavior. They all did this; on the other hand, it was also because they could comfort themselves that they were not the instigators, the whole thing had nothing to do with them, they were just joining in the fun and adapting to the atmosphere.

Karuizawa Megumi hid herself in the quilt and wrapped her head. Even so, she seemed to still feel the cold that surged up from the depths of her bones when someone poured a bucket of cold water from her head. Thinking of this, she His teeth couldn't help but begin to chatter out of fear.

Horrifying memories of the past overlap with reality.

Karuizawa Megumi recalled the densely packed thumbtacks packed in indoor shoes, the dead rat corpses placed on the desk, and the various malicious graffiti written with red pen on textbooks and desks, all in just one night. In the meantime, the protective wall she had spent months building disappeared as lightly as gravel blown away by the wind.

"Hui? It doesn't matter. In fact, everyone was just driven by their emotions to do something bad. I also tried my best to communicate with them. After all, Hui was not the only one who went to Wakata at that time."

The phone dinged and received a message from Emi Eura. From the screen that lit up, Karuizawa Megumi realized that today was August 9th, and half of the summer vacation was over.

Karuizawa Megumi held the phone like a drowning person grasping the last straw, read the text messages word by word, and exhaled with relief. She remembered that in the month before the summer vacation, Emi Eura did not bully her like other girls in the class. She quickly confirmed this fact and engraved it in her mind, hinting to herself that she at least had a friend.

"Thanks."

She sent her gratitude via text message, and then nervously waited for Emi Emi's reply. For a moment, she thought about whether the other party was teasing her.

"You're welcome. We are friends from the beginning."

The news from Emi Eura was also answered very quickly, which made Karuizawa Megumi feel relieved:

"Would you like to go shopping together this afternoon? I also invited a few classmates from the class, just so you can reconcile."

This should be regarded as the first invitation Karuizawa Megumi has received since the summer vacation. This huge impact even made her forget the fact that Emi Eura had not contacted her at all in the previous month. Karuizawa Megumi urgently needs A person came to listen to her uneasiness. With the momentum and speed as if she was afraid that the other party would cancel the invitation if the reply was slow, she hurriedly agreed to Emi Eura's request.

After making an appointment at a time and place, Karuizawa Megumi began to think about her outfit. If she wanted to change the situation of being bullied, she had to first change the direction of the class. Going out this time was a great opportunity.

Karuizawa Megumi took out a white sleeveless dress from her closet that Kitagawa Ryo had given her. Summer had entered, and the temperature outside was rising day by day. The light blue dress from before was no longer there. Suitable for wearing out again.

This white sleeveless dress was a gift she received last summer when she and Kitagawa Ryo were playing at the beach. When she took it out and hung it on the wardrobe a year later, it seemed that she could still smell the slightly salty sea breeze. Special smell.

She and Kitagawa Ryo were walking hand in hand on the beach at sunset, their white skirts swaying in the wind. Karuizawa Megumi spun around with great interest, and the fluttering skirts streaked white in the air. arc, she pressed the sun hat on her head and asked Kitagawa Ryo with some pride:

"How about it?"

"nice."

Kitagawa Ryo praised without hesitation.

"It's too easy."

Karuizawa Megumi threw the sunhat in her hand to Kitagawa Ryo, and her smooth and glossy honey-colored hair suddenly flowed out as if untied, hanging down to her waist, and was blown by the sea breeze, floating randomly in the air. In front of Kitagawa Ryo, it seemed that he was a little dissatisfied with Kitagawa Hiroshi's words, and Karuizawa Megumi's blue pupils revealed some little emotions unique to girls.

"It doesn't pass, I have to wait and see how cool it is."

Kitagawa Ryo shook his head helplessly. He took two steps forward and held Karuizawa Megumi's hand. He looked directly into the other person's eyes and said seriously:

"It's so good that I only wish I could see it alone."

"Okay?"

A sudden gust of wind blew through the window. Karuizawa Megumi looked at the white dress rippling on the wardrobe and suddenly remembered what happened in the past. This sudden memory was like being with someone who had been waiting for her for a long time and she had been waiting for a long time. When we meet on a mountain road that is so narrow that only one person can pass through, there is a sense of relief of seeing each other again after a long separation and a sense of despair that there is no retreat.

The appointed time was getting closer and closer, and the long white skirt was still floating there. Karuizawa Megumi even vaguely felt that the other party was being condescending, as if she was wearing that white skirt in the past. He looked at his current self with disdain.

She hesitated for a moment whether to wear it or not. Karuizawa Kei stared at the skirt silently for a long time, and finally stretched out her hand towards it.

Karuizawa Megumi put it on little by little. Fortunately, even after a year, there was no obvious ill-fitting situation. She smoothed out every wrinkle and unevenness very carefully, as if she was wearing something other than a pair. The skirt was a pair of silver-white armor, protecting her fragile body.

But she has grown up after all, and she feels a little uncoordinated when she walks. Some parts that were loose in the past are now a little tight on her body. Karuizawa Megumi wears this armor and slowly looks towards the mirror. As I walked, it seemed like the skirt really weighed a thousand pounds on my body.

In the end, Karuizawa Megumi didn't dare to look at herself in the mirror. She closed the door silently, said hello to her parents who were still surprised, and went out.

----------------------------------------

Shiina Hiyori quickly noticed the fact that Kitagawa Ryo was writing a letter to someone. She curiously asked about this fact she observed when she and Kitagawa Ryo left the library reading room one day.

"Who are you writing to, Kitagawa-kun?"

If such a somewhat abrupt question were asked from other people's mouth, it would make people think that the other party was prying into their privacy. However, after a month of getting to know each other, Kitagawa Ryo probably understood the other party's character. She was really just I'm just used to this seemingly out-of-touch way of expression.

how to say.

Kitagawa Ryo looked at Shiina Hiyori, who was looking calm but waiting for the answer, and thought "this is nature" in his heart.

"Yes, I am writing a letter to my childhood sweetheart."

"Eh? Why don't you use a mobile phone to communicate? Is it because international calls are too expensive?"

Beichuan Liang shook his head when he heard this:

"No, it's just that for some reason, I lost her contact information."

"To be precise, it seems that their family changed their landline phone number because they moved."

"oh."

Shiina Hiyori nodded thoughtfully:

"Then if we move, won't Kitagawa-kun's letters not be able to be sent?"

"Yes, so I just wrote a letter and didn't send it out. After all, I wanted to record what I wanted to say to her these days."

Kitagawa Ryo nodded and admitted his somewhat childish behavior:

"Because I left so hastily, I had never even met my father and mother before that, and suddenly I was told that the other party was actually a famous person... When I realized it, I had already been taken to the UK to go to school. "

"It sounds like the plot of Five Centimeters per Second."

Hiyori Shiina narrowed her eyes and sighed, but then she explained:

"It's not that Kitagawa-kun will never get along with that girl, but I feel that this kind of relationship that started when I was young is rare in reality."

"That's why I cherish it."