MC Bookstore Chapter 181 The Deduction of Detective Cheng
Chapter 181 The Deduction of Detective Cheng
Chapter 181 The Deduction of Detective Cheng
January 1980, 2, afternoon.
Kabukicho, Shinjuku District, Tokyo.
The weather in Tokyo in mid-February was still very cold.
This caused Maijo Kyosuke considerable distress.
Because starting from February 10th, for four consecutive days, I frequently followed Cheng Yi, shuttling between the red-light districts of Kabukicho in Shinjuku.
Immerse yourself in the atmosphere here, and polish the "hard-boiled mystery masterpiece" of "The City That Never Sleeps".
Because of the cold weather, and because these places are often where people wear very little clothing, the air conditioning is always on full blast.
This meant that Maijo Kyosuke could only take off his clothes inside the house and put them on when he went outside.
After several rounds, not only was Maijo Kyosuke covered in sweat, but he also caught a mild cold.
I kept sneezing the whole way.
Achoo—
'
Maijo Kyosuke pulled out a tissue and sneezed loudly.
"When we get back, I need to soak in a hot spring to warm myself up."
Maijo Kyosuke carried a bag covered with Velcro straps sewn on it, featuring Doraemon and Nobita from "Doraemon" and Ataru Moroboshi and Lum from "Urusei Yatsura". He would occasionally take out paper and pen from the bag to jot down details of Kabukicho.
Why would Maijo Kyosuke carry such a backpack?
Because this backpack originally belonged to Miyako Eru.
Since Maijo Kyosuke doesn't usually carry a bag, he naturally needs a bag to hold his phone and laptop now that he wants to use them.
So I borrowed one from Jiang Liumei.
As for why borrow instead of buy?
The reason can be traced back to February 9th, when Maijo Kyosuke accompanied Eri Ryūmi shopping and developed a psychological trauma.
I really don't want to step into a shopping mall again.
Perhaps Jiang Liumei simply couldn't come up with any other type of bag?
In short, this whimsical bag was slung over Maijo Kyosuke's shoulder.
Fortunately, the place that Maijo Kyosuke has been frequenting these past few days is Kabukicho, a big melting pot.
Here you'll find men dressed as women, people in bizarre costumes, strange creatures crawling on the ground like dogs, and oddballs lying on the ground hoping others will step on them.
So, among these people, Maijo Kyosuke, who carried a shoulder bag sewn with Doraemon and Urusei Yatsura patterns, wasn't exactly a strange person.
Achoo!
As Maishiro Kyosuke sneezed repeatedly, Cheng Yi, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow: "Brother Maishiro, are you alright?"
"Sneezing non-stop, could it be that guy named Nishimura Hisayuki is secretly cursing you?"
After Cheng Yi finished speaking, a fierce look appeared on his face: "Brother Wu Cheng, don't worry, just go for it without any pressure!"
"What Nishimura Hisashi-ko, Kitamura Hisashi-ko? Anyone who has offended me, Cheng Yi, will only have life but no deeds!"
"If he manages to make you, Brother Maijo, give up your writing, I'll make him the next Kyosuke Ito, someone who can never pick up a pen again!"
Upon hearing Cheng Yi's words, Mai Shiro Kyosuke quickly shook his head: "Brother Cheng, you can't say things like that again."
"Remember, you're going to be the boss of a film and television company someday."
"It's time to start toning down your江湖气 (jianghu qi, a kind of chivalrous spirit)."
"Don't just cut off people's hands and feet all the time. It only makes people think we're shameless and can't be treated fairly."
"As for my match with Mr. Nishimura Toshiyuki?"
"You can rest assured, because my article 'The City That Never Sleeps' will surely be a resounding success, achieving huge sales and making you a fortune in one go!"
Since Cheng Yi met Maishiro Kyosuke on the 20th of last month and reached a verbal cooperation agreement,
They immediately began a comprehensive investigation into Maijo Kyosuke.
But this investigation uncovered something incredible!
Although Maijo Kyosuke appears young, he has a considerable reputation in the Japanese mystery fiction community.
After all, it's been from the 12th of last month until this morning.
Kyosuke Maijo has always been a frequent headline figure in Japanese newspapers.
It wasn't in Top Hat magazine that he openly challenged all Japanese mystery writers.
His works, such as "The Convergence" and "Summer of the Ubume," pioneered a completely new genre of mystery fiction.
Or perhaps it was films like *The Tokyo Zodiac Murders*, *A Bellflower*, and *The Death Row Inmate* that revived "classic mystery" and were hailed by critics as the future of "classic mystery"!
But those impressive achievements alone are not the end of the story.
Cheng Yi also discovered that Maijo Kyosuke's works, "The Third Statute of Limitations" and "The Plunge," respectively paved new paths for "police mystery novels" and "unconventional mystery novels."
Furthermore, due to his latest work, "Dear Mr. S," which contains very bizarre elements, he has earned the reputation of "a bizarre genius" from a group of readers!
In short, after investigating these reports, Cheng Yi finally understood that Maishiro Kyosuke was no nobody!
He has a real chance of leading himself out of the quagmire of Shinjuku and onto a new path in life!
Having a new life is incredibly important to Cheng Yi.
If not forced by life's circumstances, who would willingly live a life like a walking corpse in a place like Kabukicho?
Therefore, Cheng Yi naturally placed great hopes on Wu Cheng Jingjie.
Even their titles for each other have changed to Brother Wucheng and Brother Cheng.
"Ring ring—"
""
A telephone rang from Maijo Kyosuke's "playful crossbody bag".
That was a gift from Cheng Yi to me upon meeting him—a mobile phone, a rarity even in all of Japan.
Jingsuke Maijo took out his phone from his bag and pressed the answer button.
Then Jiang Liu's beautiful voice came from inside: "Ms. Maishiro, I'm in Kabukicho right now, where are you?"
Maishiro Kyosuke glanced at his watch and realized it was already 7 p.m.
It was clear that Jiang Liumei had reached the end of her workday, so she rushed here.
Upon hearing Jiang Liumei's words, Maishiro Kyosuke glanced at the nearby signboard, quickly gave his location, and then hung up the phone.
Because Cheng Yi was standing very close to Mai Shiro Kyosuke, he naturally recognized Jiang Liumei's voice.
"Brother Wucheng, is that Miss Jiang Liu calling?"
Maishiro Kyosuke put the phone back in his bag and nodded slightly: "Yes, it's her."
Seeing Maishiro Kyosuke's indifferent expression, Cheng Yi gave a helpless smile: "What do you mean by 'Hmm, it's her.'?"
"Last time I tied you up, Miss Jiang Liu cried her eyes out."
"How can you be so clueless about social etiquette?"
"Like a piece of wood?"
Maishiro Kyosuke didn't understand what Cheng Yi was talking about, and looked at Cheng Yi with a strange expression on his face.
Cheng Yi placed high hopes on Maishiro Kyosuke, and he truly regarded Maishiro Kyosuke as his own brother.
Seeing that Jingjie was staring at him, he reached out and snatched the "playful crossbody bag" that Jingjie was carrying on his shoulder.
Maishiro Kyosuke had no idea what Cheng Yi was up to. He only saw Cheng Yi take the "Children's Handbag" and rummage through it for a long time before showing a very disappointed expression.
Cheng Yi tossed the backpack to Mai Cheng Jingjie, covered his forehead with his hand, and looked worried for Mai Cheng Jingjie: "Brother Mai Cheng, what can I say to you?"
Have you ever thought about this question?
"Why hasn't Miss Jiang Liu come here since the 10th, which is now four whole days later? Why did she have to come today?"
After a moment's thought, Maishiro Kyosuke said, "Perhaps it's because it's too chaotic here?"
"To be honest, I don't have a very good impression of this place either. Besides the fact that you dragged me here last time, Brother Cheng, I just saw someone lying on the ground eating like a dog. To be honest, I really find it hard to understand their weird fetishes."
"As for why Miss Jiang Liu came today?"
"Kyosuke Maijo pointed to his watch with a wry smile, probably because he was being urged to finish his manuscript?"
"After all, there are only four days left until the release of the sixth issue of 'Top Hat' magazine, which means there are only three days left until the deadline —"
Upon hearing Wu Cheng Jingjie's words, Cheng Yi shook his head repeatedly, then patted Wu Cheng Jingjie on the shoulder: "Brother Wu Cheng, you're supposed to be a great writer, how can you not realize something so simple?"
"What's with all this talk about deadlines? Blah blah blah!"
"That's really stupid!"
"Even though I've been in Tokyo for decades and haven't made a name for myself, I'm pretty good at judging people!"
"Jiang Liu Meili, that girl, is truly sincere towards you!"
"Talking about deadlines and stuff like that just goes to show you're a total scumbag!"
"As I see it, you don't even have her in your heart!"
"Want to make a bet with me?"
"Is Miss Jiang Liu really not here to urge me to finish my manuscript this time?"
"Because in her heart, you come first! It would be wonderful if you could publish your article in her 'Top Hat' magazine, but if you don't, she will respect your choice!"
"Teacher Maijo!"
Jiang Liumei's beautiful voice could be heard from afar.
Wearing a long white dress and carrying a square box slightly larger than her palm, she ran happily toward Maijo Kyosuke like a star shining at the Kohaku Uta Gassen (Red and White Song Battle).
Maishiro Kyosuke waved to Jiang Liu Meili in the distance, then asked Cheng Yi beside him, "So—Brother Cheng, do you know why Miss Jiang Liu came here?"
Cheng Yi nodded, then put his hand in his pocket and started rummaging around: "Brother Wu Cheng, you really are something else—"
Today is February 14th, Valentine's Day!
"Miss Jiang Liu didn't come here to urge you to finish any manuscripts. She just wanted to meet you on this particular date."
"9
"Who knew you'd be so busy gathering material that you'd forget about something like this!"
"Honestly, Miss Jiang Liu is really pitiful, being with a man as wooden as you—"
Upon hearing Cheng Yi's words, Mai Shiro Kyosuke's heart skipped a beat.
She looked at Jiang Liumei, who was wearing a white dress and running towards her quickly, and felt even more uneasy.
As the distance between Jiang Liumei and himself decreased, he was able to see more clearly what Jiang Liumei was carrying.
It was a brand new box with the letters "IWC" printed on it.
Kyosuke Maijo was very familiar with these three letters because they were the logo of the watch brand IWC.
As expected, "Detective Cheng Yi" was right; Jiang Liumei wasn't there to urge him to finish his manuscript.
She brought a gift, wanting to spend Valentine's Day with herself!
But the more this happened, the more uneasy Maijo Kyosuke felt.
Because I've been collecting materials for "Never Sleeps" these past few days, I didn't even notice this special day.
It's even less likely that they would prepare any gifts for Jiang Liumei.
"Detective Cheng Yi" was right. He was a scumbag. He said he cared and had feelings for her, but he never really put her first.
Maijo Kyosuke could almost foresee the disappointed look on Eri's face when she saw that he hadn't prepared any gifts.
"Brother Wu Cheng, here you go, hurry up and take this. I had a hard time getting it. I was originally planning to go with my sweetheart, but now you've got it for free!"
Maishiro Kyosuke looked down at the thing Cheng Yi handed him.
Those were two movie tickets.
The movie title, "The Kung Fu Kids," is clearly written above.
That is, Ridley Scott's epic science fiction masterpiece, Alien!
Maijo Kyosuke looked at the movie ticket in his hand, a puzzled expression on his face: "Wasn't this movie already released last July?"
Cheng Yi glared at Mai Cheng Jingjie with a slightly annoyed look: "What do you care when it was released!"
"It might be because it's so popular, or it might be a Valentine's Day limited edition," or perhaps the cinemas are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
"In short, take Miss Jiang Liu with you, along with these two movie tickets for 9 p.m., and go to the movie theater in Kabukicho, Shinjuku."
"Just pretend you need to use the restroom, then go out and buy her a bouquet of roses and give them to her!"
"Anyway, among the women I know, no matter how old they are, none of them can resist roses."
After Cheng Yi finished speaking, he patted Wu Cheng Jingjie on the shoulder again and said meaningfully, "Brother Wu Cheng, don't miss out on a girl who only has eyes for you."
"Otherwise, you will be troubled by it for the rest of your life and unable to break free."
Maishiro Kyosuke could tell that Cheng Yi also had a story, but he didn't ask any further questions because Jiang Liu Meili had already walked up to him.
Jiang Liumei first nodded to Cheng Yi and greeted him politely.
She then curved her almond-shaped eyes into crescent moons, held up the gift box in her hand, and waved it in front of Maishiro Kyosuke: "Makishiro-sensei, look!"
"I won this watch in a raffle yesterday when I was shopping with my best friend!"
"I think this watch would be perfect for you. Try it on and see if it suits you!"
As Jiang Liumei spoke, she opened the watch box, grabbed Maishiro Kyosuke's hand, took off the old watch, and put on the new one.
Maishiro Kyosuke glanced at Jiang Liu Meili, then at Cheng Yi beside him, a somewhat amused expression on his face.
Jiang Liumei's lying skills are just too poor.
I won an IWC watch in a raffle? What a coincidence!
It's nothing more than finding an excuse that Maijo Kyosuke couldn't refuse to accept it.
"Ms. Mai, what are you laughing at?"
"Don't you like it?"
"If you don't like it, we'll go get another one. It's not far, we can buy it in Ginza—"
Jiang Liu Meili looked at Mai Cheng Jingjie with some worry, and subconsciously blurted out the truth.
Realizing she had let something slip, Jiang Liumei quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her face visibly turning red from her neck to her forehead.
"I love it! I really love it!"
Maijo Kyosuke glanced at his watch, then opened his hand, which he had been holding tightly, revealing two movie tickets inside: "It's strange, Brother Cheng was busy, so he didn't have time to go see the two movie tickets he snatched."
"So—Miss Jiang Liu, would you like to come and watch with me?"
Jiang Liu Meili looked at the movie ticket in Mai Cheng Jingjie's hand. Although she didn't exclaim, anyone could see the joy and surprise flashing in her eyes!
Cheng Yi glanced at Wu Cheng Jingjie, then at Jiang Liu Meili, and couldn't help but shudder: "I really can't stand the two of you—"
"I'm heading back now. Contact me again tomorrow, Brother Wucheng, when you need to gather more material."
After Cheng Yi finished speaking, he greeted the two of them and then left.
Only Maishiro Kyosuke and Eri Ryumi remained.
There was about an hour left before the movie started.
Maijo Kyosuke first took Jiang Liu Meili to the best tempura restaurant he had ever eaten at for a hearty meal, and then they entered the movie theater.
Movie theaters are always very crowded on Valentine's Day.
Especially since the movie being shown right now is the famous sci-fi blockbuster "Alien," the already crowded movie theater is even more packed.
Maijo Kyosuke held Jiang Liu Meili's hand tightly, and it took him quite a while to finally reach the seats designated by the movie tickets.
The lights went out as soon as the two of them sat down.
The Alien movie has begun showing!
As for the content of this movie, Maijo Kyosuke had seen it many times in his previous life, and could be said to know it by heart.
But watching it in a movie theater was a first for me in two lifetimes.
The movie "Alien" in particular is all about visual effects.
So before you know it, you've been drawn into the story by the plot of the movie!
Although Eri is the editor-in-chief of Kodansha's magazine department, she spends most of her spare time at home reading mystery novels.
Watching a movie? This is Jiang Liumei's first time away from her student days.
Therefore, for Jiang Liumei, the shocking and terrifying scenes in the movie "Alien" were extremely frightening!
Especially when the facehugger appeared in the movie, and the alien crawled out of the chest, Jiang Liu Meili was so frightened that she covered her eyes and grabbed Mai Shiro Jingjie's arm tightly.
If it weren't for the armrests between the seats, Jiang Liu Meili would probably have jumped right into Mai Cheng Jingjie's arms!
The 117-minute movie ended quickly amidst tension and excitement.
While watching the movie "Alien," Kyosuke Maijo didn't gain any useful inspiration for "Sleepless Town," but he did find a new approach to short mystery novels!
Maishiro Kyosuke sat in his chair and looked at the still-shaken Jiang Liu Meili beside him: "Miss Jiang Liu, I have an idea. How about we write a short mystery story called 'Alien' for the next issue of 'Top Hat' magazine?"
Jiang Liumei wiped her forehead, unsure whether it was from the heat or from the sweat she'd broken out in, and asked疑惑地问道：“A short mystery story related to Alien?”
"for example?"
Maijo Kyosuke smiled, stretched out his hand, and covered Jiang Liu's beautiful face with it: "For example—in a room, someone was caught by a facehugger and suffocated to death!"
"Its body is covered in scales that look like they came from outer space!"
"Some people have had their organs eaten away by aliens that infest their bodies, eventually bursting out of their bodies like the aliens themselves!"
"Someone was killed in a room by a terrifying, gigantic monster that spewed flames at them!"
"What do you think of this bizarre riddle?"
Maijo Kyosuke's words piqued Jiang Liu Meili's interest: "A plot extension from the movie?"
Is it a "sci-fi mystery" set in outer space?
Maijo Kyosuke withdrew his hand from Jiang Liu Meili's face, then, while wiggling his fingers, said with a smile, "No, although it's a bizarre and terrifying mystery, it all happens in the real world. You could say it's a short mystery story composed of three 'impossible crimes'!"
"As for the name?"
"Let's call it 'Object X from Outer Space'!"