Chapter 52 Heartbeat Acceleration
"The information is limited," Komachi Akane handed over Mori Mari's files. "There are some confidential matters involved here. Mori Mari herself is the heiress of the Mori conglomerate. Even if we try to investigate further, it may raise their alert."
Pausing at this point, she added, "Of course, if you need, I can conduct a more detailed investigation."
In Komachi Akane's eyes, Li Xia is the man who won over Kirigiri Shimizu. His courage and wisdom rescued her from the endless overtime investigating the leader of the ghouls. She has always kept this favor in mind.
"Never mind, thank you," Li Xia shook his head, placed the files back into the bag, and placed it aside, supporting the wooden seat with both hands, looking up at the sky.
His feelings were complicated. What exactly is Asakawa Aki to him? Is she the older sister he secretly admired, or the figure that appeared in his dreams during his youthful restless years?
Even though he has grown into an adult now, this sentiment has become a dark history of his youth.
But the thought of his aunt and this person named Mori Mari being entangled together, his feelings become inexplicably subtle.
"Oh, by the way, what do you want to eat for lunch?" Komachi Akane sat down beside him and suddenly asked, "I've heard that the cafeteria at the University of Tokyo is really good, but unfortunately it's not open to the public."
"Um..." Li Xia was in the middle of a contemplative state, and her interruption completely broke the atmosphere. He quickly realized the message conveyed through Komachi Akane's choice of words: "Wait... why 'we'?"
"Yeah, captain was called by the higher-ups to handle some official business, like following up on the aftermath of the ghoul leader incident," Komachi Akane explained, "So these days, I'll be by your side to protect you."
"Alright, I'll go see my aunt first." Li Xia waved his hand and turned towards the laboratory building. There are just too many strange things happening around him lately, and Komachi Akane is at least a companion from the kind and orderly camp.
After a few steps, he noticed that Komachi Akane was still following behind him. He turned around and said, "You don't have to follow me, the school is still pretty safe."
"No..." Komachi Akane looked a bit hesitant: "The cafeteria is not open to the public."
Li Xia took out his meal card and handed it to Komachi Akane before heading to the laboratory.
"Aunt, I thought you would take a day off today." Li Xia pushed open the laboratory door and saw Asakawa Aki in a uniform, wearing a white lab coat over it, with indoor shoes on her stockings, sitting with crossed legs at the desk, typing on the keyboard.
"Sorry, sorry, I troubled you again yesterday." Asakawa Aki saw him entering and turned around, sticking out her tongue. "I didn't do anything rude, did I?"
"You did, you've had your drunken episodes more than once, and you'll probably do it again next time." Li Xia leaned against the lab bench, looking elsewhere, and suddenly asked, "By the way, Aunt, can I ask you some questions?"
"What?" Asakawa Aki saw his sudden serious expression, stood up, and her tone became slightly more serious too.
"I remember Aunt studied as a graduate student at Tokyo University." Li Xia turned his head to look at Asakawa Aki. "Entering a new environment must have been quite challenging, right?"
"Hmm." Asakawa Aki heard the question and seemed lost in memories, with a smile on her face. "At first, there might be some difficulties, but you'll gradually adapt."
Afterward, she looked Li Xia up and down and said, "If you encounter any problems in life, remember to talk to Aunt."
"Okay," Li Xia secretly glanced at her expression, unable to detect any signs of deceit, and nodded. "If I have any problems, I'll inform Aunt right away."
"You're such a good kid." Asakawa Aki stood up, smiling, and patted him on the head.
* * *
"The cafeteria at University of Tokyo really lives up to its reputation." Komachi Akane belched contentedly, sitting in the driver's seat and turning to look at Li Xia. "Do we still need to investigate your Aunt?"
"Forget it." Li Xia rested his chin on his hand, gazing out of the window. "When Aunt was in Yan Nation, she didn't bother with dressing up, but she smiled beautifully every day. She's a kind-hearted person to everyone."
After a pause, he continued, "Completely opposite to the solitary personality you've discovered."
"The accuracy of the information is not in question," said Komachi Akane, becoming serious when discussing the profession. She analyzed, "There is no need to falsify such records. However, when I first contacted Asakawa Aki, her enthusiasm did not match the seclusion described in the records."
"There is no need to be surprised," Li Xia continued to look out the window. "And that kind of happy smile cannot be faked."
"So, what does that mean?" Komachi Akane had a strange expression, looking a bit dizzy.
"It proves that someone was there for her during her lowest moments," Li Xia's mood was complex. "They helped her regain her original cheerful demeanor."
"It's really complicated," Komachi Akane waved her hand, indicating that she couldn't understand. "So, you're not going to interfere in your aunt's affairs?"
"No," Li Xia nodded. "If she is happy now, and I wasn't there for her when she needed me the most, it would be selfish of me to now disrupt her life based on my own preferences."
"And even if I did disrupt it, there's no guarantee that I could make her happy," Li Xia shook her head. "It would be too despicable to casually destroy true love."
"It may sound complicated," Komachi Akane looked over, "Should I take you to your workplace?"
"Of course not," Li Xia shook his head, "I took a leave to track Asakawa Aki."
Komachi Akane turned her head and looked at him, her expression complicated, "Didn't you just say you wouldn't ruin true love?"
"Can it still be called true love if it's ruined?" Li Xia glanced at her, "At least I need to make sure that Mori Mari isn't playing with my aunt's feelings."
"Well, the captain told me to listen to you," Komachi Akane tilted her head, "So why not track Mori Mari directly?"
"Is that even an option?" Li Xia looked at her with a half-smile.
"Hey, you're not waiting for me to say that, are you?" Komachi Akane felt like she was being played by this younger kid, "Forget it, do whatever you want."
After saying that, she took out a notebook and started operating on it. In just about ten minutes, she spoke up, "Found her, she's at the Mori Group today."
"So fast, how did you determine that?" Li Xia asked curiously.
"We have the authority to access and monitor all city surveillance cameras at any time," Komachi Akane replied, closing her laptop and starting the car. "Although the camera coverage is not extensive, we can still analyze a lot of necessary information through reasonable inference."
Li Xia was certain that despite Komachi Akane's appearance, she was a genius when it came to gathering intelligence.
The car quickly stopped in front of the Mori Group building. Li Xia looked out of the car window at the building's entrance. Despite being mentally prepared, he could still feel his heart beating faster.
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