area51novel Chapter 119 I Don't Like Riddles
Chapter 119 I Don't Like Riddles
"R-really, is that okay?"
The girl blurted it out almost without thinking, her voice trembling with surprise.
"But... I might not be able to pay this back..."
"It's alright."
Lin Xiu smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in her voice.
"You just said that your parents saved my life. I think my life should still be worth a billion yen."
Akemi Miyano lowered her head, her eyes feeling a little hot.
She bit her lower lip hard to keep from losing her composure, but the slight trembling of her shoulders betrayed her.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Lin... I wouldn't have done this if I hadn't truly had no other choice..."
"I can give you the money," Lin Xiuyi thought for a moment, "but you should at least give me an explanation of what you're going to do with it."
Akemi Miyano looked up. The gaze opposite her wasn't sharp, but she felt she couldn't avoid it.
Can she say it?
Reveal the existence of that organization, and reveal that the 1 billion yen was not "ransom" but "money to buy lives"?
Of course she could say so. With Lin Xiuyi's wealth and connections, things might turn around if he were willing to intervene.
But then?
He too will be dragged into that quagmire and become yet another "target" on the organization's list.
"...I'm sorry." Akemi Miyano lowered her eyes. "If I told you, you would definitely get dragged into trouble too. So...please forgive me for not being able to tell you."
Lin Xiuyi didn't press further, but simply nodded, as if he had expected it.
He then took out his notebook from his inner pocket, opened it to a blank page, and pushed it, along with his pen, in front of Akemi Miyano.
"Enter your account information here."
Akemi Miyano paused for a moment, then quickly wrote down the string of numbers she already knew by heart.
Her handwriting was neat and tidy, but it was slightly crooked due to the slight trembling of her fingertips.
After she finished writing, she pushed the notebook back.
Lin Xiuyi took the notebook and glanced at the string of numbers: "The money will be transferred in tonight."
Akemi Miyano looked up, her eyes slightly red.
She forced a smile, but her voice was still choked with emotion: "Mr. Lin, thank you so much..."
"It's nothing." Lin Xiu waved her hand, preparing to get up. "This is just repaying your parents for saving my life."
He had just pushed back his chair when he heard a hurried call from behind him:
"Mr. Lin, please wait a moment!"
Lin Xiu turned around and saw Miyano Akemi take a thick envelope out of her canvas bag and hand it to him with both hands.
"Please keep this safe." The girl paused, her voice solemn. "If I do not contact you again after seven days... please open the envelope. There is a key inside. The address is written on the letter."
Please go to that place.
Akemi Miyano raised her eyelids and looked directly into Hideaki Hayashi's eyes.
"There's something there...that's very important to you."
Lin Xiuyi took the envelope and looked down at the kraft paper cover: "Can't you just explain it now?"
Akemi Miyano shook her head gently, her smile tinged with unspeakable bitterness: "I'm sorry... I have my own difficulties too."
Lin Xiuyi remained silent for a moment, seemingly weighing something.
A moment later, he raised his eyelids and calmly looked at Akemi Miyano's face.
Then, he tore open the envelope.
"Mr. Lin, no—"
Akemi Miyano almost jumped up from her seat, leaning forward to try and snatch back the torn envelope.
Lin Xiuyi ignored her, turned the torn envelope upside down, and the two items slipped into his palm.
A finely crafted brass key and a folded notepad.
Lin Xiuyi put away the key, unfolded the letter, and scanned the few lines of neatly written riddles from top to bottom.
Then, he tore up the paper.
The crisp tearing sound was particularly clear in the quiet coffee shop.
Akemi Miyano stood frozen in place, watching helplessly as the words she had painstakingly crafted crumbled into fragments and fell into the trash can.
"Mr. Lin... have you... solved the mystery?"
She spent the entire night pondering this mystery.
Fearing the riddle was too easy, Lin Xiu found the place the very next day.
He was also afraid that the riddle was too difficult and he would never be able to solve it.
According to Akemi Miyano's estimate, it would take at least two or three days to solve this mystery, which would be enough time for things to settle down on her end.
"No," Lin Xiuyi answered crisply.
"So... you wrote down the riddle?" Miyano Akemi pressed on, unwilling to give up.
"No, not at all." Lin Xiuyi's tone was somewhat self-righteous. "I don't have the ability to take shorthand notes."
Akemi Miyano was momentarily at a loss for how to react.
She stood there, her expression unsure whether to cry or laugh.
Her plan, which she had meticulously devised all night, was torn to shreds in just thirty seconds.
The girl opened her mouth, as if to say something, but found that her thoughts were already in complete disarray.
What about her sister?
What will Shiho do if she really doesn't come back?
The item hidden in the secret location, the only thing that Lin Xiuyi had to help, has now become scraps of paper in the trash can, along with the mystery.
She had no other bargaining chip.
Lin Xiuyi leaned back in his chair, his face full of roguishness.
"Ms. Miyano, I hate solving puzzles the most."
"Since you say that thing is important to me, then please give it to me now. I really have absolutely no interest in riddles."
Akemi Miyano bit her lip, her voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Mr. Hayashi... I really have a problem."
"If you have difficulties, you have to overcome them. Running away won't help," Lin Xiu urged. "Just tell me the address now, so that everyone can relax a lot."
Akemi Miyano opened her mouth. The words were already on the tip of her tongue, but she ultimately couldn't say them.
"Feel sorry……"
The girl abruptly took a step back, and the chair screeched again.
"I really can't say it now."
Akemi Miyano turned around, almost as if she were fleeing, and tried to leave.
Just as she took her first step, Lin Xiuyi's calm voice came from behind her, carrying just the right amount of doubt:
"Huh? This piece of paper with the bank account number written on it... why is it torn too?"
Akemi Miyano suddenly stopped in her tracks.
She turned her head and her gaze fell on Lin Xiuyi's fingertips, where a few small pieces of paper were falling from between his fingers.
The sticky note she had just written her account number on was now a pile of white wreckage, lying quietly in the trash can.
Lin Xiu spread her hands, shrugged at her, and looked as innocent as a child who had accidentally spilled a glass of water:
"Sorry, the account is gone. And the 1 billion yen I promised you... well, that's it too..."
Lin Xiuyi didn't finish her sentence, but the meaning was clear enough.
Akemi Miyano stood there, her hands clenched into fists.
The girl's chest heaved violently, and her originally fair cheeks flushed red with anger. She stomped her foot forcefully.
"Even without Mr. Hayashi's one billion yen... I'll find a way myself!"