Chapter 266 - Is she possessed?

In the car, Chiyo keeps stealing glances at Ren like a teen girl in love. His side profile is quite handsome. She stares at his adam apple. In the past, she had seen it b.a.r.e in so many corpses. This is the first time when she actually wants to kiss someone's adam apple. If she cuts his throat open to see his adam apple, he will get mad for sure. Ah! It's also a crime. She shouldn't be thinking like that. If he ever dies, she will treat his corpse like a treasure.

Ren can't be more oblivious to her intentions. He wonders what did he do now. Why is this scary woman keeps glaring at him? She should be full of gratitude. Maybe he should have left her in the car like that. Argh! He was even covered in her… He can't forget that smell. So gross! What did she eat for dinner? Just where is she staring? Is something on his neck? He can't help but feel creeped out by her stare. 

The thirty-minutes car ride with this woman is even more disturbing than the time when he was kidnapped by Nina. He releases his breath when they reach her lab. He stops the car and turns his head toward her. "Iori's cousin, we have arrived."

"Oh." She feels a little disappointed. This car ride was so short. If she didn't have to take care of a corpse today, she would have skipped work to spend some time with him. "Can I call you by your first name?"

"No." Ren blurts out. He rubs his nose when she widens her eyes. "What I mean is… We aren't close enough, Iori's cousin. People might misunderstand our relationship. You are a woman. It's not fair for you."

The last thing he wants is having rumours that involve this woman. 

"I don't care about their opinions." Her serious attempt at a cute smile manages to give another blow to Ren's heart. He shudders in fear. This woman hates him for sure. 

"I care." Ren's voice is a whisper. "You are late for work."

"Right… work…" Today, she's not that excited about work. She takes her phone out of her pocket. "Can you give me your number?"

"W-Why?" Ren asks her with a trembling voice.

"The car." Chiyo gives him a solemn look. Why is he making that kind of expression? Does he dislike her that much? Is he scared? He is always babbling fearlessly. Why is he acting scared suddenly? "I will pay for the damage and car washing."

"It's alright." Ren shakes his head, waving his hand. "You don't have to do that." 

It's enough for him if they don't cross paths again.

"Do you think that I have no money?" Chiyo narrows her eyes. "Let me do my part, Kawamoto-san. Why do I have insurance if I don't make use of it at a time like this? Give me your number."

He wonders if he should just jump out of the car and run away. Ren sighs and tells his phone number to her. When she's about to get off, he picks up the jacket from the back seat. Why does this woman have no sense at all? "Iori's cousin, take this with you."

"It's not that cold." Chiyo looks up at the sky. "It's sunny today."

"Yes, but…" She is exasperating. Ren takes a deep breath and steps out of the car and walks to her. He puts the jacket on her shoulder.  Seeing her startled expression, he leans a little closer and looks into his eyes with a sly smile on his face. "I brought this because I thought that you would complain about the cold. But I forgot that you love corpses more than humans. Cold doesn't bother someone like you."

For the first time, she doesn't like hearing that. Annoyed, Chiyo raises her chin and asks him, "Then, why do you care if I catch a cold or not?"

"I would feel bad if my best friend's brother-in-law's love interest's cousin catches a cold." He winks at her. "Have a good day, Iori's cousin."

Whose cousin… Chiyo gapes at him. Is that how he sees her? That doesn't even make sense. Frustrated, she yells after him, "You, blue head… wait... You!"

Ren runs and gets into the car. He accelerates away before the demonic woman could do anything to him. He looks at the mirror and sees her figure in the middle of the road. "Goodness! She's so scary."

"That… !" Chiyo stomps her foot on the road. She takes long strides toward the lab with a dark frown on her face, surprising everyone who sees her.

"What is she wearing?"

"Pink anime t-shirt?"

"I saw a man dropping her outside."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"Yamashina-san with a man? Are you mad?"

"She's beautiful though."

"Only from far away… if you get too close, she might stab you with a butcher knife."

"I heard that she talks to corpses."

"That's true. I saw her doing that."

"Such a scary woman… is she truly alive?"

"She should be in a mental hospital."

"Why do they allow someone like her work here?"

"She scares me more than the dead people."

As usual, Yamashina Chiyo ignores the whispers among her co-workers. She takes off the jacket and places it inside the locker. For a moment, she stares at the jacket. "Does my genes like his genes? Is that why I am feeling this way?"

She wears her lab coat in a daze. After wearing the gloves, she looks at the murder victim's face quietly for a long time.

"Um… she's not moving." Her assistant whispers to his fellow-assistant. "Is she possessed?"

"She could be." The fellow assistant chuckles. "Maybe something is on her mind."

"Something on her mind?" The assistant peers at her. With a scalpel in her hand, she is sighing hard while eyeing the corpse. "Even then, should she be doing that?"

"I can hear both of you." Yamashina Chiyo's lazy voice interrupts them. "If you want to gossip about me, get out of here."

"Yamashina-san, you look cute in this t-shirt." The fellow assistant steps closer to her and the dead murder victim. "My nephew is a fan of that character."

Don't look bad in pink… look cute in this t-shirt… The words are different. The meanings are also different. For whatever reason, her heart doesn't race when this man says similar words. "What is your name again?"

They have been working together for a year and she doesn't know his name. But he's not surprised. "My name is Imada Masao."

"Are you free after work?" She bends down her head and makes a precise cut on the body's c.h.e.s.t. "I would like to hear more about this character."

Hearing that, the other assistant gasps. Did this cold lady just ask Imada out on a date? What is happening? She must be possessed for real.

Imada Masao smiles at her. He's been watching her since he started working here. This is the first time that she showed some interest in him. Is she an Otaku? If she was one, she would have known about this character. "Sure, Yamashina-san."