CH 43

“I just want to ask one question: where was Sakurako on the night before last?” I interrupted the Japanese woman.

“You really are a gentleman who only cares about Sakurako,” she said, biting her lips as if teasing me. “She was in my shop the whole time, she didn’t go anywhere.”

“That’s impossible, I saw her on the night before last!”

“Oh? And where did you see her?”

“It was at…” I couldn’t say the name of the place, as it involved too many things.

“You can’t explain, can you?” Onizuka Ayaka walked to my side and tried to touch Sakurako’s face, but the little girl avoided her. “As you can see, this child never gets close to anyone, including her biological mother.”

Looking at it this way, it was true. Sakurako had a strong tendency to isolate herself and avoid interacting with others. I first noticed this when I met her at New Shanghai High School, and she remained consistent in her reclusive behavior. However, it wasn’t until Hideki suggested harming her and I feigned protection by taking her away that she finally spoke to me for the first time.

“My husband passed away very early. Since he left us, my daughter has become like this. I have taken her to see many psychologists, but it has been of no use. Some people say my daughter has autism; others say her emotional functions are deficient. There was even a dreams expert who claimed to be able to hypnotize Sakurako inside her dreams, but after she woke up, that expert went mad instead.” Onizuka Ayaka’s face carried a bitter smile. “I really wanted to give her a healthy and happy childhood, but I couldn’t.”

She lit another cigarette and stood barefoot, “On the third anniversary of my husband’s death, an elder in our family said it was a dream curse that ran down the family. Every fifty years, one of the descendants can see things in their dreams that ordinary people can’t. I begged him to help Sakurako, but he couldn’t do much; he just told us to leave Japan and try our luck in China. And that’s how we ended up here for the last three years.”

“Sakurako’s condition has been deteriorating steadily. Initially, we were still able to have basic communication, but over the past few months, she hasn’t uttered a single word.” Underneath the enchanting and beautiful appearance of Onizuka Ayaka, there was a mother’s worry.

“Sakurako refuses to communicate with anyone; you’re the only person I’ve ever seen her willingly hold hands with.” Her tone became serious, “You said you’ve met before, so I guess you must have met inside a dream. Judging from Sakurako’s attitude towards you, I assume you took care of her a lot in your dream, didn’t you?”

“In my dream?” I tried not to show any unnecessary expression, but I knew for sure that New Shanghai High School incident was not a dream, and Sakurako’s situation was not as simple as her mother had made it out to be.

“Perhaps you won’t believe it, but whenever Sakurako falls asleep, she sees extremely terrifying things. She has been living in a nightmare all this time, which is why she grew numb,”

“As her mother, I cannot enter Sakurako’s world and can only watch her suffer. It’s a dual torment for me, both physically and emotionally,” she continued, placing her hand on my chest and slowly sliding it downwards. “My demands are not high. I just want Sakurako to be happy like a normal child every day. For that, I am willing to sacrifice a lot.”

Unknowingly, sweat began to bead on my forehead, and the blue fox tattoo on her plump body seemed to come to life, revealing a sly expression.

“Tell me, how can I help you?” Dealing with this woman was no less difficult than dealing with the Yuan Chen evil spirit. Since I entered the room, the initiative has always been in her hands.

“Sakurako is a poor girl who refuses to interact with anyone but you. So, if you have the time, I hope you can come and spend more time with her,” 

“Is that all you have to say?”

“What else can I say?” Onizuka Ayaka reclined on the bed, slipping on her high heels. “After all, no one knows what you’ve done in the dream. Even if you harm Sakurako…forget it. I hope you’ll be gentle; she’s just a child.”

As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, I felt a sense of helplessness and embarrassment at the woman’s words.

“It’s not an issue for me to agree, but there’s something I need to ask you about,” I set aside the matter of Sakurako and got straight to the point. “A few days ago, Huang Guanxing from Qian Ding Pharmaceutical Company died in a car accident caused by drunk driving. As far as I know, he left the Blues Bar on the night of the accident, and you had a brief exchange with him on WeChat that same night.”

“Do you think a lonely woman with a child like me could be a murderer?” 

“Until the real killer is caught, anyone could be a suspect. So, I will agree to your request, but please answer my question honestly. Did anything unusual happen with Huang Guanxing on the night of the accident?” 

After thinking for a moment, Onizuka Ayaka replied, “Huang Guanxing and his girlfriend came to see me late that night. They had several arguments, and I remember clearly that Huang Guanxing even slapped his girlfriend.” 

“Did he drink alcohol that night?” 

“No, he was sober and only ordered a glass of juice.” 

“When did he leave?” 

“Around midnight, he took his girlfriend to a Home Inn motel.” The accident occurred around 5 a.m., and Onizuka Ayaka’s suspicion of being the culprit was mostly ruled out. 

“If nothing’s going on, then I’ll go out and get busy. After all, I’m a single mother. If we spend too much time together, employees are bound to gossip.” Onizuka Ayaka looked like she cared about her reputation, which left me speechless considering she was the one stretching and wriggling on the bed just a moment ago.

As I pushed open the tightly locked door and walked towards the hall, a drunken, chubby man squeezed his way over. “Where’s your boss? I’ve heard she’s prettier than a fox spirit. It’s my birthday today, so have her come sing me a song and liven things up!”

“I’m sorry, the boss is in there discussing business with a client. Outsiders aren’t allowed in.” One of the staff members answered.

“Don’t give me that nonsense! Do you have to sneak into the room to discuss buisness? Get out of my way! I just saw her a moment ago!” The chubby man then stumbled and ran into the backstage area.

“Captain Shi, why are you in such a hurry? Who are you looking for?” Onizuka Ayaka twisted her snake-like waist, leaning against the door while holding an unlit cigarette.

As soon as the chubby man saw Onizuka Ayaka, his eyes went wide, and drool dripped down his chin. “You’re so damn beautiful! Come on, it’s my birthday today, and I’m in a good mood! I’ll give you a chance to earn some extra money. Come sing a song with me in the private room; take good care of me, and I won’t be stingy with the money.”

“Well, that’s difficult for me. I’ve already been hired to entertain this customer tonight. Why don’t you talk to him and see if he’s willing to share a minute or two with you?” Onizuka Ayaka acted like a helpless little woman, taking my other hand as if nothing had happened.

“You’re hired for the whole night? Just for this little pretty boy?” Shi Youfu, with a strong smell of alcohol on his breath, stared at me with an unfriendly look. “Kid, I have some status at Jiangjin Real Estate. I’ll take this girl with me. You don’t mind, do you?”

“You really know how to cause someone trouble.” I escaped from the mother-daughter pair’s grip and flexed my numb fingers. “Shi Youfu, you’re just a watchdog for Jiangjin Real Estate. How dare you say you have any status?”

“Kid, don’t get cheeky with me. I don’t want to see red on my birthday.”

“People from Jiangjin Real Estate all have the same faces.” The chubby man in front of me was the one who had incited the tattooed man to vandalize my store. This situation wouldn’t end well for them today.

“Hey beautiful, why don’t you come with me?” Seeing me shake off the hand of Onizuka Ayaka, Shi youfu thought I was backing down and came over with a lecherous smile. “Hey, is this your daughter? She’s been a beauty since she was young. Why don’t we have her come over and have some fun together?” 

“What a pervert!” I muttered to myself as I brushed past him and picked up the half bottle of Royal Salute on the bar. “Excuse me, Madam, I heard that the genuine Royal Salute imported from overseas has an especially sturdy bottle that won’t break even if dropped on concrete. I’m curious, is this bottle real or fake?” 

Shi Youfu reached out to hug Onizuka Ayaka, but the alluring woman remained unfazed and even took a puff of her cigarette. “Of course it’s genuine. If you don’t believe me, you can try it for yourself.” 

“Great, I think I will.” I grinned and grabbed Shi Youfu’s collar. Now, all the overweight man could see was Onizuka Ayaka, and his big, chubby hands were about to touch her when someone suddenly grabbed him from behind. “Are you trying to die or something?” 

“Don’t keep spouting profanity all the time. Didn’t your mother teach you to be a civilized person?”. I maintained a smile on my face, or rather, I was quite pleased at the moment. “Are you the security captain of Jiangjin Real Estate, Shi Youfu?” 

“That’s me. I’ll count to three, and if you don’t let go, you’ll bear the consequences!” 

“It seems I’ve got the right person,” Shi Youfu, whose collar I had grabbed, continued to pretend to be tough and was about to start counting, but I didn’t give him the chance to utter any nonsense.

“No need to count to three. One is enough!” I raised the wine bottle in my hand and slammed it hard against his slightly bald head. “Crack!” 

Glass shards shot out, and the light-brown wine got mixed with the bright red blood. Shi Youfu’s eyes widened, and he fell down headfirst. I casually threw away the broken bottle and said, “A woman’s words can’t be trusted. This is obviously fake wine bottle.” 

The bar exploded in an instant. Several young people rushed out of the private room. I smiled apologetically at Onizuka Ayaka and took out my phone. “Hey, Er Gouzi, there’s work tonight!”