Chapter 112
Nangong Iren
Just like before, the two of them then fell silent. This time, it lasted for a minute or so.
"I want you to tell me now." Yihshyong opened his mouth to break the silence.
"About what?"
"Regarding the things you experienced this afternoon," Yihshyong said. "When you followed that girl."
Iren turned to Yihshyong. "Oh. About that. I can't wait to tell you, too."
"I think now is the right time for you to tell me," said Yihshyong.
"I think so too," said Iren. "Don't you get tired of standing all the time?"
"Of course I'm sore."
"How about you just come in and borrow the car keys so we can rest inside the car?"
Yihshyong looked at Iren with a super weird look. "Are you crazy or what? There's no way I'd say something like that to Mr. Shiuander. He thought we were eating at a stall. So it'd be weird if we suddenly came up and said stuff like that? It wouldn't be polite at all if we leaving him alone inside to sit in his car."
Iren smiled. "Sorry. I think my brain just shorted out, so I said something weird like that."
"It's okay. I also feel that my brain isn't working the way it should."
"Then where should I tell the story?"
"I guess." Yihshyong looked around them. "We'd better sit on the opposite side." He pointed at the mound of rocks in front of a house directly across from them. The shape of the stones was very similar to the bench. It looked irregular, but the surface was quite flat.
In an instant, they were sitting on the rocks. Iren felt the rocks were perfect for them to sit on.
I think this is actually a bench, which is made of stone.
Iren turned his face to the right and to the left. Unlike before, as far as his eyes could see, the road had become completely deserted. Not a single person was passing by.
"Why didn't we sit here earlier?" Iren patted his forehead. He seemed to regret the stupidity that had hit them earlier.
"Never mind! The important thing is now that we can sit freely. Now you may begin to explain what happened earlier."
The lights that illuminate the path were not very bright. It was definitely not the ideal place to read at night. But apparently, suitable as a place to gossip. At least that was Iren's conclusion. After taking a deep breath, Iren raised his head. He saw the stars in the sky.
"The sky is brighter than yesterday. Usually we can't see the stars."
"Come on, just explain right away. Later, we can enjoy the twinkling stars in the sky."
Iren took another deep breath. Then began to tell the things he had witnessed this afternoon. Yihshyong seemed to listen with a serious face.
"I followed that girl very carefully. Even though she has never seen me, I still have to be careful."
"You saw her when you saw Dahge talking to her. So it's possible that she's seen you. If she had a photographic memory, she might think you might be some sort of stalker."
"You're right," said Iren. "What is clear, I was very careful earlier. I'm not someone who is trained in that field. So I don't know if my caution is good enough or if it's just messed up."
"We don't have much time, so I think you can get straight to the point."
Iren smiled broadly. He realized Yihshyong was worried that he might digress when he recounted his experience. He nodded.
"Please, you continue."
"The point is that I followed the girl all the way to a cafe."
"Is there a cafe near the warehouse?"
"Not in that area. She went in a taxi. I also took a taxi to follow her."
"Meaning you're spending quite a bit of money today," Yihshyong said.
"This expense is for the success of our investigation. I hope that in the future Dahge will ask all of our friends to join in collecting money so they can replace my money."
They both laughed again.
"Are you coming into that cafe?"
"No. I was waiting outside. But I could see where she was sitting. So the front of the cafe was all glass. One could see who's sitting in there."
"Is she alone in there?"
"At first alone, but then a man came up to her. They then ordered food and drinks."
"Maybe they made an appointment in front of the restaurant where we ate earlier. But for some reason, the man had to leave in a hurry. He told the little boy to give the girl a paper containing information about their meeting place."
"But that's not necessarily what actually happened. It's possible that someone else arranged their meeting."
"Too bad you can't hear the contents of their conversation."
"If I enter the cafe, I might be tempted to eat again," said Iren.
"Even though you just ate, I am sure you were feeling so hungry again when you see them eating and drinking."
"You are right." Iren laughed at the memory of that incident.
"Then what happened next?"
"At first I thought they were just casual dating. But then they seemed to be involved in a serious conversation."
"People who are dating also sometimes have serious conversations. At least that's what I heard," said Yihshyong.
They both then laughed again.
"They were really talking about serious stuff. The girl took some kind of folder out of her bag and then they went into it."
"How long have they been in the cafe?"
"Not too long. Only maybe half an hour in total."
"Then they split up?"
"No. They were walking together. I kept following them. They walked into a big mall. But then something happened. I thought they realized I was following them."
"Why did you think so?"
"Because they walk in circles. They go through the same place time and time again."
"Isn't that what people do when they're on a date? Walking in circles at the mall or other places."
"But this is different. Their behavior isn't like that. After all, isn't going through the same place over and over again a characteristic of people who suspect they're being followed? If the person they suspect goes round and round on the same route, won't everything become clear?"
"Are you also walking in circles there?"
"No. After they passed the same place, I immediately withdrew. I just watched them from a distance. It was true that I couldn't see clearly what they were doing, but I think it's much safer."
"Then you lost track of them?"
"No. They then sat down on a bench. After about a minute of them being seated, the girl walked into a passageway which was nearby. The toilet was at the end of the passage. She had been in there for a long time. The man kept looking down while reading a book. After ten minutes, the man stood up from the bench and walked away. I immediately ran toward the bench. I traced the aisle that led to the toilet. It turned out that there was another way out. The hallway was not the only one way to the toilet."
"That means you had been found out," Yihshyong said. he laughed.
"I thought so too. Straight away, I returned to the bench they had sat on. I looked around. The man who was with the girl was still in one of the shops in the mall. He was looking at the items sold in that shop. If he had realized that I was following them, he would have disappeared as soon as I entered the hall that led to the toilet. In fact, he was still there."
"Didn't you see someone else was following them?"
"Other people? Why do you think like that?"
"There is a possibility that someone else is following the girl. The girl left after realizing that they were being followed. After the girl entered the hallway, soon the person following her also entered there. The man looked down, not because he was reading a book, but watching to see if the person they suspected would follow the girl into the passage. After someone actually followed the girl into the passage, the man felt relieved that it was not he who was being followed, but the girl."
"Before the man got up from the bench, there were indeed several people who entered the aisle. There were also people who entered half running. But that's a toilet. So it's normal if there were a lot of people going in there. It's also normal if someone was seen in a hurry. Maybe they are dying, have a powerful urge to urinate or defecate."
"What I said was just my imagination," said Yihshyong. "It's possible that nothing actually happened. The girl did part with the man on the bench. Each of them then continued their own activities. Then did you go straight home after that?"
"No. I decided to follow the man. He then left the mall and entered the mall across the street."
"The two malls facing each other?"
"Right!"
"He seemed to walk around like a normal person while in the mall. But then he stopped walking. He walked into a shop. I didn't dare go any closer. I walked into another shop that was nearby."
"What was he doing there?"
"He just stood there. I was also confused by his behavior. From where I stood, I couldn't see clearly. So I ventured to get closer. I knew it was very risky, but I had to do it. After getting close, I realized he was observing someone. who was in the diner across from the shop where the man was standing. When I turned to look at the diner, I was very surprised."
"He was observing someone we know," Yihshyong guessed.
"That's right! I saw Dahge there. He was eating with someone."
"Was Dahge with a woman?"
"So true!"
"Miss Liuchiou?"
"No."
"The girl you were stalking?"
"Nor!"
"Then who was she?"
"I don't know. I've never seen her before."
"How did that woman look?"
"She's very pretty. She's in her mid-thirties. So it's a lot different from Miss Liuchiou or the girl Dahge was after."
"This is a new mystery for us. After being friends with Dahge for so long, it turns out that there are many things we don't know about. If something like this had not happened to us, maybe we would never know the other side of Dahge."
Iren nodded. He agreed with Yihshyong.
"Instantly, I went into another shop to hide. About two minutes later, Dahge and the woman finished eating. They left that place right away."
"Then, was that man following Dahge?"
"No. As soon as Dahge left, the man came out of the shop where he was hiding. He went straight into the restaurant where Dahge had just finished eating. With very fast steps, he approached the table where Dahge was sitting. You know what he was doing there ?"
"Photographing the table?"
"No. From inside the bag he was carrying, the man took out a transparent plastic bag that looked like the plastic bag that police usually use as a container for storing evidence. Quickly, but very carefully, he took the glasses that Dahge and the woman had used to drink from. After putting the glasses in the plastic bag, he put the plastic bag back in his bag."
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