Baijia Yuan is a large courtyard, and the small apartment rented by Kameda Atsushi is located on one side of the courtyard. It is a traditional Japanese wooden longhouse, very easy to find. You don't even need to ask anyone, you can see it at a glance - there is a wooden plaque on the door with the words "Kameda" written on it.

Nanahara Takeshi is still the same. He poked the door with a wire and easily opened it. He entered the small room, which was about 7-8 square meters in size, and everything inside was clear at a glance.

There is no kitchen, no bathroom, no toilet, no furniture, no windows. If it weren't for the worn-out tatami mats on the floor and a few old cardboard boxes piled up in one corner, it would look like an enlarged version of a capsule hotel room, only enough space to lie down and sleep.

Unless you are desperate, no one would rent such a place. Living here is only slightly better than being a homeless person.

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Kiyomi Ruri was stunned as soon as she entered the door. It was completely different from her imagined "secret base" or "safe house for affairs". She hesitated and went to check the few cardboard boxes. Nanahara Takeshi turned back and looked at the new door lock, deep in thought, and followed her closely.

There was nothing secret in the cardboard boxes, and there was no "truth" that Nanahara Takeshi had mentioned before. Kiyomi Ruri took out everything from inside and placed them neatly on the tatami mat. She found that one box contained two obviously worn-out blue work clothes, several slightly worn-out labor gloves, and some small clothes like thick socks and head wraps, all washed very clean.

The other box contained several pairs of rubber-soled shoes and insoles. The remaining boxes contained writing utensils, stationery, envelopes, calendars, daily toiletries, and some old newspapers.

"What are all these..." After checking, Kiyomi Ruri was a little confused. She couldn't figure out the situation at all. Did Kameda Atsushi secretly rent this apartment just to hide these worthless things? What's the point? But when she turned to look at Nanahara Takeshi in confusion, she was surprised to find that he had a serious expression. She couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong? Did you find something?"

"The situation is not good." Nanahara Takeshi snapped back to reality and sighed, "Is it because Japan is too weird or am I just unlucky? I'm just trying to earn some hard-earned money, why do I always encounter such nonsense?"

His voice was too low, and Kiyomi Ruri didn't hear it clearly. She turned to look at the miscellaneous items on the tatami mat, even more puzzled. "What do you mean by the situation is not good? What happened?"

Nanahara Takeshi had already made a speculation at this point. After all, this matter was very simple. As long as the information he knew was enough, combined with some life experience, it was not difficult to connect the dots. Unlike the "forgery of famous paintings" last time, which required a female protagonist to remind him, this speculation was made without any help. But knowing the truth made his mood suddenly turn sour, and he didn't feel like chatting with Kiyomi Ruri. He slowly approached the cardboard boxes and took a glance, asking, "Is this all the stuff?"

Kiyomi Ruri carefully checked the cardboard boxes again and answered, "Yes, that's all."

Nanahara Takeshi turned around and put on his shoes at the door, sighing, "Let's go and ask someone. The most important thing is missing here. It was probably given to someone."

"What is it?" Kiyomi Ruri quickly got up and caught up with him, still confused.

"Let's find it first before talking. There is someone who often helps him with laundry. He is about to die, and he will probably use his most valuable item as a thank you. It should be nearby, we can find it by searching." Nanahara Takeshi looked around at the neighbors after leaving the door, and chose the cleanest house in front of the door. He went straight over and knocked on the door.

The door opened quickly, and a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl in a middle school sailor uniform opened the door cautiously, carefully observing Nanahara Takeshi and Kiyomi Ruri, and asked, "Hello, who are you looking for?"

Nanahara Takeshi had an innocent smile on his face. "We are friends of Kameda-san. We came here to visit him specially. Do you know Kameda-san?"

The middle school girl relaxed slightly, but still kept the door ready to be closed at any time. She politely said, "You mean Uncle Kameda? He lives next door, but I haven't seen him for a week. What are your names? Is there anything I can help you with?"

"My last name is Nanahara, and her... her last name doesn't matter. And you?"

"You can call me Terai." The girl named Terai remained cautious and didn't give her full name. She continued to be polite and asked, "Is Nanahara-senpai leaving a message?"

Nanahara Takeshi smiled even more gently, and his voice became softer, giving people a sense of security. "So it's you. Kameda-san mentioned you once before, saying that you take care of him a lot... Oh, by the way, is he doing well living here?"

Terai now felt that Nanahara Takeshi didn't seem like a bad person anymore, and with a common acquaintance, she felt even more relaxed. After hesitating for a moment, she thought that telling the truth might help Kameda Atsushi, after all, his condition had been a bit off for the past half year.

After hesitating for a while, she hesitantly said, "He seems to be in a bad state recently, looking a bit lost. The walls here are thin, and I... I accidentally heard him crying a few times, two or three times, intermittently, and..."

At this point, she hesitated again, feeling that revealing someone else's privacy might not be a good thing. But Nanahara Takeshi nodded gently and smiled, "I also heard him arguing with someone named Aiba. They had several arguments, right?"

So it's not a secret after all. Terai breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, there were a few times when I heard arguing, but the voices weren't loud, so I didn't hear them clearly."

"Thank you. Sorry for taking up your time. This is a small token of appreciation, and thank you for always taking care of Kameda-san..."

As Nanahara Takeshi spoke, he reached into his pocket, as if he was going to take out his wallet, but Terai, who was poor but honest, quickly waved her hand and said, "No need, no need. I just wash a few clothes for Uncle Kameda when I do laundry. I didn't take care of him much. Uncle Kameda already gave me a thank-you gift last week."

"Oh, what was it?" Nanahara Takeshi stopped his hand, seeming a little surprised.The little girl at the temple subconsciously opened the door a little wider and pointed to an old dual-card cassette recorder on a small desk in the room, saying, "Kameda-san gave me a cassette recorder and some tapes, asking me to study English well and strive to get into a good high school and win a scholarship."

...

After more than ten minutes, Kiyomi Ruri and the Tibetan Fox returned to the commercial street with Nanahara Takeshi. Along the way, she kept asking, "What happened? What happened?" But Nanahara Takeshi was in a bad mood and ignored her. He urged her to ride faster and go home quickly. However, when they arrived at the commercial street, he hesitated for a moment, sighed, patted her back, and changed his mind, asking her to stop.

He jumped off the bike, took out a small leather wallet, took out two 1,000 yen bills, sighed again, took out a 10,000 yen bill, hesitated for a moment, sighed again, and took out two more 10,000 yen bills. He hesitated for a moment and wanted to put one back, but in the end, he didn't have the heart to do so. He handed all the money to Kiyomi Ruri and ordered, "Go, buy some candies and pastries that girls like to eat and can be stored for a long time. Also, exchange some food coupons for meat, eggs, and milk, and give them to the temple."

Kiyomi Ruri asked curiously, "Why?"

"Because that cassette recorder from almost twenty years ago is worthless. If it weren't for Kameda Atsushi having no other choice, he wouldn't have given that as a gift. Now that I already know, and he's dead, died so miserably, it's only me who's unlucky. Otherwise, I'm afraid that one day, it will ruin my mood." Nanahara Takeshi's pain grew as he spoke, and finally, he said unkindly, "If I tell you to go, you go. I'm the boss, and I have the final say. Don't ask why!"

This damn girl started talking again, she's really annoying!

Kiyomi Ruri stared at him with a blank expression, her face resembling the Tibetan Fox, and after a moment, she decided not to argue with him on the face of doing a good deed. She turned her head and pushed the bicycle to start a big shopping spree.

She had a good impression of the junior high school student at the temple. Although she didn't know how she knew Kameda Atsushi, she could feel that she was kind-hearted and ambitious. She had no objections to helping such a person. She even planned to bring some reference books she used in junior high school to her, hoping that she could really get into a good high school and go to college in the future.

Nanahara Takeshi casually found a place by the roadside and waited. He waited for about thirty to forty minutes, and it was already getting dark. At this moment, not far away, a loud shout came, "****, where's my bike?"

Nanahara Takeshi sighed and stood up. He faced the aggressive and surprised delinquent with a quiff who ran over and pointed at him, saying, "First, take a look at what's behind you!"

The delinquent with the quiff subconsciously turned his head to take a look, and Nanahara Takeshi kicked him in the crotch. Then, he quickly made his move, grabbed his ear, and dragged him a few steps before stuffing him into a trash can. The whole process, from expression, tone, to action, was as smooth as if it had been practiced countless times.

Hmm, this is the simplified version of the legendary "Finger Pointing to the Road," "Monkey Stealing Peaches," and "Double Dragons Playing with a Pearl" combo. It is said that as long as these three moves are mastered, even immortals can't defend against them. Beating up this little delinquent is enough. Nanahara Takeshi spared his life because he didn't want to ruin his reputation as a medium. Besides, this guy didn't deserve to die, and he was also a male. He didn't want to play with his "pearl." That's why he let him go.

The crotch is a man's weak spot. Only those who have experienced it know how painful it is. It can leave a lasting impression, even stronger than love. The delinquent with the quiff, who had been kicked in the crotch, had no strength to fight back and fell down. Nanahara Takeshi didn't stop there. He saw him struggling to climb out, picked up the nearby trash can lid, and hit him a few more times, directly making him roll his eyes. He said with dissatisfaction, "If I can't beat the mother of the Tibetan Fox, can't I beat you? You stupid guy who doesn't even have a clue, I spared your life without even knowing how to be grateful. If I'm not feeling good, I dare you to come and cause trouble for me again. Next time I see you, remember to stay away, or I'll put you in a pot and boil you for oil."

After dealing with this little delinquent who dared to extort and rob him and still wanted to settle the score, Nanahara Takeshi's mood improved a lot. He just covered the trash can lid and considered it a small punishment with a big warning. After all, fighting is too low-class, and being seen by others would damage his mysterious image as a medium, which would affect his ability to catch fat sheep in the future.

Nothing happened. The author will definitely note that the readers should not pay attention to this small episode. It was just the protagonist venting his frustration for a moment, purely human nature. Nanahara Takeshi didn't care either. He wiped his hands with disinfectant wipes and waited a while. When he saw Kiyomi Ruri finally coming back on the bike, he jumped on the back seat and went straight home, completely ignoring what would happen to the little delinquent.

He had been wandering with a mixed circus for many years and was by no means a law-abiding citizen. He hadn't developed a weak and easy-to-bully personality. It was only because he was forced to cross over that he needed to cultivate himself and maintain a professional image to be more approachable. Otherwise, based on his previous personality, he would have caused a big fuss in Hirayano a long time ago. Now, he had to be honest and live a difficult life. Otherwise, with his previous personality, he would have been in a mess by now.

Kiyomi Ruri didn't notice that Nanahara Takeshi had just become a "violent criminal." Her physical fitness was indeed good, and she only had a slight sweat on her forehead after pulling him all the way back home. Following his request, she washed the bike properly and wiped it clean. When she entered the house, she found that Nanahara Takeshi's mood seemed to have improved again. He had already prepared dinner and was waiting for her to eat together.

She immediately went to wash her hands and sat down at the dining table. She picked up her rice bowl and took a small bite, savoring the pure fragrance of the rice. Then, she couldn't wait to ask, "What happened in the end? Can you tell me now?"

She had been holding it in all the way, and if Nanahara Takeshi dared to tease her again, it would be her turn to stuff him into the trash can.

Nanahara Takeshi was indeed fine now, and he had already adjusted his mindset. He didn't mind and said, "Actually, it doesn't matter anymore. The commission has been completed, and it was completely unexpected that Fumie-san would have a nightmare. I have already determined the cause, and she won't have a relapse. It's fine for her to go back and live there. It won't ruin our reputation."

Kiyomi Ruri became even more curious and asked, "What is the cause, after all?"Nanahara Takeshi focused on the essence of having dinner first and casually said, "Everything was caused by Kameda Atsushi's carelessness. Although there were some misunderstandings in between, it's all his fault. He faked his suicide for insurance fraud."

(End of this chapter)