"Aoyama Xiu Xin is cunning and suspicious, Police Headquarters is full of his informants. Mr. Heize, we must be cautious in our actions in the future." After entering the elevator, Edogawa Renju looked straight ahead, but quietly said.
"Right!" Heize Tian’an responded with a smirk, "So that’s why you deliberately distanced yourself from me after Aoyama Xiu Xin mentioned Minister Nakamura, to confuse him and show that you had no idea I was deployed by Minister Nakamura to the Police Headquarters."
"Exactly, any incorrect reaction could arouse his suspicion," Edogawa Renju replied.
When the elevator reached the next floor, someone else entered, so they stopped talking and kept silent.
In the division chief’s office, Yoshikai Youzai stood silently in front of the desk, while behind the desk, Aoyama Xiu Xin sat with his legs crossed, flipping through the files of Heize Tian’an, Edogawa Renju, and Nakamura Tatsuyuki.
As Edogawa Renju had said, Heize Tian’an had indeed served in the same police station as him, and they had a good relationship. From the documents alone, there seemed to be no direct connection between him and Nakamura Tatsuyuki.
If one were to deduce by common sense, certainly Nakamura Tatsuyuki knew of the friendship between Heize Tian’an and Edogawa Renju, so he arranged for him to go undercover, using Edogawa Renju’s connections to get close to Aoyama Xiu Xin.
But Aoyama Xiu Xin not only had the cunning of Cao Zei, but also his disease—deep-seated suspicion. The more obvious the solution appeared, the less he believed it, habitually thinking deeper and assuming the worst.
Moreover, there were several doubts about the situation itself.
The biggest doubt was that Nakamura Tatsuyuki’s method of arranging the undercover operation was too crude. Did he really not consider that it was too easy for someone to find out that Heize Tian’an was his man?
Aoyama Xiu Xin didn’t believe Nakamura Tatsuyuki would overlook this point; since he did think of it, yet still acted thus, there must be another motive.
Suddenly, a flash of insight crossed Aoyama Xiu Xin’s mind, realizing a question: He had originally thought Edogawa Renju was the undercover agent, but Heize Tian’an’s appearance made him question this judgment; could this be Nakamura Tatsuyuki’s purpose?
Continuing along this line of thought.
Aoyama Xiu Xin felt more and more that this was the case.
After all, the timing of Edogawa Renju appearing in his sight was too coincidental, and Nakamura Tatsuyuki certainly also remembered telling Takeshita Jun about placing the undercover, and he must have guessed that Takeshita Jun would tell him.
So, to prevent the exposure of the undercover’s identity, he had to do something. Deploying another one, Heize Tian’an, to divert his attention was quite normal.
"Old Man Nakamura, incredibly cunning! You almost had me fooled," Aoyama Xiu Xin slapped the files onto the desk and said with a cold laugh.
Then a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
Since you intended for me to discover Heize Tian’an’s identity as an undercover and aimed to use Heize Tian’an to cover Edogawa Renju, I will just play along as you wish.
Yoshikai Youzai sharply caught the change in Aoyama Xiu Xin’s expression; he knew someone was going to be unlucky.
It could be one of those three files he had handed over, or maybe all three were unlucky.
"Knock, knock, knock!" Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Aoyama Xiu Xin gathered his thoughts, "Come in."
"Police Headquarters." Edogawa Renju pushed the door and entered.
Aoyama Xiu Xin discreetly covered the files in front of him with a file folder, waved his hand at Yoshikai Youzai, and said, "Alright, Yoshikai, you can go busy yourself."
"Right!" Yoshikai Youzai bowed and left.
Only then did Aoyama Xiu Xin look at Edogawa Renju with a smile, "So, you sent your old friend to the office? Old acquaintances reunited, why not talk a bit more to deepen the relationship, especially since you’ll both be in the Police Headquarters, looking out for each other?"
"My subordination to the Police Headquarters is enough," Edogawa Renju quickly declared, his expression somewhat tense and fearful, "The police chief is insightful; he and I had some association in the past, but it has faded. I didn’t even know he was deployed to the Police Headquarters by Nakamura Tatsuyuki."
"Mr. Edogawa, your words are a bit unfair." Aoyama Xiu Xin looked at him without a smile, casually saying, "I heard you were comrades in life and death?"
"It was just youthful simplicity, what can compare to the fame and the grace of being protected by you, the police chief!" Edogawa Renju decisively declared.
"Really?" Aoyama Xiu Xin smirked.
"Really!" Edogawa Renju firmly answered.
"Best be so," Aoyama Xiu Xin ominously stated, then waved his hand, "Go."
"Right!" Edogawa Renju bowed and turned to leave, feeling somewhat uneasy for reasons unknown.
Watching the office door close, Aoyama Xiu Xin made several phone calls to arrange something.
At the same time, elsewhere, Suzuki Yuki’s single-family home, where her murder had taken place, was already cordoned off by police lines. The police had been called by a close friend who was invited over that morning, who was now sobbing and recounting the events to the responding officers.
"Last night she told me she recently moved to a new house, gave me her address, and asked me to come over this morning to celebrate. She insisted, and I brought gifts, sobbing..."
Her close friend couldn’t speak without breaking into sobs.
"Take it slow, no rush, here, wipe your tears," the officer in front of her, tall and fair-skinned, though not particularly handsome, understandingly handed her a tissue.
The close friend took it clumsily and wiped her eyes, looking up at the officer with a choked voice and muttered a thank you.
"You’re welcome, I completely understand how you feel," the officer sighed with a face full of sympathy.