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"Leave it to me."
Takamatsu Tomori took a deep breath, her small face filled with a serious expression, placed her hand on the cover of the answer book, and then asked earnestly.
"Who hurt Sakiko?"
Whoosh.
The answer book flipped pages rapidly, as if by itself.
(As expected, their relationship is extraordinary…)
Looking at Takamatsu Tomori's practiced movements and Anon's unsurprised expression, Nagasaki Soyo understood.
(Tomori and her friend definitely haven't seen the answer book for the first time, and they've definitely used it before. No wonder Kitahara-kun doesn't care about the risk of exposure…)
(And that pink-haired girl next to Tomori, she's less than half a meter away from Kitahara-kun, clearly a bit too intimate…)
At the same time.
Words quickly appeared on the blank page:
[Sakiko's father]
"Eh?"
Nagasaki Soyo widened her eyes, quickly suppressing her chaotic thoughts, and furrowed her brows lightly:
"Sakiko's father… what does that mean?"
Kitahara Makoto said in a deep voice:
"It's simple, the injury is related to Togawa-chan's father."
Chihaya Anon widened her eyes and speculated:
"Could it be domestic violence?"
Kitahara Makoto calmly said: "It should be."
"Impossible." Nagasaki Soyo involuntarily clenched her fists, "Sakiko is so cute, how could anyone bear to commit domestic violence against her?"
"…What if she has an alcoholic and gambling father?"
At this point, there was nothing left to hide. Kitahara Makoto softly spoke about the information he knew.
An alcoholic father, a sick mother, a schooling younger brother, and a broken her… Well, the latter two buffs weren't there, but Togawa-chan's father was not only an alcoholic but also addicted to gambling, which was clearly even worse.
Kitahara Makoto knew very well how much harm and pain an alcoholic, gambling father could bring to his family, and that a leopard never changes its spots, so there was no hope whatsoever.
That day, when they were returning from a weight loss business trip at the beauty center, Togawa-chan asked how she could make her father pull himself together.
If she wasn't extremely disappointed, she should have been more concerned about the house problem, right?
Unfortunately, Kitahara Makoto hadn't thought too much at that time.
"I see…"
Nagasaki Soyo was in a daze, her teeth tightly biting her lower lip: "Is this why Sakiko suddenly left the band and left everyone without a word?"
Takamatsu Tomori clutched her chest, her eyes already welling up with misty tears, her tone filled with self-reproach:
"So Sakiko has been suffering alone all this time. When I met her at school… I even deliberately avoided her…"
"If there's a misunderstanding, resolve it. If there are regrets, work hard to make up for them. It's not too late now." Kitahara Makoto extended his right hand and vigorously ruffled Takamatsu Tomori's small head, "The most urgent task now is to find Sakiko, and then clarify the situation."
Nagasaki Soyo said worriedly:
"I sent so many messages, but Sakiko never replied to me."
Since Togawa Sakiko chose to conceal her whereabouts, she definitely wouldn't tell everyone where she was.
So…
Kitahara Makoto's gaze shifted to Anon beside him, and he handed over the answer book:
"Anon, it's decided, it's you."
"What is this? Just asking this book feels like cheating."
Chihaya Anon complained as she took the book.
Kitahara Makoto said righteously:
"Cheating is shameful, but it's very enjoyable."
Chihaya Anon: "…"
Thinking about it carefully, it really did seem enjoyable.
Raising her eyes and glaring at Kitahara Makoto, Chihaya Anon placed her hand on the answer book and asked where Togawa-chan was.
Whoosh.
A address quickly appeared on the blank page.
Kitahara Makoto glanced at it and understood:
"It's Togawa-chan's newly rented house."
That day, when the two of them went to Sato's house to clear a curse, Togawa Sakiko accidentally got infected with the curse after touching a cursed painting. That night, she couldn't move in the bathroom. Kitahara Makoto had been to her old, dilapidated apartment at the time, and the address now was completely different.
"The address is known." Kitahara Makoto looked at the three girls beside him, "What do you say? Do you want to go home and wait for my news, or…"
Before he finished speaking, Nagasaki Soyo had already clenched her fists and said:
"Let's go together. I can't rest easy until I see Sakiko."
Takamatsu Tomori said with a serious expression, "I want to go too."
Chihaya Anon blinked when she heard that. "Since everyone is going, I'll go too. Maybe I can even help."
This pink-haired girl had no connection with Sakiko. The reason she wanted to go was purely due to her mischievous nature, she simply wanted to watch the fun.
"Then let's go."
Kitahara Makoto opened his umbrella and led the three girls into the misty rain.
Half an hour later.
"This is it."
Kitahara Makoto brought the three girls in front of a detached house.
The evening rain poured down.
Although it was only six o'clock, the sky was already quite dark. Looking into the house through the windows, it was dim and nothing could be seen clearly.
"Is Sakiko inside?"
Nagasaki Soyo stepped forward, extended a slender finger, and pressed the doorbell. However, after waiting for two minutes, there was no response from inside the house.
Kitahara Makoto raised his phone, frowning slightly, "I just sent a message to Togawa-chan, and it's still unread."
Takamatsu Tomori couldn't help but become nervous, "Sakiko isn't in danger, is she?"
"Don't scare yourself. Sakiko might have gone out. It took us a lot of time to get here from the park…"
Although she was comforting Takamatsu Tomori with her words, Nagasaki Soyo herself was unsure and instinctively looked at Kitahara Makoto for help.
"Stay calm, don't panic," Kitahara Makoto said in a steady tone, "You've known Togawa-chan for so long, you should be very clear about her personality. She's both proud and resilient, and wouldn't do anything foolish."
Chihaya Anon, hearing this, couldn't help but recall the spontaneous kiss at Shonan Hospital yesterday, her face flushed, and she couldn't help but mutter softly, "That's not necessarily true. Even the smartest people have impulsive moments…"
She was too impulsive then, otherwise she would never have actively kissed this guy.
Besides herself and Tomori, he was also ambiguously involved with so many other girls, it's too much!
It's just too much!
"Let's find a way to get into the house and confirm first. If no one's there, then we'll consider what to do next."
Kitahara Makoto led the three girls around the house.
All the doors and windows on the first floor were closed, making entry impossible. However, a window on the second floor was half-open, likely for ventilation.
"That's it," Kitahara Makoto looked up at the second-floor window, "I'll go in through that window and see if Togawa-chan is inside."
Chihaya Anon hesitated, "Isn't illegally entering someone else's residence a crime?"
Kitahara Makoto said earnestly, "What do you mean illegal entry? It's clearly a stealth investigation."
Chihaya Anon: "…"
"When circumstances are urgent, the priority is Sakiko," Nagasaki Soyo chose to support, "It's just that the window is too high, let's look for a ladder…"
"No need for that much trouble."
As Kitahara Makoto spoke, he handed his backpack to Anon, then took half a step back and squatted down.
"Eh? Kitahara-kun wants to jump up?" Chihaya Anon was slightly startled, then quickly understood what Kitahara Makoto wanted to do. "It's so high, he definitely can't jump that high, right?"
"Trust me."
Kitahara Makoto's tone was confident. He jumped directly from a standstill, with an explosive force that surpassed human limits, easily leaping to the second-floor window. Then he quickly pulled the window open and slipped inside.
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