Tokyo Mystery Writers

"Ms. Myojin, do you have a fax machine here?"

"I want to fax this manuscript to the editor."

Maishiro Kyosuke took a sip of the tea that Myojin Seine had prepared for him and asked a question, but received no response.

Because at this moment, Myojin Seiin was still immersed in the story of "A Bellflower".

"Miss Myojin?"

Maishiro Kyosuke reached out and patted Myojin Seine on the shoulder, which brought her back to her senses.

"Hmm? Sir?"

Maishiro Kyosuke pointed at the manuscript and gestured to Myojin Seine:

Does the "Longevity Soup" have a fax machine?

"In this cold weather, I don't want to go to the publishing house to submit my manuscript again."

Myojin Kiyone understood what Maijo Kyosuke meant and nodded with a smile:

"Sir, the 'Longevity Soup' is available via fax."

"After all, many company presidents or entertainers live in the 'Longevity Soup' year-round. To make things convenient for these people, my father specially prepared two fax machines for the 'Longevity Soup'."

Upon hearing what Myojin Kiyone said, Maishiro Kyosuke reached into his jacket pocket and quickly pulled out the business card that Jiang Liu Meili had given him along with her bank card.

Using the phone in the hot spring hotel room, I dialed Jiang Liu Meili's number.

As several busy signals sounded, Maijo Kyosuke finally noticed the time; it wasn't even 4 a.m. yet.

Besides, Jiang Liumei drank so much alcohol yesterday, she should still be asleep, right?

Thinking about all this, Maijo Kyosuke decided to hang up the phone and talk to him again at noon.

But just then, the call connected, and a girl's soft, sleepy voice came through the other end:

"Hey? Is there anything I can help you with?"

Jiang Liumei's voice was no longer as crisp as before, but rather as soft and gentle as a kitten's, which reminded Mai Shiro Kyosuke of the ambiguous atmosphere between the two of them in the restaurant earlier.

Cheer up, now is not the time to think about these things.

In particular, there was that mysterious girl, Ming Shen Qing Yin, beside her, who was curiously looking in their direction.

"Miss Jiang Liu, I am Maishiro Kyosuke."

Do you have a moment now?

Jiang Liu Meili was clearly still in a half-dreaming state. Upon hearing Mai Cheng Jingjie's words, she muttered to herself:

"Hmm? Maijo... Kyosuke?"

"Ah—! It's Ms. Maishiro?"

"oops!"

The sound of Jiang Liumei falling off the bed onto the floor could be heard over the phone.

"it hurts!"

Upon hearing about the situation with Jiang Liu Meili, Mai Shiro asked with some concern:

"Miss Jiang Liu, are you alright?"

Jiang Liumei's voice cracked slightly, but she still replied with strength and composure:

"It's nothing, I just accidentally rolled off the bed and bumped my foot."

"On the contrary, Ms. Mai, is there something important that you called so early?"

Kyosuke Maijo, holding the phone handle, leaned against a pillar and wrote meaningless words on the floor with his toes.

"It's nothing important. I've finished writing the draft and I'm planning to fax it to you for a look."

A rustling sound came from the phone, followed by the frantic turning of papers.

"Mr. Mai, are you perhaps lacking inspiration? Although I'm not a writer, I have been a magazine editor. I usually jot down good ideas to help writers find inspiration. Mr. Mai, aren't you going to write about the story of the Seventh Sister of the Eight Hundred Houses? Don't worry, there are still at least ten days until the magazine is published. Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Even if you miss the first issue, I can arrange for you to be in the second issue..."

When Maijo Kyosuke heard Jiang Liu Meili's words, he couldn't help but laugh.

Because I could imagine it just from Jiang Liumei's slightly nervous words.

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Liumei was wearing pajamas, rubbing her injured foot while quickly flipping through her notebook, thinking about how to deal with her sudden "no-show".

"Miss Jiang Liu, I mean I've finished writing it and wanted to fax it to you for a look."

Maishiro Kyosuke interrupted Jiang Liu Meili's words, which caused the other end of the phone to suddenly fall silent.

About a minute or two later, Maishiro Kyosuke heard Jiang Liu Meili's surprised voice, as if she had discovered a new continent:

"Eh? Mr. Maishiro? Could you please repeat that?"

"Am I still half asleep and misheard? Or am I actually dreaming?"

"It's only been less than seven hours since we last met."

"You said you've finished writing the manuscript?"

"Are you kidding me?"

Maijo Kyosuke yawned and replied with a smile:

"I'm not kidding, it was 20,000 words. I just happened to have a burst of inspiration, so I finished writing it all in one go."

There was another silence on the phone, followed by the sound of rummaging through items.

"Mr. Maishiro, where are you now?"

"I'm coming to find you right now!"

When Maishiro Kyosuke heard Jiang Liu Meili asking him an emotional question, he was about to speak when he suddenly realized that something was not quite right.

Turning his head, he saw that the girl, Ming Shen Qingyin, had somehow gotten close to him, pricked up her ears, and was listening to the sounds coming from the phone with a curious look on her face.

Maishiro Kyosuke didn't want Jiang Liu Meili to misunderstand.

She didn't want to tell Jiang Liumei that as soon as she received her royalties, she went straight to the hot spring resort.

Because anyone would inevitably start to have wild thoughts if they heard that they had spent the whole night in a hot spring resort, right?

"Um... let's use the fax machine instead. I live quite far away, and it's so cold, it's inconvenient for you to come, especially since you hurt your leg..."

Looking at the Myojin Seine in front of him, Maishiro Kyosuke spoke to Jiang Liu Meili somewhat reluctantly.

"It's alright, Ms. Maishiro. I can't thank you enough for getting your manuscript to support my magazine."

"What's more, you took this matter so seriously, finishing the draft in just one night!"

"Only by visiting in person can I show my utmost respect!"

Upon hearing Jiang Liu Meili's words, Mai Shiro Kyosuke gasped in shock.

"Miss Jiang Liu, it's a bit inconvenient for me here right now..."

Kyosuke Maijo was only halfway through his sentence when he heard a series of signal fluctuations and noises coming from the phone.

Jiang Liumei was gone from the phone; replaced by a strange woman with a rather spirited voice.

"Miss Jiang Liu? Who is that?"

"Isn't this the 'Longevity Soup'? Did I dial the wrong number?"

Maijo Kyosuke's hand trembled slightly as he gripped the phone; it was exactly what he feared had come to pass.

In 1980, Japan's landline telephone technology was not advanced, and crosstalk often occurred within the same building.

Although the chances were slim, Maishiro Kyosuke just happened to run into him.

When Myojin Seine, who was eavesdropping nearby, saw Maishiro Kyosuke looking at her anxiously, she naturally understood what was going on.

He reached out and snatched the phone handle from Maishiro Kyosuke's hand, fiddling with it for a while before finally getting the phone back in order.

"Ms. Mai, it's all done."

As soon as Ming Shenqingyin uttered those words, she realized something was amiss and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

He handed the phone back to Maishiro Kyosuke.

"Miss Jiang Liu's phone line just got messed up..."

The only sound on the other end of the phone was heavy breathing, and just by listening to that sound, Maijo Kyosuke could feel the anger emanating from the other party!

"I understand, Ms. Maishiro is at the 'Longevity Soup'."

"I'll be there in about an hour."

Maishiro Kyosuke was about to explain when he heard Jiang Liu Meili's words, which sounded like she was gritting her teeth.

The call was suddenly disconnected.

Maishiro Kyosuke gripped the phone handle with a wry smile, while Akane Akane, standing in front of him, also seemed to have done something wrong, awkwardly biting her lower lip...