Chapter 33 Confrontation

, can you tell me how my mother died?

As if shocked by her directness, Hasegawa Kenshin looked up at the woman standing by the window and did not speak for a long time.

After a long time, he finally smiled bitterly: "If I tell you, will you believe it?"

"Whether you are willing to say it is your business, as for whether I want to believe it is my own business."

She slightly turned her body, her calm eyes flowing over his body, their eyes met and moved away silently.

The old man sighed slightly.

"I don't know how to explain it, because I wasn't there. Takako told me in tears that they had an argument in the corridor and she accidentally fell. Apart from shock, anger and sadness, what else can I say?" "

But that's not what I saw." The woman suddenly spoke, her cold voice seemed to suppress some unknown emotion, and her eyes shot through the air and seemed sharp, "She was obviously..."

She stopped talking halfway and clenched her fingers in the pocket of her windbreaker: "Actually, uncle knows about it, right?"

Hasegawa Kenshin looked at her dimly: "Yuki, you have been like this since you were a child. Knowing too much is not necessarily a good thing."

"So after that, you were in a hurry to find someone to send me and Seichi away?"

"I really don't want to investigate further. Whether Guizi did it intentionally or not, Gardenia is dead and nothing can make up for it. Guizi was the mother of two young children at the time. No matter how angry I was, she had to consider Shu and Yumi. And you, although it was not very real, you saw it after all. I can't guarantee whether keeping you and your brother will cause greater harm. It happened that Mieko was willing to take you in, so I decided to let you go with her."

"But have you really never thought about what happened that made her do such a cruel thing to her mother? She is your biological sister, have you never thought about seeking justice for her?"

Her eyes were sharp, penetrating into the old man's eyes, and the latter's pale face only showed a gray and hazy look.

"But Youji, there is nothing wrong with protecting your family."

After a moment, he just sighed, and almost at the same time, the woman opposite stared at him for a long time, and finally gave up and let out a long breath.

"Thank you for telling me so much, uncle."

The long memories made her feel a little tired, and she only said lightly to the old man with a pale face on the hospital bed.

"When I left here that year, I made up my mind not to return and not to have any intersection with anyone here." She turned around and looked up at the vast and sad autumn sky, "But uncle, I still came back."

"Can you tell me the reason?" Hasegawa Kenshin looked at her back, "Or can you explain what happened these days?"

"I don't know how to explain."

The woman retracted her gaze, turned her face and smiled innocently: "Atobe Yuichi took advantage of his seniority and power to make profits for himself within the chaebol, and Atobe... Keigo wanted to deal with him for a long time, but I didn't know that Shu and this uncle had such a deep friendship."

She smiled lightly halfway through: "Uncle, do you really know everything?"

Then, as expected, she saw a layer of haze gradually covering the old man's face.

"Yuki." He spoke after a long while. "I understand what you mean, but I'm not sure what you mean?" "

Is it important?"

"Of course, you are the daughter-in-law of the Atobe family now, but you have half the blood of the Hasegawa family in your body. Half of the Hasegawa Company's success today is due to your mother's hard work. I hope you can remember this."

The old man's eyes suddenly became hot and sharp, piercing into her pupils like a sword. In an instant, it seemed that all the sounds were silent. Yuki

didn't speak for a long time. After

a long time, he said, "Is the old... room still there?"

Hasegawa Kenshin was stunned for a moment, nodded, and smiled a little: "Do you want to go and have a look?"

The room where he and his mother lived more than ten years ago seemed to be the same as before. The furnishings had never changed. Because no one had lived there for a long time, it was covered with thick dust. The sunlight shone through the thick curtains, lonely as snow.

"It's still the same as when you left. It hasn't moved. Since then, my father has not allowed anyone to come in."

Shu, who accompanied her, opened the window to let in some air, and said slowly, but the woman seemed to have not heard him. She stood where the light and shadow intertwined, her eyes swept across most of the corner. The old floor and mahogany furniture seemed to have been washed by time. The cool autumn wind blew from the open window, and the dust covering it fluttered and danced in the air.

In fact, she didn't live here for a long time, so she didn't miss it too much. On the contrary, because the memory was too tragic, she subconsciously wanted to escape. She didn't even understand why she stepped into this place again. But whether it was a whim or some kind of obsession, the fragmented fragments deep in her memory inevitably became clear. 

"At that time, you took Seiichi and Aunt Michiko away, and this room was sealed up by my father, and someone was asked to clean it up every once in a while." Hasegawa Shu walked to the dressing table, brushed his fingers across the dusty surface, and laughed self-deprecatingly, "But no matter what, the dust accumulates very quickly." " 

It might not be a bad thing to just let the dust bury it like this." Youji curled the corners of his mouth lightly, "If the past could be buried in dust as time goes by, people in the world would not be so hard." 

As if he had heard the hidden meaning, Shu just smiled slightly, "I once thought that time could heal all wounds, but it seems I was wrong." 

He turned his back to her, and seemed to sigh softly: "Do you still remember, at that time in this room, you were crying and packing your things, I wanted to go over to help you, but the look in your eyes when you looked up at me was so sad but full of disgust and hatred. I didn't dare to go over, not to move a step, I could only stand there, watching you being taken away hand by Mieko without even turning your head. At that time, I thought you must have begun to hate me..." 

"...Is that right, Youji? After such a nightmare, it would be strange if you didn't hate me, right?" Shu spread out his palms, his fingertips stained with a little dust, which was all scattered in the pale sunlight when the wind blew over them. "But Youji, from then on, the carefree time of my childhood ended. What we saw together that night changed more than just your life..." 

When he said this, he lowered his head to look at the texture of his palms, his hair covering his eyelids, vaguely but faintly sad. 

Youji stared at his tall back, his face calm. 

"Actually, I didn't completely hate you at that time." 

After a long time, she suddenly spoke. Shu was slightly surprised, but turned around to see the woman standing as usual, with clear and indifferent eyebrows. 

"I just hate, hate your mother, hate the Hasegawa family. For you who bear the Hasegawa surname, I can't be like before... But Shu, I remember how good you were to me before..."

"When I had no playmates when I was little, you would often sneak out to play with me; when I came home from school, you would wait for me on the way home to help me drive away the wolfhounds that blocked the path; after moving in with my mother, we were looked down upon by others, and except for my uncle, you were the only one who would defend me and my mother in front of adults... I remember all this, but Shu..." She didn't look him in the eye, but lowered her head, her gaze fixed on a corner, and spoke to herself quietly. Suddenly, she changed the subject, raised her eyelids, and cast her calm eyes into his eyes quietly, with a bit of sharpness, "It's all over. The night that Chengyi died on the operating table a year ago, all this was completely wiped out! That gentle brother Shu is already here!"

Shu was stunned.

The fingers clasped on the edge of the table tightened slightly, and a slight pain came from them. Some of the red paint peeled off and fell to the ground.

He turned around and looked squarely at the delicate face of the woman. Her indifferent and traceless face was desolate. There was no more grief-stricken sobbing, nor the hatred and disgust that almost killed people. However, it was thrilling and despairing.

"You Ji..." He moved his lips but did not continue. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before looking up with a self-deprecating smile: "Yes, you have enough reasons to blame me for this matter." " 

You know, Shu, I actually thought about investigating the truth of the matter through the court, but I was too young at that time and had no power to fight against the Hasegawa family. When I became a lawyer, it was difficult to appeal again because of the long time, and Seiichi's body did not allow a lot of litigation fees to be spent on it, so I didn't want to come back here and have any intersection with the people here. But Shu, it was you who pulled me back!" She looked at him with bright eyes, "It was you who made my brother a bargaining chip and victim in your fight, it was you who pushed me to Atobe Keigo's side, and it was you who awakened my fighting spirit and ambition! So, no matter what happens later, don't blame me." 

Her voice was not heavy, and she spoke slowly without haste, but it was loud and clear. Shu looked at her lacquered eyes and forgot to speak for a moment. 

After she finished speaking, she turned around and stopped when she was about to leave. She looked at him with a sidelong glance: "Oh, I almost forgot. I really didn't expect that uncle would protect you so much. I'm very curious about the reason." 

Shu laughed: "I almost thought you already knew." 

"You will know sooner or later." You Ji replied with an indifferent smile. 

"Really? Then I'll wait." He had recovered from the shock, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and smiled lightly until her footsteps gradually faded away in the empty corridor. 

Even if you knew, the result would not change, just like our fate, each extending along each other's trajectory and irreversible. 

The young man stood in the empty room and raised his head. The midday sun shone in through the window and dazzled his eyes. 

"The wife of Chairman Hasegawa is from the Suzuki family in Kansai. They were once a prominent political family, but later fell from power due to the political donation scandal involving Councillor Suzuki. It is said that this wife and Vice President Yuichi Atobe dated for a long time, and they were even talking about marriage." " 

Well, my uncle has been single for many years, and I thought he had no interest in such things." 

At that time, Keigo Atobe was in the office of a senior executive at the headquarters of the chaebol. The white curtains were drawn open, and large patches of sunlight poured in through the large French windows. The young man with purple-gray hair squinted his eyes, and the teardrop mole under his eyes faintly glowed. 

Akiyama Takuma, who was opposite him, avoided the slightly dazzling sunlight and lowered his head to continue flipping through the information at hand. 

"But it seems that things went against their original intention. After the Suzuki family fell into decline, they arranged a policy marriage between Suzuki Takako and Hasegawa Kenshin, the young master of Hasegawa Company at that time, in order to seek assistance, and the relationship between the two ended hastily. Coincidentally, when they were competing with the chairman for control of the family and the consortium, it was said that the vice president proposed to Miss Gardenia, the daughter of Hasegawa Company, in order to obtain financial assistance from Hasegawa Company, and obtained the consent of the elders of the Hasegawa family. Of course, later because Miss Hasegawa regretted the marriage..." " 

Wait a minute." Akiyama was interrupted in the middle of his words. He looked up in surprise, but saw the young man opposite him frowning slightly, and tapped the table lightly with his fingertips. 

"Why haven't you heard of this before?" 

"From the existing information, it seems that the marriage between the two families at that time only reached a preliminary consensus and was not released to the media. So when Hasegawa Gardenia announced her marriage to Terajima Kyosuke, the Atobe family never mentioned it, and the marriage was left unresolved." 

Akiyama flipped through the documents in his hand, looked up and gave an ambiguous answer. 

Atobe was obviously not satisfied with this answer, and snorted coldly: "Put down the information, I will take a look at it slowly." 

"Yes." 

"Also, how is the investigation of that person's affairs after his death going?" 

"The vice president had no family when he was alive, and his affairs should be entrusted to Secretary Ichikawa, but he has submitted a resignation application to the Human Resources Department a few days ago." 

"Can it be used?" 

"He is the person who has been with the vice president for the longest time and is the most loyal. It seems a bit difficult." 

Atobe chuckled, stood up and turned his back, overlooking the bustling streets of Ginza through the large transparent floor-to-ceiling windows: "Ask someone to check his cards. He has been with that old fox for so long, and I don't think he is clean." 

Akiyama was stunned for a moment, then he understood what he meant, nodded solemnly, and closed the door and went out. 

After the crisp sound of the door frame opening and closing, the huge president's office fell silent for a while. Atobe, dressed in white, stood in front of the window, looking coldly at the bustling Tokyo street scene under his feet. The handsome face reflected on the plexiglass suddenly curled the corners of his lips, as if he had found something interesting? 

After a while, he took out his cell phone and made a call. Then, the mixed and noisy sounds in the subway could be heard faintly across time and space. 

"Are you done there?" 

"Yeah, I'm on my way back to the law firm." 

"It doesn't sound as bad as I thought, huh?" 

"Do you think I should be depressed?" The woman asked back indifferently, standing in the subway car and looking at her indifferent face on the glass window opposite, and only moved the corners of her lips slightly. 

"Let's have lunch together at noon if you have time." 

"I have an appointment with a client, and the court session will start on time this afternoon." 

"That's a pity, I thought there are some things you would be interested in." 

"Let's talk about it later, remember to make an appointment next time." 

Arriving at the station, the woman in a black windbreaker hung up and walked out of the platform. She raised the corners of her lips inadvertently, and her high heels made a clanging sound on the steps. 

Atobe Keigo looked at the phone in his palm with a single-sided cut line, and the lines at the corners of his mouth twitched twice. 

He doesn't like the term "appointment time", he really doesn't like it!