At night, Xueying Junior High.

　　 Ayaka, a short-haired girl with a flashlight, hurried to the tennis club activity room with a light bulb bought from an electrical appliance store.

　　 "Unfortunately, I didn't even notice because of Jodo-kun..."

　　 The girl walked into the darkened activity room, put the replacement bulb and flashlight on the table, took out the chair and wanted to set up a table to remove the lampshade to replace the broken bulb.

　　 "You have to change the light bulb quickly and find that one. If you let someone else pick it up tomorrow..."

"Da da."

　　 There was a sound of footsteps outside, and someone followed into the activity room. The girl took a flashlight and shone it in shock, but the next moment she let out a sigh of relief.

　　 "What, scare me, why did you come to this place?"

　　 The visitor did not make a sound, and moved a few steps closer, raising the short arrow in the girl's confused eyes.

"what?"

　　 The girl was stunned, and escaped in horror, but was dragged by someone and fell to the ground heavily.

　　 "Don't!"

　　 "Shimadzu-kun," Gao Cheng appeared at the door, and stopped the black shadow chasing the girl, "stop it."

　　 The black figure froze, and he turned his head back in short breath, showing the sweaty face of the baseball team Shimadzu under the flashlight light.

　　 "How can you..."

"I wasn't sure who the prisoner was," Gao Cheng said as he walked into the activity room. "But the prisoner was right among the people who went to campus in the morning. No matter how you plan it, it is difficult to ensure that everything will follow your own assumptions. Prisoners need to take the initiative to participate, and at the same time they can provide themselves with an alibi."

　　 "What are you talking about?" Shimadzu took up the short arrow in his hand and explained with a smile, "I was just a little worried and came back to take a look, and then I found this. I didn't expect Ayana to be scared..."

　　 "I've seen it all," Gao Sung glanced over the girl who was leaning against the wall in shock, and turned to Shimadzu to calmly said, "No need to say anything, if you are only worried, why do you wear gloves on your hands."

"that is because……"

"Haruna's cause of death is indeed suicide, and the key is the cause of suicide," Gao Cheng said while looking at Shimadzu. "I have been thinking about what Dongmi did that would make Haruna hate her father to commit suicide. Now I finally understand a little bit. It is a happy color, but it has become an unforgivable color... Haruna is pregnant, right?"

　　Shimadzu's eyes shrank suddenly, and his face strained to look at Gao Cheng.

"It seems that this is correct," Gao Sung continued. "Haruna said it was indeed the color of pregnancy test sticks. I heard Haruna's mother said that she recently went home from work at a Misaki-cho restaurant and found that Haruna has become a little weird. In fact, It’s just that Haruna is temporarily hiding her pregnancy from her mother...

　　"It was originally a happy color, that is, when the pregnancy test stick reacted, it suddenly turned into an unforgivable color, which means that something happened in the middle to make pregnancy unforgivable...

　　 "Haruna directs the responsibility to his father, and considering the name'Imai Ryaya', which is easily renamed, I can probably think of whether Haruna feels she is pregnant with a half-brother or younger brother."

　　 Gao Cheng looked directly at the silent Shimadzu.

"After I heard that Shimadzu-san was reorganizing the family, I found out that your biological father was also named Imai Ryaya, who also lived in Misaki-cho, and was a frequent visitor to Haruna’s mother’s work place, so I vaguely understood the reason why Dongmi would suffer. Revenge, did it send the wrong message to Chuncai?"

　　The high school student was pregnant, he didn't even think of going up here at the first time, let alone any happy colors.

　　 The unmarried pregnancy is not happy for high school students when he thinks about it, but the facts do point to pregnancy, and what he sees now also confirms his guess.

　　 "Haruna is pregnant with your child, right, Shimadzu? It's still too late to investigate."

"Hahaha," Shimadzu tightened his fingers and suddenly smiled, "What if Haruna is pregnant with my child? Didn't you say that? The murderer went to the campus to kill Dongmei before it snowed, and waited for the snow to accumulate. Backward, leaving footprints in disguise Dongmei...

　　 But I have been with everyone in the morning before it started to snow, how could it be possible to guard the corpse and wait for the ground to accumulate snow on the campus? ! "

　　 "You know it well yourself," Gao Cheng asked rhetorically, "not to mention that it is impossible to leave footprints, but to guard the corpse...Why avoid the footprints?"

　　Shimadzu trembled slightly, and was interrupted by Gao Cheng when he wanted to speak.

"Yes, because there is a way to leave footprints even if you don't guard the corpse," Gao Sung reasoned in the face of Shimadzu, whose mood fluctuates, and the girl sitting slumped against the wall. Disguised the scene as suicide, because in that case, there is no need to go to Dongmei’s to steal shoes to raise suspicion. Sooner or later, the police will re-investigate because of this. After all, Dongmei’s fatal injury is suspicious on the back of the neck...

"In other words, by leaving the footprints on the snow that look like the murderer retreating and leaving the scene, people think that the murderer did not leave until the snow covered the ground. This is the real goal. The murderer is to prove his alibi! "

　　 "Then you are going to talk about it!" Shimadzu argued, "What's the matter with that footprint? Other than going backwards and leaving, are there other ways to leave footprints?!"

　　 "Salt."

　　 Gao Cheng replied easily in the confusion of Ayaka's gaze.

"Of course, even though it is only simple physical knowledge, it is difficult for ordinary people to think of it at once. You are indeed very smart who can come up with this technique. Before it snows, you sprinkle a series of footprints with salt on the campus. , After snow accumulates, it will naturally become the appearance of someone walking by, and the next rain will wash away all traces, and the police will not be able to find out...

　　 "Unfortunately, no matter how smooth this technique is, it still requires the personal involvement of the murderer, so that witnesses cannot find the clue."

　　 Shimadzu looked at Gao Cheng with a solemn face for a while, and when Gao Cheng finished speaking, his lips were dry and solemnly asked, "Who are you?"

"I've already said that the Special Advisor for the Metropolitan Police Department Searching Section... But this is not Tokyo. It doesn't matter who it is," Gao Cheng replied, and finally persuaded, "Turn yourself in, Shimadzu-san, although Dongmi They are wrong, but it would be too sad to kill their good friends for this."

"I'm not reconciled!" Shimadzu firmly grasped the short arrow in his hand, squeezed his face together, and buried his head in pain. "Just because I have the same name as Haruna's father, I made up that we are brothers and sisters, if not for them Making up such a boring lie, how could Haruna suffer to the point of suicide?! Haruna, she..."

　　 "I'm sorry!" Ayaka cried, "If you know that Haruna is pregnant..."

"I didn't know it originally!" Shimadzu looked at Ayaka again, "but the night after attending the funeral, I heard the conversation between you and Dongmi. It is not your fault that you said that Chunmi would be wrong by herself... What a joke!"

　　 Ayaka shrank herself in fright by Shimadzu's scolding, screaming as Shimadzu grabbed the short arrow and continued to rush towards herself: "No!"

　　 Gao Cheng aroused his toes, his calves trembling lightly kicked the mop in the activity room, and between the sparkling flints, he grabbed the end and sent force forward, hitting Shimadzu's weak underbelly and his arm.

"Bang!" Shimadzu felt his body numb and fell to the ground uncontrollably. He couldn't even catch a short arrow. He curled up on the floor in pain and sweated. After a while, the pain dissipated, but he didn't have any strength. Stand up again.

　　 "I also understand that Haruna's suicide is not just Dongmi and the others' fault," Shimadzu cried bitterly at the approaching Gao Sung, "Haruna confirmed at my house that day, and suddenly said that she wanted to see my childhood photo album...

　　 "I was expected to go to Koshien. I couldn't throw the ball again because of a shoulder injury. I was full of this at the time, but I just gave her the album and said nothing...

　　"After she left, I found out that there was a photo of Haruna's father hugging me...

　　 "Daddy Haruna happened to live near my house before. Mom put all the photos of me in the album, but Haruna misunderstood!"

　　 Shimadzu can't help but hug his head with tears.

　　 "I don't know anything. Not only did I not know Haruna's pain, but also personally gave Haruna the final blow to the desperate situation!! It was actually me who pushed Haruna to death..."

"Regret it?" Gao Cheng stepped forward and picked up the arrow with his handkerchief. "But no matter how Chuncai won't come back, even if you kill Dongmei and the others, or even yourself, what can you do? And your death, will Haruna be happy? Stop, Shimadzu, living is more important than anything else."

　　 put away the arrow that was used as evidence, and Gao Cheng reached out to the frightened Hasunuma Ayaka.

"never mind."

　　 "I'm sorry!" The girl recovered, covering her face and crying, "It's all my fault. It's just that Haruna was unwilling to be with Shimadzu and lied. We killed Haruna..."

　　 "Wait until tomorrow to worship the spring vegetables again."

　　 Gao Cheng didn't have much to say, and pulled the girl out of the activity room, just when he ran into Xiaodu and Xiaosuke hiding outside the door.

　　 "That," Xiaodu said embarrassedly, "We were a little worried about Kioto-kun, so we thought that maybe we would come to the school... But, I didn't expect Shimadzu to be the murderer..."

　　 Xiaosuke looked at Ayaka, who was crying, and then looked into the activity room.

　　 "Island, Shimadzu, is he okay?"

　　 "It's okay, it will be fine in a while."

　　 Gao Cheng glanced back at Shimadzu and put away his plan to contact the Akita prefectural police immediately.

　　 "Tomorrow morning, dig out the time capsule you buried and have a look, isn't it that Haruna is also looking forward to it? At least we should complete this agreement."

　　 "Huh? Is it okay?"

　　 The next day, before the sky was getting bright, a group of students gathered again on the campus of Xueying Junior High School. The fat boy and the fisherman's son who received the news each brought a shovel.

　　 Compared to the junior high school period in the photo, now there are only 6 people left, and they can't get together anymore.

　　Shimadzu has also surrendered to the police over the phone and will be taken away soon...

　　 The so-called time capsule is a metal bucket buried under a tree, and it contains what was sealed by everyone who was still a junior high school student at the time.

　　Shimadzu put a baseball to commemorate the victory of an elementary school baseball game. When he took it out, he stared at the baseball and was a little distracted.

　　 Ayaka also had a ball. The tennis ball with the words commemorating the champion of the Wimbledon Championship was opened and immediately blushed and hid in her arms.

　　 Xiaodu’s is his own diary.

　　 Haruna’s is a sketchbook, which draws a sketch for everyone, whether it’s Shimadzu or the same dead Dongmi, everyone is doing what they like, lifelike, as if their faces are radiant.

　　 "She observes really carefully," Xiaodu said sadly, "Although Haruna doesn't like to talk and is always on the side, she actually likes to be with everyone..."

　　 "The next one is Dong Mi's..."

　　 "Isn't this a picture of Shimadzu?" The fat boy was surprised, "It was during the game..."

　　 "There is a word after it."

　　 "I hope that when this time capsule is opened again, I can become the girl Shimadzu likes... Dongmi..."

　　 Looking at the message behind the photo, everyone at the scene fell silent.

　　 "That guy... has liked Shimadzu since then, and he has really become a beautiful woman..."

　　 There was snow again in the sky~lightnovelpub.net~ Gradually covering the cherry blossoms and the ground, several police cars drove into the school and took away Shimadzu and Ayana Hanuma under the eyes of everyone.

The people who 　　 left behind refilled the excavated pit and left the school with full of memories.

　　 Xiaodu once again saw Gao Cheng waiting at the entrance of the school, opened his mouth, lost his eyes and said: "So...Is Kyodo-kun the famous detective? I thought..."

　　 "If there is a chance," Gao Cheng smiled, "I will come to you again in the future."

　　 "Are you going back?"

　　 "Yes, work hard, I hope I can see your mystery one day."

　　 Gao Cheng handed a business card to several people, nodded and turned to leave.

　　 Although such bad things have happened, he still likes this special village very much. He doesn't want these short-lived friends to be ruined because of the incident. Life is still long, and anything in the future is possible.

　　 "Well," Xiaodu watched Gao Cheng disappear into the snow, tears could not be controlled under the frame of the frame, and he couldn't wipe it off no matter what, "I, I will become a reasoning writer!"

　　……

　　 The snow was extremely heavy this day, and Gao Cheng almost couldn't find the balcony hotel. Fortunately, Xiao Ai put on a coat and waited outside, and stopped Gao Cheng with a snow cover.

"finished?"

　　 "It's over," Gao Cheng shivered, and Xiao Ai entered the hotel to drink hot water and said, "I originally wanted to attend Dongmei's funeral, but I'm going back today."

　　 In the end, I couldn't see the Sakura Snow Festival. After all, something happened to Dongmi, who played the witch.

　　 It is a pity that he failed to prevent the tragedy from happening.