"Does Xiu Xin still remember what happened the last two times Xianyou got drunk?" Asakawa Xia propped her cheek with one hand, staring straight at Aoyama Xiu Xin as she asked softly.

Aoyama Xiu Xin's face slightly changed, and he dodged her gaze, unable to look her in the eye, "I... I've long forgotten."

Of course, he remembered—the taste was fresh, smooth, and endlessly memorable.

"Then let me help you recall it today." The corner of Asakawa Xia's mouth curled up as she rose and moved to sit beside Aoyama Xiu Xin, placing his hand onto her body.

"Sis... Sis-in-law, please don't do this." Aoyama Xiu Xin shivered, quickly pulling away as he said nervously, "I can't betray Brother Xianyou."

The more he resisted, the more excited Asakawa Xia became. The effect of the alcohol only magnified this emotion; her pretty face hot and flushed like the dawn, her breathing slightly rapid.

"Can't doesn't mean don't want to," Asakawa Xia said coquettishly, "Don't worry, Xianyou will never know."

As soon as she finished speaking, she reached out to embrace Aoyama Xiu Xin.

But Aoyama Xiu Xin suddenly pushed her away.

"Sis-in-law… Please have some self-respect!"

Caught off guard, Asakawa Xia cried out as she was pushed back onto the tatami, her pinned-up hair loosening somewhat, slightly disheveled, which, combined with her drunken face, made her look exceptionally alluring.

She wasn't annoyed, though. Adjusting her posture, she supported herself with her hands behind her, leaned backward, displaying her already prominent bosom even more, her slim and long legs lifted—one foot wrapped in a white sock, gently sliding it across Aoyama Xiu Xin's chest.

"Xiu Xin, you really are a gentleman. But by being so unyielding, am I not made to appear promiscuous? Do you have to contrast your nobility with my unfaithfulness?"

Her foot was quite agile, managing to undo a button on Aoyama Xiu Xin's white shirt with her toes.

"Sis-in-law!" Aoyama Xiu Xin stood up abruptly, his head bowed, his face flushed with embarrassment, "I still have to attend to a case, so I must leave, excuse me."

No sooner had he spoken than he hurried toward the door.

"Stop." Asakawa Xia's face turned cold as she called out.

Aoyama Xiu Xin paused, but still pretended he didn't hear and reached for the door.

Asakawa Xia, maintaining her posture, crossed her legs in an 'Erlang' sitting position, and without turning her head, said, "If you dare leave this door, don't blame me for not being polite. You're afraid of offending Xianyou, but are you not afraid of offending me? The Asakawa family is not just any small household; a few whispers in Xianyou's ear from me would be enough trouble for you."

At that moment, she was somewhat annoyed.

"Why must you make things difficult for me, sis-in-law?" Aoyama Xiu Xin sighed helplessly, his face darkened as he spoke.

"Hmph," Asakawa Xia snorted lightly, her body agile as she changed direction. Looking up at Aoyama Xiu Xin, she said leisurely, "Ever since I was a child, there's nothing I wanted that I didn't get. Xiu Xin, as long as you make me happy, I'll definitely not let you suffer."

"How do you regard Brother Xianyou?" Aoyama Xiu Xin clenched his fists, grinding his teeth as he asked.

Asakawa Xia seemed unconcerned, "That's for you not to worry about; you'd better hurry and worry about something else instead."

She paused for a moment and then, with a cheerful smile, continued, "Like… me."

With those words, she sandwiched Aoyama Xiu Xin's waist with her legs like chopsticks and forcefully pulled him down.

"Since that's the case, don't blame me for being offensive."

Aoyama Xiu Xin, as if to vent, said through gritted teeth and treated Asakawa Xia roughly.

Hanging her along had been lengthy enough, dragging it out further might backfire. Should Asakawa Xia turn furious out of embarrassment, her desire to possess might shift to resentful hatred for his ingratitude, which would spell trouble.

Moreover, as a devout seeker, he knew well that everyone's path was different, and Asakawa Xia's was uniquely her own. He had once merely glimpsed its threshold but having already seen its outstanding merits, he yearned to delve deeper into study.

As for the risk of the affair being exposed...

To hear the way in the morning and die in the evening would be enough!

A seeker of the way, without such a mindset, should not dream of touching the great way of the world.

"Giggles~ That's right, I'm sure you're very annoyed with me, so take this chance to get back at me fiercely, don't hold back, do whatever you want, if you don't show some temperament, are you even a man?"

Asakawa Xia laughed heartily, oozing charm, holding Aoyama Xiu Xin tightly, her eyes filled with excitement, her mouth incessantly uttering provoking words to stimulate Aoyama Xiu Xin.

She thought she had finally forced Aoyama Xiu Xin into submission, brimming with a sense of achievement, self-congratulating, but she missed the cunning light that flashed in Aoyama Xiu Xin's eyes.

In line with his established persona, plus his true nature, Aoyama Xiu Xin had been standing all the while.

More than an hour later, he tidied himself up and left without looking back.

Asakawa Xia was in disarray, her pupils somewhat dilated, and it took her a while to come to her senses. She whispered "beast" under her breath, a hint of fear flickering in the depths of her eyes.

Aoyama Xiu Xin had not treated her as a person, as she had fainted and then revived midway, feeling as if she had almost died.

However, Asakawa Xia had to admit that this experience was unprecedented.

The next morning, Yanchuan Xianyou woke up in a hotel bed with a splitting headache. He took a sharp breath and rubbed his brow; he only remembered drinking with Xiu Xin last night, the rest was a blur.

In a daze, it seemed he remembered his wife crying.

"You're awake." Asakawa Xia sat up.

Yanchuan Xianyou looked back in fright, his eyes widening, "You... What happened to you?"

There were faint fingerprints on Asakawa Xia's originally fair face as if someone had hit her, and there were also light red marks and bruising scattered over her delicate body as white as jade.

"It was you," Asakawa Xia said with a mix of shyness and annoyance, glancing at him. She touched her still swollen cheek with a slightly hoarse voice, "Last night you were drunk. Xiu Xin brought you home, and as soon as you entered the room, you pinned me to the floor and were very rough."

She looked up at Yanchuan Xianyou, tears seemingly sparkling in her eyes. She pleaded with pursed lips, "Husband, please don't do this next time, alright?"

"I'm sorry, I... I don't know what happened. I must have been too drunk last night," Yanchuan Xianyou said, wracked with guilt as he hugged her and comforted her, "It won't happen again. It won't."

He then understood why he remembered his wife's cries, she must have been hurt by him.

Could he really be so aggressive when drunk?

Although he didn't actually like this cunning woman, she was still his wife, so he felt deeply remorseful for committing such violence.

"Mm, I don't blame you. It must be because you've been under a lot of stress lately, bottling everything up inside, and it all came out after you drank," Asakawa Xia said softly as she hugged him back, even finding excuses for him.

"Ah, maybe," Yanchuan Xianyou sighed, then worriedly added, "I wasn't so drunk last night that Xiu Xin saw my disgrace, was I?"

He always felt somewhat superior when facing Aoyama Xiu Xin, and although he rarely showed it in his behavior, if Aoyama Xiu Xin saw him like that, he would be embarrassed.

"I noticed something was wrong with you and quickly sent him away," Asakawa Xia said smoothly, lying effortlessly.

Yanchuan Xianyou let out a sigh of relief, stroking his wife's hair, "You've been put through a lot, put through a lot."

"It's not a trouble; we are husband and wife, after all," Asakawa Xia said with a bright smile on her face.

Master Tang once said the key to being husband and wife is love and affection.

...

In the blink of an eye, two days had passed, and only one day was left before the deadline set by the criminals.

"Minister, excluding those who have retired due to age, there were 37 police officers who left their positions last year in Hokkaido. Among them, 7 were medically discharged, 22 left voluntarily, and 8 were dismissed due to mistakes on the job. We have checked the current status of these 37, and four of them are particularly suspicious."

Nakamura Shinichi stood in front of Aoyama Xiu Xin with several files in hand, reporting the work of the past two days.

"Who are these four?" Aoyama Xiu Xin asked.

Nakamura Shinichi immediately bent down and handed over the files, "Here are the profiles of the four."

Aoyama Xiu Xin read as Nakamura explained.

"According to the investigation, all four were from the Criminal Affairs Division at the Asahikawa Police Station, one was an assistant chief inspector, and three were patrol chiefs. Half a month ago, they were dismissed for jointly assaulting the division head, Kato Gen. One of them has a body type very similar to that of the suspect who placed the bomb in the jewelry store security footage. And after the incident, all four have disappeared, so they are highly suspicious."

Aoyama Xiu Xin looked at the information in his hands; the four police officers were named Zhongshan Tetsu, Miyamoto Ryou, Uesugi Shinryu, and Hashimoto Yunhai. Zhongshan Tetsu was the assistant chief inspector and the direct superior of the other three.

"Why did they attack their superior?" Aoyama Xiu Xin put down the files and asked, looking up.

Nakamura Shinichi's face showed discomfort as he lowered his voice, "Publicly, it's said that they were dissatisfied with the brash actions of Kato Gen, the head of the criminal section. But inside the Asahikawa Police Station, some say it's because Kato Gen was biased and had long been embezzling and skimming off the top of bonuses meant for his subordinates. Zhongshan Tetsu's mother was diagnosed with a serious illness at the end of the year that required expensive, long-term medication, so their dissatisfaction with Kato Gen's actions led to the conflict. In a fit of pique, Kato Gen had all four dismissed."

Of course, a division head like him didn't have the authority to dismiss four full-fledged policemen on his own, but he had his connections to make it happen. After all, collectively assaulting a superior was a serious offense, and a dismissal request would be approved.

"Idiot!" Aoyama Xiu Xin cursed angrily. He was well aware that official reasons are often not the real reasons, it's what's said in private that tends to be true.

In other words, if the bombing was indeed orchestrated by Zhongshan Tetsu and his three colleagues, it all stemmed from Kato Gen's unfair actions—truly a crime worthy of death.

What angered Aoyama Xiu Xin was not the bombing itself, but Kato Gen's corrupt behavior. Was it just him doing this? Or were many other leaders quietly engaged in the same thing? If Zongshan Tetsu and his colleagues were pressed into such desperate, retaliatory extortion today, then tomorrow, others might be driven to make even greater errors.

A single ant hole might cause the collapse of a massive dike—a potential revelation that the entire Hokkaido Police system was collectively corrupt, as how could those below defend such a collective if they didn't even receive what was due to them?

This was akin to digging at the roots of Mr. Aoyama!

"Immediately and discreetly investigate whether Kato Gen's embezzlement is real. If it is, use that damn scoundrel as an example to warn the others," Aoyama Xiu Xin said with a brutal glint in his eyes and a murderous tone.

These vermin, skimming yet another layer off the money they were already pilfering – short-sighted fools. How could a country be well-governed in the company of such people?

It never occurred to him that a bomb threat might expose their internal corruption.

Nakamura Shinichi solemnly responded, "Yes, sir!"

"We need to investigate this, but we also have to look into Zhongshan Tetsu and the others. We must lure them out, otherwise, they're in the dark and we're in the light; we're always being led by the nose," Aoyama Xiu Xin said, taking a deep breath.

Even though there was no concrete evidence yet, he was almost certain that they were behind the bombing.

When so many coincidences came together, it was no longer a coincidence—it was inevitable.

Nakamura Shinichi nodded in agreement, already having had thoughts on the matter, "I do have a slightly rough idea, but it will certainly draw them out."

"They have grievances against a superior who embezzled their bonuses, they could come to me. But committing such life-threatening actions is absolutely unforgivable. For such vicious people, there's no need to talk about justice; you simply use whatever works best on them," Aoyama Xiu Xin hummed expressionlessly, speaking righteously.

"Yes, Minister, that's a wise view," Nakamura Shinichi offered a bit of flattery before saying, "My idea is…"

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.