The Gods Are Fighting Over Me - Chapter 18
The first day on the island was uneventful.
Lin Jianyue walked ahead with her drawing tablet on her back, while Jinpei Matsuda followed with his hands in his pockets, their long shadows stretched by the setting sun.
They quickly became familiar with each other by exchanging information about Kenji Hagiwara.
They talked about how Kenji Hagiwara had shamelessly wheedled his way into becoming friends with him in elementary school, coaxing and tricking him into going to his house for dinner.
They talked about one hot summer in middle school when they took apart two air conditioners at his house, only to be held down and beaten up by Kenji’s older sister.
They talked about a rainy day in high school when the neighbor’s large dog, which had been rolling in a puddle, joyfully pounced on Kenji Hagiwara. Kenji, who was wearing new clothes, took off running, with the dog chasing him for two kilometers.
Lin Jianyue laughed as she listened. She suddenly stopped and pulled her tablet out of her backpack. “Wait, I have to remember this scene.”
As she spoke, the smile on her face hadn’t faded. Small lights danced in her eyes, as if she had crushed stars and hidden them there.
As soon as she opened her drawing app, the quick-preview section on the home page was densely packed. Kenji Hagiwara took up almost two-thirds of the space. Some were finished, and some were half-done and abandoned.
The eyes behind Jinpei Matsuda’s sunglasses darkened. His gaze moved from the screen to Lin Jianyue’s focused profile, and the corners of his mouth subtly curved up. His eyes held a newfound approval.
Her fingers slid across the screen, and with just a few strokes, she outlined the face of a panicked young man being chased by a happy, panting golden retriever.
She was so focused on drawing that she didn’t notice Jinpei Matsuda had walked up to her until he scoffed. “He was in a much sorrier state than that. He almost lost a shoe.”
“Really?” Lin Jianyue’s eyes lit up. She immediately added a few more messy strokes to the young man’s face, and her smile deepened. “I have to add that. Details are important.”
Jinpei Matsuda’s eyes softened as he looked at the light in hers. He suddenly felt that it might not be a bad idea for these two to be together.
When he first heard about Lin Jianyue, he was against it. He had tried to get Kenji Hagiwara to see a psychologist or a supposedly very effective monk. Then he gave his silent approval. Now, he was completely on board.
“But Hagi has his cool moments, too.”
He changed the subject, deciding to praise his childhood friend.
“Like what?” Lin Jianyue asked calmly, but with a hint of anticipation in her eyes.
“Like…” However, Jinpei Matsuda fell into a strange silence.
He racked his brain, but all he could think of were the clever ways Kenji Hagiwara used his emotional intelligence to skillfully handle the awkwardness of being confessed to by girls.
As for speeding in a car chase, disarming bombs, and chasing criminals… these heroic feats that seemed incredibly brave to others were just mundane and insignificant to Jinpei Matsuda.
He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. Jinpei Matsuda sighed helplessly. “I guess you’ll have to see for yourself.”
The next evening, a strong wind suddenly swept across the sea. The sky was like a pierced ink sac, and the pouring rain fell, pattering against the glass windows.
Lin Jianyue stared at the hazy rain outside the window, her fingers unconsciously picking at the edge of her drawing tablet. She felt inexplicably heavy-hearted.
The restaurant with the clichéd slogan “Indulge in the Wild and Delicious” was empty, with only a few people scattered around. The light from the wall lamps shone down, making the floor look shiny.
This restaurant only provided simple, pre-processed ingredients and a grill for guests to cook their own food.
Jinpei Matsuda took Lin Jianyue to a seat near the door. As they sat down, they heard Kogoro Mouri’s angry voice from the corner. “Are you kidding me? We’ve been waiting for half an hour!”
The only waitress kept apologizing and bowing, almost hitting her head on the table. “I-I’m so sorry…”
Jinpei Matsuda frowned, got up, and walked over. “What’s wrong?”
The waitress, who should have been at the front counter, fidgeted with her fingers and looked up timidly. “The chef… he’s not in the kitchen. We’ve looked everywhere. He’s not here.”
“He’s gone?” Jinpei Matsuda and Conan stood up at the same time, their expressions grim. They walked toward the kitchen. The waitress tried to stop them halfheartedly, then lowered her head and led the way.
The kitchen was excessively clean. The iron pot on the stove was open, a basket of half-peeled onions sat on the stainless steel table, and a knife lay on the cutting board, a piece of celery still stuck to the blade.
It didn’t look like someone had left for a long time. It looked like someone would be back to cook at any second.
“Maybe something came up?” Ran whispered as she followed behind, looking at the onions.
Lin Jianyue lowered her eyes and didn’t say anything. Instead of something coming up, she felt like this scene was the prelude to a murder, just like in the Detective Conan manga.
Maybe before she went out next time, she should call Conan Edogawa to confirm his plans before she did anything.
Everyone waited for another fifteen minutes. The clock on the wall read eight o’clock. The sky outside the window had completely darkened. The rain hadn’t stopped, and the chef still hadn’t appeared.
“Jianyue-san, how about we cook something ourselves?” Ran Mouri said with a smile, tying on an apron, a half-peeled onion in her hand.
Lin Jianyue lifted her eyelids and said frankly, “I’m sorry. I’ve never been in a kitchen before. I don’t know how to cook.”
“Huh?”
Ran’s eyes widened. Even the yawning Kogoro Mouri paused.
In Japan, it was rare for a woman to have no experience in the kitchen at all. Even someone like Eri Kisaki, who only made terrible food, would make a point of cooking four dishes and one soup for her family on special occasions, even if they were poisonous.
“That’s okay. I can do it,” Ran said with a quick smile. She picked up a knife and started cutting onions. “You can just rest on the side.”
“I’ll help you wash the vegetables,” Lin Jianyue said, walking to the sink. “But you’ll have to teach me how to wash them properly.”
Jinpei Matsuda silently rolled up his sleeves and pulled two potatoes out of a burlap sack, his fingertips brushing against their rough skin.
“Jianyue-san, you don’t even know how to wash vegetables?” Conan asked, his arms resting on the back of his neck, his tone a little teasing.
“No. And I can’t tell all the vegetables apart.” Lin Jianyue stood calmly, not at all flustered by being called out. “I had a cook at home. I never needed to be in the kitchen.”
Besides, her father would never have allowed Lin Jianyue to waste her time on something as meaningless as cooking.
After speaking, Lin Jianyue took a handful of lettuce from Ran Mouri and rinsed it under the faucet as Ran instructed.
Soon, the kitchen was filled with a delicious aroma.
The edges of the fried eggs were a caramelized brown. The hot miso soup had the fresh scent of kelp. Even the simplest snack tasted refreshing.
Lin Jianyue took a big mouthful of rice, and her eyes widened in surprise. “Ran-san, you’re a really good cook.”
She then subtly looked at Kogoro Mouri, who was also eating a large amount of food.
If all Japanese men were like Kogoro Mouri, who would rather have his elementary school-aged daughter cook on a stool than go into the kitchen himself, she would never marry a Japanese man in her life.
But on second thought, the men who survived for a long time in Gosho Aoyama’s manga seemed to have a trace of his own male chauvinism in them.
After dinner, Ran was about to clean up the dishes when Lin Jianyue suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Don’t worry about the dishes. I’m taking you to the private screening room at the villa hotel. I know a few classic movies about feminism.”
“But the dishes…” Ran’s eyes fell on the mess on the table, a look of habitual concern on her face.
“The person who cooks doesn’t have to wash the dishes. That’s the rule.”
Lin Jianyue smiled and turned to look at Kogoro Mouri, who was about to sneak away. “Besides, Mouri-san is a famous detective. A man like that would never let a woman do all the housework, right?”
The man whose name had been called out stopped in his tracks and looked at Lin Jianyue with a blank expression, as if this was the first time someone had ever asked him to do housework.
“I’m leaving the dishes to you, Ran. Let’s go.” Without waiting for Ran to react, Lin Jianyue grabbed her hand and ran out of the restaurant.
From behind them, they could still hear Kogoro Mouri’s protests and Conan’s calming voice, “It’s fine, it’s just a few dishes.”
Jinpei Matsuda put his hands in his pockets, thought for a moment, and then slowly followed them.
In the basement, the private screening room was only open to SVIP members.
Lin Jianyue swiped her silver-white card. The door made a beeping sound and unlocked, but it wouldn’t open. It was as if something was blocking it. It only opened a crack.
Lin Jianyue’s fingers paused on the door. Her first thought was of a corpse. Goosebumps spread across her skin. She silently pulled her hand back and turned to the man leaning against the wall. “Jinpei, can you help me push the door open?”
“Huh?” Jinpei Matsuda looked up.
“It seems to be stuck,” Lin Jianyue paused, then added, “It might be a corpse.”
Jinpei Matsuda’s eyes instantly darkened. He took a step forward and pushed hard. The door swung open, followed by the sound of a pile of DVDs and film reels collapsing.
Amidst the clatter, a black shadow suddenly fell.
The sound of the rope rubbing was incredibly clear in the empty room. A strange and ominous creaking sound drilled into her ears. The shadow hanging in mid-air swayed slightly in the light of the emergency lamp.
Ran’s scream pierced the silence. Lin Jianyue’s throat felt clogged. All the sounds were stuck in her chest.
The chef’s white uniform was tangled in the rope. His head was tilted to one side, his eyes bulged, and his purple tongue dangled from the corner of his mouth.
The corpse that had suddenly appeared from above was hanging right in front of her, only inches away, almost face to face.
A real death was far more grotesque than one in a manga. Lin Jianyue instinctively took a step back, her back hitting a light stand. A chilling sensation crept up her spine.