Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 382 Pretend to be real
"You don't understand this. You wasted a minute of the entire police station. Sixty people is one hour. There are 102 police stations in Tokyo, with a total of 46,000 people. That's 766 hours, which is equivalent to a month of delay!"

As Fushimi Shika spoke, he stood up and stood between the two of them, facing Minamoto no Tamako with his hands behind his back... The waiter looked down and saw that he was holding a 10,000 yen bill between two fingers, swaying back and forth.

Minamoto no Tamako found this logic strange; it was clearly sophistry. She could tell that something was wrong with Fushimi-kun, and she felt that he was hiding something from her.

"You've been acting strangely since just now," she said, narrowing her eyes and scrutinizing her dim-witted assistant. "Do you know that waiter?"

Fushimi Shika's acting was flawless, revealing no weakness. After the waiter took the money from his hand, he explained, "Aren't I with you 24 hours a day? How could I possibly have time to socialize?"

While it was true that they were "spending 24 hours together," saying it made it sound a bit ambiguous, especially in front of strangers. Yuan Yuzi felt a little embarrassed and told him not to talk nonsense or cause any more trouble.

"I was just offering a friendly reminder."

Fushimi Shika shrugged, pretending nothing was wrong, and slowly walked to the restroom.

Seeing that he was no longer stopping her, Yuan Yuzi assumed he had just lost his mind and didn't pursue the matter further. Her immediate priority was indeed to find out the murder, and she planned to leave after checking her bank account balance.

"Excuse me, miss, our POS machine is experiencing a minor malfunction..."

The waiter looked embarrassed and returned Yuan Yuzi's bank card.

"Ah, okay."

Minamoto no Tamako took back her bank card and planned to check her balance at an ATM on her way to the Fujiwara residence.

When Fushimi Shika finished using the restroom and emerged, shaking the water off his hands, Minamoto Tamako was already waiting at the shop entrance. He strolled over, plopped down in his wheelchair, and casually asked, "Finished the investigation?"

“No, their POS machine is having some problems,” Yuan Yuzi said, standing by the roadside hailing a taxi. “I was planning to check it out on my way…”

"Are you just going straight to the Fujiwara residence like this?" Fushimi Shika interrupted.

“Uh… what else?” After saying that, Minamoto Tamako realized the problem: “That’s right, Director Fujiwara should be at work right now.”

"That's not the point, is it? Don't strangers need appointments to meet Commander Kujo?" Fushimi Shika successfully steered the conversation away from the topic: "Besides, you're just going empty-handed? Aren't you going to bring anything?"

"That makes sense. You should at least bring a small gift when you visit..."

As she spoke, Yuan Yuzi slapped her forehead: "Wait a minute! We're not going to his house as guests, why bring a gift? We can just call and say so, can't we?"

"Do you have Director Fujiwara's contact information?" Fushimi Shika asked, glancing sideways.

"No, but my mom definitely has one. I can just give her a call." Minamoto Yuko took out her pink flip phone and called her mom.

Fushimi Shikashin said, "Is this what it means to be a son of an official? It's so good to have a family background! Officials that ordinary people can never get close to in their entire lives are just a matter of a phone call for Minamoto no Tamako."

"Moshi Moshi? Good afternoon, Mom..."

"Have you had dinner? Oh no, I've already eaten..."

"Once I finish this case, I'll cook for my mom myself..."

"Yes, you found out too? It wasn't Section Chief Kinoshita who pushed it onto me; I took it myself..."

"That's the gist of it. There are some things I need to ask Director Fujiwara..."

"No, no, no, it's not an interrogation, just getting some information..."

"Ah, yes, Fushimi-kun is going too..."

Minamoto no Tamako lowered her head, glanced at Fushimi Shika, her gaze meaningful: "Yes, he's with me... Okay, thank you, Mom. I'll wait for your news..."

After saying that, she handed the phone to Fushimi Shika: "My mother wants you to answer the phone."

"Let me answer the phone?" Fushimi Shika pointed at his own nose.

“Yes,” Yuan Yuzi covered the microphone and whispered a reminder, “You’d better be careful. Judging from her tone, she seems a little unhappy.”

"Why?" Fushimi Shika wondered, thinking that he hadn't done anything wrong lately.

“Maybe she thinks you’ve corrupted me, like teaching me to lie or something…” Yuan Yuzi pressed the speakerphone button, handed over the phone, and said somewhat guiltily, “That’s not important. You answer the phone first. I’m also curious about what she wants to say to you.”

Fushimi Shika looked helpless. He leaned closer to the phone's microphone and politely greeted him.

Kujo Yui knew all about the little things between the two of them, including what happened at the dinner party. If she hadn't spoken up to save the day, Minamoto Tamako would probably have been upset and conflicted all night... She vaguely felt that Fushimi Shika cared more about his own face than whether Minamoto Tamako was happy.

Since that's the case, she needs to make Fushimi Shika understand his place. Even if Minamoto no Tamako likes him, even if there's a one in a thousand chance they'll get married, in the end he'll just be the Kujo family's 'son-in-law'.

After exchanging a few polite words, Kujou Yui got straight to the point: "Under what pretext do you intend to accompany my daughter to see Director Fujiwara?"

Fushimi Shikashin thought, "What kind of question is this? Does a villainous female supporting character in a 'rejected engagement' story have to be accompanied by a clueless villainous henchman?" The villainous female supporting character, Minamoto no Tamako, and the foolish henchman, Fushimi Shikashin, worked together to mock Fujiwara no Homare, the son-in-law of the Dragon King. At the crucial moment, Fujiwara no Homare waved his hand, saying that the three-year period was over, his son had passed the test, and could inherit the Fujiwara family, delivering a resounding slap in the face...

"A colleague relationship... right?" He always felt that Kujo Yui's words had a hidden meaning.

"Are we just colleagues?" Kujo Yui asked.

Fushimi Shika turned around and saw Minamoto Tamako looking at him expectantly, though he had no idea what she was expecting. He cleared his throat and added, "And our partnership... Tamako and I are best friends."

Kujo Yui, too lazy to beat around the bush, said, "I'll just get straight to the point. I want you to meet with Director Fujiwara as Tamako's boyfriend and beg him to break off Tamako's engagement."

Fushimi Shika was startled, thinking to himself, "Why don't you just let me die?"
Even if Director Fujiwara is magnanimous and can tolerate Minamoto Tamako's official business, wouldn't it be blatant disruption if he showed up at her door claiming to be her boyfriend?

"This... Commander Kujo, you may have misunderstood..."

Before Fushimi Shika could finish speaking, Kujo Yui interrupted, "I know that you and Tamako only have friendship, not romantic feelings, which is why you were asked to pretend to be her boyfriend and break off the marriage that was binding her... Tamako, you must be listening too, right? Are you willing to marry Fujiwara Homare?"

Gen Tamako quickly shook her head, then realized that her mother couldn't see her, and quickly added, "Of course not!"

Kujo Yui hummed in agreement: "You heard that too, didn't you? As Tamako's closest friend, are you just going to stand by and watch her be forced into an arranged marriage and ruin her own future?"

This move is called "cutting off the fuel supply from under the pot." She had no intention of informing her father at all. If she waited for Gentama to find a boyfriend before discussing breaking off the engagement, it would be tantamount to handing the initiative over to her father. She might as well bypass her father and use Fushimi Shika to completely eliminate the possibility of a marriage alliance.

She then personally visited Director Fujiwara to apologize, trying to maintain the relationship between the Kujo and Fujiwara families, explaining that breaking off the engagement was not the Kujo family's wish, but rather Fushimi Shika's decision made unilaterally.

As for how Director Fujiwara would treat Fushimi Shika, she didn't care at all.

Even if Fushimi Shika knew that this was her plan, there was no way to counter it, because she stood on the side of 'morality' and had Fushimi Shika's weakness in her grasp... As long as Fushimi Shika still cared about Minamoto no Tamako, she would never refuse her in front of Tamako.

That's right, this is a calculated strategy.

Fushimi Shika quickly figured out the key point, thinking to himself, "How come all government officials in the world are like this? They'll take the benefits, give the right reasons, be flexible in their actions, and give plenty of face... but they'll never take the blame."

How abominable!

Fushimi Shika opened his mouth, wanting to politely refuse, and said, "Uh, it's like this..." As he spoke, he glanced up and saw Minamoto no Tamako standing beside him, looking at him expectantly. "This... cough cough... this is a serious matter, I still need to think about it..."

"Does Fushimi-kun have any concerns?" Kujo Yui left him no way out: "Why don't you just say it? Maybe we can help you solve it?"

"This...isn't convenient to talk about..."

"Do you treat us like outsiders?" Kujo asked.

Fushimi Shikashin said, "Why are you using 'we'? I am indeed very familiar with Minamoto no Tamako, but I have only met you twice. Don't you consider me an outsider?"
He's supposed to be the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department, how can he have no shame at all?

He glanced at Minamoto no Tamako again. The latter seemed unaware of this. She and her mother were not outsiders, nor were she outsiders with Fushimi Shika. They were all family!

"What if Director Fujiwara finds out I lied afterwards?"

Fushimi Shika knew that what he said was petty, especially since he said it in front of Minamoto Tamako. It was extremely low and degrading, and he could even be classified as a jerk... But there was nothing he could do. Kujo Yui's move was too ruthless, and he could only protect himself by losing face.

"How could you have found out?" Kujo Yui said with a smile, "As long as you don't clarify, isn't it the truth?"

She practically blurted out the words "fake it real".

Before Fushimi Shika could speak, Minamoto no Tamako frowned and couldn't help but object, "Isn't this a bit too hasty?"

In her mind, it should have been Fushimi confessing his feelings to her, and her reserved rejection, followed by Fushimi's persistent pursuit, that finally moved her on a romantic night, making her reluctantly agree... instead of the way things are now, where they became nominal boyfriend and girlfriend in a daze, and then in a daze, they became a real couple.

Life doesn't necessarily need a sense of ritual, but a life without a sense of ritual cannot be called a life.

While Minamoto no Tamako may be relaxed about material living conditions, she will never lower her standards for the spiritual world!

Fushimi Shika's face lit up with delight, and she secretly encouraged Minamoto no Tamako: 'Yes! That's it! Firmly reject your mother's unreasonable demands!'

"Shouldn't we at least add a deadline?" Minamoto Tamako added.

(End of this chapter)