Tokyo: Rabbit Police and Her Evil Partner

Chapter 410 Long-term pain is worse than short-term pain
Genjiro was determined, and Fushimi Shika couldn't stop him. He could only hide back in his room and smoke in front of the air purifier—he had to cough loudly when lighting the cigarette so that Genjiro wouldn't hear him.

Ping Yingzi has Saturday and Sunday off. Just now, some guests came over, so she hid in a cardboard box to read comics. After the guests left, she went back to the living room to continue playing video games.

Yuan Yuzi leaned over the coffee table, engrossed in writing the bounty advertisement. Even with the noisy game sounds, she was not distracted at all and finished the advertisement in the blink of an eye.

She put the letter into the envelope, licked the edge of the envelope with her little tongue, sealed it, affixed a stamp, set it aside, and continued writing the invitation.

Gen Tamako planned to personally write a letter to each detective as a sign of sincerity. Different detectives would naturally have different invitations, which felt like writing a primary school essay or a letter to a friend far away. She had to stay on topic, observe etiquette, and cater to the detective's preferences... In short, it was very troublesome.

But then Yuan Yuzi thought again and worried that different invitations might cause ambiguity. For example, if a famous detective felt that someone else's invitation was more sincere and therefore felt slighted, he might refuse to participate in solving the Heavenly Punishment Murder Case. Wouldn't that backfire?
After much thought, Yuan Yuzi decided to call her mother and seek advice from someone with experience. Her mother had organized similar gatherings before, inviting elites from various fields to hold symposiums, and must have sent out invitations.

Gen Tamako pulled out her pink flip phone, propped herself up with a cushion, leaned against the sofa base, and dialed a number, calling Kujo Yui.

Instead of saying directly that she planned to write the invitations herself, she said, "I have a friend who plans to invite all the famous detectives in Japan to hold a mystery-solving event..." Kujou Yui listened quietly and suggested that her "friend" should have the invitations typed and printed. If it was a particularly formal event, then they should hire a professional font designer to type and print the invitations.

After receiving the standard answer, Minamoto Yuko thanked him and prepared to hang up. Unexpectedly, Kujo Yui suddenly changed the subject, asking about her recent situation: "How have you been lately?"

Gen Tamako twirled her pen with one hand and replied subconsciously, "It's great, every day is very fulfilling..."

Kujou Yui cut to the chase: "How are things going with you and Fushimi Shika?"

Her father has been putting pressure on her every day lately, mainly because she took it upon herself to unilaterally annul the marriage alliance between the Kujo and Fujiwara families. Although Director Fujiwara said he didn't mind, Kujo Mutsumi felt that this matter damaged the Kujo family's reputation and made it even more difficult for his granddaughter to get married.

Therefore, he called his daughter every day under the pretext of this matter, constantly bringing up marriage. Unable to bear it any longer, Kujou decided to transfer her pain to Minamoto no Tamako, making her also bear the pressure of being pressured to marry.

"Ah, uh, it's just... like that..."

Yuan Yuzi felt that as long as she didn't clarify, they would always be seen as a couple by outsiders.

"I heard you two kissed in front of Director Fujiwara?" Kujou Yui continued to ask.

Minamoto Tamako was shocked and quickly asked who had told her. Kujou Yui replied casually that she had learned about it by chance while chatting with Director Fujiwara. Minamoto Tamako felt the pressure; the Kujou family's upbringing was quite strict. She could only tell the truth: "It was just a kiss on the cheek."

"But?" Kujou Yui grasped the key point.

"Uh, well, Mom, you know that too..."

Gen Tamako braced herself and told them about pretending to be a couple. It was Kujo Yui who suggested it in the first place, and the two of them just went along with it. But after that, there was no follow-up. No one mentioned it again, for fear of revealing that the fake relationship had become real.

"Oh! What does it feel like to be kissed on the cheek?" Kujo Yui asked.

It's normal for a mother and daughter to talk about this, since they're mother and daughter. Generally, it's only fathers and daughters or mothers and sons who experience barriers in relationships.

To be honest, Yuan Yuzi was a little nervous at first, her heart was pounding, but after a while, the excitement passed and she felt that it was just so-so, and a kiss on the cheek didn't seem to mean anything.

—It's not as stimulating as a foot massage.

Of course, Tamako didn't tell Kujo Yui this.

In short, their relationship has stagnated since they started pretending to be a couple 'to the public'.

It was said to be an act, but in reality, only Chief Inspector Fujiwara knew about it. As the highest-ranking officer in the Metropolitan Police Department, he couldn't possibly be as gossipy as Watanabe Shun. That's why Kujo Yui only learned about it more than two months later. Chief Inspector Fujiwara didn't bring it up intentionally; it was just that the two of them were discussing their children's marriages in the office, and he casually mentioned it.

Currently, only two and a half people know that they are a couple. Kujo Mutsumi counts as half a person, as he has not yet met Fushimi Shika and does not verbally agree with the relationship.

This shows how much their plan to pretend to be a couple failed.

"So what are your plans for the future?" Kujo Yui asked, worried about her daughter's future.

“I…I’m not in a hurry…” Minamoto Tamako thought to herself, since the marriage alliance with the Fujiwara family had already been called off, why should she rush into marriage?

“I’m not talking about marriage,” Kujo Yui asked. “It’s about you and Fushimi Shika.”

Yuan Yuzi held the phone between her shoulder and ear, looking down and picking at her fingers, muttering softly, "These things can't be forced, what can I do..."

"Do you still like him?" Kujo Yui asked.

Yuan Yuzi gave a vague "ah," which sounded like an answer, but also like a denial in a strange tone.

"He doesn't take the initiative?" Kujo asked.

“Yes.” This time, Gen Tamako answered very clearly.

"He didn't refuse either?" Kujou Yui's tone gradually turned unfriendly.

“Yes.” Yuan Yuzi nodded vigorously.

Kujou Yui vaguely knew what was going on, and she asked Minamoto no Tamako to give the phone to Fushimi Shika, which Minamoto no Tamako did as she was told.

Fushimi Shika was happily smoking in his room when he heard a knock on the door. He quickly stubbed out his cigarette, fanned himself, and rinsed his mouth with mouthwash. After about a minute of this, making sure he didn't smell bad, Fushimi Shika opened the door: "What?" "My mom needs to talk to you." Minamoto Tamako gave him a 'you're doomed' look.

Fushimi Shika took the phone, and Moshi Moshi exchanged a few polite words.

Kujo Yui was too lazy to play games with him and went straight to the point, asking Fushimi Shika what he thought. She had already created opportunities for the two of them, and Fushimi Shika could have easily taken the opportunity to make the act real, but it ended with a kiss on the cheek... She wanted Fushimi Shika to give a clear answer: Did he like her daughter or not?
"My relationship with Minamoto no Tamako is purely platonic..." Fushimi Shika tried to argue.

Kujo interrupted, "Fine, then I'll relay it to her and tell her directly that you don't like her, that you only see her as a friend, and that she should give up on her as soon as possible and find another boyfriend."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Fushimi Shika's disgust for high-ranking officials intensified.

Left with no other choice, he could only retreat to his room, close the door, and pretend to confess the truth to Kujo Yui, but in reality, he was just making excuses for not wanting to confess: "It's like this, actually I have a terminal illness and I don't have many days left to live... If it were in the past, I would definitely take responsibility."

"That's wonderful," Kujo Yui exclaimed sincerely.

"What?" Fushimi Shika was taken aback.

"What terminal illness do you have? Is it contagious?" Kujo Yui continued to ask.

"No……"

“That’s wonderful,” Kujo Yui said. “You absolutely must date Tamako.”

After a moment's thought, Fushimi Shika managed to keep up with Kujo Yui's train of thought.

Kujo Yui, as his mother-in-law, clearly looked down on her son-in-law. But Minamoto Tamako genuinely liked him, and Kujo Yui, as his mother, couldn't say much.

She didn't genuinely wish for the two to be together; rather, she planned to "let her daughter find someone to settle for first"... If Fushimi Shika died, that would be perfect, as it would both enlighten her daughter and not delay her marriage—a win-win situation.

"If I die, Tamako will be very sad," Fushimi Shikata said shamelessly.

"It's alright. Lots of people around her have died, one more won't make a difference." Kujo Yui was optimistic about this, believing that her daughter could pull through: "Since her days are numbered, she should seize the time to enjoy life. Continuing to procrastinate is just wasting her life."

She paused, then asked again to confirm, "Is it really a terminal illness? What kind of illness?"

Fushimi Shika casually mentioned ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) and brushed it off with a laugh.

That's what he actually thought too. He'd been trying to get Genji to confess her feelings for the past two months, but the results weren't exactly bad—Genji didn't even realize the 'profound meaning' behind his gift of lipstick.

“Then let Tamako confess,” Fushimi Shika said shamelessly, “I will say yes to her.”

Kujo Yui fell silent. She truly hadn't expected Fushimi Shika to say such a thing. She was starting to believe it; this guy probably wasn't lying. Only someone about to die would do something like that in front of her.

"Isn't it the guy's job to confess?" Kujo Yui said.

"Isn't this sexism? Who says that in a relationship, it has to be the man who confesses? Doesn't the girl have the right to confess? That's so narrow-minded, so old-fashioned, so conservative..."

Before Fushimi Shika could finish speaking, a contemptuous laugh came from the microphone.

His attempt to justify himself came to an abrupt halt, and he frowned as he asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, just thinking about something happy," Kujo Yui said.

"..."

Fushimi Shika was silent for a moment, then asked, "What's so happy about it?"

Kujou Yui, too lazy to explain, dropped a fatal blow: "I recorded everything you just said. This weekend... no, today is already Saturday. I'm giving you a week. If you haven't confessed to her by next Saturday, I'll play the recording for her."

"Are you threatening me?" Fushimi Shika was furious.

"Hmm." Kujo Yui hung up the phone.

Fushimi Shika listened to the busy signal for a while, lost in thought. He realized that he had been cornered by Kujo Yui, with no way to retreat.

In this case, short-term pain is worse than long-term pain.

He had considered the possibility of having to confess his feelings and had already prepared a backup plan.

Fushimi Shika casually tossed the phone onto the bed, opened the door, walked into the living room, and stood before Minamoto no Tamako. He took a deep breath and solemnly said:

"Listen carefully, I have something very important to announce..."

(End of this chapter)