Chapter 56: Reality
“How could it be my doing?” Yukino was stunned for a moment.
“Didn’t I ask you before if you were sure you wanted to do it this way?”
“You did ask,” Yukino said coldly. “But you kept guiding me not to ask which school she attended, right? Or rather, you said no phones and no leaving contact info from the start, all for this moment, wasn’t it?”
“Smart, much smarter than that Ginko kid.”
“So this time my mistake was due to lack of information. If I had directly dealt with you instead, her soul would already belong to you, right? But with me involved, at least she still has a chance, gambling on the reporters’ and media’s conscience.” Yukino remained calm, unfazed by Luo Feng’s words. “Were you trying to make me feel guilty? Sorry, I won’t. I did what I should have.”
She finally understood.
Hearing Luo Feng say it was her problem, Yukino completely understood what was going on.
“I know because of my lack of information, many unnecessary consequences occurred. But I will do everything I can to help, I won’t just stand by.”
“Interesting, good luck with that!” Luo Feng’s voice betrayed no disappointment.
He was just testing Yukino’s abilities and composure.
Admittedly, she was far more interesting than Sora Ginko.
Ginko had desires and major character flaws. Combined with her problematic feelings for Yaichi Kuzuryuu, she was easy to manipulate.
But Yukino was more composed than Ginko and her thinking was more logical. She didn’t regret this incident or give up hopelessly feeling powerless. She was still trying to find a solution.
She just wanted to confirm with Luo Feng if he was behind this, and why he did it, nothing more.
After hanging up, Yukino took a deep breath, looked up the number, and directly called over there to explain the situation.
They said they would try to handle it, but how could they stop the media’s momentum if the authorities didn’t act decisively?
Yukino knew this would happen, so she asked a coworker from that area for help, vouching that she knew the girl and she wasn’t that kind of person.
Her coworker was happy to help with this minor favor.
At the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, people came from all over the nation. After all, Tokyo was the true center of power – other officials couldn’t compare to Tokyo’s.
Moreover, many of these people had backers and frequently helped each other out.
Even with Yukino’s cold and awkward personality, many were willing to do her a small favor since the Yukinoshita family had regained its standing.
Yukino’s efforts were not completely fruitless – at minimum, they were able to protect Rio Miyaichi’s mother and prevent further reporting on her.
Rio had indeed acted impulsively, which was not Yukino’s approach of planning first. She expected Rio would act but didn’t foresee her being so boldly driven, transforming from a formerly timid person unwilling to resist.
Yukino quickly realized another factor at play – the courage Luo Feng had given Rio!
Courage was putting it nicely. For the protagonist it manifested as courage, but for bystanders or side characters, it became recklessness and stupidity.
Luo Feng simply enhanced her courage but didn’t give her corresponding strategic wisdom.
It was like he could give someone precious beauty, but without granting poise, they would just be a vapid pretty face suitable for a hostess club, lacking true grace and depth.
His simple boost to her courage was not a good thing…
…
Rio Miyaichi was brought to the police station and carefully questioned about the incident’s causes and effects. She told the full truth.
There was a limit to what Yukino could do from her side, unable to influence the local media or make the authorities give their full assistance. All she could do was first ensure the safety of Rio and her mother.
Within a single day, Rio keenly felt the impact of power and how vicious people’s hearts could be.
“Those photos the reporters got were real, but I was being threatened! My mom is just an ordinary office worker, how could I possibly threaten Mihoko Hane?” An agitated Rio exclaimed in the interrogation room. “Those unscrupulous reporters shamelessly reported it all after taking bribes!”
“Ahem, Miss Miyaichi, do you have any proof of that?” The middle-aged officer sighed. “Audio recordings would work…”
He had seen too many cases like this. This young girl was clearly innocent, but the other side didn’t even need to use resources before she crumbled.
Police work was all about evidence…
“I…don’t…” Rio said dryly. “If it was really like they said and they were afraid of me, why would they unanimously call me a bad person? Weren’t they afraid of retaliation?”
“I understand the reasoning, but no evidence,” the officer shook his head.
“Right, the security cameras! There was no surveillance at first when I was taken to those blind spots, but there were cameras on the way there and out on the streets – those are evidence, right? Mihoko took me there several times.”
Japan disliked privacy invasion from cameras, but some public spaces still had them to reduce crime.
“When Tokyo called, I already checked for you. Those cameras were all under maintenance,” the middle-aged officer sighed. “There’s no data left about you at all.”
“How is that possible? Isn’t it obvious enough?” Rio felt dizzy. “The call from Tokyo was…”
“From my nephew asking me to look after you. But you have zero evidence, so I really can’t help,” the officer said. “I can only stop those reporters and categorize this as a civil dispute.”
“She won’t face any punishment?” Rio asked dazedly.
So the kind person from yesterday did try to help, she was just too useless and botched it all.
“Punishment?” The officer shook his head.
Currently, the other side had evidence while she had none. Forget punishment, it was a huge favor they weren’t pursuing her further.
“No way, I can’t accept this…” Rio clenched her fists. “A confrontation, I want to confront Mihoko Hane!”
“Are you sure you want to confront her?” the officer asked.
“Yes, and that reporter too. I saw his press pass, his name is Shuji Tanaka!” Rio said hatefully. “He promised to give me justice, but then he…”
“I don’t think a confrontation will do any good, but…never mind, if I don’t let you try, you’ll never give up,” the officer shook his head.
He felt that with him present, nothing worse could happen. He’d just let this girl learn her lesson.
Ensuring the situation didn’t escalate further was the only thing he could do.
