Behind the counter, He Xi Qian Yu silently prepared coffee beans.
"...Look at this poor little thing..."
"...His face is so red he can't even hold a book steady..."
Slaughter's voice, full of mockery, rang out.
Kamishiro Rize sat quietly in a booth diagonally behind, her posture relaxed, enjoying Jin Mu's flustered movements with great interest.
Unable to bear the torment of the silent gaze any longer, with a soft 'snap', Jin Mu slammed his book shut.
He didn't even bother to tidy up, clumsily sweeping his book and haphazardly stacked notes into his backpack, leaving the zipper half-open.
"I, I... I'm leaving first!" After mumbling a sentence to the air, Jin Mu rushed towards the door as if fleeing, even accidentally knocking over the canvas bag on the back of the chair.
The doorbell rang urgently, and Jin Mu's figure disappeared into the bright sunshine outside the door, leaving behind an empty seat, a slightly swaying door, and the library card he had dropped in his haste on the floor.
"...Look...the sparrow flew away..." Slaughter's voice was full of playful teasing, "...even its feathers are scattered all over the place..."
In the booth, Kamishiro Rize's gaze remained fixed on the slightly swaying door, as if savoring the little farce that had just occurred, a pleasant curve gracing her lips.
It wasn't until Jin Mu's figure had completely disappeared outside the door that He Xi Qian Yu picked up the cup of rich, fragrant Blue Mountain coffee and walked steadily towards Kamishiro Rize's booth.
"Your Blue Mountain coffee." He Xi Qian Yu's voice was calm and unruffled, as he gently placed the exquisite porcelain cup on the coaster in front of her, his movements precise and smooth.
Kamishiro Rize then slowly withdrew her gaze from the door and turned to He Xi Qian Yu. Her purple eyes behind her glasses flickered slightly, and the playful smile on her face had not yet completely faded.
"Thank you." Her voice was still melodious, and her gaze briefly lingered on his name tag, "...Tsuruki-xiansheng." She gracefully picked up the porcelain cup and took a small sip.
Setting the cup down, her fingertips lightly rested on the rim, and her gaze, filled with a scrutinizing curiosity, returned to He Xi Qian Yu's face:
"Are you a new employee?"
"Oh... she's got her eye on you..."
He Xi Qian Yu maintained a polite professional smile on his face, nodding slightly: "Yes, Miss Kamishiro. I just started yesterday."
His voice was steady, betraying no emotion, and the sunlight filtering through the window fell on the shoulder of his white shirt, casting a small patch of light.
"Oh?" Kamishiro Rize's voice rose slightly at the end, carrying a hint of surprise, "You know me?"
He Xi Qian Yu met her gaze, the curve of his lips unchanging:
"There shouldn't be anyone in Ward 20 who doesn't know Miss Kamishiro..." He intentionally, or unintentionally, enunciated the syllable "person" with particular clarity.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
Kamishiro Rize's smile remained radiant, but her fingertips resting on the cup rim paused almost imperceptibly.
"...Bullseye..." Slaughter laughed loudly in He Xi Qian Yu's mind, "...She understood..."
"Is that so?" Kamishiro Rize's voice was still sweet, but beneath that sweetness, there seemed to be a hint of imperceptible danger.
"How truly... flattered I am." She picked up the coffee cup again, but didn't drink, only gazing deeply at He Xi Qian Yu through the rising steam.
"It seems Tsuruki-xiansheng's information is very well-informed." Her words were soft.
"It's just that Miss Kamishiro is striking enough." He Xi Qian Yu replied with a smile, "It's hard not to notice." He bowed slightly.
Kamishiro Rize gently set down the cup, the bottom making a faint 'clink' against the coaster.
The smile on her lips became meaningful, carrying a different kind of interest.
"Interesting..." She softly uttered two words, her gaze lingering on He Xi Qian Yu for several more seconds, as if to imprint his current composure into her mind.
Then, she gracefully leaned back in her chair, turning her gaze back to the bright yet bustling street scene outside the window, as if the conversation had never happened.
He Xi Qian Yu turned and walked steadily back to the depths of the bar. Slaughter let out a low, distorted laugh in his consciousness:
"Hehehe... Aren't you afraid at all?"
"We are perfect." He Xi Qian Yu responded in his consciousness, his words filled with absolute confidence, "Besides..." His gaze swept over Kamishiro Rize's silhouette reflected in the glass window, "...She doesn't have much time left."
"It seems you know a lot... How will she die? By whom?"
"You guess." He Xi Qian Yu rarely showed a hint of playful teasing.
He picked up a clean white cloth and began to wipe the already gleaming surface of the coffee pot.
"Tch... boring..." Slaughter grumbled discontentedly, his voice gradually lowering, "Riddlers... should all die..."
The sun still shone brightly throughout Anteiku Coffee Shop, and the aroma of coffee wafted in the air. He Xi Qian Yu behind the bar continued to meticulously wipe the gleaming coffee pot, his movements precise.
Kamishiro Rize quietly sipped her coffee, only occasionally tapping her fingertips on the rim of the cup.
The library card Jin Mu had lost on the floor cast a long shadow in the sunlight.
...
Kamishiro Rize did not stay long in the shop.
Soon after she left, faint footsteps were heard from the staircase leading to the second floor.
Dong Xiang's figure appeared at the turn of the stairs, still clutching a cleaning rag. She habitually paused, her cool purple eyes sweeping over the ground floor hall.
"Guess who was here." He Xi Qian Yu looked up, breaking the brief silence.
"Who?" Dong Xiang's tone was still cool, but a hint of imperceptible doubt flickered across her brow.
"The 'Gluttony', and that boy she's got her eye on." He Xi Qian Yu's voice was very soft, "It looks like she's about to make her move."
"...Oh." Dong Xiang's gaze lingered for a moment on the empty seat and the library card on the floor, then she responded faintly, as if merely confirming something she had expected.
...
The hands of the wall clock steadily pointed to eleven o'clock.
The morning business hours of Anteiku Coffee Shop had ended.
Untying his apron, He Xi Qian Yu was about to finish his morning work.
"You don't need to come in this afternoon." Dong Xiang's cool voice broke the sounds of tidying up. She seemed to have just remembered this, her gaze sweeping across the street outside the window, "Come with me for 'patrol' tonight."
"No problem." He Xi Qian Yu nodded lightly, showing no surprise at this arrangement.
"Patrol... Heh..." Slaughter's low, excited chuckle echoed in his mind, "Finally... some fun..."
He Xi Qian Yu ignored the malicious whisper. He walked to the corner by the trash can, his gaze precisely falling on the library card with "Jin Mu" printed on it.
After a slight pause, he bent down and picked up the card, gently brushing away the dust clinging to its edges with his thumb. Then, this lost card was carefully placed into the inner pocket of his work uniform, close to the fabric.
In the air, a faint, sweet, bloody scent left by Kamishiro Rize seemed to linger.