Not a detective

Page 115

She feels more like someone her own age; she's the epitome of youth.

No wonder she attracted so much attention and glances as she walked by. If she had her beautiful blonde hair and blue eyes back, it would have been even more striking.

"I see……"

Asakawa Riku realized that his trip might not be peaceful either.

Summer of the Red Stingray: Chapter Two - The Beautiful Girl Writer

It turns out that Hoshimi Koyu is a student in the second year of high school class A next door, and she is also the class monitor of that class.

Asakawa Riku spent a year in school and felt like he had wasted his time.

Their Class A bus was full, so the class monitor volunteered to give up her seat and come to Class B's side to share a ride, which is how they met.

"What a coincidence," Xingyu said with a smile.

"Yes."

For some reason, Asakawa Riku felt that she was doing it on purpose.

Both of them were afraid of attracting unnecessary attention from other classmates, so they only spoke in low voices for a few words and then remained silent.

Xingyu took a book out of her bag, seemed to have flipped through it halfway, and continued reading.

This reminded Asakawa Riku of Chizuko-senpai, who would start reading at the drop of a hat, and thus he developed a subtle interest in this book as well.

The cover features a tiny red fish, like a goldfish, next to which is an endless ocean.

The book title at the top is "Summer of Red Stingrays," and the author's name is "Asuka-i Shi."

"Asakawa-kun, have you seen it?"

Noticing his gaze, Xingyu paused reading.

"No."

"Hey, this is a recent bestseller, you should at least have heard of the author, right?"

"To be honest, no."

Riku Asakawa racked his brains to recall. His reading volume wasn't as terrifying as Chizuko-senpai's, but he didn't seem to have seen this unfamiliar name in the mystery club's bookshelf.

Judging from the cover design, it seems to be a new book. However, Chizuko-senpai's collection usually consists of old-fashioned mystery novels and folklore books about monsters, which might not be a good match for a bestseller.

"Really? Asukai Shi is a 'genius young female writer' who's always been a hot topic!"

Hoshino's description was exaggerated, and now Asakawa Riku couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. He opened his phone and searched for the name—

Sure enough, there was such a writer among the entries that popped up.

Shi Asukai, a young writer who debuted three years ago, is rumored online to be only in junior high school age, but her debut work won many newcomer awards that year.

After that, several best-selling works were published in succession, completely silencing the doubts of the outside world, and even many of the original critics changed their tune and praised him.

It is said that what she writes is not a typical mystery novel; it has classic tricks and ingenuity, as well as social connotations and significance, which is completely unlike the experience and knowledge that a young person should have.

Three years after debut, the list of works is as follows:

The Reincarnation of the Celestial Maiden (2022)

Horse of Ideology (2022)

Portrait of EBH (2023)

Dizziness (2023)

Dance Wonderland (2024)

With a Pale Face (2024)

The Teacher Who Laughs (2024)

The Master of the Hot Spring Village (2024)

Summer of the Red Rays (2025)

It seems this is his latest work this year. Before this, he was able to publish two books every year, and last year he even wrote four.

She should be considered a very prolific writer. Asakawa Riku also saw a photo of Asukai Shi on the encyclopedia channel.

The photo appears to be an artistic portrait, as only the profile is illuminated by sunlight, while the other half of the face is obscured by shadows, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Although you can vaguely tell from the outline of her facial features that she has a very beautiful face, no wonder she is called a "genius beautiful girl writer".

She's only in middle school? That means she started writing her debut work in elementary school? What a prodigy...

In the encyclopedia channel, apart from the section introducing her works, there is no extra information. After exiting the search bar, I saw many related keywords such as "Asui Shi's face photos" and "Asui Shi's offline activities". It seems that everyone is very interested in this gimmick. What a bunch of animals. Didn't they think that the other party is just a little girl?

But for some reason, Asakawa Riku looked at that one and only official photo... and felt something was off.

I always felt that he could see the hidden face through the shadows.

He knew this was nonsense. No matter how sharp his eyesight was, he couldn't defy the laws of physics. A photo is just a photo; it doesn't contain any information, so no matter how hard you look at it, you can't see anything.

But beyond reason, he could vaguely see that the eyes, nose, facial features, and skin beneath the shadow were all clearly visible and lifelike.

Asakawa Riku knew that he did not know anyone named "Asuka-i Uta," and he could not find that face in his memory.

The "Shimi Asukai" of this world has never appeared in the media, nor has she held any offline signing events or meet-and-greets.

Perhaps this is in consideration of the privacy and safety of minors.

Could it be... that Asakawa Riku suddenly had a bold conjecture: what if his impression of "Asukai Uta" didn't come from this world?

As mentioned before, he traveled to this parallel world, and everything was similar, especially the movies and TV shows that existed in his original world.

For example, detective novels, those great writers who have gone down in history have left behind classic works in this world, which once destroyed young Asakawa Riku's dream of copying.

So... could it be that "Asuka-i Uta" existed in the original world, that she appeared before the transmigration, and was unintentionally remembered by him?

However, Asakawa Riku thought it was unlikely. After all, the title of "genius beautiful girl writer" was too impressive. If such a person really existed, he would not be completely unaware of her.

So, after going around in circles, we've come full circle back to the mystery.

Why he felt that "I've seen this girl before" couldn't be based on such a superficial reason, so Asakawa Riku decided to investigate further.

He asked Xingyu:

"When you've finished reading it, can I borrow this book for a moment?"

"sure."

Xingyu answered readily, closing the bookmark and handing it to Qianchuan Lu: "You can read it first, and return it to me when you're done."

"Is it really possible?"

Asakawa Riku was flattered. He hadn't expected that someone would be able to resist reading halfway through a mystery novel and lend it to someone else first: "I can wait, there's no rush."

"It's okay, as long as you don't spoil the plot for me."

Hoshino waved generously, and Asakawa Riku felt a surge of gratitude.

They both came from the same agency, so this master and servant should have grown up together, right? How come their personalities are so different?

If Miss Detective could learn from this great personality, Asakawa Riku wouldn't be so helpless with that guy's grumpy face and foul mouth.

"I would be very grateful for that, I will keep it safe."

Asakawa Riku solemnly accepted it. Now he could use it to pass the time during his journey, which seemed pretty good.

Just as he was about to turn the page, the girl beside him suddenly nudged his waist with her elbow and said with a mischievous smile:

"Oh, you saw a picture of a pretty young female author and immediately want to read her books? You're really up to no good, Asakawa-kun..."

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Sure enough, these two guys are cut from the same cloth.

Summer of the Crimson Ray: Chapter Three - The Sea

Asakawa Riku finished playing with Hoshino, or more accurately, Hoshino took out a small mirror to fix her eyelashes, so he finally had some free time.

I opened the first page of the book and began reading "Summer of the Red Ray" on the slightly bumpy bus.

The story tells of a group of passengers who are traveling on a cruise ship in the Pacific Ocean. One day during their journey, disaster strikes and the ship sinks after a storm.

People on the ship fell into the water one after another, and even the lifeboats were overturned, just like the scene on the Titanic, the end of the world had come.

The protagonist, who survived the ordeal, was incredibly lucky. He was stranded on an unknown desert island, but unfortunately, he lost all his belongings and was left with only his wet clothes.

In despair, he pondered how he could survive alone on the deserted island, how he could hold out until rescue arrived, and even whether he could call for help was unknown.

Just when he was at his wit's end, he unexpectedly discovered a village on the island...

It turned out that this was not a deserted island, nor was it a scene from Robinson Crusoe's Adventures. There were native inhabitants on this island, and he was so excited that he immediately rushed over to ask for help.

At the time, he had no idea how many twists and turns he was about to experience.

...

By this point, Asakawa Riku had already become interested in the book.

The author, Shimi Asukai, doesn't have a fancy writing style, nor does she seem to be speaking like a teenage writer. Instead, her descriptions are simple and straightforward, but she tells stories in a gentle and engaging way.

The opening chapter alone describes the various twists and turns of the shipwreck, survival, exploration of the deserted island, and the aftermath of the disaster, and this is merely the prelude.

I remember she was a mystery novelist, so this book must also be a mystery novel?

The protagonist encounters the natives of the deserted island. His rash approach is clearly lacking in vigilance. What if these people are aggressive? This is the question that Asakawa Riku immediately thinks of.

Of course, you can't ask too much of a person who has died. They are usually exhausted, both physically and mentally, and in despair. At this time, they are desperate for a lifeline and won't consider anything else.

What will happen after he comes into contact with the indigenous people, and in which part will murder, cases, reasoning, and detectives appear, are all things that people are very curious about.

As Asakawa Riku was about to continue flipping over, he suddenly felt some weight on his right shoulder.

That's Hoshimi Kohae's head.

Of course, it wasn't that his head was cut off; rather, the girl leaned slightly against his shoulder.

She seemed to be asleep, her breathing steady, snoring softly, her long eyelashes covering her eyes.

It seems this book was her way of staying awake; she actually fell asleep after it was taken away. Feeling guilty, Asakawa Riku decided to take pity on her and lend her his shoulder.

The girl's warmth seeped through her clothes to her shoulder, as did her breath and heartbeat. The two were very close, but fortunately, they were sitting in the back row where no one was around, so they weren't noticed by the other students.

She had a faint fragrance, seemingly a perfume with a sea salt base, slightly sour but with a minty freshness, which was quite pleasant.

Silently, Asakawa Riku dislocated the skeletal linkage in his right shoulder, maintaining it as a simple frame. He could then pick up the book with his left hand and turn the pages without any hindrance.

Even if other parts of the body are exercised intensely, it won't affect the sleep of the right shoulder; this is the benefit of having control over the body.

...

About half an hour later, the bus stopped.

"Get up." Asakawa Riku said to the person next to him as he watched his classmates gradually leave their seats and get off the bus.

"Ugh... I didn't get enough sleep."

Xingyu muttered to herself, rubbing her sleepy eyes, afraid that she might accidentally rub her contact lenses into them.

The two finally got off the bus. As soon as they landed, they were greeted by the strong smell of the sea breeze, and many students excitedly shouted out that classic line:

"It's the sea!"

This is Tokyo Port.

Although he had lived in Tokyo for over a decade, this was Riku Asakawa's first time visiting the port. He didn't see the scene of a huge pile of containers stacked together as he had imagined, perhaps because this was the passenger ship section.

The Tokyo International Cruise Terminal, which opened on September 10, 2020, is a brand-new facility that is said to be able to accommodate the world’s largest sightseeing ships. It is located in the Odaiba area.

The teachers in charge of each class were counting the number of students. Teacher Songshan took advantage of his loud voice and asked everyone to line up in a neat row, like a kangaroo dad leading a group of children.

However, when they saw the ship they were to take, everyone expressed great disappointment.

"Hey...why is this happening?"

Is this really the ship?

"Calling it a cruise ship is a bit of a stretch..."

"How lame."