Eldritch Horror Theatre

No wonder the waitress Rachel was more popular with the diners than Jean.

The former was certainly youthful, beautiful, and pleasant, but this sort of visual impact—like a perfectly ripe peach—was definitely much harder to forget.

Though these wonderful natural gifts seemed to have only earned her the freedom to skip work whenever she pleased.

The faint sense of resignation underlying it matched perfectly with this decaying town.

"All right, Rachel."

His gaze remained fixed on her in a way that could hardly be called polite, yet Fu Qian was readily accepting good advice, addressing her exactly as requested.

"You really do like pink."

Before she could say anything, he followed up with an evaluation of the car's color.

"...We both like this color."

Unable to stop herself from studying Fu Qian more carefully, she offered a somewhat cautious explanation a moment later.

We?

Fu Qian naturally didn't think she meant herself and him.

It was common knowledge that for anyone married, the style of any large household item was always a "mutual choice between the two of them."

To a careful listener, this phrase was essentially bringing up her husband unprompted.

Combined with his earlier bizarre behavior and his knowledge of her color preferences, Rachel was clearly even more confused about his background and intentions.

What a coincidence—there really were problems with both of those things.

"I can tell. Ed is very suited to pink."

...

Unsurprisingly, Rachel's expression froze completely.

"Mister Hake should still be at your house right now."

Fu Qian followed up with another blow, pointing at his own chest.

"Let me introduce myself again. Anke, the new police officer."

Ah—

He could tell that this identity was still somewhat unexpected.

If he hadn't just mentioned Hake's whereabouts, Rachel probably would have openly expressed her suspicion.

"All right, Anke... So are you here to take the missing persons back?"

When she spoke again, she had clearly accepted this premise for the time being and begun to guess at Fu Qian's purpose.

"You could say that. That's not wrong."

Fu Qian recalled his current mission and nodded.

"Word is that two missing persons came to this place. Hake and I are trying to find them.

"A man and a woman, very young. Have you seen them?"

Uh...

Rachel looked a little dumbfounded, seemingly entirely unprepared for this kind of twist.

She might have faintly felt like she had been played, but his statement was completely flawless; she had just been overthinking things...

"I'm sorry, no... You aren't here looking for me?"

Regardless, she looked like she had breathed a sigh of relief, unable to stop herself from confirming it one more time.

"Of course not. While we were having breakfast together, Hake suddenly remembered that he could ask kind-hearted Ed if he had seen the missing youths."

Fu Qian casually described their decision-making process.

"Unfortunately, not only does he like pink just as much as you do, he was also just as sorry that he couldn't help."

...

"Mister Hake has always been a good man."

Although she couldn't pick any flaws in his earlier answer either, Rachel clearly didn't think that Old Man Hake's decision was the result of a sudden flash of inspiration.

Anyone could guess that the man had used this excuse to run to her house and check on the situation, even tasking someone else with dropping by to take a look while they were at it...

Taking a deep breath, Rachel gave an exceptionally high appraisal of the elder, who didn't particularly favor her type.

"So, is it best if I go back now, or should I go to work?"

She looked carefully at Fu Qian, seeking his opinion.

"That's your choice. I'm only here to relay the situation."

Unfortunately, Fu Qian clearly wasn't that enthusiastic. He shook his head, gesturing for her to do as she pleased.

Although he had indeed been asked to check in on her, in Fu Qian's view, even Old Man Hake had no intention of interfering with whatever Rachel decided to do next.

The art of getting along with others had always been profound and extensive.

For two people to come together and marry, many of the absurd things in their lives were often the result of their combined efforts.

One of the reasons for his trip here was simply to confirm that Rachel was only skipping work and wasn't dead, just to establish the nature of the situation.

Public security officers weren't neighborhood committee workers; they only ever ensured the absolute bare minimum.

"But if possible, could you give me a ride on your way out?"

Ah?

This finally elicited a reaction. Rachel clearly hadn't expected the man in front of her to actually want to hitch a ride.

So was this why he had been studying her car repeatedly just now?

"My car is too conspicuous."

Fu Qian turned a blind eye to her reaction, gesturing toward his own car.

Even though this excuse was incredibly flimsy.

Rachel's gaze flicked back and forth between the two cars a few times. She clearly couldn't see why her own car wouldn't be just as eye-catching.

"No problem, but I need to go grab my things first."

In the end, she didn't refuse, nor did she even ask where he wanted to be dropped off.

Regardless of his attitude, and whether it was just a passing remark or not, it still counted as a well-meaning warning to her.

However, as she nodded in agreement, Rachel also gestured for Fu Qian to wait a moment while she went back to get her things.

"Is it convenient for me to take a look around your studio here?"

Unexpectedly, the new police officer actually seemed interested in art, looking quite enthusiastic.

...

"Your husband mentioned that you've been obsessed with painting lately. Don't tell me you made a special trip to this place just to take a class?"

As Rachel hesitated slightly, Fu Qian expressed an astonishing expectation, completely certain that she had her own room here.

When people reached a certain age, the urge to express themselves often overpowered the urge to learn.

He didn't think this married woman's obsession was simply because she had experienced rapid progress under someone's guidance.

"It's true that I'm not. I just found a place to paint casually... Please, come with me."

After a moment of silence—clearly suspecting that he wasn't genuinely interested in art—Rachel still nodded and extended the invitation, turning to lead the way.

...

It had to be said that this amateur seemed to have a purer desire to pursue her path.

Under even more stares than before, Fu Qian followed behind Rachel, quickly walking deep into the prison.

When she finally stopped, Fu Qian was momentarily in awe of her studio's location.

No wonder he hadn't seen it right away; this place was simply too low-profile.

Although they could indeed catch a glimpse of where the cars were parked, it was the kind of spot that would be hard to see from the outside even if a sign were hanging up.

Perhaps that was also why this seemingly spacious spot hadn't been snatched up by anyone else.

"Please wait a moment."

The door wasn't even locked. Rachel pushed it open casually and, clearly having no intention of giving a tour, went straight to grab the bag hanging inside.

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