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Chapter 1601 The Disease is Called Love (A New Month, Please Give Me a Monthly Ticket)
On the second day, Kurokawa Akane appeared at the practice venue again, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.

"I'm so sorry, I'll try harder!"

The returning Akane Kurokawa has indeed shown more courage than before. Seeing that she did not slack off after several days of rest, the rehearsal is back on track again.

Well, at least on the surface.

But in Arima Kana's opinion, this is not the case.

"Ah, Xiao Ai, I want to practice this scene again..."

Looking at Kurokawa Akane, who was holding a script and excitedly going to find Duanmu Huai, Arima Kana frowned slightly and showed a strange expression.

"really weird."

"Strange? What's strange?"

Himekawa Daiki, who was acting with her, asked curiously.

"Don't you think that after Kurokawa came back, he got a little too close to Xiao Ai? Even though they are playing sisters and have more scenes together, it's not right to always be together!"

"I don't think it's a big deal. It's just a sign of good relationships between girls."

“It’s definitely not that simple!”

Seeing that she couldn't communicate with Himekawa Daiki, Arima Kana could only roll her eyes helplessly and stare at him with gritted teeth. Not only during practice, but even in the office, Kurokawa Akane has always been very close to Duanmu Huai these days. In the past, she would just say hello when she came and went, but now she not only says hello to Duanmu Huai when she comes to the office, but also invites Duanmu Huai to eat together or even go shopping. Even if Duanmu Huai doesn't want to go, she will change the direction to attack... Attack?
Wait, this woman couldn't be interested in that kind of thing!

Thinking of this, Arimagana felt a chill all over his body.

No, I must remind Xiao Ai that she is always careless in interpersonal relationships and not careful at all. She might get eaten and not know what’s going on!
Soon, the day's practice ended and Duanmu Huai planned to go home, and at this moment, Kurokawa Akane also came over.

"Xiao Ai, do you want to go to dinner together?"

"Well... today... let me see..."

Duanmu Huai picked up his phone and checked the messages. Ruby was going to attend a handshake event and Kyoko had to take care of Ruby... It seemed that there was no hope of having dinner together today.

"That……………"

"Little Love."

At this moment, Arima Kana suddenly appeared from the side and quietly inserted herself between Duanmu Huai and Kurokawa Akane.

"I have something to talk to you about. Do you have time?"

"Oh, yes, there are."

"Let's go then."

As she spoke, Arima Kana smiled and hugged Duanmu Huai's arm, at the same time glancing proudly at Kurokawa Akane, who just stood there, staring at her silently.

However, Arima Gana doesn't care about this level of hostility at all.

After all, she still has important things to do!
"………………You said Kurokawa Akane is not normal?"

Sitting in the coffee shop, Duanmu Huai stirred the coffee in his hand while looking at Arima Kana with confusion.

"Yeah, don't you think?"

"No, I think she's been pretty normal since she came back. There's nothing wrong with her performance. She's well coordinated in the show. What's the problem?"

"I'm not talking about performance. Don't you think Kurokawa Akane has been very close to you recently?"

As she spoke, Arima Kanae opened her palm and began to count.

"I will specially invite you to have lunch and dinner together..."

“It’s just a meal.”

"I will wait for you to finish practice and go home together."

“It’s only a short walk to the station.”

"Now when you enter the office, you are greeted first and then the president. Before, you always greeted the president first!"

"Uh... maybe it's because I was lying on the sofa closer to the door?"

“I’ll bring you water every day!”

"………………………"

Duanmu Huai was stunned upon hearing this, while Arima Kanai looked at him proudly.

"How is it? I was right, wasn't I?"

"No...it's pretty scary."

"Yeah, yeah, you're scared too?"

"No, I mean you..."

Looking at Arima Kana, Duanmu Huai was speechless.

"I didn't realize that you cared so much about Kurokawa Akane. It's impossible for someone who doesn't pay attention to her to notice what you said. Even I didn't notice it."

"Ugh...!"

Upon hearing Duanmu Huai's answer, You Ma Ganai's face suddenly turned red.

"I'm not particularly concerned about that annoying guy! It's just that the adults always ask us to act together, so I would care even if I didn't care! By the way, I heard Ruby say that you went to her house to take care of her before? Could something have happened?"

"It doesn't matter if something happens. We are all girls, and nothing will happen."

Duanmu Huai yawned, while Arima Kana was stunned for a moment and then slammed the table hard.

"Really? I'm worried about you!"

"Are you worried that I'll be pushed down by Kurokawa Akane? Do you think she can do it?"

"this……………"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Arimakana immediately recalled the scene where she easily picked up the White Ghost's weapon with one hand - that thing was so difficult that even the strongest boy could hardly lift it with two hands!
Come to think of it, even if Kurokawa Akane had the intention to do so, he probably didn't have the courage to do it.

Arima Kana felt that it was easy for Duanmu Huai to lift Kurokawa Akane with one hand.

"makes sense."

After figuring it out, Arima Kana breathed a sigh of relief and sat back in her chair.

"Indeed, your small size is so deceptive that I almost forgot you are a super-strong woman."

"That's called Kung Fu. Kung Fu is not a super power."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand and picked up his cell phone.

"You seem to be quite busy recently. I always see you holding your phone and watching some videos?"

"No, just some small things that need to be taken care of."

Duanmu Huai shook his head and then focused his attention on the phone in front of him again.

After having a partner, it is not difficult to conduct a paternity test. Not long after, Duanmu Huai obtained the paternity test of Shenmu Guang and Ruby. Well, the reason why he did not use his own was mainly because he was not interested. The test results also showed that the two were indeed father and daughter.

In other words, Hoshino Ai's mistress is undoubtedly Kamiki Hikaru.

Although there is no evidence to prove that all this was planned by Shenmu Guang, but... he is indeed a suspect and has motives.

After getting the appraisal report, Duanmu Huai went to find Saito Ichigo to "report the good news", but the latter did not look relieved at all.

"Even if that's the case, there's nothing we can do. So much time has passed, and there's nothing we can do based on a piece of identification. Even if we go to the police, the statute of limitations has expired. And after so many years, he must have cleared himself of everything. In any case, the murderer who assassinated Ai has committed suicide, and we can't find any more evidence..."

"We don't need evidence."

Duanmu Huai interrupted Saito Ichigo's lament coldly, "You must be joking. When the court arrests people, when will they talk about evidence? I think you are suspicious, so you have to prove that you are not suspicious. If you can't prove your innocence, then you are guilty."

After all, the judge is too busy and has no time to prove a person's innocence.

"As long as he is suspected, that's enough, nothing else matters."

"So what are you going to do? Go and ask directly?"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"It's not necessary."

Duanmuhuai shook his head.

"I don't care about his lies or his thoughts. He is the culprit who caused all this, so he must pay the price."

“……………………You should have watched the DVD of Love for You, she………………”

"That's Love's idea, not mine."

Duanmu Huai narrowed his eyes.

"Who she wants to forgive or hate is her business, not mine. And what do you think, President? If I play that DVD for him, what will he do? Will he cry bitterly? Change his ways? Turn over a new leaf? Frankly speaking, I am not interested in any of this. He caused the current situation, so he must pay the price. Can a criminal avoid sentencing as long as he admits his mistakes in court? That doesn't make sense."

Duanmu Huai was talking about the DVD that the president had given him before. It was filmed by Ai a long time ago, and he said he would give it to Duanmu Huai and Ruby when they were fifteen years old. Duanmu Huai didn't know what was in the DVD he gave to Ruby, but Ruby worked harder after that.

As for the DVD that Hoshino Ai gave to Duanmu Huai, it mainly tells the story between her and that man. To sum it up, that man is also very pitiful. It was not him who abandoned them, but Hoshino Ai who took the initiative to leave for that man.

How should I put it? Every time I see this kind of thing, Duanmu Huai wants to complain. Why do women always like to torture themselves by treating themselves as the heroines in tragedies?
In fact, the story of Hoshino Ai and Shenmu Guang was very familiar to Duanmu Huai from the pocket romance novels of the girls in his class when he was in junior high school. In order to save the male protagonist, Bai Yueguang chose to let go and suffer alone. The male protagonist worked hard to become stronger after losing Bai Yueguang, turning grief and anger into strength, and finally achieved success.

Of course, at the end of this kind of romance novel, the male protagonist usually finally discovers the female protagonist's painstaking efforts, and then rescues the female protagonist who has fallen into the abyss, and the two reconcile.

Every time I read this kind of novel, the girls in my class would cry their eyes out.

But in Duanmu Huai's opinion, wasn't this all done by the heroine herself?

Usually in this kind of plot, the hero is obviously willing to sacrifice for the heroine, but the heroine chooses to let go in the name of "for the hero's good" out of grief, making it seem as if she is the most miserable person in the world.

This is like in a domineering TV drama, where the mother-in-law throws a card with five million yuan in it to the heroine and says, "This money is for you, stay away from my XX family."

Isn't the decision of whether to take the five million still in the hands of the heroine?

Generally speaking, in this situation, either you don't take the money and don't break up, or you take the money and turn around and leave.

This is all understandable.

But in romance dramas, the heroine usually makes a third choice—not taking the money, breaking up, and leaving.

Even under the pretext of "I'm not after your money, I just want him to be well."

But wasn't this your own choice?
It's not that they don't want to give you money, it's that you don't want it! You made this decision with the highest negative return, so isn't it natural that you are unlucky?

In Duanmu Huai's opinion, Hoshino Ai is also of the same character.

She confessed that the reason she chose to break up with him was because she hoped that he would not be dragged down by her and could go further.

Look, it’s just like the heroine in a romance drama saying “I’m doing this for his own good”; in the final analysis, it’s all just cheap self-admiration, and others are the ones who suffer.

Moreover, after watching the DVD, Duanmu Huai was very skeptical whether Xingye really loved Shenmu Guang.

He discovered that he and Hoshino Ai actually had quite a few similarities.

That is... being a little... indifferent to love.

That’s right, indifference.

This is also the reason why Duanmu Huai has not discussed marriage with An yet, because he has always doubted whether he loves them or not.

Liking and loving are never the same.

At least not in Duanmu Huai's opinion. It's normal for you to like a puppy, treat it as a family member, and feel sad when it dies. But... is this love?
No, shouldn’t love be the kind where you do everything for the one you love?
At least that's how it's described in the TV dramas, novels and animations that Duanmu Huai watched. The protagonist is willing to do anything for his loved one, even if it means making the world his enemy.

But Duanmu Huai was very sure that he could not do this. As a judge, he would go against the world for the sake of his lover? This was heresy!

So the question is, if this is the case, then...what is love?

Duanmu Huai still remembers the future he saw in the fragments of the Manalia world. An and Gu Leiya really had a mutual understanding, but from the perspective of their respective countries, they had to fight each other in the end. An really liked Gu Leiya very much, but when it came to killing her, she would definitely not show mercy.

So can we say that An loves Gu Leiya or not?
Duanmu Huai felt that this question was for An himself, and he probably had no answer.

So what about Hoshino Ai?

In the DVD, she tried so hard to explain her love with that man, but in Duanmu Huai's opinion, it was more like a performance, a lie.

Hoshino Ai wants to convince herself that she "loves" that man.

Rather than being honest with Duanmu Huai, she was trying to convince herself. From this perspective, Duanmu Huai could actually understand Xingye Ai's thoughts.

She was willing to break up with him for the sake of his career, and raised her two children alone, hiding them and working hard to be an idol.

Then she must love that man, so she made such a sacrifice.

She has made such a sacrifice, how could she not love that man?
Hoshino Ai wants to convince her children that she loves that man.

She also wanted to convince herself that she loved that man.

This reminded Duanmu Huai of a famous quote on the Internet before he traveled through time.

You can fool your friends, but don’t fool yourself.

Now Duanmu Huai feels that this sentence is just right for Xingye Ai.

………………Perhaps, this is the reason why I came to this world.

After seeing the ending of Hoshino Ai, Duanmu Huai felt that he should go back and talk to them.

At least he doesn't want to be a clown like Hoshino Ai.

"In short, I won't let this guy have an easy time. He just has too much free time to do things. In that case, I'll just keep him busy."

Shenmu Guang does have strong financial resources and background in the entertainment industry, but Duanmu Huai’s ten years in the entertainment industry were not in vain.

First, let's knock this arrogant man into the mud and see how dirty and miserable he looks.

Thinking of this, Duanmu Huai ignored Magana's curious gaze on the opposite side, stared at his mobile phone, and sent another text message.

I have enough money and power.