In the warehouse, neither Nanakawa Aya nor the store manager noticed that several onlookers had quietly gathered nearby.
Nanakawa Aya had originally been keeping her head down and taking the scolding in silence. But when she heard the store manager say he was going to fire her, she could no longer stay calm. "But I never did any of those things!"
"You still won't admit it!" The store manager immediately frowned and was about to continue berating her when Mouri Ran hurriedly cut in. "Xiao Xuan? What happened?"
"Ran..." Nanakawa Aya had never expected to suddenly run into her friend at a time like this—especially such a dependable friend.
She held it in and held it in, but in the end, she could not bear it anymore. The calm look she had maintained while being scolded vanished completely. Nanakawa Aya burst into tears and ran to Mouri Ran, throwing her arms around her.
Jodie: "...?"
She looked at the female student who was being scolded for some unknown reason, then at Suzuki Sonoko and Mouri Ran, who were comforting her. This opening felt unfamiliar.
Where was the corpse?
Where was the scream?
...What was this supposed to be today?
Like Jodie, the store manager standing nearby and scolding someone also looked utterly baffled.
He sized up the three strangers who had suddenly appeared at his warehouse door, completely unable to make sense of it. "Who are you people?"
Suzuki Sonoko snorted. Though she had no idea what was going on, she immediately stood up for Nanakawa Aya. "We're Xiao Xuan's friends!"
Store manager: "..." Obviously! Who couldn't see that? I'm asking why you're meddling in my store's business!
Amid the chaos, Jodie was the one who finally steered the conversation back to the point. She smiled, eager to figure out