Makima smiled faintly.
Then the two got up and left the restaurant.
"Take care on your way home. We look forward to seeing you again."
The waitress at the entrance bowed and watched them get into a black car.
Before long.
The people in the private room noticed that Meng Fan and Makima still hadn't returned after going out.
So they sent Denji and Aki Hayakawa out to look for them.
Denji searched the men's and women's restrooms.
Aki Hayakawa went outside instead.
Neither had found anything when they returned.
Seeing the waitress still standing outside, Aki Hayakawa walked over and asked, "Excuse me, did you see my coworkers leave?"
"The two of them left half an hour ago."
"They left half an hour ago?!"
Puzzled, Aki Hayakawa took out his phone and called Meng Fan.
But it rang for a while without anyone answering.
"How did it go, Aki? Did you find Meng Fan and Miss Makima?"
Just then, Himeno opened the private room's door and came out, supported by Kobeni.
"Himeno, they left half an hour ago."
"No way. They just left without telling anyone? Besides, Meng Fan and Makima aren't close enough to leave together, are they?"
"Um... Himeno, why don't you sit over there first?" Kobeni said with some difficulty, then helped Himeno onto a nearby chair.
"Maybe they went their separate ways," Aki Hayakawa said, certain that Makima couldn't possibly have gone home with Meng Fan.
Besides, Aki Hayakawa had known Makima for a long time.
He had never heard Miss Makima mention having a boyfriend.
In Aki Hayakawa's eyes, Makima was focused entirely on her career.
Wherever she went, she always wore that white Public Safety uniform.
She never seemed interested in romance or men.
An official's son had once pursued Makima.
He brought