Lin Yu snatched his hand back as if he'd received an electric shock, his own face flushing a pale crimson. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Nanako lay on the floor, her face a tapestry of scarlet hues, her eyes shimmering as if with unshed tears. However, she knew the incident had a clear cause, and even if Lin Yu had inadvertently taken advantage of the situation, she understood it wasn't his fault. Blushing furiously, she scrambled up from the floor and hastily tried to smooth out her clothes, her movements flustered.
Looking at Nanako before him, Lin Yu, despite his persistent belief that women were merely obstacles slowing down his drawing speed, had to admit a grudging truth. Nanako, in her current state of bashful disarray, possessed a charm that was undeniably captivating, stirring something within him.
"Ahem... it sounded like there might have been a thief or something outside... Shall we go take a look?" To escape the increasingly awkward atmosphere, Lin Yu blurted out, rather clumsily changing the subject.
Nanako, having managed to compose her attire by now, gave Lin Yu a slight, almost imperceptible eye-roll. It was a familiar gesture, one that usually signified her amusement at his often-stiff attempts to shift topics. This time, however, her expression held a rare, subtle allure, a fleeting glimpse of a charm not often seen.
"Mm, let's go down and see..." Nanako agreed, not refusing. On the contrary, a flicker of her own confusion and curiosity had been ignited. For a fleeting instant, when that head had appeared outside the window, she thought she had seen her own father. But it was just a flash, and she hadn't gotten a clear look. Shaking her head slightly, Nanako felt uncertain. After all, when she left home, Ohara Shijuro had mentioned he had business to attend to and would be going out. Besides, he didn't even know Lin Yu's address, so it was highly unlikely he would be here.
Each lost in their own thoughts, they descended the stairs. Just as they reached the front door, a sharp whistle pierced the air, followed by the jarring screech of bicycle brakes.
"Police! Don't move!" A crisp, clear female voice rang out.
Opening the door and stepping into the yard, they saw a young woman in a dark police uniform. She was slightly out of breath, a healthy flush on her cheeks, and she held a police baton, her expression stern as she issued commands towards someone in their yard.
A female police officer? Lin Yu found himself taking a surprised second look. Even in his previous life, the police force was a profession where he had mostly seen women in videos; such institutions rarely had a significant female presence on the front lines. If they did, it was usually in administrative roles. A female officer actively on duty was indeed an uncommon sight.
However, when Lin Yu's gaze fell upon the figure in the yard—the suspected thief—his surprise intensified. The person sprawled on the ground, entangled with the broken drainpipe and unable to get up, was none other than Nanako's father, Ohara Shijuro.
At that moment, Ohara Shijuro lay there, groaning softly, clearly having taken a nasty fall. Even the glasses that usually perched on his nose were nowhere to be seen, likely flung off during his descent. His clothes were stained with dirt and bits of grass, presenting an utterly wretched and dishevelled figure.
With the arrival of the police, a number of curious neighbors had emerged from their homes to see what the commotion was about. Prominent among them was the plump lady from next door, Mrs. Kitamoto, who usually enjoyed long, gossipy chats with Mitsy. Despite her love for neighborhood news, she was known for her upright character and enthusiastic helpfulness. It was her voice that had raised the alarm about the "thief," and she had promptly called the police.
"Lin-san, is anything missing from your house?" Mrs. Kitamoto asked. "I noticed this fellow acting suspiciously and following you when you returned earlier. Then he snuck into your yard and even started climbing the drainpipe..."
With Mrs. Kitamoto's explanation, Lin Yu finally understood the sequence of events, a sense of exasperation washing over him. So, his earlier feeling hadn't been a delusion after all; someone had genuinely been tailing them. He just hadn't imagined it would be Ohara Shijuro. And for him to resort to something as undignified as climbing a drainpipe – being mistaken for a thief was, frankly, not entirely undeserved.
Nanako, meanwhile, stared at her father lying on the ground, her expression one of utter shock. That fleeting glimpse she'd caught earlier hadn't been a mistake; it really was her father. Without a second thought, she rushed forward.
The young female police officer, still on alert with her baton, anxiously tried to hold Nanako back. "It's dangerous! Don't go over there..."
But before she could finish her sentence, Nanako's concerned voice filled the air. "Dad! What happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? Is anything broken?"
Hearing Nanako's words, the young officer and Mrs. Kitamoto exchanged stunned, bewildered glances.
At this point, Lin Yu stepped forward to clarify. "Excuse me, Officer. I believe there's been a misunderstanding. He's not a thief; he's the father of my friend."
Just as he was speaking, a familiar voice chimed in. "Mrs. Kitamoto! Lin-kun! What's going on? Why is everyone gathered here?" Mitsy strolled over from her house next door, her expression puzzled. As she stepped into the yard, however, her eyes widened in surprise. "Mr. Ohara! What is he doing here? What happened to him?"
Lin Yu, with a sigh of resignation, had to explain the whole convoluted situation once again. Upon hearing the tale, Mitsy's gaze towards Lin Yu took on a distinctly gossipy glint. Ohara Shijuro's bizarre behavior had clearly led her to misinterpret things concerning Lin Yu and Nanako in a rather suggestive way.
Fortunately, with the collective testimonies and explanations, Ohara Shijuro was eventually cleared of the suspicion of being a thief. However, his physical condition seemed rather poor. Concerned, they called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. Nanako, naturally, accompanied her father to take care of him.
Lin Yu and Mrs. Kitamoto, the one who had reported the incident, weren't so lucky. They had to accompany the police officer, a Miss Iwata, to the station to give their statements. As for Ohara Shijuro, even after his hospital visit, he wouldn't be escaping a trip to the station himself...
Lin Yu had no objections to this arrangement. His main headache was the inevitable wave of rumors and gossip about him and Nanako that was sure to follow. Ohara Shijuro's actions, to put it mildly, were incredibly easy to misinterpret.
After finally finishing his statement at the police station, Lin Yu called Nanako. He found out which hospital her father was in and his current condition, then bought some fruit, preparing to pay him a visit. After all, some misunderstandings desperately needed to be cleared up. Otherwise, there was no telling what Ohara Shijuro, that doting "daughter-slave," might do next.
This truly was an undeserved disaster. He had done absolutely nothing, yet he had been so thoroughly misunderstood. Thinking back, though, a wry thought crossed his mind: if Ohara Shijuro hadn't "assisted" with his dramatic, ill-timed appearance, that accidental, intimate tumble with Nanako in the room probably wouldn't have happened at all. He wondered idly if Ohara Shijuro would explode with even greater fury if he ever found out that his own misguided actions had inadvertently led to Lin Yu "taking advantage" of Nanako. It was a situation where nothing had actually happened, yet, because of him, Lin Yu had ended up in a compromising position with his daughter.