Hojo Maki’s eyes were bright, and her police uniform was neatly worn, highlighting her dignity. The touch of red lipstick on her lips added a touch of glamour to her imposing presence.

　　Yu Mukai paused for a moment, a flash of joy and gratitude crossing his eyes, before lowering his head again, his tone restrained: “I’ll only cause trouble for Minister Maki. I have a day off tomorrow, so I should be able to find a suitable apartment.”

　　Hojo Maki shook her head, put down her chopsticks, and looked at Mukai Yu: “I’m starting my half-month annual leave tomorrow, and I plan to travel to Yan Country. I’d like to ask Mukai to help me look for an apartment during this half-month. I’ll have more time to find one.”

　　”Oh, ah.” A moment of disappointment flashed in Yu Mukai’s eyes, but he quickly put on a smile: “Then I’ll have to trouble Minister Maki.”

　　Shirakawa Natsumi’s lips twitched; she was completely flustered. She had initially thought that Aunt Maki was lonely and wanted something, but it turned out that she wanted to go on a trip to Yan Country.

　　Her departure is a big deal; does that mean my mission will be stuck for another half a month?

　　Half a month later, without a reason to draw inspiration for his manga, the connection he had finally established with Hojo Maki had to be severed again.

　　”No way,” Shirakawa Natsu thought to himself. He had to find a way to make her feel aroused before she left.

　　Her heart was in turmoil, but she tried her best to keep a smile on her face: “Aunt Mafei, are you planning to go to Yan Kingdom to see Huan Nai?”

　　”Yes.” Hojo Maki nodded, a gentle smile that was unique to mothers appearing on her face: “I’ve been worried about Kanna being alone in a foreign country, so I wanted to go and see her during my annual leave.”

　　Shirakawa Natsumi’s lips twitched, not caring about being suspected: “When does Aunt Maki plan to leave?”

　　“Tomorrow then.” After saying that, Hojo Maki looked at Iyu: “I’ll give you the room key before I leave.”

　　”Uh, okay… okay.” Yu Mukai’s disappointment deepened. Leaving tomorrow meant that the two of them would never have a chance to be alone together.

　　Shirakawa Natsuya was stunned. If he was leaving during the day tomorrow, didn’t that mean he had to sexually assault her tonight?

　　Time was too short, so sneaking into her room at night was the only possibility.

　　He committed home invasion and rape against a police inspector armed with a handgun. He had no doubt that Maki could have beaten him twice even without the gun.

　　Moreover, the task description explicitly states that it must be performed while the individual is conscious.

　　This means that trying to get her drunk using these underhanded methods simply won’t work.

　　”Isn’t this too rushed?” Shirakawa Natsu didn’t dare to show it too obviously, so she just smiled and said, “After all, it’s going abroad.”

　　Yu Mukai sat to the side, glancing at Maki Hojo out of the corner of his eye, but dared not speak.

　　”Yan Kingdom isn’t far either, we’ll be there soon,” Hojo Maki said with a smile. “Kanna will pick me up at the airport.”

　　As they were talking, the waiter came over, placed the plate on the table, and said with a smile, “This is our restaurant’s signature dessert. Please enjoy.”

　　When dessert is served, it means the meal is nearing its end.

　　Hojo Maki picked up her chopsticks; it was getting late, and she was about to leave after finishing her meal.

　　Time ticked by, and Shirakawa Natsu knew that she had to do it now if she wanted to persuade her.

　　While Shirakawa Natsu was thinking, Hojo Maki put the last piece of dessert in her mouth and put down her chopsticks.

　　Shirakawa Natsu knew she couldn’t wait any longer. She quickly went through the excuses she had come up with in her mind, found no flaws, and said, “If I had the chance, I would really like to go back to Yan Kingdom.”

　　”Go back?” Mukai Yu asked.

　　“Yes, I grew up in Yan Country when I was a child.” Shirakawa Natsu showed a reminiscing expression: “Actually, I came to Dong Country when I was in junior high school.”

　　Hojo Maki’s action of putting down her chopsticks froze in mid-air.

　　”I still remember the tongue twisters we used to say all the time.” After saying that, Shirakawa Natsumi smiled and showed off a bit of Mandarin: “Eat grapes without spitting out the grape skins, don’t eat grapes but spit out the grape skins.”

　　Although it’s been a long time since I’ve spoken it, it’s something ingrained in my DNA, and I’m still adept at it.

　　Yutaka Mukai immediately praised, “Shirakawa-kun, you’re truly amazing!”

　　Shirakawa Natsu glanced at him. That’s the good thing about people from the East; they can read the room and, regardless of whether someone is being hypocritical, they’re always good at flattering others.

　　Hojo Maki didn’t put down her chopsticks, but looked at Shirakawa Natsu with great interest.

　　She’s leaving for Yan tomorrow, so under these circumstances, she’ll instinctively pay more attention to any related news.

　　Shirakawa Natsumi could tell from her expression that she had successfully caught Aunt Maki’s attention.

　　He was actually gambling that Hojo Maki was a police auxiliary officer, and that investigating her background wouldn’t be particularly difficult.

　　But she starts her vacation tomorrow, so she won’t be going to the police station until the end of her vacation.

　　Fortunately, we’re in Dongguo, so after a vacation, there’s rarely a need to go back to work overtime.

　　What he needs to do is take advantage of this vacuum period to complete the internal astringency.

　　The first step was to get her to postpone her trip to Yan.

　　”When you mention Yan Kingdom, the first word that comes to mind is ‘big’,” Shirakawa Natsu said casually. “Dong Kingdom is only equivalent to one Henan Province in Yan Kingdom, while Yan Kingdom has a total of 34 provincial-level administrative regions.”

　　“It’s huge,” Yu Mukai replied.

　　“Yes, and there are more than 130 different dialects in different regions.” Shirakawa Natsu shrugged. “Of course, if you can speak fluent Mandarin, that’s fine, but if your pronunciation is not standard, you’ll hardly be able to get by.”

　　After he finished speaking, he turned to look at Hojo Maki: “Aunt Maki, I remember Kanna is in the capital, right?”

　　Hojo Maki quickly nodded: “Yes, that’s right.”

　　“Yes, you should be careful then.” Shirakawa Natsu said with concern, “The capital airport is an international transportation hub. In Yan Country, it is very common for places with the same name to be in different provinces. I have often heard of tourists going to the wrong province because of misunderstandings.”

　　“It’s just too big, after all.” Yu Mukai nodded. “With that kind of scale, it’s hard to guarantee that the names will be completely different.”

　　“Yes.” Shirakawa Natsu nodded: “It’s okay for locals, but for foreigners, it’s a nightmare.”

　　Hojo Maki asked, “Then how can we avoid it?”

　　”Here you are,” Shirakawa Natsu smiled and nodded, expressing her gratitude for the magnificent landscape of the motherland. “If Mahiru isn’t in a hurry, I can help you create a detailed travel plan based on Kanna’s school situation, but it will take at least two to three days.”

　　”Two to three days?” Hojo Maki frowned slightly, clearly conflicted about the timing.

　　“Actually, if you’re not familiar with the capital of Yan, you’ll miss a lot of things,” Shirakawa Natsu said with a smile. “For example, the Forbidden City, which is the best-preserved and largest wooden structure ancient building complex in the world. You can feel the inheritance of civilization from generation to generation here.”

　　”There is also the Summer Palace, the best-preserved imperial palace and garden, which is known as the ‘Royal Garden Museum’.”

　　A flicker of interest crossed Hojo Maki’s eyes.

　　“There are also pandas.” Shirakawa Natsu laughed. “Kanna has only been in Yan for a short time, so she probably doesn’t know much about these things. Since the opening hours of these attractions are different, it’s easy to miss them if you don’t follow the rules. Aunt Maki wouldn’t want to see her daughter with regrets, would she?”

　　Upon hearing that it concerned her daughter, Hojo Maki’s brows furrowed with interest, and she nodded: “Then I’ll trouble you, Shirakawa-kun.”

　　”No need, no need.” Shirakawa Natsu quickly waved her hand: “Aunt Maki has helped me with my manga creation. I didn’t know how to thank her properly. Please give me your travel plans. This is the only way I can express my gratitude. Give me three days and I will arrange all the travel plans, hotels, and airfares.”

　　“No need for that.” Hojo Maki shook her head, her gaze towards Shirakawa Natsu softening considerably.

　　She would be grateful to have a travel schedule.

　　From her perspective, Shirakawa Natsu was wholeheartedly helping her, and if she only wanted to postpone her trip to Yan Country by three days, it would be completely unnecessary.

　　”Please don’t say that.” Shirakawa Natsu shook her head and looked into the distance. “I can’t go back now, so please ask Aunt Maki to go and see the scenery of Yan Kingdom for me.”

　　He spoke these words with genuine emotion, without any flaws.

　　Touched by his gaze, Hojo Maki nodded and said, “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

　　Shirakawa Natsu wanted her to lie down, but of course, that was just a thought. She nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll give you information if you need anything.”

　　With the matter settled, Shirakawa Natsu chatted about some strange and unusual things in Yan Country, with Mukai Yu chiming in.

　　Hojo Maki’s eyes also gleamed with admiration.

　　They didn’t get up to pay the bill until late in the evening.

　　“I’ll send the address to your email.” After saying this to Yuu, Hojo Maki looked at Shirakawa Natsu and said, “Thank you, Natsu-kun.”

　　Shirakawa Natsu noticed that Hojo Maki had started calling him “Natsu-kun,” and quickly waved his hand, saying, “It’s just to repay Aunt Maki for her help with my manga career.”

　　Hojo Maki nodded and turned to leave.

　　”I’ll help you move tomorrow,” Shirakawa Natsumi said with a smile to Ii Yu.

　　”This…” Yu Mukai was clearly embarrassed, but he found it hard to refuse Natsu Shirakawa, so he had no choice but to agree.

　　After expressing his gratitude, Yutaka Mukai left alone by car.

　　Shirakawa Natsu sat in the jeep, feeling the evening breeze. He had finally managed to secure three days.

　　He only has three days. Within those three days, he must get back to Aunt Maki, otherwise all his efforts will be in vain.

　　Shirakawa Natsu looked out at the night view, countless plans flashing through her mind. After a while, she took out her phone.

　　A clear voice came from the other end of the phone; it was Ryoko Arisuma: “Hello, Mr. Natsu.”

　　“Tomorrow, Yu Mukai will be moving into his beautiful boss’s house.” Shirakawa Natsumi got straight to the point: “And his beautiful boss is a widow who also has feelings for him. You should know Yu Mukai’s personality better than I do. I think he’s the type who’s devoted to love. Once the two of them are together, he won’t leave easily.”

　　”I…” Ryoko Arijima was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, then gritted her teeth and said, “What does Mr. Natsu need me to do?”

　　”A date,” Shirakawa Natsumi said. “Tomorrow I’ll tell Mukai Yu about what you asked me to do, and then I’ll arrange a date with him.”

　　”But I…” Ryoko Arishima seemed a little flustered at the mention of a date: “What should I do?”

　　She had no opinion of her own and followed Shirakawa Natsu’s advice.

　　”Just have a normal date,” Shirakawa Natsumi said. “Just tell him your true feelings.”

　　Shirakawa Natsu’s original plan was to get Aunt Maki to give up on Mukai Yu on her own initiative, and then take advantage of the situation to make her move in.

　　But with only three days to spare, he could no longer rely on the moderate plan he had prepared earlier; he had to be more radical.