Shioriko froze on the sidewalk, the phone pressed tight to her ear as Mia skidded to a halt beside her, panting heavily.
On the other end of the line, Lanzhu's trembling voice suddenly fractured into a sharp, breathless laugh. It wasn't her usual confident, booming laugh; it was high-pitched, borderline hysterical, and laced with absolute panic.
"Shiorin, you're hilarious! Really, Lanzhu thinks you've finally lost your mind from all that student council paperwork!" Lanzhu laughed, though her voice was cracking under the strain. "I'm in *Hong Kong* right now, you know?! Lanzhu is literally across the ocean! What do you want me to do, teleport to Tokyo Station?! Even Lanzhu can't break the laws of physics, Shiorin!"
Before Shioriko could even open her mouth to reply, the frantic, defensive edge in Lanzhu's voice was completely cut through by a tiny, muffled sound on the receiver.
The rustle of a blanket. The patter of small feet.
*"Mama...?"*
A soft, sleepy little girl's voice drifted clearly through the phone line. The toddler yawned, her words slightly slurred but perfectly audible. *"Who are you calling so loud...? Is it Papa? Is Papa coming home yet?"*
The silence that slammed into the phone line from Lanzhu's end was absolute. It was the sound of a secret being violently ripped out into the open.
Shioriko's breath hitched. She stared blankly ahead, the pieces of the puzzle instantly locking into place. Agung hadn't just been checking Lanzhu off a list. He was going to Hong Kong because the cycle didn't stop in Japan.
Mia, seeing the sheer shock on Shioriko's face, grabbed her arm. "Shioriko? What's wrong? What did she say?"
Shioriko slowly lowered the phone slightly, her voice barely a whisper as she spoke into the mic, her analytical mind completely blown away by the revelation. "Lanzhu... you have a daughter too. That's why you're in Hong Kong. That's why he was going there."
On the other end, the sound of Lanzhu shuffling, gently whispering to the little girl to go back to sleep, could be heard before she came back on the line. The laughter was entirely gone.
*"Shioriko..."* Lanzhu whispered, her voice raw, stripped of all the majesty of the great Lanzhu Zhong. *"Tell me the exact time that train leaves Tokyo Station. Lanzhu will find a way. Lanzhu *has* to find a way."*