Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 291 A belated sense of comfort, the android Qian Su!

"See you later, everyone."

After letting Chikako Ikeda pick up the exhausted Takahashi Ryoichi on the ground, Hotaru turned and left.

Suzuki Ayako's reasoning was very interesting, but it also put an end to his idea of ​​continuing to gain murderous intent. It was no use staying any longer.

"There may be some screams of wild animals later, relax, you will be fine."

These words were heard in the misty darkness, and in a flash, they were completely melted into the night outside.

The three people in the villa shuddered at the same time. They knew that the so-called beast screams must be the undead venting their anger at the living.

"what--!!!"

It didn't take long before they heard a scream from Takahashi Ryoichi. It was so shrill that it seemed as if the life was being ripped away from the body along with the sound.

Suzuki Ayako had been staring at the darkness outside the door in a daze. Only after hearing the scream did she finally take a deep breath, walk forward and close the door.

The two men behind her were still kneeling. After hearing the sound of the door closing, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He stood up, looked at Suzuki Ayako, and bowed deeply again.

"Ayako, thank you for saving my life."

"You've been a real help today."

Suzuki Ayako shook her head slightly: "It has nothing to do with me. It's all the kindness of Mr. Death. And I organized this class reunion, so of course I have to be responsible for you."

Having said that, the two gentlemen were not rookies who had just entered the society, so naturally they expressed their gratitude.

If this could make them feel at ease, Suzuki Ayako certainly would not stop it.

In fact, besides her inner determination, there was another reason why she dared to stand up at that time.

I always feel...

There is a familiar smell about Mr. Death.

Of course, she couldn't say exactly what was familiar about it, but she just inexplicably thought of a naughty little bug.

She shook her head and stopped thinking about it. This would be too disrespectful to Mr. Death.

After a while, the long-haired handsome boy spoke hesitantly: "Ayako, was Atsuko's suicide really because of that? Since she didn't have much time to live anyway, she used her life as part of a plot to frame Chikako and seek a good reputation after her death?"

Suzuki Ayako nodded solemnly: "Of course it is like that, Atsuko is the plagiarist, and Chikako-senpai is the innocent victim."

"But, Atsuko..."

"Ota, you are probably too upset. Go back to your room and have a good rest. Nothing will happen here tonight." Suzuki Ayako interrupted calmly.

The pretty boy was stunned for a few seconds and opened his mouth to speak, but Hiroki Kakutani next to him suddenly turned pale, grabbed his arm and walked upstairs, not forgetting to turn around and greet him.

"Ayako, you should also go to bed early."

Suzuki Ayako narrowed her eyes slightly and continued, "Don't tell anyone about what happened here tonight. We will talk about how to notify the police and their families after we confirm the situation outside tomorrow morning. This is for the safety of all of us, understand?"

Hiroki Kadoya nodded quickly, and seeing that the pretty boy was a little confused about the situation, he pressed his head and nodded twice.

"Understood, we will absolutely keep this a secret."

After saying this, he felt that this was a little unsafe, so he quickly took out his own cell phone and the pretty boy's cell phone and placed them on the table in the hall.

Although they had no signal on their cell phones in the deep mountains and the telephone line of the villa was cut by the bandaged weirdo Takahashi, the key was to show their attitude.

Suzuki Ayako nodded at him, and Hiroki Kakutani quickly pulled the handsome boy upstairs, whispering something in his ear.

"That's not important. None of it matters."

The pretty boy originally felt a little strange about their actions, but when he heard these words, his body suddenly stiffened.

But he soon gave a bitter smile, pushed away Hiroki Kadoya's hand, and went upstairs by himself.

Wash up, go to bed, and nothing else to say.

That’s right, the truth from two years ago means nothing.

No matter why Atsuko committed suicide or who was the plagiarist between her and Chikako, the person is dead now, so why bother about it?

And the most important thing is, the god of death only brought back the soul of Chikako.

She is innocent, absolutely.

……

……

"Are you feeling better, Chikako?"

It was raining heavily in the dark forest. Yingsheng stood on the edge of the cliff and looked at the woman beside him.

There was no expression on Chikako's pale face. She raised her hand and threw the lump of rotten meat that she was dragging backwards fell off the cliff, and there was no news for a long time.

Maybe it was covered by the sound of rain.

She stared at the darkness below the cliff for a long time. A breeze blew up from the bottom of the cliff, taking away the pure white in her eyes and merging into heaven and earth.

Her eyes returned to normal, with black and white clearly distinguished, and a moment of relief and liberation flashed across her.

The next second, everything returned to its calm state.

She turned to look at Yingsheng, without saying a word, but just stood quietly in the rain, like an ignorant and delicate doll.

Yingsheng looked her up and down, quite curious: "Are you fulfilling your obsession in your life?"

"I don't know." Chikako said.

"You can talk now, which is a good thing. What about your past memories? Do you remember any words?"

Yingsheng turned and walked towards the bonfire he had seen before, and took out his cell phone to call Xiaolan to report that he was safe. Xiaolan had called him once when it had just started raining, but he was acting weird at the time, so he hung up and replied to an email.

During the call, Chikako followed him quietly without making a sound.

She didn't speak until Yingsheng hung up the phone.

"No."

"You have no memory at all. That's a bit troublesome. Do you have any plans for the future?"

After asking this question, Yingsheng felt that his question was really weird. What plans could a person who had died once and lost his memory have for the future?

"No."

As expected, Chikako's answer was still the same.

"So do you want to be the person you used to be?" Yingsheng asked again.

"I do not know."

"Do you think you are Chikako?"

"If you say so, then it is."

"Then who am I?"

"I don't know. I only know that you created me. They just said that you are the god of death. Are you?"

"Oh, if I must say it, the Big Dipper controls the fortune and misfortune of all living beings, life and death, and I, a little star, can barely get a glimpse of it."

Yingsheng raised his hand and hooked it behind him, and when Chikako walked to his side, he raised his hand and pressed her chest to feel her heartbeat.

After making sure that she had recovered to normal level and was just a little faster, Yingsheng put down his hand and turned his head to look at her.

"Do you feel any discomfort in your body?"

"It hurts. It hurts everywhere."

When Chikako said this, her face was still expressionless, which made Yingsheng feel as if he was seeing a cheap bionic man from his previous life, with a low-grade emotional module.

"Be more specific, don't be so vague." Yingsheng said.

Chikako was silent for a moment: "The cuts on my limbs, my neck, and my lower abdomen hurt."

"That's normal. I haven't fully recovered for you just now."

Yingsheng looked at her right knee. Probably because of walking, the wound there had already formed a shallow scab, but now fresh blood was oozing out.

At first the color of the blood was a little dark, but gradually it turned bright red.

It's actually a good sign.

"Can you bear it?" Yingsheng asked.

"can."

"Then bear with it for now. There must be a medical kit in the villa over there. I'll come out and bandage you later. If you can't bear it anymore, tell me and I can treat you. But I still hope that you can recover slowly on your own. Otherwise, if the wound heals too quickly, it will leave scars, which will not look good."

Come to think of it, will there be no scars if the recovery is slow?
Yingsheng asked curiously, "Do you have a scar-prone physique?"

"do not know."

Chikako's answer was the same as always.

"Well, anyway, it might be difficult for you to be Chikako Ikeda again, so just follow me for now." Yingsheng smiled slightly, "The past is gone, we can't pursue it anymore, how about giving you a new name?"

Although he said this, he naturally did not wait for Chikako to respond and just said the new name on his own.

"Qing Yanagi Chisou, what do you think?"

"Okay, I'm Aoyagi Chisou."

She answered without any hesitation. From that moment on, or from an hour ago, Chikako Ikeda was already dead.

Now standing in the rainy night is a completely new person.

Some interesting thoughts flashed through his mind. Yingsheng looked towards Tokyo, the corners of his lips slightly raised, and he flipped his right wrist, and the colorless thin blade reappeared in his hand.

"Qingliu, I have to perform a minor operation on you. It will probably be very painful without anesthesia. Can you bear it?"

"Okay." Qingliu Qiansu said.

"I'll try to move faster, Qian Su, do you know hypnosis?"

"Probably know."

Yingsheng closed his eyes and took a long moment to think before slowly opening them. He saw a gloomy and eerie scene inside, even deeper than the night sky.

"Look into my eyes, Qiansu, now you need to accept a new life."

[Love -2, Use Skill: Unable to Obtain! ]

I don't know how much time had passed, but Yingsheng, exhausted both physically and mentally, turned around and continued on his way. Soon, another light came into sight.

"Really? Why did you come just now?"

At the entrance of the villa, Suzuki Sonoko put her hands on her hips and looked at the figure walking out of the dark path.

"Haha, there's something wrong with your map. I almost got lost."

Yingsheng wiped his hair, raised his eyebrows and smiled, and the freshly soaked chicken turned into a nobleman in distress in the blink of an eye.

"Do you have a change of clothes?" "I borrowed a set from Senior Kyogoku. I'll take you to the back to change." Sonoko took out a big black umbrella from the door, opened it, and walked out of the rain. "Special note, Xiaolan is preparing a meal for you, I'm just here to help her wait for you."

"Thank you very much. Our Miss Suzuki is really a kind person who is eager to help others."

Yingsheng did not go under the umbrella. He raised his hand to signal her to walk in front. Yuanzi snorted and turned away.

Entering the bathroom from the back door, Yingsheng stuck his head out before closing the door: "Can you prepare a medical kit for me?"

Just as she was about to turn around, Yuanzi frowned slightly: "Are you injured? Did you fall?"

"No, I just picked up a wounded animal on the road. Otherwise, why would I come here so late? It's a little shy, so I didn't bring it here. I'll go out and bandage it later." Yingsheng said.

"Tsk, I didn't realize you had any compassion." Yuanzi looked him up and down carefully, "Are you really not hurt? Being stubborn is not a good habit."

"Don't worry, I always tell the truth."

Yingsheng closed the door and waited until the footsteps outside faded away before he began to undress and take a shower. After a while, he changed into Kyogoku Makoto's white T-shirt and jeans, blew his hair dry, and pushed the door open.

At the end of the corridor, Sonoko and Xiaolan were talking together. Below them, the noise of members of the two school karate teams could be heard.

"Suiyue-kun, you're a little late."

Xiaolan looked over with a smile. She was wearing a beige home dress. Under the soft light, the aroma of food wafted faintly.

The coldness of the rainy night outside disappeared in an instant. Yingsheng walked towards her and inexplicably had the illusion of going home.

"Sorry, something happened."

"The small animal that Shuiyue-kun encountered must be different from the ordinary ones. Is it a tiger or a lone wolf?" Xiaolan blinked and took out a large food box from behind her. "Go to your room. I have left a lot of delicious food for you."

"Thank you, I'm really hungry."

Yingsheng looked at Yuanzi and spread his hands helplessly: "I'm really not injured, but thank you for your concern."

"I'm just gossiping. The medical kit and umbrella are at the door. Xiaolan will take you there." Sonoko turned around and went downstairs.

Yingsheng thanked him, looked at Xiaolan who was looking him up and down, and shrugged.

"Really? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would fall down when I walk?"

"Of course not under normal circumstances, but it's a different story if you're drunk." Xiaolan leaned close to Yingsheng's face, stood on tiptoe, and sniffed gently, "There's no smell of alcohol, did you just rinse your mouth?"

Yingsheng rolled his eyes at her and said, "Don't make inferences of guilt. An old lady in a wheelchair like this is a murderer."

"When we came here today, we actually met an old lady in a wheelchair. She lives in an old castle at the foot of this mountain." Xiaolan smiled gently and walked sideways. "Some classmates wanted to go in for a visit, but the old lady was so scary that we didn't dare to ask for permission."

The long black hair lightly brushed across Yingsheng's nose, with a faint scent of orchid.

Yingsheng turned around and followed: "If that is someone's private residence, a large-scale visit is indeed not a good idea. If there are fewer people, it may be possible."

"It should be a private residence. The male owner is very welcoming. Let's go take a look tomorrow after the rain stops."

Walking into Yingsheng's room, Xiaolan put the lunch box on the desk, opened the window and started to serve the food.

"Because you like to eat chili peppers, and I don't want to leave the smell in the room, so this is the only way."

Hua Hua Hua——

It was still raining heavily outside the window. The breeze brought in a wisp of light moisture, which mixed with the aroma of barbecue and made Yingsheng's stomach growl.

"Having wind and rain accompany your meal is one of the greatest joys in the world. I like this feeling." Yingsheng walked forward with a smile.

Boom——! ! !
A bolt of lightning struck from the sky. Xiaolan's hand trembled, and several golden butterfly shrimps on the plate flew out.

Yingsheng was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He caught them one by one, put them into his mouth, and chewed them with relish.

"tasty."

He looked at Xiaolan again, quite curious: "You are afraid of thunder?"

"Why, no, I'm a girl." Xiaolan snorted unhappily, put the dishes on the table, pulled out the chair, and said, "Come and eat, young master."

"If Miss needs a midnight snack, shall we join them?"

"No need. I had dinner last night. I'm not like someone who is being held under house arrest by the police."

Xiaolan took out the cell phone and pistol that Yingsheng had given her from her pocket and placed them next to the food.

"Only Mingzhi called. I asked him to contact my mother."

"Thank you, it looks like everything is going well over there."

Yingsheng sat down and started eating. He hadn't drunk a drop of water from noon until now.

As for the cup of tea that the fake Sato gave him, Yingsheng didn't know whether it was problematic or not, but to be on the safe side, he would certainly not let it touch his lips.

"And what about you?"

Xiaolan sat on the edge of the bed, her head resting on the desk, looking at Yingsheng, her tone a little gloomy.

Boom——! !

Thunder roared again in the sky, but this time she remained indifferent.

"Did you hear any bad news? Can you tell me about it?" Yingsheng asked.

"In Souho-cho, there was a large-scale fight between the yakuza and the police; in Tsuburaya-cho, the police evacuated many people in the evening." Xiaolan looked into Hotaru's eyes.

"The former is related to me. I used the recording from early this morning to report Amuro Toru to the police. Officer Megure told me that they had a battle with the winery. As for the latter, I don't know. Were there large-scale casualties there?"

Yingsheng's expression remained calm, without any change.

Xiaolan looked at him silently for a few seconds, and finally retracted her gaze and shook her head gently: "It is said that the police suffered casualties, but not the civilians. Moreover, the incident over there seems to be related to Amuro Toru. The police have issued a wanted warrant for him."

"I see. My main goal today was to lure out Vermouth and kill her, but I failed because of Toru Amuro's mischief."

"In Tsuburaya-cho?"

"probably."

Halfway through the meal, Yingsheng put down his chopsticks and glanced at the edge of the forest in the pouring rain. There, there was a dark silhouette silently staring at the light.

"I'm going to feed the animals. Do you want to join me?" Yingsheng turned and looked at Xiaolan.

"There's more in the kitchen. Eat your fill first." Xiaolan also looked out the window, but saw nothing. "Are you going back to Tokyo tonight?"

"I do have this idea, but it's just a small matter, and it's okay not to go back." Yingsheng said without hesitation.

"I heard from my classmates that..."

Xiaolan pursed her lips tightly, her eyes somewhat dark: "Qingliu's family of three was wiped out?"

"This news spreads really fast. The police are leaking information everywhere."

Yingsheng sighed: "Xuantian is my witness, I really didn't do this. The murderer is Vermouth. After her identity as 'Xue Song Qingzi' ran into problems, she wanted to replace Qing Liu. I guess her main purpose is to continue to stay with Kudo.

Unfortunately, due to some accidents, Kudo discovered it in advance."

"pity?"

"Yes, when I learned about this, Qing Liu had already died, so I hoped to catch Vermouth and avenge her. But she was not at home this morning, so I didn't get the chance.

I had planned to wait until she went to school on Monday, but now I don’t have that opportunity anymore.”

Yingsheng tells the truth.

Xiaolan was silent after hearing this. She waited until Yingsheng finished his meal and started to clean up the dishes before she sighed softly.

"Sorry, there are some things I can't accept for the time being."

"What are you talking about? I never thought of turning you into a murderer who kills without blinking an eye."

Yingsheng put away the food box, wiped the table, looked at Xiaolan who had a complicated look in her eyes, and tapped the table lightly.

"After you learned about Qing Yanagi's death, did you call Nakamichi?"

Xiaolan nodded hesitantly, and then added: "Nakamichi actually wanted to help you hide it. It was only because I kept asking and I said I knew this matter must be related to you that he reluctantly told me."

"Oh, what a clumsy lie, Xiaolan, you've been fooled."

"……What's the meaning?"

"After what happened in the hospital last night, Kudo would definitely call Nakamichi first this afternoon. Nakamichi is well-informed, and if he becomes concerned about this matter, he will definitely get the news quickly. You will definitely get the news later than him.

No, he was probably the one who told you that.

The reason seems very simple. It is to remind you implicitly that I am a pervert and you need to pay attention to safety.

Is it right? "

Xiaolan was speechless for a long time before she said, "I'm sorry, because you are so good at conspiracy, there are some things I can't be sure of, even if I saw it with my own eyes."

"I have a very bad credit record, which is indeed a very troublesome thing, but I have to say that being skeptical of everything and everyone is actually a basic rule of life."

Yingsheng stood up, picked up the lunch box and walked out the door.

"Seeing is not necessarily believing. This kind of thing is very normal. Come on, you will see a real example right away."

"It's not that I don't trust you, Shuiyue-kun. If you want to lie to me, you can just not tell me a lot of things." Xiaolan stood up and followed, looking a little depressed. "I'm just too stupid. I can't understand a lot of things and can't keep up with Shuiyue-kun's thinking."

"I act for the sake of profit. There is no need to overthink many things. Just grasp the motivation."

Yingsheng opened the medical kit at the door and took a look. After making sure it should be enough, he picked it up and went downstairs through the back door he had come up from before.

Xiaolan followed behind with an umbrella: "The 'profit' that Shuiyue-kun is pursuing must be love."

"Yes, the rest are just details."

"So, is this the only reason you contacted Aoyagi-san? Because she's very empty inside."

"Probably."

"Oh……"

When they arrived at the kitchen, Xiaolan helped to heat up some food again. Soon, she and Yingsheng left through the back door with an umbrella and came to the edge of the forest.

Using the flashlight to look at the footprints on the muddy ground, Yingsheng walked some distance inside and stood under a tall banyan tree, where there was a rare dry area.

Yingsheng smiled at Xiaolan, who looked nervous, and shone the flashlight onto the treetops.

Xiaolan looked up and saw a dark figure squatting on the treetop. Her eyes suddenly became stern.

But before she could open her mouth to ask, she heard Yingsheng say a name that made her tremble all over.

"Qian Su, come down, Xiaolan won't hurt you."

"!!!!!!"

Qiansu?

Aoyagi Chisou?!
Xiaolan's pupils suddenly shrank, and when the dark figure stood up on the treetop, her scarred facial features appeared in the light.

Xiaolan's legs became weak and she almost fell to the ground.

What exactly is going on!

(End of this chapter)