Conan: The Man Behind the Romance

Chapter 331 The stars are shining, and fireflies are also angels

"Same to you, Mr. Aida. Suits are so offensive. Can they really be considered men's clothing?"

Hotaru sat down opposite Black Butler, with the thorns in his hand twisted into a wreath. He placed it on his head and smiled at Masayo Aida.

"Look, my level is much higher than yours."

Masayo Aida looked at the top of Hotaru's head. The bare thorn branches, which were originally quite monotonous, now had grown many green tender leaves, among which there were many lavender thorny flowers.

The elegant wreath gently pressed down the smooth black hair, highlighting the delicate face that looked like a white jade sculpture, and the white toga turned into soft milk waves.

Aida Masayo's eyes trembled slightly and she turned her gaze away slightly.

pat--!
At the adjacent booth, a man's wine glass fell to the ground, splashing a blur of liquid.

"How did you do it?" asked Masayo Aida.

"A wreath? Just a little magic trick."

Yingsheng glanced at the ice water in front of Aida Masayo, raised his hand and snapped his fingers crisply, calling the waiter over.

"Would you like something to drink?" Yingsheng asked.

"I don't like drinking, a glass of water is enough." Masayo Aida shook her head slightly.

"The meal is 2,000 yen, this glass of water is too expensive."

The meal fee is the seat fee. Although ice water is free, you have to pay when you sit down.

Masayo Aida was unmoved: "If I continue to invest because of sunk costs, I will fall into the trap of consumerism, and I will end up making myself feel very uncomfortable."

Yingsheng nodded: "That's really good rationality."

When the waiter came over, he also ordered a glass of ice water.

Yingsheng always used his real voice. The waiter was stunned for a few seconds, nodded and walked away, then returned to the bar and whispered a few words to the female bartender.

Aida Masayo caught a glimpse of them and asked, "Guess what they are talking about now?"

Yingsheng's eyes were fixed on Aida Masayo's face without shifting, and he said indifferently, "I won't put my energy into such a boring thing."

“Does my face look weird?”

Masayo Aida took out a makeup mirror, looked at it for a few seconds, and didn't find anything strange.

"Is this your first time putting on makeup?" Yingsheng asked.

"Of course not," said Aida Masayo, "although not very often."

"Okay, so are you COSing as a vampire?"

"..."

Masayo Aida looked at the makeup mirror again, then at Hotaru's face and skin color, and finally found the problem.

In order to conceal her female features, she seemed to have gone too far and made her face too white, almost bloodless.

"Maybe you can ask a professional to help you." Yingsheng said.

"So you are very skilled in this?" asked Masayo Aida.

"You should know that I'm not talking about me."

Masayo Aida gently spun his glass and changed the subject: "I'm not against the symbolism of consumerism. I know that many people go there for that. I just don't want to drink. It's always been like this. Should that be okay?"

"I just don't want to drink." Yingsheng said.

Jessica, wearing a small vest, came over, took a glass of ice water from the tray and placed it in front of Yingsheng, and winked at him.

"Please enjoy your meal, Miss Liuying..."

Hotaru smiled at her, and after she left, he raised his glass to Aida Masayo.

Masayo Aida shook his head and raised his glass.

The crystals collided, the ice cubes clinked, and ripples splashed under the soft light.

She drank the water in the cup, and when she put the cup down, she suddenly looked at Yingsheng and smiled.

"I admit that you are much better than me."

This was the first time Yingsheng saw her smile. It was not that stunning, but it was as if a calm cold pond suddenly began to flow, and a natural vitality emerged.

Yingsheng also smiled and sighed helplessly: "I guessed that most people would make a mistake, so I'll just count it as women's clothing."

"Toga Candida, she often appears in movies, right?" Aida Masayo looked at Hotaru's face. "I think it's mainly because you look... um... too beautiful."

"Hey, is beautiful really an appropriate word to describe me?"

"very suitable."

Aida Masayo raised her hand and snapped her fingers, but unfortunately she was obviously not skilled enough and the snap did not happen at all.

But Jessica hadn't gone far and had been paying close attention to this side. She noticed her movements, walked back and asked her if she needed anything.

"Are there any low-alcohol cocktails? I want very low-alcohol ones," said Masayo Aida.

"I can make a special drink for you." Jessica smiled.

Aida Masayo nodded and looked at Hotaru: "What about you?"

"Same as you." Yingsheng said.

"Come to think of it, you are still underage, so you are not allowed to drink according to the regulations."

"Then, can you give me three years?"

"Yeah...that's fine."

After hearing these strange words, Jessica looked at them curiously, returned to the bar, and soon asked the waiter to bring the wine.

Regulations are regulations, but whether they are enforced or not is another matter.

The police in Tokyo can't even investigate all the murders, leaving behind a lot of unsolved cases. How could they possibly have the time to go to the bar and check if there are any minors?

On the table of the booth, there were a few slight bubbles in the dark blue wine, and a green mint leaf was floating above the sea of ​​stars.

Masayo Aida raised his finger and tapped lightly on the rim of the cup. The sea of ​​stars rippled slightly, bright and blurred.

"The last time I drank was when I was a junior. My roommate dragged me to a social gathering. There was a senior who was interning at a securities company and was very annoying. He kept urging me to drink, so I drank a little."

"Thank you very much for being with me. I hope I am not as confused as him." Yingsheng said.

"It's to thank you for being with me. Usually at this time, I'm usually staring at the TV. In half an hour, I'll turn off the lights and go to bed."

"I thought you would be able to swim freely in the ocean of psychology and be at ease."

Aida Masayo smiled and said, "Of course there will be such times, but I am just an ordinary person after all, and I also need to relax."

"and after?"

What Yingsheng asked was about the last time she drank.

"Later, I found an opportunity and deliberately vomited all over him." Aida Masayo curled the corners of his mouth, "He said his suit was very expensive and wanted me to pay for it, but I told him so many times that I couldn't drink, but he still made me drink, so he deserved it."

Yingsheng gave him a thumbs up and said, "Well done, that guy must be ashamed of himself."

Aida Masayo sighed, "He actually rented that suit, and he collapsed in the pub afterwards. I had no choice but to compensate him for one semester's living expenses."

"..."

Yingsheng didn't know what to say. She looked at the cocktail in front of her and thought about changing it to ice water.

Masayo Aida picked up the wine glass, took a sip, raised his glass to Hotaru, and smiled across the sea of ​​stars.

"not bad."

Yingsheng drank with her and felt that the wine was so light that it didn't even have any taste of alcohol. Jessica's special drink was too good to be true.

Although it is quite beautiful.

Masayo Aida said: "It's not that I can't drink at all. When I was a child, I often went to the shrine to get free offerings of sake. Although I was a child, in front of the gods, everyone is the same. The priest would always give me two drops with chopsticks."

Offering wine is an offering to the gods. After the sacrifice is completed, it will be shared with the people present and is regarded as a blessing from the gods.

"In the past, the person who often went to the shrine with me was Aso. Even when there was no festival, we often went there." Aida Masayo recalled the past, his voice a little ethereal, "At that time, everyone yearned for Tokyo, and the number of people on the island was decreasing.

Perhaps because of this, the shrine lacked maintenance, and suddenly one day, a crack appeared on the shrine of Tsukuyomi.

The next day, the old man died.

On the third day, I came to Tokyo to attend junior high school.

Not long after, I heard about the Aso family again. Since then, Tsukikage Island has lost its exact image in my mind, leaving only a symbol. "

The countryside, childhood, childhood sweetheart, the sunshine in front of the shrine, the waves beside the reefs...

Countless lights and shadows appeared before his eyes, and Masayo Aida raised his glass.

clang--

The sea tide surged and golden seagulls soared into the sky.

Once a conversation starts, it is difficult to stop.

Masayo Aida is a psychological counselor who often listens to others gently, but she herself also has things she wants to talk to others.

Still waters run deep; this is how she describes herself.

To put it more bluntly, although the appearance is calm, the heart is turbulent.

If you wear the mask called "calm" for too long, it will solidify on your face and you can never take it off.

Masayo Aida didn't think this was a big deal before, and it might even help with work better.

But now, she suddenly found that taking off the mask occasionally seemed to feel pretty good.

The Blood Rose is quieter tonight than usual. People sitting everywhere cast their glances in one direction or another from time to time, most of them with pure yearning.

There, there was a celestial being wearing a flower crown.

But gradually, as the celestial being talked with the vampire opposite him, laughter broke out from time to time, and the atmosphere in the bar became lively.

However, under the influence of some unknown mood, people's words became gentle and polite as they toasted each other.

Jessica leaned on the bar, her left hand supporting her cheek, her right index finger constantly tapping on the counter.

She had gentle eyes and kept looking at Yingsheng.

"Which number is this?"

At the bar, the waiter from before suddenly asked with a sour tone.

"Of course the first one."

Jessica didn't even look at him.

The waiter's eyes lingered on the flower crown on Yingsheng's head for a while, and he was a little impatient: "Do you think Liuying will receive male guests?"

"……idiot."

The New Testament, Matthew, says that when Jesus was crucified, a crown of thorns covered with sharp thorns was placed on his head.

From then on, the crown of thorns was no longer a pure object, but had symbolic meaning.

Jessica didn't know whether Yingsheng did this on purpose, but she saw something sacred in his eyes.

Immersed in this subtle mood, the world becomes softer and time passes slowly.

"what--!!!"

I don’t know how long it was, but suddenly a shrill scream was heard outside the bar.

The voice was quite penetrating and reached Yingsheng's ears, causing him to raise his eyebrows.

Which blind criminal would choose to commit a crime at a time like this? If he disturbed Miss Aida's mood, he should be dragged out and shot a hundred times.

Masayo Aida was talking about a time when he was bullied by a colleague. After hearing the noise outside, he paused and looked towards the door.

There, the brass door was flung open and a man in a security uniform rushed in.

His face was full of fear and cold sweat was pouring down.

When he saw so many people in the bar, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.

A young man nearby asked him curiously what happened.

The security guard swallowed and said in a trembling voice: "In the art gallery, there is a medieval armor walking on its own!"

“Hiss! Is there a ghost?!”

This novel thing quickly spread throughout the bar, and in less than two minutes, many people turned their eyes to Yingsheng.

This made Yingsheng feel confused. No matter if it was a ghost or someone pretending to be a ghost, shouldn't the first reaction be to call the police?

See what's going on here?

Aida Masayo also noticed everyone's gaze and whispered, "Why don't you go over and take a look? Everyone seems to be treating you like an angel now."

"..."

Yingsheng was speechless: "But I am not only not an angel, but also not an Onmyoji or a policeman. I am just a Roman now."

"…But you're a detective. Shouldn't you be the first one to rush forward when something like this happens?"

"Eh? That's right."

Hotaru thought of Kudo Shinichi, a typical high school detective like him. No matter what he was doing at the time, he would definitely rush out the moment he heard someone screaming.

"But there is a problem." Yingsheng said.

"what?"

"Technically, I should be in a wheelchair right now."

"..."

Aida Masayo looked at Yingsheng with an expression that didn't know what to say: "You showed up in the bar so openly, are you still trying to hide it from anyone?"

Yingsheng chuckled: "Liuying and Shuiyue Yingsheng are different. The rumors about the former are somewhat divergent and not so real."

"Is this why you sent me an email asking me to call you Liuying? Is this name famous? The bartender called you that before."

"The main thing is to apologize to you. Something urgent happened and I will probably be late for a while."

Hotaru sent an email to Masayo Aida in a taxi outside the bar.

In the end he was eight minutes late.

Aida Masayo thought for a moment and said, "What if I solve the case in your name? You don't have to show up directly, is that okay?"

Yingsheng smiled and raised his glass to her: "Of course, kind detective, I will try my best."

Masayo Aida pursed his lips and smiled, drank, stood up and walked towards the bar.

"Just call me by my name, Miss Liuying."

Yingsheng was slightly stunned, shook his head and smiled, then drank the wine in the glass.

"My pleasure, Yashiro."

At the bar, the security guard who had ordered a glass of tequila was drinking it to calm his nerves.

Masayo Aida asked him about the general situation and then asked him to take himself and Hotaru with him.

The security guard looked hesitant and opened his mouth to speak.

Yingsheng picked up a stainless steel cocktail stirring spoon and gave it a gentle squeeze, causing the spoon to bend.

The hesitation on the security guard's face disappeared immediately. He nodded excitedly and turned to lead the way.

This person is a true angel, why should you be afraid of ghosts?

(End of this chapter)