Chapter 17 Chapter 17 I Want to Make You Cry

"Olia, what's wrong?" As if seeing Olga staring at him without responding, Amuro Toru walked over.

He turned on the light. With a click, the room instantly became brighter, causing the two people who had been in the dark for too long to squint their eyes in discomfort.

"Well..." Olga decided not to dwell on the fact that Amuro Toru had hidden something from him. She raised the bottle of wine in front of Amuro Toru and said, "I wanted to celebrate you getting your official code name."

Amuro Toru looked a little surprised, but this surprise was fleeting and quickly disappeared under the perfect disguise on his face:

"Hmm? So you're not going to celebrate now?"

He took the bottle from Olga and looked at it carefully before letting out a chuckle: "Bourbon."

"Hmm." Olga had been observing Amuro Toru's expression. She continued his words, "It was collected by a member of an organization. It should be delicious."

Amuro Toru suddenly rubbed Olga's head hard, messing up her hair. Several strands of hair blocked her eyes, slightly obstructing her vision.

Olga was brushing her hair back, confused, when she heard Amuro Toru say softly, "Children shouldn't drink."

Olga shrugged. She hadn't planned to drink it in the first place. Of course, if Amuro Toru wanted her to, she figured she could give it a try.

However, if someone would ask her to drink, then that person would not be Toru Amuro.

"But now I'm going to celebrate in a different way."

Olga jumped up and snatched the bottle from Amuro Toru's hand, then ran out of the room under his puzzled look.

*

Toru Amuro just stood there, watching the door of the room slowly close... Then, the disguised expression on his face disappeared, leaving only deep fatigue.

But Olga came back soon, carrying a violin case in her hands.

"This is--"

According to the organization's style of operation, the violin case mostly contains things like sniper silos. However, the violin case is too small for the sniper silos.

Olga put the violin case on the ground, opened it, and a violin appeared in Amuro Toru's sight.

It really is a violin?

Olga tightened the bow hair and put the shoulder rest on the violin. She turned around and raised an eyebrow at Amuro Toru, as if she had guessed what he was thinking. "What do you think it is?"

Amuro Toru smiled helplessly.

Olga turned off the lights in the room again, and she pushed Amuro Toru, who looked confused, to sit down beside the bed.

"Olia?"

As Toru Amuro questioned her, Olga placed the zither on her shoulder. She deliberately cleared her throat and announced in a serious tone, "Next, please enjoy—Olga's celebratory song for Toru Amuro!"

Yes, Amuro Toru remembered that Vermouth had said that Olga could play many instruments, including the violin. However, the organization did not attach much importance to these, so these skills were not rigidly included in Olga's daily curriculum.

*

The sound of Guarneri's violin was deep, loud and penetrating, perfectly suiting the piece Olga was playing.

This was an extremely sad song, but Toru Amuro had never heard it before.

Olga's performance was not just technique without emotion as Toru Amuro had previously thought. On the contrary, her performance was very contagious.

In the darkness, especially with the sad tune playing in his ears, Toru Amuro could hardly maintain his facial expression.

He raised a hand to cover his eyes and forced himself to curl the corners of his mouth.

The music gradually draws to a close and finally comes to an end, just like... life.

Amuro Toru clapped his hands. With a raised corner of his mouth, he asked Olga in a feigned cheerful voice, "Why are you celebrating with such a—sad song?"

"Hmm..." Olga took the piano in her hand and looked into Amuro Toru's eyes seriously.

"Because I want you to cry."

Amuro Toru was stunned. In the darkness, he wasn't sure if he had missed Olga's expression before she pulled her prank. But now, she looked incredibly serious.

Amuro Toru's lips moved, but his brain seemed to have crashed, unable to come up with the sentences he was supposed to say according to the established procedure.

He saw Olga bend down towards him, and then—his world fell into complete darkness.

Olga covered Amuro Toru's eyes.

"Cry, cry, I won't laugh at you. Although I don't know why Lingling is sad, but I heard that crying will make you feel better. Well, there's nothing wrong with crying occasionally. You see, I cry all the time."

Olga suddenly became more talkative. She certainly didn't cry often, and it was difficult for her to experience sadness, let alone empathize with others' sadness. But she knew that sadness was an unpleasant feeling.

And Olga didn't want Toru Amuro to be sad.

Olga wondered if Amuro Toru had cried, but she guessed not. This strong-willed guy was always stubborn.

She just followed the vague shadow in her memory, kneeling on the bed, quietly hugging Amuro Toru's head, and gently stroking the soft hair on the back of his head with her hands.

After a long moment, Olga felt Amuro Toru hug her back. His arms gradually tightened, with great strength, yet cautiously.

"Olga." Amuro Toru called Olga's name solemnly and softly.

"Um?"

"Have you ever thought about becoming a musician in the future?"

"Huh?" This topic is a bit broad.

Olga thought that according to common sense, Amuro Toru should have made some provocative remarks at this moment, or at least said "thank you". She even prepared the response line!

But I didn't expect Toru Amuro to play by his own rules.

Olga heard Amuro Toru's muffled chuckle.

"I just suddenly felt that Olya was very suitable to be a musician."

Olga didn't know whether Amuro Toru's mood had improved, she could only tentatively infer that he felt better.

So, Olga deliberately said in a light tone: "After all, I am so talented."

Amuro Toru seemed to be amused by her narcissistic words: "Well, of course, Olya has always been the best."

The room fell silent again. After a while, Olga heard Amuro Toru sigh, "If that's the case... even if I run away from home, I'll still have my own life..."

Olga's expression froze.

She remembered that they had discussed this issue during the days when she had left the organization and lived in Amuro Toru's house. At that time, Olga had said, half true and half false, how would she live if she left "home".

Toru Amuro still remembers this incident.

"So..." Olga stared at the snow-white wall, "Do you want me to become a musician?"

…

"if you can."

Affirmative answer.

Olga's expression was blank. She felt her thoughts gradually become silent. She didn't know what she was feeling at the moment. She came to an absurd conclusion -

Toru Amuro hopes that she will stay away from or even completely leave the organization.

This is the truest voice in his subconscious that he inadvertently revealed.

Olga suddenly felt a little cold.

*

"Still no way to contact Furuya?"

It was already late September, and nearly a week had passed since the explosion.

On a sunny weekend morning, Date Ko, Morofushi Keimitsu, and Matsuda Jinpei gathered in a restaurant. Even the absence of just two people made them feel incredibly lonely.

Zhu Fu Jingguang shook his head slightly.

Ida Hang then fell silent.

Across from them, Matsuda Jinpei, who had been silent the entire time, still held the cigarette he'd started with. Smoke drifted quietly upwards, the cigarette nearly burning out.

"I think..." Zhu Fushigami's eyes dropped, "I should go see Hagiwara again."

"I'll go with you." After saying that, Date Ko looked at Matsuda Jinpei who had not expressed his opinion.

However, Matsuda Jinpei just waited quietly for his cigarette to burn out. He put the butt out in the ashtray, grabbed his sunglasses from the table, and stood up.

The chair scraped against the ground with a harsh sound.

"I won't go." He said so calmly, then put on his sunglasses and turned away.

Zhu Fushigi Kagemitsu looked at Matsuda Jinpei's back as he left, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he couldn't say it.

"Forget it..." Ida Kou sighed, "After all, that day... he was with Hagiwara."

Guilt, regret, sadness... As someone who witnessed the explosion with his own eyes and as a childhood friend of Kenji Hagiwara, Jinpei Matsuda was undoubtedly under tremendous psychological pressure, even though he appeared unusually calm.

*

Zhu Fushigure Jingguang and Yi Daxing came to the cemetery together. From a distance, he seemed to see a familiar figure.

Zhu Fujingguang almost impulsively wanted to chase after him to stop him, or just call out to him, but his shoulders were quickly held down.

"Squad leader?"

Zhu Fujingguang turned his head and saw Yi Dahang shaking his head slightly.

"He must have his reasons for not contacting us."

After the impulse subsided, Zhu Fujingguang's mind calmed down. He lowered his head, but clenched his fists tightly at his sides.

yes.

They chose to become a police officer and chose to accept the separation of life and death.

When he looked up again, the familiar figure had walked away. Zhu Fu Jingguang seemed to see the man raise his hand and lower the brim of his hat.

It's your habit, zero.

*

Kenji Hagiwara's tombstone had probably just been wiped. Unlike the other tombstones around it, which were covered with traces of erosion from the heavy rain the night before, this newly erected tombstone was very clean.

"Hagiwara..."

Zhu Fujingguang thought of many things to say, but at this moment, he couldn't say a word. In the end, he just squatted down and silently placed the white bouquet in front of the tombstone.

After standing for a long time in the slightly chilly sunlight of late September, the two turned and left.

"Goodbye, Hagiwara."

*