Chapter 40 "I Regret It"

"It's a little tiger."

Perhaps because she had slept for too long, she was radiant. After a brief chat with an old acquaintance, she walked barefoot around Atsushi Nakajima.

That smells so familiar.

It must be the white tiger that appeared in her dream.

During the four years she was asleep, her dreams were sometimes visited by people, the most frequent being a white tiger and a blind man.

The little tiger exclaimed in surprise, "How did you know?"

Yokawa Rei was standing quite close, and Nakajima Atsushi could smell her faint fragrance, as if he had smelled it somewhere before.

He harbored a subtle desire to be close to him.

"In my dream you were a big white tiger. You played with me, of course I know that."

The elf said matter-of-factly.

She turned around, her eyes darting up, down, left, and right.

Like a newborn baby, they are full of curiosity about everything they see.

During her four-year absence, the detective agency saw many new faces. Yao Chuanling greeted them one by one.

"What a beautiful lady!"

Naomi Tanizaki leaned closer, took her hand, and sighed.

At twenty-two, the adult spirit had completely shed the naivety of her youth, resembling a pear blossom in full bloom or snow bathed in the bright moonlight.

But when she smiled, the snow on the mountain melted.

"Thank you, you're beautiful too."

Yao Chuanling snuggled closer to her, her eyes curving into crescent moons.

I like her; she's a kind and beautiful little sister.

She could sense that everyone in the detective agency was a kind-hearted person.

"Huh? Huh? What's wrong?"

Suddenly being picked up, Yao Chuanling lost her balance and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck.

She looked up and her eyes met the young detective's blue-green gaze.

Edogawa Ranpo hadn't changed much in the four years since, and she inexplicably felt a sense of closeness to him.

"Also, let's stick Ranpo-chan on."

Yao Chuanling hugged him tightly, their cheeks pressed together.

After applying the stickers to the left side, I applied them to the right side, and finally gently tapped his forehead.

Eyes of the same color look at each other; one smiles broadly, the other looks awkward and melancholy.

"Fine, Lord Ranpo will reluctantly forgive you." Edogawa Ranpo sighed, his cold expression beginning to soften. "The ground is dirty and cold, let me carry you."

The two incidents—her ignoring advice to revive Oda Sakunosuke and her kissing Dazai Osamu's forehead—were put behind Edogawa Ranpo's mind.

Although she had no idea that he was bothered by the second thing, she accidentally calmed him down.

The elf had just woken up and was still dressed in her original attire from the Sanzu River. She didn't like wearing shoes, so she hadn't thought of that.

"Okay. Thank you, my kindest, cutest, and most magnanimous Ranpo-sama."

Yao Chuanling skillfully coaxed him.

Her intuition told her that she couldn't say no at this moment, or someone would make a scene.

Edogawa Ranpo was satisfied.

Left out in the cold, Dazai Osamu kindly suggested, "Ranpo-san can't keep carrying YoYo around forever, can he? Why don't you go home and check on things first?"

That was also his home.

He was involved in every step, from choosing the house to furnishing and decorating.

Dazai Osamu harbored a secret joy: they were like a mistress and a master, this was their shared home.

During his time "laundering" his money, he passed by his house and knew the password but never went inside.

Home is where she is. He doesn't want to go to that cold, desolate place where she isn't.

Yao Chuanling obediently raised her hand: "I lost my phone, can I go buy a new one first?"

The first thing I did upon returning was to let my friends know I was safe.

She memorized everyone's contact information, so she could find them even after they changed their phone numbers.

Edogawa Ranpo said casually, "Is this it? It should have been left here by your friend from Sawaki-buchi."

He ignored Dazai Osamu and instead placed her in his seat.

A cell phone appeared out of nowhere on the table; it was a model from four years ago. It had a small cake charm on it, which Edogawa Ranpo immediately recognized as a gift from him to Youkawa Rei.

Her phone had no password, and Yao Chuanling swiped up to unlock it, finding it fully charged.

Saiki Kusuo.

This friend from the Left Wedge Town would occasionally appear in her dreams, and it wasn't difficult for him to know she was awake.

As soon as Yao Chuanling turned on her phone, she was bombarded with countless messages.

Most of the dates are from the days around the time of the bombing four years ago.

There are people from the Port Mafia, detective agencies, and ordinary residents of Yokohama, such as the manager and female staff of a cake shop, and the Aoyama family from a convenience store.

Yao Chuanling turned her back to everyone and secretly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"Still so prone to crying."

Dazai Osamu squatted down in front of her, smiling as he handed her a piece of paper.

The little girl is prone to tears and is often moved to tears.

"Tears have to be allowed, right?" She took the tissue and said in a muffled voice, "I want to go home."

Dazai Osamu chuckled: "Alright, let's go home."

Yao Chuanling felt embarrassed for being coaxed like a child, and stubbornly said, "I want to go home by myself."

Before Dazai Osamu and Edogawa Ranpo could react, she had vanished like the wind.

Dazai Osamu didn't care; since she was back, he would just go home that night.

"Mr. Ranpo has a place to stay, unlike me. Luckily, Yoyo took me in."

He looked at the elf's second friend in this world with a hint of smugness.

Edogawa Ranpo saw through his childish thoughts and snorted, "Xiaoling is back. Tonight I should go with the president and Yosano to celebrate with her."

The detective's mind is always quick; Dazai Osamu's words were nothing more than boasting that the two of them were living together and would be able to see each other every day in the future.

He adjusted his hat.

"I know the password, and besides, there's my room inside."

It's just that Dazai Osamu's room was closest to hers.

The other members of the detective agency seemed to be sitting obediently to the side, but in reality, they were all listening intently to the drama unfold.

"They're rivals in love."

Naomi Tanizaki whispered to Junichiro Tanizaki.

With her keen sense of emotions, she had felt that there was something strange about the atmosphere between Mr. Dazai and Mr. Ranpo since she joined the company, but they hid it so well that she couldn't figure out what the problem was.

The detective agency has no ordinary people; everyone there has incredibly sharp hearing.

Akiko Yosano, who knew some of the past events, gave a mysterious smile.

"Not only that, I think there are also people from the port mafia eyeing it covetously."

She was enjoying watching the drama unfold on the sidelines, and now she's not hesitant to share her information.

The beautiful girl with black hair and a beauty mark under her eye exclaimed "Wow!" and laughed like a little fox: "Not surprising at all."

Yao Chuanling has a captivating quality that the "love guru" clearly sees.

Meanwhile, Chuuya, the first friend of Nakahara and the Port Mafia's Gravity Manipulator who was eyeing her covetously, was at her house at that moment.

For the past four years, he would come over whenever he had free time, and he would even hire someone to clean his house every month.

When Yao Chuanling arrived, he was lying on the sofa with his eyes half-closed, resting.

Longing is like a rolling autumn mountain, where occasionally fallen leaves drift down or light snowflakes fly by.

He was quiet, alone, like a silent flame.

"who?"

Hearing the noise, Chuuya Nakahara opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the sound.

Perhaps because he was startled awake, his voice was somewhat hoarse.

As soon as she opened the door, she heard voices. Yao Chuanling was stunned for a few seconds, then smiled and said.

"Huh? It's Chuuya."

Her tone was light and casual, as if she had just gone out in the morning and was greeting an acquaintance.

Four years later, Chuuya Nakahara embraced her.

Exerting force while exercising restraint.

Was it a dream?

He had drunk red wine and had just woken up, so he mumbled incoherently.

Twenty-two-year-old Xiao Zhong is the person she has seen who has changed the most. He has grown his hair long, wears a choker, and has completely transformed into a mature man.

It was only at this moment that Yao Chuanling realized that she had indeed missed four years of his life.

These are four crucial years in a man's journey from boyhood to adulthood.

"It's not a dream. I'm back, Chuuya."

The elf, who had also grown up, hugged him back.

So she was hugged even tighter.

"I'm sorry, I was too willful."

He acted willfully and disappeared for four years without leaving anything behind.

Yao Chuan felt a slight dampness on his shoulder, and the seeds of guilt in his heart began to sprout.

Of all the people, Nakahara Chuuya sent her the most messages, but she never left him a single word.

"It's my fault for not taking good care of you." He rested his head on Yao Chuanling's shoulder and closed his eyes. "I regret it very much."

I regret that I was on a mission abroad at the time and didn't notice the tense situation. I regret that I couldn't protect her.

She had promised not to let anyone bully her.

He promised to shield her from all hardships, but he broke his promise.

I miss you so much.

Only the Armed Detective Agency and Oda Sakunosuke knew that the fairy had turned into a flower, and Nakahara Chuuya truly believed that she was dead.

Zhongyuan Zhong wasn't stupid either; after the Verlaine incident, he knew that Yaochuan Ling was not human.

He thought she had used some special means to exchange her life for Oda Sakunosuke's.

He didn't blame her; he only blamed himself for his incompetence.

Yao Chuanling was struck by his blunt words and her body stiffened.

Her eyes welled up with tears again: "I miss you too. If you say that again, I'll start crying again."

Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling, who both shed tears, are good friends.

"Citrus red wine flavored mini-Zhong, long time no see!"

She suddenly grabbed Chuuya Nakahara's ochre hair, messing up his hairstyle.

This immediately shattered the sentimental scene, bringing us back to the time when she had wreaked havoc on him.

"Ling, be gentle, you're going to pull my hair out."

He pretended to grimace in displeasure, but in reality, he offered no resistance and secretly grinned.

As long as she lives, there is hope for the future.

"I'm very sensible, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Yao Chuanling turned her head away, pouting and complaining.

Chuuya Nakahara deliberately ignored him.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

The temperamental, wicked elf secretly turned his eyes and glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.

Once, twice, three times.

After watching it three times, Chuuya Nakahara finally couldn't hold back his laughter and went up to tug at her sleeve.

"Don't be angry."

Yao Chuanling stubbornly pulled her sleeve back.

This happened three times in a row, and Yao Chuanling couldn't help but laugh.

A smile spread across her face, gradually expanding like ripples.

"Okay, stop fooling around. I'll take you to eat."

Feeling responsible for feeding the spirits, Chuuya Nakahara suggested having lunch as it was getting late.

A new okonomiyaki restaurant opened in Yokohama. He and A-Dai-Niao went there, and it tasted great. Right next door is her favorite cake shop.

Okay.

Upon hearing that okonomiyaki was delicious, Yao Chuanling's eyes lit up, and she nodded in agreement.

She hadn't eaten in a long time and was craving food terribly.

Nakahara Chuuya arrived on a motorcycle, and Yokawa Rei sat on the back seat.

When she first saw a motorcycle, she seemed completely naive, but now that she's ridden one so often, she's more skilled than a rider.

The wind blew up the ends of his hair, and as Yokawa Rei secretly braided his hair, she thought to herself: "With such a strong wind, Chuuya's hat is still perfectly still."

"It's so good to see you back."

Her first friend murmured to herself.

He indulged her little tricks, as if these little tricks were colored paints that filled in the blanks of those four years.

And at that moment, she was right beside him.

Authentic and intact.