Chapter 116 and Chapter 115 New Year's Eve Countdown

Will we ever meet again, Swallow?

When we meet again, I hope you'll be happy, okay?

As most people expected, Zhuge Tongzhi left very suddenly; but what surprised most people was that she chose to slip away before January 1st.

Yes, since the late 19th century, Japan has changed its Lunar New Year celebrations from the first day of the first lunar month to January 1st of the Gregorian calendar. All Lunar New Year customs have also moved to this day, including the most classic family reunions and shrine prayers.

Zhuge Tongzhi's birthday was on December 30th, just one day away from New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Japan. Moreover, many people were busy with their work that day, and the farewells and blessings they had prepared had not yet been delivered.

Everyone thought she would leave after the Spring Festival.

“I thought it would be at least after the Spring Festival, and I even prepared lucky money for Tongtong.” Natalie breathed out a puff of white breath from her slightly reddened fingertips, and then Date Hang opened his big hand and took her cold fingertips into his warm palm, stuffing them into his coat pocket.

They had just walked out of a park where a Lunar New Year event was being held. Leaving behind the bustling atmosphere, the biting cold of deep winter made the two people walking side by side huddle together tightly.

“Don’t worry, we will definitely have another chance to meet.” Ida Ko said firmly, holding his wife’s hand. The man had finally had some free time during the holiday and had taken good care of himself. His rugged and cheerful temperament was not diminished at all, and he looked even more radiant.

He looked down gently at Natalie, who seemed a little troubled, reached out to straighten the scarf around her neck, and said with a smile, "And we should be happy for her, she's home."

It was only after Ida Wataru was transferred to Tokyo that he met Zhuge Tongzhi in the case, and it was only after his colleagues told him about his original lunch that he began to actively approach the child's past that he had never told anyone.

As he gradually came into contact with information about the Black Organization, even the small patch of darkness he glimpsed became excessively bloody and viscous because it had buried too many innocent lives.

Even the most well-prepared, determined, and capable person who ventures into this darkness will find themselves like a moth stuck to glue, unable to flap its wings, forced to remain in the darkness and wait for the wildfire to begin.

A raging fire cannot be easily started by one person alone, nor can it be ignited by just Conan and Shuichi Akai, those two silver bullets.

Furuya Rei is the spark, Morofushi Kagemitsu is the spark, Hondo Eikai is the spark, countless moths that fell before dawn are the spark, and Zhuge Tongzhi is the faint spark that stumbled and broke through the darkness.

Now, as the fire spreads, the pain that bound her has been burned away by the raging flames. Ida Hang understands Zhuge Tongzhi's choice to sever ties with the past, and this choice will not change anything.

Because this friendship will not become shackles that hold her back, but will be a strong wind that lifts her up to soar, a powerful branch that allows her to unconditionally return to rest no matter where she flies, and a gentle concern.

They were pleased with the child's lighthearted and free choice.

“Yes, Hang.” Natalie held Hang’s hand tightly in the warmth, a gentle smile on her face. “Let’s go home, the Kohaku Uta Gassen has already started.”

…

Kanagawa, Hagiwara family.

"How come it's still this old, tired show after all these years, and it gets worse every year?" Matsuda Jinpei sharply remarked, only to be met with a hard slap from behind his curly-haired head by Hagiwara Chisato, who was passing by.

"Sister Qiansu..." The curly-haired man, having lost his sunglasses and put on a blue and white hoodie, and having automatically lost his underworld aura in his cozy home, sat cross-legged like a clumsy college student, helplessly covering his head.

Then he raised his hand and grabbed Kenji Hagiwara, who was gloating from the side.

This is how the contradiction is shifted.

"Ahem, let go! Jinpei!" Kenji Hagiwara patted his childhood friend's strong arm and asked with a smile, "Someone's delivering a package outside, didn't you hear the alarm?"

There were plenty of people inside the house; they didn't need the two of them to pick up the package. Matsuda Jinpei chuckled softly, his hands still gripping Hagiwara Ken tightly, "Dream on."

So when Matsuda Jotaro came in with the letter, he saw his son wrestling with his childhood friend on the ground.

The Matsuda and Hagiwara families, deeply devoted to their two children and sharing a brotherly bond, often spent New Year's together. Matsuda Jotaro, who had deliberately refrained from drinking before arriving, coughed twice, raised his hand, and knocked on the doorframe, saying, "Alright, Jinpei, your friend sent you a letter."

"Hmm?" Matsuda Jinpei let go of his hand, stood up, tidied his messy curly hair, took the light envelope from his father's hand, and wondered, "Who would send a letter today, and are deliverymen even working today?"

He tore open the envelope with a panda stamp on it, squeezed the light envelope as if it contained nothing, and poured it into his palm.

A photograph fell into his palm.

The above is a group photo of three people standing in front of the towering church—myself with a slight smile, Kenji Hagiwara with a wink, and Tongzhi Zhuge, who is pulling the other two and smiling broadly.

It was a group photo of them in front of the Nagano Church. He had pulled out Rei Furuya from the crowd to take the picture, but the original digital copy in Kenji Hagiwara's phone had disappeared.

Matsuda Jinpei turned the photograph paper over to the back; it was blank, just like all the traces related to Zhuge Tongzhi.

But he now held a piece of "evidence" that he had delivered himself to his doorstep. The curly-haired man's lips curled up.

"Ah, Kirito really does like Jinpei the most after all," Kenji Hagiwara remarked quietly from the sidelines. "You were the first person I greeted, the first person I invited to dinner, and you're the only one who got a New Year's gift?"

“Hagi, you’re in the photo too.”

"Do you dare show me the recipient's name on the envelope?"

"What are you saying?" Matsuda Jinpei leisurely folded the envelope with only his name on it, picked up the photo and started looking for contact information on his phone, and said to Hagiwara Kenji, who looked resentful next to him, "Whether you bet or not, Furuya definitely won't get it."

“Bring Morofushi along, I bet they don’t have any.” Kenji Hagiwara suddenly became interested and sat down next to his childhood friend to watch him make a video call to Rei Furuya to say hello (and cause trouble).

After delivering the letter, Matsuda Jotaro, who had been left out in the cold, looked at his grown-up child and sighed about where the time had gone before going to chat with the Hagiwara couple.

…

Tokyo, Public Security Office.

“How could I possibly have that?” Rei Furuya propped his chin on his hand and looked at his colleague, who was clearly looking for trouble, on the screen. “Right now, it’s not just me; the FBI and CIA are all frantically searching for her. She wouldn’t be stupid enough to send the photos to me.”

Overnight, not only were Zhuge Tongzhi and Lager's files swept away, but also some sensitive research data related to human experiments and some research results held by the organization were crushed in the sea of ​​data as the two beer makers left.

“Those things were never meant to exist. Do you really want to hand them over to those government officials?” Matsuda Jinpei looked at Furuya Rei, who was still dressed in a suit, and changed the subject: “You’re working overtime again tonight? Are you going crazy from working?”

"I was just about to leave." Furuya Rei held his phone up to the mountain of paper documents in front of him, stood up, took off his suit jacket, and rubbed his tired brow as he answered Matsuda Jinpei's question: "Whether I hand it in or not is not up to me."

Furthermore, was his pursuit of Zhuge Tongzhi's whereabouts based on his own personal will, along with that of Shuichi Akai and Hidemi Hondo?

At least Shuichi Akai decisively rejected the mission, using the pretext of hunting down Gin, and then disappeared somewhere to play a love-hate game with his nemesis.

But the FBI quickly assigned new agents to take full charge of the matter, and the CIA and M16 were in similar situations. The fervor for the anti-aging drug was screaming so vividly in front of Rei Furuya through each order.

“Greed,” Matsuda Jinpei commented, while Hagiwara Kenji chuckled but offered no further comment.

"Are you asking so many questions because you want me to hand over my documents?" Furuya Rei loosened his collar, draped his suit jacket over his arm, and pushed open the office door. Amidst the shouts of "Dream on!" from his colleagues, he walked past the already empty desks and headed outside.

The blond man exhaled in the cold wind, ran a hand through his hair, and felt as if he had just woken up from the pile of documents. His mind, which had been somewhat groggy in the warm room, suddenly cleared.

Compared to going through those tedious procedures, he felt that working at Poirot's Cafe was actually quite good. At least the food he carefully prepared could be appreciated by the customers, instead of being wasted on meaningless negotiations.

"Used and discarded..." A phrase suddenly popped into Furuya Rei's mind. He stood in front of the zebra crossing where the flow of people had thinned out, and squinted slightly as he looked at the green light that suddenly turned on on the other side of the road.

They made the right decision to leave at this time.

He, who had always stood on the side of Japan's interests, breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gold-haired teacher, are you spending the New Year alone?" Matsuda Jinpei's voice interrupted his reverie.

"What, are you feeling sorry for him?" Furuya Rei smiled as he walked into the convenience store and bought a cup of coffee from the clerk who looked resentful. After waiting for the coffee to be made and offering a New Year's greeting, Matsuda Jinpei finished spewing his venom.

"Of course I'm not spending the New Year alone. Hello is still at home." The blond man took a leisurely sip of coffee, stood by the roadside, and chose a suitable angle to capture his loneliness in the cold wind. He said with feigned reluctance, "There's also the Red and White Song Festival."

On a cold winter night, Rei Furuya, with his dog and an old, outdated TV program, in his serene bachelor apartment that resembled a safe house.

Matsuda Jinpei seemed stunned by the combination. After a pause, he said, "I think you're lying to me."

"Zero, have you been waiting long?" A gentle voice sounded from off-screen, and Morofushi Hiromitsu's signature blue-gray cat eyes peered into the frame, greeting the two inside: "Hagiwara, Matsuda."

Matsuda Jinpei and Hagiwara Kenji glimpsed another pair of narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes through the gap between them. The person was chatting with a man and a woman a few steps away, and the group seemed to have just gotten out of a car.

"Gao Ming and I just arrived." Morofushi Kagemitsu revealed Morofushi Takamei's identity, which also revealed Furuya Rei's whereabouts tonight.

"That was just a lie." Matsuda Jinpei started arguing with Furuya Rei, while Hagiwara Kenji started a separate video call and talked to Morofushi Hiromitsu about the photo.

“Ah, she does indeed like Matsuda very much.” Morofushi Kagemitsu said gently, without implying that he didn’t have anything related to it, and Hagiwara Kenji, who understood immediately, wisely did not continue on this topic.

Morofushi Kagemitsu did not receive a New Year's gift of a specific nature like Matsuda Jinpei, but he did have a photograph that had not been destroyed, which was currently tucked inside his bass bag.

That was a group photo from the Teitan Elementary School Parent-Child Sports Meet. Hikaru Midorikawa, who was in his prime, and Kirito Morokuzu, who had won a medal, stood one after the other on the podium. It was the only group photo taken by the school's photographer.

Although it was a long time ago, considering that Zhuge Tongzhi's memory couldn't possibly have overlooked this photo, and that he hadn't destroyed it before leaving, Zhufu Jingguang accepted it with a clear conscience.

"Let's go to the shrine to pray for good fortune tomorrow." The cat-eyed man naturally changed the subject between Furuya Rei and Matsuda Jinpei, waved to the three people on the other side of Morofushi Takaaki, and then walked side by side with Furuya Rei toward the car.

Harlow was obediently clinging to the car window with both paws. When it saw its owner approaching, it excitedly barked twice.

The sight drew Ran Mouri's attention as she walked by, and Rei Furuya, who was bending down to get into the car, was blocked from view. The girl, who had heard the barking of a dog but had not seen it, looked around and was startled by the sudden, cold touch on her cheek.

"Shinichi!" The girl, now dressed in a brown duffle coat, slapped away Shinichi Kudo's mischievous hand and glared angrily at the boy wearing a red scarf. "It's cold."

Ouch. Shinichi Kudo shook his hand, which was still sore from being slapped, and said in a feignedly aggrieved tone, "Ran-nee-chan, is it because we're about to cross the street? What were you thinking just now?"

Ran Mouri then realized that she had arrived at the intersection, and the bright red pedestrian lights on the other side made her face turn red, but it was mostly because of Shinichi Kudo's words, "Ran-chan."

Since Conan's true identity was revealed, both Ran Mouri and Shinichi Kudo went through a very awkward period. So much happened during their nearly one year together, and the intimate sibling-like interactions between her and Conan made things seem ambiguous when applied to Shinichi Kudo.

Not to mention that when Shinichi Kudo was using Conan's pseudonym, he confessed his feelings to Ran Mouri more than once.

"Of course it's because I like you. I like you more than anyone else."

However, Ran Mouri and Shinichi Kudo have not yet made their relationship public, which has caused the girl a lot of distress during this time. While she was distressed, her childhood friend, who seemed to have abandoned his tsundere nature due to excessive shame, returned to his original self.

Then, he would occasionally call her Ran-chan in Conan's voice, with a hint of something Ran Mouri couldn't quite explain, but it would always make her face inexplicably burn.

For example, right now.

While she was still racking her brains for a reply, Shinichi Kudo turned his head and sneezed loudly, then awkwardly rummaged for tissues to wipe his nose.

"You..." Ran Mouri sighed, pulled Shinichi Kudo down by his half-undone scarf, straightened it properly, and finally tied a big red bow around his neck.

Oh no! Only after she finished tying the ribbon did she belatedly realize that the person in front of her wasn't elementary school student Conan. When she let go and took two steps back to look over, she discovered that Shinichi Kudo's face was almost as red as the ribbon.

So cute! It's just weird that she's paired with Shinichi, that arrogant guy. Ran Mouri chuckled and reached out to untie the ribbon, but Shinichi Kudo, who was looking away to hide his inner thoughts, grabbed her wrist precisely.

“…No need to undo it…I like it.” The black-haired, blue-eyed boy no longer needed to look at his beloved girl through his glasses. He took Ran Mouri’s hand, who was looking dazed, and put her hand into the pocket of his warm coat as they walked toward the other side where the green light had turned on.

Young men and women held hands and walked through the crowd.

"The ceramic mug you made, the chocolates, the sweater you knitted, the bow you're wearing now... and the cherry blossom brand name tag." Shinichi Kudo didn't dare look back at Ran Mouri's expression, and just kept walking forward, reciting each item he cherished and remembered, "I like them all... Ran."

So there's no need to untie it, don't untie the red thread between us, just like you didn't cut the red detonator in that skyscraper bombing case.

The clever detective couldn't deduce what his beloved girl was thinking, and could only repeat incoherently: Please, tie it tighter!

Just as he was feeling uncertain and had walked for a while, Ran Mouri quickly took two steps and firmly grabbed his hand.

"Mmm," she replied softly, instantly making Shinichi Kudo's heart bloom.

But after amusing himself for a while, the great detective suddenly realized that the last sentence had a double meaning, and quickly waved his hand and said, "Hey, Lan, what I just said wasn't a confession!"

He'd planned the location and the whole process for his confession! It absolutely couldn't be on such an ordinary winter night, on a street devoid of any atmosphere or ceremony!

Ran Mouri narrowed her eyes, glanced at Shinichi Kudo, whose expression was gradually becoming flustered, for a moment, then snorted and turned to walk forward, saying, "Let's go, my dad's getting impatient."

Hmph, she doesn't expect any confession at all.

"Ran, that's not what I meant!" The detective, realizing he was making things worse by explaining himself, struggled to steer the conversation back to where it all started—what was Ran thinking about when she was lost in thought?

Ran Mouri pondered for a moment, but she wasn't actually thinking about anything.

She just remembered that one night, she and Zhuge Tongzhi, who happened to stay at the agency, walked along this street and encountered a cute and lively beagle that was calling out "werwer" from a distance across the street and wanted to come over.

Unable to hold on any longer, the master finally gave in to his rebellious son, letting Biggle come over. Biggle was then given a good pat on the head by Ran Mouri and Zhuge Tongzhi, before Biggle, calling "werwer," grabbed the rope and ran away.

Where is Zhuge Tongzhi now? Did he leave without saying goodbye because he encountered some trouble?

Ran Mouri was a little worried.

But Zhuge Tongzhi was a good person. She chose to slip away before the New Year just to avoid being entangled in those trivial matters. At the same time, she was not used to celebrating the Spring Festival on January 1st of the Gregorian calendar, as it was still a long time before the Lunar New Year's Eve in China.

So she's currently sitting head-to-head with Rag, studying the latest update in the memo together.

Just five minutes ago, Lager, who was enjoying the most authentic Hunan-style stir-fry, suddenly paused with his chopsticks. The stir-fried pork he had just picked up, with its pungent aroma, fell back into the green peppers, attracting the attention of Zhuge Tongzhi, who was gnawing on a braised chicken leg across from him.

"What's wrong?"

"All the conditions seem to have been met?" The black-haired youth with light blonde ends blinked and said uncertainly, "It has been updated."

Dinner is suspended.

Having reverted to her girlish appearance, Zhuge Tongzhi braced herself with one hand and flipped the table over with such a graceful arc that she didn't even touch a single dish. She pressed her forehead against her sister's head and said, "Let me see."

A few moments later...

"So it actually gave you two choices?" Zhuge Tongzhi summarized the meaning of the update, "One is to return to the original world immediately, at the moment you fall down the steps of the lecture hall, just like the initial task settlement said."

It seems that the judgment conditions do not pose a problem for the coexistence of the Boss's consciousness. As long as this option is selected, Rag's long-standing goal can be achieved.

"Final route plan generated: 99.99%"

The blue and white navigation bar was swiped to nearly full, and the portal home was just around the corner!

Rag nodded and said solemnly, "But this troublesome little devil has given us a second option."

The second option is: instead of immediately returning to the original world, take the Boss's consciousness to another science fiction world, complete the final mission objective of destroying the organization, and then you can return to the original world.

Unlike the first option, the second option gives Rag the right to choose to return to a specific point in time in the original world.

Whether you go back to the past or travel to the future, you can use this opportunity to make up for regrets or experience the future.

If he chooses this option, it means that Rag's plan to return home will have to start all over again.

"Final route plan generated: 1%"

If given the choice, most people would probably choose to go there, especially after experiencing a deeply regrettable experience. Zhuge Tongzhi tapped his fingers on the table, looking at Rag, who was lost in thought.

She had seen the other person's past, so...

"Zhuge Zhi." The black-haired girl solemnly called out Rag's full name, and asked, "What do you think?"

After so many twists and turns and hardships, the chance to go home is just a matter of a moment's thought.

Zhuge Tongzhi sat at the table, while the TV in the living room was showing the New Year's Eve gala. The host was giving a closing speech in Chinese, and soon the countdown brought the gala to a climax.

10, 9, 8, 7...

There were so many obstacles in our way that I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to return to my hometown, but now we've actually made it to the end together.

Compared to you, I arrived at the station much earlier.

6, 5, 4, 3...

“If you choose the second option, it will be a journey for you alone.” Zhuge Tongzhi looked out the window, where people were already setting off fireworks. “If I can’t go, what will you do?”

Those previously ignored questions resurfaced at this moment: not only what should Rag do, but also what should she do after Rag made his choice?

II.1!

A piece of stir-fried pork with a savory sauce was stuffed into Zhuge Tongzhi's mouth. She subconsciously took a bite, then watched as Rag, who had been pulled back to his senses by the cheers on TV, put down his chopsticks and then... picked up a soup spoon?

"What should we do?" Lag shook his head as he ladled a full bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup for himself. "I think we should get you an ID card first. Your identity records before you were six years old are still valid. Can we apply for it as a child returning from overseas?"

That's not what I meant!

"So... I'm planning to eat first?" The black-haired youth smiled and added a piece of cucumber to his plate. "Since things have come to this, let's eat first, Tong."

Damn it, don't give me the option to create my own in a multiple-choice question like A or B!

-----------------------

Author's Note: Sigh, these little everyday moments are making Morning Star Heart so soft.

(Shy)

…

I've been really busy lately, sorry!

…

Mwah!