Chapter 67 Chapter 67 "This is my younger brother."...

The rising tone of "zero" at the end of the sentence exploded in Furuya Zero's brain like thunder from the blue sky.

The blond young man, who had been undercover for many years, swallowed the last mouthful of buckwheat noodles seemingly calmly before looking up.

In front of me was a man who looked to be in his early thirties. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a gold and silver lawyer badge pinned to his chest. He was carrying a briefcase that looked quite heavy. His sleeves were slightly rolled up at his wrists, revealing a watch.

He's a highly qualified, perhaps even reputable, lawyer with a strong sense of time. Judging from his recent conversation with the shop owner, he's a regular customer, likely a local with good upbringing, and doesn't like to disturb others.

After instinctively analyzing the above information, Fūya Rei thought that he should first find out how the other party knew this name, but in fact, he could only stare at the eyes with the upturned corners that were extremely similar to Scotland in a very inappropriate manner.

The other person probably didn't expect his reaction. His expression, which was originally slightly tentative and uncertain, changed instantly. He walked over and asked, "Can I sit down?"

Fūya Rei couldn't say a word now and could only nod silently.

After putting his briefcase away, he ordered a tempura soba set meal from the restaurant that had followed him. The man then pulled out a business card and handed it over, introducing himself: "Murofushi Takaaki, a lawyer."

Fūya Rei looked at the business card and was surprised to find that the lawyer was not a top lawyer from a large firm, but an independent lawyer.

The lawyer, who was supposed to be eloquent, hesitated for a few seconds before continuing with his second sentence: "Long time no see, Fūya-kun."

Even though he had expected that the other party was likely to know him, when Zhu Fu Gao Ming, who he remembered was meeting for the first time, directly called out his real name, a storm of shock rose in Fōtani Rei's heart again.

A native of Nagano, with a similar appearance to Scotland, and knowing his real name... Morobushi Takaaki is very likely a relative of Scotland, and based on his age, he should be Scotland's older brother.

So, have I been to Nagano before?

When he was 8 years old, Rei Furiya fell from a mountain. The impact on his head and the influence of the raw materials of some psychotropic drugs caused him to lose nearly a year's memory. He stayed in the hospital for more than half a year before being allowed to be discharged.

During this period, the police and some people came to look for Xiao Jiangu Ling, but they all returned empty-handed because of his memory loss and extremely poor physical condition.

Zhu Fu Gaoming is probably one of them.

Over the years, Rei Furuya has had the same dream over and over again, but each dream was short and blurry. He could only see a small figure running away from him.

Fūya Rei didn't know what happened between him and the other person, or why the other person wanted to leave him, but he could feel that the child of the same age was very important to him.

They should have a good relationship, and there are some more complicated emotions such as guilt, panic, self-blame, sadness... These are things that Rei Furutani, who has lost his memory, cannot understand.

He couldn't recall it, but that intense feeling remained within him, undiminished by age. The blond young man, who had always prioritized his country and his ideals, had no desire for love; he simply wanted to find the person in his memory and marry them.

Perhaps, the answer that has been elusive in these years is now right in front of you.

"Mr. Zhufu, do you know me?"

Upon hearing this, a flash of disappointment flashed across Zhufu Gaoming's eyes. It was the pain of dashed hopes. "So, Jyougu-kun still hasn't remembered?"

This obviously well-educated man seemed to apologize for his intrusion in disturbing Rei Furuya, but something more important compelled him to continue. "It's been seven years since I last saw Furuya-kun."

"Seven years ago?" Fōtani Ling could not find any relevant information in his memory. Zhu Fu Gaoming's appearance and temperament were definitely not the type that would be lost in the crowd. If he had dealt with him before, he would not forget it with his memory.

Zhufu Gaoming nodded slightly. "Seven years ago, when I was in Tokyo on a case, I met Furuya-kun. I called out 'zero' and got no response. I'm sure Furuya-kun could have heard me at that distance."

Fūya Rei's eyes flickered slightly. Zhufu Gaoming meant that he had used this method several times in the past to test whether Fūya Rei would react to the name "Zero", but to no avail until now.

But how could this be... The blond young man's breathing began to become a little rapid. Doesn't the nickname "Zero" come from his alias Amuro Toru?

Although Rei Furuya once wondered whether Scotland remembered their childhood acquaintance, otherwise the close connection between "zero" and his real name would be difficult to explain, but this was not apparent from "Cat's" narration. The tone he used when recommending Nagano to Rei Furuya was completely that of someone who had never been to Nagano.

Therefore, Furuya Ling thought that Scotland was probably the same as himself, because of some external reasons or simply because of the long time that had passed, he had forgotten the memory of their childhood acquaintance.

Too many mysteries appeared around him, and he wanted to bombard Zhu Fu Gaoming with them all at once, but he had to be cautious until now.

The disappearance of Scotland could be a big deal or a small matter, depending on whether it will be exploited by someone with ulterior motives. With the help of Rei Jōgō, the Public Security Bureau can basically not cause any trouble, but there is no guarantee that some organization will slip through the net, such as Vermouth, who holds a grudge against Scotland and disguises herself as someone who looks similar to Scotland to test whether Scotland is still alive.

So even though Fūya Rei really wanted to take out the only two photos of Scotland in his phone album and ask Zhufu Gaoming if he was looking for him, he couldn't even do such a simple thing because of such concerns.

But Zhu Fu Gao Ming is really a very smart person. Seeing Jiang Gu Ling's silence, combined with his speculation that he had not been able to find anyone for so many years, he chose to take the initiative to eliminate the other party's concerns.

A yellowed, but obviously well-preserved, photo was carefully taken out of Morobushi Takaaki's wallet, placed on the table with a handkerchief, and pushed in front of Furuya Rei: "This is my younger brother, Morobushi Kagemitsu."

In the old photo, a boy smiled brightly, his round eyes, like a kitten's, slightly curved. It was a smile that softened the heart of anyone who saw it.

Morofushi Hiromitsu.

There is a soft light about this child.

Unconsciously repeating the name in his heart, Furuya Rei suddenly murmured, "Hiro."

Looking up and seeing the stunned expression on Morobushi Takaaki's face, Furuya Rei suppressed the sourness in his nose and emphasized the nickname again: "Hiro, is that what I called him before?"

"Um."

After receiving a positive answer, Furuya Rei pulled out a photo from his phone album and handed it to Zhufu Gaoming. "This is your brother, right?"

On the phone screen, a young man with cat-like eyes and wearing a glacier blue T-shirt turned his head to look at the camera. The warm sunlight shone through the gaps between the purple and pink bougainvillea petals and fell on his eyebrows, like a tiny snowflake in midsummer.

Zhu Fu Gaoming, who had never seen what his brother looked like when he grew up, stared at the photo for a long time.

His lips moved, probably because he wanted to feel relieved that his brother could still live to this age without him being able to see him. However, he could not smile in the end because he was keenly aware of the unusual meaning behind Furuya Rei's words.

After a long time, when returning the phone to Furuya Rei, Morobushi Takaaki's first question was: "Is Jingguang still alive?"

This simple question left Fūya Rei speechless.

Before Zhufu Gaoming's eyes dimmed due to not hearing an answer for a long time, Furuya Ling finally spoke: "...It's not clear yet, but the possibility of survival is not small.

For some reason, it is inconvenient to reveal too much about Hiro to outsiders. We are doing our utmost to find him, which is why I am in Nagano.

He showed his public security ID to Zhufu Gaoming: "Please tell me what happened between him and me."

Tempura and soba noodles were served. Through the steam of the food, Zhufu Gaoming's eyes became gloomy and unclear: "Is this necessary for the police to investigate the case?"

"No, this is a personal request from me, Rei Furuya."

After that, Zhu Fu Gaoming ate silently.

After all, this is a busy soba shop, so it's not a good place to discuss this matter in depth.

The blond youth propped up his chin and gazed out the window. The last rays of sunset clung to the treetops, making the forest look as if it would burst into flames in the next second. There was a sense of tragic beauty.

He was nervous at this moment, not only about the upcoming past event that he almost completely forgot about, but also about Zhu Fu Gaoming.

Judging from the fact that the other party could only produce photos of Scotland, or now it should be said that Zhufu Jingguang was a young photo, Zhufu Jingguang should have been separated from his family at that age and there has been no news for more than ten years.

Judging from the degree to which Zhufu Gaoming protected the photo, and the fact that he used the name "zero" to test whether Furuya Ling had any clues about Zhufu Jingguang seven years ago, the Zhufu family has never given up looking for Zhufu Jingguang over the years.

Originally, Morofushi Jingguang, who should have grown up being cared for and loved by his family, has been deeply hurt by Furuya Rei in the past six months.

He really wanted to selfishly tell Morifushi Takaaki about the wrong things he had done to Morifushi Kagemitsu, even if it meant being beaten or scolded, as it might somewhat alleviate the guilt in his heart, but Furuya Rei couldn't do such a thing.

One of the reasons why the non-policeman Morobushi Takaaki cannot know too much about what happened in Scotland is that the most important reason is that Furuya Rei has hurt Morobushi Keimitsu deeply enough, and Morobushi Keimitsu would probably not want his brother to know that he has suffered so much harm.

Morofushi Kagemitsu is just that kind of person. When he's hurt, he hides his wounds and tells those close to him that he's fine with a smile. He's the complete opposite of Furuya Rei.

Furiya Rei could no longer tell when exactly he began to fall in love with Scotland.

Maybe it was the first time Scotland pulled at his clothes and offered to bandage his wound.

After leaving the soba shop, Furuya Rei and Morobushi Takaaki walked slowly along the outskirts of the forest. The past with the chirping of summer cicadas and the smell of blood officially unfolded before Furuya Rei's eyes.