Chapter 25 Absinthe

"Hmm..." Cheng You pondered for a moment before replying, "I'll deal with Vermouth's matter first, and then decide when to do the time-lapse mission based on the situation. If Takeda Ryosuke comes to me early, I'll deal with his matter first. If he hesitates, I'll wait until the time-lapse mission is completed before coming to him."

The system paused for a few seconds, then said, "[I still hope the host will execute the rewind task soon...]" with a hint of resentment in its tone.

【I know, I know.】 Cheng You stopped chatting with the system because the shop door was pushed open, and a man with black curly hair entered the shop to the sound of wind chimes. His eyes looked around the place through his sunglasses.

Cheng You greeted the guest with a smile: "Welcome, what do you need, Officer?" Hagiwara Kenji did not come with him, so Cheng You could not be sure whether the person in front of him was the real Matsuda Jinpei or Vermouth in disguise. However, no matter which one it was, Cheng You treated him with the same attitude as a guest.

"...Any new products recently?" Matsuda Jinpei asked casually, his tone unreadable.

Cheng You: "We recently launched a new green pepper flavored ice cream!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed that Matsuda Jinpei's expression was slightly off, and then he heard him say, "What kind of weird food is this?"

“After all, strange foods can be quite popular sometimes.” Cheng You maintained a smile. Although Matsuda Jinpei in front of him also disliked green peppers, most people in Japan don’t like green peppers, so it’s possible that Vermouth also disliked them.

"..." Cheng asked, feigning doubt, "But... Mr. Matsuda also ordered a green pepper-flavored dessert last time he came, didn't he? Don't you like it?"

"?" Matsuda Jinpei frowned. "What are you talking about? When did I order these? You must be mistaken."

"Phew..." Cheng You breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the person in front of him shouldn't be Vermouth in disguise. "Shall I get you what you ordered last time?"

"Um."

"Is it a raspberry brownie?" Cheng You asked tentatively once again.

"?" Matsuda Jinpei frowned at Cheng You. "Why do you always get things wrong? You can't do business like this." His last sentence contained a hint of advice. "It's two servings of thin chocolate ice cream."

"Yes, yes, yes!! I'm so sorry, sigh, I've been so busy lately, I forgot." Cheng You scratched his head sheepishly and went to the kitchen to prepare. The moment he turned around, his gentle expression immediately turned serious. He was certain that the person in front of him was Matsuda Jinpei, but Vermouth was still hesitant to make a move. Could it be that she had discovered something else?

Given Vermouth's abilities, if she continues to keep an eye on him, Cheng Youzhen is afraid that she will eventually discover his connection with the Sakura Blade Pavilion organization.

"Welcome to visit again next time~" Cheng You handed the packed desserts to Matsuda Jinpei and watched him leave.

"I wonder when they'll make their move..." The shop fell silent again, and Cheng You lay on a chair, bored.

“Brother Cheng You, this matter is mainly my fault. If you pretend you don’t know I’m Matsukawa Yuichi, they won’t make things difficult for you,” Yuichi said, his eyes lowered.

"?" Cheng You looked at him in confusion and gently patted his head. "How could you think like that, Youyi? We are... friends." She originally wanted to say they were family, but Cheng You felt that it wasn't quite appropriate to call them family given their current relationship.

"..." Upon hearing this relationship, You paused for a moment, then quickly changed the subject. Knowing Cheng You already had a plan, You asked, "Should I excuse myself?"

"Need not."

Just when Cheng You thought no more guests would come, the wind chimes rang again. The guests' footsteps were so light that Cheng You even suspected it was the wind that was making the wind chimes sway.

"Hello." Hearing the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar voice, Cheng You suddenly sat up in her chair, her eyes wide as she looked at the smiling man in front of her. He wore a turtleneck sweater, had light brown hair, and his narrowed eyes behind his glasses were dangerously fixed on Cheng You. Cheng You's heart clenched involuntarily.

"!" Why are they all coming here?! Is this some kind of tourist attraction? Are they all here to take photos?! Cheng You roared inwardly. He really didn't want to face the FBI right now! If Akai Shuichi was just passing by, that would be fine, but what if he had found out something...

"Welcome~" Cheng forced a smile as he looked at the guest.

“Two raspberry mousses,” said Shuichi Akai, who was wearing Subaru Okiya’s skin.

After Mousse finished packing, Cheng You watched Subaru Okiya leave, and shortly after, Conan left the Mouri Detective Agency. Cheng You narrowed his eyes. Was he starting to suspect him? Why was he suddenly investigating him?

Cheng You thought he had hidden this aspect very well! Could it be that his involvement with the Sakura Blade Pavilion organization has been exposed? With Akai Shuichi's abilities, and the Red Team cooperating... it's quite possible they could find out! Ahhh! What should I do!

How about having Yuichi and Conan share their identities and then cooperate? No, no, no, Shinichi Kudo will definitely take this very seriously, and might even suspect Cheng of having ulterior motives. It's better to cooperate first and then reveal their identities...

Cheng Youli sorted out his thoughts and finally gave up trying to think it through. Forget it, the world of Detective Conan isn't a place for normal people. System: Can't you be a little more self-aware? Are you even normal?

Meanwhile, at the Kudo residence, Conan opened the door and entered, followed by Ai Haibara slowly entering the living room.

Ai Haibara looked at the two of them sitting seriously on the sofa and couldn't help but chuckle: "Does it have to be this serious?"

"I got word from Rena Mizunashi that the organization is currently investigating a high school student named Yuichi Matsukawa, but I don't know why," said Shuichi Akai, disguised as Subaru Okiya.

"So?" Conan asked.

"People in the organization found Cheng You through this."

"Hmm..." Thinking about Vermouth's actions last night, and connecting the dots, Conan had already figured out the trick, and couldn't help but frown.

"You know?" Ai Haibara raised an eyebrow at him, seemingly not very concerned about the matter. "That man knows your true identity and still wants to cooperate with you. What do you think is the connection? But why would this guy talk to us about this?" She looked at Shuichi Akai.

"Um...we're just chatting." Conan smiled.

"But why are you suddenly interested in Cheng You?" Conan didn't answer the question, seemingly having no idea about the cooperation. He looked at Shuichi Akai and asked.

“Well… my cousin and Cheng You were roommates, and I thought this roommate was very strange,” Akai Shuichi said.

"I see..." Conan nodded, thinking of Vermouth and then of Yuichi quietly reading a book, realizing that things were not so simple. He finally decided to leave and ran out quickly.

"Ah~ it seems little Conan has figured it out." Shuichi Akai said, looking in the direction Conan left.

"Why are you so hostile towards that Cheng You?" Ai Haibara asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Then tell me, did Cheng ask you to cooperate?" Shuichi Akai countered.

"It's just what you think," Ai Haibara said casually, then got up and left.

That night, Cheng You waited all day for Vermouth to assassinate them, but she didn't show up. Instead, Conan sat in the shop reading, occasionally eating desserts, and chatting with Youyi. The two of them were pretending to be children, like two master actors, without any flaws.

Cheng You figured Conan probably already knew Yuichi was also on the drug, so he might as well stop pretending. Anyway, Conan couldn't run very far, haha. Cheng You sat opposite Conan and said with a smile, "Kudo, shall we talk about a collaboration?"

Conan paused for a moment, then smiled and looked at Cheng You: "What do you want to collaborate on?"

"Of course, it's about fighting the Black Organization together, and incidentally helping me investigate another criminal force. You already know Youyi's identity, so I probably don't need to say much more." Cheng You leaned forward slightly. "The information we have can complement each other perfectly."

"Hmm, how do you know my identity?" Shinichi Kudo asked, his tone suggesting he had already tacitly agreed to their collaboration.

“…Well, it’s probably because…I have many eyes and ears and am well-informed.” After saying that, Cheng You smiled, revealing sharp fangs.

"So many informants?" Conan silently noted. "How do you plan to deal with Vermouth?"

“Threats, I suppose,” Cheng Youhao said without any hesitation. “If I die, or if Youyi dies, my partners hiding in the shadows will expose that you are Shinichi Kudo, or they might expose something else. Is Sherry still alive? Then the trouble won’t just be Vermouth, but also your relatives and friends, and the undercover agents from the brewery.”

"How did you know?!" Conan asked instinctively, his pupils suddenly constricting as he looked at him in surprise.

"Ah~ it seems it's true. Of course I was just guessing. I'll only feel at ease if I have enough leverage to threaten you."

"..." Conan took these as Cheng You's jokes and couldn't help but feel speechless.

"You don't think I'm joking, do you?" Cheng You asked, seeing the disbelief on Conan's face.

"Are you serious?" Conan's eye twitched, and he looked at Cheng You with disbelief.

"Of course it's fake," Cheng You chuckled. "Hmm... it's so late, I need to take Youyi home now. Kids should go to bed early~"

"I..." Conan still seemed uneasy, but Cheng stopped him, saying, "It's okay, trust me."

"Okay." Seeing the other person's determined gaze, Conan hesitated before nodding and finally leaving to return to the Mouri Detective Agency.

Seeing that Conan had returned home safely, Cheng Youcai withdrew his gentle gaze and looked at Youyi: "I'm sorry for revealing your identity without your permission."

"It's alright, Conan already knows, it's good to tell him." Yuichi picked up the book on the table, tidied her clothes, and Cheng You closed the shop, then took Yuichi's hand and went home together.

"Brother Cheng You, why do you keep going down the most dangerous path?" Youyi knew that Cheng You's threatening words to Vermouth at the store were not a lie. Threatening a dangerous person is not an easy thing to do. It is easy to cross the other party's bottom line and end up with both sides suffering losses.

"Is it dangerous? I only have two paths in front of me: one is safe but troublesome afterward, and the other is dangerous but completely safe afterward. Smart people know which one to choose, right?" Cheng You said.

"Um……"

As the two turned into another street, they clearly sensed the eeriness of the atmosphere. They both stopped talking and carefully listened to the footsteps and breathing sounds.

A few rustling sounds came from the bushes, and a dark human figure was always reflected in the window of the shop at the street corner.

Cheng narrowed his eyes.

In a flash, Cheng You immediately pulled You Yi over and quickly retreated a few steps.

A bullet landed where Yuichi had been standing.

"..." Cheng You, holding You in his arms, looked at the newcomer, his dark eyes revealing a sharp danger in the dim light.

"She actually dodged it." The newcomer was a tall, thin woman with long, red waves in her hair and wearing an Anker red dress; she was Vermouth in disguise.

“Vermouth…”

"Hmm?" Vermouth raised an eyebrow, surprised that the person in front of her knew her. "Wow, he really is a mysterious man with secrets~"

"You want to kill us?"

“No, no, no, you are Chinese, we won’t kill you. I’ll kill him.” Vermouth smiled and pointed to the child next to Cheng You. In the dim light, her red lips looked somewhat eerie.

Seeing Cheng You's obvious protectiveness towards Youyi, Vermouth couldn't help but smile: "You should know he's not an ordinary kid~"

“You know your godson isn’t an ordinary kid either,” Cheng replied with a smile, though his eyes were serious.

“…” Vermouth narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”

"I advise you not to take action. If Yuichi dies, I will expose that Conan is Kudo. Then, your organization... who will you deal with?" Cheng You narrowed his dangerous eyes.

"Heh, but this is all. Who would know if I killed you?" Vermouth suppressed her concern. She knew that in front of enemies, especially enemies who threatened her with something, she could not reveal what was truly precious to her.

"That's not all~" Cheng moved closer to Vermouth, his hand stealthily gripping the gun in her hand. "For example... if the organization finds out about Sherry, you'll be in big trouble, Sister Vermouth~"

"You do have some skill." Upon hearing this title, Vermouth chuckled and snatched the gun from Cheng You's hand again.

"But... are you threatening me?" A hint of coldness flashed in her eyes, revealing the ruthless shadow of a member of the distillery.