Chapter 145 The Art of Waiting The 145th Failure...

145th failure.

Ai Haibara stared at the data on the screen. The molecular model was rotating like an unsolvable puzzle.

As she tapped on the keyboard, her heart grew colder.

The door of the laboratory opened.

The sound of high heels, the rhythm is elegant and arrogant.

Vermouth leaned against the door frame.

"Little scientist, are you still in love with molecules?"

She looked Huibara up and down.

"Carbon-hydrogen bonds won't even look at you."

Huibara didn't look back, her eyes locked on the screen.

"It's better than the Hollywood narcissism of some people who look in the mirror every day."

"You're still so mean." Vermouth walked in. "Are you feeling down? Because of your 145th failure?"

Huibara turned her chair and her ice-blue eyes met Vermouth's.

"You didn't come here to count my failures, did you?"

"Of course not." Vermouth sat on a high stool, legs crossed, showing off her curves. "I have good news. There's new news about Karasuma Renya."

"Dead?" Huibara spoke calmly about the enemy who killed her father and mother.

After all, Karasuma is already a baby now, although only physically.

"How cold-blooded." Vermouth laughed. "He's not dead. He's still a baby, lying in an incubator, alive on a ventilator. But the doctors aren't optimistic about his condition. If you'd like, you can go see him."

Huibara turned back and faced her data again.

"There's no difference between an enemy in diapers and a dead enemy."

"Do you really think so? Miyano Shiho."

In the laboratory, instruments hummed.

"I have a new plan." Huibara said, her fingers flying on the keyboard.

"Tell me about it."

"World simulation." Huiyuan turned, his eyes blazing. "We'll use quantum computers to create a virtual world and test the antidote endlessly."

Vermouth's expression changed.

"us?"

"That's right." Huiyuan stood up and walked towards her, "This project requires two people. And you..."

She paused and looked at Vermouth's beautiful face.

"The only one who can keep up with me."

“It’s an honor.” Vermouth also stood up, her high heels continuing to tap. “I refuse.”

Huiyuan was stunned.

"Why?"

“Why?” Vermouth took a step closer, narrowing her eyes. Their breathing was audible. “Neurons will synchronize, and consciousness will partially merge. You can see through me, and I can see through you.”

She lifted Huibara's chin.

"And I prefer to keep it mysterious."

Huibara's heartbeat quickened.

"Mystery? Or are you scared?"

"Scared?" Vermouth smiled, as dangerous and charming as ever. "Some things taste better if you wait."

Her slender fingertips gently slid from Huibara's chin to her cheek.

Huibara stepped back and leaned against the cold laboratory table.

Vermouth leaned over and whispered a few words softly in her ear.

"I'm waiting for you to grow up, Miyano Shiho."

Huihara's cheeks instantly turned red.

"you……"

“Hmm?” Vermouth stood up, her smile still relaxed. “Great scientist, didn’t you take this variable into account? Your body is only seven years old. I don’t want to be treated as a criminal.”

"You have dirty thoughts!" Huibara retorted.

"It's science." Vermouth interrupted her, "Your brain is that of an adult. Your body is that of a child. If you force synchronization, you will burn out."

Huibara bit her lower lip.

Vermouth turned and walked away, then stopped at the door and turned to look at her.

"You want to peek into my heart, I can give you a preview."

Huiyuan raised her eyes.

"What preview?"

"For example, the way you do experiments is very similar to your mother."

Vermouth's words were soft and gentle.

“Same focus, same perseverance, same beauty.”

Huiyuan paused for breath.

"For example," Vermouth continued, "I'm enjoying this moment. You're using a child's body to do adult things, using a childish tone to speak mature words... This contrast is very cute."

"Pervert." Huibara grabbed a beaker.

Vermouth leaned sideways. The beaker hit the door frame and shattered.

She laughed.

"Are you angry? Our little princess, it's time to learn some emotional management. After all, you broke the beaker and you have to clean it up yourself."

"roll."

"As you command." Vermouth bowed and saluted exaggeratedly, as if she were performing in a Broadway play. "Before I go, there's one more thing."

Her expression was serious.

"There's no need to rush the development of the antidote. Going slow isn't a bad thing."

"What's the meaning?"

"What I mean is," Vermouth pushed open the door, and the light from the corridor cast a shadow on her beautiful profile, "Not all waiting in the world is torture. Some waiting is romantic in itself."

The door closed. Silence returned to the laboratory.

Huiyuan stood there, her cheeks burning.

"Romantic." She growled at the air and sat back in her chair.

The molecular model on the screen slowly rotates.

She took a deep breath and ordered herself to calm down.

I opened a new data set, but couldn't concentrate.

Vermouth's words swirled in her mind.

"I'm waiting for you to grow up."

Is this a threat? A tease? Or... a promise?

The door suddenly opened and Conan poked his head in.

"Habara, the doctor is calling you to eat... Oh, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"

The authentic and original "Ah-le-le" of the authentic Conan.

"It's okay." Huibara stood up suddenly, causing the test tube rack behind her to shake.

"I'll be right there."

"Are you really okay?" Conan stared at her.

"I said it's okay." Huiyuan walked quickly to the door, "Mind your own business."

Conan scratched his head and looked at her angry back.

At the dinner table, Huibara chewed blankly.

"Haibara-san, what are you thinking about?" Ayumi asked.

"I want to experiment." Huibara replied.

"Another antidote?" Mitsuhiko pushed up his glasses.

Yuan Tai ate his meal and said vaguely: "I think Huiyuan is good enough now and can play with us."

Huibara looked at these children and felt warm in her heart.

"By the way," Dr. Agasa suddenly said, "Ai-chan, there was a delivery for you just now."

"Express delivery?" Huibara took the package.

Inside was a bottle of wine.

Lafite, 1996.

There is a line of words printed on the card: Wait slowly, it will become mellow.

Huihara's face turned red again.

"Wow, what a high-end wine!" Yuan Tai's eyes lit up. Although he specialized in eel rice, he had heard of famous wines like Lafite.

"No." Huiyuan took the wine into her arms, "Children can't drink it."

"Oh, then the person who gave wine to the child is even weirder, right?" Conan looked at her and teased.

"What do you care?" Huiyuan stood up holding the bottle of wine, "I'm full."

She returned to the room and placed the bottle on the table.

Staring at the bottle.

That was the year she was born.

"Bad taste." She whispered, but the smile on her lips rose.

Outside the window, the moonlight is bright.

The other side of the city.

Vermouth raised her glass to the moon.

"Cheers to the wait."

Then, still elegantly, she drank the whole glass of wine.

.

Three months later.

dusk.

The setting sun penetrated the floor-to-ceiling windows of the laboratory, illuminating the nineteen-year-old figure of Miyano Shiho.

She held up the test tube, and the transparent liquid inside was the final antidote for APTX4869.

“It worked.”

The door opened, and Kudo Shinichi walked in, almost bumping into the doorframe.

He's not used to his height yet.

"How does your new body feel, great detective?" Shiho turned around and her eyes swept over him.

Shinichi rubbed his forehead, "What about you? You suddenly went from being an elementary school student back to a college student, don't you miss those kids?"

Shiho rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not like some people who play detective games every day in high school."

Shinichi said, "The doctor will be happy to know that you've recovered. When are you going to tell him?"

"Tomorrow." Shiho put the test tube back on the shelf. "I have something to do today."

Shinichi's eyes sharpened, "What is it?"

"It's none of your business." Shiho said, but her ears were a little red.

Shinichi's detective instincts kicked in.

Shiho picked up her bag and prepared to leave.

"Wait," Shinichi called her, "a date?"

Shiho paused.

She didn't look back and continued walking forward. "You have a very vivid imagination, Detective."

Shinichi stroked his chin and looked at her back.

Night falls.

Tokyo's neon lights are flashing.

Shiho stood at the door of a jazz bar, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

The lights are dim.

A woman was sitting in the corner of the bar, wearing sunglasses and a hat, holding a wine glass with an elegant posture.

Vermouth.

"You're late." Vermouth raised his glass. "It's ungentlemanly to keep a lady waiting."

"I'm not a gentleman." Shiho sat down next to her and said to the bartender, "Whiskey."

"Oh?" Vermouth took off her sunglasses and looked at her with her blue eyes. "Then what are you?"

"A scientist who just became an adult." Shiho picked up the wine glass. "This feels weird."

Vermouth smiled, "I can imagine. Not everyone has two puberty periods."

"You sound like you haven't." Shiho glanced at her. "The 'ageless movie queen' who's always 29."

Vermouth stopped laughing.

The two of them were silent. The sound of a saxophone filled the bar.

Vermouth spoke first, and said softly, "You came to me just to show me your new look?"

"I guess so." Shiho took a sip of whiskey, the spicy liquid sliding over her. "You've been waiting for this day for a long time, right?"

Vermouth raised an eyebrow, "What are you implying?"

"I'm stating the facts." Shiho turned and looked her straight in the eye. "Three months ago, I suggested we do a world simulation together, but you refused. Your reason was that you didn't want me to pry into your mind."

"Then?"

"Then I thought," Shiho said, "What on earth is a woman who has lived a long time afraid of?"

Vermouth said nothing, staring at the liquid in the cup.

"You know," she finally said, her tone a little self-deprecating, "living too long isn't a good thing. You watch the people around you grow old and die. You stay stuck in the same place forever."

"So you don't get close to anyone," Shiho continued.

“No,” Vermouth shook her head. “I play roles and experience life. That way, eternity won’t be boring.”

"But you're still waiting." Shiho said softly, "waiting for someone who can spend time with you."

Vermouth looked up, "You..."

"I'm a scientist," Shiho interrupted. "Observation and reasoning are instinctive. Chris Wynyard, you're not that mysterious."

She picked up her glass.

The rims of the cups touch, ding.

Vermouth smiled: "I have become an adult again, and I have become braver."

"Maybe." Shiho shrugged. "I died once."

The smile on Vermouth's face disappeared.

"You shouldn't die."

"Why?" Shiho asked back, "Does it bother you?"

Vermouth remained silent, her slender fingers sliding across the rim of the cup.

"There are things in this world worth living for."

"for example?"

"Like...wait until you grow up, idiot."

Shiho paused and cleared her throat. "I grew up. And then?"

Vermouth stood up and placed a ten thousand dollar bill on the bar.

"Then, let's change places."

Shiho followed suit and stood up: "Why?"

Vermouth put on sunglasses and the corners of her lips rose slightly.

"Chris Wynyard, a Hollywood star, can't have an affair with a mysterious woman."

Shiho rolled her eyes at the ceiling: "Your celebrity airs."

"Professionalism, dear." Vermouth held out her hand. "Shall we go?"

Shiho looked at the hand.

Reason screams, danger.

She put her hand on it.

"Let's go. I'm not afraid of making another bad decision."

Vermouth tightened her grip, leaned close to Shiho's ear, and spoke softly.

"Believe me, this is the best decision you can make."

After a while.

They arrived at Vermouth's secret apartment, a top-floor duplex with a view of Tokyo's nightscape from the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"Welcome to my secret base." Vermouth raised her hand and beckoned, "You are the first guest."

"My pleasure?" Shiho looked around. The decoration style was in line with Vermouth's taste, simple and expensive.

"Of course." Vermouth walked to the bar. "What do you want to drink? I'll mix it myself."

"Whatever." Shiho sank into the sofa. "Your drink names are all weird."

Vermouth smiled and shook the wine jug smoothly and neatly.

"This drink is called 'Twilight Kiss' and it's only available tonight."

Shiho took the wine glass, and the dark liquid swayed under the light.

"Because we meet at dusk?"

"Smart." Vermouth sat down next to her, a fist's distance away, and when she entered the room, she chose to be reserved.

"There's another meaning."

"Tell me about it."

"Twilight is the boundary between day and night." Vermouth looked out the window, "Just like us, between light and darkness."

Shiho took a sip of the wine and it tasted delicious.

"When did you become so sentimental?"

“It probably started when I met a little girl who loved Japanese sandwiches.”

"I'm not a little girl anymore," Shiho corrected her.

"I know." Vermouth's gaze slid from her face and passed over her collarbone. "I saw it."

Shiho's cheeks burned and she looked away.

"What are we now?"

"What do you think?"

"I'm asking you."

"So stubborn." Vermouth sighed, "Okay, let's analyze it scientifically. I'm an actress who has lived a long time, and you're a tissue scientist who has just recovered. We both have a past."

"Like the opening of a Shakespearean tragedy."

"But," Vermouth changed the subject, "we are still alive and have a future."

She reached out and stroked Shiho's cheek with her fingertips.

"Besides, I've been waiting for you for a long time."

Shiho felt that Vermouth's fingertips were cold, but the skin she touched was burning.

“It’s not fair,” she said. “You’re always controlling everything with ambiguity.”

"What do you want?" Vermouth lowered her voice. "A promise?"

"I want the real you." Shiho looked at her, "Not Chris Wynyard, not Vermouth. Just you."

The calmness on Vermouth's face shattered a little.

"You know what you're looking for. If you live too long, you'll forget who you are."

Shiho covered her hand with a burning look in her eyes.

"I'll help you look for it."

Vermouth smiled. This time, the smile spread to the corners of her eyes.

"You're very brave."

"I learned it from you." Shiho smiled back.

The phone vibrated in my pocket.

Shiho pulled out her phone, the screen lit up, and the caller was "Shinichi."

She frowned her delicately trimmed brows.

"Who?" Vermouth asked.

"A detective." Shiho pressed the answer button and said calmly, "What's going on?"

On the other end of the phone, Kudo Shinichi's voice was urgent.

"Shiho? Where are you? The doctor said you didn't go home."

"I'm at a friend's house."

"Friends?" Kudo Shinichi's doubts penetrated the receiver. "What friends?"

What kind of friends are you going to immediately look for when you grow up?

Shiho raised her eyes and looked at Vermouth.

Vermouth leaned against the bar, her arms folded across her chest, her face full of the look of someone who was just there to watch a show.

Shiho looked away and said to the phone, "My business has nothing to do with you."

"But……"

She hung up and turned off the phone in one smooth motion.

"How heartless." Vermouth commented.

"He'll get used to it." Shiho threw the phone into the crack of the sofa, then looked at Vermouth again, "Where were we just now?"

Vermouth stood up straight and extended her hand towards her.

"Speaking of finding yourself."

"Then?"

There was an undercurrent in Vermouth's blue-green eyes.

"Then, it depends on your courage."

Shiho walked forward and shook the hand.

"I dare."

Vermouth exerted force and pulled her towards herself.

Outside the window, the moonlight is beautiful.

Inside the window, a room full of lilies blooms.