Chapter 113: The Enlightenment "Then I'll go and try to scam Hagiwara-kun..."
Mimi Moroboshi is not Reborn and does not have the ability to read minds.
But he had ears - a cat's keen hearing allowed him to vibrate his ears and pick up on the tiny conversations even on the balcony before opening the window.
"I can also make money to support you", "You should eat first or me first", "Can you take me home?", "I will definitely treat you well"...
These sporadic sweet words sounded so familiar that the cat felt an inexplicable displeasure in his heart.
Chaomu is already a very independent adult girl, and Zhuxing, who has lived abroad for a long time, naturally would not be so pedantic as to think that she should not interact with the opposite sex.
But the man talking to her was Bourbon, a codenamed member of that dangerous organization. He had seen this smooth-talking man hanging around among the ladies before. Whether for emotional or safety reasons, Zhu Xingda couldn't bear to see Chaomu being deceived by him.
...Although if you think about it carefully, it's still unclear who is deceiving whom...If Chaomu continues to contact Bourbon, Bourbon might follow in his footsteps...Preventing their contact can be considered a form of protection for Bourbon.
Out of such serious considerations, when the window was opened, the big black cat, who was always silent and tiptoeing when coming home, made a click to pry open the window lock, and did not make any noise when entering the house.
If it were in the past, if Zhuxing Mimi made such a sound, his "master" would have run over with a cry of "ouch", stretched out his hands to lift him up, or stuck close to him, muttering "Mimi mimi baby mimi".
But today, Chaomu actually still maintained the gesture of holding hands with the suspicious man. She just glanced here inexplicably, without even calling him, and had no intention of moving at all, let alone rushing over to kiss, hug, and lift him up high.
The big black cat narrowed its eyes slightly, and finally just turned a corner, went to the kitchen, took out the half-eaten can of tuna from the refrigerator, and walked to the living room holding the pull ring on it, keeping a distance from its owner. The cat's claws slammed heavily on the edge of the can, making a crackling sound.
When the two humans at the door cast their eyes at the same time, the black cat licked its paws slowly, its green eyes swept towards the blond young man, and with an ambiguous look, it completely tore open the part of the can lid that was connected to the can body.
The voice sounded a bit harsh, and Amuro Tou, who was a little dazed just now, shuddered.
The latter came to his senses and noticed that his hand was still held by the young girl. He tried to pull it back uncomfortably and coughed lightly: "Thank you for your love... But I don't have any plans to fall in love for the time being. I'm very sorry..."
Chaomu didn't like what he was saying. What kind of nonsense was this man, who used to work as a gigolo, saying? How could he not have any intentions of falling in love? Maybe she wasn't attractive enough or rich enough.
But that wasn't the main issue. She held onto his hand, not intending to let go, and said seriously, "What are you saying? I don't have any plans to date you. I just want to go home with you and experience the warmth of home."
Toru Amuro: "…………?"
He was stunned for two seconds by these words. After realizing what was happening, the corners of his lips couldn't help but twitch slightly: "Experience the warmth of home"? This guy was inviting him... for a night...? Are all young girls nowadays so bold...?
Not only did he look strange, but even the black cat, who was pretending to be concentrating on eating the canned food, paused and raised its head in disapproval: What was Chaomu thinking? Shouldn't she really hate this "little black face"? Why would she bring up such a thing...
Both the man and the tomcat had strange expressions on their faces, but Chaomu herself was becoming more and more aware of the situation. She felt like she had grasped the essence of exploiting the Truth Bullet debuff: telling the truth, but only speaking what she wanted to say and being vague about the key points.
She gripped his hand tightly with genuine emotion, shaking it from side to side. "I can sense that there's something in Amuro-kun's house...that I long to get close to and experience. I long to touch it, and with your permission, to glimpse the precious secrets within..."
Longing to touch the trash can and find a precious and rare skill book from it.
Damn it, is this how she usually coaxes Hiro and the others? No wonder Hagiwara Matsuda is so coaxed by her...
The young girl got closer and closer, making Amuro Toru feel uneasy, his ears burning with anxiety: What terrible things is this guy saying...! Whether he's talking about family, love, or something else, it doesn't seem to make sense. It's more like... wrong!
"...Please don't say such strange things. Let me go first... Miss Chaomu?" He, who was usually smooth-talking and good at sweet talk, felt a rare loss for words. He could only force himself to remain calm and pretend that he didn't understand her implication. "Are you planning to visit the decoration? There's nothing worth your appreciation in my home... It's just an ordinary residence, and the decoration is also ordinary..."
"How can it be ordinary? That's your home, Amuro-kun." Chaomu's fingertips clasped his palm tightly, and without thinking, he answered directly, "Home is where you are. If it weren't for Amuro-kun living there, no matter how gorgeously decorated that room was, it wouldn't have the same importance to me as it does now..."
If Toru Amuro can't live next door to her, then it naturally doesn't make much sense that his skills won't appear in the trash can; however, there shouldn't be any vacancies in the villagers of the Novice Village. If it's not Toru Amuro, there might be someone other than Toru Amuro living there, but their skills might be different.
"For me, Amuro-kun becoming my neighbor is a miracle with a tiny probability that only appears after dozens of restarts—" She added with deep emotion, shaking his wrist vigorously, "For this hard-earned fate, Amuro-kun, will you really not consider letting me live in your house? It would be even better if you could send me money every day."
Veins popped out on Amuro Toru's forehead: "...Hey!"
The first half of her words had a bit of a sweet and coaxing feel to them, but the second half revealed her true intentions again - was this woman simply trying to coax him into being her gigolo and having him earn money to support her?
"If you need anything, please tell me directly, Miss Chaomu." As time passed, the polite smile on his face finally broke. He also gave up the superficial harmony. After all, they had a small quarrel before. "Is it because the ladies no longer provide you with work, leaving you with no money to pay rent and food, and you come to me for help?"
It's really strange. This child usually looks at him in a daze and is always at odds with him. But today he suddenly seems to have a change of heart and starts saying sweet words to him. It's absolutely impossible that there is no problem.
"It's not primarily a question of money...but the nature of my work has indeed changed slightly."
Looking at the camp's weekly tasks in the task list, Chaomu remained calm and spoke the truth: "I just want to live with you, can't you just let me move in? I really want to be with you, even if I have to live as a cockroach or a rat—"
In this case, is it possible that the weekly tasks are repeated? If she encounters such a task again in the future, can she try eating animal apples to see if she can turn into a small animal commonly seen in the city to commit fraud and live directly in people's homes?
If it were a cockroach or a mouse, leaving food there would be an invitation, wouldn't it? It would be natural for her to move in.
Her thoughts were jumping around, and she immediately thought about whether she could use this trick to deal with difficult people like Reborn or Gin. She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the clattering sound of Mimi slapping the cans inside, which was full of disapproval.
However, her rare humble speech brought back memories for Toru Amuro.
Although Chaomu always talks nonsense and behaves in an eccentric and strange way...it is not the first time that she has said things like "I hope he likes her" or "I hope he takes her home".
His memory flashed back to the day when he first saw her in the nightclub. The short-haired girl was wearing a maid outfit, and the cat ears on her head trembled slightly. She asked him if he could like her.
On the terrace during the dinner, under the shadow of wisteria flowers, she said, "If Amuro-kun can't like me, it's only natural for me to hate him" - she was obviously a girl who was very sensitive to emotions, and her hostility towards him came from the fact that he didn't like her; but her attitude towards Hiro and Hagiwara and others who cared about and accepted her was much better.
The girl then, wearing a butler's uniform and delicate makeup, and the girl now with short, gray hair, overlapped their faces close together. The seriousness in her golden eyes remained the same. The hand holding his wasn't delicate and smooth; it was covered with thick calluses and seemed to have a few scars.
The traces of these difficult lives left on her reminded Toru Amuro of the information he had read about her before... For a girl with such an experience, who has been alone and insecure since childhood, using strange behavior to cover up the lack of family affection and love deep in her heart is actually... completely human nature.
"Don't you feel it, Zero? You're a little too strict with Kogure."
His childhood friend once tactfully told him that he was a little too defensive towards Asami. At that time, Amuro Toru was still arguing with her about the reasons for his caution, but now he suddenly felt that his wariness and hostility towards her was a little... sad.
"...Please don't say such things anymore. You're not a...cockroach or a rat, and you don't need to act like this to win the affection of a strange man."
He pulled his hand away from hers firmly and without hesitation. He felt her grip loosen slightly, perhaps because she had taken his words to heart. "Miss Chaomu, there's no need for this, right? I understand you have many friends who care about you... If you need spiritual support, it would be more appropriate to seek them out."
Although he still felt that she was a little suspicious, and that his classmates who were fooled by her were a little worried...but caring about a little girl who was easily led astray was indeed the job of his classmates in the police academy.
This Bourbon... can actually say such serious words to persuade people to be self-reliant and strong?
Mimi Zhuxing, who had just been rummaging through the empty cans, pricked up his ears and cast a slightly surprised look at the dark-faced man. He had thought that this man, known for his dark face and dark heart in the intelligence team, would not be so kind.
But all his words were good. Whether his "master" could listen to them was another question... Based on his understanding of Chaomu, when Chaomu did something strange, he had his own set of logic and was not so easily persuaded. He might even persuade others in return.
Chaomu, who was being stared at closely by a cat and a man, was still holding the air with his hands, suspended in mid-air.
After hearing what Amuro Toru said, her brows furrowed slightly, as if she was lost in thought: "Other friends who care about me...?"
In that case, it seems a bit wrong for her to have been focusing on Amuro Toru and Midorikawa Kei, whose camps are still unclear... How could she forget about Hagiwara Kenji and Matsuda Jinpei?
They lived next door to each other, so could she try staying in both homes at once, switching back and forth between them, getting two guaranteed benefits? Wouldn't that be better than trying to scam Toru Amuro? It was definitely worth a try!
As his mind turned, Chaomu almost immediately made up his mind: "Thank you, little black face, I won't bother you any further."
She clenched her right fist and happily clapped it against her left palm. Suddenly, an idea struck her, like a bolt of enlightenment: "Sure enough, it would be more appropriate to approach Hagiwara-kun and Matsuda-kun. If they were the ones, they would definitely accept me, right?"
Toru Amuro: "…………?"
He hadn't yet felt the joy that she had finally stopped pestering him, and the breath of relief was still stuck in his throat. When he heard her say this, his vision went dark for a moment: It's bad, Hagiwara...Matsuda!
Although he seemed to have successfully persuaded Asami to stop thinking about living with him...but judging by her behavior, she was planning to change her target directly to Hagiwara and Matsuda! She just said it was a scam, right...?
Seeing the girl excitedly turning around and about to leave, Amuro Toru almost subconsciously grabbed her sleeve out of concern for his peers: "Wait, don't go yet--"
Seeing her turn her head suspiciously, he pursed his lips and took a deep breath, as if he had made an important decision: "...Are you really short of money? Don't look for anyone else first... It's not impossible for me to help you..."
Thinking carefully, how could she be allowed to harm others? Hagiwara and Matsuda were already being fooled around by her, if she took advantage of their weakness...
Inside the room, watching this scene, Mimi Morohoshi's green eyes suddenly became sharp.
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The author has something to say: Now we are ready to enter the exciting and sweet cohabitation plot (pussing lips) A good brother is still better than a good godfather.
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