Chapter 143: Whitechapel Serial Murder Case Cats pretend when they are embarrassed...
"Sister Lin."
Haibara Ai's voice interrupted their conversation.
"Ah. Is Ai done with her class?" Lin Xi naturally took Haibara Ai's hand, and selectively ignored Akai Shuichi who was beside her.
Huiyuan Ai: “…Yeah.”
Well, actually not at all.
She didn't even notice where the bathroom was and went straight to Akai Shuichi.
"Miss Judy, it's nice talking to you. But it's getting late, and I want to take my sister home."
Lin Xi smiled and said, "I think you should have a direction for the next step, right?"
"Please feel free to contact me whenever you need me."
Judy Stelling thought about it and felt that there was really no reason for Lin Xi to stay here any longer. She nodded and said with a little embarrassment, "Thank you for your hard work, Miss Lin."
Lin Xi smiled: "It's okay - although the process of coming here was not so pleasant, I'm still very happy that I could help."
Judy glanced at Shuichi Akai, whose expression remained unchanged, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
Look at Miss Lin, so considerate and helpful... and yet what about my own team members? They show no remorse after offending others. They act like emperors and love to give others a hard time.
Oh, she really wants a teammate like Lin Xi.
Capable and obedient, with high IQ and EQ, he's a delight to be around...
What a perfect person...
It’s a pity that Miss Lin is just a tourist.
After the trip, you still have to go home.
Their FBI team's activities are mainly concentrated in the United States, and participating in activities has many inconveniences -
——Otherwise Judy really wants to give her a special consultant position.
Even if it has no practical significance, but being able to let Lin Xi say a few words always feels like it can make their original team more harmonious - Jin always pretends to obey Judy's words, but Judy finds that he listens to Lin Xi very much; even Xiuyi, Judy thinks Lin Xi can defeat him.
She sighed, "I'll have Jin take you home."
"It's still very dangerous in the United States at night. Please don't go out so late next time..."
Lin Xi rejected her proposal: "No need, Miss Judy, I actually live nearby."
"Yes, that's the building over there."
Lin Xi pointed to Sugishima Jun'e's apartment building.
"Ah." Judy was a little surprised. "Okay then. Send me a message when you get back, Miss Lin."
"Okay."
Lin Xi waved goodbye to her happily.
Beside her, Huibara Ai thought that Sister Lin seemed more lively than before.
She yawned and watched Lin Xi pick up the cat food and the cat - Judy Stelling had paid for her apologetically earlier - and Huihara Ai, and walked towards the apartment together. Under the gentle moonlight and evening breeze, she couldn't help feeling a little sleepy.
It turns out that blood and corpses don't affect her sleep quality at all.
It was only nine o'clock and she was already sleepy.
She rubbed her eyes and was led forward in a daze.
Lin Xi noticed that she was sleepy, and rubbed her head through her hood in a funny way. After running the water for her to take a bath, he carried her to the bed and tucked her in.
She leaned over and kissed the child's forehead.
"Good night, Ai."
Then there was the sound of the door clicking shut.
Haibara Ai fell into a deep sleep.
I don’t know how much time has passed.
A cool breeze blew in from the window and brushed her cheeks.
… She dreamed of Punch again.
In the dream, Punch had a smile on his face. He was standing among the green plants she planted and smiling at her.
There was a sweet, lingering baking smell in the air, with a hint of fruit, like Punch's baked cookies and squeezed juice.
And the smell of sunshine. Punch likes bright spaces, so every room has big windows.
She walked past the green plants and came to her side, her smile without a trace of gloom.
She whispered her name:
"Shiho."
"Shiho, Shiho..."
She opened her mouth, wanting to respond.
Then his mouth opened, but no sound came out.
oh.
Haibara Ai realized belatedly that she was dreaming.
You can't make any sound when you are dreaming. If you make any sound, it means you are not far from waking up.
But she didn't want to wake up yet...
However, even though it was a dream, the voice continued to call her.
It seemed as if he would not give up until he got her response.
Moreover, the sound was getting closer, louder, and clearer.
Haibara Ai frowned.
She could even feel the hot breath coming from Punch's throat.
…
...That's not right.
Haibara Ai opened her eyes.
He met a pair of smiling green eyes.
"Awake, Sleeping Beauty?"
Lin Xi propped up her chin and lay on the side of her bed, her tone rather regretful: "You slept so soundly. I was going to pinch your nose to see if you would breathe through your mouth."
Haibara Ai suddenly woke up.
——That’s not a dream!
No, no, the scene in the house they once lived in together was a dream, but Punch calling her name was real.
Haibara Ai's mouth was dry.
She stared at the red-haired girl intently, remaining silent and refusing to speak.
It seems that he is afraid that once he opens his mouth, the person in front of him will become another dream shattered.
Finally, the red-haired girl felt a little embarrassed by her stare. She sat up and pretended to stretch, her eyes darting around Huibara Ai's guest room again: "Well, the room is nicely decorated. I like the color of this wallpaper."
Looking at Punch like this, Huiyuan Ai thought of a sentence for some reason:
——Cats pretend to be busy when they are embarrassed.
"...I like it too." She said slowly, "It's very similar to the color of the wallpaper you used to have in your house."
Light green, warm but not harsh.
It goes well with wooden furniture with curved patterns.
Punch's expression visibly changed for a moment.
"Uh... indeed..."
In fact, Lin Xi was wondering whether Sugishima Jun'e was influenced by her and chose this color as the wallpaper for the apartment.
After all, she had once studied with Hiroki Sawada in her villa.
She looked at Haibara Ai who was still staring at her face, and couldn't help but touch her face.
How strange, is there any flaw in her disguise?
That's impossible?
This is the fake face she is most skilled at using for disguise.
"Um, how have you been lately?"
As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Lin Xi regretted it.
Isn't this a typical question for the sake of conversation?
Oh no, why do I feel so guilty facing Ai as Punch?
Huiyuan Ai stared at her and replied dimly, "Don't you know how I'm doing?"
Lin Xi's hair stood up in an instant.
Hmm?? What does Ai mean by that?!
Did you recognize me as Punch? !
Impossible, I pretended so well...
No, no, no, it must be just a guess. She can't panic now, she has to stay calm.
Think about it, with Punch's personality, what would he say...
"Ahem." Lin Xi coughed lightly, embarrassed. "I'm definitely not spying on you."
She'd just lightly "cover up the truth" to make Xiao Ai think she was spying on her. After all, if she'd really been away from the organization for years for some reason, and knew her adopted child had run away from the organization, given her personality, she'd definitely dig deep to find her, dead or alive... Ahem, if she found her, there was no way she wouldn't spy on her. Lin Xi was very self-aware of her own control urges.
"I just... for some reason, I haven't been able to come see you."
Then he would throw out some vague reasons and let Ai come up with them herself.
Lin Xi had her own unique insights on how to fool others. She knew that forcing reasons on others would never be as natural and deeply rooted as letting them come up with their own reasons.
"I'm sorry, Ai."
Finally, it’s time for a sincere apology.
This step must be combined with a close posture, a pitiful expression, and a little bit of true emotion - Lin Xi really felt regretful for not meeting Huibara Ai earlier - to achieve twice the result with half the effort.
Sure enough, Haibara Ai's expression visibly relaxed.
She finally stopped staring at Lin Xi.
However, mist continued to gather in those gray-blue eyes, and his nose began to twitch.
Lin Xi:!
No, this is even worse!
This was the situation she was least good at dealing with!
Ahhhh, I had no choice but to use that trick—the trick she would use every time Little Sorrow cried—
——Embrace Dafa!
Lin Xi took a step forward and hugged Huihara Ai.
Her movements were big but her strength was gentle, as if she was afraid of hurting her, letting the hug vaguely envelope the little girl.
However, Haibara Ai was not satisfied with this hug, and she took the initiative to hug Lin Xi's neck quite tightly.
She sobbed, "Punch..."
"I, I really, uh, miss you so much..."
"...I've always missed you..."
"I, I almost forgot about you, wuwu... almost, completely, completely forgot..."
"I don't want to forget you... I, I never, ever want to... forget anyone again..."
Lin Xi listened to the little girl's uncontrollable sobbing and accusations, felt the fabric on the shoulders of her black petticoat soaked with tears, and couldn't help but sigh.
She patted the girl on the back.
Time, damn time.
It was just a moment for her, but for those who had shared memories with her, the wait was such a difficult time.
Well, as expected, some things just can't be avoided. The more you avoid meeting someone because you're afraid of the awkwardness of the encounter, the more your conscience will condemn you.
Now that she thinks about it, the person who has been waiting for her the longest since she came into this world... should be Gin Bar?
Until now, in the main timeline, they have never had a formal meeting.
"Don't be afraid, Ai." She promised easily, "I won't leave."
"This time, I won't leave you again, I promise."
"I'll always be here for you...I'll be there whenever you need me, okay?"
Since this is the main timeline, no matter how far back in time we enter the script, we will return to the main timeline after finishing it, so... it's okay for her to make such a promise, right?
Lin Xi thought so.
Huibara Ai didn't say whether it was good or bad. Her sobbing gradually stopped, but she hugged Lin Xi even tighter.
They hugged each other quietly in the night, and for a while, no one spoke.
Only the wind blew quietly in from the window opened by Lin Xi.
Lin Xi suddenly remembered something and uttered softly, "Oh, Xiao Ai, I brought you something... I thought you might need it..."
She took out a USB drive, put down the hand that Haibara Ai was holding her with - the little girl was holding her quite tightly - and then gently placed the USB drive in the girl's hand.
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