Chapter 85, Chapter 84: The Out-of-Control Car
We love each other.
Like two prisoners who refused to bow to fate,
They exchanged a kiss for the key to the shackles.
—Albert Camus, *Love Letters*
A case fraught with love and hate came to an end, just as the officers were about to take their lunch break. Inspector Megure led his men, who still needed to return to the police station to register the evidence, back home, while the other officers who were not involved in the follow-up were dismissed on the spot.
After the meeting was dismissed, Ida stayed for a while to help clean up the scene. After everything was tidied up, he took off his police uniform jacket and hung it on his arm. Dressed in a simple white shirt and suit pants, he went to look for Natalie.
When he arrived at the rest area, the woman with short blonde hair was surrounded by high school students. The gentle, generous, and independent mature older sister quickly won over the young kids present, and because they were all acquainted with Zhuge Tongzhi, they exchanged contact information.
When Conan followed suit and added her contact information, Zhuge Tongzhi, standing next to Natalie, kept watching the sweet-voiced detective act cute with a wise look in his eyes.
If Natalie knew that it was you who made Ida Hangan work overtime every day, she might... still be willing to get to know you.
They might even sympathize with Conan's grim reaper-like constitution. Zhuge Tongzhi nodded to himself, and was gently pulled into Natalie's arms as he continued to watch Conan's performance with wisdom.
Under the watchful eyes of his friends, Conan made a couple of cute remarks before retreating back to Ran Mouri's side and looking down to add a note to Natalie's contact information.
At least for today, Shinichi Kudo really can't clarify these coincidences.
Natalie was very interested in the adventures the children and Zhuge Tongzhi had experienced together, but the shy protagonist of the story noticed that Ida Hang had come over, so he took the opportunity to pull her away from her seat: "Officer Ida seems to be leaving, let's go over there, Natalie."
"Okay, see you later then." Natalie waved goodbye to the high school students, then took Zhuge Tongzhi's hand and met up with Date Hang, who was waiting at the entrance of the rest area. The three of them walked out of the mall together.
The crowd outside had long since dispersed, and the green marker that had been hidden among the onlookers was nowhere to be seen. Zhuge Tongzhi peered around, but couldn't find any trace of Zhu Fujingguang through the gap.
"Strange, where did he hide?" The black-haired girl scratched her cheek in confusion, then turned around to carefully examine the sparse crowd behind her before being drawn back to her by Date Hang's call.
"Tongtong?" The man's rough voice uttered those two words in a completely different way from Natalie's. It was more like a fierce wind sweeping across the Gobi Desert than a gentle breeze, or like a horseman lassoing a horse on the vast grassland...
Are you mighty and powerful?
"Pah! Pah! Pah!" Zhuge Tongzhi shook his head and responded to Date Hang's shouts again, "Yes, Officer Date."
"You don't need to call me officer if it's not working hours. Well, it's fine." Date Kou smiled and scratched his head, then asked, "We're planning to go for lunch. Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"
"Anything is fine with me," Zhuge Tongzhi offered the most versatile answer, while Natalie also said that she couldn't think of any restaurants she really wanted to go to right away.
"Okay, in that case, let's have lunch at Poirot Cafe."
After thinking for a while, Ida Kou made a decision. He looked down at his girlfriend, his tender love almost overflowing from his eyes, "I've been talking about this delicious restaurant with you for a long time, but I've never taken you there."
“Oh, speaking of which, I just remembered that coffee shop. You’ve mentioned it so many times, but I’ve never been there.” Natalie took Ida’s arm, and as they walked out of the mall, the sunlight streaming down made her blonde hair shine.
Perhaps it's the subtle influence of global consciousness. Zhuge Tongzhi tapped her feet, watching the sunlight filter through her skirt and cast watermelon-colored blushes on the ground.
After all, people who go to Poirot's Cafe are either nameless passersby, main characters, or even victims of this episode. The black-haired girl thought about it and realized that it was actually quite good that Natalie had never been to Poirot's.
“Their waitresses are blondes just like you. I’ll introduce them to you later,” Ida Kou said, showing Natalie the location of Poirot Cafe on his phone. “It’s very close by. Let’s walk there.”
Natalie and Zhuge Tongzhi had no objections, and the three of them strolled leisurely along the street towards the Maori Office.
“Speaking of introductions, you said you were going to introduce me to your four classmates.” Natalie recalled the frequent phone calls during their long-distance relationship and said, half complaining and half teasing, “But after so long since graduation, I only know Hagiwara-kun and Matsuda-kun.”
"There's nothing we can do, we don't know where the other two went either," Date Wataru said with a laugh.
After all, the purpose of introducing Poirot's waiter was actually to introduce Furuya Rei to Natalie, but due to confidentiality issues, they could only meet under the identity of Amuro Tooru.
I wonder if those two will be his best men when he gets married. Thinking back to their conversation at the hospital when they were confirming each other's identities, Ida Wataru felt a chill run down his spine at the perilous situation they were in.
Whether before or after graduation, he's never been an easy person to deal with. Date Wataru smiled and shifted the conversation to Poirot's signature dish.
The young couple, enjoying a rare moment of leisure, chatted idly, while Zhuge Tongzhi focused on finding Zhufu Jingguang's trail among the crowds on the street—she knew he was definitely following them in secret, but O-de hadn't marked him.
It wasn't in the mirrors of clothing stores, the rearview mirrors of parked cars, the sunglasses of pedestrians walking in the opposite direction, or the convex mirrors at intersections...
Zhuge Tongzhi looked up at himself, distorted into a dwarf by the convex mirror, and poked the dwarf's mouth in frustration. Just as he was about to demonstrate to Natalie how to create a gaping maw, her phone suddenly started ringing incessantly.
A sharp, loud siren suddenly blared from her skirt pocket. Upon hearing the sound, Zhuge Tongzhi immediately rushed towards Natalie and Ida Hang, shouting in a shrill, almost distorted voice, "Watch out!"
The siren was an alarm she and Noah's Ark had set up, specifically to detect a fatigued driver's vehicle that might suddenly dart out onto the road. Once Noah's Ark detected any unusual activity around them using traffic cameras, it would immediately sound the alarm.
Natalie and Ida Ko, who had been grabbed by the girl, stopped in their tracks. Seeing their puzzled expressions, Zhuge Tongzhi suddenly remembered that he had spoken in Chinese in his haste.
But there wasn't time to switch back to Japanese and repeat it. She looked up at the car that had suddenly started hurtling in this direction in the wide-angle lens, grabbed the two of them, and rushed toward the nearest street shop.
The screams and the sound of wheels screeching behind him made Date Hang turn around and realize what was happening. His expression changed, and he quickly turned around, grabbed Natalie and Zhuge Tongzhi with his short legs, and with explosive power, he took long strides and rushed like the wind towards a place where he could avoid obstacles.
"Huh? Hang?" Natalie only had time to exclaim in surprise before Date Hang lifted her up by one arm around her knees. She leaned on her boyfriend's shoulder and her expression changed when she saw the blonde woman behind her.
However, the corner they happened to be passing was clean and tidy. To avoid the car that was seemingly possessed and heading straight for them, they had no choice but to turn around and run back to the shops on the street they had just passed.
Fortunately, Zhuge Tongzhi gave an early warning, and Ida Hang had already prepared himself for being hit by a car, so he didn't hesitate for a second after realizing what was happening and quickly started running along the original momentum.
Zhuge Tongzhi, who was scooped up, felt as if he had suddenly sat in an F1 race car after a brief period of weightlessness. In the strong wind rushing towards him, he watched the shop getting closer and closer to him, but when he looked back, he saw that the car was also accelerating and rapidly closing the distance between them.
No, that won't be fast enough.
As they listened to the increasingly heavy roar of the car, Zhuge Tongzhi and Yida Hang thought at the same time.
Of course, a person cannot outrun a car. Even compared to a car starting from zero, a person can probably only gain a few meters of distance advantage.
For the first time, he was being chased by death so clearly. Date's heart pounded against his chest like a blacksmith's hammer. His adrenaline surged so much that his ears were filled with a buzzing sound. Every step he took felt like walking on polar ice, making him want to tremble.
He took a deep breath, and just as the hot air from the car's vents was about to reach his calves, he suddenly twisted his body and lunged to the side with all his might.
The watermelon-colored skirt fluttered like flower petals, and for a fleeting moment, Zhuge Tongzhi, who was being pulled to the side, saw a figure through the driver's side window. Although her head was firmly protected by Ida Hang in the next instant, the figure inside was still clearly presented in her eyes.
The man was pale and had bloodshot eyes. He was frantically trying to steer the car around, but it didn't seem to obey his commands.
With a heavy thud, Zhuge Tongzhi, who had been thrown into the air, landed and immediately pushed himself up with a sharp pain in his knee.
The sharp screeching of tires against the ground pierced our eardrums as the car stubbornly swerved and continued hurtling towards us.
How can I dodge this? Should I lunge again to avoid the car? Zhuge Tongzhi's mind and eyes were simultaneously refreshing the navigation box. Countless "planning" messages appeared and were immediately suppressed. The blue and white navigation arrows flashed and disappeared as soon as they pointed to the side.
But if that's the case! In the blink of an eye, the car seemed to be right in front of them. In the chaotic vision, Ida Kou and Natalie, who were supporting themselves with trembling arms, appeared from the gap in the navigation frame. Zhuge Tongzhi's body took the first step in thinking and provided the answer.
The black-haired girl, whose braid was half-undone, rushed over and grabbed the two of them, leaning back as she tried to forcibly pull them out of the area the car was pointing at.
"ERROR!"
"ERROR!"
"ERROR!"
A bright red warning sign began to appear before their eyes. Zhuge Tongzhi gritted her teeth and fell backward, but was pulled under Ida Hang's body and his arms wrapped tightly around her and Natalie's heads.
Hey! Zhuge Tongzhi's pupils dilated for a moment as she was being tightly protected. Just as she was about to move, she heard a violent crash and screams from the crowd burst into her ears from outside Ida Hang's airtight embrace. If her vision hadn't remained completely still, she would have almost thought that this was the last sound she heard before she died.
But thankfully it wasn't. Zhuge Tongzhi heard Ida Hang's relieved, rapid breathing coming from above her head, and then his arms opened, the midday sun shining on her face, and also on the car that was heading straight for them.
But there were two cars at the scene, and a white Mazda rammed into and stopped the car that attacked them.
The black-haired girl slumped to the ground, staring at the white Mazda that was almost in front of her. O quickly marked the origin of the somewhat familiar car for her.
"Kenji Hagiwara's beloved car (battle-damaged version)"
Zhuge Tongzhi: ...
The driver's side door of Kenji Hagiwara's battle-damaged car was opened, and a man wearing a hooded sweatshirt crawled out, ran over, and pulled Date Wataru up. The familiar green logo appeared above his head.
It blinked and flickered, as if announcing its success in playing hide-and-seek.
After driving alongside the three, Morofushi Kagemitsu finished dropping off Date Wataru and bent down to extend his hand to Moroku Torishi. His blue-gray, upturned phoenix eyes shone brightly in the shadow of his hood, like light dancing on the sea.
This was the first time Zhuge Tongzhi had met Zhufu Jingguang without disguise, as she remembered it.
The undercover agent, who always liked to scare her, distrusted her, and was ruthless to others but equally ruthless to himself, gave her a reassuring smile and said gently, "You were scared, weren't you? It's alright now."
"Don't be afraid."
Zhuge Tongzhi felt that Zhu Fujingguang's voice had gained a bit more warmth, and it sounded... not fake.
Hmm... is it really Zun Du or fake Du Oo?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Actually, the time hasn't come yet, but Xiaolan wishes Natalie happiness, and Ida Wataru hopes he resolves the issue as soon as possible.
Therefore
It happened.
However, one of the reasons is that today happens to be the 7th.
You know (gesturing) that number 7
…
In short, the last bento box has been kicked!
Zhuge finally gained Hiro's trust.
Some fans have previously felt that Boss Jing is aloof, and indeed he doesn't seem very close to Zhuge.
But I don't think this is abrupt for an undercover agent.
Because he had neither the basis to trust Zhuge nor the right to trust her.
(Even if the ale saved him, from his perspective, the rescue was completely unfounded.)
So of course he couldn't just give his trust so easily and start doting on the child and embark on the "raising a child" route.
Perhaps in my opinion, only after testing everything, spending time together, and engaging in genuine communication that is mutually beneficial and sincere, can true friendship be established.
Only Zhuge Tongzhi could truly trust Zhuge Jingguang.
This is the true nature of the cold Scotland and the gentle Hiro.
…
Mwah!
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