Christmas Extra, Red

“Boom boom boom—”

The man in the beige knitted sweater opened his eyes, then pushed up his glasses and opened the door.

"Hey, Brother Xiu."

The man with gray-green eyes stood at the door, greeted with a smile, and then suddenly punched me without showing any mercy.

But obviously, the opponent reacted quickly enough. He dodged the punch and kicked from the right side the moment it came.

Noel's mouth curled up, and the fist that had just attacked suddenly opened and changed direction. Then he grabbed the opponent's right leg tightly to fix the man in place, and his other palm stabbed directly into the opponent's eyes.

The jab, also known as the buttonhole, is a type of Jeet Kune Do.

“Almost.”

The man opened his olive green eyes, quickly turned his head to avoid the attack, and then clenched his fists with both hands to attack Noel's abdomen, but he finally released the force and just lightly landed on the opponent's abdomen.

"I can see that you haven't been training much recently." Akai Shuichi commented objectively.

"I don't make a living from this," Noel and the other party let go of his hands at the same time, then rubbed his palms and said, "I'm a painter. If I hurt my hands, Professor Harker will be so angry that he will kill me."

Shuichi Akai looked at his brother whom he hadn't seen for a long time, feeling deeply moved. Before he could say anything, he squeezed in very naturally, took off his windbreaker and hung it up, then half-lay on the sofa, patted the seat next to him, motioning for people to come and sit down quickly, as if he was at home.

"Why did you suddenly come to Japan?" Shuichi Akai felt a little funny, but he sat over, poured him a glass of water, and asked.

"Let's see how low your work efficiency is, Brother Xiu~" Noel took the water and drank it in one gulp without hesitation. However, as soon as he opened his mouth, his tone was full of sarcasm, which was completely different from how he acted in front of his mother and sister just now.

There was no way. After all, Noel disliked his elder brother very much. Whether it was that he never came home or that he always looked so calm, he couldn't stand it.

"With your personality, you wouldn't come here suddenly." Akai Shuichi had long been accustomed to the other party's attitude and understood his personality. He knew that he would not suddenly come to Japan to find him just because of this.

"Of course..." Noel was about to say the reason, but suddenly realized something and widened his eyes, asking incredulously: "Don't tell me that you don't even know that Mom and Majun came to Japan."

"She came to Japan?" Akai Shuichi paused and asked subconsciously, then he felt something was wrong. His brother, who had been relatively calm just now, had widened his grey-green eyes and was looking at him fiercely, as if he would pounce on him at any time.

This is not good...

"Would you like something to eat? I made beef curry." Akai Shuichi wanted to ease the atmosphere, but when he looked up, he found that the expression of the person opposite him gradually changed from fierceness to shock, and then, as if he had made up his mind, he slowly spoke:

"You finally showed your true colors. Are you trying to use your poor cooking skills to chemically murder me? Do you think I will eat it?"

"Actually, I think it's not bad." Shuichi Akai said as he got up and went to the kitchen, scooped out a serving of curry beef and placed it in front of Noel.

"Oh, stop pretending! No one in my family can cook. Don't think I'll believe you. You couldn't even make a sandwich before. I can't either. We always eat out or order takeout for our family gatherings..." Noel said in a domineering tone, but his tone gradually weakened in the last few sentences. He smelled the spices from the curry beef on the table, which was as alluring as a fairy.

Noel swallowed his saliva, remembering that he had not finished his meal yet. His gray-green eyes stared at the beef, and after hesitating for a moment, he picked up a piece of beef with chopsticks and put it into his mouth with trembling hands.

The tender beef bursts with juice in your mouth, and then blends with the unique flavor of curry and melts gently on the tip of your tongue...

“Is it delicious?”

Noel did not answer. He swallowed the beef in one gulp, then reverently closed his chopsticks and said sincerely:

"Feel sorry,"

A meal changed his personality? Akai Shuichi thought in surprise, and then he heard Noel say self-reproachfully:

"Did I find the wrong person? Are you the prototype of my brother's disguise? I never thought he used someone else's identity. I was not careful during my investigation..."

Shuichi Akai finally couldn't help it, and directly reached out and hit Noel's head hard, "Have you had enough fun?"

"If you don't want to eat, don't eat."

Noel's body froze, and he picked up his chopsticks and ate the entire portion of beef in a flash, like a storm passing through. Then he wiped his mouth as if nothing had happened and asked:

"So you didn't know that Mom and Masumi had come to Japan, and you didn't tell them that you were living next door in disguise."

"You wouldn't fail to recognize Majun if you met her on the street, would you?" Noel said as he took out his cell phone and opened his hidden album. It was full of photos of girls from all angles. After taking a look, Akai Shuichi suddenly felt complicated. Even if she was his sister, there were too many photos.

and......

"I've seen her." Shuichi Akai recognized the girl as the one who often stayed with Conan and the others. In fact, he did recognize her. He was more shocked by the fact that his mother had also come to Japan.

"So you recognized me and didn't even say hello?!" Noel obviously understood the other party's hidden message and immediately got angry. He asked in a shocked tone: "Don't you even check the group chat at home?"

As he spoke, he switched the group chat page to Shuichi Akai, which was filled with silly videos he had shared.

"I haven't seen it." Shuichi Akai answered honestly but with a guilty conscience.

"Forget it," Noel looked at the man with disdain, then sighed and said, "I'll tell my second brother to kick you out. There's no place for you in this family anymore."

"Would you like some more curry?"

"want."

"So why did you come to see me at night?"

"Didn't I tell you? Look how inefficient you are at work." Noel repeated what he said at the beginning, then looked at the other person and asked casually.

"Has the man been found?"

That man, in the Akai family, is only Akai Tsutomu, the father of this family and the man who brought Noel back.

Shuichi Akai shook his head. He had tried his best to look for her while he was undercover, but all he got was news of her death.

"They've all targeted Mom, so I'm curious about what you've been doing for all these years?" Noel thought about going home and seeing his mother who had shrunk. At that moment, he wanted to kill someone.

"Have you set your sights on Mom?" Akai Shuichi repeated, his eyes slightly widening.

"It seems you really don't know," Noel was no longer surprised. Neither the mother nor the son were the type to inform each other when something happened. He was tired but also used to it.

After finding the photo of Akai Mary in the phone, Noel handed it to the other party. Seeing the other party's surprised expression, he said, "Anyway, tomorrow is Christmas. Come over tonight and you two can talk. I am not a phone."

Then, he threatened just in case:

"If you don't come, I will expose your identity and take care of the organization."

"You contacted them?!" Akai Shuichi knew that his younger brother would not say that for no reason, and he frowned and said affirmatively.

"Yes, I forgot to mention that this is your Christmas present." Noel threw a CD over. "It's just the information I found about them. However, their internal core data is sealed and cannot be hacked. There is not much valuable information."

"It's already very good." Shuichi Akai took the disc, not surprised. He knew that his brother could not be completely indifferent to the organization's affairs, and he also knew that his brother was very talented in computers. If he just investigated the organization through the Internet, he believed that with Noel's technology, he would not be caught by the organization. He just felt a little sad. Since the organization disappeared, he insisted on joining the FBI and almost had a quarrel with his mother. On the contrary, his brother was very supportive at the time, although he still hated him because of his refusal to take him with him.

Akai Shuichi nodded and agreed to go there tomorrow night, which also eased the tension between the brothers a little.

A cheerful piece of music suddenly sounded. Noel saw the contact, paused, and finally answered the phone.

"My dear, I wish you a merry Christmas in advance," a soft and slightly charming female voice came from the phone. The tone was slightly intimate, which made people feel happy when they heard it.

"Bang——" The water cup broke to the ground. Akai Shuichi, who had been appearing calm, suddenly contracted his eyes and stared at the phone in Noel's hand.

"What's wrong?"

"A cute cat," Noel said with a hint of laughter, "Are these creatures always so naughty?"

"I can't help it, cats are always so curious, but Noel, do you have a cat?"

"It's from a friend's house. Its name is Xiaohong. It's a pure black cat with green eyes."

Regardless of how much criticism there is about a pure black cat being called Xiaohong, it is clear that the person on the other end of the phone did not think there was anything wrong with it. He even said with high emotional intelligence: "Are you at a friend's house? I won't bother you any more."

"I'm so sorry we couldn't chat longer. Chris even sent me Christmas wishes. How about I treat you to some Japanese food next time to express my apology?"

"That sounds good, I'm looking forward to it, Noel." The voice agreed to the invitation with a slight smile.

"My pleasure, Chris."

After hanging up the phone, Noel looked at his older brother who couldn't hold back his expression and finally couldn't help laughing. He then explained seriously:

"It's a senior I worked with before, Chrissie Wynyard. Maybe you know her?"

"She is Bermode." Akai Shuichi didn't want to beat around the bush with Noel and said directly, "She is from that organization."

"Ah, really?"

"You know." Akai Shuichi looked into the other's gray-green eyes and said affirmatively, "You're not just on the Internet, you've already contacted them in real life!" The man's tone became serious, even unconsciously a little angry, but educating children with this attitude will often only have a counterproductive effect.

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

Shuichi Akai opened his sharp olive green eyes and stared straight at his brother.

Noel didn't hold on for long in this situation, and soon collapsed on the sofa, saying slowly: "Professor Hake is their man."

He looked up at his brother's expression, which was waiting for him to explain further. His mouth twitched, and he cursed him in his heart for never reading group messages. But he also explained the reason: "He is a professor at our university. He likes my paintings very much. Of course, his works are very good, but you also know that you can't make it in the art world without connections. Apparently, he got funding from that organization, and now he is happy to take me with him."

"He came to you..." Akai Hide realized it for a moment, then denied it, "No, you took the initiative to contact him."

"I just found out about his situation and let him see the painting accidentally." Noel waved his hands, looking innocent.

"What's going on between you and Vermouth?" Shuichi Akai was naturally still unable to let go of the intimate phone call that Vermouth had just made. In his mind, he couldn't help but think that his younger brother might be with the other party... This was absolutely not possible. His brother would not allow it, but his barely-there emotional intelligence prevented him from saying it directly.

"I told you, there is work contact, you will know at Christmas dinner tomorrow."

"Explain it to me clearly. Are you trying to get information from Bermode? She has been in the organization for thirty or forty years, Noel."

Obviously, if there was something going on between his brother and Vermouth, Shuichi Akai would not be able to contain himself. How could Noel, who was less than 20 years old, hide it from Vermouth, the Thousand-Faced Witch of that organization? He would only be retorted.

"Ah, really?" Noel didn't seem surprised, and even said with interest, "Then she must have a very high position in the organization."

"Don't worry, we are not in that kind of relationship," Noel probably saw through Akai Shuichi's speculation and was a little speechless, "She is not in my range of choice for a partner. I can only accept a partner who resonates with me in soul!"

That’s why I’ve been single till now…

"You'd better cut off contact with them immediately." Akai Shuichi said in a rare firm tone.

"Unfortunately, it's too late. They have already expressed their willingness to support me," Noel waved his hand and said, "Of course, they are in the name of the group, Karasuma Group."

"Are you sure they didn't find out your identity?"

"Trust my skills," Noel said with a somewhat boastful tone, "If they can find out, I lose!"

Then he realized that he had gone too far and added, "They approached me just because of the paintings. After all, art is seen by many people as a way to launder money."

"So you agree? Let them use your paintings to launder money?" Akai Shuichi already understood the other party's thoughts. Although his voice had returned to calm, it was obviously disapproving.

"I agree," Noel waved his hand nonchalantly, saying, "I don't have such noble feelings for my paintings. I'm happy to use them as bait. Reputation doesn't matter. I don't plan to be a painter in the future."

"So what are you going to do?" Shuichi Akai suddenly remembered that he had never discussed these topics with his younger brother, and for a moment he also took on some of his responsibilities as the eldest brother and asked seriously.

"MI6." Noel's answer made Akai Shuichi silent. He couldn't even speak for a moment, and then he heard the person on the other side continue:

"By the way, brother, as an FBI agent, please don't come to the UK casually in the future. Be aware of your position."