Chapter 24 It Will Be Mine Sooner or Later
In the dim light, two figures, one tall and one short, walked slowly, their shadows stretched long and close together.
After Cheng You led Youyi into the Mi Garden residential area, he clearly felt that the gaze had left, and only then did he want to breathe a sigh of relief. Before he could fully exhale, he suddenly thought, if Vermouth and Bourbon noticed the child who suddenly appeared beside them, would they make a connection to Conan...?
Bourbon will definitely cover this up, but Vermouth cares so much about Shinichi Kudo turning into Conan. If she finds someone who might expose Cool Guy's identity and also knows about the organization's transactions, what will she choose?
Without a doubt.
Cheng suddenly felt a chill, his movements suddenly stiffened, and his mind went blank.
Yes, why didn't he think of that sooner? Vermouth has never been a soft-hearted person.
"Brother Cheng You, what's wrong?" Youyi noticed that Cheng You's hands suddenly became stiff and cold. He frowned and turned to ask, his warm little hands tightly holding the other's cold hands, trying to warm them up.
"..." The words stuck in his throat. He didn't know how to explain to Youyi. After a moment, Cheng You sighed, "I think I made a mistake." He smiled bitterly, "It's pretty serious, isn't it?"
"..." Yuichi looked up at the black-haired boy in front of him. He was only twenty years old. He was still studying at school, learning with his friends in the classroom, running on the playground, and traveling in Japan. He could still do many things. It was impossible for him to be having a thrilling showdown with the Japanese yakuza here.
Yuichi had actually harbored beautiful fantasies about this normal, peaceful student life, at least during the few years he had of freedom. Those few short years were enough to leave a lasting impression, even something to reminisce about.
Youyi always felt that Cheng You was very similar to him. He liked and admired Cheng You for being such a cautious and ruthless person, but that was not the whole picture of Cheng You. Cheng You's life may have thorns, but it should also have countless flowers and fireworks.
"Brother Cheng You, are you talking about the people who were following us? That's alright. For me, nothing is more important than your happiness." You's expression was calm, but you could tell he was very serious; his dark eyes reflected starlight. "Besides, Brother Cheng You is really amazing~"
"..." Cheng You suddenly regretted it. Why did he say that sentimental thing?! It made him seem so pretentious! Cheng You coughed lightly, his face serious, trying to salvage his image, "I don't think anything of it. Anyway, I can bear the consequences of any mistakes, and I can solve them myself."
“Brother Cheng is so amazing~” Youyi agreed, “Brother can rely on me too, hehe.”
Yes, whatever it is, regret is never the only way. At another crossroads, there is a path far more mysterious than the dark road of regret—that is called—moving forward. You are just afraid of thorns, so you also missed the roses behind the thorns.
No matter what, Cheng You will not always hesitate; he will plan ahead and wait for the next round of danger.
After returning home, Yagami had not yet returned from his job at the haunted house. Cheng You finished tidying up the house and carefully organized Youyi's clothes. Youyi sat quietly on the sofa, watching Cheng You busy beside her, but she didn't say anything.
"Alright," Cheng You finished tidying up and told Youyi to go to sleep quickly, not forgetting to remind her, "No staying up late tonight. Hmm... As for the chocolate lava cake, I'll make it for you at the shop tomorrow at noon. It's really not good to eat it at night, Youyi."
"Okay, I'll listen to Brother Cheng You," Youyi said with a smile, looking at Cheng You. He thought that Cheng You wouldn't take that casual remark to heart, but it turned out that he had remembered it all along. "Why is Brother Cheng You suddenly so concerned about me?" Youyi asked happily as he sat down at his desk.
Cheng You chuckled and flicked the other person's forehead: "Didn't I care about you before?"
"Hmm, Brother Cheng You has always been very good to me~" Youyi casually picked up a popular science book on pharmacy and flipped through a few pages, her attention still lingering on Cheng You.
"Hmm...read a book for a bit and then go to sleep." Cheng You patted Youyi's head and went back to his room. He didn't know why, but he just felt that having someone who was always with him seemed nice, even if it was a child, even if they had many secrets between them.
At least, the phrase "Brother Cheng You" inexplicably evoked Cheng You's memories, even though those memories were already hazy.
Back in his room, Cheng Youcai relaxed. After a quick wash, he lay on the bed and looked at today's news.
Cheng You stroked his chin, thinking it was for the best; being meticulous was always a good thing. The Gray Fox Assassin Dark Web administrator's backend still had quite a few messages. Cheng You glanced at them briefly; they weren't important information, mostly attempts to win over the administrator, Nifedier.
Cheng You naturally wanted to keep them hooked; who knew that one day someone might offer him something more appealing...
Skipping over this information, Cheng looked at the latest bounty missions, which weren't related to his own life. He then browsed the Assassin's Dark Web forum for a while. Some posts mentioned that the Japanese yakuza were undergoing a generational change, with the former yakuza bosses now in decline. If those useless members were to inherit the positions, the yakuza might disappear without a trace in a few days.
This is referring to the Sakura Blade Pavilion organization... Cheng You stroked his chin. Has the situation gotten this bad? It seems he also needs to learn about the internal chaos of the Sakura Blade Pavilion in advance to prepare for cleaning up its ranks later.
Anyway, Takeda Ryosuke would come to him for cooperation sooner or later; it was just a matter of time and the terms. The Sakura Blade Pavilion organization would be his sooner or later too. Thinking this, he subconsciously opened his chat page with Takeda Ryosuke. Cheng You was surprised to notice that the line of text on the chat box changed from "The other party is typing..." to "The other party is typing..." and then returned to the original state. After several cycles, no message was sent.
Cheng You smiled and fell asleep contentedly.
The next morning, Cheng You got up early to make breakfast, and while he was at it, he also made one for Yagami Shangcan. Yagami Shangcan, noticing his unusual behavior that day, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why did you suddenly make mine today too?"
"I'm in a good mood~" Cheng You said with a smile. He woke up early this morning to see a message from Takeda Ryosuke. The other party said that he would go to the dessert shop tonight to talk to him. Although he did not explicitly say that he wanted to cooperate with him, Cheng You had plenty of strength and means.
"It's delicious," Yu said with a smile.
"Get ready quickly, Yi, we're going to the shop right away." Cheng You thought that he couldn't avoid the calamity at the winery anyway, so he might as well face it head-on.
"Ready in a minute!" After finishing her meal, Youyi went to get her book in a cheerful mood.
Yagami Kamisama packed his schoolbag and prepared to leave, looking speechless. Seeing his expression, Cheng You couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and ask, "Are you... going to school?" Good heavens, Yagami Kamisama is actually going to school!
"Hmm..." Yagami Kamisama wasn't happy at all, still cursing his cousin in his heart. [If it weren't for that nominal cousin threatening me, I wouldn't have gone to school.]
"Which school do you go to?" Cheng asked subconsciously, wondering who Ye Shenshang's cousin was that he could actually keep this big shot in check.
Teitan High School.
"Oh..." Cheng nodded. He was in the same school as Ran Mouri and the others. He wondered what kind of sparks would fly between them.
Not long after, Yagami took a taxi to his high school, while Cheng You took Youyi to a dessert shop. (Cheng You thought: "It's like my eldest son is going to high school, and I'm taking my younger son to the shop... Damn it! Please stop fantasizing." (Crossing his hands in mock exasperation.))
Upon arriving here, Cheng You felt that strange gaze returning to him. He felt no turmoil, calmly opened the shop door, calmly tidied the ingredients, calmly lay down on the chair, and told Youyi to stay on the first floor and read a book, and not to run around.
Cheng was mainly worried that someone might suddenly break into the second floor and hurt Youyi. He knew that Youyi had the ability to defend himself, but after all, he was just a child and couldn't compare to an adult in terms of strength. He felt more at ease keeping him in front of him.
The shop door was pushed open, the wind chimes rang again, and a cool breeze kept flowing into the room. Cheng You looked up at the person who came in, but no one was there...? His gaze moved down, and... it was Conan.
A barely perceptible stiffness flashed across Cheng You's face, but he quickly maintained his smile and looked at Conan: "Detective Conan, what do you need?"
Conan walked over with a serious expression and glanced at Yuichi, who was sitting in the corner reading a book.
"?" Cheng was puzzled, thinking that the other person's expression was definitely not that of someone who came to buy desserts, but rather like... investigating a case!
Could it be that someone hid a body in his shop without his knowledge?! Was he being suspected?! This was Cheng You's first thought.
“You…” Conan maintained a serious expression as he leaned closer, gesturing for the other person to bend down.
Cheng approached Conan and heard him ask, "Did you come to the Mouri Detective Agency yesterday?"
"?" Cheng You froze on the spot upon hearing this. What did that mean? Had he been there? What did Conan mean by this? Was he asking for his alibi?
Seeing the genuine, undisguised confusion on Cheng You's face, Conan's eyes grew even more serious.
"What's wrong?" Cheng You pursed her lips. What happened?! What on earth happened?!
"What secret do you hold?" Conan couldn't help but lean closer to Cheng You and ask, "Around nine o'clock last night, Cheng You, that is, you, came to Uncle Mori's detective agency, saying that Youyi had gone missing..."
Actually, from the moment Vermouth, disguised as Cheng You, uttered her first words, Conan sensed something was amiss. Had Cheng ever called Youyi "brother"? Unless that person didn't know Youyi's name. What completely convinced Conan was that photograph—the strange photograph.
Conan briefly described what happened last night, his sharp eyes behind his glasses constantly observing Cheng You's changing expression.
Upon hearing this, Cheng You abandoned all pretense of acting, his face betraying his shock and panic. Yesterday… someone disguised himself as him and went to Uncle Mori's office to investigate… Yuichi was missing…
After a moment's thought, Cheng had already made up his mind.
Conan looked at him. "You know who it is?"
"You guessed it in your heart, didn't you?" Cheng You looked at Conan with a mischievous smile.
"Vermouth." Conan didn't want to play riddles with the person in front of him anymore, so he simply stated his answer directly.
"It really was her." Cheng You shrugged helplessly. So when will she make her move? Tonight? Today's been really busy!
"What is your relationship with her, or rather, with their organization?" Conan pressed.
"Hmm...we can only talk to you after we cooperate, Detective." Cheng You said with a smile.
"..." Ignoring that question, Conan simply changed the subject and continued, "So, are you sure you'll survive tonight?"
"Sure, you underestimate me too much, Kudo."
When Conan heard a stranger call this body by that name again, he felt neither surprised nor afraid; instead, he felt a sense of peace and pride.
"Good luck, Cheng You." Conan waved and left.
Watching the other person's figure disappear into the detective agency's stairwell, Cheng You's smile vanished. He looked at another page that popped up on the system: [Rewind mission loaded to 100%. Host, do you wish to begin the mission?]
[Mission objective: Morofushi Kagemitsu (Scotland)]
A note from the author:
I remember reading this sentence somewhere.
She looks like an angel, and she is indeed an angel; that is Hagiwara.
Matsuda is the one who looks like he can kill you, but is actually an angel.
The one that looks like an angel but can actually kill you is the wrathful one.
The one who looks like he can kill you, and who actually can, is Furuya.
Therefore, Morofushi's character is not a simple multifaceted one; he can be gentle or ruthless. He is a righteous public security officer in Japan, as well as a vicious assassin whose name is given to him by the organization as Scotch whisky.
(That's why Cheng felt the task was difficult, haha)
(I'll write about the class monitor later; I feel the class monitor has quite a big influence on Cheng You. The class monitor is the most righteous!)
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