Number One Dad
Fukuzawa Yukichi had no idea about the child's wild thoughts. He tried to soften his expression and said seriously, "Perhaps I know where your father is."
"Really?" the child exclaimed in surprise.
“I…I can’t be sure.” Fukuzawa Yukichi hesitated, after all, he really couldn’t imagine Ranpo having a child.
But Xiao Luo didn't care anymore. Anyway, she didn't know what her father looked like. Desperate, she silently gripped the key around her neck with her free left hand.
If, if there really is a problem, she'll run away!
"I want to go see it!" the child said firmly.
Fukuzawa Yukichi nodded earnestly and took the child's hand again, leading him forward. However, this time, the hand seemed to be softer than before.
It seems... it's become a little softer," Fukuzawa Yukichi thought with a serious expression, his eyes lowered.
The little girl had soft, tiny hands that he could barely hold, but Xiao Luo's little hands gripped his fingers tightly.
It was indeed very forceful; even Fukuzawa Yukichi was pulled to a stop.
He stared in surprise at the spot where the child was gazing longingly. Could it be said that he hadn't expected this?
A fragrant dessert shop stands out in the middle, its window displaying exquisite pastries.
The child stared intently at that spot without blinking.
Fukuzawa Yukichi understood: "Want some sweets?"
Xiao Luo raised her head and was puzzled to find that the uncle seemed to be preparing to buy her something to eat!
"So kind of you?" The little girl, who had been just staring longingly, suddenly brightened up.
A pair of bright, emerald-green eyes seemed to glow, gazing intently at Fukuzawa Yukichi.
"No, it's the one next to it, I want to eat it!"
Fukuzawa Yukichi turned his gaze to the side, next to an ice cream shop next to the fragrant confectionery shop.
The sign next to the shop features a large, colorful ice cream cone that looks incredibly delicious.
No wonder kids are so captivated by it.
only……
Fukuzawa Yukichi refused sternly, and the little girl pouted, looking at him pitifully: "I won't eat for free, put it on Daddy's tab."
Fukuzawa Yukichi sighed and explained earnestly, "It's not good to eat ice cream in the morning; it can easily upset a child's stomach."
kid:……
Looking at the little girl with her head drooping unhappily, Fukuzawa Yukichi hesitated for a moment, then reached out and ruffled her hair, saying dryly, "There's a coffee shop downstairs from the detective agency; their cakes are delicious."
Cake! Koro's eyes lit up. She happily let the other person mess up her neatly styled hair, and even affectionately rubbed against the other person.
"Thank you, uncle! Put the money in my dad's account," the child said readily.
Fukuzawa Yukichi felt something soft brush against his thigh, and the turmoil in his heart was almost showing on his expressionless face.
He couldn't help but chuckle as he listened to the little girl's clear, cheerful voice; she really didn't treat her father, whom she had never met, as a stranger.
"Cake, cake, sweet little cake!"
The coffee shop had just opened its doors, and the maid who had just opened the doors with the manager hadn't even entered when she was stopped by the first customer of the day.
Even with a broken arm in bandages, Dazai Osamu, who didn't forget to invite the cafe maid downstairs to commit suicide together, knelt on one knee, gazing at the other with deep affection, just about to say something...
He heard familiar footsteps and knew without looking that the president was returning from patrol.
Dazai Osamu hadn't intended to pay attention. However, this time a little tail followed, its bouncy footsteps circling around the familiar sound.
With a childlike voice, she called out to the cake with deep affection.
Hmm? The company president brought back a child. The maid took the opportunity to pull her wrist away and calmly went inside to get busy.
Meanwhile, Dazai Osamu, who was routinely rejected by the maids, turned his head away nonchalantly.
A warm greeting: "Hi! It's been a long time, President!"
Dazai Osamu's enthusiastic gaze froze when it met the little girl next to the president. His pupils contracted sharply, and he looked up at the president in surprise.
Although he had guessed that the child the president brought back to the detective agency would be somewhat special, he didn't expect it to be this special.
Fukuzawa Yukichi nodded, patted the head of the child next to him, and introduced him after attracting the child's attention, "This is Dazai Osamu, one of the members of the Armed Detective Agency."
"Is he a detective too?" Xiao Luo's gaze was drawn to him as she looked curiously at Dazai Osamu kneeling on one knee. "What is big brother doing?"
She stared at the man's bandaged right hand, hesitating and pondering. Was he...begging?
Dazai Osamu, a guy who could disregard worldly opinions and treat suicide like a daily occurrence, could have easily admitted without hesitation that he was inviting people into the water.
But under the watchful gaze of the club president beside him, he gave in.
"I twisted my ankle." Dazai Osamu weakly clutched his ankle, his brows furrowed, and asked in a frail voice, "Little sister, could you help me?"
"Me?" Xiao Luo opened her mouth wide in surprise, pointing incredulously at herself.
Dazai Osamu didn't understand what the other person was surprised about. He thought for a moment and then affirmed again, "Yes."
"Uncle! Uncle Fukuzawa! He's a human trafficker!" After receiving confirmation, Xiaolu quickly hid behind Fukuzawa Yukichi and shouted, "Call the police and have him arrested!"
Seeing that Fukuzawa Yukichi was not moving, Koro anxiously tugged at his clothes and whispered in a voice that everyone present could hear, "Uncle, really! He's definitely not your club member."
Look, there are so many people here, and he insists on having a little kid like me help him. Xiao Luo is so small, how could she possibly lift him? He's definitely waiting for Xiao Luo to get there so he can snatch her away.”
The child spoke with great conviction and clarity, spouting twisted logic that left Dazai Osamu speechless, prompting him to engage in a heated debate with her.
"I just thought Xiao Luo looked so familiar, like someone I knew, so I... I didn't expect Xiao Luo to think of me like that." Dazai Osamu covered his face and sobbed.
Xiao Luo was horrified: "How do you know my name? Have you investigated me? How can you be so persistent as a human trafficker, even when you're disabled you still steal children?!" As she spoke, she couldn't help but look at Fukuzawa Yukichi with a terrified gaze.
"...Isn't that the name you just mentioned?" Dazai Osamu, who was pretending to be weak, was speechless and couldn't help but speak.
The child argued vehemently, "You really are a human trafficker, otherwise why would you be eavesdropping on Xiao Luo's conversation?" After saying that, he turned to Fukuzawa Yukichi again.
Human traffickers, please help!
Fukuzawa Yukichi: ...
Dazai Osamu:......
Indeed, prejudice in people's hearts is a mountain. Once she decides you are a human trafficker, no matter what you say, you are destined to be a human trafficker today.
He stood up nonchalantly, and Xiao Luo saw him and was about to say something when Dazai Osamu elegantly interrupted his spellcasting.
The little girl's pink lips were suddenly pinched shut. She watched as the strange, bandaged young man, who was about twice the height of a small doll, bent down with a smile.
"Alright, little Luo, stop joking with me." Dazai Osamu pretended to be very magnanimous and forgave the child, smiling as he vigorously rubbed the child's soft little face.
"Ahem!" Seeing that the child's face was almost red from being rubbed by Dazai Osamu, Fukuzawa Yukichi had to step in to stop him. The serious silver wolf swordsman raised his fist, put it to his mouth, and coughed lightly, "Dazai, stop fooling around."
"Little girl, this is indeed my club member, Dazai Osamu."
But when Xiao Luo looked longingly at Fukuzawa Yukichi and then at Dazai Osamu, her eyes suddenly reddened. The little girl sniffed hard and looked at Dazai Osamu with a sad expression.
Fukuzawa Yukichi: ! !
Dazai Osamu: What is it now?
This time, without them asking, the child spoke up on her own, "The way Dazai-nii spoke just now reminded me of Xiaoluo. Xiaoluo misses her brother."
As she spoke, her eyes welled up with tears, her emerald green eyes shimmering with a gentle light. Combined with Dazai Osamu's rubbed, red face, she looked incredibly pitiful.
"My brother definitely looks like my father, waaaaah, Dazai-nii, are you my father?"
Dazai Osamu and Fukuzawa Yukichi were both momentarily stunned.
Dazai Osamu instantly understood the little girl's logic, and his lips twitched. It was because he had just spoken like her brother, and the little girl thought that her brother must look like her father, so she thought that she was her father.
Fukuzawa Yukichi was somewhat flustered. Dazai Osamu had already tested her, and Koro wasn't a product of supernatural abilities. If she wasn't, then there must be a reason why she resembled Ranpo so much. He planned to bring her back to show Ranpo.
Why are you crying now? And you still consider Dazai Osamu your father?
"No, definitely not!" Dazai Osamu suddenly took two steps back, crossed his arms, and shook his shoulders violently. His expression was so terrified that goosebumps were rising on his skin. He exaggeratedly exclaimed, "I don't want to have a child with Ranpo-san!!"
Given what Dazai Osamu has said, a normal person would probably ask who Ranpo-san is, but Xiaoluo doesn't.
The child, with reddened eyes, stared intently at Dazai Osamu, "Why not? Dazai-nii is so much like my brother, with the same dark eyes, the same dark hair, and the same love for saying that Xiaolu is joking."
"Waaaaah, Dazai-nii-san, don't you want Xiaoluo and your brother anymore?"
No, he doesn't have black eyes!
Dazai Osamu remained expressionless, but the child didn't care and insisted on recognizing Dazai Osamu as his father.
"Wait!" Fukuzawa Yukichi was getting a chill from the child's crying. Suddenly realizing something was wrong, he interrupted Xiaoluo's spellcasting. "Didn't Xiaoluo say your dad has green eyes?" Fukuzawa Yukichi asked, trying to soften his voice.
“Oh right,” the little girl’s crying stopped abruptly. She was still a little unwilling and looked at Dazai Osamu seriously. “Then I’ll change my dad. I don’t want a green-eyed dad anymore. I want a dad with eyes like my brother.”
Is this thing replaceable?
Dazai Osamu's lips twitched; it seemed the problem still lay with the child's older brother.
He asked, as if curious, "Xiao Luo has an older brother? Where is he? I really want to meet him. What kind of child looks like me?"
"Yes, Xiao Luo's half-brother!" the child nodded seriously, speaking loudly and proudly.
Wait, what did you say? Dazai Osamu's expression went blank for a moment.
I am like your half-brother, so you asked me if I am your father.
Is that correct?
"Wait a minute," Dazai Osamu interrupted, his hand trembling, just as the little girl was about to begin her spiel about her brother. He placed his hand firmly on the little girl's shoulder and asked with difficulty, "Little girl, do you know what it means to have a half-brother?"
The little girl froze, scratched her head sheepishly, and said innocently with her face that resembled Edogawa Ranpo, "Oh right, Xiao Luo and her brother don't have the same father. So, Dazai-nii-san can be her brother's father, and Xiao Luo can go find her green-eyed father."
Dazai Osamu: ...Why are you still not giving up on finding a father for your brother?
To prevent the child from one day thinking that her brother's father was her father, Dazai Osamu resolutely decided to interrupt the child's thoughts.
He's only twenty-two this year; even if Xiao Luo's brother is younger, he can't possibly be younger than her.
She couldn't possibly have given birth to her brother, no matter how hard she tried.
Dazai Osamu asked earnestly, "How old is your brother?"
Xiao Luo thought about it carefully for a moment, then counted on her fingers, one by one, until she could stand up ten fingers.
Dazai Osamu looked at the two small hands raised and pondered, "Ten years old?"
The child shouted, "Twenty!"
Osamu Dazai, who is twenty-two years old this year: ...
Is that correct?
Not noticing anything amiss, Xiao Luo looked at Dazai Osamu with sparkling eyes, waving her hand excitedly: "Brother Xiao Luo is twenty years old."
Wow! So, you're finding a 22-year-old dad for your 20-year-old brother!
Dazai Osamu suddenly realized, and said to Xiao Luo with a serious expression, "Let's make this clear first, I'll only be your brother's father, you can't call me dad."
"Mmm!" The little girl nodded happily. That's great! Her brother has a dad now.
"Pfft! Hahaha!"
Dazai Osamu, with his head turned sharply and his back to the child, clutched his stomach and shrugged violently.
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