Chapter 72

Time passed by minute by minute, compressed into a thin thread by the stagnant silence, tightly tying the heart. With every beat, the anxious and confused emotions spread deeper through the blood.

It was not until the distorted sound of the metal cover of a lighter being pried open came from the phone that Zhu Fu Jingguang realized that he had been holding his breath and his heart rate was vibrating on his eardrum at an extremely fast rate.

"……he?"

Matsuda Jinpei must have been chewing on his cigarette holder. His vague voice sounded nonchalant. "It's probably somewhere far away."

Obviously, this answer, which was better left unsaid, did not satisfy Fūya Rei. The blond young man frowned and thought quickly: "Did you have a fight?"

"Ha, I'd love to have a big fight."

Matsuda Jinpei didn't seem to want to continue discussing this topic, and asked back: "What about you? There has been no news for three years. Is the mission difficult?"

Morofushi Kagemitsu interrupted him hastily, which was unusual for him: "Matsuda."

"Um, it's a secret, right? Sorry, I didn't notice it for a moment, no need to tell me."

"You know that's not what I want to say - Matsuda, what are you avoiding?"

Suddenly, everything was very quiet, so quiet that one could hear the sound of incense burning slowly.

Only the call duration on the screen kept ticking.

Matsuda Jinpei's deep voice came, apologizing to them again, "Sorry."

"I can't say."

In the few short years, the unyielding police academy thorn has been tempered into a calm and steady adult. In the eyes of others, he is a respectable senior, an excellent subordinate, and a reliable colleague. But only he himself knows how cruelly he felt helpless again after he said the man's name calmly.

"..." Fūya Rei said harshly, "Can't we do it too?"

I am not a police officer or an undercover agent. I am just a caring friend who wants to know a few words from others. If that doesn't work...

What exactly happened?

"No." Matsuda Jinpei's answer was much more straightforward. "Don't ask others, and don't be misled by others."

"……I see."

Fūya Rei looked at Morobushi Kagemitsu who was sitting opposite him without saying a word and responded reluctantly.

One minute before the call ended, Furuya Rei took a deep breath and reminded Matsuda in an unusually serious tone: "Regarding the person you talked to this afternoon, Matsuda, I don't know how you two know each other, but it's best not to get close to him."

"His identity is very dangerous."

…

In the all-black Mazda parked in the underground parking lot, the busy tone of the phone was heard, but Jinpei Matsuda still kept holding the phone with one hand.

Although he understood every word, he found it difficult to comprehend Furuya Rei's final warning.

It may be difficult to explain resurrection from the dead, but is there a slight possibility that Yuki escaped from the explosion? She knew in advance that the explosion would happen and left, or someone rescued her.

As for why he didn't contact them after escaping, the answer is easy to know - he was involved in some trouble and there were people around him who wanted to harm him.

Jinpei Matsuda once had such thoughts, almost to the point of obsession, until he saw a familiar figure in the coffee shop he often visited. Only then did he realize that there was a one in ten million chance that his delusion would come true.

Really, do you think others won’t recognize you when you wrap yourself up like that?

...Well, Jinpei Matsuda admitted that it was actually a bit difficult to recognize it at first glance.

But there was one fatal flaw in this costume.

——His cat will never approach strangers on its own initiative, nor will it allow itself to be petted on the head by people it meets for the first time.

Even the waiter at the cafe who I have known for almost a year was ruthlessly rejected by the cat when he wanted to hold flowers.

Jinpei Matsuda blocked the man at the door completely out of instinct, and was about to throw away all the unsightly things like opening a lost and found gift, revealing the gift in its original appearance.

But when he met those panicked eyes, his rationality suddenly came back to him.

——Not yet, at least not now.

Three years of separation and an unfathomable truth still stand between them.

He let the man go, watched him leave with a look of relief, and secretly noted down his return route.

He had originally planned to pretend it was an investigation visit if he still couldn't meet her... Unexpectedly, he would meet her at the bank today, which made him feel a little relieved.

His memory returned to today's meeting, and the solemn words of Fūya Rei once again echoed in his ears. Matsuda Jinpei paused for a moment as he shook off the ashes of his cigarette.

What identity is very dangerous, what should not be approached, and asked him how Yuki is - these are questions that he should ask, right?

If he hadn't taken into consideration that these two people were still carrying out an undercover mission that was fraught with danger, he would have wanted to call them out and have things clear in person.

The current situation is that Furuya and Morobuchi are hiding in an illegal organization. According to them, Yuki is a dangerous figure in this organization, and the two sides do not recognize each other.

How could Yuki not recognize the guy from Furuya, who had a striking blond hair and was not wearing any disguise? However, the latter did disguise himself and could not reveal his identity for some reason.

As for him... he didn't know what the other party's plan was, so he couldn't interfere at will, and he still couldn't stand by his side.

Matsuda Jinpei's handsome face was solemn, and he pressed the unburned cigarette into the ashtray.

--

Rei Furuya never expected that his reunion with the "very dangerous identity" of Shengjiu would be like this.

At this moment, he was disguised as a waiter, gathering intelligence in a bar frequented by members of the organization. Wearing a bartender's uniform, Rei Furuya walked through the crowd, maintaining an impeccable business smile amid the colorful neon lights and noisy music and drums.

And now, seeing the vacant space in the corner being filled by a familiar figure, a crack appeared in his perfect business smile.

...Calm down, Furiya Rei said to himself, the holy wine didn't notice you.

That's right, from beginning to end, the white-haired young man never once looked in his direction.

Since the mission failed, Furiya Rei has been waiting for Gin's questioning, but to his surprise, a whole week has passed and he has not received any instructions for him to accept punishment.

On the surface, he was busy with the work of the intelligence team. He had communicated with Morobushi Kagemitsu privately and learned that the latter was only responsible for delivering some data between the research institute and the base recently. During this period, the person that Scottish Whisky was actually responsible for protecting never showed up.

In other words, Holy Wine has never left the base since entering it, so why would it choose this time to appear here?

The young man's silver hair was easily dyed into another color under the light of the dance floor. He lowered his head, lowered his eyes, and frowned, looking uncomfortable.

The delicate lines were lost in the dark mask, revealing half of her features that were strikingly similar to the one in her memory.

It's clear that it doesn't make any sense to be similar.

The blond, dark-skinned young man calmly denied himself, but after a glance he looked away and skillfully took the wine glass from the bar to serve the customer.

This bar is located near the bay, overlooking the night view of Tokyo. Most of the members-only customers are foreigners, and his mixed-race face does not stand out in the crowd.

"Hey, man."

A female guest with brown hair and blue eyes waved at him.

Furugaya Rei nodded politely and walked over, bowing slightly. The guest took the brightly colored cocktail on the tray, but did not leave. His ambiguous eyes wandered back and forth on his chest, and he came to his side and smiled coquettishly, "Are you seeing someone?"

It's a pick-up.

The foreign guests here are a little too enthusiastic and unrestrained. Furiya Ling has been working part-time in this bar for three days, and this is the fourteenth time he has received a call from both men and women.

She didn't directly invite him for a "one night stand", but instead asked him subtly if he had a date, and it was a rare case of her approaching him with principles.

Jiang Gu Ling had accumulated rich experience in this regard. He smiled, and when he was about to pass it by, his eyes suddenly froze at one point.

A second person came to the inconspicuous table in the corner.

The man wearing the same bartender uniform as him was tall, with long blond hair tied behind his head, narrow green eyes, and raised corners of his lips. He leaned over and pushed a drink on the table to the other side.

The gloved fingers loosely grasped the rim of the cup, and Shengjiu raised her eyes to meet the man's gaze.

The bartender took this as a tacit agreement, smiled even more, and reached out to take off his mask.

Furuya Rei's pupils shrank for a moment, and he stared at the movement over there. When he saw Shengjiu push the man's hand away, he felt a subtle sense of relief for some reason.

The bartender was not ashamed or annoyed after being rejected, and made a helpless gesture. Just when Furuya Rei thought he was going to give up, the bartender suddenly leaned over and whispered something in Shengjiu's ear.

The contrast between the black mask and the fair face was extremely obvious. Even through the mottled light and shadow, Furiya Rei could still detect that Holy Wine's body language was unnaturally stiff.

If I remember correctly, on the day of the mission, he quietly discussed countermeasures with Shengjiu, and the other party also reacted with resistance in the same way.

The bartender turned around and smiled with satisfaction, but Furuya Rei detected an unpleasant meaning in it.

He noticed the drink on the table. It was a classic glass with clear golden liquor, whipped egg whites, light green lemon slices and bright red cherry garnish. It was the bar's most classic whiskey sour.

Before he could think about what secret code this might be related to, the next moment, Furuya Rei saw the man pick up the stirring stick next to the wine glass without warning, holding the hollow carved end, and then raised the other smooth side -

The thin silver rod seemed to have life, sinking into the hair behind the ear. With a light flick as nimbly as a snake, the earring fell off smoothly.

The half-removed mask is half-covering, just like the white-haired young man with his eyes lowered, tacitly accepting the attitude of compromise.

The customer who tried to strike up a conversation did not get a response for a long time. Instead, she saw that the man she admired was staring at the other side silently. The veins on the back of his hand holding the wooden tray were bulging, but he was still unaware. She couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Are you all right?" Are you okay?

She called out several times before the blond waiter's attention returned to her and he smiled apologetically.

The customer's eyes lit up. She had heard from her female companion a long time ago that there was a rare handsome man in this bar, who was most likely single, but no one had ever succeeded in chatting him up.

Not being rejected right away, the guest waited expectantly for his answer.

The blond waiter put away the empty tray and smiled a slightly aggressive smile that was completely different from when they first met.

His magnetic voice was still so polite that the guests were unable to react for a while.

"Yes, I am seeing someone."

Without looking at the guests who were standing there, Furuya Rei turned around and left.

He had already figured out the bar's staffing before he came to work here, and he didn't remember there being such a bartender, nor any temporary workers.

So what is this all about? Do organized transactions need to go this far?

—You don’t need a stirrer for a Whiskey Sour.