It was just that sometimes, a voice would echo in his heart, asking him very, very softly—
Are there no exceptions?
If there is one, is this exception.. Miyano Akemi?
Is it just, only Miyano Akemi?
“Where to?” After Borse left, Akai Shuichi finally spoke, his deep voice echoing inside the car.
Gin seemed to be thinking about something; he paused before answering, "Let's go back to the previous Base."
After a pause, he added another sentence, perhaps because he hadn't spoken much before, his voice sounded somewhat hoarse: "The one involving the mission items you and Borse were exchanging earlier today."
Gin seemed a bit thirsty. Akai saw him in the rearview mirror unscrewing a bottle of mineral water he had taken from Heine's house and taking a sip. The Black-haired agent subtly averted his gaze. "Mm."
The red Chevrolet let out a roar and sped away, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake.
..
The Base was not that far away; after about twenty minutes, Akai pulled the car to a stop.
When Gin closed the car door, Akai also got out of the car and used his keys to lock the door. Facing his casual gaze, Akai seemed to offer a nonchalant explanation: "The previous Mission Report hasn't been submitted yet."
The Silver-haired youth nodded, appearing somewhat distracted and remaining motionless. For some unknown reason, Akai Shuichi also waited for him in silence.
After a long silence, Gin looked up, his cold green eyes as piercing as ever. "What do you think of Sheila?"
His tone was very flat, as if he were merely asking an ordinary question.
—Well, considering he doesn't usually ask questions, this was quite rare.
Akai subconsciously frowned, his gaze falling upon Gin's slender fingers, lingering on his light-colored fingernails: "A beauty indeed."
The Black-haired agent raised his eyes, his dark green eyes filled with inquiry: "A rare beauty, his skills are quite extraordinary as well."
Gin curled his lips slightly. He raised the bottle of mineral water in his hand, resting his arm lightly against the body of the Chevrolet. "Obviously."
He was not very satisfied with this obvious assessment.
The mineral water bottle was shaking, the water's surface was rippling as well. Akai glanced at them, pondering Gin's intentions, but since that was the case—
He met Gin's emerald eyes and hesitated slightly, his voice tinged with uncertainty: "Maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel that.."
“His eyes are full of ambition and desire.”（1）
Is that so?
Gin lowered his eyes.
In his mind, Sheila's blue eyes seemed to appear once again, sometimes filled with the tenderness of autumn waters, at other times as sharp as a frost-covered blade.
These eyes.. I feel like I've seen them somewhere before.
And—
Gin raised his eyes, lowering his arm from the car's body, as the mineral water surged within the bottle once again.
"Appearance and things themselves are often completely at odds," the Silver-haired youth said, tilting his head slightly. Akai Shuichi could clearly see his deeply contoured profile.
He recited the second half of the sentence silently in his heart, his rhythm matching the low, mellow voice of the Silver-haired youth.
“people are easily deceived by rhe surface decoration.”（2）
Is that so?
The black-haired agent gazed silently at the side profile of the silver-haired youth, his eyes landing on his bright yet cold green eyes, his straight nose tip which was slightly sweating due to the summer heat, his well-shaped lips.
It was not.
He sneered inwardly and averted his gaze.
At least as far as I am concerned, it is not.
His agitated thoughts made it impossible for him to concentrate, until Gin's indifferent voice drifted into his ears: "But not necessarily." Only then did he realize it, looking back at him.
So, he met the Silver-haired youth's eyes for a second time.
It's not just "on the surface".. The reason for being attracted is something much deeper—
However, the Black-haired agent let out a sigh in his heart, a slight sense of helplessness in his eyes: Isn't this even worse?
"I'm leaving first." Gin didn't notice any "changes" as he left behind those words.
Akai nodded and gave a soft "mm" in response.
However—
Perhaps he doesn't care about that either.
The Black-haired agent watched Gin's receding figure, his thoughts nearly calm.
After a long silence, he let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, as if trying to suppress the surging emotions within them, before leaning himself against the body of the Chevrolet.
His brow furrowed deeply.
..
Gin stopped in his tracks, then took out the mobile phone from his coat, which had remained silent due to being on silent mode; the black mobile phone vibrated silently, having shown no signs of activity before.
He tapped the Screen, where the black characters stood out vividly against the snow-white background.
An email from Madra, written with exceptional respect and politeness; he gave it a cursory glance, automatically ignoring the meaningless pleasantries.
“Appearance and things themselves are often completely at odds， people are easily deceived by rhe surface decoration.”
He murmured the sentence once more in a low voice, his eyes looking somewhat strange.
“Who says it isn't?”
He closed his mobile phone and started walking again with his long legs.
On the Screen, where the light was gradually fading, the final two lines of text remained clear.
Therefore, I sincerely invite you to choose a time for us to meet and talk in the coming days; I would be deeply grateful.
P. S. Bourbon seems to be making some suspicious moves; if you are interested, you may want to keep an eye on him.
-----------------------
Author's Note: (1) His eyes are full of ambition and ***, adapted from *The Great Gatsby*; the original sentence seems to be "His voice is full of money."
Sheila??
(2) From "The Merchant of Venice" (Appearances are often completely inconsistent with the essence of things, people are easily deceived by superficial decorations)
..
Appearance and things themselves are often completely at odds; people are easily deceived by the surface decoration. The meaning here is somewhat a pun, haha.
Gin's questions and subsequent thoughts were quite serious, but unfortunately, while Akai had been attentive in his initial responses, he had already begun to space out by the time he was listening to the feedback.
He realized some of his emotions, but for now, he only knew that he held special feelings for Gin. He felt panicked and irritable, yet he had not yet realized just how deep these feelings ran; for the moment, he was still trying to "suppress" his "tumultuous emotions."
As for whether he can succeed.. looking at the sky, we'll see later ^_^
As for a deeper understanding, you'll have to wait for later, a further deepening of it as well..
Gin had been preoccupied with his own thoughts the entire time. You might have noticed that he has been spacing out since leaving Heine's house.
Touko is about to make his appearance!
Looking at the direction of the Plot this way, Gin really is a textbook example of "flirting and then discarding" (unconsciously).
..
Thanks to Xue'er Little Angel's two landmines, love you mwah~
Thanks to Meimeimei Little Angel's two landmines, love you mwah~
Thanks to キ腐草￡为萤タ Little Angel's landmines, love you, mwah~
Chapter 52 Chapter 50 His target of investigation is quite special
It is difficult to say exactly what kind of mindset Gin has toward Brandy.
When he first joined the Organization, Brandy already held a high position. In the dozen or so years since, he has remained steadfast; had he not voluntarily relinquished his power, he would likely still be a core figure in the Organization today.
Back then, Gin's Mission Evaluation was completed by him; the difficulty level was far higher than that of others, yet the "Gift" he received was also far greater, so it was no wonder it was called a Gift.
After all, it was truly so.
In all his years in the Black Organization, he had dealt with Brandy more or less through various true and false encounters. Perhaps because he was the first of this generation to touch the "core," or perhaps by fate, Gin could be said to be the person who has had the most contact with Brandy among their generation.
To be fair, he preferred Brandy's style more than Rum's.
In terms of morality—although people in the Black Organization rarely speak of morality—he owed Brandy a favor, on a personal level, as long as it didn't cross any of his own lines, he wouldn't mind returning the favor.
Even so, the calculations and vigilance inherent in their dealings were unavoidable.
Gin lowered his head, his left hand moved as he attempted to fish a cigarette out of his trench coat pocket.
After all—
Otherwise, he might not even know how he died.
The Silver-haired youth's bangs lowered slightly with his movements, covering half of his eye. His beige trench coat looked much more "lively and cheerful" compared to the black ones he usually wore, but his expression was far from "lively and cheerful."
He tapped out a Jiloises, his long Finger pinching the cigarette between them as he brought it to his lips.
“Mr. Gin,” the woman in the white coat said, setting down his test tube and turning his head to look at him, “it is best not to smoke in the laboratory.”
Madra's complexion was as pale as ever, a paleness that could only be described as sickly.
Even the stack of snow-white letter paper from the post office was startlingly white, white in a way that was fragile and brittle, lacking even a hint of the vitality usually found in a young woman; it was like a thin handful of snow in winter, white in a way that was cold and fleeting, vanishing without a trace the moment the sunlight appeared, turning into crystal-clear water droplets that would quietly dissipate once the sun grew a little stronger.
Her long black hair formed a sharp contrast against her pale skin, adding a jarring sense of shock to her appearance; at certain moments, she looked like a geisha in white makeup who had let her hair down.
Whether it is beautiful or eerie depends entirely on the aesthetic taste of the onlooker.
But clearly, the other person didn't care.
Gin didn't reply. He bit down on the filter, holding the cigarette in his mouth without lighting it. She lifted her green eyes and spoke indistinctly, "That should be enough, shouldn't it?"
Madra nodded, the movement of her nod perfectly measured, revealing a restrained and respectful demeanor.