So Xiao Xie fell silent.
After a long time, Sheila was the one to break the awkward silence.
"Sorry, Xiao Xie.. I.." Sheila pursed her lips and spoke first, her blue eyes returning to a state of tranquility as she gazed at the youth sitting opposite her with his head bowed in silence.
Xiao Xie interrupted her, "Senior."
The Youth with a baby face, who appeared to be quite childish, looked up and said very, very seriously, "Senior, you once saved my life—that is why I am helping you keep it a secret from the ICPO."
"Likewise, this is also why I will never stand by and watch you act recklessly alone," he said with certainty.
Sheila stared at Xiao Xie for three seconds before suddenly laughing, "So you plan to go wild with me?"
“I saved you, not so you could throw your life away.” Sheila tilted his head, the stray hairs on his forehead obscuring his eyes, making them feel a bit itchy.
So what?" Xiao Xie replied softly. "And Senior, by giving me such a harsh lecture, have you forgotten that I am the same age as you?
His eyes held a hint of a smile, as if he really was just joking.
Sheila sneered, brushing the stray hair from his forehead. "Then I'll have joined before you, too."
..
Everything that followed went exactly as Gin had anticipated.
Rum agreed to Gin's proposal without the slightest opposition—which was, of course, exactly what Gin had expected. In fact, at his level, as long as a proposal wasn't too outrageous or unfeasible, didn't affect the interests of the Black Organization, the possibility of it being rejected was slim.
As long as that gentleman does not object.
—Of course, proposals that are too foolish won't work either, but that is a matter of IQ. Given how far they have come, there probably aren't many Idiots among them.
—Especially this proposal, it was a "private matter" that he could handle himself.
Not much preparation was needed; he only needed to give a few people a heads-up. As for suitable missions, cough, cough, the Organization lacks everything except missions.
—and an undercover agent.
With a heavy heart at the thought of losing a laborer, Gin finalized this "Probing Plan" in just five days.
Everything was ready; all that was missing was the final push.
The only thing that left him feeling somewhat bewildered was Sheila's distracted state over the past few days, the slightly apologetic, strange look in his eyes whenever they made eye contact.
Regarding this, Gin expressed..
Sheila girl has not had it easy these days; not only does she have her Brother to look after, but she also has to help her junior clean up their messes.
First of all, resigning immediately after tricking someone won't work; it's simply not allowed under any circumstances. If you don't want to be exposed at any moment and told to get your ass to work right this instant, you should at least work part-time for another three months.
Because—"At that time, the Final Exam was approaching, the pressure of a University student's Final Exam was immense. Resigning to focus on revision would have been a plausible excuse," Sheila said, speaking with reason.
Regarding this, Xiao Xie said that working part-time was no problem, absolutely no problem, since working odd jobs was much more convenient than staying cooped up in an office using a computer to search for Intelligence, but then—
Can I not dye my hair back?
"So you also know your hairstyle is.. 'perfect'!" Sheila mocked with a light sarcasm, looking at the stubborn remnants still present in his junior's black hair, appearing quite unable to bear the sight of it.
Xiao Xie: "……"
By the way—" Sheila said slowly and leisurely, his voice sweet and melodic; even with such an undulating tone, she managed to sound quite pleasant: "Your hair is truly 'stubborn'.
Xiao Xie was also quite helpless about this: ".. I'm feeling quite desperate myself!"
The breakdown implied in that sentence seemed quite genuine.
Sheila let out a chuckle and couldn't help but reach out to rub his junior's black hair, advising him with a straight face, "Once this is over, you should go get a connective tissue excision on your head."
Xiao Xie blinked blankly, looking completely bewildered, though he actually looked quite adorable: "Huh?"
Sheila gave a light chuckle and pushed Xiao Xie's head—to be fair, it felt quite good to the touch: "A haircut, you idiot!"
By the way, before that, don't forget to stick with it for three months!
Even though Xiao Xie repeatedly insisted, I just wouldn't listen, I wouldn't listen, I wouldn't listen! I'd rather starve to death or jump from here than dye my hair back!
And then—
You know what the essence of humanity is.
*Ahem.*
To do something properly, one must go all the way. In the end, Xiao Xie went back to his part-time job life with a sense of grievance; it must be said that this was perhaps a case of "one thing overcoming another" to some extent.
Bourbon seemed to realize something—he was also a very sharp person. Almost immediately after he learned the news about Cavendish, he applied for an external transfer mission the very next day, attempting to prove his innocence.
However, opinions on certain matters vary; at least, to some people, this act felt a bit like an attempt to escape—naturally, Rum did not approve.
Vermouth was still somewhat reliable; driven by the desire to watch the drama unfold, the blonde-haired beauty gave Bourbon a few brief reminders.
However, the aftermath was somewhat surprising. In the following days, she actually provided Bourbon with quite a bit of help. Although his actions were very discreet, she still couldn't hide them from Gin, who had been keeping a close eye on the two Fake Liquors lately.
If it had been the Gin of the past, he would have certainly let such matters slide; after all, it had nothing to do with him, he had always disliked meddling in other people's business.
In fact, he already had enough on his plate! Not to mention, he worked diligently and conscientiously for the Organization, yet no one paid him a salary!
Anyway, as long as they weren't a Traitor, he really couldn't be bothered to care.
Even if they were a Traitor now, he wouldn't care.
But after noticing this point this time, Gin almost subconsciously thought of something, staring at Vermouth contemplatively for a long while.
The Blonde-haired woman revealed a smile with a hint of ambiguity; she looked like a fragrant, beautiful rose with thorns, but in reality, she was a charming wild poppy. Regardless of which flower she was, she was incredibly captivating. "What is it?"
"Nothing." Gin withdrew his gaze.
He completely ignored the Peerless beauty's hint, his mind instead pondering something else.
It seems that the moment Amuro Tooru found leverage on Vermouth and used it to blackmail him was right at this time..
To be honest, Gin was.. still a bit curious about this.
Even though he already knew quite a few secrets.
But what was most important right now was, as expected—
The Silver-haired youth glanced at his Partner beside him; the well-trained FBI elite's face remained as cold and stern as ever, with only a faint ripple of emotion visible the moment he raised his eyes to meet Gin's.
That's basically it." Since he showed no signs of anything unusual, Gin pretended to know nothing. "Vodka will tell you the specific details; you can confirm them with him.
.. Alright.
Gin turned around, pretending not to notice the hesitation in the response, smoothly slipped the mobile phone into his coat pocket.
It was very quiet around—very quiet—there was no sound at all, no sound of vehicles driving, no sound of pedestrians talking, no sound of construction from the buildings.
There were no voices either.
Thinking about the approaching ending and a small segment of the Plot coming to a close, Gin felt a profound sense of tranquility.
Until—
"Gin." A call came from behind him. It was a single, short syllable, Gin could not discern what kind of emotion it contained.
And the moment he turned around, the person opposite him looked at him with heavy eyes; he could not discern what that dark, obscured expression meant.
That guest, subordinate, partner he once looked down upon but later acknowledged, once mocked but later fought alongside, once plotted against but later bantered with; a guest, subordinate, partner with whom he would soon be entangled in the future, his Nemesis.
Akai Shuichi gritted his teeth slightly, but the moment he turned around, or perhaps the moment he saw his face, the FBI agent's furrowed brows smoothed out, a slight curl appeared at the corners of his lips as he looked at him.
It was a smile.
Gin," his Nemesis said to him, "GOOD LUCK.
Good luck.
Okay.
Then, Akai Shuichi, I wish you good luck as well.
-----------------------
Author's Note: This is a double-length update. Love you all, mwah~
..
Thanks to Tiannan Dibei Little Angel for the mine, love you mwah~
Thank you to Anjing Nishui Little Angel for the mines, love you mwah~
Chapter 116: Chapter 111 "I will save you once."..
Time always passes quickly; no matter how tangled the emotions of those involved may be, it still flows steadily and unhurriedly, slipping away.
Years later, when Akai Shuichi recalled this day, it remained vivid in his memory, despite the long passage of time.
So he naturally remembered as well; the weather that day was very good, so good that it felt somewhat ironic to him.
He and his colleague had scouted the mission's assembly point beforehand, preparing to capture Gin. The young FBI elite agent looked up at the sun above; the light was so bright that looking directly at it caused a faint stinging sensation in his eyes.
The Warehouse was very close—this was perfectly normal, as it wouldn't have been chosen as a meeting location by Gin if it weren't for its desolate nature.
They weren't out there performing good deeds like a model citizen, so they naturally had no desire to rush into letting others know.
Akai Shuichi closed his eyes.
The lack of sleep left him feeling slightly fatigued, but it was not enough to break him; furthermore, the upcoming clash with that guy left him feeling incredibly excited.
Even so, the dryness in the Black-haired agent's green eyes still made him feel a slight discomfort.
So much so that he closed his eyes.
His Companions were by his side, however, he had no heart to pay attention to their movements.
When will Gin arrive? he thought.
When will Gin arrive?
Not far away, in a place they could not see, a black Porsche drove up slowly.
This Porsche, capable of driving countless car enthusiasts into a frenzy, did not drive toward his Master's Target; instead, it drove slowly and silently into a remote blind spot, then came to a quiet halt.
“It’s about here.” Vermouth woke from a light slumber with a hint of laziness and propped up his head with his hand. “What do you think, Gin?”
The woman's seductive voice made one's body go limp, however, the Silver-haired youth sitting in the back seat showed no change in expression. He slowly raised his eyes, glancing out through the car window toward an unknown direction: "Let's make it here."