Before the silver-haired man sat a wine glass, with a shallow layer of red wine inside, along with a few special ice cubes used for drinking. A slight movement of the hand would produce a crisp "ding-dong—" sound.
Clink—
The moment the sound of clinking ice rose, Gin lazily tilted his head back, his gaze meeting the Uninvited guest who had just closed the door.
The newcomer's young and beautiful face bore a faint, ethereal smile; each feature was exquisitely fine on its own, together they formed a stunning countenance that an ordinary person could hardly achieve.
The corners of her mouth curled slightly, a tiny arc enough to make many people's hearts flutter; her blue eyes seemed to gather all the essence of shimmering water and mountain scenery, blending into a soul-stirring, magnificent haze.
The only flaw, perhaps, was that her complexion was far too pale.
He was as pale as a non-living person.
Regarding this, Sheila expressed that she could do nothing about it. His skin was already pale to begin with, with this serious illness, his originally fair skin had gained an even more bloodless pallor, giving his a look of haggard, sickly beauty at first glance.
“So you know you're suffering from a serious illness too?” Gin commented indifferently, his green eyes glancing at her sideways.
"Didn't I sneak out?" Sheila let out a long sigh, a touch of heartbreaking melancholy staining his brow, his frail appearance quite deceptive.
However, those Blue eyes, which remained clear even amidst his serious illness, let those who knew his know that Sheila was still Sheila.
“Big brother won't let me go out, it's so boring." The Little Fairy slumped into the chair opposite without any sense of decorum, showing no sign of guilt on her face.
Wrapped tightly in a heavy khaki coat and a light pink cashmere scarf, she showed no sign of taking them off, even after entering the room.
“Although my health really isn't good right now.. it hasn't gotten to this extent, has it?” Sheila complained speechlessly, not even needing anyone's agreement: “If this continues, my mental state might break before my health does.”
"Your brother also wants what's best for you." After a simple bit of nonsense, Gin showed no sign of continuing to persuade him.
Did Sheila not understand this logic? Of course she did.
Do you have anything to eat here?" Sheila blinked, changing the subject. "I sneaked out, so I haven't eaten much all day.
Gin slowly leaned back, then scanned his surroundings and blinked. "Want a drink?"
Sheila was speechless for a moment: "I don't consider myself a fragile crystal doll, but you are being far too dismissive of the Patient."
Despite saying that, the Little Fairy's actions were entirely different.
He raised his hand and poured himself a glass of red wine; however, due to his current physical condition, Sheila, who had no intention of courting death, only poured a small amount.
She just wanted to have a taste.
The mellow aroma of the wine lingered on his lips and tongue, Sheila let out a satisfied sigh. "This wine is truly excellent."
Le Pin." Gin curled her fingers, tapping the bottle of dry red wine lightly. "It's not bad, after all.
That was how it was, Sheila thought; after all, the price was right there.
He took another small sip with an air of "might as well," feeling resentful toward his illness once again.
After savoring the taste of the Wine once more, Sheila simply averted his gaze to avoid any further distraction and got straight to the point: "You didn't kill Miyano Akemi? Why did you hand Miyano Akemi over to my brother?"
He raised two questions in succession, finally summarizing his feelings: "You really gave me a fright."
Gin gave a noncommittal response.
Indeed, he did not kill Miyano Akemi.
Not only did he not kill her, but just the day before yesterday, Gin contacted Heine and temporarily 'placed' this woman, who should have been dead, with him.
Along with Shiratori Midori.
The moment Heine saw Shiratori Midori, the expression on the blonde-haired man's face remained vivid in his memory, leaving a lasting impression; it was truly his source of joy these past few days.
Thinking of this, Gin couldn't help but curl his lips slightly.
His green eyes, which had been like ice since he arrived today, finally showed signs of thawing, his gaze carried a faint, lingering warmth.
“Didn't your brother introduce his old acquaintance to you?” Gin said with implication.
“Introduced,” Sheila said, setting down his wine glass and gazing at Gin with a probing look. “However—she should be more familiar with you, shouldn't he?”
Gin gave a noncommittal chuckle.
Neither of them explicitly named the 'she' in their conversation, but both were well aware of who it was.
What is it you want to do?" Sheila looked at him in confusion and asked hesitantly, "Big brother told me that not only did you keep her corpse, but you also protected her sister?
She tilted her head slightly, her tone turning sharp, "Since you have kept it a secret for so many years, why tell my brother all of this?"
Gin paused, his gaze shifting for a moment, answered with a question that evaded the point: "After all these years, Nana has never met her sister.."
At this, Gin's finger paused, then the corners of his mouth curled up slightly as he lifted his eyes to look at the girl sitting opposite him. "It is about time she met her."
Sheila gazed at him for a long time.
After a long silence, the girl let out a light chuckle, casually brushing the topic aside. "How old is that girl this year? I'd guess she's even younger than her sister."
This is what Gin likes about Sheila.
She had a sharp and keen side, as well as a patient and tolerant side; this girl with extraordinary beauty also possessed an extremely perceptive soul.
There are some things she would not dig into—even if she was very curious.
So Gin tilted his head slightly in a good mood, supporting his head with his left hand: "What was your brother's reaction?"
I already told you, my Brother was startled." As if remembering something worth being happy about, a lifelike smile surfaced in Sheila's clear eyes: "He's been out of it for several days; he didn't even hear me calling him.
Wow—that is truly rare.
But strictly speaking, the blame for this matter indeed lies with him.
Gin thought.
After all, he had handed over Miyano Akemi along with Shiratori Midori's corpse to Heine without so much as a word, told him about Nani's background, instructed him to keep Nani by Shiratori Midori's side.
Three things.. it seemed that none of them were simple.
Gin threw it all at Heine at once, leaving him to process it.
Even now, when he thinks of Heine's bewildered expression, he can't help but want to laugh.
"Heine is quite interesting," Gin remarked involuntarily, he meant it.
"Indeed." Sheila, who was equally fond of occasionally causing a little trouble for his brother, nodded in agreement.
The two looked at each other and reached a consensus on this issue.
Ever since Miyano Akemi moved out, there really hasn't been anyone in the mountain villa. However, before, every ten or fifteen days, Shimabukuro Kimie would come over to deliver some supplies to Miyano Akemi, a few of those things still remained.
Gin thought for a moment, then deigned to walk to the Kitchen, taking a fresh carton of Milk from the Refrigerator. He poured it into a white ceramic tea cup from the Cabinet, then placed the cup and the Milk into the microwave to heat them.
The heated Milk was at a moderate temperature, emitting a warm and sweet aroma as the faint white mist drifted and dissipated into the air.
Sheila held the glass of Milk to warm his hands, thinking to himself: his status as a Patient actually had some use.
Seriously, what is with the atmosphere of this tea party?!
After a silent complaint, Sheila spoke up first.
Why did you give her to my Brother?" the girl asked the question once more, a faint light shimmering in her blue eyes. "It's okay if you don't say.. although I am indeed curious.
“There isn't really any special reason,” Gin muttered softly. The words were not heard clearly by Sheila, causing a hint of confusion to appear in that person's eyes.
By the way," Gin said, changing the subject again without so much as a flicker of hesitation, "how is your Brother's relationship with his Father now?
He did not ask why the two of them had fallen out; such a question would clearly yield no answer from Sheila.
Sheila hesitated for a moment, but ultimately revealed a little: "What else could it be? It's just like this."
The girl's eyes darted around as if she had remembered something amusing, she couldn't help but laugh. "My brother is actually quite interesting."
After making that definition, Sheila began to explain, "When my brother ran away from home back then, he even went out of his way to hire people to surround his father's Villa."
To be so righteous as to denounce one's own kin? Gin couldn't help but slightly raise his eyebrows, a hint of interest appearing in his green eyes.
“Do you know what these people are here for?” Sheila let out a short laugh, then said in a voice laced with amusement, “They’re performing a massive chorus at his father's villa.”
Probably dozens of people, surrounding his father's villa, all of them Chinese-American.
And then they all sang 'Love Business' together.
Gin: …………
“His father can understand Chinese, so when dozens of people sang in unison, singing, 'It was you who wanted to part ways, if you wanted to part, then part, now you want to coax me back with true love..' you can just imagine his father's face—"
Sheila stated as objectively as possible:
Based on Pino's account, she was so young at the time, it was as if she had seen Hell.
Gin: ……
Okay, you guys certainly know how to have fun.
Well, well.." Sheila waved his hands, his cobalt blue eyes brimming with smiles. "Even though my brother is a bit unreliable sometimes, I still like him very much.
“Alright!” Little Fairy clasped his hands together, making a gesture of worship that could only be described as pious, his pale face unable to hide his radiant spirit: “I have already told you who my favorite person is—"
So—
Sheila suddenly leaned close to Gin, his gentle breath almost touching him:
Can you reveal to me, who do you like?
-----------------------
Author's Note: Sheila previously had some misunderstandings regarding the relationship between Heine and Gin, so today's development is half due to official business, the other half—
You know how it is.
Heine: So you're just going to expose my flaws like this? [Smiling JPG]
And—
The emotion of this story is ***.. so don't invest in the Gin and Vermouth CP; investing in the Gin and Vermouth CP will absolutely result in a loss, my dears.
Shiratori Midori's imagery has been linked to Snow Country since the first volume. Whether it is the cocktail Gin makes for him or his side story, it is all Snow Country.
So in my original conception, the ending of Shiratori Midori and Gin was also a sentence from Snow Country.
I treat you as a friend, I seek no favors from you.
ps: Actually, Shiratori Midori's problem was exposed from the very beginning, which is a major reason why Shinichi and Midori is a BE..
They will be important people to each other, but in the end, they will not be Lovers.
..