What is this? A nostalgia convention?!
After a silent complaint, Heine barely turned his head to look at the "new"comer approaching him.
Shiratori Midori.
If this one was barely acceptable, then the crowd of little couples following behind were enough to make Heine's eye twitch.
—Hashimoto Nana and Niwang Yaji.
Heine pressed his forehead with one hand and silently took a step back, wanting to be alone for a moment.
However, fate had other plans.
Shiratori Midori placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with a beaming smile, her expression just as it had always been, with only her own reflection in his Green eyes witnessing the passage of time.
Long time no see, Heine," she said, tilting her head. "You look like you've changed a lot.
Heine: ".. Is that so?"
Midori nodded sincerely, "But your eyes are still as beautiful as before—I recognized you immediately."
Hearing this, Heine couldn't help but let out a relaxed smile.
In a haze, it was as if Time had reversed, instantly returning to the past.
"You haven't changed one bit," Heine said in a relaxed tone.
"After all, I've slept for a long time," Shiratori Midori curled her lips, a shimmer passing through her eyes.
He said with a smile, "I'm going to see Akai Shuichi, are you coming with me?"
Heine: "…………"
"No thanks," he refused with difficulty, the smile on her lips seeming to stiffen.
Shiratori did not insist, casually waving him off before walking toward the Study with ease and grace.
Watching Shiratori Midori's retreating figure, Heine felt as if a stone had been lifted from his heart, yet it remained suspended in mid-air, neither rising nor falling, leaving him feeling stifled and uneasy.
"Brother—" While he was dazing out, Sheila's inexplicable voice came from behind him. Heine turned his head toward the source of the voice, only to see Sheila staring at him with a mysterious look in her eyes.
Invited to the event, Sheila wore a waist-cinching dark blue dress, layered with a thick down coat; the white fur trim on her hat made her skin look as white as snow, adding a touch of charming childishness to her appearance.
Her black hair was casually tied up, secured with a blue crystal hair ornament; the butterfly made of translucent crystal was lifelike, perched upon Sheila's hair with its wings poised for flight, refracting brilliant light under the Light.
The constant-temperature air conditioning in the room worked tirelessly, so Sheila took off her coat. Her dark blue dress perfectly complemented her blue eyes, the gradient hemline showcased ripples like sea waves, rising and falling with her every step, as if it were a dream.
Sheila was as beautiful as a dream.
The peerless beauty waved her hands in front of her brother, looking at him with an expression that asked if he was sleepwalking, asked strangely, "Brother? Are you okay?"
“Your brother is doing fine for now,” Heine said, emphasizing each word with difficulty. “But in a little while, he might not be doing so well.”
"??" Sheila looked bewildered.
The blonde-haired man patted her sister's shoulder with grief.
My lovely Aurora.. how could you not know that such a lineup of personnel could trigger such a tragic battlefield!
Sheila: "??"
She sincerely wondered: Is my brother stupid?
However, before she could say anything, a young woman's voice came from behind her—at first glance, it sounded quite familiar.
Excuse me.
Hearing this, Sheila turned her head to look and happened to see Nana carrying two plates of fresh vegetables. The green leaves were lush and piled high in white porcelain dishes, with a few scattered water drops clinging to them, looking like morning dew upon green jade.
Nana smiled at the two seniors as a greeting, then walked toward the long table.
She placed the plate on the table, then turned to look at Sheila, her tone friendly, "Ms. Sheila is here too!"
Sheila nodded calmly.
The two had been in contact for a period of time, but they had never interacted much, due to Sheila's identity, she had never disclosed her Real name to Nana.
Nana didn't care about this either—if it wasn't voluntary, she might as well use a codename. After all, who knew if the name spoken was real or fake?
The doorbell rang.
Heine, who was closest to the Entrance, took charge and became the one to open the door. She swept her gaze across the ladies present, then turned around reluctantly.
“Want to take a guess at who it is?” Sheila gave Nana a wink. “Of course, there is no Reward even if you guess correctly.”
Nani curled her lips. "I guess it's Zhenjun's friend?"
Sheila looked thoughtful, then shrugged with a smile. "You'll find out in a moment."
He paused, then raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile, "Speaking of which, has Niwang arrived yet?"
Nana nodded, lifting her finger to point toward the Kitchen. "She's in the Kitchen helping to chop vegetables."
The door opened.
A man in a black trench coat walked into the living room, his silver hair tied casually with a hair tie, revealing a pair of cold green eyes. She was wearing gloves, where the gloves met her sleeve, a patch of fair skin and a portion of a strong, vigorous wrist were faintly visible.
It was Gin.
..
Gin took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack, his cold green eyes sweeping through the room with a chill before landing on Nana: "Where is your sister?"
The Man's voice was low and cold, as if it still carried the wind and snow from the road, with a trace of bone-chilling icy cold and hoarseness.
An icy cold and hoarseness that even the indoor heating could not melt.
She should be in the Study, right?" Nana's tone seemed somewhat uncertain. "I think I just saw her go into the Study.
Her Finger tapped the table lightly, clearly feeling somewhat lost.
Gin remained noncommittal and continued to ask, "What about Akai Shuichi?"
It seems.." Nana thought for a moment before giving an answer, "It seems he is also in the study?
Gin: "……"
He seemed to have fallen into an unspeakable silence.
After a long silence, the man walked straight toward the Study, leaving only his back behind.
Sheila: ".."
She seemed to have sensed something that went without saying.
Sheila slightly lifted her eyes, glancing at the shimmering light on the ceiling, then raised her hand to rub her earlobe—and the Sapphire earring on it.
The moment her fingertips touched the Sapphire, a trace of coldness brushed against her skin, traveling through her nerves to her brain, Sheila let out a faint sigh.
He seemed to understand now why Heine had worn such an indescribable expression before.
Because right now, she was also feeling quite complicated herself!
"It seems.. something isn't quite right.." Nana's murmuring came from beside her.
The black-haired female detective blinked her eyes.
Seeing Sheila looking at her, Nana returned an exceptionally innocent look.
“It looks like quite a crowd has come,” Sheila remarked with an ambiguous sigh, then gave Nana a smile:
A friendly reminder: today.. you actually only need to focus on eating hotpot.
Nana's lip corner twitched as she asked with doubt, "Really?"
Sheila nodded solemnly.
“I have this.. foreboding feeling..”
..
With years of experience—please don't ask her what kind of experience, she won't say, thank you—Sheila guessed that those three wouldn't be able to stay in the Study for very long.
And when they came out, wouldn't they be facing the Living room directly?!
Therefore, Sheila ran to the Kitchen with her clothes fluttering to help (make things harder).
There were not many people in the Kitchen.
Aside from her soulmate brother Heine, the others were Nani's boyfriend Niwang Yaji and Borse, who had been "summoned" by a single phone call from Gin.
At first glance, all three were men.
Seeing that another person had entered the Kitchen, the youngest, Niwang, blinked his eyes and lightly used a kitchen knife to slice the last piece of radish.
He asked tentatively, "Um.. should I go to the living room first?"
Heine nodded noncommittally, Borse, who was habitually stingy with his expressions, naturally offered no response, so Sheila politely smiled at the silver-haired youth, who had grown into a handsome man, "Alright, Nana is waiting for you in the living room."
And so, the young couple was destined to meet after traveling a thousand miles.
Once Niwang Yaji left the Kitchen, the few remaining people in this small space were all former Black Organization members.
You can't put it that way, Sheila thought: Aside from Nana and Niwang, everyone else in this Villa seems to be a former Black Organization member.
She pondered for a while, mentally offering a candle for the young couple, Nana and Niwang, before nonchalantly shifting her Gaze back to Borse.
Borse, with his cold face, was cutting vegetables.
The Youth had a handsome and elegant face, but unfortunately, she was always expressionless; her black eyes were like glass beads, they were almost dull whenever she faced anyone other than Gin.
Sheila's vision circled around him before silently shifting away.
Although he wasn't much of a cook, chopping vegetables was a piece of cake for Borse—he was quite skilled at chopping people as well.
With one stroke, it was absolutely clean and efficient.
It looks quite professional.
As for Heine? Oh, he is over by the water basket washing vegetables!
After all, hotpot is truly a type of food that both satisfies one's needs and requires very little culinary skill.
You have to realize that if Gin had sent an SMS the day before yesterday inviting Sheila over for New Year's Eve Dinner and home-cooked food, she would have definitely declined politely—after all, Sheila didn't have much faith in their cooking skills.
And since the main course at this moment is Hotpot, as long as he washes and chops vegetables, prepares the soup base, sets up the stove, everything will be perfectly fine—beef slices and such can be bought at the supermarket.
Sheila knew her brother's cooking skills all too well and didn't expect him to cook, but if it was just washing vegetables, it seemed like there wouldn't be any problem.