Chapter 56
In the dead of night, the only sound in the alley was the desolate rustling of the wind. Dry leaves were swept across the concrete, making a scratching sound.
A can on a distant trash bin was knocked over by a stray cat, falling to the ground and rolling far, far away, its hollow sound infinitely amplified in the silent winter night.
No one answered.
Only the man lying on the ground, thinking his chance had come, spoke, his fear suppressed. “Help… help me…”
“Bourbon, Rum-sama hasn’t said how to deal with me yet. You can’t—gah!”
The man’s neck was struck hard by the body of the gun. His vision went black, and he passed out completely.
Bourbon straightened up. He stared at the corner of the alley and walked towards it, step by step.
The spy hidden behind the wall could no longer pretend to be silent. She turned and ran.
A tense and exciting chase was about to begin!
The girl’s speed and stamina were not inferior in the slightest, but unfortunately, she was unfamiliar with the terrain.
The complex alleys were like a maze, winding and turning. This path had three turns, that one was a dead end. She had to pause, making a choice in a hurry.
In the end, Bourbon caught her under a bright streetlight.
The suspect was completely covered, most of her face hidden by a black mask, making her true appearance difficult to discern at night.
This place was extremely remote, not a place one would pass by chance. The suspect had turned and run the moment he had discovered her, leaving no room for negotiation, which was even more suspicious.
“Who are you?”
Bourbon twisted her hands behind her back and asked, his tone unfriendly.
To prevent the commotion from getting bigger, he held the struggling person in his arms firmly. Bourbon freed his right hand, which was holding the gun, and deftly flicked off the mask’s ear loops.
The dark-haired, dark-eyed girl looked up, at a loss.
Three hours ago, when she had looked up at him, her eyes had been as bright as stars.
In the cold winter night, even the stars were dim.
“Isn’t there a saying, ‘don’t pursue a desperate enemy’…”
An’an said in a small voice, “You see? This is what happens when you pursue relentlessly.”
“Letting a little water go is conducive to family harmony,” the girl sincerely suggested. “How about this? This round doesn’t count. You count to a hundred where you are, and then come and find me.”
She would jump on a train to Izumo that very night and run straight back to her hometown.
An’an’s psychological fortitude was superb. Even in this explosive situation, she could still chatter away.
The girl tried hard to maintain a light tone, but Bourbon could see her body language: she wanted to run.
Bourbon: “…You were following me?”
An’an closed her mouth. She ground the gravel on the ground with the tip of her shoe and said nothing.
“Last night,” the blond young man began slowly, pausing several times as he spoke. “Were you not asleep?”
Their current posture was like an interrogation, but every question was inevitably linked to their intimate relationship, giving it a sense of absurd inappropriateness that was hard to bear.
“I was asleep,” An’an said, her eyes lowered. “As soundly as ever.”
“But the bed was so empty and cold after you left,” she said softly. “I woke up without meaning to.”
Woke up, and saw everything.
If she had only seen Bourbon leaving with a gun in the middle of the night, he would still have had a chance to lie and make excuses.
If An’an had only witnessed the scene of Bourbon interrogating the man on the ground, she could still have convinced herself that there might have been some misunderstanding.
“I heard someone call you, Bourbon?”
—If she hadn’t asked this question, perhaps tonight could have been pretended to have never happened.
Bourbon closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his purple-gray eyes were so clear they were almost ruthless.
“You found out,” he said to himself. “Then I can’t let you live.”
An’an: Eh?!
Are we already at the “kill her to silence her” stage?!
Such an efficient man. As expected of a time management master who has secretly worked countless part-time jobs. His decisions are terrifyingly fast.
Poor An’an had actually thought he was caught up in a pyramid scheme and had been full of heroic spirit, wanting to save her boyfriend from the fire. In the end, it was she who had pushed herself into the fire pit.
How absurd. How could something so absurd happen? Even in her absurd life, this was a unique kind of absurd!
Bourbon, after hearing the whole story, was speechless. “…”
His silence was deafening.
An unspeakable sense of relief washed over the undercover Public Security officer. If his mission tonight hadn’t been to catch someone, but to meet with Gin, would An’an have mistaken Gin for a pyramid scheme leader?
A pyramid scheme group specializing in hair care products. The number one face, Gin, attracting countless followers with his beautiful silver hair, known as the “Hair Care Immortal.”
And considering Gin’s loyalty to the Black Organization and his deep-seated hatred for moles, it wouldn’t be out of place to mistake him for a cultist.
Bourbon was overthinking it. An’an wouldn’t have made a mistake. Silver-Haired Model Bro was an old friend of hers.
If Bourbon had first appeared with Gin and Vodka, after giving Silver-Haired Model Bro and Sunglasses Bodyguard Bro their names, An’an would have also seriously given him a nickname.
Let her think—Blond Host Bro, how about that?
A woman-deceiving scoundrel!
“Are the waiter and the detective both your disguises?” the dark-haired girl demanded. “Are you actually a member of a yakuza organization? A bosozoku? A tax thief? Or a two-faced person?”
Bourbon: It seems something strange, a specialty of other crime cities, has been mixed in.
How could a two-faced person compare to a three-faced one? An’an thought she had torn off his mask, but who would have thought that under the mask was another mask? The undercover Public Security officer was a Russian nesting doll.
Furuya Rei couldn’t explain anything.
It was his fault for not noticing An’an’s tracking. If he had been a little more careful when he left last night, this beautiful dream that had begun with a lie might have been able to continue.
No… it would have been exposed sooner or later. No matter how exquisite a lie, it was just a soap bubble that would pop with a single touch.
As the two of them grew closer, as their hearts drew nearer, the truth would eventually be revealed, like the earth after the snow has melted.
How ironic. His lover knew “Amuro Tooru” and also knew “Bourbon,” but was completely unaware of the existence of “Furuya Rei.”
It was all his fault.
The girl who had been so happy during the day was so sad at night. It was all his fault.
Like a bastard, still lying even now.
Furuya Rei let out a soft breath, the white mist dissipating into the cold winter night.
No matter what, his undercover work was always the first priority.
To act under the guise of “for your own good.” The thought was despicable, but he was that kind of despicable person.
Even if he was hated, despised, he did not want to drag his beloved lover into the struggle between red and black.
So…
“For now, let’s separate for a while,” the blond young man said flatly.
His voice was calm, as if he were just suggesting something as trivial as eating or drinking.
In a place An’an couldn’t see, Furuya’s nails dug into his palm, leaving deep marks.
…
An’an had received one piece of good news and one piece of bad news.
The good news was, her boyfriend didn’t plan on killing her to silence her.
The bad news was, she had been broken up with.
This relationship had been started by her and ended by him, like a drama that had been abruptly stopped halfway through. The comedy part had just reached its climax, and the plot had taken a sharp downturn, a charcoal pencil hastily writing the BE ending.
What the hell? An’an couldn’t believe it. Was it canceled?
He’s not even willing to explain? Isn’t he usually very good at coaxing and deceiving her? Where did his high EQ go?!
A member of a yakuza organization, a bosozoku, a tax thief, even a two-faced person. She had never said she couldn’t accept it—her boyfriend’s true identity was a member of the black side. Wasn’t that a perfect match for Suspect An?
That’s right. She hadn’t told him yet that she was an ability-user, and that her ability’s name was the blackest of the black, the ultimate black.
Clearly, any conflict could be resolved through communication. An’an didn’t have a fixed allegiance to any camp. As long as it didn’t cross her bottom line, she didn’t care if he was on the red or black side.
To say such hurtful words in such a light tone…
What kind of relationship was this? Even ordinary friends wouldn’t be so decisive.
Concealment first, breakup later. If this continued, she would start to doubt her judgment of men.
The angry girl ignored the unnaturalness beneath the blond young man’s calm exterior, and the “for now” that he had selfishly added to his breakup line after much hesitation.
“Fine,” the dark-haired, dark-eyed girl said.
She struggled free from Furuya’s embrace, took two steps back to distance herself from him. “As you wish.”
A breakup is a breakup. It’s not like she couldn’t handle it. Let’s just part on good terms.
…An’an had wanted to say these words with a carefree air.
But the precious memories of the past were still shining in An’an’s life. She had received kindness, favoritism, and care. What she had once received and given would not disappear because of a few heartless words.
The happier you are when you’re together, the sadder you are when you break up. Love is such an extreme existence.
So that’s it. An’an suddenly realized: this is what a breakup feels like.
It’s so painful.
The girl’s ink-black eyes were like dim stars. Furuya almost impulsively pulled her into his arms and apologized profusely, saying he was joking, that those words didn’t count, that how could they break up, that An’an shouldn’t be unhappy…
“I have to go deal with the man who was on the ground before,” Bourbon said.
He swiped on his phone. “Should I call a taxi for you?”
This area was quite remote, and it was very late. It would be difficult to get a taxi.
“Don’t trouble yourself,” the dark-haired girl refused. “I still know a few people who are willing to pick me up in the middle of the night.”
Bourbon thought of An’an’s cousin, who also lived in Beika.
Although he was a little worried, he had no right to ask anything now.
An’an stood under the bright streetlight. She watched the blond young man disappear into the darkness before opening her contact list.
“Beep, beep, beep…”
After a few beeps, the call was answered.
The young male voice on the other end of the line was laced with a weary sleepiness, but his tone was very gentle. “What’s wrong, An’an? Did you call me in the middle of the night because you had a nightmare?”
“Mhm,” she said. “I had a nightmare.”
“Can Hiro come and pick me up now?” the girl squatted down by the streetlight, holding her phone with her shoulder. “I’ll send you my location.”
Hiromitsu was puzzled. Isn’t it a nightmare? Did she also sleepwalk?
Puzzled or not, he didn’t ask any more questions. Hiromitsu immediately got up from bed. “I’ll be there soon. Can An’an wait for me in a warm place?”
“There’s no warm place,” An’an said, shrinking her hands into the sleeves of her down jacket. She had dressed warmly when she had gone out. She wasn’t cold, but she didn’t feel much warmth either.
“Hiro, I have a question for you. You’ll answer me honestly, right?”
Hiromitsu had changed his clothes and was about to leave with his car keys. He paused at her words.
“I will,” he said.
“Okay, I believe you,” An’an said softly. “Scotch, do you know Bourbon?”