Chapter 67
“Thank you, An’an, for letting me borrow your bathroom. I’ll be going back now.”
The girl, curled up on the sofa reading her script, slowly looked up from the pages at the politely departing Furuya Rei.
She frowned.
His wet blond hair was dripping, soaking a patch of his shoulder, yet the young man was unconcerned, preparing to open the door and face the biting cold wind of the night.
He’ll definitely get a migraine.
Even if it was only a step or two from her home to his, the chill was enough to sweep through his entire body from the tips of his hair.
He wasn’t someone who didn’t know how to take care of himself.
Wasn’t he very good at blow-drying her hair before?
In the whirring sound of the hot air, his five fingers would gently comb through her long black hair, making her drowsy. She would lean against his chest, her head nodding off, and in a daze, she would hear his soft chuckle.
Her soaked long hair would be combed dry and fluffy, ending with a kiss on her forehead.
“At least wait until your hair is dry before you go out into the cold wind,” An’an called out to him.
The hairdryer was on the coffee table. Furuya remembered that the coffee table had been empty before he had gone into the bathroom.
He didn’t point it out and obediently walked over.
An’an continued to read her script. The blond young man sat on the sofa not far from her, his head lowered as he blew his hair dry.
The whirring of the hairdryer was too noisy. The girl tried to concentrate, but the words in the script were like little bugs flying everywhere, and she couldn’t get them into her head no matter what.
So golden, so shiny. It must be so soft and smooth to the touch.
Or maybe she should just use both hands and ruffle it all up, into a fluffy, messy ball, and watch his dissatisfied yet helpless expression. The person who loves to do bad things would get a great sense of satisfaction.
An’an slammed the script shut.
The “thwack!” of the pages closing was drowned out by the sound of the hairdryer, but Furuya caught it immediately.
He stopped the hairdryer and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
An’an: It’s none of your business… no, it’s all your fault.
“The script is terrible,” she said. “The director said she’s going to revise it as we film. I don’t have high hopes.”
The good thing about a series is that no matter how it’s filmed, the old fans will pay for it. The bad thing is that it’s very easy to be compared to the previous works. Once the screenwriter’s inspiration runs dry or they try to pull some shoddy tricks, the entire movie will be a miserable failure and be ridiculed by everyone.
An’an was playing the new villain in this installment. This was also her first time acting in a movie. She would be facing the dual test of the series’ fans and her own fans.
“I can play my role well, but the plot is really confusing,” An’an couldn’t help but complain.
“Isn’t this supposed to be a suspense mystery drama? Why did it suddenly start to be haunted in the middle, spending a third of the time on a supernatural event, only to end with a ‘walk into science’ conclusion?”
(T/N: “Walk into science” is a reference to a Chinese TV show that debunks superstitions, often with ridiculous scientific explanations.)
Furuya: What kind of story is this?
He was intrigued by what An’an had said and leaned closer to look at the script spread out on the girl’s lap.
The scent of white peach rushed to meet him. An’an subconsciously wrinkled her nose.
A person who had even forgotten to bring a bath towel had of course not brought any toiletries either. An’an was not a stingy person and had allowed him to use whatever he wanted.
The scent of the same brand of shampoo. She should have been used to it by now, to the point of ignoring it.
…Was this scent really that sweet?
“Indeed, the plot is confusing,” Furuya nodded. “I remember this series has always had a good reputation and is famous for its brilliant reasoning.”
An’an was also puzzled. She temporarily forgot the fact that the distance between her and Furuya had shrunk from half a body’s length to the size of a thumb and took out her phone to search.
“Case solved,” An’an said, showing the screen to Furuya. “The previous few movies all invited the famous mystery novelist Kudo Yusaku to be a consultant.”
The interview recorded that the screenwriter had even specially gone to Yokohama to consult with Edogawa Ranpo and Ayatsuji Yukito. How could the reasoning not be brilliant?
Why hadn’t the new movie collaborated with Kudo Yusaku? An’an, not understanding, sent a message to the director to ask.
The director immediately replied with a long voice message.
“Do you think I don’t want to? But Mr. Yusaku is in seclusion to meet a deadline. I heard he’s being bitten on the butt by the deadline. And for some reason, Yokohama has been foggy lately. The fog is so thick you can’t see your hand in front of your face. It seems like some kind of ability-user suicide event is going on. I heard even a dragon appeared!”
An’an: Wow, so lively?
Why didn’t anyone invite me to participate? I also want to see the Yokohama diva fight a dragon with her opera-style singing.
“But you don’t have to worry. It doesn’t matter if Kudo Yusaku can’t come. His in-law can,” the director said with great enthusiasm.
“I’ve already sent an invitation to the great detective Mouri Kogoro, sincerely inviting him to be a script consultant, to bring the audience the most brilliant reasoning in history!”
“Sleeping Kogoro has seen countless cases in his life. He has solved more cases than he has eaten meals. A true authority!”
“You can rest assured!”
The voice message ended. The two people on the sofa fell into a simultaneous silence.
Furuya: If you bring Conan, then it’s indeed very authoritative. But isn’t that child labor?
An’an: “Should I bring a stick?”
She made a home-run gesture. “I’ve been in Beika for so long now. I know that the great detective Mouri Kogoro can only display his superb reasoning skills when he’s asleep. To maximize efficiency, we must have a reliable physical means to make him fall asleep in a second.”
“Don’t worry, I have a good sense of proportion,” the professional pig butcher of eighteen years, Miss An, said. “The point of impact can be the back of the neck or the back of the head. Just a single bonk…”
Furuya quickly covered her mouth. Alright, don’t say anymore. There’s no need to continue stating your criminal facts.
An’an: “Mmph, mmph!”
Her mouth was suddenly covered. She subconsciously bit the young man’s palm.
Furuya’s eyes darkened. He slowly let go of his hand and opened his palm.
A glistening tooth mark was imprinted on the man’s palm, a naked piece of evidence.
“There’s no blood,” An’an said, feeling guilty but stubborn.
“Mhm,” Furuya said lightly. “It just won’t disappear for a few days. It’s fine.”
“Nonsense,” the girl immediately retorted. “It’s just a tooth mark. It’ll disappear soon.”
“Doesn’t An’an know how hard she bites?” the blond young man raised an eyebrow. “It was the same when you bit my shoulder. The tooth mark was still there a few days later, and it hurt when I touched it.”
“…Slander,” An’an gritted her teeth in a small voice. “We’ve already broken up. So what if it hurts? I don’t feel sorry at all.”
The word “breakup” reminded the girl. She finally noticed their far-too-close proximity and pushed herself to the side with her hands on the sofa.
Furuya waited for her to move for a while. After the girl thought she had pulled away to a safe distance, he grabbed her ankle and easily dragged her back.
An’an: “Hey!”
What was this? Suddenly getting handsy.
The girl suddenly realized a fact: had she let the wolf into her house?
Damn it! How dare he plot against her! This is An’an’s apartment, her home ground! The advantage is hers! See how she teaches this despicable thief a lesson!
The girl’s palm caressed his soft blond hair.
Furuya lowered his head in front of her, placed An’an’s hand on top of his head, his lowered purple-gray eyes filled with a smile.
“Didn’t you want to touch it?” he smiled. “Go ahead.”
The dark-haired girl’s ink-black pupils widened, round like a surprised cat’s.
Her expression was a little hesitant, but her hands were very honest. Her fingertips slipped into the roots of his hair, gently stroking, like petting a small animal.
“The roots are still a little damp,” An’an said in a small voice.
To make it easier for her to cause mischief on his head, Furuya kept his head lowered, his hands braced on the sofa.
He looked up innocently.
An’an, while thinking, This is intentional, right? This is definitely intentional, picked up the hairdryer, set it to the low setting, and slowly began to blow his hair dry.
The warm air blew gently. For a moment, no one spoke. The atmosphere was peaceful and quiet.
“It’s done.”
She put down the hairdryer and gently pushed Furuya’s shoulder. “It’s very late. You can go back now.”
There was no reason for him to stay the night. No reason at all. Even if he said he didn’t have his key, it wouldn’t work, because there was still the balcony to climb over.
Furuya didn’t expect to succeed in one go. He said “okay” and bent down to pick up the script that had fallen to the floor during their scuffle.
“If you see me on set, will An’an feel disturbed?” he suddenly asked.
An’an was racking her brains for a way to see him out. It was really hard to maintain a sense of propriety with an ex-boyfriend. The atmosphere always became ambiguous without her realizing it.
Hearing his words, she was taken aback. “What are you doing on set?”
“Didn’t the director invite the great detective Mouri Kogoro to be a script consultant?” Furuya reminded her. “I’m Mr. Mouri’s student.”
“He will most likely push the work on me,” the blond Public Security officer said with great certainty. “Because Beika Town can’t go a single day without Sleeping Kogoro.”
The residents of Beika all knew how busy the great detective Kogoro was. There were so many cases in the world waiting for him to solve. How could he just stay on one set all day?
How many crew members were there on set? Could they even make up the minimum configuration of three suspects and one victim?
Even if Suspect An permanently occupied a killer spot, how many times could the great detective deduce the remaining people?
A mere film set couldn’t hold him!
“It’s rare to be able to work with An’an. We should be seeing each other very frequently after this.”
Furuya said, “Excuse me,” and after saying goodbye, he walked to the door.
“Can I take you to the set tomorrow? It’s on the way anyway,” he said naturally. “I’ll bring you breakfast.”
The blond young man left An’an’s apartment after he finished speaking, leaving the girl with her hand outstretched halfway.
No, An’an was dumbfounded. Why does he look like he’s already made a deal with her? She hasn’t agreed to anything.
Although their starting points and destinations were completely the same, it was indeed very much on the way.
Although her mouth had been spoiled, and she didn’t want to eat bread for breakfast at all, she was already looking forward to what delicious food she would have tomorrow morning.
Although neighbors should indeed help each other, she had lent him her bathroom today, and it was very much in line with the positive value of repaying kindness for him to repay her tomorrow.
But! They had already broken up!
“If I remember correctly, the filming of the new drama is not in Beika, nor is it near the border of Beika,” An’an closed her eyes.
This meant—there were paparazzi, and a lot of them.
A group of people who were very concerned about her love life, who were skilled at digging out clues from the slightest hint, the hounds of hounds, the great detectives of great detectives.
If, on the set, the atmosphere between them was like tonight, An’an could already guess how the entertainment section would write about her.
Besides a lingering, poignant romance, there would be no other guess.
At that time, even if she directly said that the two had already broken up, it would only have the pale effect of “your servant has no way to defend herself.”
An’an stood up and walked to the window, looking out in the direction of Yokohama.
My family in Yokohama, is the foggy day group battle dragon-slaying event still on? Quick, add me to the group!